Chapter Summaries

Uchiha Gen mastered the Phantom Body Flicker Technique after a month of focused training and demonstrated its power against Uchiha Mikoto. He told Mikoto to inform the Great Elder of his progress, leaving the decision about what to do next to the clan elder.

• Uchiha Gen used accelerated training to become proficient with the Phantom Body Flicker Technique, creating seven or eight Phantom Clones in battle.
• Uchiha Gen overwhelmed Uchiha Mikoto in a sparring match, using fast, concealed flickers that her Two-Tomoe Sharingan could not see through.
• Uchiha Gen ended the training and used Medical Ninjutsu to relieve Mikoto's fatigue.
• Uchiha Gen asked Mikoto to tell the Great Elder that he had mastered the technique and could handle clan matters directly.
• Uchiha Mikoto said the Great Elder would likely keep Uchiha Gen hidden until he arranged a suitable opportunity, and Uchiha Gen left the decision to him.

Uchiha Gen assisted Orochimaru with experiments on transferring consciousness between bodies and learned how Orochimaru planned to develop Living Corpse Reincarnation. The research faced a shortage of funding and test subjects, and Orochimaru asked whether Gen had a solution.

• Orochimaru had Uchiha Gen help operate on two Sunagakure captives, whose consciousness survived only fourteen minutes after their brains were transplanted, though their chakra changed.
• Orochimaru told Uchiha Gen that he sought immortality by transferring his consciousness into new bodies, and Gen admitted he might accept the method if necessary.
• Orochimaru explained that he was combining the Spirit Transformation Technique with the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu to create a body-transfer technique.
• Orochimaru said he had a basic framework but needed to solve problems involving living hosts, their original souls, and the recovery of strength.
• Uchiha Gen pointed out that funding and test subjects would soon run out, and Orochimaru asked whether he had a solution.

Uchiha Gen and Orochimaru discussed secretly funding Orochimaru’s forbidden experiments through the Uchiha Clan. Gen revealed that the Great Elder could cover the expenses from his personal wealth and use prisoners as test subjects, leaving Orochimaru to persuade him.

• Orochimaru explained why he needed an independent, wealthy partner to secretly fund his forbidden experiments.
• Uchiha Gen said he needed a benefit that could persuade the Great Elder and the clan assembly to cooperate.
• Orochimaru requested at least twenty million ryo a year and a live test subject every three days.
• Uchiha Gen said the Great Elder’s shop dividends and antiques could cover most of the cost, while prisoners held by the Konoha Military Police Force could supply subjects.
• Uchiha Gen told Orochimaru that persuading the Great Elder was now the main obstacle.

Orochimaru agreed to arrange a secret meeting with the Uchiha Great Elder and warned Uchiha Gen that war with Kumogakure would soon resume. After giving Gen a map of Ryūchi Cave and advising him to seek a contract with Manda, Orochimaru followed him to the Forest of Death to test his Phantom Body Flicker Technique.

• Orochimaru chose to pursue cooperation with the Uchiha Great Elder and asked Gen to arrange a secret meeting for the next day.
• Orochimaru told Gen that Konoha would soon resume its war with Kumogakure and warned that enemies might target him on the battlefield.
• Orochimaru gave Gen a detailed map of Ryūchi Cave and suggested forming a contract with Manda if Gen could not grow stronger before the war.
• Gen asked Orochimaru to assess his strength and demonstrate the limits of the Phantom Body Flicker Technique.
• Orochimaru agreed, and the two went to the Forest of Death at night, where Gen assumed a combat stance to begin their first serious fight.

Uchiha Gen tested his newly mastered Phantom Body Flicker Technique against Orochimaru, who analyzed its mechanics and overwhelmed the battlefield with snakes and wide-range attacks. Gen chose to retreat and use his clones to evade Orochimaru, but the pursuit continued as more Phantom Clones appeared beside him.

• Uchiha Gen and Orochimaru opened with Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, then Gen used solid clones to attack while Orochimaru countered with wind techniques and snakes.
• Orochimaru exchanged blows with Gen, drew his Kusanagi Sword, and deduced that Gen used rapid Body Flicker movement and Sharingan genjutsu to disguise his position among the clones.
• Orochimaru unleashed the Many-Headed Serpent Formation, forcing Gen to dodge through the swarm and choose escape over a direct fight.
• Gen fled with his Phantom Clones in separate directions, while Orochimaru used a Shadow Clone and Vacuum Serial Waves to identify and pursue Gen's true body.
• Gen threw explosive-tagged kunai to stall the snakes, gathered ocular power, and created several Phantom Clones beside himself.

Uchiha Gen fought Orochimaru through the night by using Phantom Clones and genjutsu to evade him, earning his teacher’s praise before preparing for the renewed war with Kumogakure. In Ryūchi Cave, Gen gained Aoda’s loyalty and signed a direct summoning contract with the giant serpent.

• Uchiha Gen used Phantom Clones and genjutsu to keep Orochimaru at bay until dawn, then discussed his escape abilities with his teacher.
• Orochimaru warned Uchiha Gen to remain cautious, handed him a Scroll, and said they would soon head to the Kumogakure battlefield.
• Uchiha Gen planned to meet the Great Elder and discuss clan arrangements as the Clan Head’s condition raised suspicions among clan members.
• Uchiha Gen battled Aoda in Ryūchi Cave until the serpent agreed to obey him.
• Uchiha Gen introduced himself to Aoda and signed a direct summoning contract with the serpent.

Uchiha Gen traveled to Manda’s territory in Ryūchi Cave and used Sharingan genjutsu and evasive techniques to overcome the giant snake’s attacks. Manda agreed to sign a Summoning Contract in exchange for at least a hundred living human sacrifices each time he was summoned.

• Uchiha Gen asked Aoda to take him to Manda’s territory, and Aoda warned him that Manda was aggressive before leaving him at the stone forest.
• Uchiha Gen followed Manda’s trail into the forest, where Manda attacked him and threatened to eat him.
• Uchiha Gen evaded Manda with the Phantom Body Flicker Technique and used Three-Tomoe Sharingan genjutsu while landing sword strikes and burns.
• Manda grew frustrated that he could not hit Uchiha Gen and demanded that the latter stop fighting.
• Manda agreed to sign the Summoning Contract if Uchiha Gen provided at least a hundred living human sacrifices each time.

Uchiha Gen fought Manda until the snake agreed to sign a summoning contract in exchange for a hundred sacrifices. After returning home, Gen joined Mikoto at the Obon Festival, where they watched the monks’ ceremony from a tree beside the Naka River.

• Uchiha Gen challenged Manda to keep fighting until the snake agreed to accept a hundred sacrifices and sign the summoning contract.
• Uchiha Gen returned from Ryūchi Cave, rested, and encountered Mikoto carrying a box near his home.
• Mikoto gave Uchiha Gen a matching black kimono and explained that the village was observing the Obon Festival.
• Uchiha Gen and Mikoto hurried to the Naka River but arrived late, so they watched the ceremony from a tree.
• The abbot and monks performed a ritual, and Uchiha Gen saw the abbot’s powerful chakra take the shape of many arms.

At the Ullambana Festival, Hiruzen Sarutobi rallied Konoha with a speech before Uchiha Gen and Uchiha Mikoto released lanterns for the dead. Their closeness caught Uchiha Fugaku’s attention, while Hiruzen ordered Anbu to report what monitored individuals had written on their lanterns.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi delivered a speech that rekindled the gathered Konoha shinobi’s fighting spirit.
• Uchiha Mikoto invited Uchiha Gen to write messages on river lanterns, and they released the lanterns together.
• The Great Elder watched Gen and Mikoto by the river, while Uchiha Fugaku reconsidered his plans to gain the Great Elder’s support through Mikoto.
• Uchiha Fugaku wondered whether Gen had become a rival and left without speaking to him.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi received river lanterns retrieved by Anbu, along with a record of messages written by people under close watch.

Hiruzen Sarutobi learned that Uchiha Gen was gaining influence in the clan and ordered a new war mobilization. As the Uchiha prepared to leave for the Land of Hot Water, the supposedly injured Uchiha Hisa unexpectedly appeared at the clan assembly, leaving Gen and the elders unsure of his intentions.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi received an Anbu report on Uchiha Gen, the clan's internal power struggle, and the Great Elder's apparent plan to groom Gen as his successor.
• Hiruzen decided to let the Uchiha's affairs develop and ordered a war mobilization, sending Uchiha Gen and Orochimaru to the Land of Hot Water.
• Hiruzen divided Konoha's forces among several fronts while remaining in the village to guard against possible Kirigakure activity near the Land of Whirlpools.
• Uchiha Hisa appeared at the clan assembly and claimed he was nearly recovered, prompting the clan members to welcome his return.
• Uchiha Gen looked to the Great Elder for an explanation, but the Great Elder signaled that he knew nothing about Hisa's actions.

Uchiha Hisa’s decision to resume leading the clan temporarily eased tensions as Konoha mobilized for war. Uchiha Gen joined an elite reconnaissance squad bound for the Kumogakure front, where Orochimaru’s forces faced a difficult route to Danzo after Danzo withdrew before the Third Raikage.

• Uchiha Hisa presided over a clan meeting again, and Konoha assembled nearly eight thousand ninja for the war.
• The Third Raikage broke through Danzo’s defensive line, forcing Danzo to abandon territory and withdraw while awaiting Orochimaru’s reinforcements.
• Orochimaru’s forces faced the danger of crossing damaged, insecure territory to rendezvous with Danzo and oppose Kumogakure.
• Uchiha Gen became temporary captain of a reconnaissance squad with Aburame Shikuroo, Yamanaka Natsuki, and Sarutobi Toriyama.
• Uchiha Gen reviewed his status and noted that his eight attributes totaled sixty, placing him at Elite Jonin level.

Uchiha Gen considered how his Character Cards and training shaped his strength before his squad received a distress call from Yūhi Shinku. He arrived to find Konoha’s forces overwhelmed by Kumogakure’s Karai and intervened, drawing the Raikage Court Official’s attention.

• Uchiha Gen weighed his plans to reach level forty and whether he could digest Ninja Path Sasuke’s Three-Tomoe Sharingan before needing another Character Card slot.
• Aburame Shikuroo reported that Yūhi Shinku’s northern squad had encountered a Kumogakure reconnaissance squad and was requesting support.
• Uchiha Gen and his teammates reached the battlefield, where Karai’s Lava Release had driven Yūhi Shinku and his remaining Konoha ninja into a desperate fight.
• Uchiha Gen recognized Karai as Kumogakure’s powerful Raikage Court Official and attacked with the Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique.
• Karai evaded Uchiha Gen’s flames and recognized him as an Uchiha.

Uchiha Gen fought Karai, a veteran Kumogakure shinobi, whose rubber-based Lava Release defended against conventional attacks. Gen broke through Karai’s defenses with Chidori, but Karai realized the fight was too risky to continue, and Gen challenged him as he considered retreating.

• Karai ordered his subordinates to hold off the others while he fought Uchiha Gen.
• Uchiha Gen created physical clones and used them to attack, prompting Karai to recognize the Phantom Body Flicker Technique.
• Uchiha Gen used Chidori to pierce Karai’s rubber defenses, exploiting Lightning Release’s advantage against Earth Release.
• Karai met Gen’s attack with Lariat, and they exchanged blows, with Gen’s blade cutting his clothing and revealing steel hoops on his arm.
• Karai concluded he could not safely defeat Gen before Konoha reinforcements arrived, while Gen slashed apart a Rubber Ball and challenged him for considering retreat.

Uchiha Gen drove Karai and the remaining Kumogakure Ninja into a desperate escape, but stopped pursuing when his Ninja Crows sensed a powerful enemy. The Fourth Raikage arrived to protect Karai and learned that Uchiha Gen had injured him.

• Karai used rubber, smoke bombs, and Explosive Kunai to slow Uchiha Gen while Yūhi Shinku cleared the smoke with Wind Style: Air Current Wild Dance.
• Uchiha Gen used his Three-Tomoe Sharingan genjutsu and three Rasengan to overwhelm Karai's defenses, but Karai escaped inside bouncing Rubber Balls with three Kumogakure Ninja.
• Uchiha Gen summoned Ninja Crows to scout as he pursued the fleeing Kumogakure group, then stopped when the crows warned him of a powerful enemy.
• Karai's group emerged from the Rubber Balls, and the Fourth Raikage arrived in a flash of lightning.
• Karai told the Fourth Raikage that Uchiha Gen had injured him, and the Fourth Raikage recognized Gen as the one who had fought Chiyo and Kakuzu.

Uchiha Gen held off the Fourth Raikage while Karai’s group retreated after Konoha reinforcements were reported nearby. He treated Yūhi Shinku’s wounds and urged the others to rejoin the main force, warning that Kumogakure’s army might be close.

• The Fourth Raikage attacked Uchiha Gen, who used Phantom Clones and Rasengan feints to avoid his strikes and keep him at bay.
• A Kumogakure sensor ninja warned Karai that Konoha reinforcements had arrived and a larger force was approaching.
• Karai ordered a retreat, and Uchiha Gen chose not to pursue the Fourth Raikage or risk being caught between him and Karai.
• Aburame Shikuroo, Yūhi Shinku, and Sarutobi Toriyama arrived, and Uchiha Gen used the Mystical Palm Technique to treat Yūhi Shinku.
• Uchiha Gen told the group to return to the main force because Kumogakure’s main army might be nearby.

Uchiha Gen and Orochimaru prepared Konoha’s marching force for an expected assault by Kumogakure, assessing their opponents and assigning key fighters. When the enemy army arrived, Orochimaru ordered the Fire Release Squad to prepare to attack.

• Uchiha Gen directed the Medical Ninja to take the wounded for treatment after joining the main force.
• Orochimaru and Uchiha Gen studied the map, predicted an attack before Danzo’s unit could reinforce them, and discussed how they would hold off the Fourth Raikage and Karai.
• Orochimaru identified the veteran Ino-Shika-Cho leaders as key to Konoha’s chance of winning and told Uchiha Gen to lead the Fire Release Squad.
• The Yamanaka Clan Head sensed roughly five thousand Kumogakure ninja approaching and reported that the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki was absent.
• Orochimaru gave the order to fight, and Uchiha Gen called the Fire Release Squad to prepare.

The Third Raikage broke through Konoha’s defenses, turning the battle into close combat as Orochimaru, Uchiha Gen, and others fought Kumogakure’s forces. Uchiha Gen clashed with Fourth Raikage while Orochimaru continued battling the Third Raikage, whose near-impenetrable defense remained difficult to overcome.

• The Third Raikage shattered Konoha’s earth wall and Orochimaru’s Triple Rashomon Gates, then charged into Konoha’s army as Kumogakure’s troops followed.
• Uchiha Gen cut through Kumogakure’s ranks using his Sharingan, Rasengan, and Phantom Clone techniques until Fourth Raikage arrived to stop him.
• Uchiha Gen and Fourth Raikage resumed their unfinished fight amid the battlefield.
• Karai struggled to defend himself against the Akimichi Clan Head, the Nara Clan Elder, and the Yamanaka Clan Head.
• Orochimaru survived the Third Raikage’s attack with his substitution technique, summoned Manda, and used Wind Release attacks against the Third Raikage.

Orochimaru struggled to hold off the Third Raikage, who broke away and charged toward Karai. The Ino-Shika-Cho elders detonated a prepared trap that injured the Third Raikage internally, and Orochimaru and the Fourth Raikage arrived as the battle shifted around him.

• The Third Raikage evaded Orochimaru's attacks, killed his snakes with Black Lightning, and praised Konoha's talent.
• The Third Raikage overwhelmed Orochimaru's Wind Release with his Strongest Spear and charged toward Karai's battlefield.
• The Nara Clan Elder activated concealed threads and Explosive Tags around the Third Raikage, setting off a massive blast.
• The Third Raikage emerged with his armor intact but blood at his mouth, and the Yamanaka Clan Head concluded that the explosion had injured him internally.
• Orochimaru caught up, while the Fourth Raikage abandoned his fight with Uchiha Gen and rushed over after taking a slash.

Orochimaru’s forces drove Kumogakure back after Uchiha Gen helped turn the battle, and Danzo arrived after the fighting had ended. Danzo learned how Gen had influenced the outcome and told Orochimaru he would not harm Kagami’s nephew, making Orochimaru more wary.

• The Third Raikage ordered Karai to retreat while he and the Fourth Raikage covered the withdrawal from Konoha’s forces.
• Konoha repelled Kumogakure with relatively few casualties, and Danzo arrived with Root after the battle was over.
• Danzo questioned Orochimaru about the victory, and Orochimaru told him how the battle had unfolded.
• Danzo recognized Uchiha Gen as the key factor in Konoha’s success and noted that Gen had inherited Kagami’s legacy.
• Danzo assured Orochimaru that he would not harm Gen because Kagami had been his teammate, prompting Orochimaru to grow more guarded.

Orochimaru and Danzo clashed over who would command Konoha’s forces in the Land of Hot Water, then agreed to coordinate against Kumogakure. Unaware that their dispute had involved him, Uchiha Gen led the Medical Department in treating the battle’s wounded and training its ninjas.

• Danzo blamed poor communication for the battle’s limited results, while Orochimaru suspected he had waited to claim credit at the last moment.
• Orochimaru and Danzo both sought control of the combined forces, but Orochimaru cited the Third Hokage’s orders giving him authority over strategy in the Land of Hot Water.
• Danzo argued that his greater experience in the region made his command preferable, and proposed taking Uchiha Gen under his command.
• Orochimaru refused to hand over his disciple, and Danzo said they could cooperate in other ways before warning that they would otherwise rely on their own abilities.
• Orochimaru and Danzo agreed to discuss the battlefield situation and coordinate their forces against Kumogakure.
• Uchiha Gen supervised the Medical Department as its ninjas treated the wounded and used their injuries as practical training.