Recaps

Suikazan Fuguki asked Kei to assess whether the Sand Ninja would attack, and Kei advised Kirigakure to hold its foothold rather than retreat too soon. Suikazan Fuguki and the others accepted his recommendation and ordered Kei to relay their decision and send another report to the village.

• Suikazan Fuguki asked Kei how likely the Sand Ninja were to attack regardless of the cost.
• Kei argued that Kirigakure should keep its foothold and wait to see whether Rasa committed to a larger invasion.
• Kamijuya Nishizora and Suikazan Fuguki agreed with Kei, and Kaguya Mashin reluctantly nodded as well.
• Suikazan Fuguki ordered Kei to pass on the orders and have Nakamori send another message to the village.

The Mist Ninja reinforced and fortified their stronghold while Rasa weighed his options after learning of their preparations. He chose to advance cautiously into the Land of Rivers, leaving a full assault undecided, which pleased Suikazan Fuguki and the Mist Ninja.

• The Mist Ninja set traps around their stronghold as the Land of Rivers supplied them, believing they had the upper hand after the recent victory.
• Rasa learned that Mist Ninja reinforcements had arrived and that more were on the way, then hesitated to attack their defenses.
• Rasa ordered the Sand Ninja to advance along both flanks into the Land of Rivers and reestablish positions, but he did not decide whether to assault the stronghold.
• Suikazan Fuguki and the other Mist Ninja welcomed Rasa’s cautious strategy because it avoided the all-out battle they had feared.

Suikazan Fuguki waited for the Mist Ninja’s final reinforcements before confronting the Sand Ninja, while balancing the clans’ influence with his command authority. With Minazuki Fuuka supporting a cautious strategy, Fuguki began planning personnel assignments and operating areas for the coming war of attrition.

• Suikazan Fuguki ordered the Mist Ninja to strengthen their traps and reconnaissance while the Sand Ninja established forward bases in the southwestern Land of Rivers.
• The Mist Ninja received more than five hundred reinforcements, including members of the Yuki, Kaguya, and Hozuki Clans.
• Kaguya Mashin urged Fuguki to capture the Sand Ninja bases, but Fuguki argued that the Mist Ninja could afford to prolong the fight.
• Minazuki Fuuka stopped Mashin from objecting and supported Fuguki’s cautious approach, while urging care with personnel assignments and territory.
• Fuguki began outlining his plans for the Mist Ninja’s personnel assignments and areas of operation.

After the strategy meeting, Minazuki Fuuka persuaded Kaguya Mashin to avoid a clash with Suikazan Fuguki and preserve the clans’ ties with the village. Fuuka then met Kei, who had sought her out to discuss the Yuki Clan as the Third Shinobi World War began.

• Kaguya Mashin confronted Minazuki Fuuka for stopping the clans from pressing their advantage against the Sand Ninja.
• Fuuka argued that the Mist Ninja needed the village’s support and that the three clans would still receive most of the gains from the Land of Rivers.
• Kaguya Mashin reluctantly agreed to let the matter rest for now but warned that she would not yield on later disputes.
• The Mist Ninja expanded their outpost in the Land of Rivers to house hundreds of shinobi and added a simple sensory barrier.
• Kei waited for Minazuki Fuuka and greeted her, intending to discuss the clan’s position as the war’s opening skirmishes began.

Kei spoke with Fuka about his maturity, whether he had a connection to Genji, and the Yuki Clan’s delicate position in Kirigakure. Fuka began reassessing Kei as he explained the political signs behind the village’s changing situation.

• Fuka remarked that Kei seemed far older than his eight or nine years, and Kei replied that shinobi had to mature to survive.
• Fuka asked whether Kei had chosen Lord Genji, but Kei denied having a connection to him and challenged the idea that Genji would support a child.
• Fuka admitted her question had been presumptuous, and Kei said the clan’s concern was understandable given its delicate position.
• Kei cited Lord Mizukage’s policy adjustments and special conscription order as evidence of the village’s shifting politics, comparing the Yuki Clan’s situation with the Kaguya and Hozuki clans.
• Fuka studied Kei with renewed surprise as he recognized that relations between the three clans and Yagura were worsening and decided he had to act.

Kei sought to influence the Yuki Clan’s future and reached an understanding with Minazuki Fuuka. The next morning, he volunteered to join the Mist Ninja sent to intercept the Sand Ninja in the Land of Rivers.

• Kei told Fuka that the Yuki Clan needed to change course and asked to reach an understanding with her.
• Fuka considered Kei’s maturity and resolved to act on what she believed was best for the Yuki Clan.
• Kei left pleased that Fuka had recognized his views, though she had not pledged to follow him.
• The Mist Ninja departed the stronghold in three directions to intercept the Sand Ninja in the Land of Rivers.
• Kei volunteered to join the mission, determined to gain battlefield achievements and prestige.

As the war of attrition between Sunagakure and Kirigakure intensified in the Land of Rivers, Kei completed a difficult mission to intercept and kill five Sand Ninja. He burned their bodies and steeled himself to continue fighting.

• By April of Year 42, Sunagakure and Kirigakure had each suffered hundreds of casualties in the prolonged fighting across the Land of Rivers.
• Kei fought two Chunin and three Genin from Sunagakure in a valley, overcoming their teamwork and killing all five.
• Kei felt conflicted after killing the female Chunin but reminded himself that war meant kill or be killed.
• Kei used Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique to destroy the Sand Ninja's bodies and erase the traces of the battle.

Kei completed a mission against five Sand Ninja and returned to the Mist Ninja outpost to report his success and recover. His reputation continued to grow as Kirigakure kept launching offensive missions against the Sand Ninja.

• Kei watched the corpses burn, then returned to the outpost after completing his mission and spending a significant amount of chakra.
• Ichiro Kinoshita greeted Kei at the perimeter and told him to rest after hearing he had completed his objectives.
• Kei reported his mission to the outpost’s record keepers and handed over items taken from five Sand Ninja, along with their forehead protectors as proof.
• Kei returned to his quarters for a brief rest before his next mission, as Kirigakure continued its attacks rather than defending passively.

Rasa learned that Sand Ninja teams had suffered heavy losses to the Mist Ninja, likely at the hands of Minazuki Kei, and ordered reinforcements to the southeastern defensive line. He remained anxious about the war’s effect on his Kazekage succession prospects but could not settle on a plan to turn things around.

• Rasa received a report that Team 5 had been ambushed and nearly wiped out, while Team 13 had also been killed, likely by Minazuki Kei.
• Rasa recognized that Kei’s repeated attacks had become a political liability and that the Third Kazekage expected him to deliver results.
• Rasa ordered Moriyasurō’s team to abandon its operation and sent additional personnel to reinforce the southeastern defensive line.
• After the messenger left, Rasa worried that Pakura’s achievements on the northern front could weaken his own claim to succeed as Kazekage.
• Rasa considered several possible plans but discarded each one as too costly, slow, or risky.

After learning that Hatake Sakumo had died by suicide, the other great shinobi villages began mobilizing as tensions spread across the Shinobi World. Yagura ordered Suikazan Fuguki to investigate unusual Sand Ninja movements before deciding how Kirigakure should respond.

• Rasa received a coded message about a possible opportunity in a northern small country and ordered an immediate investigation.
• Hatake Sakumo’s suicide was confirmed, prompting Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Kirigakure, and Sunagakure to prepare for action.
• Kumogakure deployed troops near the Land of Fire, while Yagura mobilized Mist Ninja near the border and ordered an investigation into the Sand Ninja.
• Suikazan Fuguki showed Minazuki Fuuka the Mizukage’s orders to investigate the Sand Ninja and prevent them from gaining an advantage.

Suikazan Fuguki and Minazuki Fuuka assigned Kei to investigate rumors of advanced puppet technology in Rōran. Kei recognized the destination as the site of the dragon vein and welcomed the chance to investigate its power.

• Suikazan Fuguki explained that the Mist Ninja would send a small reconnaissance team to investigate reports of new puppet technology before Sunagakure could acquire it.
• Suikazan Fuguki proposed sending Kei, and Minazuki Fuuka agreed that he was suited to the mission.
• Suikazan Fuguki issued the orders, and Kei received them at his frontline stronghold that afternoon.
• Kei saw that the target was Rōran and suspected the mission involved the dragon vein.
• Kei considered the dragon vein's unusual power and reasoned that Minato Namikaze had sealed it because no one could control it.

Kei traveled to the Country of Roran to investigate its dragon vein and the new puppet technology, while pursuing his own ambitions. After learning that Mukade had arrived and seeing Rōran City, Kei began infiltrating the city, wary of Mukade’s remotely controlled puppets.

• Kei accepted the reconnaissance mission and traveled north to the Country of Roran.
• Kei disguised himself as a traveling merchant and questioned locals, learning that the previous queen had died and a minister was serving as regent.
• Kei concluded that Mukade had already arrived and that events in Roran differed from the original story.
• Kei hurried to Rōran City and admired its towering buildings before infiltrating the city.
• Kei prepared to watch for Mukade’s semiautomated dragon-vein puppets, which could act and relay information remotely.

Kei was caught in the Dragon Vein’s purple light in Rōran and woke up in a vast grassland, suspecting he had traveled through time or space. He reached a small town and began gathering intelligence to discover where and when he was.

• Kei found the outskirts of Rōran deserted and decided to investigate the central tower for intelligence.
• As Kei approached the tower, the Dragon Vein erupted in a spreading purple glow that engulfed him and knocked him unconscious.
• Kei woke on a vast grassland, checked himself for injuries, and suspected he had traveled through time or space.
• Kei crossed the grassland and a forest until he sensed people near a small town.
• Kei entered the town in disguise using the Transformation Technique and began gathering intelligence.

Kei discovered that he had arrived in an era roughly a thousand years before his own, when samurai and onmyoji existed but ninja and chakra did not. After identifying the Land of Spring as the future Country of Roran, he searched unsuccessfully for the Dragon Vein and considered asking powerful locals for help.

• Kei learned that the Land of Spring was a small nation in a world with no ninja, hidden villages, or chakra, though samurai and onmyoji existed.
• Kei deduced that he had traveled about a thousand years into the past and resolved to find the Dragon Vein so he could return to his own era.
• Kei surveyed the surrounding area and gathered maps to establish his location and narrow down where the Dragon Vein might be.
• After comparing maps from nearby nations, Kei identified the Land of Spring as the future Country of Roran.
• Kei searched for more than half a month but could not find or sense the Dragon Vein, so he considered asking powerful people of that era for help.

Kei went to the Land of Spring to seek help from its Deer God, whom he hoped could locate the Dragon Vein. After sneaking into the shrine, he met the god and offered to trade a favor for its help.

• Kei decided to seek out the gods worshipped by the various countries, despite the risks and uncertainty about their power.
• Kei learned in the Land of Spring's capital that the Deer God was worshipped as a deity of medicinal herbs and that the daimyo and shrine clergy came from the Nara Clan.
• Kei discovered that Nara Hanare, the daimyo's younger sister, served as the shrine maiden, then waited until night to slip past the guards.
• Kei entered the shrine's innermost hall and sensed that the Deer God was watching him.
• The Deer God appeared and questioned Kei about the unusual power in his body and whether he came from the planet.
• Kei declined to explain his origins and offered the Deer God a fair trade in exchange for help finding something.

Minazuki Kei negotiated with the Deer God for help finding the Dragon Vein, agreeing to reveal where he came from in exchange. The Deer God grew wary when Kei described the target as a special concentration of power.

• The Deer God questioned whether Kei had anything worth trading and asserted his pride as a god.
• Kei considered forcing the Deer God to help, but the Deer God offered assistance in exchange for a future condition and an explanation of Kei’s origins.
• Kei agreed to tell the Deer God where he came from if he helped find what he sought.
• The Deer God asked Kei’s name and what he wanted to find, and Kei identified himself as Minazuki Kei and described a special concentration of power in the Land of Spring.
• The Deer God reacted with surprise and suspicion, a trace of danger entering his gaze.

Kei suspected that his search for a special concentration of power had alarmed the Deer God, but he agreed to return in five days while searching the Land of Spring for clues. When he climbed back to the shrine, he found the guards gone and sensed a powerful presence watching him.

• Kei told the Deer God he sought a special concentration of power, and the Deer God agreed to search for it over five days.
• After Kei left, the Deer God suspected he might be connected to a clan associated with a mysterious tree and resolved to contact three others.
• Kei sensed danger from the Deer God and weighed confronting him or abandoning the search, then chose to wait five days and make preparations.
• Kei searched much of the Land of Spring during the five days but found no useful clues.
• Kei returned to the shrine, sent out four Ice Clones as an escape safeguard, and prepared the mountain's base before climbing.
• Kei found the mountain path empty and sensed an aura comparable to Rasa's strength locking onto him.

Kei reached the shrine clearing and found the Deer God with Gamamaru, the young Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku, who had helped locate the energy Kei sought. As Kei tried to secure the location and assess whether Kaguya had already arrived, Gamamaru secretly investigated Kei and the power within him.

• Kei reached the mountaintop and recognized Gamamaru beside the Deer God, then treated the Toad Sage as a dangerous enemy.
• The Deer God said Gamamaru had helped him find the special concentration of energy and denied abandoning his deal with Kei.
• Gamamaru introduced himself and claimed he had no ill will, while privately wondering whether Kei was connected to the God Tree draining the planet.
• Gamamaru considered using Kei to help the deities and special creatures oppose the God Tree, which they had failed to destroy.
• Kei asked the Deer God and Gamamaru to reveal the target's location and wondered whether Kaguya had already descended.

Kei told Gamamaru and the Deer God that he came from another planet and described how a God Tree had drained his world’s energy before producing a chakra-granting fruit. He left them with the warning that their own planet’s energy was being drained, while he insisted that his only goal was to reach the Dragon Vein and return to his original time and space.

• Gamamaru examined Kei’s composure and concluded that he was telling the truth about coming from another planet.
• Kei warned Gamamaru and the Deer God that a God Tree had drained the energy of his world and weakened its supernatural beings.
• Kei explained that the tree had borne a fruit that gave rise to chakra, after which two beings fought over it and the fruit merged into the planet.
• Gamamaru asked who the two beings were, but Kei said he did not know and emphasized that his own world’s history offered no certainty about them.
• Kei decided to avoid getting involved in the planet’s affairs and focus on reaching the Dragon Vein so he could return to his original time and space.

Kei demanded to return to his own planet and refused to help Deer God and Gamamaru with the God Tree, suspecting they wanted to study his chakra and claim its fruit. When Gamamaru and Deer God prepared to force him, Kei challenged them to a fight, with the loser agreeing to one condition.

• Kei said he wanted to return to his own planet, and Gamamaru warned that leaving would doom their world and its inhabitants to the God Tree.
• Kei angrily rejected Gamamaru's implied request for help and insisted he lacked the power to fight whoever was connected to the tree.
• Gamamaru asked to study the chakra inside Kei, and Kei realized the beasts hoped to learn about the God Tree or take its fruit.
• Gamamaru's aura grew threatening as Deer God moved into position, preparing to attack if Kei refused.
• Kei challenged Gamamaru and Deer God to fight, proposing that the loser agree to one condition from the winner.