Chapter Summaries

Konoha's Swift Team attacked Windchill Fortress and overwhelmed its Mist defenders with coordinated techniques, Blessing Wind, and Sun Keiyun's healing pills. The assault ended with Raiga Kurosuki appearing with Hyuga Fu's severed head, shocking White Dove and the Konoha team.

• Ao prepared Windchill Fortress for an expected Konoha attack, but the Swift Team struck at noon instead of during the night.
• Konoha's Jonin breached the fortress walls using Fire Release and Wind Release, while Sun Keiyun supported the fighters with Blessing Wind and Healing Light.
• Uchiha Kusuhi exhausted his Chakra with Great Fire Annihilation, then recovered after Sun Keiyun gave him a Nine Flower Jade Dew Pill.
• The Konoha Ninja pressed their advantage in the fortress's narrow passages, where the Mist ninja's Silent Killing Technique proved ineffective without the Mist Technique.
• Raiga Kurosuki emerged carrying a head impaled on one of his swords, and White Dove recognized it as Hyuga Fu's.

Sun Keiyun fought Raiga Kurosuki’s Mist forces while learning that Ranmaru’s abilities had helped defeat Hyuga Fu. He empowered Uchiha Kusuhi with Yin Release Chakra, and the battle ended with Kusuhi awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan.

• White Dove asked Sun Keiyun to take charge after Hyuga Fu and more than twenty others were defeated, and Sun Keiyun confronted Raiga Kurosuki, who carried Ranmaru.
• Sun Keiyun ordered the Konoha ninja to kill Raiga Kurosuki and recover Hyuga Fu’s body, then boosted their fighting strength with Nine Flower Jade Dew Pills and Blessing Wind.
• Mei Terumi told Sun Keiyun that Raiga Kurosuki’s group had taken Hyuga Fu’s Byakugan and that Ranmaru might possess unusual abilities.
• Sun Keiyun reflected on Sarutobi Hiruzen’s political ambitions and decided to use Uchiha Kusuhi to persuade the Uchiha to act.
• Sun Keiyun replenished Uchiha Kusuhi’s Chakra and infused him with Yin Release Chakra, causing Kusuhi’s Sharingan to transform as his shuriken vanished into the void and reappeared at two Mist ninja’s necks.
• Raiga Kurosuki recognized Uchiha Kusuhi’s new eyes as the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Uchiha Kusuhi awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and turned the battle against the Hidden Mist shinobi, while Sun Keiyun helped secure victory and took charge of the survivors. As the others gathered the fallen and spoils, Sun Keiyun studied the Divine Runes in Kusuhi’s eyes and began to suspect that the Uchiha inherited power from an ancestor.

• Uchiha Kusuhi awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, used its power to redirect Raiga Kurosuki’s lightning, and pursued him as he fled.
• Ao took Mei Terumi away from the battlefield, while Uchiha Kusuhi’s attacks and the remaining Konoha forces overwhelmed the Hidden Mist shinobi.
• The Konoha side finished off the last Hidden Mist shinobi, and White Dove and the others recognized Sun Keiyun’s leadership after Hyuga Fu’s death.
• Sun Keiyun ordered the survivors to gather their comrades’ bodies and spoils, then sat down to recover and examine the Divine Runes he had seen in Kusuhi’s eyes.
• Sun Keiyun reasoned that the Uchiha might have inherited their eye abilities from a powerful ancestor and found his own path forward becoming clearer.

Sun Keiyun reached Foundation Establishment Great Perfection and considered how to advance his cultivation while reviewing the casualties from the battle at Windchill Fortress. After learning that the Mist Hidden main force had halted nearby, he spoke with Uchiha Inabi about his newly awakened Mangekyō Sharingan abilities, Takamagahara and Susanoo.

• Sun Keiyun chose to pursue both Natural Chakra and core formation after reaching Foundation Establishment Great Perfection.
• Mitaraishi Anko gave Sun Keiyun the battle report, which recorded heavy losses on both sides and the deaths of fifty-nine imprisoned Konoha Ninja and more than six hundred Windchill clansmen.
• Mitaraishi Anko told Sun Keiyun that the Mist Hidden main force had stopped 1.5 kilometers away, and he comforted her over the prisoners’ deaths.
• Sun Keiyun congratulated Uchiha Kusuhi on awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan and asked about its abilities.
• Uchiha Inabi explained that Takamagahara made attacks hit and deflected enemy techniques, and that his other Mangekyō ability, Susanoo, had cut off Raiga Kurosuki’s arm.

Uchiha Kusuhi explained how his father, Kagami Uchiha, had been rejected by the clan for seeking to integrate it into Konoha, and why he now believed Sun Keiyun could change both the Uchiha and the village. He chose Sun Keiyun rather than Orochimaru, convinced by Sun Keiyun’s lack of fear or disdain toward the Uchiha.

• Sun Keiyun asked what to do about Kirigakure’s nearby main force, and Uchiha Kusuhi encouraged him to take command.
• Uchiha Kusuhi told Sun Keiyun that his father, Kagami Uchiha, had supported the Second Hokage and hoped the Uchiha would merge into Konoha.
• Uchiha Kusuhi explained that after Kagami Uchiha died, he had disowned his father to regain the clan’s trust, though he remained pessimistic about the Uchiha’s future.
• Uchiha Kusuhi revealed that he had passed his beliefs on to his son, Uchiha Shisui, but did not think the two of them could change the clan alone.
• Uchiha Kusuhi told Sun Keiyun that he had chosen him, not Orochimaru, because Sun Keiyun showed no fear, disgust, or alienation toward the Uchiha.

Uchiha Kusuhi joined Sun Keiyun’s squad after recognizing his Healing Light and equal treatment of the Uchiha as a chance for change. Sun Keiyun took command, established new rules, and organized the squad around a plan to hunt the Mizukage.

• Uchiha Kusuhi reflected on the Uchiha clan’s isolation and decided Sun Keiyun’s Healing Light and attitude toward the Uchiha offered hope.
• Sun Keiyun accepted the captaincy after the squad unanimously supported him.
• Sun Keiyun ordered the squad to follow commands, stop taking from civilians, and turn over spoils for fair distribution.
• Sun Keiyun led the ninjas in defining their goal as defeating Mist and discussed possible strategies, including targeting the Mizukage.
• Uchiha Kusuhi, White Dove, and the rest of the squad backed the plan, and Sun Keiyun established the Shadow Hunter Squad to hunt the Mizukage.

Sun Keiyun’s Shadow Hunter Squad withdrew from the Hidden Mist forces and began covert mobile operations while gathering intelligence on the Mizukage. Underground, Sun Keiyun studied divine inscriptions and formations as the squad’s investigations gradually revealed more about their target.

• Sun Keiyun and the others decided not to fight the Hidden Mist force, choosing to conceal their strength and investigate the Mizukage instead.
• The Shadow Hunter Squad descended to the sea at night, with Tachibana Kaoru sensing patrols and guiding them safely through the encirclement to shore.
• The squad disappeared from the battlefield and gained a reputation as the Nightmare Squad through harassment and mobile warfare.
• Eight kilometers underground, Sun Keiyun learned that Hyuga Fu’s Byakugan had been transplanted into Ao and wondered whether Sharingan could also be transplanted.
• Sun Keiyun continued experimenting with combinations of divine words for a more powerful Spirit Gathering Array while the squad expanded its operations and gathered intelligence on the Mizukage.

Sun Keiyun devised a plan to use a flood to disrupt Kirigakure’s fortified main camp in Kochi Prefecture and create an opening to attack the Mizukage. The Shadow Hunter Squad agreed to try it, with the Shijō Mountains as the site of their operation.

• Sun Keiyun explained that Yuki Kozue commanded a force of about two thousand ninja at Kirigakure’s main camp, which was protected by difficult terrain and the Seto Bridge.
• Sun Keiyun studied the map and Kirigakure documents, then learned that heavy rains in June and July raised the Seto River’s water level.
• Sun Keiyun discovered that sixteen members of the Shadow Hunter Squad had Earth Release and proposed building a dam in the Shijō Mountains to unleash a flood on the camp.
• Uchiha Kusuhi agreed that the plan was worth trying, while White Dove wondered about Uchiha Kusuhi’s unusual deference to Sun Keiyun.

After learning that Sun Keiyun and two other disciples had died on the Mist Hidden Battlefield, Orochimaru demanded accountability from Sarutobi Hiruzen and vowed to avenge Sun Keiyun. Hiruzen appointed Orochimaru the new overall commander and ordered him to leave for the front the next morning.

• Uchiha Fugaku counted his losses, established a field hospital, and learned that a Mist shinobi had taken Hyuga Fu's Byakugan.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen told Orochimaru that Fugaku had been authorized to conscript his three disciples and promised Sun Keiyun would be honored as a hero.
• Orochimaru rejected Hiruzen's offer of a new disciple and said he would do for Sun Keiyun what Hiruzen would do for him.
• Hiruzen appointed Orochimaru to replace Fugaku as overall commander and arranged for Hyuga clan members to accompany him to recover the Byakugan.

Orochimaru arrived at Konoha’s main camp, organized its scattered forces, and devised the Bone Plan to eliminate the Kaguya Clan’s strongest fighters. Kaguya Makoto learned of the plan and led his clan in preparing to attack the camp and kill Orochimaru and Fugaku.

• Orochimaru reached the camp, reviewed Fugaku’s intelligence, and learned how the Kaguya Clan’s Shikotsumyaku had made them dangerous opponents.
• Orochimaru divided the survivors into medical, combat, support, and intelligence units, then restored communication with ninja outside the camp.
• Orochimaru formed a Seal Class, prepared traps, and arranged for word of the Bone Plan to reach the Mist forces.
• Kaguya Makoto and his clansmen resolved to attack Konoha’s main camp, kill Orochimaru and Fugaku, and take their heads as offerings to their ancestors.

Orochimaru prepared Konoha’s camp for a second Kirigakure assault, arranging countermeasures against the Kaguya Clan and the village’s other forces. When Kaguya Makoto led the charge, Konoha’s traps separated him from his support and revealed a hidden force disguised with the Transformation Technique.

• Orochimaru explained how he had positioned Konoha’s Lightning Release, Uchiha, and control-type ninja to counter Kirigakure’s forces and restrain the Kaguya Clan.
• Orochimaru and Sun Keiyun spotted Kirigakure’s approaching army and noted that the Byakugan user was not with the main force.
• Kaguya Makoto killed two Uchiha guards, smashed the camp gate, and charged inside with his clan members.
• Konoha ninja raised Earth Flow Walls to separate the Kaguya from Kirigakure’s other troops, then used a combined Great Breakthrough to blow Kaguya Makoto away from the gate.
• The camp’s apparent torches, fire pits, stakes, and tents vanished in smoke, revealing Konoha ninja who had used the Transformation Technique to hide at the entrance.

Konoha’s forces trapped the Kaguya Clan with a coordinated ambush and prepared to seal them for study. Kaguya Makoto sacrificed several clansmen to launch the Shikotsumyaku users into the air, and three escaped the camp.

• Konoha’s ninjas ambushed the Mist forces with traps, elemental techniques, and an Uchiha assault that stopped their advance.
• Orochimaru’s forces used mud, wind, and other techniques to pin down the Kaguya Clan and prepare to seal its members.
• Kaguya Makoto’s clansmen feared Konoha would study their Kekkei Genkai, and some urged him to escape rather than be captured.
• Kaguya Makoto ordered the clansmen without Shikotsumyaku to expend their strength and launch the Kekkei Genkai users over the encirclement.
• Konoha’s defenders stopped two airborne Kaguya, but three escaped the camp.

Konoha routed Kaguya Makoto’s Hidden Mist force, capturing hundreds and leaving the Southeast Expeditionary Force shattered. Orochimaru explained that he had let Makoto escape so the defeated clan leader would return to the Mizukage as a source of division within the Hidden Mist.

• Kaguya Makoto ordered a retreat, and the Hidden Mist troops’ disorganized escape let Konoha capture many of them.
• Konoha tallied 826 Hidden Mist casualties and prisoners, while losing no Jonin and 49 Chunin.
• Orochimaru reported the victory and remained wary because the Hidden Mist’s main force was still intact.
• Sun Keiyun asked Orochimaru why he had not used additional elemental ninja to trap the Kaguya, and Orochimaru explained that Makoto’s resentment toward the Mizukage could weaken the Hidden Mist.
• Orochimaru reasoned that Makoto would have to submit to the Mizukage or turn against him after returning with a depleted force.

Kaguya Makoto returned from a disastrous defeat with only a fraction of his clan, discovered he had been poisoned, and amputated his leg to keep the poison from becoming a known weakness. He confronted Yuki Kozue at a banquet and demanded the rescue of two captured clansmen, but the Mizukage refused to launch an attack, while Mei Terumi quietly watched and considered her next move.

• Kaguya Makoto returned to camp with only four survivors beside him, learned that just over three hundred clansmen remained, and grieved over the dead and captured.
• After discovering that poison had weakened his leg and that antidotes could not stop it, Kaguya Makoto amputated the leg and ordered the wound kept secret.
• Kaguya Makoto arrived at a banquet celebrating Ao's Byakugan and accused Yuki Kozue of feasting while the Kaguya Clan fought and died.
• Kaguya Makoto blamed the main camp for failing to support his attack, and Yuki Kozue countered that Kaguya Makoto had acted without authorization and mishandled the retreat.
• Kaguya Makoto demanded an immediate rescue for his two captured clansmen, but Yuki Kozue refused and proposed waiting to exchange prisoners while holding the front.
• Mei Terumi watched Kaguya Makoto from behind Ao and silently considered her schemes.

Sun Keiyun recounted his work with the Shadow Hunter Squad and received Orochimaru’s advice on concealing his abilities and making decisions as a leader. Orochimaru accepted Sun Keiyun’s plan to target the Mizukage, while Sun Keiyun remained committed to carrying it out.

• Sun Keiyun told Orochimaru how he joined the Special Operations Squad, became its captain, developed his plan, and began building a dam on Four Cities Mountain.
• Orochimaru warned Sun Keiyun that he had revealed Light Release too freely, though he believed Sarutobi Hiruzen had not yet learned about it.
• Orochimaru advised Sun Keiyun to discuss minor matters with his squad but make major decisions himself, and Sun Keiyun accepted the distinction.
• Sun Keiyun dismissed the Mangekyō Sharingan as an inferior path compared with cultivation, while Orochimaru described his difficulties studying the Heavenly Cycle Star Scripture.
• Orochimaru said he would not oppose Sun Keiyun’s Shadow Hunter plan, including the attempt to assassinate the Mizukage.

Sarutobi Hiruzen learned that Orochimaru had defeated the Kaguya Clan and publicized Minato’s achievements against the Cloud Ninja. Danzo revealed that Hashirama had died of cancer and that his cells could not restore Wood Release, then sought more people to strengthen Root against Cloud Fox.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen praised Minato’s record and ordered a report to call Jiu Liu the AB Combination’s martial instructor and a Cloud Ninja elite.
• Danzo told Sarutobi Hiruzen that the Hashirama Cells research had failed and asked whether he remembered the First Hokage’s death.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen read Sacred Doctor Shinnō and recognized that the First Hokage’s symptoms matched the book’s description of cancer.
• Danzo said he had verified Shinnō’s cases and concluded that Hashirama’s cells were cancerous, making Wood Release impossible to restore.
• Danzo explained that Cloud Fox had effectively taken control of Root and asked Sarutobi Hiruzen for more people.

Danzo argued with Sarutobi Hiruzen over Orochimaru and failed to obtain ANBU reinforcements or permission to recruit more people. Frustrated by Root’s growing independence, he secretly summoned Root Jonin, but Cloud Fox’s intelligence network uncovered the meeting.

• Danzo told Sarutobi Hiruzen that a hardliner should lead Konoha, while Hiruzen warned that Orochimaru taking power would bring disaster.
• Danzo asked for two ANBU members, but Hiruzen refused because the war had left no one available and forbade Danzo from recruiting more people.
• Danzo reflected on how Cloud Fox’s Root Elementary School graduates had strengthened Root’s intelligence operations and made his own orders less necessary.
• Danzo questioned his secretary Xiao Dou about his loyalty, then decided to act personally rather than summon him.
• Danzo secretly met with more than twenty Root Jonin, and Cloud Fox obtained a report detailing the meeting.

Sun Keiyun advised Yakushi Nonō to confront Danzo decisively while avoiding an open break with Sarutobi Hiruzen, and summoned Uzumaki Kagura to help secure the Root purge. Danzo lured Yakushi Nonō to the Naka River and ambushed her with twenty Jonin, but her Wind Release attack began as his assault struck.

• Sun Keiyun showed Orochimaru Yakushi Nonō's message, and Orochimaru told him not to completely fall out with the Third Hokage.
• Sun Keiyun replied that the Cloud Leaf Society would treat Danzo as an enemy and summoned Uzumaki Kagura to support Yakushi Nonō.
• Yakushi Nonō gathered Root ninja, while Danzo found only twenty former subordinates willing to join his plot against her.
• Danzo invited Yakushi Nonō to the Naka River with a false story about the First Hokage, intending to kill her and seize control of Root.
• Danzo's twenty Jonin attacked Yakushi Nonō by surprise, and she answered with Wind Release: Grand Explosive Wind Core.

Yakushi Nonō revealed that Danzo had attacked a Shadow Clone while Root members secretly witnessed his attempt to make them obey him. Nonō accused Danzo of betraying Root, and Uzumaki Kushina appeared beside her, leaving Danzo shocked.

• Danzo believed Yakushi Nonō had died in the blast and praised her while insisting that loyalty to Root meant loyalty to him.
• Root members questioned Danzo about why he had killed Cloud Fox and whether Root served Konoha or Danzo.
• More than sixty Root ninjas descended from a cloud, revealing they had witnessed Danzo’s words and actions.
• Yakushi Nonō revealed that Danzo had attacked her Shadow Clone and accused him of turning Root into his personal domain.
• A Hyuga Branch Family Member admitted he wanted freedom, while Danzo threatened to detonate the Root members’ Cursed Tongue Eradication Seals.
• Uzumaki Kushina revealed herself as the red-haired girl beside Yakushi Nonō, leaving Danzo stunned.

Yakushi Nonō confronted Danzo and won his surrender after he recognized her ability and accepted that she would lead Root. Danzo shared secret information, wrote a recommendation for her, and died by suicide, leaving Nonō to take control of Root.

• Danzo realized that Yakushi Nonō and Uzumaki Kushina had trapped him and decided he could not use the Cursed Tongue Eradication Jutsu or fight them.
• Danzo offered to make Yakushi Nonō his disciple, but she refused and declared that she would rise to lead Root through her own ability.
• Yakushi Nonō ordered four irredeemable Root members executed and sent four others to Lord Hokage for judgment, while Danzo accepted his own death.
• Danzo spoke privately with Yakushi Nonō, shared information about the Uchiha, the Hokage, Namikaze Minato, Hatake Sakumo, and the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, and wrote her a letter of recommendation.
• Danzo asked Yakushi Nonō to burn his body and scatter his ashes into the Naka River, then stabbed himself through the heart with a kunai.