Chapter Summaries

Shin'yu learned that Uzumaki Haruna and other Uzumaki had vanished, then used Uchiha Nen’s Mangekyo Sharingan to locate Haruna in a Hidden Sand prison. He left the Uzumaki Clan with proof that Haruna was alive and in the hands of Hidden Sand.

• Uzumaki Kongming explained that Uzumaki shinobi had repeatedly disappeared, while Hidden Leaf Village had refused to help.
• Kongming said Uzumaki Haruna’s reconnaissance squad had vanished in Rain Country and another squad had disappeared while fishing off the Land of Whirlpools.
• Shin'yu suspected Hidden Sand Village and Hidden Mist Village were targeting the Uzumaki Clan because their Kage had died during an earlier failed attack.
• Shin'yu promised Kushina he would save Haruna and asked her for a photograph.
• Uchiha Nen used Kuenbiko on Haruna’s image and saw her imprisoned with two bloodied Uzumaki, guarded by a man wearing a Hidden Sand Headband.

Shin'yu and Orochimaru traveled to a Sand Village fortress to rescue captured Uzumaki Clan members, but paused when hostile shinobi surrounded it. The Third Kazekage and Giant Snake Garaga charged out to fight them as Shin'yu and Orochimaru watched from a dune.

• Shin'yu split the rescue mission with Light, taking Orochimaru to the Land of Wind while Light took Nian to the Land of Water.
• Shin'yu and Orochimaru found the fortress where Uzumaki Haruna and the other reconnaissance team members were being held.
• Shin'yu sensed a force approaching and chose to watch instead of attacking the fortress immediately.
• Masked Jonin surrounded the fortress, and the Third Kazekage summoned Giant Snake Garaga to defend it.
• The Third Kazekage climbed onto Garaga's head, and they charged into the gathered enemies.

Garaga and the Third Kazekage fought masked ninjas attacking a fortress while Shin'yu explained to Orochimaru that the attackers came from Hidden Sand Village. The chapter ended with the Third Kazekage betraying Garaga by piercing its eye and declaring that they had found a way to control it.

• Garaga rampaged through the masked ninjas, using its venom and tail to kill many while the Third Kazekage supported it.
• Shin'yu offered Garaga to Orochimaru and suggested the attack was an internal Hidden Sand Village plot.
• After three hours of fighting, the masked ninjas exploited Garaga's weakness, and the Third Kazekage retreated into the fortress.
• Garaga trusted the Third Kazekage and charged back into battle, but the Third Kazekage struck its right eye with lightning and a sand iron spike.
• The Third Kazekage said they had found a way to control Garaga, whose body collapsed to the ground.

The Third Kazekage captured Garaga and planned to seal him with an Uzumaki clanswoman, hoping to create a weapon for Hidden Sand Village. Uchiha Shin'yu arrived with Orochimaru, attacked the Kazekage, and declared his intent to rescue the imprisoned Uzumaki, take Garaga, and slaughter the fortress's occupants.

• The Third Kazekage ordered Sand Ninja to bind Garaga and prepare the sealing ceremony, while his subordinate reported that an Uzumaki clanswoman had agreed to cooperate after her comrade was tortured.
• The Third Kazekage explained that sealing Garaga could prove a path to sealing Shukaku and creating a true Jinchuriki for Hidden Sand Village.
• Uchiha Shin'yu and Orochimaru descended onto the battlefield, and Shin'yu identified himself to the Third Kazekage.
• Shin'yu used his Mangekyo Sharingan to move the Third Kazekage down from the fortress, grabbed him by the throat, and hurled him through the stronghold.
• Two Sand Ninja attacked Shin'yu, but their blades broke against his neck, and his Susanoo arms crushed them into the sand.
• Shin'yu announced that he would rescue the imprisoned Uzumaki clansmen, take Garaga, and kill everyone in the fortress.

Shin'yu held off the elite Sand Ninja while Orochimaru rushed into the fortress to rescue their target. Shin'yu overwhelmed the attackers and left the battlefield littered with the wounded and dead.

• Shin'yu struck the Third Kazekage into the fortress, then sent Orochimaru inside while he stayed behind to face the Sand Ninja.
• Orochimaru deflected a wind-enhanced shuriken attack and slipped into the fortress as Shin'yu revealed his Uchiha attire.
• The Sand Ninja surrounded Shin'yu and attacked in formation, but he caught a blade, disrupted their assault, and killed several with a rapid counterattack.
• Shin'yu used his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan to evade and defeat successive attackers, then shattered a weapon and sent its fragments flying into the Sand Ninja.
• Shin'yu blocked a lightning attack with a Water Molecule Barrier, countered the Third Kazekage's Sand Iron weapons, and used thin threads to sweep the area with blade fragments, frightening the remaining Sand Ninja.

Shin'yu overwhelmed the Sand Ninja, forcing the Third Kazekage to send his troops back to the village and fight alone. The Third Kazekage's attacks failed to kill Shin'yu, who escaped a massive iron pyramid and remained unharmed.

• Shin'yu slaughtered many Sand Ninja, and the Third Kazekage ordered the survivors to withdraw to the village.
• Shin'yu summoned twelve Wooden Style Shadow Clones and sent them after the fleeing Sand Ninja.
• The Third Kazekage took to the sky with Magnet Release: Sand Iron Wings and bombarded Shin'yu with Sand Iron Shigure, but Susanoo blocked the attack.
• Shin'yu fired a Blaze Release: Kagutsuchi Arrow into the sand iron cloud, melting part of it, and the Third Kazekage sacrificed some sand iron to extinguish the flames.
• The Third Kazekage seized Shin'yu with Sand Iron Hand and dropped a Super Sand Iron Drill on him, but Shin'yu vanished and reappeared inside his Susanoo unharmed.

The Third Kazekage trapped Shin'yu with Magnet Release and struck him with a massive spinning sand iron pyramid, but the attack caused only a drop of blood. Shin'yu recovered instantly and launched himself toward the exhausted Kazekage.

• The Third Kazekage inferred that Shin'yu's Mangekyo Sharingan granted spatial movement and used Magnet Release: Sand Iron World Method to cage him in iron spikes.
• The Third Kazekage formed a spinning sand iron pyramid and sent it crashing down on Shin'yu.
• Shin'yu broke free of Susanoo and met the attack with his raised palm, taking only a small wound that healed immediately.
• The exhausted Third Kazekage watched as Shin'yu declared he had not had his fill and shot into the sky to attack him.

Orochimaru infiltrated the Sand Village fortress dungeon and found Uzumaki Haruna and her injured comrades held for the Sealing Ceremony. He freed Haruna and said he had come to save them, but her sudden warning left an unseen danger looming.

• Two Sand Ninja guards taunted Haruna when she pleaded for treatment for her unconscious comrades.
• Explosions shook the dungeon as the guards worried about the battle outside.
• Orochimaru emerged from the darkness, admitted killing the other guards, and used White Phosphorus Vipers to incapacitate the two Sand Ninja.
• Orochimaru recognized Uzumaki Haruna, explained that he had come at the Uzumaki clan leader's request to save them, and broke her shackles.
• As Orochimaru reached out to Haruna, she screamed for him to watch out.

Orochimaru defeated Red Sand Gorou’s puppet and struck him with a Rasengan, but Gorou escaped using Sand Dust Concealment. Above the Fortress, Shin'yu overwhelmed the Third Kazekage, whose body dissolved into sand iron as his true self escaped into the iron clouds.

• Red Sand Gorou revealed that he had survived Orochimaru’s poison with an antidote injection and summoned his puppet.
• Orochimaru bound Gorou’s puppet with snakes, shattered its arm with a Rasengan, and struck Gorou in the abdomen.
• Red Sand Gorou escaped into a sand pit, and Orochimaru left the dungeon with Uzumaki Haruna and her unconscious companions.
• Shin'yu broke through the sand iron clouds and countered the Third Kazekage’s attacks, severing his iron wing with Frost Descent One Heart.
• The Guardian God Sword turned against Shin'yu, who caught it with his fingers and pierced the Third Kazekage’s chest with sword light.
• The Third Kazekage’s body became sand iron as his true self escaped into the iron clouds.

Shin'yu defeated the Third Kazekage in the sky, then forced the sand iron cloud to crash down on the Fortress. Shin'yu protected Orochimaru and the others with Susanoo, and they emerged from the crater alive.

• Shin'yu summoned Totsuka-no-Tsurugi and destroyed the Third Kazekage's sand iron clones and spears.
• Shin'yu pierced the Third Kazekage's iron wing and pinned him to the sand iron clouds, sparing his life to prevent the uncontrolled iron from crushing the Fortress.
• Shin'yu activated the gravity Magic Array, making the sand iron within a thousand meters plummet toward the ground.
• A Wooden Style Shadow Clone appeared to shield Orochimaru, Uzumaki Kana, and the others as Shin'yu protected them inside Susanoo.
• The sand iron struck the earth, causing tremors across the Land of Wind and a slight quake in the Hidden Leaf Village.
• Shin'yu and the others leaped from the crater inside a pitch-black, four-armed giant.

Shin'yu defeated the Third Kazekage and forced him to hand over the Magnet Release cultivation method and Secret Techniques, then warned him not to target the Uzumaki Clan again. As Shin'yu reunited with Orochimaru and Uzumaki Haruna, a muffled boom sounded from underground, hinting at Orochimaru's expected reward.

• Shin'yu pulled the wounded Third Kazekage from the sand and demanded his Magnet Release methods and Secret Techniques in exchange for his life.
• The Third Kazekage realized Shin'yu had likely killed Shamon and surrendered a red scroll after Shin'yu threatened the Hidden Sand Village.
• Shin'yu confirmed his promise to spare the Third Kazekage, warned him against attacking the Uzumaki Clan again, and flung him away.
• Uzumaki Haruna recognized Shin'yu as the man who had saved her clan, while Orochimaru congratulated him on obtaining another Secret Technique.
• Shin'yu told Orochimaru that his own coming reward would be greater, and a heavy boom sounded deep underground.

Shin'yu subdued the injured Garaga and offered to restore its damaged eye in exchange for a Summoning Contract. After Shin'yu healed the eye, Garaga accepted that it had lost the bet and prepared to sign.

• Shin'yu's Wooden Style Shadow Clone protected the unconscious Garaga, which awoke and attacked the group with venom.
• Shin'yu extinguished Garaga's venom and restrained it with two Wood Dragons that absorbed its Chakra.
• Garaga refused to sign a Summoning Contract, so Shin'yu offered to restore its right eye in exchange for its agreement.
• Shin'yu used his eye technique to rewind Garaga's damaged eye to its healthy state.
• Garaga regained its sight and lowered its head, accepting that it had lost the bet.

Shin'yu forced Garaga to honor their wager by considering a summoning contract for Orochimaru, and Garaga proposed that Orochimaru first pass the White Snake Sage's three trials at Ryuchi Cave. After reviving Haruna's comrades, Shin'yu agreed to help finish their mission in the Rain Country.

• Garaga produced the Ryuchi Cave contract scroll, but objected when Orochimaru tried to sign it, saying he was not worthy of becoming Garaga's comrade.
• Garaga proposed taking Orochimaru to Ryuchi Cave to face the White Snake Sage's three trials, and promised to honor the wager even if Orochimaru failed.
• Orochimaru accepted the challenge and vowed to keep improving until he earned Garaga's approval.
• Garaga shrank to a small red snake and coiled around Shin'yu's shoulder while Shin'yu restored the unconscious Uzumaki Clan members.
• Haruna explained that her group's mission to find a missing clansman in the Rain Country remained unfinished, so Shin'yu agreed to accompany them.

Shin'yu and his companions traveled to Rain Country to rescue Uzumaki clansmen, while he explained the country’s turbulent history and the rising conflict involving Hanzo. He revealed that another group of missing clansmen had already been rescued from a Hidden Mist base and was being returned to the Land of Whirlpools.

• Shin'yu carried his companions across the desert and mountains in his Susanoo until they reached Rain Country.
• Shin'yu reflected on Rain Country’s history of warfare and Hanzo’s efforts to strengthen the Hidden Rain Village and expel enemy shinobi.
• Haruna explained that Uzumaki clansmen had left coded marks in Rain Country, prompting the rescue mission.
• Shin'yu reassured Haruna that he had arranged for another scattered group of clansmen to be rescued.
• Two Susanoo destroyed a Hidden Mist secret base, freed the imprisoned Uzumaki clansmen, and split a coastal harbor with a slash.

Shin'yu and the others found Uzumaki Fuso living in a remote Rain Country village with her husband and son, Nagato. After hearing how war and rejection had forced Fuso's family to settle there, Shin'yu asked whether she still planned to return to the Land of Whirlpools.

• Shin'yu and the others arrived at Fuso's courtyard, where her husband mistook them for threats and tried to keep them from entering.
• Uzumaki Haruna recognized Fuso, and Fuso welcomed the group into her home.
• Fuso recounted how a kind man had rescued her after she was injured, how they fell in love and had a son, and how they left their village after its residents blamed them for attracting wandering ninja.
• Fuso introduced her shy, frail son, Nagato, to the visitors.
• Shin'yu asked Fuso whether she still planned to return to the Land of Whirlpools.

Shin'yu warned Fuso that the Rain Country would soon become a battlefield and urged her to return to the Land of Whirlpools with her family. Fuso chose to leave with Haruna and the others, and Shin'yu carried them away atop his complete Susanoo.

• Shin'yu warned Fuso and her family that war would soon break out in the Rain Country and that staying there would put them in danger.
• Haruna urged Fuso to return to the Land of Whirlpools, while Nagato insisted he wanted to stay with his mother.
• Fuso considered her husband's support and Nagato's safety, then agreed to return to the clan with them.
• Fuso's family packed their belongings, and Shin'yu said they would not need to hire a carriage.
• Shin'yu summoned his complete Susanoo, gathered the group on its head, and flew toward the Land of Whirlpools.

Shin'yu took Orochimaru toward Ryuchi Cave so Orochimaru could attempt to learn Sage Art, while Garaga explained the cave's deadly trials. They entered a thickening mist that obscured the forest and left Orochimaru unable to see the path behind them.

• Shin'yu reassured nervous Orochimaru that failing to learn Sage Art would not disgrace him and said he could alter his body if needed.
• Shin'yu and Orochimaru traveled through the forest with Garaga guiding them toward Ryuchi Cave.
• Shin'yu recalled how his Susanoo had carried the returning Uzumaki Clan members to the Land of Whirlpools, where the clan celebrated their safe return.
• Garaga told Orochimaru that Tagorihime, Ichikishimahime, and Tagitsuhime would test him before the White Snake Sage, and warned that Sage Art training could turn him into a monster.
• Shin'yu and Orochimaru continued into dense mist until Orochimaru could barely see Shin'yu or the path they had followed.

Shin'yu and Orochimaru traveled through Ryuchi Cave toward the first trial, with Shin'yu cutting down the hostile snake-pool monsters and seeing through the illusion blocking the way. They reached the palace, where a woman greeted them and said she had been awaiting them.

• Garaga explained that the deformed creatures in the Snake Pool were failed trial seekers who hated those pursuing Sage Jutsu.
• Shin'yu killed the surrounding monsters by tightening countless nearly invisible threads around them.
• Garaga led Shin'yu and Orochimaru to the edge of the first trial overseen by Tagorihime, then vanished into the darkness.
• Shin'yu recognized the mist as an illusion and led Orochimaru along the hidden path beneath his feet.
• Shin'yu and Orochimaru arrived at the Ryuchi Cave palace, where a woman opened the gates and welcomed them.

Shin'yu and Orochimaru entered Ryuchi Cave, where Tagorihime tested them with an illusion disguised as a welcoming feast. After passing her trial, they continued into a stalactite cave, where a boulder sealed the entrance behind them.

• Tagorihime welcomed Shin'yu and Orochimaru to a lavish palace and offered them a feast prepared on the White Snake Sage's orders.
• Orochimaru realized Tagorihime was not human and refused the food, reasoning that the snakes of Ryuchi Cave might eat humans.
• Tagorihime revealed her serpent form and admitted the palace and meal were an illusion designed to test them.
• Tagorihime declared that her trial was over and vanished into the mist, while Shin'yu said they should move on.
• Shin'yu and Orochimaru entered a stalactite cave, and a massive boulder crashed down to block the entrance.

Orochimaru passed the second Ryuchi Cave trial by fitting crystals into the Stone Chamber’s hollows, while Shin'yu accompanied him. After the chamber vanished, Tagitsuhime ambushed Orochimaru and introduced the third trial, leaving him ready to fight.

• Orochimaru failed to break the Stone Gate with a Rasengan, and Shin'yu explained that a sealing barrier blocked their way.
• Orochimaru deduced that crystals had to fill every hollow, then used Shadow Clones and snakes to gather and fit them.
• Orochimaru shaped crystals to fit unusual hollows, completed the wall in under half an hour, and cleared the second trial.
• Ichikishimahime asked how Orochimaru solved the puzzle, and he explained that a researcher should create a path when none suited.
• Tagitsuhime bit Orochimaru from behind, revealed herself as the third trial’s proctor, and Orochimaru prepared to fight.