Chapter Summaries

Ronglin took White Fang and Minato to a livestock farm and assigned them the punishing task of cleaning poultry cages. They began moving the birds despite the stench and the exhausting work ahead.

• Ronglin brought White Fang and Minato to a farm outside Konoha, shocking the farm owner with their presence.
• Ronglin told White Fang and Minato to move the poultry, shovel out the droppings, and wash the cages, warning that they would get no food if they failed to finish.
• White Fang and Minato protested inwardly but picked up the tools and entered the farm.
• White Fang began catching chickens, and Minato joined him as they started moving the poultry into clean cages.

Ronglin sent White Fang and Minato to complete farm work meant for three genin teams as a lesson, then relaxed while they labored. They finished late that night, smelling so foul that people recoiled from them.

• Ronglin assigned White Fang and Minato the farm work alone and told them to take their time.
• Ronglin moved away from the odor, rested beneath a tree, and sent Shisui to get food.
• White Fang and Minato hurriedly handled the ducks and chickens, and White Fang covered his face with a cloth.
• The farm owner served them a meal, which White Fang and Minato forced themselves to eat despite their nausea.
• White Fang and Minato finished the work after ten that night, and people complained about their smell.

Ronglin made White Fang and Minato perform humiliating D-rank missions for a month before leaving Konoha and entrusting village affairs to White Fang. Back on the front lines, Ronglin faced a new development as Kirigakure joined the Small Nations Alliance, provoking the other great villages.

• Ronglin led White Fang and Minato back to Konoha covered in chicken droppings, and word of their stench spread through the village.
• For a month, Ronglin assigned White Fang and Minato a succession of unpleasant novice missions, including cleaning toilets and streets.
• Before returning to the front lines, Ronglin teased White Fang and Minato and left village affairs in White Fang's hands.
• One month after Ronglin returned to the village, Kirigakure joined the war on the side of the Small Nations Alliance.
• Kirigakure's decision severed its standing with the Five Great Ninja Villages and angered the other four great villages.

Kirigakure’s alliance with the Small Nations Alliance baffled the other villages, while its strength brought the war to a stalemate. Ronglin traveled toward the front with Minato, Kisame Hoshigaki, Shisui, reinforcements, and supplies, suspecting Akatsuki meant to weaken and absorb Kirigakure through the war.

• Kirigakure joined the Small Nations Alliance in its war against the Four Great Ninja Villages, turning the conflict into a stalemate with its large force.
• Ronglin set out for the battlefield with Kisame Hoshigaki, Shisui, Minato, fresh reinforcements, and a supply unit to protect the supplies on the journey.
• Minato asked Ronglin why Kirigakure had allied with and supported the Small Nations Alliance.
• Ronglin privately suspected Akatsuki was using the war to drain Kirigakure’s forces and weaken its leaders so it could absorb the village.

Ronglin arrived at the crowded Allied camp to join the command after months of delay, complaining about Kirigakure’s mist tactics. He found Ōnoki, Rasa, Ay, and Tsunade grim-faced and was told to look at something.

• Ronglin explained that Kirigakure’s Genin were only a small part of its forces and that Chunin and Elite Chunin remained the main fighters.
• Ronglin reached the camp and complained about the thick mist that made fighting Kirigakure dangerous.
• Ronglin left Kisame Hoshigaki and Shisui to organize supplies and brought Minato with him to the Command Center.
• Ōnoki, Rasa, Ay, and Tsunade appeared grim when Ronglin entered, and Ōnoki told him to take a look.

Ronglin reviewed the Allied forces’ losses and advised them to disperse the fog, even if it pushed the enemy toward the sea. He proposed cutting off Kirigakure’s supply routes and left Ōnoki and the others to consider the plan.

• Ronglin read reports of the villages’ losses and learned that the heavy fog had made Allied ninja vulnerable to ambushes.
• Tsunade explained that the leaders had hesitated to disperse the fog because the enemy might retreat toward the sea.
• Ronglin urged the leaders to let the enemy retreat and argued that supplying troops at sea would be difficult.
• Ronglin told Ay to have the Land of Lightning watch Kirigakure’s supply convoys and proposed cutting off the enemy’s supplies.

The Kage agreed to Uchiha Ronglin’s proposal to make the enemy retreat by advancing their army. Ronglin left the detailed planning to Commander-in-Chief Ōnoki, who realized he had mistakenly expected Ronglin to handle his duties.

• Ōnoki asked Rasa and Ay whether they agreed to Ronglin’s plan, and both accepted.
• Ōnoki approved the plan and asked Ronglin to explain how to carry it out.
• Ronglin said the army should advance and the enemy would retreat, then pointed out that Ōnoki was responsible for arranging the details.
• Ōnoki realized he had neglected his role as Commander-in-Chief, while Minato, Rasa, and Ay reacted to his mistake.
• Ronglin told the others to discuss the arrangements and inform him once they had decided.

Ronglin returned from the Command Center and learned that Rasa and Ay were clashing over their villages’ war losses. He and Minato decided not to interfere, believing the exhausted armies were nearing a decisive battle.

• Ronglin left the Command Center with Tsunade and Minato, preferring to let Ōnoki handle the alliance’s disputes.
• Tsunade told Ronglin that Ōnoki could barely keep Ay and Rasa in check, and the two leaders refused to yield to each other.
• Ronglin asked whether they should intervene, but Minato advised against it because both Rasa and Ay feared bearing more losses than the other.
• Ronglin praised Tsunade for staying out of the conflict and predicted that the war’s final decisive battle was approaching.
• Tsunade said the Small Nations Alliance had lost most of its forces, while Kirigakure’s remaining fighters were relatively capable ninja.

Ronglin and Tsunade discussed the devastation in the small nations and the growing refugee crisis. Ronglin considered annexing their territory, while refugees were already moving into the major countries, especially the Land of Fire.

• Tsunade estimated that only about five thousand people remained in the small nations, down from more than thirty thousand.
• Ronglin considered swiftly annexing nearby small nations and was willing to risk war with the other villages to seize their territory.
• Tsunade predicted that the small nations would need at least twenty years to recover from the war.
• Tsunade explained that conscription and supply requisitions had driven refugees from the small nations into major countries.
• Tsunade told Ronglin that most refugees were willing to enter the Land of Fire.

Ronglin concluded that Konoha’s rapid growth required removing the Land of Fire’s Daimyo and taking control of the country’s resources, though doing so would risk chaos and retaliation. He left the plan as an idea that would require careful preparation and allies.

• Ronglin argued that the Land of Fire could support more people, while Tsunade and Minato reacted to his thoughts about the refugees.
• Ronglin assessed the costs of resettling refugees, including housing, food, farmland, and supplies until the second harvest.
• Ronglin decided that removing the Daimyo would let Konoha secure more money and people, strengthen itself, and eventually attack other countries for resources.
• Ronglin considered the risks of ruling the Land of Fire directly, including unrest, opposition from the Daimyo, and the possibility that the Daimyo would fund rival villages.

Ronglin considered targeting the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, while Kirigakure’s Hozuki Clan Head struggled with his forced role as commander against the Four Great Ninja Villages. The war continued to devastate the Small Nations Alliance and Kirigakure, whose fog techniques helped them resist the alliance.

• Ronglin looked back toward the Land of Fire with a cold smile, making Tsunade and Minato suspect that someone was about to suffer.
• News of Ronglin’s arrival unsettled the Small Nations Alliance and Kirigakure as they discussed how to face the Four Great Ninja Villages Alliance.
• The Hozuki Clan Head cursed the Daimyo and Yagura for appointing him Commander-in-Chief to lead a war he believed could not be won.
• Akatsuki had pushed the powerful Hozuki Clan Head into command to weaken his influence and make Kirigakure easier to control.
• The Small Nations Alliance had dwindled from five-digit numbers to four, and Kirigakure’s entry had not turned the tide despite its secret techniques and dense fog.

The Hozuki Clan Head learned that Uchiha Ronglin had returned to the battlefield and feared Kirigakure could not withstand him or the Four Great Ninja Villages Alliance. He suspected the alliance was preparing a major move as the long war continued.

• A Hozuki clansman told the Hozuki Clan Head that Konoha's Fourth Hokage, Uchiha Ronglin, had arrived at the battlefield.
• The Hozuki Clan Head worried that Ronglin's return would undermine Kirigakure's morale and recalled his terrifying strength against Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju.
• The Hozuki Clan Head told the clansman that Kirigakure lacked the strength and resources to fight several great ninja villages at once.
• The Hozuki Clan Head suspected the Four Great Ninja Villages Alliance was preparing a major move after months of fighting and heavy casualties.

The Hozuki Clan Head worried that the alliance could neither retreat nor withstand the enemy, but believed Uchiha Ronglin would stay off the battlefield. At the Four Great Ninja Villages Alliance command center, Ōnoki proposed the armies’ positions for their next advance.

• The Hozuki Clan Head discussed the danger of retreating or counterattacking and ordered his clansman to contain panic.
• The Hozuki Clan Head said he instinctively believed Uchiha Ronglin would not personally fight on the front lines.
• Ronglin stayed away from the battlefield because he felt he did not need to prove himself and expected to handle matters after the war.
• Representatives of the four villages met at the alliance command center to decide their positions for the advance.
• Ōnoki assigned Iwagakure and Konoha to the center, Sunagakure to Iwagakure’s flank, and Kumogakure to Konoha’s flank to reduce tensions between the villages.

Ronglin addressed Konoha’s two thousand ninja before the Four Great Ninja Villages’ joint operation. He reminded them of the day’s deployment and ordered those staying behind to protect the Medical Department.

• Ōnoki set the attack for one hour later after Ay and Rasa agreed to the plan.
• Ronglin, Ay, and Rasa left the Command Center to join their villages’ forces.
• Ronglin greeted Konoha’s two thousand assembled ninja and spoke about their upcoming operation.
• Ronglin told those who could not deploy to guard the Medical Department and joked about making them run naked back to Konoha if anything went wrong.

Ronglin rallied Konoha’s forces with jokes about driving Kirigakure’s water users into the sea and herding them like ducks. The four villages deployed across the battlefield, and their charge through the fog alerted the enemy scouts.

• Ronglin warned that the medical team had to avoid mistakes and that the fighting would be deadly.
• Ronglin urged the troops to drive every enemy into the sea, calling the plan duck herding.
• Konoha’s forces laughed and shouted along with Ronglin as the other villages watched in confusion.
• The four villages left camp under their Kage and charged toward their assigned positions through the fog.
• Enemy scouts spotted the advancing forces and rushed to warn the Commander-in-Chief.

The Four Great Ninja Villages launched a massive surprise attack on the Kirigakure and Small Nations Alliance forces. The Hozuki Clan Head ordered a retreat as the attackers overwhelmed the defenders.

• An Intelligence Department member reported to the Hozuki Clan Head that at least ten thousand enemies were advancing and that the Four Great Ninja Villages had all mobilized.
• The Hozuki Clan Head ordered a small force to hold off the attackers while everyone else retreated.
• The Four Great Ninja Villages' forces surged forward, throwing the Kirigakure and Small Nations Alliance ninjas into panic.
• The fleeing Kirigakure ninjas raced toward their camp, leaving the Small Nations Alliance ninjas lost in the mist behind them.

Ronglin kept Konoha behind Iwagakure and Sunagakure as they charged the enemy camp, aiming to spare his own ninja from traps and needless casualties. Ay misread his caution as a scheme, then stepped on a trap himself.

• Ay asked Ronglin whether Konoha should charge, but Ronglin said they should follow behind the Stone Ninja led by Ōnoki and avoid the traps.
• Iwagakure and Sunagakure charged the enemy camp, catching the enemy off guard and throwing it into chaos.
• Ay gave Ronglin a sly thumbs-up, suspecting he had set up Iwagakure and Sunagakure, and Ronglin told him to stop imagining things.
• Ronglin destroyed a trap as he walked, while Ay followed and stepped on another.
• Ronglin warned the others to spread out and be careful after finding Ay standing on the trap.

Ronglin refused to help Ay disarm an Explosive Tag trap, and Ay’s temper caused it to detonate around him. Ronglin mocked Ay for failing to dodge with his speed or Lightning Release Armor, leaving the Kumogakure ninja stunned and Konoha’s ninja laughing.

• Ronglin told everyone to stay away from the trap while Ay stood inside it.
• Ay snapped a branch in anger, triggering dozens of Explosive Tags.
• Ronglin and Minato watched as the explosions engulfed Ay.
• Ay emerged soot-covered, and Ronglin mocked him for not using his speed or Lightning Release Armor to avoid the blast.
• Kumogakure's ninja stared in disbelief while some of Konoha's ninja laughed.

Ronglin mocked Ay for falling into a trap, then the Four Great Ninja Villages Alliance launched a surprise attack that forced Kirigakure and the Small Nations Alliance to retreat. The attackers pursued them toward the shore, but their haste exposed them to traps left behind.

• Ronglin told the Konoha ninja to learn from Ay’s mistake, drawing laughter from Konoha and awkward silence from Kumogakure.
• The Hozuki Clan Head ordered Kirigakure and the Small Nations Alliance to retreat after the Four Great Ninja Villages Alliance caught them unprepared.
• The allied forces charged with loud battle cries and drove their enemies into a panicked retreat toward the shore.
• The Iwagakure and Sunagakure ninja rushed after the fleeing forces, but several were killed by traps along the way.

Ronglin explained to Ay why Konoha and Kumogakure should advance slowly behind the main force, collecting supplies and evacuating wounded rather than charging after the fleeing enemy. Ay accepted Ronglin's plan and stopped worrying about what Ōnoki and Rasa might think.

• Ronglin ordered Konoha shinobi to carry wounded Sunagakure shinobi back to camp and gather abandoned supplies.
• Ay questioned whether it was appropriate for their forces to lag behind while Ōnoki and Rasa led the charge.
• Ronglin told Ay that the enemy was fleeing a massive offensive and that pursuing them would bring little benefit.
• Ronglin urged Ay to save supplies and protect Kumogakure's shinobi from traps and needless casualties.
• Ay decided to follow Ronglin's lead and leave the main force to Konoha.