Chapter Summaries

At a war council, Hiruzen Sarutobi appointed Kakashi Hatake to command the eastern defense, and Uchiha Minamoto accepted the decision despite seeing it as an attempt to limit his influence. Later, Minamoto reviewed reports from the northern front until Tsunade burst into his office.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi appointed Kakashi Hatake commander of the eastern defense force and ordered him to lead two elite Anbu squads against Kirigakure.
• Uchiha Minamoto objected and offered to go east himself, but Hiruzen Sarutobi insisted he remain in command of the northern front.
• Uchiha Minamoto accepted the Hokage's decision and wished Kakashi Hatake fortune in battle.
• At the Konoha Military Police Force headquarters, Uchiha Minamoto reviewed reports on the new clan commander squad and the northern front, where Kumogakure had re-entered the Land of Woods.
• Tsunade rushed into Uchiha Minamoto's office and interrupted his work.

Uchiha Minamoto reassured Tsunade that Kakashi Hatake could handle Kirigakure’s eastern-front advance, while privately recognizing that Obito Uchiha was directing the invasion. He remained prepared to go to the front if the situation worsened.

• Tsunade confronted Uchiha Minamoto for obeying Hiruzen Sarutobi’s order to stay away from the eastern front and urged him to challenge the Hokage’s decision.
• Uchiha Minamoto told Tsunade he trusted Kakashi Hatake to defeat Kisame Hoshigaki, and she reluctantly accepted his reasoning.
• Before leaving to watch Naruto train, Tsunade asked whether Uchiha Minamoto would go to the front if trouble arose, and he promised he would.
• After Tsunade left, Uchiha Minamoto considered that Obito Uchiha controlled Karatachi Yagura and had orchestrated Kirigakure’s deployment.

Kakashi Hatake led Konoha Anbu against Kisame Hoshigaki’s Kirigakure Vanguard Force on the eastern battlefield. Using ninja dogs to track enemies through the Hidden Mist and coordinating precise counters, Kakashi’s squad inflicted heavy losses without suffering casualties.

• Kakashi Hatake, Tenzo, and Uchiha Itachi approached the eastern coast’s last Border Outpost with two Anbu squads.
• A Yamanaka Clan sensory ninja detected a large enemy force, and Kirigakure covered the battlefield with an enormous Hidden Mist Technique.
• Kakashi Hatake summoned eight ninja dogs, whose sense of smell helped locate the Kirigakure ninja and identify Kisame Hoshigaki.
• Kakashi Hatake used the sensory technique to direct the Anbu through the mist, helping Yamato evade an assassin and kill him.
• The Konoha Anbu counterattacked the Kirigakure Vanguard Force, which suffered heavy losses without causing Konoha casualties.

Kakashi Hatake killed Kisame Hoshigaki with [Chidori], but the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, arrived as the Konoha Anbu squad celebrated its victory. Kakashi ordered everyone to retreat and charged Yagura, beginning another [Chidori] attack.

• Kisame Hoshigaki overwhelmed Kakashi Hatake with [Samehada], forcing Kakashi to rely on his [Three-Tomoe Sharingan] to read the attacks.
• Kakashi used explosive tags to distract Kisame, then pierced his chest with [Chidori] and killed him.
• Yamato and the others defeated their Kirigakure opponents, giving the Konoha Anbu squad an overwhelming victory.
• Karatachi Yagura arrived, and Kakashi sensed his immense chakra and ordered the squad to retreat.
• Kakashi charged Karatachi Yagura with [Chidori], resolved to face him despite the danger.

Karatachi Yagura overpowered Kakashi Hatake and his Anbu, resisting Kakashi’s final Lightning Blade and leaving him buried in a crater. As Kakashi lost consciousness, Kisame Hoshigaki recovered from his wound and revealed that Kakashi’s attack had nearly killed him.

• Karatachi Yagura’s Tailed Beast Cloak blocked Kakashi Hatake’s Chidori, and Isobu’s tail broke Kakashi’s fingers and shoulder before knocking him down.
• Two Konoha Anbu attacked Karatachi Yagura but were struck down, while Kakashi ordered Yamato, Uchiha Itachi, and the other Anbu to retreat.
• Kakashi invoked the importance of comrades, provoking a furious reaction from Karatachi Yagura, then used smoke and the Headhunter Jutsu to launch a final Lightning Blade.
• Karatachi Yagura’s Tailed Beast Cloak stopped the Lightning Blade, and he bound Kakashi with Coral Palm before smashing him into the ground with Isobu’s tail.
• Kisame Hoshigaki stood up as Samehada helped heal his chest wound and admitted that Kakashi’s attack had nearly killed him.

Karatachi Yagura ordered Kisame Hoshigaki to spare Kakashi Hatake, and Obito Uchiha took Kakashi into the Kamui dimension. Kisame pursued the Konoha Anbu and battled Yamato, who escaped after Kisame destroyed two Wood Clones; Uchiha Itachi continued fleeing through the forest.

• Karatachi Yagura stopped Kisame Hoshigaki from killing Kakashi Hatake for his Sharingan and sent Kisame after the fleeing Konoha Anbu.
• Obito Uchiha appeared on the battlefield, reflected on his history with Kakashi, and drew Kakashi into the Kamui dimension.
• Kisame caught up with Konoha Anbu Tenzo, and Yamato challenged him with Wood Release techniques.
• Kisame used Samehada to cut through Yamato's wooden attacks, then flooded the forest with Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave.
• Kisame sent a Water Shark Bullet Technique after Yamato, but it tore apart another Wood Clone; Kisame failed to find him and gave up the search.
• Uchiha Itachi raced through the forest along another escape route.

Obito Uchiha confronted Uchiha Itachi and tried to persuade him to leave Konoha, but Itachi refused and sent a message to the Hokage. After news arrived that Kakashi Hatake was missing and the Anbu squads had suffered heavy losses, Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned Uchiha Minamoto for help.

• Obito Uchiha questioned whether Uchiha Itachi belonged to the Uchiha Clan or Konoha and urged him to seek answers outside the village.
• Uchiha Itachi refused to become a missing-nin and sent a crow to find Lord Hokage with a message.
• Yamato sent Konoha a report that two Anbu squads were nearly wiped out and Kakashi Hatake was missing after losing to Karatachi Yagura.
• Uchiha Setsuna blamed Hiruzen Sarutobi for the losses and demanded that he call for Uchiha Minamoto.
• Uchiha Setsuna went to Uchiha Minamoto's office and began telling him about the crisis on the eastern front.

After the eastern front suffered heavy losses and Kakashi Hatake went missing, Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned Uchiha Minamoto to an emergency war meeting. Minamoto pointedly reminded Hiruzen that he had rejected his earlier offer to deploy, leaving the meeting without the answer Hiruzen wanted.

• Uchiha Setsuna told Uchiha Minamoto that the eastern front had suffered serious losses and that Hiruzen Sarutobi had called an emergency meeting.
• Uchiha Minamoto went with Uchiha Setsuna to the Hokage Building for the meeting.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi reported that two Anbu squads had been nearly wiped out and Kakashi Hatake's fate remained unknown after he faced Karatachi Yagura.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Uchiha Minamoto how he viewed the crisis, and Minamoto asked what Hiruzen wanted him to do.
• Hiruha Minamoto listed other possible fighters, including Utatane Koharu, Tsunade, and Shisui, instead of volunteering for the eastern front.

Uchiha Minamoto accepted Hiruzen Sarutobi’s request to face Kirigakure on the eastern battlefield, while leaving his forces to defend the northern front. After checking in with Matatabi, he traveled to the eastern Land of Fire and sensed a familiar chakra.

• Uchiha Minamoto challenged Hiruzen Sarutobi to admit his earlier decision had been wrong, then agreed to go east alone while the Konoha Military Police Force’s Mobile Combat Team guarded the north.
• Uchiha Minamoto vanished from the Jonin Commander’s meeting room with [Divine Lightning], stunning the gathered jonin, while Uchiha Setsuna led the applause.
• Uchiha Minamoto returned to the Konoha Military Police Force and delegated its affairs and those of the Great Love Group.
• Uchiha Minamoto visited Matatabi in the Empty District, told her he was heading east to repel Kirigakure, and said he would summon her if needed.
• Uchiha Minamoto crossed the Land of Fire using [Divine Lightning], sensed a familiar chakra in the east, and teleported toward it.

Uchiha Minamoto rescued Uchiha Itachi and Yamato, then learned that a powerful Kirigakure kunoichi wanted to discuss a business deal with the Light of Konoha. Mei Terumi waited for Konoha’s response as Kirigakure’s forces advanced into the Land of Fire.

• Uchiha Itachi recovered in the forest after Uchiha Minamoto arrived, treated his injuries, and left him to rest.
• Uchiha Minamoto found Yamato, gave him medical supplies, and heard about the reddish-brown-haired Kirigakure kunoichi who had let him go with a message.
• Yamato told Uchiha Minamoto that the kunoichi wanted to discuss a big business deal with the Light of Konoha.
• Uchiha Minamoto set off to meet the Kirigakure unit and hear the deal for himself.
• Mei Terumi waited with her trusted followers and worried that Konoha had not responded while Karatachi Yagura’s forces advanced into the Land of Fire.

Mei Terumi weighed her desperate options for saving Kirigakure and waited for Uchiha Minamoto to arrive. He appeared in the forest, effortlessly incapacitated her elite guards, and left Mei standing to face him.

• Mei Terumi told Ao she did not know whether Uchiha Minamoto would come and considered staging a coup against Karatachi Yagura if he refused to cooperate.
• Uchiha Minamoto appeared without warning in the clearing, prompting Mei Terumi to shout that the Kirigakure ninja should attack.
• Uchiha Minamoto used [Amenotokotachi] to repel the ninja tools and Water Release attacks aimed at him.
• Uchiha Minamoto used [Sage Art: Body Pathway Lightning Calamity Technique] to incapacitate more than twenty Kirigakure ninja, including Ao, while sparing Mei Terumi.
• Uchiha Minamoto identified Mei Terumi, and she stood stunned as the Light of Konoha announced his arrival.

Uchiha Minamoto defeated Mei Terumi’s Kirigakure squad, recovered Ao’s Byakugan, and heard Mei’s plea for help against the force controlling Kirigakure. He identified the Mysterious Masked Man as a likely culprit, and Mei concluded that the man and Shimura Danzō were behind the village’s troubles.

• Uchiha Minamoto pulled Ao’s Byakugan from his eye socket, sealed it in a scroll, and said it had been returned to its rightful owner.
• Mei Terumi explained that Kirigakure’s invasion was not the village’s true intention and claimed the Fourth Mizukage was controlled by Genjutsu.
• Mei Terumi begged Uchiha Minamoto to save Karatachi Yagura and free Kirigakure from the mastermind’s control.
• Uchiha Minamoto told Mei Terumi about the Mysterious Masked Man, his abilities, and his suspected role in Konoha’s Nine-Tails’ Attack.
• Mei Terumi connected the Mysterious Masked Man to the control of Karatachi Yagura and suspected Shimura Danzō and the masked man were behind Kirigakure’s suffering.

Mei Terumi asked Uchiha Minamoto to free Kirigakure from Karatachi Yagura and the Mysterious Masked Man, but he demanded a price for sparing her and her subordinates. He revealed that he wanted Mei to become the Fifth Mizukage and ally Kirigakure with Konoha, leaving her embarrassed and asking whether he was serious.

• Mei Terumi begged Uchiha Minamoto to break Karatachi Yagura's Genjutsu and drive the Mysterious Masked Man from Kirigakure.
• Uchiha Minamoto warned Mei Terumi that he could kill her and her subordinates, then asked what Kirigakure would offer in exchange for his help.
• Mei Terumi offered Kirigakure's immediate withdrawal from the war, compensation, and a defensive alliance with Konoha.
• Uchiha Minamoto rejected her terms and said he wanted Mei Terumi, prompting her to start undressing.
• Uchiha Minamoto clarified that he wanted Mei Terumi to become the Fifth Mizukage and lead Kirigakure into an alliance with Konoha.
• Mei Terumi regained her composure and asked Uchiha Minamoto if he was serious.

Uchiha Minamoto challenged Mei Terumi to prove her mettle as a candidate for Fifth Mizukage by fighting him. Mei Terumi opened with Hidden Mist Technique and Boil Release, but Uchiha Minamoto protected himself with Susanoo and said her acidic mist could not hurt him.

• Mei Terumi objected to becoming a puppet Mizukage, and Uchiha Minamoto told her to stand up before they continued talking.
• Uchiha Minamoto demanded that Mei Terumi fight him to prove she was qualified to become Fifth Mizukage.
• Mei Terumi asked to move the fight away from her injured subordinates, and Uchiha Minamoto led her to a clearing.
• Mei Terumi filled the clearing with Hidden Mist Technique and added acidic mist with Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique.
• Uchiha Minamoto formed Susanoo: Rib Cage Version to shield himself from the acid and told Mei Terumi her attack was not strong enough to hurt him.

Uchiha Minamoto defeated Mei Terumi despite her Lava Release attacks and assassination technique, using Susanoo and Lightning Release Transformation to remain unharmed. Mei Terumi lay paralyzed on the ground after her final attack failed.

• Mei Terumi used Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique, but it only partially melted Uchiha Minamoto's Susanoo.
• Mei Terumi attacked from beneath with Lava Release: Turbid Flow Wave, but Uchiha Minamoto transformed into lightning and emerged unharmed.
• Uchiha Minamoto praised Mei Terumi for identifying Susanoo's apparent weakness, but Mei Terumi refused to give up.
• Mei Terumi lunged at Uchiha Minamoto with a kunai, and he turned his body into lightning, shocking and paralyzing her.
• Uchiha Minamoto declared that Mei Terumi had lost as she lay on the ground, unable to get up.

Uchiha Minamoto defeated Mei Terumi, recruited her as a companion and candidate for Fifth Mizukage, and placed a Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal on her to prevent her from revealing his secrets. Mei agreed that Karatachi Yagura must die, but Minamoto planned to wait until he could deal with the Mysterious Masked Man without letting him escape.

• Mei Terumi admitted defeat, and Uchiha Minamoto helped her to her feet and asked her to become his companion and the next Mizukage.
• Uchiha Minamoto placed a Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal on Mei Terumi, preventing her from disclosing his secrets.
• Minamoto said Karatachi Yagura had to die so Kirigakure could move on from the Blood Mist Policy, and Mei agreed.
• Minamoto promised to extract Isobu, the Three-Tails, from Karatachi Yagura before killing him.
• Minamoto said he would delay killing Karatachi Yagura until he could account for the Mysterious Masked Man, who might otherwise escape and control others.

Uchiha Minamoto told Mei Terumi to resume her usual duties and wait for his signal while he planned to confront Karatachi Yagura and the hidden mastermind. Mei Terumi described Kirigakure’s invasion and confirmed Kakashi Hatake was likely alive, leaving Minamoto to suspect Obito Uchiha had taken him into the Kamui dimension.

• Uchiha Minamoto told Mei Terumi to act as usual, keep her subordinates in line, and leave Karatachi Yagura and the mastermind to him.
• Uchiha Minamoto’s [Heart of Great Love] recorded Mei Terumi’s Boil Release and Lava Release as S-rank Kekkei Genkai.
• Mei Terumi explained that Kisame Hoshigaki’s vanguard had breached Konoha’s eastern coast, Karatachi Yagura led the landing force, and she commanded the flanking third echelon.
• Mei Terumi said Karatachi Yagura had stopped Kisame Hoshigaki from killing Kakashi Hatake and that Kirigakure had received no body.
• Uchiha Minamoto sensed no trace of Kakashi Hatake along the eastern coast and concluded that Obito Uchiha had likely taken him into the Kamui dimension.

Uchiha Minamoto learned more about Karatachi Yagura and Kisame Hoshigaki from Mei Terumi, then confronted Kisame near the eastern coast of the Land of Fire. Samehada abandoned Kisame for Minamoto, and Minamoto overwhelmed Kisame’s sea-based attack with Blaze Release.

• Uchiha Minamoto asked Mei Terumi about Karatachi Yagura’s abilities, and she shared what she knew before he left to act immediately.
• Uchiha Minamoto appeared before Kisame Hoshigaki and the Kirigakure Vanguard Squad, then incapacitated the squad with Sage Art: Body Pathway Lightning Calamity Technique.
• Samehada absorbed Minamoto’s senjutsu chakra, survived the technique, and crawled toward him while Kisame abandoned it and jumped into the sea.
• Kisame used Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave to send a massive wave at Minamoto.
• Uchiha Minamoto countered with Sage Art: Blaze Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame, burning through Kisame’s wave and vaporizing the seawater.

Uchiha Minamoto routed Kirigakure's vanguard, drove Kisame Hoshigaki into retreat, and marked him with Divine Lightning so he could track him to Obito Uchiha. After claiming Kisame's Samehada, Minamoto judged the heavy sword a poor fit for his fighting style and considered the strange designs of Kirigakure's other ninja blades.

• Kisame Hoshigaki's Great Shark Bullet Technique evaporated against Uchiha Minamoto's Blaze Release, and Kisame fled into the sea.
• Uchiha Minamoto placed a Divine Lightning coordinate on Kisame Hoshigaki and hoped he would return to Obito Uchiha.
• The Great Love Panel rewarded Uchiha Minamoto with 800,000 points, the Great Shark Bullet Technique, and Samehada.
• Uchiha Minamoto handled Samehada, decided it was too heavy and unsuitable for him, and reviewed the unusual designs of Kirigakure's ninja blades.

Uchiha Minamoto sealed Samehada, renamed it Gouji, and executed Kirigakure’s Vanguard Squad, earning Great Love Points and deriving the A-rank technique Railgun. He then sensed scattered Kirigakure units across the Land of Fire’s eastern coast and set out to eliminate them, while other Konoha ninja remained alive in the forest.

• Uchiha Minamoto judged the remaining Ninja Blades, named Samehada Gouji, and used Contract Seal to block its summoning contract with Kirigakure.
• Uchiha Minamoto executed the unconscious Kirigakure Vanguard Squad and received 90,000 Great Love Points and Water Release: Water Gun Technique.
• Uchiha Minamoto used Heart of Great Love to derive the A-rank technique Railgun, then tested its powerful lightning projectile.
• Uchiha Minamoto sensed Kirigakure units spread across the eastern Land of Fire and moved to hunt them down.
• Several Kirigakure ninja searched a forest for surviving Konoha ninja, while Yamato and Uchiha Itachi were not the only ones who had survived.