Chapter Summaries

Aokiji used Ice Release and deception to defeat several Hidden Mist ninja, but the remaining Jonin overwhelmed him with speed and taijutsu. Aokiji impaled what turned out to be a Water Clone, leaving the Jonin’s real location unknown.

• Aokiji crushed two Hidden Mist ninja with an Ice Release fist, while Tsunade was captured again.
• Aokiji tricked a Hidden Mist ninja in the mist with a Shadow Clone and a Great Fireball, defeating him.
• The Hidden Mist Jonin sent a Shadow Clone to restrain Tsunade and attacked Aokiji while his Chakra was low.
• The Jonin nearly cut Aokiji down, then kicked him flying before Aokiji countered with Ice Release: Cliff of Broken Swords.
• Aokiji pierced the Jonin’s apparent body, which turned into liquid, and realized it was a Water Clone.

Aokiji rescued Tsunade from the Hidden Mist Jonin, but both were left weakened and hiding in the snow. After Tsunade helped restore his Chakra with her blood, Aokiji decided to return and kill the Jonin, while Tsunade insisted on staying close enough to help him recover again.

• Aokiji defended himself with Ice Rock Dome of Nothingness, counterattacked with Hand of Hell, and awakened a second tomoe in his Sharingan as the Hidden Mist Jonin summoned a giant crab.
• Aokiji tricked the Jonin with Shadow Clones, rescued the poisoned Tsunade, and shielded her from a Bubble Burst Technique with Ice Armor.
• Aokiji used smoke bombs and Shadow Clones to launch himself and Tsunade away, then the pair hid beneath a rock while recovering from their injuries and exhaustion.
• Tsunade explained that her mixed Uzumaki heritage let her restore some of Aokiji's Chakra when he drank her blood, and he recovered most of his strength.
• Aokiji resolved to kill the Jonin so he could not reveal Aokiji's abilities, and Tsunade refused to leave, offering to help him recover again if needed.

Aokiji used one-handed seals, fire techniques, and a drawn-out battle plan to wear down the Hidden Mist Jonin, returning to Tsunade to replenish his Chakra. He ambushed the confused Jonin again and pressed the attack while his opponent tried to understand how his Chakra had recovered.

• Aokiji’s hail and fire attacks injured the Hidden Mist Jonin’s giant crab summon, forcing it to return home, and he interrupted the Jonin’s attempt to form seals.
• Aokiji used the Jonin’s hand to form seals with him and struck him with the Phoenix Flower Technique, while Uchiha Madara watched through a bird using the Sight Sharing Jutsu.
• Aokiji used a dust technique to hide his retreat through the snow and returned to Tsunade, asking to bite her arm and replenish his Chakra.
• The Hidden Mist Jonin waited for Aokiji to emerge from the snow, then narrowly dodged his eventual ambush and demanded to know how his Chakra had recovered.
• Aokiji charged again while the Hidden Mist Jonin dodged and tried to figure out the boy’s renewed Chakra supply.

Aokiji fought a Hidden Mist Jonin who tried to find Tsunade and cut off Aokiji’s Chakra replenishment. Aokiji tricked the Jonin with an Ice Clone and killed him with Ice Release: Ice Soul Palm, then collapsed after the battle.

• The Hidden Mist Jonin guessed that Tsunade helped replenish Aokiji’s Chakra and sent Shadow Clones to search for her.
• Aokiji attacked with Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation, but the Jonin countered with Water Release: Great Water Torrent and anticipated Aokiji’s ambush.
• The Jonin’s clone found Tsunade and dragged her out while the Jonin appeared to stab Aokiji through the chest.
• Aokiji revealed that the stabbed body was an Ice Clone, froze the Jonin with Ice Release: Ice Soul Palm, and finished him with ice shuriken.
• The Jonin died, his Shadow Clone vanished, and Aokiji collapsed from exhaustion.

After defeating a Hidden Mist Jonin, Aokiji carried the injured Tsunade to shelter and explained why he had come to save her. He burned the Kirigakure ninja's bodies to hide evidence of his abilities, then left with Tsunade for the Land of Commerce, suspecting her mission and the attack were connected.

• Aokiji carried the weakened Tsunade away from the battlefield and told her how he had found her.
• Aokiji realized he had lost his pet during the fight, and Tsunade promised to compensate him as they teased each other on the way to a cave.
• Tsunade asked why Aokiji had come to save her, and he said she was one of his few friends before making a remark that enraged her.
• Aokiji returned to the cave with the Kirigakure ninja's bodies and burned them to keep their memories from revealing his abilities.
• Aokiji left with Tsunade for the Land of Commerce, and her account of the mission and attack led him to suspect the events were linked.

Aokiji and Tsunade returned to the Land of Commerce to investigate the Pharmaceutical Company’s suspected role in the attack. At their inn, Tsunade’s romantic imaginings repeatedly collided with Aokiji’s oblivious precautions, leaving her unsettled by her own thoughts.

• Aokiji suspected the Pharmaceutical Company had hired Kirigakure ninja to target Tsunade, and she agreed to investigate with his help.
• Aokiji and Tsunade found an inn with one room and a single sleeping mat.
• Tsunade blushed and considered sharing the bedding with Aokiji, but he hid in a wardrobe to sleep.
• Tsunade tried to stop Aokiji from sleeping in the wardrobe, and he mistakenly thought she wanted his hiding place as protection.
• When Tsunade said she was going to bathe, Aokiji stopped her because he feared an enemy ambush.
• Tsunade wondered whether to deliberately provoke Aokiji, then was startled by her own strange idea.

After Tsunade recovered, Aokiji asked her to teach him a technique, and she offered to pass on a basic Uzumaki Sealing Jutsu instead. He chose to study Adamantine Sealing Chains as inspiration for an Ice Release technique he planned to call Ice Chains.

• Tsunade admitted she was hungry, and Aokiji summoned Shadow Clones to bring back food that she quickly devoured.
• The next day, Tsunade demonstrated her recovered strength by shattering a boulder with a punch.
• Aokiji asked Tsunade to teach him Monster Strength, but she refused because he belonged to the Uchiha Clan.
• Tsunade offered to ask Grandma Mito about teaching Aokiji an Uzumaki Sealing Jutsu instead.
• Aokiji chose to study Adamantine Sealing Chains and adapt its principles into his Ice Release Ninjutsu, which he planned to call Ice Chains.

Aokiji sought Tsunade’s help obtaining Adamantine Chains as reference for developing his own Ice Release techniques, then joined her in infiltrating a Pharmaceutical Company and uncovering its conspiracy. He stopped Tsunade from attacking the company immediately and questioned whether exposing it to the public and the Daimyo would be enough.

• Aokiji decided he needed to develop original Ice Release techniques and asked Tsunade about using the Uzumaki Clan’s Adamantine Chains as a reference.
• Tsunade agreed to help, explaining that Aokiji could not use the technique himself because it required a pure-blooded Uzumaki physique.
• Aokiji imagined creating Ice Chains and an Ice Treasury, then worried that his Chakra reserves would not be sufficient.
• Aokiji and Tsunade used Transformation Jutsu to infiltrate the Pharmaceutical Company and quickly discovered its conspiracy.
• Aokiji pulled back an enraged Tsunade and returned with her to their lodgings to discuss the matter.
• Tsunade said they should expose the company and let the people and the country’s Daimyo punish it, while Aokiji laughed and challenged her reasoning.

Aokiji warned Tsunade to think carefully about the political risks of confronting the men who had poisoned patients, then helped her finish the mission and return the stolen money. Afterward, Tsunade shyly asked whether he would come back to Konoha with her.

• Aokiji explained that the men might have political backing and argued that ending corruption required a unified system, while Tsunade questioned his harsh reasoning.
• Tsunade asked Aokiji what he meant by being deceived, and he warned her that people might target her because of her heritage and Wood Release.
• Tsunade and Aokiji confronted the two men, and Aokiji killed them while Tsunade watched.
• Tsunade prepared an antidote that cured the sick villagers and earned their goodwill.
• Aokiji and Tsunade returned the extorted money to the patients' families by handing it out door to door.
• Tsunade asked Aokiji if he would return to Konoha with her.

Aokiji refused Tsunade’s offer to help with his pet-catching mission, and Tsunade returned to Konoha, where she began to realize she had fallen for him. After secretly buying a love guide, she decided she would not confess first and resolved that Aokiji would have to confess to her.

• Aokiji sent Tsunade away so he could continue his pet-catching mission, and Tsunade left after repeatedly checking whether he needed her help.
• Tsunade told Sarutobi Hiruzen that a passing stranger had saved her, then asked to pause ninja missions so she could train harder.
• Tsunade secretly tried to enter a bookstore in disguise, but Orochimaru encountered her and later discovered she had bought a book called "Love Guide."
• Tsunade read the book and accepted that she had fallen for Aokiji, recalling how he had saved her in battle.
• Tsunade decided she would not confess first because the love guide said the person who confessed first became the loser.

Tsunade worried that her small chest would make boys dislike her and asked Jiraiya what kinds of girls they preferred. When Jiraiya told Aokiji that Tsunade liked someone, Aokiji realized the outcome he had feared might have come true.

• Tsunade admired her appearance in the mirror, then became depressed about her flat chest.
• Jiraiya teased Tsunade and asked her out, but she rejected him and asked what kinds of girls boys liked.
• Jiraiya claimed most boys preferred large breasts and butts, then gave Tsunade advice about clothes and fashion.
• Tsunade asked whether Jiraiya had seen Aokiji since his return, then left while Jiraiya watched her in heartbreak.
• After completing his mission, Aokiji met Jiraiya, who told him Tsunade had someone she liked.
• Aokiji choked on his tea and sprang to his feet when Jiraiya recounted his conversation with Tsunade.

After realizing Tsunade might have fallen for him, Aokiji agreed to help Jiraiya find the man who had won her heart, while Tsunade trained with Mito and began learning Adamantine Chains. Tsunade then unexpectedly encountered Aokiji at a secluded training spot, where she concealed that she had tracked him there.

• Aokiji feared that Tsunade's affection could put him in danger, while Jiraiya decided to find and defeat his rival and asked Aokiji to help locate him.
• At the Senju compound, Tsunade trained with Mito and said she wanted to learn Sealing Jutsu so she could stand alongside Aokiji.
• Tsunade chose to learn Adamantine Chains, and Mito agreed to teach her despite the technique's traditional Uzumaki bloodline requirement.
• Mito teased Tsunade about her unusual white thigh-high socks, and Tsunade changed the subject to her training.
• At a secluded river beneath a cliff, Tsunade encountered Aokiji and pretended she had simply happened to be there, hiding that she had tracked him.

Tsunade gave Aokiji a scroll of basic Sealing Jutsu instruction instead of the Adamantine Chains and began teaching him, while trying to win his attention. They parted at sunset, each hiding their feelings and making plans for what to do next.

• Aokiji accepted Tsunade’s scroll, and she explained that he needed to learn basic Sealing Jutsu before he could understand the Adamantine Chains.
• Tsunade insisted Aokiji call her Teacher Tsunade, then slapped his hand away and punched him into a rock wall after he teased her.
• Tsunade healed Aokiji and taught him what Mito had taught her until sunset.
• Tsunade left determined to devise a strategy to make Aokiji notice her, while Aokiji walked away outwardly calm but inwardly panicked.

Aokiji resisted Tsunade’s apparent advances while helping Jiraiya investigate the man she supposedly liked, and Orochimaru revealed she had bought a book called Love Guide. Tsunade wondered how to keep herself from visiting Aokiji again, but a ninja named Dan Katō sat down across from her and introduced himself.

• Aokiji decided not to confess to Tsunade, suspecting she wanted him to make the first move so she could keep the upper hand.
• Jiraiya reminded Aokiji of their plan to find the man Tsunade liked, and they followed her through places she frequented.
• Orochimaru joined Aokiji and Jiraiya and revealed that Tsunade had bought a book called Love Guide.
• Jiraiya vowed to wish for Tsunade’s beloved to die so he could have another chance with her, and Aokiji was appalled.
• Tsunade drank papaya milk while trying to resist visiting Aokiji again, until Dan Katō sat down across from her and introduced himself.

Dan Katō confessed to Tsunade, who rejected him because she already liked someone and was not looking to date. They made a six-year bet about whether she would get a boyfriend, and the chapter ended with someone angrily confronting Dan Katō for pestering her.

• Dan Katō confessed that he wanted to date Tsunade because he admired her kindness and wanted to know her better.
• Tsunade calmly rejected Dan Katō, and he asked whether she already liked Aokiji.
• Dan Katō explained that Tsunade and Aokiji seemed close, while Tsunade denied liking him and said she did not plan to date anyone.
• Dan Katō bet that Tsunade would have a boyfriend within six years, wagering that she would become his friend if he won and half his mission rewards if he lost.
• An irritable voice confronted Dan Katō and demanded to know how long he planned to pester Tsunade.

Tsunade tried to hide her feelings for Aokiji while Jiraiya questioned her about the man she liked. After Tsunade recited an elaborate poem describing him, she went home and decided to find out Aokiji’s birthday so she could prepare a gift.

• Jiraiya confronted Tsunade and confessed that he, Orochimaru, and Aokiji had followed her and Dan Katō.
• Jiraiya pressed Tsunade to describe the man she liked, and she recited a poem that left him and Aokiji stunned.
• Tsunade hurried home, blushed over having recited the poem in front of Aokiji, and consulted Love Guide.
• Tsunade decided to prepare Aokiji a birthday gift but realized she did not know his birthday, so she planned to coax the information out of him.

Tsunade learned Aokiji's birthday while pretending to be interested in constellations, then erupted into a fight with him after he insulted her. Later, Aokiji sparred with Uchiha Aka at the Uchiha Clan Compound, where Elder Itachi watched him begin an unfamiliar ninjutsu.

• Tsunade asked about everyone's constellations and memorized Aokiji's February 7 birthday after he revealed it.
• Orochimaru offered to give Aokiji a birthday gift, prompting Tsunade to reluctantly promise one too.
• Aokiji teased Tsunade about her appearance, and she flipped the table at him as he fought and retreated.
• Jiraiya and Orochimaru were left to pay for the damage after a restaurant worker confronted them.
• Aokiji and Uchiha Aka sparred with fire and ice techniques at the Uchiha Clan Compound.
• Elder Itachi noticed Aokiji using a new sequence of hand seals for an unfamiliar ninjutsu.

Aokiji demonstrated his newly developed Ice Chains against Uchiha Aka, then asked Elder Itachi about increasing Chakra and extending life. Elder Itachi revealed a legendary Fairy Technique before summoning Aokiji for a private conversation about Uchiha Madara.

• Uchiha Aka activated his Sharingan, but Aokiji used six Ice Chains to pressure him before conceding the spar.
• Aokiji explained that he had recently developed the Ice Chains, and Elder Itachi compared them to the Uzumaki Clan's Adamantine Chains.
• Aokiji beat Fugaku in a spar by hanging him upside down with the Ice Chains and whipping his butt.
• Elder Itachi told Aokiji about the Yin Seal, Tailed Beasts, Hero's Water, and the legendary Fairy Technique as ways to gain Chakra or extend life.
• Elder Itachi sent Uchiha Aka away and told Aokiji that their private conversation concerned Uchiha Madara.

Aokiji accepted Elder Itachi’s mission to investigate worshippers of Uchiha Madara and recover lost Sharingan, hoping to earn the Kusanagi Sword. He then agreed to join Tsunade on a dangerous coastal mission after hearing how large the reward was.

• Elder Itachi assigned Aokiji to investigate a group worshipping Uchiha Madara and search for lost Sharingan, offering the Kusanagi Sword as a reward.
• Elder Itachi made Aokiji sign a Summoned Beast contract, and Aokiji summoned a smug black kitten named Kule.
• Elder Itachi tested Aokiji’s strength, then Aokiji went to check for missions before heading out on field duty.
• Tsunade asked Aokiji to help kill a monster disrupting coastal trade and fishing and causing a strange illness among those who encountered it.
• Aokiji initially refused Tsunade’s mission, but agreed after she mentioned its enormous reward.

Aokiji tried to recruit Tsunade to gamble so he could profit from her bad luck, while Tsunade mistook his invitation for a confession. After Aokiji caught up to her on his bicycle, he guessed that her gambling was connected to her grandfather, leaving Tsunade stunned.

• Aokiji met Tsunade at Konoha's gate, where she scolded him for being late before accepting his apology.
• Aokiji asked Tsunade to help with something personal after their mission, and she thought he was confessing to her.
• Aokiji revealed that he wanted Tsunade to gamble with him so they could split the money he won by betting against her.
• Tsunade punched Aokiji and ran ahead, but he caught up on a bicycle and asked why she had been angry.
• Tsunade called gambling sacred, and Aokiji guessed that she gambled to remember her grandfather.