Recaps

Uchiha Izuna woke in the forest to Yanbai’s singing and healing, then confronted Yanbai about his brother Madara’s feelings. The pain of his earlier ordeal returned, and Yanbai tried to send him home while warning him not to report being mistreated.

• Uchiha Izuna woke beneath the starry sky while Yanbai healed him and sang, moved by the song without realizing what Yanbai was doing.
• Yanbai guessed that Uchiha Izuna had come to find him without telling Madara, and Izuna insisted that Madara would have stopped him because he liked Yanbai.
• Yanbai told Uchiha Izuna that he did not understand his brother and joked that he should have asked Madara about crematoriums before coming.
• Uchiha Izuna’s two-tomoe eyes activated as the pain from his ordeal returned, and he asked Yanbai whether Yanbai had saved him and what ability he had used.
• Yanbai diverted Uchiha Izuna’s attention, covered his burned and tattered clothes with his outer robe, and warned him not to tell Madara that he had been bullied.

Yanbai returned late after an encounter with Uchiha Clan members, then cooked dinner for his waiting family. He explained his missing outer robe and delay to Butsuma Senju, who warned him to prioritize his safety and take Hashirama along when he went out.

• Butsuma Senju and his four sons waited for Yanbai to return before eating, while Hashirama Senju worried that he might have met Madara Uchiha.
• Yanbai arrived around eight in the evening and made egg fried rice from the untouched food, which the family eagerly ate.
• After dinner, Butsuma Senju asked Yanbai where he had been and why his outer robe was missing.
• Yanbai said he had encountered at least three Uchiha Clan members at the Naka River, escaped with help from birds, and delayed leaving to care for an injured animal.
• Butsuma Senju told Yanbai to bring injured animals back to the Clan Grounds and take Hashirama with him when he went out; Yanbai agreed.

Butsuma Senju ordered Senju Longshu to identify and kill the Uchiha who had Yanbai’s clothing, while Yanbai secretly sent Madara Uchiha an account of what had happened. Madara set out to find Izuna, who remained trapped in a battle between the Uchiha and Hagoromo Clans.

• Butsuma Senju gave Senju Longshu Yanbai’s distinctive garment and ordered him to find the Uchiha wearing it and kill him.
• Yanbai sent a message to Madara Uchiha by mouse, explaining the afternoon’s events and warning that his clothes had to be burned.
• Madara Uchiha burned the message, prepared for combat, and left the Clan Grounds to search for Izuna.
• Uchiha Izuna stayed near the Naka River because his guards had been knocked unconscious and the Hagoromo Clan had attacked them.
• Uchiha Izuna returned to the fight after the Hagoromo Clan’s actions cleared the bird-dropping effects and the Uchiha guards woke up.

Uchiha Izuna escaped the Hagoromo Clan by jumping into the Naka River, but nearly drowned before Madara Uchiha rescued him. Madara fought a pursuing Hagoromo shinobi and killed him after Izuna awakened his Two-Tomoe Sharingan.

• Uchiha Izuna jumped into the Naka River to escape the Hagoromo Clan's Ninja Dogs, but was swept over a waterfall and caught in the currents.
• Madara Uchiha pulled Uchiha Izuna from the water and prepared to flee as a powerful Hagoromo Clan shinobi arrived.
• Madara Uchiha fought the Hagoromo shinobi with his sword while Uchiha Izuna tried to prepare logs for their escape.
• Madara Uchiha used his Sharingan and close-range attacks to pressure the Hagoromo shinobi, who then turned his blade toward Uchiha Izuna.
• Uchiha Izuna revealed his Two-Tomoe Sharingan, distracting the Hagoromo shinobi long enough for Madara Uchiha to cut off his head.

Madara Uchiha rescued Uchiha Izuna from the Hagoromo Clan and fled with him through the Naka River and into the mountains. As Madara’s injuries worsened, Izuna urged him to ask Yanbai for help, but Madara kept running, warning that their pursuers could track them by scent.

• Madara Uchiha killed the Hagoromo Clan pursuers, built a makeshift raft, and escaped downstream with Uchiha Izuna.
• Madara told Uchiha Izuna that Yanbai had warned him of the danger and that animals and plants could help Yanbai send messages.
• Uchiha Izuna urged Madara to ask Yanbai for help when Madara’s injuries worsened, but Madara pulled him off the raft and fled into the forest.
• Madara led Uchiha Izuna toward Yanbai’s domain, hoping the forest would protect them, while avoiding asking Yanbai directly.
• Madara warned Uchiha Izuna that hired shinobi clans could track their scent, so they were still in danger.

Yanbai refused to intervene when Cherry Ink told him that Madara and Izuna were being hunted, trusting Madara to survive without unwanted help. Madara and Izuna prepared in the forest and faced the Hagoromo Clan’s young leader, Hagoromo Nobuyuki.

• Cherry Ink woke Yanbai and told him that Madara had gone to save a child who was being hunted.
• Yanbai told Cherry Ink not to rescue Madara, but to guide him to the traps they had set in the forest.
• Madara reached the forest with Izuna, greeted its creatures in Yanbai’s name, and retrieved medicine and supplies he had hidden there.
• Madara and Izuna attacked an approaching enemy with fire techniques, then escaped into the darkness as their opponent broke through the smoke.
• Hagoromo Nobuyuki revealed himself as the Hagoromo Clan’s vanguard and confronted Madara and Izuna.

Madara Uchiha fought Hagoromo Nobuyuki in a brutal battle, using his Sharingan and swordsmanship to survive despite serious injuries. After Uchiha Izuna helped kill Nobuyuki, the brothers fled deeper into the forest as the Hagoromo Clan’s pursuers closed in.

• Hagoromo Nobuyuki attacked Madara Uchiha with lightning-charged leaves and sword strikes, wounding Madara’s right arm while Madara cut Nobuyuki’s armor and leg.
• Madara Uchiha trapped Nobuyuki’s sword in his scabbard, kicked him with a sharpened spike, and dodged the explosive-tag kunai Nobuyuki threw at him.
• Nobuyuki unleashed a barrage of lightning-wreathed punches, breaking Madara’s left arm, while Madara slashed Nobuyuki across the neck and chest.
• Uchiha Izuna emerged from the darkness and stabbed Nobuyuki through the back, and Nobuyuki collapsed dead.
• Madara Uchiha urged Uchiha Izuna to escape, and the brothers fled deeper into the forest as Hagoromo Clan pursuers approached.

Madara Uchiha and Izuna survived the Hagoromo Clan’s pursuit, and Madara received food and healing from Yanbai through a rat messenger. As the brothers left the cave, Tobirama Senju watched them, having identified Madara as the Uchiha who took Yanbai’s clothes.

• Madara Uchiha and Izuna used traps and counterattacks to kill or wound most of the Hagoromo Clan pursuers and escape into a cave.
• Izuna changed Madara’s bandages with strips cut from Yanbai’s clothes and wondered why Yanbai had not appeared.
• A rat delivered Yanbai’s letter, four rice balls, and a green gemstone to Madara.
• Madara crushed the gemstone, which healed some of his injuries, then burned the cloth strips from Yanbai’s clothes.
• Madara and Izuna ate, erased their traces, and left the cave while Tobirama Senju watched and recognized Madara.

Tobirama Senju used Cherry Ink to follow Yanbai and discovered that Yanbai was secretly bringing food to an Uchiha boy and had given him clothes. Furious but unwilling to drive Yanbai away by intervening directly, Tobirama resolved to find another solution.

• Tobirama Senju kept his distance from Yanbai while using the daily treatments and Yanbai's animal friends to learn about him.
• Tobirama Senju branded and tethered a clever rat, which Yanbai healed and named Cherry Ink.
• Tobirama Senju followed Cherry Ink and discovered that it had made a home in the Uchiha Clan Grounds.
• Tobirama Senju watched Cherry Ink carry food from Yanbai to the Uchiha boy and realized Yanbai had given the boy clothes too.
• Tobirama Senju blamed the Uchiha Clan for deceiving Yanbai, decided to keep the secret from his father, and considered how to act without pushing Yanbai away.

Yanbai collected and traded eggs with the spiritually aware hens, then soothed a pack of puppies while Tobirama Senju watched. Seeing how Yanbai’s kindness comforted the clan, Tobirama wondered whether his goodwill toward the Uchiha Clan might help bring reconciliation.

• Yanbai gathered eggs from wild chickens and returned two borrowed eggs to Harusame before persuading Natsumi to lend him another.
• Tobirama Senju watched Yanbai’s egg trick and concluded that Yanbai was too cunning to be easily fooled by the Uchiha Clan.
• Yanbai delivered most of the eggs to the communal kitchen and kept a few for his own kitchen.
• Yanbai separated fighting puppies, soothed them to sleep, and drew a crowd of warmly amused clan members.
• Tobirama reflected on the possibility of peace between the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan and wondered if Yanbai’s actions were helping reconciliation.

Yanbai coaxed a pregnant stray cat into coming home with him, while Tobirama watched and finally confronted him about his secret contact with the Uchiha. Yanbai admitted he had left Tobirama out because Tobirama was too clever and might reveal Yanbai’s true nature to their eldest brother.

• Yanbai caught fish for Quinoa, and she released the pregnant and baby fish before eating a normal one.
• Yanbai persuaded Quinoa to come home with him so he could help when her kittens were born.
• Tobirama stopped Yanbai and said he had seen him deliver something to two Uchiha at the Naka River.
• Yanbai confirmed that he and their eldest brother shared a dream of creating a place where people could reconcile with the Uchiha boy.
• Tobirama asked why Yanbai and their eldest brother had left him out, and Yanbai said Tobirama was too clever and might expose his true nature.

Yanbai assured Tobirama Senju that he would side with him, while Tobirama accepted that Yanbai had concealed his ties to an Uchiha. Meanwhile, Uchiha Tajima searched for Madara Uchiha and Uchiha Izuna, who were trapped in the Naka River Wilds as Hagoromo Ryo hunted them.

• Yanbai told Tobirama Senju that he would choose his brother over the Uchiha, and Tobirama said he would not force Yanbai to sever his ties.
• Uchiha Tajima searched the Naka River Wilds after learning that Madara Uchiha and Uchiha Izuna had not returned to the Clan Grounds.
• Uchiha Tajima learned that Hagoromo Ryo was hunting Madara Uchiha and Uchiha Izuna after Madara killed Hagoromo Nobuyuki.
• Madara Uchiha and Uchiha Izuna remained surrounded in the forest while Hagoromo Ryo burned the surrounding mountains to flush them out.
• Uchiha Izuna offered to lure their pursuers away, but Madara Uchiha refused to leave him behind and considered how to escape.
• Madara Uchiha retraced his steps with Uchiha Izuna and noticed the unusually intelligent animals around them, prompting a sudden realization.

With the Uchiha and Hagoromo clans at war, Yanbai and Tobirama discussed the danger facing Madara Uchiha and Hashirama’s forbidden friendship. Tobirama had restrained Hashirama from going to help Madara, but warned that the clans would eventually discover their bond.

• Butsuma Senju suspended hired missions and ordered the Senju clan to guard its grounds while the Uchiha and Hagoromo clans fought.
• Yanbai watched over the animals in his courtyard and fed a bird that brought him news.
• Tobirama told Yanbai that he had helped an endangered person, and Yanbai admitted he had guarded and guided him.
• Tobirama revealed that the Hagoromo clan was hunting the Uchiha heirs and that he had talked Hashirama out of going to save Madara.
• Yanbai thanked Tobirama, who warned that their families would become enemies unless Madara gained influence in his clan.

Madara Uchiha and Uchiha Izuna returned safely to the Uchiha Clan Compound, but Uchiha Izuna faced his father’s interrogation about how he awakened his Two-Tomoe Sharingan. Uchiha Tajima deduced that a silver-haired girl was involved and decided to investigate her himself.

• Madara Uchiha and Uchiha Izuna returned to the Uchiha Clan Compound, and the Uchiha Clan launched a brutal assault on the Hagoromo Clan.
• Madara Uchiha collapsed from his severe injuries, while Uchiha Izuna recovered from minor wounds and was summoned for questioning by Uchiha Tajima.
• Uchiha Tajima accused Uchiha Izuna of lying about awakening his Two-Tomoe Sharingan during the battle with the Hagoromo Clan.
• Uchiha Tajima asked about the unfamiliar outer robe Uchiha Izuna had worn and pressed him to identify its owner.
• Uchiha Tajima inferred that the robe belonged to the silver-haired girl who had helped the brothers, then used his Sharingan as Uchiha Izuna lost consciousness.
• Uchiha Tajima told the unconscious Uchiha Izuna to rest and resolved to find out what the girl had done to the brothers.

Yanbai brought Tobirama Senju out for a walk and persuaded him to help with his plan to copy the Sharingan. Later, Yanbai secretly entered the Uchiha Clan Grounds to heal Madara Uchiha, whose alarm at the intrusion left him unable to sleep.

• Yanbai led Tobirama Senju away from the Senju residence and asked whether he could trust him.
• Yanbai told Tobirama Senju he wanted to copy the Sharingan, and Tobirama agreed to help despite his misgivings.
• Madara Uchiha woke from a nightmare and sensed an unusual fragrance in his room.
• Yanbai appeared beside Madara Uchiha, explained that he had used animals to scout the Uchiha Clan Grounds, and healed his wounds.
• Yanbai left through the window after telling Madara Uchiha he would visit again, and Madara stayed awake, unsettled by the intrusion.

Madara Uchiha spent the night unable to sleep, while Uchiha Tajima discovered that Madara’s wounds had healed and concluded Yanbai had secretly visited him. Back at the Senju Clan, Yanbai’s late-night outing left Tobirama Senju entangled in his plans as his accomplice.

• Madara Uchiha tossed and turned, searching his room for Yanbai before finally falling asleep at dawn.
• Uchiha Tajima brought the sleeping Uchiha Izuna to Madara’s room after hypnotizing Izuna and hearing his account of the Silver-Haired Girl.
• Uchiha Tajima found the medicine and bedding disturbed, then discovered Madara’s injuries had healed overnight and decided Yanbai had visited him.
• Uchiha Tajima moved to increase security and began exterminating rats and insects across the Uchiha Clan Grounds.
• Yanbai returned to the Senju Clan with grilled fish for Tobirama Senju, who had kept watch and shared the meal with him.
• Butsuma Senju caught Tobirama leaving Yanbai’s courtyard, and Tobirama realized Yanbai had made him a willing accomplice.

Yanbai sheltered Cherry Ink and its family after Uchiha Tajima burned their home, then planned to spy on the Uchiha Clan and send Tajima reports of its residents’ private lives. Tobirama witnessed Yanbai’s bizarre schemes and was left wishing Yanbai would trust him less.

• Yanbai comforted Cherry Ink and offered refuge to its family after Tajima destroyed their home.
• Yanbai decided to document the Uchiha Clan’s daily life with help from birds and send Tajima monthly reports.
• Tobirama visited Yanbai and reflected on how Yanbai used trust to stop him from lecturing him.
• Tobirama recalled Yanbai swapping eagle eggs for chicken eggs and raising the hatched eaglets in the Senju Clan’s coop.
• Tobirama asked about the returned mice, and Yanbai explained Tajima had burned their home before sharing his plan to monitor the Uchiha Clan.
• Yanbai reassured Tobirama that he showed his true self because he trusted him, leaving Tobirama silently wishing he would stop.

Tobirama Senju joined Yanbai in secretly gathering detailed intelligence on the other ninja clans, then showed the dossiers to Butsuma Senju. Worried about Yanbai’s lack of morals, Butsuma sent him to study Buddhism with Hashirama Senju, where Yanbai helped inspire Hashirama’s future tailed-beast technique.

• Tobirama Senju proposed that he and Yanbai monitor every ninja clan they could reach so the Uchiha Clan would not stand out.
• Tobirama Senju gave Butsuma Senju Yanbai’s dossiers, which recorded the clans’ private affairs in exhaustive detail and included maps of their grounds.
• Butsuma Senju worried that Yanbai’s power and lack of morals made him dangerous, so he arranged for Yanbai to study Buddhism with Hashirama Senju.
• Yanbai joined Hashirama Senju’s training and discussed Buddhism and Wood Release techniques with him, while the other three brothers watched in bewilderment.
• Yanbai explained the Buddhist meaning behind Kakuan’s phrase, and years later Hashirama Senju created Hokage-Style Sixty-Year-Old Technique: Kakuan Entering Society with Bliss-Bringing Hands to deal with tailed beasts.

Yanbai and Hashirama playfully practiced Wood Release while Tobirama and Butsuma discussed the clan’s next commissions. At the Uchiha compound, Madara realized Yanbai’s revenge had arrived when Izuna was made to read aloud a humiliating scroll in front of Tajima.

• Yanbai and Hashirama traded Wood Release techniques and sang together as they trained.
• Butsuma asked Tobirama whether Yanbai had been doing anything beyond gathering intelligence, and Tobirama said Yanbai was too busy to take on other work.
• Madara told Izuna he did not blame him for revealing information and worried about how Yanbai would take revenge.
• An eagle delivered a heavy scroll to the Uchiha clan head’s residence, and Madara suspected it was Yanbai’s revenge.
• Izuna began reading an embarrassing account of Uchiha Eiji’s affair with his sister-in-law aloud while Tajima ordered him to continue and called Madara inside.

Madara and Izuna listened as Tajima reviewed Yanbai’s detailed record of the Uchiha clan’s private affairs. Tajima saw the information as both a useful guide to clan loyalties and proof of Yanbai’s extraordinary reach, and the chapter ended with him urging Madara to bring Yanbai home—or kill him if he could not be made useful.

• Madara entered the hall and joined Tajima and Izuna as Izuna read aloud Yanbai’s records of Uchiha clan members’ private lives and conduct.
• Tajima smiled through the revelations, while Madara and Izuna realized he was treating Yanbai’s intrusion as a display of ability rather than an insult.
• Tajima used the records to identify Uchiha Tama as a loyal supporter and Uchiha Motoyuki and Uchiha Tan as disloyal conspirators, along with other useful information about the clan.
• Tajima teased Madara about Yanbai’s supposed affection and asked when Madara would bring him home.
• Tajima warned Madara to kill Yanbai if he could not bring him into the clan’s service, and Madara agreed without correcting his father’s misunderstanding.

After Uchiha Tajima sent Yanbai a message implying he welcomed Yanbai joining the Uchiha Clan, Tobirama explained that Tajima was testing both Yanbai and Madara. Tobirama warned Yanbai to be cautious as the Uchiha might soon face the Senju on the battlefield.

• A bird carried news from the Uchiha Clan to Yanbai, who learned that Tajima had spoken about Yanbai and Madara's relationship.
• Tobirama collected the Cookies he had won from Yanbai in a bet and explained that Tajima had deliberately let Yanbai overhear his words.
• Tobirama said Tajima had mistaken Yanbai's interest in Madara for romantic affection and was inviting Yanbai to join the Uchiha Clan.
• Tobirama warned Yanbai that Madara might resist cooperating with Tajima and urged Yanbai to stop toying with the Uchiha.
• Tobirama cautioned Yanbai that the Uchiha might soon fight the Senju, since their employer's enemies had likely hired the Uchiha Clan.

Date Yuzhi sought the Senju Clan’s protection, and Yanbai revealed how Yuzhi had survived the attack on his family. As the Senju team escorted Yuzhi toward the Land of Pines, Yanbai and Tobirama sensed a familiar presence before an ambush separated them from Hashirama and the bodyguards.

• Date Yuzhi arrived at the Senju Clan’s residence and passed Yanbai and Tobirama Senju, whom Maki identified as the Clan Leader’s children.
• Yanbai told Tobirama that Yuzhi had used his younger brothers as shields to survive an attack, and explained that the Uchiha Clan had hired assassins against the Date House.
• Yanbai revealed that animals had rescued two of Yuzhi’s brothers, Haizhi and Sencang, and described ways he could use their identities to secure the Senju Clan’s mission.
• After Butsuma Senju sent Yanbai along with Senju Longshu’s team, Yuzhi and the Senju ninja set out for the Land of Pines, with Tobirama accompanying Yanbai.
• Yanbai and Tobirama sensed a familiar concealed presence along the Imperial Road, then trees crashed down and split Yuzhi’s sedan chair and Hashirama from the bodyguards.
• Tobirama recognized the attackers as the Uchiha Clan as Yuzhi’s bodyguards suffered heavy casualties.

Yanbai and Tobirama Senju fled an Uchiha ambush while trying to reach Hashirama Senju and their employer. Yanbai used Wood Release traps to cripple the pursuing Uchiha, and the chase continued with both sides alive.

• Yanbai used Body Flicker to escape an explosion with Tobirama Senju, then healed Tobirama's wounds with the Restoration Technique.
• Yanbai blocked a swordsman's ambush with Wood Release: Guanyin Chaotic Shadows and escaped with Tobirama Senju as the Uchiha arrived.
• The Uchiha recognized Yanbai from a portrait and chased the two children after an assassin declared that the Senju should be killed.
• Yanbai used Wood Release to grow saplings beneath the pursuing Uchiha, launching several into the air and injuring them.
• Tobirama Senju remembered their agreement to flee and avoid killing Uchiha, while the remaining pursuers slowed to avoid Yanbai's traps.

Uchiha Motoyuki ambushed Senju Longshu, Hashirama Senju, and Date Yuzhi, forcing Senju Longshu to fight while Hashirama protected Yuzhi. Hashirama escaped with Yuzhi toward the princess, leaving Senju Longshu to face Motoyuki and the Uchiha forces.

• Uchiha Motoyuki ambushed the group with a fire attack, and Hashirama Senju carried Date Yuzhi clear of the burning palanquin.
• Uchiha Motoyuki attacked Senju Longshu, who blocked his fire technique with Mountain-Cleaving Hand before shuriken wounded him.
• Senju Longshu defended Yuzhi with his Giant Axe while Hashirama Senju used Wood Release to protect him.
• Uchiha Motoyuki attacked Senju Longshu with his Worn Blade, breaking through his chakra barrier as the Uchiha forces surrounded them.
• Senju Longshu ordered Hashirama Senju to take Yuzhi and find the princess, and Hashirama escaped with Yuzhi using Wood Release.

Senju Longshu nearly killed Uchiha Motoyuki with the Princess’s specially designed blades, but Madara Uchiha rescued him before Longshu escaped. Madara realized his suspicions about the mission had been right and reflected on how he had arranged for Motoyuki to take the fall, leaving Motoyuki badly injured and his own hands clean.

• Senju Longshu overwhelmed Uchiha Motoyuki with his bladed vambraces, leaving him gravely wounded.
• An Uchiha intervened and carried Motoyuki away as Senju Longshu retreated from the smoke and fire.
• Senju Longshu recognized Madara Uchiha and, remembering the Princess’s order to kill him and Tobirama Senju’s warning to avoid him, escaped instead of fighting.
• Madara Uchiha stood over Motoyuki and recalled how he had assigned him the mission while secretly following to investigate his suspicions.
• Madara Uchiha recognized that Motoyuki’s defeat would keep him from challenging Tajima for a time and wondered how he had adopted Yanbai’s way of thinking.