Recaps

Tamura Hiroshi returned to Konoha with Tsunade and Uzumaki Kousou, while the village's elders discussed the prospect of war and Torifu Akimichi resolved to fight. Tsunade gave Tamura the First Hokage's necklace to aid his training, but he broke its seal and was engulfed by Hashirama Senju's Wood Release chakra as Tsunade struggled to save him.

• Tamura Hiroshi traded Iwagakure techniques with Tsunade for the Heavy Rock Technique, and Tsunade agreed to treat Natsuhi Star and develop medicine for Hoshigakure.
• Tsunade helped Uzumaki Kousou recover, while Hiruzen Sarutobi, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Torifu Akimichi discussed her arrival and Torifu's decision to join the coming war.
• Torifu Akimichi met Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō at Hokage Cliff, spoke of his resolve to fight, and shared a drink with his old comrades.
• Tsunade gave Tamura Hiroshi the First Hokage's chakra necklace and explained that its sealing technique could help with his training.
• Tamura Hiroshi studied the necklace's seal and scraped at the crystal, causing it to shatter and release Wood Release chakra that began consuming him.
• Tsunade found that she could not penetrate the Wood Release chakra surrounding Tamura Hiroshi and feared he would die before she could find a way to save him.

Tamura Hiroshi survived the First Hokage’s chakra by separating its Yang Release and Wood Release components with Orochimaru’s help, then obtained Orochimaru’s Cursed Seal technique. After waking, he warned Katsuyu about the village’s power struggles and said they would soon head to the Land of Rivers for the war, leaving them preparing for a dangerous deployment.

• Tsunade sent Tamura Hiroshi to absorb Hoshigakure star energy while she fetched Orochimaru, and the energy strengthened his chakra enough to resist the First Hokage’s chakra longer.
• Tamura Hiroshi sensed that the chakra contained Yang Release and Wood Release, and proposed drawing out the Yang Release after Orochimaru suppressed its activity with a formula powered by ten Sharingan.
• Tamura Hiroshi separated the Yang Release from the Wood Release, kept the Yang Release, and gave Orochimaru and Tsunade half of the Wood Release chakra each.
• Orochimaru examined the star energy and gave Tamura Hiroshi a Cursed Seal technique scroll, while Tsunade warned him not to let Orochimaru experiment on him.
• Tsunade knocked Tamura Hiroshi unconscious, and Natsuhi Star shaved his head while he slept; he later woke beside Katsuyu and learned he had slept through the night.
• Tamura Hiroshi told Katsuyu they would train in the rear of the Land of Rivers battlefield and explained that village power struggles had led to the deaths of Tsunade’s younger brother and Katsuyu’s uncle.

Tamura Hiroshi planned to obtain the Gelel Ore Vein and began searching for the ruins while Sunagakure prepared to wage war against Konoha. After the armies faced off at the Land of Rivers, Hiroshi found buildings hidden in a misty ravine.

• Tamura Hiroshi inferred that his Fragmented Jade Piece was tied to destiny, then planned to find the Gelel Ore Vein and use its energy to strengthen himself.
• Rasa chose to pursue war against Konoha rather than search for the missing Sasori, while Ebizo advised him to wait for the other villages to attack.
• Chiyo arranged to ally Sunagakure with Iwagakure and keep Pakura from gaining military merit, as Pakura worried that Konoha was growing stronger.
• Rasa led Sunagakure's forces to the Land of Rivers, and Akimichi Torifu brought Konoha's forces to Kikyō Mountain Fortress to prepare for battle.
• Tsunade joined Konoha's war effort to handle medical care and antidotes while Tamura Hiroshi left to survey the terrain and search for the ruins.
• Tamura Hiroshi found a waterfall and spotted buildings concealed in a misty ravine.

Tamura Hiroshi absorbed the Gelel Ore Vein into a sealing tool and used its life force to strengthen his body, then returned to Kikyō Mountain Castle. He hid the ore’s origin from Tsunade and began sharing the converted life force with Katsuyu as he prepared to resume training.

• Tamura Hiroshi infiltrated a secluded village, read the elder’s memories, and found the underground chamber sealing the Gelel Ore Vein.
• Tamura Hiroshi used an enhanced sealing tool to absorb the vein into a giant green crystal, then sealed it into the Four Symbols Seal over his heart.
• Tamura Hiroshi drew life force from the crystal through the Gate of Death, collected the ruins’ summoning formation, and collapsed the ruins before scouting for another half month.
• Tamura Hiroshi returned to Kikyō Mountain Castle, where Tsunade detected his powerful life force and drew a blood sample from him.
• Tamura Hiroshi gave Katsuyu the ermine and explained how to use a Four Symbols Seal to receive some of his converted life force.
• Tamura Hiroshi decided to resume intense physical training and use his abundant life force to strengthen his body.

Tamura Hiroshi revealed that he could produce abundant life force and used a simplified Eight Trigrams Seal to restore Torifu Akimichi, then arranged to share the power discreetly with the Ino-Shika-Cho clans. He left Tsunade with a plan to develop a cover medicine and learned about her improved Cursed Seal method for using Star Energy as external chakra armor.

• Tamura Hiroshi told Torifu Akimichi that he had fused with the First's Yang Release Chakra and could generate large amounts of life force by eating.
• Tamura Hiroshi proposed sealing life force inside Torifu Akimichi to restore his body, and Torifu agreed to distribute it among trusted clan members without exposing Hiroshi's potential.
• Torifu Akimichi summoned Chōza Akimichi, Shikaku Nara, and Inoichi Yamanaka, who learned a simplified Eight Trigrams Seal and used it to store life force in Torifu and themselves.
• Torifu Akimichi regained his youth, so Shikaku Nara proposed disguising the change as the effect of a lifespan-consuming Secret Medicine developed by the clans.
• Tamura Hiroshi visited Tsunade, who gave him a sealing technique to conceal his life force and agreed to develop the cover medicine.
• Tsunade explained that she had nearly finished studying the Star Meteorite and was developing a Cursed Seal system to store mutated chakra externally for chakra wings and armor.

Tamura Hiroshi continued training during the war’s probing stage, then reunited with Rin Nohara, Kakashi, and Uchiha Obito. He tricked Obito into awakening his Three Tomoe Sharingan and left him furious but secretly thrilled by his new eyes.

• Tamura Hiroshi formed a purple Cursed Seal to store his altered chakra and studied a sealing technique that blocked sensory ninjutsu.
• After nearly a year of training, Tamura Hiroshi welcomed Rin Nohara, Kakashi, and Uchiha Obito, then introduced them to Katsuyu and Might Guy.
• The group shared a meal, and Tamura Hiroshi offered to teach Kakashi the Light-Weight Rock Technique in exchange for learning the Hatake Clan’s swordsmanship.
• Tamura Hiroshi staged the deaths of Rin Nohara and Kakashi to provoke Uchiha Obito, then sensed the process by which Obito awakened his Three Tomoe Sharingan.
• Uchiha Obito challenged Tamura Hiroshi and later surrendered after Tamura teased him about his feelings for Rin Nohara; Obito then admired his newly awakened eyes.

Tamura Hiroshi and the Ino-Shika-Cho clans planned to hinder Minato Namikaze’s rise while helping Tsunade build a record of battlefield achievements. They launched a covert mission to locate Sunagakure’s One-Tail Jinchuriki, and Uzumaki Kousou found his position.

• Tamura Hiroshi shared grilled fish with Torifu Akimichi, Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Choza Akimichi, who discussed Hiruzen Sarutobi’s order to help Minato Namikaze earn battle merits.
• Tamura Hiroshi and Shikaku Nara decided to leak the order to Root to obstruct Minato’s progress, then discussed getting Tsunade into battle and seeking Tailed Beast power.
• Tamura Hiroshi watched The Gambler 2 with Tsunade, Minato Namikaze, and the others, while Tsunade revealed that preparations for The Gambler 3 were underway.
• Shikaku Nara told Tamura Hiroshi that Sunagakure’s One-Tail Jinchuriki had arrived, and the group prepared to use Minato’s Flying Thunder God Technique for a surprise attack.
• Tamura Hiroshi, Minato Namikaze, Torifu Akimichi, and their elite team traveled behind the Sand Ninja Army aboard the giant ninja hawk.
• Uzumaki Kousou used the Mind’s Eye of the Kagura to sense the One-Tail Jinchuriki and point out his location.

Konoha’s team attacked the One-Tail and severed its tail while trying to kill its Jinchuriki, as Tamura Hiroshi intercepted Sasori of the Red Sands and defeated him. The Jinchuriki committed suicide before Konoha could capture him, and the team departed with the One-Tail’s sealed tail hidden from Minato Namikaze.

• Torifu Akimichi, Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, and their clansmen broke through the One-Tail’s underground stronghold, restrained the beast, severed its tail, and let Uzumaki Kousou seal it in a jar.
• Tamura Hiroshi intercepted Sasori of the Red Sands, fought his Third Kazekage Human Puppet, and poisoned and crushed Sasori beneath the sand until he was near death.
• Tamura Hiroshi brought the living Sasori back, and Katsuyu began reading his cultivation memories while Tamura Hiroshi and Might Guy guarded the area.
• Uzumaki Kousou located the Jinchuriki in the One-Tail’s neck, and Inoichi Yamanaka awakened his consciousness while the others restrained the beast and wounded its neck.
• The One-Tail’s sealing technique suppressed it back into the Jinchuriki, who killed himself rather than let Konoha capture him; the team then regrouped with Minato Namikaze and concealed the sealed tail.

Tamura Hiroshi sealed the One-Tail’s chakra and used a brutal, unconventional method to force Tsunade to confront her hemophobia. Tsunade broke free and attacked him, while Hiroshi escaped with his companions and learned that Natsuhi Star was carrying medicine back to Hoshigakure.

• Rasa found the One-Tail Jinchuriki dead and concluded that he had taken his own life to protect the One-Tail.
• Tamura Hiroshi sealed the One-Tail’s chakra, and the Fragmented Jade Piece purified it, allowing him to form a Tailed Beast Cloak without its usual negative aura.
• Tamura Hiroshi triggered Tsunade’s memories with Sasori of the Red Sands’ corpse and used the Yamanaka Secret Technique to make her dissect it and destroy wax figures of Nawaki and Dan Katō.
• Tsunade’s fury overcame her fear, and she broke Tamura Hiroshi’s control before he escaped her punch with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Tamura Hiroshi joined Shikaku Nara and the others on a ninja hawk, where Natsuhi Star explained that she was taking medicine back to Hoshigakure.

Tamura Hiroshi’s group waited for a chance to obtain Kumogakure’s Tailed Beast chakra while Iwagakure trapped the Cloud army. As the Third Raikage pursued the Eight-Tails’ escape ploy, Tamura Hiroshi sealed the discarded tentacle and headed for Iwagakure, while Shikaku Nara’s group pursued Yozuki A.

• Tamura Hiroshi displayed his control of the One-Tail’s chakra and a small Tailed Beast Bomb before entering a cave to train, while Shikaku Nara and his companions searched for Iwagakure intelligence.
• Ōnoki’s forces and the Explosion Corps surrounded Yozuki A, Killer B, and the Kumogakure army, reducing their numbers to fewer than a thousand.
• The Third Raikage arrived and led the Cloud forces in a desperate breakout, but fewer than five hundred escaped with Yozuki A as he stayed behind with the Eight-Tails.
• The Eight-Tails used a clone to trick Ōnoki, flinging the Third Raikage toward Iwagakure before leaving an octopus tentacle behind.
• Tamura Hiroshi, disguised as an Iwagakure ninja, sealed the tentacle and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to head toward Iwagakure.
• Shikaku Nara’s group boarded the ninja hawk and pursued Yozuki A and the fleeing Kumogakure survivors.

Yozuki A’s retreating Kumogakure forces lost Yuzuki to a Konoha plot, while Tamura Hiroshi’s group captured the Four-Tails’ remains and escaped after blasting Iwagakure. In the Land of Iron, Tamura studied Steel Release and tried to draw more Two-Tails chakra from Yuzuki as he considered new ways to combine Tailed Beast power with Senjutsu.

• Yozuki A’s men found a letter demanding Yuzuki’s exchange for Uzumaki Kushina, and Yozuki A chose to retreat and accept the deal.
• Inoichi Yamanaka controlled a Kumo ninja to carry Yuzuki to Shikaku Nara’s group, who captured her and left the exchange letter at Tamura Hiroshi’s request.
• Tamura Hiroshi lured Rōshi into a trap of ninety million Explosive Tags; the Four-Tails shielded Rōshi but was badly injured, and Might Guy defeated an Iwa Steel Release ninja while Shikaku Nara’s group collected the Four-Tails’ remains.
• The explosion let the Third Raikage escape, and the war between Kumogakure and Iwagakure ended with both sides heavily wounded and Ōnoki vowing revenge.
• In the Land of Iron, Tamura Hiroshi discussed mass-producing Steel Release users with Choza Akimichi and studied the captured ninja’s Steel Release chakra.
• Tamura Hiroshi tried to make Yuzuki release more Two-Tails chakra and considered combining Tailed Beast chakra with Senjutsu after his attempt to fuse Magnet Release failed.

Tamura Hiroshi extracted and purified the Two-Tails' Origin Power from Yuzuki, then exchanged her for Uzumaki Kushina. He stole the Fire Temple's lotus seed to study Sage's Talent and headed toward the Land of Water for the Three-Tails, leaving Kushina sealed and swimming in the sea as part of his weight-loss plan.

• Tamura Hiroshi provoked Yuzuki into releasing the Two-Tails' chakra, sealed away a satisfactory amount, and gained Fire Release after purifying and fusing with it.
• Tamura Hiroshi's group exchanged Yuzuki for Uzumaki Kushina, and Uzumaki Kousou welcomed the rescued clanswoman while Yuzuki vowed revenge.
• Inoichi Yamanaka possessed a senior monk at the Temple of Fire and learned that an enshrined lotus seed helped monks sense Natural Energy; Shikaku Nara killed the monk after they escaped with it.
• Tamura Hiroshi took his group toward the Land of Water to seek the Three-Tails, then sealed Uzumaki Kushina's chakra and had Little Black drop her into the sea to swim for exercise.
• Uzumaki Kushina spotted a shark's dorsal fin while swimming and frantically tried to escape it with her chakra sealed.

Tamura Hiroshi cultivated the Temple of Fire lotus seed, captured the Three-Tails’ small bodies to gain its power, and used the sprouted lotus to improve his Natural Energy cultivation. He left the deserted island ready to reveal the Ino-Shika-Cho Three Clans’ strength and began considering the Uchiha as a weapon against Hiruzen Sarutobi.

• Tamura Hiroshi infused the Temple of Fire lotus seed with Life Energy, then traveled to Shikaku Nara and the others after they located the unsealed Three-Tails.
• Tamura Hiroshi used Inoichi Yamanaka’s controlled fish to enter the Three-Tails’ stomach, collected its many small bodies in a Sealing Tool, and escaped with Flying Thunder God.
• Tamura Hiroshi spent a month mastering the Three-Tails’ and Four-Tails’ power while Uzumaki Kushina and the others continued their training, and the lotus seed took root and sprouted.
• Tamura Hiroshi sealed the lotus into his Eight Trigrams Seal and considered using its future seeds to give the Ino-Shika-Cho Three Clans Tailed Beast power and aid their Sage’s Talent cultivation.
• Tamura Hiroshi considered using the Uchiha against Hiruzen Sarutobi and agreed with Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Choza Akimichi that the clans should openly build his reputation.

Tamura Hiroshi fought Tsunade on an uninhabited island to test his strength and force her to use her Yin Seal. He unveiled powerful Tailed Beast avatars, leaving Tsunade airborne and evading his sand attacks as the spectators recognized how much he had grown.

• At dinner, Tamura Hiroshi reconciled with Katsuyu and later asked Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, and the others whether they had found a path to break through.
• Tamura Hiroshi parted from the group on an island, and Tsunade arrived the next afternoon carrying the First Hokage's greatsword to fight him.
• Tamura Hiroshi used his expanded form and Dance of the Gan Qi, but Tsunade shattered his axe and shield with her greatsword.
• Tamura Hiroshi summoned a lava-bodied Four-Tails avatar, then shifted through Three-Tails and Two-Tails forms, while Tsunade cut through each attack and eventually took to the air.
• Tamura Hiroshi used a One-Tail avatar to pursue Tsunade with sand arms, and she dodged while recovering from her exertion.
• The spectators praised Tamura Hiroshi's strength, while Might Guy resolved to train harder and Torifu Akimichi looked forward to the Ino-Shika-Cho clans' rise.

Tamura Hiroshi defeated Tsunade in a sparring match, then discussed political plans with Shikaku Nara and trained with his friends. When Minato Namikaze learned that Uzumaki Kushina had returned, her invitation to the cinema left him torn between his past feelings and his current relationship.

• Tsunade broke free of Tamura Hiroshi’s sealing pyramid, but her defeat in the sparring match forced her to agree to participate in the group’s plans.
• Tamura Hiroshi, Shikaku Nara, and Inoichi Yamanaka discussed provoking Tsunade’s resentment to push her toward the Hokage position and potentially draw Hiruzen Sarutobi into exposing himself.
• Tamura Hiroshi trained with Might Guy, Kakashi, and Uchiha Obito, then told Minato Namikaze that he aimed to become Fifth Hokage.
• Tamura Hiroshi explained that Tsunade and the Ino-Shika-Cho clans had arranged Uzumaki Kushina’s rescue and exchange for the Two-Tails’ Jinchuriki.
• Uzumaki Kushina invited Minato Namikaze to the cinema, but he fled to report his mission, leaving her waiting while Tamura Hiroshi considered his psychological ploy successful.

Hiroshi used Wood Release, Yang Release, and Sharingan power to develop the Immortal Lotus as a vessel for Tailed Beast chakra, then studied Senjutsu and began planning a sealing-based cultivation system. Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi and his advisers discussed the Ino-Shika-Cho clans’ growing influence, Kushina Uzumaki’s rescue, and Torifu’s condition.

• Tsunade revealed that she had awakened Steel Release after failing to create Wood Release, gave Hiroshi Wood Release chakra, and agreed to provide Senjutsu scrolls if he promised not to train in Sage Mode himself.
• Hiroshi fed Wood Release, Yang Release, Sharingan power, and One-Tail chakra to the Immortal Lotus, which grew and began absorbing the Tailed Beast chakra.
• Hiroshi read Tsunade’s Senjutsu scrolls, learned how Shikkotsu Forest’s training used the Slug Sage’s acidic fluid, and burned the scrolls after deciding to seek another path through the Immortal Lotus.
• Hiroshi planned to use seals to separate chakra types within the Immortal Lotus and eventually build a cultivation system based on the five chakra natures and Tailed Beast chakra.
• Minato Namikaze sent intelligence about Torifu and the Ino-Shika-Cho clans to Hiruzen Sarutobi, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura, who discussed Torifu’s ambitions and Kushina Uzumaki’s rescue.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi defended the Ino-Shika-Cho clans’ actions because Torifu was risking his life on the front lines, while Mitokado Homura concluded that Torifu had little time left.

Hiruzen Sarutobi planned to weaken the Uchiha and Hyuga while preparing Minato to become Fourth Hokage, as Sarutobi Shinnosuke secretly plotted against Tamura Hiroshi. Shikaku Nara’s group used Shinnosuke’s suspicions to bait him into a trap and began planning how to gather more Tailed Beast power, including the Nine-Tails’ through Orochimaru’s research.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura discussed the war, Minato’s battle merits, and transferring the Uchiha to the eastern front alongside the Hyuga.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Sarutobi Shinnosuke that Minato would become Fourth Hokage and urged him to prepare a future successor from their family, while Shinnosuke warned that the Ino-Shika-Cho Three Clans were backing Tamura Hiroshi.
• Sarutobi Shinnosuke secretly ordered an investigation into Tamura Hiroshi and resolved to kill him, unaware that Shikaku Nara had maneuvered him into taking the bait.
• After several months, Shikaku Nara told Tamura Hiroshi, Choza Akimichi, and Inoichi Yamanaka that their target had taken the bait; they planned a desert ambush that would make Hiroshi appear gravely injured and draw Lady Tsunade into action.
• Tamura Hiroshi and his friends discussed using a regenerated liver as a prop, then considered collecting the Five-Tails, Six-Tails, Seven-Tails, and Nine-Tails’ powers.
• Tamura Hiroshi proposed contacting Orochimaru about reviving Kinkaku and Ginkaku with Impure World Reincarnation, and Shikaku Nara decided they would need to offer Orochimaru something that interested him.

Shikaku Nara led a small elite team on a raid to destroy Sunagakure’s supply depots, while Tamura Hiroshi fought Pakura to keep her from stopping them. The mission succeeded, and Sarutobi Shinnosuke watched from afar, plotting to kill Kakashi, Obito, and Rin and seize Hiroshi’s technique.

• Sarutobi Shinnosuke secretly followed the team toward Sunagakure’s camp, intending to eliminate Tamura Hiroshi and obtain his power.
• Shikaku Nara led thirty shinobi, including Tamura Hiroshi’s squad and Kakashi’s squad, on a raid against the Sand Ninja Army’s supplies.
• Choza Akimichi broke through the camp’s defenses, but Pakura intercepted the team with Scorch Release attacks.
• Tamura Hiroshi used his Two-Tails avatar to battle Pakura in the air, giving Shikaku Nara’s team time to destroy several storehouses.
• After the raid signal sounded, Tamura Hiroshi withdrew and introduced himself to Pakura as Akimichi Hiten, while Pakura revealed she had already moved half the supplies.
• Sarutobi Shinnosuke decided to target Kakashi, Obito, and Rin first, hoping to prevent Minato Namikaze from intervening and to leave no evidence.

Minato Namikaze switched places with Uzumaki Kushina as Konoha fought the Sand Ninja Army, while Tamura Hiroshi’s retreating group was ambushed by Sarutobi Shinnosuke and his ANBU. Obito awakened his Mangekyo after witnessing Rin Nohara’s apparent death, and Tamura’s group survived inside a sealed pyramid as Shinnosuke tried to suffocate them.

• Minato Namikaze realized the Sand Ninja knew how to counter his Flying Thunder God Technique, so Torifu Akimichi sent him to bring Uzumaki Kushina to the battlefield.
• Uzumaki Kushina engaged Chiyo and helped Konoha hold its defensive line, while Rasa noticed the black eagle heading toward the Sand camp and intensified his attacks.
• Tamura Hiroshi’s exhausted group encountered Sarutobi Shinnosuke and nine ANBU, who attacked after Inoichi Yamanaka sensed their murderous intent.
• Rin Nohara was cut in half while saving Kakashi, and Uchiha Obito witnessed her apparent death and awakened his Mangekyo before White Zetsu knocked him unconscious and fled.
• Sarutobi Shinnosuke and Enma attacked Tamura Hiroshi, but Tamura used Magnet Release to seal the group inside a reinforced pyramid and trap Enma.
• Shinnosuke sank the pyramid into a swamp to suffocate its occupants, while Shikaku Nara released air from a hidden tank and Tamura Hiroshi staged his injuries with blood.

Minato, Tsunade, and their allies rescued Tamura Hiroshi, Rin, and the others from a sealed pyramid buried beneath the desert, discovering that Sarutobi Shinnosuke had ambushed them. As the injured were taken back to Kikyō Mountain Fortress, Torifu urged Minato to consider becoming Hokage and changing the village’s dark political order.

• After Minato sensed Kakashi and the others’ Flying Thunder God Kunai, he summoned Gamabunta and dug through the desert while waiting for Tsunade.
• Tsunade lifted and broke the pyramid sealing the buried shinobi, and the rescuers found Tamura Hiroshi gravely wounded but still alive, along with the other survivors.
• Tsunade revived Tamura Hiroshi, learned Rin was also alive, and determined she could reattach Rin’s severed body, though Rin might be paralyzed from the waist down.
• A Yamanaka shinobi reported that Sarutobi Shinnosuke had led the ambush and that Tamura Hiroshi had used the One-Tail’s power to seal the survivors before Shinnosuke buried them.
• Tsunade and the others took the injured to Kikyō Mountain Fortress, where Torifu offered to support Minato if he would work to change the village.
• Minato agreed to think over Torifu’s proposal and left Rin and Kakashi in Torifu’s care rather than sending them back to the village.

Tamura Hiroshi recovered after Tsunade transplanted a temporary liver, while his allies planned to confront Konoha’s darkness and considered Tsunade as a candidate for Fourth Hokage. Hiruzen Sarutobi made his son Sarutobi Shinnosuke a missing-nin and tried to manage the political fallout, as Shimura Danzō and Orochimaru discussed the Hokage succession.

• Tsunade finished transplanting a temporary liver into Tamura Hiroshi and said she would grow a replacement from his cells; he asked about Rin and learned she would likely need a wheelchair.
• Shikaku Nara and Choza Akimichi told Tamura Hiroshi that Torifu Akimichi supported cleaning up the village’s darkness, and they discussed backing Tsunade if Minato Namikaze could not act decisively.
• Tamura Hiroshi reunited with Katsuyu and Might Guy, promised Katsuyu he would not risk himself that way again, and embraced her after Might Guy left to train.
• Sarutobi Shinnosuke reported his failed operation to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who declared him a missing-nin and prepared an S-rank wanted notice before sending Minato Namikaze a reassignment letter.
• Shimura Danzō and Orochimaru discussed the failed operation, Tamura Hiroshi’s Tailed Beast abilities, and the struggle for Fourth Hokage, with Orochimaru identifying Hiruzen Sarutobi as his real rival.

Tamura Hiroshi studied Enma’s body while recovering and stood firm against Jiraiya’s attempt to ease tensions with Hiruzen Sarutobi. As Jiraiya joined the effort to defeat Rasa, the village’s political crisis deepened, and he left intending to discuss Minato Namikaze’s choices with him.

• Tamura Hiroshi continued researching Enma’s cells and the Monkey Clan’s Natural Energy cultivation method before Jiraiya and Tsunade visited him.
• Jiraiya tried to defend Hiruzen Sarutobi over Sarutobi Shinnosuke’s actions, but Tamura Hiroshi and Shikaku Nara insisted that Shinnosuke had to die and warned that Konoha needed fundamental change.
• Jiraiya explained that he had come to help surround and kill Rasa, and Shikaku Nara agreed that defeating him could end the Sunagakure front.
• Torifu Akimichi told Jiraiya that the Ino-Shika-Cho Three Clans would not support a puppet Hokage and was willing to consider Orochimaru if Minato Namikaze could not act independently.
• Tamura Hiroshi warned Jiraiya that Minato Namikaze could be targeted if he challenged the village’s powerful factions, prompting Jiraiya to promise he would speak with Minato.
• Jiraiya gave Tamura Hiroshi medicinal herbs from Mount Myōboku, including a sage herb, and urged him to focus on recovering.

Tamura Hiroshi secretly restored his original liver, then urged Tsunade to pursue the Hokage position and struck a bargain with Orochimaru for Tailed Beast power and the Second Hokage’s research. After Orochimaru helped recover Kinkaku and Ginkaku’s Six Paths Ninja Tools, Tamura distributed some among the Ino-Shika-Cho families and rejected the old Sarutobi clan symbols.

• Tamura Hiroshi secretly transplanted his original liver back into himself after Tsunade replaced it with a cultivated one.
• Tamura Hiroshi urged Tsunade to seek the Hokage position, but she refused and threw him against a wall.
• Orochimaru offered the power of the Six-Tails, Eight-Tails, and Nine-Tails in exchange for the Second Hokage’s research materials, and Tsunade accepted.
• Tamura Hiroshi explained his Tailed Beast Avatar technique to Orochimaru, who gave him his Eight-Tails research and agreed to help strengthen Enma.
• Tamura Hiroshi, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Uzumaki Kousou extracted Kinkaku and Ginkaku’s Six Paths Ninja Tools and severed their summoning contracts.
• Tamura Hiroshi assigned the Rope of Sovereignty, Seven-Star Sword, and Red Gourd to the Ino-Shika-Cho families, while Inoichi Yamanaka discarded the Sarutobi clan earrings.

Tamura Hiroshi and the Konoha forces fought Sunagakure’s army after Rasa unleashed the Seven-Tails. The battle ended in a ceasefire after Tamura found and apparently killed Rasa, while Tsunade drove the Seven-Tails away.

• Tamura Hiroshi finished modifying Enma, sealing him inside the seal on his abdomen before Sunagakure launched a major assault under Rasa.
• Rasa released the Seven-Tails, and Tsunade flew to engage it as Tamura Hiroshi formed a Shukaku avatar and led the Akimichi ninja in a rolling charge through the Sand Ninja ranks.
• Tamura Hiroshi deliberately drew out Rasa’s Gold Dust attack, sensed its source, and struck Rasa underground, then shouted that Rasa was dead.
• Karura and Torifu Akimichi called for a ceasefire, and both armies withdrew after suffering heavy casualties.
• Tsunade pursued the Seven-Tails with her sealing chains until it fled, then reflected that her strength was far below Great-Uncle’s.

After Sunagakure chose Karura as its new Kazekage, she planned to secure an equal treaty and build a ninja nation while Tamura Hiroshi harvested Rasa’s Gold Dust ability and experimented with transplanting powerful eyes into Enma. The chapter ended with Tsunade revealing a Steel Release-based method for cultivating an indestructible body, though Tamura still lacked the Earth Release training needed to fuse Steel Release himself.

• Karura took over as Kazekage after Rasa’s defeat, accepted his and Chiyo’s demand to stop giving mission contracts to Konoha, and sent Pakura to seek the Seven-Tails’ support.
• Pakura reported that the Seven-Tails would support Sunagakure against Konoha, and Karura outlined plans to develop Sunagakure and eventually establish a ninja nation by targeting the Daimyo administrations.
• Tamura Hiroshi took cells from Rasa’s leg, sealed the limb, and began fusing Rasa’s Gold Dust Magnet Release into himself to become a new-generation Gold Miner.
• Tsunade gave Tamura Hiroshi Uchiha Tajima’s nearly blind Mangekyō Sharingan and a Byakugan, which he transplanted into Enma alongside its Hashirama-cell face.
• Tsunade explained that Steel Release could serve as the foundation for a body-forging method that drew in Natural Energy, but Tamura Hiroshi still lacked the Earth Release cultivation needed to fuse the bloodline himself.