Chapter Summaries

Shuji told Sakumo he had joined the Anbu to help with its missions and wanted his teammates to improve, then chose to study the Soul Binding Technique. Sakumo arranged for Shuji to remain in the village as a rescue specialist, while Danzo approached Dan Katō to trade for the technique.

• Shuji explained to Sakumo that he wanted to ease the Anbu’s workload and help his teammates grow, then handed him two Flying Thunder God Kunai.
• Kakuzu began searching the Land of Fire for traces of Konoha Anbu who might lead him to Guiyuan.
• Shuji reviewed Sakumo’s ninjutsu booklet and became interested in the Soul Binding Technique.
• Sakumo left Shuji’s Fifth Squad in the Anbu and assigned Shuji to stand ready for rescue missions while the other squads deployed.
• Shuji asked to learn the Soul Binding Technique, and Sakumo told him to speak with the Hokage.
• Danzo asked Dan Katō for his Soul Binding Technique and offered sealing techniques and techniques from the Shimura clan in exchange.

Shuji obtained the Soul Binding Technique, Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, and Impure World Reincarnation from Sarutobi Hiruzen, hoping the techniques might let him revive dead ninja. After Shuji returned to the Anbu dormitory, Danzō arrived at the Hokage's office to take a jutsu for someone in Root.

• Shuji asked Sarutobi Hiruzen to copy the Soul Binding Technique and Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, then requested Impure World Reincarnation as well.
• Shuji explained that he wanted to combine the techniques to bring back dead ninja, and Sarutobi Hiruzen gave him all three scrolls after warning him not to betray his trust.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen decided to trust Shuji because of his service to the village and because the techniques could help in a future war.
• Danzō entered the Hokage's office, took the Scroll of Seals, and said he needed a jutsu for someone in Root.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen confronted Danzō as he tried to leave, while Shuji returned to the Anbu dormitory and told Nawaki to focus on training.

Shuji joked with Nawaki about his dull Anbu standby duty, then let Mikoto join him in his dorm to discuss training. Elsewhere, Kakuzu overheard Jian’s squad talking about Guiyuan and approached them to learn more about him.

• Shuji told Nawaki that he would mostly wait in the Anbu to provide rescue, while Nawaki complained about his own duties.
• Mikoto refused Shuji’s offer to become his disciple, teased Nawaki for being unable to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique, and followed Shuji into his dorm to ask about Lightning Release training.
• Kakuzu stopped Jian’s Anbu squad in the Land of Fire and asked them about Guiyuan.
• Mikoto brewed tea for Shuji and offered to visit daily so she could ask him for training advice, and Shuji agreed but warned that he might leave at any time.

Shuji received the Spirit Transformation Technique from Danzo and considered how separating his soul might help him study Nen. Danzo then took Shuji to teach Root Division trainees, mentioning that Orochimaru had joined the division.

• Mikoto waited in Shuji's dorm after he vanished, determined to ask him for guidance when he returned.
• Shuji appeared in Danzo's office, where Danzo gave him a scroll containing the Spirit Transformation Technique.
• Shuji praised Danzo for obtaining the technique and wondered whether a separated soul could absorb Nen Energy and better understand Nen Mystery and Zen Intent.
• Danzo said Shuji served as a summoned beast for the Anbu, Root Division, and the village, then ordered him to teach Root's trainees.
• Danzo led Shuji to the training ground and told him Orochimaru had joined the Root Division.

Shuji discussed soul techniques with Orochimaru and proposed combining them to revive ninja who had died long ago; Orochimaru identified the need for a suitable body. Elsewhere, Jian and his Anbu squad were defeated by a wandering samurai and four monsters.

• Danzo told Orochimaru that Guiyuan had arrived, interrupting Orochimaru as he sensed Natural Energy.
• Shuji told Orochimaru he was studying the Spirit Transformation Technique, Soul Binding Technique, Impure World Reincarnation, and Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags.
• Shuji suggested combining the Soul Binding Technique and Impure World Reincarnation to revive long-dead ninja.
• Orochimaru admired the idea but said the techniques lacked a suitable physical body, leaving Danzo astonished by their discussion.
• Jian and his Anbu squad were overwhelmed by a wandering samurai and four monsters; three Chunin died and Jian and the Jonin captain lost the ability to fight.

Jian faced Kakuzu and summoned Shuji with the Flying Thunder God Technique, while Shuji left Orochimaru mid-conversation to answer the Anbu distress call. Shuji arrived and shielded Jian and the wounded Anbu Jonin with a Chakra guard, leaving the confrontation with Kakuzu unresolved.

• Jian used Shuji's Flying Thunder God Kunai to bring him to the fight, hoping to report the danger to the village.
• At Root Division, Orochimaru asked Shuji about making a new body from the cells of dead people, but Shuji and his Shadow Clone vanished when he answered the Anbu distress call.
• Danzo explained to Orochimaru that Shuji was required to rescue Anbu in danger, and Orochimaru resigned himself to waiting before leaving to learn other jutsu.
• Shuji appeared behind Jian, who warned him that Kakuzu and his monster clones were extremely dangerous.
• Shuji dismissed Jian's suggestion to retreat, created a Shadow Clone, and used a Chakra guard to protect Jian and the wounded Anbu Jonin.

Shuji used Rotation and Nen Guard while Kakuzu tried to lure him into a fatal opening. Shuji taunted Kakuzu about his past and escaped his attacks with the Flying Thunder God Technique as Kakuzu launched a fire technique.

• Kakuzu put away the monsters around him and pretended to advise Shuji, hoping to make him attack and reveal an opening.
• Shuji mocked Kakuzu by claiming Senju Hashirama was his grandfather and suggesting Kakuzu had fled or begged for mercy.
• Jian and a Shadow Clone wondered why Shuji and Kakuzu seemed to be chatting while the clone treated the injured Anbu Jonin.
• Kakuzu launched his detached hand at Shuji, but Shuji vanished with the Flying Thunder God Technique and appeared on a distant tree trunk.
• Shuji taunted Kakuzu about being rejected by his village, and Kakuzu became genuinely angry before noticing Shuji's circling Nen Beads.
• Kakuzu attacked Shuji with Fire Style: Searing Migraine, but Shuji vanished as the flames surged toward him.

Shuji fought Kakuzu and struck him with his newly adapted Lightning War Spear before sealing his chakra points with Gentle Fist. Jian watched from safety as Shuji prepared to capture Kakuzu alive and asked whether Jian wanted the forbidden technique Kakuzu had used.

• Shuji's shadow clone told Jian to trust the main body, and Jian chose not to retreat because Kakuzu would keep hunting Konoha's Anbu; Shuji noted that Captain White Fang was available.
• Shuji bombarded Kakuzu with Rasengan, then dodged Kakuzu's Earth Release: Earth Spear punch and pierced his chest with Nintaijutsu: Lightning War Spear.
• As Kakuzu fell, Shuji slapped his exposed skin and marked him, then struck his chakra points with Gentle Fist to seal his chakra pathways.
• Jian asked whether Shuji had used the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, and Shuji's shadow clone explained that the main body planned to strike all three hundred and sixty chakra points.
• Shuji asked Jian whether he wanted the forbidden technique Kakuzu had used, since Kakuzu had killed members of the Anbu.

Jian and Shuji returned after capturing Kakuzu and recovering an unconscious Anbu captain, while Sarutobi Hiruzen learned that Shuji had obtained the Spirit Transformation Technique and suspected Danzō. At the Anbu Captain General’s office, Sakumo asked Jian about the mission and Shuji just as someone knocked at the door.

• Jian agreed that he was interested in the wandering ninja’s powerful technique, and Shuji’s shadow clone vanished as the chakra barrier dispersed.
• Shuji carried Kakuzu while Jian sealed the dead Anbu members and carried the injured squad captain, then the two disappeared.
• Orochimaru told Sarutobi Hiruzen that Shuji had obtained the Spirit Transformation Technique, and Hiruzen suspected Danzō had stolen or supplied it.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen told Orochimaru to avoid the Root Division until the next day and agreed to provide him with copies of Impure World Reincarnation and Soul Binding.
• Jian told Sakumo that only he and the second squad’s captain had survived, and that Guiyuan had captured the wandering ninja alive.
• Sakumo asked Jian about Shuji, and someone knocked on the office door.

Shuji agreed to intercept Iwagakure envoys traveling to Sunagakure and Kirigakure after Sakumo explained the mission’s urgency. After Shuji departed, Sakumo argued with Jian over his team’s losses and Anbu protocol, while Sarutobi Hiruzen confronted Shimura Danzō at Root headquarters.

• Shuji visited Jian and told him to avoid strenuous training while he recovered.
• Sakumo asked Shuji to investigate Iwagakure envoys, and Shuji initially refused because he was busy studying techniques.
• After learning the envoys were headed to Sunagakure and Kirigakure, Shuji accepted the mission and gave Sakumo a Flying Thunder God Kunai to mark in the Land of Waves.
• Shuji asked what to do if someone sought help during the mission, and Sakumo ordered him to prioritize the mission before Shuji vanished.
• Jian criticized Sakumo for keeping Shuji in a rescue role, and Sakumo reprimanded Jian for his team’s casualties and insisted they use Anbu code names.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen angrily confronted Shimura Danzō in the Root Division chief’s office.

Sarutobi Hiruzen confronted Shimura Danzō over giving Shuji the Spirit Transformation Technique, and their argument became the start of a contest between them. Meanwhile, Shuji assigned Nawaki and Mikoto to lead missions against Iwagakure, as Hiruzen discussed Anbu staffing with Sakumo.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen demanded to know why Shimura Danzō had given Shuji the Spirit Transformation Technique, and Danzō defended his actions by citing Shuji's service and help.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen left Root Division after warning Danzō that someone would repair his damaged door and desk; Danzō recognized that their rivalry had begun.
• Shuji told Nawaki and Mikoto that they would decide how to handle missions against Iwagakure while he supported them, and that he would leave the Anbu after Konoha's victory.
• Nawaki resolved to prove himself, while Mikoto planned to use her Anbu career to gain strength and influence within the Uchiha family.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen asked Sakumo about Anbu staffing, and Sakumo explained that Guiyuan's squad was helping cover important missions despite the shortage of personnel.

Sarutobi Hiruzen set rules for cooperation between the Anbu and Danzo’s Root Division, leaving Sakumo with a plan to handle the Anbu’s staffing shortage and a way to disband Root if it failed to meet standards. Meanwhile, Orochimaru visited Dan Katō and learned that Danzo had traded a soul technique from the Scroll of Seals for Dan’s Spirit Transformation Technique, which he had given to Shuji.

• Hiruzen told Sakumo to prioritize the Anbu’s missions and said Root’s first trainees would join the Anbu in about a dozen days.
• Sakumo agreed to create Anbu evaluations for Root trainees and coordinate with Danzo on selecting future trainees for systematic training.
• Hiruzen ordered monthly assessments and an elimination system for later Root classes, warning that Root would be disbanded if its trainees failed Anbu standards or hindered recruitment.
• Orochimaru visited Dan Katō and asked about his plans and the Spirit Transformation Technique he had given away.
• Dan told Orochimaru that Danzo had traded him a soul-related technique from the Scroll of Seals for the Spirit Transformation Technique.
• Orochimaru inferred that Danzo had given the technique to Shuji, then mentioned his own research into soul techniques and offered to exchange knowledge with Dan.

Mikoto devised a careful plan to track and ambush Iwagakure's envoy, but Shuji revealed that he could teleport the group near Sunagakure. At Root, Danzo learned Orochimaru was studying resurrection techniques and gave him a scroll, hoping to bring Hashirama back and restore Wood Release.

• Mikoto proposed sending Nawaki and herself to gather intelligence while Shuji checked Sunagakure, and Shuji praised her plan.
• Shuji said they could skip the Land of Wind border and reach the area near Sunagakure directly because he had once been there to track the Third Kazekage.
• Danzo visited Orochimaru at the Root Division training ground and learned that he was studying Impure World Reincarnation and the Soul Binding Technique.
• Orochimaru said he wanted to pursue the resurrection technique he had discussed with Shuji, despite its seeming nearly impossible.
• Danzo supported Orochimaru's research and took out a scroll, hoping the First Hokage could be resurrected and Wood Release could return.

Danzo gave Orochimaru the Spirit Transformation Technique and pledged his support, while Shuji, Nawaki, and Mikoto searched Sunagakure for Iwagakure’s envoy. Shuji spotted Sasori being beaten by other children, and an angry voice intervened just as Sasori began to lose consciousness.

• Danzo handed Orochimaru the Spirit Transformation Technique and asked him to keep fulfilling his duties in Root Division.
• Shuji used the Byakugan to scout Sunagakure while Nawaki and Mikoto discussed its usefulness.
• Shuji found Iwagakure’s envoy and noticed a child being bullied in a quiet street.
• A black-haired boy accused Sasori of being the child of traitors, grabbed his hair, and kicked him.
• Several children attacked Sasori as he curled up on the ground, until an angry voice shouted for them to stop.

Iki told Sasori he had not betrayed Sunagakure, though the Kazekage had died because Iki was too weak, and Sasori vowed to surpass him and lead the village. Meanwhile, Shuji, Mikoto, and Nawaki planned to let Kumogakure's Anbu attack Iwagakure's envoy first, as a huge earth wall rose near a cave in the Land of Rain.

• Iki picked up Sasori after the village children scattered and refused to blame him for their treatment.
• Sasori asked whether Iki had betrayed Sunagakure and promised to atone or prove his father innocent.
• Iki said he had not betrayed the village but had caused the Kazekage's death through weakness, and Sasori vowed to surpass the Kazekage and lead Sunagakure.
• Shuji told Mikoto and Nawaki that Kumogakure's Anbu were nearby and proposed letting them attack Iwagakure's envoy before Konoha acted.
• Mikoto suggested treating a failed mission as normal, and Shuji agreed while teasing Nawaki.
• A huge Earth Release: Earth Wall rose near an unknown cave in the Land of Rain.

Nagato quickly learned ninjutsu, making Yahiko doubt his own potential until Jiraiya encouraged him and Nagato promised to protect him. Meanwhile, Shuji set out with Mikoto and Nawaki to act against the departing Iwagakure envoys and their Sunagakure escorts.

• Nagato successfully used ninjutsu after only a few days of training, and Yahiko worried that he lacked the talent to become a ninja.
• Jiraiya reassured Yahiko that chakra refinement could take a long time and encouraged him, Konan, and Nagato to keep training.
• Nagato promised to protect Yahiko and Konan, and Yahiko vowed to become a ninja himself.
• Jiraiya warned Nagato not to grow complacent and urged him to work hard despite his talent.
• Shuji prepared for his mission after the Iwagakure envoys left Sunagakure alongside two Sunagakure Jonin squads, and Mikoto and Nawaki followed him.

Shuji, Nawaki, and Mikoto watched an Iwagakure envoy travel across the desert while Kumogakure Anbu prepared an ambush nearby. Outnumbered on both sides, the Konoha team considered their options, and Shuji summoned Katsuyu Sage for help.

• Keisuke escorted Shigetaka and the Iwagakure envoy toward Iwagakure, and the two discussed their alliance against Konoha.
• Shuji reported that the Iwagakure envoy had five jonin and fifteen genin, while six Kumogakure jonin and eighteen chunin lay in ambush nearby.
• Nawaki questioned why so many Kumogakure Anbu had gathered, and Shuji explained that Sakumo had assigned him to the mission while Jian's team had left a Flying Thunder God coordinate.
• Mikoto and Nawaki proposed waiting for the opposing forces to fight before intervening, though Nawaki worried that Kumogakure might leave no survivors to question.
• Shuji summoned Katsuyu Sage, who asked when he planned to visit Shikkotsu Forest to learn Sage Mode.

Shuji arranged for Katsuyu Sage to carry his Flying Thunder God Kunai near the battlefield as Kumogakure’s Anbu ambushed the Iwagakure Envoy Group in the desert. Shigetaka and Keisuke fought to break through toward Sunagakure while Shuji waited for a chance to intervene.

• Shuji asked Katsuyu Sage to take his Flying Thunder God Kunai toward the battlefield, but told her to wait before setting out.
• Shiden ordered more than twenty Kumogakure Anbu to surround the Iwagakure Envoy Group and wait for nightfall.
• Shigetaka assigned Jonin to patrol, warned Keisuke that Kumogakure or Konoha might attack, and ordered a retreat when the ambush began.
• Shuji watched the battle from two kilometers away and sent Katsuyu Sage toward the battlefield with his Flying Thunder God Mark.
• Shigetaka and Keisuke fought through Kumogakure’s encirclement as Shiden and another Anbu killed an Iwagakure Jonin.

Shuji rescued the Konoha team, captured Keisuke, and left the fate of the Kumogakure Anbu to Konoha’s leadership. Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered him to help the Kumogakure Anbu withdraw, while Shiden reluctantly called off the retreating battle.

• Shuji appeared at the battle site and announced that Sunagakure reinforcements were less than two kilometers away.
• Shuji captured Keisuke and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to take Nawaki and Mikoto back to Anbu headquarters.
• Shuji sent Nawaki to deliver Keisuke to the Interrogation Division and told Mikoto to rest before reporting to Sakumo.
• Shuji proposed sending the captured Iwagakure ninja to Kumogakure and left the decision to Konoha’s leadership.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered Shuji to help the Kumogakure Anbu withdraw, and Shiden reluctantly called for a retreat.

Shuji met Shiden after Kumogakure’s failed assassination attempt and promised to bring him the captured Iwagakure Jonin and extracted memories. He gave Shiden a Flying Thunder God Kunai and left the alliance on better terms, though the Kumogakure team still had to complete its mission.

• Shiden ordered the surviving Kumogakure Anbu to retreat, report their losses, and remain in the Land of Wind rather than return without completing their mission.
• Shuji approached Shiden and said he would escort the team back to the Land of Lightning after bringing them the Iwagakure Jonin and the memories read by a Yamanaka ninja.
• Shuji gave Shiden a Flying Thunder God Kunai and explained that he had come to the mission after another Anbu squad was attacked by a powerful rogue ninja.
• Shuji reassured Shiden that Konoha valued its alliance with Kumogakure, and Shiden accepted his explanation despite voicing distrust of Konoha’s intelligence.
• Shiden offered Shuji a flask, and Shuji spat out the alcohol before jokingly drinking from it anyway.