Chapter Summaries

Kakashi, Uchiha Itachi, and Yamato fought an enemy who outmatched them, until he used his power over the earth to trap Kakashi and Yamato. Uchiha Itachi escaped the rising earth, leaving his teammates encased.

• The enemy mocked Kakashi and his teammates, then charged at them with overwhelming speed.
• Kakashi confronted the enemy, and Uchiha Itachi and Yamato joined the fight beside him.
• The enemy blocked all three of their attacks and announced that he would show them his true strength.
• The enemy pressed his palms together and sent the earth around them shooting upward.
• Uchiha Itachi leaped clear, while Kakashi and Yamato were tightly encased in earth.

Uchiha Itachi tried to free Kakashi and Yamato from an earthen sphere while Ruri consulted Ring Butler Zero about their enemy’s dangerous drug. Ruri learned the enemy would die when the drug wore off in twenty minutes and prepared to recover before stalling him.

• Uchiha Itachi heard Kakashi confirm that he and Yamato were trapped but unharmed, then tried to break open the earthen sphere.
• Ruri entered the Ring and complained to Ring Butler Zero that he could not defeat the enemy, even after taking medicine.
• Ring Butler Zero explained that the enemy had taken two pills of dangerous banned drugs and would die when their effects wore off.
• Ring Butler Zero estimated that the enemy could last no more than twenty minutes, so Ruri planned to recover his strength and stall him.

Ruri learned that his accumulated experience could let him break through and increase his strength, but Ring Butler Zero said he first had to recover from his serious injuries. Ruri asked how long his recovery would take, leaving the breakthrough on hold.

• Ruri realized that stalling the drug-enhanced enemy would not work unless he found a way to increase his strength.
• Ring Butler Zero told Ruri that he had accumulated enough experience to make a breakthrough.
• Ruri asked why Ring Butler Zero had not informed him sooner, and Ring Butler Zero apologized and promised to report important news immediately.
• Ring Butler Zero warned Ruri that his injuries made a breakthrough too dangerous until he recovered.
• Ruri asked how long it would take to heal.

Ring Butler Zero gave Ruri medicine and told him to rest in the Ring so his body outside could recover. Ruri took the medicine and settled into a hammock, determined to heal quickly so he could save Kakashi and the others.

• Ring Butler Zero gave Ruri medicine and explained that resting in the Ring would help his body outside recover faster.
• Ruri asked for water, swallowed the medicine, and said he needed to recover so he could save Kakashi and the others.
• Ring Butler Zero created two trees and a hammock for Ruri.
• Ruri reminisced about lying in a hammock during college, and Ring Butler Zero urged him to rest.
• Ring Butler Zero floated aside and closed his eyes while Ruri rested.

Ruri rested in the Ring’s hammock while Kakashi, Uchiha Itachi, and Yamato fought the powerful enemy outside. The three struggled to hold him off, leaving Ruri to return later and stall until the enemy’s drug wore off.

• Ruri climbed into the hammock, rested, and planned to return to the real world after recovering.
• Uchiha Itachi, Kakashi, and Yamato escaped the earthen wall and continued fighting the enemy.
• Uchiha Itachi complained to Kakashi that the enemy was unusually strong despite apparently taking the same Banned Drugs as others.
• Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi wondered why the enemy was so powerful, since even Ruri had lost to him.

Uzuki Yugao told Kakashi and the others that the enemy had taken two banned drugs, while Ruri began healing as he rested. Kakashi’s group prepared to hold the enemy off until Ruri woke, unaware that the enemy’s body was nearing its limit.

• Uzuki Yugao joined Kakashi and the others and explained that the enemy’s two banned drugs had made him unusually strong.
• Uzuki Yugao assured Uchiha Itachi that Ruri’s wounds were already healing, and Yamato warned Kakashi that the enemy was too strong for them.
• Kakashi told the group to hold the enemy off until Ruri woke, and they agreed.
• The enemy approached Kakashi’s group, mocked their defiance, and secretly realized he had to finish them before his body gave out.

Kakashi and his teammates attacked the enemy to buy time until Ruri woke up, but the enemy revealed a technique that strengthened his arm and deflected Kakashi’s Lightning Blade. The fight continued with the enemy still threatening to finish them before Ruri awakened.

• Kakashi told Uchiha Itachi, Uzuki Yugao, and Yamato to hold out until Ruri woke up and said the enemy looked close to his limit.
• Kakashi led the team in a charge against the enemy, while the enemy resolved to use his remaining strength to defeat them quickly.
• Kakashi struck with Lightning Blade, but the enemy used Earth Release Petrification to harden his arm and deflect the attack.
• The enemy told Kakashi he had simply strengthened part of his body.

Kakashi and the other three attacked an enemy who could harden his entire body, but their weapons could not hurt him and his punches overwhelmed them. Kakashi urged the injured group to keep fighting until Ruri woke up.

• Kakashi warned that the enemy’s ability to reinforce his body would make the fight difficult, and the enemy claimed the four had no chance of beating him.
• Uchiha Itachi challenged the enemy, and Kakashi and the other three attacked him together.
• The enemy hardened his entire body, shrugged off their weapon strikes, and punched all four of them away.
• Uchiha Itachi told Kakashi they were no match for the enemy, but Kakashi insisted they hold him off until Ruri woke up.

Kakashi and the others realized their enemy was weakening as his drug wore off, so they focused on keeping him occupied until time ran out. While Ruri recovered from his injuries, the four fighters struggled to survive the remaining minutes of the enemy’s drug.

• Uchiha Itachi noticed that the enemy had grown weaker and suggested they hold him back until his drug wore off.
• Kakashi told Uchiha Itachi and the others to stall rather than try to kill the enemy.
• Kakashi, Uchiha Itachi, and the other two attacked together to keep the enemy from killing anyone.
• Ruri continued recovering, with his wounds nearly healed and his strength returning.
• Kakashi warned his teammates to stay alive as the enemy had less than ten minutes before his drug wore off.

Kakashi and the others fought to stall the enemy while Ruri woke inside the Ring and asked Ring Butler Zero to level him up. Ruri completed the upgrade and opened his eyes, with the battle still unfolding outside.

• Kakashi and the others attacked the enemy again to buy time until the drug wore off.
• Ruri woke inside the Ring, rested, and worried about how Kakashi and the others were faring.
• Ruri shook Ring Butler Zero awake and asked him to level him up before the others were killed.
• Ring Butler Zero placed a Little Gold Dot against Ruri's forehead and merged it into his brain.
• After waiting about ten minutes inside the Ring, Ruri finished leveling up and asked Ring Butler Zero if it was really done.

Ruri received a partial upgrade from Ring Butler Zero, recovered from his wounds, and returned to the fight. He took over from the exhausted Kakashi and his teammates, planning to hold the enemy off until the drug wore off and killed him.

• Ring Butler Zero told Ruri his upgrade was only halfway complete and promised to finish it after the mission.
• Ruri tested his increased strength, left the Ring's space, and found that his wounds had nearly healed.
• Ruri saw that Kakashi and the others were exhausted and stepped in as the enemy taunted them.
• Ruri stopped Kakashi from charging and told him to rest while he took over.
• Ruri explained that the enemy would die when his drug wore off, and Kakashi agreed to leave the fight to him.

Ruri stayed behind to face the enemy after Kakashi, Uzuki Yugao, Uchiha Itachi, and Yamato withdrew to rest. He attacked the enemy while waiting for the drug to wear off, leaving the fight ongoing with five minutes remaining.

• Kakashi and the others left Ruri to handle the enemy, and Uzuki Yugao, Uchiha Itachi, and Yamato wished him well.
• Ruri promised to return safely and told his companions to rest while he confronted the enemy.
• Ruri told the enemy he had nearly recovered and intended to settle their earlier fight.
• Ruri vanished and struck the enemy in the chest with a huge Rasengan, surprising him with his speed.
• Ruri realized the enemy had five minutes left before the drug killed him and sent him flying with an expanding Rasengan.

After breaking through, Ruri fought the enemy on more equal terms and pushed forward as their remaining time dwindled. He struck the enemy with Lightning Blade-infused Kunai, leaving him crying out in pain.

• The enemy questioned Ruri about his sudden increase in strength, and Ruri said the enemy had helped him unlock his potential.
• The enemy vowed to kill Ruri and charged at him, but Ruri blocked his attacks and mocked their reduced force.
• The enemy enlarged and strengthened his right hand to hammer Ruri, but Ruri dodged the attack.
• Ruri thought there were less than four minutes left, then charged in with two Lightning Blade-infused Kunai and slashed the enemy, making him cry out from the damage and electric shocks.

Ruri fought the enemy while relying on the drug’s weakening effects to stall until he could wear him down. Kakashi, Uzuki Yugao, Uchiha Itachi, and Yamato recovered enough to watch the battle, and Kakashi reassured Yugao that Ruri only needed to keep the enemy occupied.

• Ruri retreated after injuring the enemy and realized the drug was nearing its time limit, making this his best chance to attack.
• The enemy charged Ruri, determined to kill him before the drug wore off, and they clashed in a fierce battle.
• Uzuki Yugao checked on Kakashi, who said Ruri had arrived in time to save them.
• After checking on Uchiha Itachi and Yamato, Uzuki Yugao worried that Ruri might lose.
• Kakashi reassured Uzuki Yugao that Ruri could wear the enemy down by stalling for time.

Ruri stalled the enemy as the effects of his banned drugs began to wear off. Realizing he was near death, the enemy decided to take Ruri down with him.

• Uzuki Yugao urged Ruri to avoid a direct clash and stall for time.
• Ruri taunted the enemy, who rose and denied being afraid despite his drugs nearing their limit.
• Kakashi, Uchiha Itachi, and Uzuki Yugao recognized that the enemy’s strength came from banned drugs and that he was close to his limit.
• Uchiha Itachi said the team needed to train harder after being left in such a sorry state.
• The enemy accepted that he would soon die and fixed his gaze on Ruri, resolving to take him down too.

Ruri used his two Shadow Clones to trap the enemy in an Eight Trigrams Palm Barrier and unleash a combined Eight Trigrams Palm attack. The unfamiliar technique worked, leaving the enemy in pain and unable to fight back.

• Ruri created two Shadow Clones and charged at the enemy with them.
• Ruri and his Shadow Clones surrounded the enemy and formed an Eight Trigrams Palm Barrier.
• Ruri and his Shadow Clones struck the enemy together with Eight Trigrams Palm, Two Hundred Fifty-Six Palms.
• The enemy cried out in pain as Ruri's attack left him unable to fight back.

Ruri used the Eight Trigrams Palm with his Shadow Clones to injure the enemy as the effects of the enemy’s drugs began to wear off. With one minute left before the drugs wore off, the enemy stood up to face Ruri again.

• Ruri and his Shadow Clones struck the enemy repeatedly with the Eight Trigrams Palm, sending him flying and making him cough up blood.
• Ruri’s Shadow Clones vanished, and he said the attack had worked better than he expected.
• Uzuki Yugao, Kakashi, Uchiha Itachi, and Yamato watched the fight, and Itachi said he wanted the enemy dead while Yamato warned him not to live for bloodshed.
• Uchiha Itachi said he would only fight people who caused him trouble, and Yamato nodded.
• The enemy realized the drugs had only one minute left, stood up, and faced Ruri.
• Ruri taunted the enemy, saying he could block any attack and might even kill him.

Ruri confronted an enemy whose banned drugs were about to wear off, only for the enemy to seize him and self-destruct. Ruri was blown apart with him.

• Ruri told the enemy he had only kept him occupied because other drug-using enemies had died, and that defeating him would have cost his own life.
• The enemy admitted he had underestimated Ruri and regretted relying on drugs.
• As Ruri lowered his guard, the enemy suddenly grabbed him and said he would take someone down with him.
• When the drug effects ended, the enemy turned red and exploded, blowing Ruri apart with him.

After the enemy exploded while holding Ruri, Kakashi, Uchiha Itachi, Yamato, and Uzuki Yugao feared he had died. Ruri reappeared unharmed and explained that he had used a Shadow Clone to take his place.

• Uzuki Yugao and the others saw the enemy explode with Ruri and rushed toward the crater.
• Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi found only the enemy's remains, and Yamato concluded that Ruri might have survived.
• Uzuki Yugao reached the crater and fell to her knees, mourning Ruri.
• Ruri appeared from a tree and told Uzuki Yugao that he was fine.
• Ruri explained that a Shadow Clone had taken his place, and Kakashi and the others sat down around him.

Ruri survived an enemy’s self-detonation by switching places with a Shadow Clone. Kakashi confirmed that all five of them were safe and every enemy had been dealt with.

• Uzuki Yugao angrily scolded Ruri for frightening everyone with his apparent death.
• Ruri explained that he had switched places with a Shadow Clone before the enemy blew himself up.
• Kakashi, Uchiha Itachi, and Yamato acknowledged how close Ruri had come to dying and how the enemy had tried to take him down.
• Kakashi told the group that all five of them were safe and no enemies remained.
• Ruri thanked his teammates for their hard work.