Chapter Summaries

Senju Uka spent time with his fiancée, Senju Maki, and explained how the Soratate Branch was encouraging its members to marry and have children. The next morning, he began his first day handling branch affairs, where a stack of routine files and a volatile dispute awaited him.

• Senju Uka bought Senju Maki snacks on their date, then took her to a restaurant serving seafood shipped from the Land of Water.
• Senju Uka explained that the Soratate Branch had used pressure and fabricated rumors to persuade hesitant members to marry, and Senju Maki agreed the man who tried to exploit the offer deserved to be made an example.
• Senju Uka woke early, trained, and went to the administrative hall with Toka Senju, who advised him to listen carefully and stand by his decisions.
• Senju Yūka showed Senju Uka the Soratate Branch office, where he began reviewing and approving a large stack of marriage and personnel files.
• Senju Yūka and the office staff discussed the difficult dispute assigned to Senju Uka and agreed to watch closely in case it became physical.

Uka Senju began handling cases as the new branch head, imposing compensation and disciplinary penalties in a shop-seizure dispute. When representatives of the three feuding families arrived and descended into a brawl, he watched instead of intervening and abandoned his original plan for resolving their dispute.

• Senju Yūka warned her clan sisters that Uka might lose his temper over the three families’ dispute and asked them to stop him if needed.
• After reviewing the families’ tangled ties and grievances, Uka set the documents aside and decided to observe the parties before choosing a solution.
• Senju Yiqing and Shikenri asked Uka for help recovering a shop seized by Senju Yiqing’s birth family, and Uka ordered repayment, a leg to be taken from the family head, and penalties for the responsible Senju ninja.
• Uka issued a decision on a separate case involving a woman who had married outside the clan, while Senju Yūka escorted her away in tears.
• The three old women and their relatives fought in Uka’s office; he let the brawl run until his desk tap stopped them, then prepared to speak after deciding against his original approach.

Uka Senju reprimanded three Senju families for fighting over their dead relatives’ claims, then ordered them to stop feuding and imposed penalties after they withdrew their requests for revenge. Later, he sold mission spoils, met Hatake Sakumo and offered him advice, then arranged a gathering and took Maki and Tsunade to dinner.

• Uka Senju initially ordered the three families’ birth families eradicated, but rescinded the threat after the three women begged him and changed their requests to asking him to stop the fighting.
• Uka ordered the families to obey under threat of death, barred their women from marrying into the Senju Clan, punished Ketsuhiro Senju, Hoshiguma Senju, and Hanashiba Senju, and banned new marriages into the Senju for sixty years.
• Senju Unjō and Senju Mana decided to carry out a separate plan against people in Ban'an and added a restriction inspired by Uka’s ruling.
• Uka sold assorted mission spoils to Senju Shūichi for 1,349,653 ryō and bought his monthly weapons quota at the internal rate.
• At the Hatake Clan Compound, Uka met Hatake Sakumo, who asked for advice, and Uka explained his views after hearing Sakumo’s personal circumstances.
• Uka arranged a gathering for the next day, notified several clans, and took Maki and Tsunade to dinner, where he told them about the plans.

Senju Uka spent time with Tsunade after her return, learned that the Senju’s new strength-enhancing technique was nearing completion, and hosted a gathering for their peers. On the walk home, he considered whether Mito Uzumaki could use sealing techniques to help three Senju friends master the Flying Thunder God Formation.

• Senju Maki missed Uka’s gathering because of work, and she grew resentful when Tsunade joined her dinner date with Uka.
• Tsunade told Uka that the first version of their strength-enhancing technique was finished and could be ready to learn in three or four months; Uka kissed her, and they planned a meal together.
• Uka and Tsunade hosted their classmates and friends at the Akimichi BBQ Restaurant, where Uka met Might Duy and asked him to teach him a few moves.
• Uka learned that Senju Nobusada, Senju Nobuhiko, and Senju Nobuhide had mastered an incomplete Flying Thunder God Formation.
• Uka considered how sealing techniques might help the three brothers master the formation and began planning how to draw Mito Uzumaki’s attention to the idea.

Senju Uka left Konoha with Inuzuka Furin and Aburame Kaun after the Senju Clan promoted them to Special Jōnin and assigned them to the South Battlefield. On the road, they ambushed Root pursuers, and Uka suspected Danzo had brainwashed them.

• Senju Tsukika and Senju Toka saw Uka off as he prepared to travel without his guard detail.
• Senju Toka promoted Uka, Inuzuka Furin, and Aburame Kaun to Special Jōnin and ordered them to report to the South Battlefield.
• A Konoha patrol shinobi secretly sent a message while more suspicious figures near the gate also made moves, prompting Senju observers to pursue them.
• Uka and his teammates stopped their Root pursuers with coordinated attacks, killing two and trapping their leader.
• Aburame Kaun identified the pursuers as Root, and Uka explained that Danzo had likely brainwashed them through brutal training and the tongue seal.

Uka Senju and his teammates reached the South Battlefield after fighting off pursuers, while Root reacted to signs of impending conflict among the clans. At Ihyo Castle, the Wood Release Squad reported to Sawagen Senju as the battlefield preparations advanced.

• Uka Senju warned Aburame Kaun and Inuzuka Furin that they would face prolonged fighting against Bear and the Sarutobi, then used coded marks to reveal the planned scale of the campaign.
• Uka Senju ambushed nine bounty hunters with Wood Release, while Aburame Kaun attacked with insects and Inuzuka Furin guarded the group; several attackers died and the surviving Mist leader fled.
• Shimura Danzō ordered Butterfly to inform Sarutobi of the clans' unusual movements and prepare a return to Konoha, while Tanuki assembled personnel for the trip.
• Butterfly sent Short Tail to deliver intelligence to the Hokage and ordered Red Bird to monitor Uka Senju and White Elephant to secure Danzō's return.
• Uka Senju, Aburame Kaun, and Inuzuka Furin reached Ihyo Castle and reported to Sawagen Senju, who continued briefing a Hatake Company Commander on the mission.

Uka Senju and his teammates received orders to report to the southern battlefield at Akifuku Castle, where they reunited with Kurama Shimei and learned that operations were about to begin. Meanwhile, the Miko of Ibaraha Castle launched a plan to move an army and civilians into the Land of Bears and establish a new country.

• Sawagen Senju assigned Uka Senju, Aburame Kaun, and Inuzuka Furin an open-ended A-rank mission under frontline command and ordered them to reach Akifuku Castle by ten the next morning.
• Uka Senju and his teammates gathered supplies, traveled overnight, and arrived at Akifuku Castle, where soldiers directed them toward the eastern and southern districts.
• The Miko of Ibaraha Castle confirmed that preparations were complete and officially began his plan to move troops, officials, provisions, and civilians into the Land of Bears.
• The Miko ordered Tani Re to notify the nobles along the route, Fujiwara to move the army at sunrise, and Onodera, Kiyoyasu, and Kumoi to organize officials, supplies, and civilian departures.
• Uka Senju and his teammates met Kurama Shimei at a sentry post, and he told them that personnel and supplies suggested the operation would begin soon.
• Uka Senju told Kurama Shimei that the team needed to report in before the deadline, and they arranged to meet and talk later.

Senju Uka and his teammates arrived at Akifuku Castle, where they were assigned tedious intelligence work before Senju Chiharu reunited with Uka. The next morning, Chiharu and Inuzuka Furin appeared to get along, while Uka’s friends watched; meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzo, and Utatane Koharu gathered in Konoha to hear the returned Ninja Hawks’ intelligence.

• Senju Uka, Inuzuka Furin, and Aburame Kaun reported to Aburame Gyokusei and Senju Chiharu, then received orders to sort and compile Land of Bears intelligence.
• Aburame Gyokusei gave Senju Chiharu authority to chair the next day’s meeting and take charge of the coming operation.
• Senju Uka and his teammates worked until two in the morning, then Senju Chiharu slipped into Uka’s room and fell asleep with him.
• The next morning, Senju Chiharu and Inuzuka Furin greeted each other warmly and went out to breakfast with Uka, while their friends secretly watched them.
• Ninja Hawks returned to Konoha, prompting Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzo, and Utatane Koharu to meet at the Hokage Building and await the intelligence report.

Hiruzen, Danzo, and Koharu learned that the Senju planned to seize the Land of Bears and agreed to spread the news to hinder them, while Hiruzen grew concerned that Danzo might accept an outside offer. Meanwhile, Miko’s migration gained momentum, and Uka discovered that Chiharu had tricked him and Kaun into sorting documents that were already prepared.

• Danzo requested more funding for Root, but Hiruzen refused and Danzo considered cooperating with a company that promised him income and political support.
• Koharu brought intelligence indicating that Miko and hundreds of thousands of people were heading to the Land of Bears to establish a nation, and Danzo proposed spreading the news to provoke resistance.
• Hiruzen assigned Danzo to send Root personnel to the Land of Bears and spread the intelligence in the Lands of Water and Clouds; afterward, Hiruzen told Koharu he suspected someone had approached Danzo, and Koharu promised to investigate.
• Miko’s reputation prompted officials and commoners in Ibaraha Castle to rush to join his migration, and Risa Senju advised him to take good care of those who followed him.
• Uka, Chiharu, and Furin joined the war room after staying up to organize documents, but Kaun learned that other squads had already completed the work and concluded they had been deliberately misled.
• Uka joined Kaun in cursing the person responsible, then realized that Kaun had not caught the hidden meaning of his final insult, while their friends laughed at his blunder.

Uka Senju and his friends resolved a misunderstanding before learning that they would take part in the Land of Bears campaign. At the operational meeting, Senju Chiharu assigned the forces their missions and placed Uka in command of the mixed detachment tasked with capturing the capital.

• Aburame Kaun grew angry after discovering his friends had kept information from him, but Uka Senju explained what had happened, and Kaun apologized once he understood.
• Uka Senju, Aburame Kaun, and Inuzuka Furin delivered documents and discovered Uka’s name among the independent squad captains invited to the operational meeting.
• Senju Chiharu presented the Land of Bears battle plan, assigning Aburame Gyokusei’s Third Large Unit to seize the border and her Sixth Large Unit to surround and attack Hoshigakure.
• Senju Chiharu assigned twenty independent squads to clear the border area and capture cities across the Land of Bears, with a separate plan for the capital.
• Senju Chiharu appointed Uka Senju to command the mixed detachment assigned to capture the capital, with Senju Fukami leading until Uka arrived.

Uka Senju reunited briefly with Senju Chiharu before setting out with Inuzuka Furin and Aburame Kaun to clear a route into the Land of Bears. After the team encountered Root operatives and warned headquarters that the Third Mizukage might act irrationally, Aburame Gyokusei and Chiharu revised the campaign timetable and arranged additional forces to counter a possible attack.

• Senju Fukami introduced Uka Senju to Hatake Banwa, and Senju Chiharu gave Uka his mission scroll before sharing the newly developed Monster Strength technique with him.
• Uka left with Inuzuka Furin and Aburame Kaun to prepare for their two-day clearing mission, while Shimura Danzō ordered Butterfly to spread false claims about a Senju invasion and stir trouble in the Land of Bears, the Land of Water, and the Land of Clouds.
• On January 12, Uka and his teammates ambushed and killed three Root operatives heading toward the Land of Bears, then sent headquarters a warning about Root and the Third Mizukage.
• After receiving Uka's message, Aburame Gyokusei and Senju Chiharu revised the deployment schedule, ordered several units to attack earlier, and arranged additional support for the army and Miko.

Senju forces accelerated their plans after Uka Senju identified a risk they had overlooked, and Uka organized his detachment’s coming attack on the capital. At night, the Third Large Unit struck the Star Ninja border camp, where Aburame Gyokusei prepared to meet the defenders’ charge.

• Aburame Gyokusei sent intelligence to Ihyo Castle, and Senju Chiharu hurriedly revised the front-line schedule and logistics.
• Sawagen Senju ordered reinforcements sent to the Land of Bears, authorized Aburame Gyokusei to decide whether to retreat or fight, and directed that Uka Senju remain unharmed.
• Senju Chiharu relayed Uka Senju’s mission details after he returned, and Uka planned his detachment’s attack on the capital with its four captains.
• At 18:00, Uka Senju’s detachment departed toward the capital while he and his teammates traveled with the Sixth Large Unit and Fourth Medium Unit toward Hoshigakure.
• At 23:00, the Third Large Unit attacked the Land of Bears’ coastal border posts, and Aburame Gyokusei’s force struck a Star Ninja camp with combined Wind and Fire Release.
• The Star Ninja commander rallied his troops with the Mysterious Peacock Method and charged toward the western woods, where Aburame Gyokusei and his shinobi prepared their counterattack.

Aburame Gyokusei's force destroyed a border camp and prepared to defend the Land of Bears, while Senju Chiharu led a Konoha assault that annihilated Hoshigakure. After watching the battle, Uka Senju glided down from a cliff to face the Third Hoshikage, who still held the "star."

• Aburame Gyokusei's ninja wiped out the Star Ninja at the border camp, then built a new headquarters and planned defenses near the harbor.
• Senju Chiharu sent 120 combat personnel to encircle Hoshigakure, and two survivors warned the village of the approaching attack.
• The Third Hoshikage rallied Hoshigakure's forces, but Konoha's coordinated attacks broke through the village's defenses and killed its defenders.
• Senju Chiharu explained battlefield tactics to Uka Senju, Aburame Kaun, and Inuzuka Furin as the fighting ended.
• Uka Senju jumped from the cliff, used wooden wings to glide toward the Third Hoshikage, and drew the gathered ninja into betting on their coming fight.

Uka Senju defeated the Third Hoshikage by breaking through his defenses and killing him with Wood Release, while the Senju forces prepared to leave for the Capital. Meanwhile, Root operatives began their missions in the Land of Water, where the Third Mizukage ordered Genji to lead five Large Units, and Genji’s companion objected.

• Senju Nobutada ran the betting pool as Uka Senju fought the Third Hoshikage, whose Mysterious Peacock Method initially withstood Uka’s Wood Release and punches.
• Uka Senju broke the Third Hoshikage’s defense, wounded him at close range, and sent Wood Release Chakra into his body; the Third Hoshikage died after realizing Hoshigakure had been destroyed because it was too weak.
• Senju Chiharu ordered the forces to clean up the battlefield and prepare to depart, while Uka Senju chose to leave for the Capital with Inuzuka Furin and Aburame Kaun.
• Root shinobi began carrying out their assignments in Kirigakure and the Land of Water Capital after arriving later than expected because of rough seas.
• The Third Mizukage ordered Genji to gather his men and lead five Large Units, and Genji’s burly companion stood up and told him he could not go.

Genji found a way to obey the Third Mizukage’s order while using the Blood Mist-trained troops to undermine the Mizukage’s policy. Madara Uchiha reconsidered his slow-moving plan after learning how much the world had changed, while Senju Uka began the assault on the Land of Bears’ capital and Kirigakure’s force arrived near the country.

• Genji stopped Seiun from criticizing the Third Mizukage in front of the messenger, then explained that he would obey the order using troops trained under the Blood Mist Policy.
• Madara Uchiha learned from White Zetsu about Konoha’s factions, the Senju’s Wood Release, and the rapid growth of ninja forces, so he decided to revise his plan and summoned Black Zetsu.
• At seven o’clock, Senju Uka and the other squads sealed the Land of Bears capital’s gates, while Uka used Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence to attack the Daimyō’s Residence and Noble District.
• Aburame Kaun led Kurama Shimei, Hatake Kobun, and Inuzuka Sawa away from Uka’s area toward the military camp, while Inuzuka Furin stayed with Uka.
• Five Kirigakure Large Units sailed toward the Land of Bears, and about five thousand cavalry arrived outside Akifuku Castle, where Kawatoku received word of their approach.

Kawatoku prepared Akifuku Castle for the arrival of Fujiwara’s forces while Aburame Gyokusei’s coalition confronted Genji’s Kirigakure army on the coast. The coalition’s coordinated ambush devastated the charging Mist Ninja, and Senju Chiharu engaged the white-haired Koto commander in a sword fight.

• Kawatoku ordered his men to open Akifuku Castle’s gates, clear the roads, and prepare supplies for Fujiwara’s advancing force.
• An Inuzuka observer spotted the approaching Kirigakure ships, and his team raised signal flares to alert Aburame Gyokusei’s camp.
• Aburame Gyokusei deployed three Large Units to the coast, where Genji recognized that his Blood Mist troops lacked the teamwork needed to face them in formation.
• Koto led the Kirigakure charge, but the coalition struck with coordinated Water Release, underwater mines, Lightning Release, and Wind Release, killing many attackers before they reached shore.
• The coalition’s Senju, Hatake, and Inuzuka fighters advanced to finish the survivors, while Senju Chiharu blocked Koto and wounded him with her Hengdao.

Senju Chiharu defeated the Kirigakure force with Genjutsu and coordinated attacks, while the retreating survivors left the Senju with a costly victory and a new assignment in the Land of Bears. After the battle, urgent intelligence about Senju expansion prompted Uchiha Motohisa to summon the Hyūga and Ino-Shika-Cho clan leaders to discuss how to respond.

• Senju Chiharu used Homecoming to distract and kill the white-haired Kirigakure leader, then continued cutting down nearby Mizukage as the remaining Kirigakure forces faltered.
• Genji ordered Taketori Seiun to gather the Middle Unit and retreat with three ships, leaving the surrounded Kirigakure Ninja to fight their way out or flee.
• The Senju captured ships and defeated the Kirigakure force; Senju Chiharu later reported 465 Kirigakure Ninja killed and detailed the Senju casualties to Aburame Gyokusei and Kurama Mizue.
• Aburame Gyokusei warned Senju Chiharu and Kurama Mizue that the victory had consumed most of their supplies, then confirmed the Land of Water would launch no further attacks and assigned Chiharu to oversee the children in the Land of Bears.
• After receiving intelligence about Senju actions in the Land of Bears, Uchiha Motohisa invited the Hyūga, Pig, Deer, and Butterfly Clan Heads to a meeting and discussed the report with Uchiha Fugaku.
• Uchiha Motohisa met with the clan leaders at three in the afternoon, and the three Ino-Shika-Cho leaders confirmed they had received the Senju intelligence.

Uchiha Motohisa drew the Five Clans into a joint effort to restrain the Senju and Sarutobi, while Senju Toka and Mito Uzumaki prepared to use the negotiations to their advantage. After Sarutobi Hiruzen accepted a costly contest at the Valley of the End, Uka Senju confronted the moral cost of the energy he had gained by killing during his mission.

• Uchiha Motohisa persuaded the Five Clans to visit the Senju and Sarutobi together and propose restoring the Valley of the End, while teaching Uchiha Fugaku that the Uchiha should stop serving others without receiving their fair share.
• Mito Uzumaki recognized Nara's influence in the Five Clans' proposal, gave Senju Toka Tobirama's research notes, and discussed the Nine-Tailed Fox, the Uzumaki, and Miko's plans for a country at the Front Line.
• The Five Clans and the Senju Sixth Elder forced Sarutobi Hiruzen to accept funding a yearly contest at the Valley of the End, where the side with more survivors would receive additional labor fees.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen and Utatane Koharu warned Shimura Danzō not to attack the Nara, then agreed to let Root handle the first year's fighting and sent Danzō away with a training method to prepare.
• Uka Senju examined his increased energy after the suppression mission and realized desperation for power had driven him to massacre people, leaving him unsure whether pursuing strength would turn him into another Ōtsutsuki.

Uka Senju pondered how to improve his Wood Release while Senju Toka led an ambush against Shimura Danzō. Two mysterious, flying assailants rescued Danzō, leaving Toka and Mito Uzumaki to suspect a powerful new organization had entered the conflict.

• Uka Senju reconsidered his Wood Release training and tried to combine its water-like flexibility with earth-like hardness.
• Senju Toka and Senju Yoshika prepared an ambush for Shimura Danzō as he traveled toward the Land of Grass with Root guards.
• Senju ninjas attacked Danzō's party in a valley, killing many Root members while Senju Toka fought Danzō with a genjutsu that distorted his vision.
• A black-robed assailant fired a massive blue chakra sphere, and another rescued the wounded Danzō as the blast forced Toka and her forces to take cover.
• Senju Toka returned to the clan compound and told Mito Uzumaki that the rescuers appeared to be powerful members of a previously unknown organization.

Mito Uzumaki and Senju Toka began a broad investigation into the group that rescued Shimura Danzō, while Jigen ordered the organization to lie low and continue monitoring Wood Release. Months later, Uka Senju finished his assignment in the Land of Forests with new strength and prepared to return to Konoha, where his detachment celebrated Kurama Shimei’s promotion by humiliating him with insect powder.

• Mito Uzumaki and Senju Toka decided to investigate the unknown organization across the Shinobi World and protect their clanspeople on future missions.
• Jigen ordered the organization to contact Shimura Danzō under identity number three, offer him an arm, withdraw from activity, and intensify surveillance of Wood Release.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi sent Elder Koharu to search for Danzō and told the Anbu commander to accept the Cloud Shinobi’s proposed agreement.
• Jimei met the recovering Shimura Danzō and offered him deeper cooperation, handing him a scroll to examine.
• Uka Senju said farewell to Miko, Risa Senju, and Senju Nawaki before leaving the Land of Forests, having advanced to Special Jōnin and accumulated over a million energy.
• Aburame Kaun shoved homemade insect powder into Kurama Shimei’s mouth after Shimei smugly celebrated reaching Jonin, and the detachment laughed at him.