Chapter Summaries

Seiji answered Kirigakure’s combat readiness summons and accompanied Third Mizukage Hyou as he announced that the village would accept Hanzō’s request to send hired shinobi against Sunagakure. The chapter ended with Hyou preparing to mobilize Kirigakure amid the threat that Iwagakure might enter the war.

• Seiji spent his leave training his Jōgan, and on the last day of Mist Year 35, a Ninja Hawk summoned him and Genji to Kirigakure’s readiness meeting.
• Seiji joined Third Mizukage Hyou and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist before Hyou led them into the conference room.
• Seiji spotted Kaguya Musashi at the meeting but put his desire for revenge aside to prioritize Kirigakure’s mission.
• Hyou told the gathered shinobi that Hanzō had offered Kirigakure 250 million ryō to fight Sunagakure and guard against Iwagakure, and that he had accepted.
• Hyou explained that Chiyo had countered Hanzō’s poison and helped Sunagakure defeat Amegakure in their latest battle, forcing Hanzō to seek hired forces from Kirigakure and Kumogakure.

Kirigakure prepared to enter the war by sending the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to aid Amegakure against Sunagakure and seize the Land of Bears as a base for attacking the Land of Whirlpools. Madara Uchiha learned of the alliances and planned to watch the Land of Whirlpools and take control of the Third Mizukage.

• Hyō assigned the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to support Hanzō against Sunagakure while conserving Kirigakure’s strength for the operation against the Land of Whirlpools.
• Hyō ordered other Kirigakure forces to seize the Land of Bears and destroy Hoshigakure, then told Seiji to set out with the swordsmen.
• Hyō instructed Seiji to help Amegakure force Sunagakure into a ceasefire, avoid unnecessary killing, and use his judgment in the field.
• White Zetsu told Madara Uchiha that Kumogakure had accepted Hanzō’s contract and that Kirigakure would likely target the Land of Whirlpools.
• Madara Uchiha ordered White Zetsu to watch the Land of Whirlpools, track the Third Mizukage, and wake him when the villages attacked.
• Madara Uchiha resolved to control the Third Mizukage and Kirigakure before falling back asleep.

Seiji's Group of Seven arrived at Amegakure's camp and prepared to help Hanzo fight Sunagakure. When Chiyo revealed that she knew Kirigakure had sent reinforcements, Seiji ordered Suikazan Fuguki to open the battle with a massive Water Release, and the allied forces charged.

• After taking a sea route through the Land of Rivers, Seiji's Group of Seven reached Amegakure's camp and delivered Third Mizukage Hyou's letter to Hanzo.
• Hanzo told Seiji that Amegakure would launch a full-scale assault the next morning, and Seiji assigned the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist their targets.
• Chiyo called out Hanzo and revealed that Sunagakure knew Kirigakure had sent reinforcements, raising Seiji's suspicions that the Hidden Sand had received help as well.
• Seiji ordered Suikazan Fuguki to alter the battlefield with Water Release, and Fuguki sent a huge wave surging toward the Hidden Sand forces.
• Hanzo led the Amegakure shinobi in a charge, while Seiji and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist followed; Chiyo warned her forces to prepare to defend.

Third Kazekage Iron Sand and Rasa revealed themselves on the battlefield and blocked the Hidden Sand ninja’s retreating tide. Seiji fought Iron Sand, then crushed him with a surprise strike from Daikokuten, leaving the Kazekage apparently defeated.

• Third Kazekage Iron Sand and Rasa shed their disguises, raising the Hidden Sand ninja’s morale as they used Magnet Release walls to stop the tidal wave.
• Seiji assigned Hanzo to fight Chiyo, sent four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist after Ebizo, and sent Suikazan and Ying after Rasa.
• Seiji attacked Iron Sand with bone bullets and a fire vortex, while Iron Sand blocked the bullets and took to the air with iron sand wings.
• Seiji shrank with Sukuna Hikona to evade Iron Sand’s iron sand feathers, then used Takamagahara to place a miniature Daikokuten above him.
• Seiji restored Daikokuten to full size, and the cube slammed Iron Sand into the ground.

Seiji used Water Release and Takamagahara to evade Iron Sand’s attacks, but Iron Sand’s Magnet Release kept tracking him through the scattered Iron Sand. The fight continued with Seiji realizing that escape would become increasingly difficult.

• Iron Sand recovered from Daikokuten’s blow and launched an Iron Sand Shower at Seiji.
• Seiji blocked the barrage with Water Formation Wall, deflecting the needles with rotating water.
• Iron Sand sent a triangular pyramid, cylinder, and rectangular prism at Seiji from three directions.
• Seiji teleported beside Daikokuten with Takamagahara and avoided the constructs.
• Iron Sand redirected the constructs toward Seiji, who realized Iron Sand could use scattered Iron Sand to track him.

Seiji countered Iron Sand’s attacks with a blazing Fire and Wind combination, but Iron Sand unleashed a battlefield-wide assault that magnetically tracked Seiji. Seiji used Sukuna Hikona to shrink and evade the final strike, leaving Iron Sand stunned as he sensed Seiji’s position had not changed.

• Seiji used Fire Release and Wind Release together to melt Iron Sand’s incoming weapons.
• Iron Sand flooded the battlefield with Iron Sand Drizzle and rose into the air to prepare his next technique.
• Iron Sand unleashed Iron Sand World Method, raining spikes across the battlefield as Seiji dodged using the Jōgan’s perception.
• Magnetic Iron Sand clung to Seiji’s armor, allowing Iron Sand to make the spikes track him and restrict his escape.
• Seiji activated Sukuna Hikona and shrank at the last moment, causing the tracking spikes to miss.
• Iron Sand sensed that Seiji’s position had not changed and wondered what kind of ninjutsu he had used.

Seiji revealed himself as one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and continued fighting Third Kazekage Iron Sand, who recognized the threat and resolved to kill him. The other battles remained deadlocked or favored the Mist swordsmen, leaving the Hidden Sand forces under heavy pressure.

• Seiji removed his metal armor, and Iron Sand noticed his unusual eyes and asked whether he possessed a Dojutsu.
• Seiji named himself as one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, while Hanzo and Chiyo continued their stalemated duel.
• Suikazan Fuguki and Saito Kage combined Water and Lightning Release to overwhelm the sixteen-year-old Rasa.
• Kushimaru Kuriarare, Munashi Jinpachi, Jinin Akebino, and Juzo Biwa worked together to trap Ebizo and destroy several of his puppets.
• Iron Sand realized that Seiji and the other Mist fighters were far stronger than Sunagakure's intelligence had reported, then resolved to kill Seiji.

Iron Sand trapped Seiji in an iron-sand pyramid and tried to crush him, but Seiji broke free with his Shikotsumyaku techniques. Seiji appeared on a bone spike and launched another attack as Iron Sand tried to retreat.

• Iron Sand used Iron Sand Layer Grand Burial Seal to trap Seiji inside a massive iron-sand pyramid.
• Iron Sand used Iron Sand Funeral to crush Seiji within the pyramid.
• Seiji used Dance of the Larch to resist the crushing iron sand, then unleashed Dance of the Seedling Fern and shattered the seal.
• Iron Sand retreated to avoid Seiji’s bone forest, but Seiji appeared atop a bone spike and attacked with Dance of the Clematis: Flower.

Seiji drove the wounded Third Kazekage Iron Sand back with his Dance of the Clematis and trapped his escape route, but Iron Sand managed to take flight again. Refusing to surrender despite his injuries, Iron Sand launched another Magnet Release attack.

• Iron Sand retreated from Seiji's advance and tried to use Iron Sand defenses to buy time to fly.
• Seiji used Takamagahara to block Iron Sand's path with four Daikokuten, forcing him to defend with an Iron Sand Wall.
• Seiji pierced the Iron Sand Wall, but Iron Sand formed Iron Sand Wings and rose into the air as Seiji's bone drill tore a large chunk from his left thigh.
• Seiji warned Iron Sand that his injuries were serious, but Iron Sand refused to give up and activated Magnet Release: Iron Sand Gyro.

Seiji defeated Iron Sand by using Takamagahara to reach him in midair and immobilize him with Yin-Yang Release Black Rods. Rasa and Ebizo were also pushed toward defeat on their battlefields, leaving Sunagakure’s resistance badly weakened.

• Seiji used the Body Flicker Technique and a Daikokuten as a foothold to close in on Iron Sand in the sky.
• Suikazan Fuguki and Saito Kage exhausted Rasa with repeated combination attacks, and Rasa countered their Lightning Water Dragon Bullet with Gold Dust Surging Wave.
• Juzo Biwa and three allies used Hidden Mist to overwhelm Ebizo, whose substitution technique let him survive Juzo’s attack but cost him his last spare puppet.
• Seiji shrank himself to approach Iron Sand unnoticed, then grew to full size and pierced him with several Yin-Yang Release Black Rods.
• Iron Sand fell into a crater, and Seiji declared that the Kazekage had lost.

Kirigakure’s advance force reached Hoshigakure in the Land of Bears, where Yagura learned about the village’s flying technique and poisonous valley. Hoshigakure’s ninja confronted the force, and a subordinate’s insult pushed Yagura toward action.

• Seiji chose not to kill Third Kazekage Iron Sand, deciding that doing so would create needless complications for Kirigakure.
• Kirigakure’s advance force entered the Land of Bears and surrounded Hoshigakure on Third Mizukage Hyou’s orders.
• Yagura and Hozuki Chino received Blood’s intelligence about Hoshigakure, including its Chakra Wing Transformation and the valley’s deadly miasma.
• Iwase and a group of Hoshigakure ninja took to the air and confronted Yagura’s force.
• A Hoshigakure Chunin insulted the Kirigakure ninja, angering Yagura before Iwase could negotiate.

Yagura and his Kirigakure squad clashed with Hoshigakure’s airborne firegun unit at the miasma-filled valley. Yagura annihilated the attackers and then turned back to the mission, while the squad remained unable to cross the valley.

• Yagura attacked the Hoshigakure ninja with Wind Release, and Iwase and his subordinates countered with Chakra beasts created through the Peacock Method.
• Yagura destroyed the Chakra beasts with Vacuum Bullet and Vacuum Great Bullet, killing some Hoshigakure ninja in the process.
• Iwase ordered his remaining ninja to attack while secretly fleeing in the opposite direction.
• Yagura used a combination of Water Release and Wind Release to pull the charging Hoshigakure ninja into a vortex and kill them.
• Yagura trapped Iwase in a Wind Release net and cut him apart with Vacuum Serial Waves, wiping out the firegun unit.
• Hozuki Chino asked about dispersing the valley’s miasma, and Blood said the wind cleared a path for only about five seconds before it flowed back in.

Hozuki Chino led Yagura and the Kirigakure advance unit through Hoshigakure’s miasma-filled valley using coordinated Wind and Ice Releases, then attacked the unsuspecting village. Yagura confronted Second Star Shadow Black Star and ordered the others to eliminate the arriving Hoshi ninja.

• Hozuki Chino had Yagura clear the miasma with Wind Release while Murasaki formed an icy passage across the valley.
• Yagura and the others crossed into Hoshigakure, which had not discovered that Yagura had wiped out its musket unit and valley guards.
• Yagura killed a Hoshi ninja who challenged the group and destroyed nearby buildings with Wind Release.
• Black Star appeared and attacked Yagura with a Chakra dragon formed through the Peacock Method, but Yagura cut it apart with wind blades.
• Yagura ordered Hua, Second Squad, and Blood to fight the other Hoshi ninja while he handled Black Star.

Black Star and his four guards fused their Chakra into a giant dragon to fight Yagura, who countered the beast with his Water Release techniques. The dragons clashed, leaving Black Star shaken by Yagura’s strength.

• Black Star ordered Plan B when his four guards arrived, and they created Chakra dragons with the Peacock Method.
• Black Star fused the four dragons into his own, creating a giant beast while the guards collapsed from exhausting their Chakra.
• Black Star attacked Yagura, but Yagura evaded the dragon’s strike and used a Water Clone to bait it before ensnaring it with a Water Whip.
• Black Star’s fused dragon broke free and charged again, prompting Yagura to summon an identical dragon with the Water Mirror Technique.
• Yagura’s dragon clashed with Black Star’s, and Black Star grew anxious as his strongest attack met an equal counter.

Yagura defeated Black Star and uncovered Hoshigakure’s secret: a chakra-enhancing meteorite that powered the Mysterious Peacock Method. After Hozuki Chino broke the barrier protecting it, Yagura took the meteorite and examined it.

• Yagura severed Black Star’s arm, destroyed his chakra dragon, and killed him and the weakened guards.
• Yagura searched Black Star’s office and found a scroll and a diary describing the meteorite and Hoshigakure’s history.
• Hozuki Chino interrogated a wounded Hoshigakure ninja, who revealed that the meteorite was sealed in a nearby stone chamber behind a barrier.
• Yagura and Hozuki Chino found the meteorite, and Hozuki Chino shattered its barrier with her Twin Guns technique.
• Yagura grabbed the meteorite and began examining it as its unusual chakra aura spread outward.

Yagura and Chino found a strange chakra-rich object and sealed it for the Third Mizukage Hyou. On the Land of Rain battlefield, Sunagakure surrendered and signed an armistice with Amegakure, while Seiji relayed plans for a joint attack on Konoha and awaited Hyou’s orders.

• Yagura examined an unusual pitted sphere containing dense, active chakra, and Chino sealed it in a Storage Scroll for Hyou.
• Iron Sand ordered the Sunagakure forces to stop fighting after Seiji defeated him and pinned him to the ground.
• Chiyo negotiated a temporary agreement with Hanzō, and Sunagakure and Amegakure signed the Rain-Sand Armistice Treaty that evening.
• Hanzō sent Seiji the treaty results and the promised Wind Release ninjutsu scrolls.
• Seiji ordered Saito Kage to inform Hyou of the armistice, reparations, and planned attack on Konoha, and sent Suikazan Fuguki to notify Kumogakure.
• Saito Kage received Hyou’s response by Ninja Hawk and handed the mission scroll to Seiji, who began reading the Mizukage’s arrangements.

Seiji wandered through the war-ravaged Land of Rain and arrived in a small town where Yahiko and Konan struggled to survive. After Yahiko stole food and fled with Konan, Seiji’s arrival stopped the stall owners from chasing them, leaving the children with enough food for a meal.

• Seiji traveled through the devastated Land of Rain during his leave and reflected on the suffering caused by the war.
• Yahiko and Konan, starving and cold, agreed that Yahiko would steal food from the market.
• Yahiko grabbed food and fled as the stall owners discovered the theft and chased him.
• Seiji entered the town with an imposing presence, causing the stall owners to stop pursuing Yahiko.
• Yahiko took Konan’s hand and escaped with the food they had managed to keep.

Yahiko and Konan rescued the feverish Nagato and welcomed him and his puppy, Little One, into their group. After their food ran out, the three struggled to survive and encountered several Leaf ninja in the rain.

• Yahiko and Konan followed a brown puppy to an unconscious red-haired boy and carried him to their cave.
• Yahiko and Konan gave the boy water and food, and he recovered enough to introduce himself as Nagato.
• Yahiko invited Nagato and the puppy, whom he called Little One, to live with him and Konan.
• After their saved food ran out, Yahiko vowed to change the Ninja World and bring peace.
• Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato watched the market stalls but did not dare steal food.
• As the Trio headed back to their cave, they saw several black-clad Leaf ninja hurrying through the rain.

Nagato’s hatred and awakened Rinnegan drew Orochimaru’s team to him, Yahiko, and Konan, and Orochimaru ordered the children killed to keep the mission secret. Seiji appeared in time to stop the attack, while the chapter ended with background information placing Nagato’s awakening around Mist Year 35.

• Nagato remembered how Konoha Ninja had killed his parents, Ise and Fuso, and how his Rinnegan had awakened as he killed them in return.
• Orochimaru sensed Nagato’s leaked chakra and led his team into town, where Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan tried to flee.
• Orochimaru ordered his six followers to leave no witnesses, and a Gekko Clan ninja struck at the three children with his sword.
• Nagato’s regret and resentment stirred his Rinnegan’s destructive power as Yahiko and Konan braced for death.
• Seiji appeared between the children and the attacker, calmed Nagato’s power, and blocked the sword with a bone shield formed using Shikotsumyaku.
• The chapter’s timeline notes placed Nagato’s birth in Mist Year 29 and his Rinnegan awakening most likely in Mist Year 35.

Seiji saved Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan from a Konoha squad and killed the Gekko Clan ninja who attacked him. Orochimaru recognized Seiji’s Shikotsumyaku and launched an assault, while Black Zetsu watched from hiding.

• Seiji used Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Larch to destroy two Shadow Clones and kill the Gekko Clan ninja attacking him.
• Seiji recognized Nagato’s Rinnegan as its power began to surface and explained why he had intervened to protect the untrained children.
• Black Zetsu withdrew into hiding after seeing Seiji protect Nagato, while Seiji failed to detect him.
• Orochimaru recognized Seiji’s Shikotsumyaku and decided to eliminate everyone present who was not a Konoha ninja.
• Orochimaru and the remaining Konoha ninja attacked Seiji with wind, fire, and insect techniques.