Recaps

Sōkyū Hatake tested his new speed against Kakashi Hatake, then headed alone toward Iwagakure’s Operations Command Room to scout the enemy. Han learned someone was watching from above and went out to meet the intruder.

• Sōkyū Hatake told Minato Namikaze that Jiraiya had left for the Kirigakure border, then escaped Minato’s paperwork by climbing out a window.
• Kakashi Hatake joined Sōkyū Hatake outside the encampment, and the two raced to the front lines using their speed.
• Sōkyū Hatake absorbed Kakashi Hatake’s lightning and left him behind before flying toward Iwagakure’s main camp with Geppo.
• An Iwa ninja told Han that Jiraiya had been replaced by Minato Namikaze and that Sōkyū Hatake, the “Thunder God,” had arrived.
• Han ordered Hōki to test the Konoha forces, then went out after sensing someone watching from above.

Sōkyū Hatake confronted Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, after entering Iwagakure’s territory, and the two clashed with powerful attacks. Their battle continued in close combat between the villages, leaving both sides astonished by Sōkyū’s strength.

• Sōkyū Hatake surveyed Iwagakure from above until Han sensed him and launched an attack with Steam Armor.
• Sōkyū and Han traded a powerful kick and Thunder Punch, then landed between the Konoha and Iwagakure forces.
• Han dismissed Sōkyū as lucky and challenged him to prove his strength, while Sōkyū welcomed the chance to fight the Five-Tails Jinchuriki.
• Han shattered one of Sōkyū’s lightning-wrapped Wind Scars and charged through Thunder God Descent using Boiling Vapor Soars.
• Sōkyū activated Thunder God Possession, and he and Han traded punches as both villages watched in awe.

Sōkyū Hatake faced Han in a sparring match that escalated when Han used Kokuō’s Partial Tailed Beast Transformation and Sōkyū activated Sage Mode. The chapter ended as Sōkyū charged Han with Senjutsu Armament and Thunder God Strength against Han’s Horn Slash.

• Minato Namikaze rushed to the battlefield and found Sōkyū and Han fighting evenly, while Kakashi Hatake explained how the clash began.
• Han prepared to use Kokuō’s power, and Sōkyū activated Sage Mode with Pikachu’s help.
• Hōki arrived on Iwagakure’s side and learned that Sōkyū had forced Han to draw on the Five-Tails’ chakra.
• Han entered Partial Tailed Beast Transformation, and Kokuō warned him that Sōkyū was dangerous.
• Han attacked with Boil Release: Horn Slash, while Sōkyū enhanced his hands with Senjutsu Armament and charged in using Thunder God Strength.

Sōkyū Hatake fought Han evenly until Minato Namikaze and Hōki intervened, preventing Han from escalating to a full Tailed Beast Transformation. Han and Hōki withdrew toward Iwagakure’s border, and the Konoha group prepared to return.

• Sōkyū Hatake and Han clashed with Senjutsu Armament and Partial Tailed Beast Transformation, impressing the arriving Obito Uchiha, Rin Nohara, Minato Namikaze, and Kakashi Hatake.
• Minato Namikaze noticed Han’s Tailed Beast Cloak growing redder and appeared to stop the fight before Han could use Five-Tails Kokuō’s full form.
• Han withdrew his Tailed Beast Cloak, and Sōkyū Hatake deactivated Sage Mode as Hōki joined Han and faced Minato Namikaze.
• Sōkyū Hatake challenged Hōki, but Han ordered him to step back after judging him no match for Sōkyū Hatake.
• Han warned that the next meeting would be the day Sōkyū Hatake died, then left toward Iwagakure’s border with Hōki and the Iwa Shinobi.
• Minato Namikaze turned to leave, and Sōkyū Hatake wondered whether Minato was angry because he had not given him a lift.

Sōkyū Hatake reported his clash with Han to Minato Namikaze, then escaped Minato’s attempt to assign him paperwork. Madara Uchiha learned Sōkyū had reached the front and continued his plan for Obito Uchiha, while Sōkyū reunited with Kakashi Hatake, Obito, and Rin Nohara and reminded Kakashi that strength was needed to pursue their goal.

• Minato Namikaze questioned Sōkyū Hatake about provoking Han, and Sōkyū explained that Han had detected him while he was scouting.
• Minato Namikaze tried to lecture Sōkyū and then enlist him to help with paperwork, but Sōkyū escaped through a window.
• Black Zetsu told Madara Uchiha that Sōkyū had fought Han evenly, and Madara ordered him to continue the plan involving Obito Uchiha.
• Obito Uchiha, Rin Nohara, and Kakashi Hatake visited Sōkyū, and Rin expressed sympathy for the hardships he had endured.
• Sōkyū told Kakashi that strength was necessary to pursue their goal, then chased Obito and left him crying for Kakashi to intervene.

Minato Namikaze learned that Ōnoki and Roshi had joined Iwagakure’s forces and received orders to hold until reinforcements arrived. He told Sōkyū Hatake that Iwagakure’s supplies would cross Kannabi Bridge in two days, while Ōnoki led another force toward Konoha’s border.

• Shibi Aburame informed Minato Namikaze that Ōnoki and Roshi had arrived at the front.
• Minato Namikaze received Danzo’s order to hold and summoned Sōkyū Hatake for advice.
• Minato Namikaze revealed that Iwagakure’s supplies would pass Kannabi Bridge in two days.
• Minato Namikaze said he had another duty and that Ōnoki would lead a force toward a weak point on Konoha’s border.

Sōkyū Hatake prepared to lead a twelve-person squad to Kannabi Bridge, where they would try to seize supplies or destroy the bridge, and warned Kakashi that the mission would be dangerous and pivotal. Minato’s reinforcements arrived, including Uchiha Fugaku and Hyuga Hiashi, who gathered in Minato’s room for hot pot.

• Minato Namikaze assigned Sōkyū Hatake to lead a squad, including Team Minato, to Kannabi Bridge and ordered him to retrieve supplies or destroy the bridge.
• Sōkyū Hatake promised Minato that he would stay true to himself, then agreed to lead the mission.
• Sōkyū Hatake briefed a twelve-person squad and said they would leave at midnight to set an ambush near Kannabi Bridge.
• Sōkyū Hatake told Kakashi Hatake the mission would be dangerous and a major turning point, then went to meet his arriving friends.
• Sōkyū Hatake found Uchiha Fugaku and Hyuga Hiashi eating hot pot in Minato Namikaze’s room, and Minato arrived and angrily confronted them.

Minato Namikaze joined Uchiha Fugaku, Shisui Uchiha, and the others for a meal before the next day's mission. Shisui challenged Sōkyū Hatake to a match, and the chapter ended as they faced off outside.

• Uchiha Fugaku welcomed Minato Namikaze and introduced Shisui Uchiha, whose fighting spirit caught Minato's attention.
• Hyuga Hiashi suggested Shisui fight Minato, but Uchiha Fugaku proposed Sōkyū Hatake instead, and Minato said Sōkyū had fought Han to a standstill.
• Minato explained that Uchiha Fugaku and the others would support him the next day against Iwagakure, and Shisui challenged Sōkyū to a match after dinner.
• Sōkyū stood up and went outside to fight, while Uchiha Fugaku revealed that Shisui had awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
• Shisui used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Sōkyū, and Sōkyū told the others to wait for him to return to the meal.

Sōkyū Hatake defeated Shisui Uchiha’s Illusion Body Flicker Technique, then competed with Minato Namikaze over the brisket during dinner. As the group drank and joked before the next day’s battle, Shisui Uchiha wondered whether things would really be all right.

• Shisui Uchiha used his Illusion Body Flicker Technique against Sōkyū Hatake, who spotted his real body and knocked him down with a Thunder Punch.
• Minato Namikaze stole Sōkyū Hatake’s brisket using Flying Thunder God, but Sōkyū later paralyzed him with Lightning Traps and claimed the next batch.
• Shisui Uchiha asked how Sōkyū had identified his real body, and Sōkyū credited his strong sensory abilities.
• Minato Namikaze, Uchiha Fugaku, and Hyuga Hiashi discussed the danger of Sōkyū’s coming fight against Hōki, while Sōkyū said he could handle him.
• Uchiha Fugaku raised a toast to the next day’s battle, and the group’s drinking turned chaotic as Shisui Uchiha watched uneasily.

Sōkyū Hatake led Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, Rin Nohara, and the others to ambush Iwagakure's supply convoy at Kannabi Bridge. After discovering the convoy had twice as many ninja as expected, Sōkyū ordered the bridge detonated, then faced Captain Tō Shibito as the surviving Iwa ninja began to retreat.

• Sōkyū Hatake arrived at the meeting point after drinking with Minato and the others, then led the twelve-person group toward Kannabi Bridge.
• Kakashi Hatake and the others planted explosive tags beneath the bridge while Sōkyū used his God's-eye View to watch the area.
• Sōkyū discovered that a twenty-man Iwa convoy was approaching instead of the expected ten-man squad, and he ordered everyone to prepare for an ambush.
• Tō Shibito sensed danger on Kannabi Bridge and ordered his convoy to retreat, but Sōkyū told Kakashi and the others to detonate the tags.
• The explosions killed ten Iwa ninja and injured the rest, while Tō Shibito shielded himself with one of his men and sent a signal to divert the supplies.
• Tō Shibito charged at Sōkyū Hatake, who faced him after the surviving Iwa ninja recognized him as the Thunder God.

Sōkyū Hatake fought Ōnoki, who interrupted the battle and then invited him to join Iwagakure. Sōkyū joked that he would accept if Ōnoki killed Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi within the month.

• Sōkyū Hatake charged at the Iwa Shinobi while Kakashi Hatake warned him to be careful.
• Ōnoki appeared and attacked Sōkyū with Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique, but Sōkyū countered with Thunder God Cannon and avoided the blast.
• Ōnoki sent Tō Shibito to join the fighting under Kakashi's lead and faced Sōkyū himself.
• Sōkyū rose into the air with Geppo and entered Sage Mode as Ōnoki praised his abilities and offered him the best treatment in Iwagakure.
• Sōkyū said he would join Iwagakure if Ōnoki killed Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi within the month, citing them as his father's killers.

Sōkyū Hatake rejected Ōnoki’s offer and fought the Third Tsuchikage, who sought to leave him on the battlefield. When Ōnoki trapped him in Dust Release, Sōkyū Hatake awakened his Devil Fruit and began turning the technique into lightning, stunning Ōnoki.

• Sōkyū Hatake refused Ōnoki’s offer, and Ōnoki declared that he would make sure Sōkyū Hatake stayed on the battlefield.
• Ōnoki attacked with Rock Fist and Added-Weight Rock, but Sōkyū Hatake countered with Senjutsu Armament and the Thunder Demon Katsuryoku Technique.
• Ōnoki summoned a giant rock golem, and Sōkyū Hatake created a towering lightning giant to battle it.
• Ōnoki praised Sōkyū Hatake’s talent but said he was stronger for now, then trapped him with Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique.
• Sōkyū Hatake awakened his Devil Fruit and began assimilating the Dust Release technique into lightning, leaving Ōnoki stunned.

Sōkyū Hatake’s clone witnessed Obito Uchiha sacrifice himself to save Kakashi Hatake and Rin Nohara, while Sōkyū Hatake continued battling Ōnoki. After the clone killed the remaining Iwa Shinobi, Sōkyū Hatake resolved to thwart Madara Uchiha’s next plan, but Ōnoki compressed the lightning around him until he was close to being trapped completely.

• Ōnoki increased his chakra output as Sōkyū Hatake struggled to assimilate the Dust Release technique into lightning.
• Obito Uchiha awakened his two-tomoe Sharingan, helped Kakashi Hatake and Rin Nohara escape a collapsing cave, and was pinned beneath a massive rock.
• Obito Uchiha gave his Sharingan to Kakashi Hatake and urged him and Rin Nohara to flee before Iwa Shinobi attacks engulfed him.
• Sōkyū Hatake’s clone killed the remaining Iwa Shinobi and recognized that Madara Uchiha’s first plan had succeeded, then resolved to stop his next plan.
• Ōnoki compressed the lightning around Sōkyū Hatake into a tiny area, bringing him close to being fully enveloped by Dust Release.

Sōkyū Hatake unleashed his Senjutsu and Conqueror’s Haki against Ōnoki, but Hōki ambushed him and helped turn the fight into a two-man pincer attack. Ōnoki and Hōki combined their techniques to annihilate the injured Sōkyū Hatake, and they believed no trace of him remained.

• Sōkyū Hatake transformed Ōnoki’s Dust Release into lightning, gathered strength from his Shadow Clones, and used Conqueror’s Haki to stun Ōnoki before striking at him.
• Hōki appeared behind Sōkyū Hatake and attacked with Explosion Release: Landmine Fist as Ōnoki launched Dust Release from the front.
• Sōkyū Hatake severed Ōnoki’s right arm with his slash, while Hōki blasted him into a trench and injured him.
• Sōkyū Hatake’s Sage Mode faded, and he struggled to stand as Ōnoki and Hōki prepared to finish him.
• Ōnoki and Hōki combined Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique with Explosion Release: Heaven and Earth Blast, engulfing Sōkyū Hatake and believing they had eliminated him.

After the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, reports said Ōnoki had lost an arm and Sōkyū Hatake had been killed, while Kakashi Hatake refused to leave the battlefield before avenging his brother and Obito. In Madara Uchiha’s cave, White Zetsu reported that Obito had been brought back and began to tell Madara about Sōkyū Hatake.

• Reports spread that Ōnoki had lost his right arm to Sōkyū Hatake and that Ōnoki and Hōki had killed Sōkyū.
• Minato Namikaze urged Kakashi Hatake to return to Konoha to recover, but Kakashi refused and vowed to avenge Sōkyū and Obito Uchiha.
• Uchiha Fugaku promised to protect Kakashi’s right to keep Obito’s Sharingan, while Kakashi confirmed that no trace of Sōkyū had been found.
• Minato Namikaze, Uchiha Fugaku, and Hyuga Hiashi discussed Konoha’s lack of response and the possibility that its leaders did not want Sōkyū to survive.
• White Zetsu told Madara Uchiha that Obito had been brought back and was receiving treatment, then raised new intelligence about Sōkyū Hatake.

Madara Uchiha learned that Sōkyū Hatake had been killed by Ōnoki and Hōki, while Orochimaru confronted Danzo over Konoha’s failure to respond. Orochimaru declared he would go to the front himself, and Tsunade offered to join him.

• White Zetsu reported to Madara Uchiha that Ōnoki and Hōki had killed Sōkyū Hatake with Dust Release.
• Madara Uchiha decided to visit Obito Uchiha after dismissing Sōkyū Hatake’s death as the end of his potential.
• Orochimaru confronted Danzo in the Hokage Office and demanded an explanation for Konoha’s lack of action after Sōkyū Hatake’s death.
• Danzo claimed Konoha could spare no fighters and warned Orochimaru that leaving without permission would be considered betrayal.
• Orochimaru insisted he would go to the front to seek justice for his student, recalling his regret over Senju Nawaki’s death.
• Tsunade appeared at the doorway and said she would go with Orochimaru.

Tsunade joined Orochimaru on his way to the Iwagakure front, defying Danzo, and Orochimaru demonstrated a technique that might help with her hemophobia. Danzo informed Hiruzen Sarutobi of their departure, and Hiruzen chose not to restrict them.

• Tsunade told Danzo she would go with Orochimaru to the Iwagakure front, then left the Hokage Office with him.
• Orochimaru suggested attacking Iwagakure's Combat Command Center, but first proposed finding Uchiha Fugaku to test a technique for Tsunade's hemophobia.
• Orochimaru used the Mosaic Technique to make the blood from his wounded arm appear blurred to Tsunade, who saw that it might prevent her hemophobia from flaring up.
• Danzo sent Hiruzen Sarutobi a letter about Orochimaru and Tsunade's departure and tried to turn him against them.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi replied that he knew of their actions but would not restrict them, citing Sōkyū Hatake's talent as a Konoha shinobi.

Orochimaru and Tsunade joined Konoha’s forces in a surprise attack that devastated Iwagakure’s field headquarters, prompting Ōnoki to withdraw from the Konoha front while monitoring Kumogakure. Sōkyū Hatake survived his escape through a spatial rift but lay gravely wounded in a windblown, sandy place, suspecting he had landed near Sunagakure.

• Orochimaru and Tsunade joined Minato Namikaze, Uchiha Fugaku, Hyuga Hiashi, and others to attack Iwagakure’s field headquarters, where Orochimaru killed Hōki.
• Ōnoki ordered Iwagakure’s forces to pull back from the Konoha front while they watched Kumogakure, and he told Kitsuchi to investigate for a mole.
• Ōnoki said he believed Sōkyū Hatake had been killed by the combined attacks of Hōki and himself, and he ordered tighter registration and security measures.
• Sōkyū Hatake woke in the sand after using the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape the attacks, then sheltered behind a rock while badly injured and nearly out of chakra.

Sōkyū Hatake woke in Rōran, where Sara had treated his wounds, and received a quest to find and absorb the Ryūmyaku. He told Sara that Anrokuzan was really the rogue ninja Mukade and had manipulated her mother and Rōran, leaving Sara shocked and doubtful.

• Sara introduced herself and told Sōkyū Hatake that he was in Rōran, where outsiders were unwelcome.
• Sōkyū Hatake triggered a quest to find and absorb Rōran's Ryūmyaku, then checked in and received three Senzu Beans.
• Sōkyū Hatake asked Sara about Anrokuzan and revealed that he was Mukade, a rogue ninja from Sunagakure who had returned from the future.
• Sara challenged Sōkyū Hatake to prove his claims, and he explained how Anrokuzan had used the Ryūmyaku, contributed to her mother's death, and gained control of Rōran.

Sōkyū Hatake recovered from his wounds and left to investigate the Ryūmyaku while Sara reconsidered her doubts about Anrokuzan. Anrokuzan summoned Sara to the palace and revealed that he needed her to awaken the Ryūmyaku.

• Sara distrusted Sōkyū Hatake's claims about Anrokuzan but let him stay until his wounds healed.
• Sōkyū Hatake used a Senzu Bean, fully recovered, and slipped past the guards to investigate the Ryūmyaku.
• Sara returned to Sōkyū Hatake's room, found him gone, and was escorted by robots to the palace.
• Anrokuzan told Sara that only the queen of Rōran could activate the Ryūmyaku and said the time had come to awaken it.

Sara discovered that Rōran citizens believed she had ordered their relatives taken away, though she denied giving the order. With Sōkyū Hatake urging an investigation, the truth pointed toward Anrokuzan’s control of the kingdom.

• Anrokuzan told Sara that her coronation would take place in two days so Rōran could harness the dragon vein against a terrifying man.
• Sara grew suspicious when Anrokuzan said preparations for her coronation had already begun and went out to investigate.
• Rōran citizens secretly brought Sara to them and accused her of ordering their fathers, husbands, and sons taken away.
• Sara denied issuing the order and realized Anrokuzan had controlled the kingdom while treating her like a puppet.
• Sōkyū Hatake intervened and suggested they investigate where the missing citizens had been taken.

Sara agreed to investigate the disappearance of people summoned in her name, and Sōkyū Hatake showed her that Rōran’s apparent citizens were puppets controlled by Anrokuzan. Sara began to understand Anrokuzan’s scheme, while Sōkyū Hatake wondered if he was the terrifying man Anrokuzan expected.

• Sara promised the citizens she would investigate what had happened to their families, and Sōkyū Hatake offered to help her.
• Sōkyū Hatake took Sara above the streets and revealed chakra threads controlling the people below as puppets.
• Sōkyū Hatake severed a puppet’s threads and showed Sara the cracks in its face, convincing her that it was not a real citizen.
• Sōkyū Hatake suggested that Anrokuzan intended to make Sara the next Queen of Roran.
• Sara explained that Anrokuzan had warned of a terrifying man coming soon, and Sōkyū Hatake wondered if he meant him.

Sara learned that Anrokuzan had enslaved Rōran’s citizens to build his Puppet Army and accepted that Sōkyū Hatake was telling her the truth. After seeing the prisoners’ suffering, she asked Sōkyū Hatake what she should do next.

• Sara confirmed that Anrokuzan wanted her to become Queen, and Sōkyū Hatake explained Anrokuzan’s plan to seize the Ryūmyaku and destroy the Five Great Nations.
• Sōkyū Hatake admitted that he had come for the Ryūmyaku but intended to end the Third Shinobi World War, not destroy the nations.
• Sōkyū Hatake took Sara to the Land of Sealing and led her through a ventilation duct to the imprisoned citizens.
• Sara saw injured citizens forced to power the production of hundreds of puppets under the watch of whip-wielding puppets.
• Sara believed Sōkyū Hatake and asked him for help deciding what to do next.

Sōkyū Hatake and Sara began rescuing the exhausted people forced to work for Anrokuzan, but the people distrusted Sara and a force of puppet soldiers arrived. The rescue was poised to face its first major obstacle as Sōkyū Hatake offered to lead everyone to safety.

• Sōkyū Hatake warned Sara that rescuing the people could prompt Anrokuzan to attack or try to use the Ryūmyaku, and Sara agreed to follow his plan.
• Sōkyū Hatake descended into the work site, severed the puppet guards’ chakra control threads, and told the dazed workers to leave.
• Sara joined Sōkyū Hatake, but the workers accused her of luring them there, so she insisted Anrokuzan had acted behind her back.
• Sōkyū Hatake promised to lead the workers past the puppet soldiers, and the people began to hope when they recognized him as a Konoha ninja.
• The main force of puppet soldiers arrived at the entrance.

Sōkyū Hatake freed Rōran’s citizens from Anrokuzan’s puppet soldiers and brought Sara to the Ryūmyaku, where they confronted Anrokuzan. Anrokuzan revealed his ambition to make Rōran the most powerful nation and surrounded them with thousands of puppets.

• Sōkyū Hatake severed the puppet soldiers’ control threads and led the rescued citizens toward a sewer route to escape.
• Sara chose to stay with Sōkyū Hatake, and they went to the chamber beneath the work area where the Ryūmyaku lay.
• Anrokuzan appeared on a throne and admitted he was trying to harness the Ryūmyaku’s power to make Rōran the most powerful nation.
• Sōkyū Hatake noticed Anrokuzan seemed to recognize him, though Anrokuzan denied knowing him.
• Anrokuzan summoned thousands of puppet soldiers to surround Sōkyū Hatake and Sara.