Chapter Summaries

Gua returned home after Izumi left without coming inside, prompting disappointment from his family and Orochimaru. Orochimaru then took Gua to the Hokage Building and asked to draw a vial of his blood.

• Gua failed to invite Izumi inside, and she ran off before he could catch up with her.
• Uchiha Nai, Uchiha Oyama, and Orochimaru reproached Gua, while Anko questioned Kabuto and joked about Izumi's reaction.
• Uchiha Nai served lunch to Orochimaru and Anko, and the group ate together.
• Orochimaru proposed taking Gua to the Third Hokage, and Uchiha Oyama agreed that Lord Third would want to see him.
• Orochimaru sent Anko and Kabuto to the laboratory, then asked Gua whether he could draw a vial of his blood.

Gua returned to Konoha with Orochimaru and met the Third Hokage, who praised his contributions on the Iwagakure front. The Third said Gua’s reward was ready, but had not yet revealed what it was.

• Gua agreed to let Orochimaru draw his blood at the laboratory after they returned.
• Konoha learned that Fugaku had awakened his Mangekyo, used Susanoo to defeat the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, and driven Iwagakure’s forces back to Nian River.
• Gua and Orochimaru entered the Hokage Office, where the Third and Shikaku stopped their discussion to look at Gua.
• The Third thanked Gua for his work on the Iwagakure front, and Gua modestly replied that he had only done what he should.
• Orochimaru urged the Third to tell Gua about his reward, and the Third said it was ready.

The Third rewarded Gua for his battlefield role and spoke privately with him about his Mangekyo and the growing tension between the Uchiha and Konoha. Gua promised to remember that the clan and village were one family, while the Third chose to trust him and hoped Konoha would prosper alongside the Uchiha.

• The Third gave Gua one million ryo, an S-rank mission accomplishment, and the chance to choose a ninjutsu from the Scroll of Seals.
• The Third asked Gua to reveal his Mangekyo abilities, but Gua hesitated, and the Third told him he did not need to disclose them.
• The Third warned Gua that conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha would devastate both, and asked him to remember their bond if he gained enough power to threaten the village.
• Gua sincerely promised to remember the Third's words and said he did not want Konoha destroyed.
• After Gua left, Shikaku questioned the Third's decision to trust him, and the Third said he hoped Konoha would prosper alongside the Uchiha.

Gua accompanied Orochimaru to his laboratory, where Orochimaru showed him his research on Hashirama cells and a blue solution derived from them. The solution made an injected mouse become violently strong, leaving Gua stunned by its effects.

• Gua and Orochimaru arrived at the laboratory, where Anko showed Kabuto inventions such as a bicycle and an upgraded refrigerator.
• Anko and Kabuto left together, while Gua wondered whether they were dating and privately resented Kabuto’s closeness with Anko.
• Orochimaru led Gua into a separate laboratory and revealed that he was studying Hashirama cells rather than experimenting on human bodies.
• Orochimaru explained that he had processed Hashirama cells to make a blue pill and a solution intended to increase cellular activity.
• Orochimaru injected the blue solution into a mouse, which went berserk and overpowered the other mice, astonishing Gua.

Orochimaru showed Gua his experiments with Hashirama cells, including a cloned White Zetsu, and a new approach to Dust Release. Gua was impressed by Orochimaru’s research and was still waiting to have his blood drawn when the chapter ended.

• Orochimaru showed Gua an injectable serum made from Hashirama cells, and Gua questioned its effects.
• Orochimaru revealed that he had cloned a White Zetsu from the white arm his teacher had given him and kept it sedated while he studied it.
• Gua praised Orochimaru’s cloning research, encouraging him to pursue that direction instead of focusing on the serum.
• Orochimaru showed Gua his notes on adapting Dust Release into a palm-sized technique that could disintegrate an opponent’s ninjutsu.
• Gua was stunned by Orochimaru’s idea of using the Dust Release technique to destroy Minato Namikaze’s Rasengan and continue disintegrating what lay behind it.

Gua obtained Orochimaru’s copied Dust Release analysis, then maxed out the Eight Gates Released Formation and replaced it with Chakra Extraction in his training slots. The next day, he visited Izumi, who angrily asked whether she had looked ugly when she was disheveled.

• Gua asked Orochimaru to copy his research, received the Dust Release analysis, and let him draw a blood sample for testing.
• At home, Gua discovered that the Eight Gates Released Formation had reached its limit and replaced it with Chakra Extraction in his idle-training slots.
• After sleeping in, Gua left to visit Izumi, Naruto, and Karin Uzumaki and her mother.
• Izumi appeared disheveled at the door, then shut it and hurried to get ready while Gua waited outside.
• Gua entered Izumi’s home and accidentally opened her bedroom door, prompting her to throw a fox plush at him and scold him.
• Izumi came out in her Uchiha Uniform and asked whether she had looked ugly while disheveled; Gua nodded, then hurriedly shook his head.

Gua told Izumi about his time on the battlefield and agreed to share his Mangekyo abilities, but Izumi insisted he keep them secret. Confused by her affectionate behavior, Gua told his mother Nai what happened, and she said Izumi likely trusted him and that he might be falling in love.

• Izumi asked Gua to recount his time on the battlefield, and he told her about Kabuto's capture, his trip to the Land of Rain, and awakening his Mangekyo.
• Gua agreed to tell Izumi about his Mangekyo abilities because she was important to him, but Izumi told him to keep them secret.
• Izumi teased and doted on Gua, leaving him bewildered about how their relationship had changed.
• Gua went home and told Nai everything that had happened with Izumi.
• Nai laughed that Gua was about to fall in love and explained that Izumi's ease around him likely meant she trusted him.

Gua went looking for Naruto and found him painting door gods on doors throughout the Sarutobi Clan Compound, then invited him to visit Karin. They discovered Naruto had painted two door gods on Karin's door as well.

• Gua visited Naruto's home but found him gone, then headed toward the Sarutobi Clan Compound to look for Karin and her mother.
• Gua found Naruto painting door gods on the Third Generation's front door and watched him finish the prank before running off.
• Naruto returned to Gua and said he had become friends with Kiba and liked Sakura; he rejected Gua's suggestion that Hinata was nice.
• Gua invited Naruto to visit Karin, and they found two freshly painted door gods on her door.

Gua and Naruto helped Rin Uzumaki and Karin clean their new home, then Gua took Karin and Naruto to Ichiraku for ramen. Karin began eating after Gua reassured her that she did not owe him anything.

• Naruto admitted he had painted door gods on Karin’s family’s entrance, and Gua explained that he had not done it.
• Karin welcomed Gua and Naruto inside, where Gua and Naruto helped Rin clean the house for most of the day.
• Gua asked Karin to walk him home, then invited her and Naruto to eat ramen.
• Karin hesitated because she had no money, but Gua told her to treat the meal as repayment for the money he had owed Kakashi.
• At Ichiraku, Naruto ordered three bowls, Karin ordered one, and Teuchi offered Karin’s bowl for free.
• Karin quietly thanked Teuchi and leaned over her bowl to eat.

Gua gave Karin money to help her and her mother, then returned home and started his second year at Konoha’s school. Itachi told him that Iwagakure wanted peace talks with Konoha.

• Gua gave Karin a pouch of money and told her to open it once she got home.
• Karin’s mother, Rin Uzumaki, told her to accept Gua’s kindness and remember to repay it someday.
• Gua took Naruto home, then worried that he had given away all his pocket money.
• Gua attended the start of the school year with Itachi and ignored Ye Chuan Dahei’s speech.
• Itachi told Gua that Iwagakure wanted to negotiate peace with Konoha, and Gua said he was not surprised after Konoha’s forces had reached the Nian River.

Gua went to the Hokage Office after school and chose to study Flying Thunder God from the Scroll of Seals. Meanwhile, Danzo learned that Iwagakure would soon negotiate peace and that tensions between Kumogakure and Jiraiya were escalating.

• Gua questioned whether Iwagakure's peace negotiations meant the war was over, and Gua doubted the fighting would end while Jiraiya remained deployed.
• After school, Gua visited the Third Hokage, received the Scroll of Seals, and chose Flying Thunder God to study.
• Danzo brooded over Konoha's victory against Iwagakure, the Uchiha's growing power, and Sunagakure's failure to join the war.
• A shinobi told Danzo that Sunagakure had stayed out of the conflict to protect the One-Tail and because Iwagakure had not coordinated with them.
• Danzo learned that Ōnoki's peace delegation would arrive in a few days and that Kumogakure's confrontation with Jiraiya was intensifying.

After Akatsuki captured the One-Tail, Sunagakure threatened the Land of Rain, which threatened Konoha in turn, while Kumogakure demanded the Byakugan and Iwagakure stalled peace talks. Hiruzen Sarutobi tried to prevent a wider war, but his efforts failed, leaving him asking Shikaku Nara what to do next.

• Obito Uchiha and Sasori captured Gaara and extracted the One-Tail, but Rasa and Sunagakure forces recovered Gaara's body after a costly battle; Granny Chiyo's treatment left Gaara in a vegetative state.
• Rasa declared war on the Land of Rain, and Pain warned that if Sunagakure attacked, the Land of Rain would attack Konoha.
• Ōnoki delayed Iwagakure's peace talks, while Kumogakure massed troops and demanded that Konoha hand over the Byakugan.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shikaku Nara agreed to appease Kumogakure, reduce Iwagakure's compensation, and mediate between Sunagakure and the Land of Rain.
• Hiruzen failed to persuade Hyuga Hiashi to surrender a Byakugan, Rasa rejected mediation, and Pain dismissed Konoha's efforts.
• Ōnoki sent a letter promising compensation but postponing the peace delegation indefinitely, prompting Hiruzen to ask Shikaku what they should do.

The Third Hokage and Shikaku struggled to respond to worsening tensions among the shinobi nations while Gua kept studying despite his parents’ worries. After days of working through Orochimaru’s simplified Dust Release notes, Gua finally succeeded at something.

• The Third Hokage and Shikaku agreed to deploy defenses along the borders with Iwagakure and Sunagakure while continuing to seek peace with Iwagakure.
• Gua heard reports of rising tensions involving Iwagakure, Sunagakure, the Land of Rain, and Kumogakure, then continued studying Flying Thunder God and Dust Release.
• Nai and Uchiha Oyama worried that Gua’s intense studying was a reaction to his battlefield experience and asked Oyama to encourage him to take a break.
• Oyama suggested that Gua read for fun, but Gua insisted on studying and sent his father out of the room.
• After several days passed, Gua sprang up from his desk and announced that he had succeeded.

Gua added Dust Release to his idle-training system, but his first attempt produced only a faint speck of dust. At school, Itachi told him that unfamiliar shinobi had been visiting Fugaku, leaving Gua worried that the Uchiha clan leader might be plotting to defect.

• Gua pretended a cockroach had startled him, and Nai took away his Dust Release notes while telling him to stop studying and go to sleep.
• After his parents left, Gua replaced Chakra Extraction with Dust Release in his system and began training the new ability overnight.
• Gua tested Dust Release the next morning, but it barely produced a speck of dust, so he decided to keep training it on idle.
• Nai and Dashan worried about Gua and urged him to stay home, but he insisted on going to school.
• Itachi told Gua that Sasuke missed him and suggested bringing Sasuke out to play, then explained that unfamiliar shinobi had recently been visiting Fugaku.
• Gua wondered whether Fugaku was planning to defect and feared that events were veering off course.

Danzo learned that Kumogakure had obtained a Byakugan from his former laboratory and tried to push Fugaku toward war, while Gua worried about Fugaku’s intentions and continued studying the Flying Thunder God. The chapter ended with Gua finding the latest Icha Icha Paradise books in his room and pocketing them.

• Danzo learned that Kumogakure had acquired a Byakugan from his former laboratory and angrily blamed Hiruzen for taking the benefits of his work.
• Danzo ordered a shinobi to tell Fugaku that war was necessary if the Uchiha leader wanted to achieve his goals.
• Gua worried that Fugaku might be plotting against Konoha, then overheard an Anbu report that Fugaku had been meeting with unrecorded shinobi.
• The Third Hokage told Gua to stop coming to the Hokage Office because he had already learned the Flying Thunder God.
• Gua went home and wrote down what he remembered about the Flying Thunder God before Uchiha Nai and Uchiha Oyama worried that he was overworking himself.
• Gua found two new copies of Icha Icha Paradise in his room and slipped them into his pocket.

Gua visited Itachi’s home to observe Fugaku and spotted a masked shinobi he suspected belonged to Danzo’s Root. After playfully wrestling with Little Sasuke, Gua watched Itachi train, and Little Sasuke returned with a stick to challenge him.

• Gua visited Fugaku’s house without warning and wrestled with Little Sasuke, who told him Itachi was training in the backyard.
• Gua saw a masked shinobi enter Fugaku’s house and suspected the shinobi was one of Danzo’s surviving loyalists.
• Gua found Itachi doing push-ups and learned he had been using Little Sasuke as a training weight.
• Little Sasuke threw a tantrum after Gua admitted he had come because he was bored, then ran off when Gua approached him with a stick.
• Little Sasuke returned carrying a thick stick and challenged Gua to a fight to the death.

Gua worried that Fugaku’s actions alongside Danzo could lead to a coup, while continuing to train his Chakra Extraction and Dust Release. At home, his parents revealed that Fugaku had volunteered to go to Kumogakure.

• Gua left Itachi’s house after questioning Itachi about the visitors who had met Fugaku.
• Gua wondered whether Fugaku could become Hokage and feared that a coup would provoke an invasion.
• Gua trained his Flying Thunder God over the weekend, then heard that Fugaku and Danzo had entered the Hokage Building together.
• Gua showed Itachi a small sphere of Dust Release, and Itachi guessed that Gua had a system.
• Gua’s parents admitted that Fugaku had gone to the Hokage Office with Danzo and revealed that Fugaku had volunteered to go to Kumogakure.

Gua learned that Fugaku wanted to escalate the war to gain power, while Rasa hurried to attack the Land of Rain before Konoha could act. As Sunagakure invaded, Obito revealed that he had prepared the Land of Water as an escape route for Akatsuki.

• Uchiha Oyama told Gua that Fugaku wanted war because he had ambitions of his own, and Gua returned to his room to secretly keep studying Flying Thunder God.
• Rasa heard that Fugaku and Danzo were pressuring Hiruzen to fight, feared Konoha would gain the advantage, and ordered Sunagakure to attack the Land of Rain.
• Nagato and Konan discussed whether Akatsuki should attack Konoha or flee, then asked where Obito had been.
• Obito returned and said he had prepared the Land of Water as a place for Akatsuki to relocate if war broke out.

Sunagakure invaded the Land of Rain, and Amegakure retaliated by attacking Konoha, prompting the Third Generation to plan a counteroffensive. He sent Fugaku to command the Land of Rain front, while Gua learned of the fighting and went home to keep training Flying Thunder God.

• Sunagakure invaded the Land of Rain, and Amegakure turned to attack Konoha as its forces retreated.
• The Third Generation ordered a pincer attack on Amegakure but worried that sending Shikaku Nara and Choza Akimichi away would leave Konoha vulnerable to the Hyuga and Uchiha clans.
• Shikaku Nara advised the Third Generation to send Fugaku to the Land of Rain front, which he considered less important than the other fronts.
• Itachi told Izumi and Gua that his father had left on an assignment and would not return soon.
• Gua suspected Fugaku was heading to command the Land of Rain front, then went home to continue training Flying Thunder God.

Fugaku led Konoha’s small force in an attack on the Land of Rain, leaving Nagato caught between Konoha and Sunagakure. Meanwhile, Obito encountered the resurrected Isobu at sea and ordered the Three-Tails to surrender.

• Fugaku rallied Konoha’s shinobi and used Susanoo to rout the Land of Rain forces attacking their position.
• Nagato learned Konoha had joined the fight and, despite Konan’s warning about Fugaku’s strength, decided he had to face him himself.
• Nagato and Konan agreed they could only stall until Obito returned, with retreat into the Land of Water as a fallback.
• Obito spotted Isobu in the sea between Konoha and the Land of Water and vanished from his boat using Intangibility.
• Obito appeared on Isobu’s head, resisted the Three-Tails’ attempts to shake him off, and commanded it to surrender.