Chapter Summaries

Sunagakure detected an eight-hundred-strong Konoha force approaching the Shashan Temple Defensive Position, and Rasa prepared its defenses while searching for signs of other troops. Konoha then unleashed repeated barrages of Fire Style Shell Type 3, devastating the position and leaving Rasa wounded and stunned.

• A Sunagakure sensory ninja detected around eight hundred Konoha ninja and four Kage-level Chakra Reactions ten kilometers away.
• Rasa ordered a wider search and sent word to Chiyo Elder, then learned there were no other large Chakra Reactions within fifty kilometers.
• Rasa prepared the Shashan Temple Defensive Position with Crossbow Carts and Ninja Tool Launchers, intending to destroy the Konoha force at range.
• When the Konoha Army advanced, Rasa rallied the Sand Shinobi and watched more than a hundred flaming iron shells fly toward the position.
• Rasa tried to block one shell with Gold Dust, but its explosion wounded him and blasted him away.
• Repeated Fire Style Shell Type 3 barrages engulfed the Shashan Temple Defensive Position in flames and fragments, killing and injuring Sand Shinobi.

Rasa ordered the Sand Shinobi to defend the Shashan Temple position despite devastating losses, hoping to buy time for Sunagakure’s Issen-ten defense. When Uchiha Jin arrived with Konoha’s elite, he melted Rasa’s Gold Dust Spear and struck him down, but Rasa reappeared and prepared to use the desert terrain to overwhelm him.

• Rasa used his gold dust to limit the damage from Konoha’s third barrage, but the explosions killed or incapacitated more than half the defenders and destroyed their equipment.
• Baki tried to report the casualties and suggest a retreat, but Rasa ordered him to defend Shashan Temple at any cost so the Issen-ten line could prepare.
• Uchiha Jin arrived with Konoha’s elite and blocked Rasa’s Gold Dust Waves with a massive fire technique.
• Rasa attacked Jin with a Gold Dust Spear, but Jin’s Flame Slash melted it, and Jin followed with a blade strike that split Rasa’s body.
• Rasa reappeared from gold dust, judged Jin’s attacks stronger than Minato Namikaze’s, and retreated while raising a vast mass of gold dust, sand, and stone.

Elder Chiyo and Elder Ebizo assessed Konoha’s devastating attack on the Shashan Temple defensive line and Sunagakure’s dwindling prospects. After learning that Shukaku would not help and that reinforcements were hours away, Chiyo ordered a retreat, leaving Bunpuku’s role unresolved.

• Elder Chiyo arrived at Issen-ten with Bunpuku revived through One's Own Life Reincarnation, and Elder Ebizo welcomed the technique’s success.
• Elder Ebizo reported that Konoha’s New Ninja Tools had destroyed the Shashan Temple defenses and that Konoha’s elite ninja were slaughtering the Sand Shinobi.
• Elder Ebizo told Elder Chiyo that reinforcements were hours away, outposts had gone silent, and unidentified ninja had looted the Land of Wind Daimyo Manor.
• Elder Chiyo revealed that Shukaku had refused to aid Sunagakure and threatened to attack the village if released.
• Elder Chiyo ordered the Sand Shinobi to retreat from Sunagakure and said Bunpuku could serve his greatest purpose only if they left.

Chiyo Elder planned to evacuate Sunagakure's ninja and unleash Shukaku to hinder Konoha, while Bunpuku revealed that Shukaku had overheard her plan. At the Shashan Temple Defensive Position, Rasa was defeated and Uchiha held a blade to his neck.

• Chiyo Elder proposed leaving Bunpuku behind to release Shukaku and disrupt Konoha's plundering.
• Bunpuku told Chiyo Elder that Shukaku had heard her plan and was threatening revenge.
• Chiyo Elder ordered Ebizo Elder to lead Sunagakure's ninja through a secret passage and arranged to rendezvous with Rasa outside the village.
• Bunpuku agreed to choose when to release Shukaku and said he could make it kill more people.
• Rasa crashed to the ground at the Shashan Temple Defensive Position, where Uchiha held a blade against his neck and warned him not to move.

Uchiha Jin defeated and sealed Rasa, who was shocked by the vast difference in their abilities. When Fire Style Shell Type 3 struck Sunagakure without resistance, Jin realized something unusual had happened there and ordered his allies to investigate and advance.

• Uchiha Jin sealed Rasa’s Chakra after defeating him, and Rasa admitted he could see no way to win.
• Uchiha Jin told Rasa that many beings were stronger than him, but Rasa accused him of humiliation and insisted Sunagakure would prevail.
• Fire Style Shell Type 3 shells exploded across Sunagakure, and Rasa was stunned that the village had not intercepted them.
• Uchiha Jin denied arranging Sunagakure’s apparent lack of defenses and suspected that something extraordinary had happened there.
• Uchiha Jin sent a Konoha Ninja to ask Hizashi to investigate and told Jiraiya and the others to finish their battle and head for Sunagakure.

After Konoha defeated the Sand Shinobi at the Shashan Temple Defensive Position, Uchiha Jin led his forces into the apparently deserted Sunagakure and subdued Shukaku with his Sharingan. Jin began carrying out a search and seizure of the village and summoned Konoha's senior ninja to discuss his bold idea.

• Hizashi Hyuga reported that Sunagakure appeared empty, and Uchiha Jin deduced that Chiyo and the others had withdrawn to preserve their forces.
• Jiraiya and the other Konoha ninja defeated the remaining Sand Shinobi at the Shashan Temple Defensive Position, capturing Rasa, Baki, and Yura.
• Uchiha Jin led most of the Konoha force toward Sunagakure while Tsunade and several squads escorted the prisoners.
• Shukaku appeared at Sunagakure's entrance, but Uchiha Jin trapped him in a Genjutsu Space with his Mangekyō Sharingan and silenced him with a chain.
• Uchiha Jin's forces entered Sunagakure, where Hizashi Hyuga assigned teams to search the village, secure its shelters, and collect resources.
• Uchiha Jin ordered Hizashi Hyuga to summon Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and the others to discuss his bold idea.

After capturing Sunagakure without resistance, Uchiha Jin proposed a dangerous new plan that relied on the civilians Chiyo Elder had left behind. Tsunade and Jiraiya rejected it, warning that harming civilians would violate a fundamental rule and could bring ruin on Konoha.

• Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru joined Uchiha Jin after Hizashi Hyuga notified them that Sunagakure had been occupied.
• Jiraiya urged the group to loot supplies quickly and withdraw before Sunagakure's reinforcements arrived.
• Uchiha Jin proposed a grand gamble, arguing that Sunagakure's lack of resistance had given Konoha extra time and left the village's civilians behind.
• Uchiha Jin pointed out that the civilians were loved ones and companions of the Sand Shinobi, revealing the plan he intended to pursue.
• Tsunade and Jiraiya objected to attacking civilians, warning that the act would violate ninja rules and risk Konoha's standing and survival.

Uchiha Jin revealed that he and Minato intended to unify the Shinobi World and argued that taking over Sunagakure could help achieve that goal with fewer casualties. He left Jiraiya and Tsunade stunned as he insisted the coming war could no longer be avoided.

• Uchiha Jin proposed releasing Sunagakure's civilians, taking control of the village's defenses, and negotiating with its leaders while using the civilians as protection.
• Tsunade condemned the plan as reckless, while Uchiha Jin welcomed her prediction of failure because he trusted her gambling luck.
• Jiraiya questioned why Uchiha Jin wanted to interfere in Sunagakure, and Tsunade warned that his ambitions extended beyond the village.
• Uchiha Jin told Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru that he and Minato planned to unify the Shinobi World.
• Jiraiya challenged the human cost of unification, but Uchiha Jin argued that one war could end generations of conflict and said he would try to minimize casualties by taking Sunagakure without bloodshed.

Uchiha Jin won Orochimaru and Tsunade’s support for his risky plan in Sunagakure, while Jiraiya reluctantly accepted the task of persuading the village’s civilians. Jin then looked toward Konoha, expecting events there to be beginning as well.

• Orochimaru backed Uchiha Jin’s plan after explaining that he preferred bold action to following established rules.
• Tsunade agreed to go along with the plan while preserving options for Konoha, and warned that Sunagakure would resist.
• Uchiha Jin said Sunagakure could take Konoha’s supply-gathering ninja as hostages and ordered Shisui and the others evacuated from the Land of Wind.
• Uchiha Jin assigned Tsunade to inventory supplies, Orochimaru to replenish Fire Style Shell Type 3, and Minato Namikaze to help pressure Sunagakure and prepare to take it over.
• Uchiha Jin tasked Jiraiya with pacifying Sunagakure’s civilians, and Jiraiya accepted despite his doubts.
• Uchiha Jin looked toward the horizon and anticipated that events were beginning in Konoha.

Root operatives attacked the Uchiha Clan Land to free Shimura Danzō, but Minato Namikaze had anticipated the rescue and trapped them. Danzō identified the rescuers as agents sent by Sarutobi Hiruzen, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and their allies, leaving Minato with a direct accusation against Konoha’s leaders.

• Explosions drew Uchiha ninja away from their clan land, allowing masked Root operatives to enter and reach the prison beneath the Old Konoha Military Police Force building.
• The Root leader freed Shimura Danzō, who questioned the rescuers but followed them out of the prison.
• The group found the lobby deserted, and the Root leader realized the rescue had gone too smoothly.
• Minato Namikaze and Anbu ninja confronted the group outside the building after Minato had set a trap for the attackers.
• Shimura Danzō denied that the rescuers belonged to Root and said Sarutobi Hiruzen, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and the others had sent them.

Minato Namikaze captured Shimura Danzō and the Root Ninjas who tried to rescue him, then ordered Kakashi to summon the Third Generation and the elders to the Hokage Office. Sarutobi Hiruzen, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura learned that Minato had requested their presence.

• Minato Namikaze ordered the Anbu to capture the Root Ninjas alive, and they stopped the group from detonating their Exploding Tags.
• The Anbu escorted Shimura Danzō and the Root Ninjas to prison, while Minato ordered Yamanaka Inoichi to extract intelligence from their minds.
• Minato instructed Kakashi to summon Sarutobi Hiruzen, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, the Hyuga elder, and the Nara Squad Leader.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura discussed the failed rescue operation and trusted that their suicide squad members would keep their involvement secret.
• A messenger arrived and told Sarutobi Hiruzen and the two elders that Hokage-sama requested their presence.

Minato confronted Sarutobi Hiruzen and the two elders over an attack on Shimura Danzō’s prison, revealing that Danzō had been cooperating with Konoha against the Root ninja. The meeting ended with Minato accusing Hiruzen of sending the attackers to rescue Danzō.

• Minato told Hiruzen, Homura, Koharu, Hiashi, and Shikaku that the village disturbance had been a diversion for an attack on the prison holding Shimura Danzō.
• Minato revealed that the Military Police Force and Anbu had stopped the rescue and captured most of the attackers alive.
• Minato said he suspected the attackers were not Root Remnants, and Homura and Koharu challenged his accusation against Hiruzen.
• Minato explained that Danzō had been cooperating with Konoha against the Root ninja for three days.
• Minato reported that Danzō had identified the attackers as people sent by Hiruzen.

Minato Namikaze confronted Sarutobi Hiruzen over the attempt to rescue Shimura Danzō, and Hiruzen admitted responsibility after Minato revealed the suspects would undergo a supervised memory examination. Minato then demanded compensation for the casualties and damage, leaving Hiruzen and his allies stunned by the enormous bill.

• Minato Namikaze said Shimura Danzō’s accusation and the failed rescue attempt warranted a thorough investigation supervised by Yamanaka Inoichi and Uchiha Fugaku.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen admitted that he had arranged the rescue attempt and claimed he had acted out of loyalty to his longtime comrade Shimura Danzō.
• Minato Namikaze dismissed Hiruzen’s appeal to their friendship and cited twelve civilian deaths, six ninja deaths, hundreds of injuries, and extensive property damage.
• Minato Namikaze estimated the losses at more than five hundred million taels, and Sarutobi Hiruzen, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura realized he was demanding compensation.

Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed to pay five hundred million taels for the losses caused by his attempt to rescue a criminal, but Minato Namikaze insisted that the payment could not erase his wrongdoing. Minato removed Sarutobi Hiruzen's expected Konoha Elder Position and Task Force Squad Leader post, leaving him to teach at the Ninja Academy as Minister of Education.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed to pay five hundred million taels, and Hyuga Hiashi questioned how he could authorize such a large sum from Sarutobi Clan funds.
• Minato Namikaze said the payment covered only material losses and that Sarutobi Hiruzen still had to answer for harming companions and damaging the village to rescue a criminal.
• Minato Namikaze rejected Mitokado Homura's defense of Sarutobi Hiruzen as a meritorious official and said Konoha's fallen and disabled ninja were the true meritorious officials.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen accepted punishment, and Minato Namikaze said Root would take the blame so the incident would not become public.
• Minato Namikaze barred Sarutobi Hiruzen from the Konoha Elder Position and ordered him to give up his Task Force Squad Leader post.
• Minato Namikaze assigned Sarutobi Hiruzen to teach at the Ninja Academy as Minister of Education and adjourned the meeting.

Uchiha Jin confronted Jiraiya over his failed attempt to persuade Sunagakure’s civilians and took over the address himself. He left the crowd silent by accusing Sunagakure of repeatedly starting wars against Konoha.

• Konoha Ninja gathered Sunagakure’s civilians in the square before the Kazekage Building.
• Jiraiya told Uchiha Jin that the civilians remained hostile despite his attempts to calm and persuade them.
• Uchiha Jin criticized Jiraiya for relying on old methods and told him to watch and learn.
• Uchiha Jin addressed the crowd, mocking Sunagakure’s defeat and provoking their anger.
• Uchiha Jin asked the civilians to consider Sunagakure’s past invasions of Konoha, and the crowd fell silent as Jiraiya watched in confusion.

Uchiha Jin persuaded Sunagakure’s civilians that their village’s warmongering contradicted their desire for peace because high-ranking officials had taken authority from them. He then challenged them to consider why Sunagakure’s resources had not provided them with decent lives, leaving the question unanswered.

• Jiraiya prepared to summon a creature in case Sunagakure’s angry villagers rioted, but Uchiha Jin’s words calmed them.
• Uchiha Jin argued that Sunagakure’s villagers wanted peace, while the village’s leaders had made it a warmonger by taking the people’s authority.
• A Sunagakure villager identified the high-ranking officials and nobles as those who had stolen that authority, and others agreed.
• Uchiha Jin claimed the Land of Wind and Sunagakure had enough resources to support their people, then asked whether the civilians had lived well.
• Uchiha Jin pointed out that many civilians lacked even a reliable water supply and asked where Sunagakure’s resources had gone.

Uchiha Jin told Sunagakure’s civilians that the Third Kazekage had been killed by Sasori, not Konoha, and argued that Sunagakure’s wars were driven by worsening internal conflicts over unequal resource distribution. He left the crowd considering how prolonged peace raised living costs while war reduced the population and eased pressure on resources.

• Uchiha Jin asked the civilians why Sunagakure’s leaders had started wars, and they cited the Third Kazekage’s disappearance as the reason for the war against Konoha.
• Uchiha Jin revealed that Sasori of the Red Sands had killed the Third Kazekage and that the disappearance had served as an excuse for war.
• Uchiha Jin said Sunagakure had repeatedly turned internal conflicts into external wars when tensions became impossible to ease.
• Uchiha Jin explained that the leaders and nobles controlled resources while civilians survived on leftovers, and that population growth made those leftovers insufficient.
• Uchiha Jin asked the civilians to consider how prices rose during long periods of peace and how wars reduced population and eased those pressures.

Uchiha Jin turned Sunagakure civilians’ resentment toward the village’s leaders and nobles by contrasting their poverty with Konoha’s prosperity and political reforms. As Rasa watched, Jin declared that Konoha’s arrival would bring change to Sunagakure.

• Uchiha Jin led Sunagakure civilians to blame the village’s high-ranking officials and nobles for their hardship and wasteful spending.
• Jin described Konoha’s greater prosperity and its new reform allowing civilians to elect representatives who would participate in village decisions.
• Sunagakure civilians grew furious at the contrast and demanded change, directing their anger at their own leaders rather than the Konoha ninjas.
• Rasa watched the crowd from the Kazekage Building and realized Sunagakure was about to change.
• Uchiha Jin promised that life would begin to change and proclaimed that Konoha’s arrival would bring peace and blue skies.

Uchiha Jin addressed Sunagakure’s villagers after Konoha took control, promising fairness and announcing grain and supply distributions. He also offered paid reconstruction work, and the crowd cheered for Konoha.

• Uchiha Jin told the villagers that Konoha had come to bring fairness and would teach Sunagakure to develop peacefully.
• Uchiha Jin announced that Konoha would place Sunagakure under military management and distribute two months’ worth of grain and supplies to every household.
• Uchiha Jin said Konoha would negotiate with Sunagakure’s high-ranking officials to secure further benefits for the villagers.
• Uchiha Jin offered villagers three meals a day and supplies worth one thousand ryo per day for volunteering to repair and rebuild the village.
• The Sunagakure villagers cheered and shouted, “Long live Konoha!”

Chiyo Elder gathered 3,500 Suna Ninja and planned a show of force against the Konoha Ninja occupying Sunagakure, hoping they would withdraw without a battle. A scout then reported that the Konoha Ninja had released the villagers and were helping them repair the village, leaving Chiyo Elder and Ebizo baffled.

• Chiyo Elder learned that Lord Shiro had arrived with five hundred ninja, bringing her force to 3,500.
• Ebizo argued that Konoha might avoid battle and withdraw, while Chiyo Elder worried about Sunagakure's losses and its weakened high-end fighters.
• Chiyo Elder ordered her force to advance toward Sunagakure after daybreak and appear to encircle the Konoha Ninja while leaving them an escape route.
• A scout reported that the Konoha Ninja had released the villagers and were organizing them to repair Sunagakure.
• The scout said the villagers were happy and friendly with the Konoha Ninja, and Chiyo Elder and Ebizo were left speechless.