Recaps

Guy opened the Third Gate and knocked Mei Terumi into the sea, but Ao trapped Hyuga Yuma in a water prison and tore out his right Byakugan. The Kirigakure shinobi were still fighting as reinforcements approached.

• Hozuki Mangetsu overwhelmed Ebisu and Genma with his Water Release and Hiramekarei replica.
• Guy opened the Third Gate to aid his teammates, while Mei Terumi used her acidic Boil Release mist to keep him at a distance.
• Guy attacked through the mist with his nunchaku and knocked Mei Terumi off the deck into the sea.
• Ao sensed approaching reinforcements, forced Hyuga Yuma back, and trapped him in a Water Prison Shark Dance.
• Ao entered the water prison and tore Hyuga Yuma’s right Byakugan from its socket.

Guy rescued Hyuga Yuma from Ao and the Water Prison Shark Dance, but Yuma destroyed his own Byakugan to keep it from Kirigakure. Ao, Mei Terumi, and Hozuki Mangetsu retreated as Konoha reinforcements arrived, while Yuma was taken away unconscious.

• Guy opened the Fourth of the Eight Inner Gates, shattered the water prison, and knocked the Byakugan from Ao’s grasp.
• Ao raised a Water Encampment Wall and tried to retrieve the eye, but Guy bypassed it and kicked Ao through the ship’s railing.
• Hozuki Mangetsu reached for the falling Byakugan, but Hyuga Yuma used Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm to destroy it himself.
• Ao ordered the Kirigakure forces to retreat as Konoha ships approached, while Guy taunted Mei Terumi from the deck.
• Guy’s power faded, and Hyuga Yuma collapsed unconscious after protecting the secret of the Byakugan.
• Konoha reinforcements arrived, took Yuma aboard, and withdrew from the waters around Mist Island.

After waking, Hyuga Yuma thanked Guy for saving his Byakugan and explained why protecting the Hyuga clan’s honor mattered more to him than his life. Impressed by Guy’s taijutsu and unusual weapon, Yuma offered to teach him a technique that might suit it.

• Mitokado Homura praised Team 9’s performance and awarded Guy 100 merit points and Ebisu and Shiranui Genma 50 each.
• Guy, Ebisu, and Genma visited the injured Hyuga Yuma, who stood and bowed to thank Guy for preventing Ao from taking his Byakugan.
• Yuma said losing the eye to an enemy would have brought unbearable shame, and that his ruined eye still belonged to the Hyuga Clan.
• Yuma examined Guy’s alloy nunchaku and praised his taijutsu foundation, explosive power, speed, and endurance.
• Yuma offered to teach Guy a distinctive taijutsu technique that might suit his weapon.

Hyuga Yuma proposed teaching Guy a defensive technique inspired by the Hyuga clan’s Rotation, adapted to Guy’s nunchaku rather than revealing the clan’s secret technique. As Yuma expected to leave the front line soon, he began the instruction immediately, with Ebisu and Genma invited to observe.

• Hyuga Yuma explained how Rotation worked and identified similarities between its all-around defense and Guy’s nunchaku movements.
• Yuma told Guy he would teach him the technique’s general principles, not the Hyuga clan’s core Rotation or Gentle Fist secrets.
• Guy accepted Yuma’s guidance, recognizing it as an acknowledgment of his taijutsu and weapon skills.
• Guy noticed Yuma’s severe injuries and urged him to rest, but Yuma said there was little time before he was likely transferred from the front line.
• Yuma warned Ebisu and Genma that attempting the technique could injure them, then invited them to observe as he led the group out to begin teaching Guy.

Guy practiced adapting Hyuga Yuma’s explanation of Rotation to his nunchaku and fused its principles with the Golden Bell Shield, breaking through to its perfected realm. He left with a new goal of combining Golden Bell Body Protection, Rotation, and nunchaku into one technique, and gained the Vajra Palm skill from a system gift pack.

• Hyuga Yuma explained Rotation’s full-body chakra defense and instructed Guy to coordinate it with his body’s rotation and nunchaku.
• Guy practiced the technique, recognized its connection to the Golden Bell Shield, and fused the two defensive principles.
• Guy’s Golden Bell Shield broke through to perfection and manifested as Golden Bell Body Protection, astonishing Hyuga Yuma, Ebisu, and Genma.
• Guy decided to explore combining Golden Bell Body Protection, Rotation, and nunchaku into a unified offense-and-defense technique.
• After Ebisu and Genma left, Guy opened the system’s random martial arts gift pack and obtained Vajra Palm.

Konoha launched a full-scale assault on Kirigakure in the Land of Waves, using Team 9 as bait to lure Ao and Mei Terumi into an ambush. Guy agreed to the mission but insisted that protecting his teammates came first, and Mitokado Homura approved that priority before Team 9 prepared to depart.

• Mitokado Homura ordered more than four hundred Konoha ninja to attack Kirigakure's forces on the main island of the Land of Waves.
• Hyuga Yuma told Guy, Ebisu, and Genma that Team 9's Reef Bay assignment was a Konoha trap designed to draw out Ao and target Mei Terumi.
• Hyuga Yuma warned the team that the mission was dangerous and offered them the chance to join another assault team.
• Guy agreed to take part but said he would prioritize protecting Ebisu and Genma over killing the enemy.
• Mitokado Homura approved Guy's request and declared that Team 9's safety came before luring and killing the enemy.
• Team 9 checked its equipment and prepared to depart as Mitokado Homura reflected on Guy's will to protect his comrades.

Team 9 pursued Kirigakure forces into a secluded bay, where Hyuga Yuma lured Ao and his team into attacking. Ao ordered an assault to seize Yuma’s Byakugan, and Mei Terumi charged at Guy as the battle began.

• Konoha’s assault force invaded the Land of Waves, and Team 9 pursued Kirigakure troops toward Reef Bay while Ao’s team followed their route.
• Team 9 defeated three Kirigakure chunin in the bay, then Hyuga Yuma spotted Ao, Mei Terumi, Hozuki Mangetsu, and two more chunin approaching.
• Hyuga Yuma pretended to panic, ordered Guy and the others to fall back, and fired a signal flare to make Ao believe reinforcements were still far away.
• Ao decided to attack Team 9 and seize Hyuga Yuma’s Byakugan.
• Mei Terumi charged at Guy, and the battle erupted.

Mei Terumi, Ao, and Hozuki Mangetsu split the fight across three fronts, each putting the Konoha shinobi at a disadvantage. Hyuga Yuma neared defeat, Ebisu and Genma tried to stall Mangetsu, and Mei Terumi launched a Lava Release attack at Guy.

• Ao and two Kirigakure chunin exploited Hyuga Yuma's blind spot, wounding him and leaving him close to defeat.
• Hozuki Mangetsu countered Ebisu's Fire Release and Genma's senbon with his Hydrification Technique, then forced them to evade his water tornadoes.
• Genma told Ebisu they had to stall rather than use their special move, while Mangetsu taunted them about their allies' peril.
• Guy watched the other battles anxiously as Mei Terumi completed the hand seals for Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique.

Guy endured Mei Terumi’s combined Boil and Lava Release, while Ao spotted Konoha reinforcements and ordered the Mist squad to retreat. As Ao tried to pull Mei away, the badly wounded Hyuga Yuma launched a sudden attack to stop them.

• Guy deflected most of Mei Terumi’s Lava Release and blocked the acid with his Golden Bell Shield.
• Mei Terumi combined Boil Release and Lava Release, pushing Guy’s shield toward collapse as its chakra rapidly dwindled.
• Ao sensed Konoha reinforcements approaching from the bay and realized they had been lying in wait beyond his range.
• Ao ordered Hozuki Mangetsu and Mei Terumi to retreat, overriding Mei’s insistence that she was close to defeating Guy.
• Hyuga Yuma suddenly charged at Ao as he seized Mei’s wrist, vowing not to let the Mist squad escape.

Guy unleashed Golden Bell: Rotation Strike, overwhelmed Mei Terumi, and struck her down after Ao intervened to save her from the attack. As Guy turned toward the battle on the other side, Hyuga Yuma was on the verge of defeat, and Guy rushed to help him.

• Hyuga Yuma pinned Ao down with a desperate Gentle Fist assault while Ebisu and Shiranui Genma stopped Hozuki Mangetsu with a combined Lightning Release attack and senbon.
• Ebisu declared himself an elite ninja after Hozuki Mangetsu fell, while Mei Terumi launched a powerful Lava Release attack at Guy.
• Guy opened the Fourth Gate and combined Golden Bell, Rotation, and his nunchaku into Golden Bell: Rotation Strike, which tore through Mei Terumi’s attacks and smashed the reef near her.
• Ao struck Guy’s spinning technique with a Water Dragon Bullet, giving Mei Terumi time to evade before Guy hit her with a Vajra Palm and sent her crashing into a reef.
• Guy saw Hyuga Yuma being overwhelmed by Ao and another Kirigakure chunin, then rushed toward him at top speed.

Guy struck Ao while Hyuga Yuma held him, and Yuma gouged out Ao’s left eye before Kirigakure forces arrived and retreated with Ao and Mei Terumi. Konoha reinforcements treated the unconscious Yuma, whose clenched hand still held Ao’s eye.

• Guy changed his attack to a palm strike rather than risk killing Hyuga Yuma, who was restraining Ao.
• Hyuga Yuma gouged out Ao’s left eye, and Ao’s chakra blast flung Yuma onto a reef.
• Kirigakure shinobi arrived, rescued Ao and Mei Terumi, and retreated while leaving Hozuki Mangetsu behind.
• Ao and Hyuga Yuma exchanged hateful looks as they were carried apart, each having lost an eye to the other.
• Mei Terumi briefly woke and looked at Guy, triggering a system prompt that awarded him 100 Monk Points for witnessing the birth of archrivals.
• Konoha reinforcements arrived and medical ninja treated Hyuga Yuma, who lost consciousness with Ao’s eye clenched in his hand.

After Konoha occupied the Land of Waves, Team 9 visited the merit exchange to learn their battle scores and browse the available rewards. Guy found a promising close-combat technique in the catalog.

• Mitokado Homura announced Konoha’s victory, the capture of thirty-seven Kirigakure ninja, and the opening of the merit exchange.
• Hyuga Yuma sent Guy, Ebisu, and Genma to exchange their merits while he attended to other matters.
• The exchange clerk awarded Might Guy 290 points, Ebisu 203 points, and Shiranui Genma 210 points, explaining how their actions earned the totals.
• Ebisu and Genma browsed the seized ninja tools catalog while Guy reviewed the technique listings.
• Guy noticed Fire Run, a B-rank close-combat technique that shaped a stream of fire for charges.

Guy considered how to spend his 290 battle merit points after Ebisu and Genma exchanged their points for a discounted Replica Hiramekarei. While browsing the catalog, Guy spotted an unexpected item in the special ninja tools and scrolls category.

• Guy read about Fire Run and decided to keep browsing the exchange catalog.
• Ebisu and Genma found the Replica Hiramekarei, which had belonged to Hozuki Mangetsu and cost 800 battle merit points.
• A civilian chunin explained that wartime regulations entitled Ebisu and Genma to a half-price exchange because they had helped defeat and capture Hozuki Mangetsu.
• Ebisu and Shiranui Genma jointly spent 400 points to claim the Replica Hiramekarei and received its sealing scroll and instructions.
• Guy reviewed the catalog but hesitated to spend 260 points on Fire Run, then noticed something unexpected in the special ninja tools and scrolls category.

Guy spent his battle merits on sealing scrolls, a Water-Sealing Formula, Soldier Pills, and money for Konoha’s orphanage instead of the Fire Run technique. Mitokado Homura obtained the Fire Run scroll and followed Guy, Ebisu, and Genma out of the exchange tent.

• Guy chose an Advanced Sealing Scroll over the B-rank Fire Run technique, then added a low-grade sealing scroll and a Water-Sealing Formula.
• Guy exchanged 10 battle merits for twenty high-quality Soldier Pills and 40 for 400,000 ryō, directing 300,000 ryō to the orphanage for Yakushi Nonō.
• Ebisu and Genma left with Guy, curious about his choices but accepting his promise to explain the orphanage later.
• After the three departed, Mitokado Homura asked what Guy had exchanged for and learned about the scrolls and the orphanage donation.
• Mitokado Homura took the Fire Run scroll and followed Guy, Ebisu, and Genma.

Mitokado Homura gave Guy a [Fire Run] scroll as a personal gift, recognizing his battlefield performance, and gave Ebisu and Genma a report on using Hiramekarei. After Homura left, the three headed to their barracks to study their new resources and prepare for upcoming missions.

• Mitokado Homura asked Guy why he had exchanged for a sealing scroll, and Guy explained how he hoped it could help his team in unusual environments.
• Mitokado Homura gave Guy a [Fire Run] scroll, saying he valued Guy's resolve to protect his comrades and hoped the ninjutsu would help him save more people.
• Mitokado Homura handed Ebisu and Genma a report on Hiramekarei techniques and encouraged them to aim to seize the real blades from Kirigakure someday.
• Mitokado Homura told the three to train because new mission assignments would arrive in a few days, then left.
• Ebisu and Genma hurried to the barracks to inspect the twin blades and report, while Guy followed, planning to prepare for the next mission.

After a half month of training in the occupied Land of Waves, Guy, Ebisu, and Genma received a mission to escort Hozuki Mangetsu to the Land of Rice Fields and hand him over to Orochimaru. They took custody of Mangetsu, but froze when they spotted a familiar figure waiting outside the holding area.

• Guy tested his Fire Release in a spar with Ebisu and Genma, who used their imitation Hiramekarei blades to absorb and release chakra.
• Mitokado Homura assigned Team 9 to escort Hozuki Mangetsu to Orochimaru's unit in the Land of Rice Fields, while Hyuga Yuma remained in the Land of Waves.
• The three received their mission scrolls and learned that Mangetsu was restrained by an experimental Lightning Release collar.
• Ebisu and Genma taunted Mangetsu with the collar's remote as the team took custody of him and bound his hands with chakra-suppressing chains.
• Guy, Ebisu, Genma, and Mangetsu left the holding area and saw a familiar figure waiting for them.

Hyuga Yuma sent Guy, Ebisu, and Genma off with supplies and a private booklet of insights to guide Guy, entrusting him with the team's safety. Guy and the others escorted Hozuki Mangetsu toward the Land of Rice Fields as Yuma remained behind.

• Hyuga Yuma gave Ebisu a backpack packed with supplies and Genma a pouch of finely made senbon.
• Hyuga Yuma asked Guy to look after Ebisu and Genma while he was away, and Guy promised to protect them.
• Ebisu wiped his nose on Hozuki Mangetsu's clothes, while Genma and Ebisu flanked their humiliated captive.
• Guy, Ebisu, and Genma set out for the Land of Rice Fields with Hozuki Mangetsu.
• Ebisu found Hyuga Yuma's handwritten notes on chakra control and Rotation principles in the backpack, and Guy recognized them as a private farewell gift.

Might Guy, Ebisu, and Shiranui Genma escorted Hozuki Mangetsu to Konoha’s camp in the Land of Rice Fields, where Guy recognized signs of Orochimaru’s experiments. Orochimaru examined Mangetsu and had him taken away, just as an excited voice announced that new experimental material had arrived.

• Might Guy and his companions reached the Land of Rice Fields after a peaceful journey and escorted Hozuki Mangetsu into the Konoha camp.
• Guy recognized the camp’s medicinal and decaying smells as evidence that Orochimaru had begun conducting experiments there.
• Might Guy reported to Orochimaru, who greeted him and examined Hozuki Mangetsu’s unusual body and chakra.
• Orochimaru ordered two Konoha ninja to take Hozuki Mangetsu away, ignoring his frightened questions.
• An excited voice entered the tent and asked Orochimaru whether the new experimental material had arrived.

Anko revealed that Orochimaru had become her teacher, and Orochimaru asked Guy to demonstrate his new defensive jutsu. After seeing Guy create a solid Golden Bell with Golden Bell: Rotation Strike, Orochimaru invited him to become his student.

• Anko arrived and revealed to Guy, Ebisu, and Genma that Orochimaru was her teacher.
• Orochimaru told Guy that Mitokado Homura had praised his performance in the Land of Waves and asked him to demonstrate his new jutsu.
• Guy used Golden Bell: Rotation Strike, surrounding himself with a translucent, powerful Golden Bell.
• Orochimaru studied Guy's technique with intense interest and asked him to become his student.

Guy declined Orochimaru’s offer to become his disciple, explaining that his taijutsu-focused path did not suit Orochimaru’s way. He left with Ebisu, Genma, and Anko to eat, while Orochimaru watched him go and lamented that Guy wanted a taijutsu teacher.

• Orochimaru offered to take Guy as his disciple after seeing his technique, but Guy politely refused because he wanted to pursue taijutsu and continue training through battlefield experience.
• Orochimaru accepted Guy’s decision and told Anko to show the newcomers around the camp before arranging their deployment orders the next day.
• Ebisu mistakenly assumed Guy had refused to avoid leaving his friends, but Guy clarified that Orochimaru’s path did not fit his plans and joked that he would leave them for a taijutsu master.
• Anko offered to treat Guy, Ebisu, and Genma to vegetable dumplings, then worried that Guy’s appetite would empty her wallet.
• Orochimaru secretly watched the four leave and murmured that it was a pity Guy wanted a taijutsu teacher.

Anko treated Guy, Ebisu, and Shiranui Genma to a huge meal of vegetable balls before telling them about the stalemate against Iwagakure in the Land of Rice Fields. The group learned who commanded the front line, and Guy realized Kurenai Yuhi was serving in Inoichi Yamanaka’s squad.

• Anko, Guy, Ebisu, and Shiranui Genma ate hundreds of vegetable-ball skewers, leaving Anko distressed over the cost of the meal.
• The mess hall cook gave Guy ten more skewers for free, and he ate them while Anko was too full to have any.
• Guy asked Anko about the war, and she explained that about two thousand Iwagakure troops faced a similar-sized force in a stalemate.
• Anko said Orochimaru commanded the rear headquarters while Torifu Akimichi led the front line, with Inoichi Yamanaka as his second-in-command.
• Ebisu teased Guy about Inoichi’s squad, and Guy recalled that Kurenai Yuhi, Sarutobi Asuma, and Aburame Shikuroo were serving in it.

Guy, Ebisu, and Genma arrived at the Land of Rice Fields front and received orders to report to Outpost Eight under Uchiha Hisui. As Guy wondered what Hisui’s three-tomoe Sharingan meant for his battlefield judgment, Anko revealed that Hisui’s son was also at war.

• Anko briefed Guy, Ebisu, and Genma on the dangerous stalemate and troop deployments at the Land of Rice Fields front.
• Anko led the three to their tent, where they rested through the night.
• The next morning, Anko gave Guy Orochimaru’s orders assigning them to Outpost Eight under commander Uchiha Hisui.
• Anko said Hisui was a powerful elite jonin with a three-tomoe Sharingan, prompting Guy to wonder when he had awakened it and whether he had lost someone close.
• Anko revealed that Uchiha Hisui had a son on the battlefield and recalled that his name was Uchiha Shisui.

Guy realized Uchiha Hisui might die in the war and trigger Shisui’s Mangekyō Sharingan, then arrived with Ebisu and Genma at Outpost Number Eight. The outpost turned out to be staffed entirely by Uchiha, and Guy entered to report to Hisui while wondering whether Orochimaru had arranged the assignment deliberately.

• Guy connected Shisui’s future Mangekyō awakening to the possible death of his father, Uchiha Hisui, and worried that Outpost Number Eight would suffer a deadly battle.
• Guy kept his concerns from Ebisu and Genma, and the three thanked Anko before setting out for the outpost.
• After several hours of travel, Guy, Ebisu, and Genma reached Outpost Number Eight and presented their transfer order to the guards.
• Guy noticed that every ninja in the camp wore a black coat bearing the Uchiha crest, and realized the outpost was entirely made up of Uchiha clan members.
• The guards verified the transfer order and directed Guy and his teammates to report to Captain Hisui in the main tent.

Might Guy, Ebisu, and Shiranui Genma reported to the Uchiha stronghold at Outpost Number Eight, where Uchiha Hisui tested them and warned them to obey orders. Hisui's son arrived and offered to show them to their tents.

• Guy, Ebisu, and Shiranui Genma entered the Uchiha camp and reported to Uchiha Hisui.
• Hisui's Sharingan genjutsu briefly disoriented the newcomers, but Guy quickly broke free using a Sobering Stone and pain.
• Hisui questioned Guy's nine-year-old chunin rank, prompting Ebisu and Genma to bristle, but Guy stopped them from arguing.
• Hisui warned the three to follow orders and avoid causing trouble in the Uchiha stronghold, and they agreed.
• Hisui called for someone to escort the newcomers, and his son entered and volunteered to take them to their tents.

Guy, Ebisu, and Genma arrived at Outpost Eight, where Uchiha Shisui welcomed them and showed them their quarters. After learning that Shisui had just turned eleven, Guy realized the event that would awaken Shisui’s Mangekyo might happen within a year, and the three began settling into camp.

• Uchiha Shisui greeted Guy, Ebisu, and Genma and led them on a tour of Outpost Eight.
• Shisui explained the outpost’s duties and showed them their tent, while Guy learned that they could not leave camp without a mission.
• Shisui told Guy that he had recently turned eleven, prompting Guy to suspect Shisui’s Mangekyo awakening event would happen within a year.
• Guy, Ebisu, and Genma entered their tent and began unpacking as their time at the Uchiha camp officially began.