Chapter Summaries

Soseki revealed the Medical Scroll, a sealing technique that let two people use the Mystical Palm Technique together, and Orochimaru predicted it could make Soseki more famous than the Hokage. In the Hidden Cloud, the Raikage and A faced B’s long recovery and decided to wait for an opportunity to act against Soseki, possibly when the Hidden Mist entered the war.

• Soseki and Minato explained what had happened during the battle, and Jiraiya and Orochimaru argued over the cost of trying to kill the Eight Tails Jinchuriki.
• Soseki showed Jiraiya and Orochimaru the Medical Scroll and explained that its C-rank sealing technique let two people use the Mystical Palm Technique together.
• Orochimaru said the Medical Scroll could make Soseki more renowned than the Hokage once it was widely promoted.
• A blamed himself for B’s defeat, while the Raikage said B might need one or two years to recover.
• The Raikage rejected A’s plan to assassinate Soseki and said they would wait for B to recover and for the Hidden Mist Village to join the war.

Mizuki and Soseki’s squad investigated shinobi disappearing in Hidden Hot Springs Village, where they discovered that Cloud Village had also lost shinobi. Soseki identified human blood in the village’s clear soup, and the squad prepared to act on the lead.

• Mizuki defeated a group of Cloud Ninja who mistook him for Soseki and returned to Hidden Hot Springs Village.
• Mizuki told the special operations squad that Cloud Village shinobi had also disappeared from the village.
• Soseki’s squad discussed the disappearances and looked to Jonin Soseki for a plan.
• An old man brought the squad clear soup, and Soseki detected the scent of human blood in it.
• Soseki said they would pursue the lead directly instead of investigating slowly.

Soseki and his team found the Holy (Evil) God cult’s basement ritual site and fought its fanatical members, whose bishop could survive ordinary attacks. Soseki defeated the bishop with a soul-based technique, and Asuma discovered a child still alive near the blood pool.

• The bishop declared that the cult needed more sacrifices, but dismissed warnings that Leaf and Cloud shinobi were investigating.
• Kurenai, Asuma, Mizuki, and Soseki confronted the cult after questioning an informed subordinate with Genjutsu, and the bishop revealed that the missing Leaf shinobi had become part of the ritual.
• The cultists attacked, and Mizuki struck the bishop through the heart, only for him to revive and fight on.
• The Leaf shinobi burned many cultists, but the bishop kept attacking Mizuki despite being engulfed in flames.
• Soseki used Mind Transfer Jutsu: Restraint Kill to damage the bishop’s soul and bring him down, while the bishop cursed the shinobi and proclaimed allegiance to the Evil God.
• Asuma called the others over after finding a child alive beside the blood pool.

Soseki and his allies rescued a young Hidan from the Evil God Sect, then learned that Hidden Mist Village was making moves as they considered the nature of deities and their powers. Soseki concluded that divine power might have influenced Kaguya Otsutsuki, but decided it was too dangerous for him to pursue for now.

• Soseki revived the young Hidan, and the group decided to take him back so the Hokage could reform him with the Will of Fire.
• Orochimaru and Jiraiya discussed Hidan’s immortality and theories about gods, while Minato reported that Hidden Mist Village had begun making moves.
• Orochimaru ordered preparations for a possible war with Hidden Mist Village and told Minato and Soseki to provide reinforcements when fighting began.
• Soseki studied the Evil God Sect’s materials and speculated that Kaguya Otsutsuki had absorbed and been corrupted by the world’s indigenous divine powers.
• Soseki decided not to pursue the dangerous power of deities while he remained weak.

Soseki left the hospital to reach Jiraiya, who had been gravely wounded by the Raikage during a battle at Outpost Seven. Soseki began healing Jiraiya with an improved Creation Rebirth technique, while Jiraiya realized he had confessed several secrets.

• Soseki defended the temporary hospital from an enemy attack, then grew suspicious when the fighting continued outside.
• Inuzuka Gaku told Soseki that Jiraiya was near death at Outpost Seven, and Soseki teleported there with him and a Shadow Clone.
• Minato and Orochimaru fought the Raikage while Jiraiya lay gravely wounded, and the Raikage revealed that he had disguised himself as a spy to strike the Leaf camp.
• Soseki sealed the lightning around Jiraiya’s chest and used his modified Creation Rebirth to regenerate Jiraiya’s destroyed organs.
• Jiraiya realized he had revealed embarrassing secrets and wondered whether he could still pretend to be dead.

Soseki healed Jiraiya, frustrating the Raikage’s attack on Outpost Seven as A and Killer B joined the battle. The Cloud trio then focused their assault on Jiraiya, who summoned Gamabunta while Minato, Soseki, and Orochimaru tried to protect him.

• Soseki healed Jiraiya’s chest wound, enraging the Raikage and forcing him to acknowledge that the other Cloud Ninja were also attacking.
• A and Killer B arrived at Outpost Seven, and A warned the new jonin to assume Soseki’s apparent advantages were traps.
• A recounted several of Soseki’s past tricks before Jiraiya, Minato, Soseki, and Orochimaru resumed fighting the Cloud Ninja.
• A, Killer B, and the Raikage coordinated their attacks and singled out the recently injured Jiraiya.
• Jiraiya used the Summoning Technique to bring Gamabunta onto the battlefield.

Jiraiya, Minato, and Soseki fought the Raikage’s group as giant Summoning Beasts clashed with the Eight Tails. The battle ended without a clear victor after Hidden Mist Village attacked both sides’ forces, forcing them to consider retreating.

• Jiraiya summoned Gamabunta, and Soseki and Orochimaru summoned Gama Ken, Manda, and the Great Slug to fight the Eight Tails and Killer B.
• Minato entered Sage Mode instantly and struck the Raikage with a Sage Art: Super Big Ball Rasengan, injuring him but leaving Minato with only one powerful attack remaining.
• Jiraiya summoned Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima as the battle between the Raikage’s group and the Leaf ninjas intensified.
• Dodai warned the Raikage that Hidden Mist Village had attacked his village, while Yamanaka Takeharu reported that Hidden Mist had also ambushed several Leaf camps.
• Orochimaru proposed ending the fight, and both sides faced pressure to respond to the attacks on their forces.

Soseki arrived at Camp No. 33 as the Hidden Mist overwhelmed the Leaf defenders, then used Flying Thunder God and Genjutsu to kill two jōnin and rout the attackers. He left immediately to reinforce other camps, and he and Minato spent the night saving hundreds of ninja as the Leaf Village Twin Stars became a nightmare for the Hidden Mist.

• The Leaf ninja at Camp No. 33 abandoned their failing defense and charged the Hidden Mist, but their advantage soon turned into a rout.
• Soseki arrived and used Swamp of the Underworld to trap Hidden Mist ninja, then killed Jōnin Ryōjin and Jōnin Shiratori with Flying Thunder God and Genjutsu.
• The Hidden Mist forces broke and fled, leaving thirty or forty corpses behind as the Leaf defenders counterattacked.
• Soseki declined to stay at Camp No. 33 and vanished to reinforce another camp, while Shūnen told the other Leaf ninja about their supposed past draw.
• Soseki and Minato moved between dozens of camps throughout the night and saved hundreds of ninja, while the Leaf Village Twin Stars became a nightmare for many Hidden Mist ninja.

The Mizukage assessed Hidden Mist Village’s raids on Leaf Village and Hidden Cloud Village, while Soseki recovered at the Leaf camp and asked Minato to teach him about Sage Mode. The chapter ended with Jiraiya joining their discussion, claiming he would supervise the dangerous training.

• The Mizukage discussed the results of the raids with his masked jonin and argued that Hidden Mist Village’s island position protected it from retaliation.
• A Hidden Mist jonin reported that a supposed Hidden Cloud Village spy wanted to meet the Mizukage, who agreed to receive him.
• Soseki woke late after fighting and treating people through the night, then received grateful greetings from the recovering Leaf ninja.
• Soseki visited Minato and asked him to explain how he used his one-shot Sage Mode, and Minato happily agreed to help.
• Jiraiya entered the tent and insisted that he should supervise their Sage arts training.

Minato explained his one-time Sage Mode to Soseki, who learned it quickly and considered how it could complement the Eight Gates. Orochimaru summoned them to a war meeting, where he revealed that the Third Hokage would soon reinforce the front while Kushina guarded the Leaf Village.

• Minato described one-time Sage Mode’s heavy Chakra loss, limited power, and physical burden, then taught Soseki how to use it.
• Soseki immediately entered the mode and asked Minato whether he could use it repeatedly; Minato thought Soseki’s stronger physique might let him use it two or three times.
• Jiraiya praised Minato’s technique before retreating, while Soseki continued discussing its details with Minato.
• Yamanaka Takeharu summoned Soseki and Minato to Orochimaru’s meeting, where Orochimaru warned that the Hidden Cloud Village and Hidden Mist Village might also attack the Leaf Village.
• Orochimaru announced that the Third Hokage would reinforce the front and that Kushina would guard the Leaf Village, reassuring Minato.

On the way to the Land of Rivers, Soseki’s squad encountered the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, who revealed that they had cooperated with Hidden Cloud Village to target him. The enemy surrounded the squad and blocked their expected escape, leaving Soseki and his comrades facing a powerful ambush.

• Asuma and Mizuki praised Soseki for killing eleven Hidden Mist Village jonin, and his reputation frightened a group of Mist ninja into fleeing.
• Soseki’s squad pursued the retreating Mist ninja, but Asuma joked about encountering the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
• The Seven Ninja Swordsmen appeared around the squad, and Soseki crushed a kunai meant to summon support, but no one arrived.
• Kushimaru Kuriarare and Raiga Kurosuki revealed that Hidden Mist Village had cooperated with Hidden Cloud Village to eliminate Soseki, while Minato was occupied elsewhere.
• Soseki’s teammates urged him to escape with the Flying Thunder God Technique, while the Seven Ninja Swordsmen mockingly encouraged the squad to fight back.

Soseki delayed Might Duy from sacrificing himself against the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and hid the group in a sealed cave. Asuma and the others offered to stay behind, but Soseki refused to abandon anyone and proposed using the Four Violet Flames Formation to divide the fight.

• Might Duy arrived to protect Soseki and the others, intending to use all eight gates against the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
• Soseki cast Dark Mist to conceal the group, then led everyone into a cave and blocked sensory detection with a barrier.
• Asuma volunteered to stay behind, and Mizuki and the others followed by offering themselves in turn.
• Soseki refused to leave anyone behind and urged the group to rewrite their fate together.
• Soseki proposed that Asuma and the others use the Four Violet Flames Formation to create a separate battlefield for Might Duy and him.

Soseki’s group hurriedly learned the Four Violet Flames Formation so they could protect themselves while he and Might Duy fought the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. After the enemies found their hiding place, Soseki coordinated a plan and Might Duy distracted them, leaving the fight about to begin.

• Soseki told his team to learn the Four Violet Flames Formation quickly and create an inner barrier to protect themselves.
• Asuma, Kurenai, and Might Guy worked out that they needed twenty people to seal five enemies while Soseki and Might Duy handled the other two.
• Soseki reassured the group, and they began training together as Might Duy warmed up nearby.
• The Seven Ninja Swordsmen found the hidden tunnel when Jinin Akebino smashed the ground with Kabutowari.
• Soseki privately shared his plan with the group and asked Might Duy to cover him.
• Might Duy distracted the Seven Ninja Swordsmen by claiming it was his first time fighting a real person, while Guy cheered him on.

Might Duy opened the Seventh Gate and sent Jinin Akebino flying, while Soseki attacked Biwa Juzo and trapped the other swordsmen in a barrier. As Jinin Akebino taunted Might Duy for being unable to control his power, Soseki took control of Might Duy’s body and prepared to finish him.

• Might Duy opened the Seventh Gate and kicked Jinin Akebino into the sky, leaving the Leaf Village crowd and the remaining swordsmen stunned.
• Soseki used Genjutsu and a barrier to isolate the swordsmen, then sent Biwa Juzo flying and pursued him.
• Jinin Akebino evaded Might Duy’s attacks and realized that Might Duy could not control his immense strength.
• Might Duy agreed to open the final gate, but Soseki told him not to resist and took control of his body.
• Soseki, acting through “Might Duy,” marveled at the Seventh Gate’s power and challenged Jinin Akebino to choose how he would die.

Shimizu Soseki used his two controlled bodies to overwhelm the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. After several were killed and the barriers broke, the survivors fled or tried to seize hostages, leaving Kushimaru Kuriarare surrounded.

• Soseki used Might Duy’s speed and strength to kill Jinin Akebino with a barrage of punches.
• Soseki chose Munashi Jinpachi’s barrier to release, then broke Biwa Juzo’s Kubikiribōchō and killed him with a punch.
• Munashi Jinpachi fled, and Soseki killed Kihōzan Takezaki by overpowering Hiramekarei with a Sage Art: Super Big Ball Rasengan.
• The remaining barriers shattered, and Suikazan Fuguki and Raiga Kurosuki fled while Kushimaru Kuriarare tried to take Asuma hostage.
• Soseki teleported to Kushimaru and knocked him away with a Rasengan; Kushimaru called for the others to return, but they fled, leaving him surrounded.

Soseki and his companions defeated five of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and Soseki credited their victory to the team's trust in one another. Back at the Leaf camp, their report astonished the gathered jonin, and the Third Hokage arrived to find the crisis apparently resolved.

• Soseki praised his companions for trusting him and said they had created the miracle together, then ordered them to collect the enemy's swords.
• On the way back, Guy accidentally tilted Might Duy's stretcher, making Duy cry out in pain from the backlash of opening the Seventh Gate.
• Soseki's team returned to camp carrying five Hidden Mist ninja swords, and Asuma told the stunned guards they had taken out five of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
• Jiraiya and the other jonin questioned Soseki about the battle and were amazed to learn he had killed one of the swordsmen within seconds.
• Obito praised Soseki while Kakashi worried that the gap between them was growing, and the Third Hokage arrived at the camp.
• Orochimaru told the Third Hokage that the crisis appeared to have been resolved.

The Third Hokage praised Soseki’s role in defeating the Mist swordsmen and let him decide how to distribute their weapons. At the Cloud Village outpost, the Raikage abandoned plans to assassinate Soseki and ordered retaliation against the Hidden Mist Village.

• The Third Hokage credited Soseki and his teammates for the victory, then promoted Might Duy to Special Jonin after Soseki reminded him of Duy’s sacrifice.
• Guy rushed to tell Might Duy about the promotion, and Duy sprang from his deathbed before crying out in pain.
• Jiraiya asked whether more ninja should train in the Eight Gates, but the Third Hokage warned that Duy’s decade of perseverance was not easily replicated.
• The Third Hokage gave Soseki the right to distribute the captured ninja swords, and Soseki asked that his teammates choose two first.
• The Raikage learned that five of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had died, agreed that Cloud Village should stop pursuing Soseki, and ordered retaliation against the Hidden Mist Village.

After Shimizu Soseki killed five of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and took their swords, the Hidden Mist, Stone, and Sand villages reacted to the consequences. The chapter left the Hidden Mist preparing a raid, the Stone plotting covert operations, and the Sand unable to treat its poisoned ninja.

• Mei Terumi and Shion discussed Shimizu Soseki's strength as news spread that he had defeated five of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
• The Mizukage learned that Kumogakure's army was advancing and ordered the Hidden Mist forces to sail around and raid its base.
• Ōnoki and Morihiru discussed a covert asset from Kusagakure and planned to win over Hanzō and contact a monster in the desert.
• Rasa asked Chiyo to help the poisoned Sunagakure ninja, but Chiyo said she could not make an antidote and that Tsunade was more skilled at detoxification.

After learning that Shimizu Soseki had killed five of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Rasa decided to request his medical aid for Sunagakure. Soseki and his Leaf Village companions rescued scattered Hoshigakure ninjas, then heard that Hidden Cloud Village might have targeted them rather than Frost Village.

• Baki reported that Shimizu Soseki had killed five of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist while protecting others, shocking Rasa, Chiyo, and Ebizo.
• Ebizo suggested inviting Soseki for his medical ninjutsu, and Rasa told Baki to have the intelligence division request aid.
• Soseki, Asuma, and Mizuki drove off Hidden Mist patrols near the Land of Rivers border and encountered wounded Hoshigakure ninjas seeking help.
• The Hoshigakure ninjas led Soseki's group to a battle with Frost Village, and the Leaf ninjas quickly defeated the remaining enemies.
• A Hoshigakure jonin warned Soseki that Hidden Cloud Village might not have come at Frost Village's request, prompting the Leaf group to suspect they were the target.

Soseki’s squad found Hoshigakure forces devastated by Hidden Cloud, then intervened when A and B attacked Natsuhoshi’s group. Soseki forced the brothers to retreat, while A decided Hidden Cloud would begin its plan involving the Sky Ninja.

• Soseki listened to Southern Cross Star’s warning and promised to stay alert as they searched for scattered Hoshigakure forces.
• Soseki found that Hidden Cloud had inflicted heavy losses on Hoshigakure, prompting him to suspect the attacks were meant to intimidate Leaf Village’s allies.
• A and B arrived at the battle against Natsuhoshi, and A nearly struck her from the sky with Killer B’s shuriken technique.
• Soseki arrived with his squad and Hoshigakure reinforcements, then warned A that he could kill the other Cloud ninja even if he could not defeat the brothers.
• A ordered the Cloud forces to retreat, and Soseki explained that the barrier could not hold them long enough to protect Hoshigakure if they stayed.
• After withdrawing, A told Killer B to notify the Sky Ninja that it was time for them to show their sincerity.