Recaps

Senju Tsukika led Uka Senju, Aburame Kaun, Furin, and Furin’s ninja dog out of Konoha for the students’ first C-rank mission. After explaining the mission’s deadline and proof requirements, she took the lead and left the students to follow.

• Aburame Kaun removed his forehead protector and hung it at his waist as the group approached Konoha’s gate.
• Senju Tsukika had the guard register the group, then led them outside the village.
• Senju Tsukika explained that the students had to complete their C-rank mission and return with undamaged proof before dinner.
• The students considered the planning skills the mission would test, and Senju Tsukika said she would guide them this time but expected them to plan future missions themselves.
• Senju Tsukika used the Body Flicker Technique to set off, and Uka Senju turned toward Furin’s ninja dog as the three students prepared to follow.

Uka Senju and his teammates pursued Teacher Tsukika through the forest, then recognized her trap when they reached a supposed rest stop. The chapter ended with the three confirming the real Tsukika’s identity and lowering their guard.

• Uka Senju, Inuzuka Furin, and Aburame Kaun followed Brown and White’s trail for hours while Uka updated his map.
• Furin reported that their teacher had stopped ahead and that Brown and White had detected a faint smell of blood.
• Uka went ahead to scout, while Furin and Kaun hung back to keep watch.
• Uka attacked the figure beside the roast meat after noticing something was amiss, while Kaun used an Insect Clone and Furin prepared the Four Legs Technique.
• Senju Tsukika revealed that the roast-meat figure was a Shadow Clone and that she had used the setup to test their caution.
• Uka stopped his attack after Brown and White and his teammates confirmed the newly appeared Tsukika was real.

Senju Tsukika corrected her students’ reliance on a single source of information, then explained the field decisions she had made during their journey. Elsewhere, Shimura Danzō reviewed the spoils from Kusagakure and ordered the captured people on Root’s list disposed of.

• Senju Tsukika praised the students’ reconnaissance but warned them to verify conclusions with multiple methods instead of trusting the ninja dog alone.
• Senju Tsukika had Uka Senju slice bear meat to a precise thickness while she explained the group’s route, pace, and rest stops.
• The students helped prepare another meal and listened as Senju Tsukika discussed the decisions they would need to apply on future missions.
• Shimura Danzō compared inventory sheets and noted that the stolen share of Kusagakure’s supplies would support Root’s secret bases.
• A masked Shimura subordinate reported that the pursuit team had captured everyone on the list and that the extra supplies had reached Base Two.
• Shimura Danzō ordered the captured people disposed of.

Shimura Danzō ordered Wolf to begin capturing people and handing them off, while Uka Senju and his teammates reached their mission target after a day of stealth training. The team prepared to raid the mountain stronghold and eliminate everyone there.

• Shimura Danzō told Wolf to lead the handoff team, using borrowed personnel for captures and Root personnel for transfers.
• Uka Senju recognized that Senju Tsukika’s afternoon travel training taught them to conceal their movements for secret missions.
• Uka Senju led Kaun and Furin past hidden sentries to a concealed position overlooking the mountain stronghold.
• Uka Senju asked Kaun and Furin to report their condition, then assigned Kaun to scout the stronghold and block the uphill road.
• Uka Senju ordered Furin to clear the perimeter sentry posts and block the downhill road, warning both teammates to signal if anything went wrong and let no one escape.

Uka Senju prepared to infiltrate a stronghold containing hundreds of bandits while Aburame Kaun mapped the compound and Inuzuka Furin cleared its hidden sentries. Uka began his assault on the central mansion as Furin and her Ninja Dog silently eliminated guards outside.

• Inuzuka Furin warned Uka Senju to signal if the bandits resisted, and Uka reassured her that he would stay within his limits.
• Uka checked his weapons and used the Battle Armor Technique while Aburame Kaun's insects infiltrated the stronghold and mapped its layout.
• Aburame Kaun reported that 730 people were inside, identified the bandits' guard shifts, and located the chief in the central mansion.
• Uka memorized Kaun's map, instructed him to guard the outside, activated Chakra Coating, and used the Body Flicker Technique to approach the central mansion.
• Inuzuka Furin used the Four Legs Technique and, with her Ninja Dog Brown and White, killed two hidden sentries and moved toward another.

Uka Senju infiltrated the bandit leader’s residence, killed the leader and those inside, and collected the mission’s required proof. He then cleared the rest of the residence and headed for the remaining targets, having confirmed that the system rewarded killing the weak or young.

• Uka Senju slipped past the guards and entered the bandit stronghold, identifying the lit room where his target was located.
• Uka Senju witnessed the bandit leader abusing a young woman and killed the leader and four others in the room.
• Uka Senju killed the woman with a senbon after realizing she was continuing to crawl and ring a bell despite the chance to escape.
• Uka Senju collected the required proof, sealed it in a scroll, and swiftly killed the other people living in the residence.
• Uka Senju gained energy from the killings, confirmed his theory about the system’s rewards, and moved on to the remaining targets while preserving the required intact heads.

Shimura Danzō celebrated Root’s gains and planned the Shimura Clan’s expansion, but learned that the Crane Squad had been wiped out and White Sparrow had lost the Wood Release user. He ordered White Sparrow back to the village, then left the hill as clouds covered the moon.

• Shimura Danzō reflected on Root’s new prospects, the Fat Pig Plan, and plans to recruit children and expand the Shimura Clan.
• A messenger reported that the Senju had detected White Sparrow and Crane while they tracked the Wood Release user, and the Crane Squad had been wiped out.
• Shimura Danzō rebuked the surveillance squads for losing the target and ordered White Sparrow to return to the village and rebuild with skilled reinforcements.
• The messenger sealed Shimura Danzō’s orders and sent them by summoned vulture to White Sparrow at Safe House 218.
• Shimura Danzō saw clouds cover the moon and returned from the hill.

Uka Senju raced to the Women's Courtyard after a bandit sounded the alarm, then faced more than three hundred armed men charging out. He fought them with his straight saber and wooden spikes, leaving the fourth chief hiding among the second wave as the battle continued.

• A limping bandit discovered corpses in the mansion and raised the alarm with a gong, but Uka Senju killed him with a Senbon.
• Uka hurried to the Women's Courtyard to stop its occupants from fleeing and met a crowd of armed bandits at the entrance.
• The fourth chief rallied the bandits by urging them to charge, citing the contrasting fates of the Ken Bandit Stronghold and the Ki Bandit Stronghold.
• More than three hundred bandits charged Uka, who drew his straight saber and attacked while using wooden spikes to kill men behind him.
• The fourth chief hid in the second wave as Uka calmly continued cutting down the charging bandits, targeting their necks to preserve their heads as proof.

Uka Senju slaughtered the bandits in the stronghold while Inuzuka Furin and her ninja dog blocked the mountain pass and cut down fleeing men. Furin created two shadow clones to accelerate the pursuit as the survivors panicked and jumped from the cliff.

• Uka Senju let the fourth chief flee until he reached the edge of the crowd, then killed him with a vine and watched for other escapees.
• Inuzuka Furin and her ninja dog guarded the pass down the mountain after clearing the sentries.
• Matsube led a squad toward the pass, and his companions mocked a short fellow who had been called a ninja for enduring an encounter in the Women's Courtyard.
• Furin and her ninja dog killed Matsube's squad and attacked another crowd of armed men fleeing the stronghold.
• Several bandits jumped from the cliff as Furin formed hand seals and created two shadow clones to speed up the slaughter.

Inuzuka Furin and Uka Senju finished clearing their respective parts of the stronghold and collected the proof required for their first mission. Uka tested absorbing energy from plants, then continued processing the proof while waiting for his teammates.

• Inuzuka Furin and Brown and White cleaned up the battlefield after defeating the attackers.
• Inuzuka Furin used her Beast-Man Clone and short blades to collect proof and discard unnecessary remains.
• Uka Senju confirmed no one remained alive in the stronghold and fired a green signal to report the mission's completion.
• Uka Senju checked the energy gained from his kills and absorbed energy from the courtyard plants, gaining 248 energy as they withered.
• Uka Senju decided to keep his system secret and resumed collecting the mission's proof.

Uka Senju, Aburame Kaun, and Inuzuka Furin gathered proof from the defeated targets after completing their mission. Nearby, a Senju operative reported to Senju Tsukika that Danzo had likely sent hostile teams against them.

• Aburame Kaun arrived at Uka Senju’s location and apologized for leaving him to face the battle alone.
• Uka Senju comforted Aburame Kaun, then told him to help collect proof despite his discomfort.
• Inuzuka Furin and Brown and White saw the green signal, joined Uka and Kaun, and helped gather proof.
• A Senju operative appeared before Senju Tsukika and reported that his team had killed three attackers, including a likely Shimura Clan jonin.
• The operative said intelligence pointed to Danzo as the one who sent the attackers.

Uka Senju reflected on his team’s first mission while preparing breakfast, learning why the Senju had been contracted to avenge the wealthy man and his son. The chapter left him stirring porridge after nearly scorching it as his thoughts turned to the mission’s origins.

• Senju Tsukika instructed her subordinate to report the escaped enemies’ information and warned him not to let future fights distract him from protecting the Wood Release user.
• At dawn, Uka Senju prepared meat porridge while his teammates and teacher slept, then reviewed the previous day’s mission and his decisions.
• Uka recalled that the Senju had accepted a prepaid, ten-year contract to avenge the wealthy man if he or his son were killed by a chunin or weaker opponent.
• Uka realized the wealthy man’s surviving wife and daughters had kept the contract secret because the bandits would have killed them if they knew the Senju were coming.
• Uka noticed the porridge was beginning to scorch, lifted the lid, and started stirring it.

Uka Senju learned that he would lead his teammates through their second mission while Senju Tsukika watched without intervening. After reviewing the assignment to eliminate bandits at Asakura Stronghold, he began weighing how to complete it before sunset the next day.

• Senju Tsukika praised Uka Senju's handling of their previous mission and told him he would make the arrangements for the next one.
• Uka Senju read the C-rank cleanup mission details, which required three bandit leaders' intact heads as proof.
• Senju Tsukika told Uka Senju he could choose between infiltration and assassination or a frontal assault, as long as he preserved the required proof.
• Uka Senju considered whether killing only the leaders would leave the bandits able to appoint replacements and wondered about Fukuyama Village's finances.
• After breakfast, Uka Senju briefed Aburame Kaun and Inuzuka Furin, and Aburame Kaun asked when they would leave.

Uka Senju’s team planned to reach Fukuyama Village and begin their second mission that evening, while the First Elder weighed how to respond to unrest against the Senju and the Trade Association. The chapter left the First Elder considering the Fifth Elder’s suggestion to crush the dissenters, despite worrying about the consequences.

• Uka Senju proposed speeding up the journey so the team could arrive in Fukuyama Village around 16:00 and investigate around sunset; Aburame Kaun and Inuzuka Furin agreed.
• Furin found the xishou dumplings Senju Tsukika had cooked and thanked her, then suggested eating them instead of preparing lunch.
• Kaun objected to replacing a normal meal with the dumplings, while Uka sided with Furin and Kaun appealed to Tsukika for support.
• At Ihyo Castle, the First Elder considered how to punish several groups challenging the Senju and how to manage the fallout from conquering their territories.
• The Fifth Elder urged the First Elder to wipe out the dissenters and their families, and the First Elder began to consider that advice while worrying about the aftermath.

The Senju elders discussed a response to the Trade Association and learned that spies had been following Wood Release’s first mission, prompting warnings about the border defenses. In the north, Ōnoki shared a tender breakfast and farewell with his wife Kyōko and their son Kitsuchi before leaving for work.

• The Senju First Elder ordered a squadron sent to assist the Trade Association and instructed them to eliminate its pawns, investigate who was behind them, and await further orders.
• After reading a report about spies following Wood Release, the First Elder rebuked the Fifth Elder over the southeastern branch’s defenses.
• The Inuzuka elder accepted responsibility for part of the northern defenses, and the First Elder told him to keep a closer watch while Wood Release trained.
• Ōnoki finished breakfast, teased his son Kitsuchi, and prepared to leave for work.
• Kyōko reminded Ōnoki to take care of his health and come home early, telling him that she and Kitsuchi were waiting for him.

Ōnoki learned that the Land of Grass had fallen and realized Sarutobi’s escalating conflict with the Senju would force Iwagakure and the other nations to raise their own stakes. He summoned Iwagakure’s elders and clans to decide how much the village should commit, leaving him weighing the risks of both action and restraint.

• Ōnoki left home using the Light-Weight Rock Technique and entered his office through its sealed roof.
• Hanashi brought Ōnoki the files he had requested in case the Land of Grass fell and confirmed that new intelligence had arrived.
• Ōnoki read the frontline reports and focused on the estimated number of children involved in Sarutobi’s plans.
• Ōnoki ordered Hanashi to summon the elders and clans and bring administrative staff to help sort the files.
• Ōnoki concluded that Sarutobi’s escalation would prompt the Senju and other nations to follow, forcing him to balance Iwagakure’s commitment against its other plans.

The Third Raikage learned that Wood Release had left Konoha and was being led by Senju Tsukika, the woman who had tortured three of his relatives to death. He ordered his intelligence chief to track the team’s location and movements without intervening.

• After a meeting about increasing Kumogakure’s forces, the Third Raikage complained about the other parties’ stinginess and worries about the Senju and Sarutobi growing stronger.
• The Third Raikage asked when Wood Release had left, where the team was, how strong its members were, and who accompanied them.
• The intelligence chief reported that Wood Release had left on January first, that its location was unknown, and that its teammates were Inuzuka Furin and Aburame Kaun.
• When the intelligence chief named Senju Tsukika as the team’s leader, the Third Raikage recognized her as the woman who had tortured three of his relatives to death.
• The Third Raikage ordered the intelligence chief to keep constant track of Wood Release’s latest location and information, without taking action against the team.

The Third Raikage ordered his intelligence chief to reopen negotiations with Hiruzen Sarutobi so they could cooperate in locating Wood Release and deepen the rift between the Senju and Sarutobi. Meanwhile, Uka Senju and his companions rested and ate during their journey, preparing to pursue their mission that night.

• The intelligence chief warned the Third Raikage that finding Wood Release's latest location would take at least three months and brought up Sarutobi's earlier proposal.
• The Third Raikage ordered communications with Hiruzen Sarutobi reopened and said both sides should commit personnel and effort, even without benefits.
• Uka Senju made a crude wooden shelter as the exhausted travelers stopped beside a mountain stream.
• Aburame Kaun suggested cooking leftover meat with rice so the group could regain strength for their work that night.
• The four travelers and Brown and White ate the large pot of mushy food, which Uka credited to Chiharu's seasoning.

Uka Senju and Inuzuka Furin reached Fukuyama Village to investigate a mission involving a mountain stronghold, while Aburame Kaun stayed behind to gather information with his insects. The village chief confirmed that the stronghold’s reported numbers and likely threats had not changed recently.

• Uka Senju woke Inuzuka Furin and Aburame Kaun, then led them out after their rest.
• Uka Senju assigned Aburame Kaun to gather intelligence with his insects and took Inuzuka Furin and Brown and White to meet the client.
• Uka Senju and Inuzuka Furin met Fukuyama’s village chief at the gate and verified his mission credentials.
• Uka Senju asked about the mountain stronghold, and the village chief said it still had about four hundred able-bodied adults and one hundred women, elderly people, and children.
• The village chief said he had heard of no recent robberies or major changes among the stronghold’s leaders and other people to watch.

Uka Senju learned that the bandits had fought off skilled hunters without using Ninjutsu, making him suspect that his mission information had been deliberately altered. Senju Tsukika and her guards discussed the failed trap and agreed to leave some variables in future training missions while keeping the youngsters safe.

• The village chief explained that the bandits' third boss had fought with a blade against arrows fired in a surprise attack, and Uka Senju realized those details were missing from his intelligence.
• Uka Senju suspected the Senju clan had tampered with the mission information, while also reconsidering whether the village chief was involved.
• Senju Tsukika told her two guard squad captains that the traps were meant to teach Uka and his team, and ordered them to leave some openings in later missions if the youngsters became more alert.
• Uka Senju kept questioning the village chief as planned, then left Fukuyama Village with Furin and the Ninja Dog as the sky darkened.
• The village chief dropped his smile after returning home and sighed with relief that the questioning was over.

Aburame Kaun rejoined Uka Senju and Inuzuka Furin after discovering the village chief’s depravity, which clarified the suspicious patterns he had observed in Fukuyama Village. The team concluded that both their clan and the client had concealed information to steer them into a trap involving Asakura Stronghold, and they prepared to investigate further.

• The village chief celebrated his anticipated success by abusing the woman playing his granddaughter.
• Uka Senju and Inuzuka Furin waited at their meeting point while Brown and White reported that Kaun remained in place and had found nothing new nearby.
• Aburame Kaun returned after ten minutes, shared his notes, and explained that Fukuyama Village’s population and residents’ unusual appearances had seemed suspicious.
• Kaun revealed that he had witnessed the village chief’s depravity, which confirmed that the village concealed something serious.
• Uka Senju concluded that the clan’s intelligence and the client’s information were both suspect, and the team agreed the mission involved a trap connected to Asakura Stronghold.
• Inuzuka Furin said Asakura Stronghold’s strength was likely below Jonin level, but warned that being misled into a trap would still be unpleasant.

Uka Senju considered the Senju clan’s looming pressure and the need to grow quickly, then left on a mission with Inuzuka Furin and Aburame Kaun. After the trio departed, Senju Tsukika decided to alter their training plans and introduce variables sooner.

• Uka Senju reflected on the Senju clan’s dangers, the timing of its trainees’ progress, and the need for his own rapid growth.
• Inuzuka Furin and Aburame Kaun worried when Uka Senju spaced out, and Aburame Kaun asked what he had been thinking about.
• Uka Senju pulled away Aburame Kaun’s Wood Release stool, cut off his question, and set out with Inuzuka Furin and their Ninja Dog.
• Uka Senju cleaned up the trio’s traces, patted his friends on the shoulder, and led them toward their mission destination.
• Senju Tsukika observed that the youngsters had noticed the first training pitfall and ordered her two companions to introduce variables sooner.

Uka Senju and his team scouted Asakura Stronghold and confirmed that its defenses included several chakra-bearing occupants. After reviewing the layout, Uka proposed a plan to eliminate the sentries and destroy the outer tiers before confronting the leaders.

• Uka Senju sent Inuzuka Furin and Brown and White to scout the perimeter, while Aburame Kaun mapped the stronghold from within.
• Uka followed Kaun toward the stronghold, concealed himself inside a tree, and waited for the scouts to return.
• Kaun reported the stronghold’s three-tier layout, its patrols and guards, and seven or eight chakra-bearing people gathered at the chief’s residence.
• Uka proposed clearing the outer sentry posts together, entering with Wood Release, destroying the second and third tiers, and then attacking the leaders.

Uka Senju, Aburame Kaun, and Inuzuka Furin launched a surprise attack on the bandit stronghold, using Uka’s Wood Release to bind its inhabitants. At the main gate, they confronted the stronghold’s leader, who recognized Uka as the Wood Release wielder and suspected a bounty mission had been placed on him.

• Uka Senju decided to kill everyone in the stronghold with a large-scale Wood Release technique, and Aburame Kaun and Inuzuka Furin agreed.
• The three ninjas silently killed the sentries at the first checkpoint.
• Uka Senju grew a wooden root into a ramp that carried the group toward the stronghold, then unleashed Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence to trap its inhabitants.
• The stronghold’s leaders and bandits rushed outside, but the sudden forest and the group descending from the sky stopped them.
• A samurai-dressed middle-aged man recognized the Konoha ninjas, identified Uka Senju as a Wood Release wielder, and wondered who had put a mission out on him.

Uka Senju and his companions confronted the bounty hunters who had taken over the stronghold, and the chief tried to negotiate for his life. Uka agreed, then launched a surprise attack with Inuzuka Furin and Aburame Kaun, leaving the battle underway.

• The chief recognized Uka Senju and his companions as valuable targets and considered bargaining rather than fighting.
• Uka confirmed that his team had created the forest and recognized the chief's group as former Bounty Station outlaws seeking to survive.
• Uka secretly signaled Inuzuka Furin and Aburame Kaun, then agreed to talk while deciding to carry out the clan's mission.
• Uka used the Body Flicker Technique to attack the chief, while Inuzuka Furin and her ninja dog used Fang Over Fang against the woman and Aburame Kaun unleashed Insect Hurricane.
• The chief blocked Uka's sword strike and counterattacked, while the woman ducked behind the doorway and the scarred samurai charged at Inuzuka Furin's whirlwind.