Chapter Summaries

Hashirama and Tobirama prepared to leave the living world by entering a sealed slumber, while they advised Eiji about protecting Konoha and its people. Eiji hid their coffins beneath the Senju Ancestral Home, leaving the brothers' future return possible if the Village faced a crisis.

• Hashirama and Tobirama said they would not return to the Pure Land, and Tobirama warned Eiji about the white creature, the Uchiha, the Village's powerful clans, and the risks of the Nine-Tails.
• Tobirama privately told Eiji he could entrust Tsunade to his care if Eiji gained Kushina's consent, embarrassing Tsunade.
• Hashirama and Tobirama began the sealing ritual, closing their eyes as their souls remained in their bodies to sleep without aging or decaying.
• Mito and Kushina wrapped Hashirama and Tobirama in sealing cloth, placed them in coffins, and reinforced the seals with talismans.
• Eiji used Azure to move the coffins into the basement of the Senju Ancestral Home and concealed them beneath clutter.

Eiji and Tsunade reached the Slug Sage in Shikkotsu Forest so Eiji could learn its Sage Mode. The Slug Sage explained the dangerous training method and warned that losing the balance of energies would turn him into a slug and assimilate him into her body.

• Tsunade led Eiji through Shikkotsu Forest, where corrosive liquid dissolved a beetle before it could reach him.
• Tsunade explained that she had ended up in Shikkotsu Forest after a fight with Jiraiya and that Kushina had refused to come because she hated slugs.
• As they traveled, Tsunade privately worried about her growing feelings for Eiji and wondered whether he understood what Second Grandpa had told him.
• Tsunade called for the Slug Sage, who emerged from the acid pond and sensed the power in Eiji's eyes.
• The Slug Sage instructed Eiji to coat himself in acid and balance Natural Energy, Mental Energy, and Physical Energy equally, warning that failure could turn him into a slug and make him part of her body.

Eiji mastered Sage Mode and expanded his long-distance movement as he and Kushina grew to twelve and enjoyed a peaceful life in Konoha. When Kushina worried that Mito’s failing health meant she would soon become the Nine-Tails’ Jinchūriki and be confined by the sealing barrier, Eiji considered whether she might instead coexist peacefully with the Nine-Tails.

• Eiji used the acid pool and Reverse Cursed Technique to absorb natural energy, entered Sage Mode, and obtained the secret map to Shikkotsu Forest.
• Eiji’s Sage Mode training advanced until he could enter the state without acid, improving his physical abilities and perception.
• By the time Eiji and Kushina were twelve, Konoha had widely adopted electricity and new household technologies, and Eiji and Kushina graduated from the Ninja Academy.
• Kushina bought storybooks and walked with Eiji, telling him she wanted to enjoy more time with him outside the barrier before she became the Nine-Tails’ Jinchūriki.
• Kushina explained that Mito’s health was failing and that the ritual would likely happen soon, while Eiji thought Kushina might be able to get along with the Nine-Tails instead.

Eiji and Kushina watched a Young Ninjutsu Tournament, where Eiji promised to teach the winner a suitable technique. Kakashi won the contest over Obito, and Eiji decided to ask Fugaku to pay more attention to the overlooked boy.

• Kushina took Eiji to a village tournament, where the children eagerly crowded around them.
• Eiji promised to teach the winner a Ninjutsu suited to them, then slipped away as the children debated what they wanted to learn.
• Obito performed the Great Fireball Technique and briefly took first place, earning praise from Rin.
• Kakashi performed the Earth Wave Technique, impressed the crowd, and won the tournament prize of a Kunai.
• Eiji felt sorry for Obito and resolved to ask Fugaku to look after him more closely.

Eiji demonstrated and agreed to teach Kakashi the dangerous Lightning Release technique Chidori after Kakashi won the children’s contest. As the day ended, Kakashi reaffirmed his ambition to follow Eiji’s example and protect his companions.

• Eiji showed Kakashi how Chidori shattered a large rock and agreed to teach him the technique, while Kushina warned that it was dangerous.
• An Anbu guard reported that the rare metallic minerals Eiji had requested were purchased, and Eiji told him to spend more time with his family and have the guards stop lurking nearby.
• Kushina played with the children and humorously reenacted Eiji’s famous words before the children’s families arrived.
• Sakumo met Eiji and Kushina, saying Kakashi admired Eiji but might struggle to make friends.
• Kakashi declared that protecting his companions was his way and vowed to become a Ninja as great as Eiji.

Mito Uzumaki transferred the Nine-Tails to Kushina, who endured its rage and sealed it with the Adamantine Sealing Chains. Mito refused Eiji’s offer to prolong her life and, nearing death, said she was going to Hashirama.

• Mito Uzumaki gathered Konoha’s leaders and prepared to pass the Nine-Tails to Kushina.
• Nawaki asked Eiji to revive Mito, but Tsunade told him to respect their grandmother’s wishes.
• Mito directed the Nine-Tails’ Chakra into Kushina, who resisted its influence and bound it with Adamantine Sealing Chains.
• Mito completed Kushina’s seal and collapsed as Biwako caught her.
• Eiji offered to heal Mito, but she refused, apologized to Kushina, and said she was going to Hashirama Senju.

A month after Mito's death, Eiji took Kushina beyond the barrier to begin helping her coexist with the Nine-Tails. As Kushina's seal weakened and the beast tried to persuade her to release it, Eiji appeared in her mental space and confronted the Nine-Tails.

• Kushina worried that becoming a Jinchūriki would change her relationship with Eiji, and Eiji told her the seal had stabilized enough to begin the next step of his plan.
• Eiji took Kushina outside the barrier despite the ANBU guards' objections and brought her to Konoha Forest.
• Outside the barrier, the seal began to weaken, and the Nine-Tails' chakra surfaced as he urged Kushina to release him.
• Kushina resisted the Nine-Tails as the Adamantine Sealing Chains trembled and Mito's remaining chakra dwindled.
• Eiji appeared in Kushina's mental space, shielded her from the Nine-Tails' attack, and taunted him for showing fear.

Eiji confronted the Nine-Tails in Kushina’s mental world and negotiated a partnership, offering to let it live more freely if it helped Kushina master its power. The Nine-Tails reluctantly accepted the possibility of cooperating, while Eiji also asked it to invite the other Tailed Beasts to settle in Konoha.

• Eiji struck the Nine-Tails with Maximum Output Blue, then redirected its Tailed Beast Bomb into its own mouth and blew apart its head.
• Eiji explained that Kushina’s belief let him use his abilities in her mental world and proposed that the Nine-Tails help Kushina master its power in exchange for greater freedom.
• Eiji told the Nine-Tails that the Sage of Six Paths had died, prompting it to question what had become of their purpose of living peacefully with humans.
• Eiji promised to work with Kushina to create a better living environment for the Tailed Beasts, and Kushina loosened the Nine-Tails’ seal.
• Eiji asked the Nine-Tails to invite the other Tailed Beasts to settle in Konoha and to help Kushina master its power.