Chapter Summaries

Aozora watched the Chunin Exams grow more brutal in the second round as his classmates were eliminated. Inuzuka Aya faced Senbon, and after she opened with a Smoke Bomb, Senbon spread a bell-tripped thread web through the smoke and launched a needle at her.

• Sai and Hayate won their first-round matches, while Kurama Saki, Yagyū Ichirō, and the remaining members of Team 1 also advanced.
• Izumo Kamizuki and Kamikumo Izuki easily defeated their opponents through teamwork and taijutsu.
• Yagyū Ichirō lost to an older, more experienced ninja after a long fight, and Kurama Saki surrendered when an equally skilled genjutsu user closed in.
• Aozora warned Inuzuka Aya that Senbon had held back in his first match, but Aya entered the arena determined to fight.
• Aya threw a Smoke Bomb at Senbon, who stayed in the mist and formed a web of bell-strung threads with senbon needles.
• Aya's movements rang the bells, and Senbon fired a needle toward her.

Sai lost to Senbon after being trapped and severely injured by his hidden threads and needle barrage. Aozora drew Kunai for his next match as Danzo revealed his plan to eliminate him, while Hiruzen learned that Aozora had opposed the village’s Revitalization Plan.

• Sai charged into her smoke screen while Little White distracted Senbon, but Senbon’s threaded needles and bells trapped her and left her unable to fight.
• The examiner declared Senbon the winner, and Aozora and Hayate checked Sai’s injuries before Aozora vowed to retaliate against Senbon and Kunai.
• Aozora warned Hayate to concede if he drew Kunai, but the match list paired Aozora with Kunai instead.
• Danzo told Hiruzen that Aozora had spoken against the village’s Revitalization Plan at a Uchiha Clan Meeting, and Hiruzen accused Aozora of misunderstanding the village.
• Danzo resolved to kill Aozora, believing the Uchiha and their Sharingan threatened Konoha.

Uchiha Aozora faced Kunai in the Chunin Exam and struggled against the Iron Armor protecting Kunai from his kunai. Aozora survived Kunai’s explosive attack and won, but the blast left him badly injured and the spectators demanding an explanation.

• Uchiha Aozora opened the match by firing a chakra-enhanced kunai at Kunai, but it struck iron armor hidden above Kunai’s ankle.
• Kunai charged through Aozora’s repeated kunai attacks, using specially made Iron Armor to deflect them and force Aozora into a corner.
• Aozora unleashed the Great Fire Dragon Technique, but his Sharingan revealed that Kunai was preparing an attack inside the flames.
• Aozora escaped as a series of explosions engulfed the arena, and Sarutobi Hiruzen used the Earth Wall Technique to repair the damaged wall and stabilize the stands.
• The examiner declared Kunai dead and Uchiha Aozora the winner; Kunai’s armor remained, while Aozora stood injured with torn clothes, cuts, and burns.

After Kunai’s explosive attack disrupted the Chunin Exams, Sarutobi Hiruzen calmed the crowd and promoted nineteen Genin to Chunin. Aozora suspected Senbon and Kunai belonged to Root and wondered why Shimura Danzō had targeted him.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen stabilized the stands, checked on Aozora, and apologized to the villagers while promising to investigate the rule-breaking attack.
• A medical team treated Aozora’s wounds, and Sarutobi Hiruzen canceled the third round while offering ticket holders compensation.
• Hayate defeated an unnamed opponent with Konoha Style Swordplay, then joined Izumo Kamizuki and the other Konoha shinobi instead of celebrating with Aozora.
• Aozora reflected on leaving Team 3 before the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha worsened, despite feeling sadness about the separation.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen promoted nineteen Genin to Chunin, while Aozora suspected Senbon and Kunai were from Root and questioned why Shimura Danzō had targeted him.

After passing the Chunin Exam, Aozora declined Sarutobi Hiruzen’s invitation to join the ANBU and went home with Uchiha Tekka. Tekka then revealed that the Clan Head wanted Aozora to become his assistant in the Military Police Force.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen promoted the successful examinees to Chunin and invited Aozora, Hayate, Izumo Kamizuki, and the other standout Genin to join the ANBU.
• Aozora asked for time to consider the offer, while Hayate urged him to join the village and became upset when Aozora refused to agree.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen left after explaining the promotion, and Aozora went home alone after Hayate joined Izumo Kamizuki and the others.
• Uchiha Tekka met Aozora in the Clan Compound, heard how Kunai had attacked him with Explosive Tags during the exam, and accompanied him home.
• While they ate and drank, Tekka explained that he and others disagreed with Shisui’s approach to the village and said the Clan Head invited Aozora to become his assistant in the Military Police Force.

Aozora considered Fugaku’s offer to make him an assistant and set a condition that would preserve time for his own training. While waiting for Fugaku’s reply, he planned how to survive future assassinations and investigated the Reverse Summoning Technique.

• Uchiha Tekka told Aozora that the Clan Head wanted him as an assistant and explained that Tekka had been appointed Vice-Captain of Team 4.
• Aozora said he would accept only if he received at least five freely arranged days each week, and Tekka agreed to pass the condition to Fugaku.
• Aozora stayed home after becoming a Chunin, planning his cultivation while he waited for Fugaku’s response.
• Worried that Danzo or another enemy might attempt a more concealed assassination, Aozora decided that the Reverse Summoning Technique could save him from danger.
• Aozora summoned Gray Feather and learned that the Ninja Crow Clan could not perform the Summoning Technique because its members had little Chakra and frail bodies.

Aozora spent merit strengthening the Outer Body Incarnation inheritance, then learned a method for cultivating his soul and constructing a Soul Seed. Uchiha Fugaku visited to ask him to become his assistant, but Aozora refused, saying he did not need the Clan Members’ recognition.

• Aozora spent all eight droplets of merit on Outer Body Incarnation and planned to refine the Great Crow into his Incarnation to better control the Reverse Summoning Technique.
• Aozora received an inheritance explaining how to nurture the soul and construct a Soul Seed, along with incomplete knowledge about seizing spirit beasts.
• Aozora practiced the soul-nurturing method until nightfall, exhausting his Chakra before stopping.
• Uchiha Fugaku visited Aozora and asked him to become his assistant, explaining that the position could help him join clan affairs and gain the Clan Members’ recognition.
• Aozora declined Fugaku’s request, thanking him but saying he did not need the Clan Members’ recognition.

Aozora challenged Fugaku over his compromises with Konoha and refused to become his assistant unless he had free time. Fugaku admitted he had failed the clan, accepted Aozora’s conditions, and asked why a coup would be doomed; Aozora began explaining that the other ninja clans would oppose Uchiha rule.

• Aozora accused Fugaku of abandoning the clan by surrendering its interests to Konoha, and Fugaku reflected on his responsibility for the Uchiha’s peril.
• Fugaku admitted he had been in the wrong and agreed to find another assistant, letting Aozora skip routine work and meetings while requiring him to attend important ones.
• Aozora accepted Fugaku’s invitation to help with clan affairs as long as they did not interfere with his training.
• Fugaku asked what Aozora had intended to say at the Clan Meeting, and Aozora rejected a coup as a dead end.
• Aozora argued that the other ninja clans would oppose the Uchiha becoming Hokage because Uchiha rule would encroach on their interests.

Aozora explained why the Uchiha could not resolve their conflict with Konoha by simply seeking the Hokage position or remaining in the Konoha Military Police Force. He presented Fugaku with three strategies and ended by naming Kyoto City as a potential refuge for the clan.

• Aozora told Fugaku that other clans would resist an Uchiha Hokage, while the Military Police Force was too small to accommodate the Uchiha's aspirations.
• Aozora proposed the inferior strategy: relinquish control of the Military Police Force and spread Uchiha influence across Konoha's departments; Fugaku doubted the clan would accept it.
• Aozora proposed the middling strategy: resist Konoha's leadership with enough force to deter further oppression; Fugaku warned that this could lead to disaster.
• Aozora proposed the superior strategy, Three Rabbit Holes, and argued that the Uchiha should not stake their future entirely on Konoha.
• When Fugaku doubted that the clan could safely leave Konoha, Aozora revealed that he meant Kyoto City, within the Land of Fire.

Aozora proposed using Kyoto City and ties to the Daimyo to create a safe base for the Uchiha outside Konoha, and Fugaku agreed to pursue the plan. Fugaku also asked Aozora to teach Itachi, leaving Aozora with a new responsibility as he continued considering escape routes for the clan.

• Aozora recommended relocating Uchiha members without ninja talent to Kyoto City, and Fugaku raised concerns about their safety and the limits on elite ninja leaving Konoha.
• Aozora revealed that Sarutobi Asuma had left Konoha to seek a place among the Twelve Guardian Ninja, then proposed concealing his departure and sending an Uchiha ninja to join him.
• Fugaku approved Aozora's plan to use Guardian Ninja ties and retired Clan Elders to establish an Uchiha foothold in Kyoto City, and the two discussed further cooperation with the Daimyo.
• Fugaku praised Aozora's strategic insight and asked him to become Itachi's teacher so Itachi could better understand the Uchiha's crisis.
• Aozora agreed to teach Itachi at his home one day each weekend.

Uchiha Aozora joined Konoha’s Military Police Force instead of ANBU and reported to Fugaku, who assigned Kyūdai to register his files. After visiting Sai in the hospital, Aozora told her he had joined the force, leaving their future missions together uncertain.

• Aozora told Sarutobi Hiruzen he wanted to join the Military Police Force, and Hiruzen sent him to report there while telling a shadowy figure to keep watch on him.
• Aozora reported to Fugaku, who had Kyūdai register his files; Kyūdai later questioned why Fugaku had recruited Aozora as his assistant.
• Aozora visited Sai at Konoha Hospital with flowers and snacks, and she talked excitedly about Team 3 advancing.
• Sai asked whether Team 3 would still go on missions together after her discharge, and Aozora told her he had joined the Military Police Force.

Aozora decided to earn merit by hunting criminals through the Black Market, creating a fierce disguise and finding a nearby branch. He selected several bounty missions and prepared to pursue them.

• Aozora found no useful opportunities to earn merit around Konoha and noticed someone surveilling him on the way home.
• Aozora chose the Black Market as a source of information about criminals and transformed himself into a bald, muscular giant with red silk over his eyes.
• Aozora obtained directions from Fugaku, disguised himself as an ordinary passerby, and left Konoha for a nearby Black Market branch.
• Aozora entered the hidden Black Market beneath an Izakaya and saw that Uchiha Fugaku and Captain Yashiro had high bounties.
• Aozora reviewed the bounty booklet, chose several missions targeting criminals, and called the owner over to claim them.

Aozora used a Shadow Clone to defeat Shinji Harano, then spent his mission earnings and merit to unlock advanced inheritances from the Heavenly Book. After receiving the Gilded Edition of Outer Body Incarnation, he learned its principles but fell asleep before he could receive Fetal Transformation and Form Change.

• Aozora's Shadow Clone cornered Shinji Harano at a cliff, survived his Explosive Tag, and defeated him before disappearing when Aozora released it.
• Aozora returned to the Black Market to turn in the mission, then evaded scouts and went home to meditate.
• Aozora spent twenty-seven Golden Droplets to make Outer Body Incarnation gilded and the remaining seven to unlock Fetal Transformation and Form Change.
• Aozora received the Outer Body Incarnation inheritance, which covered soul splitting, body possession, attaching souls to objects, and transformation into human form.
• Exhausted by the inheritance, Aozora fell asleep without receiving Fetal Transformation and Form Change.

Aozora questioned the proposed transfer of the Konoha Military Police Force’s village security duties to ANBU and urged the Uchiha to demand a public, accountable handover. After the meeting, Fugaku introduced Natsuki, his candidate for the Guardian Shinobi selection, and Aozora advised her on approaching the Daimyo.

• Fugaku raised ANBU’s plan to take over the police force’s emergency duties, and the Uchiha captains protested.
• Aozora asked whether the Uchiha budget would be cut and whether ANBU had publicly accepted responsibility, then argued that any handover had to be formally announced.
• Yashiro supported Aozora’s argument, and Fugaku ended the meeting by assigning relocation, recruitment, and missing-person duties.
• Aozora teased Kyūdai about his name, and Kyūdai delivered Fugaku’s announcement to the notice board.
• Fugaku introduced Natsuki as his candidate for the Guardian Shinobi selection, and Aozora coached her on concealing her identity and earning the Daimyo’s trust.

Aozora and Natsuki were on their way to discuss her mission when an explosive attack struck the village. Aozora intervened and killed the powerful Fat Chef with the Zhanxian Flying Dagger, leaving the stunned ANBU and Uchiha to secure the scene.

• Aozora took Natsuki toward his house and warned her to be cautious while working outside the clan.
• An explosion hit a building, killing and injuring villagers, while Fat Chef attacked four Konoha Military Police Force ninja.
• Aozora stopped Natsuki from rushing in, then threw Kunai to give the four Uchiha time to retreat and ordered them to evacuate the injured.
• Aozora faced Fat Chef as ANBU arrived and secretly prepared the Zhanxian Flying Dagger.
• Fat Chef blocked Aozora's Kunai, but Aozora used the Zhanxian Flying Dagger to behead him, then ordered the Uchiha to collect the corpse and clean up the blood.

Aozora intervened when the ANBU tried to seize the spy’s corpse and intimidate the Uchiha, then calmed the crowd with an apology before handing the scene to Uchiha Takuma. Back at the Clan Compound, he summoned Gray Feather and asked Natsuki to form a contract with it.

• Aozora watched the ANBU and Uchiha argue over the spy’s corpse until the ANBU leader used killing intent to overwhelm the four Uchiha.
• Aozora challenged the ANBU’s authority in front of the crowd, prompting villagers and ninja to protest until the ANBU took the spy’s head and left.
• Aozora stopped the Uchiha from pursuing the ANBU, apologized to the crowd, and turned the scene over to Uchiha Takuma.
• Aozora and Natsuki returned to the Clan Compound, where he summoned Gray Feather and told her to bite her finger and form a contract with the crow.

Aozora studied the divine abilities he had inherited while Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo discussed his growing capabilities and the worsening war against Kumogakure. They decided to send Hyuga Branch Family ninja to the front and assign Uchiha chunin to escort supplies.

• Aozora explained that Natsuki could contact him through Gray Feather, then began studying Fetal Transformation and Form Change and Outer Body Incarnation.
• Aozora tested whether his soul was strong enough to begin Soul Splitting and smiled at the result.
• The Anbu Third Division Captain reported the clash with the Uchiha to Sarutobi Hiruzen, who focused on the intelligence hidden in the spy's head.
• Danzo warned Hiruzen that Aozora's flying dagger could threaten even a Jonin and said his surveillance had found no major abnormalities.
• Hiruzen and Danzo discussed the dire Kumogakure front, where Yugito had reappeared and Jiraiya was retreating to shorten the defensive line.
• Hiruzen and Danzo decided to send Hyuga Branch Family ninja led by Hizashi to the front and have the Uchiha organize chunin to escort supplies.

Itachi visited Aozora for guidance and tried to persuade him to embrace the Will of Fire. Aozora challenged Itachi’s beliefs by accusing Konoha’s leaders of preaching sacrifice while exploiting the young, leaving cracks in Itachi’s faith.

• Itachi arrived at Aozora’s residence and asked him to explain the Will of Fire.
• Itachi argued that the Will of Fire called for clans to set aside their differences and serve the village together.
• Aozora questioned whether Konoha’s leaders truly followed the Will of Fire and cited the deaths of White Fang and the Fourth Hokage.
• Aozora accused Konoha’s leadership of sending children into battle and using young people’s sacrifices for its own benefit.
• Itachi listened in shock as doubts began to form in his heart.

Aozora challenged Itachi’s beliefs about the Will of Fire and Konoha, leaving him with two questions to reconsider. After Itachi left, Aozora began cultivating Soul Splitting and cut his soul in two, collapsing from the pain.

• Aozora questioned the reliability of Konoha History and asked Itachi to consider whether sacrifice under the Will of Fire should be voluntary or forced and whom Konoha belonged to.
• Itachi left Aozora’s home troubled, reconsidering his assumptions about the Uchiha clan, the village, and his own judgment.
• Aozora posted a Do Not Disturb notice, shut himself in, and spent several days nurturing a Soul Blade in his Sea of Consciousness.
• Aozora used the Soul Blade to split his golden soul orb in two and was knocked unconscious by the pain.

After splitting his soul, Aozora began moving from his old home while considering how to speed his recovery. At a Konoha high-level meeting, the clans were assigned to reinforce the front and the Uchiha were tasked with escorting supplies, leaving Fugaku worried about the danger.

• Aozora used the Soul Nurturing Technique to strengthen his split soul and estimated it would take three to five years to mature without further help.
• Aozora packed his belongings into sealing scrolls and left the house where he had lived for twelve years for the new Clan Compound.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen assigned the Hyuga, Inuzuka, and Aburame Clans to reinforce the front, and Hyuga Hiashi agreed to send five Jonin and forty Chunin, led by Hizashi.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen assigned the Uchiha to transport supplies, and Fugaku worried that the convoy would be vulnerable to infiltrating Cloud ninja.