Chapter Summaries

Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato shared a quiet evening in their cave, where Konan read Jiraiya's new novel about Naruto. Inspired by its ending, Yahiko decided to negotiate with Hanzō to prevent another war in the Land of Rain.

• Yahiko and Nagato returned to the cave and found Konan reading Jiraiya's serialized novel.
• Yahiko recalled his memories of Jiraiya and of meeting Chen, Mikoto, and Nawaki in the cave years earlier.
• Konan read the novel's ending aloud, in which Naruto vowed to break the ninja world's curse and seize peace.
• Yahiko decided to meet Hanzō and persuade him not to launch a war in the Land of Rain.

Hanzō looked back on his defeat in the Second Great Ninja War, the crippling reparations imposed by Konoha, and Hidden Rain Village’s decline. As the Third Great Ninja War approached, he chose to abandon a renewed agreement with Konoha and join the war to obtain supplies for the Land of Rain.

• Hanzō stood atop his tower in the rain and reflected on his power, his lack of an heir, and his contempt for the Five Kage.
• Hanzō recalled how three young ninja had stopped him during the Second Great Ninja War and how Konoha’s surrender agreement burdened the Land of Rain with enormous reparations.
• Hanzō remembered that the reparations and his defeat caused Hidden Rain Village’s ninja to lose faith in him and many to become Rogue Ninja.
• During the Third Great Ninja War, Hanzō waited as envoys from the great nations urged him to take sides.
• Shimura Danzo offered to reduce Konoha’s reparations but refused further concessions or material aid.
• Hanzō decided to break the agreement with Konoha and join the war because the other great nations would provide supplies.

Hanzō reflected on how age and past assassination attempts had made him cautious as he met emissaries from Hidden Sand, Hidden Cloud, and Hidden Stone. With their promised supplies delivered and Konoha’s forces nearing the Land of Rain, he agreed to send troops against Konoha.

• Hanzō recalled how Kakuzu had nearly assassinated him, making him more guarded as he grew older.
• Suzuki, Tsuchiya, and Nakamura met Hanzō and challenged him over the delay and the limited forces he had committed to the war.
• Hanzō claimed he had been dealing with a rebellion and heard the emissaries’ demands for him to honor the alliance.
• Nakamura warned that Konoha Lightning and White Fang were advancing toward the Land of Rain and pressed Hanzō to act now that the supplies had arrived.
• Hanzō agreed to send troops against Konoha.

Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan went to Hidden Rain Village to ask Hanzō to discuss the Land of Rain’s future, despite the danger. After learning they were Jiraiya’s disciples, Hanzō agreed to meet them, wondering whether Konoha had sent them.

• Yahiko persuaded Nagato and Konan to accompany him to Hidden Rain Village, insisting Akatsuki should help the Land of Rain in its crisis.
• Ame Shinobi refused Yahiko’s request to see Hanzō and attacked the trio, but Konan, Nagato, and Yahiko defended themselves without seriously injuring anyone.
• An Ame Shinobi reported the visitors to Hanzō through his subordinates, and Kazama explained that Akatsuki was a new organization devoted to peace.
• Hanzō initially dismissed Yahiko’s request, then reconsidered when Kazama told him the trio were Jiraiya’s disciples.
• Hanzō ordered the three admitted, curious about Yahiko and wondering whether they carried the Third Hokage’s intentions.

Yahiko asked Hanzō to end the war, but learned that Hanzō saw the Five Great Nations and the order created by Senju Hashirama as the true source of the Land of Rain’s suffering. After Yahiko left, Hanzō ordered Akatsuki watched and considered whether another attempt to change the Land of Rain’s fate would only worsen its plight.

• Yahiko pleaded with Hanzō to stop the war and offered Akatsuki’s help in restoring peace and livelihoods in the Land of Rain.
• Hanzō explained the harsh terms Konoha imposed after the Second Great Ninja War and argued that the Five Great Nations’ political order kept smaller nations impoverished.
• Hanzō asked whether Yahiko had come with Konoha’s intentions, and Yahiko said he and his companions had acted on their own.
• Hanzō told Yahiko to persuade Konoha to erase its agreement with Hidden Rain Village, then let Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan leave.
• Hanzō ordered Kazama to keep Akatsuki under surveillance and have Watanabe seize any suspicious material support they received.
• After Kazama departed, Hanzō wondered whether his next move would bring victory or push the Land of Rain into a deeper abyss.

Chen learned that Konoha had finalized a ceasefire and alliance agreement with the Hidden Mist Village, while Danzo was angered by the generous terms. Near the Land of Rain, Chen, Sakumo, and Rokuun planned how to counter Hanzō’s attacks on Konoha’s supply lines.

• Utatane Koharu sent Chen the terms of Konoha’s agreement with the Hidden Mist Village, including prisoner returns, an alliance, restored trade, and war reparations.
• Chen shared the agreement with Sakumo and judged that the alliance pledge was largely empty, while trade and reparations offered Konoha its clearest gains.
• Danzo opposed the agreement’s lenient terms, accused the Third Hokage of weakness, and grew frustrated with his limited influence over village affairs.
• Chen, Sakumo, and Rokuun discussed their next battle plan near the Land of Rain and decided not to enter it yet.
• The group recognized that Hanzō’s small squads were sabotaging Konoha’s exposed supply routes, making it necessary to drive the Ame Shinobi out of the Land of Fire.

Chen, Sakumo, and Rokuun planned how to protect Konoha’s supply lines from Hanzō’s guerrilla campaign in the Land of Fire. With Hanzō still the greatest threat, Chen assigned Shibi to locate him.

• Sakumo told Chen and Rokuun that the Land of Rain had deployed two thousand Ame Shinobi, likely the limit of Hanzō’s forces.
• Sakumo and Rokuun proposed dividing their troops across the six supply lines and deploying scout ninja throughout the surrounding regions.
• Sakumo warned that Hanzō’s poison gas, swordsmanship, and Body Flicker Technique made him dangerous even if he avoided a direct battle.
• Chen chose Shibi to track down Hanzō, citing his exceptional reconnaissance skills and versatility.

Chen and the other shinobi relaxed at the front-line base while Inuzuka Gaku sold watermelons for merit points. Chen then assigned Shibi a mission to track Hanzō’s location within the Land of Fire.

• Chen found Shibi with Nawaki and the other shinobi, who were discussing lunch while they waited for orders.
• Inuzuka Gaku offered watermelons for five hundred merit points each, and Nawaki bought one for Chen to cut with a tiny Wind Blade.
• Chen kept Shibi behind and explained that the Ame Shinobi had scattered across the Land of Fire and needed to be driven out.
• Shibi guessed Chen wanted him to infiltrate the Hidden Rain Village and investigate Hanzō, but Chen said the mission was only to track Hanzō within the Land of Fire.
• Chen told Shibi he believed he could complete the mission because great ability came with great responsibility.

Shibi, Inuzuka Gaku, and Hizashi set out to locate Hanzō while Chen and Himeji hunted Ame Shinobi across the Land of Fire. The chapter ended when a Falcon delivered news that Shibi and the others had found Hanzō.

• Shibi recruited Inuzuka Gaku and Hizashi to help track Hanzō, and Chen equipped them with Nonō's antidote for Hanzō's Salamander.
• As the war spread into the Land of Fire, Chen and Himeji patrolled the enemy's routes and ambushed Ame Shinobi forces.
• Chen and Himeji killed a group of thirty Ame Shinobi after Himeji detected them first.
• A Falcon brought Chen an emergency message reporting that Shibi and the others had found Hanzō.

Shibi, Hizashi, and Inuzuka Gaku tracked Hanzō but struggled to keep up with him, and they debated whether to risk confronting him to hold him until Chen arrived. Shibi chose to leave their hideout and face the danger, while Inuzuka Gaku and Hizashi revealed the ambitions they carried.

• Shibi returned to the hideout and told Hizashi and Inuzuka Gaku that his bugs had died from Hanzō's poison.
• Inuzuka Gaku warned that Hanzō would soon leave, and the three discussed whether to reveal themselves and hold him for twenty minutes.
• Shibi considered Chen's orders to prioritize their safety as he weighed the danger of confronting Hanzō.
• Inuzuka Gaku said he wanted to become Hokage so he could protect dogs, while Hizashi wished to decide how he would die.
• Shibi ordered the others to check their equipment and leave immediately.

Hanzō rushed toward an apparent battle and found Shibi, Hizashi, and Inuzuka Gaku waiting in ambush. He countered their attacks with the Salamander and his poison, then unleashed a massive explosive trap that engulfed the three Konoha ninja.

• Hanzō turned back toward the explosions and evaded Inuzuka Gaku’s explosive-kunai trap with help from the Salamander.
• Shibi and Hizashi attacked Hanzō, but he used his poison to repel Shibi’s bugs and struck Hizashi with his scythe.
• Inuzuka Gaku and Kuro Maru merged into a two-headed wolf form and charged Hanzō.
• Hanzō used Fire Release: Exploding Flame Array, while the Salamander pulled him underground, and the tags detonated around Shibi, Hizashi, and Inuzuka Gaku.

Hizashi fought Hanzō to protect Shibi and Inuzuka Gaku, but their desperate defense left them badly injured. Just as Hanzō was about to finish them, Chen arrived and engaged him in a fast, close-quarters fight.

• Shibi, Inuzuka Gaku, and Hizashi defended against Hanzō’s Explosive Tag array, but the blast left Shibi and Inuzuka Gaku unconscious and Hizashi gravely wounded.
• Hanzō offered to spare two of them if they chose one, but Hizashi attacked him with Mountain Crusher and kept standing between Hanzō and his fallen allies.
• Hanzō knocked Hizashi down and launched Great Flame Flower at the three, but a Summoning Hawk brought Rashomon down to block the fireballs.
• Chen leaped from the Summoning Hawk, raced down Rashomon, and charged Hanzō, whose scythe broke Chen’s Kunai but clashed with his Rasengan.
• Chen and Hanzō traded close-range attacks until Chen struck Hanzō with a punch, sending him flying, then seized the scythe chain and hurled it toward him.

Hizashi collapsed after being gravely wounded, and Nonō began operating on him while Chen went to face Hanzō. Their battle escalated with fire techniques, Hanzō’s Salamander, and Chen’s lightning attacks, but the Salamander knocked Chen away and burrowed underground.

• Hizashi lost consciousness after recognizing Chen’s voice, and Nonō began treating his severe injuries.
• Chen told Nonō to leave Hanzō to him and charged toward the Demigod.
• Hanzō prepared for the fight by putting on his mask and summoning his chained scythe-axe.
• Chen overwhelmed Hanzō’s Fire Dragon Flame Bullet with his Sage Art version of the technique.
• Hanzō’s Salamander attacked Chen with poisonous gas and its tongue, then hurled him away as he tried to strike it with lightning.
• The Salamander dodged Chen’s attack by burrowing underground.

Chen fought Hanzō after killing his Salamander, overpowering him with Sage techniques and forcing him to retreat. The chapter ended with Chen smashing Hanzō into the cliff wall, leaving his fate unclear.

• Chen trapped the Salamander with Earth Movement Core, paralyzed it, and killed it with Chidori Sharp Spear.
• Hanzō flooded the battlefield with Water Release and attacked Chen with his scythe and axe.
• Chen stopped Hanzō’s weapon barrage with Snake Kata, broke his scythe and chain, and struck him with Great Ball Rasengan.
• Chen sent six Water Dragon Bullets into the water, injuring Hanzō and driving him to flee.
• Chen caught up with Hanzō and punched him into the cliff wall, leaving a huge indentation.

Chen defeated Hanzō but spared him in accordance with Konoha’s orders and strategic plans for the Land of Rain. He sealed Hanzō’s Chakra and stored Salamander in a Scroll, leaving to bring his prisoner back.

• Chen pulled Hanzō from the crater, threw him onto the muddy ground, and seized him by the neck.
• Chen decided not to kill Hanzō because Konoha needed him to keep the Land of Rain stable and support its war plans.
• Chen sealed Hanzō’s Chakra flow and carried him away as a prisoner.
• Chen sealed Salamander into his Scroll, joking that Orochimaru might someday revive it so they could fight together again.

News of Hanzō’s defeat made Chen famous across the ninja world, while Chen spent a quiet evening trying to cook Salamander for Sakumo. The meal ended with Sakumo forcing himself to praise Chen’s cooking.

• The ninja world learned that eighteen-year-old Chen had defeated Hanzō one-on-one, and many feared his rise would usher in a new era of Konoha dominance.
• Chen struggled to follow a Salamander recipe, accidentally adding too much sugar and trying to balance it with salt.
• Sakumo entered Chen’s tent, and Chen persuaded him to stay by claiming Salamander strengthened the kidneys.
• Chen explained that he had given most of the Salamander away, including half of what remained to the Third Hokage, who said it was for a friend with weak kidneys.
• Sakumo tasted Chen’s cooking and weakly insisted it tasted great, while Chen remembered that he was too young to need kidney strengthening.

Chen and Sakumo discussed Konoha’s plan to annihilate the Ame Shinobi trapped in the Land of Fire and Chen’s continued efforts to persuade the captured Hanzō to surrender. In Hidden Stone Village, Roshi urged Ōnoki to block Konoha in the Land of Rain and offered to defeat Konoha Lightning and White Fang with two thousand ninja.

• Sakumo told Chen that Konoha would sweep the Land of Fire to destroy the remaining Ame Shinobi rather than let them surrender.
• Chen told Sakumo that Hanzō still refused to surrender, and Sakumo suggested supporting a proxy leader if persuasion failed.
• Ōnoki angrily condemned Hanzō’s capture while Roshi insisted that Iwagakure prepare to defend against Konoha.
• Roshi argued that Iwagakure should block Konoha’s forces in the Land of Rain and offered to take two thousand ninja to defeat Konoha Lightning and White Fang.

Chen visited the imprisoned Hanzō in Konoha and told him that the Land of Rain had fallen into chaos after his capture. Hanzō remained isolated and powerless as his subordinates fought over leadership and rival forces moved to seize territory and resources.

• Chen entered Hanzō's sealed cell after the guards opened its barrier-covered door.
• Chen sat across from Hanzō, who was unable to use Chakra or move with his former strength because of the seals placed on him.
• Hanzō brooded over his isolation and hoped Chen would stay rather than leave him alone in the dark cell.
• Chen told Hanzō that his subordinates were competing to lead the Hidden Rain Village while rival groups fought over the Land of Rain.

Chen pressured Hanzō to ally with Konoha and protect its supply lines, warning that refusing could bring further war to the Land of Rain. Hanzō agreed to accept a Curse Mark on the condition that he meet the Third Hokage.

• Chen explained that Hanzō’s death would destabilize the Land of Rain and undermine Konoha’s plans.
• Chen demanded that Hanzō form an alliance with Konoha and protect its supply lines, but Hanzō initially refused.
• Chen threatened to extract information from Hanzō or replace him as Hidden Rain Village’s leader, and warned that the Land of Rain could become a battlefield again.
• Chen offered to place a life-controlling Curse Mark on Hanzō, arguing that Konoha could kill him even without one if he betrayed the agreement.
• Hanzō agreed to the alliance and Curse Mark on the condition that he meet the Third Hokage.

In the Land of Rain, Danzo’s spy Ming met with Jia and learned that Hanzō would soon return under an agreement with Konoha. Danzo ordered Ming to stop Chen and Sakumo from advancing into the Land of Earth, keeping Chen tied down in the Land of Rain.

• Ming met Jia in an abandoned town and defended his work inside Akatsuki as part of his cover.
• Ming reported that Akatsuki was expanding after Hanzō’s capture but had rejected Danzo’s offer of supplies.
• The chapter recounted Danzo’s failed attempt to seize control of Akatsuki through Ming and his order for Ming to eliminate Yahiko.
• Jia told Ming that Hanzō had reached an agreement with Konoha and would soon return to the Land of Rain.
• Jia ordered Ming to stop Chen and Sakumo from leading Konoha’s troops into the Land of Earth because Danzo wanted Chen to remain occupied in the Land of Rain.