Chapter Summaries

Yagami killed Golden Eagle during a confrontation, then revived on the night of the previous full moon and chose an ordinary Hyuga bloodline as his reward. After awakening the Byakugan, he considered how to prepare for his planned assassinations of the five clans.

• Golden Eagle mistook Fox's use of the Self-Exerting Curse Binding Seal for an attempt to silence him and attacked.
• Yagami dodged Golden Eagle's Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm and countered his Eight Trigrams Palm: Revolving Heaven with Earth Spears.
• The Yellow Dog Squad Leader appeared behind Golden Eagle, and Yagami let Golden Eagle's palm crush his head, making Golden Eagle believe he had killed Fox.
• Yagami revived on the previous full moon night beside Kyouko and went to the forest above Hokage Rock to claim his reward.
• Yagami chose the Hyuga Bloodline, awakened his Byakugan, and discovered its reconnaissance range was about two kilometers.
• Yagami reviewed his status and considered how to prepare for next month's assassination plan against the five clans.

Yagami arranged for Uzumaki Yuka’s group to locate a Shimura Clan Special Jonin while he prepared to assassinate him under a concealed identity. After learning a barrier technique and establishing a hidden training room, Yagami reached the Land of Grass, where Yuka reported that the target would leave the capital before dawn.

• Yagami told Uzumaki Yuka to find the Shimura Clan Special Jonin in the Land of Grass and summon him only after locating the target.
• Yagami trained taijutsu and Fire Style and built a concealed underground training room beneath Tsurutsuki Izakaya.
• Yagami met Uzumaki Yuka, Uzumaki Genchō, and Uzumaki Kaichō in the Land of Grass and asked about barriers to hide his base.
• Uzumaki Yuka taught Yagami the Vine Earth Hidden Realm, which he used to conceal his underground training room.
• After Yuka’s group found the target, Yagami traveled to the Land of Grass capital and learned that the Special Jonin would depart before dawn.

Yagami assassinated Shimura Tan and two Shimura Clan Chunin, then evaded the investigation and continued his ANBU duties. After meeting Uzumaki Yuka in the Land of Hot Water, he prepared to attack Sarutobi Yu at a bathhouse.

• Yagami wore Uzumaki Yuka's White Demon mask and killed Shimura Tan and two Shimura Clan Chunin with a surprise attack and Fire Style.
• Shimura Kōhi investigated the burned bodies, suspected the Uchiha, and sent word of Shimura Tan's death to Danzo.
• Yagami gave Uzumaki Yuka, Uzumaki Kaichō, and Uzumaki Genchō intelligence about Konoha's power structure and identified Sarutobi Yu as their next target.
• Danzo and the Golden Eagle Squad Leader investigated Shimura Tan's murder but found no evidence, while Yagami kept monitoring Uzumaki Kushina.
• Uzumaki Yuka told Yagami that Sarutobi Yu was hiding at a hot spring inn, and Yagami entered its water tower to prepare his attack.

Yagami learned the Mastery-level Great Fire Dragon Bullet from Sarutobi Yu, then used it to kill Yu and the Ino-Shika-Cho team during a second attack at a hot spring. He left Uzumaki Yuka to organize the clan’s revenge efforts and vanished, while Sarutobi Hiruzen received news of Yu’s death and summoned Danzo and Orochimaru.

• Yagami let Sarutobi Yu’s Great Fire Dragon Bullet kill him so he could obtain the Mastery-level technique through the Arc of the Crescent Moon.
• Yagami chose the Mastery-level Great Fire Dragon Bullet reward and discovered he could use the technique with a single seal.
• Yagami returned to the hot spring inn, killed Sarutobi Yu first, then burned the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and took the White Demon mask.
• Yagami told Uzumaki Yuka to return to the clan’s hiding place while he went to Konoha to observe reactions to the attack.
• Uzumaki Yuka proposed building an intelligence network, but Fox refused because it risked exposing the Uzumaki Clan.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen learned that Sarutobi Yu had died and ordered his assistant to bring Danzo and Orochimaru to him.

Orochimaru was summoned to the Hokage’s Office, where Sarutobi Hiruzen told him that a hidden force in the village was plotting against its order. The chapter ended before Hiruzen explained what he wanted Orochimaru to do.

• Orochimaru entered the Hokage Building, and the ninjas inside avoided him.
• Orochimaru joined Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo in the Hokage’s Office and asked why he had been called.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen said Shimura Tan and Sarutobi Yu had been murdered on the eve of their Jonin promotions.
• Orochimaru refused to investigate the deaths, saying his research was at a critical stage.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen revealed that a force was lurking in the village and plotting to destroy its existing order.

Sarutobi Hiruzen investigated the murders of Shimura Tan and Sarutobi Yu while demanding that Tsunade, Hatake Sakumo, and Uchiha Zhong prove their innocence. As suspicion spread through Konoha, Hatake Sakumo began to wonder whether Fox was behind the killings, and Pakkun urged him to decide whether to meet Fox.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered ANBU and Root to investigate the murders and said Tsunade, Hatake Sakumo, and Uchiha Zhong would have to prove their innocence; Danzo left after Hiruzen rejected further killings.
• Orochimaru told Tsunade that others would blame her, Hatake Sakumo, and Uchiha Zhong, and she went to confront Sarutobi Hiruzen before returning and denying responsibility.
• Orochimaru asked Tsunade to support his bid to become Fourth Hokage, and she said she did not oppose him; he saw her Yin Seal and left after their brief clash.
• Hatake Sakumo agreed to prepare alibis for his subordinates, then began to suspect Fox might be connected to the murders after seeing a fox-like mask outside the Hokage Building.
• Shinma and Shirakumo Hayama discussed whether the killer might be the same person who had secretly warned Hatake Sakumo, while Uchiha Zhong struggled to satisfy Root's demands for records about missing Uchiha ninja.
• Pakkun urged Hatake Sakumo to decide whether to meet Fox, warning that Konoha's leaders could send a ninja to their death through a mission.

Hatake Sakumo decided to challenge Konoha’s leadership by taking on dangerous missions, while Yagami learned he would accompany Sakumo to investigate Kumogakure’s Perfect Jinchuriki. The Hokage ordered the investigation into Shimura Tan and Sarutobi Yu’s deaths to continue, leaving Yagami uneasy as Sarutobi Hiruzen condemned the killer as a vile schemer.

• Hatake Sakumo resolved to stop compromising with Konoha’s leadership and seek dangerous missions to build his standing.
• Yagami waited for word from Pakkun, then went to the Hokage Building when none came.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen approved Hatake Sakumo’s mission to investigate Ryuujin and assigned Yagami to accompany him and record intelligence.
• Orochimaru offered to use Sakumo’s findings to target Killer Bee, while Danzo questioned whether Sakumo had arranged the deaths of Shimura Tan and Sarutobi Yu.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen ruled out Tsunade and Hatake Sakumo as suspects but ordered the investigation to continue, prompting Yagami to worry that the Hokage was insulting him.

Yagami accompanied Hatake Sakumo’s team to Cloud House Harbor to gather intelligence on Kumogakure’s Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Ryuujin, while Root’s Ding shadowed them. There, Yagami encountered Root informant Yakushi Nonō and revealed that he had secretly followed Ding; Nonō reported that Ryuujin would return in ten days.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered Danzo to stop investigating Hatake Sakumo for now and arranged for Fox and Root to monitor Sakumo’s mission against Ryuujin.
• Yagami’s suggestion to cover smoke odors at the Hokage’s Office led ANBU to require air freshener, and Sarutobi Hiruzen later assigned Fox and Ding to support Hatake Sakumo’s team.
• Hatake Sakumo departed with Yamashiro Tera, Gekko Sō, Shinma, and Shirakumo Hayama for Cloud House Harbor, while Yagami and Ding followed from the shadows.
• At Cloud House Harbor, Gekko Sō entered the city to gather intelligence, while Yagami followed Ding as he searched for Root signals.
• Yakushi Nonō told Ding that Ryuujin was escorting a merchant ship to the Land of Waves and would return to Cloud House Harbor in ten days.
• Yagami revealed that the figure watching Ding had been a Shadow Clone, emerged from the ground, and greeted Yakushi Nonō as the Wandering Miko.

Fox recruited Yakushi Nonō to pass him information on Danzo’s Root, arranging for coded messages to be hidden in the orphanage’s menus. Hatake Sakumo’s team tracked Ryuujin to the docks, while Yagami prepared to strengthen himself with another full-moon draw.

• Yagami refused to warn Hatake Sakumo’s team that Ryuujin had gone to the Land of Waves, then met Yakushi Nonō secretly that night.
• Yakushi Nonō challenged Fox over his donation and letter, and Yagami offered to work with her against Danzo on behalf of Yellow Dog.
• Yakushi Nonō agreed to send coded intelligence through the orphanage’s menus and asked whether Yagami planned to kill Ding; Yagami denied it.
• Yagami returned to Ding and rebuked him for questioning his whereabouts, while Hatake Sakumo’s team waited at the docks for Ryuujin.
• Yagami reviewed his plans to strengthen himself during the full-moon draw after White Demon had gained a proficient-level Fire Release technique.

Hatake Sakumo’s squad confronted Ryuujin at Cloud House Harbor while ANBU and Root observers recorded the battle. Ryuujin revealed powerful, controlled Two-Tails abilities, and as Cloud Ninja reinforcements arrived, Ding rushed toward the sea for another assignment.

• Ryuujin sensed danger approaching Cloud House Harbor and raced across the sea with her guards.
• Hatake Sakumo’s squad met Ryuujin at sea, where her Fire Rat Bullets were blocked by Yamashiro Tera’s Water Wall Jutsu.
• Sakumo ambushed Ryuujin, but her materialized Two-Tails Chakra tail shoved her clear of his blade strike.
• Ryuujin entered her tailed beast cloak form and fired several Tailed Beast Bombs while remaining clear-minded and avoiding the harbor.
• Sakumo sliced apart a Tailed Beast Bomb aimed at Gekko Sō, while Yagami recorded his feat.
• Cloud Ninja reinforcements charged into the sea, and Ding suddenly rushed toward the fight as Yagami realized he had another order.

Ding tested Shimura Clan Wind Release against Ryuujin, while Yagami recorded the battle and Ryuujin’s control over her Two-Tails Chakra. After the team escaped pursuit and reunited with Fox, Ding demanded Yagami’s scroll and threatened to put the Root above the Anbu divisions.

• Ding joined Hatake Sakumo’s fight with Ryuujin and tested several Wind Release techniques, but only Vacuum Consecutive Wave briefly pierced her Tailed Beast Cloak without injuring her.
• Ryuujin fired repeated Tailed Beast Bombs, which Hatake Sakumo cut apart with his White Fang’s Tanto as the team retreated from the battlefield.
• After Sakumo’s team left, Ryuujin calmly retracted her Two-Tails Chakra, and Yagami recorded her control and the Cloud Ninja’s confidence in her.
• Yamashiro Tera hid the group beneath the sea and carried them toward shore, while Sakumo’s team raced south and left signals for Fox to follow.
• After Fox caught up, Ding demanded Yagami’s scroll; Yagami refused, and Ding warned that the Root would stand above the four Anbu divisions in future missions.

Yagami used his revival to gain proficient Wind Release, then returned from a mission where he exposed Ding’s interference in Hatake Sakumo’s encounter with the Two-Tails Jinchuriki. Afterward, Yellow Dog confirmed that the Hokage had rejected Danzo’s bid to make Root outrank ANBU, leaving Yagami time to prepare against Root.

• Yagami died beneath Ding’s kunai, revived on the previous full moon, and chose proficient Wind Release: Great Breakthrough from his lottery.
• Yagami recorded Ryuujin’s behavior while Hatake Sakumo’s squad escaped the Cloud Ninja and entered the Land of Hot Water.
• Garui ordered the Cloud Ninja battalions to return home and await a declaration of war before invading the Land of Hot Water.
• Yagami told Sarutobi Hiruzen, Danzo, and Orochimaru that Ding’s early intervention disrupted Hatake Sakumo’s mission and prevented the Two-Tails from transforming completely.
• Ding accused Yagami of slander and defended his intervention, while Orochimaru questioned him and Danzo backed him up.
• Yellow Dog told Yagami that Sarutobi Hiruzen had rejected Danzo’s proposal to give Root priority over ANBU.

Yagami used Yakushi Nonō’s coded menu board to learn that Root ninja Ding and Wu were on a mission in the Land of Rivers, then joined Uzumaki Yuka’s Demon Squad after her owl summons located them. He confronted the pair and unleashed a master-level Wind-Fire Combination Jutsu, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Yagami found Yakushi Nonō’s code on the orphanage’s menu board, donated fifty thousand ryō, and later learned that Ding and Wu had left Konoha for a mission in the Land of Rivers.
• Yagami warned Uzumaki Yuka that the intelligence might be unreliable, while Yuka, Uzumaki Kaichō, and Uzumaki Genchō formed the Demon Squad to pursue revenge.
• Uzumaki Yuka’s contracted owls located Ding and Wu in a river gorge, and she summoned Yagami to the Land of Rivers.
• Yagami told Uzumaki Yuka that he would handle the targets himself to keep the Uzumaki hidden, then confronted Ding and Wu as they traveled through the gorge.
• Ding and Wu countered Yagami’s Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Bullet with Wind Release and Water Release, but Yagami’s Shadow Clones followed with a master-level Wind-Fire Combination Jutsu.

Yagami killed Root ninjas Ding and Wu, and Danzo learned of their deaths and faced his grieving sister-in-law after her sons died. Danzo ordered that Shimura clan members no longer be used in Orochimaru’s experiments, then arranged to capture more foreign ninjas as test subjects and headed to the Hokage Building.

• Yagami used a combined Fire and Wind attack to kill Ding, then caught and killed Wu underwater.
• Several days later, Root found Ding and Wu’s bodies, and Danzo learned that neither could provide intelligence about their killer.
• At Shimura Kō’s grave, his mother grieved until she was nearly blind, then confronted Danzo over the deaths of her husband and two sons.
• After Ji rendered the woman mute and mentally impaired, Danzo ordered him to tell Orochimaru never to use Shimura clan members in experiments again.
• When Kano said more test subjects were needed, Danzo ordered Ji to capture ninjas from smaller countries or Missing-nin, then went to the Hokage Building.

Danzo sought the Uzumaki Clan’s Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal to rebuild Root, while Yagami secretly spread exaggerated rumors about Hatake Sakumo. Summoned by Hiruzen, Yagami dismissed the rumors as obvious fabrications.

• Danzo asked Hiruzen for access to the Uzumaki Clan’s Scroll of Seals so he could obtain the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, but Hiruzen refused and warned him not to target Tsunade.
• Danzo ordered Root to keep investigating the Senju Clan, Sakumo’s group, and the Uchiha Clan, then sent Kanoe, Xin, Ren, and Gui to trap and kill the murderer.
• Yagami used genjutsu on villagers at night to spread stories that Hatake Sakumo had slashed apart Tailed Beast Bombs, and the rumors grew more exaggerated over ten days.
• Hiruzen summoned Yagami to the Hokage’s Office and asked what he thought of the rumors, and Yagami said they were too false for any shinobi to believe.

Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered Yagami to counter rumors praising Hatake Sakumo and assigned him to gather intelligence on Blue B with Orochimaru and Root's Bing. As the team left for the Land of Lightning, Orochimaru asked Yagami for his plan, leaving him surprised by the sudden attention.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered Fox's squads to spread rumors that Hatake Sakumo had been defeated by Ryuujin, and assigned Yagami to investigate Blue B alongside Orochimaru and Bing.
• Yagami told the three Squad Leaders to spread the counter-rumors, then learned from Yellow Dog that a Fire Style expert had killed Root's Ding and Wu and several other Konoha ninjas.
• Kakashi told Hatake Sakumo that the neighbors were praising him, while Sakumo's friends denied spreading the rumors and discussed how widely they had spread.
• Yagami discovered that Root's Ji and Kanoe were heading to the Land of Iron, sent Yuka a warning through Stone Panda, and cautioned her about Root's heightened vigilance.
• Yagami, Orochimaru, and Bing left the village for the Land of Lightning, where Bing planned to contact a spy for information on Blue B.
• Orochimaru asked Yagami what tactics he had in mind for the mission, surprising him.

Yagami traveled with Orochimaru to investigate Blue B, but Root’s report redirected them toward three masked killers pursuing Root agents. When they reached the chase, Yagami discovered that the killers were Yuka and two allies, and the chapter ended as Bing charged them while Orochimaru and Yagami held back.

• Orochimaru assigned Yagami to hold back the Third Raikage, and the group traveled toward Kumogakure with Bing struggling to keep pace.
• After Bing returned with intelligence from Yakushi Nonō, he reported that Ji and other Root ninjas had found three masked killers and were pursuing them toward the bay.
• Orochimaru diverted the mission to pursue the killers, and Yagami hurried ahead, hoping to reach Yuka and her companions.
• Yagami saw Yuka and Uzumaki Kaichō fleeing from Ji, Kanoe, Xin, and Ren, while Uzumaki Genchō was missing.
• Bing charged the masked pair as Orochimaru watched and Yagami stayed back to assess the fight.

Yagami died fighting Orochimaru, then used his revival to return to the past, gain mastery-level Water Release: Water Severing Wave, and rescue Yuka and the other Uzumaki from Root pursuers. After helping them kill four Root ninja, he returned to the Land of Lightning and found Orochimaru waiting behind him.

• Yagami fought Orochimaru with Water Severing Wave and Earth Release, but Orochimaru pierced his heart and killed him.
• Yagami revived several days earlier, chose mastery-level Water Release: Water Severing Wave as his reward, and used White Glaze to reach Yuka and the other Uzumaki.
• Yagami used the Byakugan to find and remove Kikaichū tracking Yuka, Kaichō, and Genchō, then led them back toward their Root pursuers.
• Yagami and Kaichō killed Ren with a coordinated attack, while Yagami's Wind-Fire Combined Ninjutsu severely wounded Kanoe and Xin.
• Yagami and Yuka killed Ji, and Yagami told the Uzumaki to return to the Land of Rain before leaving through Reverse Summoning.
• Orochimaru appeared behind Yagami in a cave in the Land of Lightning and remarked on Bai Ci's intelligence and use of Reverse Summoning.

Yagami tried to explain his Summoned Beast’s Reverse Summoning to Orochimaru, who argued that the ability made him a threat to Konoha’s leadership. Orochimaru revealed that Yagami had been given a degraded Water Severing Wave and offered him a deal to spy in ANBU, leaving Yagami to consider cooperating.

• Yagami activated Absolute Defense: Bronze Radiance and claimed he had used Reverse Summoning to escape Cloud Ninja near Kumogakure, but Orochimaru said the ability made him uncontrollable to Yellow Dog and the Third Hokage.
• Orochimaru called Yagami by his real name and claimed Sarutobi Shinnosuke trusted his abilities, not Yagami himself.
• Orochimaru demonstrated the original Water Severing Wave and revealed that Sarutobi Hiruzen had given Yagami a degraded version.
• Orochimaru told Yagami that he would never enter Konoha’s inner circle and that ANBU Squad Leader was likely his ceiling.
• Orochimaru offered to exchange benefits with Yagami and asked him to act as a spy in ANBU.

Yagami agreed to spy for Orochimaru in exchange for Orochimaru concealing his Reverse Summoning, then bargained away a no-hand-seal Water Gun Technique to settle the price of four dead Root ninja. After receiving intelligence from Yakushi Nonō, Orochimaru and Yagami infiltrated Kumogakure to investigate Blue B, where Orochimaru triggered the Eight-Tails’ rampage.

• Yagami agreed to help Orochimaru obtain intelligence on the Scroll of Seals, the Black Ant Squad, and Blue B in exchange for protecting his secret.
• Bing reported that Ji, Kanoe, and two other Root ninja had gone missing, and Orochimaru negotiated with Yagami for the Water Gun Technique in return for keeping quiet about the deaths.
• Yakushi Nonō told Orochimaru and Yagami where Blue B lived, described his guards, and estimated that the Third Raikage could reach him in about a minute.
• Orochimaru and Yagami infiltrated Kumogakure, with Orochimaru planning to reach Blue B while Yagami handled the ANBU and delayed the Third Raikage.
• Orochimaru gave Blue B a hallucinogenic pill, causing the Eight-Tails to take control and burst through the mountain above the cave.