Recaps

After Minato and Kushina left, Kōki used an Uzumaki sealing jutsu to stabilize his Shadow Clone, who chose the name Aizen and set out to pursue their plan. Kōki then left to ask Hiruzen Sarutobi for Tobirama Senju’s research materials.

• Kōki examined the Yin Release Chakra Sealing Jutsu scroll Kushina had given him and found that it suited his Shadow Clone Technique.
• Kōki used the seal on a clone possessing Kurama Some’s corpse, and the clone reported that it could now remain active for months.
• Kōki and the clone agreed to seek ancient records and secret techniques while avoiding unnecessary fights with ninja from the Five Great Nations.
• The clone chose the name Aizen, planned to wear a mask, and departed after trading dramatic declarations with Kōki.
• Kōki left home to ask Hiruzen Sarutobi for Tobirama Senju’s research materials.

Aizen visited a black-market bounty exchange and effortlessly killed the men who tried to ambush him. He accepted a mission to infiltrate Kumogakure and assassinate the Jonin Mano Seiichiro, then left with the mission intelligence.

• Aizen entered a black-market bounty exchange hidden beneath a casino in the Land of Fire.
• Segawa pretended to be drunk before attacking Aizen, but his blade stopped at Aizen's neck.
• Aizen used Genjutsu: Senbonzakura to kill the people in the exchange who had mocked or targeted him.
• Aizen selected a mission to infiltrate Kumogakure and kill the Jonin Mano Seiichiro, using the dead men's valuables to pay for intelligence.
• Aizen gave his name to the man in charge and left the bounty exchange with the mission intelligence.

Aizen infiltrated Kumogakure to kill the Jonin Mano Seiichiro and tracked him to the Valley of Clouds and Lightning. He trapped Mano with his abilities and killed him, leaving Mano to die without understanding how Aizen had immobilized him.

• Aizen disguised himself as a traveling merchant and entered Kumogakure, where a ninja under his Genjutsu told him Mano Seiichiro was in the Valley of Clouds and Lightning.
• Aizen reached the training ground and revealed to Mano that he had come to complete a mission, prompting Mano to recognize him as an infiltrator.
• Mano tried to draw his Ninja Blade and retreat, but Aizen’s power left him unable to move or control his chakra.
• Aizen drew Mano’s Ninja Blade and cut his throat, killing him.

Aizen escaped Kumogakure after killing Mano Seiichiro with Five Senses Manipulation, while Kōki began his Anbu career in Konoha to earn Tobirama Senju’s research records. The chapter ended with Kōki meeting the members of Butterfly Squad, the team he would join.

• Aizen’s genjutsu left Mano Seiichiro seated and helpless, and Aizen killed him before leaving Kumogakure with his body.
• Kumogakure discovered Mano Seiichiro missing two days later and searched for an infiltrator, uncovering several spies.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed to give Kōki Tobirama Senju’s research records as a reward for completing missions, prompting Kōki to report to Anbu headquarters.
• Shinnosuke Sarutobi welcomed Kōki and assigned him to Butterfly Squad, an elite team of Ino-Shika-Cho clan members.
• Nara Yūsuke introduced himself, Yamanaka Kenji, and Akimichi Tsuyoshi, explaining their roles and specialties in the squad.

Kōki joined the Butterfly Squad and revealed his Wood Release to his new teammates before they set out on their first Anbu mission. After reaching the site where a Sunagakure squad had vanished, the team tracked its trail northeast and considered whether the survivors were heading toward the Land of Fire’s capital or trying to mislead them.

• Kōki introduced himself to Nara Yūsuke, Yamanaka Kenji, and Akimichi Tsuyoshi and revealed that he specialized in Wood Release and Medical Ninjutsu.
• Shinnosuke Sarutobi assigned Kōki to follow squad captain Nara Yūsuke’s orders and sent the team to hunt Sunagakure ninja who had infiltrated the Land of Fire.
• Nara Yūsuke explained that the Sunagakure squad had suffered heavy losses crossing the border but could still threaten the Land of Fire.
• The team reached the devastated battlefield where the Sunagakure ninja had last been seen, and Yamanaka Kenji identified a trail leading northeast.
• Akimichi Tsuyoshi worried that the Sunagakure ninja were heading for the Land of Fire’s capital, while Kōki suggested they might be using that route to mislead their pursuers.

Kōki and his Konoha squad pursued the injured Sunagakure team after predicting its escape route through the Land of Lightning. They ambushed the five survivors, killing two immediately and trapping the remaining three in a coordinated attack.

• Nara Yūsuke agreed with Kōki’s assessment and ordered the squad to speed up after Yamanaka Kenji found scraps of Sunagakure clothing.
• The Sunagakure captain abandoned the mission and led his four remaining teammates toward the Land of Lightning to escape the Land of Fire.
• Kōki’s squad ambushed the five Sunagakure ninjas at night, killing Yusa with Explosive Tags and another ninja with Kōki’s Wood Release sneak attack.
• Nara Yūsuke restrained the last three Sunagakure ninjas with Shadow Possession Jutsu, while Yamanaka Kenji used the Mind Body Switch Technique to strengthen the restraint.
• Akimichi Tsuyoshi struck the restrained enemies with his enlarged fist, smashing them into the ground.

Kōki protected Nara Yūsuke, Yamanaka Kenji, and Akimichi Tsuyoshi from explosive tags planted by the defeated Sunagakure ninja. After they searched the battlefield and gathered what remained, the squad headed back to Konoha.

• Kōki sensed explosive tags beneath a Sunagakure corpse and shielded himself and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio with Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall Technique.
• The explosion nearly overwhelmed the group, and Nara Yūsuke, Yamanaka Kenji, and Akimichi Tsuyoshi thanked Kōki for saving them.
• Nara Yūsuke declared the mission complete and directed the group to search the battlefield for anything valuable.
• Kōki found scrolls, bottles, and jars on the Sunagakure puppeteer he had killed, then sealed the corpse in a blank scroll and handed it to Nara Yūsuke.
• Nara Yūsuke led Kōki, Yamanaka Kenji, and Akimichi Tsuyoshi back toward Konoha.

After returning from his first Anbu mission, Kōki rested while reflecting on how easily the squad had defeated the Sunagakure team. In the capital of the Land of Fire, Aizen met Kazuma and subtly deepened the young ninja’s resentment toward Konoha.

• Kōki returned to Konoha, reported the mission to Shinnosuke Sarutobi, and went home to rest after considering the squad’s success.
• Aizen visited the capital of the Land of Fire in disguise and noticed that Kazuma had been watching him.
• Aizen pretended to be an admiring civilian, and Kazuma introduced himself and showed him around the capital.
• Kazuma grew disgusted when he saw Konoha Ninja behaving obnoxiously in a tavern, then remembered that he was on a mission and prepared to leave.
• Aizen said he wanted to visit Konoha and questioned why the Land of Fire had two leaders, which intensified Kazuma’s shame and resentment toward Konoha.

Aizen infiltrated the Land of Fire daimyo’s estate to steal ancient books and documents, then returned to the bounty exchange to accept a mission targeting Kawasaki Ya, a Kusagakure rogue ninja with Dark Release. He left with the target’s information as the bounty hunters discussed his ruthless reputation.

• Aizen watched Kazuma leave, then vanished after deciding his encounter might draw Konoha’s attention in the future.
• Aizen used a map to find the daimyo’s neglected library, sent Shadow Clones to search it, and took valuable books and documents after three hours.
• Aizen returned to the bounty exchange and chose the mission to capture Kawasaki Ya, intending to keep the Dark Release user for his original body’s experiments.
• The exchange manager gave Aizen Kawasaki Ya’s information for free as a special privilege, hoping to build a relationship with him.
• After Aizen left, bounty hunters discussed the killings from the previous day and called him ruthless.

Aizen tracked Kawasaki Ya to a town in the Land of Waterfalls and found him fighting four Kusagakure ninjas. After Kawasaki Ya killed his pursuers, Aizen revealed himself and challenged his confidence in his bloodline.

• Aizen learned from the innkeeper, whom he controlled with Genjutsu, that Kawasaki Ya had already left town and that another search party had gone after him.
• Aizen followed Kawasaki Ya’s trail and found four Kusagakure ninjas attacking him.
• Kawasaki Ya used Dark Release to drain Ryota’s chakra and kill him.
• Kawasaki Ya unleashed Dark Release: Judgment and killed the remaining three Grass Ninja.
• Aizen appeared in a nearby tree and told Kawasaki Ya that kekkei genkai differed in strength.

Aizen confronted Kawasaki Ya to take his body, but Kawasaki Ya used a feigned surrender to launch a devastating Dark Release attack. Aizen’s illusion left him unharmed, and he killed Kawasaki Ya, ending his pursuit of the Dark Release user.

• Aizen revealed that he had watched Kawasaki Ya fight the Grass Ninja and said he intended to take Kawasaki Ya’s body.
• Kawasaki Ya pretended to surrender while secretly recovering chakra, but Aizen sensed his plan.
• Kawasaki Ya struck Aizen with Dark Release: Judgment, Maximum Power, believing he had killed him.
• Aizen appeared unharmed on the tree, revealing that Kawasaki Ya had attacked an illusion.
• Aizen froze Kawasaki Ya with an unseen technique, and Kawasaki Ya fell dead.

Aizen killed Kawasaki Ya after testing the limits of his Dark Release and left with the body to pursue its bounty. Meanwhile, Kōki joined Nara Yūsuke’s Anbu team on a mission to attack a Sunagakure outpost, where Yūsuke explained its strategic role and the widening threat to Konoha.

• Aizen concluded that Kawasaki Ya had relied too heavily on Dark Release, killed him under his Five Senses Manipulation, and took his corpse to seek a bounty.
• Kōki and Nara Yūsuke’s Anbu team received a mission to attack a Sunagakure offensive outpost in the Land of Rivers near Amegakure.
• Akimichi Tsuyoshi asked about the outpost, and Kōki explained that it served as a spearhead to break Konoha’s defenses and draw away its forces.
• Nara Yūsuke explained that Sunagakure’s elite outposts supported its main force and could raid Konoha’s borders or disrupt supplies.
• Kōki pointed out that Konoha had to reserve elite forces to guard against Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure, and Yūsuke warned that the conflict could grow into a Shinobi World War.

Nara Yūsuke’s squad attacked a Sunagakure outpost after sensing only eight Jonin inside, but the outpost was a decoy and the squad was caught in a counter-ambush. The Sunagakure ninja revealed they had detected the intruders and used puppets inside the outpost, leaving Kōki and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio surrounded.

• Kōki sensed eight chakra signatures in the outpost, and Nara Yūsuke waited a day before deciding to attack.
• Kōki and Yamanaka Kenji used Earth Release to trap the outpost’s occupants, and Akimichi Tsuyoshi destroyed the outpost with a powerful punch.
• Kōki detected no chakra in the rubble, but Nara Yūsuke suspected the operation had gone too smoothly.
• Kōki sensed a powerful chakra surge in the woods and warned the others, but a hurricane struck before they could escape.
• Kōki raised five earthen walls to block the hurricane, and the four Konoha ninja scattered to avoid its attack.
• Eight Sunagakure ninja emerged and surrounded the squad, revealing that Toshiya’s insect-control technique had detected them and that the outpost’s occupants had been puppets.

Nara Yūsuke and Kōki realized Sunagakure had used disguised puppets to expose their plan, and Kōki broke through the surrounding force with Tsunade’s powerful Taijutsu. The Sunagakure captain recognized Kōki as a threat and charged at him while the other ninja continued attacking Ino-Shika-Cho.

• Nara Yūsuke realized insects near the outpost had been a clue that their plans were exposed, while Kōki understood that the eight ninja he had sensed there were puppets.
• Kōki charged two Sunagakure ninja as six others surrounded Ino-Shika-Cho, then learned the pair’s coordinated Taijutsu patterns.
• Kōki grabbed one attacker and threw him into his teammate, breaking free of their assault.
• Kōki struck a Sunagakure ninja with Tsunade’s Superhuman Strength Technique, killing him and shattering the ground beneath him.
• The Sunagakure captain recognized Kōki’s Taijutsu, redirected his subordinates to keep attacking Ino-Shika-Cho, and charged at Kōki.

Kōki survived a Sand ninja’s ambush and fought the Sunagakure captain, whose wind attack pushed him into a deadly puppet trap. Kōki broke out of the captain’s Giant Wooden Mouth puppet, leaving the battle still in progress.

• Kōki used a substitution log to evade the Sunagakure captain’s slash, then killed the underground Sand ninja with a powerful stomp.
• The Sunagakure captain attacked Kōki with a shuriken net and Wind Release: Blast Wave Wild Dance, injuring him with concealed wind blades.
• Kōki adapted to the barrage as his wounds healed, while the captain grew alarmed at his rapid improvement.
• The captain maneuvered Kōki toward an ambush, and a puppet called the Giant Wooden Mouth emerged from the ground and swallowed him.
• The captain sent blades through the puppet’s slots to kill Kōki, but Kōki burst out and smashed the puppet apart.

Kōki used his strength and rapid recovery to survive Masatake and Hideto’s attacks, then broke the Sunagakure squad’s encirclement with powerful Water Release. He joined Ino-Shika-Cho and prepared to finish the battle with a water dragon.

• Kōki dodged Hideto’s kunai, while Masatake recognized his rapid healing and ordered two shinobi to help kill him.
• Nara Yūsuke reassured Yamanaka Kenji and Akimichi Tsuyoshi that Kōki still had a trump card, and the trio pressed their three opponents harder.
• Masatake and three other Sunagakure shinobi surrounded Kōki, who used the Superhuman Strength Technique to scatter them with rubble.
• Kōki unleashed Water Release: Great Exploding Water Shockwave, driving back the four Sunagakure shinobi and shifting the battlefield in his team’s favor.
• Kōki asked Ino-Shika-Cho to watch his back, then summoned a gigantic water dragon with Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique.

Kōki defeated the Sunagakure ninja with a rapid series of powerful Water Release techniques, exhausting his chakra in the process. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio praised his abilities as the lake vanished and he collapsed.

• Kōki's Water Dragon Bullet struck two Sunagakure ninja and swept them beneath the lake.
• Kōki blocked the remaining Sunagakure ninja's attacks with Water Formation Wall and Great Waterfall Technique, forcing five of them to unite against him with Wind Release: Infinite Great Breakthrough.
• While the five Sunagakure ninja held back his waterfall, Kōki struck them with Water Release: Hard Vortex Water Blade Technique and killed them.
• Kōki exhausted his chakra, collapsed, and watched the lake disappear.
• Nara Yūsuke, Yamanaka Kenji, and Akimichi Tsuyoshi expressed amazement at Kōki's Water Release and Taijutsu abilities.

After Kōki wiped out the Sunagakure outpost, Nara Yūsuke explained that their mission also required disrupting Sunagakure teams and destroying supplies in the Land of Rivers. As the team prepared to continue, Kōki discovered unfinished human puppets had fooled his senses, though the ambushers’ exact method remained unknown.

• Kōki asked Nara Yūsuke whether they could return to the village, and Yūsuke revealed the mission’s second half: harass Sunagakure teams in the Land of Rivers and destroy their supplies.
• Akimichi Tsuyoshi and Yamanaka Kenji teased Kōki about finishing the outpost so quickly, then clarified they were grateful for his help and not blaming him.
• Nara Yūsuke ordered the team to clean up the battlefield, rest briefly, and prepare to ambush Sunagakure forces farther into the Land of Rivers.
• Kōki cleared the rubble of the outpost Akimichi Tsuyoshi had destroyed and found unfinished human puppets that had deceived his sensory abilities.
• Kōki realized sensory techniques could be fooled, but he could not learn how the Sunagakure ninja had hidden nearby because he had killed them all.

After four Konoha ninja destroyed a Sunagakure outpost, a Sunagakure captain mistook the evidence of their attack for signs of Kirigakure involvement. He reported his theory to Rasa, who ordered the bodies sent to the village for confirmation and warned that Sunagakure would retaliate if Kirigakure was responsible.

• The Sunagakure captain arrived at the ruined outpost and found Masatake and his men dead, with the attackers gone.
• The captain guessed that a powerful Kirigakure ninja had used Water Release to kill the Sunagakure squad and reported his suspicions to Rasa.
• Rasa examined the eight bodies and found that six had died from Water Release while the other two had suffered devastating injuries.
• Rasa ordered the bodies sent to Sunagakure's Intelligence Division for confirmation and said Sunagakure would punish Kirigakure if it had orchestrated the attack.

Kōki and his team traveled toward Sunagakure’s supply route, where a conversation about Root revealed why Yamanaka Kenji despised the organization. The team neared the route and prepared to disrupt the transport supplies before Sunagakure reacted.

• Kōki asked Nara Yūsuke about Sunagakure’s supply routes, and Nara showed him intelligence gathered by Root.
• Yamanaka Kenji warned Kōki against joining Root, but Nara Yūsuke stopped him from condemning their fellow Konoha ninja outright.
• Akimichi Tsuyoshi explained that Root had recruited Yamanaka Kenji’s cousin, Yamanaka Fū, whose personality changed after joining and who was bound by a cursed seal.
• Yamanaka Kenji urged Kōki to stay away from Root, and Kōki promised he would never join it.
• Nara Yūsuke told the team they were nearing Sunagakure’s supply route and explained that their main goal was to disrupt supplies, not fight the escorts.

Kōki and his team ambushed Sunagakure’s supply convoy in the Land of Rivers and destroyed its cargo. They escaped before the escort could pursue them, leaving the two Sunagakure Jonin to protect their surviving team.

• Nara Yūsuke positioned the team beside the road, and Yamanaka Kenji sensed the approaching convoy and confirmed no reinforcements followed it.
• Nara Yūsuke waited until he verified the convoy carried supplies, then signaled Kōki and Akimichi Tsuyoshi to attack while he and Yamanaka Kenji restrained the escorts.
• Kōki used Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame to burn the convoy, while Akimichi Tsuyoshi uprooted trees and threw them onto the flames.
• Kōki split the ground beneath the burning convoy with Earth Release: Earth Flow Divide, and Akimichi Tsuyoshi crushed the fissure closed with a stomp.
• Nara Yūsuke, Yamanaka Kenji, Kōki, and Akimichi Tsuyoshi fled, and the Sunagakure Jonin chose not to pursue them.

After destroying Sunagakure’s supplies, Kōki and his companions raced toward the Land of Fire, evading the initial pursuit. At the border, they encountered a fifteen-person Sunagakure team, and Kōki’s powerful fire attack failed to clear their escape route.

• Izumi organized a pursuit of Kōki and the other Konoha Anbu, taking the two Sunagakure Jonin from the failed escort team along to guide him.
• Kōki, Nara Yūsuke, and their companions traveled directly toward the Land of Fire and slipped past Sunagakure forces searching the Land of Rivers.
• Kōki sensed chakra at the border, and Yamanaka Kenji confirmed that fifteen Sunagakure shinobi were waiting ahead.
• Nara Yūsuke ordered Kōki and Akimichi Tsuyoshi to break through the enemy line and retreat without trying to kill the Sunagakure shinobi.
• Kōki unleashed Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame, forcing the Sunagakure shinobi to scatter but leaving them positioned to surround the Konoha team.

Akimichi Tsuyoshi delayed the Sunagakure force with his Super Multi-Size Technique, but Kōki and his teammates had to rescue him when a trap left him injured. Kōki then used Water Release: Water Dragon Biting Explosion to clear the path back to Konoha.

• Akimichi Tsuyoshi enlarged himself and charged the Sunagakure ninja with his iron staff, enduring their elemental attacks.
• A Sunagakure trap made Akimichi Tsuyoshi lose his balance, and Kōki raised earthen walls and a stone pillar to protect him.
• Akimichi Tsuyoshi coughed up blood, so Nara Yūsuke told him to rest while Kōki took responsibility for breaking through the encirclement.
• Kōki's Great Exploding Water Shockwave was blocked by the Sunagakure ninja's Earth-Style Walls, but his next torrent destroyed their defenses and swept them into a whirlpool.
• Kōki used Water Release: Water Dragon Biting Explosion to strike the gathered Sunagakure ninja and clear the way back to Konoha.

Kōki and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio escaped Sunagakure’s pursuit and headed back to Konoha. Chiyo realized Kōki had been behind the attacks on Sunagakure and ordered Rasa to kill him if they met on the battlefield.

• Nara Yūsuke, Akimichi Tsuyoshi, and Yamanaka Kenji praised Kōki for leading their escape, and Kōki modestly credited them with helping him.
• The group continued toward Konoha while Chiyo received word that Izumi’s pursuit force had failed to catch the four Konoha Anbu.
• Chiyo read Izumi’s report and connected Kōki’s Water Release to the earlier reports of a supposed Kirigakure infiltration.
• An Intelligence Division member reported that the bodies from the outpost had been killed by Water Release and Taijutsu, with injuries that did not match the Blunt Sword Kabutowari.
• Chiyo concluded that Kōki and the other Konoha Anbu had carried out the attacks and ordered a message to Rasa identifying Kōki as a Konoha genius who must be killed if encountered.

After completing his mission, Kōki argued with Hiruzen Sarutobi over the promised research records, but Hiruzen gave him only a portion and withheld the rest out of concern that Kōki might follow Orochimaru’s path. Kōki left planning to obtain Tobirama Senju’s records from Tsunade or Orochimaru instead.

• Kōki complained that Hiruzen Sarutobi had rewarded his mission with too little and demanded the rest of Tobirama Senju’s research records.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Kōki only some of the records, saying the dangerous material was unsuitable for him while he was young.
• After Kōki left, Hiruzen Sarutobi worried that Kōki’s drive to study Ninjutsu might lead him to become like Orochimaru.
• Kōki considered who else might possess Tobirama Senju’s records, including Shimura Danzō, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Madara Uchiha.
• Kōki decided that Tsunade or Orochimaru would be his best options, while ruling out joining Root or approaching Madara Uchiha.