KAKAKAKA Chapter 4: Release Date, The Assassin’s Trap, and What Nen’s Biggest Gamble Means

There are some manga chapters that make you want to immediately read the next one, and then there are chapters that basically leave you staring at the final panel wondering how the hell the protagonist is going to survive. For me, KAKAKAKA Chapter 3 falls firmly into the second category.

Mukade Makino has taken what initially looked like a story about examinations and identity swapping and turned it into something much more dangerous. Nen isn’t simply trying to climb the social ladder anymore. He is manipulating markets, exploiting corruption, walking directly into the heart of the Ming imperial court, and now he’s apparently stumbled into an assassin hiding inside one of the most restricted places in the entire palace.

And honestly? This is exactly the kind of escalation I wanted from KAKAKAKA.

With Chapter 3 ending on Nen staring down a blade, all eyes are now on KAKAKAKA Chapter 4, which is scheduled to continue the story on September 15, 2026.

KAKAKAKA Chapter 4 Release Date

KAKAKAKA Chapter 4 is expected to release on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, continuing the manga’s weekly schedule.

For international readers, the English version should become available through the official MANGA Plus release schedule. Assuming there is no unexpected break, readers in the United States can expect the chapter around the following times:

The safest option is, of course, to read the chapter through MANGA Plus rather than chasing leaks or unofficial scans. Considering how much KAKAKAKA relies on surprise reveals, I would also recommend avoiding social media until you’ve actually read the chapter.

Trust me, this is not a manga I would want spoiled by a random thumbnail.

What Happened in KAKAKAKA Chapter 3?

Chapter 3, titled “The Tianqi Emperor,” completely changes the scale of the story.

Nen has successfully entered the Hanlin Academy, but instead of finding a peaceful environment where talented scholars can build their careers, he discovers another layer of corruption hiding underneath the imperial system.

One of the most memorable scenes involves Sir Chen dumping an enormous pile of imperial petitions onto Nen. It’s supposed to be a punishment or a way of humiliating the newcomer.

Nen simply finishes them.

That moment tells us a lot about him. He isn’t physically powerful, and he certainly doesn’t have the social status of the people surrounding him. His real weapon is his ability to process information faster than the people trying to control him.

Then the manga takes an extremely dark turn.

The Tianqi Emperor is shown almost completely detached from the country’s problems. While officials are desperately warning about financial collapse and military pressure from the north, the Emperor is far more interested in his woodworking obsession.

When one official pushes too hard, the situation ends with a brutal execution.

It’s a shocking scene, but I actually think it serves an important purpose. KAKAKAKA isn’t presenting the imperial court as merely “corrupt.” It shows a system where competence, fear, vanity, and violence have become completely intertwined.

And Nen immediately notices it.

Nen’s Golden Nanmu Scheme Is Completely Insane

This was probably my favorite part of Chapter 3.

Instead of trying to fight the imperial machine directly, Nen realizes that its biggest weakness is the Emperor’s obsession with Golden Nanmu.

The resource is extremely valuable, scarce, and politically important. Nen understands that he doesn’t necessarily need to possess the real thing forever.

He only needs to make everyone believe that the market has collapsed.

His plan is surprisingly elaborate.

First, he arranges an ambush against the people transporting genuine Golden Nanmu. Then he replaces the material with convincing counterfeit timber. From there, rumors spread through the market that counterfeit Golden Nanmu is flooding the country.

Merchants panic.

Prices collapse.

And suddenly, something that was nearly impossible to obtain becomes practically worthless.

That is such a weirdly clever strategy for a manga protagonist, and I mean that as a compliment. Most protagonists solve problems with strength, charisma, or some hidden supernatural ability.

Nen basically says:

“What if I destroy the market instead?”

That’s why his character is becoming so interesting to me.

He’s not necessarily the smartest person because the manga tells us he is. We actually watch him construct these schemes and then deal with their consequences.

The Real Genius of Nen’s Plan

The Golden Nanmu trick isn’t really about wood.

It’s about creating a situation where everyone else makes the decision Nen wants them to make.

That’s the important distinction.

Nen doesn’t need to convince every merchant personally. He creates enough uncertainty that the merchants destroy the value of the resource themselves.

Then comes the second half of his trap.

The palace receives enormous quantities of Golden Nanmu, forcing officials to find additional storage space.

And where does that lead?

Straight toward the Ledger Storage.

That’s where the chapter gets really clever.

Nen isn’t interested in becoming the Emperor’s favorite wood supplier. He has a much bigger target in mind.

He wants evidence.

Why the Ledger Storage Matters

Nen’s entire operation appears to have been designed to give him access to a location he normally couldn’t enter.

By flooding the palace with timber, he creates a logistical problem. The existing storage areas become full, forcing officials to move materials and reorganize restricted spaces.

That gives Nen an opportunity.

He hides inside a transport crate and gets himself into the Ledger Storage facility.

At this point, I genuinely thought the chapter would end with Nen finding the documents he needed.

Instead, Makino decided to make things much worse.

Nen enters the archive.

He starts looking for evidence.

And then—

Someone drops from the ceiling with a blade pressed against his throat.

That final sequence completely changes the mood of the chapter.

Until that point, Nen is controlling the situation. He has manipulated merchants, palace officials, and the supply chain.

Suddenly, he’s the one being controlled.

Who Is the Masked Assassin?

This is easily the biggest question heading into KAKAKAKA Chapter 4.

The mysterious warrior doesn’t look like an ordinary palace guard. The dramatic face paint and heavily armed appearance immediately make the character stand out.

More importantly, the assassin is already inside an extremely restricted imperial facility.

That raises several possibilities.

• The assassin could be connected to the Northern Forces.
• They could belong to an underground resistance movement.
• They might be searching for the exact same documents as Nen.
• They could have a personal connection to someone destroyed by Wei Zhongxian’s political machine.

Personally, I don’t think the assassin is going to simply attack Nen and disappear.

The more interesting possibility is that Nen and the assassin are chasing the same target from completely different directions.

And if that’s true, an uneasy alliance would make much more sense than a straightforward fight.

Nen’s greatest strength is negotiation. If he realizes that the person holding the knife has an enemy in common with him, I can absolutely see him trying to talk his way out of the situation.

Whether that works is another question.

Will Nen Find Evidence Against Wei Zhongxian?

This is probably the biggest story development I expect from Chapter 4.

Nen entered the Ledger Storage because he wants proof of the corruption surrounding Wei Zhongxian and the imperial finances. If he actually discovers something important, the entire political situation could change.

But there is an obvious problem.

Getting evidence is one thing. Surviving long enough to use it is another.

Wei Zhongxian is not exactly someone who can be casually exposed. The chapter has already established how dangerous his influence is, and Nen is operating in an environment where a single mistake can mean death.

I also wouldn’t be surprised if the Ledger Storage contains something even bigger than financial records.

The manga has spent considerable time establishing the relationship between the Emperor, Wei Zhongxian, the military situation, and the country’s financial problems. It would be very convenient if Nen discovered a document that connects all of those pieces.

The Golden Nanmu Trap Could Still Explode

There’s another ticking bomb sitting underneath Nen’s plan.

The Golden Nanmu delivered to the palace is fake.

Eventually, somebody is going to notice.

And when that happens, someone will have to take responsibility.

Sir Chen is in a particularly dangerous position because he is directly supervising the storage operation. If Wei Zhongxian discovers what happened before Nen can escape, Sir Chen could become the obvious scapegoat.

That would be completely in character for the corrupt system we’ve seen so far.

The interesting question is whether Nen planned for this outcome or simply accepted it as collateral damage.

I suspect it’s the former.

My Prediction for Chapter 4

If I had to bet on how the next chapter unfolds, I wouldn’t expect a long combat sequence.

Nen isn’t built like a conventional action protagonist, and KAKAKAKA has repeatedly shown that his real battles happen through information, deception, and psychological pressure.

I think the opening pages will focus heavily on the confrontation with the assassin. Nen will probably try to identify who they are, why they’re inside the archive, and what they’re searching for.

The most exciting outcome would be for Nen to discover that the assassin is also looking for evidence against the imperial leadership.

That could create a temporary partnership between two characters who absolutely do not trust each other.

And knowing Nen, he’d probably try to manipulate the situation before the assassin even realizes what’s happening.

KAKAKAKA’s Biggest Strength So Far

What I really like about KAKAKAKA is how quickly it refuses to settle into one genre.

At first, it feels like a historical examination story.

Then it becomes a political thriller.

Then an economic strategy story.

Then a palace conspiracy.

And Chapter 3 suddenly finishes as a stealth thriller with an assassin holding a knife to the protagonist’s throat.

Normally, that kind of rapid genre switching could feel messy. Here, it mostly works because every development comes from the same central idea: Nen survives by understanding systems better than the people controlling them.

That’s what makes me want to see more.

Nen isn’t necessarily the strongest person in the room. He isn’t even the most powerful politically.

But he keeps finding the weak point in whatever system is standing in front of him.

And now he’s inside the imperial archive, surrounded by secrets, with a blade against his neck.

KAKAKAKA Chapter 4 can’t come soon enough.

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KAKAKAKA Chapter 4: What We Know

For me, the most exciting part isn’t even the possibility of Nen finding the financial records. It’s the assassin.

That final cliffhanger introduces a completely new variable into Nen’s carefully constructed plan. Up until now, he has mostly been the person setting traps.

Now he’s walked into someone else’s trap.

And that’s exactly where KAKAKAKA becomes especially interesting.

Chapter 4 could finally show what Nen does when his opponent has already figured him out.