Chapter Summaries

After the Konoha surprise force wiped out multiple Sunagakure squads, Shuichi coordinated the next phase with the main force’s invasion. His team used signal flares to confuse Sunagakure and draw its defenders into Konoha’s attack routes, leaving the Sand shinobi scrambling as the assault began.

• Nara Shikaku reported that the Konoha force had eliminated three Sunagakure squads, and Shuichi organized the next phase of the operation.
• Shuichi sent his Shadow Clone and Hyuga Homura to separate positions near the front line while the other Konoha teams moved into place.
• Shuichi’s Shadow Clone and Hyuga Homura fired blue signal flares as Konoha’s main force advanced into Sunagakure territory.
• Eishi’s mixed Sand unit detected Konoha forces approaching from several directions, fired two red flares, and prepared to break out of the encirclement.
• After seeing the red signals, Shuichi’s Shadow Clone and Hyuga Homura fired their own red flares from successive positions to further confuse the Sand shinobi.

Shuichi’s squad ambushed retreating Sand shinobi and helped Konoha win the battle. After joining the main force, Shuichi left his teammates with Nara Shikaku and departed for another mission.

• As the Sand Village forces retreated, Shuichi’s squad waited in a canyon passage and chose a mixed unit of eleven shinobi to ambush.
• Shuichi trapped the Sand shinobi inside an earthen enclosure, and Mokui sealed it with his unusual Earth Release technique.
• Shuichi, Mitarashi Kiyohi, and another Konoha ninja combined Fire and Wind Release to burn the trapped enemies, then finished off the survivors.
• Shuichi’s squad hunted isolated Sand shinobi until they joined Konoha’s main force, while Nara Shikaku’s squad also intercepted retreating enemies.
• Nara Shikaku took charge of the pursuit, and Shuichi left Shihei and Akiha with him before departing on another mission.

Shuichi received a secret solo mission from Orochimaru and infiltrated Sunagakure’s forward base by impersonating a captured medical ninja. On his eleventh birthday, he strengthened Flash and assessed how the System would amplify future growth, while resolving to watch for White Zetsu.

• Nara Shikaku and Yamanaka Inoichi gave Shuichi a secret assignment to impersonate Saki and infiltrate Sunagakure.
• Shuichi used the intelligence on Saki to copy her appearance, buried her corpse, and headed for the Sunagakure base.
• Shuichi reached the base before the retreating Sunagakure Ninja and used his birthday point to increase Flash’s vision range to twenty meters, including underground sight.
• Shuichi considered White Zetsu’s potential surveillance and decided his enhanced vision would help expose them while he kept a lower profile.
• Shuichi tested the effects of his age-based attribute growth and concluded that future Kekkei Genkai and Tailed Beast power could be greatly amplified by the System.

Shuichi disguised himself as the Sunagakure Medical Ninja Saki and passed the village’s inspections, allowing him to infiltrate its medical unit. Meanwhile, Orochimaru told Tsunade he planned a full-scale assault in three days and insisted she join the attack despite her hemophobia.

• Shuichi wounded and dirtied himself with Explosive Tags, then approached Sunagakure’s camp pretending to be a lone survivor.
• Shuichi posed as Saki, claimed Konoha forces had scattered her squad, and passed Sunagakure’s chakra checks and interrogation.
• Sunagakure assigned Shuichi to treat wounded ninjas, letting him begin his infiltration inside the medical unit.
• Orochimaru visited Tsunade in Konoha’s medical area and announced his plan to crush Sunagakure’s frontline forces with a full-scale assault.
• Tsunade objected to the expected casualties, but Orochimaru insisted she use her Medical Ninjutsu despite her hemophobia.

Shuichi continued spying on Sunagakure from within its Medical Department as Konoha launched an all-out offensive. With Rasa rushing to reinforce the front, Shuichi remained among the medics, poised to act amid the growing chaos.

• Orochimaru pressured Tsunade into treating wounded Konoha Jonin despite her blindness and revealed that Shuichi was hiding in Sunagakure.
• Shuichi used his Saki disguise and ink eyeballs to monitor Sunagakure’s medical staff while keeping his Chakra and exhaustion within an ordinary Chunin’s limits.
• A Sunagakure patrol’s sensory ninja detected a large Konoha force, and Orochimaru summoned Manda to charge the front lines as Konoha began its all-out assault.
• After receiving news of the attack, Rasa ordered Tosha to notify Chiyo and gathered available forces to defend Sunagakure’s positions.
• Shuichi helped Hanano prepare medical supplies and asked whether they could go to the front lines to aid their wounded comrades.

Shuichi used Orochimaru’s Explosive Tags to prepare a surprise attack on the Sunagakure camp, then assassinated Hanano and other medical personnel. After explosions tore through the camp’s perimeter and Medical Unit, he unleashed Water Severing Wave against the survivors.

• Shuichi received a message from a Little White Snake that Sunagakure’s strongest fighters had gone to the front lines, then summoned Orochimaru’s Explosive Tags.
• Shuichi planted Explosive Tags beneath ambushers, important rooms, and the beds of wounded ninjas in the Sunagakure camp.
• While Shuichi used genjutsu from underground, his Shadow Clone killed Hanano and the other medical personnel in the room.
• Shuichi created more Shadow Clones and detonated the tags around the camp’s outer perimeter, drawing defenders away.
• Shuichi detonated tags inside the Medical Unit, destroying buildings and killing wounded ninjas and medical personnel.
• A Shadow Clone used Water Style: Water Severing Wave to sweep through the crowded camp and strike two Medical Jonin.

Shuichi used transformed Shadow Clones and underground support to nearly wipe out Sunagakure’s Medical Unit before escaping the camp. He left the Sand shinobi with a devastating loss and took care to conceal his identity, while realizing the killings might earn him the hatred of many enemies.

• Shuichi sent transformed Shadow Clones through the chaotic camp to kill Sand shinobi and target the Medical Unit’s leaders, while he coordinated their attacks from underground.
• Shuichi used Earth Release to make a Sand Special Jonin lose his footing, allowing a Shadow Clone to kill him, and helped the clone behead Medical Jonin Yoshioka.
• The Shadow Clones nearly eliminated the Medical Unit, and Shuichi escaped underground after sensing Sand shinobi returning to the area.
• Yota rushed into the ruined Medical Department and found his wife Yui among the dead, then swore revenge on Konoha Ninja.
• Shuichi detonated Explosive Tags hidden among the corpses, killing Yota and further damaging the camp, then reflected on the hatred his attack might provoke.

Konoha’s assault forced Sunagakure’s forces to retreat while Shuichi’s attack devastated their northern outpost and medical corps. Orochimaru confirmed the mission’s success to Shikaku and Minato, leaving them to consider how Shuichi had accomplished it.

• Orochimaru’s attack and Minato’s strikes pressured Sunagakure’s front lines until Konoha sounded the retreat signal.
• Rasa learned that attackers had killed more than a hundred ninja at Sunagakure’s rear base and wiped out its Medical Unit, then suspected Konoha and ordered the news sealed.
• At Konoha’s camp, Tsunade treated an injured Jonin while Orochimaru observed her work.
• Orochimaru told Shikaku and Minato that Shuichi had eliminated the medical ninja at Sunagakure’s northern outpost, cutting their overall medical force by about half.
• Shikaku inferred that Shuichi had carried out the mission and wondered how he had succeeded alone.

Shuichi returned from his mission with Hoga’s preserved corpse and asked Orochimaru to help him study Explosion Release. Orochimaru explained the risks and limits of Kekkei Genkai research, then agreed to use Natural Energy to produce Chakra from Hoga’s body so Shuichi could study it.

• Nara Shikaku and Minato discussed a gradual advance in the war before leaving Orochimaru alone in the command tent.
• Shuichi returned in his true form, reported that he was exhausted, and showed Orochimaru Hoga’s preserved corpse.
• Orochimaru explained the requirements, risks, and limited practical value of researching composite Kekkei Genkai, including Konoha’s failed Wood Release experiments.
• Shuichi proposed absorbing and sensing Chakra from Hoga’s corpse to speed up his study of Explosion Release.
• Orochimaru said his research on Jugo’s Cursed Seal had let him use Natural Energy to make corpses produce Chakra, and agreed to prepare Hoga’s body for Shuichi.

Shuichi’s reconnaissance revealed Sunagakure’s retreat, while Konoha’s commanders learned that Iwagakure and Kumogakure were opening other fronts. Konoha ended its large-scale campaign in the Land of Rivers and returned troops for reorganization, while Sarutobi Hiruzen discussed Shuichi’s future promotion and the secrecy surrounding the Medical Unit assassination.

• Shuichi discovered that Sunagakure had abandoned its northern stronghold and located its new position near Akita Territory.
• Shuichi reported Sunagakure’s retreat to Orochimaru, who told the commanders that Iwagakure and Kumogakure had begun moving troops into neighboring lands.
• Nara Shikaku explained that the conflict was shrinking into a prolonged war of attrition, and Konoha began sealing Sunagakure’s routes and driving hidden forces out of the Land of Rivers.
• Konoha’s army returned to the village to rest and reorganize as Jonin captains departed for other battlefields.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen praised Shuichi and raised the prospect of promoting him to Jonin, while Shuichi denied involvement in the assassination of Sunagakure’s Medical Unit; Hiruzen promised to seal the information.

Shuichi traveled between Konoha and the Daimyo’s Mansion as a messenger, where he learned his bounty had risen to 60 million Ryo and was making the Daimyo question the Guardian Ninja. On his way back, Shuichi defeated several bounty hunters but encountered Kakuzu, who had joined the hunt.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen assigned Shuichi missions within the Land of Fire and sent him to the Daimyo with a letter.
• Shiji Shinden welcomed Shuichi and revealed that his bounty had risen to 60 million Ryo, making him dissatisfied with the Guardian Ninja by comparison.
• Tanaka explained that the Land of Water Daimyo’s recent assassination had made Shiji Shinden paranoid and warned Shuichi that his bounty could attract dangerous hunters.
• Shuichi left the Daimyo’s Mansion and defeated two ambushers before killing them with metal plates.
• Shuichi confronted Iron Tortoise, wounded him by redirecting his chain weapon, and then escaped a surprise Fire Release attack with an Earth Clone.
• Shuichi recognized Kakuzu as the attacker who had trapped him with black threads and struck his clone.

Shuichi fought Kakuzu, using taunts and carefully timed techniques to evade his attacks and strike back. He left Kakuzu badly injured after destroying one of his masks with a Rasengan.

• Shuichi provoked Kakuzu with insults, and Kakuzu attacked him with Earth Release and Earth Grudge Fear.
• Shuichi evaded Kakuzu’s Lightning Release: False Darkness by diving underground.
• Shuichi emerged and attacked Kakuzu with a short sword, but Kakuzu’s Earth Spear hardened his skin and his threads bound a Shadow Clone.
• Shuichi used a surprise Chidori to strike Kakuzu, then evaded the lightning attack hidden beneath Kakuzu’s clothes.
• Shuichi circled to Kakuzu’s side and hit him with a Rasengan, shattering a blue-spotted mask and sending him flying.

Shuichi drove Kakuzu into retreat, then returned to Konoha and commissioned specialized ninja tools from a shop in the Daimyo's Mansion. Meanwhile, Agent Zero used a flashbang to kill the Sunagakure deserter Nakaya on the Land of Fire border.

• Shuichi survived Kakuzu's fire and wind attack by hiding underground, but Kakuzu escaped while the battlefield was obscured.
• Shuichi decided not to pursue Kakuzu and collected his discarded black threads for future tracking.
• Shuichi returned to Konoha, then tested a large-area Smoke Bomb at a ninja tool shop with Inoue Danza and Sato.
• Agent Zero confronted Nakaya, a fleeing Sunagakure deserter, and identified himself as a captain of the Land of Fire Seal Unit.
• Agent Zero blinded Nakaya with a Flashbang and killed him with his short sword.

Shuichi completed his mission to kill the defecting Sunagakure ninja Nakaya, then secretly visited Orochimaru’s new laboratory in Aoba City. After discussing the cycle of violence and a ninja’s life, Shuichi left with Hoga’s corpse while Orochimaru reflected on whether he might leave Konoha.

• Shuichi killed Nakaya with a Flashbang-assisted attack, collected his head, and erased the traces of the fight.
• Shuichi went to Orochimaru’s secret laboratory in Aoba City and received the completed container that could supply Chakra for his training.
• Orochimaru asked Shuichi what he thought about a ninja’s life, and Shuichi described war as a recurring cycle while saying he might try to change it if he gained the power.
• Shuichi asked whether Orochimaru planned to leave Konoha, then departed with Hoga’s corpse to begin researching Explosion Release.
• Orochimaru recalled Sarutobi Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Nawaki, and Shuichi as he considered the idea of leaving the village.

Shuichi studied Hoga’s Chakra and Iwagakure’s Explosion Corps techniques to understand Explosion Release, then used the Third Hokage’s Earth Release research to correct his training. Two months later, he successfully performed Explosion Release: Explosive Palm.

• Shuichi began experimenting with Lightning and Earth Chakra, then researched the properties and combat style of Iwagakure’s Explosion Corps.
• After his Shadow Clone was destroyed during an experiment, Shuichi realized his attempts to use Earth Release’s bearing capacity had failed and sought advice from the Third Hokage.
• The Third Hokage gave Shuichi an Earth Release Scroll, whose notes on heaviness helped Shuichi devise a way to compress and release Lightning Chakra.
• Two months later, Shuichi struck a tree with Explosion Release: Explosive Palm and successfully blasted a small pit into its trunk.

Shuichi completed his Explosion Release training, investigated how Kekkei Genkai strengthened the body, and developed close-combat techniques that detonated targets from within. As he continued testing his new abilities, an Anbu arrived with an urgent summons from the Third Hokage.

• Shuichi measured his physical and Chakra growth, dissected Hoga's corpse, and concluded that Kekkei Genkai gradually trained the body while Composite Bloodline Limits passed down Chakra-use instincts.
• Shuichi tested Explosion Release on a tree and found that his fast Chakra transformation produced a quick but weak blast.
• Shuichi fought a Shadow Clone and used Explosion Release: Heart Piercing Finger to destroy its hand meridians.
• Shuichi developed Heart Piercing Finger and Heart-Shattering Palm to cripple opponents by detonating their organs, meridians, and muscles.
• An Anbu interrupted Shuichi's training and told Jonin Takeda that Lord Hokage had summoned him.

Shuichi rushed to the Land of Grass to reinforce the Konoha-Kusagakure front, scouting Kannabi Bridge before attacking an Iwagakure squad. He killed Captain Ishida and several ninja, while Kotaro fled and Iwato charged toward Shuichi’s original body.

• The Third Hokage sent Shuichi to reinforce allied forces in the Land of Grass, where Iwagakure’s intensified offensive threatened to surround them.
• Shuichi raced to Kannabi Bridge, studied the terrain, and sent a Shadow Clone away with the mission Scroll while he continued ahead.
• Shuichi found an Iwagakure squad lying in wait and launched a surprise attack, killing its sensory ninja and injuring Captain Ishida with Explosion Release.
• Shuichi killed Ishida with Chidori and cut down several more Iwagakure ninja as Kotaro ordered a retreat.
• Kotaro fled with two Shadow Clones, while the wounded Iwato charged Shuichi’s original body.

Shuichi defeated an Iwagakure squad and reached a besieged Konoha team, while his Shadow Clone located the main force and learned that Ōnoki’s Dust Release had crippled Konoha’s movements. The clone warned that Ōnoki might target Shuichi’s original body, leaving the rescue team in danger and Konoha prepared to prioritize Shuichi’s survival.

• Shuichi used Explosion Release to cripple Iwato, then killed him with help from his Shadow Clone as the remaining Iwagakure ninja fled.
• Shuichi reached Mimura Hamaki’s besieged unit, proved his identity, and guided the Konoha ninja toward an unoccupied escape route.
• Shuichi’s Shadow Clone found the main force and met Akimichi Choza, Jiraiya, and Minato to exchange intelligence.
• Jiraiya explained that Ōnoki’s aerial Dust Release and Iwagakure’s terrain-altering tactics had restricted Konoha’s movements and caused severe losses.
• Shuichi warned that an Iwagakure Jonin had escaped and might lead Ōnoki to the besieged team, while Minato cautioned that Shuichi himself was a likely target.
• Jiraiya told Shuichi to preserve his own life if the situation became desperate, and Shuichi agreed to relay the warning to his original body.

Shuichi led Konoha Ninja into Ōnoki’s ambush and sent them skyward, where Dust Release killed several of them. Shuichi escaped underground using Shadow Clones, while Ōnoki realized Konoha had detected his absence and was approaching.

• Shuichi learned that Ōnoki was personally pursuing him and sent the Konoha Ninja into the sky on Ink Birds to escape the encirclement.
• Ōnoki attacked the flock with Dust Release, killing several Konoha Ninja as Shuichi maneuvered to cover their retreat.
• Shuichi used a Shadow Clone to draw Ōnoki’s pursuit while his real body hid underground and escaped the search squads.
• Shuichi’s Shadow Clones misdirected the Iwagakure pursuers, and Ōnoki concluded that the real Shuichi had fled underground.
• Ōnoki spotted a red dot approaching on the horizon and realized Konoha had quickly discovered that he had left.

Shuichi learned that Ōnoki had confronted his original self, prompting Jiraiya to launch a counterattack that routed Iwagakure. After rejoining the survivors, Shuichi heard Mitarashi Kiyohi’s final request to help his daughter Anko become Orochimaru’s disciple, and mourned the teammates lost in the fighting.

• Shuichi’s Shadow Clone delivered news of Ōnoki’s encounter to Jiraiya, who chose to attack Iwagakure’s position rather than send support.
• Jiraiya and Gamabunta broke through the Stone Ninja’s defensive line, while Minato killed numerous enemies and helped force Kitsuchi to order a retreat.
• Shuichi found six surviving Konoha Ninja and discovered that Mitarashi Kiyohi was mortally wounded.
• Mitarashi Kiyohi asked Shuichi to help Anko become Orochimaru’s disciple, and Shuichi promised to seek the Hokage’s approval.
• Mitarashi Kiyohi died, leaving Shuichi grieving over him and the other Konoha Ninja who had fallen.