Chapter Summaries

The city went into lockdown again after a traveler returning from Yingkou infected his family, and panic buying and canceled wedding arrangements left the narrator overwhelmed. The wedding's fate remained uncertain as another seven days of stay-at-home restrictions began.

• A traveler who visited Yingkou on May 2 returned and infected his family, who unknowingly spread the infection around the city.
• The city announced another seven days of stay-at-home restrictions, and fresh-food supermarkets closed at 11 a.m.
• The narrator's wife managed to buy meat while residents crowded into long lines to stock up on supplies.
• Old Faceless went out and barely made it home before getting locked out.
• The makeup and outfit fittings for the next day were canceled, leaving the wedding uncertain and the narrator at his breaking point.

Shinji and his group entered the war-ravaged Land of Fangs and traced a treasure map to the Daimyō’s Mansion. As Ishikura Yoshiaki faced an ultimatum to surrender or fight the advancing Land of Claws, a silent figure appeared in his room.

• Shinji learned that years of war had left the Land of Fangs with few men and that the Land of Claws had gained ground with the help of monster soldiers.
• Shinji found that the treasure map pointed to the Daimyō’s Mansion and decided to return that night to dig up the treasure.
• Ishikura Yoshiaki weighed surrendering to spare his people against fighting the advancing Land of Claws, whose army included monsters made through human sacrifice.
• A figure appeared soundlessly in Ishikura Yoshiaki’s room.

Shinji broke into Ishikura Yoshiaki’s room to claim a cursed treasure and obtained a yo-yo that granted brief invincibility. As Shinji prepared to leave, Ishikura Yoshiaki told him about the monster soldiers and their demand for living human sacrifices.

• Shinji entered Ishikura Yoshiaki’s room and persuaded him not to raise an alarm.
• Shinji used the [Cursed Treasure Map] to summon a box and found the [Invincible Wind Fire Wheel] inside.
• Shinji tried the yo-yo’s invincibility effect, but his trick lasted less than a second and triggered a 48-hour cooldown.
• Ishikura Yoshiaki stopped Shinji from leaving and explained that monster soldiers had approached him and required living humans as sacrifices.

Shinji learned that a mysterious man had brought monster soldiers to the Land of Claws and agreed to pursue him. When Ishikura Yoshiaki demanded that Hiramatsu Takehiko stop sacrificing people, the armies clashed, and the man unleashed monster soldiers through a painted door as Shinji watched.

• Ishikura Yoshiaki told Shinji that a frail, long-haired man had once offered to make monster soldiers by sacrificing people, and Shinji agreed to investigate him.
• Ishikura Yoshiaki led the Land of Fangs' army to meet Hiramatsu Takehiko and demanded that he disband the monster soldiers and stop sacrificing people.
• Hiramatsu Takehiko denied the accusations and ordered General Watanabe to attack, while Ishikura Yoshiaki urged his troops to fight.
• The Land of Fangs' soldiers fought fiercely as doubts about the missing people weakened the Land of Claws' army, pushing its forces back.
• Hiramatsu Takehiko sent a scholarly-looking man into battle, and the man opened a door painted on a rock to release the monster soldiers.
• Shinji watched the monster soldiers emerge and decided to have a friendly chat with the man who had summoned them.

The Land of Claws summoned thousands of orc-like monsters, terrifying the Land of Fangs' soldiers and turning the battle against them. The monsters continued to appear as the Land of Fangs was pushed back.

• Thousands of blue-faced, fanged monsters appeared with enormous spiked clubs.
• The Land of Fangs' soldiers lost morale because they could not defeat or frighten the monsters.
• The Land of Claws gained confidence from the monsters' arrival, and its army began pushing back the Land of Fangs.

TakeNaka Kento’s beastman soldiers were struck by the blood rain and began suffering from a terrifying toxin. TakeNaka Kento tried to order them out of the affected area, but the chapter ended before their fate was resolved.

• The blood rain enveloped TakeNaka Kento’s separately formed beastman soldiers, who howled and scratched at themselves in agony.
• TakeNaka Kento realized the blood rain was causing the chaos and used the Divine Brush to order his soldiers to leave the area.
• The soldiers who had first touched the rain collapsed, convulsed, and foamed at the mouth as they struggled to obey.
• TakeNaka Kento suspected the blood rain contained a toxin and angrily wondered who was plotting against him.

Shinji attacked Hiramatsu Takehiko, whose guards rushed to protect him after he recognized the killer behind the monster soldiers. The chapter left Hiramatsu pinned beneath Shinji’s Kubikiribōchō and unable to speak.

• Hiramatsu Takehiko realized that excuses would not save him and ordered his guards to kill Shinji.
• Hiramatsu Takehiko recalled the National Preceptor’s death and the monster soldiers’ defeat, suspecting that Shinji had come from outside the Land of Fangs.
• Shinji hurled the Kubikiribōchō through the guards, cutting down anyone in its path.
• The Kubikiribōchō pinned Hiramatsu Takehiko to the ground, leaving him choking on blood.

Pain convened an Akatsuki meeting, reviewed the members' work, and assigned more money-making tasks. His appeals for continued sacrifice met growing discontent after Itachi had reported the benefits offered to Jashin Cult recruits.

• Pain gathered the Akatsuki members' thought projections for a secret meeting in a hidden base.
• Pain reviewed the members' recent accomplishments and urged them to work harder to earn money for the organization.
• Pain assigned further money-making tasks and justified their present sacrifices as necessary for the future.
• The members' dissatisfaction grew in light of Itachi's earlier report about the benefits offered by the Jashin Cult.

The Underground Bounty Station abandoned its failed attempt to obtain the target corpse and partnered with the Akatsuki instead. Kakuzu sought the Crystal Heart as payment because he believed it could overcome the limits of Earth Grudge Fear and strengthen his Crystal Release.

• The forces behind the Underground Bounty Station lost their operatives and failed to locate the target corpse, though Kumogakure did not discover their objective.
• After debating what to do, the Bounty Station's forces decided to entrust the mission to professionals.
• Shinji proposed a different way to cooperate, leading the Bounty Station to partner with the Akatsuki.
• The Bounty Station reached a preliminary agreement with Kakuzu and offered him the Crystal Heart as part of the payment.
• Kakuzu, having tested the Crystal Heart's effects, resolved to obtain it to improve his stagnant strength.

Muramasa revealed that he had come to Kumogakure to capture the Two-Tails and forced Kakuzu to choose between helping him and fighting. Kakuzu reluctantly accepted that he could not refuse without risking both their lives.

• Muramasa confronted Kakuzu and refused to let him interfere with his plan.
• Muramasa explained that he had joined Kakuzu only to capture the Two-Tails, and demanded that Kakuzu help him or fight.
• Muramasa warned that a fight would alert Kumogakure and leave them both trapped.
• Kakuzu warned Muramasa that he would have to answer to their leader for angering a god.

Kumogakure suppressed news of its Two-Tails jinchūriki's abduction and began secret operations after heavy losses had left it vulnerable. Shinji remained unaware of these developments but received bad news from the Bounty Station.

• Kakuzu and Muramasa exploited spy intelligence, Kumogakure's weakened defenses, and the Two-Tails jinchūriki's isolated location to carry out the abduction.
• Kumogakure suppressed news of the abduction to conceal its weakness and avoid humiliation.
• Kumogakure began a series of secret operations after losing its jinchūriki.
• Shinji received bad news from the Bounty Station while remaining unaware of Kumogakure's situation.

Shinji accepted a missing-person mission for Tamamo Hotaru and set out to learn who was searching for her. He and Tamamo Hotaru left the Bounty Station knowing it had already sold information about them, but still needing its intelligence network.

• Shinji negotiated with Old Eight for six Cursed Objects and failed to get the bounty on himself canceled.
• Old Eight showed Shinji a missing-person mission seeking Hotaru, the name Tamamo Hotaru had once used, and Shinji accepted it without payment.
• Shinji gave the mission scroll to Tamamo Hotaru, who wondered whether Kumogakure had set a trap for them.
• Shinji explained that the Bounty Station had likely already sold their information and argued they should find the mission issuer before their pursuer acted.
• Tamamo Hotaru agreed to go with Shinji, then tried to flatter him before he warned her not to act cutesy.

Kazahana Koyuki tried to save a dying egg by placing it in hot water, but the slight improvement could not stop its shell from deteriorating. She was left knowing her effort had only delayed the inevitable.

• Kazahana Koyuki stepped outside into the snowy weather and found the scenery familiar rather than remarkable.
• She cleared the snow from her doorway, lit a fire, and boiled a large pot of water.
• Kazahana Koyuki carefully placed a baby-sized, cracked gray egg into a bucket of hot water to try to save it.
• The egg’s shell briefly grew smoother and more lustrous, but pieces continued to flake away.
• Kazahana Koyuki recognized that the improvement was only a consolation and could not solve the egg’s underlying problem.

Shinji tried to heal Moqian with Reverse Cursed Technique, but her unusual eggshell blocked his Cursed Energy and began cracking under pressure. He stopped rather than risk killing her, leaving Kazahana Koyuki disappointed and Moqian's fate unresolved.

• Shinji used Reverse Cursed Technique to try to treat Moqian.
• Shinji found that Moqian's eggshell blocked his Cursed Energy, and forcing it caused cracks and a growing aura of death.
• Shinji decided that breaking the eggshell could kill Moqian, despite the Cursed Soul Points and Special Grade Cursed Spirit's eye he might gain.
• Kazahana Koyuki asked whether Shinji had failed and silently apologized to Moqian.
• Shinji said he could do nothing while Moqian remained in her current state and began offering to help her in another form.

Shinji permanently fused with Moqian, gaining control over whether she could emerge and how they could fight together. After setting rules for her freedom, he asked who had defeated her, and Moqian began recounting what happened.

• Shinji used the permanent Cursed Spirit Fusion Card and learned that Moqian was bound to his will and could either fight separately or merge with him.
• Shinji entered his mental space, where Moqian demanded to be released, and warned her that she would face solitary confinement if she kept insulting him.
• Moqian bit Shinji's wrist in anger, but the bite caused him no pain because she was part of him.
• Shinji offered Moqian conditional freedom and reminded her that she had agreed to trade her freedom for his help; Moqian admitted she owed him and accepted his terms.
• Shinji asked who had beaten Moqian, and she began describing what had happened, filled with anger toward her attackers.

Kazahana Koyuki took charge of the Land of Snow after Moqian killed Kazahana Dōtō, only to face the cursed spirit that had secretly controlled the country. The chapter ends as the Snow Demon storms the palace, with the confrontation cut off mid-sentence.

• Moqian accompanied Kazahana Koyuki to the Land of Snow and killed Kazahana Dōtō with ease.
• Kazahana Koyuki began taking charge of the Land of Snow with help from the old servant.
• The Snow Demon was revealed to have secretly controlled the country, while Kazahana Dōtō kept it fed with people he sent to their deaths.
• After Kazahana Dōtō died and Kazahana Koyuki took power, the Snow Demon stormed the palace to reclaim its former supply of food.

Moqian adjusted to her new identity after fusing with Shinji, while eager to take revenge on the special grade cursed spirits they had fought. Shinji chose to wait until his abilities were stronger, and he considered his limited options for another fusion.

• Moqian hummed as she walked with Shinji and reflected that their lives and deaths were now bound together.
• Moqian wanted to seek revenge, but Shinji held back because his [Six Eyes] was nearly complete and he wanted to gain [Limitless] and unlock his domains first.
• Tobi said enviously that he wanted a fusion too, and Shinji casually promised to get him one if he had the chance.
• Shinji noted that each person could use only one [Permanent Cursed Spirit Fusion Card] and that he still had one [Cursed Spirit Master Ball] and one [Blank Cursed Spirit Fusion Card].

Tsunade and Shizune ran up a huge restaurant bill, and Tsunade escaped by transforming into a little girl and leaving an IOU. Outside, she recognized Hidan and demanded that he pay her back.

• Shinji, Tobi, and Hidan went into a barbecue restaurant, where Tobi feared Hidan would take his kidneys if the group ran out of them.
• Tsunade ordered expensive alcohol despite having no money, and Shizune protested that the bill could leave her washing dishes for half a year.
• After eating, Shizune left while Tsunade stayed behind drinking, and the owner sent a waitress to keep an eye on her.
• Tsunade vanished from the restroom and emerged disguised as a little girl, leaving an IOU on the table.
• Hidan shouted at the drunken little girl, and Tsunade recognized him and yelled, “Bastard, pay me back!”

Shinji reunited with Tsunade at a barbecue restaurant after she confronted him over the money he owed her, then paid her enormous alcohol bill. Tsunade revealed she had been tricked into signing a Jashin Cult contract, leaving Sasuke surprised to learn he shared her mark.

• Tsunade transformed from a little girl into her adult form and accused Shinji of owing her money.
• The restaurant owner presented Tsunade's unpaid bill, and Shinji agreed to pay for both tables.
• Shinji discovered Tsunade had spent nearly 390,000 ryo on expensive liquor and paid the total bill.
• Tamamo Hotaru asked Shinji to introduce Tsunade, and he identified her as one of the legendary Konoha Sannin.
• Tsunade said her mark had appeared after someone tricked her into signing a contract, and Sasuke realized she had joined the Jashin Cult too.

After leaving the barbecue restaurant, Tsunade clung to Shinji and demanded nine million ryo, refusing to let him go until he paid. Shinji agreed but realized he did not have enough cash on hand.

• Tsunade drunkenly slung an arm around Shinji's neck and said she would follow him until he paid her nine million ryo.
• Shinji challenged the amount, but Tsunade claimed interest made the debt ten million ryo and that she was generously waiving one million.
• Shinji gave in and agreed to pay, though he lacked enough money and would need time to turn the [Wealth-Generating Mist Pearl] into cash.