Chapter Summaries

San Rika and Jonin Nobe advanced through Uka Senju’s forest of traps, with Nobe’s sensory abilities allowing him to avoid every attack. Uka and his friends realized their preparations could not stop him, so Uka chose to fight rather than call for help and risk losing his chance to remain a ninja.

• San Rika and Jonin Nobe dodged the group’s attacks, and Nobe warned her to follow his footprints through the trapped forest.
• Nobe used his sensory technique to find and trigger traps from a distance as he led San Rika onward.
• Uka Senju, his two friends, and their dog discovered that Nobe had avoided every trap and continued following them.
• Uka concluded that fighting head-on was their only option and said they should save some supplies for escape.
• Uka’s friends agreed to let him decide whether they would fight or retreat, and he chose to fight rather than call for help.

Uka Senju and his teammates agreed on a plan to split their pursuers, with Uka holding off Jonin Nobe while Furin, her ninja dog, and Kaun attacked the others. The battle began with Uka drawing Nobe away as Furin and her dog charged San Rika, who signaled for support.

• Uka Senju assigned Furin and Kaun to attack the woman and the two Chunin while he faced the Elite Jonin, but Furin and Kaun urged him to switch roles.
• Uka convinced his teammates that his Senju strength and chakra would let him withstand Jonin Nobe, and they prepared to follow his plan.
• Uka coated his body in chakra and charged Nobe as Furin and her dog used Fang Over Fang against San Rika, while Kaun scattered into a swarm of insects.
• Uka clashed blades with Nobe, then withdrew and retreated while fighting to draw him away from the others.
• San Rika dodged Furin and her dog's attack using a tree, sent a signal into the sky, and recognized that her opponents were Inuzuka.

San Rika and Inuzuka Furin fought through a trap involving Fang Over Fang and San Rika’s purple poison, while Uka Senju drew an elite jonin away from the main battlefield. The chapter left Furin charging at San Rika through the mist and Uka still battling his opponent after repairing his Wood Release armor for the third time.

• San Rika drew five senbon and fought Inuzuka Furin and Brown and White, but Furin slashed her right hand before she escaped with the Substitution Technique.
• San Rika’s unusual Substitution Wood burst into purple poison powder, and she charged into the mist after biting down on a prepared antidote.
• Furin and Brown and White avoided inhaling the poison at first, swallowed the antidotes they carried, and hid to watch for San Rika.
• Brown and White detected a bitter scent, and Furin saw San Rika enter the mist before she and her dog charged at her with Fang Over Fang.
• Uka Senju led an elite jonin away from the battlefield, exchanged positions with him using his Wood Release armor, and repaired the armor for the third time.

Uka Senju used Nobe’s recovery break to set a trap, then revealed he could create Wood Release barriers without hand seals. Nobe, shaken by the discovery, braced himself for the fight to continue.

• Uka Senju realized the close-range fight was draining him and began considering a new battle plan.
• Nobe taunted Uka about his numb hands while secretly recovering his own, but Uka’s taunts exposed his condition.
• Nobe charged again after his hands recovered, and Uka stamped the ground to send up wooden walls that made Nobe crash through three barriers.
• Uka mocked Nobe’s failed charge and explained that he had used fast, discreet Wood Release manipulation instead of forming hand seals.
• Nobe returned to his starting position, stunned that Uka could use ninjutsu without hand seals, and tightened his grip on his blade.

Uka Senju trapped Jonin Nobe in Deep Forest Emergence and attacked him with a second Wood Release technique, while Nobe used sensory skills and Earth Release to survive and conceal his movements. The chapter ended as Nobe emerged beneath Uka and fired growing stone projectiles at his descending fist.

• Uka Senju provoked Jonin Nobe into charging, then ensnared him with Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence.
• Jonin Nobe defended against the roots and vines while struggling to understand why his sensory technique had failed to detect Uka’s Wood Release.
• Uka Senju activated Wood Release: Thorny Killing, and Jonin Nobe enclosed himself inside two earthen mountains with Earth Release: Mountain Earth Technique.
• Jonin Nobe left a Shadow Clone inside the earthen barrier and crept underground toward Uka Senju.
• Uka Senju sensed movement beneath him and punched down with Wood Release: Violent Spear Tree as Jonin Nobe emerged and fired enlarged stones with Earth Release: Rock Iron Cannon Technique.

Uka Senju used Wood Release to keep Jonin Nobe under pressure, while Nobe relied on his experience to counter each attack. Uka concealed himself inside a root and unleashed a Wood Dragon, but Nobe raised an Earth-Style Wall that blocked Uka’s view and left his trap unresolved.

• Jonin Nobe struggled to reconcile Uka Senju’s repeated sealless Wood Release techniques, and his resolve to kill Uka grew beyond his desire for the bounty.
• Nobe used Wind Release: Gale Palm to empower his shuriken, cutting through the root supporting Uka and sending him falling.
• Uka used Wood Substitution to evade Nobe’s Rock Iron Cannon Technique, then hid inside a root and prepared Wood Dragon.
• Uka emerged and controlled the Wood Dragon, but Nobe responded by raising six Earth-Style Walls that blocked every line of sight.
• Uka realized Nobe’s experience had kept him unharmed and regretted that Nobe had not used the substitution wood Uka had prepared to exploit.

Senju Ameka’s Wood Dragon caused a massive explosion, interrupting the nearby battle and giving both sides time to regroup. Aburame Kayun discovered that the enemy had barely recovered and launched an attack, while San Lixiang ordered her wounded group to flee.

• Senju Ameka sent the Wood Dragon crashing into the enemy’s mound-like defense, shaking the mountains and disrupting the nearby battlefield.
• Aburame Kayun checked Inuzuka Furin and Brown and White, who said they could suppress the poison for several more hours.
• Aburame Kayun used his insects to learn that San Lixiang and Juma Chengzheng had received little treatment during the lull.
• Aburame Kayun, Inuzuka Furin, and Brown and White launched their Secret Techniques and advanced on the enemy.
• San Lixiang recognized that the Wood Dragon belonged to someone other than her captain and shouted for her group to run.

San Rika and Ima Narimasa were ambushed by Inuzuka Furin, Brown, and White, and Hirose Un was killed. As San Rika fought on while Ima fled, she tried to bargain for her life, giving Furin a chance to learn how to cure the poison affecting her and her ninja dogs.

• Ima Narimasa sensed the insect attack and substituted away, but Hirose Un was caught in the swarm and killed by Brown and White's charging whirlwind.
• San Rika and Ima Narimasa retreated toward Jonin Nobe, but Ima threw senbon toward San Rika's path, then fled toward the border town after revealing he knew about the person she had been hiding.
• San Rika was left to face Inuzuka Furin, Brown, and White; she crushed her poison bottle, was wounded again, and was cornered against a tree.
• San Rika offered to make a deal, and Inuzuka Furin realized she could use San Rika to find a cure for the poison affecting herself and her dogs.

Inuzuka Furin confronted the wounded San Rika, who offered her poison recipe and antidote in exchange for a proper burial and no examination of her memories. San Rika then killed herself, leaving Furin with the items she had offered.

• Inuzuka Furin stopped Brown and White and told San Rika that she would not be allowed to live, though they could negotiate other terms.
• San Rika explained that she had poisoned Furin and her companions and offered the recipe and antidote in exchange for her head and a grave, with no memory inspection or mutilation of her body.
• San Rika tossed Furin a porcelain bottle and a Scroll, then swallowed a pill as her body began to go numb.
• San Rika drove a specially made kunai into her head and died while Inuzuka Furin watched.

Inuzuka Furin and Aburame Kaun recovered after defeating Jonin Nobe’s subordinates, then rushed to help Uka Senju. Jonin Nobe tried to escape underground, but Uka’s Wood Release forced him out as Furin and Kaun closed in.

• Inuzuka Furin confirmed the enemy’s death with senbon, then took an antidote while Brown and White recovered.
• Aburame Kaun returned with a head, and Furin told him they would recover briefly before heading to Uka.
• After two minutes, Furin, Kaun, and the ninja dog charged openly toward Uka’s battlefield.
• Jonin Nobe sensed them arriving and abandoned his fight with Uka, burrowing underground to escape.
• Uka recognized Nobe’s plan and used Wood Release to search beneath the ground and force him back out.
• Jonin Nobe emerged from the earth and began spinning with his blade, using Wind Release: Rotating Wind Cutter.

Uka Senju trapped Jonin Nobe and chose to fight him rather than let him escape. With Inuzuka Furin, Ninja Dog Brown and White, and Aburame Kaun joining him, Uka began the battle, which ended with Nobe burning away Kaun’s encircling insects and pressing his hands to the ground.

• Uka Senju used Tree Spear to block Jonin Nobe’s escape attempts, then told him that one of them had to die.
• Jonin Nobe stopped fleeing and treated his injuries while taking Military Rations Pills, and Uka also restored some of his chakra.
• Inuzuka Furin, Ninja Dog Brown and White, and Aburame Kaun arrived and took positions around Jonin Nobe.
• Uka ended Deep Forest Emergence, landed, and opened the fight with Tree Spear as Furin and Brown and White charged with Fang Over Fang.
• Aburame Kaun used Spindle Technique to surround Jonin Nobe with insects, but Nobe burned them with Lightning Release: Earth Flow and pressed his hands to the ground.

Uka Senju and her teammates used Wood Release, insects, and Wind Release to keep Nobe under pressure, but the Elite Jonin repeatedly escaped with Substitution and Sensory Techniques. Nobe finally ambushed Uka in close combat, and she blocked his strike as he retreated.

• Uka Senju used Tree Spear and Tree Exploding Burial to trap Nobe, but he escaped with the Substitution Technique and fought off Inuzuka Furin and her Ninja Dog.
• Furin retreated from Nobe and struck him with Wind Release: Vacuum Wave, forcing him to substitute again.
• Nobe dodged another barrage of Tree Spears, then used the Body Flicker Technique to ambush Uka Senju.
• Uka blocked Nobe's attack with her blade while Aburame Kaun's hidden Shadow Clones and the team's switch had concealed their positions.
• Nobe pressed against Uka's blade, then used the force of their clash to retreat two steps.

Uka Senju and his allies battled Jonin Nobe, using coordinated attacks to wear him down and create an opening. Uka’s concealed Shikotsumyaku strike wounded Nobe, and Uka followed with Wood Release techniques as the fight continued.

• Uka Senju fought Jonin Nobe while Inuzuka Furin and the Ninja Dog Brown and White harried him, and Aburame Kaun prepared Ninjutsu from the forest.
• Uka swallowed a Senju Military Rations Pill, restoring much of his Chakra, while Nobe used Lightning Release to destroy Kaun’s insects and charged back into the fight.
• As Nobe and Uka clashed swords, a hidden Wooden Spike attack pierced Nobe’s abdomen, though he avoided a vital area and escaped with the Substitution Technique.
• Uka recognized that Nobe had been badly wounded and used Wood Release: Tree Spear and Wood Release: Tree Exploding Burial against him.

Uka Senju and Inuzuka Furin defended themselves inside a Wood Release barrier as Nobe used Military Rations Pills to unleash an A-rank Earth Release technique. The barrier began to fail under the assault, and Furin completed her attack as moonlight appeared through the breach.

• Nobe abandoned his attempt to heal, swallowed Military Rations Pills, and recovered his Chakra while hiding underground.
• Nobe unleashed Earth Release: Earth and Stone Dragon, prompting Uka Senju to protect himself, Inuzuka Furin, and Brown and White with Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall.
• The three Aburame Kaun retreated while Furin prepared an offensive technique and Brown and White watched for danger.
• Nobe's earth dragon struck the wooden barrier, injuring the defenders and opening a gap.
• Uka poured his remaining Chakra into his armor as Furin completed her final Seal and saw moonlight through the breach.

Uka Senju and Inuzuka Furin defeated the last enemy but suffered injuries and hearing loss in the battle. While the squad recovered, Senju Tsukika ordered twelve hours of protection before the training ground was opened again.

• Inuzuka Furin killed the final enemy with a wind blade, then rushed to check on the wounded Uka Senju.
• Inuzuka Furin gave Uka medicine, removed the hands gripping the sword in his abdomen, and treated his hearing with Healing Jutsu.
• Uka Senju asked Aburame Kaun to keep watch while the others recovered, and Aburame Kaun began guarding the area with his insects and the ninja dog.
• After his abdominal wound healed, Uka Senju treated Inuzuka Furin's damaged ears.
• Senju Tsukika ordered her subordinate to keep the Wood Release Squad undisturbed for twelve hours, then went to check on her students.

The Inuzuka Elder learned that the Wood Release Guard Squad had massacred an escort squad and planned to remain in the southwest for training, prompting him to put the region on alert. At the border command meeting, Nara Tomou proposed treating the incidents as ordinary until the rear gave clear instructions, leaving the response undecided.

• The Inuzuka Elder reviewed the southwest’s strong results and anticipated another improvement before an Aburame intelligence officer delivered reports of the escort squad’s massacre and fighting in the mountains.
• The Inuzuka Elder learned that the Wood Release Guard Squad intended to stay in the southwest for a training plan and ordered the Front Line to inspect its areas, recalled resting units, and sent the Fifth Large Unit to assist the squad.
• Hyūga Hiroto summoned neutral clan representatives, including Ino-Shika-Cho and Hyūga, to the border Command Center to discuss how to respond.
• Nara Tomou suggested treating the incidents as ordinary until the rear provided clear instructions and giving them an ordinary response.

Hyūga Hiroto secured agreement to maintain the Front Line status quo until the Hokage's orders arrived, while reminding the clans to enforce regulations. In Konoha, Uchiha Clan Head Uchiha Kagami pressed his elders to decide whether to join the Sarutobi's training program, but Uchiha Yukito had grown weary of arguing with Uchiha Setsuna.

• Nara Tomou proposed leaving the Front Line decision to the clans and consulting the village, and Hyūga Hiroto agreed to maintain the status quo pending the Hokage's orders.
• Hyūga Hiroto reminded the clan representatives to enforce Front Line regulations, and the gathering ended in a more harmonious mood.
• Uchiha Kagami demanded that the six elders reach a decision on the delayed agenda, including the Sarutobi's training program.
• Uchiha Setsuna argued that the Uchiha should not waste resources training ordinary ninja, whom he dismissed as cannon fodder.
• Uchiha Yukito reflected on his failed effort to gain support for the program and sighed rather than resume the argument.

Uchiha Yukito urged the clan to prepare for the growing conflict between Sarutobi and the Senju, and the meeting adopted several policies despite factional divisions. As the meeting ended, Yukito decided to gather his faction that night to address the Uchiha’s weakening internal balance.

• Uchiha Yukito challenged the clan elders to consider the scale of the coming conflict and reminded them that he was nearing death.
• Uchiha Yukito proposed cooperating with the Hyūga and neutral clans to pressure Sarutobi and the Senju into an early, limited battle, and Uchiha Motohisa and Uchiha Setsuna approved the plan.
• Uchiha Yukito worried that his death would shift the clan’s factional balance and secretly decided to meet with his successor and an ally that night.
• The Uchiha decided not to join the training plan and adopted a birth policy modeled on the Senju’s, with increased bonuses, penalties, and clan benefits.
• Uchiha Motohisa signed the clan order, assigned the matters, and left the meeting hall.

On January 27 of Konoha’s Year 28, Uka Senju and his team fought off a group of missing-nin and their allies in the Land of Fire forest. After the battle, Uka collected the defeated enemies’ energy and loot, leaving Aburame Kaun to question his determination to salvage everything.

• A missing-nin killed his brother and charged Uka Senju, who blocked the attack while fighting off the other attackers.
• Uka Senju used Wood Release: Hedgehog to kill three attackers, and then cut down the last missing-nin as he tried to escape.
• Inuzuka Furin, Aburame Kaun, and Brown and White defeated the enemies in the other two battles.
• Uka Senju absorbed energy from the defeated ambushers and reflected on the gains and dangers of his missions over the past month.
• Aburame Kaun asked why Uka Senju collected damaged weapons, and Uka said he could sell them and put his empty storage scrolls to use.

Uka Senju, Aburame Kaun, and Inuzuka Furin finished dealing with an ambush and prepared to continue their mission, while Uka collected the fallen enemies’ valuable equipment. When Uka sensed newcomers approaching, Brown and White barked before Kaun could identify them, and Furin smacked the dog for its insults.

• Uka Senju searched the fallen enemies and sealed their belongings into a scroll, while Aburame Kaun wondered whether the loot was worth anything.
• Uka explained that the three of them had killed thousands of people over the past month and collected valuable weapons and equipment from the poor but well-armed desperadoes.
• Brown and White barked to signal that a nearby ninja squad had withdrawn instead of attacking, and Inuzuka Furin rewarded the dog with food.
• Uka and his teammates recalled how they had feigned difficulty during a fight with a Takigakure missing-nin and samurai to lure the squad into attacking, but the squad had stayed back and retreated.
• Uka sensed new arrivals approaching and asked Kaun to identify their allegiance once they entered his insects’ range.
• Brown and White barked insults at the newcomers, and Furin lightly smacked the dog.