Chapter Summaries

Konan warned Yahiko that Hanzo had brought an army, and Tsunade supplied Akatsuki with antidote before the battle began. As Akatsuki fought to defend its base, Nagato rejected Obito’s attempt to recruit him and hurried back, while Kiyohara’s unusual power surprised Tsunade.

• Konan reported that Hanzo and more than eighty Amegakure ninja were approaching, and Tsunade gave Yahiko antidote for the salamander’s poison.
• Yahiko ordered Nagato and Kyusuke to evacuate the civilians through a secret passage while the remaining Akatsuki members prepared to defend the base.
• Hanzo released poisonous mist, but Kiyohara used Wind Release to sweep it away before Amegakure ninja attacked from three directions.
• Nagato left the evacuees with Kyusuke and returned toward the base after Obito, posing as Uchiha Madara, failed to persuade him to join his plan.
• Akatsuki members fought the Amegakure force as Kiyohara used Frog Kata to strike enemies from a distance, and Tsunade sensed that his Chakra resembled natural energy.

Kiyohara defeated Hanzo’s aide and confronted Hanzo while Akatsuki faced the threat of the Amegakure army. Nagato summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and Kiyohara entered Cursed Seal Transformation: State Two and Sage Mode as the battle intensified.

• Tsunade asked Katsuyu to monitor Kiyohara, while Kiyohara defeated five Amegakure jonin and forced Kanzo to reveal Hanzo’s deal with Danzo before killing him.
• Kiyohara reassured Kurenai Yuhi, then faced Hanzo and deflected three poisoned shuriken.
• Yahiko challenged Hanzo over his broken promise, and Hanzo offered to spare Akatsuki if it disbanded or Yahiko died in exchange for the others.
• Nagato joined Yahiko and summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, which crushed three Amegakure jonin as the battlefield erupted into combat.
• Kiyohara called on Gamabunta Kiyohara to possess him, entered Cursed Seal Transformation: State Two and Sage Mode, and revealed his enhanced power to Hanzo.

Kiyohara and the Akatsuki defeated Hanzo’s Amegakure forces, forcing Hanzo to retreat after Kiyohara buried Ibuse and wounded him. Nagato collapsed from using the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, while Kiyohara took a fragment of the statue; afterward, Obito recognized Kiyohara as a new variable in Madara’s plan.

• Kiyohara dispersed Hanzo’s poison mist with Sage Art and struck him back, while Yahiko and the Akatsuki fought Amegakure’s forces and learned they had been poisoned.
• Nagato summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, whose lightning and chakra-draining dragon devastated Amegakure’s ranks, while Kiyohara buried Ibuse in gold dust.
• Kiyohara countered Hanzo’s swordsmanship, endured his iaijutsu slash with Steel Release and Earth Spear, and blasted him away with Frog Kata.
• Hanzo ordered his forces to retreat, and he escaped as the Akatsuki claimed victory; Nagato collapsed from chakra exhaustion after the statue vanished.
• Kiyohara collected a fragment of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, then told Tsunade that Hanzo had escaped and discussed how the battle would shift power in the Land of Rain.
• Obito watched the battlefield and realized that Nagato had used the Demonic Statue and Kiyohara’s Senjutsu had made him a variable in Madara’s plan.

After Hanzo’s defeat, Danzō withdrew from the Land of Rain while Hanzo imposed martial law and confronted the loss of his authority. Konoha, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure assessed Kiyohara’s growing strength and adjusted their plans, while Kiyohara continued developing his Strength of a Hundred Seal.

• Danzō learned that Hanzo’s forces had returned battered and without victory, then ordered Root to withdraw and put Konoha’s mining-rights discussions on hold.
• Hanzo confirmed that Kiyohara had used Senjutsu, ordered Amegakure to impose martial law and recall its ninja, and reflected on Yahiko’s criticism of his rule.
• Madara decided to use Kiyohara to provoke Obito and spur his growth after learning about the battle in the Land of Rain.
• Hiruzen recognized Akatsuki as a legitimate political organization, ordered aid for Yahiko’s group and publicity for the victory, and cut Root’s funding by twenty percent.
• Ōnoki designated Kiyohara an S-rank threat, moved to seek peace with Konoha, and ordered discreet contact with Akatsuki.
• Yugito resolved to train harder after learning Kiyohara had defeated Hanzo, while Kiyohara examined the developing mark on his forehead.

Kiyohara returned to Konoha after helping the Akatsuki repel Hanzo, received two powerful ninjutsu from Sarutobi Hiruzen, and began training with them. Meanwhile, Sunagakure planned a delegation to recover Pakura, Danzō vowed to deal with Kiyohara, and Kiyohara’s training ended with him testing the Five Elements: Great Elemental Combo Technique.

• Kiyohara said farewell to Yahiko and the Akatsuki, and Konan gave him a chakra-sealed paper crane for future messages.
• Tsunade, Kiyohara, Shizune, and Kurenai Yuhi returned to Konoha, where Sarutobi Hiruzen promoted Shizune to special jonin and Kurenai Yuhi to jonin.
• After Tsunade demanded a better reward, Sarutobi Hiruzen gave Kiyohara the Five Elements: Great Elemental Combo Technique and the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu.
• Chiyo decided to lead a Sunagakure delegation to Konoha and included Maki, Pakura’s disciple, on the team.
• Danzō learned that Sarutobi Hiruzen had cut Root’s funding and called on Kinoe to report on his Wood Release training, while Danzō considered eliminating Kiyohara.
• Kiyohara trained with shadow clones and the Five Elements: Great Elemental Combo Technique, whose combined releases shattered a boulder.

Kiyohara accompanied Tsunade as she received Sunagakure’s delegation and negotiated peace, with Pakura’s release becoming a major point of contention. The talks ended in a preliminary agreement, while Danzō secretly pursued a Sharingan transplant to strengthen his bid for the Hokage seat.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen assigned Tsunade to lead negotiations with Sunagakure and Kiyohara to accompany her, despite Danzō arguing that Orochimaru should handle the mission.
• Tsunade and Kiyohara received Chiyo, Tōjūrō, and the Sunagakure delegation, where Tōjūrō showed hostility toward Kiyohara and Maki watched him closely.
• Tsunade and Chiyo began negotiations, agreeing to discuss border withdrawals and prisoner exchanges before disputing the terms for Pakura’s return.
• Danzō oversaw a Root experiment implanting Sharingan into a ninja’s arm and resolved to combine Sharingan and Wood Release to take the Hokage seat from Hiruzen.
• After three days of talks, Konoha and Sunagakure reached a preliminary agreement on Sunagakure’s withdrawal, one-for-one prisoner exchanges, and ransom for surplus prisoners.

After helping Tsunade secure a preliminary agreement with Sunagakure, Kiyohara accepted a mission to investigate a sea monster and trained with Nohara Rin. The chapter ended as Rin entered Tailed Beast Chakra Mode and sparred with Kiyohara, who encouraged her to stay calm.

• Sunagakure agreed to a ten-year non-aggression treaty and neutrality, and Tsunade celebrated the preliminary agreement by gambling with Kiyohara.
• Kiyohara helped Tsunade win at the casino, then accepted a B-rank sea monster investigation mission with her.
• Kiyohara met Nohara Rin at the market and went with her to Training Ground 3 to test her Water Release ninjutsu.
• Rin used Water Release attacks and Hidden Mist, but Kiyohara dodged them and praised her control and tactics.
• Kiyohara asked Rin to use the Three-Tails' Chakra, and she entered Tailed Beast Chakra Mode before sparring with him.

Kiyohara trained Nohara Rin, treated her burn, and arranged for her to join Tsunade’s mission to the Land of the Sea. The team reached Tide Town and met their ship, the Seagull, where Tsunade called for its captain, Granny Shimoe.

• Kiyohara sparred with Nohara Rin, who overused her Tailed Beast Chakra and was burned by the clash of their jutsu; he treated her wound and walked her home.
• Kiyohara told Nohara Rin about the mission to the Land of the Sea and offered to ask Tsunade to let her come along; Rin asked to spar again and later spent the night thinking about him.
• At dinner, Kiyohara asked Tsunade to let Nohara Rin join the mission for training, and Tsunade agreed to seek Sarutobi Hiruzen’s approval.
• Tsunade told Kiyohara that Sarutobi Hiruzen had approved Nohara Rin’s participation, and Kiyohara delivered the news to Rin at Training Ground 3.
• Tsunade, Kiyohara, Kurenai Yuhi, Shizune, and Nohara Rin left Konoha and traveled to Tide Town, where they boarded the dockside Seagull and Tsunade called for Granny Shimoe.

Tsunade and her companions sailed toward the Land of the Sea and fought a swarm of artificially altered Sea Monsters. After the battle, Kiyohara captured a fleeing monster that was reverting into a woman marked with a snake-shaped Cursed Seal.

• Tsunade and her companions boarded the Seagull and set sail under Captain Shimoe, while Kiyohara sensed unusual creatures gathering near the seabed.
• Tsunade ordered the group to prepare for battle when more than thirty Sea Monsters emerged and attacked the ship.
• Kiyohara, Kurenai Yuhi, Shizune, and Nohara Rin fought the Sea Monsters, and Kiyohara used a newly developed Fire Release: Microwave Great Flame Rasengan to destroy most of them.
• Nohara Rin used Tailed Beast Chakra to repel a larger Sea Monster, while Kurenai Yuhi and Shizune restrained and poisoned others.
• Kiyohara spotted a Sea Monster fleeing and followed it, then captured it as its scales and features receded to reveal a human woman with a snake-shaped Cursed Seal.
• Kiyohara returned to the ship with the woman and showed her to Tsunade.

Kiyohara learned that Hiruko was behind the modified humans attacking the Seagull and led the team to investigate Summoning Island. After defeating Ni and interrogating her, Kiyohara confirmed Hiruko’s involvement, leaving Tsunade wary of the serious implications.

• Yu Kujō told Kiyohara that she had been abducted and forced to capture living creatures, and Kiyohara used Genjutsu to confirm her account and place a binding Cursed Seal on her.
• Kiyohara proposed searching Summoning Island for the hidden base, and Tsunade ordered the Seagull to head there.
• At Hiruko’s laboratory, Amachi reported that the Fish-men had not returned, and Hiruko sent Ni to capture the intruding ninja alive.
• On Summoning Island, Nohara Rin and Kurenai Yuhi helped defend the team from Spine-back Wolves while Kiyohara killed their leader.
• Ni arrived with a Turtle-Lion summoned beast, but Kiyohara cut it down, captured Ni, and interrogated her.
• Kiyohara told Tsunade that Hiruko was the mastermind, and Tsunade ordered the team to rest and regroup.

Tsunade gave Kiyohara a valuable chakra-storing necklace, and the group continued exploring Summoning Island while battling its strange creatures. At a hidden laboratory, Hiruko prepared to confront Kiyohara and seize his Sharingan; the group reached the researchers’ base, where Kiyohara identified himself as a Konoha investigator.

• Tsunade gave Kiyohara a necklace left by Senju Hashirama, and Shizune and Kurenai Yuhi discussed their own birthday gifts for him.
• Hiruko learned that Ni had gone missing and saw Kiyohara’s Sharingan in the last images she sent.
• Hiruko injected himself with a dark-red substance and set out to capture Kiyohara’s Sharingan for his Chimera Technique.
• Kiyohara and the others resumed their journey, fought several kinds of mutated summoning beasts, and Tsunade recognized signs of unnatural experimentation.
• The group reached a guarded research facility, and Kiyohara told the guards they were Konoha ninja investigating attacks by a sea monster.

Kiyohara’s group reached the research facility on Summoning Island and learned that an escaped Ultimate Summoning Beast was behind the mutated summoned creatures, while the Sea Monster might have a separate cause. After agreeing to investigate both threats, they were ambushed by Hiruko, who revealed his interest in Kiyohara’s Sharingan and attacked the group.

• Honoka Uzumaki let Tsunade, Kiyohara, and their companions into the research facility after Yu Kujō showed the scale left by her transformation.
• Honoka explained that the Association’s Subject 89 had escaped eight months earlier and was devouring summoned beasts, while Kiyohara suggested another force might be responsible for the Fish-men.
• Kiyohara’s group and Honoka agreed to search for both the Ultimate Summoning Beast and the Sea Monster, then Honoka arranged temporary lodging for them.
• Kiyohara sensed a fast intruder outside his room and blocked the white-robed man’s wind blades with Gold Dust; Tsunade, Shizune, Kurenai Yuhi, Nohara Rin, and Honoka joined the fight.
• Hiruko used Steel Release, Dark Release, and Swift Release to counter the group’s attacks, while Honoka protected them with Adamantine Sealing Chains.
• Hiruko targeted Kiyohara to take his Sharingan, and Kiyohara used his Three Tomoe Sharingan to identify Hiruko’s true approach among the afterimages.

Kiyohara used Sage Mode and Magnet Release to overwhelm Hiruko, who revealed his plan to fuse with the Ultimate Summoning Beast and evolve. Kiyohara exposed Hiruko’s identity and battered him, while Hiruko continued forcing the fusion.

• Kiyohara entered Cursed Seal Stage Two and borrowed Senjutsu Chakra from Gamabunta Kiyohara.
• Kiyohara trapped Hiruko with Sage Art: Magnet Release: Gold Dust World Method, disrupting Hiruko’s Swift Release and Dark Release.
• Hiruko summoned the Ultimate Summoning Beast and began fusing with it, while Honoka Uzumaki tried to stop him and was injured by the monster.
• Kiyohara struck Hiruko with Sage Art: Magnet Release: Electromagnetic Fist, broke his Steel Release defense, and shattered his mask, revealing his face to Tsunade and the others.
• Hiruko summoned three more beasts, but Kiyohara destroyed them and repeatedly punched Hiruko as he continued deepening his fusion with the Ultimate Summoning Beast.

Kiyohara defeated Hiruko and the Ultimate Summoning Beast, then killed Hiruko after extracting his arms and learning the Chimera Technique’s secrets. By destroying the beast’s heart, Kiyohara fulfilled Gamabunta Kiyohara’s final wish, and the spirit began to fade.

• Hiruko fused with the Ultimate Summoning Beast, and Kiyohara sent Tsunade and the others away before fighting him.
• Kiyohara overwhelmed Hiruko’s attacks, then carried him high into the sky and slammed him into the ground with a fireball.
• Kiyohara tore off Hiruko’s arms, used Sharingan Genjutsu to learn about the Chimera Technique, and killed him.
• Kiyohara and his companions burned the Ultimate Summoning Beast’s remains, then Kiyohara destroyed its heart with a Rasengan.
• Gamabunta Kiyohara said Kiyohara had fulfilled his final wish and began fading away.

Kiyohara absorbed Gamabunta Kiyohara’s spirit and inherited a toad bloodline, greatly increasing his chakra, natural-energy affinity, and lifespan while preserving his human appearance. After returning to Konoha, he found a generous gift and invitation from Fugaku Uchiha, then received a birthday present from Kurenai Yuhi.

• Kiyohara inherited Gamabunta Kiyohara’s memories, chakra, Water Release nature, and Mount Myoboku senjutsu knowledge as his body adapted to the toad bloodline.
• Kiyohara and Tsunade confirmed that the Ultimate Summoning Beast had been destroyed, then later defeated Amachi’s summon, Umi-bōzu, and recovered Cursed Seal research data.
• Honoka Uzumaki declined Tsunade’s invitation to return to Konoha, choosing to stay and protect the people who had saved her.
• Kiyohara’s team returned to Konoha, reported Hiruko’s matter to Sarutobi Hiruzen, and received their mission payment.
• Kiyohara found three million ryō, two Fire Release scrolls, and an invitation from Fugaku Uchiha in his mailbox.
• Kurenai Yuhi gave Kiyohara a custom desk and lamp for his birthday, then noticed that he seemed to have grown taller.

Kiyohara agreed to guide Uchiha Itachi and began assessing his ninja skills, urging him to develop a personal fighting style. On his birthday, Kurenai Yuhi, Tsunade, and his friends gathered to surprise him with a celebration and gifts.

• Kurenai Yuhi invited Kiyohara to dinner and said she had bought a cake to celebrate his safe return.
• Fugaku Uchiha asked Kiyohara to teach Itachi, and Kiyohara agreed to guide him under several conditions.
• At Training Ground 3, Itachi demonstrated his fire jutsu, shurikenjutsu, and taijutsu, and Kiyohara told him to stop relying only on textbook techniques and develop his own style.
• Kurenai Yuhi gathered Asuma, Might Guy, Kakashi, and Rin to prepare a birthday celebration for Kiyohara, with help from Tsunade and Shizune.
• Kiyohara returned home to a surprise party, blew out his candles, made a wish, and received Might Guy's handwritten Youth Training Manual.

Kiyohara helped Nohara Rin train until she could use Partial Tailed Beast Mode in combat, but their progress was interrupted when Sunagakure urgently requested Konoha's aid against Kirigakure. The chapter ended as Sarutobi Hiruzen revealed that Kirigakure had breached Sunagakure's defenses and deployed the reorganized Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

• Kiyohara received Kakashi's Hatake Kenjutsu techniques and gifts from Nohara Rin and Shizune at his birthday party.
• Nohara Rin asked Kiyohara to supervise her attempt to advance her Three-Tails training, and he used Genjutsu to restore her clarity when the Tailed Beast's instincts overwhelmed her.
• Over the next twenty-plus days, Nohara Rin learned to form three chakra tails and maintain Partial Tailed Beast Mode while conscious.
• Nohara Rin tested her transformation against Kurenai Yuhi, using a water barrier and a bone-armored strike to overpower her briefly.
• An Anbu summoned Tsunade, Kiyohara, Kurenai Yuhi, and Shizune to an urgent jonin meeting after Sunagakure requested aid against Kirigakure.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen told the meeting that Kirigakure had breached Sunagakure's defenses, entered the Land of Wind, and sent the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist toward the border.

Konoha organized a three-thousand-ninja force to support Sunagakure against Kirigakure in the Land of Rivers, with Kiyohara serving as Tsunade’s deputy. After Sunagakure’s reinforcements arrived and the leaders shared intelligence, Kiyohara proposed targeting Kirigakure’s supply lines.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen assigned Tsunade, Kiyohara, Nara Shikaku, and Sarutobi Shinnosuke to lead three separate forces supporting Sunagakure.
• Orochimaru praised Kiyohara’s growth and warned him to be careful on the battlefield, while Tsunade and Kiyohara departed to prepare for the mission.
• Tsunade led her thousand-ninja force to the Land of Rivers, where Kiyohara and Nara Shikaku received Baki and Sunagakure’s reinforcements.
• Tsunade shared intelligence about Kirigakure’s coastal strongholds and transport fleet, including escorts Suikazan Fuguki and Juzo Biwa.
• Kiyohara offered to handle Fuguki and Juzo, then proposed cutting off Kirigakure’s supplies by locating its supply points and transport routes.

Kiyohara coordinated with Konoha and Sunagakure, practiced controlling Kurenai Yuhi with Chakra Threads, and joined a reconnaissance mission to locate Kirigakure’s island strongholds. The chapter ended with Kiyohara carrying Hyuga Ginka into the air toward a guarded island while Nohara Rin watched enviously.

• Tsunade and Baki agreed on a preliminary deployment plan and postponed the detailed battle strategy until the reconnaissance results arrived.
• Kiyohara practiced Puppet Technique by controlling Kurenai Yuhi’s movements and ninjutsu, then used medical chakra to ease her fatigue and carried her to the dining area.
• Hyuga Tetsumon reported sightings of Kirigakure supply fleets and possible Seven Ninja Swordsmen, prompting Kiyohara to volunteer to scout nearby islands with Hyuga Ginka.
• Kiyohara assembled a squad with Kurenai Yuhi, Nohara Rin, Kakashi, Might Guy, and Hyuga Ginka, then set out by boat toward the suspected island.
• Hyuga Ginka spotted an island guarded by more than twenty ninjas, and Kiyohara flew toward it with her in his arms while Nohara Rin watched enviously.

Kiyohara and Hyuga Ginka led the assault on a Kirigakure island base, where Kiyohara quickly defeated its defenders and confronted Suikazan Fuguki. As the others fought the arriving Kirigakure ninja, Kiyohara sent Ginka to support them and prepared to take Fuguki and Samehada on alone.

• Hyuga Ginka used her Byakugan to report the island's defenses as Kiyohara flew ahead, while Kakashi, Nohara Rin, Kurenai Yuhi, and Might Guy accelerated their boat toward shore.
• Kiyohara burned through the coastal defenses, used Ginka's intelligence to ambush Kirigakure ninja, and defeated a group preparing a combined Water Release attack.
• Suikazan Fuguki confronted Kiyohara with Samehada as Kakashi and the others arrived and began fighting newly gathered Kirigakure ninja.
• Fuguki attacked with Needle Jizo, but Kiyohara cut off his hair with Gold Dust and struck him through trees into a reef.
• Kiyohara told Hyuga Ginka to support the others and faced Fuguki alone, eyeing Samehada as a weapon better suited to him.