Recaps

After Karin and Ye Tong dispersed the whale pod, Ao filed their successful mission report while Hidden Mist’s ANBU remained busy with rising workloads. Sōji reconsidered Cursed Spirit Manipulation as a faster way to gain Cursed Energy, but he still lacked the funds and access to obtain powerful cursed spirits.

• Karin used the Three-Tails’ chakra to drive the surviving whales and their calf toward the open sea after the male leader died.
• Ye Tong declared the mission complete and caught Karin when she slipped while returning to the warship.
• Ao archived the report confirming the whale herd had been dispersed, with no casualties and the male leader dead.
• Sōji studied the Kaguya clan stone tablet but chose not to pursue the Hyuga bloodline or alter his reliance on the Jujutsu System.
• Sōji realized that consuming cursed spirits with Cursed Spirit Manipulation could provide purer Cursed Energy than relying on deaths, though he lacked the means to buy them.

Sōji reviewed the costly Cursed Spirits available through the System Shop and planned to build his strength by acquiring Grade 1 spirits before seeking Special Grade clearance. After opening the ANBU training ground to all members, he considered the rogue ninja on Ao’s list and the money and forces he would need to bring his plans together.

• Sōji examined the Cursed Spirit exchange list, noted that Special Grade spirits were beyond his current clearance, and planned to buy Grade 1 spirits with Yamada Trading Company’s profits.
• Sōji left the basement, greeted Ugly Treasure, and headed to the training ground, where he announced that all ANBU members could train there and explained the Sealing Pillars’ six Barrier levels.
• Bear Yaksha raised the Barrier to level three and sparred with Wolf Demon while Sōji watched the Barrier absorb their chakra shockwaves.
• Karin told Sōji that Ao had declared her Binding Formula ready for real combat and assigned her a thick Sealing Technique scroll to study within a month.
• Sōji returned to his room and reviewed Ao’s list of rogue ninja: Hozuki Mangetsu, Zabuza Momochi, and Utakata, the Six-Tails Jinchuriki.
• Sōji considered the one-and-a-half-billion-ryō loan, Cursed Spirits, rogue ninja, and Shadow Guard as resources he needed to bring together.

Sōji, Karin, and Ye Tong arrived in the Land of Frost to investigate the Hōzuki brothers’ whereabouts and traveled from East Harbor toward Desert City. Along the way, their driver described how Hidden Cloud had destroyed a city and killed his son during the Third Shinobi World War.

• Sōji, Karin, and Ye Tong landed at East Harbor and observed the busy port shared by merchants and shinobi from several nations.
• Sōji said the team would head to Desert City based on intelligence about the Hōzuki brothers.
• The three hired a Sand Camel cart and began crossing the Gobi Desert with an elderly local driver.
• Karin spotted the ruins of a city that the driver said Hidden Cloud had destroyed with Lightning Release during the Third Shinobi World War.
• The driver revealed that his seventeen-year-old son had died in the attack, and Karin silently turned to Ao’s Sealing Technique notes.

Sōji and his team arrived in Desert City and settled in while he prepared to investigate the Hōzuki Brothers the next day. Reviewing his finances and the Grade 1 Cursed Spirit exchange list, he decided to spend nearly all his savings on three spirits and flew out into the night.

• Sōji, Karin, and Ye Tong entered Desert City, where Sōji scanned the last known location of the Hōzuki Brothers and found no abnormal chakra.
• The three checked into an inn and ate dinner before Sōji planned to begin the investigation at dawn.
• Sōji reviewed Yamada Trading Company's accounts and calculated that his private balance had reached nearly one hundred ninety-two million ryō.
• Sōji compared Rainbow Dragon, Black Shadow, and Desolate Skeleton, deciding that all three would cost one hundred eighty-nine million ryō.
• Sōji opened the window and flew away, preparing to exchange for the three Grade 1 Cursed Spirits.

Sōji tested the Rainbow Dragon he had exchanged for eighty-seven million ryō, defeated it in battle, and captured it with Cursed Spirit Manipulation. After swallowing its Cursed Spirit Orb, he gained 8,700 points of Cursed Energy.

• Sōji summoned the Rainbow Dragon in an isolated wasteland and challenged it to test its strength.
• Sōji deflected the Rainbow Dragon’s tail strike with an ice mirror, climbed onto its back, and endured its violent attempts to throw him off.
• Sōji blocked the Rainbow Dragon’s dragon breath with a Cursed Energy barrier and observed that the attack required time to recharge.
• The Rainbow Dragon admitted defeat, and Sōji captured it with Cursed Spirit Manipulation after its Cursed Energy had been depleted.
• Sōji swallowed the Rainbow Dragon’s Cursed Spirit Orb and gained 8,700 points of Cursed Energy.

Sōji summoned and subdued Desolate Skeleton, then exchanged for Black Shadow and discovered that physical attacks passed through it. The chapter left him preparing to investigate Black Shadow’s unusual nature.

• Sōji summoned Desolate Skeleton and tested its strength by stopping its punch and freezing its shoulder and elbow joints.
• Sōji threatened Desolate Skeleton with All-Killing Ash Bones, causing it to submit and kneel.
• Sōji absorbed Desolate Skeleton as a cursed spirit orb, increasing his Cursed Energy by three thousand seven hundred points.
• Sōji exchanged for Black Shadow and detected it peeling away from the shadow beneath his feet.
• Sōji hit Black Shadow with Wind Cutter, but the blade passed through it without effect.

Sōji subdued the Black Shadow in the desert and absorbed it, bringing his Cursed Energy close to the Special Grade threshold. Back in Desert City, he searched for traces of the Hōzuki Brothers and decided to begin a careful search the next day.

• Sōji discovered that the Black Shadow could become tangible only while attacking and struck its core when it lunged at him.
• Sōji used Ice Formation to reflect moonlight across the sand, trapping the Black Shadow in its last patch of darkness before absorbing it.
• Sōji assessed Rainbow Dragon, Desolate Skeleton, and Black Shadow as specialized combat assets and returned to Desert City.
• Sōji searched the city for the Hōzuki Brothers’ lingering chakra and considered discussing their clan’s water bodies with them.
• Sōji told Ugly Treasure that the intelligence was likely accurate and that they would begin searching carefully the next day.

Sōji and his companions visited Hidden Frost’s outpost in Desert City to learn about the Hōzuki Brothers. They discovered that Otogakure had pursued the brothers after a clash near an oasis, and the Frost captain believed the brothers were still hiding in the Land of Hot Water.

• Sōji presented Mei Terumi’s travel document, and the Hidden Frost outpost captain received the Hidden Mist party.
• The captain said Hidden Frost had spotted Hozuki Mangetsu and Hozuki Suigetsu at an oasis market about ten days earlier, where they used Hydrification Technique.
• The captain reported that seven or eight Otogakure ninjas, including at least two Jonin, fought the brothers, but Mangetsu held them off and both brothers escaped unharmed.
• The Frost ninja said the brothers headed toward the Land of Hot Water, where Otogakure’s pursuit could continue without risking a large operation in the Land of Fire.
• The captain speculated that Orochimaru’s village wanted to capture the brothers to study the Hōzuki Clan’s Hydrification Technique.

Sōji learned where the injured Hōzuki brothers had fled and pursued them with Karin and Ye Tong. They reached the battlefield just as the Sound Ninja were closing in, and the chapter ended with the fight coming into view.

• A Hidden Frost elder told Sōji that the Hōzuki brothers had passed an abandoned hot spring station and were likely heading south toward the Land of Hot Water.
• The elder asked Sōji to drive the Sound Ninja west if he encountered them, and Sōji left the outpost with Karin and Ye Tong.
• Karin detected Hōzuki chakra ahead and sensed that the injured older brother and the terrified younger brother were being flanked by more than twenty Sound Ninja.
• Sōji, Karin, and Ye Tong hurried across the plateau toward the battle, reaching a ridge from which the battlefield unfolded before them.

Hozuki Mangetsu and Hozuki Suigetsu were surrounded by Otogakure forces until Yamada Soji and his companions arrived to rescue them. Soji identified himself as Hidden Mist ANBU’s commander-in-chief and said the Blood Mist Policy had ended and he had come to take the brothers home, leaving Mangetsu remembering the massacre that drove them away.

• Hozuki Mangetsu fought off the encircling Sound Ninja while carrying his younger brother, Hozuki Suigetsu, despite an injury and dwindling chakra.
• Rainbow Dragon descended onto the battlefield and killed a Sound Ninja who was about to strike the brothers.
• Ye Tong attacked the Sound Ninja captain as Rainbow Dragon, Ye Tong, and Karin engaged the encircling forces.
• Yamada Soji approached the Hozuki Brothers, identified himself as Hidden Mist ANBU’s commander-in-chief, and offered to take them home.
• Hozuki Mangetsu questioned whether Soji had come to kill them, then recalled hiding with Suigetsu during the Blood Mist Night.

Sōji persuaded Mangetsu to return to Hidden Mist with Suigetsu and offered him a place in the Zero Squad, while Sound Ninja attacked the battlefield. The chapter ended as a female Sound Ninja captain formed a Crystal Spear and targeted Sōji from behind.

• Sōji told Mangetsu that Mei Terumi had restored the Hozuki Clan registry and urged him to return with Suigetsu, while Hidden Mist forces fought off the Sound Ninja.
• Mangetsu agreed to return if Hidden Mist could guarantee their safety, and Sōji offered him a position in the Mizukage's Zero Squad.
• A Sound Ninja captain activated Curse Mark: Stage One and charged Rainbow Dragon with a sound-producing battle axe.
• The female Sound Ninja captain circled behind Rainbow Dragon, used Crystal Release to form a spear, and aimed it at Sōji.

Sōji’s group defeated the Sound Ninja and experimental subjects, while Guren escaped after Karin stopped her ambush. Mangetsu agreed to return to the village with Suigetsu while he considered Sōji’s offer to become a Shadow Guard, and the group departed on the Rainbow Dragon.

• Karin sensed and sealed Guren’s Crystal Spear before it could strike Sōji, then destroyed it.
• Ye Tong used Scorch Release to kill the burly fighter after the Rainbow Dragon cut off its breath attack.
• Guren recognized that she was outmatched, mounted a crystal dragon, and fled as Sōji predicted.
• Sōji treated Mangetsu’s poisoning and gave Suigetsu candy while explaining that the remaining enemies would be defeated without his intervention.
• Mangetsu agreed to return to the village with Suigetsu while taking time to decide whether to accept the Shadow Guard position; Sōji offered them lodging and support.
• Sōji’s group boarded the Rainbow Dragon and flew away after Ye Tong complained that the battle had not been satisfying enough.

Sōji used the Yamada Trading Company's booming profits to expand his cursed spirit collection, while the restored Hōzuki Brothers settled into Kirigakure and Suigetsu began studying alongside Karin. The chapter ended with Sōji spending 90 million ryo to exchange for the Grade 1 vengeful cursed spirit Kuchisake-Onna and its Trading Domain.

• Mei Terumi restored the Hōzuki Clan's registry and grounds, assigned Mangetsu to the Shadow Guard, and enrolled Suigetsu in the Academy.
• Mangetsu moved into the Kaguya Clan Grounds and demonstrated his skill with Shibuki and Kabutowari at the training ground.
• Genji placed Suigetsu in Karin's class, and Karin challenged him to train harder as he began following her to the training ground.
• Genji's reformed Academy curriculum replaced lethal competition with cooperative training and graded assessments, where Karin excelled and Suigetsu showed talent in the Three Body Technique.
• The Yamada Trading Company secured permits at three coastal ports and earned 130 million ryo in monthly net profit, allowing Sōji to allocate funds to the cursed spirit exchange budget.
• Sōji went to an uninhabited reef and spent 90 million ryo to exchange for Kuchisake-Onna, a Grade 1 vengeful cursed spirit with a Trading Domain.

Sōji summoned and absorbed Kuchisake-Onna, then exchanged for Worm Swarm and absorbed it as well. His Cursed Energy reached ninety-eight thousand, leaving him near the hundred-thousand threshold as he considered visiting Tsunade.

• Kuchisake-Onna appeared on the beach and trapped Sōji in her Simple Domain, where she asked whether she was beautiful.
• Sōji answered that Kuchisake-Onna was beautiful, then destroyed her domain with the Inverted Spear of Heaven and absorbed her as a Cursed Spirit Orb.
• Sōji exchanged for Worm Swarm, whose mass of burrowing worms erupted onto the beach, and subdued them with Ice Formation.
• Sōji absorbed Worm Swarm, endured its terrible taste, and saw his Cursed Energy rise to ninety-eight thousand points.
• Sōji considered visiting Tsunade, tucked the First Hokage Necklace under his clothes, and headed toward Kirigakure.

Mei Terumi told Sōji that a rebellion had broken out in the Land of Crafts, with two rogue former Seven Ninja Swordsmen leading the rebel forces. Sōji prepared an ANBU expedition, which sailed from Kirigakure for the Land of Crafts.

• Mei Terumi returned from the Daimyo Palace and received urgent intelligence about a rebellion in the Land of Crafts.
• Mei Terumi told Sōji that a local noble had seized much of the northern frontier and nearby islands, and that Kushimaru Kuriarare and Raiga Kurosuki were training and commanding the rebel forces.
• Sōji planned to ready Zero Squad and First Squad within three days, gather terrain and waterway intelligence, and bring Karin and Suigetsu as observers.
• Three days later, Sōji met the assembled squads at Hidden Mist Port, where Ao handed Wolf Demon updated intelligence for the journey.
• Sōji, Zero Squad, First Squad, Karin, Suigetsu, and Hozuki Mangetsu sailed aboard two warships toward the Land of Crafts.

Ye Tong, Karin, and the Hozuki brothers began reconnaissance of the rebel-controlled Northern Frontier while Sōji and Wolf Demon met the daimyo of the Land of Crafts. The daimyo explained that his nephew Iron Ingot had built a powerful rebellion backed by defected ninja, local craftsmen, and two ancestral weapons still being restored.

• The Hidden Mist ANBU split up across Eastern Main Island to investigate the rebels, while Ye Tong's squad headed toward the Northern Frontier.
• Sōji and Wolf Demon noticed signs of support for the rebels among the craftsmen as they walked to the Daimyo Palace.
• The daimyo identified the rebel leader as his nephew Iron Ingot and described his ambition to make the Land of Crafts independent.
• The daimyo reported that Iron Ingot commanded about twenty-eight rogue ninja, roughly eighty mercenaries, and more than a thousand local samurai and militia.
• The daimyo warned that Iron Ingot was restoring an enormous chakra artillery platform and an armored warship, while his promises of independent mining had won strong support from northern villages.

Sōji secured the Land of Crafts daimyo’s backing for a Hidden Mist operation to suppress the Northern Frontier rebellion while capturing Iron Ingot alive. He assigned teams to eliminate the rogue ninjas and rebels that night, ending with a vow to finish the operation before dawn.

• The old craftsman daimyo asked Sōji to capture his nephew Iron Ingot alive and spare as many rebels as possible, while promising to restrain the Land of Crafts’ forces.
• Sōji agreed to the mission and left the Daimyo Palace with Wolf Demon, explaining that killing Iron Ingot would deepen the divide between the Northern Frontier and the Daimyo Palace.
• Sōji reviewed ANBU intelligence and assigned himself to capture Iron Ingot at the western mine while First Squad attacked the eastern shipyard and outer islands.
• Sōji assigned Hozuki Mangetsu and Hozuki Suigetsu to deal with Kushimaru Kuriarare, and Ye Tong and Karin to deal with Raiga Kurosuki.
• Sōji ordered the teams to kill the rogue and wandering ninjas, recover the Hidden Mist blades, and finish the operation that night.

Wolf Demon’s First Squad captured a shipyard in the Land of Crafts, while Hozuki Mangetsu fought Kushimaru Kuriarare at a watchtower and appeared to kill him. The raids continued across the Northern Frontier, and Suigetsu watched his brother in admiration as the fight ended in bloodshed.

• Wolf Demon led First Squad through the mist into the shipyard, where they killed all seven wandering ninjas and three rogue ninjas while protecting the craftsmen and laborers.
• Kushimaru Kuriarare sensed an attack and escaped Mangetsu’s opening strike in the western watchtower.
• Mangetsu used the Hydrification Technique to avoid Nuibari, then broke through Kushimaru’s chakra-thread trap with Kabutowari.
• Mangetsu attacked with Kabutowari and Exploding Blade Shibuki, driving Kushimaru into the rubble.
• Mangetsu detonated Shibuki’s explosive tags, and the blast left blood, severed limbs, and Nuibari amid the ruins.
• Suigetsu watched Mangetsu sheath his sword with admiration.

Sōji’s squad captured Iron Ingot and crushed the Land of Crafts rebellion, while Raiga died protecting Ranmaru during the assault on Raiga Outpost. Kirigakure publicized the mission to demonstrate its new ANBU Zero Squad, prompting Konoha’s leaders to debate the threat and the Nine-Tails before Hiruzen silenced Koharu.

• Karin and Ye Tong overwhelmed Raiga at Raiga Outpost, and Raiga fell from the cliff after throwing Ranmaru to safety.
• Karin caught Ranmaru with a steel wire and rescued him from the cliffside.
• Sōji sealed and captured Iron Ingot in the old mines, then delivered him alive to the Daimyo Palace.
• Sōji reunited with First Squad and ordered them back to the village after the mission’s weapons and ships were handed over.
• Kirigakure sent battle reports to the major villages, and Konoha’s leaders recognized the operation as a display of Zero Squad’s strength.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura urged Hiruzen Sarutobi to strengthen Konoha’s response to jinchūriki, and Hiruzen shouted at Koharu when she proposed handing Naruto to Danzo.

The great villages assessed the Hidden Mist ANBU after its operation in the Land of Crafts, focusing on Yamada Soji and Zero Squad’s growing strength. Konoha, Sunagakure, and Kumogakure ordered closer intelligence reviews, while Ōnoki dismissed the threat despite Kitsuchi’s warning.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi dismissed Koharu and Homura, then ordered intelligence officers to classify Yamada Soji and Zero Squad as major concerns.
• Rasa and Chiyo discussed Ye Tong’s defection and the Hidden Mist’s strength, while Rasa ordered a reassessment and told Sunagakure to preserve the One-Tail’s deterrence.
• The Fourth Raikage reacted angrily to the deaths of two Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and Samui and Darui urged Kumogakure to revise its assessment of Zero Squad.
• The Fourth Raikage ordered all intelligence on Zero Squad sent directly to him and regretted not forcing Yamada Soji to join Kumogakure.
• Ōnoki mocked the Hidden Mist’s operation, but Kitsuchi warned that its ANBU had surpassed Iwagakure in some respects; Ōnoki refused to acknowledge the warning.

Sōji returned to Kirigakure after securing an alliance with the Land of Crafts and used the new military funds to strengthen himself. After absorbing a Grade 1 cursed spirit, he crossed the threshold to become a Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer.

• Ao told Sōji that the Land of Crafts alliance had been signed, the Land of Water had gained mining rights, and the daimyo had approved ten billion in additional military funds.
• Sōji transferred much of the new budget into his personal account and recorded it as special equipment procurement.
• Sōji summoned the Grade 1 Cursed Spirit Earthquake from the sea and compressed it into a cursed spirit orb with Cursed Spirit Manipulation.
• Sōji swallowed Earthquake and surpassed the hundred-thousand cursed energy threshold, causing his cursed energy to transform.
• Sōji confirmed that he had become a Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer.

After reaching Special Grade, Sōji unlocked new System Shop options and used his two reward draws to obtain the Ten Shadows Technique and the Ratio Technique. He ended the chapter newly equipped with both techniques and confident that the shinobi world's balance was shifting in his favor.

• Sōji became a Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer and unlocked Special Grade shop listings, including a ten-billion-ryō pass to the jujutsu world.
• Sōji set the world-travel pass aside and prepared for his two draws in a quiet room at the Kaguya Clan Grounds.
• Sōji's first draw gave him the Ten Shadows Technique, with ten shikigami—including Mahoraga—within his shadow.
• Sōji's second draw gave him the Ratio Technique, engraved on his right hand and synchronized with his cursed energy pathways.
• Sōji inspected his new techniques and laughed, believing they would help him shift the shinobi world's balance in his favor.

As Konoha Year 62 approached, Sōji’s ANBU team gathered at their headquarters in Kirigakure to celebrate the New Year with food and decorations. Sōji arrived with his newly tamed Rabbit Escape shikigami, while Ao reported that several members were away and that he had handled Sōji’s year-end paperwork.

• Karin decorated the ANBU headquarters with lanterns and used a sealing formula to keep them steady in the sea wind.
• Bear Yaksha prepared hot pot, Suigetsu brought fried shrimp, and Ye Tong arrived with grilled pork rolls as the team prepared to eat.
• Sōji descended with his Divine Dogs, Rabbit Escape rabbits, and dark-purple bird shikigami, and said he had tamed Rabbit Escape through playing hide-and-seek.
• Sōji learned that Wolf Demon and Black Face were on patrol, White Hannya was accompanying Mei Terumi, and Achun would arrive the next morning.
• Ao told Sōji he had approved 172 year-end summary documents on his behalf and complained about the workload.

Sōji celebrated New Year with the Shadow Guard, receiving thoughtful gifts from Karin, Suigetsu, Mangetsu, and Ye Tong. Mei Terumi arrived with daifuku and joined the gathering, while her attention toward Sōji hinted at her personal interest in him.

• Sōji shared a New Year's meal with the Shadow Guard as they ate together in the ANBU Building.
• Karin gave Sōji a hand-embroidered blindfold that filtered low-level chakra fluctuations, and he put it on and praised her work.
• Suigetsu gave Sōji a treasured orange candy, while Mangetsu gave him a Hozuki Clan Hydrification Crystal.
• Ye Tong presented Sōji with liquor she had brewed using her Scorch Release, and Sōji suggested they open it for the holiday.
• Mei Terumi arrived with White Hannya and brought a box of red bean daifuku to share with Sōji and the others.

After celebrating the New Year with his companions, Sōji joined Kirigakure’s leaders to plan alliances with nearby island nations. The meeting ended with a strategy to pressure the Land of Claws and the Land of Crabs into signing treaties, while preparing a more forceful approach toward the Land of Sharks.

• Mei Terumi told the New Year gathering that the daimyo had repaid Yamada Trading Company's loan and promised to increase Kirigakure's military budget.
• On Konoha's sixty-second year's fourth day, Mei Terumi, Genji, Ao, and Sōji met to discuss formal affiliated-state treaties with the Land of Claws, the Land of Crabs, and the Land of Sharks.
• Ao recommended negotiating with the three nations separately, beginning with the Land of Claws, and Sōji agreed to offer the first nation the best terms.
• Sōji proposed using Kirigakure's control over trade and port access to intimidate the nations, while promising protection of their surrounding seas in exchange for treaties.
• Sōji assigned Wolf Demon and Bear Yaksha to display their strength in the Land of Claws and the Land of Crabs, and said Zero Squad could eliminate the Land of Sharks' small ninja village if necessary.
• Ao agreed to draft the Land of Claws treaty, and Sōji said he would go with Wolf Demon and the others.