Chapter Summaries

Kisame Hoshigaki tested Araki and Zabuza in a two-on-one fight, while Yagura explained to Sengetsu why he had placed the two young ninja on Kisame’s team. The battle began with Kisame flooding the training ground, and Araki launched a nine-slash attack after seeing the gap in their strength.

• Kisame told Zabuza that his slaughter of over a hundred classmates had earned him the title Mist Demon, then ordered him and Araki to fight him without restrictions.
• Araki asked Kisame about his rank and learned that Kisame had recently become a special jonin.
• Yagura told Sengetsu that he had assigned Zabuza and Araki to Kisame’s team to keep them clear of the Third Mizukage’s resentment toward the clans.
• Kisame flooded the training ground with Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave, then invited Araki and Zabuza to attack.
• Araki’s Flash Thrust was blocked and thrown aside by Kisame, while Zabuza struggled and escaped danger with the Substitution Technique.
• Araki charged again and unleashed Nine-Headed Dragon Flash, surrounding Kisame with nine sword phantoms.

After testing Araki and Zabuza, Kisame assessed their abilities and recommended ninjutsu suited to their fighting styles. He sent them to exchange for techniques and told them to meet at the Mission Assignment Desk the next morning before beginning village missions.

• Araki's sword attacks failed to penetrate Kisame's Water Prison, and Kisame ended the spar after gauging Araki and Zabuza's strength.
• Kisame gave Araki a chakra paper, which showed that Araki had water, wind, and lightning attributes.
• Kisame recommended Body Flicker, a wind-style attack, and a water defense or clone technique for Araki.
• Kisame advised Zabuza to learn Water Clone, Hidden Mist, and Body Flicker, and identified the B-rank Water Dragon Technique as a stronger attack option.
• Kisame told Araki and Zabuza to exchange for their chosen ninjutsu and meet at the Mission Assignment Desk the next morning.

Araki collected training scrolls for Gale Palm, Water Replacement, and the Body Flicker Technique, learning how ninja could earn permission to exchange for more techniques through missions. At the seaside, he read the Body Flicker scroll and began practicing the technique.

• Araki weighed the uses of Wind Cutter and Gale Palm before choosing Gale Palm for his C-rank Wind Style technique.
• Araki requested training scrolls for Gale Palm, Water Replacement, and the Body Flicker Technique at the Ninja Academy's exchange office.
• The teacher explained that missions earned ninja permission to exchange for ninjutsu, with the available rank one level below the mission's rating.
• Araki went to his seaside training spot, read the Body Flicker Technique scroll, and understood it required shaping and releasing chakra beneath his feet.
• Araki began practicing the Body Flicker Technique by the sea.

Araki and Zabuza joined Kisame Hoshigaki on a D-rank mission to hunt a Black Sea Sturgeon. They found the fish’s dark cave, but their plan to flush it out stalled when Araki revealed he had no Explosive Tags.

• Zabuza told Araki that Karatachi Yagura had advised him to learn the Academy’s three ninjutsu before choosing another advanced technique, and admitted he had failed to learn the Water Dragon Technique.
• Kisame Hoshigaki led Araki and Zabuza on a D-rank hunting mission to catch a Black Sea Sturgeon.
• Araki demonstrated his mastery of the Body Flicker Technique, while Kisame encouraged Zabuza to focus on learning the basic ninjutsu in his scrolls.
• The team reached the Black Sea Sturgeon’s cave beneath a seaside cliff and considered using Explosive Tags to drive the fish out.
• Zabuza discovered that Araki had no Explosive Tags and became angry when Araki suggested he buy one.

Kisame Hoshigaki caught a Black Sea Sturgeon with Water Prison Technique and left Araki and Zabuza to train. While practicing ninjutsu, Araki analyzed Gale Palm’s chakra flow and discovered a way to produce a strong wind that Kisame recognized as Great Breakthrough.

• Kisame Hoshigaki used Water Prison Technique to catch a Black Sea Sturgeon and declared the mission complete.
• Kisame Hoshigaki told Araki and Zabuza to practice ninjutsu while he handled the catch.
• Araki trained Body Flicker Technique and mastered Water Replacement Technique before studying Gale Palm.
• Araki broke down Gale Palm’s hand seals and identified the Dragon Seal as the point where his chakra transformed into wind.
• Araki omitted Gale Palm’s final compression motion and produced a gust that Kisame Hoshigaki suspected was Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.

Araki simplified Wind Release: Gale Palm and experimented with combining it with his swordsmanship. After more than half a month of training with Kisame, Araki and Zabuza had made major progress in their techniques.

• Araki used a Dragon hand seal to cast Gale Palm and concluded that he could skip gathering chakra but still needed to understand nature transformation and shaping.
• Araki struck the water with his sword, then used Gale Palm to accelerate the spray as makeshift projectiles.
• Araki and Zabuza trained under Kisame for more than half a month while also carrying out hunting and patrol tasks.
• Zabuza mastered creating nine convincing Water Clones, expanded his Hidden Mist Technique, and developed an assassination tactic combining both techniques.
• Araki became proficient in two D-rank ninjutsu and learned to use Gale Palm to propel himself rapidly for about twenty seconds.

Araki, Zabuza, and Kisame accepted a C-rank mission to escort Bando to Hell Valley in search of Universal Mud, despite Bando knowing little about the place. During the sea journey, Araki entered the Book of Sword Masters to challenge its next opponent.

• Kisame brought Bando to the team and explained that they would escort him to Seven Grass Island to gather Universal Mud from Hell Valley.
• Bando told Araki he hoped the dangerous herb-gathering trip would prove he could lead his family's trading group, but he could not verify the rumors about Universal Mud.
• Araki warned Kisame and Zabuza that Bando's information seemed unreliable, and Kisame explained that failing to obtain the medicine could still count as a failed mission.
• Araki rested aboard the ship, entered the Consciousness Space, and checked his status in the Book of Sword Masters.
• Araki turned past Himura Kenshin's page and saw a tall, cold-eyed swordsman awaiting his challenge.

Araki fought Yasuo in the Consciousness Space, hoping to learn the wind swordsman’s techniques, but Yasuo’s speed and power overwhelmed him. Yasuo’s aerial sword assault forced Araki out of the Consciousness Space.

• Yasuo formed before Araki and opened the duel with a rapid crescent-shaped slash, then knocked Araki back in their first sword clash.
• Araki used Wind Release: Gale Palm to gain the [Grace of the Wind] buff and attacked Yasuo with Flash Thrust.
• Yasuo’s shield blocked Araki’s thrust, and Yasuo countered with a horizontal slash that forced Araki to retreat.
• Yasuo tracked Araki’s Body Flicker Technique and caught him in a Tornado Storm.
• Yasuo leaped into the tornado and struck Araki with a Blade Storm, forcing him out of the Consciousness Space.

Araki struggled to reproduce Yasuo’s wind techniques, but developed a way to cloak his sword in gale and make its blade invisible. Kisame noticed the sharp aura around Araki and asked whether he was training in wind nature transformation, leaving Araki to conceal how much he understood.

• Araki failed to control wind directly with chakra, then wrapped his sword in a spinning gale using Gale Palm and made its blade vanish with the Wind King Barrier.
• Araki continued fighting Yasuo during the voyage and lost all eleven matches, while his perception and control of wind steadily improved.
• After Kisame destroyed a reef with Water Dragon Bullet, he noticed Araki’s sharp aura and asked whether Araki was studying wind-attribute nature transformation.
• Araki denied knowing about nature transformation and said he only wanted to make his sword sharper.
• Kisame observed Araki holding his ordinary longsword and wondered whether he planned to become a taijutsu ninja who fought primarily with blades.

Araki told Kisame and Zabuza that he wanted to become a sword master and forge his own path rather than inherit one of Kirigakure’s famous ninja blades. The group arrived at Seven Grass Island and headed for Hell Valley, while Merchant Ninjas secretly planned to follow them and claim the Universal Mud.

• Araki rejected the idea of being known merely as a taijutsu ninja who used blades and declared that he wanted to become a great sword master.
• Kisame explained the origins and names of Kirigakure’s Seven Ninja Swords, and Zabuza decided he would someday claim Kubikiribōchō.
• Araki told Kisame that he would create his own legendary sword rather than inherit a ninja blade.
• Three days later, Bando led Araki, Kisame, and Zabuza ashore on Seven Grass Island, where they went straight toward Hell Valley.
• After the group left, the Merchant Ninjas discussed using them to test Hell Valley’s dangers and planned to follow behind in pursuit of the Universal Mud.

Araki, Zabuza, and Kisame investigated the poisonous gas eruptions in Hell Valley while seeking a way to collect Universal Mud. After Zabuza’s Water Clone failed to cross, Araki dodged an eruption himself and asked to stay and practice Hoho.

• Bando showed Araki, Zabuza, and Kisame the Universal Mud springs and explained that Hell Valley’s unpredictable toxic gas had driven off previous mining attempts.
• Kisame asked Araki and Zabuza to find a way through without his help.
• Zabuza sent a Water Clone across the hills, but widespread gas eruptions overwhelmed it and caused it to dissolve.
• Araki proposed using Kisame’s Water Release to neutralize the gas, then decided to test his own abilities instead.
• Araki used Grace of the Wind and Gale Palm to dodge the gas columns, returned safely, and asked Kisame to let them stay so he could practice Hoho.

Araki and Zabuza trained to dodge Hell Valley’s gas columns while collecting Universal Mud for Bando’s mission. After four days, they completed the task, but Merchant Ninja appeared and asked to buy the two buckets of mud.

• Araki persuaded Kisame to let him and Zabuza practice Hoho among Hell Valley’s dangerous gas columns, hoping to develop wind-sensing abilities.
• Araki dodged the gas while Zabuza repeatedly sent Water Clones into the hazards, and Bando waited as their training continued for several days.
• After four days, Araki could anticipate the gas columns through the wind and Zabuza could cross the gas forest by sprinting and stopping to dodge.
• Araki and Zabuza filled a wooden bucket each with Universal Mud, returned to Bando, and Kisame asked whether he needed an escort onward.
• Three Merchant Ninja approached, and their middle-aged leader asked Bando to sell them the two buckets of Universal Mud.

Kamizumi Bando refused to surrender the [Universal Mud], so Merchant Ninja Kenjiro plotted to steal it by luring the Red Beard Pirates after Bando’s ship. When the pirates attacked with Explosive Tag shells, Kisame defended the ship while Araki and Zabuza charged across the sea to fight them.

• Kamizumi Bando refused to hand over the [Universal Mud], and Zabuza and Araki recognized the Merchant Ninja’s warning as a threat.
• Kenjiro ordered Yuta to inform the Red Beard Pirates about Bando’s cargo while concealing that Mist Village ninja were aboard, then followed the ship to steal the mud during the fight.
• Araki resumed his training duels with Yasuo and was defeated again by Yasuo’s superior command of wind.
• Pirates attacked Bando’s ship with Explosive Tag shells, and Kisame blocked their first volley with Water Release while Araki scattered the spray with Wind Style.
• Kisame ordered Araki and Zabuza to attack the pirate ship as he stayed behind to defend the merchant vessel.
• Kisame shot down another volley of shells with Water Release, while the pirate captain ordered his first mate to bring up an Explosive Tag cannon against Araki and Zabuza.

Araki and Zabuza defeated the Red Beard Pirates, and Araki killed Captain Roger with his Wave-Severing Ring Cut. After Zabuza brought back a survivor, Araki persuaded Kisame to raid the pirates’ hideout after they delivered their client.

• Araki and Zabuza boarded the pirate ship after evading its Explosive Tag shells, and Araki challenged Captain Roger while Zabuza fought the crew in the mist.
• Captain Roger called in his pirates and threw Explosive Tag shells at Araki, but Araki cut down the attackers and disabled the shells with his Wave-Severing Ring Cut.
• Araki killed Captain Roger and told Zabuza to leave one pirate alive so they could learn where the hideout was.
• Zabuza returned with an unconscious survivor, and Araki proposed raiding the pirates’ hideout to claim their supplies and wealth.
• Kisame agreed to the raid but said they first needed to deliver their client.

Araki, Kisame, and Zabuza reached the pirates’ island and defeated its defenders. They found almost no cash, but discovered a thousand Explosive Tags worth roughly ten million ryo, leaving the group imagining how to spend their unexpected fortune.

• On the return journey, Araki and the others passed an unmanned Merchant Ninja ship without investigating, unaware its crew had sunk while trying to steal the Universal Mud.
• Zabuza kept a surviving pirate prisoner until Araki and Kisame returned, then forced him to sail toward the pirates’ hideout on Warship Island.
• Kisame used Water Release to propel the ship, and after reaching the island, Zabuza killed the prisoner once he confirmed their destination.
• Pirates attacked Araki, Kisame, and Zabuza with cannon fire, but Araki rushed the docks and killed the guards while reveling in his speed.
• The three searched the island’s largest building and found a thousand Explosive Tags, ordinary weapons, and very little cash.
• Araki, Kisame, and Zabuza realized the Explosive Tags were worth about ten million ryo and considered what they could buy with the haul.

Araki searched Mist Village for a chakra-conducting sword and bought one from the Hozuki Ninja Tool Shop. The shopkeeper revealed that the weapon had been intended as an eighth Mist Ninja Sword, and Araki learned it was called Wind Blade: Piercer.

• Araki visited a local ninja tool shop, but its owner had no swords made from Chakra Metal and directed him to the Hozuki Ninja Tool Shop.
• Araki asked Hozuki Muyue for a chakra-conducting longsword and assured him that he could afford one.
• Araki tested a grey-white longsword and found that it could channel his Wind-nature chakra into a powerful cutting edge.
• Araki sliced through the shop floor with the sword and judged its destructive power to be comparable to a B-rank ninjutsu.
• Hozuki Muyue said the sword had been intended as the village's eighth ninja sword, Wind Blade: Piercer, and hinted that it would cost extra.

Araki bought the Wind Blade: Piercer, renamed it the Wind Sword, and tested it against Yasuo in the Consciousness Space. Yasuo revealed a powerful wind-enhanced form and defeated Araki, who wondered how to learn more Wind-Slaying Sword Techniques.

• Araki paid Hozuki Muyue 5 million ryō for the Wind Blade: Piercer, using money Zabuza had lent him in exchange for swordsmanship guidance.
• Araki renamed the weapon the Wind Sword and challenged Yasuo in the Consciousness Space.
• Araki used the Wind Sword to block Yasuo’s attacks and countered his tornado with Whirlwind Slash, briefly catching up to him.
• Yasuo transformed under overwhelming wind pressure, dispelled Araki’s Grace of the Wind, and drove him back with powerful attacks.
• Yasuo predicted Araki’s Body Flicker Technique and struck him down with an emerald Wind Slash.
• Araki reviewed his sword skills, questioned how Wave-Severing Ring Cut had been categorized, and considered imitating Yasuo to learn more Wind-Slaying Sword Techniques.

During the squad’s week off, Araki advised Zabuza on developing his hearing or using his Ghostly Aura in swordsmanship, then sparred with Kisame using his new Wind Sword. Araki appeared to defeat Kisame, but Kisame revealed the apparent victory had been a trap involving a Water Prison and Water Clones.

• Kisame spent his mission earnings on B-rank Water Release techniques, while Zabuza asked Araki for swordsmanship advice.
• Araki suggested Zabuza develop his exceptional hearing toward sensory ninjutsu or incorporate his Ghostly Aura into his swordsmanship.
• Araki challenged Kisame to a sparring match and used Flying Water Shuriken to attack him through a Water Formation Wall.
• Kisame attacked Araki with Water Fang Bullets, escalating to ten streams, but Araki cut them apart with Nine-Headed Dragon Flash and reached Kisame.
• Araki rested his blade on Kisame’s shoulder, but Kisame revealed that he had turned into water and trapped Araki, while Water Clones emerged at a distance.

Araki sparred with Kisame at sea and was overwhelmed by Kisame’s Water Clones and repeated Water Release attacks. Afterward, Araki assessed his strengths and weaknesses, realizing he needed stronger long-range techniques.

• Kisame created ten Water Clones and bombarded Araki with Iron Gun and Water Bullet Barrage techniques.
• Araki escaped the clones’ encirclement by using his Wind Sword and swift footwork, but could not identify Kisame’s real body.
• Kisame used Heaven Weeping to reveal Araki’s movement, then struck him with nine Great Waterfall Techniques.
• Araki accepted the loss and judged that his speed and swordsmanship approached jonin level, while his ninjutsu, genjutsu, and long-range attacks remained weak.
• Araki realized his wind blades lost power at a distance and wished he could use techniques like Flying Slash.

Araki developed a compressed wind blade technique by adapting Wind Cutter, while Zabuza sought sensory ninjutsu to support his plan to hear the world around him. The chapter ended with Yagura urging Zabuza to create a sensory technique of his own after a specialist judged him to lack sensory talent.

• Kisame agreed to help Araki obtain Wind Cutter, and Araki analyzed its hand seals to identify how it shaped and compressed wind.
• Araki combined the technique with his Wind Sword to launch a crescent-shaped slash and named it Slash Wave: New Moon.
• Zabuza asked Karatachi Yagura for help learning sensory ninjutsu so he could pursue the Voice of All Things.
• Yagura took Zabuza to sensory ninja Chukichi, who found no conventional signs of sensory talent despite Zabuza's ability to hear heartbeats, breathing, and blood flow within about a hundred meters.
• Yagura encouraged Zabuza to develop a sensory ninjutsu of his own, and Zabuza vowed not to disappoint him.