Chapter Summaries

Uchiha Kai reflected on his weakness amid growing tensions in Konoha, while Might Guy responded to Kai’s physical progress with renewed enthusiasm. Kai worried that the Hyuga Clan was keeping Hyuga Rei confined and resolved to grow strong enough to challenge what he could not accept.

• Might Guy lamented being assigned mediocre missions, and Uchiha Kai downplayed his role in the recent A-rank mission.
• Might Guy noticed Kai’s physical growth, praised it as a burst of youth, and set off to run one hundred laps around Konoha.
• Uchiha Kai recalled Morino Kei’s worsening injuries from poison on Kiriki Seiryuu’s blade and his own temporary ban from visiting the hospital.
• Uchiha Kai worried about Hyuga Rei’s absence and suspected that the Hyuga Clan’s elders were responsible for keeping her at home.
• Uchiha Kai admitted he was too weak to confront the Hyuga Clan and resolved to gain the strength to change what he could not accept.

Uchiha Kai was summoned to the Hokage's office, where Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Maruboshi Kosuke to look after him for a few days. Hiruzen praised Kai's understanding of the Will of Fire, leaving Kosuke and a young man curious about Kai's convictions.

• An Aburame Anbu member came to Uchiha Kai and told him that Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to see him.
• Uchiha Kai recognized the Anbu member as one of Teacher Keiichi's clansmen by his herbal scent.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Maruboshi Kosuke to take care of Uchiha Kai for a couple of days.
• Maruboshi Kosuke praised Uchiha Kai, while Hiruzen Sarutobi explained that Kai understood his own heart and convictions.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi reflected that only people who understand themselves can truly champion an ideal they believe in.

Hiruzen Sarutobi discussed Kai’s ideal of a world without rank or division, then asked Baiyun Zaojian whether he hated the village. Uchiha Kai arrived at the Hokage’s office, where Hiruzen began explaining why he had summoned him.

• Hiruzen told Maruboshi Kosuke that Kai had described an equal world when he was six and lamented the burdens placed on children by the shinobi world.
• Hiruzen asked Baiyun Zaojian whether he hated him or Konoha, and Zaojian said he had no right to reject the sacrifices of those who came before him.
• Hiruzen reflected on the weight of shinobi sacrifices until a visitor announced that Kai had arrived.
• Uchiha Kai entered the office, greeted Hiruzen and Kosuke, and exchanged praise with Kosuke before Hiruzen stopped them.
• Hiruzen began explaining the reason he had summoned Kai.

Uchiha Kai joined Maruboshi Kosuke and Baiyun Zaojian in a temporary combat squad and received an urgent reconnaissance mission against the Mist Ninja. After returning home to prepare, Kai was visited by Uchiha Yashiro, who had come to check on him before he left.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi formed a temporary squad led by Maruboshi Kosuke, with Uchiha Kai and Baiyun Zaojian as its members.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Kosuke's squad to investigate Mist Ninja occupying a pier near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water, prioritizing reconnaissance and avoiding combat.
• Maruboshi Kosuke told Kai and Baiyun Zaojian to prepare and meet at the village entrance at two o'clock.
• Kai returned home, found his food expired and his ninja tools worn out, and began sorting his supplies.
• Uchiha Yashiro arrived at Kai's home to check on him after learning he was leaving on a mission.

Uchiha Yashiro brought Uchiha Kai protective gear and an enormous supply of ninja tools before Kai departed on a mission. Kai accepted the clan’s support and affirmed that he would carry its expectations because he was an Uchiha.

• Uchiha Kai explained that he had only learned that morning that he was being sent on a mission and had rushed back to pack.
• Uchiha Yashiro gave Uchiha Kai a custom-fitted Chainmail Vest and explained that the clan had invested in him as its next-generation standard-bearer.
• Uchiha Kai said he would bear the clan’s burden willingly because he was an Uchiha, prompting Uchiha Yashiro to praise his resolve.
• Uchiha Yashiro gave Uchiha Kai finely made Shuriken and Kunai, along with a huge stack of Explosive Tag.
• Uchiha Kai questioned whether the clan’s supply of Explosive Tag was excessive and asked if other clan members had pooled their procurement quotas for him.

Uchiha Kai accepted clan-funded Explosive Tags and advice from Uchiha Yashiro before departing Konoha with Maruboshi Kosuke and Baiyun Zaojian for a dangerous investigation mission. At the gate, they encountered Might Guy’s team, whose patrol mission alarmed Kai and Baiyun.

• Uchiha Kai refused Explosive Tags if they had been taken from other clan members, but Uchiha Yashiro assured him the clan had bought them through special channels, and Kai accepted them.
• Uchiha Yashiro warned Uchiha Kai to prioritize his safety, trust his teammates, and beware of misplaced kindness as he headed to the front.
• Uchiha Kai met Maruboshi Kosuke and Baiyun Zaojian at Konoha’s main gate, and the three prepared to walk to their urgent mission investigating a relay station near an area that had lost contact.
• Might Guy arrived with Ebisu and Shiranui Genma and announced that his team had taken a B-Rank forest patrol mission, leaving Uchiha Kai and Baiyun Zaojian pale with concern.
• Ebisu struck Might Guy on the head while Shiranui Genma looked troubled by Guy’s announcement.

Uchiha Kai and his team traveled toward a coastal dock to investigate an incident and learn about Mist Ninja movements. After reaching a temporary base, Maruboshi Kosuke outlined the mission and began assessing the team’s abilities.

• Might Guy nearly revealed mission details, and Ebisu reminded him that ninja missions were confidential.
• Maruboshi Kosuke joined Uchiha Kai, Baiyun Zaojian, Might Guy, and their companions as they left the village.
• On the journey, Kosuke defended Might Guy’s Taijutsu ability, and Kai confirmed that Guy was stronger than him in a Taijutsu spar.
• Kosuke led the team to a temporary base near the mission site and explained their objectives and the risks around the dock.
• Kosuke described his own skills, and Baiyun Zaojian said he specialized in Nintaijutsu, ambushes, infiltration, and long-distance pursuits.

Uchiha Kai demonstrated his abilities to Maruboshi Kosuke, prompting the squad to revise its mission plans. At a border fishing village, they left a girl hiding beneath a mound of murdered villagers’ bodies, clinging to life and hoping to eat candy again.

• Uchiha Kai revealed his powerful One-Tomoe Sharingan and described his skill with blades, genjutsu, Fire Release, and Wind Release.
• Maruboshi Kosuke reassessed the squad’s strength and changed the operation’s plans.
• At a border fishing village, countless fishermen lay dead in a refuse pile while the streets stood deserted.
• A young girl hid beneath the corpses, gripping a chipped Kunai as she struggled to stay alive.

A girl hiding among corpses faced discovery by a deranged Mist Ninja, while a young man and an old man captured his skinny teammate outside the fishing village. The old man recognized that the captive’s cowardice might be a disguise.

• Two Mist Ninjas dragged corpses into an alley, where the fat ninja behaved violently and mocked the dead.
• A girl hiding inside the corpse pile watched the fat ninja kill a woman and tried to stay silent as he searched for her.
• The skinny Mist Ninja left the alley and crouched in the grass with diarrhea, where a young man held a blade to his throat.
• The skinny ninja begged for his life, while a high-ponytailed young man and an old man carrying a huge black pot appeared.
• The old man warned that apparent weakness could be a disguise and said the captive was skilled at playing dumb.

Uchiha Kai, Maruboshi Kosuke, and Baiyun Zaojian captured a Mist Ninja and used genjutsu to force him to reveal his mission. His answers linked the mission to the dangerous Mist Ninja Jonin Ganryu, leaving the team to consider the threat.

• Uchiha Kai cut off the Mist Ninja’s left hand when he tried to conceal a weapon.
• Maruboshi Kosuke used Konoha Style: Willow to distract the Mist Ninja while Uchiha Kai trapped him with Genjutsu - Sharingan.
• Uchiha Kai compelled the Mist Ninja to identify himself as Chishima Ryu, a Mist Ninja Chunin accompanying Captain Ganryu on a special mission.
• Maruboshi Kosuke identified Ganryu as a formidable, cold-blooded Mist Ninja Jonin, and Uchiha Kai recalled that Ganryu was a master swordsman mentioned in the Fourth Ninja War.

Uchiha Kai and Baiyun Zaojian interrogated a Mist Ninja after discovering the village’s brutal attack on a fishing settlement. The prisoner revealed that his squad was made up largely of criminals sent on a mission intended to kill them, though the true purpose remained unclear.

• Baiyun Zaojian called for the captured Mist Ninja to be questioned and condemned the squad’s slaughter of the fishing village.
• Uchiha Kai used his Sharingan to control the Mist Ninja and force him to reveal that the unit numbered fifteen, with more than half described as idiots.
• Baiyun Zaojian admired Uchiha Kai’s Sharingan, and Kai told him that strength came from people rather than bloodlines.
• Uchiha Kai pressed the prisoner about the mission, and the Mist Ninja said the squad consisted of serious criminals sent as a disposable vanguard.
• The Mist Ninja explained that their stated orders were to seize a small Konoha border village and establish a stronghold for a later stage of the strategy.

Uchiha Kai and his companions interrogated a Mist Ninja, learning that Captain Ganryu had made a dozen imprisoned shinobi expendable agents. When Kai pressed him about their real mission, a sealing technique stopped the captive from speaking, revealing that the mission was more secretive than expected.

• The Mist Ninja explained that Captain Ganryu had abandoned the original mission and sent the prisoners to cause chaos, treating everyone but himself, Unsu, and the captive as expendable.
• Uchiha Kai learned that the group included twelve officially Chunin-level ninja, though prison and torture had weakened most of them, while Ganryu and Unsu were stronger than the captive.
• Uchiha Kai asked the Mist Ninja to reveal the real mission, but the captive struggled to answer as a sealing technique retaliated against him.
• Maruboshi Kosuke identified the seal and removed a poison pill hidden beneath the Mist Ninja's tongue, which could kill him within a minute if bitten.
• Baiyun Zaojian concluded that they needed to discover what the Mist Ninja group was pursuing and concealing.

Maruboshi Kosuke assigned Uchiha Kai to harass the Mist Ninja outpost while Baiyun Zaojian infiltrated it in disguise, with both tasked to prioritize intelligence and safety. Kai revealed a massive supply of Explosive Tags, leaving Kosuke and Zaojian alarmed as the mission preparations continued.

• Maruboshi Kosuke assigned Baiyun Zaojian to infiltrate the Mist Ninja ranks disguised as a Mist Ninja and told Uchiha Kai to cause a distraction outside.
• Kosuke instructed them to find Ganryu, the enemy Jonin, and gather intelligence while keeping themselves safe.
• Kai asked whether he could use any method to create a large commotion, and Kosuke approved special methods because the fishing village had been abandoned.
• Kosuke and Zaojian warned Kai that Explosive Tags were expensive and too weak to make a major impact in small numbers.
• Kai pulled out a stack of at least five hundred Explosive Tags, shocking Kosuke and unsettling Zaojian.

Uchiha Kai prepared a Mist Ninja prisoner to impersonate his habits while Baiyun Zaojian infiltrated the fishing village, and the panel assigned Kai a mission to sabotage the Mist operation and obtain intelligence. At the village, the disguised Kurosawa returned alone, prompting Inoue to ask where his partner was.

• Uchiha Kai reassured Maruboshi Kosuke that he had enough Explosive Tags and insisted on using them for the plan.
• Uchiha Kai made the Withered Mist Ninja imitate his habits and speech to help Baiyun Zaojian impersonate him.
• The panel gave Uchiha Kai the mission to face the Mist Ninja unit, sabotage its operation, and obtain intelligence.
• At the fishing village, Ryuuki mocked Inoue for standing guard seriously and tried to draw him into conversation.
• Kurosawa returned to the prepared house alone, and Inoue asked where Tunchummaru was.

Baiyun Zaojian, disguised as Kurosawa, forced his way past Inoue by slapping and humiliating him. He left Inoue resigned to enduring the abuse, while Ryuuki urged him to keep his head down and stay alive.

• Ryuuki warned Inoue not to challenge Kurosawa, but Inoue continued to block the disguised intruder over procedure.
• Baiyun Zaojian, posing as Kurosawa, slapped Inoue twice and mocked him until Inoue backed down.
• Inoue endured the abuse because he believed completing Captain Ganryu’s mission could clear his name and let him return to his sister and Yunko.
• Baiyun Zaojian entered the room after insulting Inoue and spitting on him, while Inoue bowed his head in defeat.
• Ryuuki told Inoue that the powerful made rules to keep people like them in line and urged him to accept humiliation rather than risk death.

Ganryu discussed the Mist Ninja mission to infiltrate Konoha and exploit the conflict, while Unsu urged him to see the operation as a chance to restore the village’s standing. The meeting was interrupted when Ganryu detected someone eavesdropping and Kurosawa revealed himself at the door.

• Unsu reported that the Mist Ninja’s main force had infiltrated the area without Konoha’s sensory troops noticing, while their decoy bases drew attacks.
• Ganryu ordered his unit to leave its position and move through Konoha amid the coming chaos, though he warned them to beware Konoha’s powerful ninja.
• Ganryu voiced his resentment toward the Stone Ninja and his reluctance to fight Konoha, while Unsu argued that the mission could make their unit a feared force.
• Ganryu sensed someone listening outside and threw a Kunai through the bolted door.
• Kurosawa called out in fear, and Unsu opened the door to find him disheveled and staggering.

Baiyun Zaojian, disguised as Kurozawa, entered Ganryu’s room and tried to conceal his identity while gathering information. After learning the Mist Ninja planned to abandon their base and kill their prisoner bait, his unusual concern made Ganryu and Unsu suspicious.

• Ganryu questioned Kurozawa about the previous day’s mission, but Baiyun Zaojian evaded the test by acting like his usual obsequious self.
• Unsu challenged Kurozawa about Tunchummaru’s absence, and Kurozawa blamed his missing partner’s perversity.
• Unsu ordered Kurozawa to pack because the group was abandoning the base before Konoha’s Anbu found them.
• Baiyun Zaojian asked what would happen to the prisoners being used as bait, and Unsu said they would be abandoned to die.
• Unsu and Ganryu grew suspicious of Kurozawa and warned him that protecting any political prisoners would cost him his head.

Baiyun Zaojian’s cover as Kurosawa was exposed after Ganryu noticed he knew too much about Lord Yagura and recent rumors. Baiyun escaped Ganryu and Unsu’s attack with a smoke screen and explosive tag, leaving the room through a hole.

• Ryuuki reported that Tunchummaru had been killed with a Konoha-made kunai near the pile of bodies.
• Ganryu and Unsu turned on the supposed Kurosawa after the report, and Ganryu revealed that he suspected the man was an impostor.
• Ganryu identified Baiyun Zaojian as a Konoha ninja, explaining that his knowledge of Lord Yagura and current rumors gave him away.
• Baiyun Zaojian released smoke and shuriken, then threw an explosive-tag kunai at Ganryu and Unsu.
• Baiyun Zaojian escaped through a hole as the explosion gave him an opening.

Baiyun Zaojian escaped the ruined command post and signaled his allies, while he and Maruboshi Kosuke killed Inoue and prepared to face Ganryu and Unsu. The two sides confronted each other outside as explosives planted around the building were set to detonate.

• Inoue recognized Baiyun Zaojian as a Konoha infiltrator, and Baiyun Zaojian fired a signal flare after bursting from the building.
• Inoue warned the Mist Ninja that his Cursed Seal would prevent him from fleeing, then the Mist Ninja revealed himself as a disguised Konoha Ninja and killed Inoue with a Kunai.
• Baiyun Zaojian retrieved his Ninja Blade and asked Maruboshi Kosuke whether their preparations were complete.
• Maruboshi Kosuke confirmed that Explosive Tags had been planted at the problem spots as Ganryu and Unsu emerged from the building.
• Ganryu challenged Baiyun Zaojian and Maruboshi Kosuke, while Unsu mocked them for being sent to the battlefield.

Maruboshi Kosuke confronted Ganryu and Unsu in the fishing village, exposing their ambush and attacking them with the Third Hokage’s Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique. The Leaf forces’ explosives surrounded the village as Kosuke charged at the two Mist Ninja.

• Unsu taunted Maruboshi Kosuke, while Ganryu challenged Baiyun Zaojian and offered to let the Leaf ninja go if they each lost an arm.
• Kosuke recognized that Ganryu was stalling for backup, and Ganryu set off a signal that was answered by explosions around the fishing village.
• Kosuke accused Ganryu and Unsu of crossing the border and slaughtering people in the Land of Fire, then Unsu attacked him with shuriken.
• Kosuke used the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique to overwhelm the two Mist Ninja, cutting them and revealing his skill.
• Kosuke claimed he was an ordinary Leaf Genin, hurled his black pot at Ganryu and Unsu, and charged behind it.