Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• After a difficult night with Natsuki, Pakura wakes exhausted and embarrassed. She sends her student Maki to deliver a scroll to Rasa, directing him to follow its instructions.
• Rasa learns Natsuki is involved in the war against Iwagakure. Seeking revenge for his earlier capture and hoping to strengthen his faction, he agrees to travel to the Land of Birds, where he can avoid Pakura’s growing influence in Sunagakure.
• Natsuki’s Konoha force reaches the Land of Earth and establishes a camp separate from Amegakure’s, reducing the risk that one discovery would expose both forces. He learns Iwagakure has deployed two thousand ninja under Hunt, an Explosion Release user.
• Natsuki and Yahiko coordinate their defenses around a long rocky mountain. Konoha will build outposts alongside Amegakure’s, while Natsuki enhances surveillance with Eyeball Clones and snakes controlled by Tagorihime.
• Natsuki visits Pakura and confirms that Rasa has reached the Land of Birds. Later, his Eyeball Clone spots eight Iwagakure Explosion Corps ninja moving toward the camps on a night raid.
• Natsuki intercepts the raiders through a Spatial Gate. He kills seven with Black Coffin and captures the mortally wounded leader, using Mangekyō Sharingan to learn that their mission was to bomb Konoha’s camp—or Amegakure’s if necessary. He stores the bodies as evidence and intends to claim public credit for stopping the attack.

Character developments and interactions

• Pakura is more cautious after her encounter with Natsuki, deciding not to make major personal choices without considering the consequences. She still cooperates with him and supplies information about Rasa.
• Rasa turns his resentment toward Natsuki into a strategic motive: he sees the war as a chance to take revenge while building his own faction’s power.
• Natsuki shows himself to be a calculating commander, balancing battlefield caution with political ambition. His layered surveillance and rapid response prevent a potentially devastating raid; he also recognizes that the achievement could build his reputation.
• Mikoto supports Natsuki at camp and has become more comfortable with their intimacy. When he leaves for Pakura’s home, she recognizes where he has been and responds with affection.
• Yahiko works cooperatively with Natsuki, offering additional troops and help, though Natsuki declines both to preserve Amegakure’s strength.
• Hunt and the Explosion Corps demonstrate Iwagakure’s willingness to use a small, specialized unit for high-impact sabotage.

Significant themes

• Surveillance and information warfare: Natsuki’s layered detection turns terrain that could conceal an enemy into an advantage.
• Pragmatic command and alliance management: Konoha and Amegakure cooperate while keeping their camps separate and protecting their limited forces.
• Revenge and political ambition: Rasa’s desire for retaliation is inseparable from his effort to preserve and expand his influence.
• Reputation as power: Natsuki treats military success as a means of advancing his standing and eventual Hokage ambitions.

Natsuki’s squad destroyed Iwagakure outposts while Hunt planned a diversionary attack on Konoha and led the Explosion Corps toward Amegakure. After learning of the real target, Natsuki warned Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan and flew with them to intercept Hunt’s force.

• Natsuki told the jonin that he had killed eight Iwagakure Explosion Corps ninja and ordered the Reconnaissance Squad to extract their memories.
• Natsuki led Might Guy, Yuhi Kurenai, and Shizune to destroy Iwagakure outposts, and the three students defeated enemy squads and earned a reputation over the following month.
• Hunt learned that his forces were losing ground, then planned to attack three Konoha positions while he took the Explosion Corps to strike Amegakure’s main camp.
• White Zetsu reported Hunt’s plan to Uchiha Madara, who saw an opportunity to use the attack to expose Nagato to the darkness of the ninja world.
• After Tagorihime relayed intelligence about Iwagakure’s troop movements, Natsuki warned the Konoha jonin and learned that Hunt was heading for Amegakure.
• Natsuki warned Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan, then flew with them toward Rock Mountain, where he spotted Hunt and the approaching Explosion Corps.

Natsuki and his allies annihilated Hunt and Iwagakure’s Explosion Corps, then led Konoha and Amegakure in a counterattack that captured Iwagakure’s main camp and secured victory. As Natsuki set out to reinforce three remaining outposts, he awakened the Yoshikage Kira template and learned its locked abilities could grant him more powerful bomb and time-rewind techniques.

• Natsuki, Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko attacked Hunt and the Explosion Corps, and Natsuki killed Hunt with Hadō #99: Goryū Tenmetsu.
• White Zetsu and Uchiha Madara watched the defeat, and Madara ordered White Zetsu to keep monitoring Natsuki and look for another opportunity.
• Natsuki opened Spatial Gates for Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato, then rallied Konoha’s ninja and led them to join the Amegakure forces in attacking Iwagakure’s main camp.
• Natsuki’s Unlimited Blade Works triggered explosions that overwhelmed Iwagakure’s defenses, and the Konoha and Amegakure forces captured the camp as the remaining Iwagakure ninja surrendered.
• Natsuki divided the allied forces into three groups to reinforce Konoha’s outposts, then awakened the Yoshikage Kira template and examined Killer Queen, Sheer Heart Attack, and Bites the Dust.

Natsuki’s forces defeated Iwagakure’s army with few losses, prompting Iwagakure to prepare a larger counterattack. In Sunagakure, Natsuki and Pakura discussed Rasa’s fate and their plans, leaving their relationship and the coming conflict intertwined.

• Natsuki reinforced the outposts, where Konoha’s ninja defeated or captured Iwagakure’s forces, and the war ended with more than four hundred prisoners and few Konoha losses.
• Natsuki ordered one-third of the captured supplies given to Amegakure and assigned Might Duy, Might Guy, Yuhi Kurenai, and Shizune to escort the wounded and prisoners back to Konoha.
• Orochimaru and Konoha’s leaders discussed Iwagakure’s defeat, while Ōnoki sent Kitsuchi with four thousand ninja to investigate Konoha’s intelligence and prevent an advance into the Land of Earth.
• Rasa reviewed reports of Natsuki’s growing strength and brooded over his diminished standing in Sunagakure after Pakura became Kazekage.
• Natsuki met Pakura in the Kazekage’s Office, learned that Li was behaving himself, and told her he would wait until the war stabilized before killing Rasa in disguise as an Iwagakure ninja.
• Pakura offered to find Natsuki another woman in Sunagakure, but he told her she was the only one who appealed to him, which pleased her.

Natsuki welcomed Tsunade, Nawaki, and Konoha’s reinforcements to the Land of Earth, then traveled to Kirigakure and turned Ringo Ameyuri into a demon to cure her terminal illness. After returning to Konoha, he gave Uzumaki Kushina new sensory techniques to learn so she could help him find White Zetsu.

• Natsuki received the three thousand Konoha reinforcements, reviewed Orochimaru’s appointments, and learned that Iwagakure had moved its camp to a broad, barren rocky area.
• Natsuki told the jonin that Ryūchi Cave had supplied intelligence that helped Konoha defeat Iwagakure, then dismissed them to rest before the next day’s assignments.
• Terumi Mei asked Natsuki to treat her friend Ringo Ameyuri, whose terminal illness had stumped Kirigakure’s medical ninja.
• Natsuki secretly used a Blood Curse to make Ringo Ameyuri a demon, curing her illness and binding her to join the Espada alongside Terumi Mei.
• Natsuki returned to Konoha, where Uzumaki Kushina welcomed him and agreed to learn the Mind’s Eye of the Kagura and the Nine-Tails’ Malice Perception.

Natsuki infiltrated Iwagakure’s forces in the Land of Birds and used their trap against Rasa, killing the Fourth Kazekage and unlocking Illusion. He returned to Sunagakure to discuss the consequences with Pakura, while the next move depended on Kumogakure.

• After Rasa destroyed an Iwagakure outpost, Kakkō accepted Shōtarō’s plan to lure Rasa to a supply route and ambush him with gold dust and explosive tags.
• Natsuki, disguised as Shōtarō, planted projected gold dust underground and waited for Rasa to attack an Iwagakure supply convoy.
• When Rasa summoned the gold dust, Natsuki detonated it, wounded him, trapped him in a reality marble, and killed him with No-Origin Sword Creation.
• Kakkō’s forces surrounded the Sunagakure ninja, while Natsuki escaped and unlocked Illusion, the third ability of the Sōsuke Aizen Template.
• Natsuki visited Pakura in Sunagakure and told her how he had killed Rasa; Pakura said Onpu had orders to retreat and defend if Rasa died.
• Natsuki advised Pakura to wait and see what Kumogakure did next, expecting the Third Raikage to make a reckless move.

Iwagakure raided Amegakure’s camp in an attempt to kill Yahiko, but Natsuki intervened and pursued Uchiha Madara’s shadow clone into Unlimited Blade Works. Natsuki destroyed Madara and White Zetsu there, while the real Madara remained unsure whether Yahiko had survived the explosion.

• After Rasa’s death, Kakkō led Iwagakure’s forces toward Sunagakure’s camp, but Onpu’s preparations forced them to withdraw; Pakura sent Baki and a thousand ninja to the Land of Birds to avenge Rasa.
• White Zetsu told Uchiha Madara that snakes from Ryūchi Cave supplied Konoha’s intelligence, so Madara planned to pass information to Iwagakure and ordered Yahiko killed.
• Half a month later, Taiseki led an Iwagakure raid on Amegakure’s camp, where Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan fought back while Konan summoned Natsuki for help.
• Natsuki arrived and turned the battle against Iwagakure, but Taiseki detonated the Explosive Tags under his clothes and engulfed Yahiko in the blast; Natsuki told Nagato and Konan that Yahiko was still alive before leaving to confront Madara.
• Natsuki trapped Uchiha Madara’s shadow clone and White Zetsu in Unlimited Blade Works, resisted Madara’s genjutsu, and destroyed them with Excalibur, unlocking Bites the Dust.
• The real Uchiha Madara learned that his shadow clone had encountered Natsuki and suspected Yahiko had died, but he sent White Zetsu to check.

Natsuki healed Yahiko and Amegakure’s wounded after Iwagakure attacked their base camp, then planned a Wood Release counterattack while Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu considered new ways to target Yahiko and Konan. He later visited Hozuki Mangetsu’s contact and spent the evening with Yakushi Nonō and Uzumaki Kushina before returning to camp and being drawn into another intimate encounter with Uchiha Mikoto.

• Natsuki healed Yahiko with blood and treated Amegakure’s wounded using Minazuki, then promised to strengthen the base camp’s defenses.
• Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu discussed Yahiko’s survival, considered targeting Konan, and planned to seek another opportunity while preparing for Natsuki’s possible Space-Time Ninjutsu.
• Natsuki told Konoha’s jōnin about the attack, considered a Wood Release surprise strike, and surveyed an Iwagakure stronghold as a potential target.
• Natsuki asked Ringo Ameyuri to arrange a meeting with Hozuki Mangetsu, who was interested in becoming a demon.
• Natsuki bought Yakushi Nonō a white outfit and stockings, then Uzumaki Kushina overheard them and spent the evening with him in black stockings.
• Natsuki returned to Konoha’s main camp, where Uchiha Mikoto clung to him.

Natsuki, Tsunade, and Nawaki raided an Iwagakure outpost with Wood Release, killing hundreds and revealing their abilities to the Ninja World. As Iwagakure and Uchiha Madara reacted to the news, Madara recognized Natsuki as the greatest obstacle to his plans.

• Natsuki proposed that he, Tsunade, and Nawaki use Wood Release to ambush an Iwagakure outpost, and Tsunade agreed after they planned an escape route.
• The three traveled through a Spatial Gate and unleashed Wood Release on the outpost, killing or wounding hundreds of Iwagakure ninja.
• Wenya counterattacked with Earth Release, and Natsuki rescued Tsunade from his Mountain Earth Technique before the group escaped after sending a Thunder Giant against the survivors.
• Wenya reported the raid to Kitsuchi, and news of Konoha's three Wood Release users spread throughout the Ninja World by the next day.
• Ōnoki ordered Roshi to reinforce Kitsuchi, while Uchiha Madara concluded that Natsuki was the greatest threat to his plans.

Tsunade and Nawaki learned that Konoha faced a new front after the Third Raikage attacked the Land of Fire, while Natsuki discovered that Iwagakure had deployed Roshi, the Four-Tails jinchūriki. Natsuki then rescued Konan from four Iwagakure jōnin and found that all of them had been placed under genjutsu by Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu.

• Tsunade read reports on the villages’ reactions to Nawaki’s Wood Release, then she and Nawaki attended a meeting where Natsuki announced the Third Raikage’s attack and Minato’s defense of the Land of Fire.
• Natsuki visited Kirigakure, cured Hozuki Mangetsu’s illness with the Blood Curse, recruited him into the Espada, and ordered him and Ringo Ameyuri to help Terumi Mei build her reputation.
• Natsuki and Uchiha Mikoto scouted Iwagakure’s positions, where Natsuki detected Roshi, the Four-Tails jinchūriki, among its forces.
• Konan and three Amegakure ninja eliminated an Iwagakure squad, but four Iwagakure jōnin ambushed them and targeted Konan as the others fled.
• Natsuki rescued Konan and used his Mangekyō Sharingan to discover that all four Iwagakure jōnin were under genjutsu placed by Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu.

Natsuki and Konoha prepared for Iwagakure’s general offensive, while Tsunade confided her worries to him and Pakura learned he planned to target Kirigakure next. When the battle began, Natsuki pulled Roshi and another Iwagakure ninja into an alternate dimension, leaving the outcome uncertain.

• Madara decided to help Iwagakure launch an all-out offensive and target Natsuki, while Konoha’s leaders anticipated the attack and planned their defenses.
• Tsunade spoke privately with Natsuki about her fears for the coming battle, and he assured her that Konoha would win by defeating Iwagakure’s jinchūriki.
• Natsuki visited Pakura and told her Sunagakure should attack Kirigakure after Iwagakure sued for peace, so he could bring Kirigakure under his control.
• Iwagakure launched its general offensive with over four thousand ninja, and Konoha and Amegakure met them at a mountain pass.
• Roshi transformed using the Four-Tails’ chakra, and Natsuki used space-time ninjutsu to pull Roshi and an intervening Iwagakure ninja into an alternate dimension.

Natsuki defeated Roshi and Uchiha Madara’s Shadow Clone, captured White Zetsu, and extracted the Four-Tails. He awakened the Sakazuki Template and learned that unlocking its Magma-Magma Fruit ability required becoming the Mizukage.

• Natsuki fought Roshi in another dimension, countering his Lava Release attacks with lightning, powerful spells, and Excalibur.
• Roshi transformed into the Four-Tails and fired a Tailed Beast Ball, but Natsuki’s Excalibur overwhelmed it and left Roshi unconscious.
• Uchiha Madara revealed his Wood Release and Majestic Attire: Susanoo, but Natsuki used Sage Art: White Rage Technique and No-Origin Sword Creation to defeat him and capture the possessing White Zetsu.
• Natsuki used the Black Holy Grail to extract and imprison the Four-Tails, then awakened the Sakazuki Template.
• Natsuki found that the Sakazuki Template’s Magma-Magma Fruit ability required him to become the Mizukage and considered sharing the office with Terumi Mei.

Natsuki returned after killing Roshi and helped Konoha crush Iwagakure’s army, prompting Orochimaru to begin the Hokage selection process. Iwagakure sued for peace, while Uchiha Madara shifted his attention to Uchiha Obito.

• Tsunade and Nawaki fought Kitsuchi until Natsuki arrived and revealed that Roshi was dead.
• Natsuki stopped Konoha from pursuing Iwagakure’s retreating forces, then used Hadō #99: Goryū Tenmetsu to break their ranks and lead Konoha to victory.
• Konoha captured Kitsuchi and treated wounded from both sides, while Natsuki told the jōnin to keep watch for two more days.
• Uchiha Madara ordered White Zetsu to keep surveilling Nagato and his companions and to focus instead on Uchiha Obito.
• Orochimaru proposed beginning the next Hokage selection process, saying Natsuki was better suited to lead Konoha.
• Ōnoki accepted that Iwagakure could not continue the war and ordered his subordinates to sue Konoha for peace.

After Konoha's victory over Iwagakure, Natsuki secured a peace agreement and returned home to a heroes' welcome. Orochimaru announced his retirement and named Natsuki, Nawaki, and Minato Namikaze as Hokage candidates, leaving Natsuki the clear favorite as the nomination process began.

• The Third Raikage accepted Dodai's recommendation to abandon the fight with Konoha and concentrate Kumogakure's forces against Kirigakure.
• Sumashi told Natsuki that Iwagakure wanted peace, and Natsuki agreed on the condition that Iwagakure release its captured Konoha ninja.
• Natsuki arranged for Konoha and Amegakure to return home, then learned that the Third Raikage was heading toward the Land of Water.
• After Konoha celebrated its returning heroes, Orochimaru announced he would retire and ordered nominations for the next Hokage to begin.
• Natsuki sent Anbu to notify Konoha's jōnin, while Homura and Koharu worried whether they would keep their advisory positions under him.
• Jiraiya and Minato returned to Konoha, where Orochimaru named Natsuki, Nawaki, and Minato as candidates and Jiraiya remarked that Natsuki should simply become Hokage.

Natsuki won the jonin vote and became Konoha’s Fifth Hokage, then began planning changes to the village’s leadership. He recruited Uzumaki Kushina as his secretary and persuaded Tsunade to serve as a Hokage Advisor for three years.

• Natsuki received ninety-nine percent of the jonin vote and was declared the Fifth Hokage.
• After Orochimaru left him to handle the transition, Natsuki planned to replace the existing advisors and reorganize the Hokage’s staff.
• Natsuki told Uzumaki Kushina he had become Hokage and offered her the secretary position, which she happily accepted.
• Natsuki asked Tsunade to become a Hokage Advisor, arguing that she could help Nawaki and Minato Namikaze handle the work.
• Tsunade agreed to serve as a Hokage Advisor for no more than three years.

Natsuki was formally appointed the Fifth Hokage and reorganized Konoha’s leadership, naming new advisors, guards, and secretaries while assigning Orochimaru a White Zetsu cloning experiment. After celebrating his inauguration, Natsuki reviewed the worsening conflict between Kumogakure and Kirigakure and considered intervening for a price.

• The Daimyo of the Land of Fire confirmed Natsuki as the Fifth Hokage, and Natsuki received the Hokage hat at the inauguration ceremony.
• Natsuki gave Orochimaru a White Zetsu and asked him to investigate cloning it.
• At his first jonin meeting, Natsuki replaced Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu with Tsunade, Namikaze Minato, and Nawaki as Hokage Advisors, and appointed new Hokage Guard members and Uzumaki Kushina as a Hokage Secretary.
• Natsuki assigned offices to the new officials and had Uchiha Mikoto teach Uzumaki Kushina the secretary’s duties.
• Natsuki unlocked Izanagi and learned that Kumogakure was gaining ground against Kirigakure while Pakura’s forces also threatened it; he considered offering Kirigakure help in exchange for becoming an honorary Mizukage.
• After Natsuki’s celebratory dinner, Uzumaki Kushina and Yakushi Nonō surprised him with a blindfolded present.

Natsuki oversaw Sunagakure’s harassment campaign against Kirigakure, then arranged Konoha’s New Year celebrations and chunin-to-jonin exams. At the festival, he gave Tsunade a bracelet that amplified Wood Release, and she accepted it.

• Natsuki visited Pakura and directed Sunagakure’s Puppet Brigade to use hit-and-run attacks against Kirigakure.
• The Puppet Brigade harassed Kirigakure for months, while the Third Raikage and Yugito Nii later inflicted devastating losses on Kirigakure with a Tailed Beast Ball.
• Natsuki and Uzumaki Kushina arranged a jonin exam and a larger New Year festival for Konoha.
• At the New Year festival, Natsuki met Namikaze Minato and learned Jiraiya had gone to Amegakure, possibly to investigate Nagato.
• Natsuki gave Tsunade a silver-white bracelet containing a Wood Release Chakra Crystal, and Tsunade accepted and put it on.

Natsuki manipulated Kumogakure into ambushing and killing the Third Mizukage, then used the ensuing war to recruit five new Espada members. He returned to Konoha after leaving a Shadow Clone behind to protect Terumi Mei, whose path to becoming Mizukage depended on Kirigakure’s defeat.

• Uchiha Mikoto delivered Uchiha Fugaku’s New Year gift and reminded Natsuki of their agreement about Uchiha Shisui, while Natsuki gave her a sheer qipao.
• Natsuki controlled Kumogakure’s Anbu commander and arranged for him to pass the Third Raikage false intelligence that exposed the Third Mizukage’s planned raid.
• The Third Raikage’s forces ambushed the Third Mizukage; Natsuki rescued Momochi Zabuza and transformed Hozuki Ryogetsu before the Third Raikage killed the Third Mizukage.
• Kumogakure launched an all-out assault on Kirigakure, and Natsuki recruited five more members for the Espada amid the fighting.
• Natsuki left a Shadow Clone to watch over Terumi Mei and returned to Konoha.

Kirigakure chose Terumi Mei as its Fourth Mizukage after the Third Mizukage died, and Natsuki negotiated an alliance with her against Kumogakure. As Konoha prepared to support Kirigakure, Natsuki gained the Magma-Magma Fruit ability and offered to delay Kumogakure’s attack himself.

• Hozuki Ryogetsu told Karatachi Yagura and the surviving Kirigakure ninja that the Third Mizukage had died, while Genji concluded Kirigakure had to seek peace with Kumogakure.
• Genji held a vote for the next Mizukage, and Terumi Mei unexpectedly won with help from shinobi secretly controlled by Natsuki.
• Natsuki met Terumi Mei and offered Konoha’s support against Kumogakure and Sunagakure in exchange for an alliance and the title of Honorary Mizukage.
• Terumi Mei presented Konoha’s terms to Kirigakure’s leadership, and Genji and the others agreed to cooperate with Konoha.
• Terumi Mei asked Natsuki to delay announcing his honorary title until after Kumogakure was defeated, and Natsuki offered to buy time before Konoha’s forces arrived.
• Natsuki unlocked the Magma-Magma Fruit ability.

Natsuki arranged Konoha’s alliance with Kirigakure and led the response against Kumogakure, then confronted the Third Raikage alone. He used the Magma-Magma Fruit to destroy the Raikage’s force and kill him, leaving Terumi Mei stunned.

• Natsuki agreed with Terumi Mei that Kirigakure would provide two thousand ninja and asked her to prepare defenses.
• Natsuki split Konoha’s forces, sending Namikaze Minato with five thousand ninja to the Land of Lightning and Tsunade and Nawaki with two thousand to the Land of Water.
• Natsuki told Pakura to end Sunagakure’s war against Kirigakure, then informed her that Konoha would help Kirigakure fight Kumogakure.
• The Third Raikage left three thousand ninja behind and led them toward Kirigakure’s camp, but they encountered Natsuki on an island.
• Natsuki fought the Third Raikage, unleashed Meteor Volcano to engulf Kumogakure’s force, and killed the Raikage with his magma attacks.
• Terumi Mei watched the battle and wondered how Natsuki could use such powerful Lava Release.