Chapter Summaries

Yunqing persuaded Sunagakure’s leaders that their harsh childhood training had harmed them and that sending children to the battlefield would put them at needless risk. He proposed extending Ninja Academy education through age eighteen, and the meeting ended with the leaders supporting reform and sharing their knowledge.

• An old man urged Yunqing to reform Sunagakure’s education system because the younger generation seemed weak.
• Yunqing reminded the leaders that children now had the safe childhoods they themselves had once wanted, and described killing three eight-year-old ninjas during his first famous battle.
• Yunqing argued that sending children to the battlefield would risk their lives rather than prepare them, and the old man fell silent as he considered his granddaughter.
• Yunqing proposed extending Ninja Academy through age eighteen, with examinations, practical training, and specialized study to prepare children for different futures.
• Sunagakure’s leaders accepted Yunqing’s proposal, discussed how it could secure the village and the Land of Wind, then ended the meeting and shared ninjutsu techniques and combat experience.

Yunqing and Sunagakure’s leaders dealt with academy students who protested a new graduation policy and boasted they could defeat Jonin. The students were beaten, stripped of their forehead protectors, and left sealed in the training ground as their families were told to discipline them.

• A fox-masked Anbu told the protesting students that the Kazekage and Council of Elders had ordered the change, then mocked them for their arrogance.
• One student used Magnet Release to attack the Anbu, and the other students joined in with their strongest techniques.
• The Anbu countered with Earth Release, sealed the students in the ground, and mocked their claim that they could defeat a Jonin.
• A Sunagakure Ninja Academy teacher took the students’ forehead protectors and told them they would not graduate after losing to the Anbu.
• Yunqing watched the incident with Sunagakure’s high-ranking officials, who approved of the lesson, then dismissed them and urged them to educate their children.

Yunqing coordinated the work required for Sunagakure’s new education system while Ebizo handled his documents and reviewed a report on the region’s bumper grain harvest. Sunagakure’s food supply had improved, but Ebizo still hoped Shatu’s overseas exploration would find an island to provide a self-sufficient food base.

• After the old men left the Kazekage’s office, Yunqing began organizing resources and preparations for the new education system.
• Pakura finished her work and went shopping and drinking tea to avoid being assigned more tasks.
• Ebizo complained about receiving Yunqing’s documents, then agreed to process them after learning Yunqing was preparing the education plan.
• Ebizo reviewed Shatu’s report that the region had harvested enough grain to supply nearby cities and store reserves.
• Ebizo hoped Little Scorpion’s overseas exploration would find an island that could serve as Sunagakure’s food base.

Ebizo considered Sunagakure’s economic weaknesses and the fragile balance keeping the ninja world at peace, while hoping Yunqing’s leadership and new developments would eventually help the village overcome its poverty. After reviewing Sasori’s report that the navy was ready to sail, he remained focused on finding an island to grow food for Sunagakure.

• Ebizo praised Shatu’s report and reflected on how Sunagakure’s barren land and reliance on imported grain made its productive border regions difficult to risk in war.
• Ebizo hoped Yunqing would live long enough for Sunagakure’s development and Gene Potions to overcome the village’s disadvantages.
• Ebizo reviewed Sasori’s documents and approved the navy’s completed training and preparations to sail in search of a food-producing island.
• Ebizo considered how Konoha used fertile land, crop surpluses, and grain distribution to support its people, while Sunagakure remained dependent on foreign food supplies.
• Ebizo reflected on how the Five Great Hidden Villages restrained one another and remained wary of White Zetsu and other possible threats.

Yunqing reviewed Senra’s brick-sized Big Brother mobile phone and improved television, then ordered signal infrastructure and pushed Senra to build a satellite. After Senra worked himself sick, Chiyo forced Yunqing to grant him two weeks of leave, while both men continued plotting over Senra’s workload and future successor.

• Senra showed Yunqing a brick-sized mobile phone that could make calls across the Land of Wind, and Yunqing named it Big Brother.
• Senra demonstrated a successful ultra-thin television with multiple channels, and Yunqing ordered him to build signal towers and a relay satellite.
• Yunqing urged Senra to work harder and invoked Sasori’s future, prompting Senra to produce the satellite in less than two months despite becoming exhausted and malnourished.
• Chiyo stormed into the Kazekage's Office and accused Yunqing of exploiting her family, so Yunqing granted Senra two weeks of leave.
• Senra resolved to train the next generation and work reasonable hours, while Yunqing and Senra plotted against each other over labor and escape from exploitation.

After Sunagakure completed its signal towers and launched a satellite, Yunqing used Big Brothers and television to expand into smaller nations and capture new markets. Television’s success left Konoha’s movie industry, especially the Uchiha and Kurama Clans, facing sharply reduced earnings.

• Senra hoped his son would become Kazekage so he could stop working so hard, but he remained exploited until Kankurō came along.
• Sunagakure completed its signal towers, launched its first satellite, and popularized Big Brothers across the Land of Wind.
• A story about a Big Brother knocking out an opponent boosted its reputation as a durable phone and weapon, and sales surged across the Land of Wind.
• Yunqing used satellites, signal towers, Big Brothers, and varied television channels to enter smaller nations and rapidly seize their markets.
• Sunagakure’s television programs drew viewers away from movies, cutting into Konoha’s movie market and shrinking the financial reports of the Uchiha and Kurama Clans.

Yunqing responded to the film market’s decline by ordering Senra to convert returned cinema screens into televisions, while the other major villages began copying Sunagakure’s technology. The Uchiha and Kurama clans sought a deal with Sunagakure after their film income fell, leaving negotiations ahead.

• Yunqing and Sunagakure’s finance Elder planned to refurbish returned movie screens and convert them into televisions, then ordered Senra back to work with Sāmon’s help.
• Orochimaru was forced by his Teacher to leave his laboratory and replicate television sets for Konoha, while the other Four Great Hidden Villages also began imitating them.
• The Uchiha and Kurama Clan Heads discussed their falling film revenues with Mina Uchiha, who advised them to build their own television industry or contact Sunagakure.
• The Uchiha and Kurama Clan Heads asked Hiruzen Sarutobi for help and donated ten million ryo to Konoha’s television venture.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi contacted Yunqing on the clans’ behalf, leaving the Uchiha and Kurama leaders to negotiate directly with Sunagakure.

Mina Uchiha traveled to Sunagakure with Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha to negotiate with Yunqing and teach the boys to judge people for themselves. Seeing the Land of Wind’s hopeful people, she concluded that Yunqing was the strongest.

• Mina Uchiha described Yunqing’s strength to Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha, while Echizen Uchiha recalled Yunqing breaking through a force of fifteen Elite Jonin at age fourteen.
• Mina Uchiha warned Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha that Yunqing acted for Sunagakure’s benefit and told them to think for themselves rather than trust what others said.
• Mina Uchiha explained that the Uchiha Clan had sent her to teach the boys to conduct themselves and judge people because they trusted others too easily.
• Mina Uchiha told Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha to stay quiet during negotiations, since Sunagakure would fleece the Uchiha Clan.
• Mina Uchiha observed the Land of Wind’s hopeful people and decided Yunqing was the strongest.

Mina Uchiha met with Kazekage Yunqing in Sunagakure on a diplomatic mission, but his teasing and hostility toward Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha derailed the meeting. After the two attacked him and were beaten, Yunqing sent the delegation to rest and postponed negotiations until the next day.

• Yunqing welcomed Mina Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha, and their guard Echizen Uchiha, and teased Echizen about his fear.
• Mina Uchiha tried to ease the tension while Yunqing suggested he had helped the Uchiha Clan and questioned whether it could coexist peacefully with Konoha.
• Yunqing taunted Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha until they lost their tempers and attacked him.
• Yunqing beat Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha, and Mina Uchiha apologized as Echizen Uchiha carried them away.
• Yunqing told Mina Uchiha to rest and said they could resume discussions the next day, with Pakura arranging their accommodations.

Yunqing enjoyed having beaten the young Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha, while Mina Uchiha and Echizen Uchiha watched the injured children receive painful, fast-acting treatment. The adults reflected on how dangerously the boys’ reckless attack could have ended, but Yunqing had chosen to treat it lightly.

• Yunqing told Pakura that beating the two children had put him in a good mood, then saved a video of the fight in the Dark Plane.
• Yunqing speculated that Itachi Uchiha might someday become Hokage and that Sasori would have to deal with it.
• Mina Uchiha instructed a Sunagakure medical ninja to use painful treatments to speed the children’s recovery, while Echizen Uchiha stood guard.
• Echizen Uchiha recognized that Yunqing could have treated the boys’ attack as an assault on the Kazekage, putting the adults in mortal danger.
• Mina Uchiha and Echizen Uchiha remained angry that the boys’ reckless actions had nearly gotten them killed.

Mina Uchiha reprimanded Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha for attacking the Kazekage and risking the negotiation. She had both boys tied up and hung outside the window, leaving them to reflect.

• Mina Uchiha explained that Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha had endangered their group by attacking the Kazekage.
• Shisui Uchiha woke and insisted that he had been right to defend Konoha and the Uchiha Clan.
• Shisui Uchiha tried to confront the Kazekage, but Echizen Uchiha stopped him and knocked him down.
• Mina Uchiha ordered Echizen Uchiha to tie Shisui Uchiha up and hang him outside the window.
• Itachi Uchiha woke and was also tied up and hung outside the window on Mina Uchiha's orders.

Yunqing teased Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha while they were tied to a wall, then spoke with Mina Uchiha about the Uchiha Clan's failing cinemas. He agreed to a partial refund for their screens and to air their dramas and movies on Sunagakure televisions.

• Yunqing mocked Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha as they struggled against Echizen Uchiha's restraints.
• Mina Uchiha spoke to Yunqing from a window and asked for help because the Uchiha Clan's cinemas were losing money.
• Yunqing agreed to compensate the Uchiha Clan for its screens, and Mina Uchiha accepted a partial refund with the clan covering shipping costs.
• Mina Uchiha asked whether Sunagakure televisions could air the Uchiha Clan's dramas and movies, and Yunqing agreed.

Yunqing explained to Pakura why he had agreed to air the Uchiha Clan’s television dramas and reclaim movie screens, easing her suspicions. He took Pakura home, while Mina Uchiha remained stunned and Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha were still hanging on the wall.

• Mina Uchiha wondered why Yunqing had agreed to her request so easily, while Itachi Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha, and Echizen Uchiha watched in disbelief.
• Pakura confronted Yunqing about letting the Uchiha Clan’s television dramas air and reclaiming movie screens in Sunagakure.
• Yunqing explained that converting movie screens to television screens would earn resources and that the Uchiha Clan would help Sunagakure capture the television market.
• Pakura accepted Yunqing’s explanation, and he took her home to punish her for questioning his preferences.
• Mina Uchiha stayed lost in thought as Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha remained hanging on the wall, while passersby kept their distance from the Uchiha Clan.

Mina Uchiha completed her business in Sunagakure quickly and returned to Konoha with Echizen Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha, and Shisui Uchiha. On the high-speed journey home, Mina recognized that Sunagakure’s express lanes could serve as military transport routes.

• Mina Uchiha’s requests were handled within three days, and she canceled her remaining rest time to hurry back to Konoha.
• Echizen Uchiha drove the group home at high speed while Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha clung to their seats and suffered from the ride.
• Itachi Uchiha vowed to establish speed limits and punish racing once he became Hokage.
• Echizen Uchiha enjoyed speeding along Sunagakure’s express lanes and praised the village for providing roads suited to racing.
• Mina Uchiha explained that the express lanes could transport troops and supplies quickly, and Echizen Uchiha realized their military purpose.

Itachi Uchiha was made to stand in the courtyard after returning from Sunagakure, confused about why his family had punished him. The Uchiha Clan Head explained that Itachi had misjudged the danger posed by the Third Kazekage, leaving Itachi to recognize that his recklessness had nearly gotten everyone killed.

• Itachi Uchiha stood under guard in the courtyard while the Uchiha Clan Head watched him after the meeting ended.
• The Uchiha Clan Head reflected that Itachi’s arrogance and poor judgment still needed correcting, while Shisui was taken away to train.
• The Uchiha Clan Head called Itachi over and asked why he thought he had been made to stand all afternoon.
• The Uchiha Clan Head explained the tense history between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha and said Itachi and Shisui could not have matched the Third Kazekage’s strength.
• Itachi admitted that his arrogance and rudeness had nearly gotten everyone killed, and the Uchiha Clan Head warned him that retreating was not cowardice.

The Uchiha Clan Head explained the harsh rules of the shinobi world and the limits of the clan’s protection to Itachi Uchiha, while laying out the clan’s hopes for him to become Hokage. Itachi understood that he should temper his strength and judgment without trying to bear everything alone.

• The Uchiha Clan Head warned Itachi Uchiha that ideals and honorable intentions would not earn mercy in the shinobi world.
• He told Itachi that the Sannin had been defeated twice by the Third Kazekage and explained that the clan could not save him if the Third Kazekage killed him and Shisui.
• The Uchiha Clan Head taught Itachi that a Kage’s authority came from personal strength and the ability to suppress dissent.
• He explained that the Uchiha Clan had prepared the path to becoming Hokage and placed its hopes on Itachi, while urging him not to become arrogant or take on burdens alone.
• The Uchiha Clan Head advised Itachi against extreme actions, arguing that the Uchiha could be managed if conflicts were handled before they escalated.

Hiruzen Sarutobi recognized how much the Uchiha Clan had sacrificed to pursue the Hokage position and considered Itachi Uchiha’s future mentorship. Meanwhile, the Uchiha Clan quickly began airing its films on Sunagakure television, leaving viewers to wonder how it would adapt its theater business.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the Uchiha Clan Head lecture Itachi Uchiha and reflected on the clan’s sacrifices and ambition for the Hokage position.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi concluded that Minato would need to get involved in deciding whose disciple Itachi Uchiha would become.
• Families in the Land of Rain discovered Uchiha Clan films and television dramas on Sunagakure television.
• Ayu watched a newly released Uchiha Clan film on television and wondered whether the clan would sell some of its theaters.
• Viewers saw that the Uchiha Clan had quickly adapted to Sunagakure’s television market instead of resisting the change.

Sunagakure’s television sales made the other hidden villages envious, while Ayu reflected on the Land of Rain’s disadvantages and resolved to keep developing it. The chapter left Ayu confident that his people’s improving lives justified their loyalty to him, despite rumors about his past.

• Sunagakure earned a fortune selling televisions, and the other hidden villages struggled to catch up while avoiding a direct fight.
• Ayu watched the rain in the Land of Rain and recognized its lack of food, technology, and natural advantages.
• Ayu resolved to build a steel city that could withstand the rain and improve life for the people of the Land of Rain.
• Ayu’s development efforts provided stone housing, household heating and drying machines, and abundant hydropower that the Land of Rain also sold to neighboring countries.
• The people of the Land of Rain supported Ayu and dismissed rumors that he had once been a villain, valuing his contributions and wanting him to have a wife and descendants.

Ayu’s urbanization and state-run distribution reforms improved life in the Land of Rain and drew the attention of the Five Great Nations. Sunagakure’s leaders concluded that the reforms succeeded because the Land of Rain’s circumstances made it unusually suited to such sweeping change.

• Ayu reviewed the Land of Rain’s reports and pushed to move people into cities, expand factories, and place food sales and housing under unified state control.
• The reforms visibly improved life in the Land of Rain, and Ayu’s capabilities regained the attention of the Five Great Nations’ leaders.
• Sunagakure’s diplomatic elder convened a meeting where Chiyo, Yunqing, and others examined the reforms and their effects.
• Yunqing argued that the Land of Rain’s poverty, weakened elites, and Ayu’s gradual investments made it a special case that the Five Great Nations could not replicate.
• Yunqing concluded that the people of the Land of Rain accepted the reforms because even failure would leave them with little to lose, while success offered better lives and new homes.

Yunqing warned Sunagakure’s elders that the Land of Rain’s political system and public benefits could unite its people into a formidable force. After reviewing its trade dependence and limited industrial foundation, the elders concluded it posed little threat for now.

• Ebizo interrupted the elders’ sentimental discussion and demanded that they focus on the Land of Rain’s political system and power.
• Yunqing compared the Land of Rain’s potential collective strength to the Land of Whirlpools’ final resistance against Kirigakure.
• Yunqing asked Ebizo to present the Land of Rain’s television orders and explained that Ayu was using widespread benefits to improve people’s lives.
• Yunqing pointed out that the Land of Rain relied on imports for food and on processing and transit work, limiting its ability to develop independently.
• Ebizo and the other elders concluded that the Land of Rain’s potential was constrained by its weak foundations and stopped worrying about it.