Chapter Summaries

Uchiha Katsuo defeated Nara Shikaku and Akimichi Chōza after they exposed his impersonation of Yamanaka Inoichi, then gathered their scrolls and medicine. He waited outside the tower for the Third Hokage, while Uchiha Izumi learned that Katsuo had eliminated the other examinees and worried about the powerful clans he had angered.

• Nara Shikaku realized Katsuo was imitating Yamanaka Inoichi and ordered Akimichi Chōza to attack, but Katsuo broke free of the Shadow Binding Technique and was struck by the Human Bullet Tank.
• Shikaku and Chōza found Inoichi unconscious and badly injured, then Katsuo appeared behind Shikaku and knocked him out after explaining how Shikaku had detected the deception.
• Chōza attacked Katsuo with the Partial Multi-Size Technique, but Katsuo stopped his giant hand, kicked him unconscious, and took the scrolls and medicine before entering the tower.
• Katsuo met Uchiha Izumi in the tower and treated his reopened shoulder wound, then said he would wait for the Third Hokage instead of advancing.
• Izumi learned that Katsuo had eliminated the other examinees, including the Ino-Shika-Cho team, and anxiously wondered why he had made enemies of their powerful clans.

Uchiha Katsuo forced the Third Hokage to promise his brother a chance at promotion, but the Hokage voided the Chunin Exam’s second round and barred Katsuo from exams for ten years. That night, Uchiha Feng scolded Katsuo for his actions while Mikoto watched.

• The Third Hokage confronted Katsuo after finding six unconscious examinees, and Katsuo demanded that his brother be given a path to promotion.
• The Third Hokage agreed to let Katsuo’s brother seek promotion in a future session, provided Katsuo earned forgiveness from six clans and stayed out of Chunin Exams for ten years.
• Katsuo entered the tower and was counted among the eliminated.
• The Hokage declared the second round invalid, citing a dangerous beast in the Death Forest, and ordered the exam to be held again in ten days.
• That night, Uchiha Feng scolded Katsuo, who apologized while Mikoto served tea.

Katsuo persuaded Uchiha Feng to support a media organization that would shape public opinion while keeping the clan out of its public-facing roles. At Konoha Hospital, the Yamanaka Clan Head began examining Inoichi’s memories to learn what had happened to him.

• Katsuo told Uchiha Feng that a member of the Yuhi Clan had injured him with the clan’s Mystic Blade Art and hinted that he needed a suitable weapon.
• Katsuo explained the power of news and public opinion, then proposed recruiting intelligence agents and writers to establish a media organization.
• Katsuo and Uchiha Feng discussed using the organization to influence people while building its credibility before seeking profit.
• Yamanaka Inoichi woke screaming repeatedly in Konoha Hospital as Nara Shikaku and the three clan patriarchs discussed his mental injury.
• The Yamanaka Clan Head and two Yamanaka relatives entered Inoichi’s consciousness, and the Clan Head opened the scroll containing his memories for examination.

The Yamanaka Clan Head and the other clan patriarchs shared memories of Uchiha Katsuo overpowering Yamanaka Inoichi, then judged Katsuo to be an extraordinary nine-year-old fighter. The next morning, Katsuo visited the injured contestants, apologized to the Ino-Shika-Cho group, and promised to stay out of the Chunin Exams for ten years, leaving on friendly terms with Nara Shikaku and Akimichi Chōza.

• The Yamanaka Clan Head reviewed Inoichi’s memories and saw Katsuo overwhelm him with his Sharingan and superior spiritual power.
• The Yamanaka Clan Head shared the memories with the Akimichi Patriarch and the Nara Patriarch, who agreed that Katsuo had held back and was exceptionally strong.
• Katsuo visited Inuzuka Ran and Aburame Shisei, then went to the hospital room where Yūhi Kurenai was still asleep.
• Katsuo apologized to the Yamanaka Clan Head, Nara Shikaku, and Akimichi Chōza for stopping them during the exam, and said he would not enter the Chunin Exams for ten years.
• Shikaku and Chōza urged Katsuo not to give up his future and asked him to treat them to barbecue instead, which he agreed to do.
• After Katsuo left, the Yamanaka Clan Head praised Shikaku and Chōza for how they had handled the visit.

Katsuo told Might Duy about the dangers of prolonged Body Tempering Elixir use and warned him to be careful, then helped Orochimaru test Toad Oil. The experiment revealed that Toad Oil caused both toadification and petrification, leaving Katsuo concerned that every Sage Technique carried serious risks.

• Katsuo told Might Duy he would skip the Chunin Exams because his shoulder was injured, then shared news that registration restrictions would be lifted.
• Katsuo warned Might Duy that heavy, prolonged use of Body Tempering Elixir could cause premature aging or shorten a person's lifespan, and Might Duy resolved to use it carefully.
• Katsuo visited Orochimaru and suggested he get a laboratory before asking about the results of testing Toad Oil.
• Katsuo poured Toad Oil on a laboratory mouse, which rapidly transformed and began to petrify.
• Katsuo considered how the Three Great Sacred Lands' Sage Techniques caused different mutations and concluded that all of them had risks that could make learning Sage Techniques difficult for him.

Katsuo began organizing a private newspaper agency with Uchiha Kuiko and Mita Kishisuke, explaining how it could gain Konoha’s trust and influence public opinion. As war approached, he trained the new staff and insisted that the agency secure the Hokage’s approval before opening.

• Katsuo discussed purifying Toad Oil with Orochimaru, who revealed that war had begun and Konoha was sending forces to the Land of Rain.
• A Chunin from the Third Elder’s household brought Katsuo to a three-story building, where he reunited with Uchiha Kuiko, who had been appointed an editor.
• Katsuo explained to Kuiko why the newspaper agency had to operate as a private venture rather than under the Uchiha clan’s name.
• Katsuo met Mita Kishisuke, learned that the building and agency would operate under Kishisuke’s name, and outlined plans to obtain the Hokage’s reporting permission.
• Katsuo supervised the agency’s recruitment and taught its staff to report truthfully and serve the public.
• Katsuo told Kishisuke to secure the Hokage’s recognition or tacit approval before the newspaper agency opened.

Katsuo helped Mita Kishisuke prepare four articles promoting Konoha’s history and ideals, prompting Third Hokage to support Kishisuke’s newspaper. The chapter ended with Third Hokage eager to have his legacy recorded, only for Kishisuke to warn that a person could be judged only after death.

• Katsuo instructed Kishisuke to prepare articles about Konoha’s history, the Will of Fire, and the First and Second Hokage.
• Kishisuke presented the four articles to Third Hokage, who was deeply moved by their portrayals of Konoha’s founders and ideals.
• Third Hokage ordered an investigation into Kishisuke and debated with Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura whether Konoha should control the newspaper.
• Kishisuke asked Konoha to fund the newspaper, and Third Hokage agreed to cover its expenses and support its operations.
• Kishisuke said he would like to write Third Hokage’s biography but explained that the living could not receive a final judgment, leaving Third Hokage shocked.

While meditating on Hokage Rock, Katsuo encountered Kushina after she ran off crying from a fight and helped lift her spirits with teasing praise. Their playful exchange ended with Kushina punching him in the face.

• Katsuo meditated on Hokage Rock, trying to sense Natural Energy, but noticed Kushina running toward him in tears.
• Kushina recognized Katsuo, hurried to him, and was embarrassed when he asked whether she had lost her fight.
• Katsuo jokingly praised Kushina as the Ever-Victorious Red Hot Habanero, easing her sadness and making her proud again.
• Katsuo told Kushina to ask her friends or him for help, and she admitted she did not want to trouble them.
• Katsuo called Kushina an idiot, and she punched him in the face.

Kushina repeatedly attacked Katsuo, who stayed in place and blocked her until she collapsed, then carried her home. She pretended to be unconscious on his back, teased him when he realized she was awake, and finally laughed as he hurried away.

• Kushina attacked Katsuo more than twenty times, but he blocked every strike without taking a step and repeatedly threw her aside.
• Kushina grabbed Katsuo's ankle from the ground, claiming victory because she had made him move; Katsuo agreed before discovering she had fainted.
• Katsuo carried the filthy, unconscious Kushina toward the First Hokage's residence and realized partway there that she had awakened.
• Kushina teased Katsuo with her hair and threats, then rubbed her dirty face against his, making him blush and hurry onward.
• Katsuo dropped Kushina off and fled without visiting Nawaki or asking Tsunade about Medical Ninjutsu, while Kushina laughed and thanked him.

Katsuo directed the launch of Konoha’s newspaper agency, arranging for the Third Hokage to fund its losses while the agency inflated its operating costs. Mita Kishisuke accepted Jiraiya as vice director, confident the hidden scheme would keep the agency’s true finances concealed.

• Katsuo approved the first edition’s content, criticized its headlines, and ordered thirty thousand copies printed for sale through merchants and newspaper boys.
• Katsuo told Uchiha Feng to have Mita Kishisuke report daily expenses of twenty thousand ryo to the Third Hokage, explaining that Konoha would cover half and future advertising would bring greater profits.
• Mita Kishisuke presented the newspaper to the Third Hokage and argued that its low price should let even the poor afford it, persuading him to provide ten thousand ryo in daily sponsorship.
• The Third Hokage appointed Jiraiya as vice director to monitor the agency, and Mita Kishisuke agreed, knowing the reported costs had already been falsified.
• Katsuo planned to exploit Konoha’s desire to control the newspaper agency and siphon money through its fabricated accounts.

Katsuo and Uchiha Sheng prepared to join the war in the Land of Rain, each hoping to grow stronger through battle. Uchiha Feng gave Katsuo his old treasured blade, Hidden Edge, for self-defense.

• Katsuo told Uchiha Feng he wanted to join the war in Amegakure, and Uchiha Feng agreed to send him with Uchiha Sheng and an Uchiha advance force.
• Uchiha Sheng said he welcomed the chance to fight and intended to awaken his Three-Tomoe Sharingan on the battlefield.
• Katsuo resolved to seek the Mangekyo Sharingan through the war, or risk taking Uchiha Madara's Rinnegan from Nagato, rather than die without pursuing greater power.
• Uchiha Feng named Uchiha Sheng the leader of the Uchiha advance force and estimated they would depart within ten days.
• Uchiha Feng gave Katsuo his old, light-absorbing treasured blade, Hidden Edge, for self-defense.

Katsuo visited Nawaki’s home and asked Uzumaki Mito why the Senju Clan had disappeared. Mito explained that the Senju had given up their clan name and merged into Konoha, leaving Katsuo doubtful as he considered the clan’s history and Mito’s strength as the Nine-Tailed Fox’s Jinchuriki.

• Katsuo greeted Uzumaki Mito at Nawaki’s home and chose to keep her company before looking for Nawaki.
• Katsuo asked Mito where the Senju Clan had gone and why it had vanished.
• Mito said the Senju had willingly abandoned their surname and become part of Konoha, comparing the village to a tree nourished by its clans.
• Mito fell asleep before explaining further, and Katsuo questioned whether her account was the whole truth.
• Katsuo reflected on Hashirama and Tobirama’s efforts to weaken the clans’ influence and then considered Mito’s powerful seal on the Nine-Tailed Fox.

After graduating, Katsuo asked Tsunade to honor their agreement to teach him Medical Ninjutsu, then warned Kushina and Nawaki that war was coming and told them not to go to the Land of Rain. He revealed that he planned to leave for the battlefield soon, leaving both friends distressed and himself pessimistic about his chances of surviving the trip.

• Katsuo reminded Tsunade of their agreement, and she told him to meet her at Konoha Hospital later.
• Katsuo invited Kushina and Nawaki to Hokage Rock and warned them that war would soon break out in the Land of Rain.
• Katsuo ordered Nawaki not to go to the Land of Rain before becoming a jonin and revealed that he would leave for the battlefield within days.
• Katsuo sternly forbade Nawaki from following him, threatening to disown him and break his legs if he went to the Land of Rain.
• Katsuo said goodbye to Kushina and Nawaki, while privately fearing that he might not survive the trip or gain the power he needed.

Katsuo discovered that the purified Natural Energy from Mount Myōboku could strengthen him and might heal his body, giving him hope of recovering. He began Tsunade’s fish-healing training, but after he and his shadow clones exhausted the fish, he had to go find more.

• Orochimaru gave Katsuo a tiny droplet of purified Natural Energy, which Katsuo swallowed and found had increased his strength and Chakra.
• Katsuo told Orochimaru the droplet might heal his body and vowed to fetch more water from Mount Myōboku when he was stronger.
• Katsuo learned that Yūhi Kurenai and the Ino-Shika-Cho members had left Konoha Hospital, then found Tsunade to continue his training.
• Tsunade advanced Katsuo to the third stage of Chakra control and told him to heal an injured fish before returning to her.
• Katsuo used ten Shadow Clones to practice on the tank’s fish, but they ran out and argued over who should buy more until Katsuo agreed to go.

Katsuo mastered an early Medical Ninjutsu exercise and continued studying at the hospital before preparing to leave for the Land of Rain. On the eve of his departure, Might Duy taught him the Eight Gates, but Katsuo concealed how his chronic illness limited him to opening only four.

• Katsuo revived a seemingly dead fish with Medical Ninjutsu, astonishing Tsunade, who sent him to study injured patients at the hospital the next day.
• Katsuo studied the Mystical Palm Technique while also discussing preparations for the war with Uchiha Sheng.
• Before Katsuo left for the Land of Rain, Might Duy warned him about the dangers and demonstrated the power and risks of opening the first six gates.
• Might Duy taught Katsuo the Eight Gates’ Chakra circulation method, and Katsuo opened the first four gates before his body reached its limit.
• Katsuo concealed his chronic illness from Might Duy, then lay alone beside a river, troubled by the darkness and uncertainty ahead.

Katsuo left Konoha for the Land of Rain with Uchiha Sheng and sixty Uchiha ninja, after promising Mikoto he would return alive. Nawaki gave him a secret ninjutsu scroll and was left behind to look after Mikoto and Kushina.

• Katsuo removed his ankle weights and prepared to travel to the Land of Rain in fighting condition.
• Uchiha Sheng led Katsuo and sixty Uchiha ninja out of Konoha as the first wave bound for battle.
• Mikoto wept in Katsuo's arms and made him promise to come back alive, while Kushina and Minato urged him to stay safe.
• Nawaki rushed to Katsuo before the group departed and gave him a scroll containing his grandmother's secret ninjutsu.
• Katsuo told Nawaki to look after Mikoto and Kushina and warned him not to go to the Land of Rain before catching up with the departing group.

Katsuo learned that Nawaki had given him the Yin Seal, then arrived with Uchiha Sheng’s force at Konoha’s command post in the Land of Rain. The Yuhi Clan Head revealed that Konoha risked being attacked by Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Amegakure, and proposed striking Sunagakure first.

• Katsuo told Uchiha Sheng that running with hands behind the back offered no advantage, then urged the force to keep using whichever running style felt familiar.
• During a rest, Katsuo opened Nawaki’s scroll and discovered that it contained the Yin Seal technique.
• Uchiha Sheng led sixty-two Uchiha to the Konoha command post in the Land of Rain and pledged to follow the Yuhi Clan Head’s orders.
• The Yuhi Clan Head warned that Sunagakure and Iwagakure threatened Konoha while Hanzo demanded that Konoha withdraw from the Land of Rain.
• The Yuhi Clan Head proposed striking the Land of Wind’s strongholds before Konoha could be surrounded, shocking the gathered commanders.

The Yuhi Clan Head ordered Konoha's forces to launch the first major battle of the Second Shinobi World War, and the Uchiha Clan moved to clear two Sunagakure strongholds. Katsuo proposed using the rainy night for an ambush, and the attack began with the Uchiha catching the enemy off guard.

• The Yuhi Clan Head issued battle orders, and Konoha's forces in the Land of Rain moved out to seize the initiative against Sunagakure.
• Uchiha Sheng received orders to clear two Sunagakure forward strongholds with the Uchiha force of sixty-two shinobi.
• Katsuo explained that rain weakened Fire Release and suggested assassinating enemies at the stronghold while ambushing reinforcements on nearby roads.
• Uchiha Sheng approved Katsuo's plan and split the Uchiha force between the stronghold and the roads around it.
• Uchiha shinobi killed several Sunagakure shinobi before a Sunagakure jonin raised the alarm and fighting broke out.
• A youth stabbed and killed the Sunagakure jonin, and an Uchiha jonin ordered his forces to surround and eliminate the remaining enemies.

Katsuo led the Uchiha assault on a significant Sand ninja outpost, using powerful ninjutsu and Hidden Edge to defeat the defenders. The outpost fell without Uchiha casualties, and Katsuo killed the last Sand jonin after escaping his ambush with an Earth Clone.

• Katsuo charged the Sand ninja forces as the Uchiha overwhelmed them, leaving two jonin and four Chunin trapped inside a building.
• Katsuo used Great Fire Annihilation to attack the building, then rushed through the steam and killed a Sand jonin with Hidden Edge.
• Katsuo dodged the remaining jonin's wind techniques and collapsed the building to evade a storm of wind blades.
• A Sand jonin stabbed Katsuo from behind, but the apparent victim turned out to be an Earth Clone, and the real Katsuo killed the attacker.
• The Uchiha Clan eliminated every Sand ninja at the outpost without suffering a casualty.

Katsuo helped the Uchiha Clan win a series of battles against Sunagakure, then set out alone into the Land of Rain to find Nagato and claim the Rinnegan. He was stopped by an Amegakure patrol, and the chapter ended as he warned the squad before they searched him.

• Uchiha Sheng scolded Katsuo for risking himself, then Katsuo healed an injured Chunin with Medical Ninjutsu.
• Uchiha Sheng led the Uchiha Clan to destroy a Sunagakure stronghold, and Katsuo later earned a direct promotion to Chunin after killing numerous enemy ninja.
• Katsuo concluded that he could not wait for Uchiha Madara to die and decided to find Nagato and the Rinnegan.
• Two months later, Katsuo accepted a mission to investigate Amegakure and traveled alone into the Land of Rain despite Uchiha Sheng's objections.
• A woman told Katsuo that she had seen a red-haired woman near the town beyond Amegakure, and Katsuo hurried toward the area.
• An Amegakure patrol stopped Katsuo and ordered two Genin to search him, prompting Katsuo to warn them not to take their duties so seriously in their next lives.