Chapter Summaries

Thirteen-year-old Chiyu completed a C-rank mission by defeating three hidden-village ninja and using his white snake summon to hide them while it ate the pirates’ corpses. After eight months of training under Orochimaru, Chiyu returned to Konoha with greatly improved abilities and chakra reserves.

• Chiyu fought the three ninja hiding among the pirates and incapacitated all of them.
• Chiyu summoned the white snake, which ate the corpses and stored the three unconscious ninja in its body.
• Chiyu told the white snake he would summon it again later, then set off for Konoha.
• Chiyu had mastered Fire Release transformation, Uchiha Fire Release techniques, Summoning Jutsu, and some of Orochimaru’s secret techniques.
• Chiyu’s Sharingan had evolved to Two-Tomoe, and his chakra reserves had reached the level of Kakashi with his Sharingan activated.

Chiyu returned to Konoha hoping to see Kushina Uzumaki, but three Kumogakure ninja abducted her and carried her toward the Land of Fire’s border. Chiyu followed the bell Kushina had shaken, rescued her, and began fighting the two surviving kidnappers despite pain in his meridians.

• Chiyu hurried toward Konoha, hoping to see Kushina Uzumaki after months apart.
• Kushina returned to Mito Uzumaki’s residence and was captured by three Kumogakure ninja who had infiltrated Konoha.
• As the kidnappers took Kushina toward the border, she clutched Chiyu’s bell and called his name for help.
• Chiyu followed the bell, killed one kidnapper, freed Kushina, and summoned the White Snake to protect her.
• Oyulo and Atuyi attacked Chiyu, who wounded Oyulo with a rapid series of slashes but felt pain from overusing Lightning Release Chakra.

Chiyu fought Oyulo and Atuyi, using his techniques and venomous snakes to overcome the two Kumogakure ninja. He killed Atuyi and faced Oyulo, who was enraged over his comrade’s death.

• Oyulo and Atuyi teamed up against Chiyu, but Chiyu’s Earth Clone and Hidden Shadow Snake Hands let him catch Atuyi off guard and poison him.
• Oyulo rescued Atuyi from Chiyu’s sword, then attacked with lightning as Chiyu countered with Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation and Thunder Breathing: Fifth Form: Heat World Lightning.
• Oyulo’s lightning struck Chiyu, but Chiyu’s own lightning protected him while Atuyi collapsed from the venom and flames.
• Chiyu grabbed the poisoned Atuyi, explained how the snakes had weakened him, and killed him with his longsword.
• Oyulo glared at Chiyu in rage, and Chiyu reminded him that they had become mortal enemies when Oyulo kidnapped Kushina.

Chiyu killed Oyulo after trapping him in a swamp and rescuing Kushina Uzumaki. As he carried her toward Konoha, she thanked him and confessed how frightened she had been, and Chiyu told her she had become the center of his world.

• Chiyu tricked Oyulo with a feint, trapped him in Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld, and killed him with Thunder Breathing.
• Chiyu sealed Oyulo's head and the other Kumogakure ninja's heads in a scroll, then found Kushina Uzumaki asleep beside White Snake.
• Chiyu thanked White Snake, confirmed the three captured ninja were safe, and sent the summon back to Ryūchi Cave.
• After taking a Military Ration Pill, Chiyu carried Kushina Uzumaki toward Konoha, and she woke in his arms.
• Kushina Uzumaki kissed Chiyu, thanked him through tears, and told him she had feared never seeing him again.
• Chiyu comforted Kushina Uzumaki and told her that, after his parents' deaths, she had given his life meaning.

Chiyu returned Kushina Uzumaki safely to Konoha after rescuing her from Kumogakure ninja, then reported the abduction and other enemy activity to Hiruzen Sarutobi. His discoveries suggested Kirigakure was also preparing to infiltrate the Land of Fire, leaving Konoha facing the threat of four hostile great ninja villages.

• Chiyu returned to Konoha with the sleeping Kushina Uzumaki and told the gate guards that Kumogakure ninja had abducted her inside the village.
• Chiyu delivered Kushina to Mito Uzumaki, then went to the Hokage Office and recounted the abduction to Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru.
• Chiyu handed Hiruzen Sarutobi a scroll containing the heads of three Kumogakure ninja for sensor analysis.
• Chiyu summoned the White Snake, which produced three ninja he had captured among pirates; Hiruzen Sarutobi sent the survivors for interrogation and the dead ninja for analysis.
• Chiyu showed Hiruzen Sarutobi where he had encountered the pirates, and Orochimaru concluded that Kirigakure was likely joining the conflict.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru planned how Konoha could withstand the Four Great Ninja Villages without being dragged into a full-scale war. Hiruzen approved Orochimaru’s strategy and sent him, with Chiyu, to reinforce Jiraiya against Kumogakure in the Land of Hot Water.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru agreed that Konoha could not survive a simultaneous full-scale attack by all four rival villages.
• Orochimaru proposed eliminating spies in Konoha, containing the fighting in neighboring lands, and using benefits to divide the allied villages.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi approved the plan and ordered Anbu and Danzo’s Root to purge enemy spies from Konoha.
• Hiruzen assigned Orochimaru to reinforce Jiraiya against Kumogakure in the Land of Hot Water, while other forces guarded the fronts against Sunagakure, Kirigakure, and Iwagakure.
• Orochimaru asked to take Chiyu with him, and Hiruzen approved; Chiyu eagerly anticipated fighting the Cloud Ninja over Kushina Uzumaki’s abduction.

Chiyu prepared to leave Konoha for the Land of Hot Water with Orochimaru, spending his new Witness Points on nothing and replacing his damaged sword with Oyulo’s chakra-metal blade. Before departing, he spent a quiet evening with Kushina Uzumaki and reassured her that she was his pride and the direction he strived toward.

• Orochimaru told Chiyu to prepare for their battlefield mission and meet him at the base the next morning.
• Chiyu bought ninja tools, checked the 1,300 Witness Points he had earned from the Kushina Uzumaki kidnapping incident, and decided not to spend them.
• Chiyu replaced his badly damaged longsword with the chakra-metal sword he had taken from Oyulo.
• Chiyu visited Kushina Uzumaki and told her he would be away in the Land of Hot Water for a long-term mission.
• Chiyu and Kushina Uzumaki walked through Konoha until dark, and he urged her to stay with Mito Uzumaki and ring the bell if anything happened.
• Kushina Uzumaki vowed to train so she would not burden Chiyu, and Chiyu told her she was his pride and the direction he strived toward.

Chiyu discussed Kushina’s future as a possible Nine-Tails Jinchuriki with Orochimaru and revealed that he had a plan to keep her from becoming the vessel. After receiving promotion to Chunin, Chiyu left with Orochimaru for the battlefield in the Land of Hot Water, promising to keep in touch with Kushina.

• Orochimaru pressed Chiyu to choose whether he would accept Kushina becoming the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki or try to prevent it, and Chiyu said he had already chosen and devised a plan.
• Chiyu proposed finding another Uzumaki Clan member as a backup vessel, while Orochimaru offered to work with him only if the arrangement benefited them both.
• Orochimaru told Chiyu that the captured Cloud Ninja and Kirigakure scouts had confessed, and said Chiyu would likely be promoted to Chunin.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi promoted Chiyu to Chunin the next morning and sent him and Orochimaru toward the Land of Hot Water.
• Chiyu said goodbye to Kushina at Konoha’s gate and promised to exchange letters with her.

Chiyu arrived with Orochimaru at Konoha’s embattled encampment in the Land of Hot Water and analyzed the threat from Kumogakure. He concluded that the Cloud Ninja were deliberately preserving the stalemate so they could invade the Land of Fire when full-scale war began.

• Orochimaru and Chiyu reached Konoha’s encampment, where Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze described how Kumogakure’s forces had pushed Konoha back to the border.
• Jiraiya explained that Cloud Ninja in the Land of the Moon could reinforce the Land of Hot Water, while Konoha lacked enough troops to defend the long border.
• Orochimaru asked Chiyu how to change the situation and encouraged him to share his battlefield analysis.
• Chiyu asked Jiraiya whether his reputation and presence had helped Konoha hold the border, and Jiraiya agreed that they had.
• Chiyu reasoned that Kumogakure was avoiding a full attack for now to keep Konoha from reinforcing the front, then break through and invade the Land of Fire once war began.

Chiyu proposed using Jiraiya and Orochimaru’s reputations to push Konoha’s front line farther into the Land of Hot Water without a direct confrontation. Orochimaru chose to launch a surprise attack on the Hidden Hot Water Village, and Chiyu stayed behind to plan the details with him.

• Chiyu explained that Konoha could not drive Kumogakure out by force and proposed making the enemy believe reinforcements had arrived by having Jiraiya and Orochimaru attack a stronghold together.
• Orochimaru approved Chiyu’s plan, and Jiraiya agreed it could work if they struck a major Kumogakure stronghold.
• Orochimaru selected the Hidden Hot Water Village, despite Minato Namikaze’s warning that attacking it could turn the Hot Water Ninja against Konoha.
• Jiraiya handed command to Orochimaru, who ordered the ninja assembled quickly for a surprise attack.
• Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze left to make arrangements, while Orochimaru kept Chiyu behind to discuss the battle plan.

Chiyu and Orochimaru finalized plans for a surprise attack on Hidden Hot Water Village, and Orochimaru praised Chiyu’s leadership potential. Later, Chiyu confronted Minato Namikaze over their past and clashed with him about the cost of the proposed operation before leaving to rest.

• Orochimaru and Chiyu finished discussing the operation and decided to launch the surprise attack on Hidden Hot Water Village the following night.
• Orochimaru told Chiyu that he considered him a valuable reinforcement with the potential to become an important leader in the war.
• Chiyu found Minato Namikaze waiting for him and told him that he hated him because of their past.
• Minato Namikaze asked why Chiyu opposed him, and Chiyu accused him of hypocrisy for objecting to casualties from the attack plan.
• Minato Namikaze insisted that people were not numbers, and Chiyu mocked his kindness before ending the conversation and heading to his tent.

Jiraiya reassured Minato Namikaze after his disagreement with Chiyu and told him he had the qualities to become Hokage, then secured permission for him to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique. The next day, Orochimaru organized a surprise attack on the Hidden Hot Water Village, assigning Chiyu and Minato Namikaze to assassinate the Cloud Ninja commander.

• Jiraiya told Minato Namikaze that neither he nor Chiyu had been wrong, but praised Minato's Will of Fire and said he had the potential to become Hokage.
• Jiraiya revealed that he had obtained permission for Minato Namikaze to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique from the Scroll of Seals.
• Orochimaru gathered the fewer than one hundred Konoha ninjas in the Land of Hot Water and assigned them roles for a surprise attack on the Hidden Hot Water Village.
• Orochimaru ordered Chiyu to act alone and seek out the Cloud Ninja commander for assassination.
• Jiraiya asked Orochimaru to assign Minato Namikaze to the assassination mission as well, and Minato Namikaze confidently accepted.

Orochimaru’s force prepared a surprise attack on Hidden Hot Water Village after Sensor Ninjas gathered intelligence, despite the Cloud Ninja discovering their infiltration. Jiraiya explained why the enemy would not expect an attack, and Orochimaru and Jiraiya set off while Chiyu, Minato Namikaze, and the others waited for the signal.

• Three Sensor Ninjas approached Hidden Hot Water Village; one was killed, while the other two returned with information about the village’s defenses, though one had lost an arm.
• Orochimaru ordered the operation to begin at four in the morning, with him and Jiraiya causing destruction inside the village while the others followed the plan.
• Jiraiya explained to Minato Namikaze that the Cloud Ninja would not expect an attack because they considered Hidden Hot Water Village too well defended for Konoha to assault.
• After five hours, Orochimaru and Jiraiya raced toward Hidden Hot Water Village, while Chiyu, Minato Namikaze, and the remaining ninjas waited nearby for the right moment to enter the battle.

Orochimaru and Jiraiya launched a surprise assault on Hidden Hot Water Village, while Konoha forces followed their plan to split and attack the enemy. Chiyu and Minato Namikaze began hunting the opposing commanders, and Chiyu killed one and trapped nearby ninja with Explosive Tags.

• Orochimaru and Jiraiya summoned Manda and Gamabunta, who attacked the gathered Cloud Ninja and Hot Water Ninja as the Sannin unleashed their own techniques.
• The enemy took cover and organized its forces, limiting the casualties Orochimaru and Jiraiya could inflict.
• Chiyu, Minato Namikaze, and the Konoha ninja entered Hidden Hot Water Village, where Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire Release attacks divided and struck the enemy forces.
• Chiyu used the Sharingan to identify a commander by watching who spoke the most, then killed him with Thunder Breathing First Form: Thunderclap and Flash: Sixfold Strike.
• Chiyu withdrew with the Body Flicker Technique as Explosive Tags on the commander's corpse detonated among the approaching ninja.

Chiyu fought through the battle at Hidden Hot Water Village, killing Cloud Ninja commanders and using a wounded Konoha ninja’s final stand to destroy two enemies. Minato Namikaze confronted him over Daigo’s death, but Chiyu defended his actions as a final contribution to Konoha, leaving Minato unable to answer.

• Chiyu killed a Cloud Ninja commander with one strike, and Minato Namikaze realized Chiyu had grown even stronger and resolved to master the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Chiyu killed the Cloud Ninja surrounding him with Thunder Breathing, swallowed two Military Ration Pills, then used water and Lightning Release to paralyze and kill another squad.
• Chiyu killed another enemy commander and gave Explosive Tags to the gravely wounded Daigo before leaving him behind.
• Daigo rejected Minato Namikaze’s attempt to stop him, charged the Cloud Ninja, and detonated the Explosive Tags, killing himself and two enemies.
• Minato Namikaze confronted Chiyu over Daigo’s death, and Chiyu argued that Daigo’s sacrifice served Konoha and reflected the Will of Fire.
• Minato Namikaze could not refute Chiyu, despite his grief and anger.

Chiyu and Minato Namikaze continued fighting after Daigo’s death, while Chiyu focused on the Hot Water Ninja Leader, whose village had been devastated by the battle. The leader entered the fight against Konoha, and Chiyu attacked him, drawing his hatred.

• Minato Namikaze angrily blamed Chiyu for sending Daigo to his death, but Chiyu told him to focus on the ongoing battle.
• Chiyu and Minato Namikaze returned to fighting, while Orochimaru and Jiraiya led the main assault and Manda and Gamabunta struggled against enemy summons.
• Chiyu learned from a captured Hot Water Ninja that the Hot Water Ninja Leader had joined the battle, then sent a snake to notify Orochimaru.
• The Hot Water Ninja Leader regretted allowing Kumogakure to station troops in his village and attacked Konoha’s ninja after seeing villagers and fellow ninja die.
• Chiyu attacked the Hot Water Ninja Leader with four fire dragons, and the leader blocked them with Water Release techniques before recognizing Chiyu with hatred.

Chiyu fought the Hot Water Ninja Leader, using a combination of ninjutsu, Sharingan, and Thunder Breathing to counter the leader’s attacks. After escaping a water prison and turning the water dragons’ clash into a shower of electrified droplets, Chiyu left the Hot Water Ninja Leader exposed to a dangerous attack.

• The Hot Water Ninja Leader attacked Chiyu with Water Release techniques, while Chiyu countered with explosive kunai, Earth Release, and Thunder Breathing.
• The Hot Water Ninja Leader used Wind Release to deflect Chiyu’s lightning slash, then escaped Chiyu’s flames with the Substitution Technique.
• The Hot Water Ninja Leader trapped Chiyu in a Water Prison, but Chiyu broke free with Thunder Breathing and retreated.
• The Hot Water Ninja Leader recognized Chiyu as a young Jonin-level genius and lamented that Hidden Hot Water Village lacked powerful ninja.
• Chiyu and the Hot Water Ninja Leader summoned opposing water dragons, and Chiyu electrified his own dragon before their collision sent lightning-charged droplets raining down.

Chiyu battled the Hot Water Ninja Leader, wounding him with a lightning-fast strike before unleashing his newly learned Fire Thunder God. The attack collided with the leader’s final Wind Release technique, and dust obscured their fate.

• Chiyu used lightning-infused water and a fire attack to create steam, then struck the Hot Water Ninja Leader’s neck with a draw slash that wounded him.
• Chiyu swallowed a Military Ration Pill and chose not to use Witness Points to restore his Chakra, while Minato Namikaze watched the fight and marveled at Chiyu’s progress.
• The Hot Water Ninja Leader fired Vacuum Sphere attacks as Chiyu dodged and entered a state of total concentration.
• Chiyu charged with Thunder Breathing, Seventh Form: Fire Thunder God, evading the leader’s Vacuum Great Orb attacks.
• The Hot Water Ninja Leader fired one final high-pressure wind sphere as Chiyu slashed, and an explosion engulfed them in dust.

Chiyu and the Hot Water Ninja Leader both collapsed after their final exchange, but the leader survived Chiyu’s attack and prepared to kill him. Minato Namikaze chose to intervene, only for the leader’s kunai to pass through an illusory Chiyu, revealing that the leader had fallen under Genjutsu.

• Chiyu’s final attack missed after the Hot Water Ninja Leader blasted himself aside with a Vacuum Great Orb, leaving both fighters badly injured.
• The Hot Water Ninja Leader rose and prepared to kill Chiyu, while Chiyu insisted that the leader had not won.
• Minato Namikaze hesitated over whether to save Chiyu, then rushed to intervene when the leader threw a kunai.
• The kunai struck the ground beside Chiyu, whose body turned illusory and reappeared elsewhere.
• The Hot Water Ninja Leader realized that he had been caught in Genjutsu.

Chiyu defeated Kuroiwa Tatsuji by trapping him in Sharingan genjutsu, and Orochimaru arrived to secure the Hidden Hot Water Village’s cooperation. The operation succeeded, and Orochimaru carried an exhausted Chiyu away while warning him never to underestimate an opponent.

• Kuroiwa Tatsuji broke Chiyu’s genjutsu by stabbing himself, but Chiyu revealed that he had run out of options.
• Orochimaru appeared and told Kuroiwa Tatsuji to restore Hidden Hot Water Village’s neutrality by having the Cloud Ninja withdraw.
• Kuroiwa Tatsuji agreed after Orochimaru threatened that Konoha would keep attacking if any Cloud Ninja remained.
• Orochimaru ordered his forces to gather and withdraw, while Minato Namikaze went to support the other ninja.
• Orochimaru carried the exhausted Chiyu and praised his fight against Kuroiwa Tatsuji, then warned him that no opponent in the ninja world was simple.