Chapter Summaries

Hikaru led Konoha Anbu in ambushing and killing enemy squads from Sunagakure and Iwagakure along the Land of Rain border. He expected the killings to bring reinforcements and escalate the conflict, and wondered how Hanzo of the Salamander would respond.

• Hikaru's Anbu surrounded a three-man Sunagakure squad with a sealing barrier and killed them in the rain.
• Hikaru ordered the bodies buried and moved his team toward the next group of enemies.
• Hikaru's forces cleared enemy squads throughout the night while the downpour washed away traces of battle.
• Hikaru told the Anbu to rest, predicting that Sunagakure and Iwagakure would send more forces and Konoha would respond.
• Hikaru wondered whether Hanzo of the Salamander would react to the growing conflict.

Hikaru sent the Third Hokage a plan, received tacit approval, and built wooden shelters for his troops as rain battered the border. Meanwhile, Konoha Anbu began stirring up trouble in the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind, and Hatake Sakumo staged an attack on a Sunagakure caravan to spread the claim that war had begun.

• Hikaru sent his plan to the Third Hokage by hawk and used Wood Release to build wooden houses for the troops.
• The Third Hokage read Hikaru's scroll, kept its contents secret, and gave no reply, which Hikaru understood as permission to proceed.
• Two Anbu squads entered the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind to cause trouble along their main trade routes.
• Hatake Sakumo hid with his squad and ordered them to stage a conspicuous attack on a caravan without killing anyone, taking or destroying its goods.
• Hatake Sakumo's squad set off an Explosive Tag near a Sunagakure caravan, then claimed the Land of Wind had invaded the Land of Fire and warned the caravan members to flee.

Hatake Sakumo’s squad spread rumors of war by driving off merchants and destroying supplies bound for Sunagakure, while another Anbu squad stirred up panic in the Land of Earth. The rumors reached Iwagakure, where Ōnoki was told that war had broken out and civilians began fleeing toward the village.

• Hatake Sakumo’s squad frightened merchants into fleeing, then burned their food supplies so they could not reach Sunagakure.
• Hatake Sakumo led his squad away to let the merchants spread rumors that war had begun.
• Anbu squads in the Land of Earth beat and killed merchants and destroyed their goods before leaving the country.
• Ōnoki worried that the squads he had sent to provoke Konoha had been wiped out after two days without news.
• An Intelligence Department shinobi burst into Ōnoki’s office and reported that Konoha had mobilized for war and sent forces into the Land of Earth.
• Civilians near the border fled deeper into the Land of Earth as rumors of Konoha’s invasion spread.

Hikaru escalated Konoha’s border response to Iwagakure and Sunagakure, prompting Iwagakure to mobilize its army and bringing the threat of war closer. Hanzo of the Salamander learned that Amegakure could be caught in the conflict and worried that the Land of Rain would be devastated.

• An Intelligence Department agent told Ōnoki that Konoha ninja were attacking caravans in the Land of Earth and claiming Konoha had mobilized at the border.
• Ōnoki ordered Iwagakure’s army to assemble and commanded a sweep to kill Konoha ninja inside the Land of Earth.
• Hikaru sent more than a hundred people to provoke trouble near the borders of the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind, then sent intelligence to Konoha and requested troops for the border.
• Hanzo of the Salamander received reports that Iwagakure and Sunagakure might go to war with Konoha and feared the conflict would ravage Amegakure and the Land of Rain.

Hanzo of the Salamander decided to meet the leaders of Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Konoha to try to keep their coming war from devastating the Land of Rain. Konoha sent a large army to the border, where all three villages’ forces faced off without crossing into the Land of Rain, while Danzo used the distraction to advance his secret plans.

• Hanzo of the Salamander ordered his subordinate to monitor all three villages and decided he needed to meet their leaders to protect the Land of Rain.
• The Third Hokage gathered Konoha’s leaders and approved sending troops to the border after learning that Iwagakure and Sunagakure were mobilizing.
• The Third Hokage sent two thousand shinobi, led by Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru, toward the border.
• Danzo took advantage of the Anbu deployment and the village’s focus on the Land of Rain to advance his secret plans.
• The armies of Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Konoha reached the border but held back from entering the Land of Rain.

Hikaru took charge of Konoha’s battlefield preparations, while the Third Hokage trusted him to lead without a rival commander causing internal discord. The chapter ended with Hatake Sakumo reluctantly taking responsibility for organizing the two thousand arrivals and their supplies.

• The Third Hokage decided to leave battlefield decisions to Hikaru, trusting his ability and wanting the younger generation to gain experience in the war.
• Hikaru, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Hatake Sakumo mocked Jiraiya’s bulky green armor and explained that it would hinder him in the rain without protecting him from explosions or ninjutsu.
• Hikaru ordered Hatake Sakumo to arrange the two thousand people who had arrived from the village and handle their supplies and other affairs.
• Hatake Sakumo accepted the assignment reluctantly, knowing he had little experience organizing so many people.

Hikaru put Hatake Sakumo in charge of Konoha’s personnel and supplies so he could learn through experience, while planning to eventually recruit the Uchiha clan’s Third Elder. Konoha’s two-thousand-ninja force reached the border and checked Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage’s advance into the Land of Rain, as Ōnoki received secret intelligence from Sunagakure.

• Hikaru explained why Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade were unsuited to manage supplies and personnel, then assigned Orochimaru to fight and Hatake Sakumo to handle the administration.
• Hatake Sakumo struggled to organize Konoha’s two thousand ninja and drew complaints, while Hikaru left him to learn from his mistakes.
• Hikaru considered Mikoto Uchiha’s father, the Uchiha clan’s Third Elder, the best future choice to manage affairs, but decided to wait until the clan grew more eager to contribute.
• Konoha’s two-thousand-ninja army reached the border, causing Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage to halt their planned advance into the Land of Rain.
• Ōnoki regretted not having Hikaru assassinated when he was younger, then received intelligence from Sunagakure marked for the Third Tsuchikage’s eyes only.

Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage exchanged empty promises while each planned to use the other to wear down Konoha. As both villages waited for Konoha to make the first move, Hatake Sakumo struggled under the workload Hikaru had assigned him.

• Ōnoki dismissed the Third Kazekage’s request but sent Sunagakure a message promising Iwagakure’s cooperation.
• The Third Kazekage and Grandma Chiyo recognized that Ōnoki intended to use Sunagakure, and Chiyo mocked Konoha for placing Uchiha Hikaru in charge.
• The Third Kazekage questioned Konoha’s quiet stance and decided to wait for Konoha or Ōnoki to act first.
• The Third Kazekage and Ōnoki underestimated Hanzo of the Salamander and Amegakure’s potential influence on the war.
• Hatake Sakumo handled personnel, supplies, and mobilization under Hikaru’s orders, becoming exhausted while Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade were relieved to avoid the work.

Hikaru learned that Hanzo of the Salamander had come to the camp to request an audience, and decided to meet the Amegakure leader. Hanzo approached Hikaru despite the risks, hoping to avoid provoking Konoha while seeking an audience with its powerful minister.

• Hikaru explained that enemy forces were unlikely to attack the supply convoys before the great war began, and that Anbu escorts would protect them.
• An Anbu reported that Hanzo of the Salamander, leader of Amegakure, had requested an audience with Hikaru.
• Hikaru decided to meet Hanzo and set off with Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade.
• Hikaru considered Hanzo a possible ally against Iwagakure and Sunagakure, while reflecting that he still needed greater power to match Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.
• Hanzo came to the camp despite the possibility of being insulted or attacked, and approached Hikaru with deference because Amegakure was a small village.

Uchiha Hikaru met Hanzo of the Salamander, who wanted Konoha to keep the war from spreading into the Land of Rain. Hikaru agreed to keep Konoha's forces out if Hanzo could persuade Iwagakure and Sunagakure to do the same, while Hanzo promised to investigate Amegakure's seizure of Konoha supplies.

• Uchiha Hikaru met Hanzo of the Salamander with Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru, and mocked Hanzo's guardedness and demigod title.
• Hanzo asked why Konoha had assembled a large army near the Land of Rain, and Hikaru denied that Konoha had entered the country and defended its actions as self-defense.
• Hikaru told Hanzo that Konoha would stay out of the Land of Rain if Hanzo persuaded Iwagakure and Sunagakure not to use it as a battlefield.
• Hikaru confronted Hanzo about Amegakure intercepting Konoha caravans and stockpiling supplies, and Hanzo claimed he would investigate.
• Hanzo promised to return double the supplies if the accusation proved true, while Hikaru said Konoha did not need them and accepted the agreement.

Uchiha Hikaru explained that he had offered Hanzo of the Salamander a deal not to make Amegakure an ally, but to turn it against Iwagakure and Sunagakure once war began. Hanzo set out to seek talks with those villages, while Ōnoki received word that someone had come to see him.

• Hanzo of the Salamander left after Hikaru refused to return the supplies and told him to go.
• Tsunade questioned letting Hanzo leave, and Hikaru explained that he was testing whether Amegakure could be drawn against Iwagakure and Sunagakure.
• Hikaru told Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru that an alliance with Amegakure was impossible, but Hanzo could still be made to resist Konoha's enemies.
• Hanzo understood Hikaru's intention and decided to approach Iwagakure and Sunagakure, hoping to persuade them to keep the war out of the Land of Rain.
• Hikaru returned with Konoha's group, expecting Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage to eventually approach Konoha.
• A visitor requested an audience with Ōnoki as he studied a map in his tent.

Ōnoki rejected Hanzo of the Salamander’s request to meet unless he returned Iwagakure’s caravan and entered the camp alone, prompting Hanzo to abandon his attempt to persuade the villages. Meanwhile, Hikaru’s forces carried out raids along the borders, and Konoha’s people began causing trouble in Iwagakure’s rear area.

• Ōnoki demanded that Hanzo of the Salamander return the caravan’s people and supplies, pay compensation, and enter the Iwagakure camp alone.
• Hanzo of the Salamander killed the messenger in a rage after hearing Ōnoki’s conditions.
• Hanzo of the Salamander abandoned his effort to persuade Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage.
• Hikaru’s agents followed his orders to raid border settlements, set fires, and steal without killing civilians.
• Konoha’s forces caused chaos in the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth, and Iwagakure received a report that they had entered its rear area.

Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure began a covert contest between reconnaissance squads while Hikaru tried to keep Amegakure from viewing Konoha as an enemy. After Amegakure fought alongside Konoha against their rivals, Ōnoki concluded that Amegakure had allied with Konoha and urged the Third Kazekage to strike before the wider war began.

• Ōnoki ordered Iwagakure forces to suppress Konoha's infiltrators in the Land of Earth, while the Third Kazekage ordered Sunagakure forces to do the same in the Land of Wind.
• Iwagakure and Sunagakure sent reconnaissance squads into the Land of Rain, and Hikaru sent Anbu with orders to avoid antagonizing Amegakure.
• Konoha's Anbu clashed with enemy scouts, suffering casualties while Iwagakure and Sunagakure lost several times more people.
• Hanzo of the Salamander brought Amegakure into the conflict after its ninja were killed by Iwagakure and Sunagakure, while Konoha's forces continued to avoid targeting Amegakure.
• Ōnoki received reports that Konoha and Amegakure had fought together against Sunagakure and had let each other pass, so he urged the Third Kazekage to attack before the great war began.

Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage agreed that Amegakure had become a threat and considered joining forces to attack it. Meanwhile, Hikaru entered Amegakure with Sakumo to win Hanzo over, leaving Hanzo intrigued by the brazen visit.

• Ōnoki decided to destroy Amegakure before dealing with Konoha, believing it had allied with Uchiha Hikaru.
• The Third Kazekage reviewed Sunagakure's heavy losses and considered eliminating Amegakure to reduce pressure on his forces.
• Ōnoki sent the Third Kazekage a message proposing a meeting to discuss troop deployment.
• Hikaru entered Amegakure with Hatake Sakumo, insisting that they had come to win the village over rather than fight it.
• Hikaru ordered a large meal at a restaurant and packed half of every dish to take back for his comrades.
• Hanzo of the Salamander learned that Hikaru was dining in Amegakure and realized he was seeking a meeting.

Uchiha Hikaru tried to persuade Hanzo of the Salamander to ally Amegakure with Konoha against Iwagakure and Sunagakure. Hanzo recognized the threat to Amegakure and asked how they would cooperate, but the chapter left the terms unresolved.

• Uchiha Hikaru finished eating and sent Hatake Sakumo outside with the packed food before Hanzo of the Salamander arrived.
• Hanzo of the Salamander entered the restaurant after checking for an ambush and confronted Hikaru about relaxing while enemy armies approached.
• Hikaru warned Hanzo that Iwagakure and Sunagakure were targeting Amegakure and suggested that their villages join forces.
• Hikaru began to leave, prompting Hanzo to ask how they could ally without either side commanding the other.
• Hikaru proposed joining forces against Iwagakure and Sunagakure, while making clear that neither leader would submit to the other's command.

Hikaru told Hatake Sakumo that Konoha would let Iwagakure and Sunagakure weaken Amegakure before intervening, rather than genuinely helping Hanzo of the Salamander. Meanwhile, Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage met to discuss whether Amegakure had truly allied with Konoha.

• Hikaru left Amegakure with Hatake Sakumo after warning Hanzo of the Salamander that Iwagakure and Sunagakure would soon make their move.
• Hikaru explained that Konoha would let Amegakure and its enemies wear each other down, then step in to benefit from the conflict.
• Hikaru and Hatake Sakumo returned to camp, where Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru ate the food they had brought back.
• Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage met with a few companions to discuss Amegakure's apparent alliance with Konoha.
• Ōnoki estimated that there was a seventy percent chance Amegakure had joined forces with Konoha.

Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage decided to strike Amegakure before confronting Konoha, and Amegakure’s preparations triggered the Second Ninja War two years early. As Iwagakure and Sunagakure attacked, Hanzo requested Konoha’s aid, and Hikaru convened his commanders to decide how to respond.

• Ōnoki argued that Iwagakure and Sunagakure had to cripple Amegakure before fighting Konoha, and the Third Kazekage agreed to prepare for an early attack.
• Two days later, Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage learned that Amegakure was preparing for war and began their operation against it.
• Hikaru gathered intelligence across Amegakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure as the Second Ninja War erupted in Konoha Year 30.
• Iwagakure and Sunagakure sent shinobi into Amegakure, and Hanzo mobilized his forces while repeatedly requesting Konoha’s assistance.
• Hikaru asked Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Hatake Sakumo, and the other commanders how Konoha should respond to Hanzo’s requests.

After Iwagakure and Sunagakure launched a major assault on Amegakure, Hikaru decided Konoha had to intervene to keep Amegakure from collapsing while still limiting its strength. He ordered Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru to lead a carefully limited relief force into the Land of Rain.

• Hatake Sakumo urged Hikaru to send reinforcements because Amegakure could not withstand Iwagakure and Sunagakure's combined attack.
• Hikaru considered the competing views in the command center and decided to support Amegakure after learning it had suffered heavy losses.
• Hikaru ordered Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru to lead five hundred ninja to reinforce Amegakure without committing too deeply.

Hikaru abandoned his plan to attack Iwagakure’s camp with Wood Release after his subordinates insisted he remain at headquarters, leaving him to handle the war’s administrative burden. Back in Konoha, Uchiha elders worried that their clan was being left out of the war as personnel and supplies were mobilized.

• Hikaru ordered three subordinates to take authority, left five hundred people in camp, and planned to lead a thousand on a raid against Ōnoki’s camp.
• Tsunade and the other officers opposed Hikaru leaving headquarters, so he shelved his plan to turn the enemy camp into a forest.
• Hikaru complained about managing the war and the Nara Clan’s reluctance to step forward, then faced a mountain of paperwork at headquarters.
• Uchiha elders discussed how the clan had sent few people to the front despite growing troop and supply movements in Konoha.
• The Fifth Elder lamented that the Uchiha Clan had no patriarch, that the Great Elder was ill, and that Uchiha Hikaru was away and ignoring clan decisions.

The Uchiha elders struggled to make clan decisions without Uchiha Hikaru and asked the Third Elder to bring their proposals to him. Meanwhile, Konoha’s reinforcements joined Hanzo of the Salamander in the Land of Rain as Hikaru coordinated efforts to weaken the invading Iwagakure and Sunagakure forces.

• The Fifth Elder asked the Third Elder to contact Hikaru about clan affairs and sending younger Uchiha to the front lines for merit.
• The elders debated Fugaku Uchiha’s proposed place on the Elder Council and agreed to leave the decision to Hikaru.
• Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru led five hundred Konoha shinobi to meet Hanzo of the Salamander and coordinate their defense against Iwagakure and Sunagakure.
• Hikaru sent several hundred shinobi to harass enemy forces and divert pressure from Amegakure and Konoha’s troops.
• Iwagakure and Sunagakure’s forces raided civilians for supplies whenever their units were scattered or resupply failed.