Chapter Summaries

Sōkyū Hatake encountered Chiyo, who had come to avenge her son and daughter-in-law, and fought her with Pikachu and Bakusaiga. After he dodged her puppet attack with the Substitution Technique, Chiyo trapped him amid ten armed puppets.

• Sōkyū Hatake evaded Chiyo's kunai attack, and Chiyo sent the rescued Chunin away before confronting him.
• Chiyo revealed she had come to settle her grudge against Hatake Sakumo for killing her son and daughter-in-law, while Sōkyū refused to surrender.
• Sōkyū attacked Chiyo with Pikachu's Thunderbolt and Bakusaiga's Wind Scar, but her Machine Light Shield Seal blocked them.
• Chiyo used Father and Mother to unleash steel wires, and Sōkyū escaped with the Substitution Technique.
• Chiyo revealed that ten armed puppets had surrounded Sōkyū after his substitution.

Sōkyū Hatake used his lightning elementalization to evade Chiyo’s Chikamatsu Ten Puppets and countered with powerful lightning attacks. Chiyo unleashed her puppet techniques against him, and the chapter ended as Sōkyū transformed into a Thunder God and faced the combined puppets in a destructive showdown.

• Chiyo summoned the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets and sent all ten to attack Sōkyū Hatake.
• Sōkyū turned his body into lightning to let the puppets’ weapons pass through him, then severed their Chakra Threads and leaped above Chiyo.
• Chiyo reconnected the puppets and used Three Treasures Suction Crush against Sōkyū’s 30,000,000 Volt: Thunder Dragon, and the attacks met in a stalemate.
• Chiyo had seven puppets form Seven Treasures Accompanying while Sōkyū released his full 200,000,000 volts and transformed into a Thunder God.
• Chiyo abandoned Three Treasures Suction Crush and ordered all ten puppets to attack Sōkyū, as the clash devastated the surrounding trees.

Sōkyū Hatake struggled against Chiyo until he fused with Pikachu in advanced Sage Mode and strengthened the Thunder God with his final attack. As their strongest techniques clashed, Orochimaru realized that intelligence from his side had been leaked and accused Rasa of arranging the ambush.

• Chiyo overwhelmed Sōkyū Hatake and prepared to crush him with her puppets before he could use Senjutsu.
• Sōkyū Hatake entered advanced Sage Mode by fusing with Pikachu and used Lightning Roaring Cannon to bolster the Thunder God.
• Chiyo poured her Chakra into the Chikamatsu Ten, while Sōkyū Hatake unleashed Great Buddha Thunder Punishment and Chiyo countered with her strongest puppet techniques.
• Root ninja and the main battlefield forces noticed the clash, and Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga worried about Sōkyū Hatake.
• Orochimaru confronted Rasa about Chiyo’s attack, and Rasa revealed that he expected Chiyo to capture Sōkyū Hatake and help recover Ebizo.
• Orochimaru concluded that intelligence from his side had been leaked.

Sōkyū Hatake lost to Chiyo after exhausting his chakra, but Tsunade arrived before Chiyo could kill him. Chiyo withdrew rather than fight Tsunade, leaving Sōkyū alive.

• Chiyo praised Sōkyū Hatake's abilities, then prepared to kill him with a short blade after trapping him in chakra threads.
• Sōkyū used the Substitution Technique and called for help as Chiyo moved in to strike.
• Tsunade intervened with a Monster Strength Fist, destroying the ground between Chiyo and Sōkyū.
• Tsunade challenged Chiyo, who sent the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu to block her attack before fleeing.

Sōkyū Hatake returned to Konoha’s base with Tsunade after Chiyo’s failed attack, and Tsunade’s hemophobia caused her to faint when she saw his blood. At the front, Orochimaru learned that Tsunade had joined the eastern battlefield, while Rasa acknowledged Konoha had sent two of the Sannin.

• Tsunade arrived while Chiyo was confronting Sōkyū Hatake, and Sōkyū realized Tsunade still suffered from hemophobia.
• Tsunade saw Sōkyū’s blood, fainted into his arms, then insisted nothing had happened and led him back to base.
• A messenger reported to Orochimaru that Tsunade and Sōkyū had returned, easing Orochimaru’s worries.
• Orochimaru told Rasa that Chiyo had failed because Tsunade was at the eastern battlefield, and a Sand Shinobi confirmed the report.
• Rasa recalled Tsunade’s past victories over Chiyo and noted that Konoha had sent two of the Sannin to the battlefield.

Orochimaru and Rasa ended the day’s fighting with both sides retreating, while Orochimaru suspected Sunagakure wanted a quick victory because of its financial troubles. Back at Konoha’s base, Tsunade took charge of the medical unit, and Orochimaru raised the issue of leaked information from senior officers’ strategy meetings.

• Orochimaru challenged Rasa’s claims about which side wanted a swift victory, and Rasa ordered Sunagakure’s forces to retreat.
• Orochimaru told Konoha’s shinobi to prepare the wounded for Tsunade, then led his senior officers back to the base.
• Orochimaru met Tsunade and Sōkyū Hatake in the war room, where Tsunade noted that Sōkyū Hatake was recovering unusually quickly.
• Orochimaru assigned the entire medical unit to follow Tsunade’s orders, and Tsunade agreed to direct it from the rear rather than fight on the battlefield.
• Orochimaru asked the senior officers to address the leak of information from their strategy meetings.

Orochimaru used Sōkyū Hatake’s lie detector to investigate a suspected mole among Konoha’s forces. Hyuga Hiashi, Hizashi Hyuga, and Orochimaru all passed, and Orochimaru called for the others to take the test.

• Orochimaru challenged the war room to identify who had betrayed him, while Hyuga Hiashi and clan representatives protested their innocence.
• Sōkyū Hatake brought out a lie detector he had obtained as a check-in reward and explained how it worked.
• Yamashiro Kōyō speculated that the device used a principle similar to the Yamashiro Clan’s Mind Reading Technique.
• Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga answered that they were not the mole, and the device detected no lies.
• Orochimaru also passed the test, then asked which of the others would go next.

Orochimaru tested the remaining suspects with Sōkyū Hatake’s lie detector, and Nara Rokuten was exposed as the mole. Rokuten revealed his scarlet eyes as he faced Sōkyū Hatake.

• Akimichi Jia Yi and Inuzuka Xiong passed the lie detector, leaving Nara Rokuten as the last suspect.
• Nara Rokuten questioned whether the detector was genuine, but Orochimaru ordered him to take the test.
• The detector declared that Nara Rokuten was lying when he denied being the mole.
• Akimichi Jia Yi reacted in disbelief, while Nara Rokuten looked at Sōkyū Hatake with scarlet eyes and called the situation fun.

Nara Rokuten attacked Sōkyū Hatake during a meeting, but Tsunade stopped him and he was captured. After the others left, Tsunade told Orochimaru she would not go onto the battlefield, leaving Konoha facing Sunagakure’s approaching Kage-level fighters at a disadvantage.

• Nara Rokuten used the Shadow Head Binding Neck Technique against Sōkyū Hatake, but Tsunade smashed the shadow with her Monster Strength Technique.
• Hyuga Hiashi reported Rokuten’s capture to Orochimaru, who ordered him taken to a cell for a personal interrogation.
• After the meeting ended, Tsunade stayed with Orochimaru and Sōkyū Hatake, produced liquor, and insisted that Orochimaru drink with them.
• Tsunade told Orochimaru she would not go onto the battlefield and suggested Sōkyū Hatake could handle it.
• Orochimaru warned that Pakura and Rasa were on their way and that Sunagakure would have five Kage-level fighters against Konoha’s three.

Sōkyū Hatake told Orochimaru that Tsunade could not go to the battlefield because she was ill, while Tsunade refused to explain further. In Sunagakure, Rasa kept Rasa and Pakura away from the fighting, and Rasa realized that Rasa was guarding against them.

• Tsunade refused to go to the battlefield, and Sōkyū Hatake told Orochimaru that she was ill.
• Orochimaru asked Sōkyū Hatake to leave the Lie Detector with him, but Sōkyū Hatake refused and left with it.
• Sunagakure prepared to ambush Tsunade with Rasa and Pakura, but Tsunade never appeared, while Chiyo turned to poison and Tsunade countered it all.
• Tsunade’s reputation boosted Konoha’s morale, and Konoha pushed back Sunagakure’s offensive.
• Rasa urged Rasa to send him and Pakura into battle, but Rasa accused him of trying to replace him as Fourth Kazekage and ordered him to wait.
• Pakura told the bewildered Rasa that Rasa was guarding against them.

Pakura and Rasa agreed to seek permission to patrol the eastern and western flanks so they could capture Sōkyū Hatake and earn the highest merit. At the Operations Command Room, Sōkyū and Orochimaru expected Rasa and Pakura to soon enter the battlefield, unaware that Pakura intended to let Rasa take the lead.

• Pakura rejected Rasa’s suggestion that they join forces against Sunagakure’s leadership, but proposed they patrol the eastern and western flanks to hunt Sōkyū Hatake.
• Rasa understood that Pakura wanted him to help persuade the Third Kazekage and the Council of Elders, and agreed to present the proposal with her.
• Pakura followed Rasa toward the Operations Command Room, planning to let him appear to be spearheading their request.
• Sōkyū Hatake sneezed in the Operations Command Room, and Orochimaru asked when Rasa and Pakura would appear on the battlefield.
• Sōkyū and Orochimaru predicted Rasa would act soon because their rumors had stirred his ambition.

Sōkyū Hatake and Orochimaru planned to exploit Iwagakure’s missing troops to make Sunagakure wary and ease pressure on Konoha’s flanks. They prepared to take Tsunade to the front line for a confidence-striking operation against Sunagakure.

• Sōkyū Hatake predicted Rasa and Pakura would bring their concerns to Rasa, prompting Sunagakure to send forces to the eastern and western flanks and launch a major offensive.
• Orochimaru revealed that part of Iwagakure’s main force and the Third Tsuchikage had disappeared, leading Sōkyū Hatake to infer that Iwagakure was targeting Kumogakure.
• Sōkyū Hatake and Orochimaru decided to spread news of Iwagakure’s movements to Sunagakure early so Rasa would worry about defending his village and withdraw troops.
• Sōkyū Hatake and Orochimaru told Tsunade she was needed to appear on the battlefield and undermine Sunagakure’s confidence.
• Orochimaru ordered everyone to head to the front line, and Tsunade followed him and Sōkyū Hatake despite not knowing the plan.

Konoha revealed that Iwagakure’s main force and the Third Tsuchikage had disappeared, raising fears that Sunagakure was their next target. Rasa ordered Rasa and Pakura recalled from the flanks, while Sōkyū Hatake speculated about who would leave the battlefield to face the threat.

• Chiyo confronted Tsunade on the battlefield, and Rasa questioned why Tsunade and Orochimaru had come.
• Orochimaru revealed that Rasa and Pakura had been sent to the East and West Flanks, then had Tsunade read intelligence about Iwagakure’s missing main force and absent Third Tsuchikage.
• Rasa realized Iwagakure might attack Sunagakure and ordered Rasa and Pakura recalled, prompting a ninja to fire a signal flare.
• On the western battlefield, Sōkyū Hatake killed Sunagakure ninja while chatting with Pikachu about fighting Rasa or Pakura.
• Sōkyū Hatake and Pikachu guessed that Rasa and Bunpuku would return to defend against the Third Tsuchikage.

Sōkyū Hatake spotted a powerful enemy near a lake and narrowly dodged an attack from Pakura of the Scorch Release. He challenged Pakura to a bet that she would fail to capture him and would soon be recalled by her own signal flare.

• Sōkyū Hatake checked his system progress and saw that he had collected 48 souls, while his battlefield quest still required several more kills.
• Sōkyū Hatake sensed a huge red dot near a lake, and Pakura attacked him with Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder.
• Sōkyū Hatake used Soru to evade the attack, then recognized Pakura and sat down to speak with her.
• Sōkyū Hatake flirted with Pakura, who called him a lecher and questioned his confidence.
• Sōkyū Hatake bet that Pakura would not capture him and would soon be called back by her signal flare, while Pakura doubted him.

Sōkyū Hatake challenged Pakura to a bet: the loser would serve the winner, and they began fighting with their strongest techniques. Pakura recognized Sōkyū’s growing power as a future threat to Sunagakure as their attacks clashed.

• Sōkyū Hatake proposed that Pakura become his maid if he won their bet, while he would follow her orders if he lost.
• Pakura rejected the idea of betraying Sunagakure but accepted the fight, saying Sōkyū would become her manservant if he lost.
• Pakura attacked with Scorch Release, and Sōkyū answered by firing lightning Gatling guns that pierced her techniques before she deflected the bullets with chakra.
• Sōkyū unleashed his lightning-wrapped Thunder King Wind Scar, and Pakura met it with Twin Steam Murder.
• Pakura’s attack stalemated Sōkyū’s, and she admitted she now believed he could reach the level of the strongest shinobi and become a threat to Sunagakure.

Sōkyū Hatake battled Pakura across the western battlefield, and she eventually struck him with her strongest Scorch Release technique. After an emergency signal called Pakura to the main battlefield, Sōkyū appeared unharmed, grabbed her, and provoked her by calling her his maid.

• Pakura attacked Sōkyū Hatake with Scorch Release, and the two fought at high speed across the western battlefield.
• After fighting for over twenty minutes, Sōkyū admitted he could not defeat Pakura, and she launched Scorch Release: World-Ender at him.
• Pakura heard an emergency assembly whistle and flare from the main battlefield and hurried to respond.
• Sōkyū emerged unharmed from the smoke, grabbed Pakura, and slapped her on the rear.
• Pakura yelled at Sōkyū to let her go, but he held on and teased her about being his maid.

Sōkyū Hatake teased Pakura after defeating her, then followed her to the main battlefield when the emergency signal sounded. There, Rasa gathered the forces and announced he needed their cooperation, while Sōkyū Hatake revealed that Pakura had lost a bet and was now his maid.

• Sōkyū Hatake restrained Pakura with lightning and taunted her, prompting her to unleash Scorch Release and change clothes.
• Pakura left for the main battlefield after hearing its signal, despite Sōkyū Hatake warning that leaving would count as a loss.
• Rasa waited for Pakura to return and considered splitting Sunagakure's forces to guard another border against a possible Iwagakure attack.
• Pakura arrived with Sōkyū Hatake, whom Rasa mistook for one of his own subordinates until Orochimaru identified him.
• Sōkyū Hatake told Orochimaru that Pakura had lost their bet and was now his little maid, angering Chiyo.

Orochimaru and Rasa negotiated a half-month truce after learning that Ōnoki and a group of Iwagakure shinobi had disappeared. Later, Orochimaru brought Sōkyū Hatake to the prison to discuss information extracted from Nara Rokuten, ending with Sōkyū realizing it concerned powerful people connected to him.

• Sōkyū Hatake teased Pakura about being his little maid, while Rasa ordered her to the rear and told her that Ōnoki and Iwagakure shinobi had disappeared.
• Rasa agreed to a half-month truce and promised Sunagakure would withdraw ten kilometers, while Orochimaru negotiated for additional compensation instead of Pakura.
• Sōkyū Hatake called after Pakura as she left, then fled from Tsunade when she angrily chased him.
• Orochimaru invited Sōkyū Hatake to visit the prison, where Sōkyū deduced that Yamashiro Kōyō had examined Nara Rokuten’s memories.
• Orochimaru revealed that Nara Rokuten’s information was shocking, and Sōkyū inferred that it involved powerful people connected to him.

Yamashiro Kōyō discovered that Nara Rokuten was a Root member who had passed Sōkyū Hatake’s intelligence to Sunagakure, leaving Orochimaru to question him about Danzo’s apparent betrayal of the village.

• Orochimaru and Sōkyū Hatake visited Nara Rokuten in the prison cell where Yamashiro Kōyō had used her Mind Reading Technique on him.
• Yamashiro Kōyō revealed that Nara Rokuten belonged to Root and had served Danzo for three years.
• Orochimaru told Yamashiro Kōyō that Sōkyū Hatake could represent him, then learned that only she and Sōkyū knew about Nara Rokuten’s identity.
• Yamashiro Kōyō said Root’s sealed memories concealed why Nara Rokuten had given Sōkyū Hatake’s intelligence to Sunagakure.
• Orochimaru entered the cell with Sōkyū Hatake and Yamashiro Kōyō and asked the semiconscious Nara Rokuten why he had shared the intelligence.

Sōkyū Hatake and Orochimaru interrogated Nara Rokuten, but Root’s Tongue Eradication Cursed Seal prevented him from revealing why he had targeted Sōkyū. Sōkyū then warned Ebizo that Ōnoki and part of Iwagakure’s main force had vanished, leaving Sunagakure in danger of a two-front war.

• Orochimaru questioned Nara Rokuten about betraying him and targeting Sōkyū Hatake, but Rokuten said he had only followed orders.
• Sōkyū Hatake identified the Tongue Eradication Cursed Seal on Rokuten and concluded that he could not provide further intelligence.
• Orochimaru agreed that Sōkyū would return to report their progress and take Nara Rokuten as a witness.
• Sōkyū Hatake visited the imprisoned Ebizo and told him that Pakura and Rasa had gone to the front.
• Sōkyū Hatake revealed that Ōnoki and part of Iwagakure’s main force had disappeared, and Ebizo feared they were heading for Sunagakure.