Recaps

Master of Open Stratagems ordered the Glory Legion to proceed cautiously after its Vanguard Squad vanished in the Land of Rain. Ye Chen found a missing player's forum post showing that a mysterious group had captured the squad in a prison that blocked communication and prevented ninjutsu.

• A Glory Legion player reported that contact with the Vanguard Squad had been lost after it entered the Land of Rain, and Master of Open Stratagems ordered the squads to spread out, take cover, and share intelligence.
• Ye Chen learned of the missing players and realized he could not use his system to investigate outside the Land of Grass.
• Ye Chen searched recent forum posts about the Land of Rain and found a post written by one of the missing players.
• The player described how a well-trained group of ninjas had subdued the Vanguard Squad with special metal tools that stopped them from using ninjutsu.
• The player revealed that the squad was locked in a prison that blocked outside communication and even prevented escape by suicide.

Ye Chen featured a forum post warning that Hozuki Castle Prison in the Land of Rain had trapped players and suppressed their abilities. As the players debated how to respond, Ye Chen left the campaign to them, while Master of Open Stratagems muted the Glory Legion chat to present a plan.

• Ye Chen read forum replies identifying the prison as Hozuki Castle Prison and describing how it blocked communications, sealed chakra, and countered respawning.
• Forum users rallied to keep the warning visible, and Ye Chen used his administrator privileges to feature the post and pin an analytical reply.
• Ye Chen decided not to join an assault on Hozuki Castle Prison, reasoning that the players’ actions could distract the Land of Rain’s leadership while he and Jiraiya prepared to infiltrate Amegakure.
• The Glory Legion players learned that the missing players were imprisoned and argued over what to do.
• Master of Open Stratagems muted the legion chat and began presenting his plan.

Master of Open Stratagems outlined a cautious plan to rescue the players imprisoned in Hozuki Castle Prison by seeking help from elite ninja and persuading them that Sasuke Uchiha and Gaara were imprisoned there. After addressing the players’ objections, he won enough support for the operation to begin.

• Master of Open Stratagems explained that prisoners in Hozuki Castle Prison could neither use chakra nor respawn, so the rescue required careful planning.
• Master of Open Stratagems proposed asking elite fighters from the ninja villages for help, using claims that Sasuke Uchiha and Gaara were imprisoned in the castle.
• Players challenged the plan, questioning whether the ninja would believe them or risk their lives, and Master of Open Stratagems muted the chat to answer them.
• Master of Open Stratagems argued that the group should try the story anyway, and the players’ objections subsided.
• Players urged the group to set out quickly to rescue their imprisoned comrades.

Ye Chen completed and named the rebuilt settlement Hidden Jun Village No. 1, then agreed to meet the daimyo of Kusagakure. He reached the daimyo’s carriage and hesitated when invited inside, realizing an intimate scene was taking place within.

• Ye Chen finished renovating the settlement, named it Hidden Jun Village No. 1, and inscribed the name on a stone tablet.
• A masked Jonin-level ninja arrived and said the daimyo of Kusagakure wanted to see Ye Chen.
• Ye Chen agreed to go with the ninja, curious about the daimyo’s sudden appearance and intentions.
• The ninja led Ye Chen to a carriage by the river, then lay down so Ye Chen could use his back to board it.
• The daimyo invited Ye Chen inside while an intimate scene was underway, leaving Ye Chen awkwardly unsure what to do.

Ye Chen confronted the daimyo of Kusagakure, endured his mocking and intimidated him into sending his maids away. The daimyo then relayed an offer from someone in the Land of Rain to help Hidden Jun Village become a super ninja village if Ye Chen stopped opposing Amegakure, leaving Ye Chen suspicious about the daimyo’s ties and curious who sent the message.

• Ye Chen entered the daimyo of Kusagakure’s carriage and rebuffed his jokes about Ye Chen being a virgin.
• The daimyo questioned whether Ye Chen feared for his safety, and Ye Chen threatened him by revealing he knew two Kage Level experts were hiding beneath the bridge.
• Ye Chen demanded privacy, and the daimyo ordered the frightened maids out of the carriage.
• The daimyo said someone in the Land of Rain offered to make Hidden Jun Village a super ninja village if Ye Chen stopped opposing Amegakure.
• Ye Chen dismissed the offer aloud but suspected the daimyo had aligned himself with the Land of Rain and wondered who had sent the message.

Ye Chen rejected the Kusagakure daimyo’s attempt to recruit him for the Land of Rain and left to join Jiraiya’s investigation of Amegakure. Meanwhile, Master of Open Stratagems persuaded elite ninja from several villages to consider attacking Hozuki Castle Prison, and some Genin stepped forward to join them.

• Ye Chen accused the Kusagakure daimyo of serving the Land of Rain and refused to join its camp.
• The Kusagakure daimyo’s two Kage Level ninja revealed they had avoided attacking Ye Chen because his strength seemed unfathomable.
• Ye Chen left the carriage after the daimyo dismissed him and headed toward Jiraiya instead of returning to Hidden Jun Village.
• Master of Open Stratagems presented information about Hozuki Castle Prison to elite ninja accompanying the Genin back to their countries, offering them a chance to atone for their failures.
• Several seed Genin, including members of the original Naruto cast, responded before the elite ninja had decided.

Naruto Uzumaki recovered quickly and insisted on joining a mission to rescue Sasuke Uchiha, while Jiraiya struggled to decide whether to let the young Konoha ninja go. Ye Chen declined the players’ request for help with Hozuki Castle Prison and set out with Jiraiya to investigate Amegakure, where they reached a heavily guarded border.

• Naruto Uzumaki recovered from his injuries within a day and a night and insisted on going to the Land of Rain to rescue Sasuke Uchiha.
• Jiraiya hesitated over the youngsters’ request to go, and Ye Chen arrived as the players sought his help with Hozuki Castle Prison.
• Ye Chen told Master of Open Stratagems that he already knew about the prison but would not intervene in a diplomatic matter.
• Ye Chen joined Jiraiya, who joked with him as they headed toward the Land of Grass’s border to investigate Amegakure.
• Ye Chen and Jiraiya saw that the Land of Rain’s border had been heavily fortified with guards, sentry posts, and patrols.

Jiraiya took Ye Chen toward Amegakure for drinks and explained that they would need disguises to cross into the Land of Rain. Jiraiya entered a toad to hide, while Ye Chen used a copied paper technique and headed for the border, wary of Nagato's rain-based surveillance.

• Jiraiya left the hidden villages' experts to decide for themselves whether to join the infiltration, after Ye Chen reassured him they would be fine.
• Jiraiya led Ye Chen toward the Land of Rain and proposed disguising themselves to avoid attracting attention at the border.
• Jiraiya used the Ninja Art: Toad Hiding Technique and entered a green-skinned toad, then arranged to meet Ye Chen outside Amegakure.
• Ye Chen refused to enter the toad and used the copied Secret Art: Paper Binding Technique to disguise himself as an ordinary middle-aged man.
• Ye Chen put on a raincoat and approached the border while keeping Nagato's Rain Tiger at Will Technique in mind.

Ye Chen and Jiraiya entered the Land of Rain while avoiding Nagato’s limited surveillance. Jiraiya slipped past the border in disguise, and Ye Chen bribed a guard commander to pass through the checkpoint.

• Ye Chen explained that Nagato generally confined the Rain Tiger at Will Technique to Amegakure because maintaining it across the Land of Rain would strain him.
• Jiraiya used the Ninja Art: Toad Hiding Technique to slip past the border guards without being questioned.
• Ye Chen approached the checkpoint in disguise and presented forged-looking but genuine documents identifying him as a Grass-country trader.
• The guard commander repeatedly questioned Ye Chen and pocketed three stacks of Beli notes.
• The guard commander let Ye Chen enter the Land of Rain.

The Master of Open Stratagems recruited Naruto Uzumaki and the other young Konoha fighters for a rescue mission to Hozuki Castle Prison, despite disagreement among Konoha’s elite. Granny Chiyo arrived searching for Gaara, and the Master of Open Stratagems faced a dilemma because his claim that Gaara and Sasuke Uchiha were imprisoned there was fabricated.

• The Master of Open Stratagems failed to persuade most elite fighters to join his plan, so he recruited Naruto Uzumaki and the other eager young fighters as reinforcements.
• Kakashi Hatake supported the rescue mission, while Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuhi opposed bringing the Genin into danger, and the group argued over what to do.
• Kakashi Hatake led the way toward the mission, prompting the crowd to surge after him.
• Granny Chiyo arrived and asked where Gaara was, then learned that the Master of Open Stratagems had claimed Gaara and Sasuke Uchiha were being held at Hozuki Castle Prison.
• A Hidden Jun Village player warned the Master of Open Stratagems that Granny Chiyo was a powerful Sunagakure Kage Level fighter, raising concern that she might expose their fabricated intelligence.

Master of Open Stratagems persuaded Granny Chiyo to join the search for Gaara in the Land of Rain, though she warned she would hold him responsible if he had misled her. At the border, the players’ gathering alerted the guards, and Granny Chiyo challenged Master of Open Stratagems’ plan to split the force.

• Master of Open Stratagems told Granny Chiyo that Gaara was believed to be in Hozuki Castle Prison and was certainly somewhere in the Land of Rain.
• Granny Chiyo agreed to accompany the players but warned she would hold them accountable if she failed to find Gaara.
• Master of Open Stratagems led Granny Chiyo and other experts toward the Land of Rain while the remaining experts escorted the Genin away.
• The players gathered at a concealed stretch of border, drawing the attention of Land of Rain guards, who sounded a horn and hurried to the mountains.
• Master of Open Stratagems proposed splitting the players into three infiltration groups, but Granny Chiyo rebuked him and argued that they should concentrate their superior numbers.

Master of Open Stratagems led the Glory Legion into the Land of Rain, where the force overwhelmed the enemy guards and prepared to advance through the rain. When Granny Chiyo sensed unusual fluctuations and rushed ahead alone, Master of Open Stratagems sent Jonin-level players after her and ordered the rest to hold formation.

• Master of Open Stratagems assigned the legion's squads their battle roles, while Granny Chiyo criticized his decision to send inexperienced players into combat.
• The Glory Legion overwhelmed the hillside guards and crossed into the Land of Rain, where thick mist and cold rain slowed their advance.
• Master of Open Stratagems ordered players to use rain gear or Chakra barriers to protect the force from the rain.
• Granny Chiyo sensed unusual fluctuations ahead and rushed off to investigate.
• Master of Open Stratagems called on Jonin-level players to assist Granny Chiyo and ordered the remaining players to advance slowly while maintaining formation.

Master of Open Stratagems sent the elite fighters after Granny Chiyo, who directed them to rescue Gaara from Deidara instead of joining her fight with Sasori of the Red Sands. Sakura Haruno stayed behind, and Granny Chiyo called on her to help.

• Master of Open Stratagems organized the elite fighters and sent Kakashi Hatake and the others after Granny Chiyo.
• Kakashi Hatake found Granny Chiyo battling Sasori of the Red Sands, but Granny Chiyo told him to pursue Deidara and rescue Gaara.
• Granny Chiyo sent the pursuing elite fighters and Naruto Uzumaki's group toward Gaara, leaving the battlefield largely to her and Sasori.
• Sakura Haruno stayed behind because she doubted her strength, and Granny Chiyo called her over to help.

Sakura Haruno restrained Black Ant while Granny Chiyo fought Sasori of the Red Sands. Sasori unleashed his hidden weapons, and Granny Chiyo countered with the Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets, leaving the battle poised for their next move.

• Sakura Haruno failed to damage Black Ant with an explosive tag, and Granny Chiyo explained that it could withstand attacks below S-rank and advised her to restrict its movements.
• Sakura Haruno used tough threads attached to kunai to bind Black Ant, then flipped it over and destroyed its exposed cannon muzzles with explosive tags.
• Sasori of the Red Sands revealed cannon muzzles in his body and tail, prompting Granny Chiyo to send a white-robed puppet to carry Sakura Haruno to safety.
• Granny Chiyo surrounded Sasori of the Red Sands with the Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets as he unleashed several hidden weapons and volleys of needles.
• Granny Chiyo controlled the ten puppets as they formed hand seals in unison.

Granny Chiyo trapped Sasori of the Red Sands in a sphere of light and used Sakura Haruno to dismantle his puppet body while protecting her from his attacks. Sasori’s body exploded, and a dark figure emerged from it.

• Granny Chiyo used the Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets to form a sphere of light around Sasori of the Red Sands, trapping his lower body.
• Granny Chiyo controlled Sakura Haruno with a transparent thread and sent her to attack Sasori of the Red Sands.
• Sasori of the Red Sands fired Needle Eight Waves at Sakura Haruno, but the light shield intercepted the needles as she dismantled the components on his back.
• Sasori of the Red Sands used the Human Puppet Technique to try to seize control of Sakura Haruno, but Granny Chiyo’s threads bound his control thread.
• Sasori of the Red Sands’ back split open, his main body exploded, and a dark figure shot out.

Sasori of the Red Sands destroyed his main body and used its poisoned metal particles to ambush Sakura Haruno, but she survived after taking pills from her bag. Granny Chiyo then faced the Third Kazekage puppet and realized Sasori was her long-lost grandson.

• Sasori of the Red Sands exploded his main body and launched a hidden poisoned metal needle at Sakura Haruno.
• Granny Chiyo pulled Sakura Haruno back, but the needle burst into particles that struck and poisoned her.
• Sakura Haruno directed Granny Chiyo to pink pills in her bag, and Granny Chiyo gave them to her, saving her life.
• Sakura Haruno warned Granny Chiyo of an attack, and Granny Chiyo evaded the Third Kazekage puppet.
• Granny Chiyo recognized Sasori of the Red Sands as the figure controlling the puppet and realized he was her grandson.

Granny Chiyo and Sasori clashed with their opposing puppet techniques as Sasori unleashed his hundred-puppet formation. With the battle turning against Chiyo, Sakura recovered from Sasori’s poison and stepped in to confront the Third Kazekage Puppet.

• Sasori revealed that he had transformed his body into a puppet and attacked Granny Chiyo, declaring that puppets embodied eternal art.
• Granny Chiyo deployed the Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets, restraining the Third Kazekage Puppet and countering Sasori’s attacks.
• Sasori summoned more than a hundred crimson puppets, and Chiyo’s ten white-robed puppets fought them to a stalemate.
• The damaged Third Kazekage Puppet escaped its bindings and restored itself from black sand and gravel, increasing the pressure on Chiyo.
• Sakura Haruno recovered from the poison and offered to hold off the Third Kazekage Puppet while Chiyo fought Sasori’s hundred-plus puppets.

Sakura Haruno fought the Third Kazekage Puppet while Granny Chiyo and Sasori battled with their puppet forces. Granny Chiyo summoned the Father and Mother puppets, stunning Sasori and leaving him mentally shattered.

• Granny Chiyo warned Sakura Haruno about the Third Kazekage Puppet’s Magnet Release, and Sakura charged into battle bare-handed.
• Granny Chiyo’s Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets fought Sasori’s Red Shadow Puppets while Sasori attacked with weapons built into his body.
• Sakura Haruno’s Taijutsu drove the Third Kazekage Puppet back, while Sasori grew anxious and summoned Crow, Black Ant, and Ibuse puppets.
• The strain of controlling so many puppets made Sasori collapse, but he continued the assault.
• Granny Chiyo summoned the Father and Mother puppets, and Sasori recognized them as his parents and lost control of his other puppets.

Granny Chiyo and Sakura Haruno trapped and killed Sasori as he embraced the parent puppets, and Sakura burned the family together. The chapter ended with Sakura wondering whether Sasori had known the embrace was a trap and concluding that he had simply stopped wanting to live.

• Sasori approached the parent puppets in a daze, crying and calling for his parents, while Granny Chiyo questioned his choices and he insisted he had never regretted them.
• Granny Chiyo asked Sakura Haruno to channel chakra into the ground so they could trap Sasori and kill him, admitting she could not bring herself to do it herself.
• Sakura Haruno agreed, and Granny Chiyo shouted for her to act as Sasori threw himself into the parent puppets' arms.
• Granny Chiyo and Sakura Haruno activated a rectangular formation, and the parent puppets' blades pierced Sasori's puppet core as he held onto them.
• Granny Chiyo left and asked Sakura Haruno to burn the family; Sakura set the puppets and Sasori alight, then concluded that he had not wanted to cling to life.

After Sakura Haruno gave Granny Chiyo the ashes she collected from Sasori, they left the rainy battlefield together. Meanwhile, Kakashi Hatake joined Gaara's fight against Deidara and watched Deidara survive a Tailed Beast Bomb before unleashing a destructive beam at the approaching fighters.

• Sakura Haruno collected Sasori's ashes and gave them to Granny Chiyo in a medical vial.
• Granny Chiyo accepted the ashes, urged Sakura Haruno to leave the rain, and walked away with her.
• Kakashi Hatake arrived at Gaara's battlefield and attacked Deidara with Lightning Release: Chidori, but Deidara escaped on a clay bird.
• Kakashi Hatake hurled a lightning spear at Deidara, who turned his body into clay to avoid serious injury.
• Gaara, merged with One-Tail Shukaku, fired a Tailed Beast Bomb at Deidara, who absorbed its chakra and survived.
• Deidara fired a powerful beam toward the ground as Kakashi Hatake warned the other approaching fighters to get out of the way.

Kakashi Hatake and the rescue team attacked Deidara, but the One-Tail Shukaku disrupted the battle with a Tailed Beast Bomb and forced Deidara to flee. Deidara called on Mujo, who emerged with Hozuki Castle guards and ordered the fighters captured.

• Kakashi Hatake warned the arriving rescue team to take cover as explosions and chakra attacks tore up the battlefield.
• Deidara formed a C4 Bomb while Kakashi Hatake, Raijin, and the other fighters launched ninjutsu at him.
• The One-Tail Shukaku fired a Tailed Beast Bomb that scattered the attacks and flames, and Deidara fled into the sky on his clay bird.
• Deidara called out to Mujo for help, and Mujo emerged from hiding near the battlefield.
• Mujo ordered the Hozuki Castle guards to take everyone to Hozuki Castle and let them cool off.

Hozuki Castle's guards overwhelmed the elite fighters, and Mujo used Fire Release: Fire Prison to seal Naruto Uzumaki and Shikamaru before they could resist. Kakashi Hatake, enraged by their capture, revealed his Sharingan and used Dojutsu: Kamui against Mujo.

• Mujo ordered Hozuki Castle's guards to attack, forcing Naruto Uzumaki and the other young fighters to retreat while the elite fighters struggled to defend them.
• Kakashi Hatake challenged Mujo, but Mujo claimed the intruders had declared war by entering his territory and prepared to attack them.
• Mujo's Fire Release: Fire Prison chains sealed Naruto Uzumaki's chakra and bound Shikamaru, and guards carried both away toward the prison.
• Kakashi Hatake lost control at the sight of his students being taken and revealed his Sharingan.
• Kakashi Hatake activated Dojutsu: Kamui, creating a distortion in space before Mujo.

Deidara rescued Mujo from Kakashi Hatake’s Kamui, losing a hand in the process, and convinced Mujo to help him subdue the rampaging Kakashi. Deidara wanted to study Kakashi’s Sharingan, but Kakashi remained surrounded by Hozuki guards and was still dangerous.

• Deidara dove in on his clay bird and pulled the genjutsu-controlled Mujo away from Kamui, but the space-warping dojutsu severed Deidara’s hand.
• Deidara sealed his bleeding wrist with clay, then used chakra in his voice to wake Mujo from Kakashi Hatake’s genjutsu.
• Mujo thanked Deidara for saving him, and Deidara told him to honor their agreement and help subdue Kakashi.
• Deidara explained that he wanted Kakashi’s Sharingan so he could study it and improve his ability to resist genjutsu.
• Mujo and Deidara faced Kakashi Hatake, who had gone berserk and was surrounded by dozens of Hozuki guards.

Kakashi Hatake broke through the Hozuki Castle guards and raced after the captors of Naruto Uzumaki and Shikamaru, but Deidara blocked his path. When Mujo threatened the youths who had come to help, Kakashi faced a choice between pursuing his students and protecting them, and Deidara attacked while Kakashi tried to intervene.

• Kakashi Hatake killed two Hozuki Castle guards with Lightning Blade and escaped their encirclement, then hurried after the guards who had taken Naruto Uzumaki and Shikamaru.
• Deidara used a white-clay swamp and clay bombs to slow Kakashi Hatake as he tried to leave the battlefield.
• Mujo, the lord of Hozuki Castle, attacked the youths who had come to help, forcing Kakashi Hatake to choose between pursuing Naruto and Shikamaru or protecting them.
• Kakashi Hatake used Kamui against Mujo, but Deidara blocked his view with a white-clay wall, leaving a bowl-sized hole where the space was distorted.
• Deidara sent a fast-falling white-clay dragon head toward Kakashi Hatake.

Kakashi Hatake escaped Deidara’s bombardment through an underground tunnel and charged toward Mujo, the lord of Hozuki Castle. Mujo seized Choji as a hostage, but Kakashi’s lightning attack reached him as the chapter ended.

• Kakashi Hatake used Sharingan: Kamui to pierce the falling clay dragon, then escaped Deidara’s explosions through an electrically bored tunnel.
• Deidara spotted Kakashi Hatake’s route and warned Mujo, the lord of Hozuki Castle, as he pursued Kakashi on a clay bird.
• Mujo, the lord of Hozuki Castle, caught Choji with a crimson chain and pulled him up as a hostage to hinder Kakashi Hatake.
• Kakashi Hatake reached Mujo, the lord of Hozuki Castle, and covered the ground beneath him with electric current.
• Mujo, the lord of Hozuki Castle, stabbed his fingers toward the ground, and converging electric arcs struck them.