Chapter Summaries

Hiruzen Sarutobi convened Konoha's elders and presented Saiki Yuu's destruction of Sunagakure's largest Transfer Camp as a major victory. The elders praised the feat until they learned Saiki Yuu was the one responsible.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered an Anbu to summon all the elders to an urgent meeting.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told the elders that a Konoha elite had infiltrated Sunagakure territory and destroyed its largest Transfer Camp.
• Utatane Koharu praised the attack for disrupting Sunagakure's supplies, while Danzo admired the unknown shinobi's boldness.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi revealed that Saiki Yuu had carried out the mission, shocking Danzo.

Hiruzen Sarutobi persuaded the Elder Council to approve a probing attack on Sunagakure’s front line to support Saiki Yuu and the other shinobi operating behind enemy lines. The council agreed, and Utatane Koharu proposed issuing Yuu a commendation notice, prompting Hiruzen to cough violently.

• Utatane Koharu questioned whether Saiki Yuu was really as calm and composed as Hiruzen Sarutobi described him, and Hiruzen insisted that people changed.
• Hiruzen argued that Saiki Yuu, Minato Namikaze, and the Ino-Shika-Cho team were deep in enemy territory and needed support, while Danzo objected to risking a larger attack.
• Utatane Koharu questioned why Minato Namikaze and the Ino-Shika-Cho team had been sent to the Sand Battlefield, and Hiruzen said Jiraiya was commanding them under the Elder Council’s authority.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura agreed to a probing attack on Sunagakure’s front line, and Danzo reluctantly consented.
• Utatane Koharu proposed issuing Saiki Yuu a commendation notice, and Hiruzen Sarutobi began coughing violently.

Hiruzen Sarutobi approved Tsunade and Jiraiya’s plan to attack Sunagakure and issued Yuu a commendation urging him to keep up his work. Tsunade and Jiraiya prepared the assault, and Rasa learned that Konoha had attacked.

• Utatane Koharu praised Yuu’s achievements, and Hiruzen Sarutobi confirmed the resolution while privately worrying about Yuu setting more records.
• Jiraiya brought Tsunade the village’s orders, which approved their attack and included a commendation for Yuu.
• Tsunade ordered preparations for an immediate assault on Sunagakure’s front line, and Jiraiya agreed.
• A Sunagakure Jonin rushed into Rasa’s tent and reported that Konoha had launched an attack.

Yuu became lost on his way back to the Konoha Great Camp and ended up in a town in the Land of Wind. He entered a tavern for wine, where drinking began improving his swordsmanship comprehension and Armament Haki.

• Yuu spotted a village in the Land of Wind after walking for a long time.
• Townspeople noticed Yuu’s unusual clothes but accepted him as a Sunagakure ninja because he wore their headband.
• Yuu realized he had reached enemy territory and blamed Jiraiya for not giving him a map.
• Yuu smelled wine, entered a tavern, and ordered ten bottles of the best wine.
• Yuu drank the wine and gained two points each in swordsmanship comprehension and Armament Haki.

Yuu heard that Konoha had launched a decisive offensive against Sunagakure, far earlier than the attrition strategy the Third Hokage had described. Suspecting the attack might have been caused by him, he decided he could not return to Konoha without making a grand entrance.

• Yuu drank a bottle of wine and remembered how Sunagakure had destroyed the wine at his camp.
• Tavern patrons said Konoha had launched a decisive battle against Sunagakure.
• Yuu recalled that the Third Hokage had planned months of attrition and had asked him to secretly assassinate Sunagakure fighters.
• Yuu listened to reports throughout the day and grew alarmed as they described the offensive worsening into a fight for survival.
• Yuu worried Tsunade, the Old man, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru would blame or mock him if the war had escalated because of him.
• Yuu decided he would return in style rather than go back as he was.

Yuu decided to raid Sunagakure’s headquarters while its forces were fighting Konoha, hoping to return in glory and take their liquor. Meanwhile, Hattou Hideki led Sunagakure’s final supply convoy toward the front, uncertain about the rumors and the war’s prospects.

• Yuu drank more alcohol, decided Sunagakure’s rear was undefended, and set off to attack its headquarters.
• Hattou Hideki hurried his supply convoy toward the main camp after Sunagakure’s destroyed Transfer Camp left the front short of supplies.
• Two sand shinobi discussed conflicting rumors about the front and worried about facing Konoha.
• Hattou Hideki silenced the shinobi, though he privately shared their uncertainty about the war.

Sunagakure jonin Hattou Hideki worried about Konoha’s strength and hoped other villages would join the war against it. In the desert, his patrol encountered a drunken young Sunagakure shinobi, whom Hattou suspected of deserting.

• Hattou Hideki considered Sunagakure’s military disadvantage against Konoha and hoped Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure would attack Konoha.
• Hattou Hideki’s patrol spotted a figure approaching through a desert sandstorm and challenged him.
• The figure emerged wearing a Sunagakure forehead protector, and the patrol lowered its guard.
• Hattou Hideki noticed the young man had no headscarf and smelled strongly of alcohol.
• Hattou Hideki asked the young man if he was a deserter.

Yuu reached the Sand shinobi and asked how to get to Sunagakure, insulting it as a shithole. He revealed that he was a Konoha genin, prompting Hattou Hideki and the Sand shinobi to order his death.

• Hattou Hideki believed Yuu was not a deserter and asked why he was drinking during a mission.
• Yuu asked Hattou Hideki how to get to Sunagakure and called it a shithole.
• Hattou Hideki demanded to know who Yuu was, and Yuu praised his own disguise.
• Yuu drew Shusui and announced that he was a Konoha genin.
• The Sand shinobi erupted in outrage, and Hattou Hideki ordered them to kill Yuu.

Yuu faced Hattou Hideki and the Sunagakure shinobi, revealing overwhelming swordsmanship as he cut down their attacks. His gathered sword energy continued to surge toward them.

• Two Sunagakure chunin attacked Yuu, but he killed them with an unseen blade strike.
• Hattou Hideki ordered the remaining sand shinobi to attack and unleashed Wind Style: Vacuum Wave.
• Yuu dismissed their attacks as boring and swung the Black Blade.
• Yuu's black-purple sword energy stopped the kunai and wind blades, then split the kunai apart.
• The sword energy gathered again instead of dissipating.

Yuu destroyed a Sunagakure transport convoy with a devastating slash, then forced its surviving guard, Hattou Hideki, to reveal the way to Sunagakure. At the frontline camp, Rasa grew suspicious of Konoha’s feint attacks as his subordinates reported that the latest convoy was overdue.

• Yuu’s slash annihilated the transport convoy and carved a massive fissure through the desert.
• Hattou Hideki survived the attack, and Yuu demanded directions to Sunagakure.
• Hattou Hideki agreed to tell Yuu how to reach Sunagakure.
• Rasa questioned his subordinates about the situation after several days of Konoha’s feint attacks.
• A sand shinobi reported that the latest transport convoy had not arrived, though they suspected a sandstorm had delayed it.

Rasa and Ebizo realized that a supply convoy had vanished in the Land of Wind and concluded that it had been attacked by the same person who destroyed the Supply Camp. Rasa ordered Sunagakure to search for the attacker, accepting that the effort would leave their forces stretched thin.

• Rasa dismissed the men who explained that sandstorms had delayed supply convoys, but the missing convoy still troubled him.
• When the convoy failed to arrive the next evening, Rasa and Ebizo sent shinobi along its route and found its traces buried in sand.
• Ebizo linked the convoy's destruction to the attack on the Supply Camp, and Rasa vowed to kill the attacker.
• Rasa ordered elite shinobi and many chunin to search throughout the Land of Wind, despite Ebizo warning that Sunagakure's forces would be stretched thin.
• Rasa dismissed the risk of an attack on Sunagakure itself.

Rasa dismissed Ebizo’s concern about a lone attacker and ordered Sunagakure to hunt the intruder. Minato’s team learned that Saiki Yuu had entered the Land of Wind and prepared to report it to Jiraiya and Tsunade.

• Ebizo cautiously suggested a possibility, but Rasa agreed to let the enemy attack Sunagakure’s supply lines and ordered his forces to kill him.
• Minato and his team searched the border of the Land of Wind but found no trace of Saiki Yuu as Sand shinobi patrols grew stricter.
• A Sand shinobi squad announced that an enemy had invaded the Land of Wind and that the border was being sealed on Rasa’s orders.
• Minato and Shikaku concluded that Yuu had fought his way into the Land of Wind and said they must report it to Jiraiya and Tsunade.
• Inoichi joked that Yuu might charge into Sunagakure’s headquarters, and Minato and Shikaku dismissed the idea.

Tsunade and Jiraiya received news that Yuu had entered the Land of Wind, where Sunagakure was searching for him. Tsunade wanted to intensify attacks to divert attention from Yuu, but Jiraiya warned that Iwagakure and Kumogakure were already making moves.

• Minato worried that Yuu might drink too much, then reassured himself that it probably would not happen.
• Tsunade and Jiraiya learned that Yuu had gone missing and charged into the Land of Wind after destroying a Sunagakure supply camp.
• Jiraiya privately worried that Yuu might head for Sunagakure Village, but reminded himself that Yuu was too directionless to find it.
• Tsunade ordered the Konoha forces to increase their attacks so Sunagakure could not focus entirely on searching for Yuu.
• Jiraiya warned Tsunade that Konoha was already stretched thin and that Iwagakure and Kumogakure had begun making moves.

Hiruzen Sarutobi learned that Yuu had entered the Land of Wind alone and concluded that Yuu was attacking Sunagakure’s supply lines. Convinced Yuu had a plan, he decided Minato and the others should coordinate with him.

• Jiraiya and Tsunade agreed that the decision about Minato and the Ino-Shika-Cho team entering the Land of Wind had to be reported to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi read Jiraiya’s report and realized Yuu had gone into the Land of Wind alone while Sunagakure searched for him.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi linked Yuu’s actions to intelligence about a vanished transport convoy and inferred that Yuu had destroyed it.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi concluded that Yuu was striking Sunagakure’s supply lines and credited him with helping Konoha gain an advantage.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi decided that Minato and the others should coordinate with Yuu.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sent Minato Namikaze, Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Choza Akimichi into the Land of Wind to join Yuu in attacking Sunagakure's supply lines. As the team began its mission, Yuu escorted the captured Hattou Hideki toward a point outside Sunagakure.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Minato Namikaze, Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Choza Akimichi to enter the Land of Wind and coordinate with Yuu.
• Shikaku Nara and Minato Namikaze praised Yuu's strategy to cut off Sunagakure's supplies.
• Minato Namikaze led the group past the sand shinobi's defenses and into the Land of Wind.
• Yuu escorted the captured Hattou Hideki through the desert, sneezed, and was struck.

Yuu reached Sunagakure with Hattou Hideki and admired the village’s immense One Line Sky barrier. He planned to sneak in to take Sunagakure’s liquor and destroy part of the village, then turned his attention to Hattou Hideki.

• Yuu struck Hattou Hideki for allegedly badmouthing him, while Hattou Hideki feared the people Yuu had killed along the way.
• Yuu arrived at Sunagakure’s One Line Sky and marveled at the towering barrier.
• Hattou Hideki proudly called the barrier Sunagakure’s Absolute Defense, and Yuu knocked him down while pointing out that Konoha’s White Fang had breached it.
• Yuu considered how to enter Sunagakure without attacking head-on so he could find its liquor and damage part of the village.
• Yuu turned a cold gaze on Hattou Hideki, who begged him after realizing he was still in danger.

Yuu used his perfect Transformation Jutsu to impersonate Hattou Hideki and approached Sunagakure’s One Line Sky checkpoint. After claiming he carried a secret order from the Kazekage, he identified all thirty-five sand shinobi stationed there.

• Yuu killed Hattou Hideki and used the reward-winning Transformation Jutsu to copy his appearance, chakra, and aura.
• Yuu transformed into Hattou Hideki and walked toward One Line Sky.
• The sentries sensed no abnormality and recognized Yuu as Hattou Hideki.
• Yuu claimed an enemy had infiltrated the Land of Wind and that the Kazekage had sent him with a secret command.
• Yuu told the guards to gather and used Observation Haki to locate all thirty-five sand shinobi at One Line Sky.

Yuu impersonated Hattou Hideki to approach the guards at One Line Sky, then killed all thirty-five when they grew suspicious. He continued toward Sunagakure, intending to reach its headquarters and return to Konoha in style.

• Yuu asked the Sunagakure guards when their next shift change would be and where the village stored its best wine.
• The captain grew suspicious when Yuu failed to deliver the promised secret order and asked whether he was really Hattou Hideki.
• Yuu killed all thirty-five guards at One Line Sky with a single slash and gained 200 Swordsmanship.
• Yuu passed through One Line Sky and headed toward Sunagakure.

Yuu wandered through Sunagakure looking for wine and decided to search the Kazekage's Building, while a Sand ninja squad discovered that all the guards at One Line Sky had been slaughtered. The squad suspected an enemy had infiltrated the village and rushed to alert the elders.

• Yuu wandered Sunagakure's quiet streets but could not find a tavern or wine cellar.
• Yuu drank liquor, spotted the Kazekage's Building, and flashed toward it, expecting to find alcohol there.
• A Sand ninja squad found all thirty-five guards at One Line Sky dead among blood and severed limbs.
• The squad captain ordered a comrade to report the slaughter to the elders and warned that an enemy had entered Sunagakure.

Yuu reached the Kazekage's Building in Sunagakure and prepared to make a conspicuous move while searching for places that might hold alcohol. Sunagakure's Anbu noticed him, and one of them recognized a danger that left him horrified.

• A Sunagakure captain sent a frightened subordinate to stay behind and rushed to report the terrifying intruder to the elders at the Kazekage's Building.
• Yuu used Observation Haki to locate several places in the Kazekage's Building that might contain alcohol and decided not to damage them.
• Yuu drew Black Blade Shusui in front of the Kazekage's Building, drawing curious looks from villagers and Anbu.
• An Anbu moved to reprimand Yuu for drawing his sword, but Taka stopped him with a horrified warning.