Recaps

After returning from the Konoha exchange, Yubi managed Sunagakure’s reconstruction and infrastructure projects before sending Chiyo and Arai to a diplomatic event in Iwagakure. Sunagakure won most of the contests, leaving Ōnoki’s attempt to showcase Iwagakure’s young fighters backfired.

• Yubi and Jiraiya discussed Mount Myōboku, the Toad Sage’s prophecies, and Jiraiya’s writing as they traveled back toward Sunagakure.
• Yubi returned to Sunagakure and oversaw genetic-potion research and construction projects, while Chiyo, Arai, and other officials handled many village affairs.
• Several months later, Iwagakure invited Sunagakure to hold an exchange, and Yubi sent Chiyo and Arai to lead the delegation instead of attending himself.
• Pakura and the other Sunagakure participants competed against Iwagakure’s younger shinobi, winning most divisions but losing the Chunin division.
• Arai reported that Iwagakure’s fighters excelled through specialized Earth Release and versatile Nature Transformation, while Ōnoki appeared unhappy that his showcase had backfired.

In an era of peace, Yubi’s medical and development projects no longer demanded all his time, so he focused on training and advancing Sunagakure. He developed the Seven Heavens Breathing Method to its Fourth Activation and weighed how to grow stronger without jeopardizing the peace.

• The shinobi world recovered from the Third Shinobi World War as pharmaceutical production, trade, and technology expanded, while Yubi earned recognition for strengthening medical care.
• With his projects running independently, Yubi spent his spare time inspecting vegetation efforts across the Land of Wind, where the daimyo’s eldest son had succeeded the previous ruler.
• Yubi trained with Baki and Yura at a Sunagakure facility while explaining how the Seven Heavens Breathing Method increased bodily activity and chakra through breathing.
• Yubi reviewed his abilities and experience points, noting that he had mastered every Op-Op Fruit ability except awakening and that ordinary people no longer provided experience points.
• Yubi concluded that he could develop the Seven Heavens Breathing Method through the Fourth Activation and ended the day’s training with Baki and Yura.

Yubi considered Sunagakure’s prosperity and his plans to strengthen himself during a long period of peace, then questioned Black Zetsu about its slow White Zetsu production. He ordered the White Zetsu spies recalled and privately considered eliminating Black Zetsu for its suspected schemes.

• Yubi finished recording the Seven Heavens Breathing Method and reflected on Sunagakure’s growth into the shinobi world’s leading economic power.
• Yubi considered the long peace ahead and planned to improve his abilities while seeking ways to absorb the Dragon Vein, Hashirama cells, Nagato’s Rinnegan, and Obito’s ruined Sharingan.
• Black Zetsu told Yubi that White Zetsu production was slow because it required Hashirama’s cells and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
• Yubi accepted that Sunagakure might produce only around fifty thousand White Zetsu before the Fourth Shinobi World War and ordered Black Zetsu to recall its operatives.
• Yubi reassured Black Zetsu that he would help revive Kaguya, then privately suspected it of sabotaging production and considered killing it.

Yubi sealed One-Tail Shukaku inside Gaara, assuring his family that he would protect the child and keep the sealing from disrupting their lives. Afterward, Yubi and Sunagakure’s leaders discussed Kirigakure’s proposal for an exchange.

• Rasa and Karura agreed to make their infant son Gaara a Jinchūriki, though Karura remained worried.
• Yubi used blood chains to draw Shukaku from the tea kettle and seal him inside Gaara, then marked Gaara’s forehead with the character for “love.”
• Yubi reassured Gaara’s family, asked them to watch him closely, and advised them not to publicize his new status yet.
• At a meeting in the Kazekage Building, Arai asked how Sunagakure should respond to Kirigakure’s request for an exchange.
• Yubi decided to invite Kirigakure’s people to Sunagakure rather than send Sunagakure’s delegation to them.

Yubi welcomed Karatachi Yagura and a large Kirigakure delegation to Sunagakure for an exchange event between the villages. As he showed Yagura around, the Mizukage admired Sunagakure’s prosperity and carefully planned infrastructure.

• Karatachi Yagura arrived in Sunagakure with more than a hundred visitors, including Ao, Kisame Hoshigaki, Mei Terumi, Zabuza, and Utakata.
• Yubi greeted Yagura and noticed that the usually stern Mizukage now showed him goodwill.
• Yubi and the Sunagakure officials escorted the Kirigakure delegation to their lodgings while residents watched with curiosity.
• The Kirigakure visitors marveled at Sunagakure’s greenery, busy streets, and prosperity.
• Yubi explained the desert plants and water circulation system after Yagura asked whether he had planned them.

Yubi led Yagura and the Kirigakure delegation on a tour of Sunagakure, where Mei Terumi openly admired him and clashed with Zabuza. Yagura asked Yubi to connect Kirigakure with the craftsmen who had helped rebuild Sunagakure, and Yubi agreed to make an introduction but left their decision to the craftsmen.

• Yubi noticed Mei Terumi blushing and stealing glances at him during the tour, then praised her kekkei genkai when she introduced herself.
• Mei Terumi asked for Yubi's portrait and offered to draw one, but Yagura's disapproval made her back down.
• Zabuza criticized Mei Terumi, and she retorted sharply, prompting Yagura to warn them to behave.
• Yagura asked Yubi to introduce Kirigakure to Sunagakure's reconstruction craftsmen and noted that a Kaguya Clan family had settled in Sunagakure.
• Yubi agreed to introduce the craftsmen but explained that they were foreign partners and would decide for themselves whether to help Kirigakure.

Yagura spent two days studying Sunagakure’s education, medical, and commercial systems, then lost sleep considering how difficult it would be to adapt their reforms to Kirigakure. The exchange event began in Sunagakure’s arena with speeches from Yubi and Yagura, and the competition was set to start.

• Yubi accompanied Yagura on visits to Sunagakure’s public facilities and schools, impressing the Mizukage with the village’s broad education system and commercial policies.
• Yagura concluded that Sunagakure’s progress came from Yubi’s governance and mature systems, and he considered which reforms Kirigakure could adopt despite its limited resources and divided authority.
• Yagura spent the night thinking through the difficulties of adapting Sunagakure’s projects to Kirigakure and arrived at the arena looking exhausted.
• Yubi noticed Yagura’s tired appearance, but Yagura dismissed his concern.
• Sunagakure’s residents filled the arena, and Yubi and Yagura delivered formal speeches before the exchange competition officially began.

Sunagakure and Kirigakure’s Genin competed, revealing their villages’ contrasting fighting styles and leaving the five-match series tied after Baki stopped a potentially fatal final bout.

• A Sunagakure Genin with a paper umbrella defeated her Kirigakure opponent using hidden Senbon, steel wires, and strong Taijutsu.
• Sunagakure Genin Maki endured an opponent’s attacks, then bound him with a modified Sealing Jutsu and won.
• Kirigakure’s Genin won the next two matches, bringing the series level.
• In the fifth match, both Genin fought recklessly for a kill until Baki intervened and declared a draw.
• Yubi explained that Arai had selected the Sunagakure contestants to gain experience, while Yagura’s delegation had brought some of Kirigakure’s strongest young Genin.

Mei Terumi faced Fukushima Taki in the first Chunin match and overwhelmed him with her speed, chakra, and Water Release. Taki struggled to keep up as Mei continued her attack.

• Yubi learned that Mei Terumi had asked for his portrait partly because she knew he was single.
• Fukushima Taki entered the match determined to prove himself after earlier losses, while Mei Terumi said she did not want to lose.
• After Baki started the match, Mei caught Taki off guard with a sudden charge and filled the arena with mist.
• Mei blasted Taki into a wall with a torrent of water, then pressured him with concentrated water attacks.
• Mei anticipated Taki's movements and kicked him flying before he could counterattack.

Mei Terumi defeated Fukushima Taki in a sparring match, giving Sunagakure another loss against Kirigakure. A Kirigakure Hozuki Clan contestant then overwhelmed his Sunagakure opponent with the Hydrification Technique.

• Mei Terumi evaded Fukushima Taki’s attacks and wore him down with her speed, tactics, and Ninjutsu.
• Mei Terumi defeated Fukushima Taki, and Baki declared her the winner.
• Fukushima Taki cried after his third consecutive loss, but Sunagakure spectators encouraged him and Sakamoto urged him to get back up.
• Mei Terumi offered Fukushima Taki a hand and praised him; he accepted the loss and left, hoping they would fight again.
• A Hozuki Clan contestant defeated Sunagakure’s next contestant by using the Hydrification Technique to nullify physical attacks.

Zabuza defeated Sunagakure’s final Chunin contestant, giving Kirigakure a decisive victory in the division. Yagura reflected on Sunagakure’s confidence and told Kirigakure’s young ninja that the future belonged to them.

• Fuma Uesugi won the third Chunin match, and the fourth match ended in a draw.
• Zabuza defeated Sunagakure’s puppeteer with the Hidden Mist Technique and Silent Killing Technique, securing Kirigakure’s overall Chunin victory.
• Yagura questioned Yubi about Sunagakure’s lineup, and Yubi explained that some younger ninja were away on missions and warned that Pakura would compete in the Jonin division.
• Yagura watched Pakura and recalled her strength and her past role as Kirigakure’s top assassination target.
• Ao remarked that Sunagakure’s spectators had remained cheerful despite the loss, and Yagura attributed their composure to their confidence in their Kazekage and village.
• Yagura told Mei Terumi, Zabuza, and the other young Kirigakure ninja that the future belonged to them.

Pakura won five consecutive Jonin matches against Kirigakure, earning widespread admiration in Sunagakure before the delegation departed. Afterward, Yubi learned that Orochimaru had defected from Konoha and explained the reasons behind his departure, while wondering how he had escaped Minato and the others.

• Pakura defeated five Kirigakure opponents in a row, and Sunagakure's spectators celebrated her victory.
• Yagura congratulated Yubi on Pakura's performance, and the Kirigakure delegation left Sunagakure after the exchange event and a private meeting between village leaders.
• A Sunagakure intelligence shinobi told Yubi that Orochimaru had defected from Konoha three days earlier.
• Yubi explained that Orochimaru's human experiments were discovered by Hiruzen Sarutobi and that Orochimaru's pursuit of immortality had weakened his ties to Konoha.
• Yubi wondered how Orochimaru had escaped despite Minato, Jiraiya, and others being present, and sensed that something about the defection felt strange.

Black Zetsu secretly recruited Orochimaru to help kill Yubi, offering intelligence and a plan to exploit the coming war. He left the base determined to prepare a trump card before Yubi could move against him.

• Orochimaru met a shadowy figure at Madara Uchiha's former base, where the figure offered to help him attack Sunagakure and kill the Fourth Kazekage.
• The figure proposed using Impure World Reincarnation to summon powerful shinobi during the coming war and offered Orochimaru leads and research data.
• Orochimaru agreed to consider working together if the figure proved his abilities, and asked for the genetic drugs the Fourth Kazekage was researching.
• A Sunagakure Anbu assigned to monitor the base arrived, prompting Orochimaru to disappear before the guard found anything amiss.
• Black Zetsu emerged after the Anbu left and revealed that he had approached Orochimaru to kill Yubi, not to resurrect Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.

Sunagakure launched bone cell and life serums, drawing buyers from across the Shinobi World and easing the village’s financial strain. After selling a large shipment to the Land of Lightning, Yubi argued that Sunagakure’s monopoly gave it room to take buyers’ money before production caught up.

• Sunagakure put its two genetic serums on sale, and countries and ninja villages rushed to buy them for their people and forces.
• Demand for the serums helped Sunagakure address the costs of expanding its forces and funding village projects and welfare.
• Yubi saw off the daimyo of the Land of Lightning after he paid in advance for a serum shipment, while the Fourth Raikage avoided meeting him.
• Chiyo worried that Sunagakure had promised more serum shipments than it could deliver on time.
• Yubi explained that no other power could replicate the serums soon and said buyers would prioritize getting the goods over reclaiming their money.

Yubi reflected on the impact of Sunagakure’s genetic potions and considered the village leaders’ attempts to bring him and Pakura closer. He asked Pakura to take a walk with him, and she agreed.

• Yubi considered how the bone cell and life potions could improve lifespans and combat strength, while keeping the unfinished Hashirama Cells potion from the public.
• Pakura replaced Arai as Yubi’s guard and administrative assistant, and Yubi realized Chiyo and Arai had arranged it partly to encourage a relationship between them.
• Yubi recalled Pakura’s feelings for him and the kunai she had given him at the Ninja Academy.
• Yubi invited Pakura to take a walk and talk as they had when they were children, and Pakura agreed.

Yubi took Pakura for a walk through Sunagakure, asked about her romantic feelings, and confessed that he wanted to try dating her. Pakura fainted from the shock, leaving Yubi beside her collapsed body.

• Yubi and Pakura revisited the place where they first met, and Pakura told him that her uncle had died protecting her during the Third Shinobi World War.
• Yubi said he regarded Pakura as family and encouraged her to pursue romance and interests beyond missions and village affairs.
• Yubi pressed Pakura to reveal whom she liked, and she admitted that there was someone before trying to leave.
• Yubi confronted Pakura with his belief that she loved him, and she said she thought he was devoted to the village and that she was unworthy of him.
• Yubi said he wanted to give their relationship a chance by dating, and Pakura fainted when he touched her shoulder.

Sakamoto and Fukushima Taki spotted Pakura dressed up with a homemade lunch and suspected that she and Yubi had grown closer. When they visited Yubi’s office, they found Pakura watching him eat, and Yubi assigned them new village duties and discussed the coming promotion examination and genetic serums.

• Sakamoto and Fukushima Taki saw Pakura carrying a boxed lunch and followed her, then learned she had cooked it for Yubi.
• Sakamoto guessed that Yubi had returned Pakura’s feelings and persuaded Fukushima Taki to visit their teacher.
• Sakamoto and Fukushima Taki entered Yubi’s office and found Pakura watching Yubi eat the lunch she had made.
• Yubi planned to promote Sakamoto and Fukushima Taki to Jonin, assigning Sakamoto to the Military Police Force and Fukushima Taki to the intelligence department.
• Yubi warned them they still had to pass the examination and told them which genetic serums they would receive.

Yubi and Pakura began dating openly, though Yubi viewed marriage partly as a way to secure Sunagakure’s future and pass on his ideals. He welcomed Tsunade and Konoha’s study-abroad delegation to Sunagakure, where they would spend six months learning about its medical system.

• Yubi publicly acknowledged his relationship with Pakura, and villagers congratulated the couple as they spent time together.
• Yubi regarded his relationship with Pakura as genuine but also considered marriage a way to provide Sunagakure with an heir and a stabilizing future leader.
• Yubi welcomed Tsunade and 106 other Konoha ninja, who agreed to follow Sunagakure’s rules and accept surveillance during their studies.
• Tsunade joined the delegation as a student and told Yubi she wanted to learn from his medical expertise.
• Yubi showed the delegation its school and dormitory, explaining that the Konoha students would study separately from Sunagakure’s students for six months.

Sasori returned to Sunagakure after hearing that Yubi planned to marry Pakura, then collected funding for his puppet research. He revealed that Orochimaru had ambushed him and escaped, leaving Yubi on alert.

• Yubi explained to Sasori that he and Pakura had made their relationship official and planned to marry.
• Sasori questioned whether Yubi wanted Pakura only to bear children, and Yubi said their feelings were genuine as well.
• Sasori asked Yubi for money to fund puppet research and gather materials, and Yubi agreed to the amount he wrote on the desk.
• Sasori revealed that he had encountered and fought Orochimaru, who had tried to ambush him but escaped.
• Yubi's expression turned cold when he heard Orochimaru had targeted Sasori.

Yubi suspected Orochimaru’s attack on Sasori concealed a conspiracy, but let Sasori pursue him alone while he prepared to track Orochimaru himself. He then visited the hospital, where Sunagakure began distributing genetic potions to its shinobi and planned a much longer rollout for the village and its partners.

• Yubi wondered why Orochimaru had attacked Sasori and suspected he might still be working with Danzo.
• Sasori left to hunt Orochimaru himself, and Yubi agreed not to interfere while warning that Orochimaru’s schemes could endanger him.
• Pakura reassured Yubi that Sasori could handle Orochimaru, and Yubi said he had his own way to find the rogue ninja.
• Baki reported that the hospital preparations were nearly complete, so Yubi and Pakura went there and saw Sunagakure shinobi lining up for injections.
• Saori explained that the village’s inoculations would take months for shinobi and years for everyone, while Sunagakure also had to fulfill potion orders for its outside partners.

Yubi and Pakura held a grand wedding in Sunagakure, attended by village leaders and guests from other countries. The celebration showed how warmly the village supported its Kazekage, while foreign representatives remarked on the scale of the occasion.

• Yubi reminded the Sunagakure shinobi receiving genetic serums that their effects would take months to appear and that training remained important.
• Yubi left the hospital after inspecting the serum program and reflected on the peaceful changes across the shinobi world.
• Yubi and Pakura held their wedding after Chiyo and the senior officials arranged a lavish celebration for the village.
• Tsunade, Kitsuchi, and representatives from Kirigakure and other countries attended and discussed how unexpected and widely celebrated Yubi's marriage was.

Yubi learned that Orochimaru had evaded the White Zetsu and suspected Black Zetsu had helped him escape Konoha and plan Otogakure. Pakura visited him with food, and Yubi reflected on Sunagakure’s growing children and the challenge of keeping them in line.

• Zetsu reported that Orochimaru’s research bases had been abandoned and that he had contacted the daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields without appearing in person.
• Yubi suspected Black Zetsu had warned Orochimaru and ordered Zetsu to leave, then considered what the two might do next.
• Pakura visited Yubi at the Kazekage’s Office and brought him a meal she had learned to cook from Karura.
• Yubi thought about Sunagakure’s young generation, including Deidara’s pranks, Jugo’s kind nature, and Kimimaro’s maturity.
• Yubi recalled that Temari ignored him and concluded that the growing children were testing his ability to lead and discipline them.

Yubi discussed the Shinobi World's recovery and the likelihood of another war with Pakura, then visited Sunagakure's Ninja Academy to observe its students. He checked on the growing Uchiha population and told Yura the children could learn the truth of their past when they were older.

• Yubi told Pakura that the villages were recovering and would prepare for future wars, while Pakura said war would teach Sunagakure's children the world's harsh realities.
• Yubi and Yura visited the Ninja Academy and watched Kimimaro, Jugo, Haku, and other students demonstrate their skills.
• Yubi asked Yura how many Uchiha lived in Sunagakure, and Yura reported that there were forty, with children ranging from newborns to seven years old.
• Yura said the Uchiha children identified as Sunagakure residents and had been kept from learning about Konoha's Uchiha Clan and their past.
• Yubi told Yura that the children could be told the truth if they asked when they were older, adding that Sunagakure had saved the Uchiha bloodline.

Yubi observed Sunagakure’s Ninja Academy, where Temari defeated an Uchiha student and a Kaguya child fought recklessly, prompting him to order instructors to develop the Kaguya children’s combat judgment. His visit drew an excited crowd of students, including Kimimaro, Haku, and others, eager to speak with him.

• Yubi watched Temari defeat an Uchiha student in a sparring match.
• Yubi saw a Kaguya child fight recklessly and told Yura to have instructors prioritize the Kaguya students’ minds and combat intelligence.
• Yubi asked whether Tayuya and the others would start school the following year, and Yura confirmed they would.
• A teacher spotted Yubi and greeted him, disrupting the students’ training as teachers and children gathered around the Kazekage.
• Kimimaro, Haku, and the other children approached Yubi and excitedly asked him to teach them techniques and tell battlefield stories.
• A teacher told the students to stop crowding Yubi because he had a great deal of work to do.

After spending the afternoon training Sunagakure’s children, Yubi walked Kimimaro, Jugo, and Haku home. He heard Deidara causing trouble nearby and sent Yura ahead with the other children as he turned his attention to the blond boy.

• Yubi guided the Academy children through their training and praised them before school ended.
• Yubi spoke with Haku, Kimimaro, and Jugo about growing up, living independently, and Jugo’s unusual constitution.
• Haku said goodbye and headed home while Yubi continued toward the orphanage with Kimimaro and Jugo.
• Deidara ran through the street, throwing balls of earth and shouting that he wanted to return to Iwagakure.
• Yubi told Yura to take Kimimaro and Jugo back first.