Chapter Summaries

Hatake Sakumo’s team learned that Iwagakure and Sunagakure were closing in and began retreating through the forest while using traps to slow their pursuers. The enemy suffered losses and struggled through the trap-filled terrain as Yoko Ai continued the pursuit.

• Hatake Sakumo and Uchiha Hayashi concluded that the enemy was targeting their team and ordered everyone to prepare for battle and retreat toward camp.
• Hatake Sakumo told his forces to rely on their traps and hold out until Hiko or other reinforcements arrived.
• Hatake Sakumo ordered Uchiha Hayashi to have the team mix fake traps among the real ones.
• Iwagakure and Sunagakure’s pursuing forces triggered traps and suffered casualties as they advanced through the forest.
• Yoko Ai, an associate of Ōnoki, led the pursuit and pressed on after realizing the Konoha team had detected the encirclement.

Yoko Ai's forces encircled Hatake Sakumo and Uchiha Hayashi's Konoha unit, forcing them into a positional battle as they tried to break out through the flanks. Hiko rushed to support them while Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya defended the camp, and he began planning retaliation against Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage.

• Yoko Ai ordered his troops to keep pursuing Konoha's retreating ninja, and forces on both flanks completed an encirclement around several hundred of them.
• Hatake Sakumo consulted Uchiha Hayashi, then split the Konoha unit in two and led both groups in attacks toward the flanks.
• The encircled Konoha ninja clashed with the enemy as the forces behind them advanced through traps to reinforce the encirclement.
• Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya returned to camp and fought Iwagakure and Sunagakure troops who were preparing to attack it.
• Hiko rushed ahead to reach Hatake Sakumo's unit and planned to retaliate against Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage.

Hiko arrived at the battle where Konoha forces led by Hatake Sakumo and Uchiha Hayashi were surrounded by Iwagakure and Sunagakure, and began slaughtering the enemy. He unleashed Susanoo to tear open the encirclement and left the battlefield fighting on.

• Hiko reached the battlefield as Konoha's forces fought their way against the larger Iwagakure and Sunagakure armies.
• Hiko ambushed the enemy perimeter with Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique, killing many Rock Ninja and Sand Ninja.
• Hiko followed with Earth Style, Fire Style, and Wind Style techniques, carving a gap through the enemy encirclement.
• Hiko activated Susanoo and cut down the enemies with its massive Katana.
• The stunned Rock Ninja and Sand Ninja watched as Hiko continued attacking with Susanoo.

Hiko arrived with reinforcements and tore through the Iwagakure and Sunagakure encirclement, turning the battle in Konoha’s favor. After Hiko killed two Elite Jonin with Black Hole Space, the enemy forces panicked and began fleeing.

• Hiko’s arrival at the encirclement rallied Konoha’s besieged ninja, and Hatake Sakumo’s forces fought back with renewed strength.
• Hiko fought through the enemy lines with Susanoo and destructive Ninjutsu, leaving corpses in his wake.
• Two Iwagakure Elite Jonin led an attack on Hiko, but his Black Hole Space killed them both.
• Terrified by Hiko’s power, Iwagakure and Sunagakure ninja began fleeing despite their Elite Jonin ordering them to stay.
• Konoha’s ninja charged after the retreating enemy as Hiko’s plan to break their morale succeeded.

After Konoha routed the Iwagakure and Sunagakure forces, Hiko stopped the pursuit and ordered his exhausted troops to return to camp. Ōnoki arrived too late to turn the battle around and angrily rebuked his shaken shinobi as Konoha withdrew.

• Konoha's shinobi pursued the fleeing Iwagakure and Sunagakure forces, breaking their formations and driving them into a rout.
• Hiko attacked the Elite Jonin trying to retreat while Ōnoki rushed back from delivering the Third Kazekage to Sunagakure's people.
• Ōnoki arrived and halted the pursuit, then confronted Hiko as Konoha prepared to carry its wounded and dead back to camp.
• Hiko answered Ōnoki with “Anytime!!!!” and led Konoha's forces away, staying at the rear to guard against an attack.
• Ōnoki shouted down his own shinobi when they protested Konoha's withdrawal, condemning them for fleeing despite greatly outnumbering their pursuers.

Hiko returned to Konoha’s camp after driving back the allied Iwagakure and Sunagakure forces, but the battle left Konoha with nearly four hundred casualties. He explained how the defeat could sow discord between the allied villages, then went to rest while Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru handled the camp.

• Ōnoki ordered a retreat after Hiko’s counterattack, and his shaken forces withdrew toward camp.
• Hiko returned to Konoha, where Tsunade and the others organized the wounded and the camp.
• Hiko acknowledged that his plan had failed to prevent Hatake Sakumo and Uchiha Hayashi’s forces from being surrounded, leaving only a little over a hundred Konoha ninja able to fight.
• Hiko told Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru that Sunagakure’s collapse under pressure would create resentment between it and Iwagakure.
• Hiko left the camp’s affairs to the others and went to rest, and they assured him they would manage everything.

After Hiko’s brutal battle left him exhausted, he rested while the leaders of Sunagakure and Iwagakure reckoned with the failed encirclement and the losses caused by his intervention. The allied camps regrouped, shaken by Hiko’s strength and furious over the deaths of their elite shinobi.

• Hiko left casualty reports to Tsunade and the others, then bathed, changed, and fell into a heavy sleep.
• The Third Kazekage told Grandma Chiyo that Hiko was a terrifying opponent who had not seemed to use his full strength.
• Grandma Chiyo told the Third Kazekage that the encirclement had failed, with Hiko’s reinforcements and the fleeing shinobi causing heavy losses and a collapse in morale.
• The Third Kazekage ordered Sunagakure to rest and regroup before fighting Konoha again.
• Ōnoki returned to Iwagakure’s camp and cursed the shinobi whose panic had ruined the plan, lamenting the loss of more than ten Elite Jonin.

After waking from a deep sleep, Hiko discovered that his eyes had changed into the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. The Third Elder recognized the change, though he wondered how it had happened overnight.

• Hiko woke feeling restored but ravenously hungry and ordered meat brought to the Command Center.
• A guard noticed that Hiko's eyes had gained new lines and told him they looked different.
• Hiko demanded a mirror and meat, then waited anxiously to see whether his eyes had changed as he hoped.
• Tsunade noticed Hiko's eyes when he entered the Command Center, and Orochimaru and the Third Elder looked up.
• The Third Elder recognized Hiko's eyes as the Eternal Mangekyo and wondered how the transformation had happened overnight.

Hiko told the Third Elder that the Mangekyo was not the limit of the Uchiha Clan’s power, leaving him and the others stunned by Hiko’s changed eyes. The conversation turned to jokes and food as Hiko examined his reflection.

• Hiko explained that the Uchiha Mangekyo was not the clan’s ultimate power, while the Third Elder, Tsunade, and Orochimaru considered what that meant.
• Jiraiya called Hiko a freak, and Hiko insulted him in return.
• A servant brought Hiko barbecue and a mirror, and Hiko warned Jiraiya not to touch the food.
• Hiko looked in the mirror and saw six hooked commas joined together in a strange pattern in his eyes.

Hiko examined his changed Sharingan before arguing with Jiraiya over barbecue and deciding Konoha would rest and regroup after the costly battle. He refused to request reinforcements and went to the Medical Department to check on Hatake Sakumo and Uchiha Hayashi.

• Hiko noticed his eyes combined features of Sasuke's and Itachi's Sharingan, then argued with Jiraiya over the barbecue.
• Hiko discussed the battle's losses and ordered Konoha to rest and regroup while exploiting tensions between Iwagakure and Sunagakure.
• Hiko refused to request reinforcements, and Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and the Third Elder accepted that he would make the decision as Commander-in-Chief.
• Hiko left the Command Center and headed to the Medical Department to visit Hatake Sakumo and Uchiha Hayashi.

Hiko visited the wounded Hatake Sakumo and Uchiha Hayashi, reassured them, and promised to handle the conflict with Iwagakure and Sunagakure. He hinted that he planned to exploit the enemy forces’ fear and internal tensions, leaving his strategy undisclosed.

• Hiko stopped the wounded from getting up to salute and visited Hatake Sakumo and Uchiha Hayashi in their ward.
• Hiko teased the two about their friendship and their wives, then admitted he felt responsible for their injuries after Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage sent forces to surround them.
• Hiko told Hatake Sakumo and Uchiha Hayashi to recover so they could return to battle and help drive Iwagakure and Sunagakure away.
• Hatake Sakumo asked about Hiko’s pursuit of the enemy, and Hiko said he had killed many but Konoha had also suffered severe losses.
• Hiko hinted that he intended to use the fear and tensions within the enemy villages, but kept his plan secret.

As Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure regrouped during the war, Hiko’s actions left Ōnoki struggling to manage frightened shinobi, while the Third Hokage worried over Konoha’s losses and Hiko’s refusal to request reinforcements. Back in Konoha, Mikoto Uchiha and the Kyuku Uzumaki sisters longed for Hiko’s return, with Kushina learning that the war might keep him away for years.

• Hiko visited wounded Konoha shinobi and encouraged them before leaving the Medical Department.
• Ōnoki discovered that many Sunagakure shinobi and some Iwagakure shinobi remained traumatized by Hiko, and he grew increasingly angry as their condition failed to improve.
• The Third Hokage reviewed reports of Konoha’s losses and worried because Hiko had refused to request reinforcements.
• Mikoto Uchiha complained that her father would not let her go to the frontline and wished the war would end before her graduation exams.
• Kushina asked Kyuku Uzumaki why Hiko had not returned, and Kyuku explained that the war might keep him away for one or two years.

Kyuku Uzumaki worried about Kushina becoming the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki while Hiko worked to keep the plan suppressed. Hiko and Jiraiya staged an argument between Sunagakure and Iwagakure patrols to fuel distrust, then Hiko warned Jiraiya to stop peeping on Female Ninjas.

• Kyuku Uzumaki hoped Hiko would return and feared the village would seal the Nine-Tails inside Kushina.
• Hiko had persuaded the Third Hokage to suppress the proposal to make Kushina the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, and the Third Kazekage also kept the matter quiet.
• Hiko disguised his group as a Sunagakure patrol and had them insult Iwagakure near its patrol route.
• The Sunagakure and Iwagakure patrols argued over blame for their failed encirclement campaign, while Hiko and Jiraiya watched the quarrel unfold.
• Hiko told Jiraiya to handle the aftermath and warned him to stop peeping on Female Ninjas in camp.

Hiko used a staged dispute to deepen Iwagakure’s resentment toward Sunagakure, and the growing hostility soon erupted into a fight between the allied villages. He watched the chaos from the shadows, pleased that his plan was working.

• Hiko told Jiraiya to stop causing trouble in their camp and challenged him to spy on enemy kunoichi instead, then led him and Orochimaru back after they disguised three dead Sunagakure patrolmen in raincoats.
• The three Iwagakure ninja involved in an earlier argument complained privately about Sunagakure, and their story spread through the camp, worsening Iwagakure’s opinion of its ally.
• A few days later, Sunagakure ninja provoked Iwagakure patrolmen, and the two groups began fighting.
• Nearby ninja from both villages rushed in, mistook the commotion for an enemy attack, and joined the brawl rather than stopping it.
• Hiko watched from the shadows and laughed as Jiraiya’s vulgar provocation helped the fighting escalate.

Hiko turned a brawl between Iwagakure and Sunagakure into lasting resentment, then began targeting their forward outposts during the heavy rain. The chapter left him approaching an Iwagakure outpost, ready to attack.

• Hiko explained to Hatake Sakumo that the brawl would damage trust between the villages, even if Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage prevented it from escalating into war.
• Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage suppressed the brawl, but the Ninja of both villages remained resentful toward each other.
• Hiko left Konoha’s outposts withdrawn to prevent retaliation and chose to target enemy outposts and patrol teams instead of supply routes.
• Hiko used the heavy rain to approach an Iwagakure outpost while its Ninja chatted inside, unaware of his arrival.

Hiko silently attacked Iwagakure and Sunagakure’s outer strongholds, killing nearly two hundred people before returning to camp. The next morning, Akasa Jiro found a destroyed Sunagakure stronghold and sent word that it had been attacked.

• Hiko sealed a stronghold to block messages, killed its guards, and moved on without alerting nearby enemies.
• Hiko wiped out the occupants of a second stronghold and continued killing people at outer posts belonging to Iwagakure and Sunagakure.
• Hiko left the strongholds closest to the enemy camps untouched, then returned to camp after killing nearly two hundred enemy subordinates.
• Akasa Jiro smelled blood while leading a Sunagakure patrol and hurried toward stronghold B32.
• Akasa Jiro found corpses throughout the damaged stronghold, concluded that a powerful enemy had attacked, and ordered a message sent to camp.

Akasa Jiro discovered that enemy attacks had wiped out the nearby outposts, and the Third Kazekage and Ōnoki investigated similar massacres near their camps. The Third Kazekage identified Uchiha Hiko as the likely attacker and ordered heightened vigilance, while acknowledging that Konoha had withdrawn its outposts and patrols.

• Akasa Jiro found an outpost's occupants dead and hurried to check the next one, where he found another massacre.
• Akasa Jiro discovered that every nearby outpost had been attacked and sent word to the camp for help.
• Ōnoki investigated an Iwagakure outpost and confirmed that its occupants had been killed in a sudden attack.
• The Third Kazekage and Grandma Chiyo examined the Sunagakure outpost killings, and the Third Kazekage blamed Uchiha Hiko.
• The Third Kazekage noted that Konoha had likely withdrawn its outposts and patrols, then ordered increased vigilance and more frequent patrols.

After Uchiha Hiko’s attack devastated Iwagakure and Sunagakure’s strongholds, Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage worried about their losses and the possibility of another strike. Back at camp, Hiko’s companions insisted on joining his next mission, and he set out at night with Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Hatake Sakumo.

• Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage considered the losses among their support-type ninja and feared Hiko might attack again.
• Iwagakure and Sunagakure’s camps reacted with alarm to the destruction of their strongholds and rumors that Hiko had done it himself.
• Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Hatake Sakumo, and the Third Elder questioned Hiko about where he had gone, and he explained his raid.
• Hiko tested his companions’ ability to use Genjutsu to control enemies, then dismissed most of them as unsuitable for his next operation.
• Hiko went out into the rainy night with Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Hatake Sakumo following behind him.

Hiko led a group into enemy territory to target patrol squads after Sunagakure and Iwagakure tightened security at their strongholds. Orochimaru captured a Sunagakure patrol, and Hiko weighed whether the plan could work against Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage's vigilance.

• Hiko brought Uchiha Hayashi, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Hatake Sakumo along, but told Jiraiya and Tsunade they were only there to watch.
• Jiraiya demanded a role, so Hiko offered him a frontal assault and capture duty; Jiraiya quickly withdrew his complaint.
• Hiko found enemy strongholds rebuilt and more alert, so he led the group around them to avoid detection.
• Hiko encountered a Sunagakure patrol and ordered Orochimaru to control its three Chunin members.
• Orochimaru captured the patrol, and Hiko said the group would need Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage to let their guard down for the plan to succeed.

Hiko took Jiraiya toward Sunagakure's heavily guarded camp, intending to create chaos there despite Jiraiya's protests. The chapter left them at the camp's inspection point, where the controlled Yitansong's silence aroused suspicion.

• Hiko ordered Tsunade, Orochimaru, Hatake Sakumo, and Uchiha Hayashi to withdraw and watch while Jiraiya accompanied him to Sunagakure's camp.
• Hiko told Jiraiya to summon his Great Toad and cause trouble once the camp descended into chaos.
• Hiko used darkness to conceal himself and Jiraiya as they approached the camp's guarded entrance.
• Hiko warned Jiraiya to stay quiet and threatened to use him as a distraction if he kept protesting.
• Hiko sent the controlled Yitansong through inspection as bait, but Yitansong's silence made Sunagakure's inspectors suspicious.