Chapter Summaries

Shuji, a Chunin adjusting to life in a ninja’s body, met his young teammate Uchiha Itachi and took him for dango before explaining their bandit-elimination mission. They agreed to follow Shuji’s orders and split the reward fairly before setting out on the mission.

• Shuji met eight-year-old Uchiha Itachi, his assigned teammate for a C-rank mission.
• Shuji took Itachi to a confectionery shop, where they ate Three-Color Dango and drank tea.
• Shuji explained that they had to track down and eliminate fifteen to twenty bandits who had fled across several countries and were hiding in the Land of Fire.
• Itachi introduced his combat skills and promised to obey Shuji’s orders during the mission.
• Shuji insisted on splitting the mission reward sixty-forty, with himself taking the larger share as team leader, and Itachi accepted.

Shuji and Itachi investigated the bandit attacks around Koizumi Town, where Shuji discovered that the bandits selectively targeted outsiders and returned from the Land of Rain. He suspected they either came back for something important or were from the nearby Shirakawa Village.

• Shuji and Itachi met the local merchant association, whose head offered only perfunctory information about the bandits.
• Shuji took Itachi to Zaemon's restaurant, where Zaemon revealed that the bandits mostly attacked newly arrived caravans unfamiliar with the roads.
• Shuji and Itachi left Koizumi Town after their meal, and Itachi asked whether they would investigate the attacked caravans.
• Shuji explained that the bandits avoided caravans with local connections and had returned from the Land of Rain, suggesting they had either left something behind or were originally from the area.

Shuji and Itachi investigated Shirakawa Village for clues about the trade-road bandits and suspected that the villagers or their leaders were connected to them. Shuji outlined the risks of using Genjutsu or attacking without proof, leaving Itachi to consider how to act when the bandits might be protected by the community.

• Shuji presented Konoha’s orders to Shirakawa’s villagers and asked to meet the village chief.
• Shuji questioned Shirakawa Kisuke about absent residents, the quiet inn, and the bandits, while Itachi pointed out dark houses.
• Shuji told Kisuke that they would stay at the inn and asked him to report any clues.
• Itachi concluded that Shuji suspected the village leadership of knowing about or participating in the bandit activity.
• Shuji explained why he had pressured Kisuke and warned that identifying the bandits could lead to conflict with villagers who saw them as neighbors or family.
• Shuji asked Itachi how he would proceed, and Itachi thought over the danger of acting without irrefutable proof.

Shuji guided Itachi through a careful investigation of Shirakawa Village instead of using force, uncovering suspicious accounts of missing villagers and the economic harm caused by the bandits. He confronted Village Chief Shirakawa with the findings and left him to decide whether to cooperate.

• Itachi admitted to Shuji that he had no answer to how they should handle the village, so Shuji told him to follow his approach.
• Shuji and Itachi questioned Shirakawa's residents, while Itachi recorded their responses and assessed their credibility.
• Itachi reported that sixteen villagers had unexplained whereabouts and that bandit attacks had sharply reduced trade and increased unsold goods.
• Shuji inferred that Shirakawa Kisuke's reaction to questions about the missing villagers confirmed the village chief knew more than he admitted.
• Shuji presented his findings to Shirakawa Kisuke and warned that the village could be reported as suspected of sheltering bandits.
• Shuji and Itachi left for Koizumi Town, leaving Shirakawa Kisuke shaken and alone.

Shuji and Itachi watched as Shirakawa Village’s leaders decided to deal with the bandits themselves to protect the village’s reputation and livelihood. Shirakawa Kisuke led a group bearing wine and meat to the hidden settlement, where Koichiro welcomed him and called for Shin'ya, as the villagers’ plan moved toward an irreversible confrontation.

• Shuji and Itachi watched a group of pursuers follow Shuji's Shadow Clone toward Koizumi Town.
• Shirakawa Sosuke persuaded the village elders to act against the bandits rather than expose Shirakawa Village to outsiders.
• More than forty villagers armed themselves and followed Shirakawa Sosuke toward the mountain settlement.
• Shuji told Itachi he had not anticipated the villagers choosing to handle the matter themselves, while Itachi said their choice was a form of atonement and would protect the village.
• Shirakawa Kisuke arrived at the settlement with wine and meat, and Koichiro greeted him before going to fetch Shin'ya.

Shirakawa Sosuke’s villagers massacred Shin'ya’s bandits and concealed the killings, but Shin'ya survived and attacked the Konoha ninja Shuji. Itachi then forced the villagers to follow Konoha’s account of events, leaving the truth suppressed and the trade route protected.

• Shirakawa Kisuke warned Shin'ya that Daimyo Palace agents were searching for him, and Shin'ya agreed to hide after sharing a meal with the villagers.
• After Koichiro and the other bandits passed out from drinking, Shirakawa Sosuke led villagers in killing them and ordered Kisuke to report that Konoha ninja had eliminated the bandits.
• Shin'ya rose from the corpses at dawn, revealed he had survived, and killed Shuji with a Humanoid Puppet and poisoned Senbon.
• Itachi met the returning villagers and told them Konoha knew what happened, then dictated the account they must give outsiders and ordered the matter kept from affecting the trade route.
• Shirakawa Sosuke agreed to Itachi’s terms and ordered the villagers to stay silent as Itachi headed back toward the stronghold.

Shuji killed Shin'ya, a rogue Sunagakure ninja who had secretly manipulated the Shirakawa villagers, and secured evidence and valuables from his stronghold. With the mission complete, Shuji invited Itachi to relax in Koizumi Town, and Itachi suggested they get dango.

• Shin'ya realized Shuji had used a Shadow Clone and died after Shuji trapped and impaled him with the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique.
• Shuji sealed Shin'ya's head for Konoha's Intelligence Division and learned from Itachi that the agreement with Shirakawa Kisuke and the villagers had been settled.
• Itachi used a Shadow Clone to retrieve an unpoisoned sealing scroll from Shin'ya's damaged puppet, and Shuji collected Shin'ya's blood to help break the seal.
• Shuji searched the stronghold, confirmed the mission was complete, and invited Itachi to look around Koizumi Town.
• Itachi asked to get dango, and Shuji agreed to visit a shop and buy local specialties.

After Shuji and Itachi completed their mission and returned to Konoha, Shuji visited Grandma Toka, who confirmed his Hashirama Cells were under control and lamented how much their clan had sacrificed for the village. The chapter left Shuji facing the old woman’s sorrowful question about what remained of their clan.

• Over dango and ramen, Shuji told Itachi that being a ninja was just a job and urged him to consider what he truly wanted for himself.
• Itachi refused Shuji’s offer of ramen, insisting that dango and clear tea were enough, and the two shared a rare smile.
• The Land of Rivers officials confirmed the bandits’ defeat, and Shuji and Itachi returned to Konoha to submit their report and Shin'ya’s head.
• Torii told Shuji that the village would unseal Shin'ya’s tool scroll and asked him to return in three days.
• Shuji visited Grandma Toka, demonstrated his control of the Hashirama Cells, and recalled how she had saved him with them.
• Grandma Toka told Shuji to live well and mourned that their clan had sacrificed its lives, hatred, and ancestral surname for Konoha.

Toka remembered how Hashirama and Tobirama chose to dissolve the Senju clan so Konoha would belong to all its people rather than be seen as the Senju’s village. In the present, Toka and Shuji were among the last residents of the Senju Old Residence.

• Tobirama argued that the Senju clan’s size and continued hold on the Hokage position would make other clans see Konoha as Senju property.
• Hashirama declared that the village’s future mattered more than clan, family, or the Senju name, and said he had killed Madara for the village.
• Tobirama announced that the Senju would disband and that Hashirama and his own descendants would no longer carry the Senju surname.
• Tobirama offered clan members wealth, land, tools, and secret techniques if they changed their surnames, and the compensation eased opposition to the plan.
• Toka stayed with the Senju name, while the clan’s members dispersed through Konoha and the Senju Old Residence became home to the remaining traditionalists.
• Toka recalled taking in Shuji after his parents died and watching him survive near-fatal wounds, then Shuji quietly returned to his room.

Shuji considered how to grow strong enough to survive the threats facing the Shinobi World and focused on pursuing Sage Art by sensing natural energy through Wood Release. His experiment destroyed the tree he created, but it let him detect a faint trace of natural energy, and he ended the chapter trying to refine that perception.

• Shuji reviewed the paths to greater power and set aside the unclear Otsutsuki route while choosing to investigate Sage Art.
• Shuji reasoned that Wood Release might share the God Tree's ability to absorb energy and used Wood Release: Vitality Technique to grow a sapling.
• Shuji guided the sapling's perception toward natural energy, but its branches turned on him as it developed a ravenous hunger for chakra.
• Shuji halted the branches with a Snake Seal, and the tree briefly sensed natural energy before twisting and turning into a stone-like statue.
• Shuji recognized that the experiment had revealed faint ripples of natural energy, then closed his eyes and focused on sensing that trace again.

Shuji and Itachi shared a meal at Yakiniku Q, where Shuji explained how Konoha developed from an alliance of clans into a village with its own power and discussed the tensions between shinobi, clans, and the village. Itachi was left considering whether the village system could preserve order and how powerful clans should fit within it.

• Shuji and Itachi went to Yakiniku Q to celebrate the reward for capturing the Sand shinobi and discussed Itachi's training and Uchiha Shisui.
• Itachi asked why the Sand shinobi had betrayed his village, and Shuji described Konoha's origins as a settlement formed by clans seeking safety and cooperation.
• Shuji explained that the Senju clan's dissolution, the arrival of orphans and wandering shinobi, and the creation of the Anbu gave the village power beyond its founding clans.
• Shuji told Itachi that rogue shinobi threatened ordinary people's safety and that he would stop anyone who tried to disrupt the peace he valued.
• Shuji argued that villages reduced conflict compared with the Warring States era but created new contradictions between individual ambitions, clan traditions, and collective needs.
• Shuji said shinobi clans could protect inherited abilities and secret techniques, but their power must never rise above the village; Itachi listened in silence.

After his mission with Itachi, Shuji met with Hiruzen Sarutobi, who asked him to continue working with Itachi and begin preparing for promotion to Special Jonin. Shuji agreed to lead the team and planned to seek recommendation letters himself.

• Shuji left the mission debrief and was summoned to the Hokage Office by an Anbu ninja.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi proposed that Shuji continue working with Itachi and lead their team once a replacement member was arranged.
• Shuji agreed after learning Itachi did not want to work with Genin and Fugaku would have no objections.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Shuji to prepare for a Special Jonin promotion and outlined the recommendation and evaluation requirements.
• Shuji said he would arrange his own recommendation letters, then left the Hokage Building.

Shuji told Grandma Toka that he needed two recommendation letters and a specialized ability assessment for his promotion to Special Jonin. Grandma Toka agreed to arrange the letters, while Shuji focused on his assessment and plans to develop his strength.

• Shuji returned to the Senju Old Residence and told Grandma Toka about his Special Jonin promotion requirements.
• Shuji asked Grandma Toka to coordinate recommendation letters from two Chunin or Jonin.
• Grandma Toka agreed to handle the letters and said they would be sent directly to the Hokage Office.
• Shuji considered how to limit his power during the assessment and continued thinking about sensing natural energy and developing Wood Release.

Hiruzen Sarutobi rejected Danzo’s attempt to take Itachi into Root and discussed the strained village and possible peace talks with Kumogakure. Shuji arrived to prepare for his ninjutsu assessment and learned that Mitaraishi Anko might join his team.

• Danzo argued that Shuji was unfit to lead Itachi and asked Hiruzen Sarutobi to hand Itachi over to Root, but Hiruzen refused.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo discussed Kumogakure’s peace signals, the war’s toll, and sending Root to stabilize the Land of Woods and Chujie Port.
• Shuji met Danzo in the Hokage Office corridor before entering with his mission records and personal information.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Shuji recommendation scrolls and confirmed his assessment mission would test his ninjutsu ability.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi proposed Mitaraishi Anko as a new member for Shuji’s team, and Shuji examined her file.

Shuji experimented with absorbing natural energy through a Wood Clone and discovered that it caused the clone’s wood nature to grow uncontrollably before petrifying. The Hokage’s message then summoned him to an assessment in three days.

• Shuji used a Wood Clone to attempt absorbing natural energy while sharing its senses.
• The natural energy amplified the clone’s wood nature, making it lose its human form and begin to petrify.
• Shuji released the unstable clone before it could fully transform, then concluded that natural energy amplified a subject’s inherent traits.
• A black-feathered eagle delivered Hiruzen Sarutobi’s message summoning Shuji to the Third Training Ground at noon in three days.

Shuji underwent a Special Jonin assessment against two Anbu, demonstrating his ninjutsu under pressure. After he broke through a Wood Release forest with a coordinated fire-and-wind attack, the silver-haired Anbu confirmed his qualification.

• Shuji arrived at the Third Training Ground, where a silver-haired Anbu and a silent, shorter Anbu began his assessment with a sudden attack.
• Shuji evaded the silver-haired Anbu’s Lightning Blade and countered their fire, wind, and earth techniques with precise ninjutsu.
• The shorter Anbu used Wood Release to trap Shuji, but Shuji escaped the vines and blocked the Anbu’s follow-up attacks.
• The shorter Anbu created a miniature forest with Wood Release, surrounding Shuji with thick, advancing roots and branches.
• Shuji used a Shadow Clone to combine Fire Release and Wind Release, blasting a scorched passage through the forest and escaping.
• The silver-haired Anbu declared the assessment complete and granted Shuji Special Jonin qualification.

After passing his assessment as a Special Jonin, Shuji learned that Grandma Toka had been involved in Konoha’s Hashirama Cell experiments and discussed the village’s grim choices with her. The conversation ended with Grandma Toka agreeing to handle the response to the test.

• Shuji told Grandma Toka he had passed the assessment and described the Anbu examiner Tenzo, who used Wood Release.
• Grandma Toka revealed Tenzo had been known as Kō in Danzo’s Root and was a survivor of experiments conducted by Danzo and Orochimaru.
• Grandma Toka explained that Senju had participated in the early Hashirama Cell experiments and that the village later allowed Danzo and Orochimaru to continue using outsiders.
• Shuji argued that a collective’s survival and development could outweigh individual moral standards, and Grandma Toka was struck by his composure.
• Grandma Toka recounted how the Sharingan had been used to control the Nine-Tails during two attacks that devastated Konoha.
• Shuji asked whether they needed to respond to the test, and Grandma Toka agreed to make the arrangements.

Shuji visited the Uchiha District to meet Fugaku before Itachi joined his mission team, while sensing the district’s isolation and the village’s surveillance of it. Fugaku asked him to guide Itachi, and Itachi left wondering why his father cared about Shuji’s other identity.

• Itachi met Shuji at the Uchiha District entrance and led him through the isolated clan neighborhood toward Fugaku’s residence.
• Sasuke ran up to Itachi and asked him to play shuriken, but accepted that Itachi had to accompany Shuji to see their father.
• Fugaku received Shuji and asked about his training under Lady Toka and his impression of the Uchiha District.
• Fugaku asked Shuji to take extra care of Itachi during future missions, and Shuji agreed to guide him.
• Itachi escorted Shuji out and privately wondered about the other identity that seemed to matter to Fugaku.

Shuji visited Anko and found her isolated, neglecting herself after losing her purpose following Orochimaru's betrayal. By cleaning her room and listening without judgment, he helped her decide to start moving forward again, leaving her to begin cleaning on her own.

• Shuji visited Anko, who had been living in a cluttered room and surviving on instant noodles and stale snacks.
• Shuji cleaned Anko's room, opened the window, and shared fresh dango with her.
• Anko told Shuji that she had lost her motivation after Orochimaru, her Sensei, left her, and that she had refused the village's dull missions.
• Shuji urged Anko to take missions and keep living rather than let herself waste away, and she agreed to get moving again.
• Shuji told Anko to keep her room clean and have tea ready, and she thanked him for the dango and cleaning.
• After Shuji left, Anko picked up the broom and began cleaning the room herself.

Shuji planned tactics for his unusual team, deciding that an internal sparring assessment was needed to test Itachi and Anko’s real abilities. Meanwhile, Kakashi reported Shuji’s exceptional performance to Hiruzen Sarutobi, including his silence about Wood Release, leaving the Hokage to consider what that implied.

• Shuji assessed Uchiha Itachi’s strengths and limits, assigning him a tactical support role rather than prolonged frontline combat.
• Shuji evaluated Anko Mitarashi’s combat potential and trauma, planning to keep her out of the most pressured close-combat role until he confirmed her condition.
• Shuji concluded that paper analysis was insufficient and added an internal team sparring assessment as the team’s primary action.
• Hatake Kakashi reported that Shuji’s ninjutsu, chakra reserves, taijutsu, and battlefield judgment exceeded the standards for a ninjutsu-specialist Special Jonin.
• Kakashi told Hiruzen Sarutobi that Shuji recognized Tenzo’s Wood Release but showed none himself, and Hiruzen reflected that Shuji’s silence carried meaning.