Recaps

Taiichi freed Nonō from Root, grew stronger through missions and developed Scorch Style while navigating the Daimyo’s attempts to recruit Konoha ninja. After returning to Team 8 and moving into a house Tsunade gave him, Taiichi joined a mission to defend a mining area from rival clans and bounty ninja.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi freed Nonō from Root and confronted Danzo, who ordered Root to investigate Taiichi and decided he had to die.
• Taiichi defeated Nagano Masaru in a match for the Daimyo, then joined an intelligence mission that earned him access to the Daimyo’s library and payment.
• Taiichi saved Masasuke Yamaguchi by rebuilding his damaged organs, then joined Hatake Sakumo, Minato Namikaze, and Hizashi Hyuga on a mission to kill Sunagakure’s envoy Rousha.
• Taiichi’s Fire Transformation Technique reached Lv1 and revealed Scorch Style, whose extreme heat let him transform parts of his body and restore damaged tissue.
• Taiichi returned to Team 8, helped Saori and Yohei resume missions, and reported the Daimyo’s interest in Konoha’s ninja to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Taiichi began helping Nonō at Konoha Hospital, sent gifts and a letter to Tsunade, and moved into the neglected house she gave him.
• Team 8 defended the Tokugawa Clan’s mining area from the Kawata Clan and its allies, while Taiichi killed six enemy scouts and prepared to ambush retreating bounty ninja.

Taiichi rose from a new squad captain to a battlefield leader while protecting Hatake Sakumo and helping Minato complete the Rasengan. After Kaze Wafu’s betrayal and a battle that awakened Yohei’s Mangekyō Sharingan, Taiichi unlocked Ice Release and prepared to continue the mission.

• Taiichi led Team 8 through the Chunin Exams, earned promotion, and later escorted the Daimyo’s envoys through attacks in the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers.
• Taiichi saved Yusuke and helped Hatake Sakumo complete his mission, then joined Kakashi in spreading rumors about Danzo to deflect attacks on Sakumo.
• Taiichi became captain of a reorganized squad with Yohei, Saori, and Kaze Wafu, and led them through a series of battles against foreign ninja.
• Taiichi experimented with combining Wind and Water chakra, secretly awakening Ice Attribute Nature Transformation, and later helped Minato stabilize the Rasengan.
• Taiichi served at the Northern Camp and fought alongside his squad until Orochimaru questioned whether Kaze Wafu was a spy.
• During a mission against a Cloud supply warehouse, Kaze Wafu betrayed the squad, Saori was wounded, and Taiichi fought the Cloud Ninja while his teammates faced their opponents.
• Yohei awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan as the squad defeated Kaze Wafu and escaped the island, and Taiichi warned Yohei about the risk of blindness.
• Taiichi strengthened his skills and advanced Ice Attribute Nature Transformation, awakening Ice Release and testing it before preparing for watch.

Taiichi helped Konoha defeat Sunagakure’s forces, capture Shamon, and negotiate an alliance while secretly discovering Sasori had killed the Third Kazekage. The arc left Konoha holding the Kazekage’s and Sasori’s bodies as Chiyo investigated the disappearance, while Taiichi prepared to treat Yohei’s Mangekyo.

• Taiichi joined Jiraiya’s Southern Front campaign, developed an antidote to Sunagakure’s poison, and helped lure its forces into a counterattack.
• Taiichi and his squad fought Sunagakure’s forces, and Yohei used Izanagi to survive a fatal wound while protecting Rin and Obito.
• Jiraiya’s counterattack routed Sunagakure, and Taiichi helped capture Shamon before treating the wounded and returning to medical duties.
• Chiyo negotiated a three-year ceasefire and alliance with Konoha in exchange for Sunagakure’s prisoners, while Taiichi formed the Yin Seal.
• Taiichi infiltrated a Land of Wind supply oasis and witnessed Sasori kill the Third Kazekage with poison and Human Puppets.
• Taiichi stabbed Sasori, sealed both bodies and several Human Puppets, and reported the deaths to Jiraiya and Shikaku.
• Jiraiya halted the prisoner transfer plans and sent the bodies to Konoha, while Chiyo learned the Third Kazekage had disappeared and began investigating.
• Taiichi trained his Yang Release and taught Medical Ninja, then waited for Yohei so he could test the healing technique on his Mangekyo.

After Sunagakure and Iwagakure turned against Konoha, Taiichi helped the village survive Sunagakure’s attack and developed techniques to protect his allies. He left the Medical Camp to disrupt enemy forces, captured a White Zetsu, and continued operating behind enemy lines as the war widened.

• Chiyo helped Sunagakure appoint Rasa acting Kazekage, while Iwagakure declared war and Konoha prepared to support Sunagakure without abandoning its plans.
• Taiichi learned the Flying Thunder God from Minato, created his own formula, and joined Minato on a mission to disrupt Stone Village forces as Sunagakure and Iwagakure secretly reached a ceasefire.
• Taiichi returned to Konoha, became a Special Jonin, and developed Sealing Talismans and a rescue plan to protect Nonō, Yohei, and Saori.
• Sunagakure declared war on Konoha, and Taiichi joined Minato’s force in the Land of Rivers, where he found deliberate weaknesses in the camp’s Sensory Barriers.
• Taiichi’s work at the Medical Camp improved Konoha’s survival and morale, so Rasa, Ebizo, and Chiyo added the camp to their planned raid.
• During Sunagakure’s raid, Taiichi fought Rasa, shielded the Medical Camp, and helped Konoha defeat the attack, though Rasa escaped with five Jonin.
• Jiraiya sent Taiichi to disrupt Sunagakure’s forces, and Taiichi killed a reinforcement team before capturing a White Zetsu and drawing Black Zetsu to the site.
• Iwagakure declared war on Konoha, while Taiichi continued ambushing Sunagakure convoys and mission squads before Black Zetsu reported to Madara Uchiha.