Recaps

Kakashi Hatake fought Deidara and Mujo while trying to protect the boys trapped on the battlefield. He sent the boys away to seek reinforcements, then faced Deidara alone as old memories surfaced.

• Mujo was badly injured by Kakashi Hatake’s lightning attack and fled, but Kakashi could not pursue him.
• Kakashi Hatake used Earth Release: Earth Flow River to send Choji and the other boys out of the battlefield and urged them to bring the main force.
• The mudslide swept Hozuki Castle guards away from the boys, though some escaped and pursued them.
• Deidara said he would reveal his real strength, while Kakashi Hatake tried unsuccessfully to draw him down from the air.
• Kakashi Hatake faced Deidara alone and felt isolated as memories from years past returned.

Kakashi Hatake fought Deidara inside an Earth-Style Wall while Mujo went after the target boys. Meanwhile, Falcon's Eye's livestream viewers discussed how the game's changed storyline might alter the fates and personalities of familiar characters, including Jiraiya.

• Deidara agreed to fight Kakashi Hatake on the ground, and Kakashi raised four earthen walls around them.
• Deidara told Mujo to capture the target boys while he kept Kakashi occupied.
• Kakashi and Deidara fought fiercely inside the walls as Kakashi refused to take them down and could only hope the boys escaped.
• Falcon's Eye's livestream drew a large audience and earned substantial revenue for him and his platform.
• Viewers debated whether the game's altered story could change characters' personalities and save Jiraiya, while some worried that his early arrival in the Land of Rain might put him in greater danger.

Viewers noticed that Gaara had vanished without a trace and urged Falcon's Eye to investigate, while the battle at Hozuki Castle continued to worsen. Granny Chiyo and Sakura Haruno arrived and attacked Mujo, but Kakashi Hatake and Deidara remained sealed inside an earthen enclosure.

• Viewers realized Gaara had disappeared during the rescue operation and asked Falcon's Eye to search for clues.
• The viewers suspected that someone, possibly Obito Uchiha, had taken Gaara away using a space-time technique.
• Falcon's Eye found battle damage where Gaara had fought Deidara, but no clues to explain his disappearance.
• Granny Chiyo and Sakura Haruno arrived at Hozuki Castle as elite fighters battled Mujo and the Hozuki guards.
• Granny Chiyo attacked Mujo while Sakura Haruno went to support the other fights.
• Kakashi Hatake's earthen walls closed around him and Deidara, concealing the progress of their battle.

Granny Chiyo and Sakura Haruno turned the battle against Mujo and the Hozuki guards, who retreated after Mujo gave the order. As Deidara escaped the collapsing earthen wall with Kakashi Hatake hanging from his clay bird, Raijin arrived and attacked Deidara with lightning alongside Azure Bird: Thunderclap.

• Granny Chiyo held Mujo in check while the allied elite fighters overwhelmed the Hozuki guards, and Mujo eventually ordered a retreat.
• The earthen wall collapsed, and Deidara emerged on a clay bird with the barely conscious Kakashi Hatake hanging beneath it.
• Deidara threw clay bombs at Kakashi Hatake, but Raijin arrived and pierced Deidara with a lightning strike.
• Raijin used Lightning Release: Thunder Strike as Azure Bird: Thunderclap unleashed Secret Technique: Purple Flame Thunderclap, blasting holes through the clay bird.

Raijin drove Deidara from the battlefield but chose not to pursue him, instead rescuing the gravely wounded Kakashi Hatake. After One Sword Opens Heaven warned that Gaara’s unexplained disappearance might signal a hidden enemy, Raijin decided the group should wait for the legion commander before acting.

• Raijin’s Azure Bird: Thunderclap caught the falling Kakashi Hatake, then attacked Deidara, who dodged and tried to claim the bird as his summoned beast.
• Raijin confronted Deidara and stalled him until Deidara burrowed away using a secret Earth Release technique.
• Raijin brought the unconscious Kakashi Hatake to the other fighters, where Sakura Haruno and several medical ninja began treating him.
• Raijin told the players he had let Deidara escape, and One Sword Opens Heaven explained that Gaara’s disappearance could mean a hostile expert was nearby.
• Raijin told the group to wait for the legion commander to arrive before deciding what to do about the captured people.

With Kakashi Hatake unconscious and Gaara missing, Sakura Haruno calmed the arguing fighters and explained the strange disappearance to Granny Chiyo. The Glory Legion's main force arrived, and Granny Chiyo began to brief Master of Open Stratagems on the situation.

• Sakura Haruno stopped the elite fighters from arguing and told them to wait for Granny Chiyo.
• Granny Chiyo arrived, examined Kakashi Hatake, and praised his courage before angrily criticizing the fighters for letting Deidara escape.
• Sakura Haruno explained that Gaara had vanished and warned that a powerful fighter might be hiding nearby; Granny Chiyo accepted the fighters' decision not to pursue.
• Master of Open Stratagems arrived with the Glory Legion's main force and rebuked the leaders for delaying.
• Granny Chiyo set aside questions about what had happened and began analyzing the situation for Master of Open Stratagems.

The Master of Open Stratagems assessed the dangers facing the rescue force and explained the defenses and chakra-sealing restrictions at Hozuki Castle Prison. Granny Chiyo offered ways to handle the Land of Rain’s garrison and potential attackers, and he revealed a Soulwood Casket and a group teleportation ninja art as the basis of his plan.

• The Master of Open Stratagems identified the threat of Rain reinforcements, powerful ambushers, and Mujo’s chakra-sealing technique at Hozuki Castle Prison.
• Granny Chiyo said the main force could keep moving while others covered its trails and lookouts.
• Granny Chiyo argued Akatsuki was unlikely to harass them while extracting Gaara’s Tailed Beast and revealed that formidable experts had entered Amegakure.
• Granny Chiyo said she knew no way around the prison’s defenses except to break through from outside and asked the Master of Open Stratagems for his plan.
• The Master of Open Stratagems produced a Soulwood Casket that could resurrect specific faction members and said he had mastered a group teleportation ninja art.

Master of Open Stratagems revealed a plan to use the Soulwood Casket and a group teleportation ninjutsu to attack Hozuki Castle Prison, and Granny Chiyo volunteered to join him. Meanwhile, Ye Chen and Jiraiya arrived in Amegakure, where Jiraiya offered to take him to a famous bar.

• Master of Open Stratagems showed the Soulwood Casket, which could revive its bound user three times, and described his plan to get captured and infiltrate Hozuki Prison.
• Master of Open Stratagems revealed Secret Art: Allied Shinobi Forces Technique, which could teleport contracted allies to his location, and warned others not to provoke his team.
• The elite experts worried that the summoning contract might trap them, but Master of Open Stratagems said he would only summon designated Hidden Jun Village members.
• Granny Chiyo volunteered to enter the prison with Master of Open Stratagems and said she did not mind signing the contract, startling everyone present.
• Ye Chen and Jiraiya arrived in Amegakure, where Jiraiya offered to take Ye Chen to the local Amegakure Bar.

Ye Chen stopped Jiraiya from trying to enter Amegakure through its sewage outfall and offered to use his travel documents and letter of introduction instead. Jiraiya examined them, while Ye Chen explained that he had only one set and could not provide documents for him.

• Jiraiya coated Toad Hide with waterproof mucus and prepared to sneak into Amegakure through the sewers.
• Ye Chen followed Toad Hide to a foul-smelling sewage outfall and objected to Jiraiya's plan to crawl through it.
• Ye Chen offered to enter Amegakure using his legitimate travel documents and letter of introduction.
• Jiraiya examined Ye Chen's documents, and Ye Chen said he had only one set and could not obtain another for him.

Ye Chen helped Jiraiya sneak into Amegakure, where they disguised themselves and went to a bar. The chapter left Jiraiya eavesdropping on a group of girls before he suddenly claimed to know Konan well.

• Ye Chen hid Toad Hide in his pocket and passed Amegakure's security checkpoints with Jiraiya concealed inside.
• Ye Chen released Jiraiya in a secluded alley, where Jiraiya washed himself and used a technique to disguise his appearance.
• Jiraiya promised to teach Ye Chen the disguise technique when they found a suitable time.
• Jiraiya led Ye Chen through Amegakure to a bar and ordered drinks and food.
• Jiraiya eavesdropped on three girls in the neighboring booth, then announced that he knew Konan very well.

Jiraiya and Ye Chen used their introduction letter from Konan to pose as respectable merchants while Jiraiya questioned Amegakure residents about the Angel. Jiraiya proposed a game of Truth or Dare to win the girls’ trust, and they remained wary as the game was about to begin.

• Jiraiya overheard three girls discussing the Angel and asked them to describe her, but they suspected him of being a spy.
• Jiraiya took Ye Chen to another booth and showed the girls their travel documents and Konan’s letter of introduction.
• Jiraiya claimed he had once lived in Amegakure and was on good terms with Konan, though the girls doubted him.
• Jiraiya proposed Truth or Dare, offering the bar’s Drunken Immortal Brew as a prize for the winners.
• The girls asked whether Jiraiya would make unreasonable demands, and he assured them they could call the guards if they objected.

Ye Chen and Jiraiya visited a bar in Amegakure, where Jiraiya used a dice game over a bottle of Drunken Immortal Brew to question three girls about their Angel. After opening the rare mind-nourishing liquor, Jiraiya poured a small taste for everyone, and Ye Chen eagerly watched the brew.

• Jiraiya proposed that the three girls kiss him if he won their game, and they eagerly agreed when he offered Drunken Immortal Brew as the stake.
• Jiraiya won the game, received kisses from the girls, and asked how many Angels they had; they said there was only one, Lady Angel.
• Jiraiya offered the girls a sip of Drunken Immortal Brew, and they eagerly accepted.
• Ye Chen smelled the opened brew and recognized it as a rare liquor that nourished mental power.
• Jiraiya poured a small sip of Drunken Immortal Brew into cups for Ye Chen and the three girls.

Ye Chen and Jiraiya drank Drunken Immortal Brew while questioning three young women in a bar, and Ye Chen realized the wine had unusual, intoxicating effects. After Jiraiya got the women drunk and extracted information, he led Ye Chen away without paying; Ye Chen joined him when he heard the bottle cost a hundred million Beli, but was left wondering why Jiraiya was heading toward Amegakure's central district.

• Ye Chen tasted Drunken Immortal Brew and recognized that its pleasurable effects came from unusual chakra fluctuations and could be addictive.
• Jiraiya used the wine and dice games to get three young women drunk and question them, while Ye Chen stopped drinking after sensing something was wrong.
• Jiraiya pulled Ye Chen out of the bar, and Ye Chen protested when he realized they were leaving without paying.
• Jiraiya said the bottle cost a hundred million Beli, prompting Ye Chen to hurry away with him rather than pay for the tampered wine.
• As Jiraiya led Ye Chen through rainy Amegakure streets toward the central district, Ye Chen asked where he was taking him.

Jiraiya took Ye Chen to a hot spring bathhouse in Amegakure, where Ye Chen relaxed while Jiraiya tried to spy on the neighboring bath. Jiraiya later reported that Amegakure had increased its patrols, confirming that the village knew they were there.

• Jiraiya told Ye Chen they were going to a hot spring bathhouse to warm up and gather intelligence.
• Jiraiya led Ye Chen into a private bathing room, where Ye Chen removed his disguise and entered the pool.
• Ye Chen fell asleep in the hot spring while Jiraiya used a summoned toad to spy over the dividing wall.
• Jiraiya returned to the bath and told Ye Chen that Amegakure had stepped up its patrols because it knew they were present.

Ye Chen and Jiraiya discussed Amegakure’s preparations for a major operation and whether to approach Konan for intelligence. Jiraiya chose to trust his former student, while Ye Chen learned that Drunken Immortal Brew was made from Katsuyu’s bodily fluids.

• Ye Chen realized Amegakure had been monitoring them and heard Jiraiya’s intelligence that the village was gathering forces for a major operation.
• Jiraiya warned that Amegakure’s plans might threaten the Land of Grass and Hidden Jun Village, and said no more than four Akatsuki members were stationed in Amegakure.
• Jiraiya proposed approaching Konan, but Ye Chen cautioned that their old friendship might no longer reflect who she had become.
• Jiraiya insisted that Konan was kind and chose to trust her, despite Ye Chen’s warning.
• Ye Chen changed the subject and asked about Drunken Immortal Brew, and Jiraiya revealed that it was refined from Katsuyu’s bodily fluids.

Ye Chen learned that Amegakure's Drunken Immortal Brew had been altered with dangerous side effects, while Jiraiya's probing revealed his concern for the village. Meanwhile, Master of Open Stratagems led the Allied Shinobi Forces toward Hozuki Castle and prepared to infiltrate it as a captive.

• Jiraiya told Ye Chen that Drunken Immortal Brew was made from slug fluids and had been modified to cause addiction, impaired senses, and hallucinations.
• Ye Chen recognized Jiraiya's joking manner as a disguise for his sharp intelligence and sorrow over Amegakure's decline.
• Granny Chiyo agreed to sign a teleportation contract, protect the main force, and take part in Master of Open Stratagems' infiltration plan.
• Master of Open Stratagems refined the plan and led the force toward Hozuki Castle, whose island was accessible by a single iron-chain bridge.
• At the island, Master of Open Stratagems ordered the force to spread out and surround it while he and a squad pretended to be captured so they could infiltrate the castle.

Master of Open Stratagems led fifteen followers across the iron-chain bridge to provoke Hozuki Castle into taking them prisoner, allowing them to infiltrate it. Mujo ordered the guards to attack, and the chapter ended as the group’s Rasengan met their Water Release technique.

• Granny Chiyo agreed to coordinate the other villages’ fighters while Master of Open Stratagems carried out his infiltration plan.
• Master of Open Stratagems and fifteen followers crawled across the swaying iron-chain bridge to Hozuki Castle.
• At the castle gates, Master of Open Stratagems insulted Mujo and threatened to destroy the castle unless its prisoners were released.
• Mujo appeared on the wall and ordered the guards to teach the intruders a lesson with Water Release: Waterfall Flow.
• Master of Open Stratagems told his group to fight back, and they unleashed Rasengan that burst the incoming water into spray.

Master of Open Stratagems deliberately let Mujo capture him so he could enter Hozuki Castle Prison and learn its layout. He and his party were locked in a special cell, and he discovered the prison had hundreds of cells and possibly multiple levels.

• Master of Open Stratagems and his party endured the guards’ attacks, then staged their escape onto the suspension bridge while crimson chains disabled most of his confidants.
• Master of Open Stratagems told his two remaining confidants to resist briefly and then pretend to be defeated so Mujo would capture them.
• Mujo broke through the confidants’ attacks and bound Master of Open Stratagems inside a wooden hut with crimson chains.
• Mujo had Master of Open Stratagems and his party escorted into Hozuki Castle Prison, where Master of Open Stratagems memorized the corridors on the way to their cell.
• Master of Open Stratagems saw that the prison’s special cells blocked chakra and could trap players in a motionless, pitch-black space after death, and he suspected more levels lay below.

Master of Open Stratagems summoned the Allied Shinobi Forces inside Hozuki Prison and organized an escape attempt with Granny Chiyo's forces surrounding Hozuki Castle. The prison alarm sounded before they could fully assess the situation, leaving Master of Open Stratagems trapped in his cell and urging Granny Chiyo to unlock it.

• Master of Open Stratagems summoned Allied Shinobi Forces ninja into the prison corridor and ordered the prisoners to stay quiet.
• Master of Open Stratagems assigned the summoned ninja to secure the cells and search for captured allies, while Granny Chiyo confirmed that Hozuki Castle was surrounded.
• Granny Chiyo headed deeper into the prison to find Gaara, then agreed to open Master of Open Stratagems' cell after he promised to help her.
• Ghost Lantern Guards rushed to investigate, but the Allied Shinobi Forces ninja subdued them as the prison alarm rang.
• Master of Open Stratagems urged Granny Chiyo to hurry and unlock his cell as more enemies approached.

Master of Open Stratagems escaped his cell with a player's help and persuaded Granny Chiyo to help him navigate Hozuki Castle Prison while searching for Gaara. They broke open the prison block and released the rogue ninja, leaving the newly freed prisoners to make their own escape.

• Granny Chiyo failed to break Master of Open Stratagems out of his Chakra-absorbing cell, but a Hidden Jun Village player picked the lock for a reward.
• Master of Open Stratagems asked Granny Chiyo to clear guard posts, claiming they needed to learn the prison's layout to find Gaara, and she agreed after he promised to keep searching for him.
• Master of Open Stratagems persuaded Granny Chiyo to let him release the rogue ninja to help draw enemy fire, with her ready to handle any who turned against them.
• Granny Chiyo and Master of Open Stratagems led the prisoners through the gates of the prison block and told them to escape Hozuki Castle on their own.

Master of Open Stratagems urged the prisoners to escape Hozuki Castle, but Granny Chiyo explained that Mujo’s Fire Release: Heavenly Prison would ignite them if they left his control. After regaining his composure, Master of Open Stratagems steadied the prisoners and began to present a solution.

• Master of Open Stratagems told the rogue ninja prisoners to find a way out, but they stayed still and watched him uneasily.
• Granny Chiyo explained that Mujo’s Fire Release: Heavenly Prison sealed chakra and planted restrictions that would set prisoners ablaze if they escaped his control.
• Master of Open Stratagems worried that he too carried a restriction and doubted whether the Soulwood Casket could resurrect NPCs if they died.
• Granny Chiyo rebuked Master of Open Stratagems for letting his anxiety show and urged him to steady the prisoners as their leader.
• Master of Open Stratagems apologized to everyone, regained his composure, and announced that he had a way to handle the danger.

Master of Open Stratagems persuaded Granny Chiyo to capture the injured Mujo, hoping to lift their restrictions and learn where Gaara was. While Granny Chiyo went after Mujo, Master of Open Stratagems led the Hidden Jun Village players in holding off Hozuki Castle’s elite guards as the siege pressed from outside.

• Mujo taunted the trapped group from within Hozuki Castle before Ghost Lantern Guards poured out to attack them.
• Master of Open Stratagems proposed capturing Mujo, who had placed their restrictions, and argued that his injuries and knowledge of Gaara made him their best target.
• Granny Chiyo agreed to pursue Mujo while Master of Open Stratagems directed his summoned players to hold back the guards.
• The elite Ghost Lantern Guards clashed with the less-disciplined Hidden Jun Village players, whose fearlessness kept them fighting despite heavy losses.

Master of Open Stratagems used the Soulwood Casket to revive Hozuki Prison rogue ninja, whose restored freedom and renewed morale let them push back the Ghost Lantern Guards. Meanwhile, Mujo used Fire Release: Great Fire Heavenly Prison to hold off the Allied Shinobi Forces at one section of Hozuki Castle’s walls, but enemy troops captured other sections and forced him to rush between threats.

• Master of Open Stratagems watched as the Soulwood Casket revived a fallen rogue ninja, who discovered that the Fire Release: Heavenly Prison restriction on his chakra was gone.
• The revived rogue ninja and other prisoners fought fiercely, and some fled while Master of Open Stratagems let them go; their assault broke the Ghost Lantern Guards’ morale and pushed them back.
• Mujo unleashed Fire Release: Great Fire Heavenly Prison from his crimson arm, sealing the chakra of Allied Shinobi Forces members who were struck by its chains.
• The Allied Shinobi Forces gave up attacking Mujo’s heavily defended wall section and occupied other, weaker sections of Hozuki Castle’s walls.
• Mujo rushed between threatened sections to reinforce them, leaving the main battlements in danger whenever he departed.

Mujo triggered the restrictions implanted in the allied soldiers, engulfing them in flames, but the backlash left him badly injured. Granny Chiyo confronted him for Gaara’s location, and the Akatsuki’s Immortal Duo arrived as she blocked Mujo from escaping.

• Mujo ignited the restrictions within the allied soldiers, forcing the besieging troops to retreat while suffering severe injuries from the backlash.
• Granny Chiyo and the Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets ambushed Mujo and demanded to know where Gaara was.
• Mujo fought Granny Chiyo while warning that Akatsuki would face trouble if he died.
• Hidan and Kakuzu arrived, mocked Mujo, and took over the fight as Mujo tried to leave.
• Granny Chiyo blocked Mujo’s path and insisted he reveal Gaara’s location.

Hidan challenged Granny Chiyo for Gaara’s whereabouts, but her puppets’ light shield severed his head and sliced his body apart without harming him. The chapter left Hidan in pieces, still displaying his strange immortality.

• Hidan leaped onto the battlements, ordered Mujo to leave, and offered to reveal Gaara’s whereabouts if Granny Chiyo defeated him.
• Granny Chiyo accepted, and Hidan attacked her with his Triple-Bladed Scythe.
• Granny Chiyo used the Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets to trap Hidan in a Mechanical Light Shield.
• The contracting shield caught Hidan by the neck and severed his head, but he remained alive and taunted Granny Chiyo.
• Granny Chiyo reshaped the shield into cutting fragments that sliced Hidan’s body into pieces, yet no blood flowed and he remained unharmed.