Chapter Summaries

Asuma, Kurenai, and Shizune became an independent squad, with Asuma as captain, and received a mission to investigate Sunagakure's missing Third Kazekage in the Land of Rain. As they left Konoha, they concluded that the Hokage wanted them to learn whether Sunagakure planned to use the disappearance as a pretext for war.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen promoted Asuma's newly formed squad to independent status and appointed Asuma captain.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen sent Asuma Squad to the Land of Rain to confirm reports that the Third Kazekage had disappeared, while ordering Hatake Sakumo to prepare at the border.
• Asuma left Konoha with Kurenai and Shizune, who questioned his new outfit and discussed the possibility of war.
• Asuma agreed with Kurenai and Shizune that Sunagakure might launch a war to ease internal turmoil and deter other villages.
• Asuma reasoned that their mission was likely to investigate Sunagakure's intentions and agreed that capturing a Sunagakure Jōnin for interrogation would help.

Asuma, Yūhi Kurenai, and Shizune entered the Land of Rain, captured a Sand Ninja during a battle, and learned that the Third Kazekage had gone missing. Asuma suspected Sasori might be responsible and asked Kurenai to find out whether Sasori was still in Sunagakure.

• Asuma, Yūhi Kurenai, and Shizune found Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan fighting Sand Ninja in a village and attacked the Sand Ninja from behind.
• Asuma and his team defeated the Sand Ninja, captured one, and withdrew, while Yahiko and Nagato stayed behind to rescue children and discuss stopping the coming war.
• Asuma's team interrogated the captured Chūnin and learned that Sunagakure was searching for the missing Third Kazekage, though the prisoner knew no details.
• Asuma, Kurenai, and Shizune reasoned that the Third Kazekage's killer was likely someone familiar with Sunagakure who could get close to him and might use poison.
• Asuma suspected Sasori could be the culprit and told Kurenai to ask whether he was still in Sunagakure.

Asuma exposed Sasori as a possible suspect in the Third Kazekage’s murder, prompting Sunagakure to investigate as war spread across the shinobi nations. After Rasa became Fourth Kazekage and the Mist Ninja joined the fighting, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo considered how to use intelligence about secret meetings between rival villages.

• Asuma placed a bounty on Sasori and spread the claim that he had murdered the Third Kazekage, leading Sunagakure’s leaders to order an investigation and choose a Fourth Kazekage.
• Asuma returned to Konoha, where he learned that Iwagakure had invaded the Land of Wind and received a mission to patrol the border with the Land of Rivers.
• After Rasa succeeded as Fourth Kazekage, the Mist Ninja attacked the Land of Wind, and Asuma suspected the Cloud Ninja were feigning interest in attacking Konoha to target Iwagakure.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen learned of secret meetings between the Sand Ninja and Cloud Ninja and between the Cloud Ninja and Mist Ninja, while Danzo reported that Hanzō had refused an alliance.
• Danzo suggested giving the intelligence reports to the Iwa Ninja and Sand Ninja, and Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed to leave the Land of Rain to him.

Asuma and his teammates completed a series of missions before learning that the Third Raikage had died fighting the Iwa Ninja, likely after Konoha shared intelligence that helped arrange the ambush. Asuma gathered friends for a hot spring outing, where Tsunade caught Jiraiya spying and attacked him.

• Asuma, Yūhi Kurenai, and Shizune exchanged intelligence with the Iwa Ninja at Kannabi Bridge and returned safely to Konoha.
• The trio spent the following months patrolling borders and gathering intelligence near several battlefronts.
• Asuma and his teammates learned that the Third Raikage had died after facing thousands of Iwa Ninja, and Asuma suspected the intelligence he delivered had helped bring about the ambush.
• Asuma invited Yūhi Kurenai, Shizune, Tsunade, Uzumaki Kushina, Namikaze Minato, Kakashi, and Uchiha Obito to the hot springs.
• Tsunade discovered Jiraiya gathering material nearby and attacked him, prompting Asuma to hurry over to watch.

Asuma exchanged an S-rank Lightning Armor technique for a contract with Enma’s clan, then completed his own Lightning Style Chakra Mode after two days of training. He discovered that the mode greatly enhanced his perception and let him reach extraordinary short-range speeds.

• Asuma questioned Jiraiya about Sage Mode and learned that both Jiraiya and Minato had limitations using it.
• Asuma asked Sarutobi Hiruzen to exchange for a Summoning Jutsu and received a contract with Enma’s clan after offering Lightning Armor.
• Asuma met Enma and learned that Enma could transform into a blade but could not serve as a Chakra Blade.
• Asuma trained for two days and completed his Lightning Style Chakra Mode, integrating Lightning Chakra throughout his body.
• Asuma found that the mode boosted his information processing and dynamic vision, and measured his short-range movement speed at up to 10 kilometers per second.

After months of training, Asuma improved his Lightning Style Chakra Mode and used a Chakra Control breakthrough to create and control powerful flame dragons. He named his new Scorch Release technique White Eye Blue Dragon and reached Character Level 36.

• Asuma refined his Lightning Style Chakra Mode until he could activate it in two seconds.
• Asuma reconsidered his plans for large-scale sensory ninjutsu and decided to use Skill Points to raise Chakra Control beyond Level 10.
• After reaching Level 11 Chakra Control, Asuma formed a detailed Scorch Release Chakra Cloak and condensed a miniature Scorch Release Rasenshuriken with a Chakra Hand.
• Asuma created a solid Fire Style Chakra Dragon that could leave his body, move under his control, and strike targets up to fifty meters away.
• Asuma switched the dragon to Scorch Release, rode it through the sky, named the technique Scorch Release: White Eye Blue Dragon, and reached Character Level 36.

Asuma advanced his plans to create the Nine Dragon Divine Fire Cover while preparing for war, then rushed toward Konoha’s border after the Sand Ninja launched a large-scale surprise attack. He destroyed the first wave with Fire and Wind Style, but Sand Ninja forces surrounded him.

• Asuma gained a level, raised his Constitution to 73, and began gathering barrier knowledge to create the Nine Dragon Divine Fire Cover.
• Asuma continued training his Sensory Ninjutsu as repeated Sand Ninja probes heightened tensions along the Land of Fire border.
• On July 21, Kurenai, Shizune, and Asuma saw warning flares signaling a large-scale Sand Ninja assault, and Asuma sent Kurenai and Shizune to the rear outpost.
• Asuma raced toward the first defensive line, found it breached, and countered the advancing poison gas with a powerful Fire and Wind Style attack.
• Asuma’s attack killed seven Sand Ninja, and more enemy fighters arrived and surrounded him.

Asuma used Lightning Style Chakra Mode and Scorch Release Chakra Mode to defeat the Sand Ninja who surrounded him. After learning that the other defensive lines had fallen and his team was encircled, he ordered Yūhi Kurenai and Shizune to disguise themselves as Sand Ninja and retreat toward the border defense forces while he covered their rear.

• Asuma activated Lightning Style Chakra Mode and quickly killed more than a dozen Sand Ninja, including at least three Jōnin.
• When the remaining Sand Ninja tried to trap him with large-scale Wind Style, Asuma switched to Scorch Release Chakra Mode and wiped them out with a high-temperature storm and four Scorch Release Rasenshuriken.
• Asuma learned from a Shadow Clone that Yūhi Kurenai and Shizune had been surrounded after the other two defensive lines were breached.
• Asuma arrived and used Lightning Style: False Darkness before cutting down the Sand Ninja encircling Yūhi Kurenai and Shizune.
• After confirming that their message had been sent, Asuma ordered Yūhi Kurenai and Shizune to use the Transformation Technique and retreat disguised as Sand Ninja while he covered the rear.

Asuma and his squad ambushed the Sand Ninja vanguard, helping Hatake Sakumo’s force break through and defeat it. With more than five hundred Sand Ninja reinforcements approaching, Sakumo established a defensive perimeter and prepared to hold out for help.

• Asuma warned the Sand Ninja leader that he was powerful, but the leader refused to delay the attack to pursue him.
• The Sand Ninja and Konoha forces exchanged opening attacks, and Asuma, Yūhi Kurenai, and Shizune killed two Sand Ninja squads in a surprise strike.
• Asuma and his squad charged the Sand Ninja flank, where Asuma rapidly killed the remaining defenders and helped collapse the vanguard.
• Hatake Sakumo held back from pursuing and organized a circular defense after the Byakugan detected more than five hundred Sand Ninja approaching.
• Sakumo told the squad captains to tie down the enemy until reinforcements arrived, and Asuma assured him that he still had plenty of Chakra.

Asuma reinforced Konoha’s defenses against the Sand Ninja and unleashed his Scorch Release Chakra Mode and Yin Seal to devastate their advancing forces. The chapter ended with the Sand Ninja’s attack halted, leaving more than twenty dead and many others severely injured.

• Hatake Sakumo assigned Asuma to reinforce whichever direction the Sand Ninja attacked and trusted him to stop their main assault.
• Asuma sent four Shadow Clones to different positions and waited with Yūhi Kurenai and Shizune for a signal.
• After birdsong came from the left, Asuma switched places with a Shadow Clone and joined the second line of defense as the Sand Ninja advanced.
• Asuma entered Scorch Release Chakra Mode, released the Yin Seal, and formed four miniature Scorch Release Rasenshuriken with Chakra Hands.
• Asuma hurled the Rasenshuriken into the Sand Ninja formation, then raised Earth Walls to shield Konoha’s forces from the scorching heat storm.
• The heat storm cleared the forest and left more than twenty Sand Ninja dead, with over a dozen others badly injured.

Asuma used his vast Chakra and Shadow Clones to devastate a Sand Ninja advance unit, then rested after the survivors retreated. Konoha learned the Sand Ninja had withdrawn, but Asuma knew the war had only begun.

• Kawajun recognized Asuma as the Konoha ninja who had inflicted heavy losses on his unit and ordered the Sand Ninja to surround him.
• Asuma created eight Shadow Clones and blasted the charging Sand Ninja with combined Ninjutsu and Fire and Scorch Release dragons.
• Asuma and his Shadow Clones charged into close combat, killing many Sand Ninja while Sarutobi Amayo and the Konoha ninja helped interrupt enemy techniques.
• Asuma's side defeated the Sand Ninja force in less than five minutes, and Sarutobi Amayo told Asuma to rest at the third defensive line.
• Reports arrived that the Sand Ninja had retreated, but Asuma knew the war had only begun.

Asuma and Hatake Sakumo led Konoha’s trapped ninja in a breakout before dawn, then stayed behind to harass the pursuing Sand Ninja. As Sand Dune’s elite force boxed them in with puppets and Wind Style, Asuma prepared to counter their strategy.

• Chiyo and Ryōgen decided that the Sand Ninja needed to eliminate Asuma or capture his body for research, and Sand Dune volunteered to lead the hunt.
• Hatake Sakumo ordered Konoha’s squads to break through the encirclement and scatter, while he and Asuma stayed behind to hold off the main pursuit.
• Asuma and Hatake Sakumo broke through the encirclement in three minutes, and Yūhi Kurenai and Shizune left with the other squads.
• Asuma and Hatake Sakumo attacked the pursuing Sand Ninja, routed their first group, and drew reinforcements with distress signals.
• Sand Dune arrived with forty elite Sand Ninja and used puppets, Shuriken, Explosive Tags, and large-scale Wind Style to restrict Asuma and Hatake Sakumo’s movement.

Asuma and Hatake Sakumo devastated a Sand Ninja force with Scorch Release Rasenshuriken, then retreated as reinforcements arrived. Asuma ambushed the Sand Ninja examining the crater, but Chiyo led the survivors in pursuit after he escaped.

• Asuma and Hatake Sakumo used Shadow Clones and Scorch Release Rasenshuriken to destroy the Sand Ninja force, then finished off the wounded survivors.
• Hatake Sakumo sensed the Sand Ninja main force approaching, so he and Asuma retreated while Asuma left Shadow Clones behind.
• Chiyo and the Sand Ninja reinforcements found the crater and discussed Asuma's abilities before Chiyo noticed a trap.
• Asuma emerged from a corpse and killed several Sand Ninja, then broke through the poison and puppets with Lightning Style Chakra Mode.
• Chiyo ordered the Sand Ninja to pursue Asuma while warning them to watch for his hidden clones.

Konoha and Sunagakure gathered their forces for a major clash, and Asuma proposed using his flight and Wind Style: Rasenshuriken to reduce the Sand Ninja’s numerical advantage. The chapter ended as Asuma and Jiraiya prepared to launch the tactic against Chiyo’s assembled army.

• Asuma, Hatake Sakumo, Minato, and the Ino-Shika-Cho squad reached Konoha’s camp and reported that more than a thousand Sand Ninja led by Chiyo were approaching.
• Jiraiya gathered Konoha’s forces after Asuma warned that the Sand Ninja vanguard was less than ten minutes away.
• Hatake Sakumo suggested exploiting Asuma’s abilities, and Asuma explained that he could fly and carry others while in Scorch Release Chakra Mode.
• Jiraiya ordered Konoha’s ninja to gather near headquarters, and Chiyo ordered the Sand Ninja squads to assemble for a head-on battle.
• Jiraiya entered Sage Mode with Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima, while Asuma summoned his White Eye Blue Dragon and carried Jiraiya above the army.

Asuma and Jiraiya lured the Sand Ninja into a coordinated attack, then unleashed five Rasenshuriken that erupted into massive storms. The Konoha force took cover as the Sand Ninja caught in the blasts suffered devastating casualties.

• Asuma signaled the Konoha ninja to combine Fire Style and Wind Style, creating a blazing storm that clashed with the Sand Ninja's wind techniques.
• Asuma and Jiraiya rose above the Sand Ninja and formed four Scorch Release Rasenshuriken and one Sage Art: Wind Style: Rasenshuriken.
• Chiyo recognized the trap and ordered the Sand Ninja to stop the descending attacks, but their ninjutsu and projectiles failed to intercept them.
• Asuma and Jiraiya detonated all five Rasenshuriken in midair, unleashing expanding spheres of light and storms across the forest.
• Hatake Sakumo, Namikaze Minato, and Sarutobi Amayo ordered the Konoha ninja to retreat behind Earth Walls as the storms tore through the forest.
• Jiraiya and the two Sen watched the devastation, and Jiraiya told Asuma that his Scorch Release Rasenshuriken was even more powerful than his own.

Sarutobi Asuma devastated the Sand Ninja with his and Jiraiya’s ninjutsu, then helped treat Konoha’s poisoned wounded instead of continuing the pursuit. Jiraiya realized Asuma had become Tsunade’s disciple and wondered what he could teach him.

• Sarutobi Asuma descended first, and Jiraiya and the toad sages discussed his extraordinary talent and the possibility that he was the Child of Prophecy.
• The battlefield was left covered with craters, corpses, and wounded Sand Ninja after the ninjutsu attack.
• Sarutobi Asuma pursued the retreating Sand Ninja alongside Jiraiya and Hatake Sakumo, forcing them toward the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers.
• At the Konoha camp, Sarutobi Asuma used Shadow Clones and the Extracting Illness Technique to treat more than two hundred poisoned comrades with Shizune, Rin, and the medical ninja.
• Jiraiya saw Sarutobi Asuma’s enormous Chakra reserves and concluded that Tsunade had taken him as a disciple, then doubted whether he had anything to teach him.

After Asuma finished treating the remaining Konoha ninja, he slept and woke to find he had leveled up and strengthened his Lightning Style Chakra Nature Transformation. His new sensitivity to electrical signals gave him the idea of attempting Mind Reading.

• Asuma recovered his strength, created Shadow Clones with three medical Jōnin, and treated the last nine Konoha ninja.
• Chiyo ordered the Sand Ninja to retreat into the Land of Rivers, split into groups, and stall Konoha while Ebizo went to request reinforcements and a weapon.
• Jiraiya learned the Sand Ninja were moving and sent Hatake Sakumo to pursue them into the Land of Rivers.
• Asuma finished treating the wounded, returned to his tent, and fell asleep from exhaustion.
• Asuma woke after dark, spent his Attribute Point on Constitution, and used four Skill Points to raise his Lightning Style Chakra Nature Transformation to level 10.
• Asuma sensed faint static electricity and his own body’s Bio-electricity, then wondered if he could use that sensation to achieve Mind Reading.

Asuma perfected a powerful Wind Style sensory technique by spreading chakra-infused nitrogen through the air, then considered how chakra nature transformations could create matter. He named the technique the Ink Dyeing Sky Dizziness Technique and left the chapter contemplating Electromagnetic Release and the nature of ninjutsu.

• Asuma realized that developing Mind Reading would require studying bioelectricity and considered mastering Electromagnetic Release.
• Asuma set aside his other ideas and infused nitrogen in the air with Wind Release chakra to sense people in detailed outlines.
• Asuma tested the technique, extending his senses five li in a 180-degree area and determining that full 360-degree sensing would consume twice as much chakra.
• Asuma perfected the Ink Dyeing Sky Dizziness Technique, named it, and gained 150,000 experience points.
• Asuma considered developing Electromagnetic Release and reasoned that chakra nature transformations represented states of matter and could convert energy into matter.

Asuma recovered from his injuries and discussed how Konoha could defeat the Sand Ninja before other villages joined the war. He began building up Chakra to capture the One-Tails Jinchuriki, but woke at midnight to the sound of battle.

• Yūhi Kurenai told Asuma that the Sand Ninja had retreated into the Land of Rivers and that Konoha expected the war to widen.
• Asuma warned Jiraiya that Konoha could face all four great ninja villages and urged a swift victory over the Sand Ninja.
• Jiraiya proposed capturing the One-Tails Jinchuriki and cutting off the Sand Ninja's supply lines, with Sakumo helping hold off the Fourth Kazekage.
• Asuma said he could capture the Jinchuriki alone with Adamantine Sealing Chains if he had time to build up Chakra, and Jiraiya prioritized his supplies.
• Asuma returned to the Medical Camp and consumed Ration Pills to accumulate Chakra in his Yin Seal.
• At midnight, Asuma woke to the sounds of battle and vanished from his tent.

Asuma captured a Sand Ninja infiltrator before Orochimaru arrived with Konoha reinforcements, and the forces regrouped at the Land of Fire border amid escalating battles. Konoha’s medical camp gained Tsunade’s antidote to Chiyo’s poison, but the war continued to intensify.

• Asuma caught and incapacitated a Sand Ninja who had escaped Kakashi, then returned with the captive to the Medical Camp.
• Orochimaru arrived at six in the morning with five hundred Konoha reinforcements and praised Asuma for mastering a Kekkei Genkai.
• Asuma’s forces joined Jiraiya’s group at the border, where nearly fifteen hundred Sand Ninja were launching raids and infiltration attacks.
• Asuma stayed at the Medical Camp with Kakashi, Uchiha Obito, Rin, and other young ninja while the fighting grew more severe.
• Tsunade’s antidote for Chiyo’s Deadly Poison reached Konoha three days later, reducing the danger posed by the Sand Ninja poison.