Chapter Summaries

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.

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.