Ch. 281The Traitor in Konoha

Tsunade sent Team 7 to investigate the destruction of Sunagakure’s escort team and the theft of its gold dust. At the scene, Kakashi found signs that the killers used Konoha ANBU and Root cleanup methods, so Team 7 withdrew to report the suspected connection to Tsunade.

  • Tsunade ordered Team 7 to investigate the missing escort team and gold dust, warning them to avoid confronting the enemy without reinforcements.
  • Team 7 examined the ravaged battlefield, where Sakura noted the concentrated damage and Sasuke found evidence that massive objects had been hurled from above.
  • Kakashi found concealed scratches and other traces that matched Konoha ANBU and Root methods, leading him to suspect the killers were connected to Konoha.
  • Kakashi ordered Team 7 to return to the village, and the shaken team left the site.
  • Kakashi reported to Tsunade that the enemy had fought with formidable force, possibly by manipulating massive objects, and had carefully cleared the scene.

Ch. 282Sunagakure's Investigation Team

Kakashi Hatake investigated the massacre of Sunagakure’s escort team and suspected a powerful Konoha ninja, while Tsunade prepared to receive Sunagakure’s investigation team. The chapter ended with Asuma Sarutobi leading the escort mission and Uzuki Yugao concealing her hatred of Sunagakure.

  • Kakashi Hatake told Tsunade that the cleanup resembled Konoha ANBU and Root methods, suggesting the killer was likely a Konoha ninja.
  • Tsunade ordered Shizune to check the whereabouts of powerful Konoha Jonin on the night of the massacre.
  • Kakashi Hatake questioned Might Guy, then ruled him out after learning Lee had run with him that night.
  • Tsunade told Asuma Sarutobi, Uzuki Yugao, and Aoba Yamashiro that Sunagakure’s investigation team would arrive the next day.
  • Tsunade assigned Asuma Sarutobi to lead Uzuki Yugao and Aoba Yamashiro in meeting and escorting the investigators to Konoha.
  • Uzuki Yugao accepted the mission while secretly clenching her fingers in hatred of Sunagakure.

Ch. 283What Is the Greater Good?

Uzuki Yugao betrayed Asuma Sarutobi and Aoba Yamashiro during their liaison mission, intending to force Konoha into war with Sunagakure to avenge Hayate. After explaining her anger at the village’s sacrifices in the name of the greater good, she immobilized Asuma and threatened him with Explosive Tags.

  • Uzuki Yugao gave Asuma Sarutobi and Aoba Yamashiro cakes before they left on a liaison mission toward the Land of Fire’s border.
  • At their forest camp, Aoba fell asleep after eating Yugao’s sedative-laced cakes, and Yugao attacked Asuma with sleeping gas.
  • Asuma resisted the sedative by stabbing his thigh, then fought Yugao as she said she wanted Konoha to declare war on Sunagakure for Hayate’s death.
  • Yugao condemned Konoha’s sacrifices of Hayate and Hizashi Hyuga in the name of the greater good, leaving Asuma momentarily speechless.
  • Yugao used an invisible force to immobilize Asuma and placed Explosive Tags across his body, warning that she could detonate them with a thought.

Ch. 284The Cycle of Hatred

Uzuki Yugao imprisoned Asuma and Aoba, then attacked the Sunagakure investigation team to provoke war between the villages. She spared the fleeing Yuna and hesitated to kill the two captured Genin as she questioned whether revenge would perpetuate the cycle of hatred.

  • Uzuki Yugao drugged Asuma, restrained him and Aoba with Chakra-suppressing iron cuffs, and locked them in a hidden cave.
  • Yugao met Akagane and three Sunagakure Genin at the border, then used the Rooster Talisman to immobilize Akagane and killed him with her sword.
  • Akagane urged the Genin to flee; Yuna escaped while the two boys tried to fight Yugao and were suspended in midair by her power.
  • Yugao let Yuna escape so she could report Konoha's supposed betrayal and fuel conflict with Sunagakure.
  • As Yugao prepared to kill the two captured Genin, she saw their hatred in her reflection and questioned whether avenging Hayate would perpetuate the cycle of hatred.

Ch. 285The temptation of the Four Souls Jewel

Naraka tempted Uzuki Yugao with a shard of the Four Souls Jewel, urging her to use its power for revenge. Meanwhile, Kabuto Yakushi and Ino Yamanaka discussed Anya’s fight with Damian and how to respond.

  • Naraka appeared before Uzuki Yugao, allowing the two Genin to escape while she confronted him.
  • Uzuki Yugao tried to restrain Naraka with the Rooster Talisman, but her power passed through his shadowy form.
  • Naraka gave Uzuki Yugao a Four Souls Jewel shard and urged her to use it to gain power and avenge the man she loved before vanishing.
  • Kabuto Yakushi told Anya that hitting Damian was wrong, and Anya resolved to apologize to him the next day.
  • Kabuto Yakushi reported Anya’s fight with Damian to Ino Yamanaka and accepted responsibility for his failure to guide her.
  • Ino Yamanaka reassured Kabuto Yakushi that the altercation was an unexpected scuffle between children.

Ch. 286The Apology Mission Begins

After Anya hit Damian, Kabuto was urged to guide her through the conflict, while Samui dismissed the fight as normal and assigned Yor a mission. Anya went to school intending to apologize, but found herself shunned until Mikoto befriended her and offered her support.

  • Ino Yamanaka told Kabuto Yakushi to stop blaming himself and help Anya navigate the aftermath of her fight with Damian.
  • Yor apologized to Samui for Anya hitting Damian, but Samui brushed off the incident and gave Yor a mission to make a man in a photograph disappear.
  • Kabuto reminded Anya to apologize to Damian, and Anya set off for school determined to make peace while Kabuto secretly followed her.
  • Anya entered the classroom and heard classmates’ fearful and hostile thoughts about her fight with Damian.
  • Mikoto Misaka took Anya to her seat, praised her courage, and offered to be her friend and have her back.

Ch. 287Apology in Progress

Anya tried to apologize to Damian for the sake of peace, but class and Mikoto’s limited-edition juice kept interrupting her. Kabuto watched from beneath the flower bed, while Aizen briefly seemed to notice his surveillance; Anya ended the day distracted by juice instead of making amends.

  • Mikoto told Anya she had done nothing wrong, but Anya heard Damian thinking that she was awful and decided she had to apologize to him.
  • The class bell interrupted Anya as she approached Damian, and she spent Aizen’s lesson rehearsing what to say.
  • Kabuto watched the classroom through a White Snake and wondered whether Aizen had detected his surveillance.
  • After class, Mikoto dragged Anya away to get limited-edition Lightning Grape Juice before Anya could apologize to Damian.
  • Anya drank the juice, forgot her worries for the moment, and returned to the classroom with Mikoto.

Ch. 288Apology Mission, Part Two

Kabuto Yakushi repeatedly tried to prompt Anya to apologize to Damian, but distractions kept derailing her until Conan created an opening by sending Mikoto Misaka away. Anya reached Damian’s table, where his friends confronted her, and she panicked before she could apologize.

  • Kabuto used small tricks to remind Anya to apologize, but a fallen pencil, a passing Ninja Cat, and outdoor training distracted her each time.
  • Damian grew angry as Anya repeatedly looked toward him and then ran off, while Conan suspected someone was secretly guiding her.
  • Conan lured Mikoto away by claiming the Discipline Teacher wanted to see her about the vending machine.
  • Anya remembered her mission, put down her sandwich, and approached Damian’s table.
  • Ewen and Emile blocked Anya and accused her of plotting against Damian, prompting Damian to ask what she wanted.
  • Anya crouched in fear as their insults made her imagine her failed mission leading to war and her becoming an orphan again.

Ch. 289Special Investigation Team

After Anya’s tearful apology left Damian fleeing the cafeteria, Tsunade assembled a team to investigate the disappearance of Asuma’s group and an attack on the Sunagakure Investigation Team. She appointed Kakashi and Shikamaru to lead the Special Investigation Team and prevent the incident from sparking a war.

  • Anya apologized to Damian and said she wanted to be friends, but Damian blushed, shouted that he would never forgive her, and ran away.
  • Tsunade told Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke that Asuma Sarutobi, Aoba Yamashiro, and Uzuki Yugao had gone missing while rendezvousing with the Sunagakure Investigation Team.
  • Tsunade reported that investigators found no signs of a struggle at the missing Konoha shinobi’s last known location, but found blood and chakra residue likely belonging to Sunagakure team members near the border.
  • Tsunade warned that Sunagakure might suspect Konoha of a retaliatory ambush, risking a war amid rising tensions across the Shinobi World.
  • Naruto and Ino volunteered to help find Asuma and the others, and Tsunade appointed Kakashi captain and Shikamaru vice-captain of the Special Investigation Team.

Ch. 290Finding Asuma

Naruto discovered a coded clue from Asuma that led the team to a hidden cave, where they found Asuma and Aoba unconscious beside the gold dust. After Asuma woke, he revealed that Yugao had captured them to provoke a war with Sunagakure, and Kakashi questioned how she had overcome him so easily.

  • Naruto noticed concealed scratches on a tree, and Shikamaru recognized Asuma’s coded message pointing to several possible hiding places.
  • Kakashi split the team to search the coordinates, and Shikamaru, Naruto, and Sasuke found a hidden cave behind a waterfall.
  • The team found Asuma and Aoba shackled and unconscious beside the intact gold-dust crates, then Sakura confirmed they had been drugged.
  • Asuma and Aoba awoke with medical aid, and Asuma said Yugao had captured them because she wanted revenge for Gekko Hayate’s death and sought to provoke a war with Sunagakure.
  • Kakashi asked Asuma how Yugao had managed to defeat him despite his experience and strength.

Ch. 291A New Mission

Asuma and Kakashi decided to delay reporting Uzuki Yugao and instead changed the joint team's mission to finding and bringing her back. Alone beneath the moon, Yugao remembered Gekko Hayate but reaffirmed her plan to attack Sunagakure before Shikamaru's Shadow Imitation Technique struck at her.

  • Asuma stopped Aoba Yamashiro from reporting Yugao and urged the team to bring her back before the village declared her a rogue ninja.
  • Naruto volunteered to reason with Yugao, while Sasuke challenged his belief that words could heal her wounds, and Sakura stopped their argument.
  • Kakashi agreed to give Yugao a chance and assigned Shikamaru to track her, Asuma to assess her, and the team to bring her back to Konoha.
  • Yugao recalled her time with Gekko Hayate and questioned whether revenge was what he would have wanted, then renewed her resolve to attack Sunagakure.
  • Shikamaru's Shadow Imitation Technique shot from beneath Yugao, and she leaped back to evade it.

Ch. 292Shikamaru's Tactics

Uzuki Yugao used the Rooster Talisman's powers to repel her former comrades and declared that war with Sunagakure could no longer be stopped. Shikamaru identified a weakness in her control and coordinated a plan that ended with his Shadow Imitation Technique trapping her.

  • Uzuki Yugao evaded Ino Yamanaka's Mind Body Switch Technique as Asuma, Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, and Aoba surrounded her and urged her to stop.
  • Uzuki Yugao revealed that she had killed the captain of Sunagakure's investigation team and said she wanted to target Sunagakure, not fight her former comrades.
  • Asuma and Kakashi attacked, but Uzuki Yugao used the Rooster Talisman's powers to evade them, manipulate objects, and disrupt the group's attacks.
  • Shikamaru noticed that Uzuki Yugao's control weakened when she faced attacks from multiple directions and that her powerful movements left brief pauses.
  • Shikamaru directed Sasuke, Naruto, and Choji to split Uzuki Yugao's attention and block her escape while Asuma and Kakashi forced her toward a marked spot.
  • Uzuki Yugao landed on the spot, allowing Shikamaru to catch her with the Shadow Imitation Technique and immobilize her.

Ch. 293No Need for Forgiveness

After Asuma and Naruto tried to persuade Uzuki Yugao to return and seek forgiveness, she rejected them and swallowed a shard of the Four Souls Jewel. Her demonic transformation overwhelmed the Konoha team, leaving them trapped and helpless as she prepared to attack.

  • Asuma approached the immobilized Uzuki Yugao, but Naruto urged her to return and seek forgiveness from Konoha and Sunagakure.
  • Uzuki Yugao erupted in anger over Hayate's death and refused to ask Sunagakure for forgiveness.
  • Uzuki Yugao swallowed the Four Souls Jewel shard, transformed with demonic power, and shattered Shikamaru's Shadow Imitation Technique.
  • Uzuki Yugao used Pale Hand to restrain Asuma, Kakashi, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, Sakura, and Naruto while draining their Chakra.
  • Naruto broke partly free and attacked with a Rasengan, but Uzuki Yugao stopped him with Psychokinesis and hurled him into a crater.
  • Uzuki Yugao left the Konoha ninja defeated and helpless as she raised her demon blade to attack.

Ch. 294Naraku's Temptation

Sasuke used the Rabbit Talisman to rescue Naruto and Sakura from Yugao’s attack, while a fleeting vision of Hayate briefly restored Yugao’s clarity. Naraku then exploited her grief and hatred until she succumbed to the demonic influence, and he offered her another Four Souls Jewel shard to deepen her power.

  • Sasuke used the Rabbit Talisman’s speed to carry Naruto and Sakura beyond Yugao’s reach.
  • Yugao faltered when she felt Hayate’s hand and saw his face, briefly resisting the demonic power.
  • Asuma, Kakashi, and Sakura urged Yugao to remember Hayate and reject her hatred.
  • Naraku manipulated Yugao by insisting her comrades did not understand her pain and urging her to take revenge.
  • Yugao’s clarity vanished, and she walked toward Naraku as he offered her another Four Souls Jewel shard and urged her to destroy Sunagakure and Konoha.

Ch. 295The Terror of Naraka

Uzuki Yugao and Sasuke Uchiha struck Naraka, but he transformed into a massive flesh creature and overwhelmed the defenders. Naraka captured Yugao and Naruto Uzumaki, then rendered Naruto unconscious and threw him toward Sasuke.

  • Uzuki Yugao pierced Naraka with Oborozuki and accused him of manipulating Sunagakure's attack on Konoha, while Sasuke Uchiha followed with a Chidori through Naraka's chest.
  • Naraka erupted in purple miasma, transformed into a mass of flesh, and wrapped Uzuki Yugao in tentacles as the Konoha shinobi attacked to rescue her.
  • Uzuki Yugao broke free with the others' support, but Naraka's tentacles pierced her psychic defenses, struck her down, and seized her by the neck.
  • Naruto Uzumaki attacked Naraka with a shadow-clone feint and a Rasengan, but Naraka rapidly regenerated and captured him.
  • Naraka incapacitated Naruto with purple miasma and tossed his unconscious body toward Sasuke Uchiha.

Ch. 296The Swordswoman Beneath the Moonlight

Uzuki Yugao awakened the Four Souls Jewel’s purifying Moonlight Power and fought Naraka to protect Konoha. As Yugao and Naraka remained locked in battle, Kakashi Hatake and Asuma attacked from opposite sides.

  • Sasuke Uchiha carried the unconscious Naruto away from the battlefield after sensing Naraka’s warning, while Sakura checked Naruto’s injuries.
  • Uzuki Yugao cut herself free with Konoha Style: Moon Flash, purified the demonic energy around her, and gave the Rooster Talisman to Asuma Sarutobi.
  • Yugao declared that she would protect Konoha, then faced Naraka’s tentacles alone with Konoha Style: Dance of the Crescent Moon.
  • Yugao’s moonlit sword beams wounded Naraka, suppressed its regeneration, and revealed that the Four Souls Jewel had answered her deepest wish to destroy it.
  • Kakashi Hatake and Asuma seized an opening and attacked Naraka with Lightning Cutter and Wind Release: Verdant Gale.

Ch. 297The Final Dance

Uzuki Yugao used her final technique to destroy most of Naraka’s Clone, but the battle left her mortally wounded. Before she died, she asked to be buried beside Gekko Hayate and entrusted Konoha’s future to her comrades.

  • Naraka’s Abyss Burst scattered Kakashi and Asuma’s attacks, and Uzuki Yugao shielded them from its tentacles.
  • Naraka impaled Uzuki Yugao and tried to tear the Four Souls Jewel shard from her body, so she unleashed Final Dance: Moonfall Heavenly Radiance.
  • The sacred moonlight erased most of Naraka’s Clone, but a fragment escaped underground with the shard.
  • Sakura tried to heal Uzuki Yugao, but the wound and foul energy defeated her medical ninjutsu.
  • Uzuki Yugao apologized to Asuma and Aoba Yamashiro, asked to be buried beside Hayate, and died as her comrades mourned.

Ch. 298The title of hero

Tsunade accepted responsibility for the tragedy surrounding Uzuki Yugao and declared her a hero, despite objections from Konoha’s advisors. She ordered the Rooster Talisman placed under the village’s highest security and resolved to protect Yugao’s memory and negotiate with Sunagakure.

  • Kakashi and Asuma reported Naraka’s plot and Yugao’s sacrifice to Tsunade, then blamed themselves for failing her.
  • Tsunade took responsibility and ordered Shizune to report that Naraka alone caused the Gold Dust Heist and attack on the Sunagakure Investigation Team.
  • Tsunade posthumously named Uzuki Yugao a hero with the title “Guardian Moon” and ordered her buried beside Gekko Hayate near the Memorial Stone.
  • Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura challenged Tsunade’s decision, but she overpowered them and insisted Konoha would return the bloodstained gold dust if Sunagakure demanded compensation.
  • Tsunade ordered Shizune to seal the Rooster Talisman and place it under the highest security classification.

Ch. 299Yuri Briar

At the Memorial Stone, Naruto tried to persuade Sasuke not to let hatred consume him, but Sasuke angrily rejected him and ran off. Later, the Canopy Screen showed Yor sharing treats with her coworkers and greeting her younger brother Yuri, who was serving with the Military Police Force.

  • Kakashi told Team 7 that Sunagakure had accepted Konoha's investigation report and that war had been avoided.
  • Sasuke accused those in power of treating hatred and forgiveness as bargaining chips, and Naruto argued that hatred only brought more pain.
  • Sasuke confronted Naruto about his family's deaths and his grief, then ran into the forest.
  • The Canopy Screen showed Yor giving homemade treats to her coworkers as they discussed pirates near Kirigakure.
  • Yuri visited Yor at the Raikage Building, introduced himself to her coworkers, and returned to his Military Police Force squad when his captain called.

Ch. 300Yuri's Identity

Yuri joined Kumogakure's Counterintelligence Unit and was assigned to interrogate Ishida Akira, whom the Military Police Force had arrested for leaking village secrets and accepting bribes. Ishida endured Yuri's torture but kept repeating that he had been at home three nights earlier.

  • The Military Police Force arrested Ishida Akira at his workplace, and Yuri helped take him into custody.
  • Yor confirmed to her colleagues that Yuri was her younger brother and praised his abilities in the Military Police Force.
  • Yuri's superior explained the Counterintelligence Unit's secret role and ordered him to interrogate Ishida Akira.
  • Yuri asked where Ishida had been three nights earlier, but Ishida claimed he had stayed home.
  • Yuri beat Ishida and used Lightning Release torture, but Ishida continued repeating that he had been home eating and sleeping.
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