Chapter Summaries

Hoshino persuaded Grandma Chiyo to support reform in Sunagakure, and the village’s confrontation with Konoha and Iwagakure escalated into a tense military and economic stalemate. The chapter ended with casualties mounting across the borders, though open war had not yet begun.

• Hoshino told Grandma Chiyo about his plans to reform Sunagakure and asked her to stand with him, and she requested three days to decide.
• Grandma Chiyo agreed to support Hoshino, while Ebizo retired from his position as an elder.
• The Uchiha Clan joined Sunagakure’s Reform Society as Konoha, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure pressured Sunagakure to surrender its technologies; Kumogakure later chose neutrality.
• Sunagakure rejected Konoha and Iwagakure’s demands, purged spies, and reinforced its borders as Iwagakure and Konoha mobilized their forces.
• The three villages settled into a tense stalemate marked by supply-line attacks, diplomatic mediation, disrupted trade, and rising casualties, without open war breaking out.

Hoshino reviewed the Reform Society’s rapid expansion amid Sunagakure’s worsening shortages and the exploitation of villagers through prosthetic labor. The meeting ended with the leadership facing a decision over thousands of border ninja tied to the traditional powers.

• Iwagakure, Konoha, and Sunagakure patrols remained locked in a year-and-a-half standoff, with Sunagakure’s soldiers fearing their families would starve.
• Hoshino and Kankuro observed the Reform Society distributing relief grain and basic prosthetics to villagers, even as workers accepted longer hours for reduced pay.
• Kankuro raised Temari’s concerns, and Hoshino said he would explain the situation to her at the meeting.
• Hoshino, Temari, Rasa, and the other leaders reviewed the Reform Society’s laboratory, resources, revenue, public welfare, and security reports.
• Hoshino revealed that more than six thousand ninja were stationed at the border and that nearly three thousand had ties to the traditional powers, then asked whether to abandon them or give them a chance.

Hoshino persuaded Sunagakure’s leaders to focus on secretly winning over the ninja tied to the traditional factions, then defended prosthetic labor policies against Temari’s objections by arguing the village faced poverty and an impending civil war. The chapter ended with Temari learning that the traditional factions had planted the letters that fueled her anger, as Hoshino moved on to plans for upgrading prosthetic armaments.

• Rasa, Kankuro, and Temari opposed giving up nearly three thousand ninja tied to traditional factions, so Hoshino proposed secretly trying to win over the four thousand ninja and giving them one chance.
• Hoshino presented reports of prosthetic rejection and neural strain, then proposed developing a mental stabilization device to let users work longer.
• Temari denounced the plan as treating villagers like machines and showed letters from children worried about their parents’ prosthetics.
• Hoshino cited Sunagakure’s poverty, military weakness, and the traditional factions’ control of grain to defend the prosthetics program, while Rasa added that faction-controlled mines paid workers less and offered no safety measures.
• Gaara revealed that the traditional factions had planted people in relief stations to collect the letters, and Hoshino showed footage of a ninja with a clan crest searching villagers’ mailbags.
• Temari realized she had been used, and Hoshino ended the discussion and moved on to the plan to upgrade prosthetic armaments.

Hoshino presented civilian and military prosthetic weapon systems to the leaders, explaining their safeguards and how the Reform Society planned to win support from desperate villagers. After the meeting, he returned to his underground laboratory, where six Sharingan-equipped puppets greeted him as he prepared for an upgrade.

• Hoshino proposed preinstalling interfaces for civilian weapon modules that would be distributed from emergency stations during a civil war.
• Hoshino demonstrated civilian weapons and explained that only authorized prosthetics could activate them and that the modules could self-destruct.
• Hoshino showed military-grade Chakra firearms and the Thousand Mechanisms armguards, explaining their combat capabilities and security safeguards.
• Hoshino revealed that civilian modifications had quadrupled as desperate villagers sought help, and he said the Reform Society would wait for someone to fire the first shot.
• Hoshino returned to his private laboratory and found six identical puppets with Sharingan turning toward him.

Hoshino completed a full-body prosthetic conversion and equipped the Swift Release puppet with a flag that could summon his evolved Kikaichū swarm. He set out to test the puppet’s combat strength and bring Shinnō back.

• Hoshino ordered the puppets to replace and upgrade his mechanical body, adding armor, weapon modules, and synthetic skin.
• The puppets completed their checks, and Hoshino tested retractable bone blades in his mechanical fingers.
• Hoshino’s original body received the puppet’s memories and placed a Shadow Clone inside it to control the Swift Release puppet.
• Hoshino gave the puppet a dark-red flag containing a larval queen that could summon and command the evolved Kikaichū swarm.
• Hoshino explained the swarm’s destructive abilities and its self-destruct safeguards in case insects escaped control.
• The Swift Release puppet left the Reform Society building carrying the flag to test its combat capabilities and bring Shinnō back.

Hino endured brutal conditions in Sunagakure’s iron mine as the Reform Society introduced Spirit Puppets that tracked workers and connected to their prostheses. The chapter ended when an old miner clutched his collar in distress after receiving a puppet.

• Hino continued mining under longer hours, reduced pay, and harsh quotas while workers suffered from prostheses and stimulants.
• Hino and Shayan saw technicians install signal pillars in the mining district.
• Overseer Tanaka announced that workers would receive Spirit Puppets with work monitoring, fatigue stimulation, location tracking, and network access.
• Tanaka ordered an old miner without a prosthetic eye to receive one at the cost of his next month’s wages.
• Shayan received a Spirit Puppet, and a red light flashed between it and his prosthetic eye as his body briefly went rigid.
• An old white-haired miner clutched his collar, causing a commotion in the line.

Hino was coerced into receiving a prosthetic eye that connected him and his Spirit Puppet to the Reform Society network. After the operation, the eye flooded his vision with data and could not be switched off.

• Tanaka used the tower’s soothing Chakra to calm an old man and ordered medical-nin to install his prosthetic eye.
• Hino learned that refusing the procedure could leave his work hours inaccurate, then agreed to surgery under pressure.
• Medical-nin implanted and activated Hino’s prosthetic eye, displaying his worker data and connecting his Spirit Puppet to the network.
• Tanaka told Hino the eye would improve his work efficiency, while Hino’s prosthetic eye detected an inspection team badge on Tanaka.
• Hino found that the eye constantly displayed information and that he could not turn it off.

Hino connected his Spirit Puppet to the Reform Society network and discovered how workers were monitored, categorized, and denied access to information. The next morning, he repaired his prosthetic hand and went to work, where his assignment and mine ranking appeared in his vision.

• Hino saw laborers identified by numbers through his prosthetic eyes and struggled to shut off the display.
• Hino connected the Spirit Puppet to the Reform Society network and checked his work records, pay status, and restricted news access.
• Hino added Doctor Yamashiro as a contact, asked about the floating information and reporting feature, then removed the Spirit Puppet when the doctor did not respond.
• Hino slept after closing his eyes and finding relief in the darkness and sounds of the barracks.
• Hino repaired his prosthetic hand with Shayan, who worried that his worn knee pad and possible pay deduction would leave him unable to replace it.
• Hino left for work and saw his assignment to reinforce the north mine tunnel alongside his ranking of 428 out of 689.

Gaara investigated a growing wave of corruption in Sunagakure and led a covert operation to uncover the resale of high-end prosthetics. At the warehouse, he and his allies discovered a conspiracy involving the Council of Elders, merchants, and Reform Society personnel, while director Yamada planned to flee after making one last sale.

• Gaara received reports of stolen relief supplies and suspected falsified accounts at a prosthetic maintenance station, ordering investigations and surveillance of the Council of Elders.
• Gaara and Yashamaru joined Uchiha Inabi's team to raid a South District warehouse after Inabi reported that merchants and Logistics Department personnel were inside.
• The group watched warehouse director Yamada offer intercepted high-end prosthetics, equipped with defensive and medical modules, to merchants and the Third Elder.
• Yamada claimed the prosthetics' serial numbers and usage records had been altered and asked three million ryo per set, saying he planned to leave Sunagakure after the sale.

Gaara and the Inspection Department raided a warehouse where Director Yamada was arranging to sell prosthetics and weapon modules with the Third Elder. The factions clashed in a fierce battle, leaving the warehouse engulfed in explosions.

• The Third Elder pressured Director Yamada into adding a batch of above-civilian-grade weapon modules to the prosthetics deal for an extra five hundred thousand ryo.
• Gaara burst into the warehouse with Yashamaru and Uchiha Inabi, and the Inspection Department attacked the merchants and guards.
• The Third Elder summoned five powerful armored puppets and refused Gaara’s demand to surrender and face arrest.
• Yashamaru and the Inspection Department prepared their Chakra guns as the Third Elder’s puppets readied their weapons.
• Both sides opened fire at once, and explosions tore through the warehouse as Yamada screamed on the floor.

The Inspection Department defeated the Council of Elders’ guards and puppets in a warehouse battle, then captured the Third Elder and Director Yamada. The Third Elder remained defiant as Gaara ordered him taken away and held separately.

• Yashamaru, Uchiha Inabi, Gaara, and the Inspection Department’s special operations team fought the puppets and the Council of Elders’ elite guards throughout the warehouse.
• Yamashiro’s squad suffered casualties from a Lightning Release attack, but Yashamaru shot the attacking guard and disabled the last fleeing puppet.
• Gaara told the Third Elder that his people had been defeated, while the Inspection Department gathered the wounded and captives.
• The Third Elder mocked the Inspection Department and claimed the nobles would support the Council, but Uchiha Inabi accused him of selling village military supplies.
• Gaara ordered Yashamaru to take the Third Elder away and hold him separately; when Yamada begged the Third Elder for help, the Third Elder kicked him away.

Gaara interrogated the Third Elder about Sunagakure’s black-market trade in military prosthetic bodies and learned that several major villages and influential officials were involved. He released the Third Elder in exchange for help reaching the next transaction, planning to involve the Armed Forces Department in the operation three days later.

• The Third Elder threatened that the Council of Elders could disrupt Sunagakure’s food and medical supplies, while Gaara reviewed records showing his subordinates had confessed.
• The Third Elder disclosed prosthetic-body orders from Konoha’s Anbu, Root, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure, along with a monthly transaction at an abandoned waystation in the Land of Rain.
• The Third Elder claimed that powerful officials across several villages, and people within the Reform Society, were involved in the trade.
• Gaara rejected the Third Elder’s demands to erase the incident and return the confiscated prosthetic bodies, then required him to guide their people to the next transaction.
• The Third Elder agreed to meet them at the waystation in three days, and Gaara told Yashamaru he would request the Armed Forces Department’s involvement.

Gaara’s request to deploy the Armed Forces Department against a border black-market operation was rejected over fears of provoking war. Hoshino then offered his Swift Release puppet as an alternative, and Gaara agreed to use it with the Inspection Department.

• Gaara asked Rasa to authorize two Armed Forces Department squads for a raid on a black-market transaction involving Root, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure.
• Rasa called an emergency vote, and Temari, Kankuro, and Rasa opposed the proposal while Hoshino’s puppet abstained, formally rejecting it.
• Gaara accepted the rejection and said the Inspection Department would find another way.
• Hoshino offered his Swift Release puppet, which was on a mission near the Land of Rain, to assist the operation.
• Gaara approved Hoshino’s plan, and Hoshino asked for the mission details so he could coordinate the puppet’s support.

Hoshino cornered Shinnō in the Land of Birds and defeated his experimental Zero-Tails puppets. He tried to recruit Shinnō to Sunagakure and the Reform Society, leaving Shinnō to weigh the offer against his pride and the fate of his hidden companions.

• Hoshino pursued Shinnō across the desert and confronted him over forbidden experiments and attempts to copy Sunagakure's prosthetic technology.
• Shinnō summoned two unfinished Zero-Tails puppets and sent them to attack Hoshino.
• Hoshino destroyed the puppets by targeting the dark energy cores in their chests.
• Hoshino offered Shinnō the post of Biology Division head in Sunagakure's Scientific Research Department and revealed that he knew where the remaining Sky Ninja were hiding.
• Hoshino described the Reform Society's merit-based system and showed Shinnō its contribution rankings.

Hoshino brought Shinnō and the surviving Sky Ninja into the Reform Society and discovered their dormant flying fortress, Ancor Vantian. As the fortress began to rise toward the Land of Wind, Orochimaru confronted the Sunagakure escort, and Hoshino went to face him.

• Hoshino forced Shinnō to lead him to the hidden Sky Ninja stronghold and its records, Zero-Tails, and flying fortress.
• Shinnō revealed Ancor Vantian and explained that the Sky Ninja had never managed to control its Zero-Tails power core reliably.
• Hoshino persuaded the surviving Sky Ninja to serve Sunagakure by offering resources, research opportunities, and a chance for revenge against Konoha.
• Hoshino activated Ancor Vantian and ordered Shinnō to take it toward the Land of Wind.
• Orochimaru confronted the Sunagakure ninja unit sent to escort the survivors, and Hoshino left the fortress to meet him.

Hoshino confronted Orochimaru, rejecting his offer to deal with Sunagakure because he was a missing-nin. Their battle escalated through clones, snakes, and ninjutsu, and ended with Orochimaru intrigued by Hoshino’s full-body prosthetic conversion.

• Hoshino destroyed Orochimaru’s Earth Clone and rebuked him for approaching Sunagakure as a missing-nin.
• Orochimaru took Hoshino’s insults personally and attacked him with venomous snakes, but Hoshino cut down the clone and escaped Orochimaru’s traps.
• Orochimaru summoned thousands of snakes and used an earth dragon, while Hoshino fought back with his prosthetic weapons and armor.
• Orochimaru emerged from the crumbling earth and clashed with Hoshino, who kicked him away before blocking his snakes with a chakra shield.
• Orochimaru’s snakes released poisonous mist, and Hoshino retreated and injected an antidote as Orochimaru remarked on his prosthetic conversion.

Hoshino overwhelmed Orochimaru with his full-body prosthetic conversion and forced him to use a body-replacement technique to escape. After Orochimaru withdrew, Hoshino resumed escorting the aerial fortress Ancor Vantian and prepared to head toward the Land of Rain, where Gaara had arranged a transaction.

• Hoshino tested his full-body prosthetic conversion against Orochimaru, then activated Swift Release: Overclocking Mode and struck at extreme speed.
• Hoshino pierced Orochimaru’s Triple Rashomon defenses and battered him with bone spikes, Chakra beams, and close-range attacks.
• Hoshino pierced Orochimaru’s heart with an armor-piercing bone spike, but Orochimaru escaped by shedding his damaged body with Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique.
• Orochimaru ended the fight and said he would return with a new appearance and an upright identity to discuss cooperation and transactions with Hoshino.
• Hoshino stopped the Sunagakure ninja from pursuing Orochimaru and ordered them to clear the way for the rising aerial fortress Ancor Vantian.
• Hoshino set his sights on the Land of Rain, where Gaara had named the transaction site, and disappeared into wind and sand.

Kakuzu collected taxes in Falling Rain Town’s thriving black market as Hoshino arrived to attend a secret transaction at a guarded waystation. After exposing a fake Kumogakure technique scroll, Hoshino used an invitation borrowed from the Third Elder to enter the venue, where a guide offered to show him around.

• Kakuzu forced a medicinal herb merchant to pay three million ryō in taxes and accepted additional payments from other traders.
• Hoshino arrived in Falling Rain Town and learned that Kakuzu managed its black markets under Pain’s protection.
• Yashamaru told Hoshino that the transaction with the Third Elder and other contacts was set for eleven at the abandoned waystation.
• Hoshino bought a fake Lightning Release Chakra Mode scroll from a swindler, inspected it, and discarded it.
• Hoshino presented the borrowed Amegakure invitation to the Rain Ninja guards and entered the waystation, where a woman offered to guide him.

Hoshino learned that several shinobi factions had gathered at the Falling Rain Town black market to acquire the Secret Missile Refining Technique, then watched the final auction item draw bids above 170 million ryō. Aburame Ryoma made a late bid, while the contest for the technique remained unresolved.

• A messenger told Hoshino that the third elder’s deals with Asuma Sarutobi, Aburame Ryoma, Kitsuchi, and Darui had been recorded, and that shinobi from other villages were prepared to seize the auction item.
• Hoshino identified the final auction item as the Secret Missile Refining Technique and took private room 12 as the auction began.
• Hoshino bought biological knowledge, while the other bidders competed over rare items, including a prosthetic body that sold for 23 million ryō.
• Darui, Kitsuchi, and Asuma Sarutobi drove the missile technique’s price above 100 million ryō as Aburame Ryoma watched without bidding.
• At 150 million ryō, an Akatsuki-cloaked figure and Konan appeared in the hall, but the village representatives continued bidding.
• Darui raised the price to 160 million ryō, Kitsuchi dropped out, and Aburame Ryoma bid 170 million ryō.

After the auction for Sunagakure’s missile-making technique, the hidden villages’ ninja clashed inside the waystation. Hoshino launched Sunagakure’s planned purge of Falling Rain Town, trapping the combatants amid swarms of deadly Kikaichū and armed troops.

• Aburame Ryoma won the metal scroll for 170 million, and Darui threatened him before leaving the auction hall.
• Asuma Sarutobi arranged to receive a copy of the scroll, while Kakuzu and Konan warned the others not to disrupt Amegakure’s rules.
• Kitsuchi, Darui, and ninja from Konoha, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure broke into the auction hall, triggering a battle over the missile-making technique.
• Hoshino learned that the departing ninja had been intercepted and their prosthetics and modules recovered, then ordered Sunagakure’s squads to seal off Falling Rain Town and attack.
• Aburame Ryoma, Asuma Sarutobi, Kakuzu, Konan, and the other combatants escaped the collapsing waystation and found the town surrounded by Sunagakure troops and lethal Kikaichū.
• Kitsuchi used Earth Release: Moving Earth Core to blast away the Kikaichū as they swarmed from cracks in the ground.