Chapter Summaries

Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji were trapped in a massive whirlpool until Hikari arrived to rescue them. Hikari used Cloud Ascending Steps to carry the three of them back into the air, leaving them above the churning sea.

• Ino and Shikamaru fought off sharks, but Shikamaru spotted a huge creature rising from beneath the sea and led the team onto his shadow disk.
• Hikari warned Kazahana Koyuki about the storm, then sent four clones to protect the Ino-Shika-Cho team with the Four Crimson Ray Formation.
• A powerful whirlpool trapped Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji, and Hikari arrived as they feared they would be pulled under.
• Hikari grabbed Shikamaru and Choji while Ino held onto his waist, then launched himself toward the sea's edge.
• Hikari used Cloud Ascending Steps to step on his own feet and soar above the whirlpool with the three rescued teammates.

Hikari rescued Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji from the whirlpool and taught them to prioritize survival and adapt when danger struck. As the ship escaped, a colossal Sea Whale surfaced, revealing that the creature beneath the shadow had been only part of a much larger beast.

• Hikari carried the three kids beyond the whirlpool and ordered Sandayu to set sail.
• Hikari criticized the kids for panicking and asked Shikamaru to consider how he could have saved at least some of the team.
• Shikamaru admitted he should have led Ino and Choji away sooner or had Choji use Partial Expansion Jutsu to throw them clear.
• Hikari told the three to protect their lives first and adapt instead of following orders blindly.
• Ino went to bathe while Shikamaru and Choji discussed Hikari's strength and mystery.
• A huge Sea Whale surfaced in the distance, and Hikari explained its enormous size and lack of intelligence.

As the Sea Whale charged toward their ship, Hikari left the others in the care of his clones and went to confront it. His clones shielded the ship and sent it speeding away, leaving Ino and Kazahana Koyuki stunned by shinobi power.

• Hikari teased Ino and Kazahana Koyuki about the Sea Whale’s waves, then watched as the beast turned and headed toward their ship.
• As the Sea Whale closed in, Choji offered to use the Expansion Jutsu to buy time, but Hikari stopped him and went to deal with the creature himself.
• Hikari left several clones aboard, and one mocked the others before the clones formed the Heaven-Earth-Man Trinity Formation around the ship.
• The formation blocked the Sea Whale’s senses, and a clone pushed the ship rapidly away from the approaching beast.
• Ino and Kazahana Koyuki watched the sea beasts recede and wondered at the power of shinobi.

Hikari stopped the Sea Whale from pursuing the wooden ship and returned safely after it fled. The ship’s passengers admired his strength, while Kazahana Koyuki decided she would rather act in movies than become a ninja.

• Hikari landed on the Sea Whale’s back, taunted it, and punched it hard enough to make it dive beneath the water.
• Ino worried that Hikari was in danger, but his clone assured her that the Sea Whale could not threaten him.
• Hikari transformed a Truth-Seeking Orb into a net that blocked the Sea Whale and warned it to stop pursuing the ship.
• The Sea Whale sensed Hikari’s killing intent and fled into the depths, and Hikari let it go before returning to the ship.
• Kazahana Koyuki questioned why Hikari was only a Chunin, then decided she would give up on becoming a ninja and focus on acting.

Tsunade arrived at the border to prepare for negotiations with the Fourth Raikage, while both villages kept their forces on alert. The Raikage accepted her invitation to meet at the border the next morning, leaving Tsunade to receive his proposed terms.

• Tsunade reached the Hidden Leaf Village camp and ordered Shikaku to brief her on the Fourth Raikage’s movements.
• Shikaku reported that Kumogakure had deployed troops but had not attacked, and Tsunade arranged a meeting with the Fourth Raikage for ten the next morning.
• Tsunade ordered heightened reconnaissance and security to protect the camp overnight.
• Shikaku delivered Tsunade’s invitation to the Fourth Raikage, who chose the border as the meeting place and required Hidden Leaf Village to provide food and supplies.
• After Shikaku left, the Fourth Raikage and Darui discussed Hidden Leaf Village’s strengths and looked forward to meeting Tsunade.

Tsunade met with A the Raikage at the border, where their exchange of taunts turned into negotiations over Kumogakure’s support against Iwagakure. A the Raikage threatened to side with Ōnoki and help divide the Land of Fire if the Hidden Leaf Village refused to pay, leaving Tsunade to face a potential war.

• Hidden Leaf Village and Kumogakure ninja secured the meeting site and stood guard as Tsunade and A the Raikage arrived.
• Tsunade and A the Raikage traded barbs about their past dealings, each other’s strength, and the villages’ younger ninja.
• A the Raikage asked how much compensation the Hidden Leaf Village would pay and offered to help it defeat Iwagakure.
• Tsunade warned that Kumogakure might be joining forces with Iwagakure, but A the Raikage said he could negotiate with Ōnoki and help either side gain the upper hand.
• Tsunade asked whether A the Raikage was prepared to go to war with the Hidden Leaf Village, and he demanded that it surrender material wealth so Kumogakure could return home.

Tsunade refused the Raikage’s demand for supplies and challenged him and Ōnoki to test her strength. The Raikage left to meet Ōnoki in the Land of Earth and consider joining forces against the Hidden Leaf Village.

• Tsunade stood firm against the Raikage’s threats and said she would fight rather than hand over supplies.
• Tsunade proposed that she fight the Raikage and Ōnoki together at their next meeting in the Land of Earth.
• The Raikage ended the discussion and watched Tsunade leave, unsettled by her confidence and apparent change in strength.
• The Raikage ordered Kurotsuchi to investigate Tsunade’s recent changes and told Toroi to have Dodai contact Ōnoki about dividing the Hidden Leaf Village.
• The Raikage ordered Kankuro to pack up and move everyone to the Land of Earth, saying he and Ōnoki would test Tsunade together.

Ōnoki received Kakashi Hatake, Nara Shikahisa, and Might Guy to negotiate with the Hidden Leaf Village, using a food demand and veiled threats to pressure them. Kakashi refused and declared that he would command the Hidden Leaf forces if Iwagakure attacked.

• Ōnoki sent Kurotsuchi to receive the Hidden Leaf envoys while he delayed their meeting.
• Kurotsuchi brought Kakashi Hatake, Nara Shikahisa, and Might Guy into the camp, and Kakashi recognized that Ōnoki was putting her forward.
• Ōnoki arrived, challenged the envoys over the Hokage's absence, and questioned whether their warning about war was a threat.
• Kakashi and Nara Shikahisa argued that the Hidden Leaf sought peace, while Ōnoki demanded ten or twenty million tons of grain and hinted that unrest could lead to conflict.
• Kakashi refused the demand and announced that he would serve as the Hidden Leaf's frontline commander against Iwagakure if it attacked.

After negotiations with Hidden Leaf Village broke down, Ōnoki explained to Kurotsuchi that he believed another war was inevitable and useful to those seeking to reduce the shinobi population. Kakashi and Shikaku feared Iwagakure and Kumogakure might unite against the Leaf, while Might Guy pledged to use the Eight Inner Gates if necessary and expressed confidence in Tsunade and Hikari.

• Kakashi left Ōnoki after their negotiations failed, and Ōnoki asked Kurotsuchi whether his approach had been right.
• Ōnoki told Kurotsuchi that he expected war to break out and argued that a shinobi's life inevitably involved death.
• Kakashi and Shikaku discussed the risk of Iwagakure and Kumogakure joining forces after their negotiations with the Leaf faltered.
• Might Guy offered to open the Eight Inner Gates to defend Hidden Leaf Village, and Kakashi and Shikaku urged him not to rush into it.
• Might Guy said he believed Tsunade and Hikari could help the Leaf win a war, prompting Kakashi to ask what Hikari was good at.

Hikari, Kazahana Koyuki, and their companions returned to the Land of Snow to overthrow Kazahana Dōtō, while Koyuki accepted that they would soon leave for the Hidden Leaf Village. At Iwagakure's camp, Ōnoki and Kurotsuchi learned that Tsunade had challenged Ōnoki and the Fourth Raikage to fight them both.

• Kazahana Koyuki returned to the Land of Snow with Hikari and declared her intention to reclaim the country from Kazahana Dōtō.
• Hikari said he and the Ino-Shika-Cho kids could not stay because the Hidden Leaf Village faced possible war with Kumogakure and Iwagakure.
• Kazahana Koyuki agreed to become queen while continuing her acting career, and the group set off to confront Kazahana Dōtō.
• An Iwagakure ninja delivered the Fourth Raikage's letter to Ōnoki, who read that Tsunade had challenged him and the Raikage to fight together.
• Kurotsuchi concluded that Tsunade must have gained formidable strength, and Ōnoki decided to wait for the Raikage and see what she could do.

Hikari and the Ino-Shika-Cho team confronted Nadare Rōga and his companions as they tried to take Kazahana Koyuki back to the Land of Snow. Choji and Ino defeated their opponents, while Nadare escaped after destroying his Chakra Armor, leaving Hikari to address Shikamaru’s self-blame.

• Nadare Rōga introduced himself and demanded that Kazahana Koyuki return with him, but Koyuki refused.
• Hikari sent Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji to fight Nadare Rōga, Hail Winter Bear, and Flying Swallow Blizzard, then watched from the sidelines.
• Shikamaru deduced that Nadare’s ice techniques relied on the terrain rather than genuine Ice Release and restrained him with the Shadow Imitation Technique.
• Choji crushed Hail Winter Bear’s Chakra Armor with the Super Expansion Jutsu and helped Ino defeat Flying Swallow Blizzard with Human Boulder.
• Nadare damaged his own armor while trying to break free, then detonated it and escaped, disrupting Shikamaru’s technique.
• Kazahana Koyuki celebrated the victory, and Hikari handed Shikamaru a kunai before scolding him for misreading the gesture.

Shikamaru killed Hail Winter Bear and Flying Swallow Blizzard, then buried them and admitted to himself that taking a life had been harder than he had claimed. Meanwhile, Kazahana Dōtō learned that his men had failed to stop the princess, and a man in a Black Cloud Red Robe killed Nadare Rōga to take his heart.

• Kazahana Koyuki tried to stop Shikamaru from killing the prisoners, but Hikari insisted that he face the task himself.
• Shikamaru killed Hail Winter Bear and Flying Swallow Blizzard, then told Hikari that it had not been as hard as he had imagined.
• After Hikari, Ino, and Choji went ahead, Shikamaru buried the two men and privately admitted that killing them had been difficult.
• Shikamaru thanked the dead men for helping him understand what ninja did, then followed the others with newfound resolve.
• Nadare Rōga told Kazahana Dōtō that he had failed to stop the princess because the Hidden Leaf children were too strong.
• A man in a Black Cloud Red Robe took Nadare Rōga's heart and thanked Kazahana Dōtō for it.

Kakuzu escorted Kazahana Dōtō to Kazahana Koyuki and the Leaf team, intending to capture the princess for his employer. After boasting about fighting the First Hokage, he grew furious when Shikamaru questioned his age and strength and prepared to attack.

• Kakuzu reassured Kazahana Dōtō that he would protect his employer until the mission was complete, then led him toward Kazahana Koyuki.
• Kakuzu confronted Kazahana Koyuki and the Leaf team, identified himself as a bounty ninja, and told the princess to stay still.
• Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji were shocked when Kakuzu claimed he had fought the First Hokage and remembered his Wood Release.
• Shikamaru challenged Kakuzu's claim that he had lived through the First Hokage's era and suggested he was now an old man.
• Kakuzu became enraged by Shikamaru's remarks and decided to kill the Leaf team and complete his mission.

Hikari protected Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji from Kakuzu and began teaching them about the bounty ninja's abilities as they fought. He stopped Kakuzu's sneak attack, leaving Kakuzu enraged and ready to continue the battle.

• Hikari pulled Shikamaru behind him and warned the three young ninja that Kakuzu was a dangerous bounty ninja with the secret technique Earth Grudge Fear.
• Fuhua Nutao revealed the bounty was just over ten million, and Kakuzu negotiated a two-million payment to kill everyone except Koyuki.
• Kakuzu launched a hidden attack beneath Hikari while using Fire Release: Head Mincing Pain.
• Hikari anticipated the attack and stomped the ground, shattering the ice and exposing Kakuzu's hand beneath his foot.
• Hikari explained Kakuzu's technique and the principles of elemental ninjutsu to Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji, while Kakuzu's killing intent grew stronger.

Hikari fought Kakuzu while demonstrating taijutsu to Shikamaru and the others, but Kakuzu’s attacks forced him to dodge and stop fleeing when his clones threatened the genin. Kakuzu’s lightning dragon struck Hikari, though a human figure remained visible inside the lingering lightning.

• Kakuzu used a Clone Technique disguised by Earth Grudge Fear and combined Earth Style with Lightning Style against Hikari.
• Hikari countered Kakuzu’s attacks and explained to Shikamaru how taijutsu could interrupt ninjutsu.
• Kakuzu attacked Hikari with a Water Style and Lightning Style dragon, which Hikari dodged while warning Shikaku, Choji, and Ino to move farther away.
• Kakuzu sent two Earth Grudge Fear clones after the people behind Hikari, forcing Hikari to stop fleeing.
• Kakuzu’s lightning dragon struck Hikari in the chest, but his silhouette remained visible in the lightning after more than ten seconds.

Hikari defeated Kakuzu’s attacks, exposed his knowledge of Earth Grudge Fear, and drove Kakuzu to flee. Hikari’s Yin Release clone caught and sealed Kakuzu, while Ino confirmed that the other clone had escaped into the sea.

• Hikari endured Kakuzu’s ninjutsu and dispersed further lightning and water attacks with a black staff.
• Hikari explained that Kakuzu’s main body and clones could replace one another, revealing his knowledge of Earth Grudge Fear.
• Kakuzu realized his clones had not fought Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji, then fled as Hikari sent a Yin Release clone after him.
• Ino reached Hikari, reported that a black clone had escaped through the ice into the sea, and confirmed she had not captured Fuhua Nutao.
• Hikari’s Yin Release clone struck Kakuzu, spread a sealing pattern across his body, and captured him.

Pain and Konan investigated Kakuzu’s disappearance and learned that his last mission involved a Hidden Leaf Village Chunin named Hikari. Obito volunteered to investigate Hikari in the Land of Snow, while Pain and Konan continued to pursue their plans for peace.

• Konan told Pain that Kakuzu had gone missing after a mission commissioned by the Daimyo of the Land of Snow, where he had faced Hidden Leaf Village ninja.
• Pain and Konan agreed to send White Zetsu to investigate Kakuzu’s disappearance and considered asking Uchiha Itachi about Hikari.
• Konan lamented that they still had no trace of the Three-Tails’ Chakra, and Pain said their ideal of peace would soon be achieved.
• Obito appeared, learned that Kakuzu’s last mission involved Hikari, and offered to travel with White Zetsu to the Land of Snow to investigate him.

A the Raikage and Ōnoki met at the border and agreed to answer Tsunade’s invitation to battle, while remaining wary of one another because of their villages’ history. Ōnoki sent Kurotsuchi to invite the Fifth Hokage, and the two Kage returned to their camps.

• A the Raikage and Ōnoki met with their guards present and discussed Tsunade’s confidence that she could face their combined villages.
• A the Raikage and Ōnoki agreed to accept Tsunade’s invitation to battle and summon her to the border.
• Ōnoki ordered Kurotsuchi to invite the Fifth Hokage to meet them.
• A the Raikage declined Ōnoki’s invitation to visit the Iwagakure camp and returned to Kumogakure’s camp.
• Ōnoki told Kurotsuchi that villages had no eternal allies, only eternal interests.

Tsunade prepared to face Ōnoki and A the Fourth Raikage alone, despite the Hidden Leaf Village jonin urging her to bring a partner. She also decided how to handle Asuma’s disappearance and ordered the Sarutobi Clan kept under close surveillance.

• Tsunade arrived at the camp and learned that Ōnoki and A the Fourth Raikage had challenged her to a battle.
• Tsunade revealed that she had proposed the battle and refused Shikaku, Kakashi Hatake, and Might Guy’s offers to fight alongside her.
• After sending the other jonin away, Tsunade asked Kakashi Hatake and Shikaku how to handle Asuma’s situation.
• Shikaku warned that pursuing the matter could stir unrest among people loyal to the Sarutobi Clan and damage Tsunade’s reputation.
• Kakashi Hatake noted that the Sarutobi Clan had little remaining potential, and Tsunade chose to treat Asuma as missing while ordering the clan monitored.

After Kazahana Koyuki’s return as Queen of the Land of Snow, Hikari and the young ninja prepared to leave for the Hidden Leaf Village. Koyuki asked to meet Hikari alone, leaving Ino feeling betrayed when he went without them.

• Kazahana Koyuki accepted the crowd’s cheers as Queen after the Land of Snow adopted new policies, and Shikamaru reflected on a subtle change in his Shadow Binding Jutsu.
• Ino asked about men fooling around, and Choji explained that his father secretly went out to eat barbecue and drink.
• The group visited the palace to tell Koyuki they would leave the next day, but Sanzaemon Asama stopped them and said the Queen wanted to see Hikari alone.
• Hikari accepted Koyuki’s invitation and entered the palace, while Sanzaemon Asama offered to entertain Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji.
• Ino felt hurt that Hikari had left the circle of single friends and wished she could hit someone.