Chapter Summaries

Madara recalled the strategic discussion with Izuna and Jing Xiu, then used Greenleaf Cliff’s terrain and explosive tags to inflict heavy losses on Hashirama Senju’s forces. After the first battle, Butsuma Senju challenged Hashirama to learn from the seventy-seven clansmen who had died under his command.

• Madara and Jing Xiu explained to Izuna how the Senju’s possible routes and the Uchiha clan compound’s hidden reserves shaped the war’s strategy.
• Madara recounted the discussion to the Uchiha elites at Greenleaf Cliff, where Hashirama Senju began the battle with a Water Release technique that cloaked the battlefield in steam.
• Madara led the Uchiha down the cliff and detonated hundreds of natural-chakra explosive tags beneath the Senju vanguard, causing severe casualties.
• Madara and Hashirama faced each other after the first clash, and the Senju suffered greater losses over the day’s engagements.
• Butsuma Senju questioned the despondent Hashirama about whether he had won or lost, then urged him to learn from the seventy-seven clansmen who had died.

After the Uchiha won the opening battle, Madara personally patrolled the camp, following Jing Xiu’s warnings about a Senju night raid. Butsuma Senju ambushed and gravely wounded Madara, leaving his fate uncertain.

• Hashirama grieved for the seventy-seven companions lost in battle and was urged to reclaim his warrior’s heart on the battlefield.
• Madara planned the next battle with the Second Elder and patrolled the Uchiha camp, remembering Jing Xiu’s advice to stay alert for Senju schemes.
• Butsuma Senju and three elite Jōnin infiltrated the Uchiha camp, but Madara spotted them and secretly alerted the Second Elder, Fourth Elder, and Hidden Ninja.
• Butsuma’s group surrounded Madara in the forest; two Senju turned back toward camp while Butsuma and another attacked him.
• The Hidden Ninja reached Madara after he had fallen into a pool of blood, and Butsuma declared that Madara had been exceptional.

Butsuma Senju used a two-person tactic to kill the Uchiha Hidden Ninja and prepared to finish off the apparently lifeless Madara. In Madara’s mind, Jing Xiu explained that the essence of golden light was not overwhelming force or defense, but a natural state of being that brought out an object’s inherent ability.

• Butsuma Senju distracted the Uchiha Hidden Ninja, allowing a Senju elite Jōnin to behead him with a surprise attack.
• The Senju elite Jōnin urged Butsuma Senju to capture Madara, but Butsuma Senju refused and prepared to stab him.
• Madara’s body had stopped breathing and its heart had stopped, though chakra still circulated as he relived Jing Xiu’s lesson about the Golden Light Mantra.
• Madara told Jing Xiu that true power meant having enough strength to crush everything, and that golden light was such a power.
• Jing Xiu challenged Madara’s understanding of the mantra and explained that true golden light was a natural state that revealed an object’s inherent ability.

Madara Uchiha awakened with a new power and drove Butsuma Senju to retreat as Uchiha Tajima and Hyuga Tennin arrived. After the clans returned to camp and prepared for further conflict, an Uchiha chunin reported that Madara was missing.

• Madara Uchiha merged his chakra with natural chakra and condensed a faint, illusory golden pill.
• Madara opened his eyes as Butsuma Senju attacked, seized his tachi, and unleashed fire dragons, prompting Butsuma to order a retreat.
• Uchiha Tajima and Hyuga Tennin confronted Butsuma Senju, then pursued him and the Senju forces to Greenleaf Cliff.
• Tajima returned to the Uchiha camp, ordered heightened security, and arranged treatment for the injured Tennin.
• An Uchiha chunin told Tajima that Madara Uchiha was missing.

Madara recovered in Ryūchi Cave, survived Tagitsuhime’s attack, and was brought before the White Snake Sage, who offered him the power of the cave in exchange for a summoning contract. Madara refused, insisting his own strength could bring peace, and the White Snake Sage sent a tiny snake darting into his arm.

• Natural Chakra dissipated as Madara regained consciousness, leaving his body more attuned to nature.
• Madara resisted Tagitsuhime’s illusion, but she coiled around him until the White Snake Sage declared that he had passed the trial.
• Tagitsuhime escorted Madara through Ryūchi Cave to the White Snake Sage’s chamber.
• The White Snake Sage offered Madara a summoning contract and the chance to use Ryūchi Cave’s power to bring peace.
• Madara refused the offer and said his own strength was sufficient, so the White Snake Sage sent a tiny white-scaled snake into his arm.

Madara returned from Ryūchi Cave and devastated the battlefield at Greenleaf Cliff, forcing the Senju to retreat. Hashirama began awakening Wood Release but became too exhausted to fight, while Madara recognized him as a future rival and was summoned by Uchiha Tajima.

• The White Snake Sage ordered Tagitsuhime to escort Madara from Ryūchi Cave, and Tagitsuhime urged him to accept Ryūchi Cave’s Senjutsu training, but he remained unmoved.
• Madara returned to Greenleaf Cliff and slaughtered enemy shinobi while golden light protected him from attacks.
• Butsuma Senju ordered Hashirama Senju and Yunjian Senju to stop Madara, but Madara dismissed Hashirama and continued fighting across the battlefield.
• Hashirama’s earth- and water-nature chakra began merging into a life-filled new chakra, but the transformation drained his stamina and Yunjian intervened when Madara struck.
• Butsuma ordered the Senju to retreat, and Uchiha Tajima called off pursuit as Madara watched Hashirama leave and remembered his name.
• A chunin arrived with the Body Flicker Technique and told Madara that Uchiha Tajima had summoned him.

After reflecting on the battle at Greenleaf Cliff, Madara returned to the Uchiha clan grounds and reunited with Izuna and Jing Xiu. Madara revealed that he had recovered from severe injuries and developed unusual chakra, leading Jing Xiu to suspect a connection to senjutsu.

• Tajima and Madara reviewed the Greenleaf Cliff battle, and Tajima urged Madara to learn clan management and give the clan his golden light ninjutsu.
• Jing Xiu trained with a spear while Izuna practiced, and Jing Xiu intercepted most of the fireballs Madara sent their way.
• Madara returned and embraced Izuna, then tested both brothers' combat skills and advised Izuna to improve his hand seals.
• Jing Xiu said he planned to begin extracting chakra at seven, while Izuna proposed a fish feast to celebrate Madara's return.
• Madara told Jing Xiu that he had grasped the second level of the golden light and mostly healed from his wounds, and Jing Xiu examined his unusual chakra.
• Jing Xiu suggested Madara's chakra might be related to senjutsu, startling Madara and allowing a large fish to escape.

Madara told Jing Xiu and Izuna about Ryūchi Cave, and Jing Xiu explained the Three Great Sage Lands and proposed researching Sage Mode together. Months later, the Uchiha, Senju, and Hyuga clans were weakened by war, while seven other clans formed an alliance, leaving Madara to consider how the Uchiha should respond.

• Madara recounted his experience in Ryūchi Cave, and Jing Xiu explained the Three Great Sage Lands and their different Sage Modes to Madara and Izuna.
• Jing Xiu proposed studying how Madara could remain in Sage Mode longer, but Madara told him to wait until he had become a Jōnin.
• Jing Xiu reflected on Hagoromo Otsutsuki and decided to ask Madara for basic Sealing Jutsu materials so he could develop his talisman techniques.
• Several months later, Uchiha Tajima returned to the clan grounds as Greenleaf Cliff became the front line between the Uchiha, Senju, and Hyuga clans.
• After the Seven-Clan Alliance declared itself a new power, Tajima asked Madara how the Uchiha should respond, and Madara considered how to handle the allied clans.

Butsuma Senju sent Tobirama Senju to support Hashirama Senju at the Seven-Clan Alliance ceremony, while Madara Uchiha decided the alliance could benefit the Uchiha and traveled toward Kinzawa Castle with Jing Xiu, Izuna, and the Fourth Uchiha Elder. At the castle, the seven clan leaders debated how to handle smaller clans and the three superclans.

• Butsuma Senju tested Tobirama Senju's loyalty to Hashirama Senju and assigned him to accompany his elder brother to the alliance ceremony.
• Madara Uchiha weighed the alliance's possible impact, then concluded it could benefit the Uchiha whether it joined them or the Senju.
• Uchiha Tajima approved Madara's plan to attend the ceremony with the Fourth Uchiha Elder, Jing Xiu, and Izuna.
• Madara, Jing Xiu, Izuna, and the Fourth Uchiha Elder set out for Kinzawa Castle, stopping along the way as Izuna ate dumplings.
• At Kinzawa Castle, the seven clan leaders discussed how to deal with smaller clans and what to do if the Senju, Uchiha, and Hyuga caused trouble.

The Uchiha, Senju, and Hyuga heirs tried to understand the seven clans’ political maneuvering in Kinzawa Castle. Madara decided to speak with the Shimura clan leader, while Izuna’s collision with Tobirama ended in a furious argument over Jing Xiu.

• The Uchiha party arrived at Kinzawa Castle and joined the Hagoromo Clan, but the seven clans did not send anyone to welcome them.
• Jing Xiu explained to Madara that the seven clans might be testing the Senju and Uchiha rather than seeking to become an independent power, and Madara refused to court them like Hashirama Senju.
• Hashirama rejected Tobirama’s suggestion to break up the alliance and turn its clans into Senju vassals.
• Yamanaka Motoharu and Nara Takamoto secretly monitored Madara and Hashirama, but Jing Xiu briefly disrupted their perception of Madara’s group.
• Madara said he would try speaking with the Shimura clan leader, while Jing Xiu chose not to warn him about the surveillance.
• Izuna collided with Tobirama, who called him Jing Xiu, and Izuna angrily insisted that Jing Xiu was his foolish younger brother destined to remain beneath his heel.

Jing Xiu escalated the confrontation between the Uchiha and Senju in Kinzawa Castle, then secretly led Madara and Izuna to recruit the Nara Clan. He explained that the Nara’s secret techniques and support would make the Uchiha far stronger, and Nara Takamoto began to grasp his reasoning.

• Hashirama apologized for Tobirama’s collision with Izuna, then clashed with Madara after Tobirama called the Uchiha evil.
• Jing Xiu suspected Tobirama’s prejudice had helped sow the seeds of the Uchiha’s future destruction and decided Tobirama could not be allowed to live.
• Sarutobi Yuri and Shimura Kamenosuke intervened to prevent a fight, but Jing Xiu demanded that Tobirama apologize and challenged Shimura Kamenosuke’s attempt to end the matter.
• That night, Jing Xiu took Madara and Izuna into the Nara compound to bring the Nara Clan under the Uchiha’s banner.
• Madara offered Nara Takamoto a stable living environment, and Jing Xiu argued that the Nara Clan’s value went beyond its fighting strength.

Jing Xiu and Madara negotiated with Nara Takamoto, who agreed to let his younger son join the Uchiha brothers and explained the strategic value of the Nara Clan and the Ino-Shika-Cho alliance. He said the clans were not unwilling to cooperate more broadly, but unable to do so.

• Nara Takamoto questioned whether Jing Xiu could speak for the Uchiha Clan, then agreed to send his younger son with the brothers.
• Jing Xiu asked Nara Takamoto to persuade the Yamanaka and Akimichi Clans to become Izuna's trusted partners.
• Madara affirmed that Jing Xiu and Izuna's will was his own and asked Nara Takamoto to explain why Jing Xiu had chosen the Nara Clan.
• Nara Takamoto described the factions within the Seven-Clan Alliance and argued that the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi Clans could strengthen the Uchiha through their techniques and secret medicines.
• Nara Takamoto said broader cooperation was not possible for the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans, despite their willingness.

Jing Xiu and Madara negotiated alliances that kept the Land of Fire clans balanced, while Jing Xiu trained the allied clans’ young guards and withheld his training methods from Uchiha Tajima. After a year of uneasy peace and dangerous missions, Jing Xiu received another mission document and wondered why Tajima kept targeting him.

• Jing Xiu pushed Nara Takamoto to consider sharing the Ino-Shika-Cho secret medicine, while Madara proposed sending specialists to the Uchiha; Jing Xiu deferred final negotiations until the Senju brothers had been met.
• The Uchiha brothers visited the Aburame, Hatake, and Kurama Clans, and the Hatake and Kurama agreed to send elite members to the Uchiha as Jing Xiu’s subordinates and as safeguards for their neutrality.
• Jing Xiu and Izuna received young guards from allied clans, and after a year Jing Xiu taught them body conditioning and basic breathing techniques while studying Kurama Natsuki’s kekkei genkai.
• Uchiha Tajima assigned Jing Xiu several dangerous missions and sought his training methods, but Jing Xiu, Madara, and Izuna refused to share them, fearing the other clans would unite against the Uchiha.
• Jing Xiu stared at a new mission document, inwardly resenting Uchiha Tajima for repeatedly targeting him.

Jing Xiu traveled to the Land of Crafts, where he worked with Qingming to develop the Four Symbols Divine Artifacts. After realizing he needed a living core to create his own Body Tempering Furnace, Jing Xiu thought of possible candidates but doubted he was strong enough to obtain one.

• Jing Xiu received border maps and left the Naka River with his guards for a three-year garrison assignment in the Land of Crafts.
• Uchiha Tajima learned that Jing Xiu had killed Hyuga Qingqian and Uchiha Lieshan, then secretly arranged for Izuna to go to the Land of Whirlpools and ordered that Jing Xiu be told about it.
• Jing Xiu and Qingming designed the Infinite Phoenix Armor, the Divine Dragon Sword, and the Peacock Twin Swords, then used Divine Machine Hundred Refinements to complete a set of Four Symbols Divine Artifacts.
• Jing Xiu concluded that he needed a Body Tempering Furnace to make his own divine artifacts and considered what living core could power it.

Jing Xiu learned that Uzushio Village was searching for something while the Uchiha and Senju weighed their next moves. He questioned the captured Uzumaki Qingzhi about whether his clan had noticed his disappearance and begun a search.

• Hatake Ryuichi told Jing Xiu that Uzushio Village had sent out many shinobi, though their suspicions seemed focused on the Land of Lightning, and Jing Xiu suggested reworking ninja tools for Ryuichi, Aburame Zhihong, and Kurama Natsuki.
• Ryuichi reported that the Senju jōnin in the Land of Crafts had made no move against the Uchiha, while Uchiha Tajima and Butsuma Senju separately considered their next actions and Butsuma summoned Tobirama and Yunjian.
• Kurama Natsuki continued interrogating Uzumaki Qingzhi, who had spent half a month trapped in her layered Genjutsu Maze and had revealed some sealing jutsu before falling silent.
• Jing Xiu corrected Kurama Natsuki’s use of his title and asked Uzumaki Qingzhi whether he had left coded messages for his clan and whether the Uzumaki had begun searching for him.

Jing Xiu used Uzumaki Qingzhi’s memories to learn that the Uzumaki Clan’s complete Sealing Jutsu compendium had been stolen. He then gave Kurama Natsuki a dangerous mission and prepared to seal her chakra.

• Jing Xiu questioned Uzumaki Qingzhi, whose reactions revealed that the Uzumaki Clan was searching for something stolen.
• Jing Xiu extracted and examined Uzumaki Qingzhi’s soul, discovering the complete Sealing Jutsu compendium and its Four Symbols Seal.
• Jing Xiu used strange behavior to unsettle Kurama Natsuki, then asked her to take a high-risk mission.
• Kurama Natsuki eagerly accepted Jing Xiu’s command and mistook his approach for a romantic advance.
• Jing Xiu pushed Kurama Natsuki away, took out silver needles, and told her he would seal the chakra in her body.

Jing Xiu and Hatake Ryuichi disguised themselves as Land of Lightning ninja and slaughtered a fishing village in the Land of Whirlpools, leaving evidence for the Uzumaki Clan to find. Mito Uzumaki tracked the attack to the village and prepared to confront the killers, while Ashina insisted on joining her.

• Jing Xiu and Hatake Ryuichi traveled toward the Land of Whirlpools with Qingming and the unconscious Kurama Natsuki, leaving misleading clues that pointed to the Land of Lightning.
• Jing Xiu and Ryuichi disguised themselves as a four-man Land of Lightning squad and killed the genin and samurai in a small fishing village.
• Jing Xiu placed Kurama Natsuki and Uzumaki Qingzhi's corpse in the cellar before returning to the Land of Crafts with Ryuichi and Qingming.
• Mito Uzumaki led a squad, including her younger brother Ashina, along the faint trail and detected Lightning Release chakra on charred sand.
• Mito found traces of the massacre near the village and ordered her squad to prepare for combat, while Ashina insisted on coming with her.

Mito Uzumaki's team found Uzumaki Qingzhi dead and rescued the injured Kurama Natsuki from a cellar in a massacred fishing village. After learning Tobirama Senju planned to kill Uchiha Izuna, Jing Xiu left the Land of Crafts in secret, while the chapter ended at the guarded Tenshu Pavilion in the Land of Hot Water.

• Mito Uzumaki led her team through the bloodied village and identified the dead as spies from the Land of Water and samurai from the Land of Iron.
• Jing Taro found Uzumaki Qingzhi's corpse and Kurama Natsuki alive in a cellar, and Mito carried the injured girl out.
• Qingming gave Ryuichi the modified katana Arc Light, which stored and enhanced Lightning Release chakra.
• Jing Xiu read Kurama Natsuki's report that Tobirama Senju and the Uzumaki Clan planned to kill Uchiha Izuna during his diplomatic mission.
• Jing Xiu left the Land of Crafts in secret, while a white-eyed shinobi guarded the passage to the daimyo's quarters in the Land of Hot Water.

Izuna and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio delayed their mission to the Land of Hot Water while Yoshihiro investigated signs that it was unusually dangerous. Meanwhile, Jing Xiu maintained a decoy in the Land of Crafts, and a black-robed ninja recruited the mysterious one-eyed ninja, setting them on a bloody road.

• Izuna and Yoshihiro recognized that the mission to establish commercial ties in the Land of Hot Water lacked instructions and might be a trap.
• Izuna chose to trust Uchiha Tajima and continue, while Yoshihiro proposed resting for three days to recover and gather intelligence.
• Yoshihiro and Yamanaka Kita went to investigate, leaving Izuna and Akimichi Katsuie by the secluded stream.
• Jing Xiu's shadow clone continued lectures in the Land of Crafts with Qingming's help, concealing Jing Xiu's absence from those watching.
• A black-robed ninja appeared before the one-eyed ninja in the Land of Hot Water, and the two departed together after he took the crimson tachi.

Jing Xiu and Wolf hunted Uzumaki squads along the coast while Uzushio Village struggled to understand the disappearances and the theft of its Sacred Relic. Tobirama Senju mistook a civilian for an Uchiha pawn, and Madara Uchiha opened an S-rank report that left him frightened.

• Jing Xiu ordered Wolf to kill every Uzumaki squad operating outside Uzushio Village, and Wolf agreed without objection.
• Wolf killed a four-person Uzumaki squad with his Thin Sun Blade and Fire Release, while Jing Xiu regretted not striking the killing blows himself.
• After three days of coastal patrols, Jing Xiu had accumulated enough life force to fill his Urn of Life about one-tenth of the way.
• Uzumaki Ashina questioned Uzumaki Changshou about missing mission squads and discussed the Senju alliance, the stolen Sacred Relic, and his fear for the Uzumaki Clan.
• Tobirama Senju decided that a civilian girl in Uzushio Village was an Uchiha pawn and believed he had uncovered Madara's plan.
• Madara Uchiha received an S-rank confidential report from his clan, unsealed it, and began to tremble with fear.