Chapter Summaries

After the Land of Iron’s Old Leader explained the mystery of the Evil-Slaying Blade, he rewarded Hyuga Shinichi with two pieces of valuable Chakra Metal for saving Mifune. Shinichi gave the metal to Namikaze Minato and Shirakumo Hayama to have weapons forged, then reflected on the businesses making him wealthy.

• Pakura scolded her inexperienced Sunagakure team for being frightened by the Old Leader’s account, and he reassured them before the teams continued discussing the Evil-Slaying Blade mission.
• The Old Leader thanked Hyuga Shinichi for saving Mifune and gave him two pieces of high-purity Chakra Metal.
• Hyuga Shinichi accepted the gift and had Namikaze Minato and Shirakumo Hayama take one piece each to forge weapons.
• Hyuga Shinichi explained that Chakra Metal would make it easier for Minato and Hayama to channel chakra through their weapons, and said he would sell the metal if they refused it.
• Hyuga Shinichi recalled that his mission earnings and shares in Shanxi Bathhouse and Haruki Rice Ball Fast Food Restaurant had made him financially independent.

Hyuga Shinichi investigated the Evil-Slaying Blade rumors in the Land of Iron but found little useful information. On his way back, he spotted Pakura’s Scorch Release and rushed toward the forest, where she was fighting the exposed, white-haired old man behind the killings.

• Hyuga Shinichi gave chakra metal to Namikaze Minato and Shirakumo Hayama, then explained the mission to them and Uzumaki Kushina.
• Hyuga Shinichi set out alone to investigate at night while Pakura left the Leader’s Mansion separately.
• Hyuga Shinichi searched the town until nearly two in the morning, heard only useless rumors, and bought food for his companions.
• Hyuga Shinichi saw an orange-red fireball in the distance and recognized it as a possible sign of Pakura’s Scorch Release.
• Pakura fought the Evil-Slaying Blade in a forest outside town, burned away his disguise, and revealed him as the white-haired old doctor who had treated Mifune.

Pakura fought the Evil-Slaying Blade, an old doctor who had attacked her after she discovered his identity. She unleashed a devastating Scorch Release attack, but the old man survived inside a grass effigy and staggered toward her, leaving the fight unresolved.

• The old doctor charged at Pakura, and they clashed in close combat while she used Scorch Release fireballs to disrupt his attacks.
• The old doctor noticed Pakura weakening, cut her right arm, and forced her to retreat.
• Pakura spent her remaining chakra to create two enormous Scorch Release fireballs that merged and exploded like a sun.
• Pakura believed the old doctor had died in the blast, but he emerged badly burned from a grass effigy that he had grown to shield himself.

Hyuga Shinichi saved the exhausted Pakura from the old doctor, who died after admitting he was one sacrifice short of completing something for Jashin. Shinichi remained on guard, fearing the mission had drawn him into the Jashin Cult’s affairs, while Pakura wondered why he had saved her.

• Pakura collapsed and waited for the old doctor to kill her, but Hyuga Shinichi arrived and shattered the doctor's blade with his wind-powered longsword.
• Hyuga Shinichi told Pakura to recover and confronted the old doctor, recognizing him as the man who had treated Mifune.
• The old doctor coughed up blood and said he was one short for Lord Jashin before dying.
• Hyuga Shinichi kept his guard up around the corpse after hearing Jashin's name, while Pakura feared he might turn against her.
• Hyuga Shinichi wondered whether the Jashin Cult already existed and resolved to avoid anything connected to Jashin.

Hyuga Shinichi searched the old doctor’s body and found a notebook revealing how Number Ten became Black Stone and how his past shaped his life as a physician. The notebook ended with Black Stone meeting a wounded warrior who resembled Number One, leaving their relationship just beginning.

• Hyuga Shinichi found a worn notebook hidden in the old doctor’s belt and read its account of the man’s life.
• Number Ten escaped a failed assassination mission after Number One died, then wandered away and was adopted by the doctor Kuroda.
• Kuroda named him Black Stone, taught him to read and write, and trained him in medicine until Black Stone became a doctor himself.
• Black Stone opened a clinic, lived quietly, and turned down attempts by others to find him a partner.
• Black Stone treated a wounded warrior who resembled Number One, and the warrior later returned to thank him.

Black Stone’s peaceful life was threatened when Dead Soldier Number Seven recognized him as Number Ten and attacked him. After Yamagami defeated Number Seven, Black Stone secretly used his grass-controlling ability to kill both men and disguise their deaths as mutual combat, leaving himself as the surviving victim.

• Black Stone learned that Yamagami was searching for his younger brother, Yamashita, and suspected that Yamashita had been Number One.
• Number Seven confronted Black Stone, revealed that he had survived the old mission, and attacked him out of jealousy.
• Yamagami arrived and fought Number Seven, connecting the dead soldier squad’s records to his missing brother.
• After Number Seven fell unconscious, Black Stone used controlled grass to slit Yamagami’s throat and stab Number Seven through the heart.
• Black Stone arranged the scene to look like the two men had killed each other, hoping to protect his identity and peaceful life.

Black Stone’s notes revealed how guilt, addiction, and fear of death led him to believe in Jashin and become the Evil-Slaying Blade. After reading them, Hyuga Shinichi realized he could use the notebook to claim his mission reward, while his sudden stare left Pakura increasingly alarmed.

• Black Stone escaped punishment for killing Yamagami and Number Seven, but nightmares and worsening addictions ruined his medical practice.
• Years later, Black Stone discovered he had a serious lung illness and resumed treating patients while trying to save himself.
• After Hanzo’s invasion destabilized the Land of Iron, Black Stone found a dying Jashin Cult follower and learned about the cult’s curse technique.
• Black Stone experimented with the cultist’s blood and developed a sacrifice method using straw dolls, targeting only people he considered evil.
• Black Stone’s nighttime killings earned him the name Evil-Slaying Blade, and he continued sacrificing victims in hopes of gaining immortality from Jashin.
• Hyuga Shinichi finished reading the notebook and planned to prove Black Stone’s identity to the Old Leader, while Pakura grew more anxious under his gaze.

Hyuga Shinichi reassured Pakura that he had saved her because he trusted her and hoped people could begin changing the cycle of conflict. He then clarified that he wanted to discuss sharing the mission reward, leaving Pakura embarrassed by their repeated misunderstandings.

• Hyuga Shinichi approached Pakura with Black Stone's notebook, but she assumed he intended to kill or torture her.
• Hyuga Shinichi explained that he had saved Pakura because he wanted to build trust between people and believed she would not repay kindness with hostility.
• Pakura was moved by Hyuga Shinichi's sincerity, then flustered when he warned that he could kill her if she proved ungrateful.
• Hyuga Shinichi clarified that he meant to ask whether his role in capturing the Evil-Slaying Blade entitled him to a share of the reward.
• Pakura tried to leave in embarrassment, but her weakened legs gave way, and Hyuga Shinichi caught her and helped her sit down.

Hyuga Shinichi gave Pakura one of his Special Military Ration Pills to restore her strength, but its powerful effects caused her to get a nosebleed and lash out at him. After Pakura left to fetch help for Black Stone's corpse, Hyuga Shinichi examined the lingering heat of her Scorch Release.

• Hyuga Shinichi offered Pakura his packed food after her stomach growled, then gave her a Special Military Ration Pill when the food was not enough.
• Pakura swallowed the pill and quickly recovered, but developed a nosebleed and angrily threw fireballs at Hyuga Shinichi.
• Pakura checked that the pill had healed her arm wound, then left to get help retrieving Black Stone's corpse and warned Hyuga Shinichi to watch it.
• Hyuga Shinichi dodged Pakura's parting fireball and examined the scorched ground, noting the lasting heat and destructive effects of Scorch Release.

Hyuga Shinichi and Mifune uncovered and destroyed Black Stone’s research on sacrificial cursed techniques, while the Land of Iron announced that the Evil-Slaying Blade killer had been executed. After collecting their mission rewards, the teams departed, and Shinichi invited Pakura to celebrate with them.

• Pakura returned with Mifune and the samurai, and Mifune read Black Stone’s notebook and mourned the man who had once saved his life.
• Hyuga Shinichi warned Mifune that the Jashin Cult might threaten the Land of Iron and accompanied him to Black Stone’s cabin to find the cursed-technique scrolls.
• Hyuga Shinichi and Mifune examined Black Stone’s scarecrow technique, then Shinichi destroyed the scrolls at Mifune’s agreement.
• The Old Leader declared the Evil-Slaying Blade case a serial murder and announced that the culprit had been executed.
• Hyuga Shinichi, Minato’s group, and Pakura’s team declined to stay longer, collected their rewards, and prepared to leave the Land of Iron.
• Uzumaki Kushina celebrated completing her first mission, and Shinichi invited Pakura to join them; she refused before scolding her teammates.

After returning from a mission, Hyuga Shinichi treated Kushina, Minato, and Hayama to barbecue at Yakiniku Q. Over the next two months, Konoha’s Wood Style research failed catastrophically, and a Kumogakure spy exposed the experiment to the public.

• Hyuga Shinichi and his companions went to Yakiniku Q, where Kushina soon gave in to the food and ate heartily.
• Over the following two months, Hyuga Shinichi’s team went on several missions and repeatedly encountered Pakura, who gradually became more patient with her inexperienced teammates.
• With test subjects and corpses exhausted, Orochimaru suspended Wood Style research and pressed Sarutobi Hiruzen to let him continue.
• After intelligence reports warned that other villages were advancing their jinchuriki experiments, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Konoha’s F4 agreed to resume the effort and recruited volunteers for Hashirama Cell transplants.
• At the beginning of the new year, the experiments failed and nearly all the volunteers died, so Sarutobi Hiruzen halted the research and planned to seal it away.
• A Kumogakure spy revealed Konoha’s failed Wood Style experiments to the public.

After the scandal over secret jinchūriki experiments provoked outrage in Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen accepted responsibility and announced he would step down. Hatake Sakumo was chosen as the Fourth Hokage, and he asked Hyuga Shinichi for advice on how to serve the village.

• Kumogakure's spy exposed that Konoha had secretly used volunteers in jinchūriki research, leaving their families furious and the village in turmoil.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen promised compensation to the families and announced he would resign as Hokage once he had addressed the scandal.
• Hyuga Shinichi learned of Hiruzen's decision and wondered who would become the Fourth Hokage, noting that fourteen-year-old Namikaze Minato was too young.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen began preparing to leave office and considered Dan Katō and Hatake Sakumo as candidates while planning to restrict Shimura Danzō's Root organization.
• The Land of Fire's daimyo selected Hatake Sakumo as the Fourth Hokage, and Sakumo asked Hyuga Shinichi how he could earn the village's trust.

Hyuga Shinichi recommended Dan Katō as an advisor to Hatake Sakumo and learned that his old friends would soon return to the village. A month later, Sarutobi Hiruzen formally handed the Hokage hat to Hatake Sakumo, beginning his succession.

• Hyuga Shinichi told Hatake Sakumo that Dan Katō would make a good advisor, and Hatake Sakumo agreed to speak with him.
• Hatake Oto said she had turned away relatives seeking favors from Hatake Sakumo and discussed having Hyuga Shinichi teach Kakashi after he graduated from the Ninja Academy.
• Hyuga Shinichi learned that Inuzuka Gai and Aburame Tomohiro would return to the village and planned to gather the four sworn brothers.
• At the Hokage succession ceremony, Sarutobi Hiruzen handed the Hokage hat to Hatake Sakumo before the assembled clan heads and Jonin.

Hatake Sakumo became Konoha’s Fourth Hokage while Danzō lost Orochimaru as a research partner and found a new one in Hiruko. Later, Hyuga Shinichi brought dinner to Sakumo and Dan Katō as they worked through the Hokage’s paperwork, and asked Dan whether he had time to prepare for his wedding.

• Hatake Sakumo accepted the Hokage hat and greeted the cheering crowd as Konoha’s new Hokage.
• Orochimaru told Shimura Danzō their cooperation was over, and Danzō left his laboratory angry.
• A Root member led Danzō to Hiruko, whose research impressed him, and Danzō ordered Root to send Hiruko the secretly kept Hashirama Cells and other supplies.
• Hyuga Shinichi brought dinner to Hatake Sakumo and Dan Katō, who were working late in the Hokage Office Building.
• Hyuga Shinichi gave Sakumo the meal Hatake Oto had prepared and teased Dan about whether he had time to get married while preparing for the wedding.

Dan Katō and Tsunade prepared to marry after Uzumaki Mito arranged their wedding, and Hatake Sakumo granted Dan time off. A week later, the wedding took place at the Senju clan compound, where Hyuga Shinichi met Shizune and wished that the peaceful days would last.

• Uzumaki Mito told Hyuga Shinichi that Dan Katō and Tsunade had agreed to marry after Hatake Sakumo became Hokage, and she had chosen their wedding date.
• Dan Katō told Hatake Sakumo that he and Tsunade would marry in a week, and Hatake Sakumo approved leave while teasing him about newlywed life.
• Hyuga Shinichi left the Hokage Office to teach morning swordsmanship and murmured that he hoped the peace would continue.
• A week later, Dan Katō and Tsunade held their wedding at the Senju clan compound, attended by Hyuga Shinichi and his family.
• Kato Nai introduced Shizune to Uzumaki Mito and Hyuga Shinichi, and Uzumaki Mito gave the timid child a piece of candy.

Dan Katō and Tsunade celebrated their wedding with family and guests, while Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Hiruko pursued their own plans elsewhere. More than half a year later, Orochimaru’s experiments and a wave of disappearances prompted Hatake Sakumo to order Dan Katō and the Anbu to investigate.

• Uzumaki Kushina, Nawaki, and the guests gathered as the wedding began, and Dan Katō and Tsunade entered the venue together.
• Dan Katō and Tsunade exchanged vows and ceremonial sake, then celebrated with the guests at a lavish banquet.
• In the Land of Rain, Jiraiya read Dan Katō’s invitation and wondered whether Nagato was the child of prophecy.
• Orochimaru continued experimenting with Hashirama Cells, while Hiruko worked with Danzo’s Root member on a technique meant to obtain Wood Style.
• More than half a year later, Orochimaru abducted shinobi and sixty infants for experiments, prompting Hatake Sakumo to order Dan Katō and the Anbu to investigate the disappearances.

An Anbu investigation into kidnapped villagers led to the capture of Root operatives, whose training and curse marks pointed toward Shimura Danzō. Sarutobi Hiruzen went to confront Danzō, whose smugness vanished when Hiruzen questioned him.

• Anbu members rescued kidnapped villagers and captured several Root operatives, while others escaped or blew themselves up.
• Hatake Sakumo ordered the captured villagers escorted home and had the operatives interrogated, but their conditioning and curse marks prevented Anbu from learning their identities.
• An Anbu confidant told Sarutobi Hiruzen that the captives bore Root-style training and Tongue Eradication Curse Marks, suggesting Danzō's involvement.
• Hiruzen rebuked the Anbu member for hiding the information from Hatake Sakumo, then went to ask Danzō about the case.
• Shimura Danzō read a report from Hiruko at home, but his smug smile froze when Hiruzen confronted him.

Sarutobi Hiruzen confronted Shimura Danzō over former Root members involved in human trafficking, and Danzō disowned them to protect himself. When Hatake Sakumo learned the captured men had abducted village ninja and Anbu, they blamed the Jashin Cult, leaving Sakumo determined to use the incident against Danzō.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen accused Shimura Danzō of secretly directing Root operatives, and Danzō ordered his returned subordinates detained while denying responsibility.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen brought Shimura Danzō to Hatake Sakumo, who challenged Danzō over former Root members abducting ninja and Anbu.
• Shimura Danzō suspected Orochimaru was behind the abductions but pretended to be shocked when confronted.
• Dan Katō reported that the captured Root members had confessed to the abductions and claimed they had sacrificed every captive to Lord Jashin.
• Hatake Sakumo recognized that the Jashin Cult might be blamed for the crime but resolved not to waste the opportunity to act against Shimura Danzō.

Hatake Sakumo forced Shimura Danzō to disband Root and reorganize it into a small guard unit, while Konoha prospered under his reforms. More than a year later, Sakumo asked Hyuga Shinichi to mentor Kakashi, who was nearing early graduation.

• Hatake Sakumo proposed disbanding Root, and Sarutobi Hiruzen supported the plan, leading Shimura Danzō to agree to limit his new personal guard unit to ten members.
• Shimura Danzō secretly plotted to regain influence by mastering Wood Style.
• Konoha continued to improve under Hatake Sakumo's reforms, and Jiraiya returned to the village near the end of the forty-second year of the Hokage era.
• Hyuga Shinichi went to the Hokage Office after Hatake Sakumo summoned him and saw that Hatake Sakumo, not Namikaze Minato, was depicted on the Fourth Hokage monument.
• Hatake Sakumo asked Hyuga Shinichi to take Kakashi under his wing because Kakashi was about to graduate early from the Ninja Academy.

Hyuga Shinichi learned that Minato and Hayama were nearing promotion to Jonin, while Kushina would stay in the village beside Mito. At Kakashi’s graduation banquet, Shinichi met Obito and encouraged Kakashi not to underestimate his rivals.

• Sakumo told Shinichi that Minato and Hayama were close to becoming Jonin, and explained that Kushina would remain in the village as Mito’s candidate Jinchuriki.
• Kushina stayed beside Mito, Minato began going on missions with Jiraiya, and Hayama remained on Shinichi’s team at Shinichi’s request.
• Shinichi attended Kakashi’s graduation ceremony, where Inuzuka Gai gave Kakashi ninjutsu scrolls and promised him ninja hounds after he became a Chunin or Jonin.
• Obito asked Shinichi to teach him how to surpass Kakashi, while Guy joined Obito in declaring that he would challenge Kakashi.
• Shinichi warned Kakashi not to become complacent and told him that Obito and Guy could surpass him in the future.