Chapter Summaries

Taiichi defeated four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, rescued and treated Might Duy, and reported the battle to Tsunade before returning to the coastline. The next morning, Guy and his companions rushed back to camp asking guards to save Duy, who had already been brought in for treatment.

• Kushimaru Kuriarare detonated his Explosive Tags in a suicide attack, but Taiichi escaped with Flying Thunder God and recovered Exploding Blade Shibuki.
• Taiichi found Munashi Jinpachi and Juzo Biwa dead, sealed their bodies and weapons, and carried the badly injured Might Duy back to Konoha Camp.
• Tsunade learned that Might Duy had killed two swordsmen and Taiichi had killed two more, while the remaining three escaped.
• Taiichi treated Duy's injuries with Yang Release Chakra, then left two Shadow Clones at the Medical Camp and flew toward the eastern Coastline.
• Guy, Ebisu, and Genma reached camp at dawn and pleaded with the guards to save Guy's father, prompting a guard to ask whether the injured man was Might Duy.

Guy learned that Might Duy survived and rushed to see him, while Taichi fought off a Mist Village vanguard and reported back to Tsunade. The Mist forces regrouped at sea, where their commander questioned the vanguard captain’s account of Taichi’s attack.

• A guard told Guy that Might Duy had been rescued by Taichi and was recovering, so Guy hurried to the Medical Camp.
• Mangetsu Hozuki persuaded Suikazan Fuguki and Raiga Kurosuki to rejoin the Mist main force after recovering from their injuries.
• Yuki Hyuga’s patrol spotted the Mist landing force and sent a Signal Flare to alert Konoha.
• Taichi met the Mist vanguard at the coast, used two Water Style techniques to kill at least forty ninja, and drove the survivors back.
• Taichi reported the encounter to Tsunade, who ordered him to search the sea for the Mist base.
• The vanguard captain told Mizunuki Asuka that a single Konoha ninja had routed their force, and Asuka angrily demanded proof.

Mizunuki Asuka sent Kaguya Kuma’s force to test Konoha, and Kuma led his elite clan members inland, where they clashed with Fugaku Uchiha’s larger force. Kaguya Kuma withdrew after Konoha reinforcements arrived, leaving both sides with heavy casualties and the war unresolved.

• Mizunuki Asuka provoked Kaguya Kuma into leading an attack while he and Hozuki Hoshizuki discussed using the Kaguya to test Konoha’s strength.
• Kaguya Kuma destroyed several coastal outposts, then led his clansmen deeper into the Land of Fire to find Konoha ninjas.
• Fugaku Uchiha commanded a Konoha force to intercept Kaguya Kuma, and the two fought while their forces clashed.
• Kaguya Kuma used the Dance of the Seedling Fern to kill several Konoha ninjas, then withdrew when Konoha reinforcements arrived.
• Fugaku Uchiha regrouped with Inoichi Yamanaka and Akimichi Choza, while Kaguya Kuma learned that twenty-three of his clansmen had died and planned to let the younger members gain experience next.

Taiichi searched for the Mist Village camp while Yuki Hyuga led a patrol that was ambushed by Mist Ninja seeking his Byakugan. After the Hozuki Ninja abducted Yuki, Taiichi caught up and trapped them in a massive Water Prison, leaving them suspended above the sea.

• Taiichi continued searching the coastal islands for the Mist Village camp, while Yuki Hyuga took his squad on another patrol.
• Four disguised Mist Ninja ambushed Yuki’s squad, killed two Hyuga Chunin, and forced the others into a fight.
• A Hozuki Ninja used a seawater beast to capture Yuki and escape into the ocean as reinforcements arrived too late.
• Taiichi followed the distress signal, learned that Yuki had been abducted, and flew after the Mist Ninja.
• Taiichi caught the escaping Hozuki Ninja underwater and trapped him and Yuki in a thirty-meter Water Prison, then lifted it above the sea.

Taiichi defeated the Mist Ninja who stole Yuki Hyuga’s Byakugan and returned the eyes to the Hyuga Clan, though Yuki died. At Camp, Tsunade and Hiashi agreed to work more closely together, while Taiichi promised to locate the Mist Village’s Camp within two days.

• The Hozuki Ninja tore out Yuki Hyuga’s Byakugan and escaped Taiichi’s Water Prison, but Taiichi used lightning to force him solid, recovered the eyes, and defeated him and the Mist jonin who fled.
• Taiichi melted the ice encasing Yuki’s body and returned the Byakugan to Ryota Hyuga as the Hyuga Ninja thanked him.
• Suikazan Fuguki and Mangetsu Hozuki arrived at the sea, found no trace of their missing men, and argued about the failed mission.
• Ryota reported the events to Tsunade and Hyuga Hiashi, who agreed that the Hyuga Ninja would follow Tsunade’s orders and serve alongside Uchiha Ninja in mixed teams.
• Tsunade urged Taiichi to find the Mist Village’s Camp, and he promised to do so within two days; Hiashi thanked him and invited him to his home after the war.

Taiichi and Hizashi found the Mist Village Camp hidden beneath fog and a barrier, while the Mist leaders prepared for a decisive battle. Tsunade warned Taiichi against underestimating ordinary ninja, then ordered a surprise attack on the camp that night.

• Taiichi enlisted Hizashi to search the sea by air, and Hizashi's Byakugan spotted an island concealed by thick fog.
• Taiichi used Soul Vision to discover the Mist Village Camp inside the fog, then returned to Konoha with Hizashi to report it to Tsunade.
• Karatachi Yagura pressed Mizunuki Asuka and the other Mist leaders for a plan, and they agreed to prepare for a major battle.
• Tsunade reprimanded Taiichi for overlooking the Mist's concealment techniques and warned him that carelessness could cost him his life.
• Taiichi apologized, and Tsunade ordered Konoha to attack the Mist Village Camp that night.

Konoha's force, guided by Hyuga Hiashi's Byakugan, ambushed a larger Mist Village force in the rain. Taichi Matsushita helped turn the battle in Konoha's favor and killed Hozuki Hoshizuki, while the fight between the remaining leaders continued.

• Hyuga Hiashi's scouts spotted a Mist Village force ahead, and Hiashi and Fugaku Uchiha split Konoha's ninja to ambush it.
• Kaguya Kuma sensed danger but stopped only his own clan, and Konoha's attack divided the Mist Ninja into three isolated groups.
• Fugaku Uchiha fought Mizunuki Asuka, while Hyuga Hiashi kept Kaguya Kuma occupied.
• Taichi Matsushita sent Shadow Clones across the battlefield with Flying Thunder God, increasing Mist Village's losses.
• Taichi Matsushita attacked Hozuki Hoshizuki, froze the surrounding area with Ice Release: Ice Crystal Earth, and killed him with lightning after Hoshizuki exhausted himself using Water Gun Technique.

Taiichi Matsushita helped Konoha defeat the Mist Ninja ambush, killing Hozuki Hoshizuki and Kaguya Kuma before the survivors retreated. Konoha prepared to advance toward the coast, while Karatachi Yagura and Mizunuki Asuka faced unrest among the Hozuki and Kaguya clans after the deaths of their leaders.

• Mizunuki Asuka signaled a retreat after Taiichi Matsushita killed Hozuki Hoshizuki, and the surviving Mist Ninja fled the battlefield.
• Taiichi Matsushita, Fugaku Uchiha, and Hyuga Hiashi cornered Kaguya Kuma, whose bone-spike attack Taiichi blocked long enough for the Konoha Ninja to escape.
• Taiichi confirmed Kuma was dead, and Fugaku, Taiichi, and Hiashi organized the Konoha forces to return to camp rather than attack the Mist camp that night.
• Fugaku Uchiha reported that Konoha had killed 231 Mist Ninja, including Hozuki Hoshizuki and Kaguya Kuma, while losing 73 and suffering 164 wounded; Tsunade ordered the camp moved closer to the coast.
• Mizunuki Asuka told Karatachi Yagura that Konoha had ambushed the Mist force, and they realized the Byakugan had likely spotted them; Yagura ordered extra watches and surveillance of the Hozuki and Kaguya clans.
• The Hozuki and Kaguya clansmen began gathering outside the command tent, confirming Yagura and Asuka's fear of unrest.

After Karatachi Yagura manipulated the Hozuki and Kaguya clans into joining a planned attack on Konoha, both forces prepared for a decisive battle. At camp, Taiichi offered to hypnotize Tsunade to help her overcome her hemophobia, and she agreed to try before the battle.

• Karatachi Yagura calmed the Hozuki and Kaguya ninjas by promising to lead them against Konoha, then told Mizunuki Asuka he planned to use the attack to weaken the clans.
• Karatachi Yagura said he would join the attack with Mizunuki Asuka, Fuguki, and the others, while expressing interest in facing Taichi Matsushita and his Ice Release.
• Taiichi spotted more than a thousand Mist Village ninjas advancing across the sea and sent a Shadow Clone to alert Konoha.
• Tsunade sent more than eight hundred combat ninjas, led by Fugaku Uchiha and Hyuga Hiashi, to confront Mist Village while she remained at camp.
• Tsunade confessed that her hemophobia made her feel unfit to command, and Taiichi proposed hypnotizing her so she could ignore blood.
• After Tsunade said Yuhi Shinku's Genjutsu had failed to help her, Taiichi offered to try, and Tsunade agreed; he left to bring his main body back.

Taiichi implanted a trigger-based Genjutsu in Tsunade that let her ignore the sight of blood, and she joined him at the coast as the Mist Village forces approached. Karatachi Yagura maneuvered the Kaguya and Hozuki clans into the vanguard, and Konoha scattered the advancing Mist Ninja before charging into battle.

• Taiichi used a trigger-based Genjutsu to suppress Tsunade’s hemophobia when she saw blood, and explained how she could activate and deactivate it.
• Tsunade and Taiichi hurried to the coast, where Fugaku Uchiha and Hyuga Hiashi prepared Konoha’s forces for Mist Village’s arrival.
• Karatachi Yagura let an angry Kaguya Jonin lead the Kaguya and Hozuki Ninja in a charge, then moved the rest of the Mist force after them.
• Taiichi and Konoha’s Water Style ninja overpowered the Mist Ninja’s waves, while Konoha’s Earth Wall protected their formation.
• Konoha’s ninjutsu scattered the Mist Village forces, and Konoha teams charged the disorganized enemy as the battle began.

Taiichi helped Konoha defeat the Mist Village force, killing Raiga Kurosuki and capturing the Thunder Blades Kiba. With Mist Village retreating and Konoha low on chakra, Tsunade ordered the troops to secure the battlefield and build a camp before planning another offensive.

• Taiichi joined the battle and used ninjutsu and swordsmanship to cut through the Mist Ninja ranks.
• Yagura and Mizunuki Asuka trapped Taiichi in an ice mirror formation, but he froze the surrounding water and disrupted their attacks.
• Tsunade summoned the Slug, whose acid attack broke the Mist Ninja's morale and triggered their retreat.
• Raiga Kurosuki joined Yagura and Asuka against Taiichi, but the pair fled and Taiichi killed Raiga, taking both Thunder Blades Kiba.
• Tsunade ordered Konoha to finish off or capture the abandoned Mist Ninja, secure the battlefield, and build a camp before considering another attack.

After Konoha drove the Mist Village from its coastal Camp, the war shifted across the other fronts while Madara Uchiha discussed Obito Uchiha, Yohei Uchiha, and the Rinnegan plan. Back in Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi reviewed the victory report, and Mitokado Homura asked whether he had chosen the Fourth Hokage.

• Karatachi Yagura and Mizunuki Asuka escaped across the sea, then ordered the Mist Village forces to move their Camp farther offshore.
• Minato Namikaze was reassigned to the Western Front, while Yohei and Saori went to the Northern Front, where Orochimaru seized the Land of Hot Water and advanced into the Land of Moon.
• Black Zetsu reported that Obito Uchiha remained weak and undisciplined, but Madara Uchiha insisted Obito would awaken his power and ordered Zetsu to focus on him rather than Yohei Uchiha.
• Black Zetsu told Madara Uchiha that Nagato and his companions had killed Hanzo and taken control of Amegakure, reassuring Madara that the Rinnegan plan was proceeding.
• Taiichi, Fugaku, and Hiashi found the Mist Village Camp abandoned, then led Konoha's forces back after confirming the island was clear.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi praised Tsunade and reviewed Taiichi's leading battle record before Mitokado Homura asked whether he had chosen the Fourth Hokage.

Hiruzen Sarutobi chose to recall Taiichi Matsushita from the front rather than let his growing prestige challenge Minato Namikaze’s path to becoming Fourth Hokage, while Mitokado Homura planted suspicion that Taiichi had killed Danzo. After Konoha’s victory over Mist Village, Cloud Village redirected its plans toward Iwagakure, and the Third Mizukage sought Elder Genji’s advice as the dead clan heads’ families demanded revenge.

• Mitokado Homura warned Hiruzen Sarutobi that Taiichi Matsushita’s wartime fame rivaled Sakumo’s, and Hiruzen ordered Taiichi recalled once the Mist Village front stabilized.
• Mitokado Homura gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a report naming Taiichi among the suspects in Danzo’s murder and argued that Taiichi had motive, ability, and opportunity.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi rejected Homura’s speculation and declared Taiichi loyal to Konoha, while Homura privately resolved to seek solid evidence.
• Third A ordered Karui to send another thousand ninja to the Land of Earth and make Iwagakure Cloud Village’s next target.
• The Third Mizukage told Elder Genji that the Kaguya and Hozuki clans were demanding revenge for their slain leaders, then called their unrest deserving of death.

The Third Mizukage mobilized a thousand Mist ninja for the front lines while Tsunade led a thousand Konoha ninja to attack their camp before the reinforcements arrived. Taiichi created a floating ice island to carry the Konoha force across the sea, then unleashed a colossal wave toward the Mist camp to cripple its defenses.

• The Third Mizukage planned to send outspoken clans to the front and asked Genji to oversee Kirigakure while he led the battle himself.
• Tsunade learned that Mist reinforcements were approaching, and she ordered a thousand Konoha ninja to attack the Mist camp before they arrived.
• Taiichi formed a floating ice island with Ice Release so the Konoha force could rest and travel across the sea.
• After an hour of rest, the Konoha force approached the Mist camp, and Taiichi revealed that his Water Style could disable its defenses.
• Taiichi released the Yin Seal and used Water Style: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave to send a towering wave toward the Mist island.

Konoha’s forces destroyed the Mist Village camp with a hundred-meter wave and then attacked the assembled Mist Ninja. Taiichi carved through the enemy and engaged Karatachi Yagura, while Mizuki was swept into the battle; the chapter ended as she dazedly threw Kunai.

• Karatachi Yagura spotted the giant wave approaching the Mist Village camp and ordered the Mist Ninja to evacuate and prepare to fight.
• The wave smashed through the camp’s Defense Barriers and stripped the island bare before Konoha and Mist Ninja assembled for battle.
• Taiichi charged toward Karatachi Yagura, blasted Mist Ninja with Ice Release and Phoenix Sage Fire, and cut down more enemies with his sword.
• Karatachi Yagura fought Taiichi with his Iron Staff, then retreated to use ninjutsu as Taiichi counterattacked with large-scale attacks.
• Mizunuki Asuka demanded that Karatachi Yagura restrain Taiichi, but Yagura said he needed two Jonin to help him.
• Mizuki, a timid Mist Village Medical Ninja, followed the army into battle and dazedly threw Kunai.

Mizuki’s surrender triggered a collapse among Mist Village’s medical and logistical shinobi, letting Konoha seize victory before Karatachi Yagura’s technique created a fog that covered the retreat. Konoha withdrew as reinforcements approached, while the Third Mizukage’s scouts encountered the fleeing Yagura and his battered troops.

• Mizuki panicked and surrendered, prompting other Mist Village support shinobi to give up and weakening their troops’ morale.
• Fugaku led Konoha’s forces to victory, and Mizunuki Asuka ordered a retreat after Mist Village suffered heavy losses.
• Karatachi Yagura used the Water Mirror Technique to reflect Taiichi’s Fire Style, and their clash generated a vast fog that concealed the fleeing Mist Ninja.
• Hiashi detected approaching Mist Village reinforcements, so Fugaku ordered Konoha to retrieve its dead and withdraw; Taiichi also stopped Fugaku from killing the captured medical shinobi.
• The Third Mizukage sent Anbu to investigate the fog, and the scouts encountered the battered Mist Village force led by Yagura.

After Mist Village’s failed defense, the Third Mizukage punished Karatachi Yagura and Mizunuki Asuka and considered how to continue the war without more reinforcements. On the journey back, Taiichi agreed to take Fugaku’s four-year-old son Uchiha Itachi as his disciple, leaving the details of his unusual teaching methods unresolved.

• Karatachi Yagura and the fleeing Mist Village shinobi encountered reinforcements led by the Third Mizukage, who summoned Yagura and Mizunuki Asuka to explain the defeat.
• Mizunuki Asuka recounted how the Mist Village army had collapsed, and the Third Mizukage stripped him and Karatachi Yagura of their positions and assigned them to the Suicide Squad.
• The Third Mizukage told his officers that Mist Village could send no further reinforcements, while one shinobi quietly questioned why they had to keep targeting Konoha.
• Taiichi halted the exhausted Konoha Ninja on an Ice Island, where he, Fugaku, and Hyuga Hiashi discussed their victory over Mist Village.
• Fugaku asked Taiichi to become Uchiha Itachi’s teacher, and Taiichi agreed after considering the importance of the Uchiha to Konoha.

After Konoha’s latest victory, Tsunade organized defenses against Mist Village’s likely next moves and assigned Taiichi to handle captured Mist Medical Ninja. Taiichi entered the Prisoner Camp to collect them, where he found the prisoners restrained and about to receive explosive collars.

• Fugaku Uchiha arranged for Itachi to become Taiichi’s disciple once they returned to the village.
• Tsunade celebrated the victory with Konoha’s forces, then led a discussion about Mist Village’s next attack; Nara Kaoru warned that the enemy might raid for supplies.
• Tsunade ordered Hyuga-led maritime scouts, Aburame- and Inuzuka-led land scouts, and Uchiha mobile units to patrol and respond to threats.
• Tsunade assigned Taiichi to take charge of the captured Mist Village Medical Ninja, and Taiichi reluctantly accepted after she reminded him of his genjutsu and sealing skills.
• Taiichi presented Tsunade’s authorization at the Prisoner Camp and followed the guard captain to the newly captured Mist Village prisoners as guards prepared to collar them.

Taiichi took twenty-three Mist Village Medical Ninja prisoner and forced them to accept Curse Marks before assigning the survivors to Konoha’s Medical Camp. After Mist Village attacked Konoha’s coastline, Taiichi resumed training and advanced his meditation, allowing him to sense Natural Energy for the first time.

• Taiichi threatened the captured Mist Village Medical Ninja, then offered them work at Konoha’s Medical Camp in exchange for accepting Curse Marks.
• Taiichi’s Curse Marks caused six prisoners to suffer as they acted on malicious thoughts, and one woman died; he put Mizuki in charge of the survivors.
• Taiichi brought the twenty-two remaining Medical Ninja to the Medical Camp and assigned Shizune to train them and organize their basic duties.
• Mist Village attacked Konoha along the coastline, while Taiichi spent his free time training his body and meditating.
• Taiichi advanced Advanced Meditation to Lv8, gained a point of Spirit, and sensed Natural Energy around him.

Taiichi sensed Natural Energy during meditation and discovered that his Fire Style had grown stronger. After Tsunade sent him to punish the Mist Ninja who massacred a village, he tracked them down and began wiping out the two squads.

• Taiichi briefly sensed Natural Energy while meditating, then found his spiritual power and Fire Style had improved.
• Tsunade told Taiichi that Mist Ninja had slaughtered a village and ordered him to hunt them down.
• Taiichi met Hizashi, Guy, Ebisu, and Genma at the ruined village, where Hizashi reported that all 158 residents had been killed and the attackers had fled toward the Land of Whirlpools.
• Taiichi traced the Mist Ninja's route and ambushed the two squads with Lightning Style, killing six members before the two surviving Jonin fled in opposite directions.
• Taiichi caught one Jonin in Genjutsu and killed him with his Short Sword, while his Shadow Clone countered the other Jonin's Wind Style with Vacuum Great Sphere.