Recaps

Sawada Hagoromo assembled his team for a covert mission to the Land of Hot Water, where they were to contact Yugakure's elders and investigate a tense situation without provoking a diplomatic conflict. Near the border, the team changed into inconspicuous clothes and prepared to enter as tourists.

• Sawada Hagoromo met his teammates Yamanaka Kokone, Special Jōnin Mishu, and Aburame Muta at the meeting point.
• Hagoromo explained the mission's objectives and asked the team to share their abilities and specialties.
• Hagoromo decided the team would change clothes at the border and enter the Land of Hot Water as tourists.
• Mishu sealed Aburame Muta's large jar in a scroll so he could travel inconspicuously.
• Hagoromo and his teammates changed into casual clothes, and he suggested they use each other's names from then on.

Hagoromo and his team investigated a hot spring in Yugakure, where they found strange mental traces and Kikaichū behaving as if they were infected. The chapter ended with Aburame Muta warning that something at the site had corrosive, hallucinogenic, and infectious effects.

• Hagoromo noticed Yugakure seemed unnaturally peaceful and sealed the inn room with a barrier before his teammates reported their findings.
• Yamanaka Kokone said the hot spring was back in operation but still held unusually strong imprints of pain and fear.
• Hagoromo asked Aburame Muta and Yutoshi what they had found, and Muta revealed Kikaichū crawling from his palms.
• Yutoshi showed that the apparently dead Kikaichū could turn themselves over and attack Muta's insects frenziedly.
• Aburame Muta concluded that something left at the scene was corrosive, hallucinogenic, and infectious.

Hagoromo and his companions investigated the strange Chakra near Yugakure, finding that infected Kikaichū dissolved into empty shells. With Cat San San’s help, Hagoromo revealed a blood-red Chakra array in the clearing, whose aura seemed more revolting than that of an evil great yōkai.

• Hagoromo used Yang Release Chakra to stop the frenzied Kikaichū, and Aburame Muta explained that a residual substance had dissolved their insides.
• Hagoromo led Aburame Muta and the others to search the area near Yugakure’s most luxurious hot spring.
• Hagoromo summoned Cat San San, then hid with him when a Yugakure patrol arrived and searched the clearing.
• Hagoromo learned from the patrol that Elder Izumi had been missing for days, even from his own village.
• Cat San San sensed a nearly vanished mass of strange Chakra and told Hagoromo to use the Symbiosis Technique to see it.
• Hagoromo revealed a circle-and-triangle array of blood-red Chakra, and Cat San San approached its revolting aura.

Hagoromo and his team followed markings left by the Yugakure elder into a foggy area crawling with powerful humanoid monsters. They fought through the creatures and reached the elder just as she was about to be attacked.

• Hagoromo and Cat San San rejoined Aburame Muta’s team, who had found a hurriedly carved mark reading “Izumi.”
• Hagoromo recognized the mark as a message from the Yugakure elder and sent Aburame Muta’s Kikaichū ahead to search for more clues.
• Hagoromo arranged the team’s formation and ordered them to prepare for danger as they entered the dense fog.
• Hagoromo and Cat San San fought off humanoid monsters whose blood was corrosive and hallucinogenic while Yutoshi prepared an antidote.
• Hagoromo used Chidori to kill the monsters charging at the hidden Yugakure elder near the abandoned hot springs.

Hagoromo’s squad rescued Izumi and learned that Yugakure’s Orthodox Cult was creating Blood Beasts in an attempt to achieve immortality. After hearing that the cult planned a mass blood sacrifice during the Hot Spring Festival, Hagoromo’s teammates chose to stay, and he changed their mission to stopping the sacrifice.

• Hagoromo’s squad found Izumi and carried her to a hidden cave while Blood Beasts searched for them.
• Hagoromo questioned Izumi, who explained that the Blood Beasts were failed immortality experiments performed by an ancient cult.
• Izumi revealed that Takase led the Orthodox Cult and planned a large-scale blood sacrifice during Yugakure’s Hot Spring Festival.
• Hagoromo proposed sending his teammates back while he sought reinforcements, but Aburame Muta, Yamanaka Kokone, and Yutoshi refused to leave.
• Hagoromo changed the mission objective to stopping the cult’s sacrifice in Yugakure and keeping its effects from reaching the Land of Fire’s border.

Takase completed his immortal-body experiment on Hidan and prepared to sacrifice him, while Hagoromo and Izumi infiltrated Blood Boiling Valley to destroy the altar. The chapter ended with Muta, Kokone, and Yutoshi battling the retreating believers and Blood Beasts outside the valley.

• Takase celebrated completing his immortal-body experiment on Hidan, then carried him to the altar as a sacrifice to Lord Jashin.
• Hagoromo and Izumi entered Blood Boiling Valley to destroy its altar, and Cat San San stopped Izumi from giving away their position when they found a pile of sacrificed remains.
• Takase sensed intruders, stitched Hidan's wound, placed him in the blood pool, and formed Hand Seals beside the altar.
• The senior believers and Blood Beasts pursuing Muta, Kokone, and Yutoshi abruptly retreated, but the three shinobi attacked them with giant Shuriken, Kikaichū, and the Mind Body Disturbance Technique.
• Muta exploited Kokone's control of a believer to defeat an enemy, while Yutoshi charged into the fight with his sword.

Hagoromo confronted Takase at the altar, but Hidan emerged from the blood pool and killed Takase in a ritual. Hagoromo trapped Hidan in a swamp, then faced him as blood chains launched Hidan into an attack that Hagoromo stopped with a kick.

• Hagoromo reached the altar as it rose, and Takase attacked him with corrosive blood whips.
• Hidan emerged from the blood pool and impaled Takase with the Triple-Bladed Scythe, then swung him around before dropping him into the pool.
• Hagoromo refused Hidan’s demand for another sacrifice and used Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld to trap his feet.
• Hidan invoked Lord Jashin as blood chains surged from the altar and carried him toward Hagoromo.
• Hagoromo kicked the shaft of Hidan’s Triple-Bladed Scythe and stopped its blades just short of his eyes.

Hagoromo fought Hidan as the blood pool’s influence strengthened, then used Hazy Moon Sage Mode to defeat and decapitate him. He sealed Hidan into a scroll, ending the threat for the moment.

• Hagoromo used the Body Flicker Technique and Chidori to attack Hidan, then took the Bloody Triple-Bladed Scythe.
• Hidan recovered from the wound and used a blood chain to stitch his chest closed as he charged at Hagoromo.
• Hagoromo activated Hazy Moon Sage Mode and overwhelmed Hidan with Natural Energy-enhanced strikes.
• Hagoromo cut off Hidan’s head and pinned his body with the Bloody Triple-Bladed Scythe.
• Hagoromo placed Hidan’s head on a scroll and sealed him inside with the Ninja Art: Sealing Wedge Seal.

Hagoromo sealed Hidan, drained the blood pool with Cat San San, and escaped as the altar collapsed. Back in Konoha, his Yugakure mission was recognized as S-rank, and Hiruzen Sarutobi let him rest after confirming the sect’s texts were destroyed and receiving an alliance agreement.

• Cat San San pointed out that Takase was suspended over the blood pool as its chains retreated after Hagoromo sealed Hidan.
• Hagoromo ordered Cat San San to consume the blood pool, which caused the altar to crack and collapse.
• Hagoromo led his team and Yugakure Elder Izumi away from the collapsing altar.
• Hagoromo reported the mission to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who reclassified it from A-rank to S-rank.
• Hagoromo told Hiruzen Sarutobi that he had destroyed Takase’s ancient texts and confirmed no copies remained in Yugakure.
• Hagoromo gave Hiruzen Sarutobi Yugakure’s alliance agreement, and Hiruzen told him to rest without taking new missions.

Hagoromo returned from an S-rank mission and told his students about a dangerous cult and the Shinobi World’s complexity. When Naruto asked to learn Sage Mode, Hagoromo said he was not ready yet, then promised to take everyone for barbecue if they finished training early.

• Naruto and Sasuke tested combining the Activated Mark with Inch Force, and Sasuke said the results were promising despite the difficulty.
• Hagoromo returned to the training ground and explained that his nearly half-month mission had been S-rank.
• Hagoromo told Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, and the others about Takase Hagoromo, an immortal body, and a religious sect; Naruto condemned the abuse, while Sasuke considered how to face such an enemy.
• Shikamaru reflected on the cult and recalled a genius he had encountered through the Mirage Vapor Pearl, then stopped himself from dwelling on it.
• Naruto asked to learn Sage Mode, but Hagoromo explained that the students were not ready to use Senjutsu Chakra.
• Hagoromo offered to take the students to a barbecue restaurant if they finished training early, and Naruto and Choji hurried Sasuke and Shikamaru back to practice.

Hagoromo perfected Yang Release Armament and tested its defenses and offensive uses with Cat San San in the Forest of Death. He discovered that it could coat objects and an Earth-Style Wall through contact, but full-body protection drained Chakra quickly under intense heat.

• Hagoromo brought Cat San San into the Forest of Death to test his refined Yang Release technique.
• Hagoromo formed a blackish-gray Yang Release Armament around his body, and Cat San San confirmed it felt like armor.
• Cat San San stomped on Hagoromo in his true form, but the armament protected Hagoromo from the impact.
• Cat San San breathed fire at Hagoromo after he offered ten fried shrimp, and Hagoromo found that the flames consumed nearly half the armament quickly.
• Hagoromo coated a stone with Yang Release Armament and hurled it through a giant tree before testing whether he could coat Ninjutsu.
• Hagoromo failed to coat Ninjutsu from a distance, but covered an Earth-Style Wall by touching it and realized he could coat techniques after releasing them or while using them in his hands.

Hagoromo accidentally created a powerful black energy technique while experimenting with Yang Release Armament, then began teaching the armament to Naruto and Choji. He demonstrated its strength by catching their attacks and crushing Naruto’s Rasengan barehanded.

• Hagoromo coated a Rasengan with Yang Release Armament, turning it into a dense black sphere that Cat San San feared could flatten half the forest.
• Hagoromo returned to the training ground the next day and told Naruto and Choji they would learn Yang Release Armament because they had Yang Release Chakra.
• Hagoromo asked Naruto and Choji to attack him with their strongest moves, and they struck with Rasengan and Partial Expansion Jutsu: Left hand.
• Hagoromo coated his arms in Yang Release Armament and caught both attacks without moving.
• Hagoromo crushed Naruto’s Rasengan in his bare hand, leaving Naruto stunned.

Hagoromo demonstrated how Yang Release Armament strengthened defense, attacks, and weapons, then explained how Naruto and Choji could develop the affinity needed to use it. He left them with instructions to cleanse their bodies with Yang Release Chakra and eventually imbue compressed chakra with will to form the armament.

• Shikamaru joined Naruto and the others as Hagoromo explained Yang Release Armament and its defensive and offensive capabilities.
• Hagoromo shattered the ground with an armament-strengthened punch, then pierced a tree with a coated Kunai and toppled it.
• Shikamaru recognized that the technique could suit Choji, while Hagoromo said Naruto and Choji needed to improve their Yang Release affinity first.
• Hagoromo explained that Yang Release Chakra could cleanse their bodies, improve vitality, and increase their potential.
• Hagoromo told Naruto and Choji to compress their Yang Release Chakra and imbue it with will, explaining that a purer will produced stronger armament and attacks.

Hagoromo taught Naruto and Choji to cultivate Yang Release by flushing their bodies, while Kurama secretly helped Naruto endure the process. The next day, Hagoromo continued their training and began teaching Sasuke the Chidori.

• Hagoromo explained that Yang Release was a fundamental energy tied to physical vitality, while the Mystical Palm Technique was one specific application of it.
• Hagoromo guided Naruto and Choji through Yang Release Flushing and supported them as they endured the pain.
• Choji woke first, while Kurama helped Naruto persist because he wanted his jinchūriki to become stronger and to investigate who had controlled him.
• Naruto completed nearly ten hours of flushing, and Hagoromo carried him to Choji's house for a medicinal bath with the others.
• The next day, Hagoromo trained Naruto and Choji again, then took Sasuke into the woods to teach him the Chidori.
• Sasuke attacked Hagoromo at high speed, but Hagoromo dodged and threw him; Sasuke flipped through the air and landed steadily.

Hagoromo taught Sasuke the A-rank Lightning Release: Chidori and helped him master it. Sasuke recovered after using the chakra-draining technique, while Hagoromo received a powerful Yin Release reward and limited Sasuke to using Chidori twice a day.

• Hagoromo praised Sasuke's progress, then demonstrated Chidori and explained its lightning nature and compression.
• Hagoromo used Chidori to rush past Sasuke and destroy a swath of trees, showing the technique's speed and power.
• After several failed attempts, Sasuke successfully formed Chidori and cut through several trees, nearly exhausting his Chakra.
• Hagoromo received the Yin Release: Heart Realm Illumination technique and a 50-point increase to his mental attribute when Sasuke mastered Chidori.
• Hagoromo told Sasuke to rest and set a limit of two Chidori uses per day because the technique consumed too much Chakra.

Hagoromo helped Choji awaken Yang Release Armament by provoking his anger, and Choji’s giant fist devastated Sansan’s barrier before Choji collapsed from chakra exhaustion. Hagoromo then set Naruto and Sasuke against each other, and their heated spar left Shikamaru uneasy.

• Hagoromo told Naruto and Choji to compress their Yang Release Chakra, then provoked Choji by suggesting someone had insulted him and hidden his snacks behind a barrier.
• Choji awakened Yang Release Armament and used the Multi-Size Technique to strike Sansan’s barrier, blasting apart the training ground as Hagoromo shielded Naruto, Shikamaru, and the others.
• Choji collapsed from chakra exhaustion, so Hagoromo fed him a Military Rations Pill and carried him to rest; he promised Sansan extra food to settle the cat’s anger.
• Hagoromo challenged Sasuke to anger Naruto and promised to teach him a Ninjutsu if he succeeded, so Sasuke taunted Naruto about being dead last.
• Naruto charged Sasuke, who dodged with Activated Mark and continued taunting him; Shikamaru worried they might become genuinely angry, but Hagoromo said their rivalry would bring them closer.

Naruto and Sasuke fought in a training match, with Sasuke using Chidori and Naruto crushing it with Yang Release Armament. Naruto's punch sent Sasuke crashing to the ground, and both boys ended the match exhausted as Ino and Hinata hurried to help.

• Sasuke used Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Technique to surround himself with a ring of fire, while Naruto made Shadow Clones and attacked with Shuriken.
• Sasuke charged through the flames with Chidori, and Naruto used his clones to slow him before grabbing his arm.
• Naruto endured Chidori's electricity and crushed the lightning with Yang Release Armament, then blocked Sasuke's Kunai with his armored hand.
• Naruto landed an Inch Force, Straight Punch on Sasuke's defending arm, sending him flying and badly injuring his arm.
• Naruto and Sasuke acknowledged each other's strength before collapsing from exhaustion, and Ino and Hinata rushed over to help.

Hagoromo received new skills for Choji and Naruto, then treated Sasuke’s injured arm and encouraged the disciples after Naruto’s victory. Sasuke resumed training, Naruto practiced explosive Shadow Clones, and Choji struggled to master his new form by repeatedly converting food into Chakra.

• Hagoromo inspected Choji’s Butterfly Form: Gluttony Form and Naruto’s Shadow Clone: Self-Destructing Puppet rewards, then accepted both skills.
• Hagoromo reset Sasuke’s bent arm and used Yang Release Chakra to ease the pain as Ino treated him.
• Sasuke acknowledged Naruto’s strength, and Hagoromo urged Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, and the others to keep improving together.
• Sasuke trained his sprints and Genjutsu while Naruto practiced planting Explosive Tags in Shadow Clones and learned to keep the exploding clones clear of the others.
• Choji ate high-energy food and repeatedly converted it into Chakra to practice Butterfly Form: Gluttony Form, leaving him sick of food.

Hagoromo asked his disciples to identify their shortcomings as they prepared for school, then offered advice to help them improve. The chapter ended with Naruto wondering whether he was impulsive.

• Shikamaru identified the limited range of his secret technique and his lack of direct attacks, and Hagoromo promised to consider solutions.
• Hinata admitted she lacked confidence, so Hagoromo suggested spending more time with Naruto, who eagerly agreed to help.
• Choji described the Chakra cost and poor mobility of his Multi-Size Technique, and Hagoromo urged him not to overtrain.
• Sasuke admitted he became overconfident after making progress, and Hagoromo suggested meditation.
• Naruto considered whether he was impulsive after hearing the others discuss their weaknesses.

Hagoromo gathered with Konoha’s Jonin after receiving a summons to an urgent meeting. Hiruzen revealed that Kumogakure was pressuring Yugakure to end its alliance with Konoha and had begun mobilizing forces, leaving Konoha facing a growing threat.

• Hagoromo told Naruto to seek Shikamaru’s advice and meditate, then warned his disciples that the losing team in an upcoming competition would receive an assignment.
• Hinata asked Hagoromo to meet with Neji, and Hagoromo agreed to see him that night.
• After a Ninja Hawk summoned him to a Jonin meeting, Hagoromo hurried to the Hokage Building and greeted Aburame Muta, Yamanaka Kokone, Shikaku, Choza, Inoichi, Uchiha Fugaku, Might Guy, and Kakashi.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told the Jonin that Kumogakure had threatened Yugakure over its alliance with Konoha and that Yugakure had requested security guarantees.
• Hiruzen reported that Kumogakure had begun gathering ninja at its border and planned large-scale military exercises near the Land of Hot Water.

Konoha’s leaders planned a layered response to Kumogakure’s pressure on Yugakure, combining joint defenses, a border exercise, and a sweep for infiltrators. The plan was approved, with Hagoromo assigned to join the show of force.

• Shikaku proposed forming a Joint Defense Department with Yugakure, staging a border exercise, and handing captured Kumogakure infiltrators to the Land of Hot Water’s daimyo.
• Hagoromo suggested adding safeguards by involving Sunagakure, and Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed that Konoha’s ally should help pressure Kumogakure.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shikaku, and the advisers finalized the plan, assigning Namiashi Raidō and Genma Shiranui to establish the Joint Defense Department in Yugakure.
• Kakashi, Might Guy, and Hagoromo were selected to lead a force of one thousand shinobi in the border exercise.
• Might Guy celebrated the chance to see Hagoromo’s strength, while Hagoromo left the meeting feeling reluctant about the mission.

After training, Hagoromo treated Naruto, Sasuke, and his other disciples to barbecue, where Sansan ate extravagantly. Hagoromo then left to meet a lonely genius, carrying Sansan along after catching him stealing barbecue seasoning.

• Naruto and Sasuke sparred, and Sasuke acknowledged Naruto’s progress while the two traded barbs.
• Shikamaru told Naruto that a Ninja Hawk had likely summoned their teacher to a Jonin meeting, and Hagoromo later explained the requirements for becoming a Jonin.
• Hagoromo invited his disciples to barbecue before his evening mission, and Sansan joined them after promising to train with Naruto’s group.
• Naruto, Choji, Hinata, and Sansan ate until the restaurant ran out of meat, while Hagoromo worried about the cost.
• Hagoromo carried Sansan away to meet a lonely genius and caught him with stolen barbecue seasoning for hunting wild boar.

Hagoromo comforted Neji Hyuga over his father’s death and the Caged Bird Seal, then accepted him as a disciple. After gaining a jutsu to break the seal and Hamura’s Blessing, Hagoromo left Konoha with Kakashi and Might Guy to pursue his next mission.

• Hagoromo found Neji by the waterfall and urged him not to let the Caged Bird Seal become a cage in his heart.
• Neji angrily rejected the idea that his father had been free, but Hagoromo warned that calling Hizashi’s death forced would insult him and turn rumors into truth.
• Neji asked Hagoromo to become his master, and Hagoromo agreed to help him and support the change he hoped to bring.
• Neji’s forehead ribbon slipped off, revealing a dim Caged Bird Seal, and Hagoromo’s system rewarded him with a sealing jutsu and Hamura’s Blessing.
• Hagoromo left Konoha with Kakashi and Might Guy, who worried over him and then patted him hard on the back.

Hiruzen Sarutobi coordinated Konoha’s exercise forces near the borders, while Kumogakure’s Fourth Raikage A reacted angrily to the deployment. The chapter ended with Samui warning that Konoha’s preparations could bog down Kumogakure’s forces if a conflict began.

• Shikaku told Hiruzen Sarutobi that Konoha’s main force was nearing Moon Wheel Gorge, Asuma had arrived at Broken Cloud Pass, and Choza had established a reserve camp near Kikyo Castle.
• Hiruzen ordered the main force to arrive quickly and told Fugaku to report any trouble on the other borders.
• Kakashi, Might Guy, and Hagoromo waited at Moon Wheel Gorge for the signal to begin the exercise.
• Fourth Raikage A smashed his desk and ordered Darui to move Kumogakure’s exercise force to the Land of Frost’s border.
• Samui reported that Konoha had substantial reserves near Kikyo Castle and that Asuma’s troops could wear down Kumogakure’s eastern forces.

The Fourth Raikage learned that Killer B had vanished and sent Samui to search for him near Moon Wheel Gorge, where a devastating Lightning Release technique had drawn him. Killer B arrived at the gorge and confronted Hagoromo and Might Guy, who joined forces to fight him.

• Dodai told the Fourth Raikage that Killer B had disappeared from the Valley of Clouds and Lightning and that an immense Lightning Release technique had devastated Moon Wheel Gorge.
• The Fourth Raikage ordered Samui to find C and search the gorge, told Dodai to contact Darui, and asked Mabui to arrange a call with the Third Hokage.
• Hagoromo sensed someone powerful approaching Moon Wheel Gorge and prepared to face the newcomer with Might Guy.
• Killer B charged into the gorge, and Hagoromo and Might Guy struck him with simultaneous kicks, sending him flying.
• Killer B asked who had used the Lightning Release technique, then threw a lightning-wrapped blade at Might Guy after Guy criticized his rap.
• Hagoromo joined Might Guy in charging Killer B, and they began their fight together.