Chapter Summaries

In Konoha Year 38, Hatake Xuanzhe went to confront Hatake Sakumo after Kakashi reported his uncle had withdrawn into silence over a failed mission. Xuanzhe struck back at Sakumo’s accusers with a fiery sword technique that destroyed Hokage Rock, leaving the village believing it was under attack.

• Kakashi visited Hatake Xuanzhe and told him Hatake Sakumo had become withdrawn since returning from a mission.
• Xuanzhe took his sword and went with Kakashi to the Hatake home, where Shinnosuke Sarutobi and other ninja were berating Sakumo.
• Xuanzhe slapped Sakumo and demanded to know why he had not defended himself against the accusations.
• When Shinnosuke’s group moved to attack, Xuanzhe drew his sword and unleashed black flames and sword energy, destroying the Third Hokage’s statue on Hokage Rock.
• Kurenai Yuhi, Shizune, and Asuma were knocked down by the blast, and villagers cried out that Konoha was under attack.

Hatake Xuan Zhe’s sword strike destroyed Hokage Rock and exposed his hidden power, while he stopped Hatake Sakumo from giving up on life. Root and the Sarutobi Clan turned their weapons on Xuan Zhe, leaving the Hatake household surrounded and facing a hostile standoff.

• Kurenai Yuhi and Shizune saw the black flames on Hokage Rock and ran to investigate, while Uchiha Fugaku recognized them as Amaterasu.
• Xuan Zhe confronted Hatake Sakumo about his thoughts of dying and promised to beat him if he tried again, reassuring Kakashi that his father would live.
• Root arrived at the Hatake residence and accused Sakumo of destroying Hokage Rock, but Shinnosuke Sarutobi identified Xuan Zhe as the one who struck it.
• After Shinnosuke described Xuan Zhe’s swordsmanship and black flames, Root members and Sarutobi Clan ninja drew weapons and prepared to fight.

Xuanzhe challenged Sarutobi Shinnosuke over blaming Hatake Sakumo for abandoning a mission to save him, then joined Sakumo in defeating the Root squad when they tried to arrest him. The chapter left Shinnosuke pleading for them to stop as the brothers approached.

• Xuanzhe mocked Shinnosuke for condemning Sakumo while ignoring that Shinnosuke had been the one who needed rescuing.
• Shinnosuke attacked Xuanzhe with a Great Fireball Technique, but Sakumo moved in a flash and dispersed it.
• Sakumo offered to pay for Xuanzhe's damage to the Hokage statue, but the Root squad refused and tried to arrest them.
• Xuanzhe and Sakumo struck the Root squad at incredible speed; Sakumo left his opponents alive, while Xuanzhe killed six of the eleven he took down.
• Shinnosuke surrendered in fear as the brothers advanced, and Xuanzhe turned to Sakumo with a deepening smile.

Hatake Xuanzhe left the village after confronting the Sarutobi clan, and his message made Hiruzen Sarutobi reconsider Xuanzhe’s strength and their history. At Xuanzhe’s home, he explained to Hatake Sakumo why he had withdrawn from village life, while privately lamenting the era in which he had transmigrated.

• Hatake Xuanzhe refused to visit Hiruzen Sarutobi and sent Shinnosuke Sarutobi a message to relay instead.
• Shinnosuke Sarutobi delivered Xuanzhe’s warning to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who ordered him to stop carrying out Danzo’s requests.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi recalled how he had sidelined Xuanzhe twenty years earlier because he feared the Hatake brothers’ rise to power.
• Hatake Sakumo and Xuanzhe shared a meal beside Xuanzhe’s home while Sakumo asked why Xuanzhe had stayed away from the village.
• Xuanzhe complained that he had transmigrated during Hiruzen Sarutobi’s time as Hokage.

Xuan Zhe explained to Hatake Sakumo that Konoha's elders had political motives for turning the village against him after his failed mission. The next morning, the Hokage summoned the brothers, and Kakashi learned that Nawaki was Xuan Zhe's brother-in-law.

• Xuan Zhe told Hatake Sakumo that his enemies were likely targeting him because he threatened the elders' political interests, not simply because he abandoned the mission.
• Hatake Sakumo explained that he had failed to assassinate the Second Kazekage after Shinnosuke Sarutobi was badly injured, forcing him to save Shinnosuke and abandon the mission.
• An Anbu squad arrived at the Hatake farm to summon Xuan Zhe and Hatake Sakumo, and Xuan Zhe intimidated them before taking weapons along.
• Xuan Zhe and Hatake Sakumo left for the Hokage's summons while Kakashi went to the Ninja Academy.
• Kakashi encountered Nawaki, who greeted Xuan Zhe as his brother-in-law, leaving Kakashi stunned.

Xuan Zhe and Hatake Sakumo visited Hiruzen Sarutobi, who urged them to reinforce the Konoha forces fighting Sunagakure. Xuan Zhe agreed to head toward the front, while mocking Sakumo's fragility.

• Xuan Zhe teased Nawaki about his interest in dating and said Tsunade probably had never spoken to Dan Katō.
• The academy bell sent Nawaki and Kakashi hurrying to class, while Xuan Zhe and Hatake Sakumo continued to the Administration Building.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Hatake Sakumo that he had blamed Sunagakure for destroying Hokage Rock and said the war needed to end soon to keep the truth hidden.
• Hatake Sakumo asked Hiruzen Sarutobi to authorize him and Xuan Zhe to reinforce Tsunade's forces in the Land of Wind, and Hiruzen approved.
• Xuan Zhe offered to go alone and mocked Hatake Sakumo for being so fragile that another setback might make him consider suicide.

Xuan Zhe and Hatake Sakumo prepared to return to the front, while Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo discussed the campaign to discredit Sakumo. As public scorn spread through Konoha, Xuan Zhe found Nawaki angry about the insults and explained how crowds avoided responsibility.

• Hatake Sakumo told Hiruzen Sarutobi he had recovered and would join Xuan Zhe on another mission against Sunagakure, and Xuan Zhe asked for Shinnosuke's Sarutobi Squad to accompany them.
• Xuan Zhe hinted that he knew someone was spying on Hiruzen Sarutobi's office, and Hiruzen revealed that Danzo had been hiding outside.
• Danzo said Sakumo had lost the shinobi world's support, while Hiruzen accused Danzo of helping provoke Shinnosuke into the failed mission.
• Xuan Zhe and Hatake Sakumo heard villagers blame Sakumo for the war's continuation, and Xuan Zhe reflected on the hostility toward the Senju Clan.
• Nawaki told Xuan Zhe that students had repeated the insults against Sakumo, and Xuan Zhe said people in crowds rarely faced consequences for their words.

Xuan Zhe told Nawaki that Konoha’s fertile Land of Fire made it a target for invasion, then joined his brother’s squad at the village gates. Before their departure, he provoked the Sarutobi family over the claim that missions mattered more than comrades and teased Obito, Rin, and Kurenai.

• Xuan Zhe argued that Konoha’s rich land explained why other nations attacked it, and promised Nawaki a surprise in a few days.
• Xuan Zhe arrived at Konoha’s main gate, where Hiruzen Sarutobi, Biwako Sarutobi, Asuma Sarutobi, Kakashi, Rin Nohara, Obito Uchiha, and Kurenai Yuhi had gathered to see the squad off.
• Xuan Zhe declared that shinobi should prioritize missions over saving comrades, prompting Obito to object and Shinnosuke Sarutobi to agree under pressure.
• Xuan Zhe asked Hiruzen Sarutobi to endorse Shinnosuke’s position, and Hiruzen gave a cautious answer that the village’s needs mattered.
• Xuan Zhe teased Obito about Rin and warned her against liking him, while Kurenai Yuhi blushed over Xuan Zhe’s appearance.

Hatake Xuanzhe and Hatake Sakumo arrived at the front with the Sarutobi Squad as the war against Sunagakure continued. Tsunade treated a poisoned shinobi and was summoned by Orochimaru, who said he had a surprise for her.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi sent Xuanzhe, Sakumo, and the Sarutobi Squad to support Konoha's front lines while Biwako voiced her unease about Xuanzhe.
• Nawaki led the children to the Ninja Academy and privately resolved to make Hiruzen suffer for the Senju Clan's losses, believing Xuanzhe's plans were unfolding.
• Xuanzhe, Sakumo, and the Sarutobi Squad reached Konoha's camp, where Xuanzhe praised the Hyuga guards for being smarter than the villagers who blamed Sakumo.
• Tsunade removed poison from a wounded shinobi and rejected Dan Katō's attention after leaving the operating room.
• A Chunin told Tsunade that Orochimaru had summoned her to a meeting and promised a surprise, leaving her wary.

Xuan Zhe reunited with Tsunade in Orochimaru’s command tent, then learned about Konoha’s war against Sunagakure and agreed to target Chiyo. As the group reached the Land of Wind’s border, Xuan Zhe privately focused on a Konoha traitor rather than the enemy.

• Xuan Zhe surprised Tsunade with a kiss and flirted with her, while the other officers watched their reunion.
• Tsunade asked why Xuan Zhe had come, and he said he wanted to help his brother Hatake Sakumo and see her.
• Orochimaru briefed the officers on Chiyo, her brother Ebizo, the One-Tail jinchuriki Bunpuku, and the Second Kazekage Shamon.
• Xuan Zhe agreed to help Orochimaru and Hatake Sakumo target Chiyo on the front line.
• Xuan Zhe privately resolved to take revenge on a Konoha man whose life his brother had once saved, then stood with Orochimaru at the Land of Wind’s border.

As Konoha’s army faced Bunpuku’s massive sand attack, Xuanzhe drew his sword and split the Quicksand Waterfall with a powerful slash. Bunpuku stopped the attack with the Shield of Shukaku, while Konoha’s forces realized Xuanzhe was far stronger than his “Eternal Genin” nickname suggested.

• Xuanzhe and Orochimaru discussed the Land of Fire and the way Konoha’s textbooks praised Hiruzen Sarutobi over the First and Second Hokage.
• Hyuga Hiashi spotted Bunpuku’s approaching sand wave, and Orochimaru identified the jinchūriki as the battle’s biggest threat.
• Xuanzhe stopped Orochimaru from forming an Earth Release Defensive Wall and drew his sword to attack the sand.
• Xuanzhe’s dark-red sword slash tore through Bunpuku’s Quicksand Waterfall, but Bunpuku blocked the remaining attack with the Shield of Shukaku.
• Orochimaru and Konoha’s soldiers were stunned by Xuanzhe’s power, and Shikaku Nara compared the Hatake brothers’ abilities to Kage Level strength.

Xuan Zhe fought Bunpuku on the battlefield while Hatake Sakumo clashed with Chiyo, and the Konoha forces battled the Sand army. Xuan Zhe wounded Bunpuku but did not finish him, leaving the fight ongoing as Bunpuku counterattacked.

• The Sand army emerged from behind the collapsed sand, and Chiyo charged Hatake Sakumo while Ebizo ordered the Sand forces to attack.
• Hatake Sakumo and Chiyo clashed as the Konoha and Sand armies met, and Sakumo warned Xuan Zhe about Bunpuku's attack from above.
• Xuan Zhe dodged Bunpuku's Sand Shower, destroyed his Sand Clone and Third Eye, then killed four Sand ninja who surrounded him.
• Xuan Zhe ran toward another part of the battlefield, and Bunpuku followed him while keeping his distance.
• Xuan Zhe pierced Bunpuku's hurried sand wall and wounded his shoulder, but Bunpuku evaded his next killing strike and countered with Shukaku's claw.

Xuan Zhe fought Bunpuku, who unleashed a vast sand burial that swallowed Sarutobi Rie and trapped Sarutobi Shinnosuke and other Konoha ninja. Xuan Zhe escaped with a Black Flame slash that severed Bunpuku’s arm, but Bunpuku began transforming with Shukaku’s power.

• Xuan Zhe fought Bunpuku and recognized his Sand Armor as the reason his thrust had missed.
• Bunpuku turned the battlefield into a sea of sand and used Prison Sand Burial to drag Xuan Zhe and the nearby ninja underground.
• Sarutobi Rie was buried, while Enma rescued Sarutobi Shinnosuke from the sand.
• Xuan Zhe escaped with a Black Flame flying slash and severed Bunpuku’s left arm.
• Bunpuku’s wound sprouted Shukaku’s arm as his body began to transform, while Xuan Zhe hovered above the battlefield.

Hatake Xuan Zhe withdrew Konoha's forces as Bunpuku nearly lost control of Shukaku, leaving Sunagakure divided over whether to continue the war. Back at camp, Xuan Zhe stunned the clan leaders by supporting Sarutobi Shinnosuke's demand to keep fighting.

• Bunpuku began transforming as Shukaku attacked his seal, and Ebizo ordered Sunagakure's Sealing Squad to stop him.
• Xuan Zhe refused Orochimaru's suggestion to charge, then left the battlefield; Hatake Sakumo and Orochimaru ordered Konoha's forces to retreat.
• Sunagakure regained control of Bunpuku, and Ebizo said he must be sent home; Chiyo insisted they keep fighting until White Fang was dead.
• At Konoha Camp, Xuan Zhe defended the retreat by warning that Shukaku could have caused heavy losses, while Shikaku Nara predicted Sunagakure would seek peace.
• Sarutobi Shinnosuke demanded revenge for Rie and the fallen Sarutobi, and Xuan Zhe unexpectedly supported his call to keep fighting.

Xuan Zhe rallied the clan leaders behind a renewed assassination mission against the Second Kazekage, Shamon, and enlisted Sarutobi Shinnosuke while planning to use Hatake Sakumo as a decoy. Before departing, Xuan Zhe visited Tsunade, who warned that the mission would permanently break his ties with old man Sarutobi.

• Xuan Zhe backed Sarutobi Shinnosuke’s demand to continue the war, provoking the clan leaders’ resentment.
• Xuan Zhe proposed restarting the failed mission to assassinate Shamon by traveling through the Land of Rain and infiltrating the Land of Wind.
• Xuan Zhe said he would accompany Sarutobi Shinnosuke while Hatake Sakumo kept Chiyo focused on the front lines, and the meeting accepted his plan.
• Xuan Zhe visited Tsunade, who warned that completing the mission would make him break with old man Sarutobi.
• Orochimaru asked Xuan Zhe whether he truly intended to proceed, then left after remarking that life was fragile.

Xuan Zhe and Sarutobi Shinnosuke were ambushed on their way toward the Land of Wind, then confronted by a masked figure guarding a bridge. Xuan Zhe revealed that he intended to kill Shinnosuke and blame his death on the Second Kazekage, but Shinnosuke began summoning a beast to survive.

• Hatake Sakumo warned Xuan Zhe and Sarutobi Shinnosuke to avoid confronting the Second Kazekage directly as they left camp.
• Xuan Zhe killed a group of unidentified attackers and concluded that their plans had been exposed.
• Xuan Zhe and Sarutobi Shinnosuke encountered a masked, white-robed figure who ordered them to turn back from the Land of Wind.
• Xuan Zhe told Shinnosuke he had intended to kill him since the earlier battle and would claim the Second Kazekage had done it.
• Sarutobi Shinnosuke began forming the hand seals for a summoning technique.

Xuan Zhe killed Sarutobi Shinnosuke in the Land of Rain and encountered Jiraiya with Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato. He asked Jiraiya to join him in hunting the Second Kazekage, leaving as Jiraiya prepared to say goodbye to his students.

• Xuan Zhe severed Sarutobi Shinnosuke's hands, taunted him about his father, then killed and dismembered him among the Land of Rain's corpses.
• Xuan Zhe decided to continue to the Land of Rain to confront Shamon, the Second Kazekage, and encountered Jiraiya and the three young students.
• Xuan Zhe recognized Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato, considered taking Nagato's Rinnegan, then decided against it.
• Jiraiya told Xuan Zhe he was leaving the Land of Rain and returning to Konoha after teaching the children to survive.
• Konan accused Xuan Zhe of creating more hatred, and Xuan Zhe mocked Jiraiya's faith in the toad's prophecy before urging him to leave with him and fight the Kazekage.

Xuan Zhe and Jiraiya traveled to Sunagakure, where Xuan Zhe hurled Jiraiya at the guarded entrance as a diversion. Jiraiya fought off Sunagakure’s forces while Xuan Zhe’s plan to slip into the village remained underway.

• Xuan Zhe left Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato with Jiraiya and traveled with him toward the Land of Wind.
• Xuan Zhe and Jiraiya reached the desert surrounding Sunagakure and discussed how to get past its defenses.
• Xuan Zhe threw Jiraiya toward Sunagakure’s entrance and shouted that Konoha was attacking, drawing the village guards into action.
• Rasa joined the defense and attacked Jiraiya with Magnet Release, but Jiraiya and Gamabunta countered with a Fire Release combination technique.
• Shamon heard that Jiraiya had arrived alone and questioned the strange attack at Sunagakure’s gate.

Xuan Zhe attacked the weakened Second Kazekage, Shamon, in his office and defeated him despite Shamon’s sand techniques and puppet. He left surrounded by Sunagakure shinobi, holding the Kazekage’s severed head.

• Shamon ordered the Anbu to wait for developments while his failing health kept him from joining the fight outside.
• Xuan Zhe broke into the Kazekage’s Office and declared that he had come to kill Shamon for the death of the Hokage’s son.
• Shamon used Sand Burial and a puppet against Xuan Zhe, but Xuan Zhe broke through the sand and smashed the puppet aside.
• Xuan Zhe sealed off approaching Sand shinobi with black flames and deflected Shamon’s Wind Release: Scattering Sand Bullets.
• Shamon unleashed a massive wave of sand, but Xuan Zhe moved behind him and beheaded him with his black blade.
• Xuan Zhe caught Shamon’s head as the sea of sand fell apart, and the gathered Sunagakure shinobi saw him holding it.

Xuan Zhe escaped Sunagakure with Jiraiya after killing Kazekage Shamon, and his display of Shamon’s head halted the fighting and prompted both sides to withdraw. Back at the Konoha camp, Xuan Zhe told Hatake Sakumo that Shinnosuke had died, and Sakumo asked why he had not intervened.

• Xuan Zhe killed Kazekage Shamon and escaped Sunagakure with Jiraiya while Rasa and the surviving Sand ninja pursued them.
• Three days later, Hatake Sakumo and Orochimaru’s forces fought Sunagakure ninja until Xuan Zhe arrived with Jiraiya and displayed Shamon’s head.
• Xuan Zhe tossed Shamon’s head to Chiyo, and Orochimaru ordered Konoha’s forces to withdraw as Sunagakure prepared to retreat and negotiate a ceasefire.
• At the Konoha camp, Hatake Sakumo asked where Shinnosuke was, and Xuan Zhe said Shamon had killed him with Sand Binding Coffin.
• Hatake Sakumo asked Xuan Zhe whether he had intervened as Shikaku Nara and his companions overheard.