Recaps

Yayoi tested his newly converted chakra against the Seven-Tails, which attacked from a safe distance with increasingly sophisticated tactics. The chapter left them facing off as the Seven-Tails prepared a second Tailed-Beast Bomb and Yayoi struggled to find a way through its defenses.

• Yayoi challenged the fully recovered Seven-Tails to a one-on-one fight to test his new strength.
• The Seven-Tails unleashed a hurricane, but Yayoi used the Mysterious Peacock Method to fly after it.
• The Seven-Tails struck with Great Spherical Air Bullet, and Yayoi blocked it with Water Formation Wall before dispersing its remaining force with a punch.
• The Seven-Tails used the wind attack as a feint and fired an eighty-percent-power Tailed-Beast Bomb.
• Yayoi's Netherworld Orb swallowed and dispersed most of the bomb's power, though it strained and consumed more than a third of his chakra.
• The Seven-Tails kept its distance and began gathering a second Tailed-Beast Bomb while Yayoi searched for a way to overcome its tactics.

Yayoi lost his battle with the Seven-Tails after exhausting his Chakra, but gained advice about developing his Yin-Yang-based sealing technique. Back in his laboratory, he realized his body’s transformation might require Ten-Tails Chakra, and Nene asked what he had discovered.

• The Seven-Tails defeated Yayoi by keeping its distance until he collapsed from Chakra exhaustion, then teased him about surrendering sooner.
• Yayoi accepted the defeat as a valuable measure of his strength and considered how the Seven-Tails’ mobility had made it difficult to fight.
• The Seven-Tails advised Yayoi to build on Yin-Yang Release and incorporate other attributes into his Sealing Jutsu.
• Yayoi returned to his underground laboratory and reviewed the costly half-year process of converting his blood into Chakra.
• Yayoi concluded that completing his body’s transformation might require the Ten-Tails’ higher-level Chakra, and Nene asked what he had thought of.

Yayoi and Nene planned the next stages of his chakra conversion while he continued developing Yin-Yang Release. After playing with Sakura Hime, Yayoi went to the Tenshu Tower to resume government affairs and found that Irori had kept the Land of Night stable in his absence.

• Yayoi told Nene he was considering using the Ten-Tails to complete Chakra Conversion, and she agreed that similar energy might drive his evolution.
• Nene explained that converting Yayoi's skeleton and other body parts would require far more Tailed-Beast Chakra and time, while they continued optimizing Yin-Yang Release.
• Yayoi played with his eldest daughter, Sakura Hime, as Hisana and Oboro watched from the corridor.
• Oboro urged Hisana to consider having a child, warning that her family might soon pressure her; Hisana stiffened at the thought of returning home.
• After playing with Sakura Hime for over an hour, Yayoi went to the Tenshu Tower and learned that Irori had kept the Land of Night developing steadily during his absence.

The Joint Chunin Ninja Exams’ final tournament began with a Land of Night Genin defeating a Kumogakure opponent using Magnet Release. The Land of Night’s emerging Magnet Release talent alarmed other villages as the remaining matches got underway.

• The chief examiner explained the tournament rules and began the first match between Genin from Kumogakure and the Land of Night.
• Doichi used his Byakugan to assess the evenly matched fighters while Chihiro Hyuga asked which one he thought would win.
• The Land of Night Genin used Magnet Release to control Kunai and Shuriken, forcing the chief examiner to stop the fight and declare him the winner.
• Spectators recognized Magnet Release, and the Hidden Sand delegation realized the Land of Night had begun cultivating its own Magnet Release ninja.
• The remaining tournament matches began, featuring Genin from every village who had reached Chunin-level strength.

After the Joint Chunin Exams, Kicho returned to the Land of Night with Chihiro Hyuga, while Yayoi reviewed the Land of Night students’ results and considered how to improve their Magnet Release training. A report from Uchiha Hokuto described a man whose chakra had fused with a strange energy, leaving Yayoi with a familiar suspicion.

• Kicho brought Chihiro Hyuga back to the Land of Night so she could spend time with Doichi before returning to Konoha.
• Yayoi reviewed the exam recordings and reports, noting that the Land of Night’s Magnet Release student had reached the top four.
• Yayoi ordered the Aburame Clan Jonin to pay closer attention to Flying Kite and the other students’ training.
• A messenger delivered Uchiha Hokuto’s report about a man who had slaughtered villages with unstable chakra fused with a special energy.
• Yayoi recognized similarities in the report and grew suspicious.

Hokuto’s team discovered a dying man whose body absorbed Natural Energy uncontrollably, and Aburame Yuroketsu rushed him to Yayoi for study. After the man died, Yayoi identified his natural Cursed Seal Jutsu as a model for developing his own cursed seal ninjutsu.

• Hokuto recognized the mutated man’s condition as uncontrolled Natural Energy absorption, while the medical Chunin said his life could not be saved.
• Aburame Yuroketsu arrived, stabilized the man with a scroll, and hurried to take him to Nightview City before he died.
• Yayoi prolonged the man’s life for a week while he and Nene studied his body and recorded its transformation.
• After the man died, Nene noted that his constitution absorbed Natural Energy and had formed a natural jutsu.
• Yayoi rejected extracting material from the corpse and decided to use the natural Cursed Seal Jutsu as a reference for developing his own cursed seal ninjutsu.

Yayoi gave Nene chakra embryos to use in developing his own Cursed Seal Jutsu, while Konoha and other villages established special assassination units. After the First Tsuchikage Ishikawa died, Yayoi decided to attend the funeral in Hidden Rock Village and support his ally.

• Yayoi showed Nene the failed chakra embryos and assigned her to help create a Cursed Seal Jutsu using them.
• Konoha established the Anbu, and Hidden Mist Village and Hidden Cloud Village soon developed similar organizations.
• Hidden Rock Village announced that its First Tsuchikage, Ishikawa, had died, following the First Mizukage's death earlier that year.
• Yayoi decided to attend Ishikawa's funeral in person to support Hidden Rock Village and deter those seeking to disrupt the peace.

Yayoi attended Ishikawa’s funeral and Mu’s succession as the Second Tsuchikage in Iwagakure. There, Shamon proposed harvesting Rōran’s restored Dragon Vein Chakra, prompting Yayoi to consider further research into its ability to disrupt space-time techniques.

• Yayoi traveled to Iwagakure with Yaya and Komurasaki, offered Mu his condolences, and learned that Ōnoki had become Mu’s assistant and bodyguard.
• Delegations from the major villages arrived, and Ishikawa’s funeral was held under their witness.
• Four days later, Iwagakure held Mu’s succession ceremony while the delegations were still present.
• Shamon asked Yayoi to send people to collect the Dragon Vein Chakra that had regrown in Rōran, which Hidden Sand Village protected and hoped to profit from.
• Yayoi recalled that Dragon Vein Chakra barriers could disrupt summoning and considered whether further research might let them interfere with other space-time ninjutsu.

Yayoi negotiated with Shamon to trade Magnet Release Ninjutsu and Dragon Vein Chakra for large puppets made by the Land of Night. Retto approved the verbal agreement, leaving the formal trade to proceed after Sunagakure inspected the goods.

• Yayoi proposed expanding the trade to include Sunagakure's Magnet Release Ninjutsu in exchange for resources from the Land of Night.
• Yayoi offered to build large combat puppets for Sunagakure, and Shamon agreed after reviewing a design and hearing how they worked.
• Yayoi and Shamon agreed to trade Dragon Vein Chakra and Magnet Release Ninjutsu for four large puppets, along with money and medicinal herbs.
• Retto arrived after meeting the Five Kage, took medicine for his worsening condition, and asked Shamon about the trade.
• Shamon told Retto the agreement was verbal and pending inspection, and Retto authorized him to proceed.

Yayoi convened the Land of Night’s senior officers to formalize a restructuring of its Military Bureau as its ninja and samurai forces grew. The meeting established twelve departments and named their directors, leaving the new organization ready for a gradual transition.

• After returning from the Land of Earth, Yayoi prepared reforms to address overlapping duties and confusion within the expanding Military Bureau.
• Yayoi opened the restructuring meeting with Izayoi, Irori, Kicho, and nearly thirty senior ninja and samurai in attendance.
• Yayoi divided the Military Bureau into twelve departments covering combat, intelligence, finance, logistics, research, medical care, support, education, public security, review, special operations, and secretarial administration.
• Yayoi appointed Kakuzu, Aburame Yuroketsu, Iron Sparrow, Jizomaru, Oda (Uzumaki) Nene, Keika, Kurobei, Hoshigaki Kairyu, Izayoi, Kicho, and other qualified officers to lead the departments.
• Yayoi assigned Uchiha Hokuto as Kurobei’s deputy in Personnel Education and reserved deputy director positions for other clan heads.

Yayoi completed a sweeping military restructuring for the Land of Night, then spent his time off visiting Kicho and caring for his young twins, Rikuo and Maki. The chapter ended with Kicho explaining that Izayoi was at work helping establish the Special Assault Department.

• Yayoi finalized the responsibilities and locations of the twelve departments, completing the military restructuring in just over an hour.
• The departments relocated to their new buildings, with Kakuzu's Combat Execution Division moving outside Nightview City and several specialized departments remaining in the General's Residence's Outer Court.
• Half a month later, Yayoi took two days off and visited Izayoi's courtyard, where Kicho was watching Rikuo Oda and Maki Oda.
• Yayoi picked up the twins and reflected on protecting their mental well-being and the Uchiha Clan from the psychological damage that could lead to distorted uses of the Mangekyo.
• Kicho told Yayoi that Izayoi had gone to the newly established Special Assault Department and asked her to watch the children.

Izayoi assembled the newly formed Special Assault Department and began assessing its leaders’ abilities to improve the force’s coordination. She left Hatake Shinjiro struggling through her attacks in their mock battle, without yet using her Sharingan.

• Izayoi corrected the receptionist for addressing her without a title while on duty.
• Izayoi watched the department train, then gathered its members and explained that she would test selected Squadron Captains and Team Leaders in mock battles.
• Izayoi selected Hatake Shinjiro, the only Upper Samurai among the Squadron Captains, as her first opponent.
• Shinjiro opened with a Sword Cannon slash, but Izayoi evaded it and trapped him in a swamp before attacking with a water dragon and fireballs.
• Shinjiro realized Izayoi was forcing him to fight seriously to assess his skills, even though she had not used her Sharingan.

Izayoi demonstrated her overwhelming strength while assessing the Land of Night’s assault force, and Yayoi completed a successful large-puppet exchange with Sunagakure. Back in the underground laboratory, Nene revealed that the Cursed Seal seed had sprouted and urged Yayoi to choose a candidate for the crucial clinical experiment.

• Izayoi defeated Shinjiro in a sparring match without using her Sharingan, then tested six group leaders with it activated and ended the training after assessing their abilities.
• In April, Shamon brought Sunagakure’s delegation to exchange Dragon Vein Chakra, Magnet Release Ninjutsu, and rare herbs for four completed large puppets from the Land of Night.
• Yayoi and Shamon reaffirmed their countries’ friendship as Sunagakure received the puppets and handed over the agreed supplies.
• Yayoi examined Sunagakure’s distinctive sealing strips on the Golden Cauldron and considered the depth of the village’s Sealing Jutsu heritage.
• Nene showed Yayoi the sprouted Cursed Seal seed and asked whether he had chosen a candidate for the clinical experiment.

Yayoi and Nene prepared to test their new material-based Cursed Seal Jutsu on the aging Miyamoto Raizo, using an Illusion Heart Pill and a Hibernation Pod to reduce the danger and pain. Raizo entered the pod and fell asleep under Genjutsu as the experiment was about to begin.

• Yayoi examined the emerald-green crystal seed and asked Nene about the test’s risks; she said his Medical Ninjutsu and her supporting medicine would prevent any danger to life.
• Yayoi brought Nene to Miyamoto Raizo, who agreed to undergo the experiment but worried about Princess Tamaki; Yayoi promised to arrange for her care.
• Yayoi opened the sealed underground Cryotherapy Room and explained that its special gas and Hibernation Pods would support the Cursed Seal Jutsu.
• Raizo removed his shirt and lay in the Hibernation Pod while Nene explained the Illusion Heart Pill’s effects.
• Raizo swallowed the pill, fell under Genjutsu, and drifted into a deep sleep.

Yayoi placed a life-filled seed in Raizo’s heart and sealed him in hibernation for a five-year experiment, then spent the ensuing years on his work, family, and the Land of Night’s affairs. At the 24th-year Joint Chunin Ninja Exams, First Hashirama suddenly collapsed in the VIP section, shocking Flying Kite and the others.

• Yayoi implanted an emerald-green seed in Raizo’s heart, healed his wounds, and placed him in a hibernation pod with roughly five years remaining on the countdown.
• Yayoi waited for Raizo to awaken while returning to his routine, raising Doichi and strengthening the Land of Night’s trade and military standing.
• Flying Kite attended the Joint Chunin Ninja Exams as a team-leading Jonin; the Land of Night’s Genin were eliminated in the quarterfinals, and Flying Kite said Doichi had no need to compete.
• A Konoha Genin defeated the Sunagakure Genin in the final and appeared set to win the championship.
• First Hashirama suddenly toppled forward in the VIP section, leaving Flying Kite and the other Jonin shocked.

Komurasaki reported to Yayoi that Hashirama had fainted at the end of Konoha’s Joint Chunin Ninja Exams, though the cause remained unknown. Yayoi suspected an illness and feared the incident heralded upheaval in the ninja world.

• Komurasaki entered the bathhouse and found Yayoi with Aoi, Rinko, Kicho, and Kitten.
• Komurasaki joined Yayoi in the sauna and told him important news had arrived from Konoha.
• Komurasaki reported that Hashirama had fainted in front of the assembled crowd at the end of the Joint Chunin Ninja Exams, then soon woke up.
• Yayoi ruled out overwork and suspected an unknown problem with Hashirama’s health.
• Yayoi recalled that Retto and A had already died, leaving Hashirama as the only surviving First Kage, and sensed a storm approaching.

With Hashirama’s health failing, unrest spread across the Ninja World as other nations tested Konoha’s strength. Tobirama suppressed threats inside the village and sent Hiruzen, Kagami, and Danzo on a mission to deliver a letter to the Land of Night.

• Yayoi suspected that someone was orchestrating turmoil in several small nations and ordered Izayoi’s assault squad to secretly monitor suspicious merchants seeking refuge in the Land of Night.
• Tobirama locked down access to Hashirama as foreign shinobi and diplomatic visitors flooded into the Land of Fire to investigate his condition.
• Kagami told Tobirama that the rebellious faction led by Setsuna had been captured, and Tobirama ordered the culprits punished without implicating uninvolved clansmen.
• Tobirama assigned Hiruzen, Kagami, and Danzo to travel to the Land of Night and deliver a sealed letter, naming Hiruzen captain and keeper of the letter.

Yayoi visited the underground workshop to retrieve Murasame Maru, the Divine Blade he had forged from a Kusanagi Sword and rare materials. He confirmed its power had stabilized, but its blade spirit, Murasame, remained asleep inside it.

• Yayoi met Naraku’s puppet body, told her he had come for something from the workshop, and sent her off when she enthusiastically suggested using the Divine Blade against enemies.
• Yayoi entered the weapon warehouse and went into a sealed chamber containing Murasame Maru.
• Yayoi released the seals and drew Murasame Maru from the Chakra Metal cube.
• Yayoi sensed that Murasame Maru’s power had stabilized and saw the sleeping blade spirit, Murasame, within its blade space.

Yayoi questioned Konoha’s delegation and used Hiruzen’s carefully guarded answers to assess Hashirama’s health. He concluded that a major war was likely within one or two years and ordered the Land of Night to prepare.

• Yayoi received Tobirama’s proposal for cooperation and considered it cautiously, wary of being drawn into Konoha’s plans.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, and Kagami Uchiha met with Yayoi, who questioned Hiruzen about Konoha through seemingly ordinary details.
• Hiruzen answered cautiously and accepted Yayoi’s reply letter, but afterward realized his flawless answers may have revealed that Konoha was hiding something.
• Irori judged that Hashirama’s health had likely deteriorated, though he could still hold on long enough for Konoha to prepare.
• Yayoi predicted a Shinobi World War within one or two years and ordered the Land of Night to prepare for war, including the possibility of fighting on its own territory.

Yayoi sent a Special Assault Department squad to investigate rising tensions in the Land of Fields and the Land of Hot Water alongside Konoha Anbu. After reviewing the squad’s capabilities, Tobirama weighed the Land of Night’s growing strength against Konoha’s fragile politics and worried that wider chaos was approaching.

• Yayoi ordered Hatake Shinjiro and sixteen Special Assault Department members to join a Konoha Anbu squad for a covert investigation of nearby countries.
• Hatake Shinjiro and the Konoha Anbu squad leader divided their coverage, assigning Shinjiro’s unit the Land of Fields and northern Land of Hot Water.
• Hatake Shinjiro led his unit into the Land of Hot Water to investigate, despite having no permission from its government or Yugakure.
• At the end of December, Tobirama received Anbu intelligence judging the Special Assault Department comparable to major villages’ Anbu in organization and combat ability.
• Tobirama concluded that the Land of Night’s reforms could not be copied easily in Konoha and hoped its strength as an ally would help prevent chaos.

Doichi took the Land of Night Military School’s highest-difficulty graduation examination, facing four Jonin and two Upper Samurai. He overwhelmed the examiners with a powerful Byakugan-enhanced Gentle Fist technique, leaving it clear that they were the ones being challenged.

• The Land of Night and Konoha continued their covert investigations as other ninja villages sent out their own personnel, heightening tension across the nations.
• Doichi’s parents and fiancée, Chihiro Hyuga, watched from the stands as he entered his final special examination.
• Four Jonin and two Upper Samurai attacked Doichi, and he split an incoming Great Fireball Technique by cutting through its chakra flow.
• Doichi unleashed Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Divine Air Echoes, blasting the ground and injuring all six examiners.
• The examiners recovered in disarray and realized Doichi had controlled the fight without even leaving his position.

Doichi passed the graduation exam and celebrated with his family, while tensions between the nations continued to rise. When civil war broke out in the Land of Hot Water, Yayoi recognized it as a test of whether Hashirama Senju and Konoha would intervene.

• Doichi passed the graduation exam after outlasting four Jonin and two Upper Samurai, and Yayoi and Kicho praised him.
• Doichi celebrated at a family banquet with his siblings and fiancée Chihiro, while Tadayuki and Hideyuki worried about their gifted younger brother Rikuo.
• Yayoi and Kicho spent the night together after the banquet.
• As distrust and clashes spread among the nations, civil war erupted in the Land of Hot Water in July.
• Yayoi learned that foreign ninja had infiltrated the Land of Hot Water and concluded that the conflict was testing whether Hashirama Senju and Konoha would intervene.

After Hashirama died, Tobirama announced his death, held his funeral, and coordinated Konoha’s response to unrest in the Land of Hot Water. As Konoha and the Land of Night moved to stabilize the region, an unseen assassin slaughtered a team of nine ninjas and left one woman alive for questioning.

• Tobirama ordered Hashirama’s death announced to every nation after unrest in the Land of Hot Water worsened.
• Delegations attended Hashirama’s funeral, and Yayoi asked Tobirama how he would handle the ongoing turmoil.
• Tobirama said Konoha had agreed with the leader of Yugakure to send forces to suppress the rebellion, while asking Yayoi to watch other regions.
• Yayoi encountered Second A, who had come to discuss matters with Tobirama.
• Konoha sent two hundred ninjas to aid Yugakure, while the Land of Night began scouting surrounding regions.
• An unseen assassin killed eight members of a nine-person ninja team and revealed a petite, purple-smoke-wreathed figure before the surviving woman.

Hisana spent the sweltering day relaxing while Oboro left on a mission, and Doichi trained his younger brothers as tensions rose among the surrounding countries. That evening, Hisana taught Yayoi her perfected Yin Seal, revealing its purple mark on her lower abdomen and turning the lesson into a flirtation.

• Hisana told Oboro to go on her mission and stayed home to enjoy chilled treats.
• Chihiro brought Doichi, Tadayuki, and Hideyuki cold juice during their training, and Doichi explained that unrest was spreading through several small countries.
• Doichi explained that his father had placed him in a Jonin squad so he could learn how the nation operated at every level.
• Yayoi considered reports of Hidden Cloud and Kirigakure activity near the Land of Hot Water and decided to wait rather than intervene prematurely.
• Hisana taught Yayoi the Yin Seal, explaining that she had perfected the technique passed down by Senior Mito.
• Hisana showed Yayoi the seal's purple flower-like mark on her lower abdomen, and Yayoi realized her lesson had a flirtatious purpose.

Tobirama sent Hiruzen, Danzo, Kagami, Koharu, Homura, and Torifu to investigate the Land of Frost as conflicts spread across the smaller nations. After finding evidence of a larger, hidden force behind the fighting, Hiruzen called off the investigation and ordered the team to kill any enemies they encountered on their way back.

• Tobirama learned from Yayoi that Kirigakure had secretly helped stir up trouble in the Land of Hot Water and had possibly attacked the Land of Whirlpool.
• Tobirama assigned Hiruzen to lead a six-person team into the Land of Frost, with Danzo as his deputy, to investigate and assess the conflict.
• Hiruzen and the others found a devastated border town littered with civilian and ninja corpses, then entered the Land of Frost to capture and question its ninja.
• The team encountered powerful pursuers wearing Frost Village attire whose skills and fighting styles did not match Frost Village ninja.
• After more than half a month, Hiruzen decided the presence of numerous unidentified, powerful ninja made further investigation too dangerous and ordered the team to return to Konoha.
• Hiruzen ordered his team to leave no enemies alive if they encountered them on the way back.