Chapter Summaries

Xuan Yu told Shisui that Itachi had led a Root-backed attack on the Uchiha Clan, and Shisui struggled to understand his former ally’s actions. Hanayu announced that transplanting Fugaku’s Mangekyo eyes had a seventy percent chance of success, and Shisui agreed to proceed; the operation began as Xuan Yu and the others waited for the result.

• Xuan Yu told Shisui that Hanayu was preparing an eye transplant and reassured him that he might regain his sight.
• Shisui asked about the attack on the clan, and Xuan Yu recounted how Itachi and Root shinobi killed more than 140 Uchiha before being driven back.
• Xuan Yu told Shisui that Root, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and Shimura Danzō were involved in the Clan Massacre plan.
• Hanayu announced that Shisui could receive Fugaku’s eyes, with a seventy percent chance of success despite some risk of rejection.
• Shisui agreed to the transplant, and Hanayu began the operation while Xuan Yu watched.

Hua Yu completed Shisui’s eye transplant, but rejection remained, leaving his recovery dependent on continued Wood Release treatment. Shisui could see only blurry figures for now, and Xuan Yu urged him to recover so he could help the Uchiha Clan.

• Hua Yu told Xuan Yu that Shisui’s transplanted eyes had connected but were still being rejected, though Wood Release Energy seemed to weaken the rejection.
• After monitoring Shisui through the night, Hua Yu had him open his eyes, and he saw blurry figures despite pain and tearing.
• Hua Yu said daily treatment with Wood Release-infused liquid could help Shisui fuse with the eyes, with normal vision expected in about a month and full recovery taking six months to a year.
• Xuan Yu urged Shisui to recover for the Uchiha Clan, and Shisui resolved to regain his strength and ask Itachi why he had attacked their clansmen.
• Xuan Yu asked Hua Yu how Uncle Xia’s Cellular Potion research was progressing.

Uchiha Xuan Yu prepared Senju Hashirama for a journey outside Konoha by testing his combat ability and warning him to use forbidden techniques only to save his life. Hashirama passed the test, and Xuan Yu left him ready to represent the Akatsuki Organization.

• Hua Yu told Uchiha Xuan Yu that Uchiha Xia's Cellular Potion was ready, and Xuan Yu delayed the injection while asking her to rest and continue work on his parents' potions.
• Xuan Yu told Hua Yu that Senju Hashirama would leave Konoha for a while to carry out tasks for him.
• Xuan Yu took Senju Hashirama and Hua Yu to a secluded area outside Konoha and ordered Hashirama to attack him with all his strength.
• Senju Hashirama fought Xuan Yu with Wood Release and the first four gates of the Eight Gates Formation, then tried to activate the Yin Seal.
• Xuan Yu stopped Hashirama and warned him to reserve the Yin Seal and the Strength of a Hundred Sealings for emergencies.
• Xuan Yu ended the test, confirmed that Hashirama had passed, and walked away with a mask whose pattern was not a monkey.

Senju Hashirama joined the Akatsuki Organization as Bull, though he preferred the name Wood Bull, and received missions from Uchiha Xuan Yu. Xuan Yu sent him to find Orochimaru and recruit Kimimaro, leaving Hashirama to set out the next day with a warning to beware of Orochimaru.

• Senju Hashirama celebrated passing Xuan Yu’s test and received an Akatsuki mask and the title Bull, which Xuan Yu agreed could be changed to Wood Bull.
• Xuan Yu ordered Hashirama to complete three missions at the Phantom Gold Exchange, then find Orochimaru.
• Xuan Yu told Hashirama to borrow Kimimaro from Orochimaru, or take a piece of Kimimaro’s bone if he could not bring him along.
• Xuan Yu warned Hashirama not to get entangled with Orochimaru or trust him, and Hashirama agreed to follow the instructions.
• Xuan Yu asked Hashirama to look for Jugo and tell him that Xuan Yu might be able to control the energy that made him go berserk.

Senju Hashirama left Konoha to carry out a mission for Xuanyu and joined the Akatsuki Organization as Wooden Ox. After Hashirama departed, Xuanyu trained with Might Guy and the others while Sarutobi Hiruzen learned of Hashirama’s departure and questioned his purpose.

• Xuanyu tasked Senju Hashirama with finding Jugo and encouraged him to study the Wood Release techniques he had learned.
• Senju Hashirama left Konoha without saying goodbye to Might Guy, put on the Wooden Ox Mask outside the village, and headed toward the Bounty Exchange.
• Might Guy arrived after Hashirama had left and regretted missing the chance to give him a skintight suit.
• Xuanyu, Might Guy, Zhong Kui, Neji, and Rock Lee continued their body training, with Might Guy encouraging Rock Lee to keep up.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen asked an Anbu ninja about the Uchiha and learned that Senju Hashirama had left Konoha after Xuanyu saw him off.

Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered Anbu to capture Senju Hashirama and extract information about the Uchiha Clan, while Kakashi learned of the plan and warned Xuanyu. Xuanyu stayed confident that Hashira could handle the attackers, and Kakashi was left wondering why Xuanyu’s silhouette seemed familiar.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered an Anbu ninja to track down Senju Hashirama, capture him, and question him about the Uchiha Clan, while warning the team not to include Sarutobi Clan members.
• Yamanaka gathered a Tracking Ninja and two Combat Ninjas, told them the Third Hokage wanted Hashira captured, and led the group out of Konoha.
• Kakashi overheard the plan and realized that Senju Hashirama was likely their target, so he went to find Xuanyu.
• Kakashi warned Xuanyu that three Jonin and a Tracking Ninja were after Hashira, but Xuanyu said Hashira could handle them and thanked Kakashi for the warning.
• As Xuanyu left, Kakashi found his silhouette familiar.

Hashira was tracked down by four Konoha ninja while resting outside the village, but he sensed their approach and attacked first with Wood Release. The four ninja were caught in his vines as they tried to escape.

• Kakashi noticed that Xuanyu’s figure faintly reminded him of the Black Robe Assassin, then dismissed the thought and left.
• Xuanyu reassured Hua Yu that Hashira could handle the dangers on his mission alone.
• Yamanaka led three other Konoha ninja and a tracking hound through the forest to find Hashira.
• Hashira sensed the group approaching with Wood Release and hid in a tree while they searched below.
• The tracking hound spotted Hashira, and he used Wood Release: Hell Entanglement to bind the four ninja and the dog.

Senju Hashirama used Wood Release to defeat a Konoha pursuit team that had come to kill him, then turned to face the three Jonin who escaped. He drove them back with the Eight Gates Formation and wondered why they were so weak.

• Yamanaka and two other Jonin escaped Hashira’s thorny Wood Release vines, while the Tracking Ninja Chunin and his ninja dog remained trapped.
• Hashira grew the vines again and killed the bound Chunin and dog when the others refused to rescue them.
• Yamanaka recognized the attacker as a possible Wood Release user and tried to retreat after apologizing, but Hashira refused to let the three Jonin leave.
• Yamanaka urged the Jonin to capture Hashira and charged him, and the other two joined the attack.
• Hashira used the Eight Gates Formation to send Yamanaka flying and force the other two Jonin back, then wondered why they were so weak.

Senju Hashirama defeated three Konoha ninja sent by Sarutobi Hiruzen to question him about the Uchiha Clan and kill him. After Hashirama learned the mission’s purpose and killed the captives, Sarutobi Hiruzen waited in the Hokage Office and worried when Yamanaka failed to return.

• Yamanaka and two other Konoha ninja tried to flee after Senju Hashirama overwhelmed them, but Hashirama used Wood Release clones and vines to capture all three.
• Hashirama revealed his identity to Yamanaka and tortured him until he admitted that Sarutobi Hiruzen had ordered them to investigate the Uchiha Clan’s internal affairs and kill Hashirama.
• Hashirama told Yamanaka that Uchiha Xuan Yu had saved him and his little sister from Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō, then declared Xuan Yu stronger than the Konoha ninja could imagine.
• Hashirama killed Yamanaka and the other two ninja, then complained that his vines would have been better if they were poisonous.
• The next day, Sarutobi Hiruzen waited for Yamanaka in the Hokage Office and wondered whether something had happened to him.

Kakashi investigated the disappearance of Yamanaka and his team, then confronted Xuanyu, who denied helping Senju Hashirama. Kakashi left Konoha with Pakkun to track Yamanaka’s belongings.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi sent Kakashi to find Yamanaka and the ninja who had not returned from pursuing a Rogue Ninja.
• Kakashi suspected Xuanyu had helped Senju Hashirama, but agreed to search for Yamanaka’s team.
• Kakashi encountered Xuanyu and Hua Yu at the Uchiha Clan Grounds and questioned Xuanyu about the missing ninja.
• Xuanyu denied involvement and said Senju Hashirama had handled the matter himself.
• Kakashi left Konoha, summoned Pakkun, and gave him one of Yamanaka’s belongings to track.

Kakashi and Pakkun tracked Hashira’s trail and discovered that he had killed Yamanaka, two other ninjas, and the summoned ninja dog Piro. Kakashi found evidence that Hashira had used Wood Release, and he and Pakkun prepared to recover Piro’s body before continuing the pursuit.

• Pakkun led Kakashi along the trail and realized that the people they sought had fought a battle in the forest.
• Pakkun determined that only the pursued person had left the battlefield and that the others were buried underground.
• Kakashi used Earth Release to expose the bodies, finding the dead ninjas tangled in thorn-covered vines.
• Kakashi recognized the vines as evidence of Wood Release and concluded that Hashira had subdued and interrogated the ninjas before killing them.
• Pakkun identified Piro’s remains, and Kakashi cut through the vines so Pakkun could take the body back.
• Kakashi asked Pakkun to track the last person who had left.

Kakashi tracked Xuanyu away from Konoha, concealed evidence of Senju Hashirama’s Wood Release, and reported to Sarutobi Hiruzen without revealing what he had learned. Xuanyu then asked to escort goods to the Land of Earth, hoping to learn Dust Release and meet Deidara, while Uchiha Hanjō warned him that the Tsuchikage was hostile to the Uchiha.

• Pakkun tracked Xuanyu’s trail out of Konoha, then returned his fallen clansman’s body to the clan while Kakashi stayed behind.
• Kakashi buried the vine wall with Earth Release and decided to keep Senju Hashirama’s Wood Release secret.
• Kakashi reported to Sarutobi Hiruzen that Yamanaka and the others were likely dead, but he concealed how they had died and Hashirama’s Wood Release.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen mistook Kakashi’s report for another attack by the Black Robe Assassin and dismissed him without explaining the assassin.
• Xuanyu asked Uchiha Hanjō to let him join the escort mission to Iwagakure, planning to pursue Dust Release and meet Deidara.
• Uchiha Hanjō warned Xuanyu that the Tsuchikage was hostile toward Uchiha clansmen and that he usually left them outside the Land of Earth.

Xuanyu prepared to escort goods to the Land of Earth with Uchiha Xia and Hua Yu, hoping to meet Ōnoki and copy Dust Release. On the road, a familiar black-clad ninja ambushed the group, and Hua Yu knocked aside his shuriken.

• Xuanyu persuaded Uchiha Hanjō to let him travel to the Land of Earth, and Uchiha Xia agreed to accompany him.
• Xuanyu ordered Hua Yu to join the trip so she could rest, despite her unfinished experiments.
• Hua Yu assured Uchiha Xia that the Cellular Potion would be completed after they returned.
• Xuanyu, Uchiha Xia, Hua Yu, and the Merchant Guild's ordinary ninja left Konoha in an ox-drawn cart.
• A black-clad ninja blocked the group and hurled a shuriken at Xuanyu, and Hua Yu knocked it away and demanded to know why he had attacked.

Hanayu fought the masked Kakashi after he attacked Xuanyu, revealing her Wood Release and forming a gigantic wooden palm. The palm crashed down on Kakashi as he countered with Lightning Blade, leaving the result unclear.

• Kakashi tested Xuanyu with a shuriken, and Hanayu blocked it before confronting the masked ninja.
• Hanayu broke free of Kakashi's grip, cut his mask with a Chakra blade, and struck him hard enough to crack the ground.
• Kakashi used Earth Release: Earth Flow River to trap Hanayu in a swamp, but she escaped with Wood Release vines.
• Hanayu formed a gigantic palm from intertwined vines and brought it down on Kakashi.
• Kakashi leaped up and met the descending palm with Lightning Blade, but the wooden hand continued falling.

Hua Yu fought Kakashi and learned that he had survived her Wood Release attack by using Lightning Release. After Kakashi warned Xuanyu that Hashira and Hua Yu could become targets because of their Wood Release, he urged Xuanyu to hand the siblings over to Konoha for training.

• Hua Yu’s massive Wood Release palm flattened the nearby trees, but Xuanyu realized Kakashi had escaped unharmed.
• Kakashi used Lightning Release to break through the Wood Release Hand and attack Hua Yu, who defended herself with vines before they clashed again.
• Xuanyu called off the fight, and Hua Yu withdrew after knocking Kakashi back; Xuanyu then explained that Kakashi had not come under Hiruzen Sarutobi’s orders to hunt them.
• Kakashi removed his mask and revealed that he had come because of Hashira, while admitting he had concealed the details of Wood Release from the Third Hokage.
• Kakashi warned Xuanyu that Wood Release users could be hunted by many factions and urged him to hand Hashira and Hua Yu over to Konoha for training.

Xuanyu negotiated with Kakashi for the Wood Release training methods while Kakashi tried to persuade Hanayu to return to Konoha. Hanayu rejected Konoha and its Will of Fire, and Xuanyu and the siblings continued their journey to Iwagakure.

• Xuanyu told Kakashi that Hanayu could decide whether to follow him to Konoha, but demanded Wood Release training methods for both siblings.
• Kakashi agreed to provide the methods if the siblings promised not to attack Konoha's ninjas, and Hanayu said she would not attack unless they attacked her or Xuanyu first.
• Kakashi urged Hanayu to join Konoha and inherit the Will of Fire, but she denounced Konoha for neglecting her and her brother and vowed loyalty to Xuanyu.
• Kakashi let Xuanyu and the siblings pass, and Hanayu warned that her promise not to attack Konoha did not include enemies.
• Xuanyu and the siblings continued on their way and arrived at Iwagakure that day.

Xuanyu arrived in Iwagakure and discovered Deidara demonstrating the enormous power of his explosive clay. Impressed, Xuanyu considered recruiting him into the Akatsuki Organization, while Deidara tried to fly away and an aged voice confronted him.

• Xuanyu entered Iwagakure with Hua Yu and Uchiha Xia and explored the village.
• Deidara showed Kurotsuchi his explosive clay experiments and sent Clay Spiders and a Rabbit into a house for a test.
• The explosions overwhelmed Kurotsuchi's Earth Wall shield, and Xuanyu and Uchiha Xia recognized Deidara's destructive talent.
• Deidara summoned a large Clay Bird and tried to leave the village, while Uchiha Xia worried about his potential and Xuanyu proposed recruiting him into the Akatsuki Organization.
• An aged voice called out to Deidara, and a small figure blocked the Clay Bird's path.

After Ōnoki ordered Deidara to leave Iwagakure for repeatedly causing destruction, Xuanyu befriended the disappointed young ninja by praising his explosive art. Xuanyu’s group remained in the village for the night, and Deidara took Xuanyu out to eat after rebuilding the damaged homes.

• Ōnoki reprimanded Deidara for demolishing buildings and ordered him to repair them before leaving Iwagakure.
• Uchiha Xia caught Deidara as he fell, and Xuanyu introduced himself and praised Deidara’s art.
• Deidara excitedly called Xuanyu his brother and unlikely friend, then went to rebuild the damaged homes.
• Ōnoki told Xuanyu, Uchiha Xia, and Hua Yu that Iwagakure did not welcome Uchiha clansmen and ordered them to leave the next day.
• Deidara finished the repairs and invited Xuanyu to a noodle shop, but Xuanyu offered to pay for a meal at the best restaurant.

Xuanyu tried to recruit Deidara from Iwagakure by offering him a laboratory and support to improve his explosive art, but Deidara remained undecided. After Deidara fell asleep, Xuanyu created a Shadow Clone and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to set out for the Land of Earth’s ninjutsu.

• Xuanyu followed Deidara to his new house, where they continued discussing explosive art over tea.
• Xuanyu invited Deidara to leave Iwagakure with him and promised to build him a laboratory with research assistants.
• Xuanyu revealed that he was the son of Konoha’s Uchiha Clan Head and discussed the Uchiha Clan’s attack with Deidara.
• Xuanyu pointed out that Lightning Release Chakra countered Deidara’s explosive art and offered to support his research, leaving Deidara willing to think it over.
• After Deidara and Xuanyu went to sleep, Xuanyu created a Shadow Clone and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to head for the Land of Earth.

Xuanyu infiltrated Iwagakure’s Ninja Archive to search for Dust Release, but found and memorized five powerful Earth Release techniques instead. Ōnoki noticed that his mud seal had fallen off and sent Kitsuchi to investigate the archive.

• Xuanyu subdued the four guards with a powerful genjutsu and entered the Ninja Archive.
• Xuanyu used Shadow Clones to search the scrolls while he found a hidden compartment with five scrolls.
• Xuanyu memorized the Gōriki Style, Added-Weight Rock Technique, Earth Mountain Technique, Swamp of the Underworld, and Super-Lightweight Rock Technique, but found no Dust Release.
• Ōnoki noticed his mud seal had fallen off and suspected someone had entered the archive.
• Ōnoki sent Kitsuchi to check the Ninja Archive.