Chapter Summaries

Ningyuan reorganized Konoha’s forces and prepared to bypass Sunagakure’s Ghost Poison Wall with an elite strike force. He left the front-line commanders to hold the defensive line while he planned to attack Sunagakure from the rear.

• The Ning Organization’s rules weakened clan authority, and Konoha sent children, including Obito, Nohara Rin, and Asuma, back to school while Kakashi entered the military academy.
• Kakashi delivered the students to Konoha First Elementary School before registering at Ning Organization Guiyi Military Academy.
• Minato explained that Sunagakure’s poison traps and poisonous creatures had stalled the war, while Nara Shikaku blamed Hiruzen Sarutobi for denying the front lines the support needed to attack.
• Ningyuan decided to bypass the Ghost Poison Wall and lead an elite force toward Sunagakure.
• Ningyuan ordered Flying Thunder God markers and Jonin squads positioned along the front, assigned Hyuga and Yamanaka ninja to support the defense, and told Shikaku to choose fast-moving ninja for a departure that night.

Ningyuan led 470 Konoha ninjas on a rapid march and captured Sunagakure with almost no resistance. After ordering the village’s civilians and ninjas guarded and sending word to its frontline forces, he studied Sunagakure’s shortages and began planning how to win over its ninjas.

• Ningyuan led 470 speed-trained Konoha ninjas across the desert, capturing seventeen Sunagakure scouts along the way.
• Ningyuan’s forces stormed Sunagakure through its open gate, seized the entrance, and quickly subdued the village’s defenders.
• Inuzuka Ki reported that 542 Sunagakure ninjas had been captured, and Ningyuan ordered the civilians guarded and a message sent to the frontline forces.
• Ningyuan examined the Kazekage’s documents and learned Sunagakure depended on outside supplies for money, water, and food.
• Ningyuan considered Sunagakure’s economic troubles and began devising a way to win over its ninjas.

Hyuga Ningyuan gathered Sunagakure’s villagers and argued that Konoha had retaliated because Sunagakure started the war. He sought the conflict’s underlying cause and began questioning the families of frontline ninja, learning that financial hardship had driven one Jonin to serve at the front; the inquiry was left to continue.

• Ningyuan confronted the hostile villagers and explained that Sunagakure had invaded Konoha first, so Konoha’s retaliation was justified.
• Kel, the Third Kazekage’s wife, challenged Ningyuan, then accepted that Sunagakure bore responsibility for the war.
• Ningyuan told Kel he wanted a lasting peace by identifying the conflict’s underlying cause, and she agreed to help question the families of frontline ninja.
• Nanfeng said her husband, Bai Xie, joined the front lines because their family struggled financially and wartime service reduced their expenses while earning extra mission pay.
• Ningyuan recorded Nanfeng’s answer on a black wall with a tally mark, and Kel realized the questioning could uncover why the war had begun.

Ningyuan questioned Sunagakure’s villagers and argued that economic hardship and the village’s powerful leaders drove the war, while ordinary families paid the price. After the crowd accepted his account, he promised to offer a solution to Sunagakure’s problems.

• Bai Zhi and other villagers told Ningyuan why their families supported or opposed the war, and he recorded their reasons on a blackboard.
• After the questioning ended, Ningyuan organized the testimonies into economic, political, historical, and technological causes, arguing that economic hardship accounted for most support for war.
• Ningyuan blamed Sunagakure’s Kazekage and Elite Jonin for using poor families to pursue power and claimed the previous war had eased poverty through plunder and deaths.
• Kel defended the village’s leaders, but Ningyuan’s account of the human cost made the crowd grieve for the families who had lost relatives or might lose them.
• Kel argued that Sunagakure had no choice but to wage war, and Ningyuan acknowledged the village’s hardships before promising to present a solution.

Ningyuan persuaded Sunagakure’s villagers to consider joining the Land of Fire while presenting plans to transform the Land of Wind and unify the world through the Ning Organization. Kel changed sides and offered to help win over Sunagakure’s people before its main force returned.

• Ningyuan argued that Sunagakure could not solve its problems alone and promised villagers housing, land, education, and work if they joined the Land of Fire.
• Ningyuan described plans for desalination plants, desert reclamation, and canals, persuading the villagers to consider rebuilding the Land of Wind instead of emigrating.
• Ningyuan declared that the Ning Organization aimed to unify the world, and Kel realized the villagers’ support could help him take control of Sunagakure.
• Kel offered to help bring Sunagakure’s people to Ningyuan’s side and began preparing to speak with the villagers about their families in the returning main force.
• Ningyuan told the guards to sleep in shifts as he prepared for the possibility of fighting the next day.

After Ningyuan captured Sunagakure, Chiyo led the returning forces to find Konoha in control of the village and its civilians. Ningyuan revealed that Hiruzen Sarutobi had been executed, then forced Chiyo to accept his terms for negotiations.

• Rasa, Chiyo, Ebizo, and Karura learned that Sunagakure had fallen and ordered their forces to return while leaving puppets behind as a decoy.
• Minato led Konoha in following Sunagakure's retreat, while another Ning Organization force took control of the Land of Wind's capital and detained the Daimyo.
• Chiyo reached Sunagakure and waited in the sun before Ningyuan appeared and challenged her arrogant surrender terms.
• Ningyuan told Chiyo that Hiruzen Sarutobi had been executed and that the Uchiha rebellion had been suppressed, prompting her to treat him with respect.
• Ningyuan demanded that Chiyo bring Ebizo, Rasa, Pakura, and Karura to negotiate; when she tried to leave Ebizo and Rasa behind, he turned away, and Chiyo finally agreed.

Ningyuan demanded Sunagakure’s complete surrender to the Ning Organization, promising that integration would bring funding, cheaper food, and development. Chiyo accepted, then learned that her grandson Sasori was alive and studying in the Land of Fire, and immediately pushed to begin cooperation so she could see him.

• Ningyuan told Chiyo that Sunagakure’s twenty thousand captured villagers were alive and explained that the village’s poverty had helped drive it into war.
• Ningyuan offered complete surrender to the Ning Organization and described plans for funding, roads, cheaper food, and replacing the Daimyo system.
• Ningyuan warned Chiyo that Sunagakure’s leaders could either accept his terms or be killed, and Chiyo agreed to surrender on the village’s behalf.
• Chiyo mourned Sunagakure’s loss and blamed herself for its fate, while Pakura tried to comfort her.
• Ningyuan told Chiyo that Sasori was alive and studying engineering at Mozi University, so Chiyo hurried to arrange a visit and offered to help capture Sunagakure’s Jonin.

After Sunagakure surrendered, the Ning Organization rapidly rebuilt the Land of Wind with roads, a port, and construction jobs that won over its people. Ningyuan assigned Black Zetsu to watch a One-Tail Jinchuriki, reviewed the Intelligence Department’s network, and ordered the Winter Operation to begin.

• Chiyo announced Sunagakure’s surrender and later left for the Land of Fire, while the Ning Organization began rebuilding the Land of Wind and opening trade routes.
• Sand Village Ninja and Konoha ninja cleared the battlefield, and the Ning Organization brought in supplies, crews, and plans for highways and a northern port.
• Sunagakure’s villagers and ninja found work and lower living costs, and many began identifying themselves as members of the Ning Organization.
• Ningyuan persuaded Black Zetsu to take charge of a One-Tail Jinchuriki and discussed the Intelligence Department’s network and the shortage of White Zetsu.
• Ningyuan ordered Black Zetsu to start the Winter Operation and draw other countries into the conflict.

Ōnoki struggled to understand reports of Konoha and its allies rapidly taking territory, then concluded that Konoha had created the Ning Organization to unify the world. He called for a coalition against it and dispatched Iwagakure reinforcements to two threatened fronts.

• Ōnoki reviewed Iwagakure’s limited intelligence and learned that the Konoha-Sunagakure allied forces had broken through the Land of Birds and Land of Bears defenses in three hours.
• Xuántóng presented reports that Kakashi had invaded Kusagakure, Rain leaders had seized several small countries, and the Ning Organization had gained the Land of Rivers and Land of Rice.
• Ōnoki studied the map and concluded that Konoha had created the Ning Organization as a superior authority so it could unify the world without directly attacking Daimyo.
• Ōnoki ordered Xuántóng to contact Kumogakure and Kirigakure about forming an opposing organization, then summoned Kitsuchi and Hutuo.
• Ōnoki sent Kitsuchi’s Earth Release Unit to reinforce the breached border and ordered Hutuo’s Explosion Release Unit to reinforce the southern front.

Kitsuchi led Iwagakure reinforcements against Minato and the Gui Ning Army at the Amber Terrain, but Minato’s attack on their supplies shattered the defensive line. The battle ended in a major victory for the Gui Ning Army, with thousands of Iwagakure recruits captured.

• Kitsuchi met Gu He and learned that Minato had routed Iwagakure forces and was advancing toward their territory.
• Kitsuchi gathered his troops and routed soldiers behind a hastily built wall, but Minato bypassed the line and attacked their supplies and wounded soldiers.
• Kitsuchi left his position to pursue Minato, creating a gap that the Gui Ning Army exploited to break through the defense.
• Kitsuchi ordered a retreat aloud, causing Iwagakure’s morale to collapse and its veterans to flee ahead of the recruits.
• The Gui Ning Army captured more than 3,600 of Kitsuchi’s recruits, and the victory became known as the Battle of Amber.

After Iwagakure suffered a crushing defeat, Ōnoki recalled forces and ordered his troops to hold their positions while the Gui Ning Army advanced. At the Land of Grass border, Yūhi Kurenai joined Kakashi and used the Mutual Explosion Tag Technique to destroy Iwagakure’s fortress, forcing its defenders to retreat.

• Ōnoki learned that Kitsuchi’s army had lost nearly forty-six hundred ninja and ordered Iwagakure to recall active and retired ninja, conscript reserves, requisition ships, and bring Roshi and Han back.
• Ōnoki ordered Kitsuchi’s routed soldiers to camp outside the village and told Hutuo not to attack Kakashi’s force, while intelligence reports showed the Gui Ning Army resting and moving prisoners toward Sunagakure.
• Yūhi Kurenai delivered headquarters’ order for Kakashi to advance, and Kakashi gathered his three hundred ninja to attack Iwagakure’s fortress.
• Yūhi Kurenai sent twenty paper-crane Explosive Tags into the fortress and unleashed the Mutual Explosion Tag Technique, setting off a relentless chain of blasts.
• Hutuo ordered the defenders to abandon the collapsing fortress, which was reduced to ruins within five minutes.

Konoha’s Gui Ning Army destroyed Iwagakure’s border fortress with vast quantities of Explosive Tags, then tried to convince Hutuo’s troops to surrender in the name of world peace. Hutuo refused without an order from the Tsuchikage, and Kakashi launched the attack.

• Hutuo chose to defend the border after the fortress collapsed, and Iwagakure’s shinobi built a defensive line behind it.
• Yūhi Kurenai sent Kakashi to attack from the front while she circled behind Iwagakure’s forces.
• Kakashi and the three hundred Gui Ning Army soldiers advanced on Hutuo’s twelve-hundred-man position with plentiful supplies of Explosive Tags.
• Kakashi argued that unifying the ninja villages under the Ning Organization would bring peace and urged Hutuo to surrender.
• Hutuo refused to surrender without an order from the Tsuchikage, so Kakashi raised his arm and declared that the war had begun.

The Gui Ning Army used mass-produced Explosive Tags and varied launchers to bombard Iwagakure's fortifications, inflicting heavy losses and cutting off the defenders' retreat. Hutuo and Zhushi decided to leave their shelters and attack Kakashi's force and the powerful bomber behind their lines.

• Kakashi ordered Hyuga and other Gui Ning Army ninja to launch Explosive Tags with slings, slingshots, darts, and bows.
• Hutuo had Iwagakure ninja raise Earth Flow Walls, but the bombardment continued and killed more than forty defenders in about ten minutes.
• Zhushi reported the losses, and Hutuo realized the Gui Ning Army was changing how wars were fought, though he regained confidence by thinking of the Tsuchikage's Dust Release.
• Explosions behind the fortifications revealed that the Gui Ning Army had cut off Iwagakure's retreat route with a powerful attacker.
• Hutuo assigned Zhushi to lead the border Ninja Army against Kakashi and planned to lead the Explosion Release Unit against the attacker in the rear.

Konoha’s forces overwhelmed Iwagakure’s border troops with Explosive Tags, while Yūhi Kurenai bombarded the Explosion Release Unit from Bai Zhuzhu’s back. Zhushi and Hutuo surrendered, and Hutuo began considering how Iwagakure might demand Kurenai as compensation in peace talks.

• Zhushi led Iwagakure’s charge, but Konoha’s ninja used Explosive Tags and their superior speed to inflict heavy losses.
• Zhushi realized Iwagakure could neither catch Konoha nor escape its pursuit, and he hoped Hutuo’s Explosion Release Unit would clear their retreat route.
• Yūhi Kurenai confronted Hutuo’s unit alone, summoned Bai Zhuzhu, and bombarded the ninja from the sky with Explosive Tags.
• Zhushi reached the rear and found Hutuo’s unit under attack; the two commanders concluded their forces could not win and decided to surrender.
• Yūhi Kurenai ordered the Iwagakure ninja to disarm and gather, and Hutuo complied while considering whether the Tsuchikage could demand Kurenai as compensation.

Konoha and the Ning Organization launched a sweeping offensive, capturing Iwagakure troops and taking several small countries while their armies advanced toward the Land of Lightning. The chapter ended with Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure learning of the campaign, shocking the Three Kage and the ninja world.

• Yūhi Kurenai and Konoha’s forces disarmed Hutuo’s Iwagakure unit, sealed Hutuo’s Chakra, and registered the prisoners for transfer to the War Criminal Management Center.
• Kakashi explained to Hutuo that the Ning Organization considered its campaign a counterattack, then revealed that its soldiers carried three hundred Explosive Tags each.
• Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko led the First, Second, and Third Armies to capture the Lands of Waterfalls, Iron, and Frost, then Nagato’s and Yahiko’s forces converged near the Land of Lightning.
• Minato’s army defeated the Huang Tu Army and captured 3,600 prisoners, while Kakashi and Yūhi Kurenai broke through Iwagakure’s southern defenses and captured 960 troops.
• Hyuga Shin split the Southern Theater’s new Ninja Army to capture Hoshigakure and Hot Water Hidden Village, where his troops clashed with Mist Ninja.
• Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure learned of the Ning Organization’s large-scale offensive, shocking their Kage and the ninja world.

After Iwagakure suffered catastrophic losses to Konoha, Ōnoki feared his village could not survive the war and learned that Kumogakure was also facing an advancing Gui Ning Army. Third A prepared to strike the Gui Ning Army and exploit Konoha’s war with Iwagakure, while Kirigakure’s Third Mizukage chose to avoid the fighting and wait for the other villages to weaken.

• An Anbu told Ōnoki that Iwagakure’s southern force, including the Explosion Release Unit, had been completely wiped out, and Ōnoki collapsed before assessing the village’s heavy losses.
• Ōnoki worried that Iwagakure lacked the next generation of talent to withstand Konoha and learned that his envoy had not yet reached Kumogakure.
• Fourth A reported that the Gui Ning Army had destroyed Takigakure, the Land of Iron, and the Land of Frost, while Namikaze Minato led Konoha’s attacks on Iwagakure.
• Third A ordered Kumogakure’s troops to destroy the Gui Ning Army before moving south to take advantage of Konoha’s campaign against Iwagakure.
• Kirigakure’s Third Mizukage continued the Blood Mist Policy and planned to let Kumogakure and Konoha exhaust themselves rather than confront Konoha directly.

Ōnoki inspected Minato’s army below Iwagakure and found its dispersed camp, barrier, and defenses made a direct attack difficult. He descended to meet Minato’s group and was alarmed by the strength and number of Konoha and Sunagakure’s young fighters.

• Ōnoki learned that Minato’s eight-thousand-strong army had arrived and saw that its widely spread tents thwarted his plan to destroy it with one Dust Release.
• Ōnoki descended the mountain with Roshi and Han, noting Iwagakure’s defensive terrain and preparing to use the two Jinchuriki against Minato.
• Ōnoki examined Konoha’s camp and discovered its protected position, nearby controlled rivers, and barrier, then ordered an S-rank mission to find the army’s supply line.
• Minato led a group out of camp toward Ōnoki, who revealed himself from behind a boulder after realizing he had been spotted.
• Ōnoki recognized Rasa, Karura, and Pakura among Minato’s allies and worried that Konoha and Sunagakure had too many powerful young fighters.

Minato offered Ōnoki the Ning Organization’s handbook, and Ōnoki learned how its forces had reshaped the Land of Fire and Rain. As Kakashi advanced toward the Land of Earth’s Daimyo, Ōnoki became so affected by the handbook’s ideas that he ordered a hundred thousand copies distributed in Iwagakure.

• Minato proposed marking Ōnoki with Flying Thunder God, but Shikaku advised against killing him and Minato offered him a handbook about the Ning Organization instead.
• Ōnoki read the handbook’s account of the organization’s origins, leaders, conquests, and reforms, and realized it revealed the movement’s methods and influence in detail.
• An Anbu reported that Kakashi’s army was heading for the Daimyo’s Mansion, and another delivered the Daimyo’s request for aid.
• Ōnoki continued reading and began sympathizing with the Ning Organization’s campaign against corruption, oppression, and ignorance.
• Ōnoki ordered an Anbu to print one hundred thousand copies of the handbook for Iwagakure, while asking for his copy back so he could finish reading it.

Minato’s forces completed their reconnaissance of Iwagakure and prepared to seek its peaceful surrender, while news that Ōnoki had ordered propaganda handbooks printed eased Minato’s concerns. At the Kumogakure front, Third Raikage A discovered a massive Gui Ning Army encampment and accepted a book from its commander to learn why it had come.

• Hizashi Hyuga and the Kurama Clan head mapped Iwagakure’s mountain defenses, and Nara Shikaku explained why capturing Ōnoki could provoke resistance.
• Namikaze Minato argued for giving Iwagakure a chance to surrender, and White Zetsu later reported that Ōnoki had requisitioned printing factories to produce the Ning Organization Propaganda Education Handbook.
• Third Raikage A led Kumogakure’s forces to the front, where he learned that the Gui Ning Army had not attacked during his march.
• A sensory ninja reported that the opposing camp held sixty thousand troops, startling Third Raikage A and the other Kumogakure commanders.
• A messenger from the Gui Ning Army delivered a book to Third Raikage A and said he would understand their purpose after reading it.
• Third Raikage A accepted the book despite his reluctance to read.

Third Raikage A read the Ning Organization’s handbook and decided Kumogakure should pursue world unification while pretending to negotiate with the Gui Ning Army so he could capture its commanders. He arranged a meeting at Lightning Strike Valley and began studying the handbook, ending with thoughts of creating his own organization.

• Third Raikage A burned the handbook after reading it, then declared that Kumogakure would also aim to defeat every hidden village and unify the world.
• Third Raikage A asked Sakui to request another copy of the handbook and planned to feign surrender so Kumogakure could ambush the Gui Ning Army’s leaders during negotiations.
• Third Raikage A chose Lightning Strike Valley as the meeting place and learned that Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan commanded the Gui Ning Army.
• Third Raikage A planned to attend with Fourth Raikage A and Sakui, while Killer B and Yugito Nii guarded outside, and ordered Kumogakure’s reserve forces to advance.
• Third Raikage A began reading the replacement handbook and wondered whether he should establish an organization called the A Organization.