Chapter Summaries

Plot points

• The Old Man’s left eardrum is permanently damaged after being exposed to the computer speaker, while his right ear only partially recovers. Kakuzu lets him retire early, costing the company an extra year of benefits; Kakuzu later drinks heavily over the expense.
• Jiraiya, still determined to graduate early after Dave turned him down, begs Orochimaru for help. Orochimaru gives him a summoning scroll. Jiraiya accidentally summons himself away from Konoha.
• Orochimaru searches for Jiraiya, learns he is safe from Dave, and calls him to report the disappearance. Dave recognizes Jiraiya’s destination as an opportunity and recruits Kakuzu for a money-making venture.
• Dave, Kakuzu, young Minato, Tobirama, Hashirama, Madara, and Hagoromo travel to Mount Myōboku. They arrive as Jiraiya is being confronted with a bowl of insects. The group asks the resident toads to take them to Gamamaru, the Great Toad Sage.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiraiya’s persistence and inexperience are on display: he resorts to clinging to Orochimaru, misunderstands the summoning scroll, and winds up stranded at Mount Myōboku. He is relieved and emotional when Dave arrives.
• Orochimaru is irritated by Jiraiya but genuinely worries about him. He trusts Dave enough to accept his reassurance, while his discovery of the group’s enormous pile of IOUs explains his distrust of Jiraiya and the others.
• Kakuzu quickly shifts from grief over the retirement payout to enthusiasm at the prospect of profit.
• Dave teases two-year-old Minato about Kushina. Minato’s shy reaction and his dream of becoming Hokage lead Dave to frame the trip as the first step toward that goal.
• Tobirama transports the group, while Hagoromo takes charge upon arrival and calmly directs the toads.

Significant themes

• Comedy through contrasts: Jiraiya’s childish incompetence, Kakuzu’s money-mindedness, and the presence of powerful figures make the situation absurd.
• Trust and responsibility: Orochimaru’s concern for Jiraiya contrasts with his mistrust of their debt-ridden friends; Dave reassures him and looks after Jiraiya.
• Ambition and opportunity: Minato’s Hokage dream and Jiraiya’s push to graduate early are set against the unexpected opportunities created by their journey.

Key plot points and events

• Dave meets Gamamaru, who confirms an old prophecy: the Sage of Six Paths will return, the Child of Prophecy’s fate will change, and someone will bring new vitality to Mount Myōboku.
• Dave asks Gamamaru to let Jiraiya begin preliminary senjutsu training. Gamamaru agrees, but warns that Jiraiya is too young and lacks the chakra for the more advanced stages. Shima is assigned to train him.
• Dave puts Kakuzu in charge of turning Mount Myōboku into a commercial venture. Kakuzu pitches modern technology and online sales, then negotiates a deal with Fukasaku to sell the toads’ insect cuisine through their company.
• Meanwhile, Hashirama and Madara are hired to entertain the toads with a sound system. The wrong playlist starts, but they improvise by dancing—and the music’s strange power makes the toads dance along uncontrollably.

Character developments and interactions

• Dave acts as a mediator and entrepreneur, arranging Jiraiya’s training and delegating Mount Myōboku’s commercialization to Kakuzu.
• Gamamaru welcomes Dave’s plans while remaining mindful of the risks of senjutsu training.
• Kakuzu and Fukasaku form a business partnership, with their enthusiastic but confusing bargaining revealing Kakuzu’s knack for profit and Fukasaku’s openness to new ideas.
• Hashirama and Madara begin embarrassed and reluctant, but the toads’ dismissive reactions provoke Madara into giving the performance his all. Their reluctant teamwork ends in an absurdly successful dance.
• Shima accepts responsibility for Jiraiya’s early training, while Hagoromo stays behind to speak privately with Gamamaru.

Significant themes

• Tradition meets modernity: Mount Myōboku’s ancient culture is introduced to phones, games, livestreaming, and commerce.
• Change and renewal: The prophecy’s “new vitality” is interpreted comically as both business expansion and modern entertainment.
• Reluctant cooperation: Characters who resist new roles—especially Hashirama and Madara—nevertheless adapt and succeed.
• Humor through contrast: The solemn prophecy and dangerous senjutsu training are juxtaposed with sales negotiations and magically contagious dancing.

Plot points and events

• Sage Fukasaku promotes Mount Myōboku’s bug delicacy in a livestream, claiming it is nutritious and safe for humans. To prove it, he has Gamabunta hold Jiraiya while he pressures him into tasting the bugs, dangling quick senjutsu training as a reward.
• Jiraiya eats the bugs for the camera, grimacing through a forced endorsement before vomiting as soon as the camera turns away. Minato kindly gives him tissues.
• The livestream succeeds commercially: Kaguya orders a hundred portions, saying she wants her children to try the supposedly nourishing food.
• Minato asks Jiraiya how to begin learning senjutsu. Unable to explain the first stage, Jiraiya pretends the knowledge is too private to share with someone who is not his student.
• Minato asks to become Jiraiya’s student. To discourage him, Jiraiya sets an apparently impossible condition: Minato must learn the Flying Thunder God Technique first. He privately imagines that, if Minato succeeds, having such a talented student would benefit him.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiraiya is boastful and evasive, but also easily motivated by promises of power and Tsunade. His humiliation over the bugs and his bluffing about senjutsu expose the gap between his grand self-image and his actual knowledge. He softens when Minato looks disappointed, then tries to manage the situation with an impossible challenge.
• Fukasaku is a determined salesman, willing to use Jiraiya as an unwilling taste-tester to promote Mount Myōboku’s products.
• Minato is considerate toward Jiraiya and earnest about learning. Rather than giving up when Jiraiya refuses to teach him, he cleverly asks to become his student.
• Kaguya participates in the livestream and supports the venture with a large order, while voicing reasonable doubts about whether the bugs are suitable for humans.

Significant themes

• Comedy and humiliation: Jiraiya’s forced sales pitch and exaggerated claims contrast with his immediate disgust.
• Ambition versus competence: Jiraiya dreams of mastering senjutsu but cannot even explain its first step.
• Mentorship and persistence: Minato’s determination to learn leads him to find a way around Jiraiya’s reluctance.
• Promotion and persuasion: Fukasaku’s livestream turns Mount Myōboku’s food into a commercial success through theatrical claims and a human demonstration.

Plot and events

• Dave enthusiastically learns that kindergarten worker Ise’s wife, Fusō, is two months pregnant. He orders her to take two years of fully paid maternity leave—at double pay—and sends Ise home before he can object.
• The couple begin discussing baby names: Nagato for a boy and Jiba for a girl.
• At home, Dave realizes that his son Daiyue is late. Although he initially dismisses Tsukimi’s concern, he changes his mind when Little Mikoto misses her brother. Dave recruits Kakuzu, promising to pay him, to locate Daiyue’s phone.
• The location points to Danzo’s house. Relieved, Dave texts Daiyue that he can enjoy himself with Yuner and even stay the night, adding embarrassing advice about protection.
• Danzo arrives home to find Daiyue at dinner with Yuner and Milu. Daiyue explains that he came to work on difficult homework with Yuner. When Yuner asks if he can stay overnight because they have a lot to finish, Danzo objects loudly, but Milu scolds him for frightening the children and he backs down.

Character developments and interactions

• Dave is generous and impulsive, first overdoing his support for Fusō’s pregnancy and later fretting over Daiyue’s late return. His joking, overly permissive text contrasts with Danzo’s protectiveness.
• Ise and Fusō are surprised by Dave’s unusually lavish maternity-leave offer, but accept it and look forward to the baby.
• Daiyue and Yuner present their visit as a homework session; Yuner’s request for Daiyue to stay the night puts Danzo on the spot.
• Danzo tries to hide his displeasure at seeing Daiyue with Yuner, but Milu quickly overrules his outburst. Their exchange shows that she has the stronger hand in the household.
• Kakuzu reluctantly agrees to help Dave after being promised his overdue wages.

Significant themes

• Family and care: The chapter centers on pregnancy, siblings’ affection, and adults looking out for children.
• Comic overprotectiveness and embarrassment: Dave jokes about teenage hormones, while Danzo’s alarm at Yuner’s sleepover request creates the main punchline.
• Generosity and domestic authority: Dave’s lavish support and Milu’s firm intervention show how family care can take exaggerated—and humorous—forms.

Plot points and events

• Daiyue receives a baffling, suggestive message from his father. Danzo glimpses it, spits out his water, then insists Daiyue must not share a room with Yuner. He leaves for the Hokage Building and tries to contact Dave, but Dave dodges him with a string of curses.
• Dave sends Kakuzu to the Land of Rain to find two couples: one involving a yellow-haired person who may be expecting a boy, and another involving a purple-haired person who may be expecting a girl. Kakuzu agrees after Dave reminds him of the enormous dividends he is owed.
• After days of searching in the rain, Kakuzu’s phone gets waterlogged. As he heads back, he hears a woman being threatened by a shinobi serving Hanzō. Her husband has been killed for opposing Hanzō.
• Kakuzu notices the woman’s purple hair and learns she is married and pregnant. When the shinobi threatens to kill her as well, Kakuzu shoots him and takes the woman, Nan Xue, back to Konoha.
• Nan Xue has trouble walking, so Kakuzu carries her. She asks his name and introduces herself; Kakuzu calls hers a good name.

Character developments and interactions

• Danzo reacts with alarm to Daiyue’s message and tries to impose boundaries, though the message’s meaning remains unclear. His effort to reach Dave fails.
• Dave stays evasive with Danzo and gives Kakuzu a strange, specific mission.
• Kakuzu begins the search reluctantly and impatiently, but intervenes when he realizes Nan Xue matches Dave’s description. He protects her and helps her despite his gruff complaints.
• Nan Xue, frightened and grieving, trusts Kakuzu because he saved her life. Their exchange is guarded but begins to establish a bond.

Significant themes

• Cruelty and survival: Hanzō’s forces kill people and their families for political disobedience, illustrating the brutality of the shinobi world.
• Unexpected compassion: Although Kakuzu is cynical and self-interested, he risks intervening to save Nan Xue.
• Absurdity and humor: Danzo’s misunderstanding, Dave’s evasiveness, Kakuzu’s debt-driven obedience, and the ruined phone undercut the darker events with comic moments.

Plot points and events

• Kakuzu returns from the dangerous, chaotic Land of Rain with Nan Xue, a widowed, pregnant woman, instead of the children and couples Dave had asked him to find.
• Dave welcomes Nan Xue to Konoha, makes her a Love Kidney Company employee, and grants her two years of paid maternity leave. With housing scarce, he tells her to stay at Kakuzu’s home, offering to cover the rent.
• Dave privately hopes that living together might help longtime bachelor Kakuzu become a father figure, while Kakuzu’s main concern is how much rent he can charge.
• At the hospital, a doctor mistakes Kakuzu for Nan Xue’s husband and scolds him for her frail condition, urging her to rest and leave housework to him. Kakuzu is bewildered throughout the encounter.
• Kakuzu takes Nan Xue home and shows her an empty room, offering to move her if she dislikes it.

Character development and interactions

• Dave is generous toward Nan Xue, but also meddles in Kakuzu’s personal life, arranging their living situation with matchmaking hopes.
• Kakuzu remains blunt, practical, and money-minded. He objects to the expense of her leave and housing, then quickly agrees once Dave promises to pay. The hospital’s assumptions about his being her husband leave him comically flustered.
• Nan Xue is grateful but uncertain about Dave’s generosity and the sudden plan to live with Kakuzu. She speaks politely and appears vulnerable because of her pregnancy and poor health.
• The doctor’s mistaken belief that Kakuzu is Nan Xue’s husband creates an awkward comic exchange; Nan Xue has to clarify nothing, while Kakuzu is left speechless.

Significant themes

• Care and responsibility: Dave provides Nan Xue with employment, leave, and a place to stay; the doctor emphasizes the support she needs during pregnancy.
• Found family and unexpected bonds: Dave imagines Kakuzu taking on a paternal role, though Kakuzu has not embraced that idea.
• Comedy from misunderstanding: Kakuzu’s accidental treatment as a husband contrasts with his detached, rent-focused thinking.

Key plot points and events

• At work, Dave wonders where he can find the remaining member of his “Frog Squad,” the blond Yahiko.
• His former associate Jijibo calls with news that his son, Xiaogang, is expecting a child. Dave joins Jijibo for dinner.
• Jijibo reveals he has chosen “Yahiko” for a boy. He says that, had Dave never taken him in, he would have built a bandit empire and begun expanding through the Land of Rain. Dave realizes that this imagined path could explain how Yahiko might have been born there.
• After the gathering, Dave concludes that the Frog Squad is accounted for.
• On his way home, Dave encounters Asura and Indra fleeing from Kaguya, who is trying to feed them her insect dish. The insects have been killed by what she mistakenly believes is vinegar—actually gasoline.
• Dave discovers two supposed “eggs” in the pot are hand grenades. One explodes into fireworks when he throws it into the sky.

Character developments and interactions

• Dave remains observant and quick to connect unlikely details, recognizing the significance of Jijibo’s chosen name and later identifying Kaguya’s dangerous mistakes.
• Jijibo is delighted to become a grandfather and fondly recalls his past. His boast about conquering the shinobi world is played for comedy, though it gives Dave a clue about Yahiko’s possible origins.
• Kaguya is earnest but catastrophically inept in the kitchen: she mistakes gasoline for vinegar and grenades for eggs.
• Asura and Indra appear together, fleeing Kaguya before they can explain what is happening. Dave is caught between them and her.

Significant themes

• Chance and alternate paths: Jijibo’s hypothetical bandit career links Dave’s past choices to the possible origins of Yahiko.
• Found family and time passing: Jijibo’s impending grandparenthood prompts warm reflection on how long Dave has known him.
• Absurdity and danger: The chapter’s humor comes from Kaguya’s sincere confidence colliding with deadly misunderstandings.

Plot points and events

• An explosion interrupts the night at Kakuzu’s house. Nan Xue, frightened by the noise, asks Kakuzu about it. He dismisses it as someone playing with grenades and sends her back to bed.
• At Danzo’s house, Yuner slips into Daiyue’s bed after the blast scares her. Both initially respond warily, activating their Sharingan, but recognize each other. Daiyue comforts her, and she falls asleep in his arms.
• During his fight with Dave at the Valley of the End, Danzo suddenly sneezes.
• Hours later, Kakuzu finds Nan Xue still awake and looking unusually pale. Unable to tell whether she is ill, he tries to help her sleep by finding a TV drama on his phone.
• His first link opens an explicit video instead. Embarrassed, Kakuzu insists it was an accident, finds the intended drama, and leaves Nan Xue to watch it.

Character developments and interactions

• Nan Xue remains anxious and sleepless, revealing how the fear she developed while living alone after her husband’s death still affects her. She is embarrassed by Kakuzu’s accidental video but tries to reassure him.
• Kakuzu shows awkward concern for Nan Xue’s health and comfort, though his practical, blunt manner—and poor grasp of online streaming—turns his attempt to help into a comic mishap.
• Yuner seeks comfort from Daiyue after being frightened. Daiyue, initially defensive, responds gently and lets her sleep beside him.

Significant themes

• Fear and vulnerability: The unexplained explosion unsettles both Nan Xue and Yuner, though they cope differently.
• Comfort and growing trust: Yuner’s ease in approaching Daiyue, and his willingness to comfort her, suggest closeness between them.
• Comedic misunderstandings: Kakuzu’s earnest attempt to help Nan Xue goes wrong because he mistakes an explicit video for a drama, creating an awkward contrast with his usual serious demeanor.

Plot and events

Kakuzu wakes Kagami late at night to report an online crime: a website has damaged his reputation. Kagami traces it to a brothel in the Land of Hot Water. Kakuzu rushes off with a pistol, while Kagami—despite being on duty—checks out the site himself and uses police systems to map its visitors.
At four in the morning, Kagami launches a surprise anti-pornography raid. Police arrest 187 people in Konoha, including ANBU chief Hiruzen, who is caught viewing the site at work. They also bring in two-year-old Minato, whom Kagami discovers was sent the link by Jiraiya under the false claim that it showed powerful ninjutsu. The chapter ends with Kagami greeting the newly arrived Hiruzen: “So you’re here.”

Character developments and interactions

• Kagami shifts from sleepy, reluctant investigator to enthusiastic—and rather hypocritical—user of the site, then resumes his duties by organizing the raid. He handles Minato gently after learning the child’s misunderstanding.
• Kakuzu is furious over the website’s effect on his reputation and personally sets out to confront its creator.
• Hiruzen is exposed as a repeat offender on the site, caught red-handed during the raid.
• Minato is embarrassed and nearly tearful, but explains that Jiraiya tricked him into visiting the site.
• Kagami and Kakuzu interact as complainant and investigator; Kagami and Hiruzen meet again through the raid; Kagami and Minato share a reassuring exchange.

Significant themes

The chapter relies on comedy and irony, especially the contrast between Kagami’s official crackdown and his own browsing, and the repeated arrest of powerful figures. It also pokes fun at authority and hypocrisy, while highlighting misunderstanding and innocence through Minato’s confusion.

Key plot points and events

• Danzo returns home after an exhausting night and discovers his daughter Yuner asleep in his study beside Daiyue, Dave’s son. He is furious but hides it behind a strained smile.
• At breakfast, Danzo objects to Yuner and Daiyue holding hands. Yuner explains that Daiyue can use Flying Thunder God to take them to school; the pair leave together before Danzo can stop them. He vents his anger by smashing a table and tells Milu that he has “menopause.”
• Elsewhere, Orochimaru tests a Summoning Scroll and is transported to Ryūchi Cave. He meets its three snake sages and is brought before the White Snake Sage, who offers to teach him Sage Mode, warning that the training can be fatal.
• Orochimaru declines, valuing life and his interests in science, knowledge, and relationships more than the risk. He signs Ryūchi Cave’s summoning contract, then decides to meet the great snake Manda.

Character developments and interactions

• Danzo reveals a possessive, protective side toward Yuner and reacts jealously to her closeness with Daiyue, though he tries to conceal his anger.
• Yuner is cheerful and unaware of her father’s jealousy; she openly trusts Daiyue and is mildly annoyed by Danzo’s interference.
• Daiyue notices Danzo’s murderous glare and quickly leaves with Yuner.
• Orochimaru shows composure and a pragmatic attitude: he is curious about Sage Mode but unwilling to risk death for power. He exchanges calm, direct remarks with the White Snake Sage and the three sages before choosing to approach Manda.
• The Ryūchi Cave sages tease Orochimaru about refusing Sage Mode, but still give him the chance to sign the contract and summon lesser snakes.

Significant themes

• Parental protectiveness and jealousy: Danzo struggles to accept Yuner’s growing closeness with Daiyue.
• The cost of power: Orochimaru rejects a dangerous path to strength when its price is death.
• The value of life and personal priorities: Orochimaru contrasts the risk of Sage Mode with the many relationships and pursuits he still values.

Key plot points and events

• Orochimaru confronts Manda in Ryūchi Cave and tries to recruit him as a summon. When Manda attacks, Orochimaru counters with modern weapons: first an RPG, then twin Gatling guns loaded with costly armor-piercing ammunition. Manda is badly wounded and agrees to the contract.
• The Third Kazekage arrives and identifies Orochimaru as a Konoha ninja. He attacks, unwilling to let Orochimaru return home.
• Orochimaru summons a tank, then uses Shadow Clones and multiple scrolls to bring out a force of tanks. Their shelling overwhelms the Kazekage, though Orochimaru eventually runs low on ammunition.
• Just as the Kazekage prepares to retaliate, Orochimaru’s emergency formula summons Daiyue. The chapter ends with the Kazekage underestimating the younger-looking newcomer.

Character developments

• Orochimaru is calm, resourceful, and unapologetically dependent on overwhelming firepower. Despite his confidence, he feels embarrassed that Daiyue had to come to his aid and resolves to pursue even stronger weapons.
• Manda goes from hostile and contemptuous to frightened and compliant, then adopts Orochimaru’s tactical sayings and uses a Gatling gun to take revenge on Garaga.
• The Third Kazekage begins as an aggressive threat, but is repeatedly caught off guard by Orochimaru’s unusual arsenal.
• Daiyue appears as Orochimaru’s emergency backup, responding to the technique formula Orochimaru had left behind.

Significant themes

• The chapter turns the idea of “power” into a joke about superior weapons: Orochimaru’s firepower repeatedly beats opponents who expect conventional ninja combat.
• Preparation and resourcefulness matter, but ammunition limits show that even overwhelming force has practical constraints.
• Humor through contrast drives the action, especially the mismatch between the shinobi world’s expectations and Orochimaru’s tanks and guns.

Character interactions

• Orochimaru’s weapons force Manda into a summoning contract, while their later exchange shows Manda beginning to imitate his new summoner.
• Manda taunts Garaga, provoking a fight, then uses Orochimaru’s weapon to defeat him.
• The Third Kazekage treats Orochimaru as a threat because of his Konoha affiliation; Orochimaru answers with escalating military force.
• Daiyue arrives to help, but Orochimaru is self-conscious about needing rescue, while the Kazekage dismisses Daiyue as “just a little brat.”

Key plot points and events

• Daiyue uses the Spirit Transformation Technique to possess the Third Kazekage, but the Kazekage resists, causing a struggle for control.
• Daiyue eventually gains control and stabs downward without checking the kunai’s position, accidentally injuring the Kazekage in the crotch. The wounded Kazekage escapes, leaving Daiyue worried that he will not believe it was an accident.
• The three Ryūchi Cave sages find Daiyue amusing and invite him to become their summoner. They offer him a contract that would let him summon all three at once.
• At home, Little Mikoto gives Dave several unusual plants resembling his own, along with wood fragments and twigs. Dave suspects she may have Wood Release and calls Hashirama to investigate.
• Hashirama rushes back from a takeout delivery trip to Kirigakure. After five exhausting days at sea, he finally reaches Konoha, nearly unrecognizable from hunger and fatigue.

Character developments and interactions

• Daiyue demonstrates the power—and limits—of his spirit technique: even a Kage can resist him, and his struggle with the Kazekage leads to a disastrous accident.
• Orochimaru remains a dry observer throughout, then is dismayed that the sages’ offer would make his own summons depend on their whims.
• Little Mikoto’s strange plants suggest she may have inherited a remarkable ability. Dave responds with concern and consults Hashirama rather than drawing a firm conclusion.
• Hashirama’s eagerness to help contrasts comically with his miserable journey back; his exhaustion underscores how badly the delivery trip went.

Significant themes

• Power has limits: Daiyue’s technique can seize another person’s body, but the Kazekage’s will and status make him difficult to control.
• Comedy from mishap and contrast: A serious battle ends in an accidental, humiliating injury, while the sages’ casual offer and Hashirama’s ordeal provide further comic relief.
• Emerging abilities and family care: Little Mikoto’s possible Wood Release prompts Dave to seek guidance, showing the adults’ attentiveness to a child’s development.

Key plot points

• Hashirama visits Dave, who barely recognizes his gaunt uncle. After eating, Hashirama examines Little Mikoto and confirms she carries a faint Wood Release chakra. He says she may eventually learn both his and Dave’s forms, and that doing so is safe.
• Tobirama immediately sets out to obtain Hashirama’s Wood Release and forbidden techniques. As a result, he keeps Mikoto with him all day, frustrating Dave. Daiyue is delighted at the prospect of learning ninjutsu with his grandfather, though school keeps him from joining them.
• In Sunagakure, the Third Kazekage has been injured by a young Konoha boy resembling Dave. He asks Lie to post a bounty on the child. Lie’s attempted comfort—pointing out that he himself has lost the same body part—does not improve the Kazekage’s mood.
• Kakuzu spots the bounty but respects the Black Market’s confidentiality. Back home, he orders his pregnant wife, Nan Xue, to stop cleaning and rest.
• Kakuzu tells Dave about the bounty. Dave asks Black Zetsu to investigate, persuading him by hinting that Kaguya wants a particular gift. Black Zetsu recruits the White Zetsu and sends them to find out what Kaguya likes, putting that task ahead of an impending war with George.
• The White Zetsu wait for Tobi’s customary signal—a lump of poop—so Black Zetsu throws Tobi’s carefully collected specimen to get them moving. Tobi is outraged, explaining that he spent a month assembling it.

Character developments and interactions

• Hashirama is hurt that Dave does not recognize him, but focuses on helping assess Mikoto’s abilities.
• Dave shifts toward accepting Mikoto’s possible shinobi future, while Tobirama enthusiastically takes charge of her training prospects.
• Kakuzu shows concern for Nan Xue’s pregnancy, despite his stern manner.
• Black Zetsu’s loyalty to Kaguya makes him easy for Dave to manipulate; he turns the White Zetsu’s work force into an investigation team.
• The chapter’s interactions mix family concern and political danger with broad slapstick, especially the White Zetsu’s bizarre poop-based workplace ritual.

Significant themes

• Family and inheritance: Mikoto’s unusual chakra links her to Dave and Hashirama, raising the prospect of passing on their techniques.
• Protection and responsibility: Dave and Kakuzu act to protect their children and family.
• Loyalty and manipulation: Dave exploits Black Zetsu’s devotion to Kaguya to get what he wants.
• Comic absurdity: Serious threats, including a bounty and impending war, repeatedly collide with childish or grotesque humor.

Key plot points and events

• In the Land of Rain, Hanzō learns that a member of his squad died while pursuing the sole surviving wife of a man on the squad’s target list. A bullet bearing Konoha’s emblem was found on the dead shinobi.
• Hanzō assumes Konoha is involved and threatens to invade unless it hands over both the unknown person and the woman within a month.
• In Konoha, Hiruzen, Danzō, Dave, and Kagami discuss the threat. Dave volunteers to handle Hanzō, while Danzō dismisses the Rain leader’s posturing.
• The group’s amusement at Hanzō’s inflated reputation exposes its absurd origin: years earlier, Kagami’s severe reaction to a Soldier Pill incapacitated Hanzō during a chance encounter. A wildly embellished account of the incident spread, making Hanzō seem powerful enough to deter the other villages.
• Dave visits Kakuzu’s home to deliver the letter. He learns that Kakuzu has been giving the pregnant Nan Xue food and supplies—apparently items employees had gifted him. Dave jokes that Kakuzu’s conduct amounts to corruption and threatens to dock his pay.

Character developments

• Hanzō has become arrogant and overconfident after gaining a fearsome reputation built on a fabricated account of his encounter with Kagami.
• Kagami is embarrassed and irritated as the others laugh over the humiliating mishap that helped create Hanzō’s legend.
• Dave is amused by Hanzō’s bluster but intends to rein him in, partly because Hanzō must survive long enough to face the Sannin.
• Kakuzu shows an unexpectedly generous, caring side by supporting Nan Xue during her pregnancy, though his help comes from surplus gifts rather than deliberate spending.
• Nan Xue is recovering well and feels deeply grateful for Kakuzu’s support.

Significant themes

• Reputation versus reality: Hanzō’s status as a “demigod” rests on rumor and exaggeration, not the event as it actually happened.
• The absurdity of legends: A humiliating accident becomes a story that shapes political behavior and protects a small nation.
• Hidden kindness: Kakuzu’s practical support contrasts with his usual reputation as a miser.
• Power and political posturing: Hanzō’s threat reflects his confidence in the reputation that others have built around him.

Character interactions

• Hanzō questions his subordinate about the dead shinobi, then orders a threat sent to Konoha.
• Hiruzen, Danzō, and Dave tease Kagami about his role in Hanzō’s legend; Kagami silently fumes.
• Dave takes charge of responding to Hanzō and later speaks warmly with Nan Xue, asking after her health.
• Nan Xue credits Kakuzu with caring for her; Dave’s surprise and joke about docking Kakuzu’s pay provide the chapter’s closing gag.

Key plot points and events

• Dave visits Kakuzu to deliver a summons from Hanzō, who demands Kakuzu be handed over. Kakuzu mocks the threat and agrees to go to the Land of Rain.
• Nan Xue worries that Kakuzu’s actions could endanger him and Konoha. Kakuzu reassures her, orders her to stay home and care for their baby, and leaves with Dave.
• The pair ride into the rain-soaked, nearly deserted Land of Rain. When local shinobi challenge them, Dave responds with ten grenades, killing them.
• Hanzō confronts the visitors with his troops. Dave presents Kakuzu as the man Hanzō requested, but explains that the woman Hanzō also sought is not with them.
• Dave claims he is leaving, then secretly hides nearby so he can intervene if Kakuzu is in trouble. With Dave apparently gone, Hanzō grows confident and challenges Kakuzu.
• Kakuzu answers with revolutionary slogans, then summons an arsenal of puppets and explosive-equipped heart avatars. Hanzō tries to convince himself he is not afraid.

Character developments and interactions

• Kakuzu is defiant and financially minded: even the cost of a new disguise bothers him. At home, he shows concern for Nan Xue through blunt reassurance, though his commanding manner leaves little room for discussion. Facing Hanzō, he projects confidence and unleashes his full, unusual arsenal.
• Nan Xue is anxious and emotional about Kakuzu’s danger, but ultimately accepts his decision and waits for him.
• Dave acts as Kakuzu’s escort and backup. He is casually violent toward obstacles, while privately resenting the couple’s affectionate domestic scene; his claim to leave is a prank, since he stays nearby to protect Kakuzu.
• Hanzō begins by relying on his troops and reputation, but becomes uneasy when he recognizes Dave and Kakuzu. He relaxes after Dave appears to depart, only to be unsettled again by Kakuzu’s summons.

Significant themes and tone

• Bravado versus fear: Hanzō’s repeated insistence that he is unafraid contrasts with his growing apprehension.
• Loyalty and protection: Nan Xue’s concern, Kakuzu’s decision to face the threat, and Dave’s hidden readiness to help show care expressed in contrasting ways.
• Satire and absurdity: The chapter mixes a serious political confrontation with jokes about money, disguises, grenades, and Kakuzu’s incongruous revolutionary slogans.

Plot and events

• Kakuzu defeats Hanzō with a fusion of his puppets and masked hearts into a heavily armed, cannon-equipped construct. Hanzō’s poison is ineffective against Kakuzu’s thread-filled body, so he retreats and abandons his plan to attack Konoha.
• Dave arrives after the battle, prompting Kakuzu to complain that he did none of the fighting.
• Kakuzu finds a torn hit list bearing Nan Xue’s name and learns it came from the squad they had just defeated. He decides to investigate, and the pair visit the Land of Rain’s Black Market.
• Records reveal that Nan Xue was married to Genjo Miyano, a Rain shinobi killed on Hanzō’s orders. Her parents were also killed, and her whereabouts are unknown. Kakuzu pays for more detailed information—by pulling money from inside his shoe.
• Further details show Nan Xue was forced into the marriage for political and security reasons. Her husband married her for her family’s wealth and sometimes abused her. Kakuzu feels relieved to learn that Miyano is dead.

Character developments and interactions

• Kakuzu proves both formidable and calculating: he lets Hanzō escape once the threat has passed, then turns his attention to uncovering Nan Xue’s past. His strong reaction to her abuse suggests growing personal concern.
• Hanzō recognizes that the fight is going badly and withdraws rather than risk continuing.
• Dave takes credit for the victory despite arriving late, teases Kakuzu about his interest in Nan Xue, and offers him new shoes after being appalled by the money’s smell.
• Kakuzu and Dave trade barbs throughout: Kakuzu resents Dave’s cowardice, while Dave jokes that Kakuzu is “a fucking Cao Cao”—a teasing reference to his interest in a married woman. Dave’s final warning that Nan Xue is pregnant leaves Kakuzu confused.

Significant themes

• Power and pragmatism: Kakuzu’s superior firepower overcomes Hanzō’s poison-based tactics, while Hanzō chooses retreat over a losing battle.
• Political coercion and abuse: Nan Xue’s marriage was arranged for family advantage, and she suffered abuse within it.
• Emerging concern and dark humor: Kakuzu’s interest in Nan Xue appears sincere, but the chapter frames it through teasing, gross-out jokes, and the contrast between his cold reputation and apparent emotional investment.

Plot points

• Kakuzu returns to the village after meeting Hanzō; he tells Nan Xue their fight ended in a draw.
• Nan Xue has waited outside in the cold for him. Kakuzu lends her his coat, then makes her ginger soup.
• Nan Xue claims she needs to visit the hospital, but actually goes to buy Kakuzu a new pair of shoes. Kakuzu follows, having realized she is lying.
• She returns with shoes she chose because their colors remind her of money. When she admits the lie, Kakuzu responds gently, serving her more ginger soup and advising her to use his name for a discount next time.
• Meanwhile, Kaguya tries to prepare food for the sick Asura, mistaking a sprouted potato for ginger and cooking a live fish without preparing it. Indra sees the kitchen disaster and quietly leaves.

Character developments and interactions

• Kakuzu shows concern through practical gestures—giving Nan Xue his coat, making her soup, and secretly keeping watch—while still expressing himself in gruff, money-conscious terms.
• Nan Xue is anxious about Kakuzu’s safety and shows her affection by buying him shoes, even though she has to invent an excuse to do so. His gentle response reassures her.
• Kaguya is earnestly trying to care for Asura but is comically inept at cooking. Indra reacts to the danger by discreetly retreating.

Significant themes

• Affection expressed through practical care: Kakuzu and Nan Xue show concern through food, warmth, and gifts rather than grand declarations.
• The contrast between tenderness and comedy: The intimate, caring scene at Kakuzu’s home is juxtaposed with Kaguya’s disastrous attempt to nurse Asura.
• Money as a recurring part of Kakuzu’s personality: Even while accepting Nan Xue’s gift, he frames his response around saving money.

Key plot points and events

• Nan Xue goes into premature labor. Doctors save her, but the baby girl is stillborn.
• Dave takes the baby away, convinced she is Konan, and reflects that his interference with the shinobi world may have altered events and indirectly caused her early orphaning.
• Kakuzu tells Nan Xue that the baby is undergoing examinations. Both parents realize the truth but hide their grief from each other.
• Dave contacts George, who agrees to attempt to revive the baby using a piece of Kakuzu’s skin. Dave reassures Kakuzu that other methods are available if the experiment fails.
• Dave then reveals that George’s help has cost Kakuzu his share of the year’s profits, prompting Kakuzu’s furious outburst.

Character developments and interactions

• Dave shifts from puzzlement to guilt, believing his actions may have contributed to the tragedy. His determination to save the baby grows, and he takes charge of finding help.
• Kakuzu moves from panic and devastation to cautious hope. He tries to protect Nan Xue by hiding the baby’s death and comforts her with a promise to bring their child back.
• Nan Xue recognizes that her baby has died but conceals her grief, maintaining a smile for Kakuzu while privately crying.
• George is presented as a capable but mysterious specialist, agreeing to work on the baby.
• Dave and Kakuzu rely on each other: Dave acts decisively, while Kakuzu trusts him despite uncertainty.

Significant themes

• Guilt and responsibility: Dave questions whether his changes to history caused the tragedy.
• Grief and concealed pain: Nan Xue and Kakuzu hide their sorrow from each other to spare one another.
• Hope against death: The characters believe Konoha’s extraordinary medical and supernatural resources may reverse even a stillbirth.
• Dark humor amid tragedy: Dave’s casual remark about Kakuzu’s lost profits cuts through the chapter’s otherwise intense distress.

• Key events: Kakuzu and Dave collect Nan Xue’s baby from George’s laboratory. George reveals that the baby died at birth but was revived using his techniques, with her paternal genes changed to Kakuzu’s. The baby has Kakuzu’s green eyes, and George declares that she is now essentially Kakuzu’s child. After Dave teases Kakuzu about fatherhood, Kakuzu takes the baby back to the hospital.
• Nan Xue and the baby: Nan Xue wakes believing her baby has died and breaks down in Kakuzu’s arms. Kakuzu presents the living baby, and mother and daughter reunite emotionally. After Kakuzu explains what happened, Nan Xue learns the baby truly was stillborn and that Kakuzu went to great lengths to bring her back. She asks if the child will now be theirs; Kakuzu agrees.
• Character developments and interactions: Kakuzu is initially stunned by his unexpected fatherhood, but his actions show growing concern and responsibility. He comforts Nan Xue in his blunt, awkward manner, while she responds with gratitude and renewed closeness. Dave is playful and affectionate toward the baby, and he needles Kakuzu about their resemblance. George is irritable but reveals his skill and involvement in the revival; he and Orochiroku promptly resume their comic bickering.
• Themes: The chapter explores family formed through choice and intervention, the emotional weight of loss and renewal, and the contrast between Kakuzu’s gruff exterior and emerging tenderness. Its dramatic moments are balanced by slapstick humor and teasing. The baby is named Konan.

Plot points and events

• Kakuzu is alarmed by the cost of baby supplies, then devises ways to get them for free: he collects surplus formula and fabric and has Hashirama make a crib. He brings everything home and tells Nan Xue he paid full price, making it seem as though he has spent generously for Konan.
• Dave visits the newborn Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato and declares them future heirs to the Akatsuki. He tucks the group’s white stockings into Nagato’s blanket, startling the babies into crying. Kakuzu calms all three with ease.
• Dave tries to recruit Kakuzu for an outing to show their newest member, Orochimaru, the ropes. Kakuzu initially refuses so he can stay with the children, but changes his mind when Dave mentions the chance to make money.
• At Konoha’s gates, Dave presents Orochimaru and Kakuzu with a selection of absurd costumes and insists they choose one, threatening Orochimaru with a return to school and Kakuzu with losing his childbirth allowance.

Character developments and interactions

• Kakuzu reveals a softer, practical side: although he is intensely frugal, he takes responsibility for the children and is remarkably good at soothing them. He also wants to protect Konan from inheriting Dave’s eccentric Akatsuki legacy.
• Dave is exuberant and overconfident, already imagining the newborns as future leaders. He pressures Kakuzu and Orochimaru into his plans and treats the organization’s strange costumes as perfectly reasonable.
• Nan Xue is touched by what she believes is Kakuzu’s costly generosity toward Konan.
• Orochimaru is introduced as the new recruit and appears reluctant to wear one of Dave’s costumes.

Significant themes

• Family and caregiving: Kakuzu’s actions show that his concern for the children runs deeper than his gruff, money-minded exterior.
• Money and frugality: His clever cost-cutting contrasts with the false impression of generosity he gives Nan Xue.
• Inheritance and identity: Dave imagines the babies carrying on the Akatsuki’s legacy, while Kakuzu resists the idea—especially for Konan.
• Absurdity and comedy: The chapter’s humor comes from Dave’s grand ambitions, Kakuzu’s penny-pinching schemes, and the forced costume choices.