Chapter Summaries

Hoshi and Tsunade recovered the poison sac, ate by the river, and returned safely to Konoha Camp with Jiraiya. At the swamp, Iwa Anbu leader Lava investigated the massacre and began to suspect that an unknown swordsman had wiped out the squad.

• Tsunade changed into Hoshi's clothes and told him to remove Ibuse's poison sac, which he extracted without damaging it.
• Hoshi and Tsunade caught and grilled fish before Jiraiya arrived with others and escorted them back to Konoha Camp.
• Lava and Iwa Anbu searched the swamp and confirmed that all sixty members of the mission had died, while Tsunade had escaped.
• Lava examined Kinoshita Eien's body and the other corpses, noting that most had been killed by unusually clean blade wounds.
• Lava concluded that Tsunade had not killed the victims with a blade and realized that the evidence pointed to a terrifying possibility.

Ōnoki learned that Hayate Hoshi might have killed Iwagakure’s ambush force and vowed to eliminate him, while Hoshi’s victories with Konoha kept Hanzō from advancing. As Tsunade’s Antidote neared completion, Hoshi strengthened his authority on the frontline and began reviving the Senju Clan.

• Lava reported that one person had killed nearly all of Iwagakure’s surviving ambush force, and Ōnoki suspected Hayate Hoshi.
• Ōnoki decided to target Hoshi and prepare Iwagakure for the larger war after Amegakure withdrew.
• Hoshi, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru repeatedly defeated Hanzō’s attacks, forcing him to focus on the Sunagakure and Iwagakure frontlines.
• Konoha halted its advance while Tsunade’s Antidote reached a critical stage of development.
• Hoshi defied Danzo’s orders, consolidated his authority on the frontline, and began promoting Senju and Uzumaki Clan Members to revive the Senju Clan.

Hoshi foiled another assassination attempt by an impostor sent to steal Mikazuki Munechika, then learned that Konoha had developed an antidote to Hanzō’s poison. Tsunade said the front lines would soon shift, allowing Konoha to begin a decisive battle with Hanzō.

• Hoshi checked his Sword Heart System and saw that his battlefield experience had risen to 430/500.
• An impostor posing as a Konoha Ninja stole Mikazuki Munechika, but the blade’s Chakra flames burned him to death.
• Hoshi picked up his sword and told his subordinates to clean up the assassin’s remains.
• Tsunade arrived with dinner, and Hoshi explained that Iwagakure and Black Market ninja had made repeated attempts on his life.
• Tsunade told Hoshi that the antidote had been completed and Konoha could soon fight Hanzō in a decisive battle.

Hanzō accepted Konoha’s challenge to a decisive battle, and Hoshi led a force of roughly five hundred ninjas to meet him. After scouting Hanzō’s approach, the Konoha force spotted the enemy and prepared to close in and attack by surprise.

• Hanzō raged over Konoha’s challenge and ordered most of Amegakure’s forces to stay behind while the rest joined him in battle.
• Tsunade prepared enough antidote for nearly every Jonin-level Konoha combatant, and Hoshi’s force set out for the agreed meeting place.
• Hoshi stopped the group near a forest and sent Orochimaru to scout with his snakes, which found and cleared Hanzō’s hidden information traps.
• Hoshi ordered Hyuga Seisho and Uzumaki Hongling to keep their perception abilities active as the force advanced through the forest.
• Hyuga Seisho and Uzumaki Hongling spotted four to five hundred enemy ninjas, and Hoshi ordered his force to stay concealed, close the distance, and charge.

Konoha’s force devastated Amegakure in a coordinated opening attack, killing or incapacitating more than 150 Rain Hidden Ninja. Hanzō recovered from his shock and vowed to kill Hoshi and the other three young Konoha leaders.

• Hoshi ordered the Konoha force to reorganize and prepare to inflict heavy casualties in its first attack.
• Hyuga Seisho detected that the Rain Hidden Ninja had noticed Konoha’s approach, and Hoshi signaled his troops to charge.
• Orochimaru’s ninjutsu assault group combined Fire, Wind, Lightning, and Earth techniques to obscure the Rain Hidden Ninja’s vision, shock them, trap them in mud, and burn them.
• Jiraiya led the close-combat group forward, and Konoha’s coordinated assault left more than 150 Rain Hidden Ninja dead or unable to fight.
• Hanzō overcame his brief sense of defeat and declared that he would kill Hoshi and the other three young Konoha leaders.

Hanzō unleashed Ibuse’s toxic mist against Konoha, killing many Chunin, but Hoshi and the Wind Release squad countered with a massive blue-flame tornado. Hoshi, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya summoned their great beasts to face Hanzō as the battle continued.

• Hanzō ambushed Konoha’s formation with a barrage of shuriken, and Tsunade ordered the troops to scatter and attack the Amegakure forces.
• Hanzō summoned Ibuse, whose toxic mist killed nearly two hundred Chunin and weakened the Jonin despite their Antidote.
• Hoshi and the Wind Release squad combined their techniques into a towering blue-flame tornado that swallowed the poison mist and forced Hanzō and Ibuse to retreat.
• Hanzō ordered Ibuse to resume spraying poison gas, while Hoshi, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya summoned Robb, the Slug, Manda, and Bunta to confront him.
• Konoha’s forces resumed fighting the Rain Hidden Ninja while watching the leaders’ confrontation.

Hoshi and Orochimaru used rain and a combined Water Release technique to clear Hanzō’s poison gas, but Hanzō retaliated with powerful water attacks and targeted Tsunade. The chapter left Jiraiya and Tsunade facing Hanzō’s real self after discovering the Hanzō they had been fighting was a Shadow Clone.

• Hoshi summoned torrential rain, and he and Orochimaru combined Water Release techniques to sweep away Hanzō’s poison gas.
• Hanzō attacked Hoshi and the others with a dozen powerful water serpents, which Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Robb, and Hoshi fought off.
• Hanzō appeared behind Tsunade and struck her with his poisoned sickle, but the Slug blocked most of the blow and Tsunade removed the poison.
• Hanzō trapped Tsunade with Explosive Tags, but Jiraiya pulled her away with Needle Jizo before they detonated.
• Hanzō’s apparent form vanished as a Shadow Clone, and his real voice sounded from behind Jiraiya and Tsunade.

Hoshi intervened when Hanzō ambushed Jiraiya, and he and Tsunade fought back alongside Orochimaru and Jiraiya. Hanzō escaped Tsunade’s throw and explosive attack, but Hoshi was treated and the battle continued with Hanzō’s scythe damaged.

• Hoshi stopped Hanzō from striking Jiraiya and parried his scythe, while Tsunade caught Hanzō’s chained weight.
• Tsunade used her Super Strength to pull Hanzō toward her and throw him into the ground, injuring him.
• Hanzō used Explosive Tags to escape, and Hoshi shielded Tsunade from the blast with a Wind Barrier but burned his right hand.
• Slug corroded Hanzō’s scythe while Tsunade healed Hoshi, and Jiraiya and Orochimaru held off Hanzō’s explosive attack.
• Hoshi returned to the fight with his hand healed, while Hanzō reclaimed his damaged scythe and prepared to continue battling.

Hoshi and the others launched a coordinated assault on Hanzō and Salamander Ibuse, turning the battle against them. After Tsunade gravely injured Ibuse and herself, Hoshi intercepted Hanzō as he rushed toward her and unleashed his ultimate technique.

• Hoshi and the others charged Hanzō on their Summoning Beasts, and Robb dodged Ibuse’s mud bullets before wounding him with a claw strike.
• Hoshi clashed with Hanzō, whose sickle began to chip, while Manda knocked away the weapon when Hanzō tried to strike Hoshi from behind.
• Hanzō used the Body Flicker Technique to evade Hoshi and ordered Ibuse underground, but Tsunade leapt from the Slug and smashed the ground, severely injuring Ibuse and fracturing her own leg.
• Ibuse vanished in a puff of smoke, and Hanzō rushed toward the immobile Tsunade in the crater.
• Hoshi activated the Sixth Gate of the Eight Gates Formation, intercepted Hanzō, and attacked with Secret Technique: Nine-Headed Dragon Flash.

Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato survived an explosive-tag attack and climbed to a battlefield where Hoshi's group fought Hanzō. As Nagato watched the battle, he suddenly became unable to move.

• Yahiko spotted falling explosive tags and tackled Konan and Nagato into bushes, saving them from the blast.
• The three decided to seek food near the battlefield and headed up the hill, while Obito followed Nagato and sent a clone to report to Madara.
• Black Zetsu suggested that Madara use the Wheel of Reincarnation to watch the battle, and Madara began forming seals to share its vision.
• Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato reached the hilltop and watched Hoshi's group battle Hanzō with their Summoning Beasts.
• Nagato urged the others to leave, but Yahiko reassured him, and Nagato suddenly found himself unable to move as he watched the fight.

Hoshi and Hanzō exchanged devastating attacks, ending with Hoshi’s sword piercing Hanzō’s abdomen while Hanzō’s counterweight struck Hoshi in the back. With Orochimaru and Jiraiya arriving, Hanzō considered rupturing his poison sac.

• Yahiko and Konan watched Tsunade demonstrate her strength, while Nagato briefly spoke in a mocking voice before denying he had said anything.
• Hoshi used the Six Gates to unleash Nine-Headed Dragon Flash against Hanzō, who blocked the first two attacks with his sickle and counterweight.
• Hoshi cut Hanzō and shattered his sickle, but Hanzō released dense poison that slowed Hoshi and let him evade another slash.
• Hanzō swung his counterweight at Hoshi as he retreated, and Hoshi accepted the blow to deliver the final thrust.
• Hoshi pierced Hanzō’s abdomen as the counterweight hit his back, and Hanzō considered rupturing his poison sac when he saw Orochimaru and Jiraiya arrive.

Hoshi negotiated with Hanzō after defeating him, offering cooperation between Konoha and Amegakure instead of subservience. Hanzō was drawn to the terms, though the chapter ended before he accepted.

• Hoshi reminded Hanzō that the battle had cost both villages hundreds of shinobi, and Hanzō regretted accepting the challenge as he considered Amegakure’s vulnerabilities.
• Hoshi proposed a deal with Konoha, and Hanzō asked him to explain after weighing his duty to his people.
• Hoshi called for the fighting to stop, and Tsunade treated Hoshi and stopped Hanzō’s bleeding while leaving him vulnerable.
• Hanzō ordered his shinobi to lower their weapons, then refused when Hoshi suggested an alliance because he feared becoming Konoha’s lackey.
• Hoshi clarified that he wanted cooperation and offered to spare the Land of Rain, provide supplies and wartime food trade, and keep Amegakure’s defeat secret.
• Hanzō was struck by the terms and wanted to accept, but he had not yet given Hoshi an answer.

Hanzō withdrew after losing to Hayate and the Konoha forces, ending the war between Konoha and Amegakure and earning Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru the title of Konoha's Three Sannin. Later, Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato sought shelter in a nearby cave, where Hayate and his companions were resting, and Tsunade noticed someone nearby.

• Hanzō praised the Three Sannin and Hayate as Konoha Silver Moon, then left with the surviving Amegakure forces.
• Konoha celebrated its victory, while Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Hayate recovered from the exhausting battle.
• Yahiko and Konan discussed following the Konoha Ninja, but Nagato urged them to avoid the group and look for food instead.
• Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato triggered a trap while searching ninja corpses, then took shelter from the rain in a cave near the Konoha forces.
• Hayate, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya discussed their plans after the war, and Jiraiya said he wanted to travel through the Land of Rain.
• Tsunade heard someone nearby and called for them to come out.

Jiraiya and the Konoha ninjas met the starving orphans Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato in a cave and gave them food. Inspired by their kindness and determined to gain the strength to save the Land of Rain, Yahiko decided to ask one of them to train him.

• Hoshi noticed Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato hiding behind a stone pillar, and Yahiko came out to ask for food.
• Jiraiya learned that Yahiko's parents had been killed in the war and gave him biscuits, while Tsunade and Hoshi shared theirs with the three children.
• Hoshi considered the children but decided not to become their teacher, though he planned to keep an eye on them.
• Yahiko told Konan and Nagato he wanted to become a ninja and ask one of the Konoha ninjas to take him as a disciple.
• Yahiko led the way toward Jiraiya and the others, and Konan and Nagato followed.

Jiraiya chose to care for Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato and began teaching them ninjutsu after recognizing Nagato’s eyes as those in the Great Toad Sage’s prophecy. Hoshi, Tsunade, and Orochimaru returned to the Defensive Frontline with news of their victory, where Sakumo surprised them by introducing his fiancée, Suzuki Mayu.

• Tsunade initially resisted Yahiko’s request to learn ninjutsu, but Jiraiya offered to look after the three children and remain in the Land of Rain.
• Jiraiya shared dinner with Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato, and Nagato cried as he remembered eating with his family.
• Jiraiya spotted the Wheel of Reincarnation beneath Nagato’s hair, recalled the Great Toad Sage’s prophecy, and decided to teach the children ninjutsu.
• Hoshi, Tsunade, and Orochimaru returned to the Defensive Frontline and told the stunned Konoha ninja that they had defeated Hanzō and secured his agreement to negotiate an alliance.
• Sakumo entered his tent with Suzuki Mayu and introduced her to Hoshi, Tsunade, and Orochimaru as his fiancée.

Hoshi and his companions escorted pregnant Mayu and Shinku back to Konoha, where Hoshi reported that their team had defeated Hanzō and negotiated an alliance with Amegakure. Hiruzen approved their leave and revealed that his infant son Asuma had been born.

• Sakumo and Mayu told Hoshi and the others how they met during a patrol and fell in love after Sakumo saved Mayu from Sunagakure ninja.
• Hoshi, Tsunade, and Orochimaru agreed to take Mayu and Shinku to Konoha while Sakumo stayed behind to coordinate the front.
• Hoshi and his companions returned to Konoha and reported to Hiruzen, who approved leave for Shinku and Mayu.
• Hoshi told Hiruzen that the four of them had defeated Hanzō and negotiated an alliance with Amegakure in exchange for food.
• Hiruzen praised Hoshi and his companions, approved their rest, and revealed that his newborn son was named Asuma.

Danzō returned from a disastrous intelligence exchange and learned that Hayate Hoshi and his allies had defeated Hanzō without reporting to him. After Sakumo challenged his complaints, Danzō arranged to take charge of the Offensive Frontline while Sakumo stayed at camp.

• Danzō returned to camp after Sunagakure ninja ambushed the intelligence exchange and killed several of his subordinates.
• A Root Ninja struck a gate guard for celebrating Hanzō's defeat, but Danzō stopped him and questioned the guard about Hayate Hoshi's victory.
• Danzō demanded to know why Hoshi had not reported to him, and Sakumo arrived and invited him to discuss the matter inside the Command Tent.
• Sakumo explained that Hoshi and the others had defeated Hanzō, secured an opportunity for negotiations, and returned to report to Lord Third.
• Danzō complained that the frontline officers had left their posts, but Sakumo noted that Jiraiya remained nearby and Hoshi had made arrangements for the Offensive Frontline.
• Danzō decided to oversee the Offensive Frontline and left Sakumo in charge of the camp.

Hiruzen discussed allowing talented students such as Minato to graduate early and proposed that Hoshi and the others consider taking disciples. Hoshi chose to investigate Uchiha Kugetsu as a possible teammate for Minato and Kushina, while Tsunade proposed forming a medical ninja unit.

• Hiruzen explained that Danzo had proposed shortening the Ninja Academy program to prepare for a possible war on two fronts, but said the alliance with Hanzō meant Konoha would not need to do so immediately.
• Hiruzen suggested that exceptional students like Minato graduate early, and he offered files on promising children for Hoshi, Orochimaru, and Tsunade to consider as disciples.
• Orochimaru declined to take disciples during wartime, while Tsunade proposed training a group of medical ninja and Hiruzen deferred the decision to the next Jonin Meeting.
• Hoshi reviewed the files and noticed Uchiha Kugetsu, whose assessment highlighted her exceptional swordsmanship talent despite Hiruzen's doubts about her timid behavior.
• Hoshi said he would observe Kugetsu and might put her on a team with Minato and Kushina, while promising not to send Kushina into battle.

Hoshi realized Kagetsu might give him a chance to change the Uchiha Clan’s future and prevent its tragedy. Hoping to gain the final experience needed for a breakthrough, he asked Hiruzen to spar, and Hiruzen agreed.

• Hiruzen urged Hoshi to take Kagetsu as his disciple and build a connection with the Uchiha Clan.
• Hoshi and Hiruzen discussed how Kagami’s death and the village’s political failures had deepened the Uchiha’s rift with Konoha.
• Hoshi decided Kagetsu might be able to help him prevent the Uchiha tragedy and considered his long-term plans to oppose Black Zetsu.
• Hoshi checked his Sword Heart System and found he was 20 experience points short of Master-level Swordsmanship.
• Hoshi asked Hiruzen to spar so he could try to break through, and Hiruzen agreed.

Hoshi and Hiruzen fought in a sealed training area, where Hoshi’s speed and swordsmanship pushed the Third Hokage into a defensive struggle. Hoshi pinned Hiruzen with a final thrust toward his throat, leaving Orochimaru and Tsunade unsure whether he could escape.

• Hiruzen removed his Hokage Robe and faced Hoshi, whose sword aura made clear that he was no longer someone to treat as a junior.
• Hoshi opened with an Iai Slash, but Hiruzen blocked the Sword Qi with Earth Shore Return and evaded its weakened strike.
• Hoshi charged with Line of Moonlight and intercepted Hiruzen’s kunai, but his blade struck an Earth Clone and he became trapped in Yellow Springs Swamp.
• Hiruzen restrained Hoshi with muddy hands and prepared a Great Flame Bullet, but Hoshi used lightning-infused chakra to break free and resumed his assault.
• Hoshi pressed Hiruzen with four Sword Qi strikes and thrust Mikazuki Munechika toward his throat, leaving Orochimaru and Tsunade watching in alarm.