Chapter Summaries

Sarutobi Toru used his disguise as the Konoha White Fang to lure Ōnoki into a confrontation, while secretly preparing the next stage of his plan. Ōnoki erased the fortress with Dust Release, but the Cloud Shinobi escaped and left him sensing an imminent threat.

• Ōnoki rejected Shū's warning and led the Shadow Guard out to hunt the thief who had killed nine Iwagakure Jōnin.
• Sarutobi Toru learned through his Shadow Clone that Ōnoki had come in person and prepared to advance his plan.
• The next day, Ōnoki tracked a powerful Chakra signature to a burned base and pursued the fleeing figure disguised as the Konoha White Fang.
• Ōnoki trapped the figure inside a vast earthen fortress and unleashed Super Atomic Dismantling Jutsu after the figure displayed a technique resembling the Raikage's Hell Stab.
• The Cloud Shinobi escaped the attack, prompting Ōnoki to suspect he was a new A from the Yagura clan, then Ōnoki sensed danger as the man smiled up at him.

Ōnoki was nearly killed by a Cloud Shinobi who planned to frame Konoha for Iwagakure’s destruction. Hatake Sakumo intervened, while Sakumo’s Shadow Clone secretly healed Ōnoki and left him pretending to be near death.

• The Cloud Shinobi overwhelmed Ōnoki with his Lightning Release Armor and slammed him into the ground until Iwagakure’s Shadow Guard arrived.
• Gari sacrificed himself to contain the blast from Explosive Tags attached to Ōnoki, while the badly injured Tsuchikage realized the Cloud Shinobi intended to blame Konoha for the attack.
• The Cloud Shinobi began killing the Shadow Guard and prepared to finish Ōnoki with the White Fang Dagger.
• Hatake Sakumo appeared, broke the Cloud Shinobi’s blade, and fought him across the plain.
• Sakumo’s Shadow Clone gave Ōnoki red medicine that rapidly healed his injuries, and Ōnoki pretended to remain near death.

Sarutobi Toru’s scheme left Ōnoki alive while deepening mistrust between Iwagakure and the Cloud Shinobi, and Hatake Sakumo returned safely to the Konoha stronghold. Sarutobi Toru reported the mission to Shimura Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen, who recognized its success.

• Hatake Sakumo’s Shadow Clone wounded the Cloud Shinobi, giving Ōnoki the chance to kill him with Dust Release—Atomic Dismantling Jutsu.
• Hatake Sakumo asked Ōnoki to pay 100 million ryo for the medicine that had saved him, but Ōnoki refused and flew away.
• Sarutobi Toru revealed to Hatake Sakumo that he had disguised himself as the Cloud Shinobi and explained how his plan had manipulated Ōnoki and the two villages.
• Sarutobi Toru offered Hatake Sakumo a ride with the Flying Thunder God Technique, then left him to clean up the stronghold.
• Sarutobi Toru recounted the mission to Shimura Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen, who praised its execution.

Sarutobi Toru argued that Konoha should prepare for war with Sunagakure, whose economic strain made conflict unavoidable, while Sarutobi Hiruzen planned to provoke the Sand Shinobi into striking first. Toru then revealed Hanzo of the Salamander’s Kage-level strength and ambitions for Amegakure, giving Hiruzen a way to pit the Land of Rain against Sunagakure.

• Sarutobi Toru explained that Sunagakure’s poverty and overstretched forces would eventually force it into war with Konoha.
• Sarutobi Toru urged Konoha to strike the Sand Shinobi hard, and Shimura Danzō supported his proposal.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen decided Konoha should let Sunagakure act first and ordered Root to disrupt Sand Shinobi missions while Konoha reduced mission rewards in the Land of Wind.
• Sarutobi Toru raised the possibility of involving Amegakure and revealed that Hanzo of the Salamander had Kage-level strength and sought to make his village the sixth great shinobi village.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen considered using Hanzo’s ambitions and the Land of Rain’s location to provoke a clash with Sunagakure.

Sarutobi Toru visited Orochimaru’s laboratory, where their research into the Yang God Daoist Scripture and soul cultivation reached a breakthrough. Dan Katō demonstrated that his spirit body had reached the Object-Moving Realm, confirming their cultivation method worked.

• Sarutobi Toru visited Orochimaru’s well-funded laboratory and watched him analyze data from a spirit body test.
• Orochimaru called Dan Katō out of the isolation room after Dan had used the Spirit Transformation Technique for the experiment.
• Dan Katō reported that his soul felt stronger and that he had sensed touch for the first time.
• Orochimaru asked Dan Katō to lift a sheet of paper with his spirit body, and the paper briefly hovered before falling through his palm.
• Orochimaru and Sarutobi Toru concluded that Dan Katō had reached the Object-Moving Realm and verified that their soul cultivation method worked.

Sarutobi Toru used the Heavenly Crystal Sword to deepen his soul cultivation and then reunited with Tsunade at home. After dinner, he agreed to let her gamble with him under the conditions of his Hormone Sealing Technique.

• Sarutobi Toru warmed up in the Reincarnation Warehouse, transformed his spirit body into the shape of the Heavenly Crystal Sword, and began visualizing it while guarding his mind against its influence.
• Sarutobi Toru cultivated for several hours before reaching his limit, then trained his body until his Shadow Clone dispelled and sent him its memories.
• Tsunade arrived at Sarutobi Toru's home, wiped his sweat, and told him she had missed him; he explained that Orochimaru's soul experiment had made a major breakthrough.
• Tsunade cooked Sarutobi Toru dinner, then pulled out gambling tools and invited him to play.
• Sarutobi Toru described how he had sealed Tsunade's gambling urges and set rules allowing her to gamble only with him, after which he would seal her again.

Sarutobi Toru and Tsunade confirmed their relationship, explored his Reincarnation Warehouse, and became engaged. The chapter leaves them in Konoha Hospital as Might Duy prepares to try the Blood Transformation Technique again, with Sarutobi Toru unsure whether it will succeed.

• Tsunade confessed she would pay her gambling debts with her body, and Sarutobi Toru accepted her feelings.
• Sarutobi Toru used his Hormone Fruit ability to optimize Tsunade's body, then took her to the Reincarnation Warehouse, where she could not use its powerful items.
• Tsunade and Sarutobi Toru visited Uzumaki Mito at the Senju Estate as an engaged couple, while Nawaki failed to cause trouble under Tsunade's watch.
• Tsunade hurried into Konoha Hospital's laboratory and asked Sarutobi Toru about Might Duy's chances of succeeding with the Blood Transformation Technique.
• Sarutobi Toru said they had reached their limit and that the technique should have a fairly high chance of success.

Might Duy successfully completed blood transformation, recovering with enhanced strength, longevity, and the ability to learn ninjutsu. Sarutobi Toru then underwent blood transformation himself and emerged safely, where Tsunade embraced him.

• Tsunade focused on treating Might Duy, who began his third attempt at blood transformation.
• After his heartbeat returned, Might Duy broke free of the blood scab and underwent examination by Tsunade and Sarutobi Toru.
• Might Duy recovered after more than a week, then ran out of the hospital on his hands to celebrate.
• Sarutobi Toru learned that Might Duy's blood transformation had greatly extended his lifespan and improved his abilities.
• Tsunade worried about Sarutobi Toru attempting blood transformation, but he began the process in the Reincarnation Warehouse.
• Sarutobi Toru emerged safely from his blood scab, and Tsunade embraced him.

After recovering from the blood exchange, Sarutobi Toru discovered his body had gained Life Return, while Tsunade awakened a Sage Body through her own blood exchange. The chapter ended with Uzumaki Mito transferring the Nine-Tails into Tsunade at a secret Anbu stronghold.

• Sarutobi Toru recovered fully, found that all seven of his Chakra nature transformations and his physical abilities had improved, and recognized his new bodily control as Life Return.
• Sarutobi Toru punished Tsunade for teasing him, and she limped the next day after their encounter.
• Tsunade completed her blood exchange and awakened a Sage Body, gaining an enormous supply of Chakra.
• Uzumaki Mito gathered Konoha shinobi at a secret Anbu stronghold to transfer the Nine-Tails to Tsunade.
• Uzumaki Mito used sealing chains to draw out the Nine-Tails, and Tsunade sealed it into her body with the Eight Trigrams Seal.

Uzumaki Mito died, ending an era in Konoha, while Konoha’s pressure on Sunagakure drove the Sand Shinobi leaders toward war. With their finances dwindling and other villages offering little support, the Sand Shinobi concluded they had no choice but to fight.

• Uzumaki Mito died, and Tsunade, Nawaki, Sarutobi Toru, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzō, and other Konoha leaders mourned her at the Memorial Monument.
• The Sand Shinobi leaders discussed how Konoha Root missions and heavily subsidized fees had damaged their reputation and drained their funds.
• The Second Kazekage, Shamon, reported Mito’s death and considered it an opportunity to strike Konoha.
• Kosa asked whether the Sand Shinobi would fight alone, and Shamon explained that the Rock Shinobi and Cloud Shinobi offered only limited support while the Mist Ninja’s promise seemed unreliable.
• Chiyo warned that Konoha was prepared and that the Sand Shinobi risked defeat, but Ebizo explained that their reserves would soon run out if they did not act.
• Shamon and the Sand Shinobi leaders recognized that their village had reached the point where it had no choice but to fight.

Sunagakure chose war and prepared to invade the Land of Rain, while Hanzo explained why Amegakure would resist the Sand Shinobi. Other villages weighed their options as the Sand army assembled and crossed into the Land of Rain.

• Kosa urged Sunagakure to fight before Konoha's Golden Generation reached its peak, and the Second Kazekage declared a wartime emergency and chose the Land of Rain as the target.
• Hanzo told Amegakure's Jōnin about the River of Rain Plan and explained that Sunagakure had invaded the Land of Rain before and still coveted its territory.
• The Third Raikage considered a surprise attack and sought to bring Kirigakure into a swift battle, while the Third Mizukage and Ōnoki worried over their villages' positions.
• A few days later, the assembled Sand Shinobi army invaded the Land of Rain.

As the Second Shinobi World War began, the Third Hokage prepared Konoha to cripple Sunagakure with a concentrated strike, relying on Sarutobi Toru’s Flying Thunder God to move its strongest fighters. In the Land of Rain, Hanzo annihilated a Sand Shinobi unit, and Sunagakure’s commanders learned that five units had been lost before reaching Konoha.

• The Third Hokage assigned Sakumo, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya to reinforce Konoha’s front line against Sunagakure.
• The Third Hokage told Danzo and Sarutobi Toru to deploy Root’s experts and use Sarutobi Toru’s Flying Thunder God to transport Konoha’s strongest fighters for a surprise attack.
• Hanzo used poison and his sickle to wipe out a Sand Shinobi unit in the Land of Rain.
• Rain Ninja arrived after the battle, praised Hanzo, and gathered spoils before moving to another battlefield.
• Kosa learned that Sunagakure had lost five units before encountering Konoha, and Ebizo concluded that they had underestimated Amegakure.

Kosa flew out to confront Hanzo of the Salamander after the Rain Ninja attacked a Sand Shinobi regiment, but Hanzo defeated him with poison hidden in the rain. Hanzo spared the unconscious Kosa and carried him toward the Rain Ninja camp, wary of provoking Sunagakure.

• Kosa left Chiyo and Ebizo to prepare an antidote and guard the Sand camp, then flew toward Hanzo of the Salamander on Iron Sand Wings.
• Hanzo defeated the sixth regiment and ordered the surviving Rain Ninja to retreat as Kosa arrived.
• Kosa’s Iron Sand Clone exploded, and he attacked Hanzo from the air with Iron Sand Shower.
• Hanzo revealed that Kosa’s poison resistance was weaker and that Poison Rain Technique had left him numb and unable to fly.
• Hanzo considered killing Kosa but spared him to avoid provoking Sunagakure, then carried him toward the Rain Ninja camp.

After Kosa was captured by Hanzo, Ebizo refused to withdraw Sunagakure from the Land of Rain and pushed for a swift victory over Konoha before the village’s resources ran out. Konoha prepared its reinforced forces for a major battle as Ebizo rallied the Sand Shinobi to force one.

• A Sand Shinobi intelligence officer reported that Amegakure had captured Kosa and demanded Sunagakure withdraw from the Land of Rain and sign a non-aggression pact.
• Ebizo rejected the demand, explaining that retreat would damage Sunagakure’s reputation and cost it a share of its missions, and reassured Chiyo that Hanzo was unlikely to kill Kosa.
• Ebizo concluded that Sunagakure had to end its war with Konoha quickly because its logistics and economy could not sustain the campaign.
• Tsunade, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Mitokado Homura discussed Hanzo’s success and Konoha’s reinforcements, including dozens of Special Jonin with Orochimaru’s Artificial Bloodlines.
• Ebizo rallied the Sand Shinobi for a decisive battle, and a Sand Shinobi Jōnin questioned whether Konoha would agree to fight one.
• Ebizo said that a full-scale attack on Konoha’s border would force Konoha to stop them and fight.

Konoha and the Sand Shinobi both committed to a decisive battle, while Tsunade used Katsuyu to bolster Konoha’s forces. Meanwhile, Sarutobi Toru led Hiruzen, Danzō, Hiruko, and Aburame Ryoma to Sunagakure, where they began their covert raid.

• Ebizo and the Sand Shinobi decided to risk a decisive battle, and Konoha agreed to meet them in the field.
• Tsunade summoned a gigantic Katsuyu and sent smaller slugs to accompany each Konoha ninja, then led the energized force toward the Sand Shinobi.
• Sarutobi Toru used the Flying Thunder God Technique to take Hiruzen, Danzō, Hiruko, and Aburame Ryoma to the desert near Sunagakure.
• Hiruko summoned his Three-headed Chimera while Aburame Ryoma deployed camouflage stealth bugs to conceal the group.
• The group rode the Chimera over Sunagakure, and Hiruzen remarked on the village’s beauty before Danzō rebuked him.

Sarutobi Hiruzen used his Five Elements Annihilation Bullet against Sunagakure, devastating the village despite its Yellow Sand Shield. Shamon survived the blast and gathered the remaining Sand Shinobi, who discovered the concealed Konoha group.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen and his four Shadow Clones formed the Five Elements Annihilation Bullet, while Sarutobi Toru stood ready to evacuate the group with Flying Thunder God.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen hurled the Gray Orb at Sunagakure, and Shamon activated the village's Yellow Sand Shield to protect it.
• The explosion destroyed the Kage Building and devastated the surrounding area, killing and injuring many people.
• Shamon survived at the center of the blast and rallied surviving Sand Shinobi around him.
• Aburame Ryoma withdrew the Camouflage Stealth Bugs, revealing Sarutobi Toru's group to the hostile Sand Shinobi.

Shamon refused to surrender immediately and led the furious Sand Shinobi in an attack on Sarutobi Hiruzen and his allies. As the battle escalated and more Sand Shinobi experts approached, Sarutobi Toru used the Infinity Gauntlet to bombard Shamon and his Puppet with Lightning Style Spiraling Spheres.

• Shamon said the Sand Shinobi would deal with surrender later and attacked Konoha with a storm of Sand Shuriken.
• Hiruko ordered Chimera to unleash Gōemon, setting part of Sunagakure’s ruins ablaze before Shamon blocked the flames with a wall of sand.
• Shamon attacked Chimera with a giant sand hand, but Sarutobi Hiruzen and his Shadow Clone stopped it with a combined Lightning-Water Dragon Bullet while Shimura Danzō fired Vacuum Great Balls at Shamon.
• A Puppet that moved and controlled sand like Shamon joined the fight, and the pair held Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō at bay as other Sand Shinobi experts approached.
• Sarutobi Toru summoned the Infinity Gauntlet and fired more than a dozen Lightning Style Spiraling Spheres at Shamon and the Puppet, then paused to catch his breath.

Shamon unleashed the life-threatening Violent Sandstorm, summoning a gigantic Yellow Sand Flying Dragon that overwhelmed the Konoha team. Toru suppressed its consciousness long enough for the team to escape, and the chapter ended with Hiruzen asking Toru what he thought of the battle.

• Shamon revealed the dragon tattoos on his body and used Violent Sandstorm to create a massive Yellow Sand Flying Dragon, then collapsed and died.
• Toru, Hiruzen, Danzo, and the others tried attacks that failed to destroy the dragon, while Ryoma realized Shamon was dead.
• Toru sent his Golden Spirit Body into the dragon and temporarily suppressed it, allowing the group to flee on Chimera and return to Konoha with Flying Thunder God.
• At Root, Hiruzen offered the team three S-rank mission records each, then asked Toru about the Yellow Sand Flying Dragon.

Konoha overwhelmed the Sand Shinobi in the Land of Rain, with Tsunade crushing Ebizo’s decapitation force and White Fang badly wounding Chiyo. Ebizo ordered a retreat, while the Sand Shinobi wondered why Konoha had let them escape.

• Sarutobi Toru explained that Shamon’s soul kept restoring the Yellow Sand Flying Dragon and that sealing jutsu could counter it.
• White Fang destroyed two of Chiyo’s puppets and wounded her badly in their fight.
• Jiraiya and Orochimaru led Konoha’s assault with their summons as Konoha’s stronger troops and recovery abilities drove the Sand Shinobi back.
• Tsunade defeated Ebizo and the Sand Shinobi decapitation force at Konoha’s Command Center within five minutes.
• Ebizo signaled a retreat, and Konoha did not pursue the withdrawing Sand Shinobi.
• At the temporary main camp, Chiyo told Ebizo that White Fang had nearly killed her, and they questioned why Konoha had spared their retreating force.

After Sunagakure suffered devastating losses and the death of Shamon, Ebizo submitted a surrender letter to Konoha. Hanzo of the Salamander accepted Konoha’s proposal to jointly develop the River of Rain, ending the war and tying the Land of Rain more closely to Konoha.

• Ebizo read an intelligence report, then wrote a surrender letter after learning how badly Sunagakure had been damaged and how many Jōnin had died.
• Chiyo read the report and accepted that Sunagakure could not continue fighting, while Ebizo delivered the surrender letter to Konoha.
• Tsunade and the others received Sunagakure’s surrender, which Shamon had already ordered before he died.
• Hanzo considered Konoha’s River of Rain proposal and decided to attend negotiations, accepting closer ties with Konoha in exchange for control of the river’s source.
• The war in the Land of Rain ended with Sunagakure’s surrender after its forces were defeated by Hanzo and Konoha.