Chapter Summaries

Mimi continued developing specialized insect breeds and considered the Swarm’s future as she pursued a hidden, sustainable path. After Shion reported that Danzo had asked him for people, Mimi told the clan to prepare for the Ninja World War and left to investigate something.

• Mimi developed Kikaichū variants through selective breeding and continued experimenting with Slugs, Inscription Insects, and the Eve Swarm.
• Mimi used Slug reproduction and shared experience among Slugs to create a system for cultivating and transmitting mutations and knowledge.
• Mimi weighed whether to build a conventional, overwhelming Swarm or pursue specialized insects that could integrate into the natural ecosystem.
• Shion told Mimi that Danzo had asked him for people, so he had directed Danzo to speak to her.
• Mimi told Shion to wait and see, asked about the clan’s new technique, and urged him to prepare application tactics for the Ninja World War.
• Mimi used the Swarm’s vision, then announced that she was going out.

Danzo came to Konoha’s orphanage to take children aged six and older for Root, but Mimi intervened and attacked him with insects. Yakushi Nonō watched Mimi protect the children and laughed as Danzo screamed.

• Danzo ordered the orphanage matron to hand over every child aged six and older for Root’s training.
• The matron introduced eight-year-old Yakushi Nonō, who agreed to help manage the children and protect her younger siblings.
• Mimi confronted Danzo and challenged his claim that taking the children was the Hokage’s decision.
• Mimi unleashed a swarm of insects that engulfed Danzo and knocked him to the ground.
• Nonō laughed as Danzo screamed beneath the insects.

Mimi subdued Danzo after he threatened Yakushi Nonō and dragged him through Konoha, humiliating him before the village. She left him at Konoha Hospital for treatment, while the shaken villagers remembered the day the Darkness of Konoha was born.

• Mimi found Danzo unconscious after draining his Chakra and reassured Yakushi Nonō that he would not return to the orphanage.
• Mimi dragged Danzo through Konoha’s busiest streets, drawing horrified stares and ruining his reputation among the villagers and ninjas.
• Mimi continued her stroll, dragging Danzo into obstacles and washing him with a fire hydrant while onlookers feared for his life.
• Jiraiya tried to stop Mimi, but fled after she demanded that he pay her back.
• Mimi brought Danzo to Konoha Hospital, told the staff not to let him die, and left him there badly injured.

Tsunade confided her fear of becoming Hokage to Mimi, who argued that the Third Hokage had lost the Ninja Clans’ trust and urged Tsunade to lead Konoha through the coming war and reform it. Tsunade accepted the challenge, then chased Mimi after discovering she had been speaking to an Insect Clone.

• Tsunade mourned beneath the cherry trees and admitted she feared making mistakes as Hokage and bearing everyone’s expectations.
• Mimi provoked Tsunade into explaining that she feared the burden of people entrusting their lives to her and worried about opposing Sarutobi Sensei.
• Mimi criticized the Third Hokage for failing to change Konoha, alienating the Ninja Clans, and allowing Danzo to endanger orphans.
• Mimi urged Tsunade to become Fourth Hokage, win the coming Ninja World War, and put living people before the village as an institution.
• Mimi promised that she and others would protect Tsunade, and Tsunade decided she could stake her own life on the struggle.
• Tsunade lunged at Mimi after learning Mimi had been an Insect Clone, and Mimi’s swarm engulfed her.

Tsunade resolved to become Hokage as Mito prepared to give her the Nine-Tails, leaving Tsunade heartbroken over the thought of losing her grandmother. Mimi revealed that Mito had staged the farewell and could survive by giving Tsunade only half of the Nine-Tails, then poisoned Tsunade during their argument.

• Tsunade told Mito she wanted to become Hokage, and Mito gave her advice about protecting her family and finding happiness.
• Mito spoke as if she were about to die, and Tsunade tearfully promised to become an outstanding woman when they met again.
• Mimi entered and exposed that Mito had been teasing Tsunade and had made no plans to die.
• Mimi explained that Mito could give Tsunade one half of the Nine-Tails while keeping the other half inside herself.
• Tsunade charged at Mimi, who used poison to paralyze her and mocked her lack of progress.

The Third Hokage concluded that he had to abandon Danzo’s failed attempt to recruit orphans and ordered him to stop Root’s dangerous activities. After visiting Danzo in the hospital, he agreed to help rebuild Root, while Danzo learned that Mimi had dragged his unconscious body around Konoha.

• The Third Hokage realized Mimi’s actions had damaged his prestige, but chose to sacrifice Danzo rather than risk dividing the village during the looming war.
• At Konoha Hospital, Danzo demanded that Mimi be killed and proposed waiting until Uzumaki Mito died so they could control the Jinchuriki, but the Third Hokage warned him not to pursue that plan.
• The Third Hokage ordered Danzo to stop Root’s dangerous operations and assist the Anbu in training personnel, but Danzo insisted he would establish Root as usual.
• Danzo demanded Anbu personnel, secret and forbidden technique records, and civilian elites; the Third Hokage agreed to provide support and let Danzo recruit the civilians himself.
• The Third Hokage told Danzo to work in secret and revealed that Mimi had dragged his unconscious body through Konoha, leaving Danzo horrified by his public humiliation.
• Danzo accused the Third Hokage of watching without helping, and the Third Hokage promised to compensate him.

Chiri developed Yin Release: Nami, a chakra-fed clone she could seal inside her eye and summon, then went after Kagami Uchiha to test it and address the clan’s divisions. Kagami left the children he was teaching to meet her, and Chiri followed him.

• Chiri experimented with Shadow Clones and concluded that Madara’s technique was more than an ordinary clone.
• Chiri created a solid Yin Clone by shaping Yin Release chakra, then sealed it in her left eye and linked it to her Yin Seal to keep supplying it chakra.
• Chiri summoned the clone, named it Yin Release: Nami, and tested its ability to wield a Yin Release blade before absorbing it back into her eye.
• Chiri spotted Kagami Uchiha teaching clan children the Will of Fire and decided to confront him about the clan’s affairs and see his Mangekyō.
• Kagami asked whether the Clan Head had decided to oppose the village, then left the children behind and used Body Flicker to depart; Chiri followed him.

Chiri fought Uchiha Kagami to test whether she could stop him and discovered that her abilities could counter his Mangekyo techniques. Their battle resumed when Chiri unleashed an invisible sea of flames, while black Kikaichū gathered at the forest’s edge and took human form.

• Chiri and Uchiha Kagami faced each other over a river, and Kagami warned that her Projection Genjutsu would not work against his Mangekyo.
• Kagami summoned the invisible High-Yielding Spirit God, but Chiri fought it under Genjutsu and used Nami to wound him.
• Kagami enhanced himself with High-Yielding Spirit Lord suggestions and fought Chiri, but her Bio-Steel clothing left her unharmed as their techniques clashed.
• Kagami withdrew, and Chiri replenished her Chakra before warning him not to rely too much on his eyes.
• Chiri unleashed Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation, while black Kikaichū gathered at the forest’s edge and transformed into human figures.

Chiri used a lightning-heated wire technique to smash Kagami Uchiha’s Susanoo and leave him badly injured. As Kagami tried to counterattack with Susanoo’s magatama, Chiri caught and redirected the projectile toward him.

• Kagami Uchiha summoned Susanoo to withstand Chiri’s Great Fire Annihilation.
• Chiri used Uchiha Style Wire Control Kenjutsu, Dance of the Last Bloom, to strike Susanoo with a high-speed, lightning-heated cable and hurl Kagami into the forest.
• Kagami struggled to recover as Susanoo rebuilt itself, while Chiri ran toward his crash site.
• Kagami used High-Yielding Spirit God to locate Chiri and launched Susanoo’s Yasakani no Magatama at her.
• Chiri threaded three kunai through the magatama’s holes, wrapped it with wire, and redirected it toward Kagami.

Uchiha Chiri defeated Kagami Uchiha in a brutal battle, then stopped the Anbu from taking him away. The Uchiha clan rallied around Chiri as their strongest member, while Mimi’s Insect Clone followed her scent.

• Kagami used his Tomoe Jade to unleash a massive Fire Release explosion, but Chiri survived and bound him with her Blood Rose Dance.
• Chiri declared victory, confronted Kagami about his illness and orders from the Third Hokage, and warned him to stop approaching clan children before leaving him unconscious.
• Four Anbu arrived to retrieve Kagami, but Chiri threatened them with threads around their necks and refused to hand him over.
• Uchiha clan members arrived, causing the Anbu to withdraw, and learned that Chiri had defeated Kagami.
• The Uchiha carried Kagami away and began treating Chiri as their new leader, while Mimi’s Insect Clone tracked Chiri by her pheromones.

After fighting an invisible opponent, Chiri treated her injuries and reconsidered her reliance on Genjutsu, then discovered that her Lightning Release could interact with steel wire and suspected she had awakened Magnet Release. Mimi went to observe Hitomi’s training and found a young Might Duy practicing nearby.

• Mimi told Chiri that Mito would perform the Nine-Tails extraction ritual the next morning and needed guards, and Chiri agreed to meet her there.
• After Mimi left, Chiri treated her bruises and recognized her weaknesses in detecting enemies and delivering a decisive attack.
• Chiri studied Mito’s Flying Thunder God scroll but could not sense fluctuations in space, then experimented with Lightning Release and injured her hand with its heat.
• Chiri’s Lightning Release made her unable to pull away from steel wire around her wrist, leading her to suspect she had Magnet Release and decide to test her magnetic-field sensing.
• Mimi found Hitomi practicing sword swings at a forest training ground and observed a young Might Duy training against a wooden post.

Hitomi encountered Might Duy training in her old forest territory and tested his self-created taijutsu. After pointing out its weaknesses, she advised him to build his physical strength and left open the possibility of teaching him more if he kept persevering.

• Hitomi watched Duy exhaust himself with training and confronted him about using her old territory, but refused the few coins he offered as compensation.
• Duy explained that he could not use ninjutsu or genjutsu and insisted he would keep pursuing taijutsu despite his teacher saying he was unsuited to being a ninja.
• Hitomi asked Duy to demonstrate his Konoha Style Taijutsu, and he attacked with a series of sweeping kicks that she easily dodged before knocking him off balance.
• Hitomi criticized Duy's technique and lack of strength and speed, then advised him to train with iron weights and develop his physical strength.
• Duy asked Hitomi to teach him taijutsu in the future, and she told him it would depend on how long he kept going before walking away toward Mimi's Insect Clone.

White Fang recovered enough to join Mimi, Hitomi, and Chiri on a secret mission to guard a powerful Barrier’s entrance. As the Barrier sealed the cave, he realized his post made him feel like a watchdog, then stood to look imposing.

• A nurse cared for White Fang in the hospital, and he told her he feared a ninja’s dangerous life could leave her a widow.
• Mimi used the Life Transfer Technique to restore White Fang’s strength and summoned him for a mission that could not fail.
• White Fang trained after leaving the hospital, then met Mimi, Hitomi, and Chiri the next morning and received a Bio-Steel cloak.
• The group traveled to a Barrier at a cave entrance, where Mimi assigned White Fang to kill anyone who approached.
• Mimi and Hitomi entered the cave while Chiri concealed herself, and a boulder sealed the entrance as the Barrier activated.
• White Fang imagined Mimi ordering him to bite intruders like a watchdog, then stood with his arms crossed while Chiri watched.

Mimi and Mito entered Mito’s Sealing Space and forcibly split the Nine-Tails into its yin and yang halves. Mimi left as Mito prepared to extract the tailed beast, setting the stage for a dangerous battle.

• Mimi entered Mito’s Sealing Space, where they found the Nine-Tails inside the seal.
• Mito overpowered the Nine-Tails, interrupting its Tailed Beast Ball and binding it with Adamantine Sealing Chains.
• Mimi taunted the restrained Nine-Tails while Mito prepared the sealing technique.
• Mito split the Nine-Tails into its yin and yang halves as it resisted and glared at them resentfully.
• Mimi warned the Nine-Tails before leaving the Sealing Space, while the extraction and ensuing battle remained ahead.

Mimi used her specialized Kikaichū and Sealing Techniques to trap and freeze the Nine-Tails as it emerged from Mito. After the Nine-Tails fired a beam and Mimi deflected it, she prepared to retaliate.

• Mimi spread Sealing Techniques across the area while Mito released the Nine-Tails from her body.
• Mimi deployed Winter Storm Chariots to enclose the Nine-Tails in a Barrier and freeze it inside blocks of ice.
• Mimi used the ground Sealing Techniques to pull the unfrozen parts of the Nine-Tails into a band of light, while Tsunade wondered if she was pregnant.
• The Nine-Tails charged and fired a beam at Mimi, but Mimi tilted the ice Barrier and redirected the blast into the sky.
• Mimi called the Nine-Tails spirited and summoned more Winter Storm Chariots from the seal on her chest.

Three Nine-Tails blasts shook the area around Konoha and sent the village into panic as the Third Hokage led Anbu to investigate. White Fang chose to follow Chiri’s side, barred the Third Hokage from approaching the Cliff Wall, and drew his sword when the Hokage challenged him.

• White Fang and Chiri watched three orange-red blasts erupt from the Cliff Wall, and the shock waves battered White Fang and shattered the Barrier.
• The blasts caused earthquakes and panic in Konoha, where the Third Hokage mistook them for a possible enemy attack and ordered an evacuation and a response.
• The Third Hokage led Anbu to the Cliff Wall, where White Fang waited after the blasts stopped.
• Chiri urged White Fang to choose a side, and he decided that the Third Hokage was too weak to lead Konoha.
• White Fang told the Third Hokage there were no enemies, then stopped him with a kunai and warned that his mission was to kill anyone who trespassed.
• The Third Hokage prepared to get past Hatake Sakumo, and White Fang drew his short sword.

The Third Hokage fought White Fang as he tried to pass and confirm Lady Mito’s sealing ritual. After White Fang’s dirty tactics left the Third Hokage hurting, the Hokage called in the Anbu, and White Fang was left battling them while Chiri watched.

• The Third Hokage summoned a Fuma Shuriken and challenged White Fang, while Chiri observed the fight through Genjutsu.
• White Fang dodged and destroyed the Third Hokage’s shuriken clones, then used his lightning-linked Short Sword to attack from unexpected angles.
• The Third Hokage blasted White Fang with a Water Bullet, but White Fang recovered and pulled his Short Sword back with lightning.
• The Third Hokage signaled the surrounding Anbu to attack White Fang, while Chiri and the nearby Anbu did not intervene.
• White Fang fought the Anbu and wondered why Chiri was only watching.

Mimi sealed the Nine-Tails into Tsunade without notifying the Third Hokage, then faced his objections as the group emerged from the cave. The Third Hokage let the matter go, and Tsunade declared that she would protect everyone as the new Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki.

• Mimi carried Mito out of the cave while Tsunade struggled to walk after the Nine-Tails' Chakra left her weak and unsteady.
• Mimi withdrew the barrier and confronted the Third Hokage, who questioned why she had made Tsunade the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki without informing him.
• Mito opened her eyes and reassured the Third Hokage that she was alive and well, easing his concern.
• Mimi explained that White Fang had been following standard orders, and the Third Hokage released him and agreed to let the incident pass.
• Tsunade told the Third Hokage she was the future Fourth Hokage and vowed to protect everyone as the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki.

After White Fang reported Salamander Hanzo’s strength, the Third Hokage ordered the village to spread the news and stir the other great nations against the Rain Country. Meanwhile, Danzo established Root and began plotting to influence Tsunade and the Insect Princess, ending the chapter as he walked alone into a secluded alley.

• White Fang reported his mission to the Third Hokage while concealing the information about Uchiha Madara.
• The Third Hokage ordered the Anbu to publicize Salamander Hanzo’s power and ambitions, hoping the other great nations would oppose the Rain Country.
• Danzo gathered new Root recruits, including Dan Katō and Hiruko, then asked Dan Katō to pursue the Insect Princess or Tsunade for the village’s sake.
• Dan Katō agreed to follow Danzo’s orders as a Root ninja without attending regular Root training.
• Children mocked Danzo in the street, and he walked into a secluded alley with a cold expression.

The Hidden Cloud team searching the Land of Iron uncovered a deadly trap in Arui’s corpse, which killed more than half their operation and led them to blame Aburame insects. In Konoha, Mimi woke Tsunade and told her that something had happened, while White Fang followed a Kikaichū to learn more.

• The Hidden Cloud squad examined the frozen bodies and concluded that four elite swordsmen had wiped out their combat squads; their captain recognized White Fang’s handiwork and discovered Arui’s coded warning about Aburame insects.
• Arui’s dormant insects activated when the corpse warmed, causing it to burst and poison more than a dozen Hidden Cloud ninja who had gathered around it.
• White Fang, restless after fifteen days without a mission, spotted a Kikaichū and followed it.
• Mimi kicked open Tsunade’s bedroom door, poured water over her, and told her to get up because something had happened.