Chapter Summaries

Kurotsuchi realized Konoha’s special training list could reveal the future prospects of shinobi from each village, while Shuji welcomed Mei Terumi to discuss Konoha’s plans for the alliance. Shuji argued that economic reforms and integration were necessary to preserve shinobi society and prepare for threats beyond the Shinobi World.

• Kurotsuchi considered the special training list a contest to gather intelligence on other villages while protecting her own, and suggested using Deidara to probe the others because his information was already exposed.
• Shuji told Tsunade that Kirigakure’s exchange student delegation had arrived and defended arranging an expensive dinner at Moonview Pavilion as part of his diplomatic persona.
• Mei Terumi told Shuji she had planned to invite him to the Land of Water but came to Konoha instead to learn the alliance’s direction amid Konoha’s major initiatives.
• Shuji said Konoha had to redirect funds from the Feudal Lords and shut down gray-area commissions to prevent shinobi society’s order from collapsing.
• Shuji argued that the Shinobi World needed genuine integration to face threats beyond it, and that the current moment offered a rare chance before new divisions became entrenched.

Shuji described to Mei Terumi his vision of a united ninja world that preserved each village’s identity while encouraging cooperation and peaceful uses of ninjutsu. Mei Terumi remained uncertain about entrusting Kirigakure’s future to the idea, but Shuji reassured her that her plans could eventually converge with his.

• Mei Terumi asked Shuji what a unified whole would mean for the villages and their flags.
• Shuji explained that village identities and traditions could remain while ninja learned to cooperate without suspicion and faced shared challenges.
• Mei Terumi longed to see Shuji’s peaceful future but held back from committing Kirigakure to an untested plan.
• Shuji changed the subject, and he and Mei Terumi continued their conversation over dinner before he escorted her to Kirigakure’s residence.
• Shuji told Mei Terumi she did not need to decide quickly and said her plans for Kirigakure could eventually converge with his vision.

Sasuke faced Deidara at the special training ground, where their brief clash was interrupted by Might Guy. Meanwhile, Itachi delivered an urgent report to Shuji about suspicious organized individuals near the route of the escort squad sent to meet Shibuki.

• Sasuke recalled the strength of Neji’s Gentle Fist and arrived with Gaara for the first cross-grade combat day of special training.
• Deidara recognized Sasuke, provoked him with Clay Spiders, and grew disappointed when Sasuke’s one-tomoe Sharingan caused them to fall.
• Deidara asked Sasuke to help arrange an official match with Uchiha Shisui, saying he had prepared a new art for him.
• Might Guy arrived, praised the youths’ fighting spirit, and said he would arrange their combat pairings.
• Itachi brought Shuji an urgent report that the escort squad had found covert, suspicious individuals near the meeting point with Shibuki, and that reinforcements were on their way.

Asuma’s squad was lured into a deadly attack while waiting to escort Shibuki, and Shuji joined Genma’s reinforcements on the way to Takigakure. When a supposed guide appeared, Shuji and Genma recognized the familiar setup and did not approach.

• Hyuga Homura detected chakra in six approaching Takigakure ninja, and Asuma’s squad retreated before the controlled ninja exploded.
• Asuma concluded the attackers were trying to drive them from the reception point and demoralize Takigakure, so Yaoro led the squad toward the village.
• Shuji joined Genma’s reinforcement squad as they raced across the border toward Takigakure.
• A Takigakure ninja claimed he had been sent to guide the reinforcements, but Shuji and Genma recognized the familiar trick and stayed still.

Shuji’s squad reached the waterfall entrance to Takigakure while treating Ozaki’s claims with suspicion, and Oyashiro En held Shibuki, Asuma, and Kaede captive inside the village. As Kaede’s Seven-Tails chakra began to emerge, White Zetsu clones appeared and started absorbing it.

• Namiashi Raidō restrained and searched Ozaki, while Genma Shiranui explained that the squad would prioritize reconnaissance and preserving intelligence over rushing into danger.
• Shuji’s squad found fresh signs of battle at the rendezvous point and entered the cave behind the waterfall despite Ozaki’s insistence that he knew the way in.
• Shuji sent Shadow Clones into the cave’s pools to test the hidden waterways leading to Takigakure.
• Oyashiro En revealed that he had taken control of the village and claimed that the first reinforcements were dead as an explosion sounded nearby.
• Asuma reassured Shibuki and Kaede that Konoha reinforcements were coming, but Kaede began releasing Seven-Tails chakra after another explosion.
• White Zetsu clones emerged from Kaede’s chakra cloak and began absorbing the chakra.

Kaede survived the strange white growths draining her chakra, while Zetsu abandoned Oyashiro En during the attack on Takigakure. Shuji arrived, freed the villagers with Wood Release, and killed Oyashiro En after dismissing his offer of information.

• The white humanoid shapes drained Kaede's chakra, then fell away and melted into the ground as Shibuki caught her.
• Zetsu told Oyashiro En that their mission was complete and left with the collected sample, abandoning him to face the approaching reinforcements.
• Oyashiro En controlled villagers with the Ketsuryūgan and used them to form a human shield against the arriving attackers.
• Shuji burst roots from the ground, restraining the villagers and ninja and weakening the chakra sustaining Oyashiro En's control.
• Oyashiro En surrendered and offered intelligence about the organization, claiming a Cursed Seal would destroy his brain if he were killed.
• Shuji bound Oyashiro En, rejected the value of his information, and impaled him with wooden branches.

Shuji executed Oyashiro En and arrived in Takigakure to help restore order after the attack. After hearing Asuma’s account of White Zetsu spores emerging from Kaede, Shuji suspected the team might be infected and ordered everyone to stay together until Konoha’s support arrived.

• Shuji executed Oyashiro En, then learned that white growths had emerged from Kaede and taken some of her chakra.
• Shuji promised Shibuki that Konoha reinforcements would arrive by noon the next day, then released the villagers and ninja from his Wood Release bindings.
• Genma reported no enemy activity nearby but found signs of battle along the route taken by the first reinforcement unit.
• Asuma explained that Suien and his followers had attacked Takigakure, forcing him to retreat with Shibuki and Kaede after Kaede lost control of her chakra.
• Asuma realized the spores might have infected everyone near Kaede, but Homura’s Byakugan could detect no abnormal chakra or parasitism.
• Shuji ordered Asuma’s group to stay together and wait for Konoha’s support, hoping to find a way to identify White Zetsu.

Karin was urgently summoned to Takigakure, where Shuji tested a parasitic ninjutsu that ordinary sensors could not detect. After Karin sensed the alien will inside the parasite, Shuji asked her to focus on developing her sensing ability for the village.

• Kabuto led Karin on a hurried journey to Takigakure after Shuji requested her for an emergency sensory mission.
• Shuji explained that a parasitic ninjutsu could hide inside a host's chakra and asked the sensory team to record it as it manifested.
• Shuji introduced natural energy into Asuma, causing the hidden White Zetsu spores in him and several others to grow and emerge.
• Karin detected a faint, foreign will within Asuma's parasite, while conventional sensors and the Byakugan found nothing before it manifested.
• The Konoha and Takigakure ninja removed and sealed the parasites, and Karin reported what she had sensed.
• Shuji asked Karin to set aside medical training for two or three years and develop her sensing ability to help detect similar threats.

Obito dismissed Shuji’s efforts to protect the tailed beasts as futile while taking Roshi, and Shuji prepared to return to Konoha after investigating the attack on Takigakure. Yakushi Kabuto persuaded Shibuki to attend the joint conference and consider seeking stronger protection for Kaede, leaving Takigakure’s leader preparing to travel to Konoha.

• Obito held the unconscious Roshi and said the ninja villages would keep resisting until they could no longer protect the tailed beasts.
• Shuji finished reviewing the spores and White Zetsu sample in Takigakure, then agreed with Kabuto to arrange further analysis in Konoha.
• Kabuto offered to persuade Shibuki to attend the joint conference before Shuji spoke with him directly.
• Kabuto told Shibuki that Konoha’s forces would withdraw and argued that attending the conference could bring Takigakure support and a chance to demonstrate its strength.
• Kabuto urged Shibuki to consider whether Kaede was a protection or a burden for Takigakure and suggested seeking help from someone stronger.
• Shibuki accepted Kabuto’s advice and agreed to attend the joint conference in Konoha.

Kakashi considered Itachi as a potential trusted aide while coordinating Mei Terumi’s return amid growing Akatsuki threats. News that Roshi had gone missing prompted Iwagakure to request an emergency meeting in Konoha, which Kakashi agreed to arrange in principle.

• Kakashi praised Itachi’s work at the Joint Affairs Bureau and considered whether he could one day share Hokage duties, while asking about Sasuke.
• Ao reported that Mei Terumi planned to return to Kirigakure, and Kakashi asked her to delay until Konoha could coordinate an escort.
• Kakashi asked Itachi to prepare coordination plans and possible escorts for Mei Terumi.
• Banga reported that Roshi was missing and the Anbu guarding him had lost contact.
• Banga relayed the Tsuchikage’s request for an emergency meeting in Konoha, and Kakashi accepted the proposal in principle pending urgent consultations.

Shuji and Kakashi discussed Iwagakure’s proposed meeting, concluding it would be mostly routine while technical research and emergency cross-border support mattered more. Shuji then recruited Anko to help investigate the parasitic white spore, and she eagerly declared herself his assistant.

• Kakashi told Shuji about Iwagakure’s proposal for a meeting, but Shuji said it was unlikely to produce substantive progress without a breakthrough on protecting the jinchuriki.
• Shuji explained that the meeting should maintain cooperation and seek faster emergency border passages, while research into the white spore and security checks were the real priorities.
• Shuji visited Anko Mitarashi and told her about the incident in Takigakure and the need for someone able to use natural energy.
• Anko agreed to help at the bureau and, after learning Itachi was Kakashi’s assistant, asked Shuji to make her his assistant too.
• Shuji accepted Anko’s request, and she saluted him as Assistant Anko Mitarashi.

Shuji visited Kabuto’s Konoha Medical Research Institute to review research comparing Hashirama Cells with the milder, more controllable White Zetsu cells. Despite Kabuto’s warning that implantation could create dangerous ambitions and risks, Shuji ordered him to develop a suitable plan, then learned he could form a summoning contract with the Mother Stock.

• Shuji visited Kabuto’s laboratory and reviewed the comparative analysis of Hashirama Cells and White Zetsu cells.
• Kabuto explained that White Zetsu cells were less aggressive and likely stabilized, but warned that implanting them could create risks and new power struggles.
• Shuji told Kabuto to pursue a suitable White Zetsu cell implantation plan despite the potential dangers.
• Kabuto showed Shuji the stable Mother Stock, which he had implanted with Shuji’s cells.
• Kabuto told Shuji that he could form a summoning contract with the Mother Stock, a living tree with tailed beast chakra.

Karin returned to school after Takigakure’s emergency mission and told her friends she would train in the Sensory Class instead of pursuing medical ninjutsu for now. In Konoha, Kabuto asked Kaede to cooperate with a comprehensive medical examination and chakra assessment after the attack on Takigakure.

• Karin returned to class, where Ino and Sakura questioned her sudden absence and suspected she had joined the Special Training Class.
• At lunch, Karin told Ino, Sakura, and Shion that she had decided to postpone becoming a medical ninja and receive specialized sensory training.
• Ino and Sakura discussed how school had changed, while Shion said danger did not avoid people because of their age.
• Kaede stayed in her Konoha lodgings while Shibuki went to the Bureau of Affairs to discuss Takigakure’s situation.
• Kabuto visited Kaede on Shibuki’s behalf and requested her cooperation with a detailed health examination and chakra-status assessment.

After Shuji established a summoning contract with the Mother Stock, he discussed Kumogakure’s proposed Five Kage communications system with Tsunade and suggested expanding senjutsu training. The chapter ended with Shuji proposing candidate groups from both experienced shinobi and promising Academy students.

• Shuji confirmed that he could summon the Mother Stock and learned from an Anbu report that Yakushi Kabuto had begun assessing Kaede’s health and chakra.
• Shuji told Tsunade that his seeds had sprouted, and she noted Kabuto’s talent and the help he could provide Kakashi.
• Tsunade showed Shuji the Raikage’s proposal for an instant communications system for the Five Kage, but Shuji argued that the villages should become more anxious before responding.
• Shuji told Tsunade that Wood Release and the Living Slug could make senjutsu training safer for people with strong chakra.
• Shuji proposed first training carefully selected jonin and special jonin, then considering talented Ninja Academy students for supervised early adaptation to natural energy.

Shuji planned to identify promising adults and students for senjutsu training, beginning with the Special Training Class. After assessing the class, he asked Might Guy whether he had heard of Sage Mode.

• Shuji set a chakra threshold for adult candidates and considered students based on their potential and adaptability.
• Shuji visited the Special Training Class and found Might Guy leading its students through intense taijutsu training.
• Might Guy praised Deidara’s passion for his art, and Deidara responded with a grin and a thumbs-up.
• Shuji observed the students and considered Hyuga Neji one of the closest to the senjutsu threshold.
• Shuji told Might Guy he planned to evaluate the class and asked whether he had heard of Sage Mode.

Anko and Kakashi struggled with the workload as preparations for the Joint Shinobi Village Conference and a Five Kage meeting on jinchuriki security intensified. Kakashi investigated Yugakure’s vague report of a rogue ninja, while Jiraiya offered Anko help and reminded Kakashi of the importance of the bureau’s work.

• Anko handled repeated Spore Technique screenings and urgent requests as representatives and shinobi arrived for the conferences.
• Itachi gave Kakashi Yugakure’s reply that a rogue ninja attack might prevent its leader from attending the conference.
• Kakashi and Itachi concluded that Yugakure might be signaling for assistance, so Kakashi drafted a reply requesting detailed intelligence before the bureau considered cooperation.
• Jiraiya visited Kakashi, gave him a signed first-print edition of Icha Icha Violence, and said he would help Anko instead of processing documents.
• Jiraiya told Kakashi that the bureau’s work was important and reflected on how Minato, Kushina, and others who had died would have viewed the chance for shinobi villages to talk.

Kurotsuchi assessed the young shinobi from other villages and recognized Gaara as a future leader, feeling pressure from his talent. Shuji inspected Kirigakure’s exchange students and found no one infected, while Mei Terumi warned that the path toward cooperation would be long and dangerous.

• Kurotsuchi considered the strengths and weaknesses of the Special Training Class, judging Gaara unusually powerful and clearly suited to lead Sunagakure.
• Kurotsuchi finished Guy’s frog-jump drills and felt unprecedented pressure from Gaara’s presence among her peers.
• Mei Terumi waited for Shuji at Kirigakure’s quarters, balancing her concern for the village with negotiations over a communications system.
• Shuji inspected Kirigakure’s exchange students, including Chojuro, Haku, and Suigetsu, and confirmed that none had been infected by the Spore Technique.
• Mei Terumi told Shuji she longed for the convergence he had described but feared the road there would be rugged and prolonged.

Might Guy asked Neji to let go of his hatred toward the Hyuga Main House, clarifying that it was a personal request rather than a condition of the village’s new training. In the Hokage Office, Shuji briefed Hyuga Hiashi on his selection for natural energy adaptability training and warned that the village would replace him if he could not fulfill the role.

• Neji learned that Guy believed he was one of the few students qualified for deeper special training, alongside Gaara.
• Guy told Neji he considered the Special Training Class his disciples and asked him to let go of his grievances with the Hyuga Main House.
• Neji asked whether letting go was a condition for joining the new training, and Guy said it was only his personal request as a teacher.
• Hiashi submitted Stadium District reports and a draft security procedure to Shuji for review.
• Shuji explained that Hiashi had been selected as a trial candidate for natural energy adaptability training because the Police Force branch needed someone able to handle unconventional threats.
• Hiashi accepted the selection and Shuji’s warning that the village would find someone else if he could not do the job.

Shuji and Tsunade discussed expanding and reorganizing the Martial Exhibition Bureau of Affairs. Hiashi returned to the Hyuga Clan grounds and considered the clan’s future, his daughters, and whether Neji could become its next leading figure.

• Tsunade brought Shuji dinner, then told him Kakashi had applied to expand the Martial Exhibition Bureau of Affairs.
• Shuji and Tsunade agreed to rename the bureau and create a specialized branch for competition matters, while Tsunade accepted Yamato’s help with urgent construction.
• Hiashi returned to the Hyuga Clan grounds and reflected on Shuji’s warning that the clan needed a way to handle threats beyond the Byakugan’s reach.
• Hiashi recalled delaying Hinata’s Caged Bird branding to protect her and considered how the Main House and Branch House had shaped his family’s choices.
• Hiashi wondered whether he could master Sage Art and, as he weighed alternatives for the clan’s future, thought of Neji.

Uchiha Itachi celebrated his thirteenth birthday with gifts from his colleagues, friends, and family, but dinner revealed Sasuke’s frustration at being excluded from Sage Art training. The day ended with Shuji giving Itachi a Fuma Shuriken and acknowledging how difficult the past few years had been for him.

• Kakashi gave Itachi a half-day off and bookstore vouchers, while Anko and the village departments gave him birthday gifts.
• Shisui helped Itachi carry the gifts, gave him kunai-maintenance oil, and wished him a happy birthday.
• Itachi returned home to a birthday dinner prepared by Mikoto and Izumi, where Fugaku mentioned the village’s Sage Art training plan.
• Sasuke realized that a level of training existed beyond the Special Training Class and left dinner upset after Itachi tried to explain why he was not ready for Sage Art training.
• After walking Izumi home, Itachi met Shuji, who gave him a Fuma Shuriken and told him the past few years had been hard on him.