Chapter 4 (Sasuke Retsuden)

Sasuke seeks out Penjira, the library's keeper, who is startled to see him and shares a volume on the extinct dragons whose fossils dot the region. When Sasuke asks after the astronomy book said to reveal where the polar particles lie, the catalogue places it in the basement, an area forbidden to prisoners on pain of death because the books there are too precious. Penjira urges him to pick something else.

Sakura arrives, feigning idle curiosity about the same book. Penjira still refuses, fearing his own execution, until she proposes gambling for the key on the condition that she return it promptly if she wins. He chooses Hoshinarabe, a card game much like poker. Sasuke offers to bewitch Penjira with genjutsu, but Sakura declines. Their first hand ends in a draw with matching cards, drawing an unproven accusation of cheating, and every game after it ties as well, until a bored Penjira simply surrenders the key.

That night the pair meet in the library, Sasuke having made certain Jiji is asleep. Recalling the warnings about men pursuing Sakura, he forms a ring on her finger, which she admires without remark. He then asks how she rigged the games, and she explains that the cards' age let her read each one by its unique wear. She could have won outright, but her years with Tsunade taught her that forcing ties is the fastest way to wear down a compulsive gambler.

Sensing the path ahead with her chakra, Sakura detects a hidden basement reachable from Zansūru's office, a discovery they file away for later. They find the astronomy book and see that its images match the Hoshinarabe cards, seemingly drawn by the Sage of Six Paths. Sakura suspects each picture stands for a constellation tied to a specific month and expects to map them within two days. Sasuke departs, yet the images keep tugging at him with a sense of familiarity.

Sakura wins a forbidden basement key by tying every hand of Hoshinarabe against Penjira. Sasuke crafts a ring for her and learns she read the aged cards by their wear. Her chakra sensing uncovers a secret basement beneath Zansūru's office, and the recovered astronomy book links the card images to the Sage of Six Paths and the months of the year.

The fourth Sasuke Retsuden chapter continues the Heavenly Stardust storyline in volume one. It released on Shonen Jump Plus on December 4, 2022.