Chapter Summaries

Hatake Sakumo’s forces attacked the Suna army while he learned that Aburame Tetsumaru’s team had fought the Kazekage and inflicted heavy losses. Tetsumaru sent his teammates to safety and challenged the Kazekage alone, ending the chapter with both sides facing off.

• Hatake Sakumo led four attacks against the Suna Ninja, burning supplies and wounding Vulture before retreating for the night.
• Hatake Sakumo and his ninja read reports that credited Tetsumaru and his three teammates with holding off the Kazekage and achieving more than three hundred kills.
• The Kazekage ambushed Team 121 with Iron Sand, so Tetsumaru ordered Hiroshi, Yoshino, and O to scatter toward their rendezvous camps.
• Tetsumaru stayed behind, severed the Kazekage’s Iron Sand Wings with Wind Release, and unleashed further Wind and Earth Release attacks against his defenses.
• Tetsumaru armed himself with his Insect Hive as the Kazekage fortified his Iron Sand defenses, then asked, “Kazekage, are you that great?”

Aburame Tetsumaru kept the Kazekage occupied while the three Genin escaped through an emergency tunnel, then revealed his Appendage Insect Bio-Armor as the battle neared its end. The Kazekage was left stunned by Tetsumaru’s transformation, with four minutes remaining.

• The Kazekage renewed his attacks on Aburame Tetsumaru with Iron Sand, determined to kill him and conceal his humiliation.
• Aburame Tetsumaru used Water Release and Hidden Mist to fend off the Kazekage while Suna Ninja searched for the fleeing Genin.
• The Kazekage ordered his arriving subordinates to pursue the three Genin, and Nara Yoshino led them into an emergency tunnel before collapsing its entrance with an Explosive Tag.
• Aburame Tetsumaru used clones and repeated Water Release attacks to keep the Kazekage busy as the countdown fell to five minutes.
• The Kazekage destroyed eight apparent copies of Tetsumaru, but the original revealed his Appendage Insect Bio-Armor and stunned him.

Aburame Tetsumaru used his Appendage Insect Bio-Armor to fight the Kazekage, survived the Kazekage’s Iron Sand grinding attack, and tried to escape before being cornered again. With his armor still intact and six minutes to spare, he faced the Kazekage alone as the chapter ended.

• Aburame Tetsumaru charged the Kazekage in his Bio-Armor, breaking through Iron Sand defenses and dodging the Kazekage’s attacks with its strength and speed.
• Aburame Tetsumaru nearly struck the Kazekage with his vibrating sword, but discovered he had cut an Iron Sand Clone instead.
• The Kazekage trapped Aburame Tetsumaru inside an Iron Sand Cuboid and used Magnet Release: Grinding Wheel Hell to grind him for five minutes.
• Aburame Tetsumaru’s spherical armor survived the grinding, and he escaped the Iron Sand, attacked a Suna Ninja, and launched Locusts at the surrounding enemies.
• Aburame Tetsumaru used his armor’s insects to leap and fly away, but the Kazekage recaptured him after the other Suna Ninja retreated.
• The Kazekage asked whether Aburame Tetsumaru had given up, while Tetsumaru remained calm with six minutes to spare.

Aburame Tetsumaru overwhelmed the Kazekage with an enormous Insect Swarm, then escaped the Iron Sand cage while his Shadow Clone kept the fight going. He left the battlefield by air and reached a hidden tunnel, but the route was short and he might still encounter Suna Ninja beyond it.

• Aburame Tetsumaru summoned eleven million insects, whose combined impact shattered the Iron Sand cage and briefly knocked both him and the Kazekage unconscious.
• Aburame Tetsumaru used water dragons and swarms of Chakra-enhanced locusts to pressure the Kazekage, while a Shadow Clone fought in his place as his real body hid underground.
• Aburame Tetsumaru had a chance to seize the Kazekage from below but withdrew without killing him.
• Aburame Tetsumaru escaped the Iron Sand prison, fought off Suna Ninja who attacked him, and flew east toward a hidden tunnel entrance.
• Aburame Tetsumaru entered the wilderness tunnel, where marker insects could guide him along the retreat route, but the tunnel was too short to guarantee he would avoid the outer Suna Ninja.

Aburame Tetsumaru reached Team 121's hidden base and saved the badly wounded Inuzuka O while teaching his students emergency treatment. After moving the team to another base, he ordered his insects to retreat and discovered that the swarm had grown by more than a million overnight.

• Aburame Tetsumaru arrived at the hidden base and found Inuzuka O near death from blood loss and poison.
• Aburame Tetsumaru treated Inuzuka O, repaired Nara Yoshino's wounds, and taught Uchiha Hiroshi and Nara Yoshino how to manage wounds and tourniquets.
• Inuzuka O regained consciousness after Aburame Tetsumaru gave him an infusion, and the team ate and rested while insects kept watch.
• Aburame Tetsumaru reflected that his clan status could limit his future and decided he would need to keep digging tunnels to preserve his options.
• Aburame Tetsumaru moved the team to another base before dawn and ordered the insect swarm to retreat after its siege of Sunagakure yielded little.
• Aburame Tetsumaru counted the insects and realized that more than a million had survived the previous battle and joined the nighttime attack.

Aburame Tetsumaru harassed Sunagakure with his insects and then asked his three subordinates to become his formal disciples. After explaining why he spared three defeated Suna Ninja, he accepted all three as students.

• Aburame Tetsumaru used organized insect attacks and nighttime raids to slow Sunagakure’s advance and disrupt its camp.
• Aburame Tetsumaru asked Nara Yoshino, Inuzuka O, and Uchiha Hiroshi to become his students; Yoshino and Inuzuka O accepted immediately.
• Uchiha Hiroshi asked why Aburame Tetsumaru had spared three Suna Ninja, and Tetsumaru explained his limits on killing.
• Aburame Tetsumaru argued that ninja should protect their own lives without allowing killing to destroy their hearts.
• Uchiha Hiroshi accepted Aburame Tetsumaru as his teacher, and Tetsumaru formally welcomed all three as his disciples.

Aburame Tetsumaru celebrated taking three disciples by attacking Sunagakure with fireworks, while scouts reported his success to Orochimaru. With Konoha winning on multiple fronts, Orochimaru prepared to destroy Sunagakure, and Hatake Sakumo moved to attack the enemy fortress.

• Aburame Tetsumaru explained why he had taken Inuzuka O, Yoshino, and their companion as disciples, then celebrated with them at a feast.
• Aburame Tetsumaru led his disciples near Sunagakure and sent Explosive Locusts carrying incendiary bombs against the Kazekage's Iron Sand, creating brilliant fireworks over the camp.
• Orochimaru's scouts reported Aburame Tetsumaru's success, and Orochimaru concluded that Konoha had victory within reach as Hatake Sakumo threatened the supply convoy.
• Tsunade questioned Orochimaru about Aburame Tetsumaru's reported feat, while Dan Katō diverted her attention and Orochimaru left to inspect the camp.
• Wujiu Shangxin ordered the Suna Ninja supply convoy to rush toward its fortress, and Hatake Sakumo pursued it before telling a subordinate to ask Orochimaru for support.

Aburame Tetsumaru learned that Sunagakure was retreating after Konoha destroyed its final supply convoy, and he spent the withdrawal salvaging resources and harassing the Suna Ninja. As he trained his students, he discovered that Uchiha Hiroshi’s Sharingan had evolved from excitement rather than a battlefield tragedy.

• Aburame Tetsumaru received word that his Shadow Clones had found Giant Ants hidden in a long-abandoned Oasis, but he postponed investigating them while the war continued.
• Sunagakure’s Kazekage ordered a retreat after Hatake Sakumo and Orochimaru destroyed the village’s final supply convoy, killing Chiyo’s son and daughter-in-law among others.
• The Kazekage tried to ambush Aburame Tetsumaru, but Tetsumaru ignored the retreating Suna Ninja to recover metals from his dead insects and repair his communications network.
• Aburame Tetsumaru received Orochimaru’s report on the supply convoy’s destruction, then led Uchiha Hiroshi and Nara Yoshino in harassing the retreating Suna Ninja until they reached the Land of Wind’s desert.
• Aburame Tetsumaru began training his students and learned that Uchiha Hiroshi’s Sharingan had evolved while he watched fireworks; he told Hiro to claim it awakened during a pursuit by Suna Ninja.

Aburame Tetsumaru left his disciples under Shadow Clone supervision and traveled into the Land of Wind to capture Giant Ants while tracking the war through the Mother Hives. Orochimaru repeatedly harried the Kazekage’s army, but after Chiyo’s reinforcements arrived, both forces prepared for a larger battle, with Konoha gaining the advantage in their initial clashes.

• Aburame Tetsumaru planned training paths for Uchiha Hiroshi, Nara Yoshino, and Inuzuka O, then left them with Shadow Clones and headed for the Desert Sea Ruins.
• Orochimaru intercepted the Kazekage’s force, trapped and killed more than two hundred Suna Ninja, then withdrew when the Kazekage turned the battle against him with Iron Sand.
• Orochimaru repeatedly attacked the marching Suna Ninja, slowed their advance, and lured the Kazekage into a trap where Konoha Ninja overheated his Iron Sand with Fire Release.
• Four thousand Konoha reinforcements joined Orochimaru, but the Kazekage’s Iron Sand domain held them off until Hatake Sakumo arrived and began killing Suna Chunin.
• Chiyo brought Sunagakure reinforcements to the battlefield, and Orochimaru and Hatake Sakumo released the surrounded Suna Ninja rather than risk being caught between enemy forces.
• The two armies began probing clashes, and the battle-hardened Konoha Ninja gained the upper hand over the depleted, less experienced Suna Ninja.

Orochimaru recognized that the Kazekage had launched a night assault to cover Sunagakure’s retreat, then ordered Konoha to pursue independently through the chaos. After the battle devastated both armies, Orochimaru led Konoha toward Sunagakure to encircle it, while Aburame Tetsumaru concluded the village was on the verge of destruction and wondered what had changed its historical fate.

• Orochimaru deduced that the Kazekage’s attack aimed to create a chaotic night retreat, and Hatake Sakumo backed his plan to pursue Suna Ninja independently until dawn.
• Tsunade arrived after dark and joined Orochimaru in the melee, while she accidentally destroyed Aburame Tetsumaru’s hidden Shadow Clone.
• Tsunade and Orochimaru fought through the night, got lost, and followed Orochimaru’s trail markers east at dawn.
• The night battle cost Sunagakure more than 4,600 troops, while thousands of Konoha Ninja were dead or missing; Orochimaru then led 6,400 Konoha Ninja toward Sunagakure to encircle it.
• Aburame Tetsumaru reviewed intelligence about Sunagakure’s dwindling forces and food supply, concluded Orochimaru could besiege the village into defeat, and questioned why history had not ended with Sunagakure’s destruction.

Aburame Tetsumaru studied the Giant Ants, stole eggs and samples, and fled when the colony discovered his intrusion. He returned to Sunagakure after Orochimaru summoned him, where Konoha’s Jonin learned that peace talks were planned and agreed to fight all-out for two more days first.

• Aburame Tetsumaru infiltrated the Giant Ants’ underground kingdom, recorded its conditions, and began building a Mother Hive nearby to support continued surveillance.
• Aburame Tetsumaru captured six Giant Ants, killed four for specimens, and stole one hundred eggs, triggering the colony to search for him and forcing him to flee.
• Aburame Tetsumaru received Orochimaru’s order to report to Sunagakure immediately and diverted there after sending instructions to his students.
• Aburame Tetsumaru saw that Konoha had launched a costly assault on Sunagakure and discovered Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu had arrived to propose peace talks.
• Orochimaru delayed the peace mission for two days, and the Konoha Jonin agreed to fight with everything they had during that time.

Orochimaru organized two days of relentless attacks on Sunagakure after Konoha came under assault from unidentified flying ninja, with Aburame Tetsumaru’s insect swarms leading the night fighting. The assault devastated Sunagakure’s defenses and exposed how badly Orochimaru had underestimated Tetsumaru’s forces, while Hatake Sakumo’s arrival sent the Suna Ninja fleeing in terror.

• Orochimaru gained the Konoha Ninja Army’s support for delaying the peace negotiations and ordered continuous attacks to weaken Sunagakure before they withdrew.
• Orochimaru told Aburame Tetsumaru that Konoha had been attacked by flying ninja, though their identities remained unknown, and instructed him to inflict heavy casualties on Sunagakure.
• Aburame Tetsumaru returned with 2.4 million Locusts, which swarmed Sunagakure’s walls and gates while Landmine Insects infiltrated the village and caused widespread explosions.
• The Suna Ninja blanketed the walls with poisonous mist, killing the insects and ending Tetsumaru’s assault, after which Tsunade, Orochimaru, Dan Katō, and Hatake Sakumo took turns attacking.
• The Suna Ninja panicked most violently when Hatake Sakumo appeared as Konoha’s White Fang, while Orochimaru recognized that Tetsumaru’s swarm was more powerful than expected and considered revising the battle plan.

After a brutal three-day battle at Sunagakure’s wall, Aburame Tetsumaru reunited with surviving classmates before launching another insect attack. The Suna Ninja burned the first swarm with a massive fuel-air blast, but Tetsumaru cleared the resulting dead zone and sent his students’ insects back into the fight.

• Konoha and Suna forces withdrew at sunset after suffering thousands of casualties in three days of fighting.
• Aburame Tetsumaru reunited with Inuzuka Tsuyoshi and several surviving classmates, who learned that only six members of their class remained.
• Hyuga Tokuma explained that Tetsumaru had created more than thirty Shadow Clones during their conversation, revealing his enormous Chakra reserves and keen observation skills.
• The Kazekage ordered Suna Ninja to ignite a cloud of fuel against Tetsumaru’s hidden Locust swarm, incinerating the insects in a huge blast.
• Tetsumaru used sixteen synchronized Shadow Clones to perform Wind Release: Super Wind Comes, clearing the blast zone so his students could send the insect swarm back toward the wall.

Aburame Tetsumaru’s insect swarm battered Sunagakure through the night, but the Kazekage’s Iron Sand Storm stopped the invasion. Konoha and Sunagakure agreed to a ceasefire, and Orochimaru withdrew his army after Konoha faced a sudden threat from Sky Village.

• Aburame Tetsumaru sent beetles up Sunagakure’s cliffs while Uchiha Hiroshi’s Mole Crickets secretly bored through the rocks sealing the main gate.
• Uchiha Hiroshi blew open the gate as Aburame Tetsumaru launched the locusts and blade mantises, but the Kazekage raised an Iron Sand Storm that repelled the insects.
• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu offered Sunagakure terms, and the Kazekage signed a ceasefire agreement after bargaining with Chiyo.
• Orochimaru announced that Sky Village was attacking Konoha from the air, prompting Konoha’s army to withdraw despite the advisers’ objections.
• Orochimaru ignored Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu’s criticism while Sunagakure, weakened by the fighting, prepared to abandon the Land of Bears and defend its own territory.

Aburame Tetsumaru returned to Konoha with a million insects and was assigned to help defend the village as it prepared for another attack by the Sky Ninja. When the Sky Ninja brought an Aerial Fortress to his position, Tetsumaru took command of Konoha’s ambush force and ordered them to fight, hoping to seize the fortress’s technology.

• Aburame Tetsumaru dissected Giant Ants on the journey home, then recalled more than twenty million insects left in the Land of Rivers and was assigned to guard warehouses near the Forest of Death.
• Konoha reinforced its defenses and launched a search for the Sky Village while Tetsumaru spent his idle days playing mahjong.
• The Sky Ninja brought their Aerial Fortress to attack the warehouse complex and nearby barrier node guarded by Tetsumaru.
• The Hokage assembled Tetsumaru’s aerial force with more than two million flying insects and over a hundred supporting ninja, including Nara Shikaku and Tetsumaru’s disciples.
• After the Aerial Fortress appeared at the ambush site, Tetsumaru ignored Nara Shikaku’s hesitation and ordered the force to counterattack while the Giant Insect Squadron held position.

Aburame Tetsumaru and the Konoha ninjas repelled a Sky Ninja assault and damaged the Aerial Fortress's main cannon. The fortress caught fire and began to descend, but it stabilized and escaped, leaving Tetsumaru furious that it got away.

• The bald Sky Ninja ordered attacks on the warehouse, but Aburame Tetsumaru's forces intercepted the rock bombardments and identified the defenders as Uchiha ninjas.
• Aburame Tetsumaru coordinated a Wind Reversal that sent more than two hundred Sky Ninjas' Wind Release attacks back at them, then used Giant Insect Squadron to bring down the disorganized survivors.
• Aburame Tetsumaru sent Explosive Locusts toward the Aerial Fortress while its Fortress Cannon burned tens of thousands of insects with a lightning attack.
• Aburame Tetsumaru guided twenty Explosive Locusts around the fortress to strike the Fortress Cannon, causing a huge explosion that tilted the fortress and set it smoking and burning.
• Aburame Tetsumaru ordered the Konoha ninjas to retreat before the fortress crashed, but the damaged fortress stabilized above the ground and flew away.

After Sky Village decided to launch an all-out attack on Konoha, the bald fortress commander warned that the Aburame insect swarm could destroy their forces, then arranged for his disciple Dao Qi to preserve a remnant of the village. Meanwhile, Konoha located Sky Village and began planning how to board its Aerial Fortresses, with Aburame Tetsumaru identifying the disguised Anbu ninja as Namikaze Minato.

• Sky Village rejected the bald commander's warnings and agreed to attack Konoha with all three Aerial Fortresses.
• The bald commander told Dao Qi to exchange out his trusted men, flee with them, and preserve Sky Village; Dao Qi said he would take the name Shennong.
• Aburame Clan ninja traced Sky Village's hidden location, and the Hokage summoned Konoha's Jonin to plan its destruction.
• Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade said their summons could not reach the fortresses, while an Anbu ninja proposed using intelligence about their usual flight altitude.
• Nara Shikaku confirmed the Anbu ninja's observation, and Aburame Tetsumaru recognized the disguised ninja as Namikaze Minato.

Konoha located Sky Village and launched a coordinated ambush as its three Aerial Fortresses moved toward the village. Sarutobi Hiruzen’s devastating attack and the Konoha assault overwhelmed the Sky Ninja, and Aburame Tetsumaru’s Giant Insect Squadron began bringing down their airborne fighters.

• After Aburame insects tracked the Sky Ninja to their base, Nara Shikaku planned an ambush and the Hokage assembled Konoha’s forces to destroy Sky Village.
• Aburame Tetsumaru led the Giant Insect Squadron to its concealed position near the Aerial Fortresses, while Konoha’s elite prepared to board them.
• As the fortresses approached at dawn, Sarutobi Hiruzen used a combination of five nature transformations to blast a huge hole through the leading fortress.
• Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade summoned their animals and led Jonin onto the fortresses, where Konoha’s forces routed the Sky Ninja.
• When Sky Ninja fled into the air and tried to regroup, Aburame Tetsumaru ordered the Giant Insect Squadron to attack, and the swarm descended on them.

Konoha’s assault destroyed Sky Village’s Aerial Fortresses after the Sky Ninja chose to self-destruct, while Aburame Tetsumaru collected Katsuyu flesh samples for research. The chapter left Tetsumaru suspecting the Sandaime Hokage had engineered the battle to promote himself, and increasingly unwilling to keep fighting for him.

• Konoha’s Jonin boarded the Aerial Fortresses, overwhelmed the weaker Sky Ninja, and Aburame Tetsumaru’s insect swarm helped clear the decks.
• After Sky Village’s leader died, Zanzanmaru rejected the plan to self-destruct, but the other Sky Ninja killed him and prepared to destroy the fortresses.
• The Sandaime Hokage ordered Konoha to attack with Explosive Locusts, and the Sky Ninja activated the self-destruct sequence as the fortresses came under bombardment.
• The three Aerial Fortresses exploded and crashed, while Tetsumaru collected Katsuyu’s discarded flesh with her permission for research.
• Tetsumaru considered possible uses for Katsuyu’s abilities and concluded that the Sandaime Hokage had withdrawn most of Konoha’s forces to promote his own reputation.
• Sunagakure attacked Iwa Ninja in the Land of Bears, while Tetsumaru grew sick of fighting for the Hokage.

After returning from the war, Aburame Tetsumaru discovered that Elder Shihui had secretly protected and guided him for years, including arranging the cutoff of his childhood allowance to distance him from the Ant Sugar matter. Shihui asked Tetsumaru to look after the Aburame Clan’s branch families, while Tetsumaru remained uncertain whether he could stay in Konoha forever.

• Aburame Tetsumaru rested at home after the war and learned from Aburame Kazekazu that Elder Shihui had asked to see him.
• Aburame Tetsumaru visited Elder Shihui, who explained that his growing strength and influence made another frontline deployment unlikely.
• Elder Shihui revealed that he had helped Tetsumaru during the war and had told Kazekazu to cut off Tetsumaru’s allowance when he was six to protect him from the Ant Sugar matter.
• Aburame Tetsumaru explained that he understood the allowance cutoff was meant to protect him but still resented the clan’s treatment of branch families during its conflict with Root.
• Elder Shihui said he had hoped Tetsumaru would succeed him as an elder, then asked him to look after the Aburame Clan and its branch family ninja.