Chapter Summaries

Koki and Minato flew into the desert to search for clues to Rōran, but a sandstorm forced them to seek shelter in a cave. As they reached it, a masked ninja ambushed them, and Minato intercepted the attack to protect Koki.

• Koki studied the Third Hokage's scroll, and he and Minato used Earth Release: Light-Weight Rock Technique to fly over the desert.
• Koki grew uneasy beneath a blood-red moon as the wind intensified and a sandstorm approached.
• Minato spotted a cave in a boulder, and he and Koki headed inside to take shelter.
• A masked ninja attacked Koki from the dust, but Minato blocked the strike and met the attacker blade to blade.

Koki defeated a mysterious Rock ninja and rescued Minato from the shifting sand, but severe pain suddenly overcame him as a sandstorm and more attackers arrived. Minato carried Koki toward shelter while fending off the pursuers, leaving them still in danger.

• A Rock ninja attacked Koki with sand spikes and trapped Minato in quicksand, but Koki broke the hold with Lightning Blade and pulled Minato free.
• Koki used his Sharingan to incapacitate the mysterious ninja, then collapsed in intense pain before he could question him.
• As a sandstorm and several more attackers approached, Koki warned Minato to escape and lost the strength to stand.
• Minato carried Koki toward a cave while evading incoming attacks and using Explosive Tags to force the pursuers back.

Minato and Koki were swept away by a sandstorm and reached Rōran, where they encountered a blond boy who looked like Naruto fighting a giant puppet insect. The boy defeated the insect, leaving Minato and Koki stunned by his resemblance to Naruto.

• Minato shielded Koki through a powerful sandstorm, and they emerged in a remote sea of sand.
• Minato spotted Rōran and hurried there with Koki, who was recovering from his coma and eye pain.
• On their second day in Rōran, Minato and Koki heard a fight and found a blond boy battling a giant puppet insect.
• Koki recognized the boy as Naruto, while Minato was also shocked by the boy's familiar appearance.
• The boy used a powerful Chakra attack to bring down the puppet insect.

Minato and Koki followed Naruto into the ruins, where Koki rescued him from a swarm of puppet insects and Minato defeated the attackers. Naruto said Konoha had disappeared long ago and wondered whether Minato and Koki were his parents, before Shibi Aburame and Akimichi Chōza arrived.

• Minato gave Koki a mask, and they followed Naruto toward the ruined complex instead of continuing their investigation of the Queen of Roran.
• A swarm of puppet insects attacked Naruto, and Koki broke free of Minato to rescue him after he was wounded.
• Minato revealed himself and cut down the puppet insects while Koki and Naruto met face to face.
• Naruto introduced himself, and Minato told him that he and Koki were ninjas of Konoha.
• Naruto said Konoha had disappeared long ago and asked whether Minato and Koki were his parents; Minato tried to stop him from saying more.
• Shibi Aburame and Akimichi Chōza arrived at the ruins after following Minato's clues and surviving puppet attacks.

Koki and Minato’s group dealt with the puppets in Rōran, and Koki bandaged Naruto before setting out to investigate the tower with him. Koki leaped into a vast, dark chamber beneath its central dome, where he began examining the ancient hall.

• Chōza and Shibi defeated the puppets while Koki bandaged Naruto’s wounded leg.
• Minato told Naruto they were in Rōran and asked him to leave until the mission was complete, but Koki later took the talkative Naruto along.
• Naruto heard a faint sound behind him near the tower, but saw nothing when he looked back.
• Koki discovered a deep, black opening beneath the tower’s dome and used his lightning-charged sword to illuminate its depths.
• Koki told Naruto to wait, jumped into the opening, and landed in a vast hall with ancient totems carved into the floor and gemstones set in the walls.

Koki discovered a mysterious eye-like object sealed beneath the hall and felt his eye pain intensify as he approached it. After Naruto arrived and fought the pursuing ninja, Koki landed on the seal and collapsed in agony, leaving Naruto to hold the enemy back.

• Koki approached the sealed eye-like object and stopped when pain in his eyes worsened.
• Naruto and the ninja who had attacked Koki and Minato fell into the hall, and the ninja charged at Koki.
• Koki countered with Lightning Blade, but the ninja's Water Release sent the current toward him, forcing him to leap.
• Koki landed on the seal, and overwhelming pain drained his strength.
• Naruto intercepted the ninja and fought to keep him away from Koki as Koki's pain surged again.

Naruto was trapped by an enemy ninja while trying to protect Koki, but Koki killed the attacker with the sealed kunai. The kunai’s mysterious eye awakened and triggered a powerful formation that bound Koki and lifted him into the air as Naruto struggled to reach him.

• Naruto looked back at Koki, allowing the enemy ninja to trap him with the Cage Lock technique.
• As the ninja prepared to kill Naruto, Koki threw the kunai and killed him.
• The sealed eye opened, and its gaze caused Koki’s Mangekyō Sharingan to bloom.
• The sealing formation bound Koki and unleashed a force that Naruto could not break through.
• The formation’s currents lifted Koki into the air as Naruto repeatedly tried to reach him.

Koki was swallowed by the Ryūmyaku’s purple light and awoke alone in a desert, uncertain whether he had traveled through time. After finding a sword, he followed a faint sound and discovered a bloodied, masked person.

• Koki vanished into the purple pillar as Naruto failed to reach him, and the sealing chamber collapsed around the empty platform.
• Minato returned and cried out in despair when he saw that Koki was gone.
• Koki drifted through darkness and woke in a deserted stretch of desert, where he suspected the Ryūmyaku had transported him.
• Koki found a sword embedded in a dune, took it, and followed a faint sound across the sand.
• Koki found a bloodied young person wearing a mask and concealed himself to watch.

Sasori prepared to kill the Kazekage, whom he blamed for sending his parents on the mission that led to their deaths. After years of loneliness and resentment, he attacked the guards outside the Kazekage's office, leaving the outcome unknown.

• Sasori watched the guarded Kazekage's office building from beneath a tree at night.
• Sasori recalled how his parents' deaths had left him orphaned, isolated, and bullied in Sunagakure.
• Sasori devoted himself to studying the Puppet Technique under Granny Chiyo and nurtured a plan to avenge his parents.
• Sasori put on his mask and launched an attack on the guards outside the Kazekage's office.

Sasori fled Sunagakure but was ambushed by hidden attackers as he tried to escape on a flying puppet. Gravely wounded and unconscious, he fell over a cliff, though his will to live still flickered.

• Sasori abandoned his home and fled Sunagakure, believing his puppets were all the company he needed.
• He emerged from underground and summoned a flying puppet to carry him toward the cliff top.
• A hidden attacker stabbed Sasori through the chest just as he thought he had escaped his pursuers.
• Sasori tried to dodge further attacks, but several Kunai struck his leg as he struggled to stop the bleeding.
• Sasori lost consciousness, and the uncontrolled puppet fell over the cliff with him.

After surviving a fall into a raging river, Sasori struggled ashore with a severe chest wound and tried to stop his bleeding beneath a cherry tree. He remained stranded in a desolate place, knowing his makeshift first aid would not save him without proper treatment.

• The Anbu captain declared Sasori dead and ordered the Anbu members to retreat.
• Sasori regained consciousness in the river and fought the current without using his puppet to conserve Chakra.
• The river carried Sasori to the bank, where he crawled toward the cherry trees despite his injuries.
• Sasori reached a cherry tree and used supplies from his ninja tool pouch to plug his bleeding wound.
• Sasori realized he needed prompt medical treatment or he would die beneath the trees.

Badly injured and stranded in the wilderness, Sasori crawled toward a distant village in search of a healer. Though his strength and Chakra were failing, he clung to the hope that he could survive.

• Sasori realized his escape route had left him isolated in a deadly wilderness with no nearby help.
• He struggled against severe pain, exhaustion, and rapidly draining Chakra as he considered crawling more than fifty kilometers to a village.
• Sasori recalled his parents and refused to let his hardships end in death.
• He gathered his remaining strength and began crawling along the path, digging his cracked fingertips into the soil.

Eight-year-old Sasori crawled through a wasteland, near death and pleading for help, until Koki found him and agreed to save him. Koki carried the unconscious boy away and removed his mask, discovering that the child really was Sasori.

• Sasori struggled across the wasteland, determined to survive and avenge his parents.
• Koki heard a faint cry for help and found a badly injured, red-haired boy with a kunai in his shoulder.
• Koki hesitated, then recognized the boy’s voice as Sasori’s and promised to save him.
• Sasori released Koki’s wrist and closed his eyes as Koki lifted him into his arms.
• Koki carried Sasori carefully and removed his mask, confirming his identity.

Madara Uchiha chased away children who were bullying Koki at the Uchiha Clan training ground. Koki teased Madara about Asami's confession, and Madara left warning him not to talk to certain people.

• Children taunted Koki beneath a tree at the Uchiha Clan training ground.
• Madara Uchiha charged in and threatened the children until they fled.
• Koki laughed at Madara, who demanded to know why he was laughing.
• Koki offered to help Madara with his troubles and mentioned Asami's confession.
• Madara refused the offer, told Koki to stay away from certain people, and left.

Koki waited in the Warring States era, desperate to return home after being swept through space and time. The Ryūmyaku told him he could go back once its adaptation and fusion were complete, but Koki remained consumed by worry for his family and friends.

• Koki stood by the window in the rain as Uchiha Izuna entered and saw him lost in thought.
• Inside the Ryūmyaku Space, Koki demanded to know when he could return, and the Ryūmyaku promised he could go back after adaptation and fusion were complete.
• Koki recalled that undoing a mysterious seal in Rōran had sent him through different times and places, including encounters with Sasori, Gaara, and Kimimaro.
• Koki worried that his parents, Sasuke, and others were searching for him and suffering because he had disappeared.

Koki confronted the Ryūmyaku in his mental world and demanded to know how to drive it from his body. After hearing about its abilities and learning that it did not know its own origins, he continued questioning it while remaining undecided about whether to accept its presence.

• Koki demanded that the Ryūmyaku tell him how to remove it from his body, and it begged him not to send it away.
• The Ryūmyaku warned that forcibly extracting its power could harm Koki because it had fused with his spirit and body.
• The Ryūmyaku claimed it could let Koki use his powers without Hand Seals, but Koki remained cold and asked what kind of being it was.
• The Ryūmyaku said it did not know its true form and could shape itself according to Koki's characteristics and power.
• The Ryūmyaku explained that its power regenerated endlessly, could be refined by itself, and could coexist with Koki's power without rejection.
• Koki continued questioning the Ryūmyaku in the sealed space and failed to notice Izuna quietly come to his side.

In the rain, Izuna joined Koki and held him close, admitting that he was exhausted from days of fighting. The chapter left Izuna seeking comfort and reassurance from Koki.

• Izuna found Koki sitting by an open window in the rain and asked why he was not dressed more warmly.
• Koki asked where Madara was, and Izuna said Madara was handling clan affairs after another deadly clash with the Senju Clan.
• Izuna embraced Koki from behind and complained that Koki worried about Madara but not about him.
• Koki asked Izuna how he was, and Izuna admitted he had been fighting for days without rest.

Koki comforted Izuna after he returned exhausted from half a month of hardship, reflecting on how he had joined the Uchiha Clan and become close to Izuna and Madara. As Koki caressed Izuna’s cheek, Izuna held his hand and leaned into his palm.

• Koki acknowledged Izuna’s exhaustion and comforted him with a warm touch.
• Koki recalled saving Uchiha Tajima, joining the Uchiha Clan, and earning Tajima’s trust through his battlefield achievements.
• Koki remembered caring for Madara and Izuna, guiding their training and showing Izuna particular tenderness.
• Koki stroked Izuna’s cheek, and Izuna clasped his hand and pressed his cheek into Koki’s palm.

Izuna returned from the battlefield and found comfort in reuniting with Koki, while struggling with jealousy over Koki’s closeness to Madara. Madara arrived at their room and tried to leave after seeing them together, but Koki noticed him and called him inside.

• Izuna returned from the war and clung to Koki, relieved that Koki had stayed safe at home.
• Koki admired Izuna’s changed appearance, and Izuna blushed as he realized his heart was beating unusually fast.
• Izuna grew jealous when Koki and he spoke about Madara, then asked Koki to go somewhere with him now that the fighting was over.
• Koki said there was nowhere he wanted to go, and Izuna promised he would always stay with him.
• Madara watched Izuna and Koki together, then turned to leave until Koki called out and invited him in.

Koki and Izuna went out to meet Madara in the rain, where Koki greeted him after a long absence. The three returned indoors, leaving Madara silently watching Koki and Izuna’s close, affectionate interaction.

• Koki and Izuna stepped onto the veranda to meet Madara, who stood soaked and silent in the rain.
• Izuna moved in front of Koki and urged him to go back inside because of the cold.
• Koki greeted Madara and remarked that it had been a long time since they had seen each other, and Madara said he had been busy with trivial matters.
• Izuna asked whether Koki and Madara were keeping a secret from him, but Koki answered mysteriously.
• Koki and Izuna went inside together, and Madara followed as Izuna tried to remove Koki’s shoes.
• Madara watched Koki and Izuna’s affectionate exchange with a furrowed brow and confusion.