Chapter Summaries

Hikaru considered the influx of refugees from the Land of Rain and left their resettlement to the Third Hokage and the Daimyo while he focused on the war. After learning that Hanzo's poison was killing many Iwagakure and Sunagakure ninja, he ordered Tsunade to secretly develop antidotes for it and Sunagakure's Puppet Corps poison.

• Hikaru asked Hatake Sakumo how many refugees were seeking entry into the Land of Fire and agreed that admitting them could bring spies and other dangers.
• Hikaru wrote recommendations for the Third Hokage, requesting more supplies and personnel and urging Konoha to persuade Kumogakure to attack Iwagakure.
• Hikaru ordered his message sent to the Third Hokage and Daimyo, leaving them to handle the refugees while he managed the battlefield.
• Hatake Sakumo reported that Tsunade had warned of Hanzo of the Salamander's strength and potent poison, which had killed many Iwagakure and Sunagakure ninja.
• Hikaru authorized Tsunade to use any needed medicinal materials to develop antidotes for Hanzo's poison and Sunagakure's Puppet Corps poison, and ordered her to work in secret.
• Hatake Sakumo delivered Hikaru's orders and returned to stand by the command headquarters doorway, irritating Hikaru.

As the war devastated the Land of Rain, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade fought off repeated Iwagakure attacks. After their latest battle, Orochimaru wondered whether the three of them could defeat Hanzo of the Salamander together.

• The heavy rain washed over the war-torn Land of Rain as Hikaru stayed away from the battlefield under Hatake Sakumo’s watch.
• Orochimaru restrained a group of Stone Shinobi with Shadow Snake Hand, and Jiraiya killed them with his hair-based attack.
• Tsunade killed an enemy with her strength while Jiraiya and Orochimaru rested and ate their rations after the fourth Iwagakure attack.
• Tsunade threatened to gouge Jiraiya’s eyes out after she caught him staring at her.
• Orochimaru asked whether he, Jiraiya, and Tsunade could defeat Hanzo of the Salamander if they fought together.

Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru discussed Hanzo of the Salamander’s strength before he arrived and praised them as Konoha’s Legendary Sannin across the ages. At the temporary command headquarters, Hikaru received a message from the Uchiha Clan offering to send members to the front lines.

• Tsunade explained that Hikaru had called Hanzo of the Salamander a peak-of-the-era fighter whose poison made him especially formidable.
• Hanzo of the Salamander arrived with Amegakure’s forces and exchanged praise with Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru.
• Hanzo of the Salamander called the trio Konoha’s Legendary Sannin across the ages, and Tsunade redirected the discussion to the enemy’s next attack.
• Hatake Sakumo delivered the Uchiha Clan’s document to Hikaru at the temporary command headquarters.
• Hikaru read the document and learned that the Uchiha Clan wanted to send its members to serve at the front lines.

Hikaru agreed to send 500 Uchiha clan members to the front lines under the Third Elder, but he declined to take responsibility for Fugaku Uchiha’s possible place on the Elder Council. Uchiha Hayashi left with the elders’ proposal answered, while Fugaku’s future remained uncertain.

• Hikaru received Uchiha Hayashi, who brought the elders’ document to the temporary command headquarters.
• Hikaru approved the Uchiha clan’s contribution to the war and told the elders to choose 500 people, led by the Third Elder.
• Uchiha Hayashi grew excited at the chance to leave his guard post and serve on the front lines.
• Hikaru considered Fugaku Uchiha’s bid to join the Elder Council and decided he would not help him gain a place.
• Hikaru told Uchiha Hayashi to inform the elders that Fugaku’s matter was not his responsibility.

Uchiha Hikaru refused to decide whether Fugaku Uchiha could join the Elder Council, leaving the matter to the clan elders under its rules. At the war headquarters, Hikaru heard reports of costly operations against Iwagakure and Sunagakure and learned that Hanzo of the Salamander had named Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru Konoha's Legendary Sannin.

• Hikaru told Uchiha Hayashi that Fugaku Uchiha would need to prove his ability and accomplishments before entering the Elder Council, and he directed the elders to have the Third Elder lead the team.
• Hikaru reminded Hayashi that he was not the Uchiha Clan head and sent him back to Konoha with his message.
• Hatake Sakumo reported that Konoha's forces were fighting alongside Amegakure against Iwagakure and Sunagakure, and that only half of the teams sent into the Land of Earth and Land of Wind had returned.
• Hikaru accepted the losses as sacrifices for the war and reflected that the Third Hokage had ordered him to remain at headquarters and command rather than fight on the front lines.
• Sakumo told Hikaru that Hanzo of the Salamander praised Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru as representatives of their era, giving rise to the title Konoha's Legendary Sannin.

Hikaru and Hatake Sakumo discussed titles while Iwagakure's advance against Amegakure stalled amid Konoha's relentless harassment tactics. Ōnoki raged at his commanders over the losses and the booby-trapped corpses.

• Hikaru joked that Hatake Sakumo should call himself Konoha's White Fang, and Sakumo dismissed the idea of choosing his own title.
• Hikaru listed the strange titles people had given him, including Konoha's monster, Konoha's devil, and a tailed beast without a tail.
• Ōnoki erupted at his commanders because Iwagakure had failed to overcome Amegakure despite its alliance with Sunagakure.
• Hikaru's attacks and sabotage in Iwagakure's rear and flanks helped Amegakure hold its ground and deterred Hanzo of the Salamander from considering betrayal.
• Ōnoki complained that Iwagakure shinobi had been killed by Explosive Tags hidden on corpses they were collecting.

Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage confronted the heavy losses Iwagakure and Sunagakure suffered from Uchiha Hikaru’s traps and corpse-tampering tactics. Ōnoki ordered his forces to advance cautiously, while Grandma Chiyo voiced Sunagakure’s anger over the casualties.

• Ōnoki raged at his commanders after Iwagakure lost more than six hundred people to Hikaru’s tactics.
• Ōnoki ordered his forces to watch for traps and ensure all corpses were buried to prevent disease and protect intelligence.
• Ōnoki acknowledged that Hikaru had badly underestimated him and ordered Iwagakure to advance steadily without falling for Konoha’s tricks.
• The Third Kazekage silently reviewed Sunagakure’s casualty report as Grandma Chiyo complained that Hikaru’s schemes had killed many of their people.

The Third Kazekage ordered Sunagakure’s shinobi to beware of Konoha’s tactics and grew eager to meet Uchiha Hikaru. In Konoha, the senior leadership praised Hikaru’s battlefield strategy for keeping Konoha’s losses low, but concluded that Amegakure’s strength would be badly weakened by the war.

• The Third Kazekage ordered Sunagakure’s forces to watch for Konoha’s underhanded tactics and said he wanted to meet Uchiha Hikaru.
• Konoha’s senior leadership read Hikaru’s battle reports and were stunned by Konoha’s small losses and the heavy losses suffered by Iwagakure and Sunagakure.
• The Third Hokage praised Hikaru for drawing Amegakure into the war and making it bear the brunt of the fighting.
• The Third Hokage said Amegakure had secretly stockpiled war supplies and that the conflict had forced it to use its reserves.
• Konoha’s leaders agreed that Amegakure would be too weakened by the war to threaten Konoha, even under Hanzo of the Salamander.

Konoha's leaders agreed to send another thousand troops to Amegakure, while the Uchiha elders arranged for their clan to join the reinforcements and put the Third Elder in charge of logistics. Mikoto Uchiha demanded that her father let her go to the front lines, but he rebuked her.

• Danzo supported the Third Hokage, and Konoha's leaders agreed that Amegakure was an ally needing support rather than a threat.
• The Third Hokage proposed sending another thousand Konoha troops to the Land of Rain, and the other leaders approved.
• Uchiha Hayashi reported Hikaru's intentions to the clan elders, who began selecting Uchiha for the reinforcements and assigned the Third Elder to manage army logistics.
• Mikoto Uchiha asked her father to let her go to the front lines so she could be near Hikaru, but the Third Elder ordered her to stay in the village and prepare for her graduation exams.
• Mikoto talked back to the Third Elder, insisting that she wanted to go to the front lines.

Mikoto Uchiha was forbidden by her father from leaving Konoha to see Hikaru, while Kushina settled into the Ninja Academy without being bullied. At the front lines, Hikaru proposed repeatedly baiting Iwagakure into large-scale pursuits until its forces let down their guard.

• The Third Elder scolded Mikoto Uchiha and forbade her from leaving the village, so she reluctantly stayed home.
• Uzumaki Kujou and Kushina continued at the Ninja Academy, where Kushina avoided bullying and had little interaction with Minato.
• Konoha's reinforcements departed for the front lines as Hikaru waited at camp and explained tactics to the commanders.
• The commanders argued that Iwagakure and Sunagakure had grown too cautious for Hikaru's deep-bait tactic to work.
• Hikaru proposed using more bait, including Anbu ambushes, to lure Iwagakure into repeated large pursuits and eventually catch it off guard.

Hikaru explained that Iwagakure’s hostility toward Konoha began when Madara Uchiha beat and humiliated Mu and Ōnoki during their attempt to seek an alliance. He ordered the command center to spread the story and provoke Ōnoki, hoping the Tsuchikage would act rashly against Amegakure.

• Hikaru explained why Iwagakure was more likely than Sunagakure to fall for Konoha’s tactic.
• Hikaru described how Mu and Ōnoki had come to Konoha seeking an alliance but were beaten and insulted.
• Tsunade explained how the incident could have fostered hostility throughout Iwagakure.
• Hatake Sakumo identified Madara Uchiha as the person who had humiliated Mu and Ōnoki, and Hikaru confirmed it.
• Hikaru ordered everyone to spread the story to anger Ōnoki and encourage him to attack Amegakure rashly.

Hikaru’s account of Madara Uchiha’s humiliation of Mu and Ōnoki spread across the warring villages, provoking Konoha and Amegakure to mock Iwagakure. Hanzo of the Salamander grew wary of Hikaru and abandoned plans to scheme against him, while the news reached the Third Kazekage’s headquarters.

• Hikaru arranged for the story of Mu and Ōnoki’s failed alliance mission and beating by Madara Uchiha to spread through the camps.
• Konoha’s shinobi mocked Ōnoki, and Amegakure’s shinobi joined in spreading the news.
• Hanzo of the Salamander worried that Hikaru might rival Madara Uchiha or Hashirama Senju and decided not to make him an enemy.
• Sunagakure’s Intelligence Department confirmed the news and brought it to the Third Kazekage, who was reviewing camp supplies.

The Third Kazekage and Iwagakure learned that Uchiha Hikaru had exposed how Madara Uchiha humiliated Mu and Ōnoki, fueling rumors that Iwagakure’s hostility toward Konoha stemmed from Ōnoki’s personal vendetta. Ōnoki raged at the revelation, while Kitsuchi urged him not to let Hikaru’s provocation harm the village.

• The Third Kazekage read a report about Konoha and Iwagakure’s hidden history and wondered why Hikaru had spread the news.
• The rumors reached Iwagakure’s camp, where shinobi debated whether the story was true and worried about Ōnoki’s reaction.
• Ōnoki learned of the revelations and vowed not to forgive Hikaru for exposing his humiliation.
• Kitsuchi warned Ōnoki that reacting recklessly could damage Iwagakure and confirm accusations of personal revenge.
• Ōnoki smashed the stone table as everyone in the command headquarters watched him.

Ōnoki confirmed that the reports about his and Mu’s humiliating encounter with Madara Uchiha were true, then warned that Uchiha Hikaru might be growing into a threat like Madara and Hashirama. He remained determined to fight Konoha and looked forward to facing Hikaru.

• Ōnoki warned Kitsuchi that the reports were meant to provoke Iwagakure and could drive its shinobi to act recklessly against Konoha.
• Ōnoki confirmed that he and his teacher Mu had gone to Konoha seeking an alliance, but Madara Uchiha had defeated them before they could meet Hashirama Senju.
• Ōnoki recalled that Madara’s power and manner had left a lasting impression, and said the old Konoha had been far stronger than the present village.
• Ōnoki said Hikaru’s ability to direct events against Hanzo of the Salamander made him a dangerous sign of Konoha’s growing strength.
• Kitsuchi tried to reassure Ōnoki, who said he believed Iwagakure could defeat Konoha and looked forward to fighting Hikaru.
• Ōnoki’s secretary confirmed that reports from the Land of Whirlpools had identified Hikaru’s ability as Wood Release.

Konoha’s reinforcements arrived at the front line, where Hikaru rallied them and welcomed the Third Elder. Hikaru left the Third Elder with a mountain of paperwork, and the story ended with him sorting and processing it.

• Ōnoki expressed his eagerness to fight Hikaru and witness Wood Release and Susanoo.
• Hikaru welcomed Konoha’s reinforcements with a speech that rallied their morale.
• Hikaru handed personnel arrangements to Hatake Sakumo and brought the Third Elder to the command center.
• Hikaru left the Third Elder with a mountain of pending documents, saying he was better suited to handle them.
• The Third Elder sorted the paperwork, handled what he could, and set aside documents requiring Hikaru’s approval.

Hikaru discussed Konoha’s limited support for Amegakure with Hatake Sakumo and warned that the alliance could collapse as the war dragged on. He ordered more antidotes prepared and expected the battlefield to soon become a free-for-all.

• Hikaru left headquarters with Hatake Sakumo and learned that Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru had departed after resting.
• Hatake Sakumo reported that Amegakure was unhappy with Konoha’s small force of five hundred reinforcements.
• Hikaru said Amegakure could withdraw if it disliked Konoha’s support, and he told Hatake Sakumo to accelerate production of antidotes for Hanzo of the Salamander and Sunagakure’s Puppet Corps.
• Hikaru predicted that Iwagakure and Sunagakure could drive a wedge between Konoha and Amegakure, turning the war into a chaotic free-for-all.
• The war continued to inflict heavy losses on all four villages, with Konoha losing the fewest shinobi and Amegakure and Sunagakure suffering the most.

As the mounting casualties forced Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage to abandon their plan to target Amegakure, they considered approaching Hanzo of the Salamander. Hikaru then heard how Hanzo had refused to help Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru pursue fleeing Iwagakure ninja, and suspected his refusal had a deeper reason.

• Hanzo of the Salamander, Ōnoki, and the Third Kazekage recognized that the rising casualties made the war’s current strategy unsustainable.
• The Third Kazekage and Ōnoki agreed to stop making Amegakure their primary target and shift their focus toward Konoha.
• The Third Kazekage volunteered to contact Hanzo of the Salamander, and Sunagakure dispatched an envoy toward Amegakure.
• Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru returned to Hikaru’s command center, angry that Hanzo had refused to join their pursuit of fleeing Iwagakure ninja.
• Orochimaru explained that Hanzo had claimed his ninja were in poor condition, allowing more than half the Iwagakure group to escape.
• Hikaru wondered whether Hanzo’s refusal had been deliberate, while Orochimaru signaled Tsunade and Jiraiya not to interrupt his thoughts.

Hikaru suspected that Hanzo of the Salamander would take Amegakure out of its alliance with Konoha, and he ordered Konoha's forces to prepare. In Amegakure, Hanzo admitted envoys from Sunagakure as he weighed the cost of the war and his resentment toward Konoha's limited commitment.

• Hikaru told Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru to recall and rest their operatives, warning that Amegakure might switch sides.
• After the others left, Hikaru told Hatake Sakumo he was certain Iwagakure and Sunagakure had offered Hanzo benefits in exchange for Amegakure's neutrality.
• The Third Kazekage sent three envoys from Sunagakure into Amegakure without Konoha noticing.
• Hanzo hesitated over whether to kill the envoys, then ordered his subordinates to let them in and kept their arrival from Konoha.
• Hanzo reflected on Amegakure's heavy losses, his wish to end the war, and his growing resentment that Konoha had committed so few fighters.

Hanzo of the Salamander heard Sunagakure’s offer to compensate Amegakure and recruit it to fight Konoha, after recognizing that Sunagakure and Iwagakure could no longer sustain the war. He laughed at the irony of former enemies asking him to become their ally.

• Hanzo of the Salamander considered how the war had trapped Amegakure and left the Land of Rain as its battlefield.
• Three Sunagakure envoys met Hanzo of the Salamander on the Third Kazekage’s orders and argued that Konoha was using Amegakure.
• Hanzo of the Salamander blamed Sunagakure and Iwagakure for starting the war and attacking Amegakure.
• The envoy captain offered compensation and urged Hanzo of the Salamander to join Sunagakure and Iwagakure in attacking Konoha.
• Hanzo of the Salamander realized the enemy offensive had weakened because Sunagakure and Iwagakure were struggling to sustain the war.
• Hanzo of the Salamander burst into laughter at the proposal to turn former enemies into allies.

Hanzo agreed to withdraw Amegakure and remain neutral only after Sunagakure delivered compensation supplies, refusing to join Sunagakure and Iwagakure in attacking Konoha. After the supplies arrived, Hikaru discovered that the enemy forces were regrouping to turn their attention toward Konoha.

• Hanzo told the three Sunagakure envoys that Amegakure would remain neutral only after he received the compensation supplies, and refused to attack Konoha.
• The three envoys reported Hanzo's terms to the Third Kazekage, who accepted that Amegakure's neutrality would let Sunagakure and Iwagakure focus on Konoha.
• Amegakure secretly began preparing to withdraw while Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru remained unaware of Hanzo's plan.
• After the compensation supplies arrived, Hanzo began gathering Amegakure's forces, angering Tsunade and the others.
• Hikaru read the intelligence his people had gathered and learned that Sunagakure and Iwagakure were withdrawing from Amegakure's positions to regroup and prepare to attack Konoha.