Chapter Summaries

Hyuga Seisen forced the six hundred death-row prisoners to obey by demonstrating the devastating power of his Sacred Arrow: Scattershot. He ordered Sarutobi Ryoji to lead them to Gourd Valley, with a Shadow Clone accompanying them and threatening to kill anyone who retreated.

• Hyuga Seisen shot an ancient tree with a blue arrow, terrifying the prisoners into stopping their charge.
• A prisoner urged the others to scatter, but Seisen used Sacred Arrow: Scattershot to blast a trench across their escape route.
• The prisoners gave up on running, and Seisen ordered Sarutobi Ryoji to take them to Gourd Valley with his Shadow Clone.
• Sarutobi Ryoji ordered the guards to unlock the prisoners’ shackles, keep their restraints on, and issue them kunai and Explosive Tags.

Hyuga Seisen sent Sarutobi Ryoji and six hundred death-row prisoners to confront Rasa’s advancing army at Gourd Valley while Hyuga Yamato hunted Sunagakure scouts. In Sunagakure, Chiyo and Ebizo mistook a report of Konoha’s retreat for a decisive victory and ordered a victory feast.

• Hyuga Seisen ordered Hyuga Yamato to use the Byakugan and eliminate Sunagakure scouts along the route.
• Sarutobi Ryoji led six hundred death-row prisoners toward Gourd Valley as Rasa’s army advanced behind a massive sandstorm.
• A Sunagakure hawk delivered a report claiming Konoha had abandoned its forward outposts and was retreating toward Kikyo Mountain.
• Ebizo celebrated the report and showed it to Chiyo.
• Chiyo concluded that the Land of Fire would soon fall and ordered the logistics troops to prepare a victory feast.

Rasa’s advance toward Kikyo Mountain stalled after Konoha’s traps crippled the Sunagakure vanguard, and three scouting teams disappeared without a trace. As a surviving scout prepared to retreat, Hyuga Yamato activated his Byakugan nearby.

• The vanguard commander reported heavy casualties from Konoha’s explosive-tag traps, and Rasa ordered the army to camp and scouts to search toward Kikyo Mountain.
• Baki sent three scouting groups into the forest, but all eighteen Sunagakure elites lost contact without sending signals or returning.
• Rasa realized that an unknown enemy had silently cut off his army’s intelligence network.
• The jonin leading the third scouting team sensed an unnatural silence and signaled his group to retreat.
• Hyuga Yamato stood three kilometers away and activated his Byakugan.

Hyuga Yamato’s forces silently eliminated Sunagakure scouts while Rasa halted his army and ordered a search of captured Konoha outposts. At the command tent, Rasa found damaged documents that appeared to reveal conflicting orders and a desperate retreat, leaving him to confront a confusing picture of Konoha’s plans.

• Hyuga Yamato directed two Sternritter members to kill three Sunagakure scouts without creating chakra disturbances, and they buried the bodies before moving on.
• Rasa ordered Sunagakure’s army to halt, reinforce its camps, secure its supply convoys, and search captured Konoha outposts for documents.
• Sunagakure engineers found scorched scrolls and a fireproof iron box beneath the ruins of Outpost Three, then sent the documents to Rasa.
• Rasa dismissed his guards and examined a deployment order sending Hyuga Seisen to the Land of Earth front, a bloody private letter pleading for reinforcements, and a marked retreat map.

Rasa confirmed evidence that Hyuga Seisen had abandoned Sarutobi Ryoji and concluded that Konoha’s front line was weak. He ordered Baki to lead an elite probing force toward Kikyo Mountain.

• Rasa reviewed recovered documents and accepted them as authentic Konoha records from the recent retreat.
• Rasa ordered sensory ninja to read captured Konoha soldiers’ memories, which showed Hyuga Seisen striking Sarutobi Ryoji, retreating with white-clad elites, and leaving lower-ranking soldiers behind.
• After the prisoners’ memories corroborated one another, Rasa concluded Hyuga Seisen had taken Konoha’s elite forces and left Sarutobi Ryoji with a weakened army.
• Rasa deduced that Hyuga branch family lookouts had tracked and killed the missing Sunagakure scouts, rather than a large Konoha force ambushing them.
• Rasa rejected Baki’s suggestion to advance the entire army and ordered him to lead three thousand elites as an advance probing force.

Rasa sent Baki and three thousand Sand shinobi down the main road, ordering him to capture Sarutobi Ryoji alive. After crude traps convinced Rasa that Konoha’s forces had withdrawn, Baki’s vanguard reached Gourd Valley and found six hundred prisoners preparing to block the road.

• Rasa ordered Baki to lead the vanguard along the main road and capture Sarutobi Ryoji alive for use as a bargaining chip.
• Baki’s force discovered crude explosive tags, tripwires, and empty trenches, and the mine-clearing squad dismantled them without resistance.
• Baki reported the traps to Rasa, who dismissed them as a bluff and ordered the vanguard to advance faster.
• Baki’s scouts spotted roughly six hundred ragged men setting up defenses on Gourd Valley Slope.
• Baki recognized the men as recently released prisoners and questioned whether they could stop his elite force.

Baki identified Sarutobi Ryoji commanding the condemned prisoners at Gourd Valley, and Rasa ordered the Sunagakure vanguard to attack and capture him alive. As the three thousand troops charged, Hyuga Seisen’s Shadow Clone stopped the prisoners from fleeing and prepared to face the attackers with a Spirit Bow.

• Baki spotted Sarutobi Ryoji at the top of Gourd Valley and reported his discovery to Rasa.
• Rasa ordered Baki to launch a probing assault and capture Sarutobi Ryoji alive.
• Baki led three thousand Sunagakure elites in a charge toward the Gourd Valley Slope.
• The condemned prisoners panicked and tried to flee as the Sunagakure force approached.
• Hyuga Seisen’s Shadow Clone shot a fleeing prisoner in the knee and warned the others not to retreat.
• Hyuga Seisen’s Shadow Clone formed a Spirit Bow and aimed an azure arrow at the charging troops.

Sunagakure's assault routed Konoha's death-row prisoners, and its troops mistook the wounded Sarutobi Ryoji for the real front-line commander. Believing Konoha's defenses were collapsing, Rasa ordered the twelve-thousand-strong main force to march on Gourd Valley and Kikyo Mountain.

• Sunagakure's vanguard smashed through the prisoners' makeshift defense, sending the six hundred Konoha death-row prisoners fleeing.
• Sarutobi Ryoji tried to hold the line, then fled after the prisoners shoved past him and a shuriken wounded his left arm.
• A Sunagakure jonin confirmed Sarutobi Ryoji was not a shadow clone and reported his identity and retreat to Baki.
• Baki ordered his three thousand troops to ignore the prisoners and pursue Sarutobi Ryoji alive toward Kikyo Mountain.
• Baki reported the apparent victory to Rasa, who ordered the main force to break camp and march at full speed toward Gourd Valley.

Sarutobi Ryoji fled toward Kikyo Mountain while Hyuga Seisen's weakened Shadow Clone tried to hold off the pursuing Sunagakure vanguard. Rasa concluded Seisen's main force had withdrawn from the Land of Wind front, then received an urgent secret report from the rear.

• Sarutobi Ryoji complained that Hyuga Seisen's Shadow Clone had not begun its plan, and the clone told him to keep running no matter what happened.
• The Shadow Clone stopped and fired three weak Spirit Bow arrows at the pursuing Sunagakure troops, barely wounding one chunin.
• Five Sunagakure jonin attacked the Shadow Clone with Wind Release and destroyed it.
• Sarutobi Ryoji cursed the clone as useless, then continued fleeing toward Kikyo Mountain.
• Rasa heard Baki's report and concluded that Hyuga Seisen's main force had withdrawn from the Land of Wind front.
• A communications ninja delivered an urgent secret report from the rear intelligence station to Rasa.

Rasa accelerated Sunagakure’s march toward Gourd Valley, where Hyuga Seisen’s forces had prepared a trap. The valley formation erased more than a thousand vanguard troops, leaving Rasa stunned above the battlefield.

• Rasa ordered his army to abandon supplies and march at full speed toward Gourd Valley.
• Hyuga Seisen confirmed that Rasa had taken the bait and told Hyuga Yamato to position his men.
• Rasa spotted a hidden formation beneath the valley and shouted for Baki’s vanguard to retreat.
• Baki ordered the vanguard to stop and turn back, but more than a thousand Sunagakure troops had already crossed into the valley.
• A Byakugan youth triggered the formation, which erased the trapped troops and their puppets, leaving Rasa trembling above a vast depression.

Rasa realized Sarutobi Ryoji had lured Sunagakure’s army into a trap, where the Radiance-Breaking Formation and a sudden ambush devastated Baki’s vanguard. After the attackers withdrew, Rasa took command of the pursuit and set out after Ryoji with five thousand troops.

• Hyuga Yamato and several hundred white-clad ninjas ambushed Baki’s surviving vanguard with Spirit Bows and explosive-tagged kunai, killing nearly a thousand soldiers.
• Rasa attacked the cliffside assailants with gold-dust spears, but they evaded him using Hirenkyaku.
• Hyuga Seisen ordered Yamato to retreat before their objective was achieved, and the attackers withdrew from the valley.
• Rasa deduced that Sarutobi Ryoji, Baki’s vanguard, and the Radiance-Breaking Formation had all been used to lure his main army out of its fortified camp.
• Rasa took command from Baki, formed a five-thousand-man force, and ordered them to pursue Sarutobi Ryoji.

Rasa pursued Sarutobi Ryoji and his exhausted troops into a narrow passage at Kikyo Mountain, believing Konoha had no defenses left. Hyuga Seisen confirmed Ryoji had reached safety as Rasa’s five thousand troops entered the trap.

• Rasa ordered Baki to reorganize the surviving vanguard while he led five thousand troops toward the valley passage.
• A hidden Konoha Chunin guided Sarutobi Ryoji and the remaining death-row prisoners into a concealed side passage guarded by Sternritter members.
• The Sternritter sealed and disguised the side passage after Sarutobi Ryoji entered, leaving the pursuing Sunagakure troops unaware of it.
• Rasa led his tightly packed troops through the passage, finding no visible traps and becoming certain he would capture Sarutobi Ryoji.
• Hyuga Seisen watched with his Byakugan as all five thousand troops entered the designated area, and Hyuga Yamato reported that Sarutobi Ryoji was safe.

Hyuga Seisen prepared a destructive spirit-particle attack atop Kikyo Mountain while Hyuga Yamato confirmed that Rasa and five thousand Sunagakure elites had been trapped inside the gorge. Rasa realized the retreat and obstacles had lured his forces into the passage just as Seisen aimed his attack at them.

• Hyuga Yamato reported that Sarutobi Ryoji's forces had withdrawn and that Rasa's five thousand elites were packed into the gorge passage.
• Hyuga Seisen released his Spirit Seal and Sage Reserve Seal, strengthening the compressed spirit-particle sphere as the mountain shook.
• Rasa led his troops through the narrow passage and sensed a deadly threat above them.
• Rasa recognized that the retreats, traps, and Gourd Valley's Radiance-Breaking Formation had been used to funnel his army into the gorge.

Hyuga Seisen unleashed his God-Slaying Spirit Light Cannon through the valley passage, erasing the five thousand Sunagakure elites and vitrifying the surrounding rock. As the steam cleared, he spotted fine golden powder at the point where the beam first struck.

• Rasa ordered his troops to fall back as Hyuga Seisen lifted the sealing array on Kikyo Mountain.
• Hyuga Seisen fired the God-Slaying Spirit Light Cannon down the canyon, vaporizing the Sunagakure troops, their weapons, and their puppets.
• The beam widened and vitrified the valley passage before its delayed blast sent a superheated shockwave through the area.
• Hyuga Seisen surveyed the destruction with his Byakugan and found fine golden powder at the beam's first point of impact.

Hyuga Seisen realized Rasa had survived the Spirit Light Cannon by sending a sand clone into the valley, while the blast destroyed five thousand Sunagakure elites. As Rasa fled and the remaining army began to collapse, Seisen ordered all forces to advance.

• Hyuga Seisen examined the intact gold dust and concluded that the Rasa killed by the cannon had been a sand clone.
• Rasa’s caution at Gourd Valley had led him to disguise his real body among his guards while sending a clone into the valley.
• The Spirit Light Cannon obliterated five thousand Sunagakure soldiers, and Rasa survived the blast inside a gold-dust shell.
• Hyuga Seisen saw that Sunagakure’s remaining troops were breaking and learned that Rasa was fleeing the battlefield.
• Hyuga Seisen summoned Shadow Clones, contacted Tanaka Tetsuo and Yamashita Takashi, and ordered all forces to advance.

A blinding blast erased Rasa and the five thousand Sunagakure troops who entered the canyon, leaving the main force in panic. As the Sunagakure army fled, Hyuga Seisen ordered his forces to pursue.

• Baki met the advancing Sunagakure main force outside Gourd Valley while the troops believed Rasa would soon defeat Sarutobi Ryoji.
• A blue flash and a superheated steam blast erupted from the canyon, hurling and burning the soldiers nearest its entrance.
• A sensory jonin confirmed that the five thousand troops inside the passage, including Rasa, had vanished.
• Baki confronted the sensory jonin, but other sensory ninja confirmed the same result and panic spread through the army.
• Sunagakure's formation collapsed as its troops fled toward the Land of Wind, while Baki stood by without trying to stop them.
• Hyuga Seisen watched the retreat from Kikyo Mountain and ordered his forces to pursue.

After his sand clone was killed in the canyon, Rasa tried to rally Sunagakure’s retreating army, but his disguise and the panic he had caused made the soldiers believe he was an impostor. Konoha’s forces began their attack, and Rasa fled with Baki as Hyuga Seisen ordered the routed soldiers killed.

• Rasa emerged from his gold-dust shell and tried to stop the retreating Sunagakure troops, but they accused him of being a Konoha impostor because they believed the Kazekage had died in the canyon.
• Rasa realized that his own sand clone, dressed as the Kazekage, had led the five thousand soldiers into the canyon and made the army believe he was dead.
• Baki reached Rasa and tried to rally the fleeing troops, but the soldiers ignored them and continued trampling and attacking one another as they fled.
• Hyuga Seisen signaled Konoha’s attack, and fifteen hundred Konoha ninja and Hyuga Yamato’s Sternritter advanced on the scattered Sunagakure army.
• Baki urged Rasa to escape, and the two fled toward the Land of Wind while Hyuga Seisen ordered Konoha’s forces to kill the remaining soldiers.
• Hyuga Yamato released a barrage of blue light arrows into the retreating Sunagakure troops.

Rasa abandoned the routed Sunagakure army and tried to escape with about three hundred elites, but Konoha forces surrounded them and forced him to withdraw his gold-dust barrier. As Rasa fled toward a narrow river valley, Hyuga Seisen prepared to confront him.

• Rasa ordered Baki to abandon the routed main force and used a gold-dust barrier to lead roughly three hundred elite soldiers away.
• Hyuga Yamato and the Sternritter attacked the retreating Sunagakure troops with Spirit Bows, while Tanaka Tetsuo blocked the southern road and forced Rasa to turn east.
• The Sternritter ambushed Rasa's group in a riverbed, and Baki's counterattack failed against their Hirenkyaku movement and light arrows.
• Rasa realized Konoha had encircled him and accepted Baki's suggestion to escape through a narrow southeastern river valley.
• Rasa withdrew the gold-dust barrier and fled with Baki and the remaining elites as Hyuga Seisen waited at Kikyo Mountain with a Spirit Bow.

Rasa tried to escape with Baki and Sunagakure’s elite troops, but Hyuga Seisen and the Sternritter ambushed them at Kikyo Mountain. Seisen battered Rasa with spirit arrows, sword strikes, and a water dragon, but Rasa remained alive and launched a massive Gold Dust Burial attack.

• Rasa led Baki and three hundred elite men across the riverbed as Konoha’s main force kept the Sunagakure troops occupied.
• Hyuga Seisen intercepted Rasa with a spirit arrow, while Hyuga Yamato and the Sternritter rained arrows on the fleeing troops and forced Baki to retreat with the survivors.
• Rasa attacked Seisen with golden sand spears, but Seisen dodged with Hirenkyaku and struck him with explosive arrows and a barrage of fire arrows.
• Seisen switched to a Spirit Blade and overwhelmed Rasa in close combat before hitting him with Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique.
• Rasa gathered the gold dust around him into a gigantic hand and attacked Seisen with Magnet Release: Gold Dust Burial.

Hyuga Seisen dismantled Rasa’s Gold Dust attacks and overwhelmed him with close-combat strength and spiritual power. Rasa faced Seisen’s enormous blue arrow with his defenses exhausted and despairing.

• Rasa poured his remaining chakra into a giant Gold Dust hand and sent it crashing down on Hyuga Seisen.
• Seisen used Seele Schneider to sever the chakra bonds holding the Gold Dust together, causing the hand to collapse into loose sand.
• Seisen used Hirenkyaku to close the distance and broke Rasa’s arms with a powerful knee strike.
• Rasa sent two Gold Dust torrents at Seisen, but Blut Vene absorbed their impact without moving him.
• Seisen summoned his Spirit Bow and released a massive blue arrow that vaporized Rasa’s Gold Dust needles and carved a gorge through the riverbed.