Chapter Summaries

Uchiha Mai persuaded Tsunade to return to Konoha by trading taijutsu lessons for Texas Hold'em instruction, and the team set off from Tanzaku Town. On the way, enemies ambushed the group to target Tsunade, but seeing Minato kill an attacker triggered her fear of blood and left her unable to fight.

• Uchiha Mai and Tsunade split their winnings, and Tsunade eagerly asked him to teach her Texas Hold'em.
• Uchiha Mai proposed that Tsunade teach him taijutsu in exchange for card lessons, and she agreed to return to Konoha with the group.
• Minato, Uchiha Mai, and Kakashi noticed signs of an ambush and quietly shifted the team's formation to protect Tsunade.
• Disguised enemies revealed themselves and launched ninjutsu at Tsunade, confirming that she was their target.
• Minato killed one attacker with his kunai, causing Tsunade's fear of blood to overwhelm her and preventing her from fighting.

Uchiha Mai saved Tsunade from an ambush after her Hemophobia left her unable to move. Once Tsunade revealed her condition, Minato sent Mai with him to pursue the attackers and left Kakashi, Might Guy, and Toad Takumi to guard her.

• Mai used [Gongshoudao] to rescue Tsunade from the enemy ninja’s focused attack, and the attackers fled.
• Minato stayed with Tsunade instead of immediately pursuing the enemies, then stabbed a corpse again after mistaking Tsunade’s warning gesture.
• Mai turned Tsunade away from the corpse, and Tsunade admitted that she developed Hemophobia after the Second Shinobi World War.
• Minato realized the attackers might expose Tsunade’s weakness and ordered Kakashi, Mai, and Might Guy to protect her while he pursued them.
• Mai requested permission to join Minato, and Minato summoned Toad Takumi to guard Tsunade with Kakashi and Might Guy.

Namikaze Minato and Uchiha Mai pursued the Kumogakure squad that had attacked Tsunade, but discovered Narita Daisaku waiting in a second ambush. Mai baited the enemy into focusing on Minato and withdrew, preparing to strike during the fight.

• Namikaze Minato briefed Uchiha Mai on Narita Daisaku and the four or five Chunin accompanying him as they tracked the fleeing squad.
• Uchiha Mai explained that he had noticed an oddly shaped tree and suspected an enemy using the Transformation Technique before the first ambush.
• Namikaze Minato stopped the pursuit and exposed Narita Daisaku, who had disguised himself as an ancient tree and prepared another ambush.
• Narita Daisaku revealed that four Chunin were hidden nearby and threatened Minato and Mai, believing his five-person squad could defeat them.
• Uchiha Mai taunted Narita Daisaku by claiming Minato could beat twenty opponents with one hand, then retreated to wait for a chance to attack.

Uchiha Mai used [Gongshoudao] to evade Kurokawa’s sneak attack and then overwhelmed him with powerful taijutsu, while Master Minato dodged the attacks of four enemy ninja. The fight continued with Mai pressing Kurokawa before he could complete a ninjutsu.

• Narita Daisaku ordered Kurokawa to deal with Uchiha Mai while he and two other ninja attacked Master Minato, and a fourth kept watch for an opening.
• Master Minato used his hand-seal-free Body Flicker Technique to evade the attackers, including a surprise Lightning Style strike.
• Uchiha Mai used [Gongshoudao] to dodge Kurokawa’s sneak attack and countered with a kick that fractured Kurokawa’s arm.
• Kurokawa retreated and tried to form hand seals, but Mai threw shuriken and closed the distance before he could finish.
• Mai traded taijutsu with Kurokawa and gained the upper hand, arguing that Kurokawa’s ninjutsu could not outpace his fists at close range.

Uchiha Mai used a sudden burst of speed to interrupt Kurokawa’s ninjutsu and unleash a lethal close-range attack. Kurokawa’s throat was shattered, leaving him badly wounded and bleeding heavily.

• Kurokawa struggled to widen the distance from Uchiha Mai, who repeatedly forced him back into close combat.
• Narita Daisaku ordered Kurokawa to finish Mai and support the team, as Master Minato pressured Narita and the other Hidden Cloud shinobi.
• Kurokawa forced Mai back and retreated twenty meters to form hand seals, believing Mai could not reach him in time.
• Mai spent 300,000 to activate [Gongshoudao] for two seconds and rushed past Kurokawa’s defenses at greater speed.
• Mai slashed Kurokawa’s chest, then struck his throat with his wrist, shattering his airway and causing massive bleeding.

Uchiha Mai killed Kurokawa and joined Namikaze Minato against Narita Daisaku, who sacrificed an arm to escape. Mai intercepted and killed the exhausted Kumogakure Jonin, then took credit for the victory.

• Narita Daisaku expected Kurokawa to help him, but Uchiha Mai killed Kurokawa with Outer Style: Dream Bullet and a throat strike.
• Mai rushed to support Namikaze Minato as Minato continued to overwhelm Narita Daisaku.
• Narita Daisaku used Lightning Style: Lightning Fist, forcing Minato to sever his arm and interrupt his attack.
• Narita Daisaku fled, but Mai activated Gongshoudao and intercepted him at increased speed.
• Mai defeated Narita Daisaku with 100th Style: Demon Burner and claimed that Narita had died because he angered him.

Minato and Uchiha Mai defeated five Kumogakure shinobi, then returned to find Tsunade playing cards with Kakashi, Might Guy, and Toad Takumi. Tsunade said her Hemophobia had subsided and asked whether the enemies were dealt with.

• Minato accepted that Mai had killed Narita Daisaku and praised his strength after the two searched the corpses and cleaned up the battlefield.
• Minato questioned Mai about the name of his Oniyaki technique, and Mai recited its full, exaggerated name to satisfy him.
• Minato sealed all five enemy corpses in a Storage Scroll, and he and Mai washed off the blood before returning to Tsunade.
• Minato scolded Kakashi, Might Guy, and Toad Takumi for playing cards instead of protecting Tsunade, but Tsunade said she had invited them and could defend herself.
• Toad Takumi returned to Mount Myoboku, and Tsunade asked Minato whether he had already dealt with the enemies.

After the team returned to Konoha, Minato distributed the mission reward and the others reacted to Mai’s Jonin kill. At home, Mai checked his Style Points and discovered that a new One-and-a-Half-Star Prize Pool had unlocked.

• Minato led the team back to Konoha and announced that their mission had succeeded, proposing how to divide the 800,000-yen reward.
• Kakashi, Might Guy, and Tsunade were surprised to learn that Uchiha Mai had killed Narita Daisaku, a Jonin.
• Kakashi and Might Guy invited Mai to train with them, but he declined so he could rest and learn taijutsu from Tsunade.
• Tsunade gave Mai her address and told him not to teach his gambling techniques to anyone else in the village.
• Mai returned to the clan grounds, visited Fugaku’s home, and later checked his system to find 478 Style Points and a newly unlocked One-and-a-Half-Star Prize Pool.

Sarutobi Hiruzen confronted Hatake Sakumo after an enemy squad infiltrated the Land of Fire and ambushed Tsunade, despite the Anbu’s intelligence network. Sakumo accepted responsibility, and Hiruzen warned that Danzo was waiting to take his position as Anbu commander.

• Uchiha Mai decided to save his draws for the One-and-a-Half-Star Prize Pool and went to sleep.
• Namikaze Minato submitted his revised mission report to Sarutobi Hiruzen, who praised Uchiha Mai’s rapid growth and talent.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered Namikaze Minato to bring Hatake Sakumo to his office to answer for the Anbu’s failure to detect the Kumogakure squad.
• Hatake Sakumo admitted the failure and offered to die in atonement.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen rebuked Hatake Sakumo over past and present failures, recounted the resources and authority he had given the Anbu, and warned that Danzo coveted his position.

Sarutobi Hiruzen reflected on how he secured the Hokage position and kept Danzo from gaining control of the Anbu. After Hatake Sakumo accepted blame for the Anbu’s latest failure, Sarutobi ordered him to investigate and purge the organization.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen recalled how he secured Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura’s support, then brought Danzo into his alliance with promises of advisor positions and Root.
• Danzo repeatedly challenged Hatake Sakumo’s fitness to lead the Anbu as he sought to expand his influence over the organization.
• Hatake Sakumo admitted fault for the Anbu’s intelligence failure and offered to resign after completing an investigation.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered Hatake Sakumo to investigate every intelligence station and the Anbu itself, purge the organization, and report back for the aftermath.

Sarutobi Hiruzen prepared to protect Hatake Sakumo while choosing a temporary successor to command the Anbu. Danzo challenged Hiruzen’s decision but left after Hiruzen asserted his authority as Hokage.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen decided to make Namikaze Minato acting Anbu director if Hatake Sakumo could not remain in command.
• Hiruzen summoned Minato, rewarded his team, and warned him to stay in the village for a troublesome mission.
• Danzo confronted Hiruzen, blamed Sakumo for failing to protect Tsunade, and demanded command of the Anbu for himself or Orochimaru.
• Hiruzen defended Sakumo and insisted that the Hokage alone decided who commanded the Anbu.
• Danzo left after Hiruzen refused to replace Sakumo, and Hiruzen found Danzo’s restrained response unsettling.

Uchiha Mai learned gambling and taijutsu from Tsunade before Minato arrived with an S-Rank mission from Sarutobi Hiruzen. The chapter ended as Hiruzen began a pre-battle briefing, with Hatake Sakumo set to explain a mission that could affect Konoha and the balance of the Ninja World.

• Uchiha Mai hired Konoha Genin to clean and refurnish Tsunade's abandoned residence.
• Uchiha Mai and Tsunade spent several days trading gambling techniques and taijutsu lessons, and both improved their skills.
• Minato arrived with Kakashi and Might Guy to tell Uchiha Mai that the Hokage had assigned them an S-Rank mission.
• Tsunade warned Uchiha Mai to return alive because she had not finished learning his card skills.
• Minato's team went to the Hokage Office, where Sarutobi Hiruzen announced that Hatake Sakumo would lead the mission briefing.

Uchiha Mai and Minato’s team learned that Hidden Cloud had compromised Konoha’s entire Northeast intelligence division, and Hatake Sakumo assigned them to help eliminate the traitors and recover the division’s archives. As the teams prepared to depart, Mai chose the codename 007.

• Uchiha Mai asked Sarutobi Hiruzen whether the children would be punished if the mission failed, and Hiruzen assured them they would not be punished for doing their best.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen revealed that Hasegawa, chief of the Northeast Division, had betrayed Konoha and that the division’s intelligence stations were compromised.
• Hatake Sakumo explained that Minato and his teammates had been temporarily transferred into the Anbu and assigned to clear two intelligence stations.
• Hatake Sakumo outlined a simultaneous operation to capture Hasegawa, kill the division’s traitorous ninjas, and secure its intelligence archives.
• Uchiha Mai asked about Anbu masks and codenames, then chose 007 as his codename.

The chapter compared three accounts of when Hatake Sakumo died and concluded that Kakashi was roughly seven to nine years old. It left the exact age uncertain, but none of the accounts placed Sakumo’s death before Kakashi graduated.

• In episode 339, Minato said Sakumo had died five years before Kakashi’s team undertook the Kannabi Bridge mission, making Kakashi seven at the time.
• In the Book of Combat, Kakashi was twenty-seven and the Kannabi Bridge battle had occurred thirteen years earlier, making him fourteen during the mission and nine when Sakumo died.
• In anime-original episode 636, Obito noticed Kakashi’s changed personality before graduating, and the Third Hokage mentioned Sakumo’s death while assigning Minato to instruct Kakashi.
• The narrator concluded that the three accounts placed Sakumo’s death when Kakashi was roughly seven to nine years old, not before his graduation.

Minato's team debated whether to attack two intelligence outposts together or split up, then chose to strike both at once. Minato assigned Mai to lead Kakashi and Guy, and the teammates headed toward their targets after Mai warned Kakashi to obey his commands.

• After traveling for two days, Minato's team reached the area near their targets and reviewed the mission map and intelligence.
• Kakashi and Mai argued that splitting up would let the team attack both outposts faster and reduce the chance of enemies escaping.
• Minato agreed to split the team, taking one outpost himself and appointing Mai acting captain and Kakashi acting vice-captain for the other.
• Mai used his Sharingan to memorize the map and intelligence, and the four set off separately toward their targets.
• Kakashi challenged Mai's authority, and Mai threatened him before joking that he would only deal with him after defeating the enemies.

Uchiha Mai led Kakashi and Might Guy in an assault on a suspected Cloud Shinobi intelligence station, using his Sharingan to locate its occupants. The attack left Ishida fighting Mai while Kakashi faced the other defenders, and Mai killed one Genin with a fire technique.

• Uchiha Mai assigned Kakashi to support the assault and Might Guy to stop anyone escaping, then led the way into the residence.
• Uchiha Mai used his Sharingan to locate the occupants and launched a Great Fireball, but Ishida and another ninja dodged it.
• Uchiha Mai confronted Ishida, who recognized him as a young Konoha Anbu, while Kakashi engaged the two ninja from another room.
• A Genin attacked Uchiha Mai with an Explosive Tag, but Mai flicked it back and ignited it with a bouncing flame, killing him.

Uchiha Mai fought the traitorous Ishida while Kakashi and Might Guy eliminated the remaining Kumogakure Genin. The chapter ended with Kakashi and Guy joining Mai against Ishida, who panicked at facing all three.

• Uchiha Mai used Dark Stroke to kill a Genin, and Ishida tried to recruit him to Kumogakure.
• Ishida feinted by pointing out Kakashi, then attacked Uchiha Mai with the Rock Fist Technique.
• Uchiha Mai countered Ishida's punch and fought him in a prolonged taijutsu stalemate.
• Kakashi killed one Genin, then called in Might Guy to help kill the last fleeing Genin.
• Uchiha Mai accepted Might Guy's offer to help, and Kakashi charged in as Ishida panicked at the three-on-one fight.

Uchiha Mai’s team killed Ishida and searched his intelligence station, but Mai’s Great Fireball had burned the backup files and Might Guy accidentally scattered their ashes. The team burned down the estate to destroy any remaining intelligence and headed to meet Minato before continuing the mission at the border.

• Uchiha Mai killed Ishida with a kick after driving him back and stopping his attempt to escape underground.
• Uchiha Mai ordered Kakashi and Might Guy to search the bodies and the rooms for intelligence files, but they found nothing useful.
• Kakashi suspected Mai’s earlier Great Fireball had burned the station’s paper records, and Might Guy scattered the ashes with a sneeze.
• Uchiha Mai reassured Might Guy, then ordered him and Kakashi to douse the estate with oil and alcohol so Mai could burn it down.
• Uchiha Mai led Kakashi and Might Guy toward a neighboring town to meet Minato before they went to the border.

Minato’s team searched the border for Hatake Sakumo and discovered that a large group of ninjas, including Sakumo, had crossed into the Land of Hot Water. Pakkun identified a dangerous chakra presence among them, and Minato realized Kumogakure had brought a Jinchuriki; the team set out to track them, fearing Sakumo was in danger.

• Minato asked Uchiha Mai’s team about their mission, and Mai reported that they had killed all four targets but destroyed the intelligence station’s backup records during the fight.
• Minato and the three youngsters searched the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water, finding nothing on the first day.
• On the second day, Kakashi’s ninja hound Pakkun detected that twenty-five to thirty ninjas had passed through about two hours earlier, including Hatake Sakumo and several Jonin-level chakra presences.
• Pakkun described one presence as exceptionally dangerous, and Minato recognized it as likely belonging to a Jinchuriki.
• Minato asked Pakkun to track the group, worried that Sakumo’s swordsmanship might not be enough to handle a Jinchuriki.

Minato’s team tracked a powerful enemy into the Land of Hot Water and learned that Kumogakure’s nine-year-old Jinchuriki was fighting Konoha’s Anbu. Uchiha Mai identified Yugito Nii as the battle intensified, and Minato ordered his team into combat.

• Pakkun warned Minato that the enemy was dangerously powerful, and Minato told the others to prepare for a difficult fight.
• Minato confirmed that the enemy was a Jinchuriki and explained that Kumogakure had a young female Jinchuriki who could control her Tailed Beast.
• Pakkun tracked the fighting to within a kilometer, then Minato sent him away and led the team forward.
• Uchiha Mai saw Hatake Sakumo and Konoha’s Anbu fighting a larger Kumogakure force that included the rogue ninja Hasegawa.
• Uchiha Mai recognized Yugito Nii as the Jinchuriki, who fought with Tailed Beast traits and recovered quickly from Sakumo’s attacks.