Chapter Summaries

Taiichi secured Hiruzen Sarutobi’s order freeing Nonō from Root, then told her the good news at the Orphanage. Hiruzen confronted Danzo over Root’s forged Hokage seal and ordered him to submit Root’s membership list to the Anbu, while Danzo identified Taiichi as a target.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi signed an order removing Nonō from Root and assigning her to Konoha Hospital.
• Jiraiya explained Root’s influence to Minato, who silently resolved to change things, and Taiichi left to tell Nonō the news.
• Nonō read the transfer order, learned she was free of Root, and tearfully thanked Taiichi as Yami joined them.
• Taiichi created two Shadow Clones to train while he stayed at the Orphanage to play with the children.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi confronted Danzo with evidence of a forged Hokage seal and threatened to remove him as Root’s leader unless he submitted a membership list to the Anbu.
• Danzo learned Taiichi Matsushita had intervened and ordered Root to investigate him, deciding he could not let Taiichi live.

Taiichi accompanied Utatane Koharu to the Daimyo's Mansion to negotiate additional military funding, where the Daimyo proposed a match against his Samurai Nagano Masaru. Taiichi stepped forward to fight, and the chapter ended as the match was about to begin.

• Taiichi's taijutsu, meditation, swordsmanship, and physical attributes improved after his brief training breakthrough, though the rapid gains soon faded.
• Taiichi escorted Utatane Koharu with Yohei, Saori, and Captain Yamaguchi to Kyoto, where the team explored the city before preparing to meet the Daimyo.
• The Daimyo's Mansion kept Koharu's delegation waiting for two hours, then offered six hundred million ryo if Konoha won a match, or four hundred million if it lost.
• The Daimyo introduced Nagano Masaru, an arrogant Samurai Taiichi had spotted in Kyoto, and Koharu instructed the team to choose a fighter.
• Taiichi accepted the match after Nagano insulted him and the Uchiha, while the Daimyo began to worry that Konoha had chosen its strongest young ninja.

Taiichi defeated Nagano Masaru, who attacked him from behind after the match, and Konoha secured 700 million ryo in military funding. After returning to Konoha, Taiichi reviewed the mission and reflected on how narrowly he had escaped injury.

• Taiichi quickly overwhelmed Nagano Masaru in their match, then killed him after Nagano broke free from the attendants and launched a surprise attack with a wakizashi.
• Taiichi explained that a prepared talisman had let him instantly activate the Lamp Array Jutsu, and Utatane Koharu warned him to show the Daimyo proper respect.
• The Daimyo added 100 million ryo to Konoha's military funding, bringing the total to 700 million, and later ordered efforts to recruit Konoha ninja and request more protection missions.
• The Daimyo's officials tried to recruit Taiichi, Saori Furukawa, and Yohei during lunch, but the group's responses gave them little success.
• Taiichi and the others returned to Konoha after two days, and Taiichi reviewed the mission at home, recalling how close Nagano's attack had come to injuring him.

After a near-fatal sneak attack, Taiichi struggled to develop a defensive ninjutsu, while Konoha's leaders grew wary of the Daimyo's interest in recruiting the village's ninja. Yohei and Saori helped Taiichi break out of his obsession, and their outing ended with rising prices hinting at another war and Taiichi considering the Hozuki Clan's Hydrification Technique.

• Taiichi decided to create a defensive technique and studied ninjutsu materials, while Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other leaders discussed the Daimyo's attempts to court Konoha's ninja and accepted a mission to guard him.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned trusted Jonin squads to the Daimyo's guard mission and considered involving Danzo as the Daimyo's interest in Taiichi continued.
• Taiichi became so absorbed in developing a defensive ninjutsu that he forgot his training appointment, but Yohei and Saori visited and reminded him that developing a technique took time.
• Taiichi cleaned up and went out with Yohei and Saori, where they noticed prices for basic supplies rising and suspected Konoha had begun stockpiling for war.
• At lunch, Yohei and Saori reassured Taiichi that he was already strong, and Taiichi resolved to continue developing his technique without fixating on it before asking how the Hozuki Clan's Hydrification Technique worked.

Taiichi settled on developing a Fire Transformation Technique while strengthening his Sealing Jutsu, then received news that Captain Yamaguchi had been assigned a solo mission. He joined Yohei and Saori at the Mission Hall, where a staff member handed their team a designated mission scroll.

• Taiichi decided to pursue a Fire Transformation Technique as a long-term goal and focus on Sealing Jutsu for short-term defense.
• Taiichi trained with Kushina, learned that her powerful talismans used layered Lamp Array Jutsu, and persuaded her to make him ten more.
• Jiji Bird told Taiichi that Captain Yamaguchi had a solo mission, and Taiichi arranged to meet Yohei and Saori at Training Ground 3.
• Taiichi found Yohei and Saori eager to take a mission, so the three went to the Mission Hall to look for work.
• A Mission Hall staff member stopped Taiichi, Yohei, and Saori and gave them a designated mission scroll specifically assigned to their team.

Taiichi learned that the Daimyo had requested his squad to create an opportunity to approach him, and Hiruzen tasked him with discovering the Daimyo’s intentions toward Konoha. On the escort journey, Noda So repeatedly tried to tempt Taiichi with the prestige and pleasures that came with power, while Taiichi watched warily and worried about Yohei and Saori.

• Yohei and Saori joined Taiichi to read a mission scroll ordering their squad to escort Noda So from the Daimyo’s Mansion to Kyoto, and Taiichi was summoned to meet Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Hiruzen told Taiichi that the Daimyo had specifically requested his squad to approach him, then asked him to accept a covert mission to learn the Daimyo’s intentions toward Konoha.
• Taiichi met Noda So and his delegation at the Post House, and the group set out for Kyoto with Yohei and Saori accompanying them.
• During the journey, Noda So repeatedly probed Taiichi about his life as an orphan and hinted that he could have a more comfortable life under the Daimyo’s protection.
• In a town near Kyoto, Noda So displayed his influence at a lavish banquet, then mocked the young ninja before silencing the room and making the guests apologize to them.
• Taiichi recognized Noda So’s display of power, wealth, and pleasure as an attempt to win him over, and worried that Yohei and Saori might be tempted.

Taiichi escorted Noda So to Kyoto and faced the Daimyo’s attempt to recruit him. He agreed to gather intelligence for the Daimyo in exchange for books and money, while the Daimyo and Minister of Finance suspected they had secured his loyalty.

• Taiichi encouraged Yohei and Saori to focus on becoming stronger, then continued escorting Noda So toward Kyoto.
• Noda So reported to the Daimyo that Taiichi seemed tempted by the offer to serve the Daimyo’s Mansion, and the Daimyo summoned Taiichi.
• Taiichi noticed he was being followed in Kyoto and accepted the Daimyo’s summons, then asked whether the Mansion could provide training and sparring opportunities.
• Taiichi proposed staying in Konoha to grow stronger while gathering intelligence for the Daimyo, and the Daimyo agreed to pay him with access to ten library books and thirty million ryo.
• The Minister of Finance warned that Taiichi had not truly pledged himself, but the Daimyo believed the gifts and intelligence arrangement would bind him to the Mansion.
• Taiichi followed a servant to the Daimyo’s Mansion library.

Taiichi chose ten ninjutsu texts from the Daimyo's Mansion library, replacing a taijutsu book with the mysterious On the Transformation of Chakra Matter and Energy. Back at the Post House, he studied Sealing Jutsu with Saori, gave her protective talismans, and waited up for Yohei, who returned from a brothel.

• The curator guided Taiichi through the library, where Taiichi selected ten texts and chose On the Transformation of Chakra Matter and Energy after learning others considered it nonsense.
• Taiichi left the Daimyo's Mansion safely, then returned to the Post House and found Saori studying Advanced Sealing Jutsu Theory.
• Taiichi and Saori studied nested seals together, and Saori solved the problem that had troubled her for days.
• Taiichi gave Saori two Multiple Lamp Array Sealing Talismans, and Saori hurried to her room after reaching to brush ink from his cuff.
• Taiichi waited for Yohei, confronted him about returning late from a brothel, and gave him two Sealing Talismans for protection.

After reporting his mission to Hiruzen Sarutobi, Taiichi began developing a Fire Transformation Technique, but a badly wounded Masasuke Yamaguchi returned to Konoha carrying urgent intelligence. The chapter ended with Masasuke still unconscious and the hospital lacking enough medical ninja to perform the technique needed to save him.

• Taiichi returned to Konoha with Yohei and Saori, reported the Daimyo mission to Hiruzen Sarutobi, and secured a written assignment to gather information on outstanding ninja.
• Taiichi's squad spent a month training after their missions brought no combat, and Taiichi used a book on chakra transformation to begin developing a Fire Transformation Technique.
• Masasuke Yamaguchi collapsed at Konoha's gate with a devastating injury, and guards rushed him to the hospital as his condition worsened.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo, Homura, and Koharu learned that Masasuke had returned from investigating possible Sunagakure and Iwagakure cooperation, but the sealed scroll he carried could not be opened quickly.
• The doctors warned that extracting Masasuke's memories could kill him, while Homura revealed a seal prevented anyone from obtaining the intelligence without Masasuke's consent.
• Director Fujita said Masasuke needed the Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique, but Konoha Hospital lacked enough medical ninja skilled in it.

Taiichi Matsushita took over Masasuke Yamaguchi’s critical treatment and used the Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique to rebuild his missing kidney and repair his intestines. After the successful operation, Danzo demanded that Yamaguchi be awakened immediately with Genjutsu to obtain intelligence.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi sent for Taiichi after Director Fujita said the hospital lacked enough Medical Ninja to treat Masasuke Yamaguchi.
• Taiichi arrived at Konoha Hospital, assessed the failing treatment, and persuaded Hiruzen to let him replace one of the exhausted Medical Ninja.
• Taiichi seized control of the Field Array Technique and rebuilt Yamaguchi’s missing kidney, astonishing the doctors and officials watching.
• Taiichi directed the Medical Ninja through a second rotation and repaired Yamaguchi’s intestines, completing the three-hour treatment.
• Hiruzen praised Taiichi for saving Yamaguchi, while Danzo silently resented his success.
• Mitokado Homura asked when Yamaguchi would wake, and Danzo proposed using Genjutsu to wake him immediately.

Taiichi helped Masasuke Yamaguchi awaken long enough to reveal that Sunagakure and Stone Village planned to form an alliance, then returned home to rest. Hiruzen Sarutobi and the elders decided to assassinate Sunagakure’s envoy and frame Stone Village, assigning Taiichi to the mission alongside Hatake Sakumo, Minato Namikaze, and Hizashi Hyuga.

• Taiichi used Yang Release Chakra to wake Masasuke Yamaguchi, who told Hiruzen Sarutobi that Sunagakure and Stone Village planned a three-year alliance and gave him a Sunagakure Defense Map.
• Taiichi agreed to help at Konoha Hospital when he had time, then examined Masasuke Yamaguchi after he fainted again and returned home to rest.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and the elders debated how to respond to the planned alliance, and Danzo proposed secretly killing Sunagakure’s envoy and framing Stone Village.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi approved the assassination plan but assigned it to Hatake Sakumo, Minato Namikaze, Hizashi Hyuga, and Taiichi rather than Root.

Taiichi visited Saori and Yohei to tell them Captain Yamaguchi had been injured, then joined them in visiting the hospitalized captain, whom Taiichi had healed. Minato arrived with a designated mission for Taiichi: assassinate a Sunagakure envoy and prevent an alliance between the Wind and Earth countries.

• Taiichi told Saori that Captain Yamaguchi was hospitalized, and she hurried with him to find Yohei.
• Taiichi, Saori, and Yohei visited Captain Yamaguchi, and Taiichi explained that his regenerated tissue was causing severe itching.
• Captain Yamaguchi thanked Taiichi for saving his life, while Yohei's jokes briefly distracted him from the discomfort.
• Minato intercepted Taiichi and assigned him a mission to assassinate a Sunagakure envoy and prevent the Wind and Earth alliance.
• Saori and Yohei resolved to train twice as hard after realizing they were too weak to help their teammates.

Taiichi joined Hatake Sakumo, Minato, and Hizashi Hyuga on an S-rank mission to scout Sunagakure defenses and assassinate a delegation before it could ally with Stone Village. Their scouting accelerated with Taiichi’s powerful medicines, but on December 9, Hizashi’s prolonged Byakugan use began to strain his mind as they approached the final outpost.

• Taiichi packed extensive medical supplies, then joined Hatake Sakumo, Minato, and Hizashi Hyuga at Konoha’s gate for the S-rank mission.
• Hatake Sakumo explained that the team had to cross the Land of Rain, verify Sunagakure’s defense map, and prepare to intercept and kill the Sunagakure delegation.
• The four traveled to the border region, where Taiichi distributed potent antidote pills before Hizashi used his Byakugan to scout an outpost and detect enemy patrols and traps.
• Taiichi gave Hizashi special Military Ration Pills that rapidly restored Chakra, allowing the team to speed up its reconnaissance of the outposts.
• On the morning of December 9, Hizashi’s prolonged, high-intensity Byakugan use severely strained his mind as the team scouted the final outpost.

Hizashi Hyuga’s deteriorating condition nearly exposed the scouting team, but Taiichi’s sensory skills and Minato’s surprise attack helped them defeat a Sand Village patrol and complete the mission. After meeting the Anbu and learning details about Sunagakure’s envoy Rousha, the team planned an ambush for the next day as Rousha’s party reached an outpost and heard that a squad had disappeared near Outpost Eight.

• Hizashi Hyuga’s depleted mental energy forced the team to limit his Byakugan use, but he completed the final outpost scouting before Taiichi detected an approaching four-man Sand Village squad.
• Hatake Sakumo ordered the team to disguise themselves and ambush the squad, and Minato Namikaze killed the ninja reaching for a Signal Flare while the others defeated the remaining enemies.
• Taiichi treated Hizashi and put him into a deep sleep, then Hatake Sakumo received an Anbu scroll identifying Rousha and his escort team as the next day’s target.
• Hatake Sakumo, Minato, and Taiichi studied the envoy’s route and planned their attack, while Taiichi warned them to take Antidote Pills because Rousha was a skilled Puppet Master.
• Rousha arrived at a Sunagakure outpost, learned that a squad had disappeared near Outpost Eight, and gave his escort team Antidote Pills in case they faced battle the next day.

After Hizashi Hyuga’s Byakugan range increased, Hatake Sakumo’s team identified and ambushed the real Sunagakure delegation. The battle left Taiichi advancing toward Rousha after destroying his puppet and helping Hizashi overwhelm a swordsman.

• Hizashi Hyuga discovered that his Byakugan could see six kilometers, and Hatake Sakumo led the team to their ambush site.
• Hizashi spotted a group of Chunin-level scouts, and Hatake Sakumo ordered the team to let them pass before they detected the delegation behind them.
• Hizashi identified the approaching delegation as three Jonin and two Chunin, so Hatake Sakumo repositioned the team for a surprise attack.
• Taiichi warned the team about poison as Rousha released purple smoke, and Minato Namikaze, Hatake Sakumo, Hizashi, and Taiichi charged into battle.
• Taiichi destroyed a puppet with his wind-enhanced sword technique and Chakra Enhanced Strength, then helped Hizashi defeat the swordsman and advanced toward Rousha.

Taiichi and his Konoha squad killed Rousha, recovered from his poison, and concealed the battle site before withdrawing through the Land of Birds toward the Land of Rain. Sunagakure's border outpost descended into chaos after the diplomatic delegation failed to arrive.

• Taiichi destroyed Rousha's final Scorpion Puppet with Fire Style, and Minato killed Rousha with a Flying Thunder God attack while his attention was divided.
• Sakumo ordered the squad to clean up and withdraw, while Taiichi searched Rousha's body, tested the poisoned Senbon, and found that the labeled antidote was incomplete.
• Taiichi buried and shattered the conspicuous Glazed Ground with Earth Release techniques before Sakumo led the squad away.
• A four-man scouting team missed the battlefield and hurried back to report that the Sunagakure diplomatic delegation had not appeared at the meeting place.
• Taiichi tested a newly prepared antidote on himself, then gave pills to Sakumo, Minato, and Hizashi; the squad began returning through the Land of Birds and Land of Rain.
• The Sunagakure Border Outpost erupted into chaos.

After Sakumo's squad assassinated Sunagakure's delegation, Sunagakure and Iwagakure struggled to understand why their alliance talks had collapsed, while Konoha assessed the mission's success. The chapter ended with Danzo interpreting Hiruzen's plan to invest in talented ninja as favoritism toward Taiichi and beginning to plot against him.

• The Sand Village captain found the delegation's battlefield, confirmed the envoys had died, and warned outposts to tighten their defenses.
• Kitsuchi waited in vain for Sunagakure's envoys, then led the Iwagakure delegation home with a premonition that they might return in greater numbers.
• The Third Kazekage heard competing accusations against Iwagakure, Konoha, and Cloud Village, then ordered Sabaku to investigate Iwagakure while putting the border troops on alert.
• Sakumo's squad returned safely to Konoha, where Hatake Sakumo reported their mission and submitted the bodies of Rousha and Kazekiri and damaged puppets.
• Danzo told Hiruzen Sarutobi that Kumogakure's deployment of a hundred ninja to the Land of Earth would deter an alliance, then began plotting against Taiichi after Hiruzen proposed investing in talented ninja.

Taiichi used Skill Points to advance his newly formed Fire Transformation Technique, unlocking Scorch Style and testing how it could transform his body and heal wounds. He left with Scorch Style as a chakra-intensive life-saving trump card and discovered several unusual traits of its flames while continuing to study them at home.

• Taiichi reviewed his mission gains and used a Skill Point to raise Fire Transformation Technique to Lv1, gaining enough insight to release Scorch Style and transform parts of his body into flame.
• Taiichi tested the technique on his arm, limbs, torso, and internal organs, confirming that it could erase wounds and restore damaged body parts, though he could not safely transform his brain or extend the transformation across his whole body.
• Taiichi exhausted most of his chakra during his experiments and kept Scorch Style secret as a life-saving trump card before returning home to study Sealing Jutsu.
• Taiichi resumed testing Scorch Style after his chakra recovered and discovered that its flames could not be cooled below 2,000 degrees without becoming ordinary fire.
• Taiichi identified four traits of Scorch Style: its flames reached temperatures of 2,000 to 4,000 degrees, were mentally linked to him, could keep burning with fuel, and could weakly absorb energy from the air.

Taiichi reunited with Yohei and Saori, allowing Team 8 to resume C-rank missions and train together. Their escort mission brought them to Kyoto with the eccentric swordsmith Kriz, who rushed into his Forge Room to make a sword and left the team unsure who could confirm their completed mission.

• Taiichi's Sealing Jutsu reached Lv5, and Yohei and Saori visited him to complain that they had been limited to D-rank missions while he was away.
• Taiichi rejoined Team 8, and the three resumed C-rank missions and trained together between assignments.
• Team 8 escorted Kriz toward Kyoto, but on the third day he insisted they take a dangerous mountain path to find inspiration among the maple leaves.
• Kriz slipped down a slope and was bitten by a venomous snake, so Taiichi gave him an antidote and treated the wound with the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique.
• After visiting several scenic locations, Kriz found inspiration at sunrise, and Team 8 reached Kyoto on the seventh day.
• Kriz shut himself inside his Forge Room to forge a sword, leaving Taiichi, Yohei, and Saori outside with no one to confirm their mission.

Taiichi delivered Hiruzen Sarutobi’s list of Konoha prospects to the Daimyo while secretly asking about the Daimyo’s plans. The Daimyo and Minister of Finance chose to target Sarutobi Asuma for long-term, covert influence, while Taiichi returned to Konoha and warned Hiruzen about the risk to Asuma.

• Taiichi gave the Daimyo’s attendant a scroll listing Konoha talents and asked whether the Daimyo was planning an operation, but the attendant refused to share details.
• The Daimyo and Minister of Finance examined the list and decided to subtly influence Sarutobi Asuma over the years, while observing Hatake Kakashi and Nakamura Ryota before approaching them.
• Taiichi returned to Konoha with Yohei and Saori, then reported the Daimyo’s interest in Konoha’s personnel movements to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Taiichi asked Hiruzen whether Asuma would be all right, and Hiruzen insisted that his son would serve as a Konoha ninja like the others.