Chapter Summaries

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo discussed the accusation against Konoha and the looming war with Iwagakure. Danzo’s proposal to have Hiruzen resign and die to appease the Land of Earth enraged him, but Danzo then defended Konoha’s reputation and urged resistance; Hiruzen asked for a serious plan.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo concluded that Konoha lacked evidence to refute Iwagakure’s accusation, making war seem unavoidable.
• Danzo suggested Hiruzen take responsibility, step down as Hokage, kneel to apologize, and commit seppuku if necessary.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his desk and furiously confronted Danzo, who claimed he had only been joking.
• Danzo explained that he had returned to protect Konoha’s reputation and declared that Konoha did not fear war.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi’s anger eased, and he asked Danzo what Konoha should do next while warning him to answer seriously.

Danzo urged Konoha to take a hard line against Kumogakure while preparing for war and guarding against other villages. Hiruzen called a temporary Jounin Conference and sent Shinnosuke to invite Mr. Mo, Sakumo, and Orochimaru, but Mr. Mo refused.

• Danzo advised Konoha to deny the assassination accusation, demand evidence, prepare supplies and personnel for war, and stand ready to fight Kumogakure.
• Danzo warned Hiruzen that Sunagakure might join a war and that Kumogakure could break its agreement if Konoha weakened.
• Hiruzen ordered a temporary Jounin Conference and sent Shinnosuke to invite Mr. Mo and Sakumo, then agreed to include Orochimaru.
• Shinnosuke found Mr. Mo and Sakumo at the Dragon Gate Inn, where Orochimaru was working as a waiter.
• Mr. Mo refused Shinnosuke's invitation, saying that a Genin had no reason to attend a Jounin Conference.

Shinnosuke failed to persuade Hatake Sakumo and Orochimaru to attend the jonin meeting, then begged Mo Xingchen to go so he could complete his assignment. Mo Xingchen hinted that Shinnosuke should support the tavern’s business, and Shinnosuke ended up buying one jin of its extraordinarily expensive wine.

• Shinnosuke invited Hatake Sakumo to the jonin meeting, but Sakumo refused.
• Shinnosuke invited Orochimaru, who also refused and returned to serving customers.
• Shinnosuke pleaded with Mo Xingchen to attend, and Mo Xingchen hinted that the tavern needed business.
• Shinnosuke offered to buy the most expensive wine, and Hatake Sakumo quoted him twenty-five million ryo for the jar.
• Shinnosuke paid for one jin of Ten-Great-Supplement Wine, and Hatake Sakumo thanked him for his patronage.

Shinnosuke persuaded Mo Xingchen and Hatake Sakumo to attend the jonin meeting, but their tavern’s credit system left him with a huge bill and an extra bottle of wine. When he tried to recruit Orochimaru too, Orochimaru put him to work serving customers instead.

• Shinnosuke asked Mo Xingchen to attend the meeting, and Mo Xingchen agreed.
• Hatake Sakumo hinted that Shinnosuke should buy another bottle, and Mo Xingchen encouraged him to put it on the Hokage Building’s tab.
• After Mo Xingchen and Hatake Sakumo persuaded him, Shinnosuke signed a two-million-ryo bill and watched his lost money return to his wallet.
• Shinnosuke invited Orochimaru to the meeting and told Hatake Sakumo to write up another bill, but Orochimaru handed him a tray instead.
• Orochimaru told Shinnosuke to change into a work uniform and serve the tavern’s customers while the others went to the meeting.

Shinnosuke began working at Dragon Gate Inn after learning that its waiters earned a million ryo a month. Mo Xingchen, Orochimaru, and Hatake Sakumo attended a Konoha meeting, where Mo Xingchen met Uchiha Fugaku and teased Hyuga Hiashi.

• Mo Xingchen encouraged Shinnosuke to work hard and promised to find him a sister-in-law next year.
• Might Duy told Shinnosuke that waiters earned one million ryo per month, leaving Shinnosuke astonished by their pay.
• Mo Xingchen, Orochimaru, and Hatake Sakumo entered the meeting hall at the Hokage Building and were greeted respectfully by the attendees.
• Uchiha Fugaku thanked Mo Xingchen for the Ten-Great-Supplement Wine he had given him as a wedding gift.
• Mo Xingchen joked that Hyuga Hiashi was rolling his eyes at him, and Hiashi explained that his eyes were Byakugan.

Hiruzen Sarutobi convened Konoha's clan heads to discuss the threats from Iwagakure and Sunagakure and announced the village's battle deployments. The meeting ended with the clan heads discussing details such as supplies and personnel.

• Mo Xingchen told Hiruzen Sarutobi that Orochimaru had taught Shinnosuke a new survival skill, and Hiruzen realized his son was working as a waiter.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo described Konoha's wartime difficulties, then Hiruzen urged the assembled clan heads to respond to the threat of invasion.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi announced that Konoha would send another third of its shinobi to the Land of Grass, with Shimura Danzō as commander-in-chief and Jiraiya as deputy.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Orochimaru to command the force prepared for Sunagakure and Tsunade to lead its medical forces as deputy commander.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi said younger shinobi would take missions in the Land of Rivers while monitoring Kumogakure, and the clan heads discussed supplies and personnel deployment.

Hiruzen Sarutobi secured Tsunade and Orochimaru’s cooperation and persuaded Hatake Sakumo to return to the battlefield on his own terms. He then turned to Mo Xingchen, leaving the others waiting to see how he would convince him.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi overruled Tsunade and Orochimaru’s objections and assigned them their roles in Konoha’s coming operation.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi apologized to Hatake Sakumo on Danzo’s behalf and asked him to help defend Konoha.
• Hatake Sakumo agreed to return to battle, provided he could avoid the Land of Grass front and face Sunagakure instead.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi accepted Hatake Sakumo’s condition, while Danzo showed his displeasure but said nothing further.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other elders turned their attention to Mo Xingchen, wondering how to persuade him.

Mo Xingchen agreed to help Konoha on the battlefield, then revealed he had been teasing Hiruzen Sarutobi and refused. After Utatane Koharu scolded him, Mo Xingchen asked Hiruzen whether he took concubines, leaving Hiruzen alarmed by what he might be suggesting.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Mo Xingchen to go to the battlefield if the front lines grew critical, and Mo Xingchen initially agreed.
• Mo Xingchen clarified that he could not go, prompting Hatake Sakumo to laugh and Hiruzen to grow furious.
• Utatane Koharu accused Mo Xingchen of being ungrateful, but Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo rebuked her and demanded she apologize.
• Mo Xingchen relaxed in his chair and smoked while Utatane Koharu complained that he showed no respect for Konoha.
• Mo Xingchen said he wanted to repay Hiruzen Sarutobi and asked whether Hiruzen took concubines, leaving Hiruzen trembling and suspicious.

Mo Xingchen teased Utatane Koharu in the meeting room, provoking her and making the others laugh. When Koharu charged at him, he used his newly learned “Water Release: Spit Take” to spit on her forehead, leaving everyone stunned.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi refused to let Mo Xingchen target Koharu, fearing his wife Biwako’s reaction, so Mo Xingchen asked Danzo if he wanted a wife.
• Danzo rejected the idea, and Koharu realized she had been offered to him and rejected twice.
• Mo Xingchen insulted Koharu’s looks and chest while flattering Tsunade, and Hatake Sakumo and Hiruzen laughed at Koharu.
• Koharu charged at Mo Xingchen, who formed hand seals and spat on her forehead with his “Water Release: Spit Take.”

Mo Xingchen humiliated Utatane Koharu in the meeting room, then told Hiruzen Sarutobi he would defend Konoha from invasion but would not fight in the war. He left the others stunned by explaining that, beyond his view of the world as passing scenery, he was simply lazy.

• Utatane Koharu went berserk after Mo Xingchen drenched her, and Danzo and Mitokado Homura struggled to restrain and remove her as Mo Xingchen kept spitting water at her.
• Mo Xingchen smugly declared Koharu handled, while Hiruzen Sarutobi was speechless, Hatake Sakumo admired the humiliating technique, Orochimaru covered his eyes, and Tsunade called Mo Xingchen a pervert.
• Mo Xingchen told Hiruzen Sarutobi that he would protect Konoha from invaders but would not go to the battlefield, and Hiruzen accepted his decision.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi asked why Mo Xingchen would not stop the war despite his power, and Mo Xingchen said the shinobi world was only a passing stretch of scenery in his long life.
• Mo Xingchen added that he was lazy, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hatake Sakumo, and Orochimaru stunned while Tsunade scolded him.

Danzo explained to Koharu and Homura that Mo Xingchen was powerful enough to rival the First Hokage, and Konoha mobilized for war after Iwagakure declared war. As the Third Shinobi World War began, the Third Kazekage urged Chiyo to wait until Konoha's forces were tied down before Sunagakure invaded.

• Danzo told Koharu and Homura that Mo Xingchen could capture the complete Nine-Tails and was about as strong as the First Hokage.
• Konoha assembled reinforcements and supplies, while Iwagakure declared war after Konoha demanded an apology for its accusation about the Land of Earth's daimyo.
• In late Year 46 of the Leaf Village calendar, the Third Shinobi World War officially began.
• Chiyo urged the Third Kazekage to take advantage of Iwagakure's war with Konoha and raid the Land of Fire.
• The Third Kazekage told Chiyo to wait until Konoha's main forces were committed to the Land of Grass front before Sunagakure invaded.

Chiyo accepted the Third Kazekage’s decision to wait before attacking Konoha, and agreed to Scorpion becoming his guard. The Third Raikage planned to exploit the war between Konoha and Iwagakure, while the Third Mizukage lamented the constant fighting.

• Chiyo accepted the Third Kazekage’s instruction to wait for a better opportunity to strike Konoha.
• The Third Kazekage offered Scorpion a position as his guard, and Chiyo accepted on her grandson’s behalf.
• Candidate A told the Third Raikage that Kumogakure should honor its agreement with Konoha, but his father taught him that nations followed interests rather than promises.
• A proposed attacking both Konoha and Iwagakure, and the Third Raikage approved of the plan to raid the Land of Fire and seize resources in the Land of Earth once the war weakened them.
• The Third Mizukage read an intelligence scroll and sighed over the seemingly endless fighting.

As war spread between Iwagakure and Konoha, the Third Mizukage chose to keep Kirigakure on the sidelines and wait for an opportunity. Minato and Kushina fought together in the Land of Hot Water and earned new reputations, while Mo Xingchen watched Konoha’s villagers gather at his tavern.

• Genji asked the Third Mizukage which side Sunagakure and Kumogakure would support, and the Third Mizukage predicted both would seek to weaken Konoha.
• The Third Mizukage told Genji that Kirigakure would watch the war and intervene only if Konoha began to falter.
• Over the following year, Iwagakure and Konoha fought across the Land of Grass while Konoha’s forces kept watch on Sunagakure and Kumogakure.
• Minato and Kushina fought Kumogakure’s AB Combination together in the Land of Hot Water; Kushina earned the title “Red Queen Ant,” and Minato became known as the “Yellow Flash.”
• Konoha kept Kakashi and the other newly graduated shinobi in the village because experienced fighters remained available.
• Mo Xingchen found Dragon Gate Inn busier than ever as Konoha’s villagers gathered there to drink and discuss the war.

Orochimaru told Mo Xingchen that Sunagakure was preparing to enter the war and that he had been assigned command of the front lines, though he wished to avoid the work and focus on cultivation. Mo Xingchen began questioning Orochimaru’s ideas about the Great Dao, ending by asking why he sought immortality.

• Orochimaru reported that Sunagakure was assembling its forces and that he was to command troops on the front lines.
• Orochimaru explained that he was not afraid of battle but wanted to cultivate peacefully and pursue immortality instead of handling trivial matters.
• Mo Xingchen warned Orochimaru that fixating on immortality could create inner demons and began guiding him with questions over drinks.
• Orochimaru said attaining the Great Dao required withdrawing from the world and that an immortal should be utterly detached from emotion.
• Mo Xingchen asked Orochimaru why he sought immortality.

Mo Xingchen helped Orochimaru reconsider why he sought immortality and what kind of Dao he wanted to follow. Orochimaru resolved to treat his mission in the Land of Rain as cultivation, but Mo Xingchen’s final remark about reasoning left him confused again.

• Mo Xingchen asked Orochimaru why he sought immortality and what he would do after attaining it, leaving Orochimaru to question his motives.
• Orochimaru asked Mo Xingchen for guidance, and Mo Xingchen explained that people could understand the Dao differently and that his own Dao valued human feeling.
• Orochimaru concluded that neither emotional detachment nor Mo Xingchen’s human-centered Dao was necessarily more correct, and he chose to seek the path that suited him.
• Mo Xingchen described cultivation as entering the mountains, entering the world, and finally leaving the world, and urged Orochimaru to observe and think through experience.
• Orochimaru accepted the teaching and decided to approach his mission defending against Sunagakure in the Land of Rain as cultivation.
• Orochimaru asked whether his own understanding might lead him astray, and Mo Xingchen replied that if the Dao could not be explained, he could only reason with him, confusing Orochimaru.

Kakashi learned that Hatake Sakumo was leaving to join the war against Sunagakure and worriedly advised his father on staying safe. Sakumo gave Kakashi the Hatake clan’s secret swordsmanship manual, but Kakashi dismissed his claims about its power and left for the tavern.

• After training with Obito and Might Guy, Kakashi returned home and found Hatake Sakumo packing for the battlefield.
• Sakumo told Kakashi that Sunagakure was mobilizing and that he would serve under Orochimaru, with Tsunade as deputy commander.
• Kakashi helped his father pack and urged him to be cautious, follow his commanders’ advice, and come home safely.
• Sakumo gave Kakashi a Hatake clan swordsmanship manual containing his own notes and claimed its techniques could defeat Orochimaru and the others.
• Kakashi doubted his father’s boast, promised only casually to treasure the manual, and left to wash before his tavern shift.

Kakashi brought snacks and drinking dishes to Mo Xingchen and Orochimaru, then asked Orochimaru to take care of his father, Sakumo, on the battlefield. Orochimaru accepted and feigned exhaustion, prompting Kakashi to take over his work while Mo Xingchen and Orochimaru laughed at the success of their teasing.

• Kakashi brought food to Mo Xingchen and Orochimaru at the tavern, and the two teased him for his unexpected generosity.
• Kakashi angrily tried to take the food back, but Mo Xingchen stopped him and asked what help he wanted.
• Kakashi bowed to Orochimaru and asked him to take care of Sakumo on the battlefield.
• Orochimaru accepted Kakashi's request, then pretended to be exhausted and prepared to return to work.
• Kakashi insisted Orochimaru rest and rushed to take over his work, while Mo Xingchen and Orochimaru laughed.

As Konoha’s forces prepared to leave for the Land of Rain, Mo Xingchen arrived to see them off and gave Orochimaru and Tsunade custom wine gourds. Tsunade happily claimed her gift and admired its purple design as the troops readied to depart.

• Kakashi told Hatake Sakumo that Orochimaru would look after him, and Hatake Sakumo awkwardly accepted his son’s reassurance.
• Tsunade complained that Mo Xingchen had not come to see the troops off, but he appeared and teased her.
• Mo Xingchen gave Orochimaru a gourd carved with a giant python and filled with his favorite yellow wine.
• Tsunade demanded a gift, rummaged through Mo Xingchen’s clothes, and made him hand over a purple gourd decorated with a golden slug.
• Tsunade tasted the wine, praised the gourd’s purple color, and teased Mo Xingchen.

Orochimaru led the ninja force out of Konoha as the Third Shinobi World War drew familiar faces to the front lines. With the tavern nearly empty, Mo Xingchen decided to visit the younger ninjas and began by startling Kakashi during training.

• Orochimaru gave the order to move out, and the ninja force departed from Konoha.
• Kakashi greeted Mo Xingchen, then left to train with Guy and the others.
• Mo Xingchen decided to go play with the younger ninjas and vanished toward the training grounds.
• Mo Xingchen appeared beside Kakashi in the trees, grabbed him after he lost his footing, and struck his forehead protector hard enough to make him tear up.
• Kakashi recognized Mo Xingchen and complained about the scare, while Mo Xingchen teased him and claimed he had come to guide the younger ninjas in training.

Mo Xingchen took Kakashi to Training Ground Four at high speed, then offered to guide Kakashi and his companions’ cultivation. He asked the group whether anyone had bells, hinting at a test for his new students.

• Kakashi struggled as Mo Xingchen carried him by the collar and asked to be taken to Training Ground Four.
• Mo Xingchen transported Kakashi there so quickly that Kakashi wondered whether he had used the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Obito, Rin Nohara, and Kai saw Kakashi dangling in midair and laughed at his awkward pose.
• Mo Xingchen tossed Kakashi toward his companions, and Kakashi landed face-first because his limbs were weak from the rapid journey.
• Kakashi explained that Mo Xingchen had come to guide their cultivation, and the group eagerly asked him what to do.
• Mo Xingchen decided to act like a teacher and asked whether any of them had bells.