Chapter Summaries

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.

Konoha trapped the Third Kazekage, Orochimaru, and Hatake Sakumo inside a Red Yang Formation, cutting off the Kazekage from his iron sand. As Chiyo led the Sand Ninja onward, she confronted Shin'un, whose attack tore apart one of her puppets before iron chains closed in behind him.

• Konoha Anbu raised the Red Yang Formation around the Third Kazekage, Orochimaru, and Hatake Sakumo, isolating them and causing the Kazekage's iron sand to fall.
• Chiyo steadied the panicked Sand Ninja and urged them to keep moving toward the Land of Wind while she prepared to face Shin'un.
• Chiyo ordered the Sand Ninja to scatter as Shin'un charged, and their clash began with his Lightning Spear damaging the dog-headed puppet.
• Shin'un escaped the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets' encirclement with Lightning Release: Lightning Ring and charged toward Chiyo.
• Chiyo coordinated her puppets to attack Shin'un from both sides, but he pierced and split the bull-headed puppet with a Miniature Lightning Spear.
• Iron chains launched from the bald puppet swept toward Shin'un from behind as he began to straighten up.

Shin'un fought Chiyo and her Chikamatsu Ten Puppets, using Lightning Release techniques to survive their attacks. He escaped the pull of Three Treasures Suction Crush and ended the chapter suspended above the battlefield, facing Chiyo.

• Shin'un dodged the puppets’ chains and blades, then pierced the dual-sword puppet’s chest with Miniature Lightning Spear.
• Chiyo pulled the damaged puppet away with Chakra Threads and trapped Shin'un in Three Treasures Suction Crush.
• Shin'un formed Small Lightning Chain Prison to block the puppets’ attacks and ensnare them.
• Shin'un yanked the puppet bearing “Dharma” out of the suction formation, breaking Three Treasures Suction Crush.
• Shin'un lifted himself into midair with lightning chains and looked down at Chiyo surrounded by her puppets.

Shin'un overwhelmed Chiyo and her puppets, then learned that Chiyo had left over two thousand Sand Ninja in the Land of Rain to make a detour toward the Land of Wind. He revealed that Shikaku had anticipated the plan and prepared to stop them, then resumed threatening Chiyo.

• Shin'un attacked Chiyo with lightning chains, destroying most of her puppets while she survived behind chakra shields deployed through her prosthetic right hand.
• Chiyo tried to make Shin'un pause by pointing out that she had brought very few Sand Ninja to the battlefield.
• Shin'un estimated that Chiyo had left over two thousand Sand Ninja in the Land of Rain and deduced that they planned to detour through the Land of Rivers toward the Land of Wind.
• Chiyo realized that fewer than a thousand Konoha ninja had arrived, leaving a larger force in the Land of Rain to block her plan.
• Shin'un revealed that Shikaku had guessed Chiyo's strategy and threatened to kill her as lightning gathered for another attack.

Chiyo used genjutsu to distract Shin'un while assembling part of the Valkyrie Puppet, but Shin'un quickly broke free and attacked her. Chiyo launched the puppet’s wind blade past him and across the battlefield toward the crimson barrier.

• Chiyo recognized that Sunagakure’s remaining two thousand Sand Ninja were at risk and began preparing a desperate move while Shin'un watched her.
• Chiyo’s genjutsu trapped Shin'un in a grotesque vision, but he broke it by forcing his chakra into a sharp jolt.
• Shin'un recognized the partly assembled Valkyrie Puppet and realized Chiyo had assembled only the parts needed to use its wind blade.
• Shin'un sent lightning chains toward Chiyo as she hurled the wind blade over his head and through the Lightning Chain Prison.
• The wind blade crossed the battlefield and struck the crimson barrier near the Land of Wind.

Shin'un watched Chiyo die, but her final act freed the Third Kazekage from the crimson barrier. The Third Kazekage attacked Shin'un, then tried and failed to save Chiyo before confronting him.

• Chiyo died after the Third Kazekage’s chakra escaped through cracks in the crimson barrier and summoned the scattered iron sand.
• The Third Kazekage broke through the barrier with a massive iron-sand spear and escaped while Orochimaru’s snake heads pursued him.
• The Third Kazekage searched the battlefield, spotted Shin'un, and attacked with Magnet Release: Iron Sand Shower.
• Shin'un protected himself with Lightning Release: Lightning Ring Wall and expanded it into a ring of lightning, but the Third Kazekage avoided harm.
• The Third Kazekage lifted Chiyo with iron sand and tried to heal her, but withdrew when he could not save her.
• The Third Kazekage asked Shin'un whether he was the Konoha Lightning Lord and whether he had fought Chiyo.

Hirakawa Shin'un and Konoha’s forces forced Sunagakure to surrender, bringing the war in the Land of Rain to a close, while the Third Kazekage escaped with the badly wounded Chiyo. Later, a ninja hawk arrived at Shin'un’s camp as he worked on a sealing formula, and Yūichi teased him about the interruption.

• The Third Kazekage chose to surrender the remaining Sand Ninja after Chiyo neared death and Konoha reinforcements arrived.
• The Third Kazekage fired a yellow flare, prompting most of the Sand Ninja to surrender, then escaped into the sky with Chiyo.
• Orochimaru and Hatake Sakumo told Shin'un that they had never expected to kill the Third Kazekage and noted that Sunagakure's defeat marked the end of the Second Shinobi World War.
• A ninja hawk flew into the camp toward Shin'un while he worked on a sealing formula, and Yūichi teased him about receiving a letter from Shikaku.

Shin'un received news that Shikaku had blocked Chiyo’s two thousand Sand Ninja from escaping through the Land of Rivers, leaving them stranded without supplies in the Land of Rain. He reported the news to Nara Shikahito, who concluded that Konoha was the only winner of the Shinobi World War.

• Shin'un read Shikaku’s message and told Yūichi that the Sand Ninja had been forced back to their original camp, where their lack of supplies left them at Konoha’s mercy.
• Shin'un urged Yūichi to take responsibility for his newly assigned teammates and help them work together; Yūichi promised he would get along with them.
• Shin'un joked that Yūichi would have much in common with a Genin named Might, then told him to find his teammates and left to report to the central tent.
• Shin'un arrived at the central tent and informed Nara Shikahito that Shikaku had blocked the two thousand Sand Ninja.
• Nara Shikahito relaxed and declared that, with the Sand Ninja in Konoha’s hands, Konoha was the only winner of the Shinobi World War.

Shin'un and Nara Shikahito discussed how to manage more than two thousand captured Sunagakure ninja and the growing anger Konoha's forces felt toward them. They rejected relying on a Hokage order to protect the prisoners, fearing it would turn suppressed hatred into resentment toward the Hokage.

• Nara Shikahito asked Shin'un for ideas on housing the large number of Sunagakure prisoners, while explaining that neither Konoha nor the wider Shinobi World had handled so many captives before.
• Nara Shikahito complained that White Fang had left to handle Anbu missions and Orochimaru had shut himself away in a mud house to read instead of helping.
• Nara Shikahito told Shin'un that Konoha ninja were demanding revenge on specific prisoners, and Shin'un confirmed that the veteran Jonin had proposed maiming or killing the captives.
• Shin'un and Nara Shikahito agreed that allowing revenge would set a precedent that could endanger the more than two thousand Sand Ninja prisoners in the Land of Rain.
• Nara Shikahito explained that he had considered asking the Hokage to forbid killing prisoners, but feared the order would suppress vengeance while breeding discontent and resentment toward the Hokage.

Shin'un arranged for Shimura Danzō to take charge of the Sand Ninja prisoners, then began testing how [Diligent Study] improved his Lightning Release. He left the chapter practicing new ideas in the stone forest while Nara Shikahito summoned him back to camp.

• Shin'un proposed Shimura Danzō as the person to enforce the prisoner policy, and Nara Shikahito agreed.
• A week later, Shimura Danzō arrived with a hundred Root ninja and took over guarding the Sand Ninja prisoners.
• Shimura Danzō threatened to treat anyone who killed a prisoner as a missing-nin, and a crowd of Konoha ninja gathered to curse him until Nara Shikahito dispersed them.
• Three days later, Nara Shikahito sent a Chunin to summon Shin'un from the stone forest, where he was practicing Lightning Release.
• Shin'un recalled that [Diligent Study] had finished loading three days earlier and that it had given him a stream of new Lightning Release ideas.

Shin'un tested Lightning Release: Body Transformation into Lightning and concluded that Yang Release was needed to connect lightning chakra with the body. He returned to camp, where Nara Shikahito told him Sunagakure had surrendered and requested postwar negotiations.

• Shin'un attempted to transform his fingertips into lightning, but his Lightning Release chakra turned unstable and blasted the surrounding stone forest.
• Shin'un reasoned that Yang Release could provide the missing bridge between Lightning Release and his body, then headed back to the Konoha camp.
• Shin'un used Lightning Body Flicker to reach Nara Shikahito's command tent, where he saw a letter bearing Sunagakure's emblem.
• Nara Shikahito confirmed that Sunagakure had surrendered and offered to stop the resistance of two thousand Sand ninja in the Land of Rain.
• Nara Shikahito told Shin'un that Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure would meet in the Land of Iron in half a month for postwar negotiations.