Chapter Summaries

Chiba trapped Munashi Jinpachi in a Water Prison and prepared to kill him with water arrows, but an unseen attacker struck Chiba and forced him to release the jutsu. Munashi Jinpachi escaped and swung Exploding Blade Shibuki at Chiba as the chapter ended.

• Chiba identified the trapped swordsman as Munashi Jinpachi and assessed the superficial injuries he had suffered from Exploding Blade Shibuki's blast.
• Chiba recalled Yahiko's Water Clone Technique and used it to create a feint before trapping Munashi Jinpachi in a Water Prison.
• Chiba combined the Water Prison with Water Arrow Technique, aiming the arrows at Munashi Jinpachi's vital spots.
• An unseen attacker launched a long needle-like blade at Chiba, cutting his nose and making him lose contact with the Water Prison.
• Munashi Jinpachi escaped the broken Water Prison and swung Exploding Blade Shibuki at Chiba.

Chiba defeated Munashi Jinpachi’s attack, wounded him, and took Shibuki, but Kurisama Kushimaru emerged from hiding. Chiba faced the two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist while worrying that more might be nearby and that his Gate of Pain Mode would not last indefinitely.

• Munashi Jinpachi expected his exploding attack to kill Chiba, but Chiba’s Spiral Arrows pierced Jinpachi instead.
• Chiba seized Shibuki and knocked away the Nuibari-like blade as Kurisama Kushimaru revealed himself from behind a tree.
• Kurisama Kushimaru taunted the wounded Munashi Jinpachi, and the two agreed to deal with Chiba first.
• Kurisama Kushimaru recognized Chiba’s uncanny ability to anticipate their actions and struggled to suppress his urge to kill him.
• Chiba judged the two swordsmen dangerous and feared that other members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist might be nearby.

Chiba fought Kurisama Kushimaru and Munashi Jinpachi, using a decoy and a surprise strike to wound Kurisama. As Kurisama counterattacked, Chiba triggered an explosive tag, leaving the fight engulfed in fire and smoke.

• Chiba considered how to draw the other enemy ninja to him while Munashi Jinpachi lay badly wounded and Kurisama Kushimaru prepared to attack.
• Kurisama Kushimaru used his killing intent to make Chiba stiffen, then vanished into the shadows and thrust Nuibari toward Chiba's eye.
• Chiba substituted an Earth Clone for himself and attacked Kurisama from behind with a kunai.
• Kurisama seized Chiba's hand and countered by stabbing toward his left chest.
• Chiba triggered an explosive tag, setting off a huge fireball and a blast of wind that engulfed the fighters.

Chiba detonated Shibuki at point-blank range to escape Kurisama Kushimaru’s fatal thrust, badly injuring himself and both Mist swordsmen. He began healing while Kushimaru was left unable to fight, and Chiba started to grasp how Shibuki’s explosions worked.

• Chiba triggered Shibuki’s Compound Exploding Tags at close range, blasting himself and Kurisama Kushimaru apart.
• Munashi Jinpachi watched Chiba emerge from the smoke and realized how dangerous the boy’s skill and willingness to risk his life made him.
• Chiba used Medical Ninjutsu to treat his wounds and recalled how Chakra had flowed from his hand into Shibuki’s tags.
• Chiba reasoned that Shibuki’s blast was normally non-directional and began to sense how its explosion might be controlled.
• Kurisama Kushimaru emerged badly burned, with his left hand and leg useless, and raged inwardly at being defeated by Chiba.

Chiba left the injured Kurisama Kushimaru and Munashi Jinpachi alive and headed for the Aburame unit to avoid leading enemies to Kanno. As he left the forest, a Kirigakure swordsman attacked with Hiramekarei and sent him flying toward another attacker wielding Kubikiribōchō.

• Chiba judged Kurisama Kushimaru and Munashi Jinpachi too dangerous to finish off and rushed away to find the Aburame unit.
• Kurisama Kushimaru, badly injured, watched Chiba leave and reached for the steel wire around his ankle.
• Chiba chose to avoid the central unit so he would not lead the enemy to Kanno and searched for traces of the Aburame unit.
• A triangular-haired swordsman attacked Chiba with an enlarged Hiramekarei and knocked him backward through the air.
• Chiba saw a second swordsman waiting in his path with Kubikiribōchō and realized he was flying into its sweep.

Chiba used Shibuki’s controlled explosion to knock Biwa Jūzō’s Kubikiribōchō away, then discovered that all Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had gathered against him. He fled into the forest as the swordsmen pursued and formed an encirclement.

• Biwa Jūzō swept Kubikiribōchō at Chiba, who blocked the strike with Shibuki but was struck in the waist and abdomen.
• Chiba guided Shibuki’s explosion to blast Kubikiribōchō from Biwa Jūzō’s hand.
• Chiba’s Rock Skin cracked from the point-blank blast, and he spotted three more swordsmen arriving alongside Biwa Jūzō and Hiramekarei’s wielder.
• Chiba recognized that all Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were present and ran into the forest with Shibuki.
• Biwa Jūzō, Hiramekarei’s wielder, and the three approaching swordsmen chased Chiba and spread out to encircle him.

Chiba was cornered by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, but used Rock Hardening Technique and a deliberate opening to set off Shibuki at point-blank range. The explosion engulfed Chiba, Suikazan Fuguki, Biwa Jūzō, and the other swordsmen, leaving their fate unknown.

• Chiba realized the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were hunting him while Kanno's group faced the other Kirigakure shinobi.
• An Exploding Tag detonated beneath Chiba, knocking him from a branch as Suikazan Fuguki and Biwa Jūzō rushed to attack.
• Chiba blocked Biwa Jūzō's Kubikiribōchō with Shibuki while the other swordsmen closed in with their weapons.
• Chiba covered himself in Rock Hardening Technique, then used the weakened pressure on his sword to trigger Compound Exploding Tags on Shibuki.
• Biwa Jūzō recognized Chiba's trap and shouted for the others to retreat, but Shibuki exploded and engulfed them all.

Chiba escaped the Seven Ninja Swordsmen by using explosions, smoke, and a Shadow Clone to mislead them, but as he tried to reach the central force, a sword pierced his chest. His fate was left uncertain.

• Chiba's explosions and Smoke Bombs hid his escape, and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen followed the traces left by his Shadow Clone.
• Chiba revealed that he had hidden beneath a fallen sapling while his Shadow Clone fled toward the wilderness.
• Chiba realized his plan had failed and set out to reach the central force, where Kanno and the others remained in danger.
• A sword tip suddenly protruded from Chiba's chest.

Kurisama Kushimaru ambushed Chiba and stabbed him in the chest, while Chiba’s Shadow Clone lured Suikazan Fuguki and the other Ninja Swordsmen across the plains. The clone stopped and detonated Exploding Blade Shibuki, engulfing himself and the five pursuers in an explosion.

• Kurisama Kushimaru emerged from hiding and stabbed Chiba from behind, then collapsed unconscious after Chiba fell.
• Chiba’s Shadow Clone fled across the plains with the five Ninja Swordsmen in pursuit.
• Suikazan Fuguki suspected the trail might be a deliberate lure but dismissed the concern and ordered the others to speed up.
• As the pursuers closed in, Chiba’s Shadow Clone stopped, turned, and swung Exploding Blade Shibuki at them.
• The Compound Exploding Tags detonated, engulfing Chiba’s Shadow Clone and all five Ninja Swordsmen in a fireball.

Chiba awoke unharmed in a strange, mirror-floored passage and discovered a sealed space inside his body rather than the afterlife. He heard a faint conversation beyond its enormous sealed door.

• Chiba woke on a mirror-like floor with his wounds healed and his clothes restored.
• Chiba walked through a pipe-lined passage, wondering whether he was dead and whether the place was his Yellow Springs Road.
• Chiba encountered a gigantic metal door marked with a sealing formula and realized he was inside a sealed space within his body.
• Chiba pressed his ear against the door and heard faint voices speaking on the other side.

Chiba woke from a vision of himself vowing to destroy the world and realized he had survived his battle, but the Shadow Clone had failed to seriously injure the remaining Five Ninja Swordsmen. At the Hyuga estate, Yukina defeated Hyuga Shinsuke in their spar, leaving him disgruntled and the dojo wrecked.

• Chiba heard a vision of his own voice promising to destroy the world if certain things disappeared, then awakened on bloodstained ground.
• Chiba realized he had survived the sword wound and received the Shadow Clone’s memories, which showed it had failed to seriously injure the remaining Five Ninja Swordsmen.
• Chiba used Medical Chakra to treat his chest wound and hurried toward the central unit to check on Kanno and the others.
• Yukina evaded Hyuga Shinsuke’s punch and struck him, winning their sparring match.
• Yumiko arrived, saw the damaged dojo, and handed towels to Hyuga Shinsuke and Yukina.
• Yukina asked whether she had won, and Hyuga Shinsuke darkened at having lost to her.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist found Kurisama Kushimaru wounded and realized Chiba had escaped, so Suikazan Fuguki and Biwa Jūzō pursued him while the others carried the injured back. Chiba healed his chest wound and hurried toward Kanno, haunted by visions of Kanno and the others dying.

• Suikazan Fuguki and the others discovered Kurisama Kushimaru, Nuibari, and a blood trail leading away, and concluded that Chiba had escaped.
• Biwa Jūzō suggested Chiba might be badly wounded and following the trail, while Suikazan Fuguki ordered Jūzō and himself to search separately and sent the others to return the injured.
• A white-haired young man secretly watched the Seven Ninja Swordsmen disperse, then followed Biwa Jūzō without being detected.
• Chiba healed his chest wound and feared Kanno and the other two would die before he could reach them.

Chiba rushed toward Kanno and the others, trying to plan for every possible outcome after realizing his original strategy had failed. He reached them ten minutes later and found them alive, setting his next goal as helping them break through.

• Chiba realized Kirigakure’s Seven Ninja Swordsmen had ruined his plan and feared Kanno’s group was in danger.
• Chiba calmed himself and devised possible responses for the confrontation he expected to reach in ten minutes.
• Biwa Jūzō followed Chiba’s trail, then suspected it was a trap and changed direction; the white-haired young man followed him.
• Chiba reached the forest’s edge and found Kanno Satoru, Aso Sasuke, and Kusunoki Masaru injured but alive and uncaptured.
• Chiba felt relieved and decided to help Kanno’s group break through.

Kanno Satoru, Aso Sasuke, and Kusunoki Masaru were surrounded and near defeat, and Kanno resolved that they would die honorably as Konoha ninja. As they prepared to make one last attack, the enemy leader signaled his men to kill them and move on to support the ongoing battle.

• Kanno Satoru and his wounded comrades realized they could not escape the enemy ninja surrounding them.
• Kanno thought of Chiba and remembered how Chiba had treated the three of them as friends and helped them succeed in the Chunin Exams.
• Kanno told Aso Sasuke and Kusunoki Masaru that they should die honorably rather than return to the village in defeat.
• Aso Sasuke and Kusunoki Masaru agreed to make one final attack and stepped forward with their Kunai.
• The burly enemy leader silently signaled his men to kill the three Konoha ninja and go provide support.

Chiba approached Kanno Satoru, Aso Sasuke, and Kusunoki Masaru as they prepared to fight the ninjas surrounding them, calculating how to break through the encirclement. Before he could emerge, the enemy commander ordered an attack, but the three Konoha ninjas were already fatally stabbed from behind by a hidden figure who had slipped through a gap in their formation.

• Chiba used Gate of Pain Mode to assess the enemy encirclement and calculated that at least four ninjas would attack him if he rushed out.
• Chiba prepared to disrupt the enemy formation with his remaining kunai and a technique, then escape while killing as many enemies as possible.
• The enemy commander ordered his ninjas to kill Kanno Satoru, Aso Sasuke, and Kusunoki Masaru, while the surrounding fighters recalled how the trio had held out for half an hour and killed a powerful comrade.
• Kanno Satoru, Aso Sasuke, and Kusunoki Masaru were stabbed through the chest by a figure who had crept behind them unnoticed.
• The hidden figure realized that the trio’s step forward had opened a gap in their back-to-back formation wide enough for him to pass through.

Chiba arrived as Kanno Satoru, Aso Sasuke, and Kusunoki Masaru were overwhelmed by enemy ninja, but Kanno had already been fatally wounded. Despite Chiba's promise to save them, Kanno died in his arms after reflecting on his life and regretting that he had chosen to become a ninja.

• Kanno Satoru realized that he, Aso Sasuke, and Kusunoki Masaru had been attacked and began losing consciousness as enemy ninja shouted that Konoha reinforcements had arrived.
• Chiba burst through the enemy, killed an invisible ninja who had struck Kanno, and raised earthen walls around himself and the wounded.
• Chiba caught Kanno and tried to treat his wounds, but Kanno told him that his heart had been pierced and said goodbye.
• Kanno remembered his family and friends, concluded that he was not suited to life as a ninja, and died with a tear falling into the blood-soaked earth.

Chiba watched Kanno Satoru, Aso Sasuke, and Kusunoki Masaru die from their wounds, and their deaths left him grieving and guilty. He stood with a blade and vowed to bring them back as enemy ninja prepared to attack him.

• Chiba shook Kanno Satoru, but Kanno died in his arms as memories of their friendship came back to him.
• Chiba realized Aso Sasuke and Kusunoki Masaru were also mortally wounded, and both urged him to survive and stay focused.
• Kusunoki Masaru died, and Chiba laid Kanno down before taking up a blade and promising to bring them back.
• Chiba faced the enemy ninja forming hand seals atop the earthen wall, while their burly leader ordered them to kill him.

Watanabe Kenshin’s force defeated an Iwa and Kumogakure ambush but lost ten of its twenty-one ninja, and he ordered the survivors to support the other teams. After diverting to investigate the bait team’s position, Watanabe reached a clearing and was struck with horror by what he saw.

• Watanabe Kenshin learned that ten members of his team had died, though their secret-technique and sensory ninja had survived.
• Watanabe declared the Bait Operation a failure and ordered his force to support the other teams, prioritizing the elite forces.
• Watanabe weighed supporting the second group over rescuing Kanno and the other bait ninja, whom he considered expendable.
• A sensory ninja reported something strange at the bait team’s position, and a scout urged Watanabe to go investigate.
• Watanabe split his force, sending nine ninja to support the second group while he and the scout headed toward the bait’s position.
• Watanabe entered a clearing and stopped in horror at what he saw.

Chiba defeated a force of more than a dozen enemy ninjas but collapsed from his grievous injuries and exhaustion. Desperate to find Kanno, Aso, and Kusunoki and bring their bodies home, he struggled helplessly on the ground as Watanabe Kenshin watched.

• Chiba stood amid the corpses of the enemy ninjas he had killed, while Watanabe Kenshin realized Chiba's strength might approach S-rank.
• Chiba's injuries opened, and he collapsed as his strength and Chakra gave out.
• Chiba searched desperately for Kanno, Aso, and Kusunoki, determined to bring their bodies back to the village.
• Chiba tried to push himself up but could not feel or control his numb, battered hands and remained helpless on the ground.

Hokoma reported that the Bait Operation had collapsed, leaving Konoha with heavy losses despite eliminating the ambushing enemies. Chiba was critically injured and the three children he had tried to rescue died, while the Third Hokage ordered the village to strengthen security and provide Chiba with every available medical resource.

• Hokoma told the Third Hokage that the Bait Operation had been ambushed by Kumogakure and Iwa forces and that Konoha had lost thirty of its forty-four participants.
• Hokoma reported that Watanabe Kenshin had returned safely and that the enemy forces had suffered even heavier losses, though the operation left Konoha unable to launch another offensive.
• The Third Hokage learned that Chiba had been severely injured after fighting to rescue Kanno Satoru, Aso Sasuke, and Kusunoki Masaru, and that Watanabe Hiroshi was resuscitating him at Konoha Hospital.
• The Third Hokage ordered Hokoma to authorize every medical resource for Chiba and strengthen village security, with elite forces resuming patrols the following day.
• Hokoma told the Third Hokage that Kanno Satoru, Aso Sasuke, and Kusunoki Masaru had all died, and the Third Hokage felt responsible for their deaths.