Recaps

Uka Senju and his companions fought the bandits after the third chief announced their bounty was sixty million. Uka killed the red-clad second chief with a wooden spike attack, leaving the head chief grieving and accusing him of violating samurai spirit.

• The third chief revealed that the group had a bounty of sixty million, prompting the minor leaders and remaining bandits to charge at them.
• The red-clad second chief attacked Inuzuka Furin, but Uka Senju blocked his strike and let Furin target the injured young woman.
• Uka Senju fought the two chiefs with his chakra-enhanced strength, overpowering their swordsmanship and forcing them to retreat and dodge.
• Uka Senju used wooden spikes from his armor to pierce and kill the second chief.
• The head chief cursed Uka Senju for fighting dishonorably, while Uka wondered why the man expected him to follow a samurai code.

Uka Senju and Inuzuka Furin defeated two of the bandit leaders but worried that Uka had split the required proof in half. Aburame Kaun finished off the remaining attackers after Uka and Furin watched him and Brown and White fight.

• Uka Senju killed the chief with a downward slash, then realized he had split the proof required for the mission.
• Inuzuka Furin examined the damaged proof, and Uka tied it together with cloth while Furin collected the second-in-command's proof.
• Aburame Kaun dodged and counterattacked against three chakra users and more than twenty samurai while Uka and Furin watched from the courtyard gate.
• Uka asked Furin if she wanted to keep watching Kaun train, and she agreed to wait for him and Brown and White to finish the fight themselves.
• Aburame Kaun killed the last two attackers, while Uka and Furin's earlier killings had stopped the bandits from fleeing.

Aburame Kaun and Brown and White defeated the bandit leaders, while Senju Tsukika judged the mission complete and revealed she had noticed Uka Senju's attempt to prepare his teammates for harder training. The group began cleaning up and planned to rest and enjoy a meal before their next mission.

• Aburame Kaun fought the bandits while Brown and White killed the third chief, and Uka Senju and Furin treated their wounds.
• Senju Tsukika asked Uka whether the mission was complete or failed, and Uka answered that it depended on why the heads were needed.
• Senju Tsukika recognized that Uka had deliberately let his teammates face dangerous opponents to train and declared the mission complete, granting them until sunset the next day to rest.
• Uka told his companions to clean up and prepare for their next mission, reflecting that Senju Tsukika had noticed his attempt to discreetly alert them to the clan's plans.
• Aburame Kaun suggested finding ingredients and seasonings for a meal, and Uka agreed after Brown and White eagerly approved.

Hiruzen Sarutobi received news of Konoha’s operation in the Land of Grass and decided how to use its spoils, children, and remaining assets. He refused to annex the country, while leaving plans for his two idle students undecided until he spoke with them.

• Utatane Koharu reported that the operation in the Land of Grass had secured spoils worth about twenty billion, assets worth another ten billion, and over seventy thousand children with ninja aptitude.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Homura to add fifteen thousand children to the plan and send those left after selection to Danzo.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi rejected occupying the Land of Grass but authorized Danzo to develop it and establish bases, assigning its remaining assets to Root’s funding and rewards.
• Utatane Koharu asked about Hiruzen Sarutobi’s two students, and he said he would ask them that afternoon whether they were ready for new assignments.

Hiruzen Sarutobi decided that Orochimaru and Jiraiya were ready to leave Konoha for further training after spending a year and a half helping them recover from Tsunade's departure and build a bond with Shinnosuke. The two arrived at his office, where Jiraiya described how much the village had grown and said they had brought snacks for Shinnosuke.

• Utatane Koharu left after Hiruzen refused to give Orochimaru and Jiraiya the positions she had offered them.
• Hiruzen reflected on how he had kept Orochimaru and Jiraiya in the village to support them and strengthen their connection with Shinnosuke, then summoned them to his office.
• Jiraiya tried to climb into the Hokage Building through a window, and Orochimaru followed with the Body Flicker Technique to prevent further commotion.
• Orochimaru and Jiraiya entered Hiruzen's office and greeted their teacher.
• Orochimaru explained that his cloth bag held food, and Jiraiya said they had brought snacks for Shinnosuke after exploring Konoha and noticing its growth.

Hiruzen Sarutobi used a conversation about Konoha’s recent growth to remind Jiraiya and Orochimaru that conflict within the village had become inevitable, then called them in to assign them work. He asked where they wanted to serve, and Jiraiya volunteered for any front line.

• Jiraiya described Konoha’s new shops, snacks, and newcomers to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi said he could not take time off because the village faced a critical juncture, prompting Jiraiya and Orochimaru to reflect on the looming conflict between the village’s factions.
• Jiraiya blamed the Senju for obstructing peace and worried that Hiruzen Sarutobi might never get the chance to retire if their side lost.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Jiraiya and Orochimaru that he intended to assign them work, then asked where they wished to serve.
• Jiraiya said he wanted to go to any front line and left the choice to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Jiraiya to the Land of Rice Fields and Orochimaru to the Land of Rain, but Orochimaru asked to research the forbidden Impure World Reincarnation instead. Hiruzen recognized the technique and struggled with Lord Hashirama’s ban as Orochimaru argued that it could help Konoha and save lives.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Jiraiya to lead a squad on the Front Line in the Land of Rice Fields, where covert clashes with the Land of Lightning continued.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Orochimaru to lead a squad on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain, where the new Amegakure led by Hanzō was expanding.
• Orochimaru told Hiruzen Sarutobi that he believed he could complete one of Lord Tobirama’s ideas and asked for access to the Impure World Reincarnation in the Scroll of Seals.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi recognized the technique, recalled Lord Hashirama’s strict order against it, and reconsidered sending Orochimaru to the Front Line so he could research it.
• Orochimaru argued that the technique could help preserve their ideals and prevent many deaths, while Hiruzen Sarutobi remained conflicted.

Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed to let Orochimaru research the Impure World Reincarnation, and he retrieved the secret scroll so Orochimaru could copy it under his supervision. After leaving the Hokage Building, Orochimaru and Jiraiya reflected on the former friend they had not seen since returning to the village.

• Orochimaru reminded Hiruzen that the Senju might have researched the Scroll of Seals, and Hiruzen agreed to supervise his research into the Impure World Reincarnation.
• Hiruzen opened Konoha's secret chamber and retrieved the scroll containing high-ranking techniques and Tobirama's forbidden concepts.
• Hiruzen found the Impure World Reincarnation page and carefully copied it onto a small scroll for Orochimaru.
• Orochimaru and Jiraiya left the Hokage Building and reached the riverside near the Senju Clan Compound.
• Jiraiya and Orochimaru remembered their absent former friend and realized their relationship with her could not return to what it had been.

Jiraiya and Orochimaru reflected on their friendship and the dangers ahead as their team prepared to disband. Two days later, Uka Senju and his companions received a demanding assassination mission and stopped near their route to set up camp and defenses.

• Jiraiya promised Orochimaru he would survive the front lines and urged him to master his snake Ninjutsu before pursuing Impure World Reincarnation.
• Orochimaru considered the danger of his forbidden technique as he and Jiraiya watched the new Konoha across the river, knowing their team would disband that day.
• Uka Senju and his companions completed their third cleanup mission quickly, then received an assassination mission near the Land of Rivers with a tight deadline.
• Uka led Aburame Kaun and Inuzuka Furin through the forest toward their destination, and they stopped near a rocky mountaintop at midnight.
• Aburame Kaun set warning traps near the cave while Inuzuka Furin checked their route on a map and set more traps from the summit.

Uka Senju and his teammates rested in a cave after discussing the dangers surrounding their mission near the Land of Rivers. They prepared layered defenses and left Brown and White on watch as they slept before the trouble they expected to follow the mission.

• Uka Senju killed a brown bear, prepared its meat with rice, and joined Inuzuka Furin and Aburame Kaun for dinner.
• Aburame Kaun asked where the mission’s real danger lay, and Uka Senju predicted that their target’s identity and the mission’s aftermath would bring trouble.
• Uka Senju explained that his bounty had risen to a hundred million, prompting the team to anticipate waves of assassins after the mission.
• The three teammates and Brown and White finished their meal, then Uka Senju sealed the cave with Wood Release defenses and assigned Brown and White to guard them.
• Uka Senju and his teammates went to sleep while Brown and White stayed beside the fire on watch.

Uka Senju, Aburame Kaun, and Inuzuka Furin broke camp and continued toward the summit with Brown and White. In Konoha, Senju Toka began a clan meeting, and the Second Elder urged her to decide routine matters herself and bring them only the issues needing help.

• Uka Senju and his companions packed their gear, and Uka carried Brown and White inside his armor as they traveled toward the summit.
• Uka Senju used Wood Release to help the group descend from the cliff, and they resumed moving through the forest in formation.
• Senju Chiharu told Senju Toka that the Second Elder, Mito Uzumaki, Senju Fukei, and Senju Yumi had arrived for the meeting.
• Senju Toka took her seat as clan head and said she had called the meeting to seek advice on several matters.
• The Second Elder stopped Senju Fukei from reporting and told Senju Toka to handle matters she could decide herself, since his health could not endure a full day of meetings.

Senju Toka’s clan meeting focused on the Sarutobi’s growing forces and the resources they had gained in the Land of Grass. The meeting ended with the Second Elder reviewing Toka’s plans as Senju Fukei reported that Shimura Danzō was also building bases and taking control of people and spoils there.

• Senju Fukei reported that the Senju had located most of the Sarutobi’s bases and estimated that the Sarutobi intended to train around seventy thousand people.
• The Second Elder asked about the Sarutobi’s funding and the reliability of the estimate, and Toka explained the plans made at the previous meeting.
• Senju Fukei confirmed that the Sarutobi and three other clans had sold most of their assets, and said the seventy-thousand estimate was about eighty percent accurate.
• The Second Elder urged Toka to prepare for at least a hundred thousand shinobi, while Toka explained the limits imposed by personnel and training resources and handed him a document.
• Senju Fukei reported that Shimura Danzō was building bases in the Land of Grass, gathering children, and had taken over around twenty thousand people screened out by the Sarutobi and their allies.
• Senju Fukei added that the Sarutobi’s spoils were estimated at twenty-five billion, with several billion more in goods left behind that Danzō had taken over.

Senju Toka and the elders debated how to respond to opposition from smaller clans and countries, while also deciding how many people the Senju should train. They agreed to eliminate those who challenged them and use Miko to establish a country that could claim the spoils, then ordered the First Elder to prepare and Mito Uzumaki to invite Miko to Konoha.

• Senju Fukei reported that small clans and foreign leaders were dissatisfied with the Senju and might join forces, while the First Elder requested guidance on whether to eliminate them.
• The Sixth Elder suggested killing everyone who showed opposition and training around a hundred thousand people to outspend the Sarutobi.
• Mito Uzumaki argued that the Senju could use Miko to establish a country and claim land and wealth they could not occupy themselves.
• Senju Toka approved Mito's proposal, ordered Senju Hōkei to send the decisions to the First Elder, and told Mito to invite Miko to Konoha for discussions.

The Senju debated how to match the Sarutobi’s growing forces without losing control of their own recruits. The Second Elder proposed training up to one hundred thousand people in six batches and using attrition battles to conceal the Senju’s real strength.

• Senju Hōkei accepted Senju Toka’s order and began writing a scroll while Mito Uzumaki agreed to cooperate.
• Mito warned that endlessly increasing their forces would risk exposure, strained resources, and uncertain loyalties.
• The Second Elder proposed planning for one hundred thousand recruits across six batches, training each batch to its available capacity.
• He advised deploying the recruits publicly after training, fighting attrition battles against the Sarutobi, and secretly hiding those who became Jonin.
• The Second Elder planned to use battlefield losses, intelligence leaks, and the village’s internal forces to keep the Sarutobi’s numbers near the Senju’s while concealing the Senju’s true strength.

Senju Toka revised the clan’s plan for controlling its bases and ordered preparations for new Cursed Seals, supplies, and intelligence gathering. The elders also reviewed progress on Tobirama’s jutsu, with the Flying Thunder God Technique still out of reach and research on Impure World Reincarnation barely underway.

• The Second Elder proposed using batches based on each base’s capacity and creating lethal Cursed Seals to control Jonin, prompting Senju Toka to revise the plan.
• Senju Toka ordered Mito Uzumaki to develop three Cursed Seals: one to control the brain and mouth, one to injure without killing, and one that killed quickly.
• Senju Toka instructed the Sixth Elder and Senju Fukei to supervise the bases, calculate supply needs, and locate every Sarutobi faction base.
• Senju Toka told the Sixth Elder to invite other clan heads to the Senju Clan Compound the following afternoon, then asked the Second Elder to oversee the plan and consult neutral parties before targeting the first batch.
• Mito Uzumaki reported that over twenty people had learned the first four gates of the Eight Gates Released Formation, a triplet was practicing the Flying Thunder God Formation, and research on the Flying Thunder God Technique and Impure World Reincarnation remained limited.

Mito Uzumaki and the Second Elder discussed the Senju’s forbidden techniques and the Land of Whirlpools’ refusal to join Konoha. Senju Toka reported that Uka’s training was progressing quickly, prompting Mito to prepare to protect him as he grew stronger.

• The Second Elder learned that the Senju had made no progress on the technique meant to bring their dead clansmen back.
• Mito Uzumaki told the Second Elder that the Land of Whirlpools’ leaders, including Yūya Uzumaki, remained unwilling to abandon their homeland or join Konoha.
• The Second Elder asked about Uka’s training, and Senju Toka reported that he and the other trainees had reached the latter half of the second stage.
• Mito Uzumaki said she could still fight to protect Uka and expected the Senju to master the Flying Thunder God Formation by the second half of the year.
• Mito Uzumaki recommended finding another Uzumaki as a reserve, since Adamantine Sealing Chains could suppress Tailed Beasts.

Mito Uzumaki secured the Senju's promise to let her choose the next jinchūriki, and Senju Toka later sent her disciple Senju Chiharu to the southern battlefield. As Chiharu prepared to leave, she realized her feelings about Uka were the reason she had wanted to see him before departing.

• Mito Uzumaki explained her plans for the next jinchūriki, and Senju Toka promised that the Senju would honor her wishes and uphold their bond with the Uzumaki.
• The three discussed the clan's other talents before ending their meeting, and Senju Toka returned to her office to prepare for talks with allied clan leaders.
• Senju Toka ordered Senju Chiharu to leave for the southern battlefield and report to the First Elder, and Chiharu accepted the transfer.
• Chiharu distributed the files, reported her departure, and began packing her armor and supplies at home.
• Chiharu remembered the item Uka had given her as she prepared to leave.

Senju Chiharu packed her savings and wrote a letter for someone far away, while Uka Senju and his teammates prepared to attack a guarded residence on a time-limited mission. Uka launched Deep Forest Emergence, and the target realized the attackers were likely ninja.

• Senju Chiharu retrieved a ninjutsu scroll, thought about someone away on a mission, and counted out a million from her savings before writing a letter to be read more than twenty days later.
• Uka Senju chose a head-on attack with Deep Forest Emergence because the target’s group would soon meet another squad, and he wanted to gather energy from its members.
• Uka Senju, Aburame Kaun, Inuzuka Furin, and the ninja dog Brown and White entered town disguised as marketgoers and took positions outside the target’s residence.
• Aburame Kaun set his insects to watch, while Inuzuka Furin used Beast-Man Clone and Four Legs Technique with Brown and White.
• Uka Senju activated Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence, causing plants to erupt inside the residence and attack its occupants.
• A middle-aged guard warned the target and his three protectors of the enemy attack, and the target suspected they faced ninja rather than samurai.

Uka Senju and his teammates attacked a residence, where a Jonin recognized Uka’s Wood Release and tried to flee with their employer. Uka killed the employer and the fleeing Genin while Furin and Kaun confronted the enemy team, leaving the Jonin’s clash with Furin unresolved.

• The enemy Jonin saw Uka’s Wood Release spreading through the residence and used Earth Release to collapse the main house and open an escape route.
• The Jonin ordered Inoshita to carry the employer and led his team away from Uka, hoping to reach reinforcements.
• Uka sensed the fleeing group’s positions, told his teammates their numbers and direction, and followed them through the trees with Furin and Kaun.
• The Jonin assigned Kawado to fight Kaun and charged Furin with his two remaining students, while Uka supported Furin and attacked the group left behind.
• Uka killed the employer and both Genin, then cleared the residence of every other living person.

Uka Senju, Inuzuka Furin, and Aburame Kaun defeated the enemy team, including a fleeing Jonin, and began preparing for the next threat. Uka ordered a brief battlefield cleanup before the team withdrew to set traps for the reinforcements.

• Uka Senju and Inuzuka Furin pursued the wounded Jonin after he abandoned his teammate and fled.
• Uka Senju blocked the Jonin's escape while Inuzuka Furin attacked from the flank, and they killed him after a prolonged fight.
• Aburame Kaun joined Uka Senju and Inuzuka Furin after finishing off the young Chunin and asked whether they should leave or loot the battlefield.
• Uka Senju allowed ten minutes to loot and clean up, then ordered the team to withdraw and prepare a battlefield for the approaching enemy team.
• Aburame Kaun took Brown and White to search for loot while Uka Senju and Inuzuka Furin rested.

After defeating their opponent, Uka Senju, Inuzuka Furin, and Aburame Kaun rested in a trapped forest cave and reviewed their gains. They discovered that the wagons had concealed ninja supplies, suggesting their cleanup mission involved a much bigger problem than they had thought.

• Uka Senju and his companions finished gathering valuables, traveled to a forest, and set traps around their campsite.
• Brown and White argued with Aburame Kaun over counting their share of the recovered money while Inuzuka Furin prepared dinner.
• Uka Senju checked his system panel, noting that his Taijutsu had improved after fighting a Jonin and that he had accumulated nearly a hundred thousand energy on recent missions.
• Aburame Kaun found that the recovered scrolls contained four weapon scrolls, three Military Rations Pill scrolls, and two ninja supply scrolls alongside decoy grain scrolls.
• Aburame Kaun told Uka Senju and Inuzuka Furin that the hidden supplies revealed a serious problem with their mission.

A four-person ninja team led by Jonin Nobe arrived at the ruined Inoue mansion to investigate its destruction and search for a missing shipment and a valuable target. After Nobe’s subordinates found severed heads, he became confident that the mission could bring him a fortune.

• A frightened town attendant told the arriving ninja that plants had erupted during a fight at the Inoue mansion before the violence abruptly stopped.
• The girl killed the attendant with a senbon after disliking his expression, then asked Nobe whether she should question administrator Kirō.
• Nobe declined to question Kirō and ordered two subordinates to search the mansion for the shipment, plants, and clues.
• The two subordinates returned with severed heads and reported their findings to Nobe.
• Nobe concluded that the valuable head could earn him more than a hundred million and began planning to claim the bounty.

Jonin Nobe’s squad searched for the Wood Release users while Nobe promised his subordinates and Miharu Kaori shares of the bounty. The searchers followed their trail, and Nobe set off after them with Kaori, leaving the team pursuing its targets.

• Jonin Nobe ordered Hirose Un and Ima Narimasa to use their sensory techniques to track the opponents, promising each a tenth of the bounty and Miharu Kaori one and a half tenths.
• Hirose Un used his heightened sense of smell to follow a scent from a branch, while Ima Narimasa tracked signs of the targets’ resting places, including spots concealed with Wood Release.
• Miharu Kaori grew enthusiastic at the prospect of earning fifteen million ryo and worked harder to please Nobe.
• Nobe ended the delay, told Kaori to get ready, and vanished to catch up with Hirose Un and Ima Narimasa.
• Kaori realized she had exerted herself before the bounty was secured, complained about her aching throat, and dressed for the mission.

Uka Senju, Inuzuka Furin, and Aburame Kaun discovered that their mission involved secretly transporting weapons and was likely a trap tied to the Sarutobi side. They chose to strengthen their preparations and wait for the enemy in their mountain hideout.

• After leaving the battlefield, the armored woman attacked people watching from nearby houses before pursuing the others.
• Two masked operatives emerged after the group left; the red-masked man confirmed their preparations were complete, and the green-masked captain ordered him to go.
• Earlier, Aburame Kaun showed Uka Senju and Inuzuka Furin scrolls revealing the mission’s hidden weapons shipment, while Brown and White barked for attention.
• Uka, Furin, and Kaun concluded the shipment implicated the Sarutobi side and that their mission had become a trap.
• Uka decided they should expand their battlefield preparations and prepare an escape route, and Furin and Kaun agreed to wait and fight.

Uka Senju organized his team’s preparations for the expected enemy pursuit, setting traps with Aburame Kaun while Inuzuka Furin cooked and rested. After the team ate and recovered, they concealed themselves in a tree to ambush the approaching enemies.

• Uka Senju estimated the enemy’s arrival time and assigned Furin to prepare dinner while he and Kaun laid traps and planned escape routes.
• Furin prepared a quick meal, then rested with her Ninja Dog while Uka and Kaun filled the surrounding area with visible and concealed traps.
• Uka and Kaun returned to the cave, where Furin served dinner and Uka took watch as the others rested.
• At 19:13, Uka, Furin, and Kaun woke, packed their supplies, and prepared to lie in ambush.
• Uka restored the cave with Wood Release, then concealed the team inside a tree on high ground, where they took turns keeping watch.