Chapter Summaries

Uchiha Tajima and Hagoromo Nobuyuki discussed joining forces against the Senju Clan, while Madara Uchiha missed Yanbai and their time together. Cherry Ink visited Yanbai with news of Madara’s loneliness, and Yanbai sent him biscuits and promised presents for Madara.

• Hagoromo Nobuyuki told Uchiha Tajima that Lord Saionji had agreed to let the Uchiha and Hagoromo Clans divide the spoils from the Date House, and Uchiha Tajima rejected the idea of cooperating with the Senju Clan.
• Uchiha Tajima and the other Uchiha grew eager to fight Senju Longshu, and their late-night Fire Release frightened animals throughout the compound.
• Madara Uchiha tried to send a message to Yanbai through a mouse, then lamented missing Yanbai’s cooking and their time with Hashirama Senju.
• Uchiha Izuna watched Madara and wrongly concluded that his brother was pining for a silver-haired woman, deciding to find her.
• Cherry Ink visited Yanbai and reported that Madara missed him and that Uchiha Izuna was spying on him; Yanbai gave Cherry Ink biscuits and told him to take Madara presents.

Madara Uchiha realized Yanbai had turned even cooking into rigorous chakra training and resolved to grow stronger. Meanwhile, Senju Longshu faced an Uchiha ambush in the Pine Forest and braced to fight Uchiha Tajima’s advancing force.

• Madara Uchiha read Yanbai’s detailed, violent cooking notes and understood how Yanbai trained through every action.
• Madara Uchiha renewed his determination to become stronger and rushed to the Uchiha Clan’s main kitchen.
• Senju Longshu waited outside Pinefrost City while Hashirama Senju went to collect supplies.
• Senju Longshu sensed an ambush and used Mountain-Cleaving Hand to strike several Uchiha clansmen.
• An Uchiha clansman countered with Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame, while Uchiha Tajima advanced through the blaze.
• Senju Longshu drew his saber and prepared to meet Uchiha Tajima’s attack head-on.

Senju Longshu escaped Uchiha Tajima after a fierce fight, while Yanbai’s scheme framed the Hagoromo Clan for the murder of Saionji Kaede. Butsuma Senju told Yanbai that rumors had ruined the Hagoromo Clan’s reputation.

• Senju Longshu fought Uchiha Tajima, was wounded by the Great Fireball Technique, and escaped through a secret tunnel beneath a tent.
• Uchiha Tajima found the tunnel entrance collapsed and decided the Uchiha Clan could destroy Pinefrost City to force the Senju Clan’s hand.
• The Hagoromo Clan’s shinobi stormed the courtyard where Saionji Kaede’s corpse lay and realized they had been framed for her murder.
• Yanbai received a message from a bird, and Butsuma Senju told him that rumors had ruined the Hagoromo Clan’s reputation.

Yanbai helped Butsuma Senju frame the Hagoromo Clan for Saionji Kaede’s murder, disrupting the Senju Clan’s enemies and hoping to protect Itama Senju and Senju Kawarama. At the Naka River, Yanbai confronted Uchiha Izuna, who had been searching for her, and seized him by the throat.

• Butsuma Senju told Yanbai that his plan to frame the Hagoromo Clan had succeeded and that the Saionji House heir would likely move to eliminate the Hagoromo Clan.
• Yanbai reflected that he wanted the Hagoromo Clan gone so Itama Senju and Senju Kawarama would have more time to grow before entering battle.
• Several days later, Uchiha Izuna searched the Naka River for the silver-haired girl his brother Madara had met.
• Yanbai appeared before Uchiha Izuna after the animals revealed that he had been looking for her.
• When Uchiha Izuna insulted her, Yanbai seized him by the throat and asked whether Madara had not warned him against provoking her.

Yanbai accidentally trapped Uchiha Izuna's Great Fireball in his mouth, then repeatedly healed him while putting out the flames, causing Izuna unbearable pain. Izuna awakened his two-tomoe Sharingan during the ordeal, and Yanbai knocked him unconscious before worrying about how to keep him from telling Madara Uchiha what happened.

• Uchiha Izuna tried to use the Great Fireball Technique, but Yanbai clamped his mouth shut and the flames burned him from within.
• Yanbai healed Uchiha Izuna while extinguishing the fire in the Naka River, but Izuna continued to suffer intense pain.
• Uchiha Izuna awakened a two-tomoe Sharingan while screaming in agony, and Yanbai realized he could not let Madara Uchiha find out.
• Yanbai slapped Uchiha Izuna unconscious after Izuna babbled for his big brother.
• Yanbai considered how to wake Izuna and prevent him from going home and telling on him.

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.