Recaps

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.

Uchiha Chen and Sakumo’s force reached the area where Shukaku was resisting Sunagakure’s sealing attempt, and Sakumo sent Chen ahead while the rest prepared to disrupt the sealing squad. Elsewhere, Tsunade and Orochimaru fought the Sand forces as Tsunade summoned Slug to aid the growing number of wounded.

• Sakumo met Shimada, who reported that Shukaku had rejected the Sand shinobi’s Seal and that their sealing squad was preparing a forced sealing.
• Sakumo ordered the teams to follow their plan, and Uchiha Chen went ahead alone toward Shukaku.
• Sakumo led the remaining ninja toward the battle, intending to interfere with Sunagakure’s sealing squad despite the powerful enemies facing them.
• Orochimaru fought the Third Kazekage while Tsunade fought Chiyo’s forces and treated poisoned Konoha ninja.
• Tsunade used Creation Rebirth and summoned Slug, who divided into smaller Slugs and spread across the battlefield.

Uchiha Chen drew Shukaku away from the Sunagakure forces while Sakumo led Konoha’s attack against them. Chen tried to distract the enraged Shukaku by talking about the Nine-Tails, but Shukaku attacked him anyway.

• Uchiha Chen spotted Shukaku amid its giant sand sculptures and learned from Big White that Sakumo’s forces were ready.
• Uchiha Chen detonated an Explosive Tag to draw Shukaku’s attention, and Shukaku recognized him as the person who had killed it before.
• Sakumo led the Konoha Ninja in an assault on the Sunagakure forces while Toya and Gin confronted him.
• Shukaku pursued Uchiha Chen with enormous sand hands, and Chen claimed he was friends with the Nine-Tails.
• Shukaku accepted Chen’s claim that the Nine-Tails had spoken about tailed-beast strength, then swept the sand down to attack him.

Uchiha Chen fought Shukaku until neither could defeat the other, then persuaded the Tailed Beast to consider letting him carry a portion of its Chakra to Konoha to see the Nine-Tails. Shukaku remained suspicious but began thinking over the proposal.

• Uchiha Chen escaped Shukaku’s sand prison with Chidori and struck its head, but Shukaku replaced the destroyed sand head and attacked with Sand Waterfall Imperial Funeral.
• Uchiha Chen used Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags Array to blast apart Shukaku’s advancing sand and warned that he could escape a Tailed Beast Bomb with Reverse Summoning Jutsu.
• Shukaku gave up trying to kill Uchiha Chen and asked for a truce, then secretly tested him with another sand attack that Uchiha Chen easily scattered.
• Uchiha Chen spoke with Shukaku about the Nine-Tails, and Shukaku revealed its long-standing resentment toward the Stinky Fox.
• Uchiha Chen offered to carry a small portion of Shukaku’s Chakra to Konoha so it could see the Nine-Tails, and Shukaku fell silent to consider the offer.

Uchiha Chen persuaded Shukaku to give him some Chakra and sealed the small portion inside a Scroll, planning to take it to Konoha to meet Kurama. Meanwhile, Sakumo fought Toya and Gin on the main battlefield, where both sides unleashed powerful techniques and charged toward a decisive clash.

• Shukaku agreed to give Uchiha Chen some Chakra on the condition that he soon take it to meet Kurama.
• Uchiha Chen sealed the palm-sized Shukaku inside a Scroll, and Big White swallowed the Scroll before Chen headed for Sunagakure's Sealing Squad.
• Sakumo destroyed two of Toya's Puppets and activated the Hatake Secret Technique to boost his strength.
• Toya combined his four remaining Puppets into a giant Puppet while Gin unleashed Wind Release, forming the Purple Secret Technique: Blazing Hell Wind Array.
• Sakumo completed his Lightning Release technique and charged into the overwhelming attack.

Hatake Sakumo overwhelmed Toya and Gin’s combined Puppet attack with a devastating Lightning Release sword technique, leaving Toya mortally wounded. He spared Gin for the moment and walked away to deal with the other Sand Shinobi and check on Uchiha Chen.

• Sakumo’s Lightning Slash struck Toya’s reinforced Puppet, but its runes dispersed the attack and Toya’s Wind Release and magma counterattack kept Sakumo at bay.
• Sakumo transformed his Chakra blade into a massive black blade and cleaved through the magma, splitting the Puppet apart and fatally wounding Toya.
• Toya pushed Gin away and told her to run, while Gin tried to stop his bleeding and begged Sakumo to let her take him back to the village.
• Sakumo turned away from Gin because his own injuries made another fight dangerous, planning to deal with the other Sand Shinobi and ensure Uchiha Chen was safe before returning for her.

Toya and Gin died together after Hatake Sakumo defeated them, leaving Sasori orphaned. When Ebizo received the news and had to return to the battlefield, Sasori was left alone, growing to resent the Third Kazekage for sending his family to war.

• Toya died in Gin's arms, and Gin took her own life with a kunai, apologizing to Sasori.
• Ebizo received Chiyo's message that Konoha's White Fang had killed Toya and Gin.
• Ebizo hid the news from Sasori, telling him his parents had a new mission and could not return yet.
• Ebizo told Sasori he could not attend his Ninja Academy opening ceremony because he had to lead ninjas to the battlefield.
• Sasori assembled the Puppet toy his mother had given him and blamed the Third Kazekage for sending his family to war.

Chiyo pressed Sunagakure to wage an all-out assault on Konoha after Toya and Gin died, while Uchiha Chen visited the injured Sakumo at the Base. As the two discussed a possible truce and the Hidden Cloud Village and Hidden Stone Village’s ceasefire, Chen sensed that the quiet was suspicious.

• Chiyo blamed herself for Toya and Gin’s deaths and vowed to fight Konoha at any cost, while Ebizo worried about the mounting casualties.
• Chiyo said she would retire after the war and revealed that the Third Kazekage had agreed to support her campaign; Ebizo decided to retire with her.
• Uchiha Chen visited Sakumo in the field hospital, where Sakumo praised Jiraiya’s explicit novel and said he would spar with Chen after recovering.
• Chen told Sakumo that Orochimaru planned to return Toya and Gin’s bodies to seek a truce, and Sakumo questioned whether the Third Kazekage would accept.
• Chen told Sakumo that the Hidden Cloud Village and Hidden Stone Village had called a truce, and he worried that the sudden calm concealed something.

Sarutobi Hiruzen reviewed Uchiha Chen’s promotion report and worried about the boy’s extraordinary abilities and Uchiha heritage. Meanwhile, the Third Raikage investigated the Eight-Tails’ rampage and learned that Hidden Cloud’s plan to capture an Uzumaki ninja was progressing.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen considered the worsening war in the Land of Rivers and wondered why Hidden Cloud and Iwagakure had ceased fighting.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen read Orochimaru’s report on Uchiha Chen, noting his promotion to Jonin, mastery of all five chakra natures, and powerful techniques.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen worried that Uchiha Chen’s talent and strong emotions might lead him to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan.
• The Third Raikage questioned a subordinate about Kohaku no Johei and said he suspected someone had extracted the Eight-Tails from Fukai.
• The Third Raikage learned that Hidden Cloud’s spies had discovered the movements of an Uzumaki Clan ninja, advancing their Jinchuriki plan.

After Uchiha Chen was promoted to Jonin, he received a distress summons from Minato, Nawaki, and Mikoto and set out to rescue them from Sunagakure Puppet Masters. The chapter ended with poisoned and wounded Nawaki fearing he would die before Chen arrived.

• After Toya and Gin's bodies were returned, Chiyo agreed to a truce, and Chen stayed at the Base to study Scrolls while Sakumo recovered.
• Orochimaru celebrated Chen's Jonin promotion with dinner, but Big White arrived with word that Minato, Nawaki, and Mikoto had been ambushed and needed reinforcements.
• Chen set out toward the team's location, while Orochimaru stayed behind to notify Tsunade and avoid provoking Sunagakure.
• Nawaki, Mikoto, and Minato hid in a crater after escaping a Sunagakure Puppet Master Jonin, and Nawaki's wounds and poison left him gravely ill.
• Nawaki told Mikoto to give his grandfather's pendant to Chen if he died, believing the good-luck charm would protect him.

Uchiha Chen reached Minato, Mikoto, and the poisoned Nawaki and led them toward Konoha’s main battlefield camp, breaking through the tightening Sunagakure encirclement. At the base, Tsunade learned Nawaki was in danger and rushed to meet them, while her fear of losing another loved one surfaced.

• Uchiha Chen arrived at the pit, learned that sand shinobi had ambushed Minato’s team, and found Nawaki unconscious and poisoned.
• Mikoto woke and mistook Uchiha Chen for an enemy before recognizing him and breaking down in tears.
• Uchiha Chen led Minato, who carried Nawaki, and Mikoto toward Konoha’s camp while Big White helped watch for enemies.
• After a Sunagakure signal flare appeared, Uchiha Chen launched a red flare and told the others to run for the camp while he fought through the blockade.
• Tsunade learned Team One had been ambushed, then set out for the main battlefield camp despite Orochimaru warning that Chiyo might target Nawaki.
• Orochimaru reflected that Tsunade had feared death and the loss of her loved ones since Mito’s death.