Recaps

Uchiha Mai took Tsunade to Ichiraku Ramen, where their conversation about war and Madara’s dream of ending it left Tsunade unsure whether she would choose such an illusion. At the shop, Tsunade ordered a feast of ramen, tempura, and sake.

• Uchiha Mai suggested ramen for lunch, and Tsunade agreed to go with him to Ichiraku Ramen.
• As they walked through Konoha, Tsunade sighed over the war and Uchiha Mai explained that desire made war impossible to end without an all-encompassing dream illusion.
• Tsunade said she did not know whether she would choose to live in such a dream until she faced that choice.
• Uchiha Mai and Tsunade arrived at Ichiraku Ramen and Teuchi explained that the shop served ramen rather than soba or udon.
• Tsunade ordered four bowls of tonkotsu ramen, tempura, and a bottle of sake, and Uchiha Mai suspected she regarded pork as food.

Uchiha Mai and Tsunade ate ramen together before Kakashi brought him suspicious Anbu intelligence about a village massacre. The chapter ended with Mai hearing that a small ninja village in the Land of Rivers had been wiped out, with no bodies or clear evidence left behind.

• Tsunade ordered four bowls of ramen, and Teuchi gave Uchiha Mai his bowl while asking Tsunade for an autograph.
• Uchiha Mai and Tsunade discussed the ramen's taste, and Tsunade briefly accused Teuchi of bringing only two bowls before Mai revealed the other two were hidden from view.
• Tsunade apologized to Teuchi and signed a photo, then Kakashi arrived at the shop to speak with Uchiha Mai.
• Uchiha Mai told Kakashi to explain the Anbu matter plainly instead of whispering while he ate.
• Kakashi reported that a small village in the Land of Rivers had been destroyed five days earlier, leaving over a hundred dead and no bodies, and said Deputy Director Orochimaru wanted Mai's opinion.

Uchiha Mai identified Sasori of the Red Sands as the likely culprit behind a village’s disappearance and advised Konoha to monitor him discreetly. After the Hokage summoned him, Mai gave Sarutobi Hiruzen an anonymous membership card to a kabuki theater, which Hiruzen accepted while asking him to keep it secret from Biwako.

• Uchiha Mai deduced that Sasori of the Red Sands had poisoned and abducted a small shinobi village’s inhabitants, and Kakashi confirmed Orochimaru had reached the same conclusion.
• Uchiha Mai told Kakashi to keep ordinary watch on Sasori without sending conspicuous Anbu or elite Jonin after him.
• Kakashi relayed that Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted Uchiha Mai to visit the Hokage Office after lunch, disappointing Tsunade, who had hoped to spend the afternoon with him.
• Uchiha Mai spent time shopping with Tsunade, then bought small gifts before heading to the Hokage Office.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen asked Uchiha Mai to spend time with Tsunade and help her recover from her hemophobia.
• Uchiha Mai gave Sarutobi Hiruzen an anonymous kabuki theater membership card with two hundred thousand yen in credit, and Hiruzen accepted it while insisting Biwako must not find out.

Sarutobi Hiruzen asked Uchiha Mai to recruit the prodigy Tenzō into the Void Division after his graduation exam. He revealed that Tenzō was the sole survivor of Orochimaru and Danzo’s experiments with Hashirama’s cells, and Uchiha Mai began to understand Hiruzen’s tolerance for such research.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen praised the Void Division and said Konoha needed it to take on greater responsibilities.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen told Uchiha Mai that a six-year-old Ninja Academy student had applied for early graduation and ordered him to recruit the student into the Void Division.
• Uchiha Mai read Tenzō’s file and learned that the child possessed Wood Release and was under Shimura Danzō’s guardianship.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen explained that Orochimaru and Danzo had experimented on gifted infants using Hashirama’s cells, and that Danzo found and raised the only surviving subject, Tenzō.
• Uchiha Mai concluded that Hiruzen knew about the experiments and inferred that Hiruzen’s main limit was preventing people in the village from being harmed.

Uchiha Mai agreed to recruit Tenzō from Root for the Void Division after recognizing Sarutobi Hiruzen’s assignment as a political maneuver. He arrived at the Ninja Academy with his squad and Shisui, where a banner welcomed him as chief examiner for Tenzō’s early graduation exam.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen explained why Tenzō should leave Root and join Uchiha Mai’s young team, and Mai realized the assignment was meant to deepen the divide between the Uchiha and Danzo.
• Mai agreed to visit the Ninja Academy, and Sarutobi Hiruzen said Aburame Ryoma would represent Danzo as an examiner alongside Mai and Murakami Keining.
• Mai returned to the Uchiha clan, prepared for the recruitment attempt, and arranged contingencies in case Danzo retaliated.
• The next morning, Mai led Uchiha Tekka’s Mirror Squad to the Ninja Academy and brought Shisui along, telling him he was there to recruit Tenzō.
• Shisui declared that he would graduate early too, but Mai told him to remain at the Academy until he understood basic arithmetic.
• Mai and his group arrived to find a banner welcoming him as chief examiner for Tenzō’s early graduation examination.

Uchiha Mai returned to the Ninja Academy, where Murakami Keining showed him around and arranged Tenzō’s early graduation examination. The exam began with Uchiha Mai asserting his authority as chief examiner over Aburame Ryoma.

• Murakami Keining greeted Uchiha Mai at the school gate, and Uchiha Mai asked him to give Shisui extra help with math.
• Uchiha Mai questioned the banner celebrating him, and Murakami Keining explained that it promoted the Ninja Academy and had Sarutobi Hiruzen’s approval.
• Murakami Keining guided Uchiha Mai around the school before taking him to Tenzō’s graduation examination.
• Uchiha Mai became chief examiner, while Aburame Ryoma and Murakami Keining served as the other examiners.
• Uchiha Mai asked Tenzō about his strengths, and Aburame Ryoma objected that the examination should test the Three Basic Jutsu.
• Uchiha Mai rebuked Aburame Ryoma and asserted that, as chief examiner, he decided what the examination tested.

Uchiha Mai tested Tenzō’s Wood Release skills and judged him too vulnerable to graduate early, despite Aburame Ryoma’s arguments. The chapter ended with Ryoma losing his temper and insisting that Tenzō had to graduate that day.

• Uchiha Mai asked Tenzō to demonstrate his Wood Release, and Tenzō performed the Wood Clone Technique.
• Tenzō demonstrated several more Wood Release techniques as Uchiha Mai repeatedly dismissed them as average.
• Uchiha Mai assessed Tenzō as comparable to an ordinary Chunin but refused to approve his early graduation, citing the danger of sending a prominent Wood Release user to war.
• Aburame Ryoma slammed the table, confronted Uchiha Mai, and insisted that Tenzō must graduate that day.

Uchiha Mai used his authority as chief examiner to pressure Tenzō into joining the Void Division instead of Danzo's Root. Aburame Ryoma challenged Mai's claim, and the chapter ended with the two on the verge of fighting over Tenzō.

• Uchiha Mai overruled Aburame Ryoma's objections and questioned Tenzō about why he wanted to graduate early.
• Tenzō said he wanted to join Root to protect Konoha, and Mai urged him to serve the Naruto through the Void Division instead.
• Tenzō refused to abandon Danzo, but Mai declared him part of the Void Division and frightened him with his Sharingan.
• Aburame Ryoma demanded that Mai release Tenzō, while Mai argued that transferring him fulfilled Root's duties to the Anbu.
• Ryoma realized Mai intended to take Tenzō and prepared to fight him.

Aburame Ryoma fought Uchiha Tekka with his Kikaichū and outmaneuvered him with a hidden swarm trap. As the insects closed in on Tekka, Uchiha Mai stepped in and unleashed Ura 108 Shiki: Ya Sakazuki, though he still could not control the technique.

• Aburame Ryoma sent a swarm of Kikaichū at Uchiha Mai, and Uchiha Tekka interrupted with a Great Fireball Technique that the insects evaded.
• Uchiha Tekka attacked Ryoma with flaming shuriken while Ryoma split his swarm into insect tornadoes, and the two fought evenly for two minutes.
• Aburame Ryoma revealed that concealed Kikaichū had surrounded Tekka and were draining his chakra.
• Uchiha Tekka used Ghost Lantern Technique to escape the first trap, but Ryoma sent another vast swarm toward him.
• Uchiha Mai intervened with Ura 108 Shiki: Ya Sakazuki, a chakra-flame technique he still could not control.

Uchiha Mai defeated Aburame Ryoma and took Tenzō from Root, declaring that Danzo could come to the Void Division if he wanted him back. Mai returned to prepare for Danzo’s retaliation, while Ryoma went back to Root to report what happened.

• Uchiha Mai engulfed the auditorium in chakra flames, destroying Aburame Ryoma’s Kikaichū and absorbing their life force.
• Aburame Ryoma replenished his swarm with Secret Technique: Insect Cocoon and sent it at Uchiha Mai, but Mai’s Heaven-Roaring Howl devoured the insects.
• Uchiha Mai used Deathfire Oscillating Sword to wound Aburame Ryoma as he dodged the flaming beast.
• Uchiha Mai ordered Uchiha Tekka to take Tenzō and told Ryoma to report to Danzo that he had taken the young ninja.
• Uchiha Mai led the Mirror Squad back to the Void Division to prepare for retaliation, while Aburame Ryoma returned to Root to report to Danzo.

Danzo learned that Uchiha Mai had taken Tenzō after defeating Aburame Ryoma, and he set out with Root to confront Mai at the Void Division. He expected an ambush but went anyway to reclaim Tenzō and protect Root’s reputation.

• Danzo waited at Root’s base, anticipating Tenzō’s arrival as a Wood Release ninja.
• Aburame Ryoma returned badly injured and told Danzo that Uchiha Mai had taken Tenzō after countering his techniques.
• Danzo spared Ryoma but blamed Sarutobi Hiruzen for Mai’s actions and ordered Root to march to the Void Division.
• Ryoma warned Danzo that Mai might have prepared an ambush, but Danzo insisted on going to reclaim Tenzō and preserve Root’s standing.

Danzo confronted Uchiha Mai at the Void Division and demanded Tenzō’s return, but Mai revealed that he had sent Tenzō to the Hokage. Enraged and unable to reclaim him, Danzo attacked Mai with Wind Release: Vacuum Wave.

• Danzo arrived at the Void Division with Root members and confronted Uchiha Mai, who sat surrounded by the Mirror Squad and Flower Squad.
• Danzo threatened Mai and demanded that he hand over Tenzō, but Mai pointed out that Danzo could not safely kill him because of the Uchiha Clan’s influence.
• Mai told Danzo that Tenzō was at the Hokage Office, where Mai had sent him after learning he possessed Wood Release.
• Danzo realized that Sarutobi Hiruzen had likely arranged Tenzō’s transfer, and Mai challenged him to retrieve Tenzō himself.
• Danzo erupted in anger and launched Wind Release: Vacuum Wave at the seated Mai.

Uchiha Mai used Innate Time Control to evade Danzo’s Wind Release attacks and countered with his Dragon Star Style techniques. He then charged Danzo with a powerful downward strike, leaving the outcome of their clash unresolved.

• Uchiha Mai activated Clock Up to double his flow of time and evade Danzo’s Vacuum Wave.
• Danzo recognized that Uchiha Mai’s ability seemed to manipulate time and attacked with Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves.
• Uchiha Mai used Clock Up and Dragon Star Style: Gluttony to clash with Danzo’s barrage, but neither attack gained an advantage.
• Uchiha Mai maintained Clock Up, rushed Danzo with the Body Flicker Technique, and brought down his sword with Dragon Star Style: Baxia.

Uchiha Mai fought Danzo and used Innate Time Control to match his strength, but the ability’s backlash injured him. Danzo then kept him under pressure with repeated Wind Release: Shuriken, forcing Mai to maintain the time acceleration and keep dodging.

• Danzo blocked Uchiha Mai’s sword strike with Vacuum Blade and overpowered him, sending him flying backward.
• Uchiha Mai’s Clock Over ended the acceleration, and the Corrective Force made him cough up blood and fragments of ruptured organs.
• Danzo recognized that the injury came from backlash and ordered Root’s members to stand down, preventing their fight from escalating.
• Danzo launched Wind Release: Shuriken at Uchiha Mai, who used Clock Up and Body Flicker to evade them.
• Danzo hurled more shuriken in succession, forcing Uchiha Mai to keep the acceleration barrier active and dodge without respite.

Uchiha Mai fought Danzo while enduring the backlash of Innate Time Control, and managed to wound him before reinforcements arrived. Orochimaru and an Anbu squad intervened, leaving Danzo facing pressure to stop as Orochimaru realized Mai had injured someone stronger than a Jonin.

• Uchiha Mai accelerated time and charged through Danzo's Vacuum Spheres, taking several wounds to slash Danzo's shoulder.
• Danzo struck Mai with Violent Wind Palm, and the two continued fighting until Mai could no longer withstand Innate Time Control's backlash.
• Uchiha Mai sensed reinforcements as an Anbu squad surrounded the Void Division's base.
• Orochimaru summoned Rashomon to block Danzo's Vacuum Serial Waves, giving Mai time to evade.
• Orochimaru told Danzo to call off the fight, then noticed Danzo's wound and realized Mai had managed to cut him.

Orochimaru stopped Danzo from taking Tenzō, then discussed the gap between Uchiha Mai’s strength and Danzo’s. Mai brought Tenzō back to the Void Division, where he joined Kakashi’s squad as Yamato, and Konoha used his Wood Release to boost morale against Kumogakure.

• Orochimaru invoked Tenzō’s connection to Konoha and his own role in creating the Wood Release, forcing Danzo to withdraw his Root members.
• Orochimaru and Mai discussed Mai’s fight with Danzo and compared Danzo’s strength with Hanzo and the Sannin.
• The next day, Mai recovered from his injuries, retrieved Tenzō from the Hokage’s Office, and assigned him to Kakashi’s Flower Squad.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen announced Tenzō’s existence and gave him the name Yamato.
• Konoha’s troops, encouraged by the news of Yamato, pushed Kumogakure’s forces back, frustrating Prince A.

After half a year of staying under Sarutobi Hiruzen’s protection, Uchiha Mai received an urgent report that Iwagakure had entered the war. Ōnoki led an assault on the Land of Lightning while Roshi invaded the Land of Fire, leaving Konoha facing a new threat.

• Danzo failed to find a chance to kill Uchiha Mai, who spent half a year training and working in the Void Division under Sarutobi Hiruzen’s protection.
• Uchiha Tekka rushed to Uchiha Mai with an urgent report from the front lines.
• Uchiha Mai read that Ōnoki had led three thousand Iwagakure troops into the Land of Lightning and clashed with Raikage A.
• The report stated that Roshi had led four thousand Iwagakure ninjas through the Land of Grass and toward Konoha.
• Raikage A cursed Ōnoki for attacking Kumogakure while sending Roshi’s smaller force against Konoha.

Uchiha Mai and Orochimaru discussed Konoha’s response after Iwagakure invaded the Land of Fire, while weighing the risks of a wider war. Orochimaru warned that Hanzo and the Land of Rain could also enter the conflict.

• Uchiha Mai and Uchiha Tekka learned that Iwagakure had sent troops, and Orochimaru summoned them to the Naruto’s conference room.
• Orochimaru suggested that Uchiha Mai might serve as his assistant if he became commander, while Mai joked that Orochimaru might kill him to steal his Kekkei Genkai.
• Uchiha Mai argued that Konoha should avoid committing too many shinobi to either front and prepare for a prolonged war against Hidden Cloud and Iwagakure.
• Orochimaru pointed out that Hanzo and the Land of Rain posed another danger because they might exploit the conflict to expand their influence.

Sarutobi Hiruzen rallied Konoha’s Jonin by arguing that the village held the advantage against its enemies. He then announced a force of 4,500 shinobi under Orochimaru to resist Iwagakure and guard against an attack from the Land of Rain.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen entered the conference and described Konoha’s war with Kumogakure and Iwagakure’s invasion of the Land of Fire.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen reviewed the region’s history of major battles and declared that Konoha had the advantage in the current war.
• Uchiha Mai applauded Sarutobi Hiruzen and praised his insight, prompting the Jonin to join in.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen announced that Orochimaru would command 4,500 shinobi against Iwagakure while guarding against a possible attack from the Land of Rain.

Uchiha Mai took command of a force on the Iwagakure front and coordinated his companies as Orochimaru fought the Four-Tails Jinchuriki. After Uchiha Takuya requested reinforcements, Mai rushed to his aid and arrived just as Takuya was about to be struck down.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen appointed Uchiha Mai as Orochimaru’s assistant and sent their forces toward the front lines.
• Orochimaru engaged the Four-Tails Jinchuriki Roshi, while Uchiha Mai received orders to deal with Iwagakure’s deputy commander, Gari.
• Uchiha Takuya’s company became outnumbered while fighting the Iwagakure Jonin Dong Shiren and Jushi Shota, so Mai dispatched nearby reinforcements and moved to help.
• Dong Shiren and Jushi Shota coordinated Earth Style attacks that trapped Takuya as his company suffered heavy casualties.
• Uchiha Mai flew in on manifested Black-Gold wings and destroyed the stone spears with Deathfire Oscillating Sword, giving Takuya a chance to escape.

Uchiha Mai confronted two Iwagakure Jonin and their numerically superior force after arriving to aid his wounded ally. He used accelerated time to cut through the attackers, leaving Dong Shiren and Jushi Shota facing his deadly advance.

• Jushi Shota urged Dong Shiren to retreat after recognizing Uchiha Mai, but Dong Shiren insisted their two hundred ninja could defeat Konoha's smaller force.
• Jushi Shota agreed to fight, and Uchiha Mai descended to the ground and challenged the two Jonin.
• Dong Shiren taunted Uchiha Mai about being outnumbered and ordered Iwagakure ninja to attack him.
• Uchiha Mai activated Clock Up, dodged incoming attacks, and killed eight Chunin and Genin in nine steps.
• Uchiha Mai ended Clock Up and assessed the strain, while the battle against the remaining Iwagakure ninja continued.

Uchiha Mai overwhelmed the Rock Shinobi and exposed the gap between his strength and Dong Shiren’s, then pressed his attack against Dong Shiren and Jushi Shota. Shota and Dong Shiren managed to interrupt Mai’s strike and block his follow-up, but both recognized that one mistake could get them killed.

• Uchiha Mai killed eight Rock Shinobi in seconds, causing the survivors and Dong Shiren to lose their will to fight.
• Mai used the Body Flicker Technique to attack Dong Shiren, but Jushi Shota kicked Dong Shiren aside and blocked the blow with Earth Release techniques, leaving Shota’s arms badly wounded.
• Mai activated Clock Up and attacked Dong Shiren again, while Dong Shiren froze from guilt over Shota’s injuries.
• Shota used Earth Release: Earth Flow River to disrupt Mai’s footing and give Dong Shiren time to retreat.
• Mai escaped the muddy current and sent an energy blade at Shota, but Dong Shiren blocked it with Earth Shore Return.

Uchiha Mai killed Jushi Shota with a time-accelerated sword strike, then escaped Dong Shiren’s Earth Style attack by flying away with Uchiha Takuya. Dong Shiren was left exhausted and demoralized, and Mai prepared to finish him off.

• Uchiha Mai noticed Iwagakure ninja calling for reinforcements and launched a blue sword-energy slash at one of them.
• Uchiha Mai used Clock Up to rush Jushi Shota and cleave him in two, while Dong Shiren failed to intervene.
• Clock Over ended Mai’s time acceleration and injured him, but the life force he absorbed from Jushi Shota repaired his body and replenished his chakra.
• Dong Shiren unleashed Earth Style: Earth Flow Spears, killing Jushi Shota and several nearby ninja, but Uchiha Mai flew clear with Uchiha Takuya.
• Uchiha Mai judged Dong Shiren exhausted and demoralized, and believed he could kill him in a few more moves.

Uchiha Mai drove the Iwagakure force into retreat and faced Dong Shiren, who stayed behind to protect his comrades. Mai planned to draw out the duel while recovering and wait for stronger enemies, including Gari, to arrive.

• Dong Shiren ordered the Rock Shinobi to withdraw after Uchiha Mai overwhelmed their Jonin and inflicted heavy casualties.
• Uchiha Mai sent Uchiha Takuya’s unit to rest and pursued the retreating force alone.
• Dong Shiren admitted his mistakes and chose to fight Mai to buy time for his comrades.
• Mai decided to prolong the fight, recover from his injuries, and lure arriving Iwagakure Jonin into battle.
• Dong Shiren charged at Mai while Gari, Iwagakure’s deputy commander, headed to reinforce the battlefield.

Gari and three Iwagakure Jonin hunted Uchiha Mai, only to be caught in an ambush by Konoha forces. Mai confronted Gari and divided the battlefield, setting up a fight between them while the remaining Jonin faced the other Konoha fighters.

• Gari learned that Uchiha Mai had killed Jushi Shota and likely Dong Shiren, then ordered the Iwagakure unit to retreat while he pressed on with three Jonin.
• Gari stopped his group before an Explosive Tag formation detonated, and more than a hundred Konoha ninjas surrounded them.
• Uchiha Mai emerged with Uchiha Takuya and another Konoha Jonin, and Mai learned from Gari that his Explosion Release let him detect Explosive Tags from far away.
• Mai confirmed that Dong Shiren was dead and said he had recovered his chakra and injuries by taking the man's life force.
• Gari and Morishita attacked Mai while the other two Iwagakure Jonin engaged the Konoha Jonin and Chunin; Mai ordered the Genin to withdraw.