Arc 1Rain Ninja and Root
Aoki Tsuki led missions against smugglers and rogue groups, survived escalating clashes with Sunagakure and Iwagakure, and joined Lord Hanzō’s guard unit while Root maneuvered behind the scenes. The arc ended with Hanzō pursuing the Iron Fang Group after its mine trap killed many of Amegakure’s vanguard.
- Aoki Tsuki led his squad to kill Ogawa Kōhei and his guards, then returned to Amegakure and reported their success to Takenaka Osamu.
- Aoki Tsuki’s squad encountered Sunagakure forces at Chōkai Peak and later helped drive them back, while Aoki Tsuki told Satō Ichirō that some enemy fighters resembled Konoha operatives.
- Aoki Tsuki led his squad against the Araki Rōnin Organization, defeated Aburame Shinobu, and accepted an assignment to reinforce the daimyō’s guards in Kyoto.
- Aoki Tsuki fought off Iwagakure attackers at the daimyō’s residence, then recorded the factions seeking the daimyō’s support, including Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan’s Akatsuki.
- Aburame Ryoma recruited Aoki Tsuki to investigate the Iron Fang Group, and Aoki Tsuki and Mieko tracked Yotaka Squad to its base before Aoki captured and interrogated Ryōsuke.
- Aoki Tsuki brought evidence of the Iron Fang Group’s collusion with Iwagakure to Shinonome, who led the assault that killed Haibi and subdued the group’s members.
- Aoki Tsuki returned to Amegakure, joined Lord Hanzō’s guard unit, and trained while learning the village’s security arrangements.
- Hanzō led the vanguard into the Iron Fang Group’s hideout at Sumida Mine, where Aoki Tsuki and Kurokawa escaped the collapsing mine with captives as many Rain Ninja died, and Hanzō pursued Tetsuga’s group.