Chapter Summaries

The Third Hokage and Chiyo realized that Yagura had deliberately provoked Kirigakure’s war with Kumogakure to eliminate dissidents, while Ōnoki used the conflict to tie down his enemies. The Third Raikage recognized that Kumogakure had been manipulated, and Madara Uchiha worried that the spreading wars could threaten his plans.

• The Third Hokage reviewed intelligence and concluded that Kirigakure had deliberately started its war with Kumogakure under Yagura’s orders.
• Chiyo compared Kirigakure’s use of clan shinobi to Konoha’s, then apologized after the Third Hokage and Mitokado Homura objected.
• Chiyo rejoiced that the wars would weaken the Five Great Shinobi Villages, while the Third Hokage shared Konoha’s analysis with Kumogakure.
• The Third Raikage realized Yagura had used Kumogakure but continued the war because it could not be stopped and Iwagakure remained the main enemy.
• Madara Uchiha listened to White Zetsu’s intelligence from the Land of Grass and worried that the nearby fighting could expose his base and endanger the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan.

Madara Uchiha ordered White Zetsu to keep searching for a suitable Uchiha pawn while Nagato matured. In Konoha, Jingyi brought Minato to spar with Killer B and began preparing to tell Minato something important.

• Madara Uchiha dismissed Yagura's war tactics and asked White Zetsu whether he had found a suitable Uchiha candidate to serve as a backup pawn.
• White Zetsu reported that no candidate met Madara Uchiha's demanding requirements, so Madara told him to keep looking while Nagato matured.
• White Zetsu asked Madara Uchiha what defecating felt like, and Madara ignored him and fell asleep.
• Jingyi brought Minato Namikaze to meet Killer B and arranged for them to spar regularly so Minato could improve his Taijutsu and combat reflexes.
• Jingyi praised Minato's progress with the Flying Thunder God, then turned serious to tell him something important.

Jingyi told Minato Namikaze to fight Killer B without talking or picking up his habits, then left him to train. Minato outmatched Killer B and realized that changing his attack angles after using straightforward assaults could help him master the flashy Flying Thunder God Technique.

• Jingyi instructed Minato Namikaze to fight Killer B directly and avoid speaking or learning his habits.
• Minato attacked Killer B with specially crafted kunai, and Killer B blocked the surprise strike before the two began fighting.
• Minato's speed, strength, and reactions overwhelmed Killer B, while Minato held back several potentially injurious blows.
• Minato figured out that alternating direct attacks with sudden, tricky weapon angles could give him an advantage.
• Minato adapted to Killer B's combat habits and routed him, while Killer B lost his ability to rap and speak normally.

Minato Namikaze repeatedly sparred with Killer B, whose attempts to copy Minato’s style only led to worse defeats, while the Eight-Tails redirected B’s attention to chakra control. Konoha stabilized amid the war, but rising prices became a new problem for Tsunade’s administration.

• Minato defeated Killer B in a spar, and the Eight-Tails explained that Minato adapted his simple, brutal style while B struggled to imitate it.
• The Eight-Tails comforted Killer B, who began singing to it until it redirected him toward improving his chakra control.
• Minato continued sparring with Killer B every other day, leaving B too busy training to write new songs.
• Konoha calmed the villagers’ anger and stabilized, though the war continued with little impact from the conflict with Iwagakure.
• Tsunade, Jingyi, and Shikaku Nara discussed how the war had driven up prices, especially for imported goods, and Tsunade pressed Jingyi to help find a solution.

Jingyi advised Tsunade on easing villagers’ resentment over rising prices by comparing Konoha’s costs with those elsewhere, and Shikaku Nara agreed to investigate. Tsunade also considered training Nawaki and Minato as assistants and choosing a permanent aide, with Mikoto Uchiha emerging as one possible candidate.

• Jingyi suggested that the village investigate prices in other countries and publish comparisons to reassure villagers that Konoha’s prices were relatively low.
• Tsunade assigned Shikaku Nara to arrange the price investigation, and he accepted the task.
• Tsunade proposed bringing Nawaki and Minato into the Hokage Office as assistants, and Jingyi recommended that they rotate monthly under a permanent assistant.
• Tsunade asked Jingyi to choose a permanent assistant, and he suggested Mikoto Uchiha because she was capable and trustworthy, while noting that her Uchiha affiliation could be an issue.

Jingyi and Tsunade chose Mikoto Uchiha to become the Hokage's assistant, and Fugaku agreed to transfer her from the Police Force. Kushina celebrated Mikoto's new post, while Jingyi asked her to bring Minato and Nawaki to meet him.

• Jingyi recommended Mikoto Uchiha for the Hokage's assistant role because Pakura's background made her unsuitable.
• Tsunade summoned Fugaku Uchiha and asked him to transfer Mikoto to the Hokage Office, and he agreed.
• Tsunade ordered Mikoto's file transferred, making her the Hokage's assistant the next day and leaving her bewildered.
• Kushina asked Jingyi whether he had arranged Mikoto's transfer, and he explained that Tsunade needed a suitable assistant.
• Kushina went to celebrate with Mikoto and agreed to notify Minato and Nawaki that Jingyi wanted to speak with them.

Kushina took Mikoto Uchiha away from the Police Force, while Jingyi teased Minato Namikaze and Nawaki about romance and warned them that work would leave little time for dating. At Ichiraku Ramen Shop, Minato drew out Nawaki’s admission that he might like Mia.

• Kushina picked up Mikoto Uchiha and had the Police Force send out squads to find Minato Namikaze and Nawaki.
• The Police Force reported that Nawaki had eaten with Mia, and Nawaki insisted it had only been a thank-you meal after he helped her squad.
• Jingyi told Minato Namikaze and Nawaki to take the Jonin Exam and study at the Hokage Office, then warned them to find girlfriends before their schedules became too busy.
• At Ichiraku Ramen Shop, Minato asked Nawaki whether he liked Mia, and Nawaki’s startled reaction gave him away.
• Minato teased Nawaki about acting before Mia might choose someone else, while Nawaki angrily told him to find a girlfriend himself.

Jingyi explained to Tsunade that the people probing her about Mikoto Uchiha’s appointment were driven by fear of the Uchiha, which he called Madara Uchiha Phobia. He traced that fear to the Senju’s history of conflict with the Uchiha, leaving Tsunade to consider how that history shaped her teachers’ attitudes.

• Minato encouraged Nawaki after ramen, while Nawaki and Minato began preparing for the Jonin Exam.
• Mikoto Uchiha started serving as Tsunade’s Hokage assistant, prompting several clans to probe Tsunade about the appointment.
• Tsunade complained to Jingyi that people kept questioning her about Mikoto, and Jingyi agreed that their behavior came from an illness.
• Jingyi named the illness Madara Uchiha Phobia and explained that the Senju’s long history of conflict with the Uchiha had left people afraid another Madara Uchiha might arise.
• Tsunade recalled that Tobirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki had told her stories of the clan’s history, in which the Uchiha appeared repeatedly.

Jingyi explained to Tsunade why the Uchiha inspired fear and said he was strong enough to keep them from becoming a threat, then planned to expose Madara Uchiha's Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan. Meanwhile, the war continued on multiple fronts, and Ōnoki faced the Third Raikage on the Land of Lightning battlefield.

• Jingyi told Tsunade that fear of the Uchiha came from their history and Madara Uchiha, while their Sharingan made them powerful but potentially dangerous.
• Jingyi said he did not fear the Uchiha because he could defeat them, and Tsunade stopped worrying about the clan.
• Jingyi decided to reveal Madara Uchiha's Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan before Madara could carry it out.
• Ōnoki avoided fighting Kitsuchi on the Land of Grass battlefield while the Third Hokage continued delaying Iwagakure's forces.
• Ōnoki and the Third Raikage met on the Land of Lightning battlefield, where the Third Raikage challenged Ōnoki's chances of winning with Iwagakure's resources.

The Third Raikage and Ōnoki traded insults over their villages’ finances and wartime burdens before withdrawing without escalating their confrontation. The Third Raikage warned Little A not to fight Ōnoki personally, then revealed he intended to take part in the war against Kirigakure and punish Yagura.

• Ōnoki argued that Kumogakure’s wealth was strained by supporting Konoha and Sunagakure, while the Third Raikage taunted him about Iwagakure’s struggling civilians.
• The Third Raikage and Ōnoki exchanged threats but withdrew with their forces because neither wanted to risk unleashing the other’s battlefield power.
• Little A asked why they had let Ōnoki leave, and the Third Raikage explained that both leaders were restraining themselves to prevent the war from worsening.
• The Third Raikage told Little A to remain at camp and stabilize morale while Dodai took charge of the fighting.
• The Third Raikage said he would avoid personally fighting on the Land of Lightning front but would enter the war against Kirigakure and target Yagura.

The Third Raikage’s arrival shattered the naval stalemate and inflicted heavy losses on Kirigakure, forcing Yagura to abandon his plan to let the war grind on. Yagura left for the battlefield to sabotage Kumogakure’s ships, while Genji stayed behind to stabilize the village.

• The Third Raikage took command of the naval campaign, and Dodai assumed command of the war against Iwagakure.
• The Third Raikage destroyed nearly twenty Kirigakure warships, turning the naval conflict sharply against Yagura’s plans.
• Yagura told Genji he would go to the battlefield and leave him to hold the village together.
• Yagura departed with Mizukage guards, sent them to the command warship, and went alone to sabotage Kumogakure’s ships.

Yagura attacked Kumogakure’s supply ships from underwater, prompting the Third Raikage to retaliate by targeting Kirigakure’s ships. In Konoha, Jingyi and Tsunade discussed how the escalating naval sabotage could reduce the war to small-scale raids.

• Yagura sank a Kumogakure supply ship and damaged two warships before escaping underwater.
• The Third Raikage learned of the attacks and ordered stronger protection for Kumogakure’s ships.
• The Third Raikage changed Kumogakure’s strategy to focus on destroying Kirigakure’s ships in retaliation.
• Jingyi and Tsunade reviewed intelligence about the naval war and predicted that the fighting could become small-scale homeland raids.
• Tsunade identified Yagura as the Kirigakure ninja behind the attacks and said Kumogakure could not catch him at sea.

Jingyi explained why the war between Kumogakure and Kirigakure would continue and why Kumogakure would hesitate to retaliate against Konoha. He then visited Killer B with Kushina, prompting the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails to recognize each other’s presence.

• Jingyi told Tsunade that Yagura could end the war after eliminating his rivals, but the stubborn Third Raikage would keep attacking the Land of Water even after the ships were destroyed.
• Jingyi reassured Tsunade that Konoha could protect itself from Kumogakure’s retaliation and reminded her that the Five Kage Summit’s restrictions still left Konoha with ways to threaten other locations.
• Jingyi flicked Tsunade on the head and escaped through the window, while her shouted threat caused a stir among the Hokage Office Building staff.
• Jingyi brought Kushina to the river, where Killer B had become intensely focused on training after repeated defeats by Minato Namikaze.
• The Eight-Tails sensed the Nine-Tails inside Kushina, and Killer B stopped training to greet Jingyi respectfully.

Kushina brutally beat Killer B after he mocked her, while the Nine-Tails and Eight-Tails watched from their sealing spaces. Killer B surrendered and called her Big Sis, and Kushina decided to train him toward becoming a Perfect Jinchūriki.

• Killer B mocked Kushina after learning she was the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
• Kushina struck Killer B with Chakra Enhanced Strength and beat him while Jingyi watched from a distance.
• The Nine-Tails stopped the Eight-Tails from intervening, saying the fight was a contest between Jinchūriki.
• Killer B surrendered and called Kushina Big Sis to make her stop hitting him.
• Kushina accepted the title and told Killer B she would train him to become a Perfect Jinchūriki.

Kushina bullied Killer B after he called her Big Sis, forbidding him from singing and sending him off to the hospital. On the way home, she and Kurama decided that Eight-Tails and Killer B were merely so-so, while they were destined to be the strongest pair.

• Kushina praised Killer B for calling her Big Sis, then threatened to beat him if he sang or changed his lyrics.
• Killer B agreed to stop singing and left for the hospital while Kushina celebrated with Jingyi.
• Kushina asked Kurama whether Eight-Tails was strong, and Kurama called it so-so.
• Kushina reasoned that a so-so Tailed Beast could only have a so-so Jinchūriki, pleasing Kurama.
• Konoha’s doctors verified Killer B’s identity as a Kumogakure guest and treated him, while he complained that Eight-Tails had not helped him.

Killer B realized the Eight-Tails had been right not to interfere with Kushina, then apologized to it. Kushina continued training Killer B while Jingyi checked on Minato’s preparations for the Jonin Exam and worried about Nawaki, ending with a cryptic remark about people who shared a personality but had different fates.

• Killer B understood that the Eight-Tails could have lost control if it intervened against Kushina, and he apologized to the tailed beast for blaming it.
• Kushina repeatedly struck Killer B during training and scolded him for failing to maintain stability in even the smallest movements.
• Jingyi reassured Minato that Kushina was not using much strength, then left Killer B with her to continue the lesson.
• Jingyi asked Minato about his Jonin Exam preparations, and Minato said he was confident he would pass.
• Jingyi worried that Nawaki’s poor performance in subjects beyond combat strength could keep him from passing, and Minato defended Nawaki’s recent efforts.
• Jingyi remarked that Nawaki and someone else had the same personality and kindness but different fates, leaving Minato puzzled.

Jingyi compared Nawaki, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade, explaining how their strengths differed and warning Orochimaru about Tsunade’s Yin Seal. The chapter ended with Jingyi suddenly scrutinizing Orochimaru, who had come out of his laboratory dressed in aristocratic clothes.

• Minato Namikaze asked Jingyi whether he worried Nawaki would become a dead last, and Jingyi joked that Nawaki already was one after leaving the Ninja Academy.
• Orochimaru joined Jingyi and Minato Namikaze, gave them juice, and asked whether Jiraiya was stronger than him.
• Jingyi said Orochimaru would win an unprepared fight, but Jiraiya could surpass him with enough time to use Senjutsu.
• Jingyi warned Orochimaru not to provoke Tsunade because her Yin Seal let her endure lethal injuries and keep fighting.
• Jingyi said the Yin Seal was suitable only for women, then wondered why Orochimaru had left his laboratory and abruptly began examining him.

Jingyi told Orochimaru about a story featuring an Orochi Princess who ended up with Jiraiya, prompting Orochimaru to confront Jiraiya. Their fight wrecked Pink Street, and Tsunade learned of the battle and headed there.

• Jingyi told Orochimaru and Minato Namikaze about a story in which an Orochi Princess and her companion Jiraiya became a couple, and Orochimaru left in anger.
• Orochimaru found Jiraiya drinking with two women on Pink Street and attacked him after Jiraiya joked about the Orochi Princess.
• Jiraiya tried to move their fight somewhere empty, but Orochimaru attacked with his Kusanagi Sword, and the two fought through Pink Street.
• Jingyi sensed the battle while taking Minato Namikaze out for ramen and went to investigate.
• Police Force members told Tsunade that Jiraiya and Orochimaru were fighting on Pink Street, and she set out to intervene.

Tsunade stopped Jiraiya and Orochimaru’s destructive fight on Pink Street and brought them to the Hokage Office to explain themselves. Orochimaru revealed that he attacked Jiraiya because Jiraiya had written a picture book mocking him, leaving Jiraiya to wonder what he had written.

• Fugaku Uchiha arrived at the fight and notified Tsunade, who rushed over and ordered Jiraiya and Orochimaru to stop.
• Tsunade sent Fugaku Uchiha and the Police Force to rescue the injured and arrange compensation for Pink Street’s damage.
• Tsunade brought Jiraiya and Orochimaru to the Hokage Office, where Katsuyu treated Jiraiya’s wounds and snake venom.
• Jiraiya claimed Orochimaru attacked him without cause, but Orochimaru said Jiraiya had written a picture book mocking him.
• Jiraiya tried to recall what he had written, while Orochimaru’s real grievance was that Jiraiya had paired him with Jiraiya in a story.

Jingyi explained that Orochimaru had attacked Jiraiya after mistaking a picture-book story for something Jiraiya had written. After learning that the story paired Orochimaru and Jiraiya, both men searched Konoha's bookstores for the book, but found nothing and turned their attention to its sellers.

• Tsunade warned Jiraiya not to write about her, while Orochimaru grew angry when Jiraiya mentioned the name Orochi Princess.
• Jingyi entered the Hokage Office and explained that Orochimaru had mistaken a story he had described for one of Jiraiya's picture books.
• Jingyi revealed that the story portrayed Orochimaru as a beautiful Orochi Princess who eventually became Jiraiya's partner, and Jiraiya fled in disgust.
• Tsunade asked Jingyi to lend her the picture book for research.
• Jiraiya and Orochimaru searched Konoha's bookstores but could not find the book, so they began looking for the people who sold picture books.