Recaps

Senju Chen convinced Orochimaru and Hanzō that Iwagakure planned to assassinate the Salamander, so they prepared a counter-ambush in the Weeping Swamp with Hanzō as bait. Ōnoki believed Konoha’s staged withdrawal and ordered his forces to attack Hanzō there.

• Senju Chen told Orochimaru he suspected Ōnoki would send an elite unit, possibly including a Jinchūriki, to assassinate Hanzō, and proposed reversing the hunt.
• Senju Chen and Orochimaru warned Hanzō, who agreed they needed to prepare and accepted Senju Chen’s plan to serve as bait.
• Senju Chen secretly staged a Konoha retreat and spread intelligence that Hanzō was hiding in the Weeping Swamp.
• Ōnoki’s officers interpreted Konoha’s withdrawal as weakness and dismissed the danger of attacking Hanzō in the swamp.
• Ōnoki ordered Iwagakure’s forces to leave at once and kill Hanzō.

An Iwagakure squad led by Sumashi entered the Weeping Swamp and discovered that Senju Chen, Hanzō, and Orochimaru had prepared an ambush. Chen killed Mahiru almost instantly, and the chapter ended as Roshi and Han transformed into tailed-beast monsters.

• Taiseki led Sumashi's seven-person Iwagakure squad through the Land of Rain toward Hanzō's lair, believing the Konoha group had left.
• Roshi and Han sensed danger in the Weeping Swamp, but Flying Thunder God kunai and the ambushing forces trapped the squad.
• Senju Chen, Hanzō, and Orochimaru confronted the Iwagakure fighters, and Sumashi launched the battle with an Earth Release attack.
• Senju Chen used his speed and Thunder God Sword to wound Mahiru, then killed him with a Rasengan and stole his chakra and combat experience.
• Sumashi ordered Roshi and Han to use their power, and both erupted into Tailed Beast Cloaks with four tails each.

Senju Chen used Flying Thunder God and a Rasengan to cripple the Iwagakure commander Sumashi while Hanzō and Orochimaru fought the transformed Jinchūriki. The chapter ended with Roshi unleashing a rain of magma at the Konoha formation where Senju Chen stood.

• Orochimaru summoned Manda to hold off Han, while Hanzō used poison mist against Roshi, who evaporated it with Tailed Beast Chakra.
• Senju Chen targeted Sumashi and dodged his Earth Release ambush with Flying Thunder God.
• Sumashi tried to seize Senju Chen at close range, but Senju Chen struck him with a Rasengan and pulverized his left arm.
• Senju Chen returned to the Konoha formation as Taiseki, Tōjirō, and the other Iwagakure ninja recoiled from Sumashi's injury.
• Roshi escalated his fight with Hanzō and fired enormous magma projectiles toward the Konoha position, prompting the Konoha ninja to form up and prepare defenses.

Senju Chen protected the Konoha position with Wood Release, then used his speed and Flying Thunder God techniques to turn the Iwagakure attackers’ assault against them. He killed Sumashi with a Rasengan and gained a huge amount of chakra and combat experience, while the battle continued around him.

• Senju Chen raised a Wood Locking Wall that blocked Roshi’s magma bombs, revealing his Wood Release to both sides.
• Sumashi ordered the Iwagakure shinobi to kill Chen, and Taiseki, Tōjirō, and two others charged him from different directions.
• Chen used Flying Thunder God and his sword to wound the attackers while forcing the already-injured Sumashi to evade his Rasengan.
• Sumashi feigned a retreat toward Tōjirō to create an opening, but Chen’s apparent attack on Tōjirō was a feint.
• Chen used Flying Thunder God: Second Step to appear behind Sumashi and kill him with a Rasengan.
• Chen received a massive influx of chakra and combat experience from the kill.

Senju Chen killed Sumashi and gained a sweeping battlefield awareness, then attempted to redirect Han’s Tailed Beast Bomb with a Flying Thunder God Kunai. The blast left Chen’s fate uncertain, while Han lost control and fully transformed into the Five-Tails, Kokuō.

• Senju Chen killed Sumashi and absorbed his chakra and combat experience, gaining an enhanced perception of the battlefield.
• Han saw Sumashi die, broke free of Manda’s restraint, and began forming a Tailed Beast Bomb as Orochimaru and Hanzo urged everyone to defend themselves.
• Senju Chen charged toward the Tailed Beast Bomb and threw a special Flying Thunder God Kunai into the swamp behind the Iwagakure squad and Roshi.
• Han fired the Tailed Beast Bomb, and Chen appeared out of nowhere within the Konoha lines after the devastating blast.
• Han was consumed by rampage, expanded inside a cloud of steam, and transformed into the fully descended Five-Tails, Kokuō.

Senju Chen transferred Han’s Tailed Beast Bomb behind the Iwagakure forces, devastating the battlefield and leaving Roshi badly injured while Kokuō rampaged in full transformation. Kokuō charged the Konoha forces, and Manda’s attempt to stop it ended with him knocked into the swamp.

• Senju Chen used Flying Thunder God to transfer Han’s Tailed Beast Bomb to the kunai behind the Iwagakure forces, where it exploded.
• Roshi transformed into Four-Tails Son Gokū to shield nearby Iwagakure ninja, but the blast left him severely wounded.
• Han fully transformed into Five-Tails Kokuō and charged toward the Konoha ninja.
• Kokuō’s charge killed a Konoha jonin and left Sarutobi Kenzo and Orochimaru facing its overwhelming power.
• Manda attacked Kokuō’s hind leg, but Kokuō struck him with a tail and sent him crashing into the swamp.

Senju Chen coordinated the surviving Konoha and Amegakure ninja to restrain the rampaging Five-Tails, then used his Adamantine Summoning Wood to seal it and capture Han. The exhausted survivors realized they had defeated a fully manifested Tailed Beast, while Roshi and the remaining Iwagakure ninja fled.

• Senju Chen ordered Hanzo of the Salamander, Orochimaru, Shisui Uchiha, and the other ninja to weaken and restrain Kokuō with poison, genjutsu, Earth Release, and Manda.
• The combined attacks slowed Kokuō and trapped it in a mire and rock walls while Manda held one of its legs.
• Senju Chen used Wood Release: Adamantine Summoning Wood to bind Kokuō and drain its chakra through the sealing formulas.
• After more than ten minutes of struggling, Kokuō exhausted its strength and reverted to the unconscious Han, whom the Wood Dragons held aloft.
• The surviving ninja recognized that Senju Chen had led them to capture a fully manifested Tailed Beast, while Roshi and the remaining Iwagakure ninja escaped into the swamp.

Senju Chen’s victory at the Weeping Swamp, where he captured Han and defeated Iwagakure’s elite forces, sent shockwaves through the Shinobi World. Iwagakure halted its offensive while Konoha’s clans weighed what Chen’s rising power meant for their future.

• Senju Chen captured the unconscious Han with Adamantine Summoning Wood after surviving the battle, while the remaining Konoha and Amegakure forces recognized their victory.
• Ōnoki reacted furiously to Iwagakure’s defeat and ordered his frontline troops to stop attacking and focus on defense until they learned more about Senju Chen.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi read the battle report and struggled to believe Chen had defeated the elite force, killed Sumashi, wounded the Four-Tails Jinchūriki, and captured Han.
• Senju clan members celebrated Chen’s achievement, and Konoha’s leadership began wondering whether the Senju Clan would rise again.
• Uchiha Fugaku told an elder that Senju Chen might offer the Uchiha Clan a different future path.

Danzo and the other great villages reacted to Senju Chen capturing the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, while Chen advised against a direct counterattack on Iwagakure. He planned to harass the Land of Earth with scattered forces and keep Iwagakure occupied until it felt the costs of war.

• Danzo ordered Root to investigate Senju Chen’s activities and Shisui Uchiha, intending to pressure Chen through his associates.
• The Third Raikage ordered Yugito back to Kumogakure and told Kumo ninja to watch for Konoha shinobi and kill anyone who used Wood Release.
• Kirigakure suspended its infiltration into the Land of Rain and sought cooperation with Iwagakure.
• Senju Chen told Hanzo of the Salamander and Orochimaru that the Land of Rain could not risk a direct counterattack against Iwagakure.
• Senju Chen proposed scattering small forces through the Land of Earth to harass Iwagakure and make it experience the pain of war.

Senju Chen ordered Konoha and Amegakure to wage a campaign of sabotage in the Land of Earth while using the captured Five-Tails Jinchūriki to pressure Ōnoki. As the allied forces reclaimed the Land of Rain, they reached a heavily fortified Iwagakure stronghold, where Chen summoned Monkey King Enma.

• Senju Chen proposed splitting the allied forces into small units to disrupt supplies and spread chaos throughout the Land of Earth.
• Senju Chen told Ōnoki to trade war reparations and occupied territory for Han, threatening to turn the Five-Tails Jinchūriki against Iwagakure.
• Ōnoki massed troops at the border and began negotiations as Konoha and Amegakure squads sabotaged supply lines, destroyed a bridge, and killed an Iwagakure intelligence official.
• Senju Chen led the allied forces in a steady counteroffensive through the Land of Rain, reclaiming ground with minimal casualties.
• The allied forces struggled to break through Iwagakure’s border fortress, so Senju Chen used the Summoning Technique to call forth Monkey King Enma.

Senju Chen used Enma’s Adamantine Staff to smash through Black Rock Castle, allowing the allied forces to capture it and push the war into Iwagakure. At Amegakure, he joined Orochimaru’s research on the Five-Tails and its jinchūriki, Han, while asking his teacher about preserving corpses and launching kunai.

• Senju Chen had Enma transform into the Adamantine Staff and enlarged it into a colossal pillar.
• Senju Chen smashed Black Rock Castle’s walls despite Iwagakure’s layered Earth Release defenses, and the allied forces charged through the breach to capture the fortress.
• Senju Chen visited Orochimaru’s underground laboratory in Amegakure and learned that Orochimaru had isolated unstable regenerative life energy from the Five-Tails.
• Orochimaru described plans for a recovery-enhancing forbidden technique and a virus targeting kekkei genkai while Han remained bound and unconscious.
• Senju Chen asked to join Orochimaru’s research into jinchūriki, and the two began working together on Han.
• Senju Chen asked Orochimaru about preserving corpses and building a tube-based device to fire kunai farther.

Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya learned that Senju Chen had captured the Five-Tails Jinchuriki and become a formidable force in the war. After studying Han with Orochimaru, Senju Chen arranged to meet Yahiko, Nagato, Konan, and the others, intending to make friends and plan for the future.

• Minato Namikaze read a battle report describing Senju Chen's victories over Iwagakure, his use of Wood Release and Space-Time Ninjutsu, and the capture of the Five-Tails Jinchuriki.
• Jiraiya read the report and was stunned that Senju Chen had captured Han, regretting that he had not taken the boy as his disciple.
• Senju Chen discussed with Orochimaru whether combining chakra-active cells with his own could create soldiers who healed quickly without suffering Wood Release backlash.
• Senju Chen contacted Hatake Sakumo and arranged to meet Yahiko, Nagato, Konan, and the early Akatsuki in the Land of Rain.

Senju Chen discussed the shifting war between the Five Great Nations with Hatake Sakumo and learned that Hanzo was targeting Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan. He set out to meet the Akatsuki founders and become their ally before others could influence them.

• Hatake Sakumo told Senju Chen that Ōnoki had recalled Iwagakure's forces from the Land of Rain while waiting for Konoha and Sunagakure to weaken each other at Kikyo Mountain.
• Senju Chen described the other nations as predators waiting to exploit the conflict, and Hatake Sakumo marveled at his capture of the Five-Tails Jinchuriki.
• Hatake Sakumo reported that Akatsuki's ideals were attracting support, but Hanzo had grown suspicious and Rain Ninja had attacked Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan several times.
• Senju Chen decided to meet the three and influence them before Obito could lead them astray.
• Hatake Sakumo's intelligence network located Akatsuki near an abandoned border town, and Senju Chen headed there to meet Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato.

Senju Chen approached Akatsuki’s hideout in the Land of Rain to make friends, but Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato attacked him. He evaded their coordinated assault and introduced himself, leaving the three wary and demanding to know his purpose.

• Senju Chen walked openly through the ruins toward the factory, while concealed Akatsuki members watched him.
• Yahiko attacked with Water Release as Konan launched paper shuriken and Nagato supported the assault with Wind Release.
• Senju Chen vanished from the attack and appeared on a steel beam above the factory floor.
• Nagato detected Senju Chen’s position, and Senju Chen praised his sensory abilities and called him by name.
• Yahiko demanded to know whether Hanzo of the Salamander had sent him, and Senju Chen said he had come to make friends.

Senju Chen faced Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato’s coordinated attack, evading their techniques until Nagato revealed the Rinnegan’s repulsive force. After Chen vanished and took Konan hostage, he told the others he had not come to fight.

• Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato combined their attacks to trap Senju Chen, but he dodged the water dragon, cut through the paper, and resisted Nagato’s invisible interference.
• Yahiko lost his composure and charged Chen with his short blade, prompting Chen to counter with a strike aimed at Yahiko’s wrist.
• Nagato used Shinra Tensei to repel Chen and disrupt the exchange, allowing Yahiko’s blade to fly toward him.
• Senju Chen vanished before Yahiko’s kunai could hit him and reappeared behind Konan, holding her with his blade at her neck.
• Senju Chen asked Yahiko and Nagato to stop, repeating that he had not come to fight.

Senju Chen ended his confrontation with Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan by revealing that he was Jiraiya’s fellow disciple and their junior martial brother. The group gathered around a campfire in the abandoned factory after Yahiko accepted that Chen had not been sent by Hanzō.

• Yahiko demanded to know what Senju Chen wanted while Nagato blamed himself for giving Chen an opening to capture Konan.
• Senju Chen taunted the three by recounting embarrassing details about their teacher, Jiraiya.
• Senju Chen released Konan and explained that his teacher and Jiraiya were fellow disciples, making him their junior martial brother.
• Senju Chen introduced himself and claimed he had only wanted to test their training, while Yahiko admitted they had mistaken him for one of Hanzō of the Salamander’s men.
• Yahiko, Nagato, Konan, and Senju Chen sat around a campfire in the abandoned factory, with the hostility between them gone.

Senju Chen warned Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan that their ideals of peace would fail without strength and a strategy to avoid Hanzo of the Salamander. He proposed building support among the Land of Rain’s countryside and promised to provide supplies, intelligence, and weapons, leaving the three inspired and trusting him.

• Senju Chen joked about Jiraiya’s material-gathering, easing the distance between him and Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.
• Yahiko explained Akatsuki’s goal of ending the Land of Rain’s suffering through mutual understanding, and Senju Chen challenged him to consider those who would refuse dialogue.
• Senju Chen warned that Hanzo would destroy Akatsuki if it became a threat and argued that strength was necessary to protect its ideals.
• Senju Chen proposed that Akatsuki avoid openly challenging Hanzo and instead build support among war-ravaged villages and civilians throughout the countryside.
• Senju Chen promised to supply Akatsuki with provisions, intelligence, and armaments, and Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan embraced him as a reliable ally.

Senju Chen advised Yahiko on building Akatsuki’s support among civilians, Amegakure’s ninja and officials, and foreign spies. He then urged Nagato to master the power of his Rinnegan so he could protect Yahiko and Konan.

• Senju Chen told Yahiko to win civilians’ trust by providing food, medicine, and security, and to gain support from Amegakure’s ninja through their families.
• Senju Chen urged Yahiko to recruit Hanzō’s dissatisfied subordinates and manipulate foreign spies into funding Akatsuki and turning against one another.
• Senju Chen spoke with Nagato about his repulsive power and warned that hesitation could put Yahiko and Konan in danger.
• Senju Chen encouraged Nagato to develop and master his Rinnegan so he could protect his comrades and the Land of Rain’s hope.

Senju Chen advised Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan on staying cautious and building strength, then gave Konan a paper rose and a way to contact him. Back at Konoha’s headquarters, he responded to Iwagakure movements, checked Orochimaru’s experiment, and secretly arranged intelligence and supplies for a nonexistent unit.

• Senju Chen urged Konan to temper Yahiko’s ideals, keep the group out of Hanzō’s sight, and grow strong before confronting him.
• Senju Chen gave Konan a communication scroll and made a white paper rose from her chakra-infused scraps, placing it in her hair and telling her to stay safe.
• Senju Chen left the factory, and Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan watched him depart as they reflected on his words and the rose.
• At Konoha’s headquarters, Senju Chen ordered two squads to intercept three probing Iwagakure squads without fighting and sent others to collect supplies behind them.
• Senju Chen visited Orochimaru’s laboratory, where Orochimaru described using Five-Tails Kokuō’s chakra to develop a weapon capable of Tailed Beast Transformation.
• Senju Chen secretly sent Hatake Sakumo coded intelligence about Akatsuki and arranged a large supply transfer to a nonexistent unit.

After Konoha’s decisive victory at Kikyo Mountain pushed Sunagakure to the brink of defeat, Ōnoki realized Iwagakure’s forces had been manipulated into helping Konoha win and collapsed from shock. At Konoha’s command headquarters, Senju Chen continued planning beyond the Land of Rain, turning his attention toward Kumogakure and Kirigakure.

• Iwagakure officials reported that Konoha and Amegakure forces had repeatedly attacked supply stations and drained Iwagakure’s strength.
• An intelligence report revealed that Konoha had broken through Sunagakure’s defenses at Kikyo Mountain and driven its forces back into the Land of Wind.
• Ōnoki recognized that Konoha had used the fighting in the Land of Earth to create an advantage against Sunagakure, then vomited blood and collapsed.
• A communications ninja told Senju Chen that Jiraiya had crushed Sunagakure’s main force at Kikyo Mountain.
• Senju Chen read Hiruzen Sarutobi’s order to keep Iwagakure tied down and decided that the war’s next challenges lay in Kumogakure and Kirigakure.

Senju Chen planned to ally with Kumogakure against Iwagakure by offering help capturing its Four-Tails Jinchūriki, while keeping Han and the Five-Tails as leverage. He had Orochimaru begin contacting Kumogakure and sent the plan to Konoha for approval, then returned to the map to await the next move.

• Senju Chen reasoned that Konoha’s swift defeat of Sunagakure had made the other villages wary and saw a chance to turn Iwagakure and Kumogakure against each other.
• Senju Chen told Orochimaru he wanted to ally with Kumogakure against Iwagakure, proposing the Four-Tails Jinchūriki as bait while keeping Han and the Five-Tails in Konoha’s custody.
• Senju Chen outlined a plan to later ransom the Five-Tails back to Iwagakure and redirect its anger toward Kumogakure, while leaving open similar deals involving other villages’ tailed beasts.
• Orochimaru agreed to find an intermediary and establish contact with Kumogakure.
• Senju Chen told Sarutobi Kenzo to send the plan to Konoha’s leadership using the highest level of encryption, and Sarutobi Kenzo agreed.
• Senju Chen returned to the map at headquarters and waited for events to unfold.

Konoha’s High Command debated Senju Chen’s proposal to ally with Kumogakure against Iwagakure and use the Four-Tails to secure victory. Hiruzen Sarutobi approved the plan, ordering support for the Land of Rain operation and intelligence gathering on Kumogakure and the Third Raikage.

• Utatane Koharu and other leaders objected to Senju Chen’s plan, fearing Kumogakure would become more dangerous and questioning why Konoha should give up the Four-Tails.
• Torifu Akimichi argued that involving Kumogakure could force Iwagakure to fight on two fronts while Sunagakure was already faltering.
• Shimura Danzō supported the plan, explaining that it could weaken Iwagakure and Kumogakure through lasting hostility while helping Konoha win at low cost.
• A Senju faction elder warned that the plan would expose Senju Chen to revenge from Ōnoki, but Hiruzen Sarutobi questioned whether Chen still needed protection as a child.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi approved the plan, ordered full cooperation with the Land of Rain command, and directed Shimura Danzō to track Kumogakure and the Third Raikage.

The Third Raikage sent A to meet Senju Chen and assess Konoha’s offer to help Kumogakure take one of Iwagakure’s tailed beasts. At their meeting in the Land of Rain, A tested Chen with a lightning-fast punch, but Chen dodged it with a single precise step.

• The Third Raikage told A that Kumogakure would exploit Konoha’s offer to weaken Iwagakure and ordered him to evaluate Senju Chen.
• Senju Chen waited alone at the agreed meeting place in a misty valley on the Land of Rain border.
• A demanded to speak with someone responsible, and Senju Chen calmly said he was in charge of the joint operation.
• A challenged Chen to prove himself and charged with a punch while using Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
• Senju Chen sidestepped A’s punch, and A’s fist smashed into the rock wall behind him.

Senju Chen defeated A after A attacked him during Kumogakure’s alliance negotiations. With A bound by Wood Release, Chen asked whether they could finally discuss the alliance properly.

• A failed to hit Senju Chen with his first attack, and Chen questioned Kumogakure’s attitude toward an alliance.
• A charged again with Lightning Release: Lariat, but Senju Chen used Flying Thunder God Technique to evade him and taunt him.
• A unleashed Lightning Release: Liger Bomb, and Senju Chen teleported into the lightning storm and pierced A’s armor with Rasengan.
• Senju Chen bound the injured A with Wood Release as two Kumogakure jonin prepared to intervene.
• Senju Chen asked A if they could now discuss the alliance properly.

Senju Chen defeated A and secured Kumogakure's agreement to attack Iwagakure alongside Konoha in exchange for the Four-Tails. As Ōnoki faced mounting losses and political pressure, Genji arrived with an offer of Kirigakure's aid.

• Senju Chen released A from his Wood Release bindings after defeating him, and A questioned him about the technique and the alliance plan.
• Senju Chen proposed that Konoha pin down Iwagakure at the Land of Rain's border while Kumogakure attacked from the other side of the Land of Earth, with the Four-Tails promised to Kumogakure.
• A agreed to the alliance on Kumogakure's behalf, and Senju Chen told him to have the Third Raikage send troops to the Land of Earth's border in ten days.
• Ōnoki brooded over Iwagakure's losses, the capture of the Five-Tails, and demands for accountability from the Land of Earth's Daimyo.
• Genji arrived in Iwagakure as Kirigakure's envoy and offered aid to the Land of Earth.