Chapter Summaries

Chiba and Yukina met a blind girl who knew Uchiha Hirohiko and asked to see him. Meanwhile, the Third Hokage wrestled with whether to send Chiba on a dangerous mission before summoning Shinsu.

• Chiba woke beside Yukina and returned the blind girl's wooden cane to her.
• The girl declined Yukina's help, then asked Chiba whether Uchiha Hirohiko was in the ward and how he was doing.
• After Chiba said Hirohiko was safe, the girl asked to see him, and Chiba agreed to take her there.
• The Third Hokage considered Chiba's medical talent and the risks of his mission, then ordered Mizutori to bring Shinsu to him.

Hirohiko woke in the hospital and received an angry slap and scolding from the little girl who had been worried about him. After breakfast with Yukina, Chiba was assigned a mission and headed back to the hospital to tell Hirohiko before departing.

• The little girl slapped Hirohiko and repeatedly called him an idiot before he apologized.
• Chiba and Yukina left the hospital and went to Ichiraku Ramen, leaving their uneaten food for Hirohiko and the little girl.
• Old Man Ichiraku teased Chiba and Yukina by asking if they were on a date, and Chiba said they were only having breakfast.
• Morino Ibuse stopped Chiba and Yukina after breakfast and told Chiba to report to the main gate within ten minutes for a mission.
• Chiba and Yukina headed back to the hospital so Chiba could tell Hirohiko before leaving.

Chiba joined Morino Ibuse, Shiga Takeyoshi, and Aburame Shitori for a covert mission to protect Nara Shikaku's team and their deadly-poison antidote. After worrying that Morino Ibuse had failed to explain their plan, Chiba learned his teammates already knew the routine and realized he had overthought the situation.

• Chiba met Aburame Shitori, Morino Ibuse's student and an expert in using insects for tracking, reconnaissance, and combat.
• Morino Ibuse explained that their mission was to secretly protect Nara Shikaku's team as they carried an antidote for a deadly poison and its preparation formula.
• The team set out, and Chiba suspected Aburame Shitori's insects were tracking Nara Shikaku's group while they followed covertly.
• Chiba asked Shiga Takeyoshi whether something had happened to Morino Ibuse, since he had not explained the team's coordination plan.
• Shiga Takeyoshi told Chiba that Morino Ibuse's students were accustomed to coordinating without detailed explanations, and Chiba apologized for overthinking it.

Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Akimichi Choza were ambushed while carrying an antidote toward the Konoha front lines, as Kakashi’s protection team was caught in an explosion. Shikaku stopped their attacker with his Shadow Imitation Jutsu just as she was about to kill Choza and Inoichi.

• Inoichi detected another team behind them, and Shikaku warned Inoichi and Choza to stay alert as they approached the village border.
• Shikaku, Inoichi, and Choza emerged onto the grassland and faced a lone middle-aged woman in black, who attacked with explosive kunai.
• Kakashi learned that the Ino-Shika-Cho unit had been intercepted, then spotted an ambush and shouted for his team to stop before explosive kunai detonated beside them.
• Choza used the Expansion Jutsu to shield Shikaku and Inoichi from the woman’s first explosive attack.
• The woman attacked Choza and Inoichi from behind, but Shikaku caught her with the Shadow Imitation Jutsu before her kunai could kill them.

Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Choza, and Yamanaka Inoichi fought a disguised puppet and its controller, but poison and the puppet’s attacks left them at a severe disadvantage. The three regrouped as Shikaku realized their enemy was far stronger than they were.

• Nara Shikaku restrained a disguised middle-aged woman with his Shadow Binding Technique, while Akimichi Choza and Yamanaka Inoichi discovered they had been weakened by poison.
• The woman’s disguise broke apart, revealing a puppet, and an identical attacker nearly struck Nara Shikaku from behind.
• Yamanaka Inoichi used the Mind Body Switch Technique to disrupt the attacker, but the puppet revived and forced Nara Shikaku to dodge, letting the woman escape his shadow.
• Akimichi Choza smashed the puppet with a punch, then staggered from the poison, while Yamanaka Inoichi struggled to stand.
• Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Choza, and Yamanaka Inoichi regrouped and guarded one another as Shikaku judged their situation dire.

Chiyo fought Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Choza, and Yamanaka Inoichi while the poison weakened the Konoha team and Kakashi remained unable to help. The trio coordinated a trap with their techniques, and Chiyo realized too late that she had been maneuvered into the path of Choza’s Human Bullet Tank.

• Chiyo assessed the three Konoha shinobi and questioned whether their escort mission was a trap, while Nara Shikaku analyzed her skill and noticed the poison worsening in Choza and Inoichi.
• Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Choza, and Yamanaka Inoichi silently coordinated their plan, then attacked Chiyo with shuriken, Shadow Secret Ninjutsu, and the Human Bullet Tank.
• Chiyo dodged the attacks and avoided Inoichi’s Mind Body Switch Technique, pushing Shikaku’s shadow to its distance limit.
• Shikaku’s shadow secretly connected to the Human Bullet Tank’s shadow and redirected Choza’s spinning body toward Chiyo.
• Chiyo recognized the Ino-Shika-Cho tactic as Choza’s Human Bullet Tank bore down on her.

Nara Shikaku’s team tried to kill Chiyo with a coordinated attack, but poison and Chiyo’s hidden puppets turned the fight against them. As Chiyo immobilized Shikaku and her puppets brought down their blades, he realized the team had lost.

• Nara Shikaku spotted exploding kunai and pulled Yamanaka Inoichi away as Akimichi Choza’s attack crushed a puppet instead of Chiyo.
• Nara Shikaku realized the poison was weakening Inoichi and Choza, while Chiyo had escaped by switching places with a prepared puppet.
• Chiyo’s buried puppets burst from the ground and attacked Nara Shikaku and Yamanaka Inoichi, who fainted as the blades descended.
• Nara Shikaku tried to rescue Inoichi but discovered that Chiyo had immobilized his limbs with her control technique.

Taki Chiba arrived just as Chiyo was about to kill Nara Shikaku and Yamanaka Inoichi, destroying her puppets and freeing Shikaku. Shikaku went to treat Inoichi and Akimichi Choza while Chiba faced Chiyo and prepared to hold her off.

• Chiyo bound Nara Shikaku and prepared to strike down him and Yamanaka Inoichi while Akimichi Choza lay paralyzed.
• Taki Chiba leaped in, stopped Chiyo's blade, and smashed the heads of two puppets before they could kill Shikaku and Inoichi.
• Chiba cut Chiyo's Chakra threads restraining Shikaku and revealed that the Third Hokage had secretly assigned him to protect the group.
• Chiba told Shikaku that Mori no and Shiga had gone to help Kakashi, who was surrounded by five Sunagakure Ninja.
• Shikaku carried the antidote to treat Inoichi and Choza while Chiba guarded against Chiyo and her remaining puppets.

Chiba fought Chiyo, who used his attempt to exploit her distraction to lure him into a trap. He narrowly evaded her puppet blades and counterattacked, but the chapter ended with him dodging another attempt to skewer him.

• Chiyo feigned distraction over the antidote and sent two headless puppets lunging at Chiba as he prepared to attack.
• Chiba escaped the puppets' blades by leaping, then threw shuriken at Chiyo while forming hand seals.
• Chiyo sent four blades from the puppets' legs toward Chiba in midair, but a Shadow Clone pulled him clear and hurled him at her.
• Chiyo dodged Chiba's punch, which cratered the ground, while the four blades chased him.
• Chiba dodged the blades at the last moment and slid across the ground.

Chiba used Shadow Clones, Earth Release, and the Fourth Gate of Pain to overwhelm Chiyo with a rapid series of attacks. The chapter ended with him locking onto her in midair and driving them toward the ground with the Pseudo Front Lotus.

• Chiba used a Shadow Clone to kick Chiyo from behind, then trapped them both inside four earthen walls with Rock Pillar Prison.
• A second Shadow Clone severed Chiyo's Chakra threads to her puppet legs while the real Chiba opened the Fourth Gate of Pain.
• Chiyo blocked Chiba's uppercut, but a Shadow Clone used his hand as a foothold and struck her chin, launching her into the air.
• Chiba struck Chiyo repeatedly from the walls, sending her higher while she struggled to track his movements.
• Chiba appeared behind Chiyo, locked his arms around her, and spun them headfirst toward the ground with the Pseudo Front Lotus.

Taki Chiba used his invented False Front Lotus to smash Chiyo into a crater, but she survived by using a substitute and launched a surprise attack on Nara Shikaku. The chapter ended with Chiba warning Shikaku as Chiyo's kunai lunged toward his heart.

• Nara Shikaku watched Chiba use the Eight Gates and a Rock Pillar Prison to perform the False Front Lotus on Chiyo.
• Chiba emerged from the dust unharmed and believed his new technique had succeeded with less strain than the original Front Lotus.
• The dust cleared to reveal Chiyo apparently dead in the crater, her neck bent at a severe angle.
• A crack appeared across Chiyo's face, revealing that she had used a substitute, and she attacked Shikaku from behind with a kunai.
• Chiba shouted a warning as Shikaku turned pale and Chiyo's kunai struck toward his heart.

Chiba intervened as Chiyo overwhelmed Nara Shikaku and poisoned him, leaving the Ino-Shika-Cho trio injured and incapacitated. Chiyo decided to use a dangerous scroll to secure her mission, and Chiba recognized that it could kill everyone nearby.

• Nara Shikaku took Chiyo's kunai attack while Chiba rushed in and was kicked into a tree.
• Chiyo struck Nara Shikaku and sent him flying, but Chiba's kunai deflected her weapon and an Exploding Tag forced her to retreat.
• Chiba caught Nara Shikaku and warned him that Chiyo had poisoned him as Akimichi Choza and Yamanaka Inoichi fell beside them.
• Chiba and Chiyo assessed each other's threat as Chiyo concluded she needed to eliminate them and delay Konoha's antidote delivery.
• Chiyo drew a purple scroll, and Chiba realized that using it could kill him, Ino-Shika-Cho, Kakashi, and the others in the forest.

Chiba tried to stop Chiyo from opening the scroll containing the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu while his allies remained poisoned and incapacitated. He launched a close-range attack to seize the scroll, and the chapter ended as he brought his heel down toward Chiyo’s head.

• Chiba recalled the power of the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu and realized he could not let Chiyo summon them.
• Chiyo surveyed the battlefield and recognized that Konoha’s young shinobi had destroyed all five of her substitute puppets.
• Chiba attacked while Chiyo was distracted, but she blocked his strikes and noticed his poisoned Kunai.
• Chiba tried to grab the purple scroll, but Chiyo transferred it to her other hand and kicked at his chest.
• Chiba evaded Chiyo’s kick and brought his right heel down toward the top of her head.

Chiba fought Chiyo to keep her from opening the scroll of the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu, but their exchange ended with the scroll unfurling and Chiyo summoning the puppets. Chiyo faced Chiba with all ten White Robe Puppets at her side.

• Chiba and Chiyo exchanged a rapid series of attacks as Chiba tried to keep the scroll out of her hands.
• Chiba threw two Kunai to force Chiyo away from the scroll, and Chiyo dodged them, suffering a small cut on her cheek.
• The scroll fell and unfurled on the ground, allowing Chiyo to form a release hand seal.
• White mist concealed Chiyo as the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu emerged from the scroll.
• Chiyo stood with the ten White Robe Puppets and told Chiba that it was over.

Chiba faced Chiyo and the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu while Chiyo prepared to attack him and the unconscious Konoha shinobi. Elsewhere, Kakashi and his injured allies were surrounded by Sunagakure reinforcements, and Kakashi refused to abandon the mission as the enemy attacked.

• Chiyo positioned a puppet to threaten Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Choza, and Yamanaka Inoichi while preparing the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu to fight Chiba.
• Kakashi killed a Sunagakure ninja and regrouped with the wounded Morino Ibuse and Shiga Takeyoshi as five more enemies surrounded them.
• Kakashi learned that his original three teammates had died and that Shiga Takeyoshi was badly wounded.
• Morino Ibuse urged Kakashi to abandon the mission and take Shiga Takeyoshi back for treatment, but Kakashi insisted they defeat the Sunagakure ninja and catch up with Chiba.
• Kakashi declared he would not abandon the mission, and the five Sunagakure ninja charged at them.

Chiba stopped fighting after secretly arranging for an Aburame clan ninja to send the antidote away through a tunnel. Chiyo realized too late that his battle had been a distraction and that the scroll had likely left with the Konoha ninja.

• Chiba dropped his kunai, sat down, and told Chiyo he was done fighting.
• Chiyo suspected a trap but ordered her puppets to attack Chiba and maintain pressure on Nara Shikaku.
• Chiba told Chiyo the antidote had already been sent away, then evaded the puppets’ attack with the Body Flicker Technique.
• Chiba directed Chiyo’s attention to Nara Shikaku, whose condition had improved as a black insect crawled into a hole beneath him.
• Chiyo recognized the Aburame clan’s involvement and realized an Aburame ninja had sent the antidote scroll through the tunnel while Chiba kept her occupied.

Chiyo captured Chiba and prepared to kill him and Nara Shikaku, believing Chiba had exposed the antidote’s escape to save his companions. Chiba’s shout revealed that the apparent surrender had been a setup, and Nara Shikaku’s Shadow Binding Technique caught Chiyo just before she could strike.

• Chiyo used four White Robe Puppets to restrain Chiba after realizing the antidote had been carried away.
• Chiyo deduced that Chiba had revealed the antidote’s escape to distract her and protect Nara Shikaku and the others.
• Chiyo prepared to kill Chiba and Nara Shikaku, but Chiba shouted, "Now!"
• Nara Shikaku rose and used the Shadow Binding Technique to immobilize Chiyo as black insects and shadows revealed the trap.

Chiba’s deception let Nara Shikaku catch Chiyo with Shadow Secret Ninjutsu, while Aburame Shitori secretly helped execute the plan. Chiba escaped the puppet’s restraints, and Shikaku prepared to finish Chiyo with Shadow Strangulation Jutsu.

• Chiyo realized Chiba had used himself as bait to create an opening for Nara Shikaku’s ambush.
• Chiba’s Plan A to seize the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu’s scroll had failed, so he relied on Plan B and Shikaku’s feigned unconsciousness.
• Aburame Shitori revealed through his thoughts that he had stayed hidden and extended a tunnel behind Chiyo after receiving Chiba’s coded instruction.
• Chiba freed himself from the White Robe Puppet and looked toward Shikaku.
• Nara Shikaku tightened his shadow around Chiyo’s body and throat with Shadow Strangulation Jutsu.

Nara Shikaku restrained Chiyo while realizing Taki Chiba had used the team as bait to expose Sunagakure spies and test whether Tsunade was in Konoha. As Shikaku’s shadow technique failed, Chiba lunged at Chiyo, but her White Robe Puppets moved at the last instant.

• Nara Shikaku bound Chiyo with the Shadow Strangulation Jutsu and inferred that Taki Chiba had set a trap to expose infiltrators and learn whether Tsunade was in the village.
• Nara Shikaku reasoned that Chiyo’s poison on Uchiha Hirohiko had been intended to test whether Konoha could cure it.
• Chiyo sensed the shadow binding weakening and prepared to use her puppets to kill Nara Shikaku and Taki Chiba.
• Taki Chiba charged Chiyo with a kunai as Nara Shikaku lost his grip on the technique and collapsed.
• Taki Chiba’s kunai neared Chiyo’s heart, but the two White Robe Puppets moved and a dull impact sounded.

Chiba’s attempt to kill Chiyo was stopped by an Aburame ninja’s insect swarm, and Chiyo’s puppets then malfunctioned during her counterattack. Chiyo escaped Chiba’s renewed strike and turned her attention to finding the hidden Aburame ninja.

• Chiba’s Kunai stopped short of Chiyo as an insect swarm blocked her White Robe Puppets from impaling him.
• Chiba wondered whether Chiyo’s survival was caused by historical inevitability or by his own hesitation.
• Chiyo exploited Chiba’s distraction and sent the Female Puppet to attack his back, but its blades jammed before they reached him.
• Chiyo’s Three Treasures Puppets and other puppets also malfunctioned, preventing her from using their attacks.
• Chiba recovered his focus and thrust his Kunai toward Chiyo, but she dodged and resolved to find the hidden Aburame ninja.