Chapter Summaries

Shuichi and Namikaze Minato defeated the Sand Village pursuers, and the Konoha squad prepared to pursue another enemy squad. Shuichi then stopped them, warning that they had overlooked the enemy’s Sensory Ninja.

• Shuichi’s Shadow Clone killed Ryo, while Shuichi used Chidori to kill another Sand Chunin and a second clone dealt with the last one.
• Namikaze Minato used Flying Thunder God to kill the Sand jonin captain.
• Hyuga Akiha confirmed that Shuichi had defeated the other pursuers, and Minato’s squad regrouped.
• Minato proposed tracking down the Sunagakure squad behind them and engaging it.
• Shuichi stopped the squad and pointed out that they had overlooked the enemy’s Sensory Ninja.

Shuichi and Namikaze Minato’s squad pursued a Sunagakure team while using a split formation to counter its sensory ninja. They discovered an eight-person enemy squad with at least three Jonin and began maneuvering to draw it into their planned engagement.

• Shuichi warned that Sunagakure’s sensing range could expose the Konoha squad, so Namikaze Minato planned a two-front pincer using a Shadow Clone and the Byakugan’s intelligence.
• Inuzuka Tsume tracked the Sunagakure team, and the Konoha squad split into two groups as they advanced toward the enemy.
• Shashi’s eight-person Sunagakure squad detected approaching Konoha ninja, sent pigeons to alert nearby reinforcements, and continued toward them.
• Hyuga Akiha reported that the enemy had eight members and probably at least three Jonin, then noticed that their sensory ninja had detected Konoha from over a kilometer away.
• Namikaze Minato’s Shadow Clone ordered the forward group to turn and accelerate at six hundred meters, preparing to draw the enemy into their planned battle.

The Konoha squad coordinated a feigned retreat to draw Sunagakure into an ambush, then launched a direct attack after identifying Hazuki among the enemy forces. The chapter left both sides converging on the battlefield as Hazuki detected another Konoha force approaching from behind.

• The Konoha Ninja pretended to flee while Shashi ordered Sunagakure to pursue and harass them until reinforcements arrived.
• Shuichi sent enemy intelligence to Namikaze Minato and Aburame Shibi, who prepared a concealed position and revised the squad’s attack plan.
• Hyuga Akiha reported that Sunagakure had three Jonin, including a puppeteer and Hazuki, so Minato’s Shadow Clone made Hazuki the primary target.
• The Konoha squad stopped fleeing and charged as Shashi ordered Sunagakure to halt, fire a Signal flare, and prepare for battle.
• Namikaze Minato and Aburame Shibi rushed out of the Barrier while Hazuki detected another group of enemies approaching from the five o’clock direction.

Shuichi and Minato slowed the Sunagakure squad with surprise attacks until Konoha reinforcements arrived and the battle split into several clashes. After helping protect Akimichi Choza, Shuichi ran out of Chakra and stayed back to recover while the others fought on.

• Shuichi ambushed the Sunagakure squad with a Shadow Clone Shuriken technique and explosive Kunai, giving Minato an opening to kill a Chunin.
• Hyuga Akiha led Konoha’s reinforcements to the gathered Sunagakure ninja, where Minato and Aburame Shibi confronted Shashi’s attacks.
• Akimichi Choza smashed the ground with Super Expansion Jutsu, but the Sunagakure ninja evaded and counterattacked with a Fire and Wind combination.
• Shuichi blocked the flames with Water Formation Wall and weakened the enemy’s Wind Cutter, limiting Choza’s injuries.
• After exhausting his Chakra, Shuichi stayed behind to recover and planned to return to the fight with sneak attacks.

Shuichi used an Ink Bird to watch Minato and the Konoha squad battle Sunagakure forces, then the Konoha reinforcements arrived and surrounded them. Hazuki recognized that Shuichi was still hidden and urged her side to hold out for reinforcements, judging him too weak to fight directly.

• Shuichi gauged his remaining chakra and sent an Ink Bird aloft to scout the battlefield.
• Minato killed a Sunagakure Chunin with a Flying Thunder God Kunai and trapped the remaining enemies with marked Kunai.
• Minato nearly killed Kazamaki before Shashi’s puppet forced him to teleport away, and Konoha reinforcements joined the fight.
• The Konoha squad pressed the Sunagakure group, while Hazuki ordered her allies to defend and wait for reinforcements.
• Shashi assessed the Konoha clan members’ exposed fighting styles, and Hazuki inferred that the unseen ninja was hiding because he lacked combat strength.

Sunagakure's sealing formation disrupted Chakra flow and kept Konoha's attacks at bay, while Minato narrowly escaped a puppet ambush. As the standoff continued and reinforcements threatened to arrive, Shuichi prepared to use Water Release and Earth Release to break the formation.

• Hazuki formed a sealing array that transferred her Chakra to her teammates and healed their injuries, while Shashi and the other Sand Ninjas took positions around it.
• Hyuga Akiha identified the array's effect on Chakra flow, and Minato tested the formation with an attack before escaping Shashi's spear-and-cable trap.
• Shashi arranged his puppets and steel cables to counter Minato's Flying Thunder God, leaving Konoha's nearby fighters struggling to find an effective attack.
• Hazuki and Shashi discussed how to counter Konoha's elemental attacks, and the Sand Ninjas reinforced the ground beneath their positions.
• Minato and Shuichi both recognized that they needed to break the formation quickly, and Shuichi began preparing Water Release and Earth Release while reserving Chakra for escape.

Shuichi and Minato led Konoha’s ambush against Sunagakure, killing Hazuki and several enemy ninja before reinforcements arrived. Shashi escaped, and Minato ordered the Konoha team to withdraw toward the border.

• Shuichi triggered a mudslide while Minato used Flying Thunder God and Rasengan to breach Sunagakure’s Earth Flow Wall, letting Konoha attack.
• Minato pursued Hazuki as Shuichi ambushed her from underground, and Minato killed her with a Flying Thunder God strike.
• Kazamaki went berserk after Hazuki’s death, while Shashi ordered a retreat and escaped Minato by using Earth Release.
• Shuichi and Minato defeated Kazamaki, and Konoha’s fighters took down another Sunagakure ninja.
• Hyuga Akiha spotted two Sunagakure reinforcement squads, so Minato ordered the team to take Hazuki’s body and withdraw.

After escaping Sunagakure’s pursuit, Minato and Shuichi reported their victory to Orochimaru, who publicized it to strengthen Konoha’s morale. Sunagakure’s leaders debated their next moves and ordered intelligence gathered on the two Konoha ninja.

• Minato and Shuichi led their exhausted squad through Sunagakure’s encirclement and reached a safe area in the Land of Rivers.
• Minato and Shuichi reported their mission to Orochimaru, who decided to use their victory for Konoha’s morale and wartime propaganda.
• Konoha publicized that Minato and Shuichi had killed several Sunagakure ninja, including the high-ranking Hazuki, and their names spread through the forward base.
• Sunagakure’s elders questioned Shashi about Hazuki’s death before turning to plans for the coming war.
• Rasa urged Sunagakure to defend its gains in the Land of Rivers, and the elders ordered Shashi to compile intelligence on Minato and Shuichi.

Konoha’s forces entered the Land of Rivers and established a frontline base as its commanders prepared to act against Sunagakure. The chapter ended with Nara Shikaku outlining a three-stage strategy that would bring both sides into major battles across the central region.

• Shuichi’s squad reached a mountain near Kikyo Castle and helped establish a frontline base overlooking a second position.
• Shuichi joined Jiraiya, Minato, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and other Konoha leaders to review the village’s orders to strike Sunagakure soon.
• Jiraiya warned that Iwagakure was showing signs of entering the war, while Orochimaru explained that Konoha needed results within months to prevent Sunagakure from occupying more territory.
• Nara Shikaku identified Sunagakure’s northern and southern positions and said Konoha would advance, locate enemy forces, then launch an all-out assault on one position.
• Nara Shikaku predicted major battles at Southern Sichuan Ridge, the central mountain range, and Toba Basin as both sides fought for control of the Land of Rivers’ center.

Shuichi received a dangerous reconnaissance mission to investigate Sunagakure’s northern stronghold ahead of Konoha’s offensive. While traveling with Aburame Shihei and Hyuga Akiha, his squad discovered three suspicious men disguised as Konoha Ninja, whom Shuichi captured with a Senbon attack and genjutsu.

• Orochimaru and Nara Shikaku assigned Shuichi’s squad to scout Sunagakure’s northwest ahead of Konoha’s offensive.
• Shuichi, Aburame Shihei, and Hyuga Akiha set out from camp and traveled toward the border of the Land of Rivers and the Land of Rain.
• Shuichi used his improved Super Beast Imitation Drawing to receive reconnaissance images, while rain hindered the squad’s sensing abilities.
• Hyuga Akiha spotted three weak Chakra signatures ahead and detected that the men wearing Konoha Forehead Protectors might be impostors.
• Shuichi’s squad ambushed the three men with Senbon, and Shuichi began using genjutsu to interrogate them.

Shuichi’s team investigated Rogue Ninja who were robbing refugees under the guise of working for Konoha, then traced them to a mountain base. After the enemy detected their infiltration and countered Shuichi’s decoy attack, the team prepared to target an isolated opponent before reinforcements arrived.

• Shuichi’s team questioned three Rogue Ninja, learned they had looted a refugee settlement, and killed them.
• Shuichi, Hyuga Akiha, and Aburame Shihei diverted into the mountains and used Akiha’s Byakugan to scout the enemy base from beneath an umbrella.
• Shuichi sent weakened Shadow Clones disguised as Rogue Ninja into the cave while his original body approached underground.
• Hoga exposed and destroyed the disguised clones, while Koshi prepared to use Sensory Ninjutsu.
• Shuichi’s original body struck at Hoga underground, but Hoga vanished as a Shadow Clone, revealing that the enemy had anticipated the attack.
• Akiha warned Shuichi that an enemy Jonin might ambush his original body, but Shuichi’s Shadow Clone urged the team to attack the isolated enemy before reinforcements arrived.

Shuichi’s team fought Iwagakure Ninja inside a cave, where Shuichi killed the Jonin Ban and captured the sensory Ninja Koshi. A third Iwagakure Ninja triggered a cave collapse and fled, and Shuichi set off in pursuit.

• Koshi fought Shuichi in the cave, but Shuichi’s Shadow Clone concealed his real position while Ban arrived and trapped Shuichi’s apparent body in a pit of Earth Spears.
• Shuichi used Chidori: Second Stage to kill Ban before Koshi and the Konoha reinforcements could stop him.
• Akiha and Shihei attacked Koshi, and Shuichi used Earth Release to shield the group when the cave began collapsing.
• Akiha spotted the third Iwagakure Ninja fleeing and reported that the Rogue Ninja nearby had been blown apart.
• Shuichi told his teammates to watch Koshi and pursued the fleeing Iwagakure Ninja.

Shuichi pursued and killed Hoga of Iwagakure, then collected his body and returned to free Hyuga Akiha and the others from the collapsed hill. The squad regrouped as Shuichi opened a path through the rubble with Earth Release.

• Shuichi chased Hoga through the mountains and split his pursuit with Shadow Clones when Hoga made a clone at a fork.
• Shuichi baited Hoga into detonating a clone bomb, then tracked him and evaded his Landmine Fist ambush.
• Shuichi struck Hoga with Chidori Stream, but killed him with a kunai when his Lightning Release resistance let him resist the paralysis.
• Shuichi collected a blood sample and stored Hoga's corpse in a glass container for later research.
• Shuichi returned to the collapsed hill, signaled Hyuga Akiha, and used Earth Flow Divide to free the trapped squad.

Shuichi’s team continued its reconnaissance toward the Land of Wind after uncovering Iwagakure’s plot and spies. When they encountered a Sunagakure patrol, Shuichi recognized its Jonin as an enemy from his past and led an attack, ending with the debut of his new S-rank technique.

• Shuichi decided to send the captured Iwagakure ninja to Konoha for interrogation, and a summoned python carried him away to Orochimaru.
• After resting, Shuichi, Aburame Shihei, and Hyuga Akiha traveled west and learned that their capture had exposed Iwagakure spies and earned them credit from the village.
• Shuichi led the team into the Land of Wind to observe Sunagakure’s defenses, where Akiha spotted a patrol led by Takichi, a Jonin Shuichi recognized.
• Shuichi’s team ambushed the patrol, but Takichi countered their attacks and revealed his skill with concealed Wind Release slashes.
• Shuichi paralyzed Takichi with Chidori Stream, then used his Shadow Clone’s Lightning Release: Ten Thousand Years of Death to kill him and celebrated the technique as a genuine S-rank Ninjutsu.

Shuichi captured Sunagakure intelligence and devised a way for his team to infiltrate the desert despite its harsh conditions. He prepared to test a new scroll technique that could conceal summoned birds in the sky.

• Shuichi and Hyuga Akiha defeated the Sunagakure Chunin, and Shuichi questioned Nakazawa about their mission and Takichi’s connection to Takiji.
• Shuichi let Nakazawa leave, but Aburame Shihei’s insects killed him to prevent him from exposing the team’s infiltration route.
• Shuichi dug an underground shelter and explained how the team could use summoned water, underground travel, and nighttime movement to cross the Land of Wind.
• Orochimaru agreed to provide water through the Summoning Technique, and Shuichi collected enough to last the team two days.
• Shuichi brought out a Sky Blue Chakra Scroll and special ink, then prepared to test whether Super Beast Imitation Drawing could summon birds that blended into the sky.

Shuichi’s squad followed a Sunagakure supply convoy into the Land of Rivers and identified a forward logistics base as their next target for deeper infiltration. At the base, Natsuki secretly arranged a meeting with Kawakami while distracting Iketani, leaving her next move unclear.

• Shuichi’s squad tracked Sunagakure’s nightly supply convoy into the Land of Rivers and reached the Tsuchizawa Small Basin logistics base.
• Hyuga Akiha reported that the base held a little over a thousand people, and Shuichi proposed infiltrating a unit to travel farther into enemy territory.
• Kawakami told Iketani and Natsuki that their team would depart the next day to join the fighting against Konoha.
• Natsuki secretly passed Kawakami a note arranging a meeting, and he went to the training grounds expecting to meet her.
• Natsuki kept Iketani occupied with praise and then asked to return to her room, but she hurried in the opposite direction after entering the camp.

Shuichi tried to capture a Sunagakure ninja for information but stumbled into a private meeting between Kawakami and Natsuki. He fled when Iketani caught them, then discovered Natsuki was actually Mokui in disguise, leaving Shuichi humiliated in front of his companions.

• Shuichi ambushed Kawakami and used genjutsu to learn that he had come to meet Natsuki.
• Shuichi transformed into Kawakami and met Natsuki, who tried to seduce him while claiming she needed his protection.
• Iketani arrived and attacked after seeing Natsuki with Kawakami, so Shuichi used the Body Flicker Technique to escape.
• Aburame Shihei revealed that the disguised Natsuki was Mokui, who explained that he had used Liquid Silicone as part of his disguise.
• Hyuga Akiha and Aburame Shihei returned and teased Shuichi about what they had witnessed.

Shuichi’s squad infiltrated Sunagakure by replacing a team and reached its frontline camp in disguise. After scouting the base, they learned that Rasa was likely commanding there, while Chiyo might be stationed at a southern base.

• Mokui explained that he had impersonated Natsuki, and Shuichi’s squad decided to replace the rest of her team and use the next day’s deployment to infiltrate Sunagakure’s front lines.
• Shuichi interrogated Kawakami and impersonated him, while Mokui became Natsuki and Aburame Shihei took on Iketani’s appearance; Hyuga Akiha provided support with her Byakugan.
• The disguised squad received orders to reinforce the front lines, collected intelligence from Orochimaru, and reached Sunagakure’s frontline camp.
• Shuichi’s team reported to the mission office and received an assignment to leave on a mission in three hours.
• Akiha surveyed the camp and reported fewer than a thousand Sunagakure ninja, about ten Jonin at the central command post, and a powerful chakra presence likely belonging to Rasa.
• Shuichi recorded the possibility that Chiyo was at the Southern base, where she might be opposing Tsunade’s poison efforts.

Shuichi’s squad joined Konoha’s plan to use intelligence gathered from inside Sunagakure to ambush its forces near Southern Sichuan Ridge. The operation began with Nara Shikaku’s unit silently eliminating a Sunagakure reconnaissance squad, leaving Konoha poised to draw more enemy troops into the trap.

• Shuichi explained that his squad would track Sunagakure’s troop movements and secretly support Konoha’s front-line operation.
• In Konoha Year 47, Shuichi’s squad scouted Sunagakure’s deployment and summoned allied squads to coordinate their attack.
• Shuichi and Nara Shikaku divided the Konoha forces into two groups that would use Byakugan reconnaissance to approach the enemy.
• Nara Shikaku trapped four Sunagakure ninja with the Shadow Imitation Technique, Yamanaka Inoichi disrupted their minds, and Akimichi Choza killed them with the Expansion Jutsu.

Shuichi’s unit ambushed and wiped out a Sunagakure squad, while Ino-Shika-Cho continued hunting enemy Jonin teams. The chapter revealed that Shuichi’s infiltrators had uncovered Sunagakure’s rotating scouting schedule, allowing Konoha’s two units to operate deep in enemy territory.

• Nara Shikaku praised Homura’s scouting and the Byakugan after their unit eliminated a Sand Jonin squad, then urged his team to conserve Chakra and target weaker forces.
• Shuichi’s team attacked a Sunagakure squad near the river, using a coordinated ambush to surround the Chunin and prevent their Jonin captain from sending a signal flare.
• Mitarashi Kiyohi, Mokui, and Shuichi killed the Sand captain, while Hyuga Akiha and the other Konoha ninjas finished off the remaining enemies.
• Mitarashi Kiyohi praised Shuichi’s tactical planning, and Shuichi ordered the team to move out before their remaining time ran short.
• The chapter explained that Shuichi’s infiltrators had learned Sunagakure’s randomly changing scouting schedule, which enabled Konoha’s units to hunt squads inside enemy territory.