Chapter Summaries

Uchiha Chen and Orochimaru survived a clash involving the Third Kazekage and Shukaku, then returned to the battered Konoha Base. Chen reunited with his squad and casually revealed that he had fought the Third Kazekage and let Shukaku escape.

• The Third Kazekage survived Shukaku's Tailed Beast Bomb behind an Iron Sand shield, while Orochimaru escaped using his Substitution Jutsu.
• Shukaku tricked the Third Kazekage with a sand decoy and fled, while Uchiha Chen's Shadow Clone vanished after his real body escaped.
• Uchiha Chen found the injured Orochimaru at their meeting place, and they agreed the Third Kazekage would prioritize pursuing Shukaku.
• Chen supported Orochimaru back to the damaged Konoha Base, where Tsunade treated Orochimaru's severe injuries.
• Chen found Taki Tōru and the other squad members alive, then told them he had fought the Third Kazekage and let Shukaku get away.

Uchiha Chen recovered while Konoha’s Transport Corps carried its supplies safely to Akihabara, where Tsunade and Sakumo discussed Sunagakure’s movements. The chapter ended with news that Sunagakure had sent Jonin to reopen a supply route from the Daimyo’s Capital, while Sakumo did not know whether the Uchiha Clan had been informed.

• Uchiha Chen let Taki Tōru treat his wounds, then fell asleep as Himeji covered him with a blanket.
• Uchiha Chen awoke two days later in a grain wagon and learned that Tsunade had treated his injuries.
• Tsunade’s Transport Corps reached Akihabara safely and delivered its supplies to Sakumo.
• Orochimaru reported that the Third Kazekage had returned to the Land of Wind, likely following Shukaku’s escape.
• Sakumo proposed monitoring the routes supplying Sunagakure, and Tsunade approved his plan.
• Orochimaru learned that Sunagakure had sent Jonin to reopen the route from the Daimyo’s Capital, and Sakumo said he did not know whether the Uchiha Clan had been informed.

Uchiha Chen led his squad on a low-difficulty battlefield mission to hunt Sand shinobi and build teamwork. After Himeji located an enemy squad on the battlefield’s fringe, Chen assigned his team their targets and began the hunt.

• Uchiha Chen chose a mission to kill at least one Jonin and three Chunin among isolated Sand shinobi squads.
• Uchiha Chen briefed Taki Tōru, Himeji, and the other squad member on signals, withdrawal, and avoiding the Sand shinobi base to the west.
• Uchiha Chen led the squad toward the battlefield’s fringe, adjusting their pace to Taki Tōru’s slow movement.
• Himeji used her Byakugan to find a Sand shinobi reconnaissance squad led by a Jonin with three Chunin and no visible puppet ambush.
• Uchiha Chen said he would fight the Jonin while the others handled the Chunin, warned them about poison, and began the hunt.

Uchiha Chen fought the Sunagakure squad and used the clash to assess his teammates’ abilities. After wondering whether Himeji had appeared in the manga, he ended the puppet battle and rushed to help Taki Yū and Taki Tōru.

• Uchiha Chen and Taki Yū combined Fire and Wind Release, but the Sunagakure Chunin blocked the attack with an Earth-Style Wall.
• Uchiha Chen smashed through a second wall and killed one Chunin, then deflected a poisoned Kunai from an underground Puppet before it could strike another.
• Uchiha Chen kept the Sunagakure Jonin and his Puppets occupied while asking Himeji and Yū to handle the remaining Chunin.
• Uchiha Chen observed Himeji fighting easily and Yū struggling with a Chunin, with Taki Tōru assisting him.
• Uchiha Chen severed the Puppets’ Chakra Threads with Wind Blades, smashed one Puppet with a punch, and charged toward the Taki siblings.

Uchiha Chen defeated the Sunagakure squad with Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu, while Taki Yū and Taki Tōru watched. After the final Jonin killed himself under Chen’s Genjutsu, the team prepared to collect the bodies and leave.

• Uchiha Chen arrived as Taki Yū fought a poisoned Sunagakure Chunin and killed the Chunin instantly.
• Himeji defeated another Chunin, leaving the Sunagakure Jonin as the squad’s last opponent.
• Uchiha Chen blocked the Jonin’s Puppet attack with Lightning Release and destroyed the Puppet.
• Uchiha Chen used Genjutsu to make the Jonin stab himself in the head, demonstrating his abilities to Himeji and Taki Tōru.
• Uchiha Chen ordered the team to retrieve the corpses’ heads, and the squad prepared to depart after completing the mission.

Uchiha Chen shared a meal with his new squad at a Konoha Base barbecue shop, where he learned that their former captain had died. He reunited with Shikaku and discovered why Shikaku had a different Jonin captain from Kato Dan.

• Taki Tōru suggested raising the squad’s mission difficulty to earn more merit, but Taki Yū scolded her and reminded her of their previous captain’s death.
• Uchiha Chen reassured Taki Tōru and continued the meal with his squad as more ninja arrived.
• Shikaku reunited with Uchiha Chen and explained that he had been promoted to Chunin and assigned to a different squad.
• Shikaku introduced his captain, Nara Shikatsuchi, and admitted that he was hiding from Kato Dan because he had suggested that Nawaki deal with him.

The Third Kazekage met with Sunagakure’s leaders, who discussed Sasori’s talent and Uchiha Chen’s damage to the village. The Kazekage decided to send his bodyguard to assassinate Chen while avoiding a conspicuous deployment.

• The Third Kazekage entered the council tent and heard the Red-Haired Man describe three-year-old Sasori’s ability to control Puppets.
• The Third Kazekage privately considered killing Sasori before he grew more powerful, then encouraged the Red-Haired Man to challenge Konoha’s White Fang.
• Ebizo listed Uchiha Chen’s role in Sunagakure’s defeats, and Chiyo recalled how Chen had harmed Rasa, Pakura, and Karura.
• The Third Kazekage asked for news about Chen and learned that he was leading missions on the border and had killed several Sunagakure shinobi.
• Chiyo rejected sending several squads to ambush Chen, so the Third Kazekage decided to send his bodyguard after him alone.

Uchiha Chen led his team on a mission to confirm the Sand ninja Base's troop deployment after Taki Tōru neared eligibility for a Chunin evaluation. The team found two injured Sand shinobi sheltering in a cave, and Chen and Taki Yū went to attack while Tōru and Himeji stayed behind.

• Taki Tōru celebrated nearing the merit requirement for a Chunin evaluation and promised to treat the team to barbecue after their mission.
• Uchiha Chen selected a B-rank mission to confirm the Sand ninja Base's troop deployment and led the team toward the edge battlefield.
• Uchiha Chen smelled blood, and Himeji used her Byakugan to locate an injured Sand Jonin and Chunin.
• Himeji spotted the two Sand shinobi resting in a cave, so Uchiha Chen ordered Taki Tōru and Himeji to stay back while he and Taki Yū approached.

Uchiha Chen and Taki Yū defeated a wounded Sand Jonin and his Chunin, then rejoined Taki Tōru and Himeji to find a safer place to rest. As the squad headed toward a trench, a man tracking them through a Ninja Rat set out after them.

• Uchiha Chen and Taki Yū confronted two injured Sand shinobi at a cave, and Uchiha Chen recognized their leader as a Sand Jonin he had seen in the Land of Rain.
• Uchiha Chen used Wind Release and Monstrous Strength to disable the Sand Jonin's Puppets while Taki Yū fought the Chunin.
• The Sand Jonin released poison from a Puppet, but Uchiha Chen survived with Tsunade's Antidote Pills and took the Jonin's head; Taki Yū captured the Chunin.
• Uchiha Chen and Taki Yū returned to Taki Tōru and Himeji, and the squad set off toward a trench to rest and find lunch.
• A man in a cave heard his Ninja Rat squeak, called the squad his prey, and left to pursue them.

Uchiha Chen and his team were ambushed by a powerful Sand shinobi who killed Taki Yū and targeted Chen. After helping Himeji and the unconscious Taki Tōru escape, Chen summoned a creature and prepared to face the enemy alone.

• Uchiha Chen rested with Taki Tōru and Himeji in a trench while Taki Yū kept watch nearby.
• A Sand Shinobi Lu appeared with Taki Yū's headless corpse and identified Uchiha Chen as the Konoha Lightning he had been seeking.
• Sand Shinobi Lu attacked with Earth Release, and Uchiha Chen used Chidori to break through the collapsing earth while Himeji defended herself and Taki Tōru from stone spikes.
• Himeji carried the unconscious Taki Tōru toward the base after Uchiha Chen told her to leave, and she promised to wait for his return.
• Uchiha Chen removed his torn Jonin Flak Jacket, performed Summoning Jutsu, and challenged Sand Shinobi Lu to accept death.

Uchiha Chen fought a Sunagakure Jonin with an obedient Blue Snake, whose tough scales withstood the sand shinobi’s Wind Release. After the Jonin taunted Chen about his fallen subordinate, Chen launched a corrosive, steam-like Fire Release attack that enveloped the battlefield.

• Uchiha Chen summoned a giant Blue Snake and challenged the Sunagakure Jonin, who briefly fell for Chen’s Genjutsu before dodging the snake’s attacks.
• The Sunagakure Jonin tested the Blue Snake’s defenses and found its scales could withstand his Wind Release techniques.
• Uchiha Chen mocked the Jonin for retreating, but the Jonin taunted Chen about killing one of his subordinates to provoke him.
• Uchiha Chen insulted the Jonin and formed Hand Seals as the Blue Snake raised its body and spread its hood.
• Uchiha Chen and the Blue Snake used Fire Release: Snake Fluid Boiling Technique, filling the battlefield with boiling, corrosive steam.

Uchiha Chen fought a Sand shinobi, using Blue Snake’s corrosive Fire Release technique to destroy his Earth Armor before the battle continued. After the Sand shinobi poisoned him with his blood, Orochimaru received an urgent report and set out in a fury.

• Uchiha Chen summoned Blue Snake and used Fire Release: Snake Fluid Boiling Technique to corrode the Sand shinobi’s Earth Armor.
• Uchiha Chen dismissed Blue Snake, then attacked the Sand shinobi with Kunai and Lightning Release.
• The Sand shinobi kicked Uchiha Chen away and nearly struck him, but Uchiha Chen used sound-based Genjutsu to create an opening and wound him.
• The Sand shinobi revealed that his blood was poisonous, and Uchiha Chen felt it burn his arm.
• An Information Snake brought Orochimaru an urgent message while he dissected a corpse with a Kekkei Genkai, prompting him to leave the laboratory and threaten Sunagakure.

Uchiha Chen fought a poison-wielding Sand Shinobi while the neurotoxin weakened him, and Himeji intervened to protect him. Chen trapped the enemy with an advanced Body Paralysis Genjutsu and killed him, then lost consciousness as he wondered whether Himeji was safe.

• The Sand Shinobi poisoned Uchiha Chen and attacked as the Antidote Pills failed to stop his growing weakness.
• Uchiha Chen used a sound-based Genjutsu to halt the Sand Shinobi long enough for Himeji to strike him with Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm.
• Himeji fought the stronger Sand Shinobi with Gentle Fist techniques, but he blocked her attacks and knocked her out of the fight.
• The Sand Shinobi attacked Uchiha Chen, who evaded with a Crow transformation and trapped him in Body Paralysis Genjutsu.
• Uchiha Chen explained that his Sharingan had evolved to Three Tomoe, then hurled a Kunai through the immobilized Sand Shinobi's chest.
• Uchiha Chen collapsed and lost consciousness while wondering whether Himeji was alright.

After waking from a half-month coma, Uchiha Chen learned that Taki Tōru had left the ninja life and returned to Konoha. He and Himeji reaffirmed their dreams and promised to help each other, while a full moon rose over the hospital.

• Uchiha Chen woke in the Base field hospital, and Orochimaru told him he would need another month to recover.
• Orochimaru told Uchiha Chen that Taki Tōru had quit being a ninja, had some battlefield memories sealed, and had returned to Konoha.
• Himeji gave Uchiha Chen a letter in which Taki Tōru explained her decision and asked him to look after Himeji.
• Uchiha Chen asked Himeji whether she still wanted to change the Hyuga Clan, and she described Hyuga Mura's sacrifice and the injustice of the Caged Bird Seal.
• Uchiha Chen said he wanted to bring peace to the chaotic age and promised to help Himeji with the Hyuga Clan in return for her help.
• Himeji and Uchiha Chen looked at the full moon, and he remarked that it resembled a giant Byakugan.

Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Sakumo agreed to halt Konoha’s costly offensive against Sunagakure after the Third Hokage criticized Orochimaru’s reckless command. As they investigated Sunagakure’s supply lines, they suspected the Hidden Stone Village was secretly aiding it.

• Orochimaru accepted Tsunade and Sakumo’s decision to stop attacking after the Third Hokage reprimanded him for the heavy casualties.
• Tsunade reported that Chiyo had used poisoned mist and a tracking Ninja Rat to target Uchiha Chen, while Sakumo believed Sunagakure would now stop trying to assassinate him.
• Sakumo explained that the Uchiha Clan had suffered heavy losses while fighting sand shinobi trying to open a supply route, after merchants leaked intelligence.
• Sakumo noted that the Hidden Cloud Village’s attack had gained little against the Hidden Stone Village, despite the latter’s losses in the Land of Rain.
• Tsunade and Sakumo concluded that the Hidden Stone Village might be supplying Sunagakure with food in exchange for poisons and weapons.

In Konoha Year 31, Uchiha Chen visited Orochimaru’s battlefield laboratory and learned that Danzo had sent him a Kaguya Clan ninja with the Shikotsumyaku. Chen suspected Danzo was laying groundwork for a future alliance and resolved that Danzo must die.

• Uchiha Chen told Himeji he was going to see Orochimaru and asked her to call him Chen now that she was a Special Jonin.
• Uchiha Chen entered Orochimaru’s underground laboratory, where Orochimaru showed him a dissected Kaguya Clan ninja with the Shikotsumyaku.
• Orochimaru explained the bone-manipulating Kekkei Genkai and said Danzo had sent the Hidden Mist Village ninja to him.
• Uchiha Chen suspected Danzo was courting Orochimaru to prepare for future schemes and decided Danzo had to die.

Uchiha Chen helped Hatake Sakumo defeat the Kazekage's bodyguards during a successful raid on Sunagakure's Transport Corps. Afterward, Chen learned that his former Team One companions had arrived at the base, and Sakumo urged him to cherish them.

• Uchiha Chen killed a sand shinobi and joined Hatake Sakumo, who was fighting two Kazekage's bodyguards.
• Uchiha Chen used Genjutsu to immobilize the injured bodyguard, allowing Sakumo to kill both opponents without further injury.
• Chen reported that the two Elite Jonin were dead, Himeji was nearly finished, and he had located the Sunagakure food supplies.
• Sakumo and Chen checked the Chunin battlefield, and Konoha's surprise attack on the Sand Shinobi Transport Corps ended in victory.
• Sakumo explained that he had recruited Chen and Himeji into his unit, which continued raiding the Sand Shinobi Transport Corps amid Sunagakure and Iwagakure's alliance.
• Chen told Sakumo that his former Team One companions had arrived at the base, and Sakumo advised him to cherish them.

Uchiha Chen reunited with Mikoto, Nawaki, and Minato at the base after returning from the battlefield, and introduced them to his teammate Himeji. Later, Mikoto broke down in tears during a walk with Chen, and he embraced her.

• Uchiha Chen arrived at the Genin quarters with Himeji and reunited with Mikoto, Nawaki, and Minato.
• Uchiha Chen introduced Himeji to his friends and teased Nawaki and Minato.
• Uchiha Chen told Nawaki that Kato Dan was stationed at the second base and asked about Team One.
• Mikoto and Himeji prepared dinner while Uchiha Chen, Nawaki, and Minato caught up.
• Mikoto grabbed Uchiha Chen's windbreaker during their walk, cried, and received his embrace.

Hidden Cloud Village withdrew from the Land of Earth after the Eight-Tails rampage, shifting the war’s momentum toward the allied Iwagakure and Hidden Sand Village. At Konoha’s base, Tsunade prepared to join the main battlefield as Orochimaru warned that Hidden Sand Village had found Shukaku and might send it back to war.

• Hidden Cloud Village occupied part of the Land of Earth, but Fukai’s Eight-Tails rampage devastated the village and forced its forces to withdraw.
• Orochimaru warned Tsunade and Sakumo that Hidden Sand Village was reinforcing its army with Puppet Masters and preparing a major assault.
• Tsunade decided to join the main battlefield and hand the base’s responsibilities to Nara Shikaku's Father when he arrived with reinforcements.
• Tsunade told Orochimaru that intelligence shinobi had found Shukaku in the deepest part of the Land of Wind’s desert.
• Orochimaru and Tsunade agreed to wait for details on Hidden Sand Village’s deployment before sending shinobi to interfere with Shukaku’s retrieval.

Konoha's commanders planned to disrupt Sunagakure's sealing force and draw Shukaku away, while Toya led the Sand team toward them. Toya and Gin resolved to return to Sasori after the mission, and Toya planned to teach him the Puppet Creation Technique.

• Rokusen reported that Konoha had too few available fighters to match Sunagakure's forces, and Sakumo outlined a plan for Uchiha Chen to harass Shukaku and draw it away.
• A scout reported that Sunagakure's force had departed under Toya, and Sakumo set out to meet him.
• Toya told Gin he expected Hatake Sakumo to lead Konoha's interception and believed they would be evenly matched.
• Gin worried about leaving Sasori alone, and Toya promised to return after the mission and teach him the Puppet Creation Technique.