Chapter Summaries

Hiko led Sixth Squad out of Kumogakure after defusing Xiao Ai’s provocation, while making clear he would avoid a fight to protect his companions. The Third Raikage recalled the village’s tails and accepted that Xiao Ai had shown restraint, though he regretted missing the chance to capture Hiko.

• Tsunade remained angry about the provocation, but Hiko dismissed it as Xiao Ai’s failed attempt to compete with them.
• Jiraiya asked what Hiko would do if a fight broke out, and Hiko joked that he would leave Jiraiya behind to cover their retreat.
• Hatake Sakumo warned that staying behind would be dangerous, and Hiko led the group out of Kumogakure without revealing how little he feared the risk.
• Kumogakure’s ninja followed Sixth Squad for a time, then withdrew after the team traveled far beyond the village’s territory.
• The Third Raikage praised Xiao Ai’s restraint and ordered the tails recalled to avoid provoking Konoha.
• The Third Raikage watched Kumogakure from his office window and lamented that they had not kept Uchiha Hiko there.

After leaving Kumogakure, Hiko led the Sixth Squad toward the Land of Whirlpools for an undisclosed, difficult mission. As they traveled south through the Land of Fire, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Hatake Sakumo began to guess their destination.

• The Third Raikage regretted letting Hiko leave but decided that attacking him risked provoking a war with Konoha.
• Jiraiya complained about Kumogakure's surveillance, and Hiko explained that the village could not safely hold them against Konoha's wishes.
• Jiraiya and Orochimaru resumed their usual bickering until Hiko reminded them that the squad had an important mission ahead.
• Hiko refused to reveal the mission details and warned the squad that the journey would be troublesome.
• Hiko chose an overland route through the Small Countries and the Land of Fire rather than traveling by sea through the Land of Water.
• As the Sixth Squad headed south toward the port for the Land of Whirlpools, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Hatake Sakumo began to infer their destination.

Hiko's team traveled toward the Land of Whirlpools to negotiate with the Uzumaki Clan for a new Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, while reflecting on Mito Uzumaki's age and the burdens of succession. Three days after leaving Kumogakure, they reached a coastal port and boarded a ship, where Jiraiya became ill after eating seafood.

• Hiko told Tsunade that their mission was to visit the Land of Whirlpools and find a suitable replacement for Mito Uzumaki as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
• Tsunade reflected on her aging grandmother, and Hiko asked her to lead negotiations with the Uzumaki Clan.
• The team fell quiet as they considered aging, death, and the older generation who had already passed away.
• Three days after leaving Kumogakure, the team reached a coastal port and boarded a ship for the Land of Whirlpools.
• Jiraiya vomited over the side of the ship after eating seafood, and Tsunade could only wait for him to expel it.

Hiko’s team sailed toward the Land of Whirlpools to bring a new Nine-Tails Jinchuriki back to Konoha, while preparing for possible hostility from the Uzumaki Clan. Hiko put Tsunade in charge of negotiations and planned to stay in the background as the ship neared its destination.

• Jiraiya overate seafood and spent the voyage vomiting, ruining the others’ enjoyment of the sea.
• Hiko warned Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Hatake Sakumo that his Uchiha identity and the death of the Uzumaki princess in the Seven-Tails incident could make the clan hostile.
• Hiko told Tsunade he would leave negotiations to her and avoid damaging the relationship between Konoha and the Uzumaki Clan unless they went too far.
• Hiko ordered Hatake Sakumo to check on Jiraiya, and the others laughed at Jiraiya’s continued dry heaving.
• Hiko’s team continued toward the Land of Whirlpools aboard a ship he had chartered to avoid traveling with other passengers.

Kin Uzumaki delayed receiving Konoha’s delegation, led by Uchiha Hiko, while Hiko chose to wait at an inn rather than seek out the Uzumaki Clan. Hiko let the team spend the next two days freely and planned to make their apparent indifference clear, leaving the clan to approach them.

• Kin Uzumaki learned that Hiko, Tsunade, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Hatake Sakumo had arrived and ordered his people to leave them waiting for two days.
• Hiko’s team reached the harbor, where Jiraiya continued to suffer from seasickness, and Hiko decided they would find their own lodging.
• Hiko led the team to an inn and told Jiraiya he could enjoy himself as long as he kept their secrets safe.
• Jiraiya eagerly agreed and called for food, while Hiko told Hatake Sakumo and Orochimaru to explore freely and make it seem as if the team did not care about the Uzumaki Clan.

Hiko told the Sixth Squad to act as if they were on vacation while representing Konoha in the Land of Whirlpools, and the squad members spent their time separately. Uzumaki Kin learned of their behavior and grew angry, still grieving his daughter’s death.

• Hiko refused to reimburse Jiraiya for seeking entertainment, then teased Hatake Sakumo into nearly walking into a doorframe.
• The Sixth Squad split up: Jiraiya sought women, Hatake Sakumo went sightseeing, Orochimaru read in a bookstore, Tsunade shopped and gambled, and Hiko fished by the coast.
• Uzumaki Kin received a report detailing the squad’s activities in the Land of Whirlpools.
• Uzumaki Kin angrily condemned the Konoha representatives, thinking of his deceased daughter.

Uzumaki Kin and Hiko both refused to yield as the Uzumaki Clan left Konoha’s Sixth Squad waiting in the Land of Whirlpools. Half a month later, Konoha’s leaders learned the delegation still had not been received.

• Uzumaki Kin ordered his clan not to obstruct the Sixth Squad, while Hiko decided to wait rather than press for a meeting.
• Hiko enjoyed fishing with the Sixth Squad as the standoff continued and reports to Konoha showed no progress.
• News of Hiko’s arrival spread, and Uzumaki Clan geniuses wanted to challenge him, but Uzumaki Kin forbade them from causing trouble.
• Naoko Senju asked the Third Hokage at a High-level Meeting whether the Sixth Squad had sent news from the Land of Whirlpools.
• The Third Hokage told the Meeting Room that the Uzumaki Clan still had not received the delegation, prompting an uproar.

The Uzumaki Clan ignored Konoha’s delegation, creating a standoff over talks about selecting a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Hiko decided the Sixth Squad would return to Konoha rather than yield to the clan’s demand that they make the first move.

• Konoha’s leaders criticized the Uzumaki Clan’s treatment of the delegation, and the Third Hokage urged them to trust Hiko and remember Konoha’s debt to the clan.
• Hiko told the Sixth Squad that the Third Hokage had offered reassurance and left them free to handle the matter as they saw fit.
• Tsunade worried about the stalled mission, and Hiko explained that the Uzumaki Clan expected them to visit first while the selection process would take a long time.
• Hiko ordered the squad to prepare to return to Konoha and declared that they would not yield while the Uzumaki Clan showed no sincerity.

Uchiha Hiko issued the Uzumaki Clan a final ultimatum by preparing to leave, forcing Kin Uzumaki to invite the Konoha delegation back and arrange a meeting. The group returned to rest before negotiations with the clan leader the next day, while Hiko remained silent and distracted.

• Uchiha Hiko ordered the group to pack and prepare to leave unless the Uzumaki Clan agreed to talk properly.
• Kin Uzumaki learned they were leaving, rejected a clansman's claim that they were bluffing, and sent people to bring them back.
• Kin Uzumaki also arranged a public exchange where Uchiha Hiko would teach the Uzumaki Clan's younger members.
• The Uzumaki Clan contacted the delegation humbly and said Kin Uzumaki would meet them the next day.
• Tsunade comforted the silent Uchiha Hiko as Hatake Sakumo and the others wondered whether negotiations would go smoothly.

Hiko and the others discussed the expected exchange with the Uzumaki Clan, where tensions might lead the younger generation to provoke them. Hiko insisted that no fight would happen because the Uzumaki Clan would not dare challenge him after he revealed his trump card, leaving the others curious about his plan for tomorrow.

• Jiraiya teased Hiko and Tsunade, and Hiko said he was thinking about whom to step on the next day.
• Tsunade and the others realized that members of the Uzumaki Clan might use the exchange to provoke Hiko over remarks within their clan.
• Hatake Sakumo warned that the team needed to balance defending Konoha's dignity with avoiding a serious conflict, while Jiraiya argued that they should strike back if provoked.
• Hiko assured the team that there would be no fight because the Uzumaki Clan would not dare provoke him after he revealed his trump card.
• Hiko kept his plan secret, leaving Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Hatake Sakumo eager to see what would happen the next day.

Uzumaki Kin publicly arranged for Hiko and the Sixth Squad to meet the Uzumaki Clan in the village plaza, prompting the clan’s younger members to resent Hiko and prepare to challenge him. As the group arrived, the Uzumaki members jeered and shouted for them to leave, and Hiko’s anger began to show.

• Uzumaki Kin’s praise and instructions about Hiko angered many young Uzumaki Clan members, who vowed to make him regret visiting.
• Hiko, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Hatake Sakumo entered the clan’s central area the next day, escorted toward a public meeting in the plaza.
• Uzumaki Clan members openly mocked the visitors along the way, especially targeting Hiko.
• A member of the crowd shouted for the group to leave, and more Uzumaki members joined in, chanting for them to get out.
• Hiko showed a trace of anger as the escort stood shocked by the crowd’s hostility.

The Sixth Squad faced a hostile crowd in the Uzumaki Clan’s village, and Hiko confronted Uzumaki Kin over the clan’s treatment of Konoha’s guests. Uzumaki Kin apologized and insisted the incident would not break the relationship between Konoha and the Land of Whirlpools.

• Jiraiya nearly lashed out at the crowd, but Hatake Sakumo stopped him and told him to wait for Hiko’s orders.
• Tsunade angrily condemned the Uzumaki Clan’s welcome as the clansmen shouted for Konoha’s people to leave.
• Uzumaki Kin learned that someone had stirred up the clansmen and ordered them silenced before the dispute worsened.
• Hiko confronted Uzumaki Kin and the elders, warning that Konoha would not collapse without the Uzumaki Clan.
• Uzumaki Kin apologized on behalf of the clansmen and affirmed that the relationship between Konoha and the Land of Whirlpools would continue.

Hiko challenged Uzumaki Kin over keeping Konoha's visitors waiting, accepted his apology with open mockery, and demanded a sparring match with the Uzumaki Clan's young fighters. Kyuku Uzumaki confronted Hiko as the clan's younger generation backed her, setting the stage for the exchange.

• Hiko asked Uzumaki Kin whether leaving Konoha's delegation waiting for days was also the work of someone stirring up trouble.
• Uzumaki Kin admitted the delay was his fault, claimed he had been unwell, and apologized to Hiko and the others.
• Hiko accepted the apology but mocked the Uzumaki Clan's reputation and asked who would spar with him.
• Kyuku Uzumaki stood up and accused Hiko of pushing too far after the Clan Leader had already apologized.
• The Uzumaki Clan's young people supported Kyuku while Uzumaki Kin and the elders stayed silent and let the younger generation respond.

Uchiha Hiko provoked the Uzumaki Clan by declaring its younger generation to be trash, turning the gathering into an uproar. Kyuku Uzumaki challenged him, but Hiko refused to fight her, and the chapter ended with the crowd taunting him as a coward.

• Hiko laughed at Kyuku Uzumaki’s suggestion that the Uzumaki Clan had no one and announced that everyone there was trash.
• The Uzumaki Clan erupted in anger, and Kyuku Uzumaki challenged Hiko to prove his claim.
• Hiko dismissed Kyuku as trash and refused to accept her challenge.
• Uzumaki Kin warned Hiko not to push the clan further, but Hiko asked whether he thought Konoha had no temper.
• Kyuku called Hiko a coward for refusing her challenge, and the crowd joined in taunting him.

Uchiha Hiko proposed betting on Kyuku Uzumaki as the stakes in a challenge, saying she would become his maid if he won. Kyuku accepted and demanded to know what Hiko would owe if he lost.

• Kyuku Uzumaki challenged Hiko to provoke him and help Uzumaki Kin avoid personally fighting a guest.
• Hiko responded with a crude joke that angered Kyuku, then suggested they wager on her becoming his maid.
• Kyuku hesitated and looked to Uzumaki Kin, who gave her no guidance as the crowd protested Hiko's terms.
• Kyuku accepted the bet and asked what Hiko would do if he lost.

Hiko agreed to fight Kyuku Uzumaki under a wager that would make the loser leave their clan and join the winner’s side. The Uzumaki Clan chose its central plaza for the match, and Hiko realized it likely strengthened sealing jutsu but accepted the battlefield anyway.

• Kyuku Uzumaki agreed to fight Hiko, confident that the plaza’s arrangements would strengthen her sealing jutsu.
• Hiko accepted the wager, and the Uzumaki Great Elder proposed that if Hiko lost, he would leave the Uchiha and Konoha to join the Uzumaki Clan.
• Tsunade objected, but Hiko reassured her that he had promised a surprise and she eventually agreed to let him proceed.
• Hiko warned the Uzumaki Clan not to break its word, and Uzumaki Kin insisted the clan would honor the wager.
• Uzumaki Kin selected the central plaza as the battlefield and ordered the clan members to withdraw.
• Hiko inferred that the plaza was designed to enhance sealing jutsu, but he chose not to ask for another location.

Hiko and the Uzumaki Clan prepared for their contest while the clan’s suspicious refusal to clear the plaza drew wary looks from Konoha’s representatives. Uzumaki Kin learned that his son had secretly stirred up the clan members out of resentment toward Konoha, and ordered him arrested.

• Kyuku Uzumaki felt embarrassed about the Uzumaki Clan’s underhanded plan, while Hiko’s companions warned him to watch for sealing traps in the plaza.
• The Uzumaki Clan members crowded at the plaza’s edge instead of retreating farther, and Hiko acted as if he had not noticed.
• Uzumaki Kin questioned his guards about who had stirred up the clan members, and they revealed that the culprit was his son.
• Uzumaki Kin realized that his son resented Konoha for his younger sister’s death and had secretly incited the clan members.
• Uzumaki Kin erupted in anger and ordered his rebellious son arrested.

Uzumaki Kin and the elders agreed to make a show of punishing Heiyunji Uzumaki while seeking a solution to Konoha’s complaint. In the plaza, Kyuku Uzumaki challenged Uchiha Hiko and used a seal intended to treat him like a Tailed Beast.

• The Great Elder and other elders persuaded Uzumaki Kin to avoid harshly punishing Heiyunji Uzumaki, but Uzumaki Kin ordered guards to arrest him and promised to interrogate him.
• Kyuku Uzumaki told Hiko she wanted to test his reputation as a tailless Tailed Beast and use the Uzumaki Clan’s sealing skills against him.
• Hiko mocked Kyuku and the Uzumaki Clan, provoking her as she gathered Chakra to fight.
• Kyuku Uzumaki unleashed the Adamantine Binding Curse, a powerful seal derived from the same category as Adamantine Sealing Chains.

Kyuku Uzumaki attacked Uchiha Hiko with a massive Chakra-chain sealing technique, but he remained unmoved and revealed an overwhelming Chakra aura just as the chains were about to strike. The battle remained unresolved as the Uzumaki Clan witnessed the scale of Hiko’s power.

• Kyuku Uzumaki sent numerous Chakra chains crashing into the plaza, while Tsunade suspected the battleground had been tampered with.
• Hiko mocked Kyuku Uzumaki’s sealing technique and stood with his arms folded as she warned him to take it seriously.
• Kyuku Uzumaki launched several massive silver chains at Hiko, making Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Hatake Sakumo fear for him.
• Just before the chains struck, Hiko released a dark crimson radiance and an immense Chakra aura that dwarfed Kyuku Uzumaki’s reserves.

Hiko faced Kyuku Uzumaki’s Six-Pointed Fluorescent Seal, which she activated through silver chains connected to something buried beneath the square. The seal suppressed Hiko and Susanoo, and Hiko ended the chapter hinting that he had promised Konoha and his teammates a huge surprise.

• Hiko unleashed his immense Chakra and summoned Susanoo, which deflected Kyuku Uzumaki’s silver chains.
• Kyuku Uzumaki activated the mechanism beneath the square, forming a huge six-pointed seal around Hiko and Susanoo.
• The seal’s crushing force suppressed Susanoo and stopped its hand from reaching Kyuku.
• Hiko deduced that the buried mechanism reduced Kyuku’s Chakra cost and praised the seal’s combined sealing, attack, and defense.
• Kyuku concentrated on maintaining the seal while Hiko recalled his promise to give Konoha and his teammates a huge surprise.