Chapter Summaries

Uchiha Hiko and Uchiha Hayashi ambushed an Iwagakure supply convoy in a narrow mountain pass. Hiko unleashed a massive Water Style attack, and the Iwagakure ninjas raised an Earth Flow Wall to stop it.

• Hiko and Uchiha Hayashi hid near the narrow path and waited for the Iwagakure convoy to enter.
• Hiko kicked a boulder down to block the road, revealed himself, and demanded the convoy leave its supplies behind.
• The convoy leader recognized Uchiha Hiko and ordered someone to alert the Tsuchikage.
• Hiko used Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique as Uchiha Hayashi blocked the road behind the convoy with another boulder.
• The convoy leader and the Iwagakure ninjas combined their efforts to raise an Earth Flow Wall against the oncoming water.

Hiko used a powerful flood to destroy Iwagakure’s transport convoy and supplies, leaving most of its ninjas to drown. He ordered Uchiha Hayashi to capture the surviving captain as he departed, while the captain blamed Hiko and defended Ōnoki.

• Hiko’s flood shattered the Earth Flow Wall Technique barriers protecting Iwagakure’s convoy.
• The flood swept away the supplies and drowned most of the transport team before stopping at the boulders Uchiha Hayashi had dropped.
• The transport captain cursed Hiko, who told him to blame Ōnoki for waging war on Konoha with the Third Kazekage.
• Hiko ordered Uchiha Hayashi to capture the captain and break all four of his limbs, then left the ruined convoy behind.

Uchiha Hiko’s team intercepted Iwagakure’s supplies and left a wounded transport captain behind, while Hiko spared him and let him try to survive until rescue. After learning the supply routes had been cut, Ōnoki ordered a large force sent from the village to surround and eliminate Hiko.

• At Hiko’s signal, Uchiha Hayashi left a kunai beside the wounded Iwagakure captain and taunted him about surviving until rescue.
• Hiko asked Uchiha Hayashi whether he should have killed the captain, and Uchiha Hayashi said he did not know.
• Ōnoki wondered why Konoha’s offensive had slowed and ordered his forces to stay alert for a trap.
• Two Iwagakure ninja reported that Uchiha Hiko had infiltrated the Land of Earth and intercepted their supply transport.
• Ōnoki ordered the wounded rescued, the dead and unusable supplies buried, and a large force dispatched to surround and eliminate Hiko.

Hiko destroyed three Iwagakure supply convoys and discovered that Ōnoki had used them as bait to lure him into an encirclement by several thousand shinobi. As the army closed in, Hiko prepared to fight alongside Uchiha Hayashi and asked him about Uchiha Madara.

• Hiko intercepted and destroyed three Iwagakure supply convoys in five days, leaving no survivors from the last two.
• Hiko sensed a large Iwagakure force approaching and told Uchiha Hayashi that Ōnoki had sent an army to encircle them.
• Hiko instructed Uchiha Hayashi to stay close and pick off stragglers during the battle.
• Several thousand Iwagakure shinobi, led by Elite Jonin, surrounded Hiko and Uchiha Hayashi as Ōnoki ordered the village to keep Hiko in the Land of Earth.
• Hiko asked Uchiha Hayashi what kind of person Uchiha Madara had been.

Hiko explained to Uchiha Hayashi how Konoha had diminished Uchiha Madara and the Uchiha Clan, then used the approaching Iwagakure army to show him the clan’s power. The chapter ended with Hiko manifesting his hundred-meter-tall Perfect Form Susanoo as thousands of Iwagakure ninja charged.

• Hiko told Uchiha Hayashi that Konoha’s leaders feared the Uchiha Clan’s power and had downplayed Uchiha Madara after the clan’s defeat.
• Hiko said the Uchiha Sharingan held limitless potential and hinted that the battle might help Uchiha Hayashi awaken the Mangekyo.
• Iwagakure’s ninja army surrounded Hiko and Uchiha Hayashi, then charged on an Elite Jonin’s command.
• The Iwagakure ninja launched a rain of Kunai and shuriken fitted with Explosive Tags at Hiko and Uchiha Hayashi.
• Hiko summoned his Perfect Form Susanoo, which knocked away the weapons and towered over the Iwagakure army.

Hiko unleashed his Perfect Form Susanoo against the Iwagakure army and slaughtered the ninjas trying to surround him. Iwagakure forces then used Earth Style techniques to trap Susanoo’s feet and bombard him with rocks.

• Hiko summoned his Perfect Form Susanoo and effortlessly destroyed the kunai and shuriken barrage, also striking down distant mountains.
• Hiko charged into the Iwagakure ranks, killing large numbers of ninjas with Susanoo’s enormous crimson katana while Uchiha Hayashi followed behind him.
• Iwagakure’s commanders rallied their troops and used the Rock Lodging Collapse Technique to make Susanoo sink into loosened ground.
• With Susanoo’s feet buried in rock, Iwagakure ninjas hurled chunks of stone at Hiko using the Earth Mausoleum Dumpling Technique.

Hiko endured Iwagakure’s rock attacks and mudslide technique inside his Perfect Form Susanoo, then counterattacked with Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence. The attack devastated the surrounding ninja, leaving the survivors terrified of him.

• Hiko mocked the Iwagakure ninja as their rocks failed to damage his Susanoo.
• Iwagakure ninja combined their chakra to use Earth Style: Mud Flow River Technique, burying the Susanoo’s legs and accelerating Hiko’s chakra consumption.
• Hiko dismissed their efforts and announced that he would return their earlier barrage of ninja tools with an attack of his own.
• Hiko used Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence, firing wooden spikes into the clustered Iwagakure ninja.
• The spikes pierced many ninja and grew into branches inside their bodies, causing survivors to cry that Hiko was a devil and retreat in fear.

Uchiha Hiko used Susanoo to rout Iwagakure’s army, then left the Land of Earth with Uchiha Hayashi. Ōnoki received shocking news at the camp command center, but the chapter ended before revealing what he heard.

• Hiko broke free of Iwagakure’s sealing and drove the fleeing ninja into a chaotic retreat, killing many with Susanoo.
• Uchiha Hayashi pursued the Iwagakure forces alongside Hiko as their army collapsed into disorder.
• Hiko dismissed Susanoo, decided against pursuing the scattered army, and predicted the defeat could force Iwagakure and Sunagakure to withdraw from the Land of Rain.
• Hiko took Hayashi and left the Land of Earth, watching for signs that Hayashi had changed, but saw none.
• Ōnoki waited in Iwagakure’s camp command center and reacted in shock to incoming news.

Ōnoki learned that Uchiha Hiko had routed Iwagakure’s force and left the camp crowded with dead, wounded, and shaken ninja, preventing it from attacking Konoha in the short term. Seeing Iwagakure’s losses and Sunagakure’s own weakened state, the Third Kazekage decided Sunagakure should prepare to retreat.

• Ōnoki heard that Hiko had slaughtered more than a thousand Iwagakure ninja and driven the survivors into flight, then exploded with rage.
• Kitsuchi left the Command Center and organized the handling of the dead, wounded, and returning deserters while Ōnoki remained alone.
• Ōnoki suspected Hiko had deliberately drawn Iwagakure into the disastrous confrontation and worried that the shaken survivors would undermine morale.
• The Third Kazekage received intelligence about Iwagakure’s losses and concluded Sunagakure must prepare to retreat because Konoha had won the war in the Land of Rain.

Grandma Chiyo and the Third Kazekage expected Iwagakure and Sunagakure to withdraw from the Land of Rain, but believed the broader war would continue. They discussed how Uchiha Hiko’s command had disrupted their plans and predicted Konoha might replace him before the chapter ended with an angry Third Elder confronting Hiko.

• Grandma Chiyo questioned whether Iwagakure would withdraw, and the Third Kazekage said Ōnoki would pull back to prevent morale from collapsing.
• The Third Kazekage explained that the war would continue beyond the Land of Rain, with all three villages unwilling to accept defeat.
• Grandma Chiyo agreed that Sunagakure should prepare to withdraw once Iwagakure moved, despite her humiliation at their failed joint campaign.
• The Third Kazekage and Grandma Chiyo speculated that Hiko might lose command and be kept in Konoha while another commander took over.
• Hiko returned to camp and encountered the furious Third Elder.

Hiko returned to the Command Center after defeating Iwagakure’s force and predicted that Sunagakure and Iwagakure would soon withdraw from the Land of Rain battlefield. Third Elder worried that Konoha’s next war would leave the Uchiha sidelined, while Hiko accepted that he would likely be kept out of the fighting and wondered what had caused the Senju Clan’s decline.

• Hiko teased Third Elder about his worries after Iwagakure’s failed attempt to eliminate him.
• Third Elder explained that Konoha’s offensive had stabilized after Hiko left, while Iwagakure had slowed its advance and sent forces after him.
• Hiko predicted that Sunagakure and Iwagakure would soon withdraw because of their losses and the strain on their forces.
• Third Elder warned that the Land of Rain battle was only the beginning and that Konoha might face a wider war, possibly involving Kumogakure.
• Hiko said he expected to be kept out of the coming war, prompting Third Elder to lament that the Uchiha would miss a chance to earn merit.
• Hiko reassured Third Elder that the Uchiha would rise in time, then left the Command Center and considered whether the Second Ninja War had caused the Senju Clan’s decline.

After washing up, Hiko considered how the war might unfold as Ōnoki weighed Iwagakure’s worsening supply and morale problems. Ōnoki ordered a withdrawal, and the Third Kazekage began preparing Sunagakure to leave as well, bringing the Land of Rain battlefield toward a Konoha victory.

• Hiko washed away the sweat and dirt from the battlefield and considered whether to involve himself in the Uzumaki Clan’s situation.
• Ōnoki’s secretary reported that Iwagakure had wounded ninja, unstable troops, and dwindling medicine after Hiko destroyed its supply routes.
• Ōnoki ordered the wounded and emotionally unstable ninja sent home while the remaining combat personnel covered Iwagakure’s retreat.
• Ōnoki vowed to himself that Hiko would not influence the war forever.
• After learning that Iwagakure was withdrawing, the Third Kazekage ordered Sunagakure to prepare its supplies and send away its wounded.

Iwagakure and Sunagakure withdrew from the Land of Rain, and Konoha began preparing to leave with its supplies. Hiko learned that Jiraiya had taken in three ordinary war orphans, while the Land of Rain remained in chaos after the villages departed.

• Konoha's forces celebrated Iwagakure and Sunagakure's withdrawal, though Tsunade and Hiko noted that the wider war would continue.
• Tsunade told Hiko that Jiraiya had taken in three war orphans and intended to teach them, angering her and Orochimaru.
• Hiko asked what the children looked like and learned they were malnourished, ordinary children rather than Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.
• Hiko ordered Konoha's forces to sort and transport their supplies before leaving the Land of Rain.
• Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure departed, leaving rogue ninja behind to terrorize the Land of Rain and burden Hanzo of the Salamander.

Hiko returned to Konoha after the fighting in the Land of Rain and prepared to discuss the Nine-Tails and Kushina at a leadership meeting. At home, Kushina unexpectedly walked in on Hiko and Kyuku Uzumaki beneath a blanket, leaving her embarrassed and uneasy.

• Hiko returned to Konoha ahead of the main force, reported to the Third Hokage, and agreed to attend the next day's meeting.
• Hiko decided to raise the matter of the Nine-Tails and Kushina before the village leadership rather than discuss it privately with the Third Hokage.
• Hiko asked Kyuku Uzumaki about the Uzumaki Clan, and she said their correspondence had grown less frequent as the war made the Land of Whirlpools nervous.
• Kushina came home from school and burst into Hiko's bedroom, where she found Hiko and Kyuku beneath a blanket.
• Hiko told Kushina to leave, then got dressed and beckoned her over after she waited uneasily in the courtyard.

Hiko reassured Kushina about her Little Chili Pepper nickname and promised to teach her if she ranked in the top three at school. After returning to Konoha from the Land of Rain, he settled in with Kyuku Uzumaki and Kushina as news of his return spread through the village.

• Hiko asked Kushina about school, encouraged her to stand up to anyone who teased her, and offered to teach her if she made the top three in her grade.
• Kushina made a pinky promise with Hiko and hurried off to study.
• Kyuku Uzumaki agreed to teach Kushina Sealing Jutsu while Hiko said he would personally help with her other studies.
• Hiko asked Kyuku Uzumaki to cook because he was tired of frontline food and barbecue.
• News spread across Konoha that Uchiha Hiko had returned, and villagers admired his record against Iwagakure and Sunagakure in the Land of Rain.

Hiko visited the Hokage’s office as villagers hailed him as a hero, then rejected Takigakure’s request for help recovering the Seven-Tails. Takigakure was left to accept its loss because it had no proof against Konoha and could not risk declaring war.

• Hiko went to the Hokage’s office, where the Third Hokage dismissed the other ninjas before discussing Takigakure’s complaint with him.
• Hiko told the Third Hokage to ignore Takigakure’s protests and said the village should catch the Seven-Tails itself.
• Takigakure, unable to prove Konoha had taken the Seven-Tails and unwilling to declare war, asked Konoha for help recovering it.
• Hiko refused, explaining that his contract with the Seven-Tails had been severed and he could not help.

Hiko and the Third Hokage discussed the Seven-Tails and Konoha’s wartime plans before joining a meeting about the coming war with Sunagakure. Hiruzen Sarutobi publicly praised Hiko’s service in the Land of Rain, while Hiko prepared to raise his demands.

• Hiko told the Third Hokage that Konoha would provide Takigakure with the Seven-Tails’ general location but would not help capture it.
• The Third Hokage revealed that Kumogakure’s Third Raikage had agreed to attack Iwagakure if Konoha limited its war, and Hiko joked that the Third Hokage had acted underhandedly.
• A guard summoned the Third Hokage and Hiko to a meeting, where the Third Hokage said Hiko could raise his demands openly.
• The Third Hokage began the meeting by praising Uchiha Hiko’s victories in the Land of Rain on behalf of Konoha, and Hiko thanked him and the village.

At a meeting about Konoha’s coming war with Sunagakure, Uchiha Hiko declined to compete for command and demanded the Nine-Tails as his reward. He said he would wait until Mito Uzumaki’s death and claimed he wanted the beast as a Summoned Beast, leaving the village’s leaders stunned and uncertain.

• The Third Hokage said Iwagakure would not join the fighting, leaving Konoha to face only Sunagakure, and asked who should command the next battle.
• Uchiha Hiko said he would follow the village’s arrangements, and the Third Hokage raised the need to reward Hiko for his battlefield merits.
• Uchiha Hiko demanded the Nine-Tails, saying he would wait for the right time and would ask for nothing else for now.
• The Third Hokage asked why Hiko wanted the Nine-Tails, and Hiko claimed he lacked a Summoned Beast.
• Utatane Koharu questioned whether Hiko was joking, while the leaders recalled that he had previously used the Seven-Tails as a Summoned Beast.

Uchiha Hiko asked Konoha’s leaders to give him the Nine-Tails, forcing them to weigh the risks of empowering him against the beast’s lack of usefulness to the village. Hiruzen Sarutobi questioned whether anyone could tame the Nine-Tails, and the leaders unanimously said they could not.

• Hiko insisted that his request for the Nine-Tails was serious and said he would accept a refusal.
• Utatane Koharu and the other leaders looked to Hiruzen Sarutobi to decide how to respond, but he called on them to share their views.
• The leaders worried that Hiko’s power combined with the Nine-Tails could make him a threat, and Hiko challenged them to refuse if they suspected his loyalty.
• Hiruzen asked whether Konoha’s Jinchuriki could tame the Nine-Tails and use its power, and the leaders said it was impossible.
• Hiruzen asked what purpose the village had in keeping the Nine-Tails if no one could use its power.

Hiruzen Sarutobi approved Hiko’s claim to the Nine-Tails, delaying its extraction until Mito Uzumaki’s death. The meeting then turned to the war against Sunagakure, where Danzo emerged as the likely commander of Konoha’s forces.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi argued that Konoha should entrust the Nine-Tails to Hiko and declared his faith in his disciple.
• Hiko agreed to wait until Grandma Mito passed away before claiming the Nine-Tails, and the gathered leaders accepted Hiruzen’s proposal.
• Hiruzen opened a discussion about choosing a commander for Konoha’s campaign against Sunagakure in the Land of Wind.
• Mitokado Homura said the commander needed both strength and prestige, leading Hiko to conclude that Danzo would be chosen.
• Hiko silently welcomed Danzo’s likely appointment and decided not to interfere with him during the war.