Chapter Summaries

Chisen explained to Shikamaru that he could control his Brand and had let Helian believe it was his fatal weakness, while Shizune warned that his physical injuries and poison remained serious. After Chisen woke, he told Kiba the Brand was a two-way connection he could usually resist, though he did not know whether Helian could overpower him.

• Chisen told Shikamaru he had concealed his control of the Brand so Helian would trust false information about its effects.
• Shikamaru insisted Chisen’s problems were his concern too, then added investigating how Helian obtained Chisen’s blood to his notes.
• Shizune explained that Chisen’s unusual bodily control might account for his fast recovery, but cautioned that his wounds and poison were still real.
• Chisen woke and asked for savory congee without scallions, and Shikamaru told Kiba to put the Artificial Vessel plan on hold.
• Kiba asked Chisen about the Brand, and Chisen said he could usually stop it from resonating but did not know whether he could resist Helian at close range.
• Chisen told Kiba he had avoided testing the Brand because Helian might sense him probing their connection.

Chisen, Shikamaru, Kagura, and Hisai uncovered how Helian could use Chisen’s Brand to replace its dying blood with his own and gain control over it. Shikamaru suspected Helian had drawn the Flowing Water experts to Konoha to confirm Chisen’s location, but the chapter ended before they knew what Helian would do next.

• Chisen told Kiba that his cold-sensing episodes suggested the Flowing Water anchor might be a living entity, and Kiba urged him to take care.
• Shikamaru brought Chisen congee and learned Kagura would reinforce the seal, while Hisai was being transferred to Konoha.
• Hisai revealed that Helian had mailed Chisen’s blood to a border research institute and that Chisen’s blood held an unknown second marker resembling blood about to clot.
• Hisai found that Chisen’s Brand was already weakening because its caster was near death, and she explained Helian could use its final resonance to send his own blood into Chisen.
• Chisen deduced that Helian wanted to replace the Brand’s dying blood, while Kagura and Hisai proposed using living Hamura blood to divert the channel.
• Shikamaru suspected Helian had lured Hisai and other Flowing Water experts to Konoha to confirm Chisen’s location.

Shikamaru, Chisen, and Kagura discovered that Helian had hidden Flowing Water Worm eggs in a blood sample to track Chisen and infect Konoha. Hisai was exposed but stabilized for surgery, while Chisen and Shikamaru realized Helian was testing Chisen’s abilities and intended to keep him alive.

• Chisen deduced that Helian had hidden a Flowing Water Probe in the blood sample, and Hisai found worm eggs clinging inside the tube.
• Kagura identified the eggs as dangerous Flowing Water Worms, and Chisen confirmed Hisai had none on her wrist.
• Shikamaru realized the eggs could infect Hisai through a cut on her finger, and Kagura found them spreading beneath her skin.
• Shizune injected Hisai with serum and a Chakra Blocker, stopped the eggs from moving, and arranged to take her for surgery with Kagura.
• Chisen told Shikamaru he might be a vessel for a hybrid bloodline and listed unanswered questions about his past and the Brand.
• Shikamaru and Chisen concluded that Helian was calibrating the Brand’s effects because he needed Chisen alive.

Chisen explained that he had spent three months misleading Helian through the Brand while Shikamaru helped close a net around him. After Flowing Water insect eggs were discovered inside the Medical Department, Shikamaru planned to seal them away as Chisen prepared to create conflicting reports about his condition.

• Chisen told Shikamaru that Helian’s Brand tests revealed his direction, and that he had been feeding Helian false information about the Brand’s limits.
• Chisen asked Shikamaru to investigate who supplied his blood to Helian, research Helian’s connection to the Hamura House Case, and bring him dark clothes for the next day.
• Shikamaru agreed to help Chisen spread conflicting information about his condition through the Medical Department, while warning him not to leave his bed until he recovered.
• Shizune and Kagura reported that they had removed seven Flowing Water insect eggs from Hisai and found that the eggs in a test tube could hatch when exposed to fresh blood.
• Kagura warned that the test tube threatened the Medical Department’s blood bank, and Shikamaru decided to obtain the Hokage’s order to seal it and sink it in the Sealing Squad’s abandoned well.
• Chisen sensed that Helian could detect the eggs through their resonance with the Brand, and Shizune rebandaged his wound and ordered him to stay in bed.

Chisen escaped the Medical Department and raided the Allied Forces’ camp, freeing the twenty-three villagers held in Kushida Village. He warned the Allied Forces that he would retaliate in kind, then led the villagers toward Konoha as news arrived from their northern camp.

• Tsunade and Shikamaru learned that the Allied Forces had threatened to kill twenty-three people in Kushida Village unless Chisen surrendered, and Shikamaru predicted Chisen would find another way to save them.
• Chisen slipped out of the Medical Department and crossed Konoha’s western wall, despite his injuries and Shizune’s promise to confiscate his sword if he got out of bed.
• At the Allied Forces’ main camp, Chisen incapacitated several ninja and forced a Land of Wind ninja to reveal where the villagers were held.
• Chisen freed all twenty-three villagers from the Earth Release cellars and told the Land of Wind ninja to carry his warning of equal retaliation to the Allied Forces.
• Chisen led the villagers toward Konoha as news from the Allied Forces’ northern camp reached the main camp.

Chisen returned to Konoha after rescuing twenty-three hostages and warned Shikamaru that the Allied Forces would soon target him directly. He later proposed collapsing a western-border valley to cripple the Allied Forces, a plan that could kill tens of thousands, and Shikamaru recounted it to Tsunade.

• The Allied Forces found that Chisen had freed twenty-three civilians and taken four guards, while leaving no one dead, and the kunoichi began drafting a retreat plan.
• Shizune treated Chisen’s strained arm, and Shikamaru rejected Chisen’s attempt to keep Konoha out of the consequences of his actions.
• Chisen revealed that he had planted remotely detonated Exploding Tags in the Allied Forces’ camp and predicted they would next try to capture him in a direct encirclement; he refused to surrender.
• After three days of recovery, Chisen’s empty Jonin vest awaited him at a meeting with Tsunade, Kakashi, and Shikamaru, while Tsunade asked Shikamaru about Chisen’s plan.
• Shikamaru recalled Chisen proposing that twelve Jonin-level Earth Release users collapse a valley around tens of thousands of Allied Forces personnel, potentially causing more than twenty thousand deaths.

Chisen presented Tsunade with a plan to trap the Allied Forces in Raincrack Basin and draw Helian out, while Shikamaru agreed to help conceal Konoha’s involvement. The Allied Forces were expected to advance within three days, and Shikamaru realized he was also being asked to erase every trace if the operation failed.

• Chisen explained to Shikamaru why he believed sacrificing twenty thousand Allied Forces troops could end the war, and asked him to cover for the plan.
• Shikamaru told Tsunade about Chisen’s proposal, then brought the wounded Chisen into the meeting room.
• Chisen showed Tsunade his Raincrack Basin survey and a list of helpers assigned to lure, trap, and monitor the Allied Forces’ main force.
• Tsunade refused to officially approve the operation but allowed Chisen to proceed alone on paper, while warning him to return alive.
• Chisen revealed that the plan also aimed to lure Helian into range and kill him during the operation.
• Shikamaru recognized that he would have to erase all evidence of Konoha’s involvement if the plan failed; the Allied Forces were expected to advance within three days.

Chisen and Shikamaru prepared an ambush at Raincrack Basin as a massive Allied Forces army advanced. Chisen triggered a large-scale Earth Release that began closing the basin’s rock walls around the vanguard.

• Shikamaru agreed to prepare for Chisen’s plan, and three days later Kiba reported that more than ten thousand enemy chakra signatures were gathering near Raincrack Basin.
• Allied Forces commander Rasa sent a three-thousand-strong vanguard into the basin while the main force and rear guard assembled behind it.
• Shikamaru, Kiba, and Kamon tracked the Allied Forces and confirmed that Chisen was the only Konoha ninja inside the basin.
• Chisen entered the basin and knocked out a reconnaissance team, then stood alone in the vanguard’s path.
• Blackstone recognized Chisen and ordered the vanguard to hold formation, but Chisen raised and lowered his sword as a signal.
• Earth Release shifted the basin’s northern and southern rock walls inward, and Blackstone ordered the vanguard to retreat as the troops collided in the muddy passage.

Chisen was trapped in the basin after an Earth Release attack buried most of the Allied Forces, and Fujisuke's Teleportation Array failed to extract him. As Shikamaru and Kiba tried to guide him out, Helian appeared and revealed that the Array had not been fake.

• Blackstone realized Chisen had lured the Allied Forces into a prepared trap as the mountain walls began collapsing around the basin.
• Rasa ordered the army to retreat, but the western entrance jammed, and he charged into the dust to try to save the buried soldiers.
• Shikamaru made Huomen deactivate his Byakugan, then told Kiba their people were outside the basin and expected Chisen to escape with Fujisuke's Teleportation Array.
• Chisen reported that the Array had not activated and refused to flee through the eastern gap because thousands of Allied Forces remained outside.
• Helian approached Chisen through the dust, and Chisen recognized him through the Brand.
• Helian told Chisen that Fujisuke's Teleportation Array had not been fake.

Helian revealed that he had orchestrated Chisen’s isolation and explained Chisen’s Hamura and Suigetsu bloodlines while trying to force him to awaken. Chisen’s blade manifested Suigetsu’s Liquefaction, but Helian countered with Flowing Water and engulfed the basin in mist.

• Helian revealed that he had replaced the Teleportation Array’s activation talisman and arranged for Chisen to be trapped at Raincrack Basin.
• Helian offered to spare Chisen, but Chisen drew his sword and attacked, wounding Helian in the face.
• Helian told Chisen that his mother had written to him about Chisen’s Hamura and Suigetsu bloodlines and that he had engineered Chisen’s predicament to awaken both.
• Chisen fought on despite his injuries, secretly using his left arm, and his sword edge flowed around Helian’s blade, revealing Suigetsu’s Liquefaction.
• Helian transformed his sword into gray-white mist and explained that Flowing Water could take different forms, then flooded the basin with mist as Chisen closed his eyes.

Chisen and Helian fought in the mist as Helian revealed that his twelve allies had activated the Ebb Tide formation to drain Chisen of water and steal his bloodline abilities. As Chisen’s body began to fail, he wounded himself to make his blood flow out and disrupt the draining, leaving him standing against Helian.

• Chisen used his half-draw technique to wound Helian’s chest while catching the Gray-White Blade in his palm, and the two became locked in a bloody deadlock.
• Helian revealed that twelve remnants of Hamura’s House were preparing the Ebb Tide formation, which would drain the water from Chisen’s body and let Helian take his bloodline abilities.
• Chisen confronted Helian about his plan to merge Flowing Water and liquefaction, arguing that Helian meant to prove he could equal Chisen’s mother even though the attempt would kill him.
• The Ebb Tide formation activated and began dehydrating Chisen, leaving him unable to control his chakra as Helian approached him.
• After Helian revealed he had chosen the day of Chisen’s mother’s death, Chisen stabbed his own thigh to make his blood flow out and interfere with the draining, then forced himself to stand.

Chisen killed Helian as the Ebb Tide Formation collapsed, then was rescued and carried out of the basin while the Allied Forces recovered their dead. After the devastating defeat, the weakened Allied Forces sent an envoy to Konoha to begin peace talks.

• Chisen drove his blade through Helian and survived until the Ebb Tide Formation collapsed; Helian died after revealing that Chisen's mother had been waiting for him for eighteen years.
• Kiba, Akamaru, Shikamaru, and Huomen found Chisen, treated his injuries, and carried him from the basin as Allied Forces began digging for the buried survivors.
• Shikamaru told Chisen that the Allied Forces were searching the basin and did not yet know how many remained buried.
• Rasa surveyed the dead and wounded at the western entrance, while reports later recorded twenty-three thousand Allied Forces dead or missing and Rasa's resignation.
• Tsunade predicted the Allied Forces would seek peace talks, and three days later Konoha received an envoy from the Land of Lightning accompanied by ninjas from the Land of Wind and Land of Earth.

Tsunade presented the allied envoys with Shikamaru and Chisen’s harsh ceasefire terms, including reparations, disarmament, and mutual enforcement. Chisen remained hospitalized, reflecting on his wish to turn weapons into farming tools and watching memories of Raincrack Basin as if they were rain unrelated to him.

• Tsunade gave the envoys terms requiring reparations, military disarmament, and cooperation in enforcing the treaty, while refusing to discuss Chisen’s condition.
• The envoys left to seek their council’s response, and Shikamaru told Tsunade that the mutual-enforcement clause would bind the three nations together.
• Shizune reported that Chisen had walked to the corridor and looked at the bare persimmon tree despite his injuries.
• Kiba visited Chisen with red bean cakes, and Chisen confirmed that he had seen the tree’s trunk.
• Chisen privately recalled helping Shikamaru devise the peace terms and reflected on turning weapons into farming tools so the nations could not wage war again.
• Chisen remembered the dead and wounded at Raincrack Basin while Kiba played with Akamaru beside him.

Tsunade and Shikamaru secured a peace treaty with the Lands of Lightning, Wind, and Earth, requiring them to surrender their troops’ equipment so it could be made into farming tools. A month later, Chisen accompanied the first delivery to war-damaged Lower Hiiragi Village, where an elderly woman cautiously opened her door.

• Kiba told Chisen that Akamaru sensed his scent had changed as he recovered.
• Tsunade and Shikamaru reviewed the three nations’ peace offers and kept the treaty terms unchanged, including the conversion of military equipment into farming tools.
• Representatives of the Lands of Lightning, Wind, and Earth signed the treaty, and Tsunade warned them to deliver the equipment within three months.
• Tsunade told Chisen the treaty was signed and assured him that someone would remember what he had endured at Raincrack Basin.
• The Blacksmithing Team forged the surrendered equipment into farming tools, and Shikamaru learned that Chisen would lead the first delivery.
• Chisen and Kiba arrived with tools at Lower Hiiragi Village, where an elderly woman cautiously emerged from her home.

Chisen and Kiba delivered forged farming tools to villagers in Lower Hiiragi Village and continued north to Upper Hiiragi Village. As the second village welcomed them and began collecting tools, Chisen gave a young boy a small sickle for his injured father.

• Chisen showed an old woman in Lower Hiiragi Village a sickle forged from a Land of Lightning sword, and she invited him inside.
• Chisen promised the old woman that the peace treaty would prevent further fighting for thirty years, then asked her to tell the villagers the tools were available.
• Kiba unloaded the tools beneath the great locust tree while villagers cautiously collected them, and the old woman gave Chisen four rice balls.
• Chisen and Kiba shared rice balls with Akamaru, then traveled to Upper Hiiragi Village after dark.
• Chisen offered a small sickle to a five-year-old boy whose father’s legs had been injured, and the boy ran home shouting that he had gotten one.
• The old man leading the villagers examined a plow head from the cart.

Chisen and Kiba delivered farm tools to Upper Hiiragi Village, where Chisen arranged help for an injured farmer and spoke with an old man about the weight of killing. They continued toward Iwami Village, and the next morning an Anbu messenger arrived with a sealed letter for Chisen.

• Chisen handed out tools beneath the Ginkgo Tree and learned that an injured man's land had no one to farm it.
• Chisen left the injured man a small sickle, hoe, and rake, and promised the village would help with the work he could not do.
• An old man asked Chisen about the people he had killed, and Chisen admitted that he was troubled but not afraid.
• Chisen marked Upper Hiiragi Village on his map and set off with Kiba and Akamaru toward Iwami Village, intending to visit all forty-three villages.
• The next morning, an Anbu messenger ran out of the eastern woods and presented Chisen with a sealed letter.

Chisen left Kiba and the Western Frontier to investigate a suspected White Zetsu sighting at Pheasant Feather Valley. He discovered that God Tree roots had awakened underground and ordered the Anbu to temporarily seal them while he arranged for Kagura to help.

• Chisen received Shikamaru’s urgent message about suspected White Zetsu and left Kiba to continue distributing farming tools.
• Chisen met Owl and the Anbu at Pheasant Feather Valley, where a patrol had detected an abnormal chakra signature underground.
• Chisen and the Anbu dug up gray-white flesh-like roots, and Chisen identified them as roots of the God Tree.
• Chisen’s Brand turned cold, revealing that Flowing Water lay deeper underground beneath the God Tree roots.
• Chisen concluded the roots had awakened recently, possibly after the mass deaths at Raincrack Basin, and told Owl to bury and temporarily seal them.
• Owl said he could not perform the required sealing alone, so Chisen promised to bring Kagura while the Anbu refilled the pit.

Chisen reported God Tree roots beneath Pheasant Feather Valley and warned Tsunade that they might be absorbing bloodline abilities. He and Shikamaru prepared to find Orochimaru, while Kabuto opened a laboratory at the Northern Outpost and revealed a strangely colored human-shaped figure.

• Chisen told Owl to scan Pheasant Feather Valley for underground anomalies and returned to Konoha to report to Tsunade.
• Chisen explained that the God Tree roots might be absorbing Flowing Water and other kekkei genkai, and asked to consult Orochimaru about killing the roots.
• Tsunade assigned Shikamaru to accompany Chisen to Orochimaru's Northern Outpost, and the two planned to leave the next day.
• Chisen told Shikamaru that White Zetsu had hatched near the roots but had not emerged, and they agreed to hurry.
• Kabuto opened a sealed laboratory room at the Northern Outpost, where a human-shaped figure of an unnatural color lay on a table.

Kabuto examined an awakened White Zetsu and declared it ready for mass production while plotting to mislead Chisen and Shikamaru away from his real base. He expected Chisen to investigate carefully, giving Kabuto time to expand his White Zetsu operation beneath the Land of Rice Fields.

• Kabuto examined the newly awakened White Zetsu, recorded its condition, and ordered masked attendants to monitor and feed it.
• Kabuto learned that Chisen had returned to Konoha, uncovered God Tree roots at Pheasant Feather Valley, and left with Shikamaru heading northeast.
• Kabuto ordered the sentry network to let Chisen and Shikamaru enter a false route leading to an abandoned laboratory, where a fabricated diary would misdirect them.
• Kabuto explained that his third stage of White Zetsu production involved creating individuals with different appearances, abilities, and behaviors.
• Kabuto revealed that he had recovered Ten-Tails fragments and used their data to make his false diary appear credible.
• Kabuto predicted Chisen would recover and gather intelligence before confronting him, giving Kabuto time to keep expanding his hidden operation.

Kabuto planned a staged series of White Zetsu encounters to make Konoha underestimate the growing threat, beginning near Iwami Village. When a Hyuga patrol investigated, they found a White Zetsu that spoke and appeared to be host to a parasite, which fled into the woods.

• Kabuto told the black-robed figure to begin a gradual campaign of White Zetsu attacks at Iwami Village in seven days, making each encounter seem manageable to Konoha.
• After taking a tablet, Kabuto asked whether Lord Orochimaru had seen him, then went to bed.
• Seven days later, Hyuga Hikaru and his patrol passed through Iwami Village and investigated a report of a strange white figure in the nearby woods.
• Hikaru used his Byakugan to detect one figure aboveground and another motionless forty meters below the surface.
• Hikaru and the jonin found a gray-green, eyeless White Zetsu that said, "Hurts," and the jonin spotted something writhing inside its throat.
• The White Zetsu fled into the woods before the jonin could strike.