Chapter Summaries

Sarutobi Hiruzen proposed using Hiroki’s unknown ability to immobilize Hanzo of the Salamander, while Shimura Danzō objected to risking the child. Hiruzen laid out protections and rewards for the mission, leaving Hiroki with a month to decide whether to take part.

• Shimura Danzō angrily challenged Sarutobi Hiruzen for considering sending Hiroki against Hanzo, and Hiruzen explained that Hiroki’s concealed ability could create an opening.
• Hiroki asked what he would gain by joining the mission and what would happen if he refused.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen said Hiroki would have at least a month to consider the plan and prepare.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen described a plan to use Hiroki’s mind-blanking genjutsu against Hanzo, supported by Konoha ninja, armor, and antidotes.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen offered Hiroki Jonin promotion, access to three jutsu from the Scroll of Sealing, a guard position, and access to the Second Hokage’s laboratory.

Tsunade and Jiraiya challenged Sarutobi Hiruzen’s plan to send Sawada Hiroki against Hanzo, but the Third Hokage wagered that Hiroki would prove his strength within a month. Orochimaru then revealed that Hiroki had agreed to the plan himself and offered to demonstrate his abilities to Jiraiya’s students.

• Tsunade returned to Konoha, met Jiraiya, and angrily questioned the plan to make ten-year-old Sawada Hiroki the centerpiece of an operation against Hanzo.
• Jiraiya reported that Kumogakure’s kidnapping attempt had been an independent action, while Tsunade warned that the Land of Earth was preparing for an all-out war.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen said Konoha had to strike before its enemies attacked, and Tsunade argued that battle-hardened Jonin should lead instead of a child.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen bet that Sawada Hiroki would earn Tsunade’s approval within a month, wagering that he would abandon the plan and step down as Hokage if he lost.
• Orochimaru told Tsunade and Jiraiya that Hiroki could change beyond recognition in a week and revealed that Hiroki had agreed to the plan of his own accord.
• Orochimaru proposed bringing Jiraiya’s three students together so Hiroki could give them pointers.

Jiraiya showed Tsunade and Orochimaru how astonishingly fast Minato had become, but Orochimaru brought them to his laboratory to see Hiroki’s abilities for themselves. After witnessing Hiroki’s seal-less techniques, use of Kakuzu’s Earth Grudge Fear, and automatic healing, the stunned group heard him ask to begin the next stage of training.

• Minato demonstrated his extraordinary speed and chakra-infused weapons, leaving Tsunade and Orochimaru impressed while Nawaki worried about his own talent.
• Tsunade dismissed Hiroki’s abilities as borrowed power and criticized the Third Hokage for sending him after Hanzo, but Orochimaru challenged her assumptions and invited everyone to his laboratory.
• At Orochimaru’s laboratory, the group watched Hiroki’s Shadow Clones perform seal-less basic jutsu and wield Kakuzu’s Earth Grudge Fear to defend against and destroy steel puppets.
• Tsunade recognized that Hiroki was healing injuries automatically with a method resembling her unfinished Creation Rebirth technique.
• Hiroki stopped his training, greeted the group, and asked them to teach him as many more ninjutsu as possible over the coming month.

After Hiroki demonstrated seal-less ninjutsu, Tsunade opposed sending him to fight Hanzo and challenged him to prove he could survive her attacks. Hiroki agreed to a match in one week and asked to copy ninjutsu first; touching Jiraiya then triggered a temporary connection to him.

• Hiroki’s seal-less ninjutsu demonstration shocked Jiraiya, Tsunade, Nawaki, and Minato.
• Tsunade refused to let Hiroki join the plan against Hanzo, arguing that he was too young and inexperienced.
• Tsunade challenged Hiroki to evade all her attacks without a scratch, promising to teach him combat and Medical Ninjutsu if he succeeded.
• Hiroki accepted the test for one week later and asked to copy ordinary ninjutsu from Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru by touching them.
• Jiraiya agreed to let Hiroki copy his techniques, and a temporary Chakra Communication Protocol connection to Jiraiya appeared.

Hiroki copied ninjutsu files from Jiraiya and Tsunade to prepare for his fight with Tsunade in seven days. As Tsunade questioned his confidence and Jiraiya worried about the match, Orochimaru offered to teach Hiroki ninjutsu himself.

• Hiroki chose Jiraiya's restraining, ranged, and defensive techniques to help him fight Tsunade despite his limited chakra and lack of an Earth nature.
• Jiraiya stayed in contact with Hiroki for an hour while Hiroki copied his ninjutsu files, and Tsunade watched closely.
• Tsunade held Hiroki's hand for an hour as he copied her files, though she sensed no chakra fluctuations and felt uneasy.
• Hiroki said he would prove himself to Tsunade in seven days, and Tsunade insisted she would fight him seriously to protect him from Hanzo.
• Orochimaru told Hiroki that he would teach him ninjutsu himself.

Hiroki comforted Kushina by using his Passive Physical Activation Technique on her, then asked her to help him change the Shinobi World. Kushina renewed her determination to become Hokage and agreed to work with him.

• Hiroki reviewed the ninjutsu he had copied and assessed his strengths and weaknesses, noting his limited chakra and movement speed.
• Kushina visited Hiroki late at night, worried about his bet with Tsunade and discouraged by her struggles to learn Fuinjutsu from Grandma Mito.
• Hiroki used the Passive Physical Activation Technique on Kushina and asked her to teach him the Uzumaki Clan's Fuinjutsu in return.
• Kushina regained her confidence and renewed her promise to become a great Fuinjutsu master.
• Hiroki asked Kushina to help him change the Shinobi World, and she agreed while declaring she would become Konoha's first female Hokage.

Hiroki fought Tsunade in Orochimaru's underground laboratory and stunned the observers by unleashing Ninjutsu without Hand Seals. Tsunade healed from his opening strike but continued the fight, now taking him seriously.

• Tsunade and Hiroki prepared to fight while Jiraiya doubted Hiroki could last more than a few seconds against her.
• Tsunade charged at Hiroki with overwhelming speed and strength.
• Hiroki cast Fire Release: Flame Bullet without Hand Seals, then followed it with Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere.
• The attacks pierced Tsunade and left the observers, especially Jiraiya, shocked by Hiroki's hand-seal-free Ninjutsu.
• Tsunade healed her wound and continued the fight, but no longer treated Hiroki with contempt.

Tsunade attacked Hiroki with thrown stone and a high-speed charge, while Hiroki used Kakuzu’s Earth Grudge Fear to defend and weave a web of hardened tendrils. Tsunade broke through the web, and the chapter ended amid a sudden rumble whose cause was not yet clear.

• Tsunade healed her wounds, smashed the floor, and hurled chunks of stone at Hiroki.
• Hiroki blocked the stones with an umbrella of Earth Grudge Fear tendrils.
• Tsunade dashed around Hiroki, but Hiroki spread the tendrils into a steel-like web around himself.
• Tsunade shattered a concrete slab against the web, then coated her hands with chakra and charged through it.
• Tsunade snapped the tendrils as Minato, Nawaki, and Kushina watched, and a tremendous rumble followed.

Hiroki and Tsunade continued their fierce battle in Orochimaru’s laboratory, with Tsunade testing the ten-year-old’s limits. When she unleashed one final devastating punch, Hiroki escaped beneath the floor with a precisely controlled Earth Release technique, leaving his chakra exhausted.

• Tsunade used Strength of a Hundred and Chakra Scalpel to cut through Hiroki’s combined Earth Grudge Fear and Wild Lion’s Mane Technique.
• Tsunade questioned Hiroki’s remaining chakra, and he admitted he had enough for one more Flame Bullet and one Vacuum Sphere but could keep fighting with other techniques.
• Tsunade insisted on one last attack, then unleashed a powerful punch that split the laboratory floor.
• Hiroki used Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld without hand signs to open a pit beneath himself and evade Tsunade’s punch.
• Orochimaru realized Hiroki had controlled the swamp’s size and used Wind Release to propel himself, while Hiroki’s remaining extractable chakra fell to zero.

Hiroki defeated Tsunade in their spar, prompting Sarutobi Hiruzen to gather Konoha’s jonin to help him copy their techniques. The chapter ended with Uchiha Togashi volunteering to teach Hiroki while the other clans objected, and Hiruzen taking Togashi aside.

• Hiroki emerged from the mud unharmed after evading Tsunade’s strongest attack, and Tsunade admitted that she had lost.
• Kushina checked on Hiroki, and he told Tsunade and Jiraiya that he had already copied most of the jutsu he wanted from them and wished to train with other jonin.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen summoned Konoha’s jonin to Training Ground No. 7 and asked volunteers to show Hiroki their signature jutsu.
• The clan-affiliated jonin refused to volunteer because they feared Hiroki would learn their secret techniques.
• Uchiha Togashi volunteered on behalf of the Uchiha Clan and criticized the other clans, prompting angry arguments.
• Hiruzen accepted Togashi’s offer and told the other jonin to leave.

Uchiha Togashi discovered that the ninjutsu-copying genius he had agreed to train was not an Uchiha, while Senju Tokuma and Senju Ryosuke realized Sawada Hiroki might be far more dangerous than they had thought. As Hanzo prepared to invade the Land of Fire, the Third ordered Konoha’s forces to ready themselves to march into the Land of Rain as soon as Hatake returned.

• Uchiha Togashi announced that the Third had chosen him to train a ninjutsu-copying genius, but the Uchiha found no such child in their clan records.
• Senju Tokuma and Senju Ryosuke learned that Kakuzu was missing, Nawaki had returned safely, and their Konoha informants investigating Sawada Hiroki had disappeared.
• Tokuma and Ryosuke suspected Hiroki had defeated the Cloud Village squad and driven Kakuzu away, and they feared he might seek revenge for the assassination attempt.
• Hanzo ordered Rain Ninja forces to continue infiltrating the Land of Fire, declaring that he would attack despite Konoha’s reinforced border defenses.
• The Third received word that Hatake had killed Sunagakure’s two youngest puppeteers and ordered the invasion preparations to begin when Hatake returned to Konoha.

Orochimaru’s team prepared a plan to use Hiroki against Hanzo, despite the Jonin’s doubts about the ten-year-old. When they moved to intercept Hanzo, they discovered the apparent opportunity was a trap, and Salamander Ibuse unleashed poisonous mist on the Konoha squad.

• Nara Ruzan questioned whether Hiroki could be trusted with the mission, but Tsunade defended him by revealing that he had beaten her in a fight.
• Orochimaru assigned Jiraiya and Tsunade to draw Hanzo toward Outpost 84, while Hatake Sakumo was to protect Hiroki and help him get close enough to touch Hanzo.
• A Hyuga shinobi reported that Hanzo had split from his main force near Outpost 84 and appeared to be heading toward Outpost 61, prompting Orochimaru to order the team to move out.
• Hatake Sakumo carried Hiroki as the Jonin squad rushed toward the gorge, where Hanzo and Salamander Ibuse ambushed them.
• Hanzo declared that the Konoha shinobi had fallen into his trap, and Salamander Ibuse poured poisonous purple mist toward them.

Hanzo of the Salamander overwhelmed Konoha’s jōnin with his speed, scythe, poison, and ability to move through rainwater, killing two of them and driving Tsunade and her allies back. Underground, Hatake Sakumo and Hiroki analyzed Hanzo’s habits while Hiroki asked when they would join the fight.

• Orochimaru, Jiraiya, an Akimichi jōnin, and Nara Ruzan coordinated attacks against Hanzo, but Hanzo escaped using the Water Body Flicker Technique.
• Hanzo appeared behind the Yamanaka jōnin and killed him with his scythe, then evaded Jiraiya’s swamp and Aburame Torune’s insects.
• Hanzo taunted the Konoha ninja and killed a Hyuga jōnin, while Jiraiya realized Hanzo could move anywhere connected by rainwater.
• Hanzo struck at Jiraiya, but Jiraiya blocked with Needle Jizō; Tsunade counterattacked, and Hanzo’s fire technique briefly engulfed her before she healed herself.
• Tsunade attacked Ibuse, but Hanzo blocked her punch with his scythe and knocked her backward, displaying strength and swordsmanship that stunned the Konoha ninja.
• Underground, Hatake Sakumo explained that Hanzo sensed his surroundings through water and targeted support ninja, and Hiroki asked when they would enter the fight.

Hatake Sakumo and the Konoha jonin struggled to hold off Hanzo while Hiroki prepared underground to strike. Sakumo drew Hanzo’s attention, and Hiroki emerged to grab him just as the system established a temporary connection to Hanzo.

• Hanzo used water clones, poison, and surprise attacks to kill Konoha jonin while the team searched for him.
• Hanzo realized Konoha had sent an unusually large group and suspected that a hidden trump-card ninja was waiting underground.
• Hatake Sakumo told Hiroki to emerge after he created an opening, warning that the rising water would soon make their escape difficult.
• Sakumo attacked Hanzo with Lightning Release, drawing his attention as the masked swordsman clashed with Hanzo’s sickle.
• Hiroki burst from the ground and grabbed Hanzo’s ankle, and the system announced that it had established a temporary connection to Hanzo.

Hiroki's Brain Overload briefly disrupted Hanzo of the Salamander, but Hanzo escaped after his poison sac was ruptured. Hanzo warned Amegakure's forces about Hiroki and ordered a retreat as the Konoha forces pursued him.

• Hatake Sakumo attacked Hanzo while Hiroki's Brain Overload briefly flooded Hanzo's mind, but Hanzo resisted it and escaped by kicking Hiroki away and tangling Sakumo's blade with his sickle chain.
• Hanzo used Water Style: Murky Rain to cover his retreat, and Hiroki warned the Konoha forces that Hanzo's damaged poison sac would soon paralyze him.
• Hiroki explained how the poison sac worked, then wondered whether Hanzo had overcome Brain Overload through willpower or because of the injury.
• Hiroki caught up with the Konoha forces, and Aburame Clan ninjas found Hanzo stopped near Amegakure.
• Hanzo told the Amegakure ninjas to beware Hiroki's mind-disrupting ability, ordered them to retreat, and prepared to face the pursuing Konoha forces with the jonin.

Hanzo of the Salamander held off the Konoha Ninja while his poison-paralyzed body kept him from escaping, buying time for Amegakure’s survivors. As Hanzo attacked and challenged Konoha’s motives, Hiroki rejected his appeal, and three Rain Ninja rushed to kill him.

• Hanzo called Seijou and Seisei to his side and asked Hiroki to reveal his name, but Jiraiya warned Hiroki not to give away information.
• Hanzo unleashed a Great Waterfall Technique and followed it with an Exploding Flame Formation, while Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and the other Konoha Ninja defended against his attacks.
• Tsunade recognized that Hanzo was paralyzed by the toxin from his damaged poison sac, and a Konoha jōnin realized he was buying time for the Rain Ninja to retreat.
• Hanzo denounced Konoha for invading the Land of Rain and urged its ninja to share their land with the poor, but Hiroki replied, “Keep dreaming!”
• Three Rain Ninja emerged from beneath the water and charged at Hiroki on Hanzo’s signal.

Hiroki used Kakuzu’s Earth Grudge Fear and hand-seal-free Wind Style to overwhelm Hanzo’s forces, while Jiraiya’s group helped capture Hanzo. After challenging Hanzo’s claim that he could bring peace, Hiroki touched his forehead to connect to Hanzo’s mind and investigate how he resisted the Brain Overload Attack.

• Hiroki shielded himself from three Rain Ninja elite jonin with Earth Grudge Fear, then killed them with vacuum bullets and attacks that tore out their hearts.
• Hanzo recognized Kakuzu’s forbidden technique in Hiroki’s hands and ordered the Rain Ninja to scatter and retreat.
• Hanzo unleashed a poisonous swamp, but Jiraiya buried it with an Earth-Style Wall while Nara Ruzan bound Hanzo’s shadow.
• Hanzo argued that only he could bring peace, and Hiroki challenged his ambitions by comparing him to Madara Uchiha, Senju Hashirama, and the Five Kage.
• Hiroki approached the restrained Hanzo and established a temporary Chakra Communication Protocol connection to examine how Hanzo resisted the Brain Overload Attack.

Hiroki failed to access Hanzo's thoughts and memories because Hanzo's system required administrator permissions, while Orochimaru sealed Hanzo's chakra. After the Leaf ninjas captured Hanzo alive, their discussion of taking him to Konoha prompted him to try to kill himself by stopping his own heart.

• Hiroki tried to open Hanzo's thought files and copy his ninjutsu, but access restrictions blocked him.
• Orochimaru used the Five Elements Seal to weaken Hanzo's chakra control after Jiraiya warned the group not to risk him breaking free.
• The Leaf ninjas debated what to do with their captive, and Tsunade proposed taking Hanzo to Konoha for interrogation.
• Hanzo convulsed and declared he would rather die than be taken to Konoha, so Tsunade cut his tendons and tried to stop his self-inflicted injuries.
• Orochimaru urged Hanzo to negotiate, but Hanzo continued trying to stop his heart and insisted he would never submit.

Sarutobi Hiruzen forced Ōnoki to retreat after an urgent report revealed that Konoha had captured Hanzo alive in the Land of Rain. The news shocked Sunagakure and Madara Uchiha, who learned that a ten-year-old child had led the capture and sealed Kakuzu; Madara postponed his search in the Land of Rain and ordered White Zetsu to investigate Uzushio Village.

• Ōnoki received an urgent report during his duel with Sarutobi Hiruzen and conceded the fight, allowing Hiruzen to return to the command post.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen read a report confirming that Konoha forces had captured Hanzo of the Salamander alive.
• Chiyo and Ebizo learned of Hanzo’s capture and reacted with shock at the news from the Land of Rain.
• White Zetsu told Madara Uchiha that Konoha had captured Hanzo and that a ten-year-old child had led the operation and sealed Kakuzu.
• Madara Uchiha paused his search for a Rinnegan host in the Land of Rain and told White Zetsu to investigate Uzushio Village.

After the Third ordered Konoha to hold Hanzo in the Land of Rain and reshape Amegakure’s leadership, Hiroki began copying Hanzo’s knowledge while Jiraiya and Orochimaru debated how to control the village. The chapter ended with Yahiko and Konan arriving at the outpost, while Nagato was nowhere to be seen.

• Orochimaru relayed the Third’s orders to keep Hanzo in a temporary prison, interrogate him, negotiate with Amegakure, and install a pro-Konoha acting leader.
• The Third ordered Jiraiya to oversee Amegakure’s transition and Hatake Sakumo to escort Hiroki back to Konoha once the interrogation team arrived.
• Hiroki accessed Hanzo’s memories and began copying his techniques, secrets, and intelligence to his own memory disk.
• Jiraiya objected to Orochimaru’s suggestion to eliminate opposition, arguing that it would inflame resistance in the Land of Rain.
• Jiraiya ordered guards to bring two hungry war orphans inside and give them food and water.
• Hiroki recognized the children as Yahiko and Konan and wondered where Nagato was.