Chapter Summaries

Hoshi arrived on the battlefield just in time to save Pakura from the Third Raikage, then challenged him and fought through his Lightning Release Armor. The chapter ended with Hoshi cutting the Third Raikage across the ribs.

• The Third Raikage nearly killed Pakura, but Hoshi’s Sword Qi forced him to retreat and carved a trench between them.
• Hoshi descended from the sky on the Sword of Kusanagi and saved Pakura, who asked whether he was the only Konoha reinforcement.
• The Third Raikage confronted Hoshi about Konoha supporting Sunagakure, and Hoshi answered that the Raikage would have attacked Konoha anyway.
• The Third Raikage attacked Hoshi with a lightning-fast punch, but Hoshi dodged with Shunpo and countered with Mikazuki Munechika.
• Hoshi touched the Third Raikage’s Lightning Release Armor without being paralyzed, redirected his elbow strike, and cut across his ribs.

Hoshi and the Third Raikage fought with their full strength, and both landed serious blows. The Third Raikage declared himself the victor, but Hoshi rose with his chest wound rapidly healing.

• Hoshi revealed that dense Wind Release Chakra let him touch the Third Raikage’s Lightning Release Armor, then showed he could wield Lightning Release Chakra directly as well.
• The Third Raikage activated his full-power Lightning Release Armor and attacked Hoshi with Black Spot Difference and Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop.
• The Third Raikage overwhelmed Hoshi with a rapid barrage of punches, but Hoshi countered with a slash that cut deeply into the Third Raikage’s chest.
• The Third Raikage claimed victory, but Hoshi stood up and rapidly healed the wound in his chest.

After surviving the Third Raikage’s full-power punch, Hoshi entered Sage Mode and overwhelmed him with speed and sword strikes. The Third Raikage was left badly wounded and unable to accept that Hoshi had surpassed him.

• The Third Raikage realized Hoshi’s aura was rising as his chest wound rapidly healed, and Hoshi admitted he had underestimated him.
• The Third Raikage charged with Hell Stab: Four-Finger Strike, but Hoshi’s Sword Qi disrupted the attack and Hoshi evaded him.
• Hoshi slashed through the Third Raikage’s Lightning Release Armor and nearly severed his right arm.
• Hoshi repeatedly struck the Third Raikage from different directions while dodging his punches, leaving wounds across his body.
• The Third Raikage demanded to know what trick Hoshi had used, and Hoshi told him that he was now faster and stronger.

Hayate Hoshi explained how Moon Shadow Steps let him evade the Third Raikage and defeat him despite their similar speed. When the wounded Third Raikage launched One-Finger Nukite, Hoshi answered with Dance of the Startled Swan, Second Form: Sky Rift Flowing Light, and the chapter ended as the victor was revealed.

• Hoshi used Moon Shadow Steps to conceal his movements and repeatedly slash the Third Raikage, making him appear far faster than he was.
• The Sunagakure and Cloud Village shinobi stopped fighting and watched as Hoshi recovered while the Third Raikage stood bloodied and wounded.
• The Third Raikage refused to accept defeat and gathered lightning around his left index finger to prepare One-Finger Nukite.
• Hoshi declared that One-Finger Nukite could not stop him and used Dance of the Startled Swan, Second Form: Sky Rift Flowing Light as the Third Raikage charged.
• Hoshi and the Third Raikage exchanged positions, and after Hoshi sheathed Mikazuki Munechika, a body hit the ground.

Hoshi defeated the Third Raikage but left him alive, intending to use him against the Stone Hidden Ninja. When Rasa tried to kill the helpless Raikage, Hoshi stopped him and publicly questioned his conduct as Fourth Kazekage.

• Hoshi used Sky Rift Flowing Light to inflict devastating wounds on the Third Raikage while sparing his life.
• Hoshi decided the injured Third Raikage could help wear down the Stone Hidden Ninja and provoke a clash with Ōnoki.
• Rasa launched a Gold Dust Cone at the helpless Third Raikage, and Cloud Village ninja tried to stop it.
• Hoshi cut apart Rasa's Gold Dust Cone with lightning-infused Sword Qi before it could hit the Third Raikage.
• Hoshi rebuked Rasa for interfering after refusing to help him earlier, and Sunagakure ninja looked at their Fourth Kazekage with dissatisfaction.

Hoshi left Sunagakure after accusing Rasa of betraying him, and the battle with the Cloud Village ended without a clear victor, leaving Sunagakure badly weakened and Rasa disgraced. As the Great Ninja War paused, Yagura prepared Kirigakure to attack Konoha when the other villages resumed fighting.

• Hoshi rebuked Rasa for trying to strike the Third Raikage while he was injured, then departed Sunagakure on his Flying Sword.
• The battle continued for another day, ending with the Cloud Village withdrawing after suffering the Third Raikage's severe injuries and Sunagakure taking heavy casualties, including Bunpuku.
• Pakura and Hoshi gained widespread praise, while Sunagakure's ninja blamed Rasa for Hoshi's departure and the resulting losses.
• Rasa admitted that his actions had caused Sunagakure great losses and said he would resign as Kazekage after the Third Great Ninja War.
• Yagura told the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist that Kirigakure would attack Konoha from behind when the other villages returned to war.

After defeating the Third Raikage, Hoshi reached Grandmaster-level Swordsmanship and drew the powerful skill Extreme Intent Slash. He tested it on a mountain and discovered that its enhanced Wind Release Sword Qi could cleave through the entire peak, leaving him with a once-daily burst skill capable of extraordinary attacks.

• Hoshi saw that his Swordsmanship Level had risen to Grandmaster-level, and Dance of the Startled Swan had gained five charges with a four-hour recovery time.
• Hoshi used his newly available skill draw and obtained Extreme Intent Slash, which enhanced his swordsmanship skills at the cost of 30% of his Chakra and could be used once per day.
• Hoshi traveled to an uninhabited area, confirmed no one was nearby, and activated Extreme Intent Slash to test its power.
• Hoshi used Mastery. Attribute Conversion with Wind Release Chakra and cut a mountain over a hundred meters tall completely in two.

After testing his newly gained swordsmanship, Hoshi returned to Konoha while Madara ordered White Zetsu and Obito to intensify the war and prepare for peace talks. The Third Great Ninja War entered its third phase when Cloud Village and Iwagakure allied and sent a massive force toward the Land of Fire, forcing Konoha to mobilize nearly all its combat forces.

• Hoshi tested Extreme Intent Slash, returned to Konoha, and unknowingly left behind a mountain that civilians later revered as one of the Land of Fire's Three Great Miracles.
• White Zetsu reported Hoshi's exploits and the state of the Ninja World to Madara, who ordered White Zetsu to incite the villages to deploy their Jinchuriki and told Obito to prepare peace talks for the war's height.
• An Anbu ninja informed Tsunade that Cloud Village and Iwagakure had allied and were advancing toward the Land of Fire with thirty thousand ninja, including the Two-Tails and Five-Tails Jinchuriki.
• Tsunade called a Jonin Meeting, and Konoha assigned Hoshi, Jiraiya, Shinku, and Nawaki to the Hidden Stone Frontline while Orochimaru, Sakumo, and Minato took the Hidden Cloud Front.
• Konoha sent ten thousand ninja to each front and left only ten thousand in the village, where a hidden Fourth Faction waited for Konoha to become vulnerable.

Konoha’s forces fought on the Cloud and Iwagakure fronts, where Minato and Nawaki earned titles and fame as the new Konoha Twin Stars. As the war intensified, a Mist Village team waited in the forest outside Konoha and complained about missing scouts.

• Minato led Konoha’s battle against Cloud Village, using a feint and surprise attack to defeat Dodai’s vanguard and kill ten Jonin with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Cloud Village called Minato the Yellow Flash, but the Third Raikage’s attack on Sakumo and Orochimaru’s forces erased Konoha’s advantage.
• Nawaki fought Iwagakure alongside Jiraiya and used Wood Release to break the enemy’s Earth Flow Rampart, earning the title Fresh Green Sprout.
• Minato and Nawaki became known as Konoha’s new Twin Stars as battles with Cloud Village and Iwagakure intensified.
• Suikazan Fuguki and Mujin Hachiya waited outside Konoha with the Mist Village team and complained that Kushimaru Kuriarare and Juzo Biwa had not returned from scouting.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist discovered a lightly guarded route into Konoha through the Forest of Death and headed there to attack. Uchiha Hokushin, teaching Ebisu, Genma Shiranui, and Might Guy in the forest, noticed its unnatural silence and began preparing for danger.

• Kushimaru Kuriarare and Juzo Biwa returned to the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and revealed a route into Konoha through the Forest of Death.
• The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist agreed to use the route and set off for the forest.
• Ebisu, Genma Shiranui, and Might Guy complained about their guard mission until Uchiha Hokushin encouraged Ebisu to apologize to Might Guy.
• Uchiha Hokushin offered to teach the three youngsters ninjutsu, then noticed the Forest of Death had gone unnaturally quiet.
• Uchiha Hokushin secretly warned the three youngsters and activated his Sharingan to watch their surroundings.

Beichen fought the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist so Might Guy, Ebisu, and Genma Shiranui could escape after he sent up a signal flare. The swordsmen overwhelmed him, and Kushimaru Kuriarare pinned him through the thigh with Nuibari.

• A hidden attacker pierced Ebisu's palm, but Beichen knocked away the weapon, grabbed the signal flare, and launched it to summon reinforcements.
• Beichen ordered Might Guy, Ebisu, and Genma Shiranui to run toward the village as the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist revealed themselves.
• Beichen recognized the swordsmen and fought Juzo Biwa, Chirin Hozuki, and Jinin Akebino while insisting they would not reach the three boys.
• Beichen severed Jinin Akebino's ear, but Raiga Kurosuki's lightning blade burned Beichen's already injured shoulder.
• Beichen tried to retreat behind a Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, but Samehada tore into his shoulder and left him dizzy.
• Kushimaru Kuriarare stabbed Beichen through the thigh with Nuibari and pinned him in place.

Beichen escaped Nuibari’s restraint and tried to reach Kagetsu, but Kushimaru Kuriarare killed him just before they reunited. Grief-stricken, Kagetsu confronted Kushimaru as her Three-Tomoe Sharingan began to change.

• Genma Shiranui distracted Jinin Akebino with a senbon, giving Beichen a chance to escape Suikazan Fuguki’s genjutsu and tear free of Nuibari.
• Beichen wounded Kushimaru Kuriarare and staggered toward Genma Shiranui while Might Duy and Kagetsu rushed to their aid.
• Kushimaru used Ground Spider Stitch to sever Beichen’s legs, then stabbed his back with Nuibari as Kagetsu watched helplessly.
• Beichen died after telling Kagetsu to live well, and Kushimaru mocked her grief.
• Kagetsu asked whether the blade that killed her father belonged to Kushimaru, then her Three-Tomoe Sharingan began to change.

After her father’s death, Kagetsu awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and killed Kushimaru Kuriarare with a sudden strike and strange flames. She vowed to use her new power to avenge her father by hunting down the rest of those responsible.

• Kagetsu’s eyes transformed into a lotus-like Mangekyō Sharingan, and her aura grew powerful enough to remind Kushimaru Kuriarare of Yagura.
• Kushimaru dismissed Kagetsu’s strength as an illusion, but she suddenly appeared before him and stabbed him through the heart with the Tenburyu Sword.
• Kagetsu used flames from her eye to burn Kushimaru to charcoal, then recalled the flames as the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and Might Duy stared in shock.
• Kagetsu recognized her new eyes as the Mangekyō Sharingan and wondered if her father’s death had awakened them.
• Kagetsu resolved to use her Mangekyō to avenge her father and pursue the remaining accomplices.

Kagetsu awakened her Mangekyō Sharingan abilities and insisted on fighting the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist without Might Duy’s help. She killed three swordsmen in rapid succession, leaving the four survivors to prepare a joint attack.

• Kagetsu learned that her left eye’s Higan let her move within thirty meters and her right eye’s Kagutsuchi let her control and reshape Fire Release.
• Kagetsu asked Might Duy to protect Guy and the others while she fought the swordsmen herself, then charged Chirin Hozuki and Mujin Hachiya with Sun Wheel Dance.
• Mujin Hachiya used Heavy Death Breaking, but Kagetsu emerged from the explosion and killed him with one slash.
• Kagetsu used Genjutsu to make Chirin Hozuki mistake Mujin Hachiya for her, then killed Chirin with the Tenburyu Sword.
• Juzo Biwa rallied Raiga Kurosuki, Jinin Akebino, and Suikazan Fuguki, then began Hidden Mist Technique as the four prepared to fight Kagetsu together.

Kagetsu used her Mangekyo Sharingan and powerful Fire Release techniques to defeat the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist’s ambush in the Forest of Death. After killing Jinin Akebino and Raiga Kurosuki, she pursued Suikazan Fuguki and Juzo Biwa, whose flight was interrupted when Fuguki offered to stay behind.

• Juzo Biwa’s Hidden Mist Technique concealed the clearing, but Kagetsu’s Blazing Dragon Dance evaporated the fog and burned Jinin Akebino to death.
• Kagetsu learned that Juzo Biwa and Suikazan Fuguki had fled while Raiga Kurosuki fought her, and she criticized Raiga for letting his teammates serve as decoys.
• Kagetsu used her Mangekyo Sharingan and Sword Leap Flame to overpower Raiga Kurosuki, then killed him with a flame Sword Qi strike.
• Kagetsu used Higan to catch up with the fleeing Juzo Biwa and Suikazan Fuguki, then launched twelve tracking flame Sword Qi attacks at them.
• Suikazan Fuguki told Juzo Biwa to flee while he stayed behind to stop the attacks, and Juzo Biwa hesitated, recalling how his earlier betrayal had led to Jinin Akebino and Raiga Kurosuki’s deaths.

Kagetsu killed Juzo Biwa and pursued Suikazan Fuguki, who tricked her into letting Samehada drain her Chakra. She revealed that she could still kill him without Chakra and stabbed him through the chest.

• Juzo Biwa shattered Kagetsu's twelve strands of Sword Qi, but she cut through his damaged Kubikiribōchō and severed his neck.
• Kagetsu chased Suikazan Fuguki and broke through his barrage of Needle Senbon.
• Suikazan Fuguki begged Kagetsu for mercy and offered to reveal everything he knew about Kirigakure, then sprung a trap with Samehada.
• Samehada drained Kagetsu's Chakra, and Suikazan Fuguki taunted her about her father's death before preparing to let Samehada devour her.
• Kagetsu appeared behind Suikazan Fuguki and stabbed him through the chest, declaring that she did not need Chakra to kill him.

After awakening her Mangekyō Sharingan and defeating the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Kagetsu collapsed from exhaustion and pain in her left eye. Tsunade arranged for her care and summoned Hoshi, who left the front to return to Konoha and warn Kagetsu about the risks of using her new eyes.

• Kagetsu pulled the Tenburyu Sword from Suikazan Fuguki, then collapsed after her drained Chakra and worsening left-eye pain overwhelmed her.
• Might Duy found Kagetsu and Suikazan Fuguki, confirmed Kagetsu was alive, and helped her before Tsunade arrived with Anbu.
• Tsunade learned from Duy that Kagetsu had awakened a mysterious power after Beichen died, and recognized it as the Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Tsunade ordered Kagetsu taken to Konoha Hospital, Beichen's body honored, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen's bodies and blades retrieved, and Hoshi summoned from the front lines.
• Two days later, Hoshi read Tsunade's letter, worried about Kagetsu's mental state and eyesight, and set off to find Minato so he could return to Konoha quickly.

Hoshi visited Kagetsu in the hospital, comforted her as she grieved for her father, and examined the Mangekyo Sharingan abilities she had awakened. He confirmed her eyesight was stable for now and decided Hashirama Cells transplantation could wait until after the Second Great Ninja War.

• After discussing the situation with Tsunade, Hoshi inferred that Kagetsu's Mangekyo Sharingan gave her a space ability and Kagutsuchi.
• Hoshi visited Kagetsu in the hospital and comforted her while she cried over her father, Beichen.
• Kagetsu told Hoshi about her eye abilities, and he tested her vision to check for damage.
• Hoshi learned that Higan in Kagetsu's left eye consumed much more Dojutsu Power than Kagutsuchi in her right eye, which she could use extensively to control flames.
• After confirming that Kagetsu's eyesight was not in immediate danger, Hoshi decided she could wait until after the war for Hashirama Cells transplantation.

Hoshi and Tsunade planned a retaliatory ambush on Kirigakure after Mist Village attacked Konoha’s supply team and killed a Hyuga Clan member. As Hoshi set out with three Hyuga Elite Jonin, Rasa arranged to hand Pakura over to Mist Village in four days.

• Tsunade told Hoshi that Mist Village had ambushed Konoha’s transport teams, killed a Hyuga Clan member, and stolen his Byakugan.
• Hoshi proposed keeping the Seven Ninja Blades and retaliating against Mist Village with an ambush instead of declaring war.
• Hoshi and Tsunade enlisted the Hyuga Clan’s support, and the clan sent three Branch House Elite Jonin to accompany him.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi left for the Land of Fire battlefield to replace Hoshi, while Hoshi and the Hyuga Jonin set out for Kirigakure.
• Rasa agreed to Yagura’s demand to hand over Pakura and scheduled the exchange for four days later.
• Rasa persuaded Sunagakure’s leaders to accept the deal, and Pakura received a mission to travel to Mist Village four days later.

Pakura traveled to the Land of Water on a mission and was lured into an ambush in White Mist Valley. Hoshi intervened just in time, saving her from the attackers and leaving her to face the truth about the mission.

• Pakura and Hoshi’s group independently arrived in the Land of Water and headed toward White Mist Valley.
• The Hyuga ninja spotted eight people surrounding a woman, and Hoshi led his group toward the disturbance.
• A Mist ninja posing as a spy tried to stab Pakura, then used his own body to hold her as attackers threw Kunai at her.
• Hoshi appeared before Pakura and used Soul Devouring Demon Sealing Slash to draw in the Kunai and destroy them with Mikazuki Munechika.
• Hoshi urged the dazed Pakura to act before the attackers escaped.