Chapter Summaries

Hatake Sakumo fought Bunpuku and ninjas from other villages after Tsunade and Nawaki were attacked, while Konoha used the conflict to secure supplies and reorganize its forces. He and Hiruzen Sarutobi concluded that the other villages’ Kage had reached Kage-level, and Sakumo ended the chapter kneeling and declaring himself guilty.

• Hatake Sakumo confronted Bunpuku at the Wind and Fire border, fought him, then ordered his squad to return after deciding Sunagakure had not been involved in the attack on Tsunade and Nawaki.
• Hatake Sakumo fought enemy ninjas at the borders of the Lands of Lightning, Earth, and Water, and the tensions in Konoha gradually eased.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi showed Shimura Danzō Shuriken recovered by Sakumo and removed him from his advisory post, assigning him to oversee Anbu training instead.
• Konoha's major clans sent promising ninjas into the Anbu, shops were sold and bought by the Hokage Office Building, and Anbu transported supplies into new warehouses.
• Hatake Sakumo told Hiruzen Sarutobi that the other villages' Kage had likely reached Kage-level, and Hiruzen agreed that Konoha needed to accelerate its preparations.
• Hatake Sakumo knelt before Hiruzen Sarutobi and said he was guilty.

Hatake Sakumo confessed to unauthorized fights, and Hiruzen Sarutobi treated the confession as a political stain while signaling that Sakumo could remain in service. Hiruzen then secured Mito Uzumaki’s agreement to settle tensions with the other hidden villages, leaving Mito to conclude that Konoha and its rivals had only tested one another without gaining a decisive advantage.

• Hatake Sakumo pleaded guilty to fighting powerful enemies without authorization, and Hiruzen Sarutobi reassured him and promised to handle the matter.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi interpreted Sakumo’s confession as proof that he would fall in line with the Hokage Faction and believed the stain could end Sakumo’s political prospects.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi presented Mito Uzumaki with investigation results and a proposed settlement, and she agreed to let the matter rest in exchange for compensation.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Mito Uzumaki scrolls on Five Release Ninjutsu research and material shares, then left the Senju Residence.
• Mito Uzumaki considered Hiruzen Sarutobi’s growing power and the rival villages’ calculations, concluding that their mutual tests had left no side satisfied.

Yunqing and Sunagakure’s leaders discussed Konoha’s growing strength and the time needed to build their own foundations. Yunqing affirmed that he would fight Nawaki if they met on the battlefield, and the chapter ended with the leaders weighing war as their only way to gain time.

• Bunpuku, Ebizo, Chiyo, Sāmon, and Yunqing discussed Hatake Sakumo’s strength and the threat posed by Konoha’s strong foundations.
• Yunqing told the others he would not spare Nawaki if they met in battle, because his duty as Kazekage came first.
• Yunqing explained that Nawaki had inherited Hashirama Senju’s abilities and could become stronger than nearly anyone through training.
• Ebizo redirected the discussion to Sunagakure’s lack of time to develop, and Yunqing said they could wait, wage war, or seek peace through force.

Yunqing warned that war could break out soon, likely beginning between Takigakure and Amegakure, and prepared Sunagakure’s forces for the conflict. After assigning responsibilities to his allies, he used the Dark Plane to observe events in the ninja world, including Hiruzen Sarutobi addressing the Ninja Academy.

• Yunqing explained that the hidden villages’ agreements with the Tailed Beasts and growing strength could lead to war, predicting that Takigakure and Amegakure would be the first to fight.
• Ebizo inferred that Hanzo wanted the Seven-Tails, while Yunqing and Chiyo judged that Amegakure lacked the resources to protect him from the other villages.
• Suke reported Sunagakure’s troop numbers, and Yunqing told him to prepare for enemies who might use Sage Techniques.
• Yunqing instructed Bunpuku to hold back powerful fighters and assigned Chiyo, Ebizo, and Sāmon responsibility for medicine, logistics, and scientific research.
• After the others left, Yunqing reviewed the ninja world through the Dark Plane and watched Hiruzen Sarutobi give a speech at the Ninja Academy.

Yunqing reflected on Sunagakure’s prosperity and the prospect of war while exploring the village. He watched Madara Uchiha work as a photographer, then opened a private communication channel and heard Madara ask why his sacrifices for the Uchiha Clan and Hashirama had brought him nothing.

• Yunqing reviewed ninja-world events and observed Kirigakure’s research with the Six-Tails and Three-Tails.
• Yunqing walked through Sunagakure and considered its rapid growth, economic monopolies, and the possibility that war would break them.
• Madara Uchiha and Tobi photographed customers, and Madara arranged for a little girl to wear Uchiha Clan clothes.
• After hours of photography, Madara complained that people had never appreciated him despite his efforts for the Uchiha Clan and Hashirama.
• Yunqing contacted Madara through a special communication channel, and Madara asked where he had gone wrong.

Yunqing shared drinks with Madara Uchiha and listened as Madara recounted the heroes and political struggles of the Sengoku period. Their discussion ended with Yunqing warning that peace maintained by overwhelming strength depended on the strong remaining immortal and incorruptible.

• Yunqing invited Madara Uchiha to Years Tavern, and Madara brought Tobi along.
• Yunqing and Madara reflected on the heroes of the Sengoku period and the founding of the ninja villages.
• Madara explained how the first generation Kage and the Daimyo united their forces, leading to the Five Great Nations and the One Country, One Village system.
• Yunqing and Madara discussed how inequality, competition, and resentment had made war inevitable.
• Madara argued that overwhelming strength could preserve peace, and Yunqing replied that its protector would need to live forever and avoid corruption.

Yunqing and Madara discussed peace before Pakura informed Yunqing that Hanzo had seized the Seven-Tails from Takigakure. Yunqing predicted that Konoha would claim the beast and began weighing how the other Hidden Villages would profit from the Land of Rain.

• Madara admitted that Hashirama Senju's peace had depended on his strength and shared his reluctance to pursue peace through individual power.
• Yunqing and Madara drank and talked through the night about peace and how it should be achieved.
• Pakura told Yunqing that Hanzo had led an elite Jonin squad in an assault on Takigakure and taken the Seven-Tails.
• Yunqing assured Pakura that Hiruzen Sarutobi would not dare attack Sunagakure's interests in the Land of Rain and predicted that Konoha would keep the Seven-Tails.
• Yunqing considered how Konoha, Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure might divide the Land of Rain's resources.

Yunqing mobilized Sunagakure’s forces and secured the leaders’ resolve as war loomed, with Kirigakure likely to target the vital seaport. Meanwhile, Madara set out for the Land of Rain with Tobi and Black and White Zetsu to begin his plan.

• Yunqing assigned Sunagakure’s troops, special units, artillery, medical staff, and leaders to defend the borders, towns, and key infrastructure.
• Yunqing urged the assembled leaders to fight for the prosperity they had gained, and Aizawa Uzumaki, Ye Xiu, and the others pledged their support.
• Ebizo told Yunqing that Konoha had declared war on the Land of Rain, and Sāmon agreed to deploy artillery platforms at the seaport.
• Yunqing concluded that Kirigakure would likely attack Sunagakure by sea and worried that the other powers had further schemes.
• Black Zetsu told Madara that everything was ready, and Madara led Tobi and Black and White Zetsu toward the Land of Rain to begin his plan.

Konoha and Iwagakure invaded the Land of Rain while Sunagakure seized border infrastructure, plunging the country into war. Madara arranged for Nagato’s parents to be killed so the boy would suffer and become his successor, then set off to search the Land of Rain for another candidate.

• Orochimaru and Jiraiya led five thousand Konoha ninja into the Land of Rain as Iwagakure occupied its border and Rasa’s forces seized Sunagakure’s infrastructure.
• Hanzo ordered Rain Ninja to abandon outlying posts and gather their forces to defend the Land of Rain.
• Nagato’s parents told him he had to endure the hardships of wartime work, while Madara approached their home in the rain.
• Madara left Nagato kneeling beside his parents’ bodies after Konoha ninja killed them, and explained that the child needed to endure great pain.
• Madara told Black Zetsu to watch over Nagato and planned to search the Land of Rain for a successor, while Tobi urged him to bring food.

Orochimaru and Jiraiya defeated Hanzo’s forces in the Land of Rain, while Iwagakure and the other villages moved troops as tensions spread across the ninja world. In the Kazekage’s office, Yunqing and his allies assessed the growing danger of a wider war.

• Hanzo summoned Ibuse against Orochimaru and Jiraiya, who answered with Manda and Bunta as the ordinary ninja withdrew.
• Orochimaru and Jiraiya overwhelmed Hanzo’s Rain Ninja, and their victory raised their fame throughout the ninja world.
• Rōshi ordered Kitsuchi to march on Amegakure, dismissing their agreement with Konoha and teaching Kitsuchi his shameless interpretation of the Will of Stone.
• Kumogakure and Kirigakure deployed troops along borders, and other ninja forces also mobilized as war threatened to erupt.
• Ebizo warned Yunqing and the others that the villages would not let any one power grow too strong, and wondered whether Hiruzen had planned Konoha’s display of strength.

Yunqing ordered reinforcements for Suke and decided to test Sunagakure’s New Puppet Unit, an Iron Golem designed by Senra and Sasori. After seeing Sasori’s talents and powerful family connections, Yunqing began considering him as a future Kazekage and a way to bring the Puppet Master faction closer to his own faction.

• Yunqing, Sāmon, and Ebizo agreed to focus on killing Hanzo and protecting Sunagakure’s interests in the Land of Rain, while Yunqing ordered five thousand troops sent to Suke.
• Yunqing chose the newest puppet unit for deployment but decided to test it himself before sending it to the battlefield.
• Senra refused to let his son Sasori go to war, warning him that the battlefield was too dangerous.
• Yunqing arrived at the Research Department and promised Sasori that the Iron Golem could go to the battlefield if it passed his test.
• Yunqing considered Sasori a possible future Kazekage and hoped to win over Sunagakure’s Puppet Master faction by nurturing him.

Yunqing tested Sasori and Senra’s Iron Golem, judged its powerful ranged attacks promising but its close-combat ability limited, and approved sending the machines to the battlefield. Days later, the Iron Golems departed for Harbor Port as Yunqing reviewed the skilled operators Senra had recruited.

• Yunqing tested the Iron Golem’s speed and attacks, surviving its supersonic S-rank spear strike with only fine scales appearing on his right arm.
• Yunqing praised the Iron Golem’s firepower but said it needed improvement, then promised Sasori more research funding and a starring role in an Iron Golem Genjutsu production.
• Yunqing told Sasori to inspect the other Iron Golems, and Senra explained that their performance in the war would shape Sasori’s reputation among Sunagakure’s leaders.
• Senra reassured Sasori and planned to recruit top puppeteers to operate the Iron Golems.
• A few days later, ten Big Trucks carrying twenty Iron Golems left Sunagakure for Harbor Port, while Yunqing reviewed Senra’s list of operators.

As Sunagakure’s weakness became public, Hiruzen Sarutobi realized Yunqing had manipulated the other villages into targeting Konoha instead. With Konoha facing pressure on multiple fronts, its leaders considered delaying the war and training their forces.

• Yunqing ordered Sunagakure’s dire condition spread throughout the ninja world while concealed figures watched a middle-aged man inspecting the village.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi showed Hatake Sakumo reports of enemy troop deployments and Sunagakure’s exposed vulnerability, and they concluded Yunqing had turned the situation against Konoha.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi sent Hatake Sakumo to the Land of Rain to delay the war and said he would make a ruthless move.
• On the Land of Rain battlefield, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and the Nara Clan Head discussed how Amegakure’s weapons and unexpected forces had put Konoha at risk of fighting four villages.
• The Nara Clan Head proposed delaying the war and prioritizing the survival and training of Genin and Chunin, estimating that the plan would take two years to show results.

Hanzo ordered a full-scale assault after learning Konoha had shifted to small-unit tactics, while Konoha’s commanders discussed how the strategy was developing elite ninjas. Hiruzen Sarutobi had emptied Konoha and prepared an empty-city trap, drawing the other villages’ attention as he readied to fight them.

• Hanzo heard that Konoha’s small-unit tactics had contained its offensive and ordered the Rain Ninja main force to attack.
• The Nara Clan Head reported Konoha’s battlefield gains and emerging talents, including Minato Namikaze, to Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Hatake Sakumo.
• Hatake Sakumo explained that Hiruzen Sarutobi intended to use the war to train elite ninjas and later send academy children to low-intensity battlefields, prompting Orochimaru to suspect a concealed plan.
• Yunqing concluded that Hiruzen had emptied Konoha to lure out a major enemy and openly announced a visit to the Land of Rain; Ōnoki and the Raikage also reacted to reports of Konoha’s weakened defenses.
• A covert Kirigakure squad landed in the Land of Fire as Mito Uzumaki offered to help Hiruzen, who refused to recall his forces and committed to his empty-city trap.

Hanzo proposed a desperate plan to raid Konoha while Amegakure's forces held the front, and his Jonin agreed after recognizing that Sunagakure also threatened their survival. The Rain Ninja assembled a broader strategy and pooled their hidden resources, leaving Hanzo surprised by their resolve.

• Hanzo proposed leading a small force to raid Konoha while Amegakure's main army fought on the front lines.
• A young Jonin argued that Amegakure would eventually be destroyed by Sunagakure if it failed to act, persuading the others to accept Hanzo's gamble.
• The Rain Ninja planned to seek help from Sunagakure and Iwagakure, cede land to Iwagakure, and use a feigned defeat to buy time.
• The Rain Ninja proposed taking the Seven-Tails into Konoha and committing their full army against Konoha's main camp.
• The Jonin revealed explosive techniques and Explosion Tags they could contribute, strengthening the plan and astonishing Hanzo.

Yunqing agreed to help Amegakure attack Konoha while planning to weaken both Konoha and Amegakure, and tensions spread across the Ninja World. As Hanzo set out for Konoha with a Seven-Tails Sealing Tool and a suicide squad, Hiruzen Sarutobi prepared for a crisis and hidden forces watched the growing chaos.

• Amegakure's envoy asked Yunqing to hold back Konoha's elite forces, and Yunqing agreed while mocking the envoy and accepting Sunagakure's supposed facilities.
• Rasa questioned Yunqing's plan, and Yunqing explained that he wanted to weaken Konoha while leaving Amegakure orderly and vulnerable to takeover.
• The other hidden villages backed Amegakure's plan as clashes and assassinations spread across the borders of the Fire, Lightning, Wind, and Water Countries.
• Hanzo departed for Konoha with the Sealing Tool of the Seven-Tails and an elite suicide squad.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi visited Konoha's major clans, released Konoha's Pot King to train guards, and appointed his eldest son head of the Anbu and his personal bodyguard.
• An old man wandered the Ninja World with 250 Battle Armor Guards while a Chakra Lifeform watched from the shadows, ready to release his son.

The Nara Clan Head and Hatake Sakumo realized that Hanzo’s absence explained Konoha’s suspiciously smooth progress, and Orochimaru launched a major assault on Amegakure while sending reinforcements toward Konoha. Dan Katō confirmed Hanzo was gone, leaving Orochimaru to urgently redirect forces as the attack on Konoha remained unresolved.

• The Nara Clan Head and Hatake Sakumo warned Orochimaru that Konoha’s successes were going too smoothly and suspected Hanzo was missing from the front.
• Orochimaru ordered Hatake Sakumo to reinforce Konoha, directed the Nara Clan Head to prepare against Iwagakure, and led the camp’s forces toward Amegakure.
• Yunqing told Rasa to guard Sunagakure’s base, while Rōshi ordered Kitsuchi and Kari to help Amegakure intercept Konoha’s troops.
• Dan Katō reported that Hanzo was neither in Amegakure nor at the Rain Ninja camp, and Orochimaru sent Dan’s squad toward Konoha while ordering him to have Tsunade send reinforcements.

Orochimaru withheld reinforcements from Jiraiya because he was locked in a fierce battle with Kumogakure, while Dan Katō went to ask Tsunade for help. In the Land of Rain, Yunqing trapped Hatake Sakumo and his Konoha team in a closed spatial loop, leaving them to wait with him.

• Orochimaru praised Dan Katō’s dedication and decided not to interfere with his pursuit of Tsunade, while refusing to ask Jiraiya for troops because Jiraiya could barely hold off Kumogakure.
• Jiraiya fought Bee in a brutal battle and relied on his Sage Mode and the training he had received from Tsunade to keep up with him.
• Hatake Sakumo asked Yunqing to let his team pass, but Yunqing explained that he had laid Genjutsu around the area and challenged them to break through.
• Yunqing’s spatial loop returned Hatake Sakumo and the Konoha ninja to him after they wandered for half a day, so Hatake Sakumo accepted that they could not escape.
• Yunqing brought the Konoha team food and water, told them he would keep them there for only a few days, and watched them take turns studying how to get out.

Yunqing and Hatake Sakumo talked after Sakumo’s breakthrough, and Yunqing reflected on Konoha’s seemingly endless supply of talented shinobi. His suspicions about Hiruzen Sarutobi’s hidden influence grew until he concluded that the old Hokage was nearly impossible to overthrow.

• Hatake Sakumo admitted that Yunqing’s strength surpassed his, and Yunqing encouraged him while acknowledging his talent.
• Yunqing praised Hatake Sakumo and Kakashi Hatake, then complained that Konoha kept producing powerful geniuses without any real generational gap.
• Yunqing traced major threats and upheavals across the hidden villages to Madara Uchiha and Obito Uchiha, suspecting their actions had indirectly benefited Konoha.
• Yunqing imagined Hiruzen Sarutobi orchestrating Minato Namikaze’s death and using outside crises to weaken Konoha’s clans and rivals.
• Yunqing recalled Konoha’s concealed assets, including Yamato, Kakashi Hatake, Might Guy, Jiraiya, and Itachi, and decided Hiruzen Sarutobi was unlikely to lose control.

Yunqing kept Hatake Sakumo and his squad from leaving, insisting that Hiruzen Sarutobi would survive Konoha’s crisis. Meanwhile, Tsunade was ambushed by Kirigakure’s Seven Ninja Swordsmen and overwhelmed them with her slug summon and Chakra-infused Fuma Shuriken.

• Yunqing dismissed Hatake Sakumo’s plea to return to Konoha and said Hiruzen Sarutobi would not fall unless he chose to.
• Hatake Sakumo sensed Yunqing’s killing intent and stopped pressing to leave, determined not to endanger his squad.
• Tsunade sent Nawaki and an elite squad ahead to support Konoha while she stayed behind to face the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
• Tsunade summoned her slug and used its crushing attacks to keep the Seven Ninja Swordsmen scrambling and unable to break through its defenses.
• Tsunade hurled Chakra-infused Fuma Shuriken from atop the slug, driving the Seven Ninja Swordsmen into a miserable rout.