Chapter Summaries

Black Zetsu discovered a secret passage into Konoha and learned that Shimura Danzō had been stripped of his position and confined there, prompting Madara to order further investigation. Meanwhile, Hiruko told Danzō that Hashirama Cell transplantation and Wood Release transfer had succeeded, and Danzō ordered preparations to test the results on subjects.

• Black Zetsu reported finding a secret passage that bypassed Konoha's sensory barrier and led to a Root laboratory researching Hashirama Cells.
• Black Zetsu told Madara that Sarutobi Hiruzen had removed Shimura Danzō as Assistant Hokage and confined him to Konoha for three years.
• Madara concluded that Danzō's secret laboratory and passage could offer an opportunity and ordered Black Zetsu to investigate further.
• A troubled Danzō received word that Hiruko's experimental project had made a major breakthrough and went to his laboratory.
• Hiruko told Danzō that Hashirama Cell transplantation and Wood Release transfer had succeeded, aided by unusual Spores found in the underground laboratory.
• Danzō ordered Hiruko to prepare for testing the results on more subjects.

Satoru hosted a banquet at the Hatake residence to celebrate Kakashi becoming a chunin, bringing together Sakumo’s younger-generation friends and colleagues. The celebration ended with Satoru announcing he would test Kakashi’s skills the next day.

• Satoru gathered Kakashi’s friends and colleagues at the Hatake residence to celebrate Kakashi’s promotion to chunin.
• Hatake Sakumo cooked for the guests after Satoru provided drinks but refused to conjure food.
• Satoru gave Minato cola instead of sake because Minato was underage.
• Kakashi complained that the banquet felt more like a gathering for Satoru and his peers than a celebration for him.
• Kakashi explained that Obito had arrived late and said he viewed Rin as an ordinary classmate, prompting Satoru to schedule a training match for the next day.

Tsunade returned from Shikkotsu Forest without mastering Sage Mode, then explained why its chakra conflicted with her Yin Seal and fighting style. She revealed the Strength of a Hundred Seal, a new technique that enhanced Creation Rebirth and could transfer chakra to allies, and asked Satoru to help solve its chakra-wasting flaw.

• Nawaki brought Satoru to meet Tsunade after she returned from Shikkotsu Forest.
• Tsunade thanked Satoru for saving Mito Uzumaki and explained that Sage Chakra could not be stored in or controlled alongside her Yin Seal.
• Tsunade said Sage Mode did not suit her precise Medical Ninjutsu and taijutsu, but her time in Shikkotsu Forest had inspired a new technique.
• Tsunade revealed the Strength of a Hundred Seal, which released the Yin Seal's chakra to enhance Creation Rebirth and could also supply chakra to allies.
• Tsunade explained that the technique wasted chakra by healing every wound, and Satoru agreed to think of a solution.

Satoru devised a way to help Tsunade conserve Chakra by creating a construct that could monitor injuries and reserve the Strength of a Hundred Chakra for serious wounds. Before he could adapt his new necklace for Tsunade, Mitokado Homura told him that Sakumo’s failed mission had become the center of public pressure in Konoha.

• Satoru explained why Tsunade could not safely use Hashirama’s self-healing approach and proposed monitoring injuries to reduce wasted Chakra.
• Satoru summoned the Arcane Cat and suggested adapting a similar assistant to monitor Tsunade’s injuries; Tsunade agreed to cooperate.
• Satoru returned to his laboratory and made a gemstone necklace with an arcane core that could monitor injuries and reserve Chakra for the Creation Rebirth Technique.
• Mitokado Homura told Satoru that Sakumo’s mission had failed after he delayed delivering intelligence to protect his companions.
• Mitokado Homura said Hiruzen had chosen not to punish Sakumo, but the mission’s reason for failure had leaked and public pressure had spread through Konoha.

Satoru learned that rumors about Sakumo's mission had spread throughout Konoha and reached the daimyo, while the village's leaders hesitated to defend him. He gathered allies to visit the Hatake residence and reassure Kakashi, promising to deal with whoever was behind the rumors.

• Mitokado Homura explained to Satoru that the village leaders had stayed silent to protect the mission system, but rumors about Sakumo had spread widely and drawn an inquiry from the daimyo.
• Satoru angrily blamed Danzo and headed toward the Hatake residence, creating Mirror Image Clones along the way.
• Satoru's allies arrived at the Hatake residence and told Kakashi they supported Sakumo's choice to save his comrades.
• Shikaku said someone was pulling strings behind the rumors, and Satoru promised Kakashi he would settle the matter.

Satoru explained to Kakashi why comrades and the village mattered more than treating missions as absolute, and suggested that hidden forces had engineered Hatake Sakumo’s disgrace. After Sakumo recovered among his friends, Satoru’s clone investigated the sealed mission record and confronted Special Jonin Mizuki Ken.

• Satoru told Kakashi that Sakumo had tried to complete his mission while protecting his comrades and suspected that the higher-ups had manipulated events against him.
• Kakashi agreed to help soothe Sakumo while Satoru took responsibility for handling the rest of the situation.
• Satoru joined Sakumo and his gathered friends, who comforted him, and Sakumo said he now realized he was not alone.
• Satoru offered to host a banquet to celebrate Sakumo standing by his convictions.
• Satoru’s Mirror Image Clone examined the sealed mission record, suspected someone had exploited knowledge of Sakumo’s fighting habits, and went to question the rescued teammate, Special Jonin Mizuki Ken.

Satoru reassured Mizuki Ken that the mission’s failure would not be pursued and revealed suspicious circumstances behind it. He exposed Danzo’s plan to manipulate Mizuki Ken into publicly condemning Hatake Sakumo, then detained the Root agents and warned them to relay his message to Danzo.

• Satoru told Mizuki Ken that the higher-ups would not pursue the failed mission and explained suspicious details in the mission records.
• Mizuki Ken recognized that the records pointed to hidden circumstances and agreed to seek out Hatake Sakumo.
• Wu and Wei arrived to stop Mizuki Ken, and Satoru identified them as Root agents.
• Satoru revealed that Danzo had ordered Wu and Wei to use Genjutsu on Mizuki Ken and make him publicly condemn Hatake Sakumo.
• Mizuki Ken realized he might have been vulnerable to Genjutsu, while Satoru ordered Wu and Wei to remain under guard and carry a warning to Danzo.

Hatake Sakumo asked to leave the Anbu and accepted responsibility for the failed mission, while the Hokage and advisors agreed to end the rumors and issue an official statement. The village accepted the decision, Satoru Squad resigned from the Anbu, and Satoru expected time to focus on research.

• Hatake Sakumo visited the Hokage and advisors, requested punishment for the mission's failure, and surrendered his Anbu post and Cat Face Mask.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed to report Sakumo's wishes to the Land of Fire Daimyo and said the higher-ups would end the rumors; Sakumo declared that Danzo would not succeed.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu discussed Sakumo's decision, Satoru's protest, and the need to reorganize Root.
• The higher-ups announced that Sakumo's mission had failed due to uncontrollable factors and urged villagers to reject rumors, after which the rumors quickly disappeared.
• Satoru Squad members resigned from the Anbu; Tsunade received Satoru's necklace and recommended Nonō to lead the Medical Corps while Nawaki and Minato returned to ordinary missions.
• Satoru planned to use his new free time for research after giving Sarutobi Hiruzen an Enchanted Combat Vest.

Satoru agreed to Sarutobi Hiruzen's price for the Enchanted Combat Vest and heard that an explosion had destroyed Danzo's secret laboratory and research team. Minato brought him to Mount Myōboku, where the Great Toad Sage was waiting to meet him.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed to Satoru's price for the Enchanted Combat Vest, and Mitokado Homura told Satoru that an explosion had destroyed one of Danzo's secret laboratories and its research team.
• Minato told Satoru that the Great Toad Sage had dreamed about him and invited him to Mount Myōboku.
• Satoru explained that he could teleport across realms using a positioning gem, and Minato summoned Sage Fukasaku to receive it.
• Sage Fukasaku returned to Mount Myōboku with the gem, and Satoru teleported himself and Minato there.
• Sage Fukasaku welcomed Satoru and Minato and led them to meet the Great Toad Sage.

Satoru met the Great Toad Sage, who revealed a prophecy involving Satoru and two identical blue-eyed youths. Satoru rejected the idea that destiny should bind him, and the Great Toad Sage asked what destiny he desired.

• Sage Fukasaku brought Satoru to the Great Toad Sage's temple and woke the sleeping Gamamaru.
• Satoru introduced himself to Gamamaru and offered him a bottle of rare wine.
• Gamamaru explained that Satoru's appearance had altered the possibilities in his precognitive dreams.
• Gamamaru described seeing the tailed beasts and two identical blue-eyed youths standing behind Satoru, but no other details of Satoru's future.
• Gamamaru suggested that Satoru might be the Child of Prophecy, and Satoru said destiny was a shackle he would follow only if it matched his desires.
• Gamamaru asked Satoru what destiny he desired and acknowledged as his own.

Satoru reassured the Great Toad Sage that he wanted to study the world and protect it from danger, then left Mount Myōboku to resume his research. Meanwhile, the Third Mizukage began shaping Kirigakure into the Bloody Mist Village, and Madara and Black Zetsu turned their attention to manipulating it.

• Satoru told the Great Toad Sage that he wanted to discover the limits of the world and would defend it from ambitious people and invaders.
• The Great Toad Sage accepted Satoru’s assurances, recalled Hagoromo’s failed effort to bring peace, and fell asleep before Fukasaku led Satoru away.
• Satoru avoided dinner at Mount Myōboku, left Minato behind, and returned to his experiments.
• The Third Mizukage decided to make Kirigakure’s ninja training more brutal and eliminate the weak, beginning the village’s transformation into the Bloody Mist Village.
• Black Zetsu told Madara that the Third Mizukage had committed to this course and that Danzo might uncover their existence through his Wood Release research.
• Madara ordered Black Zetsu to focus on Kirigakure, which he considered easier to manipulate and valuable for its two Tailed Beasts.

Satoru congratulated Uchiha Mikoto on her wedding to Uchiha Fugaku and gave her a Flame Cat as a gift. Later, Yahiko reflected on his growing peace-seeking organization in the Land of Rain and affirmed that communication, not force alone, could change relations between nations.

• Uchiha Mikoto delivered her wedding invitation to Satoru, who congratulated her and worried about affording a proper gift.
• Konoha's upper ranks viewed Mikoto's marriage to Uchiha Fugaku as a chance to strengthen ties between the Uchiha Clan and the village.
• Orochimaru, Nawaki, Yakushi Nonō, Kushina Uzumaki, and Satoru gave Mikoto wedding gifts, including a Kusanagi Sword, a potted plant, health supplements, a sealing talisman, and a Flame Cat.
• As the nations recovered from war, Nagato told Yahiko that more people were joining their organization and that employers were offering them missions.
• Yahiko told Nagato and Konan that force alone could not change the world and that communication between people was needed to build peace.

Yahiko outlined his plan to resolve conflicts and spread peace through the Akatsuki, while Nagato pledged to support him. Kakashi then asked Satoru for help with Gai’s constant challenges, and Satoru suggested forming a fixed team with a Jonin instructor.

• Yahiko explained that the Akatsuki should intervene in conflicts without payment and use its influence and strength to encourage communication and prevent wars.
• Nagato told Yahiko to follow his chosen path and promised that he and their companions would support him.
• Konan brought the new companions to meet Yahiko and Nagato, and Yahiko welcomed them into the organization.
• Gai repeatedly challenged Kakashi after declaring him his lifelong rival, interrupting even Kakashi’s meals, bathroom visits, and baths.
• Kakashi asked Satoru to stop Gai from disrupting his missions, and Satoru suggested that Kakashi form a fixed team with a Jonin instructor.

Satoru arranged for Kakashi to form a permanent squad with Uchiha Obito and Nohara Rin, with Minato Namikaze as their instructor. The new teammates bickered as Minato agreed to protect them while waiting for the opportunity Satoru had warned him about.

• Satoru told Kakashi that he would be assigned to a squad with Uchiha Obito and Nohara Rin, despite Kakashi's objections.
• Obito hurried to the squad meeting, pleased that Rin would be his teammate and eager to imagine Kakashi's jealousy.
• Obito arrived late and found Kakashi, Rin, and their instructor, Minato Namikaze, waiting for him.
• Minato explained that Kakashi's strength and Rin's need for protection made the trio a suitable squad, and Obito accepted the arrangement for Rin's sake.
• Obito and Kakashi resumed bickering while Rin tried to keep the peace.
• Minato recalled Satoru's warning that the children could affect the world's fate and his request to protect Obito until an opportunity arose.

Satoru and Nawaki discussed rising tensions among the great nations before Nawaki left on a mission to investigate the Land of Grass. Satoru then met Kakuzu, who had embraced business and discovered that money could generate more money.

• Satoru and Nawaki shared a meal and discussed the growing tensions across the Shinobi World.
• Nawaki explained that he would help fortify the border with the Land of Grass and investigate the situation there.
• Satoru warned Nawaki that Kusagakure might betray him, and Nawaki left for his mission.
• Satoru returned home, then used Teleportation to visit Kakuzu.
• Kakuzu showed Satoru his ledgers and praised business as an elegant way to make money multiply.

Satoru discussed Kakuzu’s work at Ito Trading Company and encouraged him to prepare to manage the finances of a peacekeeping organization in the Land of Rain. After Satoru used Genjutsu to amplify Kakuzu’s interest, Kakuzu embraced the prospect and planned to investigate the organization.

• Kakuzu explained that his work as Ito’s financial manager and bodyguard had earned him more than bounty hunting and helped him fight off attacks from powerful opponents.
• Kakuzu reported that trading companies had weakened the Land of Wind’s pro-war faction by cutting funding, while Ito’s influence kept business with the Land of Wind and Land of Rain running smoothly.
• Satoru told Kakuzu to build a relationship with the Land of Rain organization that mediated disputes, framing support for the young group as a profitable investment.
• Kakuzu inferred that Satoru was connected to the organization, and Satoru urged him to put profit first while revealing that Kakuzu might eventually be excluded when Ito’s heir took over.
• Satoru offered Kakuzu a future role building the organization’s financial system, then used Genjutsu to intensify Kakuzu’s enthusiasm for the opportunity.
• After Satoru disappeared, Kakuzu resolved to gather intelligence on the organization and teach its members the importance of money.

Nawaki secretly followed three Kusagakure Ninja to a small village after discovering that its mysterious treatment could rapidly heal near-fatal injuries. He waited outside while a Wood Clone entered to investigate, leaving the village’s secret unknown.

• Nawaki sensed Iwagakure Ninja fighting Kusagakure Ninja and secretly disrupted an attack, allowing the Kusagakure survivors to drive off their enemy.
• Nawaki recalled that wounded Kusagakure Ninja had recovered unusually quickly after visiting an inconspicuous village, so he decided to investigate.
• The Kusagakure Ninja took their dead comrades and a wounded Iwagakure prisoner toward the village for treatment.
• Nawaki created a Wood Clone to follow the Kusagakure Ninja, disguised himself as a dead Kusagakure Ninja, and followed behind.
• Nawaki stayed outside the village, sensed its residents, and waited for his Wood Clone to return.

Nawaki discovered that Kusagakure was secretly exploiting a young Uzumaki woman’s rare healing ability and set out to rescue her. The woman remained captive in a rundown hut as Kusagakure concealed her existence while using her to restore its injured ninja.

• Nawaki sensed an unusual chakra signature in the village and suspected it belonged to an Uzumaki with the rare ability to heal others by biting them.
• Nawaki's Wood Clone confirmed that a young red-haired woman was being forced to heal Kusagakure ninja, and Nawaki resolved to rescue her before confronting her captors.
• Nawaki detected three groups of approaching ninja and used Earth Release: Underground Submarine to move quickly.
• The Kusagakure chunin threatened to expose the woman's identity or sell her unless she cooperated.
• The woman recalled how she had saved an injured Kusagakure ninja and was captured, after which Kusagakure secretly made the hut a recovery room for its wounded.

Nawaki rescued Karin Uzumaki from Kusagakure and persuaded her to return with him to Konoha. With pursuers closing in, they rested in a house Nawaki created, planning to reach the Land of Fire by dawn.

• Nawaki killed the Kusagakure chunin guarding Karin and revealed that he was a Konoha ninja with Uzumaki blood.
• Nawaki told Karin that Mito Uzumaki and Kushina Uzumaki were alive in Konoha, and Karin agreed to leave with him.
• Nawaki put his Combat Vest on Karin, bound her to his back with Wood Release, and fled while evading Kusagakure pursuers.
• Nawaki and Karin reached a small house less than half a day's journey from the Land of Fire border and stopped to rest until dawn.

Nawaki confronted two Kusagakure jonin who pursued him and Dianthus, then defeated them with Wood Release techniques. With Kusagakure reinforcements approaching, he prepared to leave with Dianthus before they could catch up.

• Two Kusagakure jonin confronted Nawaki and demanded that he return Dianthus and answer for killing their subordinates.
• Nawaki revealed that Dianthus was his cousin and that he had investigated her mistreatment, but the jonin attacked him anyway.
• Nawaki evaded their weapons with a wooden dummy, then used Wood Release to bind the tall jonin and trap the short, fat jonin.
• The short, fat jonin destroyed Nawaki's Wood Clone but was caught by its wooden branches and struck by wooden spikes.
• The tall jonin broke free with Lightning Release and charged toward Dianthus's house, but Nawaki blocked him with three Wood Clones.
• Nawaki used a Wood Dragon to drain and swallow the tall jonin, while the short, fat jonin stopped moving; he then noted that reinforcements were approaching.