Recaps

Kushina Uzumaki explained Minato Namikaze’s plan to blame an outside enemy for the Nine-Tails incident, and the Third Hokage approved it despite Shimura Danzō’s objections. Yuhara was promoted to Jōnin for his actions during the attack, then learned that Biwako Sarutobi had survived.

• Kushina Uzumaki told the Third Hokage and the Advisors that Minato believed the masked attacker was Madara Uchiha and wanted the incident blamed on an external party.
• Shimura Danzō argued that the Uchiha should be held responsible, but the Third Hokage overruled him and upheld Minato’s final order.
• The Third Hokage ordered Yuhara to keep Naruto Uzumaki’s status as a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki secret.
• The Third Hokage promoted Yuhara from Chunin to Jōnin, and Kushina Uzumaki defended the decision by proposing a special promotion criterion based on defeating the Nine-Tails.
• After Yuhara left the meeting, Kizuna told him that Biwako Sarutobi had pulled through.

Kushina organized support for the Fourth Hokage’s legacy while Kakashi joined a mission to catch spies leaking news of Minato’s death. After Kakashi rescued a hostage and killed a spy, his team discovered the girl was an Uchiha; meanwhile, Yuhara received another summons from the Third Hokage for an important mission.

• Kushina thanked Shibi Aburame, Aoba Yamashiro, Shiranui Genma, Namiashi Raidō, and Iwashi Tatami, then asked them to keep spreading their account of the incident.
• Kakashi and his teammates intercepted a spy who killed himself before Kakashi could question him, but they stopped his message lizard from escaping.
• Kakashi’s team continued hunting spies to delay news of the Fourth Hokage’s death from spreading beyond Konoha.
• When a spy took a little girl hostage, Kakashi used his Sharingan and Lightning Cutter to kill him, and his teammates caught the girl.
• Kakashi’s teammates realized the rescued girl was an Uchiha, while Yuhara was summoned by the Third Hokage for an important mission.

After recovering from the Nine-Tails incident, Yuhara met with the Third Hokage, who revealed Konoha’s official account of the attack and assigned him a diplomatic mission to Sunagakure. Yuhara accepted, and the Hokage allowed him to choose a companion for the journey.

• Yuhara recovered in the hospital, restored his Six Dimensions Seal, and was summoned by the Third Hokage after his discharge.
• Yuhara told the Third Hokage that the attacker used a Sharingan to control him and the Nine-Tails, and the Hokage explained Konoha would publicly blame the Cloud Hidden Ninja.
• The Third Hokage appointed Yuhara as an official envoy to Sunagakure to negotiate a peace agreement and explained that his strength and actions during the attack made him a suitable choice.
• Yuhara weighed the risks of traveling during wartime and accepted the mission after learning Sunagakure would be notified and receive him formally.
• The Third Hokage gave Yuhara Konoha’s negotiation limits and said he could choose one companion for the mission.

Yuhara chose a Root shinobi as his companion for the diplomatic mission to Sunagakure, and the Third Hokage took the shinobi from Shimura Danzō’s control. The chosen shinobi was Kou, who possessed Wood Style and the power of the God of Shinobi.

• Yuhara decided he needed a companion for the mission and asked the Third Hokage if he could choose from any shinobi in Konoha.
• Yuhara and the Third Hokage went to Root Organization, where Shimura Danzō gathered its shinobi at the Hokage’s command.
• Yuhara inspected the assembled Root shinobi and selected the short shinobi named Kou.
• Yuhara whispered that Kou was a Wood Style Ninja, and the Third Hokage ordered Danzō to let Kou accompany them.
• Shimura Danzō protested losing Kou, but the Third Hokage invoked Konoha’s interests and the Second Hokage’s teachings to overrule him.

Yuhara showed the Third Hokage that Kou could use Wood Style and asked him to remove Kou’s Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal. After the Hokage took Kou away, Kakashi brought Yuhara to meet Kushina at the Fourth Hokage’s home, where their conversation was about to begin.

• Yuhara explained that Kou had survived one of Orochimaru’s experiments and had used Wood Style in an underground base.
• Kou demonstrated Wood Style for the Third Hokage, who recognized it and agreed to have Danzo remove Kou’s Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.
• The Third Hokage took Kou temporarily, while Yuhara prepared for his trip to the Sand Village and realized he needed somewhere to live.
• Kakashi found Yuhara and escorted him to Kushina, who was recuperating at home with her baby.
• Yuhara arrived at the Fourth Hokage’s residence and saw Kushina with the baby, a visiting female ninja, and a young girl.

Yuhara met Kushina Uzumaki, thanked her for supporting his promotion, and urged her to carry on the Fourth Hokage’s plans. After Kushina learned Yuhara was heading to the Sand Village as a peace envoy, Kakashi went to the Third Hokage to ask about the mission.

• Yuhara thanked Kushina Uzumaki for speaking up for him, and Kushina thanked him for his actions during the Nine-Tails incident.
• Yuhara urged Kushina to continue the Fourth Hokage’s plans, and she began considering how to move forward for Naruto’s sake.
• Naruto began crying, so Yuhara took his leave while Kakashi cared for the baby.
• Kushina told Kakashi that Yuhara had been promoted to jonin and would travel to the Sand Village to negotiate a peace treaty.
• Kakashi went to the Hokage office building and told the Third Hokage he had heard about the Sand Village mission.

Yuhara and Tenzo set out from Konoha as peace envoys bound for the Sand Village, though neither knew the route. Kakashi joined them on the Third Hokage’s orders, leaving Yuhara worried that the already young mission team would look even less credible.

• Yuhara reviewed Konoha’s peace terms: maintain the status quo or withdraw from the Land of Rivers and restore its independence as a buffer zone.
• Konoha notified the Sand Village of its envoy and redeployed Jiraiya and Orochimaru to signal that it was prepared to fight if necessary.
• Yuhara and Tenzo left Konoha and talked about Tenzo’s past, including how Yuhara’s arrival in Orochimaru’s cell had led to Tenzo’s condition being exposed.
• Yuhara and Tenzo realized they did not know the way to the Sand Village, but Yuhara recalled that they only needed to reach Konoha’s frontline camp in the Land of Rivers.
• Kakashi arrived with the Third Hokage’s written order to join the mission, and Yuhara warned Tenzo that Kakashi brought misfortune to his teammates.

Yuhara led Kakashi and Tenzo on a diplomatic mission to Sunagakure, explaining that Konoha’s main objective was to gain room to deal with Killer B while remaining open to peace. After reaching Sunagakure safely, Yuhara faced days of delays before the Kazekage finally agreed to meet them.

• Yuhara kept command of the team and explained that the mission’s primary objective was to create an opportunity for Konoha to attack Killer B, while pursuing peace if Sunagakure negotiated pragmatically.
• Yuhara tested Tenzo by clasping hands with him, confirming that their techniques were connected and adding security to their journey.
• Three days later, Yuhara, Kakashi, and Tenzo met twelve Sunagakure escorts in the Land of Rivers and learned that radicals might try to kill the envoys.
• The escort brought the team safely across the desert and into Sunagakure, where they were lodged in a state guesthouse that also served to monitor them.
• Yuhara repeatedly presented Konoha’s position to different Sunagakure groups as the Kazekage delayed meeting them, until the Kazekage finally agreed to see the envoys.

The Fourth Kazekage rejected Konoha’s peace terms and prepared to kill Yuhara, Kakashi Hatake, and Tenzo. The envoys struck first, and Tenzo unleashed a vast Wood Release that overwhelmed the Kazekage’s golden sand and filled his office building with trees.

• The Fourth Kazekage and his advisors discussed rejecting the peace agreement and eliminating Konoha’s envoys.
• Yuhara presented Konoha’s proposed terms, but the Fourth Kazekage demanded that Konoha withdraw entirely from the Land of Rivers.
• The Fourth Kazekage refused to negotiate further and ordered his forces to surround the three envoys.
• Yuhara changed the mission to taking down the Kazekage, and the three prepared to attack.
• The Fourth Kazekage unleashed golden sand from the walls, but Yuhara channeled Nature Energy through Tenzo as Tenzo activated his First Hokage’s Cells.
• Tenzo used Pseudo-Sage Art: True Wood Release—Vast Birth of the Endless Sea of Trees, overwhelming the golden sand and filling the Kazekage’s office building with vegetation.

Yuhara, Tenzo, and Kakashi launched an assault on the Kazekage Building, trapping the Sand Village leaders inside as Yuhara fought Rasa, Chiyo, and Ebizo. Kakashi detonated twelve thousand Explosive Tags around Rasa, while Yuhara sealed him inside a metal sphere to contain the blasts.

• Tenzo's Wood Release isolated and began destroying the Kazekage Building, while Sand Village ninjas struggled to break in and rescue their leaders.
• Yuhara entered Balanced Mode and fought Rasa, Chiyo, and Ebizo as Kakashi defended Tenzo from the other Sand Village elites.
• Yuhara used his metal-controlling ability to destroy Chiyo's puppets and then struck Ebizo with a Wind Style: Rasenshuriken after Chiyo's prosthetic hand broke away.
• Yuhara pierced Rasa's golden-sand defense and wounded his shoulder, while Kakashi rushed behind Rasa and attached Explosive Tags to him.
• Kakashi revealed that he had prepared twelve thousand Explosive Tags, and Yuhara enclosed Rasa in a metal sphere as the tags began detonating inside.

Yuhara, Kakashi, and Tenzo escaped Sunagakure after defeating the Fourth Kazekage and fled toward the Land of Rivers. They hid near the Sunagakure defense line to recover, and Yuhara asked Kakashi why he had used the Mutual Multiplication Explosive Tag.

• Kakashi's Mutual Multiplication Explosive Tag detonated for over ten seconds inside Yuhara's golden sphere, leaving the Fourth Kazekage horribly burned.
• Yuhara reshaped the sphere into a marigold sculpture containing the Kazekage and declared the mission complete.
• Yuhara carried Kakashi and Tenzo through a passage opened by Tenzo's Tree Sea, then flew above Sunagakure as its ninjas pursued them.
• Yuhara used Mercury Lamp to delay the pursuers and caught a Giant Ballista spear, using its momentum to speed their escape.
• Kakashi and Tenzo blocked Sunagakure's entrance with Earth Flow Divide and Tree Sea Birth before the three flew toward the Land of Rivers.
• After Yuhara exhausted his Chakra, the three hid in the Land of Rivers to recover, and Yuhara asked Kakashi why he had used the technique.

After assassinating the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, Yuhara, Kakashi, and Tenzo escaped the Sand Village and reported to Orochimaru. Orochimaru responded by ordering an immediate strike against the Sand Village.

• Yuhara explained that Tenzo’s Wood Style and Kakashi’s newly mastered Mutual Multiplication Explosive Tag had helped them kill Rasa and Ebizo.
• Yuhara argued that the assassination had been self-defense and suggested Kakashi would receive the credit for the mission.
• Yuhara, Kakashi, and Tenzo rested, crossed the Sand Village’s defensive line, and reached the Konoha front-line camp at dawn.
• Yuhara told Orochimaru that the negotiations had failed and that the team had assassinated Rasa and Ebizo.
• Orochimaru summoned his adjutant and ordered ten elite squads to launch a surprise attack on the Sand Village.

Orochimaru led a covert Konoha force into Sunagakure while the village reeled from the Fourth Kazekage’s death. He launched a devastating assault with summoned snakes and prepared to summon Manda.

• Orochimaru ordered Yuhara and Tenzo to join a raid on Sunagakure, intending to observe them as they fought.
• Orochimaru took fewer than fifty Konoha troops by sea into the Land of Wind, bypassing Sunagakure’s defenses.
• Chiyo struggled to keep Sunagakure stable as rumors spread about the Fourth Kazekage’s death and ninjas worked to recover his remains from a golden sculpture.
• A Sunagakure commander called for retaliation against Konoha, but Orochimaru’s summoned snakes crashed into the village and began wrecking its buildings.
• Orochimaru moved through the chaos and prepared to summon Manda.

Orochimaru led Konoha’s surprise attack on Sunagakure, using summoned snakes to sow destruction before withdrawing and coordinating a second assault. Three days later, two thousand Konoha ninjas stood outside Sunagakure’s gates.

• Orochimaru took Yuhara, Kakashi, and Tenzo to Sunagakure ahead of the main force and had Yuhara launch him over the village’s defenses.
• Orochimaru summoned Manda and other snakes as Konoha’s elite squad attacked, while Yuhara, Kakashi, and Tenzo held a position on the cliff.
• Orochimaru found a golden flower guarded in the Kazekage Building and learned it was the Fourth Kazekage’s remains, altered by Konoha ninjas.
• Sunagakure regrouped and drove off the summoned snakes, forcing Orochimaru and Konoha’s attackers to withdraw by dawn.
• Orochimaru led the elite force back into the Land of Rivers, where it joined the forward camp and broke through Sunagakure’s defensive line.
• Three days later, two thousand Konoha ninjas arrived outside Sunagakure’s gates.

After Konoha’s army forced Sand Village to surrender, Yuhara helped recover the Fourth Kazekage’s remains and returned to Konoha with the surrender document. The chapter ended with a public welcome celebrating the war’s end, while Kakashi noted that one side’s joy meant another’s grief.

• After two days of Konoha troops threatening Sand Village, Chiyo delivered its surrender document to Orochimaru and agreed to make the village Konoha’s subordinate.
• Orochimaru accepted the surrender in principle, kept his army stationed outside the village, and sent Yuhara to take the document to the Third Hokage for a decision on the terms.
• Chiyo asked Konoha to recover the Fourth Kazekage’s remains, and Yuhara transformed the golden statue containing Rasa into a coffin.
• Chiyo apologized for Rasa’s decision, and Orochimaru ordered Yuhara, Kakashi, and Tenzo to return to Konoha with the surrender document.
• Yuhara, Kakashi, and Tenzo returned to a large public welcome in Konoha, where Kakashi remarked that one family’s laughter meant another’s tears.

Yuhara reported Konoha’s victory to the Third Hokage and persuaded him to give Kakashi the public credit for defeating the Fourth Kazekage. As Konoha’s propaganda made Kakashi famous, he confided his discomfort to Might Guy and resolved to grow stronger.

• Yuhara told the Third Hokage how he and his team defeated the Fourth Kazekage, then suggested crediting Kakashi to strengthen the village’s image and honor Minato’s legacy.
• The Third Hokage accepted Yuhara’s suggestion and decided to compensate Yuhara and Tenzo through their mission rewards.
• Konoha’s public account spread the story that Kakashi had defeated the Fourth Kazekage, making Kakashi’s fame rise as he tried to avoid the resulting praise.
• Might Guy found Kakashi at a training ground, encouraged him to turn the village’s expectations into reality, and called him his eternal rival.
• Kakashi resolved to improve his strength and invited Might Guy to spar, prompting Guy to cry with joy and embrace him.

Yuhara told Uchiha Shisui that an Uchiha had caused the Nine-Tails Incident and explained that Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki had protected the clan from punishment. Shisui was left shaken and questioning what he had heard after Yuhara disappeared.

• Shimura Danzō reviewed reports from the Land of Wind and considered his dwindling prospects of becoming Hokage.
• Yuhara prepared to advance his plans before he might be sent back to the battlefield against Kumogakure.
• Yuhara found Uchiha Shisui in the Uchiha residential district and asked what he knew about the Fourth Hokage's death.
• Yuhara told Shisui that an Uchiha controlling the Sharingan had caused the Nine-Tails rampage and that Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki had helped conceal the truth to prevent conflict with the clan.
• Yuhara urged Shisui to remember Kushina's protection of the Uchiha Clan, then left him alone to grapple with the revelation.

Yuhara visited Kushina Uzumaki and persuaded her to establish the Konoha Ninja Mutual-Aid Group, then entrusted her with reviewing his Six Dimensions Seal. Kushina agreed to the organization and began examining the seal, leaving Yuhara to return in two or three days for her findings.

• Yuhara visited Kushina Uzumaki with a fruit basket, and she praised his actions in the Land of Wind campaign.
• Yuhara proposed a civilian ninja mutual-aid organization to support returning ninja and provide further education for civilian ninja.
• Kushina Uzumaki agreed to establish the group and accepted Yuhara’s proposed name, the Konoha Ninja Mutual-Aid Group.
• Yuhara gave Kushina Uzumaki the Six Dimensions Seal formula and explained that it sealed Nature Energy his body could contain.
• Kushina Uzumaki identified security and regulation flaws in the seal and told Yuhara to return in two or three days.

As Konoha prepared for its final major offensive against Kumogakure, Yuhara received orders to join the northern front after settling on a home outside the village. He and his new squad departed for the Land of Rice, where the impending battle threatened to bring the war to its climax.

• Jiraiya received news that Sunagakure had surrendered and allied with the Land of Fire, leaving the northern front as the war’s next major conflict.
• Kushina Uzumaki improved Yuhara’s Six Dimensions Seal, while plans for her Ninja Mutual Aid Group stalled as Konoha’s leaders focused on the coming war.
• Yuhara showed Tenzo the plot of land he had bought outside Konoha and described his plans to build a home there.
• Kakashi summoned Yuhara and Tenzo to receive battlefield orders, assigning them to a squad led by Shibi Aburame alongside Aoba Yamashiro.
• Yuhara, Tenzo, Aoba Yamashiro, and Shibi Aburame joined a force of more than a hundred and set out for the Land of Rice.

Yuhara and his squad served on the Land of Rice front as Konoha and the Cloud Hidden maintained a tense standoff. When the Cloud Hidden's AB Brothers confronted Jiraiya, Yuhara challenged the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, leaving both sides poised for battle.

• Yuhara's squad completed reconnaissance duties and returned to the Konoha camp, where they saw Uchiha Shisui among the fighters.
• The standoff continued for another month as A and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki repeatedly attacked Konoha patrol squads.
• After Yuhara's squad heard a distress signal, Shibi Aburame ordered them to rush to the scene.
• Yuhara and his teammates arrived to find Jiraiya facing the Fourth Raikage and the Cloud Hidden's AB Brothers, with both sides holding back from battle.
• Yuhara stepped forward and told the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki that neither of them could change the course of a battle alone.

Jiraiya used the Yellow Spring Swamp and Gamabunta to send the Fourth Raikage flying, while Shibi Aburame stopped Killer B from transforming with his insects. The Raikage returned and charged Jiraiya again as Yuhara intercepted Killer B, whose blades barely affected him.

• Jiraiya trapped the Fourth Raikage in the Yellow Spring Swamp and summoned Gamabunta, who struck the Raikage into the sky.
• The Cloud Hidden Ninjas attacked Gamabunta with shuriken and Explosive Tags, and Gamabunta returned to Mount Myōboku.
• Killer B charged toward Konoha, but Shibi Aburame's insects drained his Tailed Beast Chakra and forced him to stop.
• The Fourth Raikage returned to the battlefield and told Killer B to target the Three Legendary Sannin before charging Jiraiya again.
• Yuhara intercepted Killer B, and their close-range clash left Killer B's hands numb while Yuhara's body absorbed the sword strikes.

Yuhara fought Killer B, but Killer B transformed into the Eight-Tails and overwhelmed Konoha’s forces. Jiraiya’s clone stalled the Fourth Raikage while he entered Sage Mode and returned to the battlefield, though his Toad Sages immediately bickered over his training.

• Yuhara’s metallic defense withstood Killer B’s Lightning Release, and he seized control of Killer B’s swords before Killer B escaped into a Tailed Beast Transformation.
• The Eight-Tails broke free of Tenzo’s Wood Release, leaving Konoha at a disadvantage against the Cloud Hidden forces.
• Jiraiya’s shadow clone used a summoned toad to absorb the Fourth Raikage’s punch and buy time.
• Jiraiya appeared in Sage Mode after ten minutes, and his allies struggled to recognize him because his appearance had become frog-like.
• Sage Fukasaku criticized Jiraiya’s Sage Mode while Sage Shima defended him, interrupting his dramatic return.

Jiraiya used Sage Mode to battle the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails while Yuhara discovered a new sensory ability by refining how he used Nature Energy. Yuhara cut off one of the Eight-Tails’ tentacles and launched a giant shuriken of Chakra at the Fourth Raikage.

• Jiraiya dodged the Fourth Raikage’s Lariat, seized him, and kicked him through a tree.
• Sage Fukasaku used a high-pressure water technique to sever one of the Eight-Tails’ tentacles.
• Yuhara sensed a distinction in Nature Energy, changed the markings of his Blood Loss Technique, and gained an expanded awareness of the battlefield.
• Yuhara used his new perception to evade the Eight-Tails’ attacks, then pierced and cut off one of its tentacles with mercury techniques.
• Killer B recognized Yuhara’s Mercury Lamp technique, and Yuhara launched a giant spinning Chakra shuriken at the Fourth Raikage.

Yuhara, Jiraiya, and the Konoha forces defeated the Cloud Hidden's AB Brothers, leaving the Fourth Raikage gravely injured. Jiraiya then led a surprise assault on the Cloud Hidden defensive line, opening the final great battle between the two powers.

• Yuhara struck the Eight-Tails with a Spiraling Shuriken, forcing Killer B to shrink back into human form, while Jiraiya bound the Fourth Raikage and hit him with a Super Tailed Beast Rasengan.
• Yuhara charged the wounded Fourth Raikage with a Mercury Longsword, but the Raikage deflected the blade and seized it before Killer B drove Yuhara away.
• Killer B and the Cloud Hidden Ninjas escorted the injured Fourth Raikage from the battlefield, and Jiraiya ordered Konoha's army to prepare to break through the enemy defensive line.
• Jiraiya led the Konoha Ninjas in a surprise assault and opened with the large-scale Sage Art: Gōemon, overwhelming the Cloud Hidden formation.

Jiraiya’s Sage Mode attack broke through the Cloud Hidden’s defensive line, allowing Konoha to capture the forward camp and win the battle. As the exhausted survivors rested, Yuhara found a severed arm and jokingly handed it to Kakashi as “victory.”

• The Fourth Raikage ordered the Cloud Hidden forces to assemble after Jiraiya defeated him and the AB Brothers withdrew.
• Jiraiya’s Gōemon devastated the Cloud Hidden defensive line, and Konoha’s forces charged in to defeat the scattered enemy groups.
• Konoha captured the Cloud Hidden forward camp, while the surviving Cloud Hidden Ninjas fled toward the Land of Frost and the Land of Hot Water.
• Kakashi urged two exhausted Cloud Hidden Ninjas to surrender, but they charged with Explosive Tags until Tenzo restrained them with Wood Release.
• Shibi ordered the squad to rest, and Yuhara found a severed arm and handed it to Kakashi as a joke about victory.