Chapter Summaries

Aburame Tetsumaru tested his three new Genin with a giant Blade Mantis, judging both their combat skills and the insect’s strength. After the squad established its camp and shared a meal, Tetsumaru planned further training and prepared to begin simulated combat at Training Ground 3.

• Inuzuka O told Uchiha Hiroshi and Nara Yoshino about Aburame Tetsumaru’s reputation, and Tetsumaru introduced himself as their captain before summoning a giant Blade Mantis for a test.
• Uchiha Hiroshi, Inuzuka O, and Nara Yoshino fought the Blade Mantis for hours, eventually sealing its breathing holes with mud and barely defeating it.
• Tetsumaru praised the Genin’s coordination and the Blade Mantis’s endurance, then had the squad clean up and improve their camp with traps, warning seals, and scouting insects.
• Tetsumaru shared hot pot with the Genin and recorded plans for their future training before deciding to spend two more days training them.
• After breakfast the next morning, Tetsumaru learned that the three Genin already knew how to climb trees and walk on water, then took them to Training Ground 3 for simulated combat training.

Aburame Tetsumaru put his three subordinates through an insect-swarm survival exercise, then assigned each of them ninjutsu suited to their team roles. He later weighed ways to explore the Land of Wind and settled on secretly creating a crude barrier modeled after President Lu’s design.

• Aburame Tetsumaru sent thousands of Giant Insects after Uchiha Hiroshi, Inuzuka O, and Nara Yoshino, who fought through the swarm until they collapsed at sunset.
• Aburame Tetsumaru praised Uchiha Hiroshi’s strength and gave him Fire Release and Earth Release scrolls, while telling him to serve as the team’s captain, attacker, and defender.
• Aburame Tetsumaru gave Inuzuka O two D-rank Wind Release techniques to improve his speed and attacks, then assigned Nara Yoshino a large collection of support ninjutsu.
• Aburame Tetsumaru considered how to explore the Land of Wind, rejected joining Konoha’s behind-enemy-lines unit or infiltrating without support, and decided to make a bargain version of President Lu’s barrier.

Aburame Tetsumaru planned an underground tunnel network to search the Land of Wind for Giant Insects while Team 121 fought a Sunagakure squad. The chapter ended with Tetsumaru saving his Genin from a Jonin and assessing their performance.

• Aburame Tetsumaru planned to establish thirteen Mother Hives and dig tunnels along underground water veins throughout the Land of Wind.
• An Alarm Cricket warned Uchiha Hiroshi, Inuzuka O, and Nara Yoshino that Sunagakure ninja were approaching the bridge they were building.
• Uchiha Hiroshi and Nara Yoshino combined their techniques to repel the attackers, while Inuzuka O ambushed the Sunagakure squad from behind.
• The three Konoha Genin overpowered the squad's Puppet Master and restrained two ninja, but struggled against the Sunagakure Jonin.
• When the Jonin prepared a lethal counterattack against Inuzuka O, Aburame Tetsumaru intervened and killed him with a punch.
• Aburame Tetsumaru praised his squad for holding out for four minutes and fifteen seconds, then explained the tactics they had used.

After Team 121 completed a bridge mission and received an escort assignment, Aburame Tetsumaru secretly built and activated a Mother Hive that linked signal stations and enabled him to command sword mantises over long distances. He rejoined the convoy without revealing the network, planning to expand the system until Konoha could no longer restrict his insect forces.

• Aburame Tetsumaru praised Team 121 for defeating a Jonin-led team but decided to delay his students’ promotions and continued improving their combat skills with Appendage Insects and new Water Release techniques.
• Team 121 completed the bridge, returned to camp, and received an escort mission, which Aburame Tetsumaru accepted despite his dislike of such assignments.
• Aburame Tetsumaru established a Mother Hive in a tree beside the route, using it as a signal station and a breeding and supply base for sword mantises.
• Aburame Tetsumaru connected the Mother Hives and signal stations, creating a relay network that let him deploy sword mantises between Konoha and the Land of Rivers front.
• Aburame Tetsumaru tested the network, disguised the tree holes, and secretly switched places with his Shadow Clone in the convoy so the others would not discover the Mother Hive.

Aburame Tetsumaru endured another stretch of escort missions before Orochimaru arrived in the Land of Rivers with reinforcements, where the Konoha ninja welcomed Hatake Sakumo with overwhelming cheers. As the celebration began, Tetsumaru spoke with Orochimaru about their coming battle against Sunagakure.

• Aburame Tetsumaru calculated that the Land of Fire had five Mother Hives and that blade mantis production would soon increase.
• After Team 121 completed another escort mission, Tetsumaru complained about Mitokado Homura’s cautious command and learned that Homura would return to Konoha while Orochimaru would become deputy commander.
• Tetsumaru reviewed his records of the Sannin’s battles with Hanzo and discovered that their latest victory had forced the Land of Rain to withdraw from the war.
• Orochimaru and Tsunade arrived at the Land of Rivers camp with 2,300 reinforcements, and the assembled Konoha ninja loudly cheered Hatake Sakumo.
• At the celebration, Tetsumaru spoke with Orochimaru about fighting Sunagakure, and they discovered that neither of them had drunk alcohol before.

Tetsumaru reflected on the war’s balance of power as Orochimaru took command and presented a plan to destroy Sunagakure’s main force. Orochimaru assigned Tetsumaru a defensive position in the Land of Rivers and ordered him to hold off the Third Kazekage for five days if he attacked.

• Tetsumaru considered Konoha’s precarious position and the weakened state of the nations still fighting in the Second Shinobi World War.
• Hanzo submitted ceasefire letters to the Lands of Fire, Earth, Wind, and Iron, then withdrew into Amegakure.
• Orochimaru presented a decisive-battle plan to annihilate more than five thousand Suna Ninja, and Hatake Sakumo and the Jonin supported it.
• Orochimaru assigned Tetsumaru to defend a central position in the Land of Rivers and prevent the Kazekage from leaving for five days if he attacked.
• Tetsumaru accepted the mission.

Aburame Tetsumaru prepared his insect forces and disciples for a major mission, then attended Orochimaru’s briefing for Konoha’s final campaign against Sunagakure. The chapter ended when Tetsumaru was named as the leader responsible for the enormous defensive Sector Thirty-One, leaving the assembled ninjas wondering who Team 121 was.

• Aburame Tetsumaru accepted Orochimaru’s mission and ordered four Mother Hives to send giant insects and other swarms to the Land of Rivers.
• Aburame Tetsumaru prepared supplies for his disciples, gave Uchiha Hiroshi five hundred shuriken, and recorded what he had learned about the coming war.
• Aburame Tetsumaru resolved to avoid Dan Katō and Hatake Sakumo during the battle because he feared becoming caught in dangerous conflicts.
• Orochimaru rallied Konoha’s forces and assigned teams to operational sectors in the Land of Rivers.
• Orochimaru assigned Sector Thirty-One to Team 121, and Aburame Tetsumaru stepped forward as everyone wondered who the team was.

Aburame Tetsumaru accepted an enormous defensive mission in the Land of Rivers and prepared an insect army and relay network to cover the territory. After meeting a supply convoy, he revealed that he planned to amass more than ten million Ninja Insects and hold off Sunagakure’s main force for five days.

• Orochimaru assigned Aburame Tetsumaru and Team 121 a vast defensive zone, while the other Jonin questioned how four people could protect it.
• Team 121 traveled through the Land of Rivers, captured an Iwagakure spy and a Kirigakure Jonin, and lost one Blade Mantis in the fighting.
• Aburame Tetsumaru gathered Giant Insects and Insect Hives in a valley, then began building an underground camp and preparing his insect forces.
• Aburame Tetsumaru and his students built five Mother Hives and twenty-nine Signal Base Stations, establishing a network to monitor and command insects across the defensive zone.
• Aburame Tetsumaru met the Aburame Clan supply convoy led by Aburame Eiji and explained that its supplies would help him raise more than ten million Ninja Insects to withstand Sunagakure for five days.

Aburame Tetsumaru deployed tens of millions of insects across the Land of Rivers while Orochimaru’s southern campaign against Sunagakure collapsed into a fortified standoff. The Third Kazekage proposed a final invasion through the Land of Rivers to destroy Konoha’s supply line, leaving Sunagakure’s fate dependent on the risky plan.

• Aburame Tetsumaru hatched and organized vast numbers of insects, and Aburame Eiji saw the Insect Tide strip the campsite of vegetation as he led the supply convoy away.
• Aburame Tetsumaru expanded the swarm, hid insects across the war zone, and began training his three disciples to use the swarm in surprise attacks.
• Orochimaru led Konoha’s battered southern army in a retreat against Sunagakure’s much larger force, using repeated raids to slow its advance before both sides fortified their positions.
• Tsunade healed Orochimaru after Chiyo’s poison nearly killed him, and Orochimaru later joined Tsunade and Dan Katō to wound the Third Kazekage and force him to withdraw.
• Chiyo told the Third Kazekage that Sunagakure’s depleted reserves left little hope, but he proposed taking four thousand troops through the Land of Rivers to destroy Konoha’s supply line and defeat Orochimaru.

Aburame Tetsumaru detected Sunagakure’s invasion of the Land of Rivers and led his students in a devastating ambush on a supply convoy. After destroying the convoy and withdrawing, he prepared to attack another supply unit and challenged his students to explain why he had reduced the number of insect species.

• The Third Kazekage left Chiyo to hold off Orochimaru while he prepared to restore Nidaime’s policies after the war.
• Aburame Tetsumaru detected Sunagakure’s 3,000-ninja force entering the Land of Rivers and sent the intelligence to Konoha.
• Tetsumaru led his students around Sunagakure’s main force and ambushed a supply convoy with insects and Explosive Locusts, nearly annihilating its guards and destroying its supplies.
• Tetsumaru and his students finished off the remaining Suna Ninja, burned supplies they could not carry, and withdrew to prepare an attack on another convoy.
• As Tetsumaru’s students waited beside a massive insect swarm, Nara Yoshino asked why it contained fewer species than the swarms used in training, and Tetsumaru offered a reward for guessing.

Aburame Tetsumaru and his Genin attacked a Suna Ninja convoy with a vast Insect Swarm, but the Suna Ninja Jonin’s powerful Wind Release briefly turned the tide. The swarm surged back, and as the Suna Ninjas fought for their lives, the Jonin hid three young ninjas underground to preserve intelligence for Sunagakure.

• Aburame Tetsumaru launched an ambush with Uchiha Hiroshi, Nara Yoshino, and Inuzuka O, but the cautious Suna Ninja Jonin avoided their trap and led his squad back to the convoy.
• The Suna Ninjas used synchronized Wind Release: Great Breakthrough techniques to drive back the fragile insects, but the steadily replenished Insect Tide overwhelmed their defenses.
• The Suna Ninja Jonin cast Wind Release: Divine Tempest, killing tens of thousands of insects and prompting the Suna Ninjas to celebrate before the larger swarm advanced again.
• Aburame Tetsumaru sent the Insect Tide forward once more, and the Suna Ninjas resumed fighting as their Jonin admitted defeat and ordered Fuyi and two other young ninjas to hide.
• The Suna Ninja Jonin buried the three Genin in an emptied crate underground so they could survive and deliver intelligence to the Kazekage, while Aburame Tetsumaru’s Shadow Clone overheard him.

Aburame Tetsumaru’s team destroyed a Suna Ninja supply convoy, then used the smoke from the burning supplies to lure Sunagakure’s rescuers. As they headed to attack the third convoy, Tetsumaru relied on his insect network to track the Kazekage and keep the Suna forces occupied.

• The Suna jonin used a final Wind Release to engulf himself, the remaining Suna Ninja, the supplies, and the insects in a fiery tornado, ending the first battle.
• Aburame Tetsumaru chose to spare three sleeping Suna Ninja buried in boxes, using insects to keep them anesthetized for thirty days, and withdrew with his team.
• Tetsumaru explained how the village’s resources powered his swarm and directed Team 121 toward the fourth supply convoy, while insects feigned attacks on the third.
• Tetsumaru gathered insects in a narrow valley and planned a frontal assault using Landmine Insects to trigger the charge and disrupt the Suna Ninja’s retreat.
• Team 121 defeated the fourth convoy after the Landmine Insect blasts shattered the Suna formation, and Inuzuka O killed its exhausted jonin captain.
• Tetsumaru burned the captured supplies, raised a thick smoke column to attract Sunagakure’s rescuers, and led Team 121 toward the third supply convoy.

Aburame Tetsumaru’s attacks destroyed Sunagakure’s supplies, but his remote insect assault failed to eliminate a Suna battalion. After the Third Kazekage chose to continue east, Tetsumaru prepared to fight again and establish enough deterrence to slow the advancing army.

• The Third Kazekage learned that the supply attacks had cost Sunagakure a third of its plan’s provisions and ordered his forces to continue the surprise attack despite the losses.
• Aburame Tetsumaru’s squad returned to its hidden camp after four successful attacks, while Tetsumaru reviewed how the remotely commanded insect swarm had failed to stop a Suna battalion from breaking through.
• The Third Kazekage agonized over whether to proceed or retreat, then decided Sunagakure would continue east.
• Orochimaru ordered Tetsumaru to hold for at least five days and informed him that Konoha was mobilizing.
• Tetsumaru decided to destroy a Suna battalion to deter the enemy from spreading out, then had Team 121 observe Sunagakure’s advancing formation and prepare to strike.

Aburame Tetsumaru used staggered insect attacks to draw Sunagakure’s forces toward the north, then launched his main assault as the Third Kazekage ordered reinforcements to converge. The chapter left Tetsumaru and his students leading a massive Insect Tide against the exposed Suna Ninja squadrons.

• Nara Yoshino questioned Aburame Tetsumaru’s decision to fight directly, while Tetsumaru prepared a plan to exploit Sunagakure’s formations and command concerns.
• Nara Yoshino’s explosive trap caught one Suna Ninja, but elite Wind Release users countered the blast with coordinated Legion Ninjutsu and destroyed the first waves of insects.
• Aburame Tetsumaru used successive attacks on different squadrons to track Sunagakure’s movements and draw its battalions and nearby units toward threatened positions.
• The Third Kazekage received reports of attacks on several squadrons and ordered forces to maneuver south, then later directed the main force to support Maeda Squadron in the north.
• Aburame Tetsumaru gathered his students and mounted blade mantises beneath layers of insects as Squadrons No. 3 and No. 5 moved to reinforce the fighting.
• Aburame Tetsumaru sent the Insect Tide over the slope toward the Suna Ninja as the Third Kazekage ordered battalions to rush to Maeda Squadron’s aid.

Aburame Tetsumaru used a massive Insect Tide and layered deceptions to target the Suna Ninja’s strongest squad, while Sand Bee’s squad fought back with powerful Wind Release Legion Ninjutsu. The chapter ended as giant Mantis emerged from the surviving insect spheres, leaving Sand Bee and his squad facing another surprise attack.

• The Kazekage held back the Wind Shadow Guard and resolved to kill the Konoha insect users himself.
• Aburame Tetsumaru’s strategy had made Squad Four psychologically invisible to Sunagakure’s commanders, and he unleashed an immense Insect Tide against it.
• Sand Bee ordered his squad to use three Wind-Sand Tornadoes, but Tetsumaru’s charged Wind Dragon Tornado disrupted their formation and caused all three pillars to collapse.
• Sand Bee’s squad repeatedly used Great Breakthrough to hold back the Insect Tide as debris and insect corpses obscured the battlefield.
• Explosive Locust and Landmine Insect blasts forced the Suna Ninja to retreat, revealing four charging Insect Tides that their ninth Legion Ninjutsu could not fully destroy.
• Sand Bee warned his squad about the intact tails, but giant Mantis leaped from the surviving insect spheres.

Aburame Tetsumaru’s team annihilated Sand Bee’s squad, then launched a surprise attack that broke the Suna Ninja 1st Battalion. After killing its Jonin, Tetsumaru withdrew east and left the remaining insects to delay the Third Kazekage and cover the next battle.

• Aburame Tetsumaru trapped Sand Bee, escaped his explosive-tag attack, and confirmed the squad had not transmitted its intelligence before leading his team west.
• The Third Kazekage used Magnet Release to destroy swarms of insects and halt their advance, so Tetsumaru sent reserves to keep him occupied.
• Aburame Tetsumaru and his three disciples used coordinated attacks and ten Insect Tides to break the Suna Ninja 1st Battalion’s formation and inflict heavy casualties.
• Tetsumaru opened a western escape route, and the Suna Ninja scattered as two Jonin disagreed over whether to retreat or hold their position.
• Aburame Tetsumaru killed the two separated Jonin, then withdrew east with his disciples while leaving the remaining insects and Shadow Clones to occupy and mislead the Third Kazekage.

Aburame Tetsumaru used hidden Landmine Insects and Explosive Locusts to devastate Suna Ninja in a corpse-filled valley, though his team suffered injuries and damage. He then found the Suna Ninja 1st Squadron protected by an Earth Release fortress and withdrew when he saw no easy opening.

• Aburame Tetsumaru replaced his exhausted Blade Mantises, rested his students, and ordered Explosive Locusts to prepare a surprise attack.
• Aburame Tetsumaru detonated Landmine Insects hidden among the valley's insect corpses, then sent Explosive Locusts and Blade Mantises against the Suna Ninja.
• Aburame Tetsumaru destroyed a puppet with a Landmine Insect, while his team escaped the valley with damaged Blade Mantises and injured students.
• Aburame Tetsumaru reassured Nara Yoshino that the students would avoid the next charge and help draw attention from the hillside.
• Aburame Tetsumaru found nearly a hundred Suna Ninja defending themselves inside an Earth Release fortress and climbed away after judging it too well defended to attack.

Aburame Tetsumaru used a swarm of Giant Insects and Explosive Locusts to devastate the Suna Ninja forces, then escaped with his students while the Kazekage arrived. After the Suna Ninja debated whether to advance or retreat, Tetsumaru reviewed the successful battle and began wanting to test himself against the Kazekage.

• Aburame Tetsumaru summoned a massive Insect Tide to draw the Suna Ninja's attention, then retreated with his three students as the defenders killed the Blade Mantises.
• Tetsumaru led his students through streams and an underground river to evade the Kazekage and reach their hidden base.
• The Kazekage's forces counted heavy casualties, learned about Tetsumaru, and argued over whether to continue the campaign or withdraw.
• Tetsumaru tallied the insect losses and judged that his attacks had achieved their objectives and could delay the Suna Ninja for several more days.
• Tetsumaru reflected on his insect warfare system and wished to test his strength against the Kazekage.

Aburame Tetsumaru reflected on his strength and Konoha’s restrictions on powerful ninjutsu while harassing the Suna forces in the Land of Rivers. In the Land of Wind, Hatake Sakumo infiltrated Sunagakure, forced it to send out its last supply convoy under a five-hundred-man escort, and gathered Konoha forces to prepare an attack.

• Aburame Tetsumaru compared his Chakra and ninjutsu with the Kazekage’s, blamed Danzo’s political obstruction for denying him stronger techniques, and considered killing Danzo.
• Aburame Tetsumaru laid ambush and alarm insects along the Suna Ninja’s route, then rested as the Land of Rivers front settled into a lull.
• Hatake Sakumo killed a Suna sentry near Sunagakure, triggered an alarm, and used the village’s response to assess its defenses.
• Orochimaru informed Hatake Sakumo that the Kazekage had taken Sunagakure’s remaining elite forces to the Land of Rivers and ordered him to keep the village from sending support.
• Ebizo ordered the final supply convoy to depart on schedule with an escort increased to five hundred Suna Ninja, despite the danger posed by Hatake Sakumo.
• Hatake Sakumo decided to gather manpower, and Yakushi Tenzan led more than forty Konoha Ninja into their hidden underground base to prepare for the coming battle.

Hatake Sakumo led Konoha Ninja in an ambush on a Suna Ninja supply convoy, inflicting heavy losses before the enemy regrouped and drove the attackers off. Shangxin initially wanted to retreat, but news that Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law were ahead persuaded him to continue toward a possible showdown with White Fang.

• Hatake Sakumo ordered the Konoha Ninja to destroy the convoy's supplies and defeat its five hundred guards, then launched the attack by killing sentries and cutting through the advance unit.
• The Suna Ninja panicked and inflicted friendly-fire casualties until their Jonin regrouped them; Hatake Sakumo signaled the Konoha force to attack from behind.
• Hatake Sakumo charged Shangxin, killed two guards, and failed to catch the fleeing commander before turning to help the Konoha Ninja rout the Suna formation.
• More than three hundred Suna Ninja arrived, forcing Konoha to withdraw, while the convoy's leaders argued over whether to continue or retreat.
• Sanda Mikwan revealed that Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law were ahead, prompting Shangxin to keep the convoy moving as one group toward a possible fight with White Fang.
• Shangxin decided to increase the convoy's speed after its tightly clustered formation slowed the march too much.