Chapter Summaries

After returning home and training with the Great Crow, Aozora went to the Konoha Military Police Force and offered Jintai his training plan while asking for leave. He left with his Head Instructor title intact, but secretly resolved to prevent Jintai from taking control of the Flying Tigers.

• Aozora returned home, cleaned up, and began two-way cultivation with the Great Crow to improve his strength and prepare the Outer Body Incarnation to learn the Reverse Summoning Technique.
• Aozora decided to train his Chakra extraction and control while pursuing Sage Jutsu and meeting Tsunade's conditions.
• Aozora visited Jintai and submitted his training plan, but Jintai said Ryoichi's plan had already been chosen and the Flying Tigers had begun training under him.
• Aozora clarified that he did not want to replace Ryoichi or become Head Instructor and asked Jintai for leave.
• Jintai accepted Aozora's plan for Ryoichi to reference and agreed to leave Aozora's Head Instructor title in place.
• After leaving, Aozora decided to play along with Jintai's plans while secretly opposing his attempt to control the Flying Tigers.

Aozora pressed Sarutobi Hiruzen for a fitting reward for his wartime service, and Torifu helped him secure permission to choose two non-Forbidden Ninjutsu from the Hokage Building’s Confidential Archives. As Kento led him to the archives, Aozora secretly used his restored right eye to sense the building’s defenses and considered how he might infiltrate the collection if needed.

• Aozora visited the Hokage Building to submit his missions and claim his reward, while Torifu and Sarutobi Hiruzen questioned him about his injured eye.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen initially offered Aozora permission to apply for one advanced Ninjutsu, but Torifu challenged the limited reward by citing Aozora’s missions and kills.
• Aozora emphasized that he had completed three S-Rank missions and killed five enemy Jonin, prompting Sarutobi Hiruzen to grant him access to choose two non-Forbidden Ninjutsu from the Confidential Archives.
• Aozora thanked Torifu and Sarutobi Hiruzen, then followed Kento toward the archives while using his blind right eye to sense nearby Chakra and study the building’s defenses.

Aozora entered Konoha’s Confidential Archives and selected two ninjutsu, while suspecting Tenzo had been given Hashirama Cells. After Tenzo reported Aozora’s choices to Sarutobi Hiruzen, Hiruzen considered using Tenzo’s strengthened Wood Release to advance a plan against the Uchiha.

• Kento presented the Third Hokage’s signed document, and Tenzo let Aozora enter the Confidential Archives to choose two ninjutsu.
• Aozora sensed unusual, vigorous Chakra in Tenzo and suspected Sarutobi Hiruzen had helped him absorb Hashirama Cells.
• Tenzo warned Aozora away from the Forbidden Jutsu shelf and left him under watch as he browsed the Archives.
• Aozora chose the Art of Restoration and Earth Style: Earth Wall, finding no Secret Technique or genjutsu that suited his search for Yin Release.
• Tenzo reported Aozora’s selections to Sarutobi Hiruzen and said his body felt powerful and his Chakra had become more stable.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen decided Tenzo’s improved Wood Release might let him contend with Uchiha Fugaku, helping begin Elephant’s plan to discredit the Sharingan and the Uchiha.

Aozora completed the crow's Outer Body Incarnation, whose Soul Splitting became an independent-minded brother and returned to the Summoning Realm to recover. Later, Aozora met Kyūdai and Mugen at Ichiraku Ramen to discuss the Flying Tigers, but an angry accusation against the Uchiha interrupted them.

• Aozora refined the Great Crow and successfully transferred his Soul Splitting into its body, creating an Incarnation that could communicate with him.
• Aozora agreed to treat the Incarnation as a brother and not forcibly control it, while the Incarnation accepted the arrangement and returned to the Summoning Realm to recuperate.
• Aozora considered whether the Summoning Realm offered superior cultivation conditions and noted that he might ask Tsunade about human Sage Jutsu.
• Aozora met Kyūdai and Mugen at Ichiraku Ramen, where Kyūdai explained that Mugen had become captain of the Flying Tigers' Fourth Squad.
• An angry voice outside the ramen shop accused the Uchiha of sacrificing their friends and family for power.

Uchiha Nobuo faced public accusations that he had awakened his Sharingan by sacrificing his friend, and nearly killed Tsuchihashi Masahiro in anger. Aozora stopped the attack and confronted a suspicious crowd as the Konoha Military Police Force moved to arrest Masahiro.

• Nobuo recalled how Masahiro fled during a mission, leaving Katsuri to die, after which Nobuo awakened his Sharingan and killed the rogue ninja.
• Masahiro accused Nobuo of causing Katsuri's death to gain power, then rallied onlookers to spread claims that the Uchiha awakened their Sharingan through sacrifice.
• As Nobuo swung his sword at Masahiro, he lost control of his body, but Aozora appeared and cut the blade in two before it struck.
• Aozora, Kyūdai, and Mugen identified themselves as the Konoha Military Police Force and ordered the two men to surrender, while the crowd objected to Masahiro's arrest.
• Aozora declared that Masahiro had slandered the Uchiha and sown discord, then defended the clan as a founding and inseparable part of Konoha.

Aozora used the villagers’ gathering to expose how Tsuchihashi Masahiro had slandered the Uchiha and to remind Konoha of the clan’s role in founding the village. After the crowd turned against Tsuchihashi Masahiro and he was arrested, Aozora warned Jintai that the incident might be part of a larger plan to provoke conflict.

• Aozora challenged the villagers’ ignorance of the Uchiha’s founding contributions and called on Sarutobi Toda to confirm that the Senju and Uchiha founded Konoha together.
• Hyuga, Yamanaka, and Nara shinobi confirmed the same history, and Aozora argued that Tsuchihashi Masahiro had maliciously defamed the Uchiha.
• The villagers changed their stance and called for Tsuchihashi Masahiro to be captured, so Mugen and Kyūdai tied him up.
• Jintai arrived with two teams of Flying Tigers, asked about Nobuo, and heard Aozora’s suspicion that the incident was meant to provoke conflict between him and the villagers.
• Jintai trusted Aozora’s judgment and accepted that Nobuo drawing his blade on Tsuchihashi Masahiro was no longer a major issue.

Aozora turned the crowd against Tsuchihashi Masahiro’s hidden supporters and defended the Uchiha Clan, while Sarutobi Hiruzen learned that his ANBU plan had failed. The chapter ended with Hiruzen considering Aozora a threat and taking out a Special Jonin appointment letter.

• Aozora identified four people who had supported Tsuchihashi Masahiro and argued that their silence during his slander, followed by their intervention, made them suspicious.
• Aozora persuaded the crowd to support the Uchiha Clan and ordered everyone to disperse, while Jintai praised him and asked him to help.
• Elephant told Sarutobi Hiruzen that the plan had failed and that Jintai required Hiruzen’s signed document before releasing Yamato and the others.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen signed the document and sent Elephant to retrieve the ANBU, then concluded that Aozora had become the Uchiha Clan’s guiding mind.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen took out a Special Jonin appointment letter.

Aozora commissioned Fukuyama to forge a chakra-conductive Flying Sword from the Kubikiribōchō, then was assigned to represent the Uchiha in a mission to clear the Black Market. He accepted the assignment despite suspecting ulterior motives and worrying that it would delay his training.

• Aozora asked Fukuyama to melt down the Kubikiribōchō and forge four double-edged swords, but learned its chakra-conductive core could provide enough material for only one.
• Fukuyama explained that the Kubikiribōchō drained blood to replenish its wielder's stamina and form iron from an enemy's blood.
• Fukuyama agreed to forge Aozora a single Flying Sword for fifty thousand ryo and asked him to return in a week.
• ANBU delivered the Hokage's Summoning Orders for elite Jōnin to the major clans, whose leaders struggled to spare shinobi for the Black Market-clearing mission.
• Jintai summoned Aozora and Junpei and ordered them to represent the Uchiha in the mission.
• Aozora weighed the chance to obtain Golden Droplets against the delay to his training, then accepted Jintai's order.

Aozora joined Kosuke's mission to clear the Land of Fire's Black Markets, where Yamato became deputy commander and reorganized the operation into smaller teams. Aozora set out with Junpei and Guy to clear their assigned area, still suspicious of Yamato's role in the change of plans.

• Aozora met Guy and recognized Yamato among the ninja gathered for the mission.
• Kosuke announced the mission to clear Black Markets, and Aozora introduced Yamato as its deputy commander.
• Kosuke led the group to an Izakaya hiding a Black Market, where Aozora incapacitated the Chunin and rescued three civilians while the others subdued the remaining occupants.
• Yamato urged Kosuke to split the elite Jonin into teams so they could clear more Black Markets before the bounty hunters escaped.
• Kosuke divided the fifteen elite Jonin into five teams, and Aozora left with Junpei and Guy to clear their assigned area.

Aozora, Might Guy, and Junpei raided a Black Market and defeated its personnel and bounty hunters before moving on to another target. Across the Land of Fire, Konoha’s squads continued their campaign, prompting underground operatives to learn that the crackdown followed the attack on Konoha’s Northwest Camp.

• Aozora used Earth Release to destroy the public toilet concealing a Black Market, and Might Guy and Junpei attacked the people escaping the ruins.
• The Black Market boss fled under cover of a Smoke Bomb, but Aozora killed him with a swift strike while Might Guy and Junpei subdued the others.
• Aozora explained that he had killed the boss to avoid risking his companions, then released a Signal Flare and handed the captives over to arriving Konoha Ninjas.
• Aozora’s squad hurried toward another Black Market while other Konoha squads scored victories across the Land of Fire and seized members, funds, and intelligence.
• Underground operatives learned that Konoha was clearing Black Markets in response to the Akatsuki Organization’s attack on Konoha’s Northwest Camp.

Utatane Koharu warned Sarutobi Hiruzen that the Daimyo backed the Black Market, and Hiruzen ordered Kosuke to spare the Daimyo-controlled core brokerages. After Aozora’s team received orders to stop taking prisoners, Aozora realized their targets were drawing them toward Kyoto City and suspected the mission was a trap, so he proposed abandoning it.

• Utatane Koharu urged Sarutobi Hiruzen to halt the Black Market operation after revealing the Daimyo’s ties to the Underground Exchanges, and Hiruzen agreed to spare the core brokerages.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen sent a secret letter to Kosuke, who ordered Aozora, Uchiha Junpei, and Might Guy’s team to suspend their clearing mission near Kyoto City.
• Elephant intercepted the Messenger Hawk carrying Kosuke’s order and destroyed it before heading toward Aozora’s group.
• After Aozora’s team destroyed another Black Market stronghold, an ANBU delivered Kosuke’s revised order telling them to attack the Black Markets without keeping prisoners.
• Junpei pointed out that the remaining Black Market sites were within the Daimyo’s sphere of influence, and Aozora used the map to realize the team’s targets were approaching Kyoto City.
• Aozora suspected the operation was meant to draw him into a trap and told Guy and Junpei that they might have to abandon the mission.

Aozora realized the Black Markets were likely protected by powerful Land of Fire nobles and led Might Guy and Junpei back to report rather than risk Konoha’s interests. A fake distress signal then lured them to a burning marketplace, where they were framed as arsonists, so they escaped after Aozora opened a path for civilians to flee.

• Aozora pointed out that the Black Markets clustered around Kyoto City and were built beneath public toilets commissioned by the Daimyo’s Mansion, suggesting powerful nobles supported them.
• Aozora persuaded Might Guy and Junpei to return and report their suspicions to Lord Kosuke instead of continuing the mission, and reassured them that doing so was not truly abandoning it.
• After the three left the forest, Elephant emerged from the ground and headed in the opposite direction.
• The team heard an explosion and saw three red distress flares, then recognized that the signal came from the Black Market they had planned to clear.
• At the burning marketplace, residents accused Might Guy of setting the fire, and Aozora realized the rescue signal had lured them into a frame-up.
• Aozora extinguished part of the fire with Earth Release—Earth Rising Spear, leaving civilians an escape route, and the three fled the marketplace.

Aozora, Junpei, and Might Guy were ambushed by Kazuma and the Twelve Guardian Ninja, who accused Konoha of killing bounty hunters and civilians. Aozora’s powerful Fire Release let the three escape, while Hiroki planned to take their complaint to the Daimyo.

• Aozora sensed a disturbance in the Nature Energy and warned Junpei and Might Guy to retreat before an earthen platform rose beneath them.
• Kazuma and four other Jonin appeared behind the Eight Gates Barrier and accused the Konoha shinobi of massacring civilians and bounty hunters.
• Aozora unleashed Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation, nearly overwhelming the Barrier, and his group escaped while the barrier weakened.
• Fuyuan dispelled the Barrier, and Hiroki explained that Aozora’s Fire Release was exceptionally powerful and that Fuyuan’s new Barrier technique had struggled to withstand it.
• Hiroki stopped Kazuma from pursuing the three and said he would report the incident to the Daimyo, expecting the Hokage to answer for it.

Aozora and his teammates fled the scene of the alleged civilian massacre, gathered support, and hurried to explain themselves to Kosuke. Yamato’s ANBU intercepted them and demanded they submit to restraints, but Aozora refused and stepped forward with Might Guy and Junpei.

• Aozora and Junpei decided to leave rather than stay and defend themselves against the accusations, while Aozora contacted his Incarnation to reach Shisui and Natsuki for help.
• Aozora summoned his Great Crow to scout, sent secret letters to Shisui and Natsuki, and told Might Guy and Junpei they needed to reach Kosuke.
• At Konoha’s temporary command post, Kosuke ordered the black-market operation halted and sent Yamato with ANBU to recall Aozora’s team and investigate.
• The next morning, Yamato and four ANBU blocked Aozora, Might Guy, and Junpei, accusing them of disobeying orders and slaughtering civilians.
• When the ANBU demanded that the three accept sealing and restraints, Aozora refused and stepped forward toward them, followed by Might Guy and Junpei.

Aozora and his companions clashed with Yamato and the ANBU guarding the temporary command post after Aozora refused to stop. Aozora seriously wounded the Cat-Faced ANBU and continued toward the post, having deliberately exposed the conflict with the Hokage faction before their return to Konoha.

• Aozora ignored Yamato's warning and led Junpei and Might Guy past the ANBU toward the temporary command post.
• The Cat-Faced ANBU attacked their backs with a Flame Bullet, and Aozora countered with a Great Fireball that struck the ANBU's wooden shelter.
• Yamato freed the Cat-Faced ANBU from the burning barrier, but water turned the flames into scalding steam, so Yamato severed the ANBU's right arm.
• Aozora challenged Yamato over the ANBU's ambush and left with Junpei and Might Guy, while Yamato sent the other ANBU to carry the injured man back to the command post.
• Aozora told Might Guy that those who killed would eventually be killed and reflected that wounding an ANBU would make the conflict with Sarutobi Hiruzen's faction visible to Konoha's leaders.

Aozora defended his squad to Kosuke after Yamato accused them of attacking the ANBU, while Kosuke concluded someone was framing them. The Daimyo demanded the culprits behind the Akiba Market attack, and rumors blaming the Uchiha spread through Konoha as Jintai ordered the Military Police to stop arresting rumor-spreaders.

• Aozora questioned Kosuke about the Black Market orders and reported that Yamato’s ANBU had attacked his squad, while Yamato accused Aozora of nearly killing Wildcat.
• Aozora, Might Guy, and Junpei recounted their mission, and Kosuke decided someone was trying to frame them.
• An ANBU delivered a message that the Daimyo demanded the culprits behind the Akiba Market attack and threatened to cut Konoha’s budget in half, so Kosuke ordered the squad back to the village.
• Rumors spread through Konoha that Uchiha ninjas had slaughtered civilians, and Military Police patrols arrested villagers who repeated the accusations.
• Jintai saw that arrests were making the rumors spread further and ordered the Military Police to issue warnings instead of arresting rumor-spreaders.

Aozora and his companions returned to Konoha and were placed under house arrest while the leaders investigated the accusations against them. As rumors spread and the village feared losing half its funding, Sarutobi Hiruzen proposed budget cuts that enraged the Jonin and department heads.

• Aozora reported the mission to Konoha's leaders, and Kosuke and Torifu argued that he, Might Guy, and Junpei had been framed.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed to investigate ANBU and the framing, but the leaders placed Aozora, Might Guy, and Junpei under house arrest with ANBU surveillance.
• Aozora told Kyūdai to guide public opinion by publicizing the team's accomplishments and Hatake Sakumo's deeds, while rumors and praise spread through Konoha.
• At the high-level meeting, Sarutobi Hiruzen distributed a contingency budget plan that raised the village's mission share from 30% to 50% and sharply cut departmental budgets, provoking an uproar.

Sarutobi Hiruzen turned the Daimyo’s threatened budget cuts into a wave of public anger against Aozora and the other two, while Aozora maintained that he trusted the Hokage. After Shisui returned and heard Aozora question the investigation, Shisui began to doubt Sarutobi Hiruzen.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen announced possible budget cuts, and the leaked contingency plan fueled rumors blaming Aozora and the other two for the civilian killings.
• Kyūdai told Aozora that villagers were condemning the three and implicating the Uchiha, while Aozora asked him to watch over Might Guy.
• Kosuke, Torifu, and others visited Aozora, who continued to insist that he trusted the Hokage and the village.
• Villagers prepared to storm the three men's homes but gathered at Guy's home instead, where Kyūdai's warning helped prevent serious consequences.
• Shisui returned and told Aozora that Sarutobi Hiruzen was still investigating; Aozora's bitter response left Shisui questioning whether the Hokage had truly found no clues.

Aozora broke his confinement and confronted Sarutobi Hiruzen at a High-Level Meeting, demanding to know whether the Hokage had investigated the accusations against his team. Sarutobi revealed little, and Aozora exposed that another Fire Release ninja had attacked the Black Market, leaving Hiruzen unable to explain his investigation.

• Aozora used Demonic Illusion—Nightmare Prayer to get past the ANBU guarding his home and headed to the Hokage Building.
• Aozora interrupted the High-Level Meeting and reminded Sarutobi Hiruzen that he had promised to clear his team's name quickly.
• Aozora accused Sarutobi of failing to investigate and condemned the village for letting rumors spread despite his service and sacrifice.
• Sarutobi avoided directly answering whether Aozora's team was innocent, then said the evidence was limited and Yamato had attacked them out of resentment.
• Aozora revealed that another Fire Release ninja had attacked the Black Market while his team was confined, and Kosuke challenged Sarutobi about whether he knew.

Aozora challenged Sarutobi Hiruzen over the failed investigation into his framing, then slashed his forehead protector and offered himself as a missing-nin to shield Konoha from the Daimyo’s anger. Shisui, Torifu, and Kosuke defended him, leaving the room’s suspicion focused on Hiruzen and Utatane Koharu.

• Aozora questioned Sarutobi Hiruzen’s claim that a Messenger Hawk had been intercepted and suggested someone in ANBU might have tampered with it.
• Utatane Koharu accused Aozora of making baseless claims, so he recounted his service to Konoha and lamented that the leaders still distrusted him.
• Aozora cut through his Konoha forehead protector, dropped his Flying Dagger, and offered his head as a missing-nin to appease the Daimyo.
• Sarutobi Toda and two Sarutobi Jonin moved to seize Aozora, but Uchiha Shisui used Phantom Clones to kick them away and stood between them.
• Torifu and Kosuke insisted Aozora was no missing-nin and blamed the village’s leadership for driving him to despair.
• Aozora thanked Torifu and Kosuke, prompting the meeting’s attendees to look more suspiciously at Sarutobi Hiruzen and Utatane Koharu.