Chapter Summaries

Before leaving for Konoha on a B-Rank mission, Shira bought a combat sword, spent time with his parents, and prepared his ninja gear. He went to sleep eager to begin the journey and test his training.

• Shira visited the village tool shop and bought a well-balanced combat longsword at a discount from the owner.
• Shira told Rira and Shiya that he was leaving for Konoha, then helped them clean and tidy Shira's Home.
• Shira visited the Ninja Academy and watched the students train, inspiring some to work harder.
• Shira checked his weapons, supplies, and medical kit, then went to bed anticipating his departure at dawn.

Shira set out from Sunagakure with a team of shinobi to escort a caravan to Konoha. After bidding farewell to his family, friends, and supporters, he began the journey with his new teammates.

• Ameno gave Shira dried rations and jerky, while Gaara, Shiya, Rira, Chiyo, and Ebizo came to see him off.
• Shira thanked everyone and promised to complete the mission and return safely as a caravan arrived at Sunagakure's northern exit.
• Reppu introduced himself as the Chunin leading the escort team, and Sada, Sasori, Asuka, and Shira described their abilities.
• Reppu assigned Sada and Sasori to guard the flanks, Asuka to scout ahead, and Shira to stay near him and provide support.
• The caravan departed for Konoha, and Reppu asked Shira about his Taijutsu before Asuka signaled that the route ahead was clear.

Shira’s team escorted a caravan across the Gobi Desert toward Sawakuchi Town while a bandit gang planned an ambush along the route. The caravan reached the town unaware that danger awaited them after they left.

• Asuka questioned Shira about his age and training, then suggested they spar after the mission.
• Shira urged the team to stay alert, and Reppu explained each ninja’s role, identifying Shira’s Taijutsu as their strength in close combat.
• Viper confirmed that the caravan carried valuable cargo and ordered his gang to wait until the Sunagakure guards were less alert.
• Viper sent Giant Rock to prepare traps at Rolling Stone Gorge and told Mandrill to watch the caravan’s movements.
• The caravan continued toward Sawakuchi Town as the bandits prepared their ambush.

The caravan reached Sawakuchi Town, where Shira practiced with his new sword while Reppu studied the route. Reppu warned the team that bandits might ambush them at Rolling Stone Gorge and assigned their roles for the next day’s journey.

• Reppu chose an inn in Sawakuchi Town and studied the caravan’s route map.
• Sada and Sasori maintained their puppets while Shira practiced with his new sword in the inn’s backyard.
• Asuka returned from exploring town and brought Shira a skewer of roasted scorpions.
• Reppu warned the team that Rolling Stone Gorge was ideal ambush terrain and that bandits might be waiting there.
• Reppu assigned Asuka to scout ahead, Sada and Sasori to watch the flanks, and Shira to support him near the caravan’s center.
• Shira put his sword beside his pillow and went to bed, alert to the danger ahead.

The caravan entered Rolling Stone Gorge as Viper’s bandits prepared a layered ambush, with hidden former Iwagakure ninja ready to strike. Asuka spotted the attack just as poisoned projectiles flew toward the caravan, leaving the party under fire.

• Reppu led the caravan toward Rolling Stone Gorge while Sada, Sasori, Asuka, and Shira stayed alert for danger.
• Viper’s bandits prepared traps in the gorge and planned to attack after the caravan entered, targeting its cargo and livestock while hidden ninja struck first.
• Shipi and Iwagakure concealed themselves on the rock walls with poisoned Shuriken and Kunai ready.
• Reppu halted the caravan after noticing disturbed soil, while Shira sensed that something was wrong.
• Asuka warned the party of an enemy attack as hidden figures moved on the walls and poisoned projectiles flew toward the caravan’s ninja.

A band of attackers ambushed the caravan from the canyon walls, and Reppu, Shira, Asuka, Sada, and Sasori fought back while protecting the workers, camels, and cargo. The battle remained fierce as Viper ordered his bandits to focus their attacks on Shira and Reppu.

• Asuka warned the caravan of an attack, and Reppu raised an Earth-Style Wall to shield it from poisoned projectiles.
• Shira knocked darts away from himself and a worker, while Sada and Sasori used their puppets to protect the pack camels.
• Reppu created four Shadow Clones to charge the rock walls, giving Sada and Sasori an opening to strike two bandits with poisoned weapons.
• Shira rushed up the rock wall, dodged Explosive Tags, and killed a bandit with a sword strike and shoulder tackle.
• Viper ordered his men to focus their fire on Shira and Reppu, while Reppu called on Asuka and Sasori to cover Shira and Sada to guard the caravan.

Shira and Reppu’s squad fought off Viper’s bandits while protecting the caravan, but the battle grew more dangerous when Shira was ambushed at the Thread of Sky and Viper and Shipi attacked Reppu. The chapter ended with Shira facing Giant Rock and Reppu trapped between two experienced missing-nin.

• Reppu used a dust cloud to disrupt the bandits’ fire, allowing Sada and Sasori to strike from cover while Asuka distracted an axe-wielding bandit.
• Shira raced ahead to scout the Thread of Sky and discovered tripwires, camouflaged pits, and boulders prepared for an ambush.
• Giant Rock sprang from hiding and attacked Shira, who dodged the hammer and wounded him with a sword strike.
• Viper ordered his bandits to target the ninjas, then attacked Reppu while Shipi hurled poisoned shuriken at him.

Shira opened the Seven Heavens Breathing Method’s Second Activation and fought Giant Rock to stop him from releasing the boulders onto the canyon. He defeated Giant Rock, leaving the battle in the canyon still unresolved.

• Shira realized Giant Rock was guarding the ropes that controlled the boulders and opened the Seven Heavens Breathing Method’s Second Activation.
• Shira dodged Giant Rock’s hammer strikes and wounded him while the rest of the Sunagakure squad fought Viper, Shipi, and the bandits.
• Shira baited Giant Rock into an overhead attack, then struck his exposed armpit and nearly severed the tendons in his right arm.
• Shira knocked Giant Rock down and turned toward the boulders and the ongoing battle in the canyon.

Shira overcame his hesitation and killed the wounded Giant Rock to protect his teammates, then disabled the canyon’s boulder trap. Though exhausted and shaken, he rushed to help Captain Reppu fight two missing-nin.

• Shira saw Giant Rock reach for his ninja tool pouch and decided he could not let him live.
• Shira stabbed Giant Rock twice in the chest, killing him, and struggled with the shock of taking a life.
• Shira cut the ropes and knots holding the boulder trap in place, removing the threat.
• Shira saw Captain Reppu, Sada, Sasori, and Asuka still fighting while tiring, then charged toward Reppu to help.

Shira returned to the battlefield and helped Reppu’s team defeat Shipi and Viper, but the hard-won victory left him exhausted and shaken. The caravan survived the ambush at great cost as the squad began tending to the wounded and assessing their losses.

• Shira returned to find Reppu under attack, the puppet brothers exhausted, and Asuka cornered, while the bandits began to flee after realizing Giant Rock was gone.
• Shira activated the First Activation of the Seven Heavens Breathing Method and distracted Shipi, creating an opening for Reppu to unleash the Great Fireball Technique.
• Shira blew a powerful breath into Reppu’s fireball, accelerating and intensifying it until it smashed through Shipi’s Earth Flow Rampart and badly burned Shipi and Viper.
• Sada used fire-extinguishing sand to put out Viper’s flames, while Shira collapsed from exhaustion and the surviving teammates regrouped.
• Reppu ordered the squad to clear the battlefield, aid the wounded, and assess losses; Shira withdrew into himself as he thought about Giant Rock and the cost of victory.

After the canyon battle left the caravan battered and five people dead, the survivors tried to recover while Shira struggled with the deaths he had witnessed. Mandrill was discovered trying to steal silk, then died accidentally on a broken blade, and Reppu ordered the survivors to treat their wounds and leave within half an hour.

• Reppu directed the exhausted survivors to keep watch, clear the road, and tend to their injuries as the caravan counted its dead and missing cargo.
• Sada, Sasori, and Asuka recovered from their injuries while Shira remained withdrawn, and Asuka thanked him for his actions in the fight.
• Mandrill crept toward spilled silk, hoping to steal it and escape through a fissure, but Sada sensed him and fired a spike from the damaged Vulture.
• Mandrill fled, stepped through a charred patch of ground, and fatally cut his arm on a broken blade as the others watched.
• Shira turned away from Mandrill's death, and Reppu ordered Sasori to dispose of the blade and body before the caravan left within half an hour.

After escaping the blood-soaked canyon, Shira and the survivors traveled in silence and made camp beneath a cliff. As they mourned the dead, Shira remained haunted by the violence, and Old Man Vulture spoke of Marutetsu’s sick mother and the medicine he had hoped to buy.

• Shira walked with the caravan, troubled by memories of killing Giant Rock and Mandrill.
• Asuka talked to Sasori while Sasori carried his wrapped puppet parts, and Sada walked in silence beside them.
• Captain Reppu led the procession and periodically stopped to listen for danger.
• The survivors camped beneath a cliff and ate hard rations beside small fires.
• Old Man Vulture mourned Marutetsu, explaining that the dead porter had hoped to earn money for his sick mother’s medicine.

Shira listened as the porters mourned Marutetsu and spoke about the hardship that drove them to risk their lives on the trade routes. Their gratitude toward the ninja left Shira uneasy, while Sasori dismissed it as payment for a completed mission.

• Scarface told Kakuzō that he worked dangerous jobs to provide warmth and small comforts for his family.
• Old Vulture recalled how war and drought had dried up the village pool and forced families onto the road to survive.
• Shira reflected on the porters’ precarious lives and compared their reasons for risking death with his own.
• Scarface asked Shira whether his family worried about his dangerous work, and Shira vaguely reassured him.
• Old Vulture thanked Shira and the other ninja for saving the porters in the canyon, while Sasori muttered that they had only done a paid job.
• Sada nudged Sasori and sat somberly by the fire as Captain Reppu listened from the shadows.

Shira and the Sunagakure group traveled east from the Gobi Desert into the lush forests of the Land of Fire. After a day on the forest road, they reached the main gate of Konohagakure.

• Shira and the group left the Gobi Desert and entered the forest, where its greenery and unfamiliar sounds amazed the caravan members.
• Asuka excitedly pointed out the trees and flowers while Sasori scolded him, and Sada and Reppu watched the surroundings carefully.
• The group walked beneath the forest canopy for most of the day as the porters gradually relaxed amid the greenery.
• Reppu warned his subordinates to behave carefully near Konoha and told Shira to stay close to him.
• Shira and the group rounded a bend and saw Konohagakure, Hokage Rock, and the village's open main gate.

Reppu presented Sunagakure’s documents at Konoha’s gate and began the required registration after explaining the caravan’s losses in a bandit attack. While waiting with the others, Shira observed Konoha’s peaceful bustle and reflected on how people viewed Sunagakure’s young ninja as hardened by their harsh home.

• Reppu handed Aoki the travel documents and reported that bandits had attacked the caravan, causing casualties and cargo losses.
• Aoki verified the documents and asked Reppu and the caravan leader to register the personnel, cargo, losses, and attack details.
• Reppu told Shira, Asuka, and Sada to wait with the caravan in the designated area and watch their belongings.
• Shira watched Konoha’s residents and ninja pass through the gate, then thought of Rock Lee and felt self-conscious about his battered appearance.
• Nakamura remarked to a companion that the young Sunagakure ninja seemed tough, prompting Shira to consider how outsiders expected Sunagakure children to grow up hardened.

Reppu and his Sunagakure party completed their registration and settled into temporary accommodations in Konoha after their long journey. Shira reflected on the village’s peaceful prosperity and resolved to meet Rock Lee and Naruto Uzumaki as he prepared to rest.

• Aoki completed the caravan’s registration, arranged its passage to the trade district, and directed Reppu’s group to report on the attack mission by morning.
• Aoki led Shira and the others through Konoha to the foreign visitor reception office, where they received adjacent guest rooms.
• Reppu ordered his squad to rest, treat their wounds, and check their equipment, warning Asuka not to wander.
• Shira looked out over Konoha’s lights, remembered those lost and injured on the journey, and thought about meeting Rock Lee and Naruto Uzumaki.
• Shira closed the window and began removing his dusty, bloodstained gear and long sword.

Shira woke early and jogged through Konoha, hoping to find Rock Lee and see how his Taijutsu compared with his own. Near the Ninja Academy, he heard students mocking a boy as a dead last, and the insults revived painful memories of his own rejection in Sunagakure.

• Shira woke at five forty, left the inn quietly, and began a morning run without his sword.
• Shira ran through Konoha and headed toward its training grounds, thinking about meeting Rock Lee.
• Shira passed the Ninja Academy and heard students taunting a boy for being unable to use Ninjutsu and for being a dead last.
• Shira froze outside the Academy wall as the students' words brought back memories of contempt at Sunagakure's Ninja Academy.

Shira tried to vault the Ninja Academy wall after hearing students mock someone, but an electric shock sent him crashing onto the grass. As he recovered, he sensed a strange stirring in his right arm before deciding to try entering through the regular way.

• Shira rushed toward the Academy wall, intending to land beside the person being mocked.
• An electric current shocked Shira when he touched the wall, ruining his vault and making him crash onto the grass.
• Shira struggled to sit up as nearby villagers watched him, embarrassed and furious about the Academy’s electrified wall.
• Shira sensed something faintly awakening in the muscles and meridians of his right arm, but the feeling quickly disappeared.
• Shira brushed himself off and decided to try entering the school normally.

Shira waited outside the Ninja Academy all day, training while he searched for Rock Lee, but failed to spot him among the students. At sunset, he learned Lee was still running at the training ground behind the academy and set off to find him, puzzled when the girls who told him ran away.

• Shira waited by the academy gate and completed hundreds of push-ups and squats while searching for Rock Lee.
• Shira continued training through the day, eating dried meat and drinking water as students passed and watched him.
• At dismissal, Shira searched the departing students but found no sign of Rock Lee.
• Shira overheard girls say Rock Lee was still running at the training ground behind the academy.
• Shira stopped the girls to ask about Lee, but they nervously pointed toward the training ground and fled.
• Shira watched them run away and wondered why they found him frightening.

Shira waited outside the school for Rock Lee, then finally spotted him leaving after training and rushed over to greet him. Lee was startled and confused by Shira’s excited, personal outburst.

• Shira watched the school gate and searched for a way to get inside without being stopped by the guard.
• As the school emptied and the sun set, Shira worried that Lee had already left by another route.
• Rock Lee jogged out of the school, sweaty but bright-eyed after training.
• Shira hurried up to Lee, shouted his name, and said he had finally found him and had been through a lot.
• Lee blinked at the unfamiliar boy and answered with a bewildered “Huh?”