Chapter Summaries

Soji and Ōnoki fought above Iwagakure, and their Sage Art and Dust Release clashed to create a white zone that erased everything across nearly four kilometers. After both survived, Soji claimed he had entered the Land of Earth to avenge the Second Mizukage, and Ōnoki accepted his explanation as the two eased away from another fight.

• Soji claimed he had not realized he was flying over the Land of Earth, provoking Ōnoki, who attacked the Golden Eagle with Earth Style: Rock Fist Technique.
• The Golden Eagle evaded Ōnoki and fired Wind Style: Vacuum Orb at him, prompting Ōnoki to prepare Dust Release.
• Soji sent the Golden Eagle away and confronted Ōnoki in the air, and their Sage Art: Void Strike Three Forms and Dust Release collided.
• Soji and Ōnoki fled as the expanding white light erased everything within nearly four kilometers, then returned to the battlefield after it faded.
• Soji told Ōnoki he had come to avenge the Second Mizukage, and Ōnoki accepted the explanation and abandoned his plan to eliminate him.

Soji ended his confrontation with Ōnoki and left the Land of Earth after their strongest attacks matched. On the way back toward Konoha, he discovered that he could no longer enter Sage Mode normally and that Natural Energy barely replenished, leaving his training and promise to the Golden Eagle in doubt.

• Ōnoki chose to let Soji leave the Land of Earth rather than risk continuing their fight, and Soji warned him that he could not be stopped.
• Soji and Ōnoki recognized that Sage Art: Void Strike Three Forms had matched Ōnoki's Dust Release, and Soji summoned the Golden Eagle to leave Iwagakure.
• After leaving Sage Mode, Soji found that he could barely sense Natural Energy and could not enter Sage Mode again.
• Soji told the Golden Eagle that his Sage Art training had developed a problem and that he could no longer guide it in absorbing Natural Energy.
• Soji decided to return to Konoha to investigate, with a possible trip back to the Land of Snow if he could not find the cause.

Soji returned to the Land of Snow to investigate why he could absorb Natural Energy far faster there than in Konoha, where entering Sage Mode took several days. He discovered that Sage Mode and its energy replenishment worked almost instantly inside the Land of Snow and flew toward its capital to investigate the Rainbow Ice Wall.

• Soji struggled to maintain Sage Mode after taking nearly five days to enter it in Konoha, and resolved to return to the Land of Snow to find a faster method.
• Soji reflected on the war around Kikyo Pass, where Konoha and Sunagakure had each deployed nearly five thousand ninja and Minato had helped stabilize Orochimaru's position.
• After two months of training, Soji still needed about three days to enter Sage Mode outside the Land of Snow, and he spent a lonely New Year with Kushina.
• Soji entered the Land of Snow and absorbed enough Natural Energy to enter Sage Mode in less than a minute.
• Soji tested Sage Art: Void Strike and found that the Natural Energy it consumed replenished automatically in the Land of Snow.
• Soji flew toward the capital to investigate the Rainbow Ice Wall, while Kazahana Sōsetsu and Kazahana Koyuki welcomed his unexpected return.

Soji investigated why he could enter Sage Mode quickly in the Land of Snow, and Kazahana Sōsetsu suggested his Ice Release gave him an affinity for icy Natural Energy. Soji confirmed the theory in the Land of Iron and left with a new understanding of how his Sage Mode worked.

• Soji spent nearly half a month investigating the Rainbow Ice Wall but found no clue to his unusual ability to absorb Natural Energy.
• Kazahana Sōsetsu proposed that Soji’s Ice Release let him sense and absorb Natural Energy more easily in snowy environments.
• Kazahana Sōsetsu told Soji that the Land of Iron was snowy year-round and suggested he get an introduction through Sato Taro.
• Sato Taro wrote Soji a letter of introduction, allowing him to enter the Land of Iron after its samurai inspected the letter.
• Soji entered Sage Mode in under a minute in the Land of Iron and concluded that his Ice Release helped him absorb ice-and-snow-attributed Natural Energy.
• After training in the Land of Iron for three days, Soji left, confident that he could enter Sage Mode at will while snow was falling.

Soji developed two Ice Release techniques that let him summon snowfall and conceal himself in the snow, bringing him closer to entering Sage Mode whenever he wished. After returning to Konoha, he learned that the decisive Battle of Kikyo Pass was near and planned to deepen his secret cooperation with Orochimaru after the battle.

• Soji completed the Snowfall Technique, which created snow and let him sense those caught in it, and the Snow Concealment Technique, which hid him without leaving tracks.
• Soji assessed his strength as beyond Kage-level and set his next goal as awakening the Tenseigan to reach Six Paths level.
• Soji said farewell to Kazahana Sōsetsu and Kazahana Koyuki, promised to visit again, and flew back to Konoha on his Golden Eagle.
• Soji learned that Konoha and Sunagakure were preparing for a decisive battle at Kikyo Mountain, commanded by Orochimaru and Rasa respectively.
• Soji expected Orochimaru to defect from Konoha within three years and decided to seek a closer, secret partnership with him after he returned from the battlefield.

After returning victorious from the Battle of Kikyo Pass, Orochimaru became Konoha’s presumed choice for Fourth Hokage, while Soji suspected Danzo would expose Orochimaru’s human experiments and derail his rise. Once the village’s celebrations settled, Soji sent Orochimaru a private message, leaving Orochimaru puzzled by the invitation.

• Konoha celebrated Orochimaru’s victory over Sunagakure, and the Third Hokage prepared him to take over village affairs as the likely Fourth Hokage.
• The Hyuga Clan agreed to align itself with Orochimaru, while Soji waited to contact him until the crowds around him dispersed.
• Soji noted that Minato had been reassigned to the Iwagakure front and speculated that Danzo would expose Orochimaru’s human experiments to obstruct his election.
• Konoha remained under pressure from Iwagakure and Kumogakure, and the Third Hokage had Orochimaru return instead of sending him to confront Kumogakure.
• After the village’s celebrations and visits to Orochimaru faded, Soji sent him an invitation through his Summoning Beast, and Orochimaru was confused by the message.

Soji invited Orochimaru to drinks in Konoha and asked him to help develop Chakra Armor. Orochimaru agreed to research two sets if Soji covered the costs.

• Orochimaru received Soji’s invitation and agreed to meet him at an Izakaya three days later.
• Soji and Orochimaru shared drinks and chatted about village gossip before Soji revealed that he wanted help with a research project.
• Soji showed Orochimaru Kazahana Dōtō’s Chakra Armor research materials and explained that he wanted two sets made.
• Orochimaru agreed to develop the two sets of Chakra Armor, provided Soji paid the research costs.

Soji secured Orochimaru’s help developing Chakra Armor, then settled in Konoha to train and improve his Byakugan as the war with Iwagakure escalated and ended in a ceasefire. Enraged by Kumogakure’s attack on Iwagakure, Ōnoki plotted with Han and Roshi to lure the Third Raikage into Earth Country and kill him.

• Soji warned Orochimaru to be wary of Danzo, while Orochimaru kept his secret Wood Style cell research to himself.
• Soji stayed in Konoha, practiced his techniques, and secretly collected Hyuga blood to improve his Byakugan.
• Minato destroyed Kannabi Bridge and defeated fifty Iwagakure jonin after Obito sacrificed himself, helping Konoha win the Battle of Kannabi Bridge.
• Ōnoki agreed to a ceasefire with Konoha after Kumogakure attacked Iwagakure, and Konoha ended its war with Iwagakure in Konoha Year 47.
• Ōnoki recruited Han and Roshi to trap Cloud ninja carrying the Amber Purifying Bottle and use them to lure the Third Raikage into an ambush.
• Roshi agreed to join the plan on the condition that he could leave the village after the Third Raikage was killed.

Danzo used his newly strengthened body and Root to sabotage Orochimaru’s bid to become the Fourth Hokage by spreading rumors about his human experiments. With Orochimaru’s reputation in ruins, the Third Hokage proposed Minato as another candidate, while Danzo’s own ambition remained unrecognized by the others.

• Danzo’s transplant of a Wood Style arm and Three-Tomoe Sharingan restored his strength, and he decided to pursue the Hokage position himself.
• Danzo ordered Root shinobi to spread rumors that Orochimaru was using missing villagers for human experiments.
• The rumors spread, Orochimaru’s silence confirmed them to the Third Hokage, and support for his candidacy collapsed.
• Orochimaru realized Danzo had betrayed him by supplying the people used in his experiments and then exposing him.
• Danzo urged the Third Hokage and the elders to reject Orochimaru, but Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu defended him.
• The Third Hokage recommended Minato as another candidate for Fourth Hokage, and the elders agreed that Danzo was not a suitable choice.

Minato Namikaze defeated Orochimaru in Konoha’s vote for Fourth Hokage, while Orochimaru lost his remaining attachment to the village and prepared to defect. At Minato and Kushina’s celebration, Kakashi grieved for Obito and reflected on the cost of choosing his comrades.

• The Third Hokage and his advisers rejected Danzo’s bid for Fourth Hokage and nominated Minato Namikaze to compete with Orochimaru.
• Minato returned to Konoha, and the jonin voted overwhelmingly for him to become the next Hokage; Soji also voted for Minato.
• After losing, Orochimaru intensified his human experiments and decided to leave Konoha once he had finished his remaining business.
• Minato and Kushina celebrated his victory with their friends, while Kakashi and Rin Nohara returned from the battlefield with news of Obito Uchiha’s sacrifice.
• Fugaku Uchiha allowed Kakashi to keep Obito’s Sharingan, and Kakashi told Soji he understood why his father had chosen to save his comrades over completing a mission.

At a celebration for Minato’s election as Fourth Hokage, Kakashi explained how he had come to understand his father and Obito, while Soji concealed his plan to use Rin’s future death to locate Madara and Black Zetsu. The party ended with Soji and Uchiha Homura congratulating Minato and Kushina before returning home.

• Kakashi told Soji that he understood his father’s choice to value comrades over rules, and Soji encouraged him to live well for Obito’s sake.
• Soji privately planned to let events put Rin in danger so he could follow Obito to Madara’s hideout and kill Madara and Black Zetsu.
• Uchiha Homura teased Kushina about her childhood Hokage ambition, and she hit him twice while Soji joked about his lack of authority.
• Soji told young Itachi that he might become stronger than Homura, causing Itachi to reconsider his uncle’s heroic image.
• Minato’s friends celebrated late into the night, and Soji and Homura congratulated Minato and Kushina before leaving.

Soji traveled to the Kumogakure-Iwagakure battlefield, where Ōnoki had lured the Third Raikage into a trap with ten thousand Iwagakure shinobi. Soji stayed hidden, eyeing the Amber Purifying Pot as the Third Raikage faced the attack.

• Soji left Konoha and secretly made his way to the battlefield, hoping to take advantage of the war.
• Dodai urged the Third Raikage not to rescue the surrounded Kumogakure unit, but the Raikage decided to go alone.
• Soji used his Byakugan to spot roughly seven thousand Iwagakure shinobi waiting in ambush behind the three thousand already surrounding the unit.
• The Third Raikage reached the trapped Kumogakure shinobi and ordered them to escape with the Amber Purifying Pot while he held off Iwagakure.
• Ōnoki appeared and ordered his forces to attack, revealing the trap surrounding the Third Raikage and the three hundred Kumogakure shinobi.

The Third Raikage battled Ōnoki’s forces while protecting the Cloud Hidden Ninja and the Amber Purifying Pot. After Han intercepted the pot and the Third Raikage reclaimed it, Soji stole it during their fight, leaving both sides surprised.

• Ōnoki trapped the Third Raikage and over three hundred Cloud Hidden Ninja with his Earth Style, but the Third Raikage broke through and led the Cloud shinobi toward an escape route.
• Soji watched the battle nearby and judged that he would need Sage Mode to have a chance of killing the Third Raikage.
• Han ambushed the fleeing Cloud Hidden Ninja, seized the Amber Purifying Pot, and tried to pass it to a Rock Hidden Ninja, but the Third Raikage intercepted it and threw it back to his people.
• The Third Raikage clashed with Han after sending the Cloud Hidden Ninja away, and both fighters crashed into the rocks without serious injury.
• Soji swooped in while the Third Raikage and Han fought and seized the Amber Purifying Pot before either side could reclaim it.

Soji deceived Ōnoki and the Third Raikage into believing Kirigakure had agreed to help Iwagakure, then secretly secured the Amber Purifying Pot. He killed the fleeing Kumogakure force while intending to leave one survivor to carry his false story back and inflame the conflict.

• Soji claimed Mizukage-sama had sent him to help Iwagakure kill the Third Raikage in exchange for the Amber Purifying Pot and forgiveness for the Second Tsuchikage's attack on Kirigakure.
• The Third Raikage believed Ōnoki had betrayed him and attacked the Rock Hidden Ninja, while the Kumogakure survivors fled and Iwagakure's forces joined the battle.
• Soji sent the Golden Eagle away with the Amber Purifying Pot and pursued the fleeing Kumogakure ninja.
• Soji told the Kumogakure force that Iwagakure's real target was the Third Raikage, prompting them to scatter and try to warn A-sama and Dodai-sama.
• Soji used Ice Release—Rain Ice Technique to kill the fleeing ninja, planning to leave one survivor to spread his story and intensify the conflict.

Soji stole the Amber Purifying Pot and left a badly wounded Kumogakure survivor to report a misleading account, hoping to provoke war between Kumogakure and Iwagakure. The Third Raikage died after three days of siege, and the chapter ended with Kumogakure attacking Iwagakure but failing to recover his body.

• Soji left one severely injured Kumogakure ninja alive to carry his words back to the village, then flew toward Konoha with the Amber Purifying Pot.
• Soji decided the Six Paths Tool was more valuable than the Third Raikage's corpse and left the battlefield rather than join the siege.
• After three days and three nights, Ōnoki, Han, and Roshi's forces wore down the Third Raikage, who died after Iwagakure lost three thousand ninjas.
• A learned of his father's death from the surviving Kumogakure ninja, then led ten thousand Kumogakure ninjas to attack Iwagakure.
• Ōnoki, Han, and Roshi held off the attack, but another thousand Iwagakure ninjas died and Kumogakure failed to reclaim the Third Raikage's corpse.

Kirigakure declared Mizuki Ember a village hero for his supposed role in killing the Third Raikage, despite Soji’s real intentions. Minato told Soji the news and jokingly said he had the bearing of a Fifth Mizukage, leaving Soji stunned.

• Karatachi Yagura concluded that Mizuki Ember had helped protect Kirigakure by helping kill the Third Raikage and decided to honor him.
• Yagura announced Mizuki Ember as Kirigakure’s new hero, and the village spread increasingly exaggerated stories about his deeds.
• Soji remained in Konoha, unaware of Kirigakure’s praise, until Minato visited with intelligence from Kirigakure.
• Minato told Soji that Kirigakure had made Mizuki Ember a hero, and Soji was baffled by the misunderstanding.
• Minato seriously told Soji that he had the bearing of a Fifth Mizukage, leaving Soji speechless.

Soji learned that Minato would lead Konoha’s response to Kumogakure’s attack shortly before his planned succession as Fourth Hokage, and agreed to watch over Kakashi and Rin while Minato was away. Soji intended to let Rin die so he could follow Obito and locate Madara Uchiha and Black Zetsu, leaving him conflicted about the sacrifice.

• Soji and Minato concluded that Karatachi Yagura’s actions had strengthened Soji’s position in Kirigakure, and Minato left to attend to Konoha’s affairs.
• Kumogakure ended its war with Iwagakure after Iwagakure offered to return the Third Raikage’s body, and the Fourth Raikage chose to target Konoha instead of Kirigakure.
• Minato told Soji that the Third Hokage had sent him to deter Kumogakure by demonstrating Konoha’s strength, and Soji understood why Minato was leading the response.
• Minato asked Soji to keep Kakashi and Rin Nohara from overtraining while he was away, and Soji agreed.
• Soji planned to let Rin die so that he could follow Obito and find Madara Uchiha and Black Zetsu, despite feeling bitter about his decision.

Soji stopped Kakashi from pushing himself to exhaustion and began training him alongside Rin Nohara. When Kakashi and Rin left on a mission near the former Land of Whirlpools, Soji followed in disguise, preparing to intervene in Madara Uchiha’s plan.

• Soji found Kakashi repeatedly using Chidori at a training ground and stopped him before he could injure himself further.
• Soji encouraged Kakashi to honor Obito by living, then offered to train him and let him bring Rin Nohara along.
• Over the next half month, Kakashi and Rin trained with Soji, and Rin came to trust him.
• Kakashi and Rin received a mission to investigate mist ninja near the former Land of Whirlpools and departed Konoha.
• Soji followed them as Mizuki Ember, keeping more than four kilometers away while tracking their movements with his Byakugan.
• Soji suspected Madara Uchiha was behind the Kirigakure Anbu’s actions and intended to reach the scene of his plan and follow Obito Uchiha.

Madara Uchiha tried to recruit the recovering Obito Uchiha into the Moon Eye Plan, but Obito insisted on returning to Konoha. Madara pretended to relent and gave Obito three days to recover while secretly preparing a trap to drive him into darkness.

• Obito pleaded with Madara Uchiha to let him return to Konoha and reunite with Kakashi, Rin, and Minato, rejecting the Moon Eye Plan.
• Madara argued that Obito could restore peace by helping with the plan, but Obito remained determined to go home.
• Madara decided to use Mist Village Anbu members he had controlled to stage the event that would turn Obito against the world.
• Obito discovered he could not leave the sealed cavern and asked White Zetsu to guide him out, but White Zetsu distracted him with talk of studying bodily functions.
• Madara told Obito to rest for three days and threatened his friends to ensure he would keep Madara's survival secret.
• Obito agreed to stay, while Madara began arranging the trap he intended Obito to witness.

Kakashi and Rin were ambushed by Mist Village Anbu secretly controlled by Madara, whose real target was Rin. Kakashi realized too late that the Anbu had used Shadow Clones to distract him, and he rushed after Rin while Soji followed, suspecting they planned to implant the Three-Tails in her.

• Kakashi and Rin encountered twenty-six Mist Village Anbu, who attacked them in the former Land of Whirlpools.
• Kakashi told Rin to escape and alert Konoha while he held off the attackers, and she fled through the Hidden Mist.
• Kakashi killed several Anbu before discovering that most of his apparent enemies had been Shadow Clones and that the real squad had pursued Rin.
• Madara's controlled Anbu kept Kakashi alive to serve his plan to make Obito witness Rin's death, while Kakashi fought desperately to reach her.
• The Second Squad withdrew after confirming its plan had succeeded, and Kakashi ran after Rin as Soji followed and deduced that the Anbu intended to implant the Three-Tails in her.