Chapter Summaries

The Third Hokage learned that Sunagakure had arranged a Five Kage Summit after the other four villages had already discussed it, leaving Konoha facing a likely united effort to pressure it. He decided to attend the summit in the Land of Iron and began arranging Konoha’s leadership and his guards, while the war continued.

• The Kumogakure envoy told the Third Hokage that Sunagakure had initiated the summit and that the other village leaders had already met.
• The Third Hokage called Tsunade, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu to discuss the invitation and Konoha’s risk of being targeted by the four other villages.
• Tsunade argued that Konoha could not withstand the combined pressure if it refused to attend, and the Third Hokage agreed that he had to go.
• The Third Hokage appointed Tsunade to oversee the village while he was away, with Mitokado Homura assisting her and Utatane Koharu remaining in her current role.
• Tsunade proposed Senior Sakumo, Jingyi, Orochimaru, and Shimura Danzō as the Third Hokage’s guards, but the Third Hokage rejected Orochimaru because the front lines still needed him.

Jingyi agreed to lead the Anbu on the Hokage’s protection mission to the Five Kage Summit, while refusing to serve as a Hokage Guard candidate. He set out for Konoha with Pakura and Minato Namikaze, still wondering why Sunagakure had managed to gather the other villages for the summit.

• Tsunade told Jingyi that he was being considered for the Hokage Guard, and he agreed to lead the Anbu on the mission instead of taking the title himself.
• Jingyi decided to bring Minato Namikaze and Pakura to the Five Kage Summit, joking that he would take Minato to watch the Five Kage dance at a club.
• Jingyi discussed Sunagakure’s reasons for calling the summit with Orochimaru, but neither of them could explain how Sunagakure had persuaded the other villages to attend.
• Jingyi left for Konoha with Pakura and Minato Namikaze after arranging the Medical Department’s affairs.
• During a rest on the road, Jingyi learned that Pakura had never visited Konoha because her squad captain had not accepted missions there.

Jingyi returned to Konoha with Pakura and left her in Minato Namikaze’s care while he went to the Anbu. At the Anbu base, he teased Shikaku Nara by offering to lend him the Hokage Battle Robe, and Shikaku begged him not to frighten his son.

• Pakura worried that Minato Namikaze was overexerting himself, but Jingyi explained that he spent a million ryo a year on his disciple’s training and health.
• Jingyi returned to Konoha and told Minato Namikaze to show Pakura around the village before going home, while he headed to the Anbu.
• Minato Namikaze explained that Jingyi’s motionless puppets secretly monitored the village and were nearly impossible to detect.
• At the Anbu base, Shikaku Nara praised Jingyi’s Hokage Battle Robe, and Jingyi offered to lend it to him or his son.
• Shikaku Nara panicked and begged Jingyi not to involve his timid son, recalling the trouble the robe could bring from Konoha’s higher-ups.

Jingyi discussed the sudden Five Kage Summit with Tsunade and Shikaku Nara, then found a way to feed his rapidly growing Summoning Beasts. The group expected the meeting in the Land of Iron to be mostly uneventful, and Jingyi confirmed he would bring Pakura, whose defection had been motivated partly by her Kekkei Genkai.

• Jingyi asked Tsunade why Sunagakure had called the Five Kage Summit, but she said they would have to wait until they reached the Land of Iron to learn the reason.
• Jingyi asked Tsunade to find a place for his Summoning Beasts, and Shikaku Nara suggested releasing them into the sea so they could hunt for food.
• Jingyi agreed to treat Shikaku Nara to two meals at the Akimichi family's barbecue restaurant in return for the suggestion.
• Tsunade and Shikaku Nara told Jingyi the summit would probably be a safe, formal mission, and Jingyi agreed that the meeting's purpose mattered most.
• Tsunade asked whether Jingyi would bring Pakura to the summit, and he said he would because her meeting with Sunagakure was bound to happen sooner or later.
• Shikaku Nara learned that Jingyi had persuaded Pakura to defect partly because he wanted her Scorch Release, not only because he thought she was pretty.

Jingyi returned to Konoha and discussed Kekkei Genkai with Tsunade and Shikashin Nara. Meanwhile, the Third Hokage faced pressure over Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura’s move to neutrality, growing war discontent, and Sunagakure’s proposed Five Kage Summit.

• Jingyi, Tsunade, and Shikashin Nara discussed Scorch Release, Kekkei Genkai inheritance, and the Nara men’s wives.
• The Third Hokage received word that Jingyi had returned and gone to the Anbu base and a barbecue restaurant.
• The Third Hokage decided Shimura Danzō could not be released from prison despite the improving relations within the Hokage Faction.
• Mitokado Homura privately contacted Tsunade and chose to remain neutral after repeated conflicts with her camp.
• The Third Hokage faced growing dissatisfaction over the prolonged war and Sunagakure’s proposal for a Five Kage Summit.

Jingyi returned home and told Minato Namikaze that the Summoning Beasts could be settled near the former Land of Whirlpools, easing Minato’s worries about feeding them. As the group prepared to leave for the Five Kage Summit, Nawaki continued Tsunade’s punishing training, and the story ended with departure day arriving.

• Jingyi returned home, greeted Kushina, Mie Hyuga, and Mikoto Uchiha, and found Pakura and Minato Namikaze cooking.
• Jingyi told Minato Namikaze that Shikashin had suggested releasing the Summoning Beasts near the former Land of Whirlpools, where they could hunt in the sea.
• Minato Namikaze happily relayed that Jingyi, Tsunade, and Shikashin had already eaten, while Kushina complained that Nawaki had gone to a gathering without inviting her.
• Nawaki returned exhausted from Tsunade’s special training, ate dinner, and went back to continue training.
• Jingyi watched Nawaki’s training and recalled teaching him about Explosive Tag traps; after two days of rest in the village, departure day arrived.

Jingyi escorted the Third Hokage to the Five Kage Summit in the Land of Iron, riding a tiger puppet while Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Anbu ran. Their strained relationship remained unresolved, and an encounter with Ōnoki left Hiruzen facing an embarrassing question about why he was walking.

• Jingyi set out with Hiruzen Sarutobi, Minato, and two Anbu squads, then summoned a giant tiger puppet and rode it while the others ran.
• Jingyi chose to travel directly to the Land of Iron and said he could later fly south to settle his Summoning Beast, while Hiruzen gave up on improving their relationship.
• Jingyi’s group encountered Ōnoki and an Iwagakure team on the road to the Land of Iron.
• Ōnoki recognized Jingyi and asked why Hiruzen was walking while Jingyi rode a puppet, leaving Hiruzen cursing inwardly.

Jingyi provoked Ōnoki into nearly fighting Konoha’s party, but Mifune stopped the confrontation so the Five Kage Summit could proceed. After reaching the Land of Iron, Jingyi challenged the Third Hokage’s gentle approach and warned Minato that the Third Mizukage was cruel to his own people, leaving him to explain Kirigakure’s brutal history.

• Jingyi mocked Ōnoki’s height and temper until Iwagakure’s ninja rushed toward him and Konoha’s Anbu formed a defensive line.
• The Third Hokage defended Jingyi and blamed Ōnoki for provoking the conflict, while Ōnoki threatened Jingyi and prepared to fight.
• Mifune ordered both sides to keep the peace in the Land of Iron, and Ōnoki suppressed his anger to avoid disrupting the Five Kage Summit.
• Jingyi told the Third Hokage that Konoha should answer its enemies with force, then taught Minato to stop outsiders from threatening them.
• After the Third Hokage met the Third Mizukage, Jingyi told Minato that the Mizukage was vicious toward his own people and tied Kirigakure’s Blood Mist Era to his rule.

Jingyi explained to Minato how the villages treated their own people and warned him not to trust the Third Hokage. After learning that the Five Kage Summit was aimed at restricting his puppet airdrops, Jingyi refused to accept pressure from the other villages.

• Jingyi told Minato that the Third Mizukage was especially ruthless toward his own people and warned him never to believe the Third Hokage's promises.
• Jingyi promised to take Minato south to the waters around the Land of Whirlpools the next day.
• The Third Hokage told Jingyi that the Five Kage Summit was aimed at him and his puppet airdrops.
• Jingyi laughed that the villages feared his airdrops, while the Third Hokage worried they would unite against Konoha.
• Jingyi rejected the idea that the Five Kage Summit could force him to stop using puppets.

Jingyi refused to yield to the Five Kage Summit’s demands and threatened to send expendable puppets into the other villages. On the way to the Land of Whirlpools, he continued Minato Namikaze’s training and explained why Gold Fang and Black Fang could speak.

• Jingyi told the Third Hokage to relay that he would accept no threats and might drop puppets into the villages.
• The next day, Jingyi and Minato Namikaze flew toward the Land of Whirlpools, and Jingyi insisted that Minato continue training his reactions for the Flying Thunder God.
• On an island near the Land of Whirlpools, Jingyi summoned Gold Fang and praised it for learning to speak.
• Minato excitedly told Jingyi that Black Fang had started talking, then asked why the Inuzuka Clan’s ninja dogs could not speak.
• Jingyi explained that Gold Fang and Black Fang came from Ryūchi Cave, where Summoning Beasts could learn human language, and sent Minato to say goodbye to Black Fang.

Jingyi and the other villages’ guards waited in a lounge while the Five Kage Summit began, and he spoke with Yagura, Rasa, Kitsuchi, and Little A. Kitsuchi and Jingyi traded pointed remarks about past battles as the summit proceeded without them.

• Jingyi left Gold Fang and Black Fang near the Land of Whirlpools and returned with his disciple to the Land of Iron for the Five Kage Summit.
• The Third Hokage entered the conference room without Jingyi, prompting the Third Mizukage to send Yagura to the lounge as well.
• The Third Kazekage sent Rasa to the lounge, where Yagura and Jingyi ignored him.
• Ōnoki and the Third Raikage sent Kitsuchi and Little A to the lounge, where Little A’s snub of Kitsuchi stirred tension.
• Kitsuchi greeted Jingyi and they exchanged remarks about losses in the Land of Rain and Jingyi’s killing of the Demigod while Little A fumed at being ignored.

Jingyi traded barbs with Kitsuchi in the waiting room, then the Five Kage Summit began with the Third Kazekage accusing Konoha of devastating Sunagakure’s camp with remotely controlled puppets. The Third Hokage objected, but the Third Raikage and Ōnoki backed the Kazekage, who continued pressing the threat of another attack.

• Jingyi agreed that Konoha’s Hokage had terrible judgment, catching Kitsuchi off guard and upsetting the Third Hokage.
• Jingyi mocked Kitsuchi for lacking a Tsuchikage Battle Robe, and Little A joined in by taunting him about Iwagakure’s finances.
• Little A admitted he was provoking Kitsuchi, and Mifune intervened before the two guards could start fighting.
• Ōnoki opened the summit and asked the Third Kazekage to speak first because Sunagakure had called the meeting.
• The Third Kazekage accused Konoha of destroying Sunagakure’s camp with remotely controlled puppets and warned that Sunagakure might face another attack.
• The Third Hokage protested that Sunagakure had started the war, but the Third Raikage and Ōnoki urged him to let the Kazekage continue.

At the Five Kage Summit, the Third Kazekage presented evidence that Jingyi’s retaliatory attack on the Land of Wind caused destruction comparable to a Tailed Beast Ball. The other Kage backed restrictions on such puppets, while Jingyi remained calmly absorbed in a novel next door.

• The Third Kazekage presented maps and survey data showing the destruction at the attack sites in the Land of Wind.
• The Third Hokage examined the evidence and realized Jingyi’s attack involved a technique or puppet capable of immense destruction.
• The Third Raikage judged the damage comparable to a Tailed Beast Ball, and the Third Hokage admitted he knew little about the retaliatory attack.
• The Third Kazekage proposed restricting the use of puppets with such destructive power.
• Ōnoki, the Third Mizukage, and the Third Raikage supported the restrictions, while Jingyi continued reading without reacting.

At the Five Kage Summit, Konoha rejected Sunagakure’s demand that Jingyi stop using puppets, and Jingyi decided to stall negotiations while preparing an air raid on Sunagakure. As the Third Kazekage worked to hold the alliance together, the other three villages doubted they could force Konoha to yield.

• The Third Hokage rejected the demand, and Jingyi said he would not honor any agreement he had not made himself.
• The Third Mizukage, Third Raikage, and Ōnoki left the meeting, while Ōnoki told the Third Kazekage to lead the pressure on Konoha.
• The Third Hokage warned Jingyi that an alliance of four villages could put Konoha under tremendous pressure, but Jingyi said there was no need to wait for them to unite.
• Jingyi told the Third Hokage to stall at the next meeting by demanding five hundred million ryō from each village in exchange for putting away his puppets.
• Jingyi said he would bomb Sunagakure before resuming negotiations, while the Third Kazekage remained unaware of his plan.
• The Third Mizukage told the other village leaders that Konoha would not easily compromise and that their goal would be difficult to achieve.

The Five Kage struggled to agree on pressuring Konoha, as the Third Raikage and Third Mizukage favored offering compensation while Ōnoki refused to pay. Meanwhile, Jingyi sent the Puppet Crow toward the Land of Wind, and the Third Hokage challenged the Third Kazekage’s proposal at the summit.

• The Third Raikage argued that the villages should combine pressure on Konoha with compensation, but Ōnoki refused to spend Iwagakure’s money and stormed off.
• The Third Mizukage persuaded the Third Raikage and Ōnoki to stall, expecting the war between Konoha and Sunagakure to force one side to yield.
• After nightfall, Jingyi sent the Puppet Crow toward the Land of Wind to bomb Sunagakure.
• The next day, Jingyi skipped the summit, and Eagle took his place as the Third Hokage’s bodyguard.
• The Third Hokage rejected the Third Kazekage’s proposal and argued that banning Konoha’s powerful method would be as unreasonable as banning Magnet Release or Dust Release.

The Third Hokage rejected the other Kage’s demand to restrict Konoha’s puppets and countered that their own signature techniques should be restricted too. After the Third Raikage threatened to support Sunagakure and block Konoha’s missions, the Third Hokage offered to limit the puppets only for an enormous fee, then rejected the proposed compromise.

• The Third Hokage challenged the Kage to explain why Konoha’s puppets should be restricted while their own techniques remained unrestricted.
• Ōnoki objected, and the Third Hokage argued that the other villages’ demands were hypocritical.
• The Third Hokage refused the proposed puppet restrictions, prompting the Third Raikage and the other Kage to pressure him.
• The Third Raikage threatened to supply Sunagakure and restrict Konoha shinobi from working in the other villages’ territories.
• The Third Hokage demanded five hundred million ryō from each village in exchange for keeping puppets out of war and village attacks.
• The Third Raikage offered fifty million ryō per village, but the Third Hokage rejected the amount.

At the Five Kage Summit, the Third Hokage and Jingyi negotiated compensation while the other villages argued over how much to pay. As talks continued, Puppet Crow began an attack on Sunagakure just before dawn.

• The Third Hokage demanded three hundred million from each village and walked out, suspending the summit again.
• The Third Raikage saw the Hokage’s bargaining as a sign that Konoha’s restrictions were negotiable, while the Third Kazekage said Sunagakure could not afford the compensation.
• The Third Hokage told Jingyi that the other villages threatened to fund Sunagakure’s war if Konoha refused to negotiate, and Jingyi urged him to keep talks going for several days.
• The Five Kage resumed their negotiations the next day and bickered over compensation while Puppet Crow waited for nightfall.
• Just before dawn, Puppet Crow flew over Sunagakure, released a scroll, and quickly escaped.

Jingyi sent more than a hundred self-destructing puppets into Sunagakure to warn the village and the other nations against imposing restrictions without compensation. The attack plunged the village into chaos, and Ebizo was left to respond while the Third Kazekage and Chiyo were away.

• Jingyi's puppets landed unnoticed inside Sunagakure and began searching for buildings to destroy.
• The puppets blew up several buildings, including the Kazekage's office, waking the village and drawing the patrols.
• Sunagakure ninjas spotted the puppets and raised the alarm, sending civilians and ninjas fleeing in panic.
• Returning frontline ninjas recognized the self-destructing puppets and blamed Konoha for the attack.
• With the Third Kazekage at the Land of Iron and Chiyo at the front-line camp, Ebizo was tasked with handling the disorder.

Ebizo directed Sunagakure’s defense against Konoha’s self-destructing puppets, then ordered rescue efforts and damage reports after the attack devastated the village. At the front, Chiyo struggled against Orochimaru’s unconventional tactics while the Third Kazekage negotiated compensation with the Third Hokage in the Land of Iron.

• Ebizo ordered Sunagakure shinobi to intercept the puppets, even at the cost of their lives, and directed villagers to shelter while guards protected the Jinchūriki.
• Sunagakure’s shinobi stopped the puppets through heavy casualties, and Ebizo ordered the wounded treated and the losses tallied after the final explosion.
• Ebizo sent the casualty and damage list to the Third Kazekage and arranged for a copy to reach Chiyo at the front.
• Orochimaru used giant Ryūchi Cave snakes to ambush Sunagakure forces, worsening Chiyo’s frustration with his unorthodox tactics.
• The Third Kazekage and the Third Hokage continued negotiating compensation in the Land of Iron, with the Third Hokage holding firm at one hundred million ryō.

The Third Hokage held firm on Konoha’s demand for one hundred million ryo in compensation until Rasa delivered news that Jingyi had attacked Sunagakure with puppets. The warning escalated the summit’s tensions as Ōnoki questioned how many puppets Jingyi still had.

• The Third Hokage refused to lower the one hundred million ryo compensation demand, arguing that banning puppets in war would save villages casualties and resources.
• Rasa rushed into the conference room and gave the Third Kazekage an urgent scroll from Sunagakure.
• The Third Kazekage read that Jingyi had attacked Sunagakure with puppets and angrily accused the Third Hokage of sending them during the summit.
• The Third Hokage said Jingyi had sent the attack as a warning and threatened that other villages could be next if they showed no sincerity.
• Ōnoki asked whether Jingyi still possessed puppets, and the Third Hokage explained that the ninja-corpse puppets were expendable and hinted that Hanzō might be the only one left.