Chapter Summaries

Yichen and Nagato led the assault on Amegakure, where they defeated and killed Hanzo, leaving the Land of Rain under Akatsuki’s control. The survivors began rebuilding as Yichen negotiated a territorial exchange intended to strengthen the Land of Earth’s position.

• Nagato’s Six Paths of Pain and Yichen attacked Hanzo’s forces, while Yichen’s disciples dealt with the Rain Village ninja.
• Yichen blasted away half of Ibuse with a blue beam, then joined Nagato in wearing down Hanzo.
• After a missile struck him, Hanzo gave Kawakita a swordsmanship scroll and acknowledged Akatsuki’s victory before dying.
• Yichen and Nagato cleared out Hanzo’s remaining confidants, while Yahiko and Konan organized Amegakure’s assets.
• The next day, Yichen and the others divided Amegakure’s materials and spoils, leaving most of the supplies to Yahiko’s group.
• Nagato ceded part of the Land of Rain to the Land of Earth, and Yichen planned to exchange border territory with the Land of Grass.

Yichen and his disciples left Amegakure after training with the Akatsuki, while Kanako and Uchiyama Takuhiro gained new skills. In Konoha, Tsunade and the senior officials discussed the Akatsuki’s victory over Amegakure and chose diplomacy, investigation, and military development over an immediate attack.

• Yichen introduced Kanako to Konan and asked Nagato to help Uchiyama Takuhiro with Banshō Ten'in as their disciples trained together in Amegakure.
• Yichen stayed for several days, then departed with his disciples; Kanako reported progress toward Paper Style Jutsu, and Uchiyama Takuhiro said Nagato had taught him the training method for Shinra Tensei.
• Tsunade convened Konoha’s senior officials after they learned that the Akatsuki Organization and Iwagakure had conquered Amegakure and killed Hanzo.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi urged Tsunade to use diplomacy to contain Iwagakure, hold a Joint Chunin Exams, and investigate the Akatsuki Organization before deciding how to confront it.
• Tsunade reported on Kakashi, the Flying Thunder God trainees, and Might Guy’s progress with the Eight Inner Gates, while Hiruzen Sarutobi confronted Danzo about his Nanoscale Poisonous Insects research.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi arranged for Shisui Uchiha to join the Anbu as his guard, and Tsunade approved the appointment before ending the meeting.

Rasa and the Fourth Raikage considered Konoha’s Joint Chunin Exams while the Akatsuki Organization reshaped the balance of power by establishing Dawn Ninja Village and the Dark Akatsuki Organization. After returning to Iwagakure, Yichen sent Konoha Iwagakure’s entry and visited Sokai Uchiha, who insisted their bet was not settled.

• Rasa decided Sunagakure would participate in Konoha’s Joint Chunin Exams while quietly building its strength, and the Fourth Raikage ignored Konoha’s invitation.
• Iwagakure agreed to join the exams, while Yahiko founded Dawn Ninja Village and Nagato formed the Dark Akatsuki Organization.
• Yichen judged that the ninja world had become a balance among several major powers, leaving Konoha to use political means to buy time.
• Yichen returned to Iwagakure with his disciples and sent Konoha a letter confirming Iwagakure’s participation in the exams.
• Yichen met Sokai Uchiha at Ōnoki’s home and reminded him of their bet, but Sokai insisted it remained open until he graduated.

Yichen revealed the Uchiha Clan’s danger to Sokai, prompting Sokai to awaken his Sharingan, then used Fugaku’s hidden scroll to study Uchiha techniques. He continued training Team Five as the Chunin Exams in Konoha approached.

• Yichen told Sokai that the Sharingan had controlled the Nine-Tails and that the Uchiha Clan was isolated, then showed him Fugaku’s message about caring for younger clan members.
• Sokai awakened a Single-Tomoe Sharingan in his left eye and a Two-Tomoe Sharingan in his right, fainted from the strain, and later learned Yichen had sealed his eyes.
• Yichen used an Anbu member’s Sharingan to reveal hidden Sharingan Genjutsu and Uchiha Ninjutsu in Fugaku’s scroll, then copied the techniques for himself and Ogura Saki.
• Yichen reviewed Team Five’s progress, praised Atsumi Akino’s completed reading task, encouraged Uzumaki Riori, and gave Ishinose Kiyoshi another Water Style Jutsu to learn.
• Another month passed as Yichen trained his disciples, and the Chunin Exams in Konoha drew near.

Yichen sent Kawakita and several squads to Konoha for the Chunin Exams while Ikura secretly arranged an infant exchange with Fugaku Uchiha. As his disciples made major advances and Kawakita gained experience fighting Konoha swordsmen, the chapter ended with Kawakita considering asking Yichen to arrange battles with Cloud ninja.

• Yichen sent Kawakita, Tomoko, and their squads to Konoha while Ikura traveled separately to arrange an exchange of Uchiha children.
• Ogura Saki began fusing her wind and fire chakra, Kawazoe Yura developed a Byakugan-countering sealing technique and was promoted to jonin, and Kanako completed Paper Style Jutsu.
• Ikura met Fugaku Uchiha through a Shadow Clone, confirmed Sokai had awakened his Sharingan, and agreed to exchange thirteen children during the second round of the Chunin Exams.
• Kawakita challenged Konoha's swordsmanship experts, lost to Gekkō Seiya, and improved through later fights with other Jonin.
• Kawakita told Tomoko he regretted not fighting Cloud ninja, and she suggested he ask Yichen to arrange it after they returned.

Yichen brought Kawakita and his three new disciples to the Land of Iron so Kawakita could test his swordsmanship against the samurai there. After Kawakita won his first sparring match at Artisan Village, stronger experts defeated him, but his growing enthusiasm convinced Yichen to let the challenges continue.

• Kawakita's group left Iwagakure, and Yichen explained that they would visit the Land of Iron rather than Kumogakure to study swordsmanship.
• Yichen told his disciples how Hanzo's ambition and isolation had shaped his eventual failure, urging them not to give up after setbacks.
• Yichen disguised the group as Land of Iron samurai and led Kawakita through challenges against increasingly skilled swordfighters, where Kawakita remained undefeated before Artisan Village.
• Mifune met the group at Artisan Village's entrance and, after Yichen explained their peaceful purpose, offered to have the village's experts spar with Kawakita outside.
• Kawakita narrowly defeated his first opponent, then lost to several stronger experts as Yichen used Banshō Ten'in to stop attacks that threatened him.

Kawakita reached Quasi-Kage strength after Mifune’s final challenge helped him understand why he had learned the blade, and Yichen brought him back to Iwagakure. The village’s leaders recognized Kawakita’s advancement and arranged his next steps, while Yichen learned that Tomoko had also become an Elite Jonin.

• Kawakita charged Mifune with his strongest slash, then realized he had learned the blade simply because he loved it and became a Quasi-Kage.
• Yichen gave Mifune a blade as thanks, and he and his companions left the Land of Iron with Kawakita.
• Yichen pushed Team Five through an exhausting journey back to Iwagakure, then brought Kawakita to the Tsuchikage’s Office Building.
• Ōnoki and the advisors recognized Kawakita’s new strength, barred him from outside missions until he became a true Kage-level fighter, and offered him an S-rank Ninjutsu selection.
• Kawakita chose a technique that formed a giant sword from Chakra and told Yichen that Tomoko had become an Elite Jonin after her three disciples were promoted to Chunin.
• Yichen promised to inform Ōnoki and the other leaders about Tomoko’s promotion, while Kawakita went to practice his new Ninjutsu.

Yichen trained his three young disciples after Uzumaki Riori advanced in Chakra Control and learned the Clone Technique. He gave Atsumi Akino Minato Namikaze’s Flying Thunder God scrolls to study, and she discovered that her Space-Time Ninjutsu talent could help the village understand and eventually counter the technique.

• Wada Akio became an Elite Jonin after being inspired by the Kage-level battles during the Amegakure incident.
• Uzumaki Riori completed Tree Climbing, successfully performed the Clone Technique, and began practicing Shadow Clone Jutsu.
• Yichen gave Ishinose Kiyoshi a Water Release Ninjutsu scroll and encouraged Atsumi Akino to study Space-Time Ninjutsu.
• Yichen gave Atsumi Akino two scrolls from Minato Namikaze and explained that her talent was the reason he had chosen her for this research.
• Atsumi Akino said the practice scroll described a technique that could teleport objects, though using it to teleport a ninja required greater talent, and Yichen supplied Minato Namikaze’s Special Kunai.
• Yichen encouraged Atsumi Akino to develop theories that could help Iwagakure understand and limit Space-Time Ninjutsu.

Ogura Saki completed her Bloodline Fusion, became an Elite Jonin, and demonstrated Flame Release’s ability to strip and burn Chakra from enemy techniques. After testing its limits, Yichen and the advisors discussed the Uchiha children who had joined Iwagakure and Sokai Uchiha’s progress.

• Ogura Saki completed her Bloodline Fusion, advanced to Elite Jonin, and used Flame Release to consume the Chakra in Yichen’s Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall.
• Yichen advised Ogura Saki to develop control over Flame Release, while Ōnoki learned about the practice and considered developing it himself.
• Yichen, Ogura Saki, and the others tested Flame Release and found it worked best against defensive Ninjutsu, was limited against fast or powerful techniques, and had almost no effect on Five-Tails Chakra.
• Mei told Ōnoki that the Uchiha children had been placed with friendly families and examined by Anbu, and she said their talent seemed somewhat above average.
• Ōnoki reported that Sokai Uchiha had become more mature and improved his theoretical studies, though sealing his Sharingan had left his strength unchanged.

Yichen secured the Land of Earth's Daimyo's support for training Guardian Ninja and arranged a trade route toward the Land of Fire through the Land of Grass. His maneuver alarmed the other great villages and sent Konoha preparing for war, but the chapter ended with Konoha learning that Iwagakure intended trade, not an invasion.

• Yichen asked the Land of Earth's Daimyo to fund the training of one hundred talented children, from whom Iwagakure would select Guardian Ninja and promising recruits.
• Yichen told the Daimyo that the Akatsuki Organization had transferred a strip of the Land of Rain to the Land of Earth, then proposed exchanging it with the Land of Grass for territory near the Land of the Falls.
• Yichen explained that he wanted a trade route into the Land of Fire, not a war, and the Daimyo approved the plan.
• The Land of Grass's Daimyo agreed to the equal territorial exchange, while Rasa and Yotsuki A prepared for what they assumed was an impending war between Iwagakure and Konoha.
• Tsunade told Konoha's Jonin that Yichen had promised to use the new route for trade without stationing a large Iwa force there, and the Jonin showed relief at avoiding war.

Tsunade accepted Iwagakure’s trade treaty, but its unequal practical effects left Konoha struggling to respond without spending heavily or risking conflict. Meanwhile, Danzo sought Orochimaru’s help with his experiments, and Yichen prepared to assist Nagato’s effort to recruit Orochimaru, leaving the Tsuchikage’s advisors to confront his request to leave.

• Tsunade agreed to the trade treaty with the Land of Earth, which allowed ninja from both villages to escort caravans across borders.
• A month later, Tsunade and Konoha’s advisors learned that Iwa ninja were entering the Land of Fire in large numbers while few Konoha ninja entered the Land of Earth.
• Tsunade considered clearing bandits and competing for missions, but Hiruzen Sarutobi warned that the cost and risk of conflict made those options difficult.
• Danzo ordered Bing to contact Orochimaru about cooperating on research into using Sharingan to suppress the First Hokage’s Cells.
• Nagato asked Yichen to help Juzo Biwa and the others recruit Orochimaru, and Yichen prepared a disguise that would conceal his identity.
• Yichen informed the Advisor Group that he planned to leave, and Ōnoki and the others recognized his intent as he entered the Tsuchikage’s Office.

Yichen secured approval to expand Iwagakure’s Advisor Group, appointing Kawakita and Tomoko before leaving to search for Orochimaru. On the journey toward the Land of Whirlpools, he trained his three disciples through travel and battles, and Uzumaki Riori finally mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu—only to discover her reward was more Chakra control training.

• Yichen explained that he wanted to find Orochimaru and make a deal, and Ōnoki reluctantly agreed to let him leave the village.
• At Ikura’s suggestion, Yichen appointed Kawakita and Tomoko as advisors, then departed Iwagakure with Uzumaki Riori and his other two disciples.
• Yichen led the three disciples through several countries, training them and encouraging them to fight other young ninjas while he concealed his identity.
• Through repeated battles, Ishinose Kiyoshi improved his Water Release, Uzumaki Riori refined her Chakra control, and Atsumi Akino gradually adapted to being a ninja.
• Uzumaki Riori successfully created a Shadow Clone, but Yichen gave her a scroll about Water Walking training as her reward, leaving her dismayed.

Yichen’s group encountered a chakra-bearing shark swarm while escorting a merchant convoy and discovered that Ishinose Kiyoshi could understand the sharks. After finding a larger group in the ocean, Kiyoshi signed a Summoning Contract with them.

• Yichen and his three disciples boarded a merchant convoy bound for the Land of Whirlpools, and a swarm of chakra-bearing sharks approached the ships.
• Yichen stopped the sharks from reaching the convoy, but Ishinose Kiyoshi suggested making them Summoning Beasts.
• Kiyoshi understood that the sharks wanted to lead them to other groups, so Yichen flew with his disciples into the ocean and left the convoy behind.
• Yichen found roughly two to three hundred sharks and asked their Great Shark leader whether it would join a Summoning Contract.
• The Great Shark chose Kiyoshi as its contractor, and Yichen made a scroll that the Great Shark and Kiyoshi signed in blood.

Yichen learned that the shark clan had been driven from its home by poison from the remains of Hanzo's giant salamander and promised to find them a new sea. After Nagato summoned him to help deal with Orochimaru, Yichen met the S-rank rogue ninja and exchanged secret information for several powerful Ninjutsu.

• Ishinose Kiyoshi relayed that Senior Yuko's shark clan had fled after poison from a dead giant salamander killed many of them, and Yichen promised to find them a new home while forbidding them from attacking humans without cause.
• Yichen and his disciples traveled through the Land of Waves to the Land of Whirlpools, where Nagato contacted him and reported that Orochimaru had defeated Juzo Biwa and Sasori of the Red Sands before escaping.
• Yichen entered Sage Mode, brought his three disciples to Orochimaru's underground base, and forced Orochimaru to emerge with Earth Release: Fissure Core.
• Yichen invited Orochimaru to join the Akatsuki Organization and offered to trade Ninjutsu for information on the Sharingan and Shikotsumyaku, along with a seal that could evade the Byakugan.
• Orochimaru traded the Mutual Distraction Explosion Tag Technique and Izanagi for Sharingan information, then gave Flying Thunder God Technique and Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu for Shikotsumyaku information; Yichen and Orochimaru inspected and accepted the scrolls.

Yichen traded information about the ninja world's origins for Orochimaru's Spirit Transformation Jutsu, then revealed that the Akatsuki leader possessed the Rinnegan. He tested Orochimaru in a sparring match, left the fight unresolved, and departed after directing Orochimaru to the Land of Rain to join the Akatsuki.

• Orochimaru traded the Spirit Transformation Jutsu to Yichen for the source of his information, and Yichen explained the Rabbit Goddess, her sons, and the origins of the Tailed Beasts.
• Yichen told Orochimaru that the Akatsuki leader possessed the Rinnegan, prompting Orochimaru to consider its origins and covet Nagato's eyes.
• Yichen attacked Orochimaru with a three-attribute Sage Jutsu combination, while Orochimaru countered with Triple Rashōmon, Manda, and a swarm of snakes.
• Yichen used Light Release and Porcelain Release kunai to devastate the snake swarm, while Orochimaru escaped with his Snake Substitution Jutsu.
• Yichen and Orochimaru stopped fighting without a decisive victory, and Yichen told Orochimaru to go to the Land of Rain before leaving his base.

Orochimaru reconsidered Kimimaro as a potential vessel and planned to pursue the Hyuga Main Family’s Byakugan after learning new secrets from Yichen. Meanwhile, Yichen investigated a hidden seal in Uzushio Village, where Atsumi Akino identified its runes as spatial runes.

• Orochimaru visited Kimimaro at his base and reconsidered the boy’s Bloodline Disease as a possible sign of an ultimate Kekkei Genkai.
• Orochimaru connected the First Hokage’s death to ultimate Yang Release and considered joining the Akatsuki Organization to pursue the Rinnegan.
• Orochimaru turned his attention to the Hyuga Main Family and recalled Hyuga Hiashi as a possible target for obtaining a Byakugan.
• Yichen traveled to Uzushio Village with Atsumi Akino, Ishinose Kiyoshi, and Uzumaki Riori and excavated a huge underground seal.
• Yichen and Atsumi Akino studied the seal for ten days, recording unfamiliar runes and connections without discovering its overall purpose.
• Atsumi Akino compared the seal’s runes with Minato Namikaze’s Special Kunai and recognized them as spatial runes, prompting Yichen to examine the kunai.

Yichen broke the seal in Uzushio Village and discovered a gravity-filled dimension, where he trained his gravity Ninjutsu before completing his mission and leading the Shark Swarm toward the Land of Earth. He and his companions crossed the Land of the Moon by moving the sharks through its rivers and flying them overland, leaving Yichen exhausted after getting the entire swarm to the far coast.

• Yichen broke the seal, sent a Shadow Clone into the black hole, and identified the space beyond as a gravity dimension.
• Yichen entered the dimension in Sage Mode, then trained there for three days and greatly improved his gravity Ninjutsu, including Shinra Tensei.
• Yichen concealed the black hole, filled the pit, left Uzushio Village with his disciples, and retrieved the scroll hidden by the intelligence ninja.
• Yichen reunited with the Great Shark Yuko and led several hundred sharks toward the Land of the Moon.
• Yichen guided the Shark Swarm through the Land of the Moon's rivers and flew the sharks across the land in groups, exhausting himself before dawn.

After returning to Iwagakure, Yichen presented the ninjutsu he had obtained from Orochimaru and reported on the shark clan and his research into the seal near Uzushio Village. He and the advisors decided how to distribute the techniques and left a plan for using Izanagi against Konoha under consideration.

• Yichen returned with the sharks and presented five ninjutsu scrolls to Iwagakure's leaders, redirecting their questions about his trip.
• Yichen reported that hundreds of chakra-using sharks had joined him, and the advisors chose a secluded northern bay as their permanent home.
• Yichen explained that his study of the seal near Uzushio Village had advanced Atsumi Akino's Flying Thunder God research and might help Iwagakure counter Space-Time Ninjutsu.
• Yichen revealed that the sealed space had extreme gravity, where he learned two Rock Techniques and improved his Shinra Tensei and Banshō Ten'in.
• The advisors assigned the Flying Thunder God Technique to Atsumi Akino, the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu to Uzumaki Riori, and the Spirit Transformation Jutsu to Yichen, while planning to study the other techniques' uses.
• Yichen decided not to give Izanagi to the Uchiha Clan yet, and Tomoko proposed secretly delivering it while drawing away Konoha's strongest fighters.

Yichen assigned the Barrier Team and Atsumi Akino to develop defenses against Space-Time Ninjutsu while his disciples and Han’s team continued their training. In Konoha, Danzo investigated why Orochimaru wanted the Byakugan, then warned Hyuga Hiashi that Orochimaru was targeting the Caged Bird.

• Yichen taught the Barrier Team new sealing runes and tasked them with helping Atsumi Akino develop barriers that could detect and restrict Space-Time Ninjutsu.
• Ishinose Kiyoshi practiced Summoning Jutsu with a young shark, while Uzumaki Riori trained with Shadow Clones and Han and Toda Yui began learning Boil Release from Kokuō.
• Bing returned to Danzo with Orochimaru’s demand for the Byakugan, prompting Danzo to search Konoha’s archives for a secret behind the eye.
• After finding no answers in the archives, Danzo visited Hyuga Hiashi and asked for the clan’s reconnaissance support.
• Hyuga Hiashi resisted Danzo’s request, but grew alarmed when Danzo revealed that Orochimaru was targeting the Caged Bird.

Danzo investigated the Hyuga Clan’s records for clues about the Byakugan, but Hiashi refused his demand for eyes to transplant. Meanwhile, a sudden peace-treaty proposal from Kumogakure made Yichen suspect the Hyuga were in danger, though Iwagakure’s news about Kitsuchi kept him from going to Konoha.

• Danzo persuaded Hyuga Hiashi to let him inspect the clan’s records, where he found an old reference to distant relatives and unusual ninjutsu.
• Danzo demanded a pair of Byakugan for a subordinate, but Hiashi refused and sent him away.
• Hizashi Hyuga and Hiashi wondered whether their distant relatives lived on the moon and whether the Byakugan had lost abilities.
• Kumogakure announced a peace-treaty delegation to Konoha, and Yichen suspected the Cloud ninja were targeting the Hyuga Clan.
• Yichen stayed in Iwagakure after Kitsuchi became a quasi-Kage and gained Fire Release as a second chakra nature.