Chapter Summaries

Deidara proposed to Kurotsuchi at his Tsuchikage inauguration with a handmade clay ring, and she accepted with her family’s blessing. After the Canopy Screen showed the future, Ōnoki fumed while young Kurotsuchi began to feel hopeful about Deidara.

• Deidara knelt beneath his fireworks, presented Kurotsuchi with a handmade clay ring, and asked her to marry him.
• Kitsuchi supported Deidara, and Ōnoki reluctantly gave his blessing after seeing Kurotsuchi’s happiness.
• Kurotsuchi accepted Deidara’s proposal, and the couple kissed as Iwagakure’s villagers cheered.
• The Canopy Screen broadcast ended, and Ōnoki angrily reacted to Deidara’s future proposal and apparent rise to Tsuchikage.
• Young Kurotsuchi blushed as she watched the future, then asked Ōnoki not to be angry with Deidara.

Ōnoki ordered Kitsuchi to form a squad to persuade Deidara to return safely to Iwagakure, fearing the coming war and Akatsuki’s influence. In Konoha, Hiruzen responded to Deidara’s criticism of the Will of Fire by planning a special lesson at the Ninja Academy.

• Ōnoki saw Kurotsuchi defend Deidara and realized she had become fond of him.
• Ōnoki ordered Kitsuchi to assemble a special pursuit squad and bring Deidara home through persuasion, not force.
• Ōnoki told Kitsuchi that Deidara’s abilities could prove vital if Obito Uchiha and Nine Nether started the Fourth Shinobi World War.
• Hiruzen felt anger and humiliation as Deidara’s criticism of the Will of Fire played on the Canopy Screen.
• Hiruzen summoned ANBU and ordered a special Ninja Academy lesson on the meaning and legacy of the Will of Fire.

Shimura Danzō dismissed Deidara’s accusations and imagined becoming Hokage, while the other great villages prepared for the threat of Obito Uchiha and a future war. In the Akatsuki, the members reacted to Deidara’s future as Tsuchikage, and Deidara rejected the idea with horror.

• Shimura Danzō accepted a Root subordinate’s flattery and claimed his ruthless methods embodied the true Will of Fire.
• Fourth Raikage A ordered Kumogakure to raise its security and gather intelligence on Obito Uchiha and Akatsuki.
• Fourth Kazekage Rasa worried about Sunagakure’s weakness and considered cooperating with Orochimaru to secure resources from Konoha.
• Fifth Mizukage Mei Terumi ordered Ao to check for lingering Genjutsu and Chojuro to reinforce Kirigakure’s border patrols.
• Itachi Uchiha and Sasori reacted to the news that Deidara would become Tsuchikage, and Deidara protested that he would rather die than take the job.

Deidara reacted with embarrassment and delight to a vision of his future marriage to Kurotsuchi, while Pain questioned Obito about his future plan to launch the Fourth Shinobi World War. Obito argued that Akatsuki’s hunt for the Tailed Beasts had already made war inevitable, then vanished and left Pain considering his words.

• Deidara panicked at the prospect of becoming Tsuchikage but blushed as he imagined marrying Kurotsuchi.
• Pain dismissed the visions of future roles and confronted Obito about his plan to start the Fourth Shinobi World War.
• Obito argued that collecting the Tailed Beasts had already made Akatsuki enemies of the great nations and that striking first was the only way to control the war.
• Pain warned that Obito’s plan could destroy Akatsuki and the Land of Rain, but Obito insisted there was no turning back.
• Obito vanished through Kamui and Zetsu sank into the ground, leaving Pain and Konan alone in the base.

The Canopy Screen showed Hidden Stone Village ten years in the future as a prosperous, technologically advanced City of Art covered in Deidara’s likeness. The villagers and Ōnoki reacted with shock, while Ōnoki began to recognize the future city’s promise despite its eccentric design.

• The Canopy Screen revealed a futuristic Hidden Stone Village filled with skyscrapers, hovering vehicles, and tributes to Deidara, including a towering statue and an Art Museum.
• The Hidden Stone villagers stared in disbelief, and Kurotsuchi took pride in the future Deidara’s apparent success as children admired the city.
• An elder and conservative villagers objected to Deidara’s influence and worried that the village’s traditions would disappear.
• Ōnoki criticized Deidara for covering the city with his own image, then noticed its prosperity, advanced infrastructure, and comfortable civilian life.
• Ōnoki reflected on the village’s economic hardships and his inability to overcome the limits that had stalled its development.

Ōnoki and Deidara saw a future in which Deidara had transformed the Hidden Stone Village into a thriving City of Art, while Sasori begrudgingly praised the idea and claimed he had inspired it. The Canopy Screen then showed a more mature future Deidara admiring an elaborate suit of armor in his museum.

• Ōnoki recognized that Deidara’s art-themed city could attract visitors, investment, and safer work for the village, and admitted it had given the village a future.
• Deidara celebrated the vision of his art becoming a world-famous attraction, but Sasori called the city shallow before acknowledging that it preserved Deidara’s fleeting art.
• Sasori suggested their discussions of eternal beauty had inspired Deidara, prompting Deidara to insist that his art remained his own and centered on the moment of explosion.
• The Canopy Screen showed the future Deidara, now more composed, examining a detailed red-and-gold humanoid suit of armor in the Art Museum.

Sasori showed Deidara his Mark III armor and revealed that he had digitized his consciousness to achieve a form of immortality. Deidara admired Sasori’s transformation and asked whether his new system could eat and taste food.

• Sasori showed Deidara the Red Secret Technique: Mark III armor, and Deidara praised its design and combat capabilities.
• Deidara noticed Sasori seemed more human and discovered that his body felt warm and soft like real skin.
• Sasori explained that he and Orochimaru had created a bionic human carrier system and that he had uploaded his consciousness and memories to a network.
• Sasori demonstrated that he could control the Mark III armor as another terminal while his young body stood motionless.
• Deidara excitedly praised Sasori’s digital existence and asked whether the system could eat or taste food.

Deidara took Sasori out to dinner in Iwagakure, where Sasori warned him that Hidan had rebuilt the Jashinist Cult around dangerous new followers, including Doma. Kurotsuchi discovered Deidara had abandoned his duties and learned that a Kumogakure delegation led by Samui would arrive in three days, leaving plans to discuss the visit with him that night.

• Deidara brought Sasori from the museum to a rock-grill restaurant, saying he had left his Tsuchikage duties to Kurotsuchi.
• Kurotsuchi learned Deidara had taken the afternoon off and began handling his schedule and paperwork.
• Kurotsuchi heard that Samui would lead a Kumogakure delegation to Iwagakure in three days and decided to discuss the visit with Deidara that night.
• Over dinner, Deidara and Sasori reminisced about the Akatsuki Organization and the years since the Fourth Shinobi World War.
• Sasori told Deidara that Hidan had rebuilt the Jashinist Cult and warned him about a dangerous member named Doma.
• Deidara said he would keep an eye on the cult and defend Iwagakure if its members caused trouble.

Sasori told Deidara that Kakuzu had tried to assassinate Naruto Uzumaki for money, but Naruto spared and funded him. Kakuzu used the money to open an assassination school in Takigakure, and Deidara then asked Sasori about the Virtual Phantom Card Battle System.

• Sasori told Deidara that Kakuzu had accepted a commission from Kumogakure to assassinate Naruto Uzumaki.
• Deidara laughed at Kakuzu's audacity and recalled his claims of having fought Hashirama Senju.
• Sasori explained that Naruto defeated Kakuzu, spared him, and gave him money to start a new life.
• Sasori said Kakuzu returned to Takigakure and opened Assassination Classroom to teach assassination and related skills.
• Deidara toasted Kakuzu's unusual career and asked Sasori how the Virtual Phantom Card Battle System was progressing.

Sasori showed Deidara the Duel Disk prototype for their card game, and Deidara named the game Yu-Gi-Oh. Sasori left to return to Sunagakure because of his promise to protect it, while Deidara stayed behind and awaited the game's testing.

• Sasori demonstrated the Duel Disk prototype, which used Chakra circuits to project lifelike monsters and simulate touch and airflow.
• Deidara explained that he wanted the game to fulfill his childhood dream of replacing war with friendly competition, then named it Yu-Gi-Oh.
• Sasori told Deidara that he planned to return to Sunagakure to honor his promise to protect it, despite the village's lack of understanding.
• Deidara accepted Sasori's decision and asked him to keep in touch, while Sasori said limited testing for Yu-Gi-Oh would begin around the next year.
• Sasori left the restaurant, and Deidara watched him disappear into the crowd before raising a silent toast.

Pain confronted the apparent failure of his plan and reassured Konan that the seeds of pain might still lead to peace, while Sasori saw his future as a Digital Life and reconsidered the bonds he had left behind. Sasori concluded that his future self had chosen his promise to Chiyo and Sunagakure as an anchor against losing himself.

• Pain watched Deidara announce his death and the Akatsuki's disbandment, and trembled at the apparent failure of his plan.
• Konan crushed the Paper Flower in her hands and grieved over the future loss of the Akatsuki and its members.
• Pain told Konan that the seeds of pain could still grow into peace, and she resumed folding the flower.
• Sasori saw that his future self would become a Digital Life and felt exhilarated by the possibility of eternal existence.
• Sasori saw his future self promise Chiyo to protect Sunagakure and recalled his history with his grandmother and village.
• Sasori reasoned that his future self had chosen that promise as an anchor to preserve his identity as a Digital Life.

Sasori realized his ties to Sunagakure and his promise to Chiyo preserved his identity, while Chiyo tried to bring him home and was refused by Rasa. Hidan celebrated the future revival of the Jashinist Cult and mocked Kakuzu.

• Sasori concluded that his humanity and connections to Sunagakure kept him from becoming a nameless Data Ghost.
• Chiyo was moved by Sasori's future promise to protect Sunagakure and went to Rasa to ask him to cancel Sasori's bounty notice.
• Rasa refused, citing Sasori's assassination of the Third Kazekage and forbidding him from returning to Sunagakure.
• Chiyo left Rasa's office in despair after he rejected her hope of bringing Sasori home.
• Hidan celebrated hearing that his future self rebuilt the Jashinist Cult, then laughed at Kakuzu for failing to assassinate Naruto Uzumaki.

Hidan mocked Kakuzu for becoming a teacher after failing to assassinate Naruto, while Kakuzu insisted he could have won a fair fight. In Konoha, young Naruto argued with Sasuke over whether the future Seventh Hokage in the Canopy Screen was him, as Hiruzen watched with approval.

• Hidan ridiculed Kakuzu for failing to kill Naruto, accepting his money, and opening a school in Takigakure.
• Kakuzu rebuked Hidan and claimed he could have killed Naruto in a fair one-on-one fight.
• Hidan and Kakuzu threatened to fight over their argument about Kakuzu's failure and Hidan's faith in Lord Jashin.
• Naruto excitedly declared that the future Seventh Hokage was him, but Sasuke said it might be someone else with the same name.
• Naruto and Sasuke prepared to fight until Sakura stepped between them and tried to calm them down.
• Hiruzen watched the children through his Crystal Ball and hoped Minato would be pleased that Naruto was destined to become Hokage.

Obito considered the future Akatsuki's dissolution unimportant and became interested in the Nine Nether as a possible ally. In the Canopy Screen, Deidara returned to Iwagakure, where Kumogakure's diplomatic approach sparked his anger over its growing power and suspected war ambitions.

• Obito dismissed the future breakup of the Akatsuki as insignificant and considered exploiting the Nine Nether organization.
• Deidara returned to the Tsuchikage's Office, where Kurotsuchi confronted him for neglecting his duties and Ōnoki watched.
• Deidara soothed Kurotsuchi with a glowing clay rose, then traded barbs with Ōnoki.
• Kurotsuchi revealed that a Kumogakure delegation led by Samui would arrive in three days to discuss diplomacy.
• Deidara accused Kumogakure of expanding its military and annexing neighboring countries, and blamed Ōnoki's wartime decision to let the Fourth Raikage command the Allied Shinobi Forces for Iwagakure's weakened position.

Ōnoki and Deidara clashed over whether Iwagakure’s prosperity had weakened its defenses against Kumogakure. Kurotsuchi revealed that Ōnoki had secretly organized an experiment with older ninja, and Deidara resolved to investigate after dealing with the threat from Kumogakure.

• Ōnoki accused Deidara of neglecting Iwagakure’s military strength and warned that Kumogakure could destroy the village.
• Deidara defended the city’s prosperity and vowed to destroy Kumogakure if it attacked Iwagakure.
• Kurotsuchi stopped the argument and sent Akatsuchi to escort Ōnoki out of the office.
• Kurotsuchi told Deidara that Ōnoki had secretly contacted older ninja to conduct an experiment.
• Deidara set aside his anger for the moment and told Kurotsuchi he would question Ōnoki after the Kumogakure crisis was handled.

Samui arrived in Iwagakure as the Fifth Raikage’s special envoy, accompanied by an imposing force of advanced machines and elite shinobi. She and Kurotsuchi exchanged cordial memories before Samui turned the conversation toward their upcoming talks.

• Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi waited at Iwagakure’s gate as Kumogakure’s heavily armed delegation approached with giant puppets, hovercars, and nearly a hundred shinobi.
• Samui stepped out of the central hovercar and introduced herself as the Fifth Raikage’s special envoy, sent to meet the Tsuchikage and discuss matters of mutual concern.
• Kurotsuchi greeted Samui warmly and recalled their cooperation during the Fourth Shinobi World War.
• Samui praised Iwagakure’s contribution to the war, and the two exchanged lighthearted remarks about Deidara and Darui.
• Samui praised Iwagakure’s vitality and expressed confidence that their upcoming talks would produce positive results.

Kurotsuchi welcomed Samui to Iwagakure and showed her the village’s artistic attractions, easing the tension between them before their negotiations. The chapter ended with Samui resting at the State Guesthouse while Kurotsuchi prepared for the difficult talks ahead.

• Kurotsuchi arranged accommodations for the Kumogakure delegation and invited Samui to tour Iwagakure before discussing official business.
• Kurotsuchi showed Samui the Art Museum Deidara Interactive Experience Zone, innovative restaurants, and the neon-lit Shopping Street.
• At the Starlit Hot Spring, Samui and Kurotsuchi discussed their children and shared stories about balancing family life with demanding work.
• Samui thanked Kurotsuchi and entered the State Guesthouse, while Kurotsuchi hoped Kumogakure’s demands would not be excessive and Deidara would take the negotiations seriously.

Samui tried to persuade Deidara to join a four-nation alliance against Konoha, using Kumogakure’s advanced weapons and civilian army to demonstrate its strength. She then invoked Pain’s Will of Akatsuki, claiming the Fifth Raikage had inherited it, while Deidara remained unconvinced.

• Samui proposed an alliance between Kumogakure, Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure to counter Konoha’s power.
• Deidara challenged Samui, warning that Kumogakure might dominate its allies after defeating Konoha.
• Samui showed Deidara and Kurotsuchi footage of Kumogakure’s devastating Chakra Cannons and its vast army armed with Scientific Ninja Tools.
• Deidara realized Kumogakure had armed ordinary civilians on a massive scale, greatly expanding its potential military force.
• Samui asked Deidara about the Will of Akatsuki, and Deidara dismissed the idea as unfamiliar nonsense.
• Samui explained Pain’s vision of using pain to guide the world toward peace and claimed the Fifth Raikage had inherited that will.

Deidara rejected Samui’s proposal for Kumogakure’s Four-Nation Alliance and declared Iwagakure would remain Konoha’s ally. Kurotsuchi arranged a possible arms-trade discussion to keep relations open, while Deidara suspected Kumogakure was hiding something.

• Samui argued that Kumogakure’s plan to create unity through war was the surest path to lasting peace, but Deidara accused the village of fearing Naruto and trying to share the risks of war.
• Deidara refused to join the Four-Nation Alliance and declared that Iwagakure would remain Konoha’s ally.
• After Samui left the Tsuchikage’s Office, Kurotsuchi apologized and proposed arms trade and technical exchanges between Iwagakure and Kumogakure.
• Samui agreed to convey Iwagakure’s interest to Darui and departed, warning Kurotsuchi that she hoped they would not become enemies.
• Kurotsuchi told Deidara that she had steadied relations for the moment, and Deidara said he suspected something was happening behind Kumogakure.

Deidara and Kurotsuchi suspected Nine Nether was secretly supporting Kumogakure, while Ōnoki resolved to prepare a hidden defense for Iwagakure. In Kumogakure, A praised the village’s future military strength, and Darui reacted awkwardly to learning he would become Raikage and marry Samui.

• Deidara and Kurotsuchi speculated that Nine Nether might be behind Kumogakure’s confidence and that Ōnoki’s secret experiments could be connected.
• Ōnoki watched Deidara reject Kumogakure’s alliance offer and declare Iwagakure’s alliance with Konoha, while Kurotsuchi worked to protect the village’s interests.
• Ōnoki decided to prepare a powerful hidden defense for Iwagakure as its final line of protection.
• A praised Kumogakure’s future Chakra Cannons, army, and plans to arm civilians with scientific ninja tools.
• Darui learned he would become the Fifth Raikage and Samui’s husband, then glanced at her with growing excitement.