Recaps

Ao led Team 7 out of Kirigakure and tested Kei, Mei Terumi, and Kisame Hoshigaki’s speed and endurance. After Kisame outlasted his teammates, Ao stopped them to rest and explained that their first assignment would be a C-rank mission.

• Kei, Mei Terumi, and Kisame Hoshigaki met Ao at Kirigakure’s gates, and the team departed after registering with the guards.
• Ao increased their pace during the journey to test their speed and endurance, and all three pushed themselves to keep up.
• As the young ninjas neared their limits, Kisame maintained a lead while Kei and Mei Terumi fell behind.
• Ao stopped the run when Kei and Mei Terumi could barely continue, and Kisame took satisfaction in finishing ahead of Kei.
• Ao led the team to a clearing, where he announced that their first assignment would be a C-rank mission.

Ao led Kei, Mei Terumi, and Kisame Hoshigaki on their first mission: investigating a series of deaths on Kujiraai Island. They reached Fuyuki Castle at sunset and met Shinji Akita, who prepared to guide them to the island.

• Kei, Mei Terumi, and Kisame Hoshigaki questioned whether the deaths and missing investigators made the C-rank mission more dangerous than its classification suggested.
• Ao provoked the three into affirming they would carry out the mission and led them toward Fuyuki Castle.
• Ao and his team reached Fuyuki Castle after more than five hours of travel.
• Shinji Akita introduced himself as their guide to Kujiraai Island and invited Ao's team to set out.

Kei and his team traveled with Shinji Akita to Kujiraai Island to investigate a series of murders that had alarmed Fuyuki Castle. After arriving quietly at night, they met the island’s security officer, and Shinji asked whether anything unusual had happened recently.

• Shinji Akita led the group from Fuyuki Castle to a steamship bound for Kujiraai Island.
• The chapter explained that the island’s people still identified as citizens of the former Land of Whales and resisted outside administration through noncooperation.
• A string of murders, including the killing of a Land of Water official, prompted Governor Hirogane to request a Kirigakure investigation.
• Kei and his teammates arrived on Kujiraai Island late at night and felt nervous about their first real mission.
• Man greeted Shinji Akita at the port, and Shinji asked him about recent unusual events on the island.

Shinji Akita and the Kirigakure ninja arrived on Kujiraai Island to investigate a series of murders, while Matou and his followers landed elsewhere to advance their plan to restore the Land of Whales. The chapter left Matou concerned that the arriving Mist Ninja could disrupt his plans.

• Man told Shinji Akita that the murders had claimed more than a hundred lives, including an entire household, and accepted responsibility for the unsolved killings.
• Shinji Akita said the investigation would begin with reviewing the case files at the security garrison, and Kei noticed Man secretly glance at Ao.
• Matou arrived on Kujiraai Island and was welcomed by his hidden followers, whom he praised for helping him prepare to restore the Land of Whales.
• Aguang reported that the planned killings were complete and explained that he had destroyed the Yamamoto Clan after it refused to support Matou.
• Aguang warned Matou that Hirogane had sent for Kirigakure ninja and that their arrival might threaten the plan.

Matou prepared to reclaim the Land of Whales with Hato, a Kumogakure Jonin, and eight Cloud Ninja, creating a lethal threat to Team 7. Unaware of the danger, Team 7 began investigating the Yamamoto family murders and found signs that the killer might have been a ninja.

• Matou asked Hato whether his forces could overcome the opposition, and Hato promised to eliminate any enemy force of up to two Jonin or three squads.
• Hato revealed that he had brought eight Cloud Ninja, while Kumogakure hoped the mission would help establish a stronghold near the Land of Water.
• Team 7 and Captain Akita Saemon spent the night reviewing case files but could not determine whether ninja were behind the killings.
• At daybreak, Team 7 escorted Captain Akita to the Yamamoto residence, where Man opened the gate and the group encountered a powerful stench of blood.
• Kei assessed the clean, efficient massacre and considered whether the killer was a ninja from a great or small village, or a wandering ninja.

Ao and Shinji Akita investigated the massacre of the Yamamoto family and concluded that the killings might involve ninja, though evidence suggested the victims may have let their attackers inside. As the possibility of a wider plot grew, Akita organized a broader investigation and requested reinforcements.

• Ao told Shinji Akita that the clean, efficient killings suggested ninja, but traces at the entrance also supported the possibility that the victims had invited their killers in.
• Ao and Shinji Akita connected the Yamamoto family massacre to the previous investigative officer’s death and feared the killers were concealing a larger plot.
• Shinji Akita proposed splitting the team to investigate the previous officer’s death, earlier killings, and the island’s important figures.
• Shinji Akita said he would contact the city commander for several hundred additional troops, and Ao agreed to investigate the previous officer’s death with him.

Ao divided the investigation team to protect island families and investigate earlier deaths, while Matou and Hato launched their plan to seize the island and restore the Land of Whales. Hato targeted Ao’s group first and sent subordinates after Kei and Mei Terumi, leaving the teams moving into an ambush.

• Ao assigned Mei Terumi and Kei to contact and protect family members, sent Kisame to investigate earlier deaths, and agreed on the plan with Shinji Akita.
• Matou learned the island’s situation and, with Hato’s Cloud Ninja squad, began the final stage of his plan to reclaim the Land of Whales.
• Shinji Akita split the group: Ao accompanied him to investigate the previous officer’s death, Kisame headed east, and Kei and Mei Terumi went south with Man.
• Ao warned his subordinates that the mission was likely B-rank but remained confident in their abilities.
• Hato decided to kill the Mist Ninja before they could call for reinforcements, leading a team toward Ao while sending subordinates after Kei and Mei Terumi.

Kei and Mei Terumi escorted Man while investigating the sudden murders, but Kei remained suspicious of how normal the public security officer seemed. Their discussion was interrupted by an ambush, and the chapter ended with them facing three Cloud Ninja.

• Kei questioned Man about the sudden deaths, and Man said the incidents had begun without warning and worried about being punished for failing to protect the investigators.
• Kei privately doubted Man's overly normal behavior, while Mei Terumi watched for his reaction and trusted Kei's instincts.
• Kei sensed an attack, warned the others, and used Water Release: Water Formation Wall Technique to block a volley of kunai and shuriken.
• Mei Terumi moved to protect Man as he drew his blade and braced himself.
• Kei and Mei Terumi recognized three approaching attackers as Cloud Ninja and prepared to fight without expecting reinforcements.

Kei and Mei Terumi confronted three Cloud Ninja, with Kei taking on their leader while Mei intercepted the other two. Kei revealed his Wind Release and Ice Release, then froze the blue-haired Cloud Chunin into an ice sculpture.

• Kei rushed to fight the blue-haired Cloud Ninja while Mei Terumi moved to intercept the other two attackers.
• The blue-haired Cloud Ninja used Lightning Release, but Kei countered it with Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.
• Kei and the blue-haired Cloud Ninja clashed, and Kei matched the Chunin's strength.
• Kei formed ice across the ground and trapped the Cloud Ninja's feet.
• Kei overwhelmed the Cloud Ninja and encased him in ice.

Kei killed a Kumogakure Chunin while Mei Terumi defeated two more Cloud Ninja and caught the security commissioner, Man. Their interrogation revealed that the former prince Matou had allied with the Cloud Ninja to reclaim the Land of Whales, and Kei and Mei planned to gather information and support Ao-sensei and Kisame.

• Kei froze the blue-haired Cloud Ninja and shattered the ice sculpture, killing him.
• Mei Terumi defeated two Cloud Ninja, killing one with Boil Release and incapacitating the other, while Kei discovered that Man had tried to attack her.
• Kei and Mei questioned the surviving Cloud Ninja and Man, but the Cloud Ninja stayed silent while Man revealed everything he knew.
• Man revealed that former prince Matou had allied with the Cloud Ninja to reclaim the Land of Whales and had targeted people who betrayed the country or refused to cooperate.
• Kei and Mei decided to gather more information and support Ao-sensei and Kisame, while Kei concluded that their final payment would need to be recalculated.

Kei and Mei Terumi discovered that Prince Matou planned to seize control of the Land of Whales and hurried to support Ao, who was being overwhelmed by Cloud Ninja. After helping him escape the encirclement, the team prepared to fight on against Hato and the three remaining Cloud Ninja.

• Kei and Mei Terumi decided to pursue Prince Matou and left the unconscious, bound public security commander for Fuyuki Castle to handle.
• Kei and Mei Terumi sensed a powerful battle and rushed to find Ao, Shinji Akita, and the others.
• Kei and Mei Terumi found Ao badly wounded and surrounded by Hato and three Cloud Ninja, while Shinji Akita and his guards lay dead.
• Kei and Mei Terumi attacked with Ice Release and Water Release, disrupting the Cloud Ninja long enough for Ao to break free.
• Ao told Kei and Mei Terumi to fight the three Cloud Ninja while he faced Hato.

Kei and Mei Terumi fought Hato’s Cloud Ninja squad while Ao confronted Hato to keep him away from the younger Mist Ninja. Kei separated the Cloud Ninja with Ice Release and wounded one of them, as Ao and Hato’s battle intensified.

• Hato recognized Kei and Mei Terumi as a threat and ordered three Cloud Ninja to keep Ao occupied while he attacked the pair.
• Ao intercepted Hato’s strike, and Kei and Mei Terumi rushed toward the three Cloud Ninja as planned.
• Ao used Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique to push Hato away and isolate their battle from the others.
• Kei used Ice Release: Icicle Technique to separate the three Cloud Ninja while Mei Terumi charged the stronger Chunin with Boil Release.
• Kei attacked the Cloud Ninja on the left, broke through his guard, and stabbed him in the arm.

Kei fought off two Cloud Ninja who launched a desperate pincer attack, then used Ice Release to kill them both. With the pair dead, the battle continued elsewhere, where Kei’s allies still faced Lord Hato.

• Kei blocked the Cloud Ninja’s coordinated attacks until he found an opening and used Ice Release to force them onto the defensive.
• Kei’s ice cones pierced the wounded long-haired Cloud Ninja, killing him.
• The scarred Cloud Ninja charged Kei in grief and anger, but Kei struck him in the abdomen and decapitated him with a kunai.

Kei killed two Kumogakure Genin, but Ao was gravely wounded after losing to Hato. Kei rescued Ao from Hato’s attack and faced the Jonin alone, ending with Hato’s blade striking toward Kei’s neck.

• Kei killed the two Kumogakure Genin and prepared to help Mei Terumi, who was locked in a drawn-out fight with another Chunin.
• Ao was thrown into view, badly wounded, as Hato prepared to strike him with Lightning Release: False Darkness Jutsu.
• Kei blocked Hato’s lightning with an Ice Release wall, attacked with Swallow Snow Storm Jutsu, and rushed to help Ao.
• Kei briefly tended to Ao’s wounds and settled him against a tree, but Hato charged in and threatened to kill him.
• Hato used lightning-enhanced speed to attack Kei, knocked aside his kunai, and thrust his short blade toward Kei’s neck.

Kei endured Hato’s close-range attack and unleashed his uncontrolled Ice Release power to stop the Kumogakure jonin from advancing. His Swallow Snow Storm Jutsu forced Hato onto the defensive, leaving the battle’s momentum with Kei.

• Hato stabbed Kei near the collarbone, but Kei grabbed his sword and spread ice across the blade and ground.
• Kei froze his bleeding wound shut and released the full force of his ice power to keep Hato at a distance.
• Hato recognized Kei as a powerful Yuki Clan talent and intensified his resolve to kill him.
• Kei unleashed a greatly strengthened Ice Release: Swallow Snow Storm Jutsu, sending enlarged ice spikes at Hato.
• Hato used Lightning Release: Lightning Descent Jutsu to hold back the spikes, but Kei’s attack forced him to retreat.

Kei’s Ice Release pushed Hato to unleash a dangerous, unfinished Lightning Release Armor. Hato tore through Kei’s ice-crystal bullets and closed in on him.

• Hato shattered the ice coating his sword and recognized Kei as a prodigy whose Ice Release could threaten the Yuki Clan’s limits.
• Hato resolved to kill Kei and covered himself in Lightning Release Armor despite its pain and risks.
• Kei sent ice-crystal bullets flying in an encirclement around Hato.
• Hato slashed through the bullets and advanced until he stood directly before Kei.

Kei defeated the Kumogakure Jonin Hato in a desperate clash, but suffered severe wounds and collapsed. Mei Terumi and Ao reached him and found him alive, while Hato had been frozen into an ice sculpture.

• Hato charged Kei with his lightning-clad blade, and Kei chose to face the attack rather than flee.
• Kei raised a barrier of ice crystals around himself, and Hato's blade struck the ice protecting Kei's throat.
• Kei twisted away from the deadliest part of Hato's strike, then engulfed Hato in a surging tide of ice that turned him into an ice sculpture.
• Kei collapsed from his injuries as Mei Terumi and Ao rushed toward him.
• Ao examined Kei's chest wound and determined that it was deep but had not damaged his internal organs.

After nearly dying from his wounds, Minazuki Kei regained consciousness in a house on Kujiraai Island and learned that Team 7 had secured the mission. The castellan of Fuyuki Castle had captured Matou and his followers, while Kei’s recovery began under Kisame Hoshigaki’s watch.

• Ao took responsibility for the mission’s unexpected difficulty and ordered the team to get Kei medical treatment.
• Mei Terumi carried the unconscious Kei to the eastern coast of Kujiraai Island with Ao and the others following.
• Kei endured a near-death experience before recovering consciousness in a house on the island.
• Kisame Hoshigaki told Kei that Ao was recovering and that Mei Terumi was helping the castellan of Fuyuki Castle.
• The castellan captured Matou and his subordinates, completing Team 7’s first C-rank mission.

After learning that the mission had ended successfully, Kei recovered from his injuries and reflected on his growth and mistakes in battle. Mei Terumi visited him the next morning, and he asked about Ao’s condition.

• Kisame Hoshigaki told Kei that the Cloud Ninja had been killed, Matou had been captured for judgment in the capital, and the governor had promised payment and help with Kirigakure.
• Kei relaxed, recognized that his control over Ice Release had improved, and fell asleep while Kisame stood guard outside his room.
• Kei woke at dawn and considered learning Medical Ninjutsu, refining his Ice Release, and choosing faster, more appropriate tactics in combat.
• Mei Terumi entered and asked how Kei’s wounds felt; she scolded him for downplaying injuries that had nearly killed him.
• Kei asked about Ao, and Mei Terumi teased him for worrying about his teacher while he was still recovering.

After recovering from the battle on Kujiraai Island, Kei returned to Kirigakure with Team 7. Ao reported the incident and arranged reinforcements, then sent the team home to rest while he briefed the village.

• Mei Terumi told Kei to focus on recovering while she, Kisame Hoshigaki, and Ao handled the mission’s remaining work.
• Kei spent three days recovering as the Land of Water’s daimyo ordered troops to Kujiraai Island and Ao alerted Kirigakure and requested Mist Ninja reinforcements.
• After the reinforcements arrived and treated Kei and Ao, Ao led Team 7 back to Kirigakure, where they arrived on January 18.
• Ao classified the mission as A-rank, told Kei, Mei Terumi, and Kisame Hoshigaki to rest, and left to report to the Mizukage.
• Kisame Hoshigaki left after giving Kei a pointed glance, and Mei Terumi suggested that Kisame might challenge him again.

After returning from a dangerous mission, Kei discussed the rising tensions with Mei Terumi and worried that war could break out between the great villages. Back at the Yuki Clan compound, he was summoned to meet clan head Minazuki Shun.

• Kei and Mei Terumi discussed the Cloud Ninja mission and the growing risk of the Third Shinobi World War.
• Kei left Mei Terumi and returned to the clan compound, reflecting on his need to improve after his battle with Hato.
• Kei checked in with Aunt Kiko, declined lunch, and unpacked at home.
• A young Mist Ninja arrived and told Kei that the clan head wanted to see him.
• Kei followed the young Mist Ninja to Minazuki Shun's residence in the innermost part of the Yuki Clan compound.

Kei met Minazuki Shun, the head of the Yuki Clan, who praised Kei’s mission performance and stressed that he should remember his clan ties. Shun revealed that someone outside the clan had arranged Kei’s team assignment, but withheld the person’s identity.

• A young Mist Ninja escorted Kei through the Yuki Clan’s guarded residence to meet its leader.
• Kei greeted Minazuki Shun formally, and Shun invited him to speak without such reserve because they were relatives through Kei’s father.
• Shun explained that Kei’s team assignment had not been arranged by the Yuki Clan, but by someone else in the village.
• Kei asked whether someone had deliberately placed him on a team with Mei Terumi and Kisame Hoshigaki under Ao’s leadership.
• Shun refused to name the person, called Kei the most outstanding member of the clan’s next generation, and urged him to remember his identity as a Yuki.

Minazuki Shun tested Kei’s loyalty and gave him a scroll containing the clan’s Ice Release knowledge, then discussed with Minazuki Sogen whether Kei was connected to Genji. Kei realized the meeting had been a test and suspected Genji was behind the attention on his team.

• Minazuki Shun praised Kei’s response about serving the clan and village, then gave him an Ice Release training scroll and offered the clan’s support.
• After Kei left, Minazuki Shun asked Minazuki Sogen whether Kei had a special connection with Lord Genji.
• Minazuki Sogen argued that Kei’s clean record and Minazuki surname meant Shun had little reason to suspect him.
• Minazuki Shun remained uneasy about the attention Genji and the other clans were paying to Team 7.
• Kei realized Shun had been testing him and guessed that Genji was connected to the team’s assignment.

Kei returned home still unsure why he had been chosen, but resolved to rise from being a pawn to the top of the world. At the Mizukage Building, Ao reported that Kumogakure might threaten Kirigakure, prompting Karatachi Yagura to reconsider the village’s strategy and summon senior figures.

• Kei questioned why he had been selected, then accepted that being useful as a pawn showed he had value and vowed to climb to the top.
• Ao gave Karatachi Yagura a detailed report about possible Kumogakure plans and affirmed that he would take responsibility for his intelligence.
• Karatachi Yagura told Ao to relay the information to Genji and ordered Juzo Biwa, Munashi Jinpachi, and Suikazan Fuguki summoned.
• Kirigakure’s senior clan leaders grew tense at the possibility of a Cloud Ninja invasion and set aside their disputes to unite against the outside threat.

Karatachi Yagura ordered extra elite troops to reinforce the northern maritime frontier, hoping to deter the Cloud Ninja without provoking a war. After watching for signs of wider mobilization, Kei felt reassured, and Team 7 left Kirigakure with Ao.

• Karatachi Yagura ordered around a thousand additional elite troops to reinforce the Land of Water's northern maritime frontier against a possible Cloud Ninja incursion.
• Kirigakure's leaders favored targeting Konoha or Sunagakure rather than committing to a war with the Cloud Ninja.
• Kei watched the Yuki Clan and Kirigakure for signs of emergency mobilization and relaxed when he saw none.
• Ao summoned Kei, Mei Terumi, and Kisame Hoshigaki after their rest in the village.
• Ao led Team 7 out of Kirigakure, with Kei, Mei Terumi, and Kisame Hoshigaki following him.