Chapter Summaries

Sarutobi Hiruzen learned that the Wood Release wielder Wood Bull belonged to the Akatsuki Organization and considered how to bring him to Konoha. Meanwhile, Xuanyu brought Uchiha Hanjō and Uchiha Xia to receive serum injections, where they encountered Uchiha Shisui.

• An Anbu ninja reported that the masked Wood Bull had recently appeared and used Wood Release, while Kakashi concluded that he was Senju Hashirama.
• The Anbu ninja mentioned Wood Bull's unverified claim that he belonged to the Akatsuki Organization, shocking Sarutobi Hiruzen and Kakashi.
• Kakashi decided to seek out Xuanyu to ask about the black-robed man and Obito, while Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered Kakashi to call Danzo and Utatane for a meeting.
• Xuanyu urged the reluctant Uchiha Hanjō to join Uchiha Xia for serum injections in the Basement.
• Xuanyu entered the Basement and saw Uchiha Shisui looking at him with bright eyes.

Xuanyu oversaw Shisui’s recovery and arranged for Uchiha Hanjō and Uchiha Xia to receive Cellular Potion injections. After confirming they were safe, he asked Hua Yu to begin researching Wood Release Cells.

• Shisui told Xuanyu that Hua Yu had allowed him to occasionally remove his eye covering, though he still needed to adapt to the new eyes and avoid using Doujutsu Power.
• Hua Yu warned that Shisui’s fusion was not yet guaranteed complete and said his condition would be reassessed after he fused with Uzumaki Cells.
• Hua Yu injected Uchiha Hanjō and Uchiha Xia with Cellular Potion, and Xuanyu estimated their cells would take about half a year to fuse.
• Xuanyu told Uchiha Xia to begin teaching Hanjō ninjutsu basics, despite Hanjō’s protests.
• After Hua Yu confirmed both men were compatible with the potion, Xuanyu asked her to study Wood Release Cells and develop Wood Release Cellular Potions.

Xuanyu decided to have Hua Yu research Wood Release Cells using his cells, despite her concerns about the danger. Shisui asked about Itachi, and later Kakashi confronted Xuanyu over the Wood Release Ninja known as Wood Bull, whom Xuanyu confirmed was Senju Hashirama.

• Xuanyu told Hua Yu to begin researching Wood Release Cells using his cells, and reassured her that he trusted her abilities.
• Shisui appeared using the Flying Thunder God Technique and asked Xuanyu for news about Itachi and the reason behind the Clan Massacre.
• Xuanyu told Shisui to find Itachi and ask him himself, then took Hua Yu out for ramen.
• Kakashi stopped Xuanyu and asked whether Wood Bull was Senju Hashirama.
• Xuanyu confirmed that Wood Bull should be Hashirama, and Kakashi accused him of putting Hashirama in danger by sending him on a mission.

Kakashi confronted Xuan Yu about Hashirama and the Akatsuki, then warned him that Konoha’s leaders might move against Hashirama to obtain his Wood Release. After Xuan Yu left, Kakashi used Pakkun to investigate whether Xuan Yu was connected to the black-clothed assassin, and Pakkun found the assassin’s scent strongly nearby.

• Xuan Yu rebuked Kakashi for disguising his questions about Hashirama and the Akatsuki as concern for Hashirama.
• Kakashi questioned Xuan Yu about Hashirama joining the Akatsuki, but Xuan Yu denied knowing and said Hashirama made his own choices.
• Kakashi warned Xuan Yu that Konoha’s higher-ups knew about Wood Bull and might soon move against Hashirama.
• Xuan Yu reassured Hua Yu that Hashirama could escape danger, while Kakashi summoned Pakkun to search for the black-clothed assassin’s scent.
• Pakkun detected a strong trace of the assassin’s scent, and Xuan Yu realized Kakashi suspected him.

Kakashi learned that Xuanyu’s scent matched the Black-Clothed Assassin’s and began to suspect that Xuanyu was the assassin. In the Hokage Office, Shimura Danzō urged the Konoha F4 to capture a newly discovered Wood Release user, and Sarutobi Hiruzen acknowledged Wood Release’s importance to Konoha.

• Pakkun confirmed that the assassin’s scent matched Xuanyu’s and had passed through recently, leaving Kakashi shaken by the possibility that Xuanyu was the Black-Clothed Assassin.
• Kakashi recalled Xuanyu’s strength, his knowledge of Obito, and their trip to steal the Sealing Scroll, then decided to seek Xuanyu and demand answers.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzō, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura discussed how to respond to the newly discovered Wood Release Ninja.
• Shimura Danzō insisted that Root capture the Wood Release Ninja, arguing that Konoha had to secure the powerful ability before another force did.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen said Wood Release was tremendously important to Konoha.

Sarutobi Hiruzen decided to capture the Wood Release Ninja, claiming Konoha needed to protect him, and sent Hatake Kakashi and Might Guy to lead the mission. Meanwhile, Xuanyu showed Deidara his underground laboratory outside Konoha and promised to help improve his explosive art, leaving Deidara asking about his idea.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen convinced Mitokado Homura, Utatane, and Mito to support capturing the Wood Release Ninja, then assigned Hatake Kakashi and Might Guy to the operation with Root support.
• Deidara hurried Xuanyu to show him the laboratory he had prepared for experiments.
• Xuanyu brought Deidara to a small lakeside house outside Konoha and revealed a spacious underground cave as his Experiment Base.
• Xuanyu promised to find earth release ninja for Deidara to study with, but Deidara asked about Xuanyu's idea for improving his explosive art.
• Xuanyu asked Deidara what his Chakra nature was.

Xuanyu advised Deidara to infuse clay with different Chakra attributes to create new releases, and Deidara began planning experiments to pursue that power. Meanwhile, Konoha’s leaders learned of Deidara’s arrival and the events in the Land of Earth, prompting Asuma to demand that Deidara be driven out.

• Xuanyu suggested Deidara experiment with combining other Chakra attributes and releases into his clay, potentially creating Kekkei Genkai or Kekkei Tōta.
• Deidara asked Xuanyu for Chakra users with different pure attributes, and Xuanyu left Flying Thunder God Marks in the laboratory before departing.
• Deidara immediately began testing ways to fuse the Chakra in his body into clay.
• An Anbu ninja reported Deidara’s identity and the events in the Land of Earth to Sarutobi Hiruzen, Kakashi, and Asuma.
• Kakashi suspected Xuanyu was the black-robed attacker who had learned Dust Release, while Asuma called Deidara dangerous and demanded that Konoha expel him.

Sarutobi Hiruzen assigned Kakashi, Might Guy, and Yuhi Kurenai to find the Wood Release Ninja Hashira and bring him to Konoha, by force if necessary. Kakashi suspected the mission was really about capturing Hashira, while Danzō questioned whether the team would be strong enough.

• An Anbu ninja told Sarutobi Asuma that Xuanyu had already taken Deidara to an isolated lakeside outside Konoha, disappointing Asuma’s plan to use the matter against the Uchiha Police Force.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen told Kakashi and Might Guy that a Wood Release Ninja had drawn the attention of several forces and ordered them to bring him back to Konoha.
• Kakashi privately suspected Hiruzen intended to capture Hashira under the pretense of protecting him, while Might Guy asked what they should do if Hashira refused.
• Hiruzen ordered Kakashi to lead Might Guy and Yuhi Kurenai on the mission, departing the next day, and instructed them to capture Hashira if he would not come willingly.
• After Kakashi and Might Guy left, Shimura Danzō asked whether the team needed more elite ninja, but Hiruzen said their ninjutsu, strength, and genjutsu would be enough to restrain Hashira.

Kakashi and Might Guy discussed Konoha’s plan to capture the Wood Release Ninja, and Kakashi resolved to judge the mission for himself. Kakashi also questioned Guy about his disciples’ abilities and arranged to watch them train the next morning before their mission.

• Might Guy questioned why Konoha had sent them to capture the Wood Release Ninja, and Kakashi explained that protecting him was merely an excuse to obtain him.
• Might Guy objected to the mission, but Kakashi said they would go and decide for themselves whether to bring the ninja back.
• Kakashi asked Might Guy about Uchiha Xuan Yu and the Senju siblings, and Guy praised their exceptional taijutsu talent.
• Kakashi asked whether Senju Hanayu and Senju Hashirama could awaken Wood Release, but Might Guy said he did not know of any such ability.
• Kakashi asked to train with Might Guy the next morning, and Guy agreed to let him see his disciples’ talent before the mission.

Xuanyu learned that Kakashi, Might Guy, and Yuhi Kurenai had been sent to bring a Wood Release Ninja to Konoha, and he suspected the mission targeted Hashira. After training with Kakashi under Zhong Kui’s Gravity Domain, Xuanyu revealed that Konoha’s higher-ups had allowed Zhong Kui to be bullied.

• Xuanyu questioned Kakashi and Might Guy about their mission to invite a Wood Release Ninja to Konoha and suspected the target was Hashira.
• Xuanyu reassured Hua Yu, then promised to treat the mission team to a meal before they left.
• Kakashi joined Xuanyu’s group for training and experienced Zhong Kui’s Gravity Domain as they ran around Konoha and sparred.
• Kakashi studied the Gravity Domain with his Sharingan, but Xuanyu told him he could not replicate it and revealed his Twin Pupils Sharingan.
• Xuanyu told Kakashi that Konoha’s higher-ups’ descendants had bullied Zhong Kui and might have crippled him if Xuanyu had not intervened.

Xuanyu explained how Konoha’s mistreatment of Zhong Kui drove him to follow Xuanyu, then hinted that he was the Akatsuki’s monkey-masked assassin and discussed the group’s aims with Kakashi. When Kakashi doubted that Obito could have survived being crushed by a boulder, Xuanyu revealed that he had seen a masked ninja with Wood Release cells and a Sharingan, leaving Kakashi shocked and demanding confirmation.

• Xuanyu told Kakashi that Konoha’s powerful families had bullied Zhong Kui and that the village had expelled him from the Ninja School, giving him reason to follow Xuanyu instead of helping Konoha.
• Kakashi asked whether Xuanyu was the Akatsuki’s monkey-masked assassin, and Xuanyu answered ambiguously before estimating that the organization had twelve members and might seek peace.
• Kakashi asked whether someone half-crushed by a boulder could survive, and Xuanyu explained how First Hokage cells might make it possible.
• Kakashi began to accept that Obito was probably dead, but Xuanyu said he had encountered a masked ninja with Wood Release, a Sharingan, and a one-eyed mask on the night Itachi massacred the Uchiha Clan.
• Kakashi sat upright in shock and demanded to know whether Xuanyu had really seen him.

Xuanyu saw Kakashi, Might Guy, and the newly arrived Yuhi Kurenai off as they prepared to undertake a dangerous mission. Kurenai warned that their target, a Wood Release Ninja, was in trouble, while Xuanyu remained wary of her attitude toward the Third Hokage.

• Kakashi questioned Xuanyu about Uchiha Itachi and Obito joining forces in the Uchiha Clan Massacre, but Xuanyu turned his attention to Hua Yu and Neji training with Might Guy.
• Xuanyu praised Neji's improved strength, and Might Guy ended the training session before treating the group to ramen.
• Kakashi and Might Guy prepared to leave on a mission with Yuhi Kurenai, while Neji and Rock Lee headed to the Ninja School and Xuanyu, Hua Yu, and Zhong Kui saw the team off.
• Xuanyu spotted Yuhi Kurenai hiding in a tree near Konoha's entrance, and she emerged after Kakashi and Might Guy arrived.
• Kurenai questioned whether Xuanyu's group would join the mission, explained that the Third Hokage's assignment was likely dangerous, and set off to face the Wood Release Ninja.

Xuanyu learned that Yuhi Kurenai distrusted Konoha’s leadership and believed its laboratory was abducting children, while Kakashi, Might Guy, and Kurenai searched for the Wood Release Ninja for three months. The chapter left them spotting a masked figure dragging a nearly dead person toward the Bounty Exchange.

• Yuhi Kurenai told Xuanyu that Konoha’s laboratory had experimented on children before stopping herself, and Xuanyu reassured Hua Yu that her brother would only be taken back to Konoha if captured.
• Kakashi warned Yuhi Kurenai that she had revealed too much, and she admitted she had deliberately spoken about missing children to expose the laboratory’s activities.
• Kakashi led Yuhi Kurenai and Might Guy to search for the Wood Release Ninja near the Bounty Exchange, where they waited for three months without finding him.
• The Third Hokage sent more than a dozen search ninjas to help, while Kakashi, Kurenai, and Guy continued watching the route to the Bounty Exchange.
• Pakkun smelled blood and recognized a familiar scent, and the three saw a person wearing a Wooden Ox Mask dragging a nearly dead person on a straw mat.

Hashira brought the wanted Rogue Ninja Saque to the Bounty Exchange and collected his bounty while Kakashi, Might Guy, Yuhi Kurenai, and several other groups watched him. After leaving with the money, Hashira walked back out under the watchers’ pursuit, ready to face those who coveted his Wood Release.

• Kakashi recognized Saque, a notorious Rogue Ninja, and confirmed that Pakkun had identified the masked Wood Bull as Senju Hashirama.
• Kakashi stopped Might Guy from approaching Hashira, choosing to follow him and wait for a chance to help.
• Hashira noticed the people tracking him but continued toward the Bounty Exchange, determined to face them after his Wood Release had been exposed.
• Hashira entered the Bounty Exchange and turned in Saque, receiving eight million ryo after staff verified the target.
• Hashira left the Bounty Exchange with the money, and the watching groups followed him.

Senju Hashira defeated a Kumogakure capture squad and learned that villages would keep hunting him for his Wood Release. As he buried the fallen ninjas, another group ambushed him with Earth Release, leaving him trapped in a swamp as they prepared to attack.

• Senju Hashira fought off the Kumogakure ninjas who tried to capture him, using Wood Release vines to restrain them.
• Kakashi, Yuhi Kurenai, and Might Guy watched from hiding and recognized Hashira's Wood Release and taijutsu.
• Hashira questioned the captured Kumogakure ninja, who explained that villages coveted his Wood Release and that more hunters would come.
• Hashira drained the captured ninjas' blood with his vines, killed them, and buried them underground.
• An unseen attacker turned the ground beneath Hashira into a swamp, while another voice urged the surrounding group to attack and capture him.

Hashira fought off a group of hidden ninjas, then overwhelmed them with two enormous Wood Release hands. Kakashi and Yuhi Kurenai recognized the technique’s resemblance to the First Hokage’s power, while Yuhi Kurenai doubted the masked fighter could reach his level.

• The surrounding ninjas attacked Hashira together with a barrage of elemental techniques, but his thorn-covered vines shielded him unharmed.
• Hashira struck back with vines, but the cautious ninjas dodged and kept up their attacks, leaving him under pressure.
• Hashira formed two enormous Wood Release hands and used them to chase and crush the fleeing ninjas.
• Kakashi was shaken by Hashira’s Wood Release and compared his aggressive fighting style with Hua Yu’s.
• Yuhi Kurenai explained that the technique resembled the First Hokage’s Thousand-Armed Great Hand Seal, then doubted Hashira could reach the First Hokage’s level.

Senju Hashirama defeated the attacking ninjas, but four Elite Jonin trapped him in the Four Red Yang Formation, whose flames countered his Wood Release. As Hashira’s chakra dwindled and the barrier’s temperature rose, the formation’s leader urged the others to hold on through his expected final counterattack.

• Kakashi dismissed Yuhi Kurenai’s doubts about Hashira’s talent and recognized that Hashira had defeated the attacking ninjas with his Wood Release.
• Kakashi noticed four ninjas taking positions around Hashira, and Yuhi Kurenai realized they were preparing a barrier.
• The four Elite Jonin raised the Four Red Yang Formation around Hashira as he tried to escape.
• Hashira struck the barrier with his Wood Release Giant Palm, but the formation’s flames rapidly burned it.
• Hashira repeatedly attacked the barrier while the four formation nodes struggled to maintain it, and the leader said Hashira’s chakra was nearly depleted and warned the others to withstand his final counterattack.

Senju Hashirama struggled to break the Four Red Yang Formation while Kakashi and his allies watched for a chance to intervene. After Hashirama’s final Wood Release attack failed, the enemy ninjas contracted the barrier and launched a fire dragon at him, leaving his fate uncertain.

• Kakashi and Yuhi Kurenai judged that Hashirama was in grave danger, while Might Guy proposed helping him and Kakashi chose to wait for a better opening.
• Kakashi noticed Hashirama remained calm despite his dwindling Chakra and wondered whether he had another trump card.
• Hashirama exhausted his remaining strength in another attack, but his Wood Release Great Hand Seals shattered without breaking the barrier.
• The formation’s leader ordered the barrier contracted and called in more ninjas as Hashirama’s enemies prepared to finish him.
• Several ninjas manipulated the barrier’s flames into a fire dragon that lunged at Hashirama, who stayed calm and assessed the attack.

Hashirama endured the attackers’ fire dragons inside a shrinking barrier while Kakashi and Yuhi Kurenai watched and debated whether to intervene. As the attackers believed they were close to capturing him, Hashirama activated the Yin Seal and three Forbidden Techniques together, healed his injuries, and prepared to face them with renewed power.

• The attackers struck Hashirama with another fire dragon while keeping him trapped in their shrinking barrier, and he fought back with taijutsu despite his injuries.
• Yuhi Kurenai asked Kakashi whether they should intervene, but Kakashi chose to wait because he believed Hashirama still had a trump card.
• Hashirama decided the situation justified using the Yin Seal and released the Chakra he had stored within himself.
• Hashirama activated the Yin Seal, Mitotic Regeneration, and Strength of a Hundred Sealings together, rapidly healing his burns and restoring his strength.
• Hashirama looked down at the attackers as they sensed an ominous change in his aura.

Inside the barrier, Hashira activated the Yin Seal and used Wood Release to grow a massive tree that overwhelmed the barrier. The barrier began to crack as vines protected Hashira and filled the enclosure.

• The ninja guarding the barrier noticed Hashira's injuries and Chakra recovering, and they reinforced the barrier while Kakashi, Yuhi Kurenai, and Might Guy tried to identify his technique.
• Yuhi Kurenai recognized the mark beneath Hashira's torn clothes as resembling Tsunade's seal, and Kakashi concluded that Hashira had learned the combination of the Yin Seal, Mitotic Regeneration, and Strength of a Hundred Sealings from Xuanyu.
• Hashira opened the Yin Seal, poured out Chakra, and used vines to cover the flames and shield himself inside a hollow.
• Hashira invoked Giant Tree Growth, causing the vines to merge into an enormous tree trunk that filled the barrier and made it begin to crack.