Recaps

After Jiraiya was caught peeping at the women bathing, Rikuto attacked him and drove him outside the city for a fight. Jiraiya recognized Rikuto as Tsunade’s young disciple, but Rikuto began the battle by using Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs.

• Jiraiya rushed to the hot spring inn to peep at the bathers and found Tsunade and the others waiting for him.
• Rikuto struck Jiraiya with his Superhuman Strength Fist, blasting through a wall and sending him flying.
• Rikuto charged again, but Jiraiya fled outside the city to avoid damaging the town, and Rikuto followed.
• Tsunade, Shizune, and Karin went to watch Rikuto face Jiraiya in an open clearing.
• Jiraiya recognized Rikuto as Tsunade’s disciple and praised his mastery of her strength technique, but Rikuto warned him he was lucky to have been noticed beforehand.
• Rikuto dismissed Jiraiya’s claim that he had been doing research and unleashed Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs.

Rikuto revealed his Wood Release to Jiraiya and overwhelmed him with a forest created in an instant. Jiraiya fought back with Big Ball Rasengan, but Rikuto’s relentless tree vines continued to attack.

• Rikuto used Wood Release to send wooden spikes through Jiraiya’s Earth-Style Wall.
• Tsunade told Jiraiya that Rikuto was a Senju descendant with the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai.
• Rikuto unleashed Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence and filled the area with towering trees that attacked Jiraiya.
• Jiraiya dodged the tree vines and used Big Ball Rasengan to smash through them.
• More vines grew and kept pursuing Jiraiya, forcing him to continue using Big Ball Rasengan.

Rikuto overwhelmed Jiraiya with relentless Wood Release during their fight, forcing him to dodge and counterattack without gaining an advantage. Tsunade revealed that Rikuto’s chakra control and Wood Release surpassed hers and even the First Hokage’s, and that he could use most ninjutsu without hand seals.

• Rikuto repeatedly attacked Jiraiya with rapidly regenerating trees and vines, while Jiraiya countered with Rasengan, Fire Release, and Earth Release techniques.
• Jiraiya turned the ground around Rikuto into a swamp, but Rikuto used saplings to lift himself out and spread trees beyond its reach.
• Jiraiya raced through the forest toward Rikuto, smashing through tree vines with Big Ball Rasengan and attacking with Wild Lion’s Mane Technique.
• Rikuto burned Jiraiya’s attacking hair with Great Dragon Fire Technique, forcing Jiraiya to sever it and dodge the flames.
• Tsunade told Jiraiya that Rikuto’s chakra control was better than hers, his Wood Release mastery exceeded the First Hokage’s, and he could perform most ninjutsu without hand seals.

Rikuto used Wood Release flowers to unleash multiple elemental attacks against Jiraiya, who defended himself and summoned a colossal creature as the battle continued.

• Jiraiya recognized Rikuto's ability to use Ninjutsu without Hand Seals and began treating him as a serious opponent.
• Rikuto grew trumpet-shaped flowers throughout the forest and fired a lightning beam from one, forcing Jiraiya to dodge.
• The flowers launched Wind Release Vacuum Sphere attacks, and Jiraiya used Needle Jizo to block them.
• Rikuto gathered flames in the flowers, but Jiraiya summoned a colossal creature, interrupting Rikuto's technique.

Rikuto used his Wood Release to trap Jiraiya and Gamabunta in a forest and overwhelmed their attacks with powerful techniques. The chapter left Gamabunta struck by Rikuto’s Five Release: Great Combo Technique.

• Tsunade told Shizune and Karin that Rikuto was drawing out Jiraiya’s full strength before defeating him.
• Jiraiya summoned Gamabunta, who escaped Rikuto’s encroaching vines by leaping clear of the forest.
• Jiraiya and Gamabunta combined Toad Oil and fire to attack Rikuto’s forest, but Rikuto countered with Water Dragon Bullet techniques.
• Gamabunta attacked Rikuto with Water Release: Iron Cannonball.
• Rikuto used Five Release: Great Combo Technique to smash Gamabunta’s water sphere and strike him head-on.

Rikuto overwhelmed Jiraiya and Gamabunta with successive five-nature attacks, leaving Jiraiya badly beaten while Gamabunta fled. Afterward, Jiraiya claimed he had held back, and Rikuto challenged his boast.

• Rikuto blasted Gamabunta and pressed the attack with lightning, wind, fire, and his Five Release techniques.
• Gamabunta dodged one barrage, but fled when Rikuto launched a larger bombardment, leaving Jiraiya to be struck.
• Tsunade had Karin treat Jiraiya’s non-life-threatening injuries and said she knew he could use Sage Mode with the Toad Sages’ help.
• Jiraiya insisted he had avoided his strongest techniques because he feared killing Rikuto, and Tsunade acknowledged his potential while trusting Rikuto’s Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Rikuto confronted Jiraiya over his claim and said he had spared him and Gamabunta.

Rikuto mocked Jiraiya’s confidence in Senjutsu, then demonstrated that he could enter Sage Mode instantly. He revealed that he had mastered Senjutsu at eight, leaving Jiraiya and the others stunned.

• Tsunade threatened Jiraiya over his novels, while Rikuto warned him not to spy on anyone close to him.
• Jiraiya challenged Rikuto by boasting about his Sage Mode and explaining the power of Senjutsu.
• Rikuto activated Sage Mode instantly, gathering Natural Energy and causing flowers and grass to flourish around him.
• Rikuto told the stunned Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, and Karin that he had learned Senjutsu at eight.

Rikuto stunned Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, and Karin by revealing that he had mastered Sage Mode, then treated Jiraiya and demanded an exorbitant fee. He left Jiraiya agreeing to pay after threatening to collect the bounty on his head.

• Rikuto entered Sage Mode, astonishing Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, and Karin, and Tsunade proudly claimed him as her disciple.
• Rikuto left Sage Mode, made a Wood Clone carry the injured Jiraiya, and warned him about peeping at people in the bath.
• At the inn, Rikuto treated Jiraiya and wrapped him in bandages so tightly that he could not move.
• Rikuto demanded thirty million ryo for his treatment, and Jiraiya protested that the fee was outrageous.
• Rikuto found Jiraiya's nine-digit black-market bounty in a booklet and threatened to claim it, so Jiraiya agreed to pay.

Rikuto explained to Tsunade and Shizune how he had independently mastered Senjutsu and Sage Mode, earning Tsunade’s praise after she scolded him for keeping it secret. After dinner, Rikuto invited Shizune to his room to test the Spirit Transformation Technique, and Karin and Tsunade reacted with teasing and alarm.

• Tsunade confronted Rikuto about mastering Senjutsu at eight and hiding it from her.
• Rikuto explained that he had used a Shadow Clone to combine natural energy with spiritual and physical energy, while Shizune corrected him when he called his discoveries surprises.
• Tsunade let Rikuto off after scolding him and praised him for teaching Jiraiya a lesson by taking thirty million ryō from him.
• Karin noted that the money was enough to cover two or three months of their work, while Tsunade and Shizune discussed their improved finances.
• Rikuto invited Shizune to his room to try out the Spirit Transformation Technique, making Shizune blush and prompting Karin to protest.
• Tsunade teased Rikuto for wanting to do something naughty with his senior sister.

Rikuto explained that he wanted to use the Spirit Transformation Technique to help Shizune learn the Yin Seal and the Strength of a Hundred Technique. After Tsunade and Karin left, he possessed Shizune with her consent and began assessing her body and chakra control.

• Rikuto clarified that he wanted to possess Shizune to help her train, easing Shizune and Karin's misunderstanding.
• Rikuto explained that repeated firsthand practice could help Shizune build the skills needed to master the Yin Seal and the Strength of a Hundred Technique.
• Tsunade and Karin encouraged Shizune, then left Rikuto's room so he could begin.
• Rikuto entered Shizune's mental world and took control of her body with her cooperation.
• Rikuto tested Shizune's flexibility by doing the splits, demonstrated his control by using Rasengan, and prepared to start her training.

Rikuto widened and repaired Shizune’s chakra pathways, improving her chakra control, then helped her form the Yin Seal. Shizune successfully gained the Strength of a Hundred Seal, leaving her able to sense chakra gathering in a mysterious pool within her mental space.

• Rikuto converted his chakra to match Shizune’s and studied her chakra pathways as he began helping her form the Yin Seal.
• Rikuto proposed widening and repairing Shizune’s pathways, and Shizune agreed despite the risks and pain.
• Rikuto spent an hour widening and repairing Shizune’s pathways, and Shizune felt her chakra flow more smoothly and her control improve.
• Rikuto began forming the Yin Seal for Shizune while she concentrated on the chakra moving through her body.
• After four hours, Rikuto completed the Yin Seal, and Shizune sensed a mysterious pool collecting chakra in her mental space.

Rikuto helped Shizune complete and stabilize her Yin Seal and Strength of a Hundred Seal, then persuaded her to try his figure-improvement method. He later bargained with Tsunade for another intimate night by offering a three-day casino trip, while the chapter ended with an unexplained scene beginning at the battlefield outside town.

• Rikuto completed Shizune’s Yin Seal and Strength of a Hundred Seal and encouraged her to keep practicing.
• Rikuto coaxed Shizune into letting him try a method to improve her figure, and she hurried back to her room afterward.
• Tsunade questioned Rikuto about Shizune’s hurried departure, and he told her what had happened.
• Rikuto offered Tsunade a casino trip in exchange for one more night together, and she agreed after he promised three days away.
• Rikuto and Tsunade discussed their agreement as the scene shifted to the battlefield where Rikuto and Jiraiya had fought.

Black and White Zetsu investigated a ruined battlefield in the Land of Hot Water and reported signs of powerful Wood Release to Obito. Tsunade and Rikuto woke together in an intimate embrace, while Obito became interested in the possibility that Tsunade had awakened Wood Release.

• Black and White Zetsu found a devastated battlefield and suspected Jiraiya and Tsunade had killed the Jashin Cult follower.
• Black Zetsu noticed Wood Release traces and concluded that Tsunade might have created the forest; the Zetsu returned to report to Obito.
• Rikuto woke with Tsunade sprawled over him, and she hurried him out of her room when Shizune called.
• Black and White Zetsu told Obito that Jiraiya had been in the Land of Hot Water and that a powerful Wood Release user had appeared there.
• Obito considered Tsunade's Senju heritage and wondered whether she had awakened Wood Release or gained its power through Hashirama Cells.

Obito and Black Zetsu discussed Tsunade’s newly awakened Wood Release and decided the Akatsuki should avoid provoking her while it built its strength. At an inn in the Land of Hot Water, Tsunade learned that Shizune was close to mastering the Yin Seal and the Strength of a Hundred Technique, then she and Rikuto left after arranging for clones to remain behind.

• Obito dismissed the threat Tsunade posed and chose not to attack her, while Black Zetsu privately recognized that underestimating her could cause trouble.
• Obito disappeared and ordered his side to keep watching Tsunade, noting that the Akatsuki should not draw the Sannin’s attention yet.
• Tsunade asked Shizune about her progress, and Shizune explained that Rikuto had helped her form a Yin Seal and stabilize the Strength of a Hundred Seal.
• Tsunade praised Shizune, while Karin celebrated her senior’s progress and Rikuto teased Karin about learning the techniques next.
• Tsunade and Rikuto left a Wood Clone and a Shadow Clone at the inn before disappearing together.

Rikuto brought Tsunade to a casino and persuaded her to bet against his hitting triple sevens ten times in a row. Before they could start, the casino owner and a sensory ninja approached, and Rikuto asked the ninja to inspect the machines.

• Rikuto exchanged his prepared money for chips after arriving in town with Tsunade.
• Rikuto proposed a slot-machine bet, and Tsunade agreed after deciding the odds favored her.
• A sensory ninja approached with the casino owner, anxious about the amount of Chakra in Tsunade's body.
• Tsunade assured them she would follow the casino rules, and Rikuto identified her as the Legendary Sucker.
• Rikuto asked the sensory ninja to check the slot machines for problems before the bet began.

Rikuto repeatedly hit the slot-machine jackpot while competing with Tsunade, leaving the casino owner, gamblers, and a hired Special Jōnin stunned. After ten rounds, Rikuto had won a mountain of coins, and no one had found evidence that he cheated.

• Tsunade lost the first round as Rikuto hit three sevens and won the jackpot.
• The casino owner asked Rikuto to switch machines, and Rikuto hit three sevens again while Tsunade lost another round.
• The Special Jōnin checked Rikuto, the coins, and the machines but found no sign of cheating.
• Rikuto kept winning through the tenth round, filling several baskets with coins as Tsunade watched in disbelief.

Rikuto tested his growing powers inside Kakuriyo Space and summoned his complete Susanoo, revealing its Totsuka Sword and Chibiki Stone. He fused the Chibiki Stone with Susanoo, strengthening its defenses as he continued developing his abilities.

• Rikuto returned to the inn with Tsunade, then told her he was taking Karin out for practical training.
• Rikuto used Ōnamuchi to open Kakuriyo Space, whose radius had grown to five hundred meters and which concealed him from sensory abilities.
• Rikuto summoned his fourth-form Susanoo, a cyan giant thirty or forty meters tall.
• Rikuto used the Totsuka Sword to unleash a slash that carved a massive, deep mark through the ground.
• Rikuto manifested the Chibiki Stone and fused it with his Susanoo to strengthen its defense and resistance to space-time techniques.

Rikuto unleashed Perfect Susanoo in Kakuriyo Space and tested its immense power, though the transformation nearly pushed him to his Chakra limit. He concluded that his Susanoo remained smaller than the greatest known examples, but its divine weapons made it extraordinarily difficult to defeat.

• Rikuto's fourth-stage Susanoo struck down the Wood Dragon with one punch and emerged unscathed.
• Rikuto activated Perfect Susanoo, transforming the blue-green giant into a towering armored warrior with wings that were sheathed katanas.
• Rikuto realized Perfect Susanoo consumed so much Chakra that using it brought him close to his current limit.
• Rikuto flew the Perfect Susanoo through Kakuriyo Space and judged it smaller than the Susanoo of Madara Uchiha, Indra Ōtsutsuki, and the Sage of Six Paths.
• Rikuto reasoned that his Totsuka Sword and Chibiki Stone gave him overwhelming offense and defense, leaving opponents to try to exhaust his Chakra and ocular power.

Rikuto tested the destructive power of his Susanoo-enhanced Yasaka Magatama: Ultra-Big Ball Rasenshuriken, then returned to town and found Tsunade, Shizune, and Karin helping a poor family. After treating a mother and daughter, Karin was overcome with longing for her absent mother, Nanako Uzumaki.

• Rikuto unleashed the Yasaka Magatama: Ultra-Big Ball Rasenshuriken, carving a vast abyss into the landscape of Kakuriyo Space.
• Rikuto flew back toward town in his Crow Tengu giant to experience Perfect Susanoo before returning to the inn.
• Karin treated a mother and daughter, healing the mother's broken leg and removing toxins from both of them.
• Karin refused the family's basket of eggs and advised the mother to stop feeding her daughter poisonous wild vegetables.
• After leaving the grateful family, Karin grew tearful as she thought of her mother, Nanako Uzumaki.

Tsunade gave Karin and Rikuto half a month off so Karin could return to Konoha and reunite with her mother, Nanako. Rikuto agreed to take her, while Shizune learned he had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique.

• Tsunade realized Karin missed her mother and offered her and Rikuto half a month off to visit Konoha.
• Rikuto saw Karin's tearful face and asked who had upset her, but Tsunade and Shizune explained she missed Nanako.
• Tsunade told Rikuto to take Karin back to Konoha and return in half a month, noting he could use the Flying Thunder God Technique to find them.
• Shizune was shocked that Rikuto had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, and Tsunade explained how the S-rank space-time technique worked.
• Rikuto offered to teach Karin the technique if she called him senior brother, but Karin refused, and Tsunade told them to pack for the trip.

Rikuto and Karin returned to Konoha by Wood Release: Helicopter, but diverted to investigate a battle involving the Mysterious Peacock Method. There, they saw Fire Fly Star suffering from the Star’s harmful Chakra as his wife feared she would lose him.

• Rikuto and Karin said goodbye to Tsunade and Shizune, then flew toward Konoha in Rikuto’s Wood Release: Helicopter.
• Karin spotted a battle and sensed unusual Chakra from a purple-winged figure, so Rikuto turned the helicopter toward the fighting.
• Fire Fly Star used the Mysterious Peacock Method: Beast to overwhelm the rogue ninja attacking him.
• Fire Fly Star told his wife that the Star’s Chakra was consuming his body, and she worried that he would die like their companions.

Rikuto encountered Hoshigakure ninja Natsuhiboshi and Fire Fly Star after they were attacked, and offered to heal Fire Fly Star in exchange for Hoshigakure's Mysterious Peacock Method. Natsuhiboshi agreed, warning Rikuto that the technique required the Star and had caused her husband's illness, as Rikuto and Karin continued toward Konoha by helicopter.

• Rikuto and Karin arrived by Wood Release: Helicopter and found Natsuhiboshi and the injured Fire Fly Star.
• Rikuto introduced himself as Chiya Rikuto, a disciple of Tsunade, and offered to save Fire Fly Star in exchange for the Mysterious Peacock Method.
• Rikuto demonstrated his Mystical Palm Technique and formed then dismissed a powerful Rasenshuriken, convincing Natsuhiboshi of his strength.
• Fire Fly Star refused to give Hoshigakure's secret technique to an outsider, but Natsuhiboshi agreed to teach Rikuto if he cured her husband.
• Natsuhiboshi warned Rikuto that the technique required Hoshigakure's Star and had caused Fire Fly Star's condition, while the group flew onward aboard the helicopter.

Rikuto healed Fire Fly Star and Natsuhiboshi, then mastered and improved Hoshigakure’s Mysterious Peacock Method without using the dangerous Star. After the couple flew home to reunite with their son, Karin admired their flight and considered the technique’s drawbacks.

• Rikuto treated Fire Fly Star and Natsuhiboshi and warned them not to train with the radioactive Star again.
• Rikuto read Natsuhiboshi’s scroll and demonstrated a blue Chakra beast formed with the Mysterious Peacock Method.
• Rikuto explained that treating the couple had helped him understand Chakra activation, allowing him to master and improve the technique.
• Fire Fly Star and Natsuhiboshi thanked Rikuto and Karin, then flew toward their village to reunite with their son.
• Karin watched the couple depart and admired the Mysterious Peacock Method’s flight, while recognizing its drawbacks.

Rikuto brought Karin back to Konoha, where she reunited with her mother, Nanako Uzumaki, after two years apart. As Rikuto left them to catch up, Nanako told him that Kurenai Yuhi had become a Jonin and was away on a mission.

• Rikuto told Karin that she could learn his improved Mysterious Peacock Method and explained the Chakra and control requirements.
• Rikuto and Karin arrived at Konoha, showed their papers to Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki, and entered the village.
• Rikuto took Karin to the Chiya home, where she joyfully reunited with Nanako Uzumaki.
• Rikuto sent a Wood Clone to Konoha Hospital to request the day off for Nanako and left the mother and daughter alone together.
• Nanako told Rikuto that Kurenai Yuhi had become a Jonin and had left on a mission.

Rikuto reunited with Hinata, whom he had once helped as a child, and encouraged her to be more confident. He then met Ino after two years apart, and she greeted him with an exuberant embrace and kisses.

• Rikuto recognized Hinata after she accidentally bumped into him on her way to the Ninja Academy.
• Rikuto reminded Hinata of the older boy who had helped her when she was bullied and praised her eyes.
• Hinata realized Rikuto was the boy from her childhood and shyly thanked him before hurrying to the Ninja Academy.
• Ino spotted Rikuto and ran to him, delighted to see him again after two years.
• Ino wrapped her arms around Rikuto and kissed his face repeatedly, and Rikuto wiped away her saliva.