Chapter Summaries

Hatake Sakumo, Orochimaru, Yui, and Nai Hyuga faced over a hundred enemy ninjas at a cliff, while Orochimaru watched Yui closely to assess her strength. As the battle continued, Nai used Wave Breaker and a massive Water Dragon Bullet, and Yui summoned Hakutaku and fought while holding back her most destructive technique.

• Hatake Sakumo killed an attacking ninja and warned that he showed no mercy to enemies.
• Orochimaru estimated that over a hundred ninjas had gathered and told Hatake Sakumo to leave some alive for questioning.
• Yui recognized Kazeno among the enemy ranks, and she gave Wave Breaker to Nai Hyuga before the fight began.
• The enemy ninjas charged, but Hatake Sakumo and the others routed them; Nai wounded several with her swordsmanship.
• Orochimaru watched Yui as she summoned Hakutaku and cut a charging ninja in half, while avoiding a technique that could harm her companions.
• Dozens of enemy ninjas launched a Water Dragon Bullet, and Nai Hyuga answered with a water dragon more than twice as large.

Hatake Sakumo cut through the attacking ninjas with overwhelming skill while Nai Hyuga and Yui watched. As he pursued a fleeing Black-Robed Ninja, he caught Kazeno, who was actually Yui’s split body, and stopped him from escaping over the cliff.

• Nai Hyuga’s Water Release overwhelmed the enemy’s technique, while Hatake Sakumo killed scores of ninjas with his short sword.
• Orochimaru, Nai Hyuga, and Yui realized Hatake Sakumo was the group’s strongest fighter.
• Hatake Sakumo spotted the Black-Robed Ninja escaping toward the cliff and gave chase, but Kazeno drew his attention.
• Hatake Sakumo recognized Kazeno as an unusually powerful ninja, while Yui realized he had caught her split body.
• Kazeno tried to leap from the cliff, but Lightning Release hauled him back.

Yui revealed that the apparent infiltrator was her shadow clone and demonstrated a technique that could change her appearance and chakra signature. Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi devised a plan to attack Kumogakure, hoping to seize its resources and tailed beasts while giving Mito a chance to escape.

• Yui told Hatake Sakumo and Orochimaru that the infiltrator was her clone, then demonstrated the Shape Concealment Technique by transforming into Orochimaru and copying his chakra signature.
• Hatake Sakumo accepted Yui's explanation and apologized, while Yui left with Nai Hyuga and said she would give the information to Mito.
• Hatake Sakumo and Orochimaru stayed behind to clear the bodies after Yui departed.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi read letters from Mito and Danzo and worried about the Raikage's possible knowledge of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's location.
• Hiruzen decided to send ninja to raid Kumogakure, capture its tailed beasts, and create an opportunity for Mito to escape.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sent Konoha’s elite ANBU and Root ninja northeast and kept the Flying Thunder God scroll Jiraiya had requested. Meanwhile, the Raikage learned of the failed operation and, suspecting a traitor, approved the Assistant’s plan to send Shan Cao and his sister to gather intelligence in three nights.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned Konoha’s elite ANBU and remaining Root ninja, then watched them depart northeast and examined Jiraiya’s request for the Flying Thunder God scroll.
• Kazeno reported to the Raikage that powerful opponents had attacked their group, and Shan Cao confirmed Kazeno’s intelligence was accurate.
• The Raikage sent the badly wounded Kazeno away, then discussed the suspected traitor with Shan Cao and the Assistant.
• The Assistant proposed a covert infiltration to avoid detection, and the Raikage agreed to her plan.
• The Assistant ordered Shan Cao and his younger sister to infiltrate the island from the west in three nights, and Shan Cao reluctantly accepted.

Kazeno overheard the Raikage and the Assistant plan to test for a traitor by attacking the opposite side of the island, while they ruled him out of the operation. In Uzushiogakure, Orochimaru asked Yui Hyuga to teach him Hatake Sakumo’s blade-repairing technique, but she refused without Sakumo’s permission.

• Kazeno hid from Yamcao, then listened as the Raikage and the Assistant discussed their plan to send ninja to attack the other side of the island and investigate the traitor.
• The Raikage said he did not suspect Kazeno and noted that Kazeno would not know about or join the next operation.
• Kazeno escaped using the Shape Concealment Technique and concluded that Kumogakure might never catch its spy.
• A violent storm interrupted Yui Hyuga’s Flying Ninjutsu research in Uzushiogakure, and Orochimaru approached her to propose a deal.
• Orochimaru asked Yui to teach him the Hatake Blade-Healing Technique, but she told him to seek Hatake Sakumo’s permission because it was a family secret.

Yui Hyuga and Orochimaru negotiated over the Hatake Blade-Healing Technique after Orochimaru revealed his damaged Ama-no-Murakumo Blade. He offered Yui a map to another Kusanagi Sword, leaving her tempted but not yet agreeing to help him.

• Orochimaru offered rare ninjutsu in exchange for Yui's blade-repairing technique, but Yui refused.
• Orochimaru revealed that he had found the shattered Ama-no-Murakumo Blade and wanted Yui to repair it.
• Yui recognized the sword and asked Orochimaru what he would offer in exchange for the technique.
• Orochimaru gave Yui a map he believed led to another Kusanagi Sword and promised she could keep it if they found it.
• Yui considered the offer, intrigued by the possibility of acquiring another powerful weapon.

Yui traded Hatake Sakumo’s secret technique scroll to Orochimaru for the promise of a Kusanagi Sword, then tested the revival Senjutsu in the woods. She revived Kazeno, who recognized her as she grabbed him by the throat.

• Yui agreed to trade Hatake Sakumo’s secret technique scroll to Orochimaru on the condition that he teach it to no one else.
• Orochimaru took the scroll and left to practice the technique, while Yui reminded him to find the Kusanagi Sword with her.
• Yui activated the scroll with Senjutsu Chakra and chose Kazeno as the person to revive.
• Yui performed the Sage Art: Rinne Revival Technique, and Kazeno returned to life naked in the storm.
• Yui covered Kazeno with mud, then seized his throat when he challenged her, and he recognized her.

Yui confirmed that the Rinne Revival Technique had resurrected Kazeno with an enhanced body, then learned that Konoha had invaded Kumogakure and the Raikage was returning to defend it. She hurried to tell Mito, believing the danger to the Land of Whirlpools would soon ease, while a flashback revealed the Raikage had secretly sent fifty elite ninja to gather intelligence and target the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

• Yui examined the resurrected Kazeno, killed him, and studied his unusually healthy body before disposing of the corpse.
• After waiting two days for the ninja to appear, Yui received her split body's memories and learned that Konoha had invaded Kumogakure to seize its tailed beast.
• Yui realized the Raikage had taken his ninja home to support Kumogakure, so she rushed to tell Mito that the Land of Whirlpools might be safer.
• Earlier, the Raikage ordered Shan Cao and Yamahana to carry out a mission and confirmed that fifty elite Kumogakure ninja had secretly departed to gather intelligence, including information about the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

The Raikage learned that Konoha had invaded Kumogakure and was targeting the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails while plundering the village. The Assistant persuaded him to return to Kumogakure to defend it, while Kazeno listened outside and learned of the crisis.

• The Assistant told the Raikage that she had been troubled by a growing sense of foreboding, and he suggested she take time off.
• An intelligence ninja reported that Konoha had infiltrated Kumogakure and was trying to capture the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails while looting the village.
• The Raikage ordered the intelligence ninja to recall the mission squad and angrily smashed his desk.
• The Raikage proposed attacking the Land of Whirlpools for the Nine-Tails, but the Assistant warned that Kumogakure needed defending and that an attack would risk heavy losses.
• The Raikage agreed to return to Kumogakure, and Kazeno listened to the exchange from outside the room.

Kazeno learned that the Raikage was abandoning the Land of Whirlpools and sent the intelligence to his original self. Mito dispatched investigators to confirm the retreat, and they saw Kumogakure’s ninja sailing away.

• The Raikage decided Kumogakure would abandon its plans in the Land of Whirlpools and leave the Hidden Mist ninja behind as cover.
• Kazeno listened to the Raikage and his Assistant, then sent his memories to his original self and abandoned his plan to fight the Raikage.
• Yui told Mito and Tsunade that Kumogakure was retreating, and Mito went to ask Ashimura Uzumaki to verify the news.
• Tsunade asked Yui about Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Mode, but declined Yui's offer to help her learn it.
• Two Uzumaki investigators sailed toward a nearby islet and saw Kumogakure’s ninja heading away from the Land of Whirlpools.

Two Uzumaki scouts discovered that more than a hundred Water Country ninja remained on the rocky island and hurried back to report. Meanwhile, Kazeno confronted the stranded force, and his Water Release attack scattered them in the darkness.

• The older brother sensed over a hundred and twenty ninja on the island, so he and his younger brother sailed back to warn the village chief.
• Lao Ren told his men they could not return to the Hidden Mist Village because the Third had ordered their deaths if they failed the mission.
• Kazeno arrived at the camp and claimed he wanted a friendly exchange, while Lao Ren recognized him as a dangerous Sunagakure ninja.
• A ninja charged Kazeno with a Kunai, and the others joined the attack as Lao Ren stepped back to watch.
• Kazeno used his Byakugan to evade the attack, then unleashed Water Release: Water Extreme, extinguishing the campfire and blasting the ninja through the forest.

Kazeno fought off the ninjas surrounding him, then faced a massive Water Dragon Bullet formed by twenty or thirty attackers. He cleaved the water dragon in two with Wind Release: Fang-Coating Slash, while Lao Ren and a swordsman watched from a safe distance.

• Lao Ren withdrew from Kazeno's Water Release attack as the ninjas searched for him in the darkness.
• Kazeno summoned Hakutaku and fought through the charging crowd, cutting down ninjas while healing a shoulder wound.
• A skilled ninja blocked Kazeno's sword, pretended to surrender, then escaped to Lao Ren and concluded that Kazeno was an impostor with a samurai's skill.
• Twenty or thirty ninjas combined their Water Release to send a massive Water Dragon Bullet at Kazeno.
• Kazeno coated Hakutaku in Wind Release and split the water dragon with a crescent of Sword Aura.

Yui, posing as Kazeno, slaughtered the remaining ninjas with her new Full Moon Moment technique, but exhausted her chakra in the process. She sensed Lao Ren and Jiaoya hiding nearby and remained on guard as the two watched her in terror.

• Kazeno used Sword Aura attacks to kill many ninjas and drive the survivors to flee.
• Kazeno tested Full Moon Moment, cutting down the ninjas who attacked while she prepared the technique.
• Yui realized Full Moon Moment had killed every ninja around her and that her Shape Concealment Technique had worn off.
• Yui sensed two chakra signatures hiding behind a rock to the south and recognized the danger despite having no chakra left.
• Lao Ren and Jiaoya trembled behind the rock, afraid to reveal themselves after witnessing the slaughter.

Yui found Lao Ren and Jiaoya hiding behind a boulder and stopped them from leaving. The two Kirigakure ninja offered to become her subordinates, and Lao Ren presented a Heart Binding cursed seal to secure their loyalty.

• Yui cut the boulder in half, revealing Lao Ren and Jiaoya hiding behind it.
• Jiaoya and Lao Ren tried to leave, but Yui blocked them with Sword Aura and said they could not go.
• Lao Ren and Jiaoya offered to become Yui's subordinates after explaining that their failed mission meant certain death if they returned to Kirigakure.
• Yui considered using the two elite jonin to help fulfill her agreement with Mito, but asked how she could prevent them from betraying her.
• Lao Ren offered Yui a Heart Binding cursed seal that could destroy the heart of anyone marked by it, while Jiaoya questioned the risk of handing it over.

Yui Hyuga used the Heart Binding cursed seal to take control of Lao Ren and Jiaoya, then set off to meet her original body. Meanwhile, Konoha ANBU escaped the Land of Lightning with Kumogakure’s Two-Tails, while a Root ninja considered claiming the beast for Danzo.

• Yui used her heart vein blood and chakra to activate the Heart Binding cursed seal on Lao Ren and Jiaoya, making them her servants.
• Yui introduced herself as Yui Hyuga and told Lao Ren and Jiaoya that she was a clone who would take them to meet her original body.
• Four Konoha ANBU fled through the Land of Lightning with a chakra container holding the Two-Tails, pursued by Kumogakure ninja.
• The Fox Mask ANBU used leaking Two-Tails chakra to set trees ablaze, while the Eagle Mask Root ninja considered taking the beast for Danzo.
• The Dog Mask ANBU led the group toward the Land of Fire border and urged them to return the Two-Tails to the village.

Chengxin and two Konoha ANBU escaped a Kumogakure ambush with the Two-Tails, but Hao Liu died and the eagle-masked Root operative began eliminating the survivors to claim the tailed beast. The chapter ended with him approaching the wounded Chengxin after murdering the red-masked ANBU and stealing his Sharingan.

• Chengxin took custody of the Two-Tails vessel, and the ANBU encountered Kumogakure ninja blocking their route.
• The Kumogakure ninja killed Hao Liu with Storm Release, and the red-masked ANBU avenged him with a fireball before the survivors fled.
• Chengxin and the red-masked ANBU escaped with the Two-Tails while the eagle-masked Root operative plotted to take it.
• At a water source, the eagle-masked Root operative stabbed the red-masked ANBU, removed his Sharingan, and hid his body.
• The eagle-masked Root operative approached the wounded Chengxin with a bloodstained kunai and offered to help her.

Chengxin escaped an attack by the Eagle Mask Root operative, who tried to seize the Two-Tails' Chakra Container, only to be pursued by Kumogakure ninja. She concealed herself beneath a boulder, but the three Jonin returned to search nearby.

• The Eagle Mask Root operative attacked Chengxin and claimed he had killed her Uchiha teammate, so she fled with the Two-Tails' Chakra Container.
• The operative wounded Chengxin with Wind Release and tried to take the container, but a Kunai from the arriving Kumogakure Jonin struck his shoulder.
• Chengxin used smoke to escape while the Kumogakure Jonin held the operative back, and three Jonin chased her through the forest.
• Chengxin hid beneath a boulder, concealed the container's chakra with a Sealing Tag, and used Transparent Release: Concealment Technique to hide herself.
• The three Kumogakure Jonin failed to sense Chengxin, split up to search, then returned to the boulder as she stayed motionless beneath it.

Chengxin hid the Two-Tails from the pursuing Kumogakure ninja and, influenced by its chakra, decided to claim its power for herself. After returning badly injured to Konoha, she was found by Gekko Gen and her sister Yamada Hideko, while Yui arrived in the Land of Whirlpools with Uzumaki ninja.

• Chengxin stayed concealed beneath a boulder as three Kumogakure ninja searched for her and the Two-Tails.
• After the Kumogakure ninja left, Chengxin's desire for the Two-Tails grew as dark red chakra seeped from its container, and she decided to keep it for herself.
• When Konoha Jonin pursued the Kumogakure ninja, Chengxin escaped and hid the Two-Tails' container inside a tree, sealing and concealing it.
• Chengxin returned to Konoha through the barrier and collapsed in her home, where Gekko Gen recognized her and Yamada Hideko sent him to take her to Konoha Hospital.
• Yui arrived by sailboat at Sandy Beach in the Land of Whirlpools with Uzumaki ninja.

Yui returned to the Land of Whirlpools and arranged for Jiaoya and Lao Ren to guard it while Mito prepared to return to Konoha. At sea, Danzo learned the Third had blocked Root reinforcements and resolved to punish the shinobi who obeyed him, while plotting revenge against Yui.

• Yui led Jiaoya and Lao Ren into the village and told them they would guard the Land of Whirlpools, despite their protests that they wanted freedom.
• Yui's split body merged back into her original body in front of Mito, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and the others.
• Mito announced that she planned to return to Konoha in a few days, and Yui offered Jiaoya and Lao Ren as temporary guards for the Land of Whirlpools.
• Yui considered exploring the ruins marked on her map with Orochimaru after the trip, before the Second Shinobi World War began.
• Danzo learned that the Third had blocked Root reinforcements and ordered the deaths of Root shinobi who had followed the Hokage's orders.
• Danzo blamed Yui for his injuries and vowed to gather his forces to kill her.

Yui discovered that she could no longer merge with her Split Body and went with her to Shikkotsu Forest to seek Shobue’s help. Shobue suspected an external influence and noticed an anomaly on Yui’s neck.

• Yui separated from her Split Body but found she could no longer merge with her or draw back her power.
• Yui and the Split Body decided to ask Shobue for help, while Nai Hyuga stayed behind to sleep.
• Yui summoned Katsuyu and traveled with the Split Body to Shikkotsu Forest.
• Shobue ruled out the Splitting Technique and suspected external interference.
• Shobue examined Yui’s neck and spotted an anomaly.