Chapter Summaries

After Kirigakure crushed the rebellion led by the Snow and Wind Clans, Qi Shuang worried that his Ice Release might make others suspect him of ties to the rebels. Ao woke in the hospital and learned that Kirigakure had halted its war with Konoha; an ANBU arrived with orders for Qi Shuang.

• Mei Terumi argued that harming civilians made the rebels wrong, while Qi Shuang reflected on why reformers had failed against Kirigakure’s old powers.
• Mei Terumi asked which Kekkei Genkai clans had rebelled, and Qi Shuang named the Wind Clan and Snow Clan.
• Qi Shuang denied having any meaningful connection to the Snow Clan and feared that his Ice Release could draw suspicion despite his clean record at the front.
• Ao awoke in Kirigakure’s hospital, and Mei Terumi told him he had been unconscious for eight or nine days while Kirigakure negotiated a ceasefire with Konoha.
• A Kirigakure ANBU entered through the hospital window and ordered Chunin Qi Shuang to receive his orders.

Qi Shuang received a mission to hunt down three Snow Clan rebels, a test of whether he would sever his ties to the clan. He chose Mei Terumi as his partner, and they planned to pursue the targets together.

• A masked Mist ANBU delivered Qi Shuang a wanted notice naming Snow Tiger, Snow Bear, and Snow Flower as rebel remnants marked for death.
• Ao recognized the mission as a test for Qi Shuang, who understood that sparing the three could make his superiors treat him as a rebel.
• Mei Terumi worried that Qi Shuang would face the three Chunin-level targets alone, but he explained that he could choose teammates.
• Qi Shuang teased Mei Terumi by suggesting he would recruit others, prompting her to insist on joining him.
• Ao confirmed that Qi Shuang had authority to choose his teammates, and Qi Shuang agreed to take Mei Terumi, saying the two of them could handle the targets.

Qi Shuang and Mei Terumi traveled to a town in the Land of Water to search for three defectors, but the Intelligence Department had only provided a general location. They checked into an inn, where the locals’ fear of Kirigakure ninja made even asking for a room difficult.

• Qi Shuang explained to Mei Terumi why the intelligence operatives had not tracked the three defectors more closely.
• Qi Shuang and Mei Terumi entered the town, and local thugs backed away after recognizing their Kirigakure forehead protectors.
• Qi Shuang decided they should find lodging and investigate the defectors’ whereabouts gradually.
• At the inn, Qi Shuang’s forced smile frightened the elderly innkeeper, so Mei Terumi stepped in and asked for a room.

Qi Shuang and Mei Terumi checked into an inn, where the staff’s fear of Hidden Mist ninjas shaped how they treated the pair. After settling into adjoining rooms, Qi Shuang received their meal and reflected that the village’s intimidating reputation would not change overnight.

• Qi Shuang requested two adjoining rooms after Mei Terumi hesitated over sharing one room with him.
• Mei Terumi went to take a hot bath and told Qi Shuang to save her some food.
• The innkeeper warned the chefs to prepare their best dishes carefully because Hidden Mist ninjas were staying upstairs.
• The innkeeper personally brought the meal to Qi Shuang’s room when Mei Terumi did not answer her door.
• Qi Shuang ate the food and accepted that the civilians’ fear of Hidden Mist ninjas would not disappear quickly.

Qi Shuang and Mei Terumi began searching inns for the three rebels, reasoning that they would need lodging in unfamiliar territory. Their first inquiry turned up nothing, so they left to check the next inn.

• Mei Terumi joined Qi Shuang for dinner and asked how he planned to find the three rebels, but he said she would find out the next day.
• Qi Shuang explained that the rebels would likely stay at inns while hiding in unfamiliar regions, so he and Mei Terumi began checking lodging records.
• Qi Shuang showed the first innkeeper photographs of the targets and demanded to know whether he had seen them.
• The frightened innkeeper said he had not seen the three, and Qi Shuang took Mei Terumi by the hand as they left for the next inn.

Qi Shuang and Mei Terumi searched the town’s inns for three missing people but found no records, and Qi Shuang concluded the fugitives were probably not lodging at an inn. After hearing that Kirigakure ninja were searching for three people whose names sounded like Tiger, Bear, and Hua, one of the fugitives realized the search was no coincidence.

• Qi Shuang and Mei Terumi checked several inns without finding records of the three people they sought.
• A burly young man overheard two housewives discussing the Kirigakure ninja’s search and recognized the incomplete names as referring to his siblings and himself.
• The burly young man concluded that the Kirigakure ninja had not come to town by chance and left to report the danger.
• Mei Terumi asked why Qi Shuang kept searching inns, and he explained that ruling out inns helped narrow down the fugitives’ hiding place.
• Qi Shuang asked Mei Terumi how she would find lodging if she had not stayed in an inn for the past month.

Qi Shuang reasoned that the Snow siblings were likely hiding in rented or purchased homes and warned Mei Terumi that they might counterattack. Snow Bear confirmed that the Mist ninja were investigating the siblings, and Snow Flower arrived at the residence.

• Mei Terumi suggested that the Snow siblings had rented or bought a house, and Qi Shuang planned to ask locals about outsiders who had done so.
• Qi Shuang told Mei Terumi that the siblings might flee, keep hiding, or counterattack, and warned her to stay alert at night.
• A young woman passed Qi Shuang and Mei Terumi and watched them as they headed back to the inn.
• Snow Bear told Snow Tiger that the townspeople knew the Mist ninja were searching for the three Snow siblings.
• Snow Tiger lamented that the siblings had been found again, and Snow Flower hurried into the courtyard.

Snow Flower discovered that the two Kirigakure pursuers seemed to be young Chunin, so Snow Tiger decided the siblings would attack them before leaving town. At midnight, two figures attacked Qi Shuang and Haku at their inn, and Qi Shuang narrowly avoided their weapons.

• Snow Tiger urged Snow Bear and Snow Flower to pack and leave town before Kirigakure found them.
• Snow Flower reported that she had observed the two pursuers and believed they were only Chunin.
• Snow Tiger decided the siblings would kill the two Mist ninja that night and then leave, while Snow Flower worried they might be bait.
• Qi Shuang and Haku returned to the inn after dinner and went to rest.
• Two figures attacked the inn at midnight, and Qi Shuang dodged shuriken and Kunai aimed at his bed.

Qi Shuang and Mei Terumi fought the Snow Clan siblings who had ambushed them at the inn. The battle spilled into the street, where Snow Bear’s melting ice armor triggered a storm of ice and mucus that forced the fighters to retreat.

• Qi Shuang used a chair wrapped in a quilt to draw the attackers’ kunai fire, then left the inn through the shattered window.
• Mei Terumi burst from her room after blasting Snow Bear outside and attacked him with her Lava Style: Lava Globs Technique.
• Snow Bear protected himself with Ice Release armor, while Snow Tiger rushed Qi Shuang and tried to cut his throat.
• Qi Shuang blocked Snow Tiger’s attack and drove him back with a whip kick.
• Snow Bear shattered his corroding ice armor, scattering ice shards and mucus in a storm that forced Qi Shuang and Snow Tiger to retreat.
• Nearby residents saw the four ninjas, closed their windows, and turned off their lights.

Qi Shuang and Mei Terumi fought Snow Tiger and Snow Bear in the street while the third Snow Clan rebel remained hidden. Qi Shuang blocked Snow Tiger’s Ice Tiger with an ice wall, but the battle was still underway.

• Qi Shuang warned Mei Terumi that a third rebel was likely waiting in ambush, and she confirmed she was unharmed.
• Snow Bear told Snow Tiger that Mei Terumi’s corrosive Lava Style Mucus had nearly eaten through his Ice Armor.
• Snow Tiger hurled an exploding ice shuriken at Qi Shuang, forcing him to take cover as fragments shattered nearby windows.
• Snow Tiger pursued Qi Shuang with kunai and an Ice Tiger, but Qi Shuang formed an ice wall in its path.
• The Ice Tiger crashed into Qi Shuang’s wall with a thunderous boom.

Qi Shuang fought Snow Tiger, rejecting his claim that Qi Shuang should return to the Snow Clan because of their shared Ice Release bloodline. After Qi Shuang overwhelmed Snow Tiger’s ice techniques, Snow Tiger attacked with a Kunai, and Qi Shuang blocked him with an Ice Blade.

• Qi Shuang’s ice wall stopped Snow Tiger’s Ice Tiger, and Qi Shuang said his mastery of ice made his techniques stronger.
• Snow Tiger recognized Qi Shuang’s Ice Release and claimed that Qi Shuang was a distant branch of the Snow Clan.
• Qi Shuang rejected the Snow Clan’s bloodline and glory, recalling that the clan had ignored him when he was poor and hungry.
• Snow Tiger attacked with ice spikes, but Qi Shuang shattered them and charged onto the roof with an Ice Blade.
• Qi Shuang dodged and cut Snow Tiger’s second Ice Tiger in half, then blocked Snow Tiger’s Kunai strike with his Ice Blade.

Qi Shuang identified Snow Flower as the third person hidden in the area while Mei Terumi fought Snow Bear. Snow Bear trapped Mei Terumi inside an ice dome and tried to use Ice Explosion against her Lava Style mucus, but she hardened it into a wall stronger than his ice.

• Qi Shuang dodged Snow Flower’s kunai and recognized her from the mission scroll.
• Snow Bear trapped Mei Terumi inside a dome of ice with Ice Release: Prison.
• Snow Bear detonated an ice club against Mei Terumi’s Lava Style mucus, scattering fragments that she blocked with another mucus barrier.
• Snow Bear thrust a second ice club through the barrier and triggered Ice Explosion, but only the club shattered.
• Snow Bear struck the hardened mucus wall and realized it was stronger than his ice.

Mei Terumi trapped Snow Bear in his own ice cage with a massive wave of corrosive mucus, while Qi Shuang faced Snow Tiger and Snow Flower outside. After Snow Flower tried to recruit Qi Shuang into the Snow Clan, he mocked her with a condition that she become his girlfriend, and Snow Tiger stopped her from attacking him.

• Mei Terumi unleashed a huge wave of mucus that forced Snow Bear to retreat until he was trapped against the ice wall.
• Snow Bear climbed the wall to escape the mucus and realized it was dissolving his ice cage as he gathered chakra for a counterattack.
• Snow Flower told Snow Tiger she had found no other Mist Shinobi nearby, and the siblings decided to focus on killing Qi Shuang.
• Snow Tiger explained that Qi Shuang was a lost branch of the Snow Clan and that he had already refused to return.
• Qi Shuang pretended he might rejoin the clan if Snow Flower became his girlfriend, enraging her.
• Snow Tiger grabbed Snow Flower and ordered her to stop before she could attack Qi Shuang.

Qi Shuang tricked Snow Tiger into lowering his guard, then launched a sudden attack and used Ice Release techniques to weaken Snow Tiger and Snow Flower. He created an ice clone and charged Snow Tiger, leaving the fight against the siblings underway while Snow Bear remained trapped in a separate battle.

• Snow Tiger offered to betroth Snow Flower to Qi Shuang if he returned with them to the Snow Clan, but Qi Shuang revealed his plan to kill the three Snow Clan members and attacked.
• Qi Shuang let his Ice Blade fly into the sky, dodged Snow Tiger’s counterattack, and noticed that Snow Bear was in trouble inside the frozen bowl.
• Qi Shuang shattered the airborne Ice Blade into needles and rained them down on Snow Tiger and Snow Flower, whose bodies were numbed by the cold.
• Snow Tiger realized the ice needles had impaired their movements and urged Snow Flower to remove the needles from her body.
• Qi Shuang created an Ice Release clone, assigned it to fight Snow Flower, and charged Snow Tiger.

Qi Shuang and Mei Terumi fought the Snow siblings, but Snow Bear detonated his ice-wall Cage in a massive explosion that wounded everyone caught in the barrage. Qi Shuang searched for Mei Terumi while the injured Snow Tiger and Snow Flower feared Snow Bear might be the only one left able to defeat her.

• Qi Shuang used his clone to keep Snow Flower occupied while he pressured Snow Tiger, as the ice needles made both siblings increasingly sluggish.
• Mei Terumi filled the ice-walled street with Lava Style Mucus, while Snow Bear clung to the wall and prepared to detonate it.
• Snow Bear unleashed Ice Release: Ice Explosion, shattering the Cage and sending ice in every direction.
• The explosion destroyed nearby houses, shattered Qi Shuang's clone, wounded Qi Shuang, and left the Snow siblings badly injured.
• Qi Shuang searched for Mei Terumi, while Snow Tiger helped Snow Flower remove their remaining ice needles and worried that Snow Bear might have to save them.

Mei Terumi survived Snow Bear’s Ice Explosion by protecting herself inside a solidified Lava Style Mucus shell, while Qi Shuang fought the Snow Tiger siblings. Qi Shuang killed Snow Tiger and Snow Flower, and Mei Terumi approached the badly wounded Snow Bear.

• Snow Bear crawled out of the broken ice and believed he had defeated Mei Terumi, but Lava Style Mucus began melting the ice around him.
• Mei Terumi emerged unharmed from a mucus shell and told Qi Shuang that her fight was won as she approached Snow Bear.
• Qi Shuang used the Body Flicker Technique to seize Snow Tiger and slash open his throat.
• Snow Flower attacked Qi Shuang but missed; he disarmed her and knocked both siblings onto the roof.
• Snow Tiger died, and Qi Shuang stabbed Snow Flower in the heart as she mourned her brother.

Qi Shuang and Mei Terumi cleaned up after killing three members of the Snow Clan and returned to their inn. The next morning, Mei Terumi promised the town chief’s representative that Kirigakure would compensate residents for the battle damage, and the pair set out for Kirigakure.

• Qi Shuang sealed the Snow Tiger siblings’ corpses and then sealed Snow Bear’s corpse while Mei Terumi dissolved her hardened Lava Style Mucus.
• The pair left the shattered ice in the street and returned to the inn as residents emerged to inspect the battle damage.
• The next morning, the innkeeper asked Qi Shuang and Mei Terumi whether they had fought in the street on the town chief’s behalf.
• Mei Terumi confirmed they had fought three members of the Snow Clan and explained that Kirigakure would cover the damage from their official mission.
• Qi Shuang and Mei Terumi settled their expenses and set out for Kirigakure.

The Third Mizukage visited the cavern where the newly made Three-Tails Jinchuriki, Karatachi Yagura, was being held under guard. Yagura ambushed him, but the Mizukage revealed he had used a Water Clone and recognized that Yagura had only wanted to play.

• The Third Mizukage arrived on the island and insisted on meeting Karatachi Yagura despite warnings that the new Jinchuriki was dangerous.
• The Kirigakure shinobi opened the cavern's chakra barrier, and the Mizukage entered with his two guards.
• The group found the cavern apparently empty, and the Mizukage called out to Yagura.
• Yagura dropped from the ceiling and struck the Third Mizukage with his staff-like weapon, but the Mizukage turned out to be a Water Clone.
• Yagura blocked the two guards' kunai and retreated, and the real Third Mizukage ordered them to stop, saying Yagura had no killing intent.

Yagura spoke with the Third Mizukage about his confinement and the Three-Tails, then demonstrated that he could summon its chakra. The Mist ninja surrounded the cavern in alarm, but the Third Mizukage ordered them to stand down.

• Yagura mocked the guards and followed the Third Mizukage out of the cavern to talk.
• The Third Mizukage asked Yagura how the Three-Tails had behaved, and Yagura said it had grown quieter after resisting him during its first month inside him.
• Yagura complained that he was lonely in the cavern and asked the Third Mizukage when his observation period would end.
• The Third Mizukage explained that Yagura needed to learn to control the tailed beast's chakra before he could leave.
• Yagura revealed a crimson layer of Three-Tails chakra on his arm, prompting the guards and hidden Mist ninja to surround the entrance.
• The Third Mizukage calmly ordered the Mist ninja to stand down.

Yagura showed the Third Mizukage that he could control a small amount of the Three-Tails’ chakra, but he remained imprisoned until he could control more. Meanwhile, Qi Shuang returned to Kirigakure after the mission, and Zabuza woke in the hospital and renewed his promise to fight Qi Shuang once he recovered.

• Yagura repeatedly made the Three-Tails’ chakra appear and disappear, showing the Third Mizukage his preliminary control.
• The Third Mizukage told Yagura he would need to cover his whole body with the beast’s chakra without losing his reason before he could leave, then departed with his guards.
• Qi Shuang and his companion returned to Kirigakure with the Snow Tiger siblings’ corpses and a compensation list, and the mission recorder reported their mission complete.
• The Hidden Mist Anbu removed Qi Shuang’s name from the purge list, while other people involved in the clan rebellion awaited judgment.
• Zabuza woke in the hospital and told Qi Shuang he still intended to compete with him after recovering, while Qi Shuang offered to concede.