Chapter Summaries

Hiko reviewed the refugee crisis caused by the war in the Land of Rain and left responsibility for handling it to the Third Hokage and the Daimyo while focusing on the battlefield. He also ordered Tsunade to secretly develop antidotes for Hanzo of the Salamander's poison and Sunagakure's Puppet Unit.

• Hiko learned that many refugees from the Land of Rain were gathering at the border, while Hatake Sakumo warned that accepting them could bring spies and other risks.
• Hiko wrote to the Third Hokage, requesting more supplies and personnel and urging Konoha to persuade Kumogakure to attack Iwagakure.
• Hiko sent the refugee matter to the Third Hokage and the Daimyo, saying Konoha's forces should focus on the battlefield.
• Hatake Sakumo reported that Tsunade had warned of Hanzo of the Salamander's strength and deadly poison, which had killed many Iwagakure and Sunagakure shinobi.
• Hiko authorized Tsunade to use whatever medicinal ingredients she needed to secretly develop antidotes for Hanzo of the Salamander's poison and Sunagakure's Puppet Unit.
• After Hatake Sakumo delivered the orders and returned to stand by the door, Hiko's eyelids twitched as he wondered whether Sakumo thought he would sneak away.

Hatake Sakumo worried that Hiko would abandon the mess in the Land of Rain, while Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade fought repeated attacks from Iwagakure. After resting, Orochimaru questioned whether the three of them could defeat Hanzo of the Salamander together.

• Hatake Sakumo followed Hiko and kept watch over him so he would not run away from his responsibilities.
• Orochimaru restrained a group of Rock Ninja with Shadow Snake Hands, and Jiraiya killed them with his Hell Needles.
• Tsunade killed an enemy with a brutal punch, and Jiraiya privately thought she was violent as ever.
• Jiraiya complained about the fourth wave of Iwagakure attacks and struggled to eat his rain-soaked ration while Tsunade warned him not to stare at her.
• Orochimaru asked whether he, Jiraiya, and Tsunade could defeat Hanzo of the Salamander if they joined forces.

Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru discussed Hanzo of the Salamander’s strength before meeting him on the front line, where he praised them as Konoha’s Three Legendary Sannin. Back at the command center, Hiko read a message from the Uchiha Family offering to send its members to the frontline.

• Tsunade explained that Hiko had called Hanzo of the Salamander a peak figure of the era and said his poison was the main reason for his strength.
• Orochimaru spotted Hanzo of the Salamander approaching with Amegakure’s subordinates after the three had defeated the enemies on their section of the line.
• Hanzo of the Salamander praised Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru as Konoha’s Three Legendary Sannin, and his subordinates echoed his words.
• Tsunade redirected the conversation toward preparing for the next attacks from Iwagakure and Sunagakure.
• Hatake Sakumo delivered a document from the Uchiha Family to Hiko, who read that they wanted to send Uchiha members to the frontline.

Hiko agreed that the Uchiha Clan should send five hundred people to the frontline under the Third Elder, but he left the decision about Uchiha Fugaku’s place on the Elder Council to the other elders. Uchiha Hayashi departed without learning whether Fugaku would be admitted.

• Hiko had Hatake Sakumo bring Uchiha Hayashi into the temporary Command Center.
• Hiko told Uchiha Hayashi to ask the elders to choose five hundred Uchiha to serve on the frontline, led by the Third Elder.
• Uchiha Hayashi grew excited at the chance to leave guard duty and earn merit on the battlefield.
• Hiko considered Uchiha Fugaku’s bid to join the Elder Council and said deciding it was not his responsibility.

Uchiha Hiko refused to decide whether Uchiha Fugaku could join the clan's Elder Council, insisting the Uchiha follow its rules and earn positions through merit. At the Konoha command center, Hiko learned the war was going well despite heavy losses and heard how Hanzo of the Salamander had given Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru the title Konoha's Three Legendary Sannin.

• Uchiha Hiko told Uchiha Hayashi that Uchiha Fugaku would have to prove his merit and strength before joining the Elder Council, leaving the decision to the clan's rules.
• Hiko sent Uchiha Hayashi back to Konoha with instructions for the Third Elder to lead the team and urged Hayashi to work for himself and his descendants.
• Hatake Sakumo reported that Konoha's cooperation with Amegakure had inflicted heavy losses on Iwagakure and Sunagakure, while only half of Konoha's teams sent into the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind had returned alive.
• Hiko accepted the returning teams' sacrifices as worthwhile and noted that the Third Hokage and others wanted him to remain at the Command Center rather than enter battle.
• Hatake Sakumo told Hiko that Hanzo of the Salamander praised Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru as representatives of their era, giving rise to the title Konoha's Three Legendary Sannin.

Hiko and Hatake Sakumo discussed the titles people had given them as Iwagakure struggled to advance against Amegakure and Konoha. The chapter left Ōnoki furious over Iwagakure’s losses and Hiko’s disruptive, ruthless tactics.

• Hiko and Hatake Sakumo discussed the title of Konoha's Three Legendary Sannin and joked about the titles associated with themselves.
• Ōnoki raged at the Iwagakure commanders because Amegakure and Konoha had halted Iwagakure’s advance.
• Amegakure held its ground with Hanzo of the Salamander leading, while Hiko harassed Iwagakure and Sunagakure’s forces from behind and along their flanks.
• Hiko’s traps and disguised Konoha ninja punished enemy soldiers who looted civilians or collected bodies without checking for Explosive Tags.
• Ōnoki complained that Iwagakure’s soldiers had been blown up while retrieving corpses.

Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage confronted the heavy losses Iwagakure and Sunagakure suffered from Uchiha Hiko’s traps and underhanded tactics. The chapter left both villages determined to proceed more cautiously as Hiko’s reputation as Konoha’s Devil spread.

• Ōnoki raged over Iwagakure’s losses of more than six hundred shinobi and ordered his commanders to avoid further mistakes.
• Ōnoki ordered that enemy, allied, and civilian corpses be buried to prevent epidemics and preserve intelligence.
• Ōnoki recognized Uchiha Hiko as the source of the tactics and commanded Iwagakure to advance carefully.
• The Third Kazekage silently reviewed Sunagakure’s even heavier casualties while Grandma Chiyo complained about Hiko’s traps.

The Third Kazekage ordered Sunagakure shinobi to guard against Konoha’s tactics and expressed a desire to meet Uchiha Hiko. In Konoha, the village leaders reviewed Hiko’s successful reports and praised his strategy of drawing Amegakure into the war, while noting that the conflict had weakened it.

• The Third Kazekage ordered Sunagakure shinobi to stay alert for Konoha’s underhanded tactics and said he wanted to meet Uchiha Hiko.
• Konoha’s leaders examined Hiko’s reports and were astonished by Konoha’s low casualties and the heavy losses suffered by Iwagakure and Sunagakure.
• The Third Hokage praised Hiko for bringing Amegakure into the war and making it the main force opposing Iwagakure and Sunagakure.
• The Third Hokage said Amegakure’s hidden war supplies had confirmed Konoha’s suspicions that it was building its strength.
• Konoha’s leaders agreed that Amegakure’s losses in the war had sharply reduced its ability to threaten Konoha.

Konoha’s leaders agreed to send another thousand shinobi to support Amegakure, while the Uchiha elders organized clan members and gave the Third Elder responsibility for frontline logistics. Mikoto Uchiha demanded that her father let her join the frontline, leaving the Third Elder exasperated by her real reason for wanting to go.

• Danzo supported the Third Hokage as Konoha’s leaders discussed preserving ties with Amegakure and sending more aid.
• The Third Hokage approved sending another thousand people to the Land of Rain, bringing Konoha’s force there to three thousand.
• Uchiha Hayashi relayed Hiko’s intentions to the clan elders, who selected reinforcements and appointed the Third Elder to manage logistics.
• Mikoto Uchiha told her father she wanted to go to the frontline, but the Third Elder ordered her to stay in the village and prepare for her graduation exams.
• Mikoto Uchiha talked back and insisted she wanted to go, and the Third Elder recognized that she wanted to get closer to Hiko.

Mikoto Uchiha was forbidden by her father from leaving Konoha to visit Hiko, while Hiko devised a new baiting strategy at the frontline after Iwagakure and Sunagakure stopped falling for his ambushes. The commanders considered his plan to repeatedly lure Iwagakure into pursuing larger groups, with ANBU support, as Hiko prepared to test it.

• The Third Elder scolded Mikoto Uchiha and forbade her from leaving the village before departing for the frontline.
• Kyuku Uzumaki and Kushina continued life at the Ninja Academy, where Kushina avoided the bullying that might have brought her closer to Minato.
• Konoha's reinforcements set out for the frontline while Hiko waited at camp and explained his tactics to the commanders, including Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru.
• The commanders argued that Iwagakure and Sunagakure had become too cautious for Hiko's old luring tactic to work.
• Hiko proposed using more bait and ANBU ambushes repeatedly to make the enemy pursue in groups, specifying that the plan would target Iwagakure rather than Sunagakure.

Hiko explained that Iwagakure’s hostility toward Konoha began when Uchiha Madara beat and humiliated Mu and Ōnoki during their attempt to form an alliance. He ordered the Command Center to spread the story to provoke Ōnoki, leaving Konoha to wait and see how Iwagakure responded.

• Jiraiya asked why Hiko planned to target Iwagakure rather than Sunagakure, and Hiko said Iwagakure was more likely to take the bait because of its strength and hostility toward Konoha.
• Hiko explained that Mu and Ōnoki had once come to Konoha seeking an alliance but were beaten and humiliated by Uchiha Madara.
• Hatake Sakumo identified Uchiha Madara as the person who had attacked the Iwagakure leaders, and Hiko confirmed it.
• Hiko ordered the Command Center to spread the story widely to anger Ōnoki and provoke Iwagakure.

Hiko’s account of Uchiha Madara humiliating Mu and Ōnoki spread through the villages, turning Iwagakure’s old grievance into a source of mockery. After hearing the news, Hanzo of the Salamander abandoned his plan to betray Hiko, while the report reached the Third Kazekage.

• Hiko arranged for the story of Madara’s treatment of Mu and Ōnoki to spread through Konoha, Amegakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure.
• Konoha’s ninja laughed at Iwagakure and discussed how Madara had beaten and humiliated Ōnoki during an alliance attempt.
• Hanzo of the Salamander recalled his encounters with Hiko, worried about Hiko’s potential strength, and decided not to make him an enemy or set him up.
• Amegakure’s ninja joined Konoha in spreading the story and mocking Iwagakure.
• Sunagakure’s Intelligence Department verified the news and brought its report to the Third Kazekage as he reviewed camp supplies.

The Third Kazekage read the newly revealed history between Konoha and Iwagakure and suspected Uchiha Hiko had a larger plan. The rumors enraged Ōnoki, who faced the risk that others would see Iwagakure’s hostility toward Konoha as personal revenge.

• An Intelligence Department member gave the document about Konoha and Iwagakure’s history to the Third Kazekage, who read it and wondered why Uchiha Hiko had spread the information.
• The Third Kazekage dismissed the Intelligence Department member and speculated that Hiko intended to exploit the old conflict to break the wartime stalemate.
• The news reached Iwagakure’s camp, where shinobi debated whether the story was fabricated and worried about how Ōnoki would react.
• Ōnoki learned that the story had spread and angrily accused Uchiha Hiko of humiliating him and exposing the feud with Konoha.
• Kitsuchi urged Ōnoki not to fall for Hiko’s tactic or take action that would harm Iwagakure and confirm accusations of personal revenge.
• Ōnoki said he understood and smashed the stone table as the Command Center watched.

Ōnoki confirmed that he and Mu had once sought an alliance with Konoha but were defeated by Uchiha Madara, and he warned that Uchiha Hiko might be growing into a threat on the level of Konoha’s legendary founders. He left the discussion resolved to face Hiko, while his secretary confirmed Hiko could use Wood Style.

• Ōnoki warned Kitsuchi that the news about Konoha’s past had been spread to provoke Iwagakure and could endanger its shinobi in battle.
• Ōnoki confirmed that Mu had taken him to Konoha to seek an alliance, but Uchiha Madara defeated them before they could meet Senju Hashirama.
• Ōnoki recalled that Madara had not intended to humiliate them, though his manner had made the encounter deeply humiliating.
• Ōnoki said Uchiha Hiko’s growing power reminded him of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, and described that as a dangerous signal.
• Ōnoki said he believed Iwagakure could defeat Konoha and looked forward to fighting Hiko.
• Ōnoki’s secretary confirmed that reports from the Land of Whirlpools said Hiko could use Wood Style.

Konoha’s reinforcements arrived at the frontline, where Hiko rallied the troops and welcomed the Third Elder. Hiko then handed the Third Elder a mountain of administrative documents, leaving him to sort and process the backlog.

• Ōnoki expressed his eagerness to battle Hiko and witness Wood Style and Susanoo firsthand.
• Hiko gave Konoha’s arriving reinforcements a speech that rallied them to fight for victory.
• Hiko welcomed the Third Elder into the Command Center after handing personnel arrangements to Hatake Sakumo.
• Hiko left the Third Elder with a huge pile of pending documents and slipped away from the Command Center.
• The Third Elder sorted the documents by importance and authority, then began processing them quickly.

Hiko delegated official duties to the Third Elder and discussed Konoha’s strained alliance with Amegakure as the war continued. He warned Hatake Sakumo that the sides might soon turn on one another, leaving the conflict as a free-for-all.

• The Third Elder took over Hiko’s official duties, easing the workload Hiko had been passing to Hatake Sakumo.
• Hiko asked whether Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru had left, and Hatake Sakumo confirmed they had.
• Hatake Sakumo reported that Amegakure was unhappy with Konoha’s limited reinforcements, while Tsunade had prepared antidotes for Hanzo of the Salamander and Sunagakure’s Puppet Unit.
• Hiko told Hatake Sakumo to increase antidote production and predicted that the alliance could collapse into a free-for-all as Amegakure’s losses mounted.
• The war continued, with Konoha suffering the fewest losses and Amegakure and Sunagakure suffering the greatest.

As casualties mounted across the Land of Rain, Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage abandoned their plan to prioritize conquering Amegakure and shifted their focus toward Konoha. After Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru returned from a failed pursuit, Hiko suspected Hanzo of the Salamander’s refusal to help had a deeper cause.

• Hanzo of the Salamander, Ōnoki, and the Third Kazekage recognized that rising casualties made the war against Amegakure unsustainable.
• The Third Kazekage and Ōnoki agreed to stop prioritizing Amegakure and turn their forces toward Konoha.
• The Third Kazekage volunteered to contact Hanzo of the Salamander and try to keep him from serving Konoha.
• Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru returned to the Command Center after Hanzo of the Salamander refused to help pursue a group of Iwagakure ninja, allowing more than half to escape.
• Hiko considered whether Hanzo of the Salamander had deliberately refused to cooperate, while Orochimaru kept Tsunade and Jiraiya from interrupting his thoughts.

Hiko suspected that Iwagakure and Sunagakure were trying to persuade Amegakure to remain neutral rather than continue fighting them. Hanzo of the Salamander received Sunagakure’s envoys and let them in, while growing resentful of Konoha’s limited commitment to Amegakure’s war effort.

• Hiko warned Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru that Amegakure might defect, and they ordered their forces to rest and regroup.
• Hiko told Hatake Sakumo he was certain Iwagakure and Sunagakure had offered Hanzo of the Salamander benefits in exchange for Amegakure’s neutrality.
• The Third Kazekage sent three Sunagakure envoys into Amegakure without Konoha noticing.
• Hanzo of the Salamander considered killing the envoys but decided to let them in and kept their arrival from Konoha.
• Hanzo of the Salamander reflected on Amegakure’s heavy casualties and resented Konoha for committing only a small force to the fighting.

Hanzo of the Salamander weighed Amegakure’s losses as Sunagakure and Iwagakure sent envoys with an offer of peace and compensation in exchange for joining them against Konoha. He laughed at the irony of being asked to ally with the villages that had attacked him, leaving his decision unresolved.

• Hanzo of the Salamander recognized that Amegakure remained trapped in the war and would suffer even if it withdrew from Konoha’s alliance.
• Three Sunagakure envoys arrived and claimed Konoha was exploiting Amegakure while fighting Sunagakure and Iwagakure.
• Hanzo of the Salamander rejected their accusation, reminding them that their villages had started the war and attacked Amegakure.
• The envoy captain offered compensation and peace if Hanzo led Amegakure’s forces against Konoha alongside Sunagakure and Iwagakure.
• Hanzo of the Salamander realized the two villages were struggling with their own losses, then laughed at the irony of their proposed alliance.

Hanzo of the Salamander agreed to withdraw Amegakure and remain neutral after Sunagakure delivered compensation supplies, but he refused to join Sunagakure and Iwagakure against Konoha. Hiko discovered that the two villages were reorganizing to shift their attack toward Konoha, leaving a major new war looming.

• Hanzo of the Salamander agreed to keep Amegakure neutral and demanded compensation supplies before carrying out the deal.
• The Third Kazekage learned that Hanzo had refused to attack Konoha and planned to send the supplies to secure Amegakure's withdrawal.
• Amegakure's forces began resting and regrouping while Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru remained unaware of Hanzo's plans.
• After the compensation supplies arrived, Hanzo began gathering Amegakure's forces to prepare for withdrawal, angering Tsunade and the others.
• Hiko reviewed intelligence showing that Iwagakure and Sunagakure had withdrawn from Amegakure's positions and were reorganizing to target Konoha.