Recaps

Uchiha Chen fought off Sunagakure ninja so Minato, Mikoto, and the injured Nawaki could escape toward the Konoha camp. He drew the pursuing enemies away and summoned the Blue Snake as more sand shinobi converged on him.

• Uchiha Chen killed a Sunagakure ninja with Chidori and Genjutsu, then told Minato and Mikoto to flee.
• Minato carried Nawaki while he and Mikoto ran toward the Konoha camp, leaving Uchiha Chen to hold the blockade.
• Uchiha Chen raised an Earth Wall, used Smoke Bombs to disengage, and chased after Minato's group to protect them.
• Uchiha Chen defeated another Sunagakure Jonin who tried to ambush Minato and Mikoto.
• Two sand shinobi attacked Uchiha Chen with Earth and Wind Release, but he dodged their attacks and summoned the Blue Snake as more enemies approached.
• Minato and Mikoto continued toward the Konoha camp, silently wishing they could become stronger as explosions sounded behind them.

Uchiha Chen held off the pursuing Sunagakure shinobi, then escaped to Konoha’s base after meeting Tsunade and the rescue forces. There, he learned Nawaki was being treated and saw Kato Dan leave the medical area exhausted and alone.

• Uchiha Chen fought and killed the sand shinobi surrounding him with Blue Snake’s help.
• After the battle, Uchiha Chen retreated as more enemies approached and led the remaining pursuers toward Konoha’s support force.
• Uchiha Chen met Tsunade, who charged at the sand shinobi while he continued toward the Konoha camp.
• Uchiha Chen reached the camp and learned from Kato Dan that Nawaki was undergoing surgery.
• Kato Dan left to sleep, and Uchiha Chen reflected that Kato Dan had nothing.

Uchiha Chen reported his battle record to Tsunade and visited the recovering Nawaki, who told him a wealthy mysterious merchant had once offered Uzumaki Mito three hundred million ryo for his pendant. Nawaki and Minato concluded the buyer must have been a true love of the First Hokage.

• Tsunade and Orochimaru reviewed the casualty report, recording fifty-eight Konoha casualties and more than seventy sand shinobi deaths.
• Tsunade confirmed that Chen's kills—one Elite Jonin, seven Jonin, and two Special Jonin—would be added to his ninja profile, then thanked him for saving Nawaki.
• Chen visited Nawaki in the medical tent, where Minato was changing his bandages as Nawaki recovered from the poison.
• Nawaki showed Chen his pendant and explained that a mysterious merchant had offered Uzumaki Mito three hundred million ryo for it after the First Hokage died.
• Nawaki and Minato speculated that the wealthy merchant had loved the First Hokage.

Nonō discovered that Kushina was missing and alerted the Third Hokage, who used the Telescope Technique but could not locate her. He ordered Konoha’s gates sealed and summoned the clan leaders, furious that Danzo was away in the Daimyo’s Capital.

• Dai paid Nonō an unusually generous salary and gave her a green outfit for training.
• Nonō went to the Senju Clan Compound to meet Kushina, found her house empty, and used the Black Striped Snake to contact Chen.
• Nonō rushed to the Hokage Building and told the Third Hokage that Kushina had disappeared.
• The Third Hokage used the Telescope Technique but could not find Kushina, leading him to suspect she had been abducted or taken outside Konoha.
• The Third Hokage ordered Konoha’s gates sealed and demanded that the Anbu protecting Kushina be found.
• After learning Danzo had gone to the Daimyo’s Capital, the Third Hokage struck his desk and summoned Hyuga Tenko, Inuzuka Iwa, and Aburame Shibi.

Uzumaki Kushina realized she had been kidnapped by Hidden Cloud Village ninja and feared being taken to the Land of Lightning. Meanwhile, the Third Raikage suspected the effortless abduction was part of Danzo’s plot and prepared to turn it against him.

• Kushina woke tied up with her Chakra sealed and dropped a strand of hair to leave a clue for Konoha’s scouts.
• Nine-Tails told Kushina that her captors were taking her to the Hidden Cloud Village, while refusing to help her escape.
• The Third Raikage trained his son in Lightning Release Chakra Mode and discussed the village’s Jinchuriki plan with him.
• The Third Raikage reasoned that Danzo had likely arranged the abduction to attack the Third Hokage and that Root Shinobi awaited the Cloud ninja along their route.
• The Third Raikage decided to exploit Danzo’s scheme and make him face the consequences.

The Third Raikage defended bringing the Uzumaki girl to Hidden Cloud Village as a future Eight-Tails Jinchuriki and the start of a new clan, while the Third Hokage faced blame for Kushina's abduction. Conflicting clues pointed toward the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning, leaving Konoha unsure which village had taken her.

• The boy questioned whether an outsider should become the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, and the Third Raikage argued that the Uzumaki girl could give Hidden Cloud Village a safe Jinchuriki and a new clan.
• The boy asked what would happen if the mission failed, and the Third Raikage said they would choose someone from the younger generation.
• The Third Hokage worried that he would bear responsibility if Konoha failed to recover Kushina.
• A search team reported four Anbu corpses outside Konoha Forest and traces suggesting the enemy had headed toward the Land of Water.
• The Third Hokage learned that Root Shinobi traces led toward the Land of Lightning and ordered Hyuga Tenko to scout toward the Land of Mist while command sent shinobi to search toward the Land of Earth.

Uchiha Chen used Shukaku to locate Kushina and pursued the group that had abducted her. He caught up with four enemy ninjas near the Land of Grass and trapped them in a Genjutsu, leaving their fate unresolved.

• Uchiha Chen sent Sakumo's Ninja Dog back and released Shukaku from a Scroll.
• Uchiha Chen persuaded Shukaku to help him find the Nine-Tails, and Shukaku sensed its faint aura about thirty kilometers east.
• Uchiha Chen carried Shukaku east and found the four ninjas transporting Kushina toward the Land of Grass.
• The middle-aged ninja and his subordinates noticed Uchiha Chen following them and attacked with Lightning Release Shuriken Shadow Clones.
• Uchiha Chen avoided the attack and cast Genjutsu: Cherry Blossom Fall, trapping all four ninjas in an illusion.

Uchiha Chen defeated the Cloud Shinobi who had abducted Kushina and caught up with their captain, using genjutsu to stop him and rescue her. The captain fell unconscious under Chen’s illusion, and Chen reunited with Kushina.

• Uchiha Chen overcame the Cloud Shinobi’s sensory defenses, killed two attackers, and forced the captain to flee with Kushina while another shinobi stayed behind.
• Uchiha Chen defeated the remaining Cloud Shinobi, took a scroll containing his head, and pursued the captain through the forest.
• Uchiha Chen caught up with the captain and disrupted his Chakra with a snap of his fingers, causing him to fall from a tree.
• The captain pressed a kunai against what he thought was Kushina, but Uchiha Chen revealed that he was holding a White Phosphorus Snake instead.
• Kushina asked Chen what had happened to the unconscious captain, and Chen said he had trapped him in a genjutsu.

Uchiha Chen rescued Kushina and spent the night with her in a cave before arranging for her return to Konoha. In Konoha, the Third Hokage confronted the village’s ninja over the kidnapping while Danzo worried that his scheme had failed.

• Uchiha Chen asked Kushina if she had been hurt, and she told him she was safe and complained that the Third Hokage’s promised protection had failed.
• Kushina chatted about Konoha and the weapon shop while Uchiha Chen roasted a Psyduck and gave her money from his house to spend.
• Uchiha Chen told Kushina he could not return to Konoha yet, but would take her to the Land of Rivers Command Headquarters so someone could escort her home.
• The Third Hokage berated the Jonin and security forces for allowing Kushina to be kidnapped, while Danzo wondered whether she had already been rescued and feared his plan had failed.

The Third Hokage stripped Danzo of his Police Force and Root posts after Kushina’s abduction, then condemned the village’s leaders and clans for neglecting their duties. Kushina remained at the frontline command headquarters while Konoha avoided war with the Hidden Cloud Village, and Homura Mitokado took temporary responsibility for village security.

• Utatane Koharu announced that Danzo lost his acting Police Force captaincy and Root leadership, while two Anbu captains were also dismissed.
• Danzo challenged the Third Hokage over responsibility for Kushina’s abduction, but the Third Hokage revealed that Kushina had already been rescued and that the Daimyo had refused his resignation.
• The Third Hokage rebuked the clan heads and village leadership for internal failures before dismissing the meeting.
• The Third Hokage told Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado that Chen had identified the abductors as Hidden Cloud shinobi, but Konoha would not risk fighting on two fronts.
• The Third Hokage decided to leave Kushina at the frontline command headquarters for now and assigned Homura Mitokado to oversee village security.

The chapter followed the worsening wars between the shinobi villages and Nagato’s resolve to break the world’s cycle of hatred. It ended with Jiraiya leaving his three Rain Country pupils to shape their country’s future themselves.

• Ōnoki exploited Konoha’s restraint to reclaim occupied territory, while the Third Raikage resumed fighting and the battles against Sunagakure intensified.
• Tsunade deciphered Chiyo’s poison, and Konoha organized teams to target Sunagakure’s Elite Puppet Masters; Uchiha Chen’s squad survived a two-day battle that killed forty enemy ninja at the cost of ten of its own.
• Hatake Sakumo returned from a high-risk mission badly wounded and unsuccessful, leaving Konoha’s ninja wondering when the war would end.
• Nagato told Jiraiya that he did not yet know the road to peace but would one day break the curse of hatred and hold peace in his hands.
• Jiraiya left Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato, urging them to rely on their own strength to change the Land of Rain.

Jiraiya returned to the Base as a reinforcement leader and reunited with Uchiha Chen, who accompanied him to find Minato. Jiraiya revealed that he had written only four words of his new novel.

• Uchiha Chen saw Jiraiya at the Jonin Meeting, where Orochimaru announced that Jiraiya had arrived with reinforcements.
• Orochimaru reviewed Konoha's remaining forces and squad assignments before the Jonin Meeting ended.
• Jiraiya caught up with Uchiha Chen and asked about Minato, while denying that Tsunade had beaten him.
• Uchiha Chen asked Jiraiya about his new novel, and Jiraiya admitted that he had written only four words.

Uchiha Chen joined Orochimaru, Hatake Sakumo, and Jiraiya as they led nearly two hundred Konoha ninja across the desert toward the main battlefield. The Third Kazekage rushed out to defend Sunagakure’s thinly staffed front, unaware that Jiraiya was with the approaching force.

• Uchiha Chen greeted Jiraiya at the base gate, then met Hatake Sakumo, who asked him to coordinate with the team.
• Orochimaru addressed the nearly two hundred assembled Konoha ninja and led them toward the main battlefield with Hatake Sakumo, Jiraiya, and Uchiha Chen.
• Orochimaru reminded Uchiha Chen to follow their earlier coordination, relying on his genjutsu to support the force in battle.
• Sunagakure’s intelligence ninja discovered Konoha’s advance only after the force had crossed much of the distance to the battlefield.
• The Third Kazekage led a rush from the Sunagakure base to reinforce the weak defensive line, not knowing Jiraiya had joined Konoha’s force.

Uchiha Chen, Orochimaru, Hatake Sakumo, and Jiraiya cut through the Sunagakure forces with Chen's hand-signless Genjutsu before confronting the Third Kazekage. The Third Kazekage attacked Konoha's rear unit with Iron Sand, and Orochimaru's Rashomon was overwhelmed.

• Uchiha Chen used Genjutsu to create openings as Orochimaru and Hatake Sakumo defeated Sand ninja on the main battlefield.
• Jiraiya watched Chen's Genjutsu and wondered how it could be used without Hand Seals.
• A scout detected powerful Chakra, and Orochimaru identified the approaching Third Kazekage and ordered the rear unit to circle around.
• The Third Kazekage confronted Orochimaru, Hatake Sakumo, Jiraiya, and Uchiha Chen, then unleashed Magnet Release: Sandstorm Flow at the Konoha troops behind them.
• Orochimaru summoned Rashomon to shield the Konoha troops, but the Third Kazekage's Iron Sand swallowed the gate.

Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Sakumo, and Uchiha Chen coordinated their attacks against the Third Kazekage, who descended from the sky and fought them with Iron Sand. Sakumo’s rapid sword strikes failed to injure him, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Jiraiya used the Toad Mouth Bind Technique to swallow the Third Kazekage’s Iron Sand attack while Orochimaru praised the defense.
• Uchiha Chen attacked the airborne Third Kazekage with Fire Release and Shuriken, while Sakumo sent Chakra blades upward to meet his Iron Sand.
• The Third Kazekage descended and faced Orochimaru and Sakumo head-on as Uchiha Chen prepared to support them with Genjutsu and Jiraiya waited to harass him from range.
• The Third Kazekage formed vibrating Iron Sand spears, but Orochimaru’s Hidden Shadow Many Snake Hands diverted them as Sakumo charged.
• Uchiha Chen failed to catch the fast-moving Third Kazekage with Genjutsu, and Sakumo’s rapid sword strikes clashed against Iron Sand without injuring him.

Orochimaru, Sakumo, and Uchiha Chen struggled against the Third Kazekage’s Iron Sand, with Jiraiya’s taunt helping Orochimaru regain his composure. The team’s counterattack overwhelmed the Kazekage’s defenses, and a rain of Kusanagi Swords buried him.

• The Third Kazekage exploited Orochimaru’s lapse in focus, but Uchiha Chen deflected his spear with shuriken, leaving Orochimaru with a cut on his face.
• Jiraiya mocked Orochimaru and prompted him to steady himself, while Sakumo called for help as the Iron Sand Shield wounded him.
• Sakumo exposed himself to restrain the Third Kazekage, allowing Uchiha Chen to pierce the Kazekage’s arm with a Monstrous Strength Kunai and Chidori Sharp Spear.
• Orochimaru and Jiraiya rushed in to support Sakumo and Chen as Iron Sand spears battered the area.
• Orochimaru summoned a giant snake that unleashed Kusanagi Sword Shadow Clones, while Jiraiya’s long white hair trapped the Third Kazekage’s feet.
• The Third Kazekage was submerged beneath the rain of Kusanagi Swords.

Jiraiya and the others fought the Third Kazekage, whose Iron Sand overwhelmed Orochimaru and separated the group. Uchiha Chen briefly trapped the Kazekage with Genjutsu, allowing Jiraiya to destroy his Iron Sand with a combined fire-and-water attack, though the fight’s outcome remained unclear.

• The Third Kazekage broke apart his Iron Sand Shield, separated Orochimaru and Sakumo, and sent Orochimaru flying with a kick.
• Jiraiya asked Uchiha Chen to use Genjutsu on the Third Kazekage while he prepared a way to destroy the Iron Sand.
• Uchiha Chen used Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique to paralyze the Third Kazekage for a few seconds.
• Jiraiya and Gamabunta combined Toad Oil Bullet with Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, engulfing the Third Kazekage in flames.
• Gamabunta doused the red-hot Iron Sand with Water Release, causing it to crack and break apart.

Uchiha Chen, Sakumo, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya defeated and captured the Third Kazekage, then sent a victory signal to the Konoha forces. Tsunade announced the victory on the battlefield and urged Konoha's ninja to finish the fight.

• The Third Kazekage unleashed Iron Sand World Method, but Uchiha Chen, Sakumo, and Orochimaru attacked him while Jiraiya's contribution left him badly scalded.
• Uchiha Chen briefly caught the Third Kazekage in a Genjutsu, allowing Orochimaru to wound him and Sakumo to stab him in the chest.
• Orochimaru rendered the Third Kazekage unconscious, sealed his Chakra, tied him up, and carried him away as a prisoner.
• Jiraiya agreed to signal victory, but Sakumo summoned eagles to send the message after Jiraiya stalled to talk about naming a child with Tsunade.
• Tsunade announced that the Third Kazekage had lost and Konoha had won the war, prompting Konoha's ninja to charge.

Orochimaru declared Konoha's victory after arriving at the battlefield with Manda and the captured Third Kazekage. Chiyo attacked Hatake Sakumo, but Sakumo knocked her unconscious, and Orochimaru offered the Sunagakure forces unconditional surrender, ending the battle.

• Orochimaru and the others arrived atop Manda, and Orochimaru displayed the captured Third Kazekage as proof that Konoha had won.
• Chiyo charged at Hatake Sakumo, prompting the Konoha ninja to attack her with a combined Ninjutsu technique.
• Chiyo used her Chikamatsu Ten Puppets to absorb the attack, but Sakumo reached her and knocked her unconscious.
• Orochimaru offered the Sunagakure ninja the choice to keep fighting or surrender and leave the battlefield unharmed.
• After one Sunagakure Chunin surrendered, the rest followed, leaving only the Konoha ninja and the unconscious Chiyo and Third Kazekage on the battlefield.

As Konoha's army headed home, Uchiha Chen and Himeji discussed her father's failing eyesight and agreed that she would join Chen's team. Meanwhile, Jiraiya struggled to learn the Rasengan from Minato and failed again, leaving him furious.

• Uchiha Chen watched the war-scarred Land of Rivers and spoke with Himeji about the peace they hoped would return.
• Himeji told Uchiha Chen that her father's eyesight was worsening, and Chen suggested asking Tsunade to examine him.
• Uchiha Chen asked Himeji what she planned to do after returning to the village, and she agreed to stay on his team.
• Uchiha Chen found Minato teaching Jiraiya the Rasengan, which Jiraiya had failed to learn during the three days since he began practicing.
• Jiraiya's water balloon burst in his face, and he cursed in frustration.

Uchiha Chen discovered that Mikoto had injured her hand meridians by training too hard to master Chidori. He took her to see Tsunade, while Minato watched their emotional exchange from a distance.

• Jiraiya angrily stomped on the water ball and left Minato and Uchiha Chen alone.
• Minato told Uchiha Chen that he could barely use the Rasengan because his Chakra reserves were too low.
• Uchiha Chen and Minato found Mikoto practicing Chidori beneath a rocky outcrop.
• Uchiha Chen saw that Mikoto’s hand meridians were badly swollen and learned that she had continued training despite the pain.
• Mikoto cried as Uchiha Chen apologized, then he took her to see Teacher Tsunade.

Uchiha Chen traveled with Konoha’s army as it escorted the captured Third Kazekage toward the Land of Fire, while Tsunade trained Nawaki and treated Mikoto’s injury. After another ambush, Orochimaru inspected the Kazekage’s seals and assured Chen they were under control, then learned Jiraiya had gone to show Tsunade his Rasengan.

• Tsunade harshly scolded Uchiha Chen for his reckless Ninjutsu and said Mikoto should consider giving up being a ninja if her dangerous training continued.
• Tsunade pushed Nawaki through brutal training, and Chen backed her up while ignoring Nawaki’s plea for help.
• Konoha’s army resumed its march with Orochimaru at the front, Sakumo at the rear, and the Third Kazekage guarded by Tsunade and Jiraiya.
• Two days later, Sand shinobi ambushed the army, but Konoha’s preparations prevented them from causing serious damage.
• Uchiha Chen and Sakumo checked the Kazekage’s cage seals, and Orochimaru inspected the seals before telling Chen everything was under control.
• Orochimaru asked where Jiraiya was and learned that Jiraiya had used the Rasengan in battle and gone to show it off to Tsunade.

As the Konoha group neared the Land of Fire, Uchiha Chen explained that the village had suspended Chunin evaluations to prepare for a joint Chunin Exams that would showcase its strength and attract missions and visitors. Meanwhile, the imprisoned Third Kazekage studied his cage’s seals and prayed for heavier rain to help him escape before they reached Konoha.

• Uchiha Chen recognized the group was approaching the Land of Fire from the greener scenery and more humid air, and explained how a joint Chunin Exams could aid Konoha’s postwar recovery.
• Nawaki worried about the exam’s theory portion, and Uchiha Chen joked that the exam scope was bigger than the ninja world.
• Heavy rain fell as the group traveled, while the Third Kazekage confirmed the cage’s sealing formulae repelled water.
• The Third Kazekage secretly analyzed the seals with his remaining Chakra and prayed the rain would slow the group enough to give him a chance to escape.

Uchiha Chen and his companions prepared to return to the Land of Fire while Jiraiya tried to recover from Tsunade dumping him. When the victorious army crossed the border, they found a large escort force waiting, apparently eager to claim credit for escorting the Third Kazekage.

• Jiraiya insisted that his hour-long date with Tsunade had ended in a breakup, and Uchiha Chen suggested a reckless way to win her back.
• Uchiha Chen told Minato to rest before the troops set out, and Minato said he was preparing bandages for Jiraiya.
• Uchiha Chen warned Nawaki and Minato that a battle might still occur because a major problem remained unresolved.
• The army crossed into the Land of Fire and cheered, while Orochimaru received a report that Konoha's escort team had arrived.
• Orochimaru recognized that the mixed escort force, led mostly by the Uchiha Clan, wanted to escort the Third Kazekage back and gain credit, while Jiraiya called them flies.

Orochimaru handed the prisoners over to a Konoha reception force led by Anbu and backed by the Uchiha Clan, despite the resentment this stirred among the returning shinobi. Two days into the journey toward Konoha, the imprisoned Third Kazekage broke the seal on his cage and prepared to take revenge.

• An Anbu shinobi presented the Hokage’s order and announced that his force would take charge of the prisoners, including the Third Kazekage.
• Orochimaru agreed to the handover while the returning shinobi recognized that Uchiha Yama and Danzo were seeking a share of the victory’s spoils.
• Jiraiya stayed silent as the force organized around the Kazekage’s cage and Chiyo, then set off toward Konoha.
• Two days later, the Third Kazekage used a counter-sealing formula he had drawn over nearly four days to break the seal on his cage.
• The Third Kazekage felt his Chakra returning and rejected the idea of forgiving Konoha, resolving to spill blood.