Recaps

Jingyi reassured Mikoto Uchiha that she could remain friends with Kushina without giving in to her family's matchmaking pressure, and revealed that Mie Hyuga faced similar family schemes. At the Land of Rivers camp, Tsunade read a startling message from the Third Hokage and choked in surprise.

• After dinner, Jingyi walked Mikoto Uchiha home and told her not to let her family's pressure interfere with her friendship with Kushina.
• Jingyi told Mikoto Uchiha to use his name if anyone pressured her again, then explained that Mie Hyuga also faced family schemes because the Hyuga Clan was in a difficult position.
• Jingyi left Mikoto Uchiha at the Uchiha compound and departed after she asked how the Hyuga Clan could use someone from its Main House as a tool.
• At the Land of Rivers camp, Tsunade opened a scroll from the Third Hokage and choked in shock at its contents.

Tsunade rejected the Third Hokage’s plea to make Jingyi hand over his puppets, convinced Konoha’s leaders had to offer compensation rather than demand them for free. At Sunagakure’s camp, Chiyo grieved for her murdered son and daughter-in-law, ordered more spies into the Land of Fire, and blamed Tsunade for the worsening war.

• Tsunade read the Third Hokage’s complaints about Jingyi and refused to persuade him to surrender his puppets without compensation.
• Tsunade considered how puppets could have strengthened Konoha on the battlefield, then sighed over the casualty report and the village’s refusal to compromise.
• Chiyo stared at a photograph of her dead son and daughter-in-law before a ninja brought intelligence scrolls from Ebizo.
• Chiyo ordered Ebizo to send more spies into the Land of Fire, where Konoha’s internal situation was reportedly unstable.
• Chiyo blamed Tsunade for Sunagakure’s run of bad news after Tsunade arrived at the front.

While Tsunade overwhelmed Sunagakure's Puppet Corps, Jingyi focused on experimenting with new puppet materials and watched Hatake Sakumo return to Konoha as a celebrated war hero. Orochimaru was ordered back to the battlefield, and Jingyi anticipated trouble when the daimyo's reward for Sakumo arrived.

• Tsunade countered Chiyo's poison and battered Sunagakure's Puppet Corps, leaving Chiyo unable to find an opening to kill her.
• Orochimaru delivered his puppets to Jingyi, helped him dispose of the demigod's corpse, and then Jingyi delegated Anbu work to Shikaku Nara to focus on experiments.
• Jingyi tested metal, soil, and stone as puppet materials, but his new puppet remained stiff and ineffective.
• Hatake Sakumo returned to a cheering Konoha, while Jingyi watched and reflected on how F4's publicity had made Sakumo more famous than him.
• Orochimaru said the Third Hokage wanted him back at the front, and Jingyi hinted that the daimyo's reward for Sakumo could provoke the old man; Orochimaru expected to leave the next day.

Hatake Sakumo invited Jingyi to dinner to apologize for the Hokage Office using him to overshadow Jingyi, but Jingyi assured him he did not blame him. They discussed the village’s political conflict and Sunagakure’s destruction of villages, while the promised retaliation remained undecided.

• The Third Hokage failed to persuade Orochimaru to surrender his puppets and pressed him to return to the battlefield, where Orochimaru hoped to gather materials.
• Hatake Sakumo invited Jingyi to an Akimichi barbecue restaurant and tried to explain that he had not caused the village to promote him over Jingyi.
• Jingyi told Hatake Sakumo that the Hokage Office had used his victory over Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law to suppress Jingyi after failing to obtain Jingyi's puppets.
• Hatake Sakumo struggled to understand the political conflict, and Jingyi reassured him that neither he nor the Hatake Clan was responsible for it.
• Hatake Sakumo described Sunagakure's destruction and looting of villages, while Jingyi doubted that the Hokage Office would follow through on its promised retaliation.

The Third Hokage visited Shimura Danzō in prison, where Danzō accused him of favoring the Elder Council and refusing to help him. Danzō threatened to reveal the truth about Kagami Uchiha’s death and gave the Third Hokage one year to secure his release.

• The Third Hokage visited Shimura Danzō in Konoha Prison, and Danzō accused him of breaking his promise to get him released.
• The Third Hokage explained that Jingyi’s actions and the political fallout had made Danzō’s release difficult, but Danzō argued that the Third Hokage had helped Utatane Koharu while abandoning him.
• The Third Hokage blamed Danzō’s actions against Jingyi Hyuga and Kushina for weakening their position and alienating allies.
• Shimura Danzō threatened to expose what the village did not know about Kagami Uchiha’s death if the Third Hokage continued to leave him imprisoned.
• Shimura Danzō gave the Third Hokage one year to find a way to release him, warning that he could not predict what he would do otherwise.

The Third Hokage told Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura that Shimura Danzō had threatened to expose what happened to Kagami Uchiha unless he was released within a year. The three failed to agree on how to persuade Tsunade and Jingyi Hyuga, then arrived exhausted at a morning meeting where Jingyi noticed their condition.

• The Third Hokage summoned Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura and told them Shimura Danzō had threatened to reveal what happened to Kagami Uchiha if he was not released within a year.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura reacted with alarm, but agreed that releasing Shimura Danzō required persuading Tsunade and Jingyi Hyuga.
• The Third Hokage, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura argued through the night without finding a solution, then learned they had to attend a morning meeting.
• Jingyi Hyuga arrived at the meeting, noticed the three looked exhausted, and asked Torifu Akimichi what had happened.

After a long village meeting, Jingyi ate with Hyuga Hiashi, who explained that he had arranged for Mie Hyuga to get close to Jingyi because he valued Jingyi’s help to the clan. Jingyi advised Hiashi to reduce the Main House’s arrogance and improve the Branch House’s treatment, leaving Hiashi to consider how difficult that would be.

• The Third Hokage held a lengthy meeting about the war, and Jingyi left with Hyuga Hiashi for a meal.
• Jingyi asked why the Hyuga Clan had sent Mie Hyuga, a Main House member, to win him over, and Hiashi said the idea had been his own.
• Hiashi told Jingyi that he believed Jingyi’s help mattered more to the clan than choosing a future wife.
• Jingyi advised Hiashi to improve the Branch House’s treatment and have the Main House act with less arrogance.
• Hiashi worried that the other Main House members would not allow him to treat the clan equally, and Jingyi told him there were no excuses.

Jingyi’s advice led Hyuga Hiashi and his father to improve the Branch House’s treatment after months of persuading the Main House. Meanwhile, Jingyi successfully synthesized puppet-making clay, and Jiraiya watched Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato train in the Land of Rain.

• Hyuga Hiashi told his father about Jingyi’s suggestions, and the Hyuga clan head agreed that the Branch House’s treatment should be improved first.
• Hyuga Hiashi and his father persuaded the Main House to accept better treatment for Branch House members after several months of effort.
• Jingyi finished synthesizing inexpensive clay for making puppets, removing material costs as a limit on production.
• Jingyi told Shikaku Nara that he could stop relying on puppets made from corpses and then left to relax at a hot spring.
• Jiraiya praised Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato for their training and wondered how Nawaki had progressed under Jingyi’s guidance.

Jiraiya stayed in the Land of Rain to train Konan, Nagato, and Yahiko, while Nawaki, Minato Namikaze, and Kushina pushed themselves through fierce training back in Konoha. Jingyi received a protection request concerning the Land of Rain’s daimyo and learned that Konoha’s withdrawal had left the country dangerously chaotic.

• Konan worried that Jiraiya would leave her, Nagato, and Yahiko, but Jiraiya promised to stay and teach them.
• Nawaki, Minato Namikaze, and Kushina competed in training, rapidly improving their strength.
• A member of the Hokage Guard Team summoned Jingyi to the Hokage Office.
• The Third Hokage gave Jingyi a protection request from the Daimyo’s Court involving the Land of Rain’s daimyo.
• Jingyi learned that Hanzō’s death had ended the war and that Konoha’s withdrawal had left the Land of Rain overrun with dangerous people and Rogue Ninja.

Jingyi led three Anbu squads into the Land of Rain to protect its daimyo and search for Jiraiya. The Land of Rain proved to be overrun with Rogue Ninja, and Jingyi’s group intervened in their sixth home invasion within a day.

• The Third Hokage assigned Jingyi to lead three Anbu squads to protect the Land of Rain's daimyo and asked him to tell Jiraiya to return to the village.
• Jingyi ordered Tiger to choose three squads, arranged additional puppet support, and left Konoha with his people the next day.
• Jingyi's group traveled through the Land of Fire and entered the Land of Rain, where they found Rogue Ninja robbing an elderly couple's home.
• The Anbu killed the two home invaders, and Jingyi ordered his squad to leave food for the elderly couple.
• Jingyi released puppets across the Land of Rain to search for Jiraiya and survey the region, finding that Amegakure's surviving ninja and other Rogue Ninja had left the country in chaos.

Jingyi secured the Daimyo's Court of the Land of Rain, then tracked down Jiraiya in a secluded valley where he was raising Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan. Jingyi met the three children and shared fruit with them, leaving them eager for Jiraiya's permission to eat.

• Jingyi met the young daimyo of the Land of Rain and stationed himself at the Daimyo's Court while the Anbu cleared out dangerous intruders.
• After the Anbu restored order, Jingyi left the Daimyo's Court and searched several Rogue Ninja hideouts before finding Jiraiya's valley.
• Jingyi triggered Jiraiya's traps, then greeted Jiraiya and met his students Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.
• Jiraiya invited Jingyi into the wooden house and served him grilled fish, which Jingyi praised as much improved.
• Jingyi shared fruit with the three children, who looked to Jiraiya for permission before taking any.

Jingyi visited Jiraiya in the Land of Rain to deliver the Third Hokage’s request that he return to Konoha, but Jiraiya chose to remain with Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato. After giving Jiraiya the supplies he had asked for, Jingyi prepared to leave while Jiraiya worried that he might have noticed Nagato’s Rinnegan.

• Jiraiya encouraged Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato to accept fruit, then reassured them that he would stay with them until they grew up.
• Jiraiya asked Jingyi why he had come, and Jingyi explained that he had completed the Rain Daimyo’s protection mission and brought the Third Hokage’s message urging Jiraiya to return to Konoha.
• Jingyi told Jiraiya that he would not force him to return, and Jiraiya decided to remain with the children.
• After the children left, Jiraiya asked for the supplies in the scroll, and Jingyi gave it to him.
• Jingyi prepared to return to Konoha, while Jiraiya asked him not to tell the Third Hokage where he was and worried that Jingyi had noticed Nagato’s eyes.

Jingyi told Jiraiya to ask the toads of Mount Myoboku about the origins of Nagato’s Rinnegan, then left him to move the three Akatsuki children to a safer hideout. Jiraiya traveled to Mount Myoboku to seek answers, where Gamabunta greeted him with complaints about their last dangerous summoning.

• Jingyi told Jiraiya that the Uzumaki Clan was known for its vitality and chakra, not unusual eyes, and urged him to ask the toads of Mount Myoboku about the Sage Eye.
• Jiraiya moved Konan and the other two Akatsuki children from their valley hideout and built them a crude underground base.
• Jingyi returned to the border camp and sent the Third Hokage a message saying his mission had gone smoothly and Jiraiya refused to return to the village.
• Jiraiya used the Summoning Technique to travel to Mount Myoboku and greeted Gamabunta.
• Gamabunta reminded Jiraiya that his last summoning had left him surrounded by Kumogakure shinobi and asked whether he had come because enemies had surrounded him again.

Jiraiya asked the Great Toad Sage about the Sage Eye, but the old toad fell asleep after mentioning the Sharingan, leaving Jiraiya worried about a connection to the Uchiha Clan. Back in the Land of Rain, Jiraiya sent Jingyi a letter asking for answers, while Jingyi noticed an unusual number of toads near him on the road to Konoha.

• Jiraiya asked the Great Toad Sage about the Sage Eye, and the Sage murmured about the Sharingan before falling asleep.
• Jiraiya wondered whether the Sage Eye was connected to the Sharingan and feared a conspiracy involving Nagato and the Uchiha Clan.
• Jiraiya returned to the underground base and found Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato safe.
• Jiraiya summoned a small toad and sent a letter asking Jingyi about the Sage Eye.
• Jingyi rested by a river on his way back to Konoha and noticed many toads hopping nearby.

Jingyi refused to help Jiraiya understand the connection between the Sage Eye and the Sharingan, and Jiraiya returned to Mount Myoboku before being sent back to Konoha. The Third Hokage learned that Jiraiya had refused to return to the village and was staying in the Land of Rain to care for three war orphans.

• Jingyi received Jiraiya’s letter by toad messenger and told the little toad to report that he did not know the answer.
• Jiraiya was summoned to Mount Myoboku, accidentally ate Shima’s insect feast, and learned Jingyi had no explanation for the Sage Eye and Sharingan.
• Jiraiya asked Fukasaku to send him back to Konoha and refused Shima’s offer to stay for a meal.
• Jingyi returned to Konoha, checked that the Anbu base was operating properly, and went home.
• The Third Hokage told Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura that Jiraiya refused to return and wanted to care for three war orphans.
• Utatane Koharu condemned Jiraiya’s decision, while the Third Hokage said he would make Jiraiya compensate for it when he returned.

The Third Hokage and the elders settled on Jingyi Hyuga as the best candidate to carry out Tsunade's plan to destroy Sunagakure's oasis, but they struggled to get him to the Hokage Office. Jingyi arrived after a long delay, leaving the Hokage and elders to make their request.

• The Third Hokage, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura agreed that Tsunade's oasis retaliation plan was feasible and chose Jingyi as its strongest, safest candidate.
• Mitokado Homura explained that Jingyi's strength, Anbu authority, and puppets made him the best fit, while the Third Hokage accepted that he would have to persuade him personally.
• Jingyi used prepared soil and other materials to create new puppets and animate them with the Tenseigan.
• Shikaku Nara told Jingyi that the Third Hokage wanted to speak with him, and Jingyi continued working before heading to the Hokage Office.
• Jingyi arrived after the Third Hokage and the two elders had waited for two hours, then asked what they needed.

The Third Hokage summoned Jingyi to discuss a retaliatory mission against Sunagakure, but Jingyi refused to lead it without suitable support. He left the elders with an ultimatum: send Earth Release specialists and have the two elder advisors accompany him, or choose someone else.

• The Third Hokage explained that the daimyo wanted the village to retaliate against Sunagakure and give the Daimyo's Court an explanation.
• Jingyi approved the plan but cut off the Third Hokage before he could propose assigning him the mission.
• Mitokado Homura asked Jingyi to lead the mission because Orochimaru was at the front lines, but Jingyi refused and suggested the Sarutobi Clan instead.
• Jingyi offered to send the Anbu or Uchiha if the elders rejected the Sarutobi Clan, prompting the Third Hokage to say the mission needed a powerful leader.
• Jingyi told the Third Hokage to provide Earth Release specialists from clans such as the Sarutobi and Shimura and require Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura to accompany him, or find another candidate.

Jingyi Hyuga provoked Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura into joining a dangerous retaliation mission to the Land of Wind, despite the Third Hokage's warnings. He reassured Shikaku Nara that he would not attack them himself, but expected Sunagakure to hunt down the mission team once the retaliation began.

• Jingyi Hyuga taunted Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura until Utatane Koharu agreed that both advisors would join the mission to the Land of Wind.
• After Jingyi left, the Third Hokage and Mitokado Homura warned Utatane Koharu that Jingyi had deliberately provoked her and that the mission could be dangerous.
• Utatane Koharu realized that backing out would make the advisors look cowardly, so she wondered what they should do now.
• Jingyi laughed about the advisors' predicament and reasoned that Sunagakure might hunt down the team after the Land of Wind's daimyo punished it for the retaliation.
• Jingyi told Shikaku Nara that he would not sabotage the advisors because it would ruin his reputation, though he would not casually risk himself to save them.

Jingyi told Kushina, Nawaki, and Minato that he would soon leave the village for a troublesome mission against Sunagakure. Kushina worried about the danger, while Jingyi reassured her that the mission posed little threat to him, though the other participants would face serious risks.

• Shikaku Nara discussed Jingyi's retaliation mission and feared the Sarutobi and Shimura clan ninjas sent into the Land of Wind would be hunted down.
• Jingyi told Kushina, Nawaki, and Minato over dinner that he would leave the village in a few days.
• Nawaki criticized Kushina's concern for Jingyi, and Jingyi calmed Kushina before she could attack him.
• Kushina asked Jingyi whether the mission was dangerous, while the Nine-Tails tried to warn her that Jingyi was the most dangerous one.
• Jingyi told Kushina the mission was only troublesome for him, though the other participants would need to watch their backs.

Jingyi prepared to leave the village and made Kushina, Minato Namikaze, and Nawaki promise to stay safe and keep training. As the three days before his departure passed, Minato helped Nawaki understand why Jingyi kept them from taking missions: many of their classmates had already died.

• Kushina promised to stay within the places Jingyi had allowed while he was away, and Jingyi warned Minato Namikaze and Nawaki not to leave the village.
• Jingyi forbade Nawaki from forming a team to take missions and promised that a puppet would break his legs if he disobeyed.
• Jingyi spent the next three days taking Kushina shopping and having fun, while Nawaki and Minato Namikaze continued training.
• Nawaki asked Minato Namikaze why Jingyi insisted that they train in the village, and Minato said it was to protect them.
• Minato reminded Nawaki that several of their classmates were missing or had died, showing him the dangers beyond the village.

Jingyi joined a clan-led mission into the Land of Wind but refused to take part in planning so he could avoid responsibility if it failed. The team entered the Land of Rain, where Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu took charge.

• Jingyi watched Nawaki and Minato Namikaze bicker, then three days later joined around fifty clan elites and the two elder advisors at an Anbu passageway.
• The Third Hokage named Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu as commanders, and Jingyi accepted without objection.
• Mitokado Homura led the team out of the village at night and routed them through the Land of Rain to avoid the war and defenses in the Land of Rivers.
• Utatane Koharu questioned whether they needed to consult Jingyi, but Mitokado Homura insisted that he remain involved as a team member.
• At a rest stop, Jingyi enjoyed breakfast and the sunrise, then refused Mitokado Homura's invitation to discuss the mission plan.
• Utatane Koharu mocked Mitokado Homura after Jingyi walked away without getting involved.

Mitokado Homura led the team on a long detour through the Land of Grass, the Land of Rain, and the Land of Birds to infiltrate the Land of Wind, while Jingyi stayed uninvolved in planning. After the team reached the Land of Wind’s border, Homura suggested that they disguise themselves before entering.

• Mitokado Homura chose a roundabout route through several small countries to avoid Sunagakure’s defenses, and Utatane Koharu agreed.
• Jingyi followed the team through the Land of Grass without questioning the route.
• Jingyi refused the Land of Rain daimyo’s request for Anbu help suppressing domestic unrest and told the Anbu to focus on protecting him.
• Mitokado Homura sent two Jonin squads ahead to scout the Land of Wind after the team reached the Land of Birds’ border.
• Jingyi put on a sun hat and veil, prompting Mitokado Homura to suggest that the team change clothes and disguise themselves.

Jingyi and the elder advisers agreed to split their forces and attack targets in the Land of Wind, with Jingyi taking the more dangerous southern route alone. He contacted Tsunade from his desert camp, and she questioned the plan and warned that the team should concentrate its strength for quick raids.

• Mitokado Homura proposed splitting the group along two routes, and Jingyi volunteered to take the route with fewer targets alone.
• Jingyi had the three of them sign a written plan requiring both groups to withdraw after completing their missions, then sent it to Konoha by ninja eagle.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura led the elite unit north along the coastline while Jingyi headed south toward the Land of Rivers battlefield.
• Jingyi rested in a concealed desert camp and contacted Tsunade through the Puppet Crow, waking her from a brief rest.
• Tsunade learned Jingyi was in the Land of Wind and objected to the split, arguing that they should concentrate their forces and launch swift raids.

Jingyi realized that Tsunade and the elders had split their forces to avoid being set up, but he was confident he could handle his route toward Sunagakure and the Land of Rivers battlefield. Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura struggled through the desert toward their targets, and Koharu resolved to stop accepting such missions and focus on helping Hiruzen in the village.

• Jingyi reassured Tsunade that the split-force plan posed little danger to him, and she fell asleep after asking him to take over her duties when he arrived.
• Jingyi withdrew his consciousness from the puppet and rested comfortably in an insulated tent in the desert.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura pressed onward under the blazing sun to reach their first attack site before dawn.
• Mitokado Homura explained that Jingyi was unlikely to deliberately endanger them because it could harm Tsunade and damage his own reputation.
• Utatane Koharu studied the map, accepted Mitokado Homura's reasoning, and vowed to stop picking fights with Jingyi and taking missions like this.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu led Konoha ninja in attacks on villages and an oasis in the Land of Wind, while Jingyi secretly followed their progress and set the destroyed sites ablaze. After a Sunagakure patrol found the devastation, the Third Kazekage suspected Konoha.

• Mitokado Homura led Konoha ninja in wiping out a small village, and Utatane Koharu confirmed that none of them had been injured.
• Jingyi watched the attack through his Puppet Eagle and planned to let the force rest before striking the remaining targets.
• The Konoha force attacked an oasis guarded by Sunagakure ninja, then buried its vegetation and blocked its groundwater with Earth Release.
• Jingyi's Puppet Eagle secretly set the oasis and the earlier village on fire after the force had moved on.
• A Sunagakure patrol found a burning village full of corpses and reported the attack to the Third Kazekage.
• The Third Kazekage read the report and wondered whether Konoha was retaliating for Sunagakure's raids on the Land of Fire.