Recaps

Shin'un, Shiina Kō, and Yūichi reunited with Orochimaru at camp, where Orochimaru teased Yūichi about his embarrassing past and gave Shiina Kō a Wind Release scroll. Orochimaru led them to his enormous tent to discuss something, and Shin'un was stunned to find a Gundam inside.

• Shin'un brought Shiina Kō and Yūichi to greet Orochimaru, and Shin'un recalled that Orochimaru had once treated Yūichi after his behavior worsened during the war.
• Shiina Kō showed Orochimaru his progress with Wind Release, and Orochimaru gave him a scroll for Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.
• Orochimaru warned Yūichi to watch his mental state and embarrassed him by threatening to make him wear a mask and shorts again.
• Orochimaru asked Shin'un about injuring his arm with his own Lightning Release, then led the three students to his large tent.
• Shin'un entered the tent and was surprised to see what looked like a Gundam.

Shin'un examined a humanoid giant puppet with Orochimaru and discovered its weapon resembled an enlarged rifle. After narrowly avoiding an Explosive Tag trap, Shin'un reminded Orochimaru that he had called him to discuss something.

• Shin'un inspected the humanoid giant puppet and lifted a loose steel plate while Orochimaru explained its maintenance openings.
• Orochimaru warned Shin'un that Explosive Tags linked throughout the puppet would detonate if anyone tried to dismantle it, and Shin'un quickly lowered the plate.
• Orochimaru showed Shin'un the puppet's weapons, including a device that fired large-scale Wind Release Ninjutsu.
• Shin'un recognized the strange weapon as resembling an enlarged rifle and fell into thought.
• Shin'un reminded Orochimaru that he had called him to the tent, and Orochimaru confirmed he had a few things to tell him.

Orochimaru told Shin'un and his other disciples that the Third Hokage had ordered them to defeat the Sand Ninja within two months or Konoha would commit its last defensive forces to the war. Orochimaru and Shin'un agreed to try to secure victory before the village’s desperate gamble began.

• Orochimaru gathered Shin'un and the others in his living tent and discussed the war’s four-year duration.
• Orochimaru revealed that the Third Hokage had given the front two months to defeat the Sand Ninja, while Danzo and Root reinforced the fight against the Stone Ninja.
• Orochimaru explained that the Third Hokage was willing to risk Konoha’s remaining forces, accepting catastrophic casualties to preserve the village’s long-term strength.
• Shin'un recognized the logic behind the Third Hokage’s gamble but called it cruel to ordinary ninja.
• Orochimaru agreed with Shin'un that they should use the two-month deadline to prevent the final gamble from happening.

Shin'un and Orochimaru explained why Konoha could potentially end the war in the Land of Rain within two months, despite its strained resources and fighting on multiple fronts. Orochimaru revealed that one particular giant puppet had changed his plan, and he began describing the fortress-type puppet.

• Shin'un argued that Konoha had a strong chance of winning on the Stone Ninja front, where Tsunade, Hatake, and soon Danzo's Root forces were deployed.
• Orochimaru explained that Sunagakure's desert economy left it short of funds, and revealed that the Third Kazekage had been mining gold with Magnet Release to finance the war.
• Orochimaru said he had planned to prolong the fighting until the Sand Ninja's supplies ran out, but Konoha's own shortages and the Hokage's arrival forced him to reconsider.
• Shin'un guessed that the Sand Ninja's giant puppets had changed Orochimaru's plan, and Orochimaru clarified that one specific puppet was responsible.
• Orochimaru identified the three known giant puppet types and asked whether Shin'un had seen the fortress-type puppet.

Orochimaru explained the fortress-type giant puppet’s devastating attacks, layered defenses, and the losses his team suffered trying to destroy it. With only two months to win, he believed Shin'un’s Lightning Release: Lightning Strike might give Konoha a chance to defeat it.

• Orochimaru described the fortress-type giant puppet’s size, powerful Wind Release barrage, and slow movement.
• Orochimaru recounted how five barriers and a steel shell foiled his team’s attack, leaving only him and one elite jonin alive.
• Orochimaru explained that Konoha had avoided the puppet and struck Sunagakure forces and strongholds across the front instead.
• Shin'un pointed out that the strategy could only delay the war, and Orochimaru agreed they would need to confront the puppet within two months.
• Orochimaru suggested Shin'un could help destroy the puppet, and Shin'un identified the intended technique as Lightning Release: Lightning Strike.

Shin'un considered drawing chakra from the [Qi Sea] to destroy the fortress puppet, but worried that doing so might interrupt the space’s mysterious self-modification. A sudden thunderstorm gave him the chance to use Lightning Release: Lightning Strike instead, and Orochimaru began organizing a mission to destroy the puppet.

• Orochimaru asked Shin'un whether he could use Lightning Release: Lightning Strike to destroy the fortress puppet, and Shin'un considered the chakra he could draw from the [Qi Sea].
• Shin'un wondered whether using too much stored chakra would interrupt the [Qi Sea] as it changed after reaching its storage threshold.
• A thunderclap revealed heavy storm clouds overhead, and Orochimaru asked Shin'un to use them for Lightning Release: Lightning Strike.
• Shin'un agreed to use the natural lightning and leave the [Qi Sea] undisturbed, while Orochimaru ordered four Jonin squads to assemble for a mission.
• Shin'un told Shiina Kō and Yūichi to replenish their supplies and meet north of camp.

As Orochimaru led the Konoha Ninja at high speed toward the reported fortress-shaped puppet, Shin'un worked on an improvised version of Lightning Release: Lightning Strike. He had devised a way to combine parts of three Lightning Release techniques to gather lightning from the clouds, but the method remained exhausting and difficult to use.

• Orochimaru accelerated the group’s journey toward the fortress-shaped puppet as the thunderclouds began to weaken.
• Uchiha Yūichi enjoyed the fast pace while Shiina Kō and Shin'un kept up with the group.
• Shin'un repeatedly tested Lightning Release chakra in his palm, making adjustments until exhaustion forced him to stop.
• Shin'un planned to combine a Lightning Snake, a Lightning Net, and a Lightning Chain to gather and direct lightning at an enemy.
• Shin'un reasoned that currents flowing in the same direction could attract lightning, but worried that only he would understand how to use the improvised technique.

Orochimaru’s team confirmed the location and defenses of the Sand Ninja camp’s fortress-type puppet and prepared a coordinated attack. As the large Konoha force arrived to draw the enemy’s attention, Shin'un and Jonin Mōri remained behind to approach the puppet.

• Jonin Kudo sensed the Sand Ninja camp and reported that its fortress-type puppet stood on the eastern outskirts, guarded by over six hundred Sand Ninja and several giant puppets.
• Orochimaru sent Jonin Amuro to bring the Konoha force forward and assigned Jonin Mōri to take Shin'un close to the fortress puppet once the attack began.
• Shin'un calculated that the thunderclouds would let him perform his ninjutsu in four or five minutes, and Orochimaru ordered him to destroy the puppet within seven minutes of the battle starting.
• Jonin Amuro returned with 1,078 Konoha Ninja, whose approach alerted the Sand Ninja camp and created the intended distraction.
• Orochimaru and the others ran to join the Konoha force, leaving Shin'un and Jonin Mōri behind.

Shin'un and Jonin Mōri watched Orochimaru’s forces engage the Sand Ninja and saw Orochimaru summon Manda to fight the giant puppets. With the Sand Ninja focused on the battle, Shin'un and Mōri began infiltrating underground toward the fortress-type puppet.

• Orochimaru led over a thousand Konoha ninja in an attack on the Sand Ninja camp, prompting the Sand Ninja to send out their fighters and giant puppets.
• Shin'un and Jonin Mōri observed the battle as the Sand Ninja’s giant puppets overwhelmed Konoha’s attempts to surround them.
• Orochimaru summoned Manda, who struck a humanoid puppet and charged after it.
• Shin'un decided to use the distraction to approach the fortress-type puppet, and Jonin Mōri agreed to take him underground.
• Jonin Mōri used the Hiding Like a Mole Technique to sink them into the ground and warned Shin'un not to move while they were underground.

Shin'un and Jonin Mōri emerged behind the fortress-type puppet, where Shin'un began controlling lightning in the thunderclouds to prepare an attack. The puppet and nearby Sand Ninja noticed them, leaving Jonin Mōri to hold off danger while Shin'un gathered power for his strike.

• Jonin Mōri carried Shin'un underground and brought him up close behind the fortress-type puppet.
• Shin'un formed a thin Lightning Snake and sent it into the thunderclouds to connect with the lightning there.
• Shin'un warned Jonin Mōri that he could no longer conceal his Ninjutsu, and his lightning column drew the attention of Sand Ninja and the fortress-type puppet.
• Shin'un spread tiny currents through the thunderclouds and began guiding their lightning into massive charged balls.
• Shin'un fixed his gaze on the fortress-type puppet and prepared to unleash the gathered lightning upon it.

Chiyo halted the fortress puppet after detecting faint chakra signatures and saw a massive lightning pillar behind it. As Mōri struggled to defend Shin'un from the puppet’s wind barrage, Shin'un unleashed natural lightning against the fortress puppet.

• Chiyo noticed faint chakra signatures behind the fortress puppet, then halted it when a huge lightning pillar appeared.
• Chiyo aimed the fortress puppet’s cannons at the lightning’s base and ordered a volley of wind release attacks.
• Mōri fired a signal flare for Orochimaru and raised an Earth Flow Rampart to shield himself and Shin'un.
• The fortress puppet’s wind attacks demolished Mōri’s rampart, but Shin'un used lightning to disperse the barrage.
• Shin'un sent lightning chains around the fortress puppet and unleashed a storm of natural lightning that engulfed it.

Shin'un destroyed the fortress puppet with a devastating natural lightning attack, but its remains began shaking as something emerged from inside. The chapter ended with a massive figure leaping out of the wreckage, shocking Jonin Mōri.

• Jonin Mōri praised Shin'un's Lightning Release as Shin'un continued bombarding the fortress puppet with natural lightning.
• Shin'un concentrated the remaining lightning into a dense pillar that struck the fortress puppet and left it half-melted and nearly destroyed.
• Shin'un confirmed the fortress puppet could not be repaired and prepared to head toward Orochimaru's battlefield.
• Shin'un and Jonin Mōri noticed the puppet's red-hot shell shaking, and Shin'un guessed that something was hidden inside.
• A massive figure burst out of the fortress puppet's remains, and Jonin Mōri cried out in shock.

After destroying the fortress-shaped puppet, Hirakawa Shin'un faced the Sand Ninja's unfamiliar Valkyrie Puppet and discovered that Granny Chiyo was piloting it. Chiyo conjured a massive wind blade and challenged Shin'un to prove the strength behind his new nickname.

• Jonin Mōri recognized the golden-yellow humanoid puppet as unlike any of the Sand Ninja's previously revealed giant puppets, while Shin'un examined its distinctive design and damage.
• The Valkyrie Puppet spoke, and Shin'un and Mōri realized its pilot could communicate from inside it.
• Shin'un identified the pilot as Granny Chiyo, and she recognized him as Hirakawa Shin'un, the Lightning Kid.
• Chiyo controlled the Valkyrie Puppet to form a huge wind blade from gathered air currents and demonstrated its power by cutting the fortress wreckage.
• Chiyo dubbed Shin'un the Thunder-Wielding Ninja, pointed the wind blade at him, and challenged him to fight.

Shin'un confronted Chiyo’s damaged Valkyrie puppet, but she turned toward the main battlefield instead of fighting him. When Shin'un pursued, the puppet revealed it could fly, and he prepared to strike it with Lightning Release: Great Lightning Spear.

• Shin'un assessed the Valkyrie puppet’s wind blade and warned Jonin Mōri to leave and report to Orochimaru.
• Jonin Mōri departed, and Shin'un charged the Valkyrie puppet with Lightning Body Flicker.
• Chiyo turned the Valkyrie puppet toward Orochimaru’s battlefield and fled rather than fight Shin'un.
• Shin'un accelerated after the puppet and began forming hand seals for Lightning Release: Great Lightning Spear.
• The Valkyrie puppet opened four pipes in its back and used their thrust to take flight.
• Shin'un shielded himself from the gusts and hurled the Lightning Spear at the airborne puppet.

Shin'un damaged the Sand Ninja fortress puppet with a lightning attack, but Granny Chiyo escaped in the Valkyrie Puppet and flew toward Orochimaru’s battlefield. The Valkyrie Puppet then severed most of Manda’s tail, causing the injured summon to disappear and leaving Orochimaru falling through the air.

• Shin'un struck the Valkyrie Puppet with a Lightning Spear, but Granny Chiyo regained control and flew out of his range.
• Shin'un’s prepared lightning engulfed the fortress puppet and melted away nearly half its body.
• Orochimaru watched the fortress puppet’s destruction and hoped it would help Konoha win quickly.
• The Valkyrie Puppet arrived, and Manda swung his tail at it despite Orochimaru’s warning.
• The Valkyrie Puppet dodged Manda’s attack and cut most of the way through his tail, prompting Manda to vanish and Orochimaru to fall.

Orochimaru faced Chiyo’s airborne Valkyrie Puppet while Shin'un arrived to stop the damaged giant puppets from reaching the battlefield. After learning the Valkyrie Puppet had emerged from the fortress-type puppet, Orochimaru noticed yellow desert sand within it.

• Orochimaru dodged the Valkyrie Puppet’s wind blade by using snakes to pull himself onto a damaged giant puppet, then disabled its reaching hands with Lightning Release.
• Chiyo ordered the remaining giant puppets to support the battlefield and told Orochimaru to move, but he refused.
• The Valkyrie Puppet slashed the damaged puppet beneath Orochimaru, and it began limping toward the battlefield.
• Shin'un pierced the puppet’s lower abdomen with a Lightning Spear, stopping it, then joined Orochimaru.
• Shin'un told Orochimaru the Valkyrie Puppet had come out of the fortress-type puppet, and Orochimaru noticed yellow sand from the desert.

Orochimaru and Shin'un realized the Valkyrie Puppet contained the One-Tail and that Chiyo was threatening to release it to force both armies to withdraw. Orochimaru ordered a retreat signal, then secretly planned for Shin'un to attack the seal once the Konoha forces were safely distanced.

• Shin'un and Orochimaru deduced that the One-Tail was sealed inside the Valkyrie Puppet and that Shin'un's attack had damaged its seal.
• Orochimaru rejected releasing the One-Tail while the battle continued, and the Valkyrie Puppet flew toward the battlefield.
• Chiyo ordered the Sunagakure ninja to withdraw and pointed the puppet's wind blade at its abdomen, threatening to break the seal.
• Orochimaru fired a blue signal flare, and the Konoha ninja began separating from the Sunagakure forces.
• Orochimaru quietly told Shin'un to attack the Valkyrie Puppet's abdomen with his Lightning Pillar after the armies had moved apart.

Shin'un redirected Chiyo’s wind blade and struck the Valkyrie Puppet with Lightning Release, freeing the One-Tail. As the One-Tail attacked the Sand Ninja, Chiyo was trapped inside the puppet and roared Shin'un’s name in fury.

• After the Konoha and Sand Ninja forces withdrew from each other, Shin'un and Orochimaru exchanged a nod and prepared to attack the Valkyrie Puppet.
• Shin'un struck the puppet with Lightning Release: Lightning Pillar and deflected its wind blade, limiting Konoha’s casualties to a dozen seriously injured ninja.
• Orochimaru led the Konoha group away while Shin'un stayed to watch the One-Tail emerge from the puppet.
• The freed One-Tail attacked the Sand Ninja with wind bullets while Chiyo remained trapped inside the puppet, unable to use sealing jutsu.
• Chiyo saw Shin'un watching from afar, lost the puppet’s chakra supply, and roared his name with killing intent.

Orochimaru and the surviving Konoha Ninja returned to camp after destroying the fortress-type puppet, while Chiyo remained trapped inside the One-Tail. A letter from Nara Shikahito proposed trapping the Sand Ninja in the Land of Rain to force Sunagakure to surrender, and Orochimaru set out to support the plan while leaving Shin'un in command.

• Orochimaru led the exhausted Konoha Ninja back to camp, where most dispersed to recover or continue their missions.
• A messenger delivered Nara Shikahito's letter, which said his force had entered the Land of Wind and could cut off the Sand Ninja's supplies.
• Shin'un read the proposal to surround the Sand Ninja in the Land of Rain and use them as leverage to make the Third Kazekage surrender.
• Orochimaru judged the plan worthwhile and said the Third Hokage would approve it, since it could secure greater concessions from Sunagakure.
• Orochimaru left with several ninja squads to assist Nara Shikahito and ordered Shin'un to trap the Sand Ninja on the Land of Rain battlefield while their command was in disarray.

After the Third Hokage approved Nara Shikahito’s plan, Shin'un became commander of the Sand Ninja front and summoned Shikaku Nara to help execute it. Shikaku analyzed the plan and realized Shin'un had called him in to handle the difficult planning.

• Shin'un received the Third Hokage’s letter approving Nara Shikahito’s plan and ordering Orochimaru and Hatake to assist in the Land of Wind.
• Shin'un struggled with his sudden appointment as commander, then found Shikaku Nara’s name on the roster and summoned him from Outpost 13.
• Shin'un welcomed Shikaku and explained Nara Shikahito’s plan to trap the Sand Ninja in the Land of Rain.
• Shikaku identified the plan’s logistical and tactical difficulties, then learned Orochimaru and Hatake had gone to the Land of Wind.
• Shin'un revealed that he had become the new commander and hinted that he had summoned Shikaku to help with the plan.

Shin'un led an elite Konoha force in a campaign to destroy the Sand Ninja’s giant puppets while Shikaku’s strategy cut off their supplies and escape routes. After defeating another puppet and signaling a retreat, Shin'un and the Sand Ninja withdrew, with both sides avoiding unnecessary deaths.

• Shin'un pierced a giant humanoid puppet’s wind attack with his lightning spear, killed its puppeteer, and recorded it as his twenty-ninth kill.
• Shikaku Nara’s plan used Konoha teams to draw Sand Ninja forces together while Nara Shikahito cut off their supplies and retreat routes.
• Shin'un spent six days leading five hundred elite ninja to attack Sand Ninja outposts and destroy their giant puppets one by one.
• Konoha ninja dismantled the fallen puppet, and Shin'un fired a crimson signal flare to order his force to retreat.
• The Konoha and Sand Ninja forces stopped fighting and pulled back after seeing the signal, as both sides sought to avoid needless deaths.

Shin'un learned that Chiyo had escaped the One-Tail and turned back toward camp as he anticipated a Sand Ninja counterattack. Chiyo reviewed Sunagakure’s dire situation and ordered one final fight.

• Shin'un received Shikaku Nara’s report that Chiyo had escaped the One-Tail, which remained unsealed after destroying most of the Sand Ninja’s giant puppets.
• Shin'un reasoned that Chiyo would unite the Sand Ninja and discover Nara Shikahito’s plan, then redirected his group toward camp.
• Chiyo awoke in a Sand Ninja camp, asked for food, and summoned Jonin Sakura and others to bring recent intelligence.
• Chiyo learned that Sunagakure was cut off from supplies and retreat routes, had only nine giant puppets and fewer than three thousand ninja, and faced a wild One-Tail.
• Chiyo declared that the Sand Ninja had only one option left: to risk everything in a final fight.

Shin'un and Shikaku Nara assessed Chiyo’s possible moves after her escape and arranged to watch the routes toward the Land of Wind and Land of Rivers. Shin'un left to lead troops toward the Land of Wind, while Shikaku agreed to accompany Jonin Kudo’s patrol.

• Shin'un returned to camp and asked Shikaku whether Konoha should prepare for Chiyo’s counterattack.
• Shikaku and Shin'un discussed how Chiyo might attack Nara Shikahito’s forces, target their own troops, or secretly split and move the Sand Ninja.
• Shin'un proposed leading troops toward the Land of Wind to intercept Chiyo, and Shikaku assigned another group to patrol the Land of Rivers’ southern border.
• Shikaku chose Jonin Kudo to lead the border patrol and reluctantly agreed to serve as his adjutant.
• Shin'un and Shikaku set out to lead their respective forces, hoping the operation could help end the Second Shinobi World War.

Chiyo led a thousand Sand Ninja toward the Land of Wind as a diversion while two thousand more retreated separately, planning to escape through a coordinated attack with the Third Kazekage. At the border, her force encountered Konoha troops and the Kazekage’s unit ahead, but a powerful Lightning Release user appeared behind them.

• Chiyo explained to Jonin Sakura that Sunagakure could no longer win the war and that their force would draw Konoha’s attention while two thousand comrades withdrew.
• Chiyo told Sakura that she had arranged with the Third Kazekage to attack Konoha from the opposite side so her force could break through and retreat to the Land of Wind.
• Chiyo’s sensory Jonin detected over two thousand Konoha ninja ahead, including Orochimaru the Cold-Blooded and the Konoha White Fang.
• The sensory Jonin also detected the Third Kazekage and several hundred Sunagakure ninja beyond the Konoha force, and Chiyo ordered her troops to avoid getting bogged down and move toward the Land of Wind.
• The sensory Jonin detected a force approaching from behind and reported intense Lightning Release chakra from the Konoha Lightning Lord.

Chiyo led the Sand Ninja’s breakthrough against Konoha while the Third Kazekage’s iron sand devastated the opposing force. Orochimaru and White Fang joined forces to knock the Third Kazekage from the air, and Konoha Anbu trapped them together inside a barrier.

• Chiyo unleashed the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets, cleared a path through Konoha’s forces, and urged the Sand Ninja to push through without stopping.
• The Third Kazekage appeared above the battlefield and used his iron sand to crush a packed group of Konoha Ninja.
• Orochimaru summoned Manda and attacked the Third Kazekage alongside White Fang, whose slashes struck the Kazekage’s iron sand defense.
• White Fang used a shadow clone to attack from below, while Orochimaru’s snakes struck the Third Kazekage and sent him falling toward the ground.
• Konoha Anbu surrounded the falling Third Kazekage, Orochimaru, and White Fang and formed the Red Yang Formation barrier.