Recaps

Jiraiya entered Sage Mode and defeated Orochimaru’s Yamata no Orochi with Senjutsu, leaving both fighters exhausted and the battlefield in ruins. Tsunade decided their strength could help her lead the fighting in the Land of Whirlpools, while Jiraiya asked whether he had looked cool.

• Jiraiya entered Sage Mode, astonishing Minato, Nawaki, Hyuga Hiashi, and Tsunade with his unfamiliar power.
• Orochimaru attacked Jiraiya with three of Yamata no Orochi’s heads, but Jiraiya severed them with Senpo: Kebari Senbon.
• Jiraiya burned Yamata no Orochi with Senpo: Katon: Goryu Ganka no Jutsu, destroying its regeneration and blasting Orochimaru out of its body.
• Jiraiya’s Sage Mode ended, and he collapsed from exhaustion as Orochimaru lay badly injured.
• Tsunade concluded that Jiraiya and Orochimaru’s strength would help her lead the battlefield in the Land of Whirlpools, and Jiraiya weakly asked if he had looked cool.

Tsunade treated Orochimaru after Jiraiya’s devastating attack and openly supported his idea of incorporating Hashirama’s cells into the Eight Branches Technique. Orochimaru was shaken by her trust as Tsunade left to join the stunned children of the Special Training Class.

• Tsunade examined the badly injured Jiraiya, confirmed his injuries were not life-threatening, and went to Orochimaru.
• Tsunade treated Orochimaru’s burns while he fixated on the power of Senjutsu and its potential to advance his body.
• Tsunade suggested that Hashirama’s cells could strengthen Orochimaru’s Eight Branches Technique.
• Tsunade told Orochimaru she understood him and supported him, leaving him deeply shaken.
• Tsunade finished treating Orochimaru and walked toward the stunned children of the Special Training Class.

Tsunade demonstrated the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique to the Special Training Class, drove off Root operatives sent by Danzo, and put her clones in charge of the students’ endurance training. With Jiraiya and Orochimaru unavailable and her own training demanding attention, she realized she needed assistant instructors and thought of two people.

• Tsunade revealed that she could create dozens of Shadow Clones, thrilling Minato, Nawaki, and the other students.
• Two Shadow Clones brought Root operatives to Tsunade, who ordered them to warn Danzo to leave her training ground alone.
• The Root operatives fled after Tsunade threatened to visit their base and confront Danzo about her grandfather.
• Tsunade left several clones to put the Special Training Class through an endurance drill while she considered her instructor shortage.
• Tsunade decided she needed help teaching and thought of two potential assistant instructors.

At a tea party, Tsunade drew Mako Hatake into proposing Hatake Sakumo as a swordsmanship teacher for the Special Training Class. After weighing the political risks with Mako, Sakumo agreed to meet Tsunade the next day, and the couple ended the night together.

• Tsunade told the clan wives that the Special Training Class lacked an expert in swords and ninja tools.
• Mako offered her husband, Hatake Sakumo, as a possible teacher, and Tsunade eagerly accepted the proposal.
• At home, Sakumo worried that joining Tsunade’s class would draw the attention of Shimura Danzō and endanger the Hatake family.
• Mako argued that teaching the clan heirs could give the Hatake family lasting support among Konoha’s powerful clans.
• Sakumo agreed to report to Tsunade the next day and then carried Mako to their bedroom.

Tsunade introduced Hatake Sakumo and Chen as the Special Training Class’s new instructors. Sakumo stunned the students with his speed and swordsmanship, while Chen nervously greeted them after being named the master of Leaf Style Taijutsu.

• Tsunade brought Hatake Sakumo and Chen to meet the Special Training Class.
• Tsunade named Hatake Sakumo the class’s instructor for swordsmanship and Lightning Release.
• Hatake Sakumo demonstrated his speed and precision by slicing a century-old pine into hundreds of uniform pieces.
• Tsunade introduced Chen as the class’s Taijutsu instructor, and he nervously greeted the students.

Tsunade introduced Chen as a Taijutsu master and announced that she would learn from him, prompting him to demonstrate his skill to Konoha’s young heirs. After Chen shattered a massive block of wood with pure physical force, Minato and the others eagerly asked him to teach them.

• Nawaki mocked Chen, but Tsunade defended him and declared that she would study Taijutsu under him.
• Chen, moved by Tsunade’s public recognition, stepped forward to demonstrate his technique.
• Chen struck a huge block of wood and pulverized it, sending force through the ground to carve a trench.
• Hiashi and White Fang recognized Chen’s extraordinary control and power, while the young heirs stared in shock.
• Minato, Hiashi, Mikoto, and the other heirs rushed to ask Chen to teach them.

Six months after beginning Flying Thunder God training, Minato and Nawaki impressed Tsunade with their progress. Tsunade took them and Kushina on a trip to the Land of Whirlpools, leaving Konoha with a plan to use their spatial markers along the way.

• Minato and Nawaki sparred using Flying Thunder God techniques until Tsunade ended their training.
• Tsunade offered to take Kushina home to the Land of Whirlpools, and Kushina tearfully accepted.
• Tsunade told Minato and Nawaki they would leave the next morning for a three-day trip, intending to have them place Flying Thunder God formulas along the route.
• Tsunade told Mito she was taking Nawaki to see his ancestral homeland, Kushina to visit her family, and Minato to practice.
• The next morning, Minato met Tsunade, Nawaki, and Kushina at Konoha's gate, and they set off for the Land of Whirlpools.

Tsunade brought Kushina back to the Hidden Whirlpool Village, where she reunited with her mother, Yui, and reassured the Uzumaki clan that Kushina had done nothing wrong. Tsunade revealed that Mito had approved the visit without the Third Hokage's knowledge, hinting at her growing influence over Konoha's succession.

• Tsunade, Minato, Nawaki, and Kushina reached the Land of Whirlpools after laying Flying Thunder God marks along their route.
• Uzumaki guards recognized Kushina and led Tsunade's group into the Hidden Whirlpool Village.
• Yui rushed out to meet them, feared Kushina had caused trouble in Konoha, and collapsed into tears when Kushina embraced her.
• Tsunade lifted Yui to her feet and explained that Kushina had done nothing wrong and had come home during her students' training trip.
• Yui welcomed Tsunade's group and prepared guest rooms and a banquet while Kushina stayed close to her.
• Tsunade told Yui that the Third Hokage did not know about the visit and that Mito had approved it.

Tsunade showed Kushina the forbidden Uzumaki masks before leading Minato and Nawaki on a Flying Thunder God relay from the Land of Whirlpools to Konoha. The boys completed the journey in three hours but collapsed from exhaustion, and Tsunade decided they needed more training to make the trip even faster.

• Tsunade entered Mask Offering Hall and examined the Shinigami Mask, learning that the Uzumaki forbidden arts demanded a life or soul as their price.
• The next day, Tsunade ordered Minato and Nawaki to use Flying Thunder God to carry the group back to Konoha in relays.
• Minato and Nawaki spent three hours making long-distance jumps between prepared marks and reached Konoha's Back Mountain with their Chakra exhausted.
• Kushina thanked Minato and gave him a handkerchief, while Nawaki insisted that he deserved thanks too.
• Tsunade praised the boys' effort but resolved to train them until they could make the crossing in minutes.

Tsunade led Minato, Nawaki, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Hatake Sakumo, and Chen to the besieged Land of Whirlpools using their Flying Thunder God route. They arrived just as the Third Kazekage attacked the Uzumaki survivors, and Tsunade vowed to kill both villages’ leaders.

• Tsunade’s sensing parasite bound to Kushina’s Chakra died, alerting her that the Land of Whirlpools was under attack.
• Tsunade summoned Minato, Nawaki, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Hatake Sakumo, and Chen, then ordered them to leave no survivors and seize the enemy’s resources.
• Minato and Nawaki used their marked route to transport the group from Konoha to the Land of Whirlpools in minutes.
• The Third Kazekage and Third Mizukage besieged the Uzumaki survivors, while Yui prepared to destroy herself rather than surrender their scrolls.
• Tsunade intercepted the Third Kazekage’s Iron Sand attack with a punch, saving the survivors behind the Barrier.
• Tsunade confronted the Third Kazekage and Third Mizukage and declared that neither would leave alive.

Tsunade and her allies fought the Kirigakure-Sunagakure forces while Kushina and the surviving Uzumaki maintained their failing Barrier. Tsunade blocked the Third Kazekage’s attack and opened the Fourth Gate to confront him.

• Orochimaru attacked the Third Mizukage with snakes and poison, then fought off the Kirigakure ANBU sent after him.
• Jiraiya attacked the Third Kazekage with fire, while Hatake Sakumo and Chen defended themselves against Iron Sand Drizzle.
• Chen broke through a group of Sunagakure jonin, and Hatake Sakumo engaged a Kirigakure swordsman wielding Samehada.
• Kushina and the Uzumaki reinforced the crumbling Barrier as Minato and Nawaki stayed concealed nearby.
• The Third Kazekage fired giant Iron Sand needles at Chen, but Tsunade shattered them with Heavenly Foot of Pain.
• Tsunade challenged the Third Kazekage and opened the Fourth Gate.

Tsunade overwhelmed the Third Kazekage with her strength, but he withdrew behind layers of Iron Sand as she continued pushing her body beyond its limits. The chapter ended with Tsunade opening the Sixth Gate to break through his defense.

• Tsunade punched through the Third Kazekage's Iron Sand wall and sent him crashing into a ruined building.
• The Third Mizukage lost focus at the sight of the Kazekage's fall, allowing Orochimaru to disrupt his attack on the Barrier.
• The Third Kazekage rose from the rubble and launched Iron Sand spikes at Tsunade, but she smashed through them and forced him to retreat.
• The Third Kazekage surrounded himself with layers of Iron Sand and stopped attacking, while Tsunade prepared to charge through his defenses.
• Tsunade opened the Sixth Gate, Gate of View, and azure vapor erupted from her body.

Tsunade unleashed Blue Steam and punched through the Third Kazekage’s Iron Sand defenses, killing him with a blow through the chest. His death left the Sunagakure ninja across the battlefield stunned and silent.

• Tsunade transformed her green steam into Blue Steam, scorching and melting the rubble around her.
• The Third Kazekage tried to defend himself with three layers of Iron Sand as Tsunade charged.
• Tsunade shattered each barrier and punched through the final wall and the Third Kazekage’s chest.
• Tsunade withdrew her arm, and the Third Kazekage fell dead into the ruins.
• The Iron Sand cloud collapsed as the Sunagakure ninja realized their Kazekage had been killed.

Tsunade recovered from opening the Sixth Gate as Orochimaru transformed into the enormous eight-headed Yamata no Orochi and attacked the Third Mizukage. As the Mizukage weakened under Orochimaru’s relentless assault, Jiraiya prepared to join the fight.

• Tsunade landed among the ruins with her right hand badly cut, and Jiraiya rushed over to check on her.
• Orochimaru exploited the Third Mizukage’s distraction and transformed into Yamata no Orochi, whose eight tails devastated the ruins.
• The Third Mizukage ordered his troops to hold their ground, but Yamata no Orochi overwhelmed him with its heads and poisonous mist.
• The Mizukage used corrosive Water Release to damage one of the snake’s heads, while Orochimaru warned that the forbidden drug was destroying his chakra pathways.
• Orochimaru trapped the Mizukage and wore him down, while Tsunade healed her hand and Jiraiya prepared to fight.

Jiraiya entered Sage Mode and overwhelmed the Third Mizukage, who escaped underground as Sunagakure's forces collapsed. With the Mizukage gone, Jiraiya and Tsunade broke Kirigakure's formation, leaving its survivors fleeing.

• Jiraiya summoned Fukasaku and Shima, entered Sage Mode, and attacked the Third Mizukage with fire and a barrage of hair needles.
• Jiraiya struck the Third Mizukage with a Natural Energy shockwave, while Tsunade watched and Sunagakure's forces fled.
• The Third Mizukage saw his troops losing ground and escaped through a whirlpool of corrosive water toward the coast.
• Tsunade told Jiraiya not to pursue the Mizukage, and Jiraiya turned his attention to the abandoned Kirigakure ANBU.
• Jiraiya unleashed four white fire dragons that destroyed the Kirigakure formation, and the surviving troops scattered.

After the Third Mizukage escaped, Tsunade and the others organized survivors, treated the wounded, and counted the dead in the ruined Land of Whirlpools. The battle had ended, but Tsunade suspected the Second Great Ninja War would now begin ahead of schedule.

• Orochimaru offered to track the fleeing Mizukage, but Tsunade ordered everyone to rest and tend to the survivors first.
• Tsunade comforted Yui as she grieved over a dead Uzumaki, then directed the clan members to cover the bodies and gather the wounded.
• Tsunade checked on exhausted Minato and Nawaki, rested briefly, and healed Jiraiya's reopened arm wound.
• Chen reported that Sunagakure had fled and that bodies remained in the northern ruins, so Hatake Sakumo went to identify them.
• Tsunade treated an injured Uzumaki boy and organized supplies, while fires were lit among the ruins as night fell.
• Tsunade looked toward the direction the Third Mizukage had fled and suspected the Second Great Ninja War would begin early.

After the Land of Whirlpools was devastated, Tsunade convinced Yui to move the surviving Uzumaki to Konoha for their safety. The clan agreed to leave, and Yui led Tsunade toward a hidden storehouse containing their remaining wealth.

• Yui told Tsunade that only 314 people remained, with fewer than 60 able to fight and 12 sealing practitioners.
• Tsunade warned Yui that the survivors could not defend the Land of Whirlpools and offered them refuge in Konoha.
• Yui agreed to take the Uzumaki clan to Konoha and announced the decision to the survivors.
• Tsunade assured the clan they could return to the Land of Whirlpools someday, and the survivors agreed to leave.
• Yui described the scrolls and supplies they had salvaged, then led Tsunade to a hidden cave containing reserve treasuries.

Tsunade and Yui recovered the Uzumaki clan’s hidden inheritance and supplies, then led more than three hundred survivors toward Konoha. At the village gate, Orochimaru told Tsunade that the Land of Water and the Land of Wind had declared war, and she prepared to confront traitors before the Second Great Ninja War began.

• Yui and Tsunade inventoried the secret passage’s scrolls, property documents, gold, and Forbidden Jutsu, and Tsunade ordered Yui to secure the forbidden materials in Konoha.
• Tsunade sent Minato and Nawaki back to Konoha with White Fang and Orochimaru to report that more than three hundred Uzumaki survivors were coming.
• Tsunade led the Uzumaki survivors overland for three days, with Jiraiya and Chen helping guard the column.
• At Konoha’s gate, Orochimaru told Tsunade that the Land of Water and the Land of Wind had declared war and blamed Konoha for assassinating the Third Kazekage.
• Tsunade accepted that war was coming and vowed to deal with traitors first.

After Sunagakure and Kirigakure declared war, Tsunade confronted Danzo and pushed Konoha’s leaders to prepare for battle. Hiruzen approved deployment orders, and the meeting turned to planning the fronts and troop deployments.

• Tsunade punched Danzo into the conference room wall after he accused her of bringing war to Konoha.
• Tsunade explained that the Land of Wind and the Land of Water had attacked the Land of Whirlpools, then rejected Homura’s suggestion to negotiate.
• Tsunade called for Konoha to defeat its enemies, and Jiraiya supported her position.
• Sakumo offered to lead troops toward the Land of Wind, Orochimaru proposed watching the eastern coastline, and Jiraiya offered to fight on either front.
• Hiruzen agreed to sign deployment orders, and Tsunade began directing the leaders to plan troop positions and support.
• Danzo left the meeting as Tsunade and the others studied the attack routes and prepared their plans.

Tsunade planned Konoha’s response to a three-front war and took command of the northern front against the Third Raikage. She left the village with Minato, determined to face Cloud’s forces on open ground.

• Tsunade assigned Jiraiya and Hatake Sakumo to hold the Land of Wind front, while Orochimaru and the elders would defend the Land of Water front.
• Tsunade chose to meet the Third Raikage on open ground with two hundred Chunin and five hundred Genin, and Hiruzen Sarutobi approved her deployment plan.
• Tsunade ordered all units to leave before dark and assigned Minato to the northern front, while Nawaki and Kushina stayed to protect the village and maintain the Teleportation Points.
• Jiraiya led his unit west with Hatake Sakumo after telling Tsunade not to die.
• Tsunade headed north with Minato as Konoha prepared to fight three great nations at once.

Tsunade confronted the Third Raikage, A, on the Land of Grass battlefield and accused the Cloud of secretly abducting Uzumaki to steal their Sealing Jutsu. She opened the first four Eight Gates and charged A, leaving their armies watching as the two leaders collided.

• Tsunade led two thousand Konoha shinobi against five thousand Cloud troops, with Minato ready to use his Flying Thunder God markers.
• A denounced Konoha and claimed the Cloud had come to punish it for harming the Land of Whirlpools.
• Tsunade accused the Cloud of abducting Uzumaki and coveting their Sealing Jutsu, provoking anger among the Cloud ranks and fury from A.
• A activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode and charged Tsunade, but she stopped Minato from intervening.
• Tsunade opened the first four Eight Gates and charged A with Monster Strength, and the two collided before both armies.

Tsunade fought the Third Raikage, A, by combining the Eight Gates with her Yin Seal to withstand his strongest Hell Stab and strike through his Lightning Release Armor. Both were badly wounded, but A realized Tsunade could keep healing and fighting, leaving him fearful and the battle's outcome uncertain.

• Tsunade opened the Fifth Gate and traded heavy blows with A, using her Yin Seal to repair her injuries as they fought.
• A escalated from the Four-Fingered Hell Stab to the faster Three-Fingered Hell Stab, but Tsunade injured her shoulder to knock his attack off course.
• A unleashed the Two-Fingered Hell Stab, and Tsunade opened the Sixth Gate and released her Yin Seal to meet it with a full-strength punch.
• The clash devastated the battlefield, with A's fingers piercing Tsunade's shoulder as her punch broke through his armor and badly damaged his chest and organs.
• A saw Tsunade's wounds beginning to heal and feared she could outlast him, making him doubt the battle's outcome.

Tsunade defeated the Third Raikage badly enough to make him cough blood, then challenged him and Blue B to fight her together to bolster Konoha’s morale against Cloud’s superior numbers. When A hesitated, Blue B approached Tsunade alone under a plan to fight in turns, but Tsunade attacked before his Tailed Beast cloak fully formed.

• Tsunade’s punch penetrated the Third Raikage’s Lightning Release Armor and severely injured him.
• Blue B rushed to A’s side, while Tsunade ordered Konoha’s forces not to intervene and resolved to fight both Cloud fighters alone.
• Tsunade taunted A and Blue B, publicly challenging them to attack her together to intimidate Cloud and inspire Konoha.
• Blue B urged A to cooperate, then proposed attacking Tsunade in turns; A agreed to the plan.
• As Blue B formed his Tailed Beast Chakra cloak, Tsunade charged him before he could reach full strength.

Tsunade unleashed the Sixth Gate and overwhelmed Blue B with her Morning Peacock, forcing him to abandon his partial transformation. The chapter ended with Gyuki, the Eight-Tails, appearing on the battlefield in a full Tailed Beast transformation.

• Blue B tried to transform while Tsunade broke his left knee and pressed her attack.
• Blue B forcibly accelerated his Tailed Beast transformation by drawing on the Eight-Tails’ Chakra.
• Tsunade opened all six gates and unleashed Morning Peacock, filling the area around Blue B with flaming air blasts.
• Blue B tried to block the barrage with his four Chakra tails, but the impacts battered him and tore apart his Tailed Beast cloak.
• Blue B released all restraints on the Eight-Tails’ Chakra and transformed fully into Gyuki.

Tsunade used her indigo Great Peacock King technique to overwhelm the fully transformed Eight-Tails and leave Blue B gravely injured. She ended the battle standing over him and challenged the shaken Cloud army to send another fighter.

• Blue B fully transformed into the Eight-Tails, and the Cloud forces expected it to defeat Tsunade.
• Tsunade unleashed the Great Peacock King and battered the Eight-Tails with a barrage of powerful punches.
• Tsunade broke off the Eight-Tails’ left horn and continued striking until its chakra form collapsed.
• Blue B fell from the sky, badly injured, while Tsunade landed beside him.
• Tsunade stared down Third Raikage A and the demoralized Cloud army, then challenged them by asking who was left.