Chapter Summaries

Hiruko fled the aerial fortress with Uchiha Naka, but the Third Kazekage intercepted them and brought down the fused Strange Bird. The Third Kazekage captured Naka and repeatedly knocked Hiruko from the sky, while Hiruko continued attacking.

• Hiruko flew east on the fused Strange Bird with Uchiha Naka, troubled by the dangers of his Kimaera Technique and determined to seek his teacher's help.
• The Third Kazekage ambushed Hiruko, caught his Steel Release blade with his Iron Sand arm, and bound him with Sand Binding Coffin.
• The Third Kazekage struck Hiruko with lightning that traveled through his steel body and incapacitated the fused Strange Bird.
• The Third Kazekage slashed Hiruko's mask, knocked him off the bird, and caught Uchiha Naka with Iron Sand.
• Hiruko attacked to rescue Naka, but the Third Kazekage knocked him into a mountain stream and prepared Sand Iron World Method.

At Kannabi Bridge, Shin'yu killed a Beast King boar with a distant Ninjutsu strike while Madara warned him against letting his strength make him careless. Madara revealed that he might die before awakening the Rinnegan, entrusted Shin'yu with his plans and eyes, and left him with one final lesson before asking him to cook the boar.

• Madara accompanied Shin'yu to hunt a Beast King boar and told him to kill it.
• Shin'yu killed the boar from over six hundred meters away with Autumn Dew on Leaves, and Madara praised his strength before warning him against complacency.
• Madara told Shin'yu that his life was fading and that his Rinnegan might awaken too late.
• Madara ordered Shin'yu to awaken the Rinnegan and carry on his plan if he died first, and promised to leave Shin'yu his eyes if he awakened them himself.
• Shin'yu promised to find a way to revive Madara, who reminded him to stay vigilant and asked him to bring back and cook the boar.

Nian brought Tsunade to a quiet hillside and argued with her about whether she should return to support the Hidden Leaf Village. Their conversation was interrupted by a mysterious man whose presence had escaped even Nian’s senses.

• Nian took Tsunade to a hillside beneath a giant tree after pretending to hold her hostage before the Hidden Leaf Village ninja.
• Tsunade thanked Nian for saving her and the village, but Nian insisted he had only saved her and rejected any reconciliation with the village.
• Tsunade asked to return to help her comrades, and Nian reminded her that the village’s leaders had ignored her proposals to train more medical ninja.
• Tsunade promised to give Nian an explanation after helping the village, while Nian told her not to come see him again afterward.
• A soundless man in a white robe appeared and advised Tsunade not to return, and Nian and Tsunade demanded to know who he was.

Jigen confronted Uchiha Nen and revealed that Nen’s bloodline resonated with his Karma mark, making him a potential Vessel for reincarnation. After secretly following Nen from the Hidden Leaf Village, Jigen decided he had found the candidate he had sought for a thousand years.

• Jigen appeared before Nian and Tsunade, identified Nian as Uchiha Nen, and said he had secretly listened to their conversation.
• Jigen explained that he had shrunk himself and hidden on Oya Kensuke during the attack, then switched to hiding on Nian’s body and traveled with him.
• Jigen recounted how Kaguya Otsutsuki betrayed and nearly killed Isshiki, forcing Isshiki to survive by entering a wandering monk and implanting Karma in Jigen.
• Isshiki discovered that Jigen was an unsuitable Vessel and spent centuries searching for a better candidate while founding Kara to support his plans.
• Jigen revealed that Nen’s bloodline had resonated with the Karma mark, making him a promising Vessel.

Nian and Tsunade fought Jigen, but he overwhelmed them with his speed and strange Chakra-disrupting rods, then placed a Karma Mark on Nian. Nian broke free enough to use Kaguya Himemikoto, sending Jigen crashing into the mountainside.

• Nian told Tsunade to flee, then attacked Jigen with Shuriken and Wood Style: Impaling Technique when Jigen approached the giant tree.
• Jigen dodged Nian's attack, kicked him away, and struck Tsunade before blocking Nian's Susanoo with one hand.
• Jigen pierced Nian with black rods that disrupted his Chakra and dispelled his Susanoo, then immobilized Tsunade with more rods.
• Jigen placed a Karma Mark on Nian and reached for him, but Nian used his right hand to free himself from a rod.
• Nian used Boundless Pure Heavens, Copy and Kaguya Himemikoto to send Jigen flying into the mountainside.

Uchiha Shin'yu was summoned through a Teleportation Gate and arrived in time to free Nen and Tsunade from Jigen’s Chakra Black Rods. Jigen confronted Shin'yu, and the intense resonance between their Karma marks revealed a powerful connection between them.

• Uchiha Shin'yu stepped through the Teleportation Gate and kicked Jigen through a hillside before arriving beneath a giant tree.
• Shin'yu recognized the Chakra Black Rods pinning Nen and Tsunade and pulled them free using a protective Water Molecule Membrane.
• Nen told Shin'yu that Jigen had chosen him as a Vessel, and Shin'yu remarked that they shared the same fate.
• Shin'yu identified Jigen as their attacker and considered whether he could resist the Chakra Black Rods himself.
• Jigen rushed back and lost his composure when his Karma mark resonated intensely with Shin'yu.

Uchiha Shin'yu confronted Jigen to settle the debt for marking his nephew, and the two fought at astonishing speed while testing each other's abilities. Shin'yu ended the exchange by forming an Azure Light Chakra Blade that sent Jigen flying.

• Jigen recognized Shin'yu as an ideal Vessel and shifted his attention from Nian to him.
• Shin'yu revealed that he knew Jigen's identity and challenged him over placing a mark on his nephew.
• Jigen and Shin'yu traded Chakra Black Rod strikes, matching each other's speed and strength as they moved the battle away from Nian and Tsunade.
• Nian explained to Tsunade that the fighters were still testing each other, despite their overwhelming speed.
• Jigen made Shin'yu's Chakra Black Rod vanish, but Shin'yu formed an Azure Light longsword and blasted Jigen away with Sword Qi.

Shin'yu tested Jigen's Yin Yang Release and fought him at close range after both revealed their enhanced powers. Their battle continued without either landing effective damage, as they learned the other's strengths and weaknesses.

• Jigen used Yin Yang Release to disrupt Shin'yu's Autumn Dew on Leaves: Gold Gathering, though Shin'yu's next slash forced Jigen to absorb its Sword Qi with Sanuki Futotama.
• Shin'yu revealed his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, and Jigen activated Karma Stage One.
• Shin'yu drew Frost Descent One Heart, a reforged soul-cutting sword made from the Seven Star Sword and Purifying Rope, and clashed with Jigen's black rod.
• Shin'yu and Jigen traded rapid close-range attacks, with Jigen faster and Shin'yu better at defense, but neither managed to injure the other effectively.

Shin'yu and Jigen’s battle escalated as Jigen used Sukuna Hikona and hidden Chakra Black Rods to counter Shin'yu’s attacks. After Jigen’s punch failed to hurt him, Shin'yu grew stronger and unlocked his second stage by opening the Sixth Scenic Gate.

• Shin'yu and Jigen traded rapid blows until Jigen replaced his damaged Chakra Black Rod and charged at him.
• Shin'yu created a dozen illusions and unleashed a storm of sword strikes, but Jigen shrank himself to evade them and impaled the illusions with Chakra Black Rods hidden across the battlefield.
• Shin'yu launched more than a hundred sword strikes, then tried to catch Jigen with a crossed-blade attack, but Jigen erased his weapons with Sukuna Hikona and punched through his Water Molecule Barrier.
• The punch sent Jigen flying instead of harming Shin'yu, whose aura began to grow stronger as his Magic Array patterns turned in his scarlet eyes.
• Jigen’s Chakra Black Rods failed to pierce Shin'yu’s skin, and Shin'yu crushed them before announcing that he had unlocked his second stage and opening the Sixth Scenic Gate.

Shin'yu opened the Sixth Scenic Gate and overwhelmed Jigen with a barrage of attacks, leaving him to pursue Jigen into the mountains. Meanwhile, Nian and Tsunade examined Nian's Karma mark, and the chapter ended with Shin'yu breaking free of Jigen's Chakra Black Rod cage.

• Shin'yu opened the Sixth Scenic Gate, transformed with azure energy, and appeared behind Jigen before striking him with a rapid barrage of punches and a kick that sent him through a mountain.
• Tsunade told Nian she intended to repay Shin'yu for saving her, while Nian explained that the Karma mark in his palm was a dangerous power Shin'yu had once possessed.
• Shin'yu caught Jigen, drove him through a mountain, and hurled him into the sky before preparing another attack.
• Jigen used Sukuna Hikona to summon countless Chakra Black Rods and cage Shin'yu, but Shin'yu shattered the rods and broke free.

Shin'yu overwhelmed Jigen with the escalating punches of Evening Elephant, forcing Jigen to shrink away and evade the final attack. Jigen then emerged in Karma Stage Two, and Shin'yu prepared to test his power.

• Shin'yu unleashed eighty-one increasingly fast Evening Elephant air cannons, trapping and battering Jigen.
• Shin'yu assessed how his Yin and Yang powers had strengthened his body and concluded that Jigen's Karma Stage One was no match for the Sixth Scenic Gate.
• Shin'yu hurled a water spear at Jigen, who shrank with Sukuna Hikona to avoid it.
• Jigen shrank and opened a miniature Teleportation Gate to ambush Shin'yu, cutting his cheek with an iron spear before the wound healed.
• Jigen appeared with a horn and deeper facial markings after activating Karma Stage Two, and Shin'yu challenged him to show his strength.

Shin'yu battled Jigen in Karma Stage Two, then used magnetism and Ame no Tokotachi to restore the shrunken Guardian God Sword and stab him. Shin'yu adapted to Jigen's techniques and began cutting him apart with invisible slashes.

• Jigen attacked Shin'yu with black rods, and the two clashed at high speed while Nian watched from below.
• Shin'yu traded injuries with Jigen, kicked him away with Evening Elephant, and explained how his early fighting style had helped him survive.
• Shin'yu used magnetism to locate and move the shrunken Guardian God Sword, then restored it and pierced Jigen through the heart.
• Jigen blocked Shin'yu's sword strike with black rods, but Shin'yu revealed that the slash had still cut his throat.
• Shin'yu used Mahoraga's adaptation to Sukuna Hikona and sliced Jigen's body with invisible blades.

Shin'yu adapted to Jigen's shrinking technique and created an invisible slash that cut Jigen in half. He named the attack Formless Calamity Slash and used it to deliver another devastating strike.

• Jigen healed the wounds caused by Shin'yu's initial invisible slashes using Yin Yang Release Chakra.
• Shin'yu unleashed a formless slash that cut Jigen at the waist despite Jigen's attempt to dodge.
• Shin'yu explained how his Sword Qi had evolved into microscopic Sword Seeds that could evade Jigen's techniques.
• Shin'yu combined Autumn Dew on Leaves, Gold Gathering, and Mustard-Seed True Intent into a new attack.
• Nian suggested the name Formless Calamity Slash, and Shin'yu used it to split Jigen in two.

Shin'yu used Formless Calamity Slash to wound Jigen, but Jigen evaded the attacks with Sukuna Hikona and regenerated. Jigen struck Shin'yu down with Daikokuten, only for Shin'yu to open the Seventh Gate of Wonder and launch the Black Box into the sky.

• Shin'yu sliced Jigen apart with Formless Calamity Slash, but Jigen vanished and regenerated by shrinking himself with Sukuna Hikona.
• Shin'yu explained how Mahoraga's adaptation worked and why he had focused on strengthening his slashes rather than adapting to Yin Yang Release.
• Jigen reappeared above Shin'yu and attacked with Daikokuten, smashing him into the earth beneath a massive black cube.
• Nian cried out for Shin'yu, while Tsunade feared he had been defeated.
• Shin'yu mocked Jigen and opened the Seventh Gate of Wonder, blasting the Black Box into the night sky.

Shin'yu overwhelmed Jigen with blazing speed and devastating Taijutsu, forcing him to escape into Daikokuten space. Jigen emerged to find Shin'yu waiting behind him, and Shin'yu struck him with a Black Box as Jigen’s body neared its limit.

• Shin'yu destroyed Daikokuten and charged Jigen with a punch that shook space; Jigen met it head-on, but lost an arm and suffered heavy damage to the mountain range.
• Shin'yu mocked Jigen’s thoughts of retreat and attacked again, landing a second Thunderbolt that forced Jigen to block with Daikokuten.
• Jigen shrank himself and slipped into Daikokuten space to escape, then resolved to plant Karma on Shin'yu and reincarnate using his power.
• Jigen discovered that his body had reached its limit and emerged from Daikokuten space, only for Shin'yu to ambush him and smash a Black Box into his face.

Shin'yu overwhelmed Jigen with the Seventh Gate's power, then revealed the Five Finger Fist Heart Sword as Jigen unleashed a barrage of Daikokuten cubes. Jigen vanished while escaping Shin'yu's final strike, leaving his fate unknown.

• Jigen shrank the Daikokuten cube to dodge it, but Shin'yu followed with a punch that obliterated half his body.
• Jigen began chanting a jutsu and summoned over a hundred Daikokuten cubes along with a colossal black cauldron.
• Shin'yu restrained his aura, closed his eyes, and prepared his killing move as the cubes descended.
• Nian recognized Shin'yu's technique as the Five Finger Fist Heart Sword.
• Shin'yu's first two sword lights destroyed most of the cubes and tore open space, prompting Jigen to shrink himself and open a Teleportation Gate.
• Shin'yu's third sword light swept away the remaining cubes and cauldron, while Jigen vanished, his fate unknown.

Shin'yu defeated Jigen with the Five Finger Fist Heart Sword, then searched the devastated battlefield and used his eye technique to reverse time for Nian and Tsunade. Nian could no longer locate Jigen, but Shin'yu remained wary that an Otsutsuki could survive death through Karma.

• Shin'yu unleashed his third Sword Qi slash, after which Jigen vanished and the surrounding land lay in ruins.
• Shin'yu searched the area, found no trace of Jigen, and asked Nian to use Kuenbiko to locate him.
• Nian's eye technique failed, leading Shin'yu to suspect Jigen had died.
• Shin'yu activated Ame no Tokotachi, restored himself, and reversed Nian and Tsunade's conditions to ten minutes earlier.
• Nian discovered that the reversal had erased his Karma mark, and Shin'yu explained that Karma could let Otsutsuki survive by transferring their data into a host.

Shin'yu explained the dangers of Karma and confirmed that he had no mark from Isshiki, then took Nian and Tsunade back to the base. As they left, a black Rhombus mark remained hidden on a leaf.

• Shin'yu explained that Karma's abilities accelerated an Otsutsuki's data thawing and checked himself, concluding that a Vessel could not hold a second Karma mark.
• Shin'yu teased Tsunade about their past, then asked Nian to describe his encounter with Jigen at the base.
• Shin'yu told Nian to take responsibility for Tsunade, and Nian took her hand and said he would bring her somewhere safe.
• Shin'yu summoned Frost Descent One Heart, formed a great sword of Azure Light, and carried Nian and Tsunade into the sky.
• A black Rhombus mark appeared on the underside of a leaf, hidden among the branches.

Tsunade entered the Uchiha underground base and was shocked to find Uchiha Madara alive and treated with reverence. Light drew her away to the kitchen, while Madara questioned Nian about his relationship with Tsunade and approved after Nian claimed she had pursued him first.

• Tsunade arrived at the underground base with Nian and Shin'yu and recognized the living Uchiha Madara.
• Tsunade struggled to understand why Shin'yu and Nian treated the frail Madara with such respect.
• Light noticed Tsunade's fear and invited her to help prepare the kitchen, leading her out of the chamber.
• Madara asked Nian whether he or Tsunade had pursued the other first, and Nian said Tsunade had pursued him.
• Madara nodded approvingly and remarked that Hashirama's granddaughter was nothing special.

After Nian described Jigen’s attempt to make him a Vessel, Shin'yu and Madara concluded that the Otsutsuki Clan was targeting those with the Sage of Six Paths’ bloodline. Madara realized that if he awakened the Rinnegan, he too would become their prey, and vowed that only death could settle the conflict.

• Shin'yu felt relieved when Madara approved of Nian’s romantic interest in Tsunade.
• Nian recounted how Jigen tried to parasitize him and place a Karma mark on Shin'yu, and Shin'yu confirmed that he had removed Nian’s mark in time.
• Madara agreed that Shin'yu had been right to erase the Karma mark because Nian could not withstand the Otsutsuki power.
• Shin'yu theorized that Jigen pursued him and Nian because they possessed power from the fusion of Senju and Uchiha bloodlines.
• Madara considered the history of Indra and Asura’s reincarnations and concluded that the Otsutsuki Clan coveted descendants of the Sage of Six Paths.
• Madara realized that awakening the Rinnegan would make him a prime target and said that only death could settle the conflict with the Otsutsuki Clan.