Chapter Summaries

Koki defeated and captured Yugito but was gravely wounded, while the news set the great villages moving toward conflict. As Koki lay unconscious, the Third Shinobi World War began to gather momentum.

• Koki stabbed Yugito, and Shibi Aburame and Akimichi Chōza restrained her as Yugito's counterattack hurled Koki away and left him gravely injured.
• Minato, Shisui, Kakashi, and Obito gathered around Koki, who soon lost consciousness.
• The Third Raikage learned that Konoha had captured Yugito and ordered A and Killer B to bring her back.
• Ōnoki learned that Konoha Genin had killed his elite Jonin and mobilized troops for a war of revenge against Konoha, especially targeting Uchiha Kōki.
• Karatachi Yagura accepted Ao's proposal to send an elite squad to test Konoha's strength while the village faced threats on two fronts.
• Koki remained unconscious as the villages prepared for war.

Fugaku returned home and found Koki unconscious, while his family and friends waited anxiously for him to wake. Koki learned that he had been granted the Mangekyō Sharingan but still had to complete a mission in the Warring States period.

• Fugaku hurried to Koki's bedside and blamed himself for his son's injuries, while Mikoto reassured him that the doctors had found nothing seriously wrong.
• Mikoto sent Kakashi and Obito to the hospital, and told Shisui and Minato to rest as she and Fugaku stayed with Koki.
• Koki drifted through a hazy consciousness, sensing his family nearby as the system explained that his body was adapting to a new power.
• The system revealed that Koki had received the Mangekyō Sharingan, but still needed to complete one mission.
• Koki learned that the remaining mission required him to return to the Warring States period and angrily confronted the system.

Koki learned that the world was nearing collapse because it had strayed from its predetermined fate, and agreed to undertake a Warring States mission in two months to help it gain independence. He woke blind in his room, where Itachi and Mikoto comforted him before Orochimaru arrived.

• The system explained that Koki's completed missions had raised the world's Correction Value to 80%, and that he needed to complete a Warring States mission to help free the world from fate.
• Koki agreed to the mission, which would begin in two months and keep him away for about two or three months.
• Koki woke in his room completely blind but calmed himself by listening to the sounds around him and feeling the sunlight and bedsheets.
• Itachi visited Koki and held his hand as Koki reassured him that his sight would return.
• Mikoto brought Orochimaru to Koki's room, and Orochimaru greeted Koki while watching him intently.

Koki woke up unable to see, and Orochimaru examined him and found no physical problem, suggesting an unknown force had caused temporary blindness. As Itachi promised to care for him, Mikoto grew increasingly suspicious of the unusual devotion Koki inspired in everyone around him.

• Mikoto explained that she had brought Orochimaru to help Koki because Tsunade was away, while Itachi watched Orochimaru warily.
• Orochimaru examined Koki and said his eyes were physically fine, but an unknown force had caused temporary blindness that might last a day, a month, or a year.
• Koki reassured his family, and Itachi held his hand and vowed to be his eyes and care for him.
• Mikoto reflected on the extraordinary concern shown for Koki by Itachi, Orochimaru, Minato, Shisui, Kakashi, Obito, Hayate, and a Hyuga boy, and suspected something was not right.

Koki encountered Kakuzu, who had been waiting in his hot pot restaurant and reviewing low-value bounty notices. Kakuzu recognized Koki as his employer and greeted him loudly, drawing the customers’ attention; the chapter ended by introducing the mysterious person who had sought Kakuzu three years earlier.

• Kakuzu sat in Koki’s crowded hot pot restaurant, rejected the bounty notices as too poorly paid, and ordered every dish on the menu.
• The waitress nervously took Kakuzu’s order while sensing his intimidating killing intent.
• Koki entered the restaurant, surveyed the busy room, and sat beside Kakuzu.
• Kakuzu threatened Koki until Koki identified himself as Kakuzu’s employer.
• Kakuzu stood and loudly greeted Koki as his boss, embarrassing him in front of the restaurant’s customers.
• The narration revealed that a mysterious person had approached Kakuzu three years earlier while he pursued wealth.

Koki reflected on Kakuzu’s three-year arrangement with a mysterious employer and explained how Kakuzu had once been sent to assassinate Hashirama after Takigakure’s leader grew angry over the Tailed Beast distribution. The chapter left Kakuzu beside Koki, unaware that Koki was considering his unlucky history.

• A mysterious employer promised Kakuzu ten million a year in exchange for protecting him when called, and the payments arrived on time for three years.
• Kakuzu set aside his suspicions, accepted the money, and eagerly came when his employer contacted him.
• Koki studied Kakuzu and recalled how Hashirama had distributed the Tailed Beasts among the great villages and Takigakure.
• Takigakure’s leader, dissatisfied with receiving only one Tailed Beast, ordered Kakuzu to assassinate Hashirama.
• Kakuzu attacked Hashirama and survived, though Koki believed the famous story of Kakuzu throwing a Shuriken from eight hundred li away was fiction.

Koki hired Kakuzu as his bodyguard, and the two shared a meal before leaving town together. As they entered a forest, a monk greeted Koki, who revealed that someone had been following them and prepared to deal with the pursuers.

• Kakuzu recalled escaping his village after being imprisoned for failing to kill Hashirama, then becoming a bounty hunter using Earth Grudge Fear.
• Koki considered Kakuzu’s abilities and decided he would make an ideal bodyguard.
• Kakuzu ordered every dish at Koki’s hot pot restaurant, and Koki treated him to the meal.
• Koki and Kakuzu left town and walked through the snow, with Kakuzu keeping watch behind Koki.
• A monk appeared in the forest, bowed to Koki, and asked if they were leaving.
• Koki said they would deal with the people following them, and Kakuzu readied himself to attack.

Four enemy shinobi attacked Uchiha Kōki and his companions after Kōki discovered their surveillance. Kōki and Kakuzu overwhelmed them, and Kōki showered the battlefield with Explosive Tags as Kakuzu protested their cost.

• Four hidden shinobi realized Kōki had detected them and decided to attack and capture him.
• Kōki told the attackers to make their move, and Kakuzu launched a series of elemental attacks.
• Kōki revealed his Sharingan and killed one enemy with a Kunai strike.
• The leader ordered a retreat, but Kakuzu trapped him while Kōki declared that none of the attackers would leave.
• Kōki threw a mass of Explosive Tags at the enemies, and Kakuzu hurriedly told him to stop wasting them.

Koki and his companions headed for the Land of Rain after wiping out a group of enemy ninjas, while Kakuzu mourned the Explosive Tags Koki had spent. The chapter recounted how the Third Shinobi World War erupted and left Konoha under attack from several villages, with Kakashi, Obito, and Shisui returning victorious from the front.

• Koki unleashed successive volleys of Explosive Tags, defeating the enemy group, then ordered Kakuzu to dispose of the bodies and set off for the Land of Rain with the monk.
• Koki learned that Sunagakure had accused Konoha over the Third Kazekage’s disappearance, and that Kumogakure and Iwagakure planned to exploit the resulting dispute.
• Koki and his companions uncovered and eliminated threats sent by Kumogakure and Iwagakure, and Kumogakure’s lost Jinchūriki, Yugito, gave it a pretext to declare war on Konoha.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi sent Minato Namikaze’s squad to face Kumogakure’s A-B Combo and dispatched Kakashi, Obito, and Shisui to repel Kirigakure’s attack.
• Iwagakure joined the assault, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi considering recalling Jiraiya and Tsunade, but Kakashi, Obito, and Shisui returned to Konoha after driving back Kirigakure’s ninjas.

Shisui and his allies drove back Kirigakure, while Koki accepted Hiruzen Sarutobi’s mission to investigate the Land of Rain, concealing his own plans to reach Amegakure. Koki set out alone and arrived in the war-ravaged country, where he witnessed its people’s desperate poverty.

• Shisui’s Genjutsu struck down two Kirigakure ninja, and Ao ordered his forces to retreat.
• Shisui, Kakashi, Obito, and the others returned to Konoha before heading to the front against Iwagakure.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned Koki and assigned him to investigate the Land of Rain, using Granny Chiyo and Hanzo of the Salamander as a pretext to address Hanzō’s threat.
• Koki accepted the mission because it gave him a chance to reach Amegakure and pursue his plans involving Konan, Yahiko, Nagato, and Sasori.
• Koki arranged for Mikoto, declined Hatake Sakumo’s offer to accompany him, and traveled alone to the Land of Rain.
• Koki walked through the Land of Rain and saw refugees, hunger, and the devastation caused by exploitation and war.

Koki and his companions walked through the rain-soaked Land of Rain, where civilians had been worn down by war, hunger, and exploitation. The chapter leaves them surrounded by people whose fear and despair had given way to numb acceptance.

• Koki's ninja Forehead Protector drew angry, fearful looks from the people as he walked through the streets.
• The account described how Hanzo of the Salamander's early period of order gave way to his decline and renewed chaos in the Land of Rain.
• Ninja incursions stripped civilians of food and threatened their lives, leaving them unable to resist.
• Years of hardship and violence wore away the people's hopes and dignity, and numbness became their refuge.
• Endless rain continued over the Land of Rain as its people accepted a bleak fate marked by hunger, disease, and war.

Koki ordered Kakuzu to use money to provide food and warm clothes for the starving people of Wenten Temple, then continued searching the streets with a monk. A desperate girl named Sachiko begged Koki to save her pregnant mother, whose illness had worsened, and Koki began asking what had happened.

• Koki told Kakuzu to buy grain and warm clothes for the suffering people, and gave him extra payment when Kakuzu warned the relief would not solve the larger problem.
• Koki recalled a story about a boy rescuing stranded fish, and the monk urged him to do good without worrying about what lay ahead.
• Koki and the monk continued through the muddy streets, where Sachiko rushed up and begged them to save her mother.
• Koki covered Sachiko with his cloak and asked her to explain what had happened.
• Sachiko explained that her seven-month-pregnant mother had developed a severe cough and fever, while her father had done nothing to help.

Sachiko begged Koki to help her dying mother, exposing him to the suffering of civilians in the Land of Rain. As Nagato finally approached him, Koki protected the boy from pursuers, leaving Nagato stunned and Koki studying his exposed Rinnegan.

• Sachiko ran to Koki and tearfully begged him to help her dying mother, leading him to her dilapidated home.
• After leaving Sachiko's home, Koki reflected on the poverty and hardship he had witnessed in the Land of Rain.
• Nagato secretly followed Koki until he finally called out to him.
• A group of ninjas chased Nagato for stealing, and Koki's monk companion defeated them, killing the attackers.
• Nagato wondered why Koki had helped him while Koki examined Nagato's exposed Rinnegan.

Koki rescued Nagato and agreed to help save Yahiko, whom Nagato led him to in a hidden cave. There, the starving survivors of Akatsuki confronted the aftermath of Hanzo of the Salamander’s betrayal, which Yahiko blamed himself for trusting.

• Nagato thanked Koki, who gave him water and offered to help when Nagato asked him to save Yahiko.
• Koki followed Nagato to a cave where Yahiko and the surviving Akatsuki members were wounded, starving, and without clean water or medicine.
• Ryōta called for revenge against Hanzo of the Salamander, and the other shinobi joined him in their anger.
• Yahiko apologized to the remaining members of Akatsuki and blamed himself for trusting Hanzo of the Salamander’s offer of peace talks.
• Yahiko recalled that Hanzo of the Salamander had joined forces with others to ambush Akatsuki, reducing the group from about a hundred members to a dozen or so.

Yahiko and the surviving Akatsuki members struggled with grief, poverty, and uncertainty after Hanzo of the Salamander’s betrayal, while Yahiko and Konan held on to hope that missing Nagato would return. Konan recalled how the three had met, trained under Jiraiya, and founded the Akatsuki before the organization’s devastation left them trapped in despair.

• Yahiko admitted that he wanted revenge on Hanzo of the Salamander but doubted the battered survivors could achieve it.
• The survivors faced homelessness, hunger, unsafe water, illness, and the threat of war in the Land of Rain.
• Konan asked whether Nagato would return, and Yahiko insisted that he would despite their failed searches.
• Konan remembered losing her parents, meeting Yahiko and Nagato, and enduring hardship with them.
• Konan recalled how Jiraiya trained the three for three years and how Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan founded the Akatsuki to pursue peace.
• Hanzo of the Salamander betrayed the Akatsuki, killing many members and leaving the survivors without hope.

Koki met Nagato, Konan, Yahiko, and their companions in a cave after Nagato returned with water. He earned their attention by showing them a letter from Jiraiya, then offered to look after them instead.

• Nagato returned to the cave with water and introduced Koki and his companions to Konan and Yahiko.
• Kyusuke and Daibutsu questioned Koki because he was a ninja from Konoha, while Nagato defended him.
• Koki explained that he meant no harm and showed the group a letter from Jiraiya.
• Konan and Nagato read Jiraiya's letter, which asked them to look after Koki while he investigated matters involving Sunagakure.
• Yahiko said they were too desperate to look after Koki, and Koki offered to look after them instead.

Koki provided Yahiko and the others with clean water and a feast from his storage scrolls. As he offered Yahiko a bowl of ramen, Yahiko aggravated his wound and collapsed in agony.

• Yahiko declined Koki’s offer to care for them and urged him to take their remaining food and leave.
• Koki opened his scrolls and gave Kyusuke clean water, which Kyusuke and the others drank eagerly.
• Koki revealed a table full of fresh food and invited everyone to eat.
• Koki brought Yahiko a bowl of ramen, but Yahiko jostled his wound while reaching for it.
• Yahiko’s pain surged, and his vision began to blur.

Koki treated Yahiko’s severe wound, and Yahiko fell asleep feeling comforted by his care. At Hanzō’s residence, Hanzo of the Salamander reconsidered his past choices and ordered Danzo brought to him, only to learn that Danzo had disappeared.

• Koki disinfected Yahiko’s wound and covered him with a blanket as Yahiko grew weak and cold.
• Yahiko fell asleep beside Koki, comforted by his kindness.
• At his residence, Hanzo of the Salamander heard that the young ninja remained in their cave and ordered his subordinate to leave them alone.
• Hanzo of the Salamander reflected on Danzo’s influence, his own rule, and his desire to claim the Akatsuki’s mysterious eyes.
• Hanzo of the Salamander ordered Danzo brought to him, but an Amegakure ninja reported that Danzo had disappeared.

Nagato relived the night his parents died and he killed a man, then woke from the nightmare in his dark room, sick and in pain. He stared at his purple eyes in the mirror, seeing the hatred in them.

• Nagato remembered finding his dead parents and realized that he had killed the man whose corpse he stumbled over.
• A voice called out, and Nagato froze as an armed man approached; he closed his eyes and waited for death.
• Thunder jolted Nagato awake in his room, where he fell from bed and struggled to stand.
• Nagato knocked medicine bottles to the floor, made his way to the bathroom, and retched into the sink.
• Nagato washed his face and stared into the mirror at his purple eyes, which seemed to glare at him with hatred.

Nagato relived the trauma of his childhood, smashed his mirror, and tried to calm himself with tranquilizers before Yahiko came to check on him. After Yahiko brought medicine prepared by Orochimaru and invited him out, Nagato agreed to take a walk with him.

• Nagato remembered his parents' murder, the villagers' rejection, and the suffering of his childhood, then repeatedly smashed his mirror and injured himself.
• Nagato gathered the scattered tranquilizers, tended to his wounds, and sat alone in the living room.
• Yahiko came to check on Nagato after hearing the noise and found the broken mirror and traces of blood.
• Yahiko gave Nagato medicine that Koki had obtained from Orochimaru and urged him not to bear his pain alone.
• Nagato agreed to go for a walk with Yahiko, and they stepped beneath the covered corridor into the damp, overcast weather.