Chapter Summaries

Yubi was seemingly killed by Otani while protecting Sasori, who was driven back until he summoned his Father and Mother puppets. Yubi suddenly rose again, unsettling Otani and Sasori, and challenged Otani to resume their fight.

• Yubi's threads caught only Otani's afterimage, and Otani wounded Sasori's puppet before fatally stabbing Yubi in the back.
• As Yubi lost consciousness, he realized Otani had targeted him first and feared Sasori would not survive.
• Otani pressed Sasori with Taijutsu, destroying his puppets and forcing him to use his last scroll to summon Father and Mother.
• Yubi stood up despite his fatal wound, spoke with unsettling ease, and challenged Otani to continue their fight.
• Otani charged at Yubi as Sasori moved, and Yubi laughed frenziedly.

Yubi used his remaining experience points to gain Blood Manipulation, a Kekkei Genkai that let him control blood and keep himself alive. With Arai’s help, he killed Otani, while the surviving Konoha shinobi’s thoughts turned to the danger Yubi posed to Konoha’s next generation.

• As he lay near death, Yubi spent 1,200 negative experience points to acquire Blood Manipulation and used it to stabilize himself with blood control and Medical Ninjutsu.
• Otani charged Yubi, but Yubi bound his legs with blood and wounded him with blood projectiles while Sasori’s Father and Mother puppets attacked from the sides.
• Otani realized Yubi and Sasori were stalling him and decided to retreat to aid Ryosuke, who was fighting Arai.
• Otani damaged Father and leaped away, but Arai arrived and struck him before he could escape.
• Yubi’s blood projectile pierced Otani’s temple, killing him as he worried about Konoha’s next generation.

After sensing that Otani and Ryosuke had been killed, Shikaku, Choza, and Inoichi fled the battlefield and realized the young Sunagakure ninja were far more dangerous than expected. Arai considered pursuing them but chose to lead Yubi and Sasori out of the Land of Grass first.

• Inoichi sensed that Otani and Ryosuke’s chakra had vanished and told Shikaku and Choza they were dead.
• Shikaku ordered Choza and Inoichi to retreat, fearing the Sunagakure trio would attack them next.
• Inoichi reported that one of the Sunagakure boys appeared to have killed Otani after Arai wounded him.
• Shikaku concluded that Sunagakure had produced an extraordinary young ninja and decided the village needed to be warned.
• Inoichi confirmed the Sunagakure trio was not following them, and Shikaku urged the group to hurry away.
• Arai considered chasing the fleeing Konoha reinforcements but instead chose to take Yubi and Sasori to a safer place outside the Land of Grass.

Arai brought Yubi and Sasori back toward Sunagakure after their mission and learned that Yubi had awakened a rare Kekkei Genkai called Blood Manipulation. The Third Kazekage ordered a village meeting to discuss the ability, while Arai worried that Yubi was still young.

• Arai asked Yubi whether his blood-controlling ability was a Kekkei Genkai, and Yubi said it came from his father's bloodline and had to be awakened.
• Yubi explained that his family had no genealogy or surviving teachings, and Sasori warned that Yubi's children might not inherit the ability.
• Arai promised to emphasize the difficulty of awakening the bloodline to the Kazekage and said the Kazekage might advise Yubi on developing it.
• Several days later, Arai reported Yubi's Blood Manipulation to the Third Kazekage, who ordered a meeting with the village's leaders.
• Arai cautioned that Yubi was still young, and the Third Kazekage said the village might eventually require sacrifices but that the time had not yet come.

Yubi demonstrated Blood Manipulation to Sunagakure’s leaders, who hoped he could develop it into a powerful Kekkei Genkai. After Sasori warned that the village was using them to restore its reputation, Yubi drew Sasori into considering a future purge of the leaders.

• Yubi demonstrated Blood Manipulation and explained its limits to the Third Kazekage, Chiyo, Ebizo, and the other leaders.
• The Third Kazekage offered to help Yubi train his Kekkei Genkai, while the leaders questioned whether others in his family could awaken it.
• Yubi left the meeting and Sasori warned that the Third Kazekage was allowing him on missions to exploit his talent and improve Sunagakure’s standing against Konoha.
• Yubi told Sasori that the village’s problems lay with its people and suggested that removing the problematic ones could solve them.
• Sasori accepted the idea, and the two children continued walking together after quietly agreeing on a plan to purge Sunagakure’s power structure.

Yubi and Sasori ambushed and wiped out a Konoha relief squad in the Land of Grass, demonstrating how their combat skills and teamwork had improved. Arai praised them and explained that their mission was to harass smaller Konoha battlefronts while Yubi tested the limits of his Kekkei Genkai.

• Yubi and Sasori attacked a Konoha relief team from the front and rear, killing the squad with their threads, throwing knives, and puppets.
• Sasori claimed he had killed more enemies, and Yubi shrugged off their usual competition before they sensed someone approaching and withdrew.
• Arai caught up with the pair and praised their practical combat experience and increasingly smooth teamwork.
• Arai told Yubi that the Third Kazekage wanted him to test what he could accomplish with blood alone in different combat situations.
• Arai led the squad toward another small battlefront to continue harassing Konoha and avoid attracting Orochimaru's attention.

For six months, Yubi, Sasori, and Arai carried out ambushes against Konoha forces in the Land of Grass while enduring dwindling supplies and constant danger. After learning that Iwagakure was withdrawing, they prepared to leave before Konoha could target them.

• Yubi and Sasori spent six months gathering intelligence and ambushing Konoha forces across the Land of Grass, earning notice from Konoha and Iwagakure.
• Yubi and Sasori discussed puppet construction and experimented with developing a core that could let human puppets use the ninjutsu they had known in life.
• Arai returned to the camouflaged cave and told Yubi and Sasori that several Iwagakure battle lines had withdrawn.
• Arai ordered the squad to erase their traces and leave before Konoha could redirect its forces against them.

After returning from a six-month mission, Yubi was welcomed by Sunagakure’s villagers and joined Sasori in receiving praise from the village leadership. The Third Kazekage gave them intelligence on promising young shinobi from other villages and warned that they might be Sunagakure’s hope in a future war.

• Yubi, Sasori, and Arai returned to Sunagakure, where villagers gathered to welcome and praise Yubi.
• Sasori left the crowd, warning Yubi not to be fooled by the village’s welcome, and Yubi recognized it as a political effort to foster loyalty.
• The Third Kazekage and other leaders praised Yubi and Sasori, then explained that Konoha was nearing victory against Kumogakure and the war was winding down.
• The Third Kazekage gave Yubi and Sasori intelligence on promising young shinobi from the major villages, including their own names.
• Chiyo told Yubi and Sasori that a Konoha infiltrator had attempted to assassinate Yubi after Hanzō leaked information to Danzō.
• The Third Kazekage urged Yubi and Sasori to prepare to lead Sunagakure in a future war, and Yubi nodded firmly.

Yubi faced the Third Kazekage in a public Chunin assessment, testing his Taijutsu and blood-based abilities against the Kazekage’s iron sand. After Yubi landed a concealed blood attack, the Third Kazekage raised the pressure, and Yubi launched a powerful Blood Release technique.

• Yubi began the assessment by attacking the Third Kazekage with fast Taijutsu, but iron sand blocked every strike.
• Yubi threw hidden weapons and used threads to attack, but the Kazekage’s iron sand deflected the knives and weighed down the threads.
• Yubi concealed a solidified blood droplet with a throwing knife and struck the Kazekage between the brows, prompting him to praise Yubi’s improved control and range.
• The Third Kazekage intensified his aura, and Sasori recognized Yubi’s excitement as the same nature he had shown against the Konoha Jonin.
• Yubi compressed a ball of blood to a fingernail’s size and fired it at the Third Kazekage with Blood Release: Deliberate Bombardment Ball.

Yubi demonstrated new transformations of his Blood Release during his examination, but the Third Kazekage overwhelmed him once he began attacking in earnest. The Kazekage passed Yubi, while Rasa left wondering whether the rising young ninja would ever share the Third’s ideals.

• Sunagakure's observers discussed how Yubi had incorporated chakra transformations into his Blood Release, surprising Arai and impressing Chiyo and Ebizo.
• The Third Kazekage attacked Yubi with iron sand cones and spikes, trapping him in a cage and piercing his clothes.
• Yubi acknowledged his defeat, and the Third Kazekage declared that he had passed the examination.
• The gathered spectators applauded Yubi, whose performance had exceeded their expectations despite his loss.
• Rasa watched the Third Kazekage show Yubi his appreciation, then left concerned that Yubi might not inherit the Third's will.

Yubi and Sasori planned to secretly remove the Third Kazekage and prevent his policies from continuing, while preserving Sunagakure’s strength. They decided to pursue a slow poison and seek the Land of Wind’s daimyo’s support, ending with Yubi promising they would flee together if the plan failed.

• Yubi and Sasori agreed that the Third Kazekage had to be dealt with but rejected purging all the village’s higher-ups at once.
• Yubi and Sasori chose a slow, difficult-to-detect poison, and Sasori planned to join the Anbu to observe the Third Kazekage closely.
• Yubi and Sasori identified Rasa as the main obstacle to their plans and decided to keep him from becoming Kazekage rather than kill him.
• Yubi proposed gaining the Land of Wind’s daimyo’s support to influence who would take power in Sunagakure.
• Sasori warned Yubi that he would leave if they failed, and Yubi promised they would run away together.

After returning from a mission and becoming a Chunin, Yubi received a congratulatory gift from Pakura and met Karura, who offered to help him at home. Karura cleaned his house and invited him to visit her and meet Yashamaru.

• Yubi reviewed his experience points and concluded that defeating stronger enemies earned him more experience.
• Pakura congratulated Yubi on becoming a Chunin and gave him a ribbon-decorated kunai, which he kept as a memento.
• Karura introduced herself at Yubi's home and explained that Granny Chiyo had asked her to help him.
• Yubi welcomed Karura inside, and she tidied his home while they talked and he opened Pakura's gift.
• Karura invited Yubi to visit her, try her cooking, and meet Yashamaru, and Yubi agreed.

Yubi observed Sunagakure’s financial troubles and left with Arai and Sasori to gather firsthand intelligence on the Konoha-Kumogakure front. As they traveled through war-damaged countries, Arai explained the Land of Rice Fields’ disorganized ninja clans and the decline of the Fuma Clan.

• Yubi visited Karura and met Yashamaru, then completed reconstruction missions while noting Sunagakure’s lack of funding from the dissatisfied Land of Wind daimyo.
• Yubi waited at Sunagakure’s gates for Sasori, and the three set out with Arai to gather battlefield intelligence.
• The team traveled through the Land of Grass, the Land of Waterfalls, and the Land of Frost toward the Land of Rice Fields, observing the devastation left by war.
• Arai told Yubi that the Land of Rice Fields had no real ninja village, leaving its ninja clans scattered and disorganized.
• Arai explained that the Fuma Clan had once been the country’s strongest clan, but it had declined, and many survivors now worked as wandering ninjas.

Yubi and his squad completed their intelligence work in the Land of Rice Fields and began returning to the Land of Wind. On the way, they encountered a Konoha squad fighting Kirigakure shinobi, then found themselves targeted after Kirigakure’s Hidden Mist Technique spread around them.

• Yubi and Arai discussed Konoha’s success against Kumogakure, including Hatake Sakumo’s attacks and Orochimaru’s arrival, while noting that other villages were active in the Land of Rice Fields.
• Arai decided the squad had gathered enough intelligence, and Yubi, Arai, and Sasori set out for the Land of Wind.
• The three spotted a Konoha squad led by a middle-aged shinobi fighting Kirigakure; one of its three genin was badly injured and close to being killed.
• A Kirigakure shinobi spread the Hidden Mist Technique, obscuring the battlefield and reaching Yubi’s squad.
• After Sasori warned that they had been targeted, Yubi deflected shuriken launched from the woods and invited their attackers to come out.

Yubi and Sasori ambushed Yano’s Konoha squad after the war, and Yubi killed Aoba Yamashiro before joining Sasori, who had gravely wounded Namiashi Raidō. The chapter left the Konoha team defeated, with both boys dead and their killers continuing the attack.

• Yano warned Yubi, Sasori, and Arai that another war would be disastrous for Sunagakure, while Yubi recognized Aoba Yamashiro and suspected another boy was Namiashi Raidō.
• Sasori attacked the Konoha squad with his puppets as Yano used a smoke bomb to help his students escape, and Arai went to confront the jonin.
• Yubi intercepted Aoba, defeated him in close combat, and killed him with his threads; the system then reported Konoha hatred points and future hostility from some Konoha characters.
• Yubi found Sasori interrogating the mortally wounded Namiashi Raidō, who refused to reveal information about Konoha.
• Yubi recognized Namiashi Raidō, said farewell, and killed him.

After Yubi and his companions left the battlefield, Konoha discovered the apparent massacre and suspected a powerful intelligence squad was responsible. Back in Sunagakure, the Third Kazekage sent Yubi and Sasori to the Iwagakure front, while Arai left their team and urged them to survive and do their best.

• Yubi, Arai, and Sasori left the battlefield, and a Konoha squad later found the traces of the fighting and concluded an unknown powerful enemy had killed everyone there.
• Yubi and his companions returned to Sunagakure as Kumogakure and Konoha withdrew their forces from the Land of Rice Fields.
• After reviewing Arai's report, the Third Kazekage ordered Yubi and Sasori to stop taking missions involving Konoha and assigned them to the Iwagakure front.
• Arai told Yubi and Sasori that he was leaving their team and warned them to coordinate with the army and flee if their lives were in danger.
• Yubi bowed to thank Arai, who encouraged him and Sasori to give it their all.

Yubi and Sasori traveled with a Sunagakure team to the front against Iwagakure, where a long-term deployment was expected amid a territorial dispute. As they neared the border, Yubi anticipated joining the medical unit and saw the assignment as a chance to begin advancing through the village ranks.

• Captain Kenji explained that Iwagakure was pressuring Sunagakure to cede territory, while Rasa had kept the border conflict at a stalemate.
• Kenji told Yubi and Sasori that Iwagakure had suffered its heaviest losses against Kumogakure during the war.
• Yubi reflected that veterans now welcomed him and Sasori because both could contribute immediately in combat.
• The team discussed how they would be assigned among the front-line units, with Yubi expecting to join the medical team and Sasori the puppeteer unit.
• Yubi recognized that serving at the front could open a path to promotion within Sunagakure.

Yubi arrived at Sunagakure’s massive front-line camp and met Commander-in-Chief Shimizu, who reviewed his impressive mission record. Saori immediately claimed Yubi for her medical company, and Yubi asked Shimizu whether he could choose his own assignment.

• Yubi and his group reached Sunagakure’s front-line headquarters, where a guide explained the camp’s forces and operations.
• Sunagakure ninja recognized Yubi and greeted him warmly because he had treated them at the hospital.
• Shimizu reviewed Yubi’s mission record and questioned how a medical ninja had completed so many high-rank missions.
• Saori rushed over, hugged Yubi, and insisted that he join her medical company rather than a field medical unit.
• Yubi awkwardly asked Shimizu whether he could choose where he was assigned.

Yubi joined the frontline as leader of a five-person medical squad attached to the puppet master corps, despite Saori's concerns. During his first large-scale battle against Iwagakure, he assessed the chaos, directed his squad, and rescued a wounded Sunagakure ninja.

• Yubi told Saori he wanted to serve on the battlefield, and Shimizu approved his decision.
• Yubi joined the puppet master corps' accompanying medical squad as its leader, while Sasori became the unit's deputy leader.
• Yubi's unit received orders to intercept Iwagakure troops entering from the northwest and marched out with more than a hundred Sunagakure ninja.
• The Sunagakure and Iwagakure forces clashed, with ranged teams, vanguards, puppet masters, and sensory ninja performing their assigned roles.
• Yubi studied the battlefield, issued orders to his four squad members, and rushed to rescue the wounded.
• Yubi killed an Iwagakure ninja who was about to execute a fallen Sunagakure ninja, then carried the wounded man to safety.

Yubi struggled to treat Sunagakure’s wounded while assessing how the chaos of battle limited both medical work and individual fighters. An Iwagakure commander identified Yubi’s ability to return wounded soldiers to combat as the reason his forces were losing ground and decided to target him.

• Yubi prioritized wounded who could return to battle, directing his medical team to evacuate those unable to fight.
• As he treated casualties, Yubi recognized that his efforts could not by themselves change the battle’s outcome and resolved to continue his mission.
• Several Sunagakure ninja recovered under Yubi’s care and returned to the fight.
• An Iwagakure commander learned from sensory reports that Sunagakure’s wounded were rejoining battle after treatment.
• The Iwagakure commander concluded that Yubi was the key factor behind the setback and marked him for elimination.