Chapter Summaries

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura fled toward the Land of Bears under pursuit and requested reinforcements, while Jingyi left the area for the Land of Rivers. The Third Hokage ordered a rescue mission, and Jingyi arrived near the war-torn Land of Rivers camp.

• Jingyi saw Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura turn north toward the Land of Bears and decided to leave before the region became a battlefield.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura sent an urgent request for reinforcements to Konoha as Sunagakure's pursuers followed them.
• Jingyi flew toward the Land of Rivers on the Giant Eagle Puppet under cover of night.
• The Third Hokage ordered the Jonin Corps Captain to send a group to the Land of Bears to rescue the two elder advisors.
• Jingyi reached the Land of Rivers and saw the devastation left by the war between Konoha and Sunagakure.

Jingyi spotted Pakura among a Sunagakure squad and sent his autonomous puppets to capture her. As the squad tried to protect Pakura and scout Tumi, a damaged puppet exploded and engulfed Pakura.

• Jingyi recognized the green-haired Sunagakure ninja as a likely Pakura and ordered his puppets to capture her.
• The puppets surrounded Pakura's squad, and scout Tumi could not sense a controller or chakra threads.
• The squad captain told Pakura to escape with Tumi and deliver news of the puppets to Chiyo.
• Pakura burned one puppet while trying to break through, but its green-lit remains exploded and engulfed her.

Jingyi captured Pakura and brought her to Konoha’s Land of Rivers camp, where strict security checks confirmed his identity. He learned Orochimaru had taken command with Tsunade’s support, then met Tsunade, who asked about the war situation as they headed for the Medical Department.

• Jingyi’s puppets captured Pakura after one puppet exploded, and he carried her toward the Konoha camp.
• Jingyi stopped outside the camp and passed the patrol’s identity checks after Goro verified him.
• Jingyi learned that Tsunade had supported Orochimaru in taking over as camp commander.
• Tsunade arrived after hearing Jingyi had come and escorted him toward the Medical Department.
• Tsunade asked Jingyi whether the war situation had changed.

Jingyi returned to Tsunade’s camp with Pakura captured, and Tsunade hurried him into roasting meat. He then revealed that Utatane Koharu and Mitakado Homura were fleeing the Third Kazekage, while Orochimaru arrived and asked who was being hunted.

• Jingyi showed Tsunade the captured Pakura and explained that he had caught her in the Land of Rivers after sacrificing a puppet.
• Tsunade took Jingyi to her quarters and asked him to roast a deer leg because she was tired of eating dry rations.
• Jingyi told Tsunade he expected to stay in the village for a few months, and she advised him to focus on medical work after she left.
• Jingyi said his mission was complete and revealed that the Third Kazekage was hunting Utatane Koharu and Mitakado Homura.
• Jingyi watched through his puppet as Utatane Koharu and Mitakado Homura fled toward the Land of Bears with fewer than ten Konoha ninja remaining.
• Orochimaru arrived, asked who was being hunted, and Jingyi only smiled.

Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jingyi discussed the pursuit of Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, while the Third Kazekage prepared to follow them into the Land of Bears. After dinner, Tsunade warned Jingyi that Orochimaru had been acting strangely and told him to avoid working with him beyond puppet-related matters.

• Tsunade told Jingyi and Orochimaru that the Third Kazekage was hunting Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura.
• Jingyi explained that the elders had split from him during their retaliation mission in the Land of Wind, and he said their contact with Konoha might still be intact.
• Orochimaru took pleasure in the elders' predicament, while Tsunade worried that a rescue could turn the Land of Bears into a third battlefield.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura fled toward the Land of Bears as the Third Kazekage waited for his main force before pursuing them there.
• After eating, Tsunade warned Jingyi that Orochimaru seemed unusual and advised him to avoid cooperating with Orochimaru except on puppets.

Jingyi took over Tsunade’s duties at the Land of Rivers camp while agreeing not to interfere with Orochimaru’s experiments. After Tsunade and Jingyi mocked Orochimaru’s hated title, Orochimaru invited Jingyi to discuss some ideas at the command center.

• Tsunade said she had supported Orochimaru taking power because the previous chief steward was incompetent, and Jingyi agreed that casualties had fallen.
• Jingyi promised Tsunade he would not interfere with Orochimaru’s experiments, and she prepared to leave after he took over the Medical Department’s duties.
• Orochimaru announced Jingyi’s appointment, and the camp’s ninjas greeted Jingyi as the God Slayer.
• Tsunade mocked Orochimaru’s title, and Jingyi greeted him as the Great White Snake before Orochimaru replied with the title God Slayer.
• Orochimaru asked Jingyi to discuss his ideas at the command center, and Jingyi agreed while resolving not to join any experiments or research.

Jingyi visited Orochimaru at the Land of Rain camp and learned that Orochimaru had begun experimenting on himself and studying Nature Energy. Orochimaru asked Jingyi to assist with a research project.

• Jingyi entered the command center and found Orochimaru using two Shadow Clones to handle the camp’s work.
• Jingyi noticed Orochimaru’s snake-like pupils, and Orochimaru admitted that he had experimented on himself and was researching Nature Energy.
• Orochimaru explained that his studies had found similarities between Nature Energy and the special chakra in the puppets used for Tenseigan chakra research.
• Jingyi asked why Orochimaru would not learn Ryūchi Cave’s Senjutsu, and Orochimaru said he had found its training dangerous and unreliable.
• Jingyi warned that Jiraiya might surpass Orochimaru by learning Senjutsu, and Orochimaru showed displeasure at the prospect.
• Orochimaru asked Jingyi to assist him with a research project.

Jingyi agreed to help Orochimaru cultivate special snakes in exchange for fifty million ryo and the right to choose two as Summoning Beasts for Minato and Nawaki. Tsunade approved the animal experiments but decided to have Jiraiya find Nawaki a Summoning Beast instead.

• Jingyi initially refused to join Orochimaru's research, but reconsidered after learning the experiment involved cultivating snakes with special chakra.
• Orochimaru showed Jingyi several specially cultivated snakes that could absorb special energies and chakra, then offered him fifty million ryo for his help.
• Jingyi agreed to assist Orochimaru if he could choose two snakes as Summoning Beasts for Minato and Nawaki, and Orochimaru accepted.
• Tsunade was alarmed to hear Jingyi was cooperating with Orochimaru, but relaxed after he clarified that the experiments involved animals, not humans.
• Tsunade agreed that Minato and Nawaki needed Summoning Beasts, then decided to ask Jiraiya to find one for Nawaki when he returned.

Chiyo struggled to respond as Konoha’s attacks in the Land of Wind, the pursuit in the Land of Bears, and Pakura’s capture strained Sunagakure’s forces. Rasa recognized that the Third Kazekage wanted reinforcements, but Chiyo could not risk weakening the Land of Rivers front.

• Tsunade agreed to help Minato prepare and left Nawaki’s Summoning Beast to Jiraiya.
• Chiyo learned that Jingyi had destroyed oases in the Land of Wind and escaped with Konoha’s two elders into the Land of Bears.
• Chiyo received word that puppet enemies had captured Pakura, and she feared Jingyi’s new puppets would turn the tide on the battlefield.
• Rasa asked Chiyo whether the Third Kazekage wanted more troops from the front line, and Chiyo weighed the request against Sunagakure’s weakness.

Orochimaru refused the Third Hokage’s order to send reinforcements from the Land of Rivers to the two elders in the Land of Bears, choosing instead to press Sunagakure’s retreat. As Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura waited for help, Koharu’s injury and their isolation left their situation uncertain.

• Rasa questioned the Third Kazekage’s plan to withdraw more ninja from the Land of Rivers, while Chiyo silently bore the pressure of the shrinking frontline.
• Orochimaru ordered Konoha’s forces to advance as Sunagakure contracted its positions.
• Jingyi asked whether the Third Hokage might remove Orochimaru for ignoring the order to send reinforcements, and Orochimaru said Tsunade would support his decision to prioritize victory.
• Orochimaru told Jingyi that his experiment would begin within a few days and used Shadow Clones to manage camp duties.
• Utatane Koharu asked Mitokado Homura when reinforcements would arrive, and he said they needed at least two days to reach the Land of Bears.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura stayed in the Land of Bears to stall the Third Kazekage, despite Koharu’s severe hand injury and their lack of strength to defeat him. Two days later, Chiyo’s limited reinforcements reached the Land of Bears, while Koharu still waited impatiently for Konoha’s promised support.

• Utatane Koharu convinced Mitokado Homura to stay in the Land of Bears and hold off the Third Kazekage until reinforcements arrived.
• Utatane Koharu’s palm was nearly crippled in battle with the Third Kazekage, forcing the pair to keep evading him through traps and false leads.
• The Third Kazekage learned that Chiyo had sent fewer than two hundred ninja and dismissed Hoshigakure’s demand that Sunagakure withdraw.
• The Third Kazekage ordered his ninja to keep pursuing Konoha’s hidden forces and search for their exact location.
• Two days later, Chiyo’s reinforcements arrived, while Utatane Koharu asked Mitokado Homura where Konoha’s promised reinforcements were.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura waited in vain for reinforcements in the Land of Bears because the messenger had died, while Hiruzen Sarutobi remained unaware. Meanwhile, Jingyi helped Orochimaru conduct dangerous chakra experiments, then visited the imprisoned Pakura, who recognized him as the one who had captured her.

• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura waited two more days for reinforcements, unaware that the intelligence ninja sent to contact the village had died.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi waited for news from the Land of Bears, while Jingyi and Orochimaru focused on experiments at their Land of Rivers base.
• Orochimaru's experiment with Senjutsu Chakra and Jingyi's chakra caused a snake test subject to explode, and Orochimaru recorded the failure.
• Jingyi left the underground base and visited Pakura in the prisoner-of-war cell, where she asked who he was.
• Pakura recognized Jingyi Hyuga as the God Slayer who had killed Hanzō and realized he had ambushed and captured her.

Jingyi captured Pakura and deliberately gave her far better treatment than the Sunagakure prisoners in the neighboring cell. Pakura realized he was using the disparity to make her comrades suspect and resent her, and her request for ordinary rations was ignored.

• Jingyi told Pakura that her companions had not tried to rescue her, provoking her anger and doubt.
• Jingyi ordered the guards to give Pakura the best treatment while subjecting the prisoners in the next cell to worse conditions and frequent interrogation.
• The next day, Pakura discovered Sunagakure ninja, including Senior Li Luo, crowded into the neighboring cell.
• The guards served Pakura meat, vegetables, and bread while giving the other prisoners hard rations, prompting them to suspect she was being courted to defect.
• Pakura recognized Jingyi's attempt to sow suspicion among her comrades and asked for the same food they received, but the guard ignored her request.

Jingyi used a private washroom and comfortable furnishings to pressure Pakura into accepting Konoha’s preferential treatment, while she resisted and watched another prisoner suffer interrogation. Orochimaru later visited Jingyi with grilled venison and reported that his experiment had gone smoothly.

• Konoha guards built a private washroom and brought a bed and bedding into Pakura’s cell on Jingyi’s orders.
• Pakura refused the special food and bed, while Konoha guards interrogated a neighboring prisoner within earshot.
• The guard reported Pakura’s refusals to Jingyi, who ordered him to continue as usual.
• Orochimaru visited Jingyi with grilled meat and said his experiment had gone well.
• Orochimaru assured Jingyi that the grilled meat was venison hunted by the headquarters guards.

Jingyi discussed Orochimaru’s experiments and his interest in cultivating Pakura, then warned him about pursuing immortality without trying to stop him. Meanwhile, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura realized they had been left without reinforcements in the Land of Bears, and Koharu lost faith in Hiruzen.

• Jingyi asked Orochimaru how long it would take to cultivate the summoned beast, and Orochimaru estimated a few months.
• Jingyi judged Pakura worth cultivating because of her Scorch Release, then added that she was pretty.
• Orochimaru asked whether the body or soul mattered more, and Jingyi warned him that the abyss gazed back at those who stared into it.
• Orochimaru left after realizing Jingyi would neither join nor interfere with his experiments.
• In the Land of Bears, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura realized no reinforcements had arrived and their supplies were nearly exhausted.
• Utatane Koharu said she had been wrong to trust Hiruzen and that he had disappointed her too many times.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura prepared to retreat after their rescue mission failed and Koharu lost a hand, while the Third Hokage tried to learn what had happened. Tsunade returned to Konoha and found Kushina and Nawaki safe, unaware that Orochimaru had refused the rescue order.

• Utatane Koharu blamed Tsunade for supposedly blocking reinforcements, and she and Mitokado Homura decided to retreat using Konoha ninja as decoys.
• Tsunade returned to Konoha and told the Third Hokage she knew nothing about the rescue mission because she had already left the frontline camp.
• The Third Hokage sent a message to the Intelligence Department to ask the frontline camp about the rescue operation and worried Jingyi might have opposed it.
• Orochimaru had refused the rescue order so he could keep pressuring Sunagakure and pursue further victories.
• Tsunade went home and found Kushina and Nawaki safe, following Jingyi's warnings to stay close and remain protected.

Tsunade told Minato, Nawaki, and Kushina about their Summoning Beast prospects while Jiraiya taught Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato in the Land of Rain. At the frontline, Orochimaru saw a chance to exploit Sunagakure’s weakening position, but Jingyi warned that the coming winter and supply problems were the decisive factors.

• Tsunade found that Minato, Nawaki, and Kushina were tired of barbecue, so they relied on Minato to cook dinner.
• Tsunade told Minato that his teacher was preparing a Summoning Beast for him, and explained that Nawaki would have to wait for Jiraiya and the toads of Mount Myoboku.
• Jiraiya worried about whether Nawaki would forgive him while Konan and Yahiko argued over their training progress.
• Orochimaru ignored Konoha’s inquiry letter and refused to send a rescue party for the two old men.
• Orochimaru told Jingyi that Sunagakure had withdrawn people from the battlefield and asked to discuss the opportunity.
• Jingyi explained that winter and Sunagakure’s supply difficulties mattered more than the troop withdrawals.

Orochimaru sought Jingyi’s puppets to exploit Sunagakure’s dwindling supplies and manpower, aiming to push the front line into the Land of Wind. Jingyi agreed to provide the puppets but resisted entering the fight until Orochimaru argued that winning recognition and the daimyo’s support would protect him from the Hokage’s office.

• Orochimaru explained that Konoha had stronger supply lines and greater war potential than Sunagakure, then asked Jingyi for three hundred puppets.
• Jingyi gave Orochimaru a scroll containing puppets that could follow commands without a controller and self-destruct after dying.
• Orochimaru said he planned to use the puppets to break the full-scale war into localized battles in the Land of Wind, and Jingyi warned him not to invent another embarrassing title for him.
• Jingyi said he would stay in camp and oversee the Medical Department, but Orochimaru asked him to control the puppets and promised to publicize his contributions to the camp and the Daimyo’s Court.
• Orochimaru argued that Jingyi should build his reputation and gain the daimyo’s backing because the Hokage’s office would not welcome him either way, and Jingyi mocked Orochimaru for undermining his teacher.

Orochimaru gathered Konoha’s battlefield forces to plan a raid on Sunagakure’s camp, intending to exploit the enemy’s reduced numbers and follow the raid with a large-scale offensive. He told the assembled ninja that the raid had already been arranged, though they doubted it could succeed against Sunagakure’s sensory ninja.

• Orochimaru agreed to help Jingyi scheme against their enemies and take the rewards from the operation.
• Orochimaru recalled the active ninja squads to camp and convened a strategy meeting against Sunagakure.
• Orochimaru explained that Sunagakure had contracted its defenses after the Third Kazekage took forces into the Land of Bears, leaving the enemy outnumbered.
• Orochimaru clarified that Konoha would raid Sunagakure’s camp and launch a full-scale offensive once the enemy was thrown into chaos.
• Orochimaru said he had arranged the raid and instructed the assembled ninja to wait for its success before attacking, while they questioned whether the plan could evade sensory ninja.

Jingyi Hyuga agreed to lead a surprise attack on the Sunagakure Camp while Orochimaru organized a full-scale offensive. Jingyi’s puppet ambush plunged the camp into chaos, and Chiyo awoke as the attack began.

• Orochimaru introduced Jingyi as the leader of the surprise attack, and Jingyi ordered the other ninja to prepare for the main offensive.
• Jingyi complained that Orochimaru’s defiance of orders would make others suspect Jingyi had influenced him, then left angrily.
• Orochimaru’s combat squads moved into position, and before dawn Jingyi sent a Puppet Crow carrying a sealing scroll over the Sunagakure Camp.
• The scroll broke apart above the camp, releasing hundreds of puppets that attacked and exploded, killing sleeping Sunagakure ninja and throwing the camp into chaos.
• Chiyo woke to the explosions and hurried to dress.