Recaps

Shin'un agreed to take Nawaki to the Land of Rain and prepared to return to the front lines the next morning. After packing his supplies, he checked the progress and effect of his loading [Diligent Study] skill.

• Shin'un agreed to Tsunade's request to have Nawaki report to him at Konoha's gates the next morning.
• Shin'un returned home, ate lunch, and told his parents he was heading back to the Land of Rain.
• Shin'un packed ten Senju Secret Medicine pills in a pouch and sealed the rest of his medicine chest into a scroll.
• Shin'un organized his ninja tools and equipment for the journey.
• Shin'un tried entering a ridiculous skill into the Skill Editor, but it could not load while [Diligent Study] occupied the progress bar.
• Shin'un saw that [Diligent Study] had reached 6% progress and read its effect, which greatly enhanced learning and research.

Shin'un considered how [Diligent Study] could boost his learning and research while recognizing that it could not replace innate talent. With his departure for the Sand Ninja front in the Land of Rain scheduled for the next morning, he rested and cherished his final quiet hours in Konoha.

• Shin'un reviewed how [Diligent Study] could make him highly capable in several subjects he studied diligently, including Sealing Jutsu, Medical Ninjutsu, and Lightning Release.
• Shin'un acknowledged that learning other chakra natures would remain difficult because he lacked talent for them, and he had no intention of spending a progress bar on another mastery skill.
• Shin'un rejected the idea of writing an all-powerful skill or one that patched the Skill Editor, fearing the long loading times and possible consequences.
• Shin'un reviewed [Extreme Reaction], [Lightning Release Mastery], and [Qi Sea], the three skills he had obtained by age thirteen.
• Shin'un looked out at the bright afternoon, then lay down to rest before leaving for the Land of Rain the next morning, possibly for two years.

Hirakawa Shin'un gathered a thousand ninja at Konoha’s gate to lead them to the Land of Rain, where they would join Nara Shikahito. When the assembled force ignored him, Shin'un used Lightning Release: Thunderclap to get their attention and ordered them to check their equipment before departure.

• Hirakawa Shin'un caught several Konoha ninja gossiping about his age and warned them that their carelessness could cost lives on the battlefield.
• Shin'un met with his eleven jonin command staff and ordered the ten battalion leaders to prepare their units to depart in formation.
• Shin'un learned from Shirai Rei that the troops were noisy because they did not yet respect him.
• Shin'un used Lightning Release: Thunderclap to silence the thousand ninja gathered before him.
• Shin'un used Shirai Rei's megaphone to order the ninja to inspect their equipment and depart in nine minutes.

Shin'un met up with his teammates and Nawaki before their deployment and ordered Nawaki to stay close to him on the battlefield. He examined the necklace Tsunade had given Nawaki, then learned from Shiina Kō that Kushina Uzumaki was grieving the recent death of her only relative in Konoha.

• Shin'un found Nawaki, Yūichi, Shiina Kō, and Kushina Uzumaki among the shinobi preparing to leave for the battlefield.
• Nawaki excitedly welcomed Shin'un and said he planned to charge at the front, but Shin'un told him to stay by his side.
• Nawaki lent Shin'un the necklace Tsunade had given him, and Shin'un sensed a small amount of Hashirama Senju's Wood Release chakra inside it.
• Shin'un noticed Kushina Uzumaki's unusual silence and pulled Shiina Kō aside to ask what was wrong.
• Shiina Kō told Shin'un that Kushina's only relative in Konoha had died a few months earlier.

Shin'un led a force of nearly a thousand Konoha ninja toward the Land of Rain after Kushina Uzumaki's behavior and heavy Anbu surveillance raised questions he chose not to answer for Shiina Kō. Near the border, scouts spotted a small Sunagakure force, and Shin'un ordered his army to advance and crush through it.

• Shiina Kō told Shin'un that Kushina Uzumaki had lost her only relative and was being watched by at least three Anbu squads, but Shin'un kept the Nine-Tails secret and sent her to fetch Yūichi and Nawaki.
• Three days later, Shin'un led nearly a thousand Konoha ninja toward the Land of Rain and ordered Shirai Rei to tell the squads to move stealthily.
• An Inuzuka Clan scout reported three Jonin, thirty-six Chunin, and an unknown number of Genin from Sunagakure ahead.
• Shin'un inferred that Konoha's defensive line was failing and ordered his force to head straight for the Sand Ninja and crush through them.

Shin'un led Konoha’s forces into the Land of Rain to pursue a fleeing group of injured Sand Ninja. He struck first with Lightning Release: Lightning Snake, killing some enemies and paralyzing most of the rest as the Konoha forces arrived to finish them.

• Shin'un ordered his communications unit to relay his commands, then hurried toward the Sand Ninja with the force and told Nawaki to stay back and observe the battle.
• An Inuzuka ninja reported the Sand Ninja were roughly two thousand meters away, while a Hyuga scout confirmed they were fleeing and slowed by injuries.
• Shin'un and his troops crossed into the Land of Rain, where the Hyuga scout reported the Sand Ninja were five hundred meters ahead.
• Shin'un used Lightning Body Flicker to close the distance and attacked the Sand Ninja with Lightning Release: Lightning Snake.
• Shin'un made the lightning snakes burst among the enemy, killing some Sand Ninja and paralyzing most of the rest.
• As the Konoha forces arrived, Shin'un ordered them to kill every remaining Sand Ninja.

Shin'un used Lightning Release to paralyze most of the Sand Ninja, allowing the Konoha Ninja to slaughter them and surround the remaining Sunagakure jonin. As one jonin fought desperately to break free, Shin'un prepared a Great Lightning Spear to meet his Wind Release attack.

• Shin'un maintained Lightning Release: Lightning Snake until the Konoha Ninja had finished killing the paralyzed Sand Ninja.
• Shin'un targeted the two remaining Sunagakure jonin and cast Lightning Release: Lightning Net to delay the one escaping the encirclement.
• The Konoha Ninja surrounded the fleeing Sunagakure jonin again, and he unleashed Wind Release techniques in a desperate fight for survival.
• The Sunagakure jonin spent nearly all his remaining chakra on three Wind Release techniques and charged Shin'un with a Wind Blade.
• Shin'un enlarged his Lightning Spear into Lightning Release: Great Lightning Spear and braced for the incoming wind blades.

Shin'un killed a Sunagakure jonin with Lightning Release: Great Lightning Spear, then directed the cleanup of the battlefield and checked on Nawaki. After Shirai Rei reported the route to Nara Shikahito’s front, Shin'un ordered the Konoha force to march there immediately.

• Shin'un pierced the Sunagakure jonin’s defenses with Lightning Release: Great Lightning Spear and killed him.
• Shin'un found that the other Sunagakure jonin had already been killed by Konoha ninja, then dispelled his spear and assessed its chakra cost.
• Shin'un found Nawaki and his two teammates fighting a Sand genin together and chose to leave them alone.
• Shirai Rei returned with the message-delivery squads and reported that Nara Shikahito’s temporary camp was about a day away.
• Shin'un ordered the Konoha ninja to set out toward the Sand front and reinforce Nara Shikahito.

Shin'un led Konoha reinforcements into a losing battle against Sunagakure and tore through the enemy ranks with powerful Lightning Release attacks. After killing around a hundred Sand Ninja, he paused to recover and found himself surrounded by three Sunagakure jonin.

• A Hyuga Clan scout reported to Shin'un that Konoha's defensive line was losing ground against the Sand Ninja.
• Shin'un ordered four battalions to attack the front while the remaining six circled around the battlefield's flanks, then took a Senju Secret Medicine pill.
• Shin'un led the frontal reinforcements into battle, charging ahead with Lightning Spear and killing more than a dozen Sand Ninja as he opened a path for Konoha.
• Shin'un used Lightning Release, his reaction ability, and battlefield weapons to kill around a hundred Sand Ninja and ease pressure on Konoha's forces.
• After his chakra began to run low, Shin'un stopped to recover, and three Sunagakure jonin surrounded him and launched their strongest attacks.

Shin'un survived a coordinated attack from three Sunagakure jonin by using Lightning Body Flicker to evade and kill one of them. After escaping an explosive tag, he killed a genin who charged at him and remained on the battlefield.

• Three Sunagakure jonin trapped Shin'un with Wind Release attacks, but his Lightning Ring Wall broke their first assault.
• Shin'un pushed Lightning Body Flicker to evade the Vacuum Sphere, suffering a long wound across his chest.
• Shin'un seized a nearby blade, electrified it to stun the Sunagakure jonin, and slit his throat with a kunai.
• Shin'un deactivated Lightning Body Flicker and saw that the other two attackers had been captured by Konoha ninja.
• Shin'un escaped an explosive tag with the Body Flicker Technique, then turned a charging Sunagakure genin's kunai against him and killed him.

Shin'un fought through the battle until the Sand Ninja retreated, then searched for his teammates and found Yūichi and Shiina Kō alive but exhausted. He discovered that Shiina Kō had a kunai embedded in her already-injured thigh and warned that she needed urgent treatment.

• Shin'un used a Lightning Release-enhanced blade to fight Sand Ninja across the battlefield despite his injured left leg.
• After hours of combat, the Sand Ninja commander ordered a retreat, and the exhausted Konoha Ninja let them go.
• Shin'un rested briefly, then searched the battlefield and found Yūichi, who had collapsed but was not seriously injured.
• Shin'un found Shiina Kō limping toward them with a bleeding thigh wound.
• Shin'un inspected the kunai still embedded in Shiina Kō's thigh and warned that she needed immediate treatment to protect her life and ninja career.

Shin'un took Shiina Kō to the camp for treatment, then reported to Nara Shikahito with the roster and records of the reinforcements he had brought. The chapter left Shin'un reporting the unit’s composition while Nara Shikahito sat injured in the command tent.

• Shin'un ordered Yūichi to search the battlefield for Nawaki while he carried the wounded Shiina Kō toward camp.
• A medical-nin examined Shiina Kō and directed Shin'un to a tent, where another medical-nin began treating her after she lost consciousness.
• Shin'un went to the command tent and found Nara Shikahito wounded and bandaged.
• Shin'un handed Nara Shikahito a sealing scroll containing the reinforcements’ roster and records, and reported their ranks and numbers.

After the battle, Shin'un learned that Chiyo had led the Sand Ninja’s frontal assault to avenge her son and daughter-in-law. He then found Nawaki emotionally shattered after both of his teammates died protecting him, and sent him away to recover in solitude.

• Nara Shikahito explained to Shin'un that Chiyo and Ebizo commanded the Sand Ninja, and that Chiyo’s revenge for Da and Raku had prompted the assault.
• Nara Shikahito told Shin'un that no mission was expected for the next two days, and Shin'un left the tent.
• Yūichi arrived carrying Nawaki and told Shin'un that Nawaki had watched both teammates die gruesomely while he escaped with minor injuries.
• Shin'un examined Nawaki, learned that Yūichi had already taken him to a medical-nin, and advised Yūichi to find him a quiet tent.
• Shin'un watched Yūichi take Nawaki away and reflected that Nawaki likely blamed himself for his teammates’ deaths.

Three months into the war, Shin'un returned from a successful mission to destroy a Sand Ninja supply outpost and learned that Konoha's front against the Rain Ninja had reached a ceasefire after the Hokage's three disciples earned the title of Sannin. He reported the mission to Nara Shikahito and was poised to ask for details about the Rain Ninja front.

• Shin'un ordered Hina Kō and Yūichi to register the captured supplies, refusing Yūichi's suggestion to keep some for themselves.
• Shin'un returned to the Konoha camp and dismissed the squads that had accompanied him on the mission.
• Shin'un overheard two chunin say that the Hokage's three disciples had held off the Demigod, earned the title of Sannin, and helped secure a temporary ceasefire with Amegakure.
• Shin'un used the Body Flicker Technique to reach Nara Shikahito's command tent and report the mission's casualties, dead Sand Ninja, and captured supplies.

Shin'un learned that Konoha had won on the Rain Ninja front and that Orochimaru was bringing reinforcements to the Sand Ninja battlefield. He realized that the three children Jiraiya had chosen to stay with were likely Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato.

• Nara Shikahito praised Shin'un for completing his mission without casualties and confirmed his perfect mission record.
• Nara Shikahito reported that Konoha had crippled Amegakure's forces, though Hanzo of the Salamander remained a formidable threat.
• Nara Shikahito told Shin'un that Orochimaru would arrive with two thousand reinforcements, while Tsunade was heading to the Stone Ninja front with a thousand.
• Shin'un asked about Jiraiya and learned that he had stayed in the Land of Rain to look after three children, despite the Hokage's objections.
• Shin'un left the tent and concluded that the children were likely Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato.

Shin'un and the others waited on a hillside for Orochimaru and the reinforcements, while Nawaki explained that he wanted to learn Shin'un’s Lightning Release because it looked powerful and cool. They spotted Orochimaru leading the two thousand Konoha ninja toward them.

• Nawaki asked Shin'un to teach him Lightning Release, but Shin'un reminded him to master Earth Release and Water Release first.
• Yūichi challenged Nawaki’s preference for Shin'un’s Lightning Release, and Shiina Kō pointed out that every chakra nature had offensive techniques.
• Nawaki explained that he wanted Lightning Release because he had seen Shin'un fight with a Lightning Spear, Lightning Snakes, and electricity surrounding his body.
• Shin'un reminded Nawaki that he and the others were waiting to welcome their teacher, and Nawaki settled down beside him.
• Shin'un sensed the approaching group, and the others saw Orochimaru leading a vast force of two thousand Konoha ninja toward the hillside.

Orochimaru arrived at the Konoha camp with over two thousand reinforcements and reunited with Shin'un and his other students, as well as Nawaki. Five days later, Nara Shikahito assigned Shin'un to lead five squads on a mission to steal intelligence from a Sand Ninja outpost, and the roster surprised him with Nawaki and Dan Katō.

• Orochimaru delivered the roster for the two thousand ninja to Nara Shikahito, who began verifying their identities.
• Orochimaru reunited with Shin'un, Yūichi, and Shiina Kō, praised Shin'un's growth, and reminded Nawaki to write to Tsunade.
• After five days of rest, Shin'un led his squad to Nara Shikahito, who ordered him to lead five squads in stealing intelligence from a Sand Ninja outpost.
• Shin'un read the mission roster and was surprised to see Nawaki and Dan Katō listed.

Shin'un assembled five squads for a dangerous mission to infiltrate Sand Ninja territory and obtain intelligence from an outpost. Meeting Dan Katō prompted him to reflect on how Nawaki’s survival might alter the futures of Tsunade, Dan, Minato Namikaze, and Orochimaru.

• Nara Shikahito explained why he had assigned Dan Katō to the mission and stressed that the intelligence was needed before Konoha launched an offensive.
• Shin'un gathered the ninja squads, warned Nawaki to be cautious, and waited for the final team to arrive.
• Dan Katō arrived with his squad, and Shin'un recognized him.
• Shin'un considered how Nawaki’s survival could prevent Tsunade’s grief and hemophobia, change Dan and Tsunade’s relationship, and reshape who became Hokage.

Hirakawa Shin'un led a Konoha team through Sand Ninja patrols toward a target outpost, using Dan Katō's Spirit Transformation Technique and a Hyuga ninja's Byakugan to avoid detection. They reached the outpost and discovered it held more than fifty Sand Ninja, with nearly two hundred enemies likely nearby, leaving Shin'un facing another difficult mission.

• Hirakawa Shin'un ordered Dan Katō to scout with the Spirit Transformation Technique, and Dan reported two Chunin patrol squads six hundred meters ahead and the outpost about half an hour away.
• Shin'un led the Konoha ninja past the patrol squads and ordered the Hyuga ninja to guide them through the enemy patrols using the Byakugan.
• The Hyuga ninja brought Shin'un's team close to the outpost but reported that they could not advance any farther without risking discovery.
• Shin'un climbed a tree and counted more than fifty Sand Ninja at the outpost, estimating that nearly two hundred were stationed there with the surrounding patrols.
• Shin'un reflected on the increasingly difficult missions Nara Shikahito had assigned him and considered how his strength had kept his completion record intact.

Shin'un learned that a barrier protected the intelligence tent in the Sand Ninja outpost after Dan Katō’s Spirit Transformation Technique infiltration failed. He decided to launch a frontal assault and assigned Nawaki’s squad to seize the intelligence once he destroyed the barrier.

• Shin'un had Dan Katō use the Spirit Transformation Technique to infiltrate the Sand Ninja outpost while Konoha ninja guarded his body.
• Dan Katō returned injured and reported that an invisible barrier around a central tent had stopped him from reaching the intelligence.
• Dan Katō told Shin'un that the protected tent was the only place in the outpost where the intelligence could be hidden.
• Shin'un ordered the Konoha ninja to prepare for a frontal assault on the outpost, which held over a hundred Sand Ninja.
• Shin'un gave blank sealing scrolls to the jonin leading Nawaki’s squad and ordered him to collect the intelligence after Shin'un destroyed the barrier.

Shin'un led a Konoha strike team into the Sand Ninja outpost while Dan Katō created a diversion, aiming to seize intelligence from a barrier-enclosed tent. After Shin'un and his allies defeated the tent’s guards, he prepared a Lightning Spear to attack the barrier.

• Shin'un assigned Nawaki's team twenty seconds to collect intelligence and ordered the rest of the Konoha ninja to rush the central tent and finish the operation within a minute.
• Dan Katō used the Spirit Transformation Technique to trigger an Explosive Tag at the far end of the outpost, drawing Sand Ninja away from the strike team’s route.
• Shin'un swallowed Senju Secret Medicine and led twelve Konoha ninja into the outpost, silently killing Sand Ninja who spotted them along the way.
• Four Sand Ninja teams guarding the central tent charged Shin'un’s group, and Shin'un used Lightning Release: Lightning Snake to paralyze all twelve guards so the Konoha ninja could kill them.
• Shin'un led the team toward the barrier-enclosed tent and formed Lightning Release: Lightning Spear on his right arm.

Shin'un led the Konoha Ninja in holding off the Sand Ninja while Nawaki's squad seized intelligence from the outpost. As the group escaped, Shin'un learned Dan Katō had been badly injured by a patrol and ordered everyone to keep moving toward him.

• Shin'un pierced the outpost's transparent barrier, allowing Nawaki's squad to enter the tent and collect documents, scrolls, and books.
• Shin'un delayed the Sand Ninja for twenty seconds with Lightning Release attacks while Dan Katō used Spirit Transformation to disrupt their ranks.
• Nawaki's squad emerged from the tent, and Shin'un ordered the Konoha Ninja to break out toward Dan Katō.
• An explosion near Dan Katō's body coincided with the Sand Ninja he controlled collapsing, and Shin'un realized something had happened to him.
• Hyuga Shin reported that a patrol had attacked Dan Katō's squad, badly injuring Dan Katō, and that other patrols were returning to the outpost.
• Shin'un ordered the group to stay on course and move faster toward Dan Katō.

Shin'un rushed to save Squad Katō and killed the Sunagakure jonin and two chunin attacking them. He found Dan Katō gravely wounded and ordered a Konoha chunin to carry him as they prepared to move before the surrounding Sand Ninja could react.

• Shin'un ordered the Konoha ninja to speed up as Hyuga Shin reported that Dan Katō's vital signs were fading and a Sunagakure squad was attacking him.
• Sand Ninja launched wind blades at the advancing Konoha group, and one nearly severed Nawaki's legs.
• Shin'un used Lightning Release: Lightning Spear to charge into the forest and found Dan Katō unconscious with a severe abdominal wound.
• Shin'un killed the Sunagakure jonin Hirakawa after his lightning spear pierced through the jonin's Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere.
• Shin'un killed the two remaining Sunagakure chunin and ordered a Konoha chunin to carry Dan Katō so the group could move quickly.

Shin'un used a Lightning Net to delay the pursuing Sand Ninja and led the surviving Konoha Ninja to temporary shelter. The group regrouped in a hollow tree, where Dan Katō remained gravely wounded and barely treatable.

• A Chunin carried the unconscious, gravely wounded Dan Katō as Shin'un led the Konoha Ninja away from the Sand Ninja outpost.
• The Sand Ninja ambushed the retreating group, wounding several Konoha Ninja and killing two.
• Shin'un created a Lightning Net barrier that briefly delayed the pursuers, giving the Konoha Ninja time to escape their attack range.
• Shin'un ordered Hyuga Shin to lead the group, and an hour later they hid in a hollow tree after shaking off the Sand Ninja.
• Shin'un told the ten Konoha Ninja to rest for half an hour while others struggled to treat Dan Katō's severe wounds.

Shin'un led the Konoha group as they waited for Dan Katō to die, then sealed his body and withdrew from Sand Ninja territory. After returning safely to camp, Shin'un and two companions went to report their completed mission to Nara Shikahito.

• Shiina Kō agreed with Shin'un that Dan Katō's severe internal injuries were unlikely to be survivable.
• Dan Katō stopped breathing, and a Konoha ninja confirmed his death.
• Shin'un ordered the group to leave, and two Chunin sealed Dan Katō's body in a scroll for return to Konoha.
• Shin'un led the remaining Konoha ninja out of Sand Ninja-controlled territory and bypassed patrol teams near the camp.
• The group reached Konoha's camp, where most of the squads dispersed while Shin'un, Yūichi, and Shiina Kō went to report to Nara Shikahito.