Chapter Summaries

Chiba, Hirohiko, and Yukina discovered they were surrounded by more than a hundred Iwa ninja while Chiaki remained missing. The chapter ended with Chiba looking toward the Black Flames as the enemy force held position.

• Yukina sensed that the group was surrounded, and Chiba asked whether Chiaki was with the enemies.
• Yukina reported that Chiaki had no trace within a kilometer, leaving Chiba and Hirohiko uncertain about how she had escaped.
• Chiba asked how many enemies were nearby, and Yukina estimated there were at least a hundred.
• Yukina confirmed that the surrounding force consisted of Iwa ninja and said they were holding position.
• Chiba opened his eyes and turned his gaze toward the Black Flames.

Chiba judged that Amaterasu could not defeat the hundred Iwa shinobi and decided Hirohiko and Yukina should not fight because their conditions were uncertain. He sealed the Black Flames into a scroll and prepared to persuade his companions to let him act alone.

• Chiba asked Hirohiko about the effects of his injured left eye and learned that it left a blind spot but had not greatly reduced his combat ability.
• Chiba asked Hirohiko and Yukina about their health, then concluded that neither should join the battle because their physical conditions were uncertain.
• Chiba handed Yukina the Defense Map and began drawing a sealing formula on a blank scroll.
• Chiba used the modified Sealing Fire Jutsu to draw the scattered Black Flames into the formula and seal them in the scroll.
• Chiba put away the sealed flames and prepared to convince Hirohiko and Yukina of his plan.

Iwashi Shige weighed whether to attack Taki Chiba and his two companions, who were surrounded by an Iwagakure force but had shown no sign of reacting. With Iwa weakened by heavy losses and unable to spare reinforcements, he hesitated to risk his hundred-man unit as it guarded the only route toward Konoha.

• Iwashi Shige took command of 117 Iwagakure ninja assembled around the ruins where Taki Chiba and his companions were hiding.
• A young sensory ninja reported three Chakra signatures inside the house, including two at Elite Jonin level, and said they were standing still by the doorway.
• Iwashi Shige suspected the targets knew they were surrounded and worried about the mysterious Black Flames that had erupted earlier.
• Iwashi Shige recalled Iwa's severe losses and the battle report that Kitsuchi-sama had sent from the front, leaving no reinforcements available.
• Iwashi Shige recognized that the targets could escape into Konoha's territory if they broke through his force, but he still refrained from ordering an attack.

Chiba proposed a traditional bait-and-attack plan to confront the approaching Iwa shinobi, but Hirohiko and Yukina feared he would face the danger alone. He revealed he would serve as both bait and main attacker by using an imperfect jutsu, with one teammate supporting him.

• Hirohiko and Yukina rejected Chiba's presumed plan to face the enemies alone and insisted they confront the danger together.
• Chiba explained that he wanted them to use traditional tactics, with one person as bait, one providing support, and one attacking.
• Yukina and Hirohiko questioned why Chiba would be the bait, but he argued the enemies would suspect a trap if Yukina or Hirohiko stayed behind.
• Chiba said he would pose as the rear guard while the others retreated with the Defense Map and Yukina, then revealed he would also be the main attacker.
• After Hirohiko warned they could not defeat more than a hundred enemies at once, Chiba said he would use an imperfect jutsu and needed a teammate to support him.

Iwashi Shige held his Iwa shinobi back as they surrounded a house containing Taki Chiba and two other Konoha shinobi, wary of underestimating Taki’s ability to turn desperate situations around. When a sensory shinobi detected a sudden change in chakra and someone stepped out of the house, Iwashi ordered the ambush to prepare for battle.

• Anxious Iwa shinobi questioned why Iwama had not ordered an attack, but experienced soldiers urged them to stay calm and remember Taki Chiba’s past feats.
• Iwashi Shige recalled Kitsuchi’s warning to make sure Taki could neither struggle nor evade before killing him.
• Iwashi asked a young sensory shinobi whether anything had changed inside the house, and the shinobi initially reported that the occupants remained there.
• The young sensory shinobi sensed a change in chakra volume and remarked on the strange, immense chakra.
• When one foot stepped out of the house, Iwashi instinctively ordered the Iwa shinobi to prepare for battle.

Taki Chiba walked alone into the open ground surrounded by Iwagakure ninja and began forming hand seals, while Iwashi Shige tried to determine his intentions. Hirohiko and Yukina stayed inside the house, and Chiba prepared to risk a technique that would likely leave him unable to fight.

• Iwashi Shige learned that only Chiba, Hirohiko, and Yukina remained, with the other two staying motionless inside the house.
• Hirohiko prepared to make a Shadow Clone, but Yukina stopped him and told him to save his Chakra.
• Chiba stepped into the center of the encirclement, while Iwashi Shige grew increasingly suspicious of his behavior.
• Chiba slowly began forming hand seals in full view of the Iwagakure ninja, and Iwashi Shige hesitated to order an attack.
• Chiba recognized that the technique might leave him unable to fight and feared that the Iwagakure ninja’s patience would undermine his gamble.

Chiba used a feigned ninjutsu to keep Iwashi Shige’s forces in place while Yukina and Hirohiko escaped through a tunnel. Iwashi realized too late that Chiba’s real attack was rising from beneath the Iwa shinobi, and Rock Spikes began impaling them.

• Chiba finished his hand seals and pressed his hands to the ground as Yukina told Hirohiko to move.
• Iwashi Shige ordered the Iwa shinobi to hold position, believing Chiba’s apparent ninjutsu was a distraction for the two escaping shinobi.
• A sensory ninja reported that Yukina and Hirohiko had entered a tunnel beneath the house, but Iwashi still refused to attack.
• Cracks spread through the ground beneath the Iwa shinobi as Iwashi recognized that Chiba had wanted them to stay put.
• Rock Spikes erupted beneath the Iwa shinobi, killing several as Iwashi realized he had fallen for Chiba’s plan.

Chiba used weakening rock spikes to make the Iwagakure forces believe he was exhausted and lure them into the rubble field’s true danger zone. As Iwashi Shige realized the trap and tried to stop them, the charging Iwa were caught in Chiba’s Earth Release: Thousand Needle Hell.

• Iwashi Shige was stunned by the rock spikes impaling his comrades, while a sensory ninja reported that the captain was in trouble.
• Chiba struggled to maintain the rock spikes as the Iwa noticed their attacks had weakened and concluded that he was bluffing.
• The Iwa charged across the rubble field to attack Chiba and reach the Hyuga Main Family and Uchiha targets.
• Iwashi Shige recognized that the clearing held the ninjutsu’s greatest power and shouted for everyone to stop, but the sensory ninja had already charged ahead.
• Chiba unleashed his overload version of Earth Release: Thousand Needle Hell, and a tremendous roar shook the rubble field.

Iwashi Shige’s hesitation ended in the destruction of the Iwa pursuit force when Taki Chiba unleashed a vast lotus of Rock Spikes. Hirohiko and Yukina emerged from the ruins to find Chiba alive, and he told them it was safe to return.

• Iwashi Shige regretted his indecision as he watched more than a hundred Iwa ninja die on Taki Chiba’s Rock Spikes.
• Iwashi Shige apologized to his comrades and died impaled, leaving the Iwa pursuit force completely wiped out.
• Hirohiko and Yukina came out of the ruined house and froze at the sight of the enormous stone flower filling the clearing.
• The Rock Spikes cracked apart and crumbled, dropping the impaled Iwa corpses into the clearing.
• Taki Chiba rose through the rain and dust, smiled at Hirohiko and Yukina, and said it was safe to go back.

Chiba used a devastating Earth Style technique to wipe out the Iwagakure shinobi, but its cost left him unable to move. As a surviving Iwagakure attacker struck at him, Wuyue intervened, while Kento rushed over from another direction.

• Hirohiko and Yukina stared in shock at Chiba’s power and worried over his injuries as he asked them for help.
• Chiba explained that his Earth Style technique had consumed his strength and damaged his hands, leaving him unable to fight again.
• Iwashi Shige survived the attack and leaped at Chiba with a kunai while Hirohiko and Yukina reached for their weapons.
• Wuyue appeared behind Iwashi Shige and stopped him before he could stab Chiba.
• Kento rushed toward Chiba, covered in blood and relieved to find him alive.

Shiga Takeyoshi betrayed Chiba and stabbed him, revealing that he had planned to kill him for years and blaming him for the loss of everything he cared about. He accused Chiba and Captain Mori no of causing his sister Rumi's death, leaving Chiba, Hirohiko, and Yukina shocked as the confrontation continued.

• Shiga Takeyoshi stabbed Chiba and the Iwa shinobi from behind, then held Chiba at swordpoint.
• Shiga Takeyoshi said he had spent three years planning to kill Chiba and claimed he had never considered them companions.
• Shiga Takeyoshi accused Chiba of making him lose everything, while Chiba and his friends struggled to understand his hatred.
• The wounded figure challenged Shiga Takeyoshi over Captain Mori no's death and asked whether his care for them had meant less than Kushina's.
• Shiga Takeyoshi said Captain Mori no had stood by while his sister Rumi died, and accused both Captain Mori no and Chiba of being responsible.

Chiba recognized Shiga Takeyoshi’s connection to the Iwagakure spy Rumi as he and Kinoi Kento were impaled by Shiga’s sword. Kento held the blade in place so Hirohiko and Yukina could attack, leaving Shiga surrounded as Kento said goodbye to his best friend, Wuyue.

• Chiba recognized Rumi as the Iwagakure spy he had captured before and heard Shiga explain that she had been his only family and had protected him.
• Shiga’s sword pierced Chiba and Kinoi Kento, who had thrown himself in front of Chiba to block the strike.
• Hirohiko and Yukina prepared to attack, but Shiga tried to pull his sword free and drive it deeper into Chiba.
• Kinoi Kento clamped both hands around the blade, stopping Shiga from withdrawing it despite his wounds.
• Kinoi Kento declared that he would protect his companions, and Hirohiko and Yukina thrust at Shiga as Kento said goodbye to Wuyue.

Shiga Takeyoshi died after seeing Chiba collapse, and his final memories revealed how his sister Rumi's death had driven him to seek revenge. As his consciousness faded, he felt he had avenged her but regretted what had happened to the foolish teammate he once knew.

• Yukina and Hirohiko stopped their kunai when they realized Shiga Takeyoshi's heart had stopped, while Chiba collapsed nearby.
• Shiga Takeyoshi recalled Rumi caring for him as a child and comforting him despite her injuries.
• He remembered celebrating his academy graduation with Rumi and later pleading with her not to undertake a dangerous mission for Kumogakure.
• After finding Rumi dead, Shiga Takeyoshi grieved over her belongings and vowed to kill Morino Ibuse and Taki Chiba.
• As he died, Shiga Takeyoshi thought he had avenged Rumi and regretted what had happened to the teammate who had been even stupider than him.

Chiba woke in Konoha Hospital and learned that Kento and Wuyue had barely survived their injuries, while the Defense Map had been a blank planted by Iwa. As Chiba recovered, he and Hirohiko were left grieving and wanting time alone.

• Chiba woke in the hospital and urgently asked Hirohiko about Kento.
• Hirohiko told Chiba that Kento and Wuyue had arrived badly injured and barely alive.
• Chiba learned that the Defense Map was genuinely blank, Iwa’s scheme had caused no losses in the village, and the front lines had fallen into chaos.
• Hirohiko told Chiba that Yukina was unharmed but had been called back by the Hyuga Clan.
• Keiko changed Chiba’s bandages, noticed the sadness in both Chiba and Hirohiko, and left without asking further.
• Chiba asked Hirohiko to leave so he could be alone, and Hirohiko agreed to return the next day.

Chiba reflected on Shiga Takeyoshi’s hatred and the betrayal that left him wounded, while Hirohiko struggled with Shiga’s demand that he kill someone he loved to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan. Yukina reunited with her father, Hyuga Shinsuke, who had called her back to tell her something important.

• Chiba reasoned that Shiga Takeyoshi had hated him because his actions led to Rumi’s death, and that Rumi and Shiga were likely siblings and Iwagakure spies.
• Chiba realized Shiga had studied his tactics for years, then recalled Shiga stabbing him and wondered what it felt like to be betrayed.
• Hirohiko considered Shiga’s advice to kill the person he loved most to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, but grew angry as he remembered the cheerful boy Shiga had once been.
• Yukina met her father, Hyuga Shinsuke, in a secret room and noticed how much he had aged during their two years apart.
• Hyuga Shinsuke reassured Yukina that he was glad she had returned and said he had called her back to tell her something.

Minato Namikaze and Hokoma mourned Shinsu at the Heroes' Cemetery, recalling their youth and the dreams they had shared. After they left, a breeze stirred the flowers, and both men turned back as if they had heard Shinsu's farewell.

• Hokoma and Minato Namikaze remembered how Shinsu had fought Minato after their Ninja Academy graduation and how Kushina had beaten them afterward.
• Hokoma and Minato Namikaze recalled how Shinsu had protected them on missions and how their team had disbanded when they took on new roles.
• Hokoma thanked Minato Namikaze for bringing Shinsu's body back, then promised to become his assistant when Minato became Hokage.
• Minato Namikaze remembered that young Hokoma had promised to become his assistant while Shinsu had dreamed of becoming a teacher.
• Minato Namikaze and Kushina left the cemetery, and a breeze stirred the flowers as both Minato and Hokoma turned back, seemingly hearing Shinsu's voice.

The Third Hokage told Minato Namikaze that Konoha needed fresh troops as Kumogakure and Iwa reinforced their forces and appeared to be targeting Konoha. He arranged to promote Kakashi to Jonin after the new year, while keeping Taki Chiba, Uchiha Hirohiko, and Hyuga Yukina out of the reserve troops for other assignments.

• The Third Hokage explained that Konoha needed reinforcements because Kumogakure and Iwa were building up their forces and might join against Konoha.
• Minato Namikaze agreed that the front needed fresh troops and suggested transferring some from the village.
• The Third Hokage said he would form reserve troops from the village’s young future prospects and asked Minato Namikaze for candidates.
• Minato Namikaze recommended Taki Chiba, Uchiha Hirohiko, and Hyuga Yukina, but the Third Hokage said he had other plans for them.
• The Third Hokage asked about Hatake Kakashi, and Minato Namikaze recommended promoting him to Jonin.
• The Third Hokage approved Kakashi’s promotion and ordered Minato Namikaze to arrange it after the new year.

The Third Hokage approved a large round of promotions but deferred them until after the New Year, then arranged for Minato Namikaze to deliver Chiba a scroll. Minato learned that Chiba, Hirohiko, and Yukina were being considered for Anbu leadership and argued that Chiba would be better suited to command the Surprise Attack Division.

• The Third Hokage approved promotions for nearly a hundred young ninja, scheduled to take effect after the New Year, and planned to gradually send them closer to the front lines.
• Minato Namikaze told the Third Hokage that his mission preparations were complete and that his team could depart the next day.
• The Third Hokage gave Minato Namikaze a scroll for Kushina to pass to Chiba, saying that Chiba needed it.
• The Third Hokage told Minato Namikaze that Chiba, Hirohiko, and Yukina were slated to become the commander and deputy commanders of the Anbu Third Division.
• Minato Namikaze argued that Chiba should command the Surprise Attack Division, with Hirohiko and Yukina assisting him, and the Third Hokage agreed to discuss the idea after Minato returned.

The Third Hokage weighed Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Minato as possible successors while his failing health forced him to consider choosing the Fourth Hokage soon. Outside Konoha Hospital, Minato left Kushina to comfort the injured Chiba, and she entered carrying a scroll from the Third Hokage.

• The Third Hokage coughed blood and considered Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Minato as candidates to succeed him, while wishing Tsunade's Hemophobia did not rule her out.
• Minato worried that Chiba's friends' betrayal had deeply wounded him and hesitated to visit him at the hospital.
• Kushina arrived, and Minato handed her a thick scroll that the Third Hokage wanted Chiba to have.
• Minato told Kushina that, as Chiba's teacher, she was the one who could guide him, then left to prepare for an important mission.
• Kushina gathered herself and entered the hospital, determined to be there for Chiba.

Kushina went to comfort Chiba after learning of his pain over a companion’s betrayal, but found him laughing and playing games with his friends in the hospital. She scolded and bonked the whole group, then lectured them while Chiba protested inwardly that he had done nothing wrong.

• Kushina worried about how to comfort Chiba and reminded herself that guiding him through the betrayal was part of her duty as his teacher.
• Kushina opened Chiba’s hospital-room door and found him playing games with Kakashi, Obito, Rin, Might Guy, Ebisu, Genma Shiranui, Asuma, and Kurenai.
• Kushina roared at the group for making a racket in the hospital and struck nine people, including Chiba, on the head.
• Kushina lectured the group about disturbing the patients, and everyone obediently admitted fault while Chiba felt unfairly blamed.