Chapter Summaries

Gojo Satoru and Kakashi were sent by the Third Hokage to investigate a hidden laboratory Orochimaru had abandoned. At Root Base, Danzo ordered his men to take Kakashi’s Sharingan and Gojo Satoru’s eyes.

• Kakashi questioned Gojo Satoru about wearing a blindfold beneath his mask, and Gojo insisted it was his true form.
• The Third Hokage told Gojo Satoru and Kakashi that Orochimaru had left secret laboratories in the country and asked them to investigate a newly discovered facility.
• Danzo revealed that the Sharingan in his eye had been exhausted and ordered Root members to find him a replacement.
• Danzo identified Kakashi as a target because he had no parents or teacher left and possessed a Sharingan.
• Danzo ordered his men to take the eyes of Uchiha Satoru as well, motivated by Gojo Satoru’s earlier insult.

Danzo questioned Hiruzen about the investigation of Orochimaru's abandoned hideout while privately plotting to take Uchiha Satoru's eyes. At the hideout, Gojo Satoru and Kakashi triggered a trap and encountered A, who said he was there on a mission.

• Danzo asked Hiruzen whether the hideout had been found and whether the investigators were reliable.
• Hiruzen said he had sent two dependable shinobi, including a novice with an unusually high mission success rate.
• Danzo realized Hiruzen meant Uchiha Satoru and resolved to take his eyes.
• Gojo Satoru and Kakashi reached Orochimaru's hideout, and Gojo warned Kakashi about the sealing strip on the laboratory door.
• Kakashi cut the strip loose from a distance, triggering an explosion that revealed A.
• Kakashi recognized A and questioned his presence, while A calmly said he had a mission.

Gojo Satoru taunted A about Danzo's intentions, while Kakashi insisted that comrades should not be suspected or killed on a whim. A's uncertainty gave way to renewed resolve, and he apologized to Kakashi.

• Kakashi questioned A about Root's mission to investigate Orochimaru's experimental facilities, but A stayed silent as Gojo Satoru inspected him.
• Gojo Satoru accused Danzo of targeting him and suggested A might have come to take Kakashi's head.
• Kakashi rebuked Gojo Satoru for joking about a comrade and said he would not let one die in front of him.
• A briefly doubted Danzo's claims about Kakashi, then hardened his resolve and apologized to Kakashi.

A attacked Kakashi after Danzo told him Kakashi had killed his teammate, Rin Nohara, while Uchiha Satoru challenged A’s accusations. Explosives and a group of attackers interrupted them, and A was left wondering why Kakashi had saved him.

• A attacked Kakashi, who blocked his strikes while Uchiha Satoru accused Danzo of using his position to pursue a personal grudge.
• A bound Kakashi with Wood Release, but Kakashi escaped with a substitution and restrained A at shuriken point.
• A accused Kakashi of killing Rin Nohara, and Kakashi froze as memories of her death returned.
• Uchiha Satoru questioned whether Kakashi was a traitor and asked A whether Danzo had also ordered him to kill Satoru.
• Explosive-tagged kunai struck the abandoned laboratory, and Kakashi shoved A out of danger before a group of attackers rushed Kakashi and Uchiha Satoru.
• A stared at the battle and wondered why Kakashi had saved him.

A turned against Root and protected Gojo Satoru and Kakashi, but the fighting was interrupted when a giant python emerged from the collapsing laboratory. Kakashi and A tried to stop it, and Gojo Satoru leaped onto its head to help.

• A rejected Root's accusations, used Wood Release to shield Gojo Satoru and Kakashi, and told them to escape.
• Gojo Satoru called A a root of Konoha, and A felt admiration for him.
• The laboratory shook and began collapsing, then a giant python appeared and swallowed the Root members.
• A tried to restrain the python with Wood Release while Kakashi attacked it with Chidori.
• Gojo Satoru jumped onto the python's head and prepared to support the others.

Kakashi, A, and Gojo Satoru defeated the great snake in the Snake Den, but A planned to return to Root. Kakashi proposed bringing A into the ANBU and seeking the Third Hokage’s protection, and the group left the unstable cave together.

• Kakashi struck the great snake’s exposed vital spot with Chidori, killing it.
• A said he had to return to Root, and Kakashi stopped him from leaving alone.
• Kakashi suggested getting A into the ANBU so the Third Hokage could protect him.
• Gojo Satoru clarified that he had meant for them to seek out the Third Hokage, while privately wondering how much A’s Wood Release might be worth.
• Kakashi led Gojo Satoru and A out of the Snake Den before the cave could collapse.

Hiruzen Sarutobi welcomed A into Konoha and named him Yamato after hearing Kakashi's account of the mission. Days later, Uchiha Satoru joined his first ANBU mission, leaving captain Naoya Kuchiki worried that the young recruit would cause trouble.

• Kakashi told Hiruzen Sarutobi how the group had encountered A, a former Root member, during their mission.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi named A Yamato and welcomed him into Konoha's ranks.
• Uchiha Satoru arrived late to an ANBU mission rendezvous while eating dango, irritating Naoya Kuchiki.
• Kiyota Sato prompted Naoya Kuchiki to explain the mission details, and Uchiha Satoru joined the formation as Naoya worried about him.

Gojo Satoru and his team were ambushed during a rest stop, but Gojo detected the threat and foiled the first attacker’s trap. After the explosion destroyed his Three-Color Dango, he mocked the enemy and countered a volley of projectiles, ending the chapter with a blast.

• Naoya Kuchiki called for the team to rest and eat in a clearing.
• Kiyota Sato questioned whether Gojo Satoru was really eight, and Gojo teased him about his age and strawberry milk.
• Gojo sensed danger and shoved Kiyota Sato away as an explosion struck their resting place.
• A concealed ninja demanded to know how Gojo had spotted him, and Gojo explained that he had anticipated an ambush and planted explosive tags.
• Six hostile presences attacked Gojo with projectiles, which he deflected back toward them.
• The returned projectiles detonated in a thunderous blast.

Gojo Satoru exposed the pale-haired ninja’s group as members of the Giant Rock Clan who were impersonating the Hozuki Clan. The enemy’s covert mission was thrown into disarray, while Gojo privately considered himself to have avenged Three-Color Dango.

• Gojo Satoru knocked out the ninja who had tried to ambush him, surprising Kiyota Sato and the pale-haired ninja.
• Gojo called the pale-haired ninja “Giant Rock,” making him suspect that their true identities had been discovered.
• The pale-haired ninja denied being from the Giant Rock Clan and introduced himself as Hozuki Mizukawa.
• Gojo pointed out the enemy’s physical builds and fighting styles as evidence that they were not members of the Hozuki Clan.
• The pale-haired ninja realized Gojo had exposed their plan to impersonate the Hozuki Clan and provoke Konoha.

Gojo Satoru exposed the Giant Rock Clan ninja’s disguise and predicted his attack, giving Captain Naoya Kuchiki time to dodge. The Giant Rock Clan fighters withdrew, leaving the battle to end in awkward silence.

• Kiyota Sato was distracted by Gojo Satoru’s revelations and narrowly dodged his opponent’s blade.
• Gojo Satoru identified the disguised ninja’s fighting habits and predicted he would use Lightning Release: Lariat against Captain Naoya Kuchiki.
• Naoya Kuchiki dodged the attack after Gojo Satoru’s commentary gave him time to react.
• The fighters from both sides stopped and stared at Gojo Satoru after he exposed the attack and the disguises.
• Gojo Satoru explained that body type and habits made disguises impossible to hide, and the Giant Rock Clan members leaped away.