Chapter Summaries

Konoha celebrated Kumogakure’s ceasefire request while Danzo vowed to wait for Mito’s influence to fade. On team assignment day, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade became Hiruzen’s students, while Hoshi and Sakumo waited for their own Jonin instructor, who finally appeared as Hoshi woke from a nap.

• The Third Hokage and the village leaders adopted Mito’s suggestion, and Konoha’s clans learned that Kumogakure had requested a ceasefire.
• Danzo received Hiruzen’s reply, realized Mito had thwarted his plan, and resolved to wait until she was gone before pursuing power.
• Jiraiya woke Hoshi at four in the morning for team assignment day, so Hoshi made him run laps and then beat him after he insulted Tsunade.
• Hiruzen assigned Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade to his team, while Hoshi and Sakumo were left to wait for their instructor.
• Hoshi fell asleep on the training ground, then woke to find a tall figure standing over him.

Hoshi met Torifu Akimichi, the intimidating Jonin instructor assigned to him and Sakumo, and quickly discovered that Torifu was kind and approachable. Torifu took the boys to meet their teammate, Yūhi Shinkō, a young survivor recovering from a mission against a Cloud Village patrol.

• Hoshi mistook Torifu Akimichi for a frightening instructor, but Sakumo reassured him that Torifu was a good person.
• Torifu introduced himself as Hoshi and Sakumo's Jonin instructor, and Hoshi recognized his name and relaxed.
• Torifu told Hoshi and Sakumo that they had a third teammate, Yūhi Shinkō, who was two or three years older than them.
• Torifu explained that Yūhi Shinkō was the sole survivor of a mission team ambushed by a Cloud Village patrol and had just been cleared to leave the hospital.
• Torifu led Hoshi and Sakumo to meet Yūhi Shinkō.

Hoshi and Sakumo met their new teammate, Yūhi Shinkō, at Konoha Hospital, where his trauma from his previous mission made him doubt their abilities. Hoshi impressed Shinkō with his swordsmanship, and the team left the hospital together, with Torifu proposing a barbecue to celebrate.

• Hoshi and Sakumo followed Torifu Akimichi to Konoha Hospital, where Hoshi introduced Torifu to Rie and they visited Yūhi Shinkō.
• Torifu introduced Hoshi and Sakumo as Shinkō’s new teammates, but Shinkō objected, fearing that the young boys would endanger him on missions.
• Hoshi reassured Shinkō that they would protect him, then demonstrated his skill by slicing an airborne apple into eight even pieces.
• Shinkō was impressed by Hoshi’s swordsmanship, grabbed the apple, and accepted Hoshi and Sakumo as teammates.
• Torifu said the completed team should celebrate with barbecue, while Hoshi mistakenly expected a Survival Exercise.

Hoshi, Sakumo, and Shinku began their first mission under Torifu’s guidance: eliminating the bandits threatening Spark Village. After reaching the bandit camp, Torifu told the three young ninja to handle the mission themselves unless their lives were in danger.

• Torifu ate an enormous barbecue meal before telling his disciples their first mission was to clear bandits from Spark Village.
• Hoshi reassured the frightened client and explained that Jonin Torifu would protect the village.
• Torifu led the group to Spark Village, where the client pointed them toward the bandits’ mountain hideout.
• Sakumo knocked out several sentries, then killed them after Torifu warned that captured bandits would not survive if left helpless.
• Hoshi and the others reached the bandits’ camp and heard them boasting about their crimes.
• Torifu ordered Hoshi, Sakumo, and Shinku to complete the attack independently, promising to intervene only if their lives were at risk.

Hoshi and Sakumo attacked a bandit camp while Shinku supported them from hiding, killing and wounding more than half the bandits. The bandit leader captured Shinku and threatened to kill him unless the two boys dropped their swords.

• Hoshi told Shinku to stay hidden and help with Genjutsu and Ninja Tools, then warned Sakumo not to get separated from him.
• Hoshi and Sakumo charged out of the forest and killed the two nearest bandits before cutting their way through the crowd.
• The bandits regrouped and surrounded the boys, but Hoshi and Sakumo fought back-to-back and pressed deeper into the enemy ranks while Shinku provided support.
• After more than half the bandits were killed or injured, their leader seized Shinku from behind and held a Kunai to his neck.
• The bandit leader demanded that Hoshi and Sakumo put down their swords or Shinku would die.

Hoshi and Sakumo distracted the Scar-faced Man with a staged argument so Shinku could cast a Genjutsu and create an opening. Hoshi killed the bandit leader with Line of Moonlight, leaving the remaining bandits terrified.

• Torikaze declined to intervene, and Hoshi decided to find a way to rescue Shinku himself.
• Hoshi pretended to surrender and argued with Sakumo, distracting the Scar-faced Man and the bandits.
• Shinku recognized Hoshi's hint, formed Hand Seals, and trapped the Scar-faced Man in Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique.
• Hoshi used Line of Moonlight to kill the Scar-faced Man while the Genjutsu held him.
• The Scar-faced Man's death left the bandits trembling as they realized they would be next.

Hoshi, Sakumo, and Shinku completed Torifu’s assessment by defeating the bandits, then returned to Konoha. Danzo arrived early from the front lines and privately confronted Hiruzen about agreeing to a ceasefire with Cloud Village.

• Torifu praised Hoshi, Sakumo, and Shinku for completing the mission and revealed that it had also been an assessment.
• Torifu gave them Akimichi Military Ration Pills, and the exhausted group washed up, delivered the mission in Spark Village, and headed back to Konoha.
• Danzo returned to Konoha ahead of the main force with one eye bandaged and reacted angrily when Hiruzen suggested he seek treatment.
• Danzo told Hiruzen that the front lines had entered a ceasefire and asked why he had agreed to one with Cloud Village.
• Danzo sent his subordinates outside so he could speak with Hiruzen privately.

Danzo tried to turn Hiruzen against Mito by accusing her of secretly seeking control of Konoha, but his Sharingan-induced pain broke his influence and Hiruzen rejected the accusations. Danzo then learned that five children in Tsunade’s class had graduated early and demanded to know their backgrounds and teachers.

• Danzo warned Hiruzen that Mito might be manipulating him and seeking to turn Konoha into a Hidden Eddy Village.
• Danzo used his Sharingan while arguing, briefly making Hiruzen doubt Mito and Tobirama’s intentions.
• Danzo’s eye hurt, and Hiruzen’s thoughts cleared as he defended Mito and dismissed Danzo’s claims as baseless.
• Danzo hid his eye pain, changed the subject, and asked how seven-year-old Tsunade had become Hiruzen’s student.
• Hiruzen said five children in Tsunade’s class had passed their teacher’s assessment and graduated early, prompting Danzo to ask about their families and assigned teachers.

Danzo learned that Hoshi and the other civilian ninja were talented and tried to win them over as future allies. Hoshi rejected Danzo’s Scrolls, but Danzo left them behind and offered to help again.

• Danzo recalled how his frontline command had made civilian ninja loyal to him and began plotting to recruit talented young ninja to support his bid for Hokage.
• Hiruzen told Danzo that Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru were his students, while Torifu was training Hoshi and Sakumo.
• Danzo asked Hiruzen to transfer the children to him, but accepted an offer to choose three disciples from the next graduating class instead.
• Danzo visited Torifu at Training Ground 6 and warmly met Hoshi, Sakumo, and Shinku, offering them three ninjutsu Scrolls as a gift.
• Hoshi declined Danzo’s gift and said he and the others could rely on Torifu, but Danzo left the Scrolls behind and departed.

Hoshi’s squad continued training through frequent missions while meeting with their friends to eat and talk. At a fried chicken shop, Hoshi encouraged Jiraiya, and his words inspired the struggling young Might Duy to believe he could become a ninja.

• Danzo left a scroll for Hoshi’s group, and Torikaze urged them to accept it and not take Danzo’s temper personally.
• Over three months, Torikaze’s squad completed more than a dozen D-rank missions, while Hiruzen kept Tsunade’s squad focused on training.
• Hoshi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Shinku shared a meal and teased Jiraiya about his difficulty learning the Great Dragon Fire Technique.
• Might Duy broke a cup while working at the shop and explained to Orochimaru that he was saving money for weighted gear.
• Duy asked Hoshi whether hard work could make him a successful ninja, and Hoshi encouraged him to believe he could become powerful.

Hoshi encouraged Might Duy and gave him his old weighted gear, prompting Tsunade to ask Mito about a way for someone without ninjutsu talent to become strong. The Torikaze Squad then left Konoha for a month-long mission in the Land of Rice Fields.

• Hoshi gave Might Duy his old weighted gear and urged him to train hard while taking care of his health.
• Tsunade asked Mito whether a hardworking person without ninjutsu talent could become a powerful ninja, and Mito told her about the Eight Gates Formation.
• Mito ordered someone to find Might Duy's information and check on A-Gang, offering help if necessary.
• Might Duy found a scroll about the Eight Gates Formation at home and eagerly began reading it.
• Torikaze told the Torikaze Squad to prepare for a month-long mission in the Land of Rice Fields, and Hoshi said goodbye to his mother.
• The Torikaze Squad presented their Village Exit Permits and departed Konoha for the Land of Rice Fields.

On the road to the Land of Rice Fields, Hoshi invented a frightening Kuchisake-onna legend that scared Sakumo, while Torikaze teased them about the mission. The next morning, Torikaze revealed that villages near the border had reported strange sounds, missing livestock, and missing people, and the team continued toward the Land of Rice Fields to investigate.

• Hoshi and the others pressed Torikaze for the mission details, and he asked whether they had heard of Urban Legends.
• Hoshi made up a tale about Kuchisake-onna, delighting Torikaze and Shinku while frightening Sakumo.
• Torikaze hinted that the mission was connected to an Urban Legend, but Sakumo pretended to fall asleep and later asked Hoshi to accompany him to the bathroom.
• The next morning, Torikaze explained that villages near the Land of Rice Fields had reported strange sounds, disappearing livestock, and missing people, prompting the feudal lord to seek Konoha's help.

Torifu and his disciples investigated reports of a monster in the Land of Rice Fields, where rumors had driven away tourists and frightened residents. After hearing wildly conflicting descriptions, they set a nighttime baited trap and waited for the creature, ending as a woman’s sobbing approached and Sakumo prepared to attack.

• The Daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields asked Torifu and his disciples to capture the monster and offered to double their reward.
• Hoshi, Torifu, Sakumo, and Shinku gathered contradictory reports describing a bizarre, blood-drinking creature accompanied by a woman’s cries.
• Torifu ordered the group to rest and then investigate the monster outside the town at night.
• Hoshi used Transparency Release to hide while Torifu, Sakumo, and Shinku grilled meat as bait.
• The group spotted green eyes belonging to animals watching the food, then heard a woman sobbing as the animals fled and Sakumo gripped his sword.

Hoshi, Sakumo, and Shinku tried to lure a cautious white wolf Ninja Beast into an ambush. Hoshi wounded it as it fled, leaving the group a blood trail to follow toward its den.

• Hoshi returned from scouting and identified the creature as a large, intelligent animal, while Torikaze suggested it was a Ninja Beast.
• Torikaze declined to join the hunt, so Hoshi, Sakumo, and Shinku followed their plan without him.
• Sakumo and Shinku walked along the mountain path with grilled meat while Hoshi followed under Transparency Release.
• Hoshi spotted the white wolf stalking Sakumo and Shinku, but his disrupted breathing alerted it and prompted it to retreat.
• Hoshi struck the wolf with Line of Moonlight, cutting its hind leg, and told Sakumo and Shinku to follow its blood trail.

Hoshi, Sakumo, and Shinku cornered the wounded White Wolf, but the Ninja Beast outsmarted them and badly injured Sakumo. Hoshi faced it alone and used the Substitution Technique, but the White Wolf tracked him and struck him as he attacked from the bushes.

• Hoshi, Sakumo, and Shinku followed the White Wolf’s blood trail into the forest and confronted it together.
• Hoshi and Sakumo fought the White Wolf while Shinku supported them with thrown weapons, and Hoshi cut the wolf’s claw with Mikazuki Munechika.
• The White Wolf used its tail to slam Sakumo into a tree, leaving him coughing up blood, and Shinku went to check on him.
• Hoshi kept the White Wolf from attacking his companions and used the Substitution Technique to evade its claw.
• The White Wolf followed Hoshi’s scent to the bushes, dodged his Line of Moonlight, and struck him with its claw.

Hoshi used a clone and a sword technique to defeat White Wolf after Shinku sent up a signal flare for Torikaze. White Wolf died after pleading with Hoshi to do something for it, and Hoshi agreed before heading toward the direction it indicated.

• Shinku saw White Wolf apparently impale Hoshi and fired a signal flare to summon Torikaze.
• Torikaze spotted the flare, dropped his beef jerky, and rushed toward the team.
• Hoshi’s clone vanished in smoke, letting the real Hoshi strike White Wolf with Silver Moon Cross Slash and disable it.
• Hoshi learned that Sakumo had two broken ribs and prepared to finish White Wolf.
• White Wolf cried, indicated a distant direction, and died after Hoshi promised to take care of its request.

After defeating the White Wolf, Hoshi followed his dying request and found the wolf pup hidden in its den. Torifu recognized the cub’s unusual potential and advised Hoshi to raise him and consider a Summoning Contract.

• Torifu treated Hoshi’s hand and Sakumo’s broken ribs after the battle with the White Wolf.
• Hoshi told Torifu about the White Wolf’s final request, and they followed its directions to a hidden cave.
• Hoshi found the White Wolf’s newborn cub and fed him leftover roasted meat.
• Torifu explained that the cub had already developed Chakra unusually young and recommended having the Inuzuka Clan assess his talent.
• Torifu advised Hoshi to raise the cub and consider signing a Summoning Contract with him.

After Hoshi and Torikaze Squad returned to Konoha, they learned that Konoha and Cloud Village had agreed to settle their war through a Chunin Exam for young Genin. Hiruzen and the other leaders assigned Hoshi, Tsunade, and six other promising Genin an S-rank mission to prepare for the exam and defeat Cloud Village’s participants.

• Hoshi bonded with the cub Robb while Torikaze Squad stayed in the Land of Rice Fields to care for him and confirm the monster had been dealt with.
• Cloud Village’s peace delegation negotiated stubbornly with Konoha, and both sides agreed that a joint Chunin Exam one year later would determine which nation paid reparations.
• Hoshi and the other three returned to Konoha and heard about the exam after turning in their mission.
• Anbu summoned Hoshi, Tsunade, and the other Genin to the Hokage Building, where Hiruzen and the other leaders explained the exam’s importance.
• Hiruzen and the leaders canceled the Genin’s missions for the coming year and gave them an S-rank mission to prepare for the exam and defeat Cloud Village’s participants.

After Hiruzen and the others assigned Hoshi’s group a year of special training and generous resources, Hoshi looked forward to using sparring to advance his swordsmanship. The group took a week off before training began, and Tsunade led them to a fried chicken shop, where she met Robb.

• Hiruzen and the others granted Hoshi’s group access to village resources and arranged a year of special training after seven days of rest.
• Hoshi calculated that fighting strong opponents in training could help him raise his Basic Swordsmanship rank.
• Tsunade and the others decided to spend their break together and went to the fried chicken shop at Tsunade’s request.
• Robb grew excited at the smell of fried chicken, and Tsunade approached to pet him.
• Robb bristled when Tsunade called him a dog, and Hoshi explained that he was a wolf.

Hayate Hoshi took Robb to the Inuzuka Clan Compound so Inuzuka Gu could assess the wolf’s talent. After examining Robb, Inuzuka Gu asked Hoshi to let him breed with the clan’s Ninja Dogs when he grew up.

• At a restaurant, Tsunade scolded Hoshi for feeding Robb bones, and Hoshi teased her until she stomped on his foot.
• After the gathering, Hoshi and Torikaze arranged to take Robb to the Inuzuka Clan Compound for a talent assessment.
• Robb entered the compound confidently, intimidated the resident Ninja Dogs, and showed off until Hoshi picked him up.
• Inuzuka Tetsu led Hoshi, Torikaze, and Robb to Inuzuka Gu, the Inuzuka Clan Head.
• Inuzuka Gu examined Robb and asked Hoshi to let him breed with the clan’s Ninja Dogs when he grew up.