Chapter Summaries

Sōkyū Hatake left the front line escorting the prisoner Nara Rokuten, carrying Orochimaru’s letter and an order to retrieve something. Root members intercepted him and demanded the prisoner, but Sōkyū refused and invoked Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi’s authority.

• Sōkyū Hatake told Ebizo that he had no other options, then left him alone in his prison cell.
• Orochimaru gave Sōkyū Hatake a letter for Sarutobi and ordered him to escort Nara Rokuten to Konoha and retrieve something on the way.
• Tsunade and Orochimaru remarked on Sōkyū Hatake’s exceptional strength and speed as he departed with Nara Rokuten.
• Sōkyū Hatake checked his system panel, which showed his growing attributes and progress toward a battlefield mission reward of Conqueror’s Haki.
• Four Root members stopped Sōkyū Hatake and demanded that he hand over Nara Rokuten.
• Sōkyū Hatake refused, saying he was taking Nara Rokuten to Lord Hokage for judgment, while Root claimed Danzo’s aide had ordered them to bring the prisoner in for interrogation.

Sōkyū Hatake refused Root’s demand to hand over Nara Rokuten, invoking his authority as a Council of Elders member and leaving the Root operatives behind with his speed. He reached Konoha with Rokuten and, after the gatekeepers verified his entry permit, was welcomed back as Elder Hatake.

• Sōkyū Hatake refused to hand Nara Rokuten over to Root, citing orders from the Hokage and Orochimaru and his Council of Elders position.
• The Root operatives let Sōkyū Hatake pass because Danzo’s orders conflicted, then pursued him toward Konoha.
• Sōkyū Hatake outran the Root operatives, leaving them worried about how to explain their failed mission to Danzo.
• Konoha’s gatekeepers challenged Sōkyū Hatake because he was carrying a captive wearing a Konoha Forehead Protector.
• Sōkyū Hatake presented Orochimaru’s signed entry permit, and the gatekeepers verified it and greeted him as Elder Hatake.

Sōkyū Hatake reported Sunagakure’s ceasefire and Nara Rokuten’s connection to Root to Hiruzen Sarutobi, prompting the Hokage to promise action against Danzo. Hiruzen also approved Sōkyū’s promotion to Chunin, which would be arranged the next day.

• An Anbu ninja escorted Sōkyū Hatake to Hiruzen Sarutobi’s office, where Sōkyū delivered intelligence from the front.
• Sōkyū told Hiruzen that Sunagakure had agreed to a fifteen-day nonaggression treaty and paid compensation because Rasa feared Iwagakure might attack.
• Sōkyū revealed that Nara Rokuten was a Root member by showing Hiruzen the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal and said the Yamashiro Clan had confirmed Rokuten joined Root three years earlier.
• Sōkyū asked why Danzo’s aide would target a six-year-old, and Hiruzen promised to handle the matter properly.
• Hiruzen approved Sōkyū’s promotion to Chunin and said the arrangements would be made the next day.

After returning to Konoha, Sōkyū Hatake met Uchiha Fugaku and shared ramen with him while discussing the war and the Uchiha Clan. Teuchi told Sōkyū Hatake to go home after eating, leaving him wondering what had happened.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered an Anbu ninja to summon Danzo so he could answer for himself.
• Sōkyū Hatake explored Konoha and encountered Uchiha Fugaku, who had returned from the Kumogakure front on leave.
• Sōkyū Hatake and Uchiha Fugaku went to Ichiraku Ramen, where Teuchi told them Ayame was not there.
• Uchiha Fugaku told Sōkyū Hatake that villagers' impressions of the Uchiha Clan were gradually improving, and Sōkyū Hatake asked him to pay more later.
• Teuchi urged Sōkyū Hatake to go home after eating, so Sōkyū Hatake left the money and headed home without knowing why.

Sōkyū Hatake returned to the Hatake Compound and found Ayame training with Mitaraishi Anko, then welcomed them with a fish feast. During dinner, they discussed Ayame’s progress and Sōkyū asked Anko when she would graduate, at Orochimaru’s request.

• Sōkyū Hatake returned to the Hatake Compound and found Ayame and Mitaraishi Anko training inside.
• Ayame told Sōkyū she wanted to become a ninja so she could help him, and Anko had been teaching her.
• Sōkyū bought a large fish and used the Shadow Clone Technique to prepare a feast for Ayame and Anko.
• The three ate together as Ayame and Anko praised Sōkyū’s cooking and teased each other about marrying him.
• Ayame said she expected to enroll next year, and Sōkyū asked Anko when she could graduate on Orochimaru’s behalf.

Sōkyū Hatake spent the evening with Mitaraishi Anko and Ayame before preparing to return to the front lines in about ten days. In the Hokage Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi confronted Danzo with evidence of his covert operations and demanded that he withdraw his agents.

• Sōkyū Hatake reassured Mitaraishi Anko that her graduation assessment would not be as difficult as his had been.
• Sōkyū Hatake told Mitaraishi Anko he expected to return to the front lines in about ten days, and she urged him to come back safely before practicing the Six Powers with Ayame.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi accused Danzo of crossing the line with his plans targeting Sōkyū Hatake and his infiltration of the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi brought in Nara Rokuten, whose Tongue Eradication Cursed Seal linked him to Danzo's Root, but Danzo denied any involvement.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi showed Danzo an interrogation report and demanded that he withdraw his agents near Sōkyū Hatake and provide a list of his operatives in the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Danzo that Sōkyū Hatake had signed a contract to support him on matters concerning the Council of Elders.

Danzo learned that Hiruzen had already secured Sōkyū Hatake with a contract and ordered Root to find and steal it. During a training session, Ayame kissed Sōkyū on the cheek and challenged Mitaraishi Anko to compete with her.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Danzo he would keep his position for now but warned him not to expect continued leniency.
• Danzo berated the Root squad leader for failing to stop Sōkyū Hatake and Nara Rokuten, then ordered a Root ninja to locate Hiruzen’s contract with Sōkyū.
• Mitaraishi Anko and Ayame trained with Sōkyū Hatake, who urged them to work harder.
• Ayame told Sōkyū she liked him and kissed his right cheek before fleeing, blushing.
• Mitaraishi Anko confronted Ayame, who said she was ahead of her, and Anko vowed not to lose.

Sōkyū Hatake trained while reports revealed Iwagakure was attacking both Cloud Shadow Village and Sunagakure, then received a mission to monitor the Hyuga Clan and a Chunin appointment. After Danzo warned him to protect those around him, Sōkyū prepared to return to the border by stocking up on ingredients.

• Sōkyū Hatake trained Mitaraishi Anko in combat and Ayame in the basics as news arrived that Ōnoki attacked Cloud Shadow Village and Roshi led an assault on Sunagakure, where Rasa and Bunpuku repelled the attack.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo summoned Sōkyū and assigned him to monitor the Hyuga Clan and send intelligence to Root, citing its ties to Kirigakure's Kaguya Clan.
• Hiruzen gave Sōkyū a Chunin appointment letter, noting that he had matched his brother's record by becoming a Chunin at six.
• Danzo warned Sōkyū to take care of the people around him, prompting concern from both Sōkyū and Hiruzen.
• Sōkyū left the Hokage Office and bought ingredients to bring to the border so he could cook his own meals.

Sōkyū Hatake left Konoha for a mission, but Root ambushed him in a cave and revealed that Mitaraishi Anko and Ayame were being held as hostages. Rei confronted Sōkyū Hatake on Danzo’s behalf, and the two prepared to fight.

• Villagers praised Sōkyū Hatake’s promotion to Chunin, while a stranger suggested Hiruzen Sarutobi was publicizing his strength to encourage Konoha during the war.
• At the village gate, Sōkyū Hatake noticed red and green dots following him, then allowed masked ninja claiming to be Anbu to lead him away.
• Inside a cave, Sōkyū Hatake used Two hundred million volts! Thunder God! to restrain the ninja and identified them as Root.
• Rei appeared with Mitaraishi Anko and Ayame, revealing that Root had taken them as hostages to lure Sōkyū Hatake.
• Sōkyū Hatake challenged Danzo’s actions, and Rei became angry as insects gathered behind them.

Sōkyū Hatake identified Danzo’s Root operative Aburame Ryoma and began fighting him. Ryoma’s Kikaichū absorbed Sōkyū’s lightning, and he surrounded Sōkyū with an Insect Sphere as Sōkyū prepared to counter with Bakusaiga.

• Sōkyū Hatake recognized “Rei” as Aburame Ryoma, a Root ninja and former partner of Orochimaru.
• Ryoma said he would defeat Sōkyū and take him back, then sent a swarm of Kikaichū at him.
• Sōkyū used Thunder God’s Light to burn the approaching insects, but Ryoma’s Kikaichū absorbed the lightning and extinguished it.
• Ryoma used Insect Sphere to surround Sōkyū with Kikaichū that would restrain him and drain his chakra.
• Sōkyū said the technique suited his body-tempering and drew Bakusaiga.

Sōkyū Hatake used Bakusaiga’s Wind Scar to destroy Aburame Ryoma’s Kikaichū swarm, then entered an advanced Sage Mode fused with Pikachu and summoned a Thunder God. Ryoma’s Insect Clone let him launch a close-range attack, but Sōkyū revealed that his lightning body had avoided the blow.

• Sōkyū Hatake’s Wind Scar spread through the connected Kikaichū, killing many of Aburame Ryoma’s insects despite Ryoma’s efforts to protect them.
• Ryoma recalled his surviving Kikaichū and charged Sōkyū, who activated advanced Sage Mode by fusing with Pikachu.
• Sōkyū summoned a Thunder God and struck Ryoma with its sword, but Ryoma’s body split into Kikaichū and dispersed.
• Ryoma reappeared beside Sōkyū with Rinkaichū on his hand and tried to infect him.
• Ryoma’s hand pierced a lightning-filled hole in Sōkyū’s body, and Sōkyū mocked him as the lightning around him blazed.

Sōkyū Hatake defeated and killed Aburame Ryoma after revealing he had replaced Mitaraishi Anko and Ayame before the ambush. Danzo learned the women were safe and suspected Hiruzen Sarutobi and Sōkyū Hatake had set him up.

• Sōkyū Hatake revealed that Mitaraishi Anko and Ayame had been replaced with lightning clones the previous night.
• Sōkyū Hatake stabbed Aburame Ryoma with the Sword of the Thunder God and killed him, destroying the insects inside his body.
• Sōkyū Hatake disposed of the Root ninjas' bodies and continued on his way, while Anbu arrived to investigate the chakra disturbance.
• An Anbu member secretly kept some dead Kikaichū as the squad searched the scene.
• A Root ninja told Danzo that Mitaraishi Anko and Ayame had been spotted in the Hyuga Clan compound, and Danzo ordered the report verified.
• Danzo wondered whether Hiruzen Sarutobi and Sōkyū Hatake had teamed up to set him up.

Hiruzen Sarutobi confronted Danzo over Aburame Ryoma’s disappearance and the dead Kikaichū found by the Anbu. Before Danzo could leave, Hiruzen demanded to know what he had sent someone to steal from his office, and Danzo denied sending anyone.

• Danzo suspected Hiruzen Sarutobi and Sōkyū Hatake had set a trap after Aburame Ryoma failed to report back.
• A Root ninja told Danzo that Hiruzen wanted him at a meeting, and Danzo went to the Hokage Office.
• Hiruzen showed Danzo dead Kikaichū and questioned him about Aburame Ryoma’s mission and whereabouts.
• Hiruzen accused Danzo of sending Aburame Ryoma to ambush Sōkyū Hatake, but Danzo denied it and said Ryoma had not returned.
• As Danzo tried to leave, Hiruzen stopped him and asked what someone had taken from his office, and Danzo denied sending anyone there.

Hiruzen Sarutobi suspended Danzo as Hokage Advisor and restricted Root after confronting him about missing agreements and dead Kikaichū. Danzo ordered an investigation and learned that Aburame Ryoma might already be dead.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi confronted Danzo over the missing agreements and dead Kikaichū found in his office.
• Danzo denied involvement, but Hiruzen Sarutobi suspended him and ordered Root ninja to register before leaving the village.
• Danzo ordered Root to investigate and told operatives outside Konoha not to return yet.
• A Root ninja reported that the dead Kikaichū had died after their host ran out of chakra.
• Danzo realized that Aburame Ryoma was likely dead.

Danzo learned that Aburame Ryoma had died and that Hiruzen Sarutobi’s Anbu demanded Root’s list of operatives, leaving him furious and wary. Sōkyū Hatake used the mission’s updated kill count to plan a hunt near Sunagakure and slipped past the Land of Wind’s border guards.

• Danzo confirmed that Aburame Ryoma had fallen in battle and suspected Hiruzen Sarutobi and Sōkyū Hatake had set a trap for him.
• A Root ninja reported that the Anbu demanded the list of Root ninja operating outside, and Danzo dismissed the messenger while deciding to handle the matter himself.
• Sōkyū Hatake saw that Aburame Ryoma’s death counted toward his mission and that he needed more kills to earn Conqueror’s Haki.
• Sōkyū Hatake chose to hunt near Sunagakure before the fifteen-day deadline, since hostile targets beyond Sunagakure could count toward his mission.
• Sōkyū Hatake used Thunder Geppo to bypass the border sentries and entered the Land of Wind, where security was lighter.

Sōkyū Hatake entered Sunagakure disguised as the Genin Chōya Subaru and began surveying the village ahead of his planned move the next day. He found the Kazekage’s Office guarded by Chunin and noted that Sunagakure’s elderly Council of Elders was holding the village back.

• Sōkyū Hatake disguised himself as a local trader and traveled through the Land of Wind toward Sunagakure.
• Sōkyū Hatake killed Chōya Subaru, a returning Sunagakure Genin, and took his identity, documents, and entry permits.
• Sōkyū Hatake passed the village inspection as Chōya Subaru, endured a guard’s mockery, and secretly sent an electric current into the guard.
• Sōkyū Hatake explored Sunagakure and sampled griddle bread and roasted camel feet.
• Sōkyū Hatake used God's-eye View to inspect the Kazekage’s Office, its guards, and the nearby elders’ residences.

Sōkyū Hatake infiltrated Rasa’s office in Sunagakure after the village alliance’s honeymoon period ended, then broke into its sealed compartments and took the contents. He discovered Rasa’s hidden room and, with Pikachu’s help, uncovered a nightstand made of solid gold.

• Sōkyū Hatake waited for the honeymoon period between Konoha and Sunagakure to end, then killed a gatekeeper with Directional Explosive Lightning.
• Sōkyū Hatake used God's-eye View and Lightning Soru to slip past the guards and enter Rasa’s office.
• Sōkyū Hatake broke the seals on hidden compartments and took village intelligence, Sunagakure documents, and Rasa’s personal effects.
• Sōkyū Hatake opened Rasa’s largest hidden room and found a collection of erotic outfits.
• Pikachu struck a nightstand with Iron Tail, revealing that it concealed a large lump of gold.

Sōkyū Hatake stripped the gold from Rasa’s room, then broke into Sunagakure’s archive and stole its ninjutsu scrolls. An alarm exposed him, and he was surrounded as he fled, still disguised as Chōya Subaru.

• Sōkyū Hatake discovered that Rasa’s room was lined with pure gold and took it all.
• Sōkyū Hatake slipped into Sunagakure’s archive and collected its ninjutsu scrolls.
• Sōkyū Hatake reached the forbidden jutsu section, opened a sealed scroll, and triggered the village alarm.
• Sunagakure’s ninja mobilized, spotted Sōkyū Hatake, and identified him as Chōya Subaru.
• Sōkyū Hatake ignored calls to surrender and attacked the nearest ninja with Bakusaiga.

Sōkyū Hatake dropped his disguise and fought his way through Sunagakure’s shinobi, drawing some defenders away by targeting the grain storehouse with a prepared lightning attack. Surrounded by the remaining forces, he entered an advanced Sage Mode fused with Pikachu and unleashed a massive Thunder God Wind Scar at their Elite Jōnin.

• Sōkyū Hatake used five Wind Scars to break through the Sand Shinobi’s defenses, and a Chunin recognized him as the Konoha ninja.
• Sōkyū Hatake revealed his true appearance and ordered a Shadow Clone to send lightning toward Sunagakure’s grain storehouse, prompting some shinobi to rush there.
• A Sunagakure Elite Jōnin demanded that Sōkyū Hatake surrender while the remaining shinobi surrounded him.
• Sōkyū Hatake summoned a ten-meter lightning giant with Thunder God Descent and entered advanced Sage Mode by fusing with Pikachu.
• Sōkyū Hatake struck at the Elite Jōnin and the surrounding forces with Senjutsu: Thunder God Wind Scar.

Sōkyū Hatake attacked Sunagakure, then fled when a powerful mysterious Sand Shinobi confronted him. He used the threat of a lightning strike to make the old ninja turn back, but his clone’s Senjutsu: Disaster Kirin struck the village’s Sand Fortress and left Sunagakure facing heavy casualties.

• A mysterious Sand Shinobi appeared and blocked Sōkyū Hatake’s Senjutsu: Thunder God Wind Scar with an enormous Sand Shield.
• Sōkyū Hatake fled toward the outskirts, but the mysterious Sand Shinobi pursued him.
• Sōkyū Hatake warned that his gathering lightning would destroy Sunagakure’s granary, prompting the mysterious Sand Shinobi to rush back and protect it.
• Sōkyū Hatake’s clone unleashed Senjutsu: Disaster Kirin on the Sand Fortress above the Grain Storage Room.
• The lightning engulfed the fortress and spread through nearby streets, knocking Sand Shinobi aside and leaving the mysterious Sand Shinobi staring at the likely casualties.