Recaps

Kōki Itō left after sparring with Setsugetsu, while Aizen and the others departed for the northern Land of Fire, all leaving the frozen battlefield behind. A Konoha patrol discovered the devastation and identified Kōki as one of the fighters, prompting an urgent report to the Hokage.

• Kōki Itō finished testing Setsugetsu's strength and left to support Konoha's troops at the Iwagakure battlefield.
• Aizen and the others headed for a black market in the northern Land of Fire, leaving the ice-covered battlefield uncleaned.
• A Konoha patrol arrived and found a vast, freezing expanse where a kunai froze in midair and broke after hitting the ice.
• The patrol captain noticed the frozen trees resembled Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence and concluded that Kōki Itō had fought there.
• The captain hurried his team back to Konoha to report the discovery to the Hokage.

Hiruzen Sarutobi learned that someone had fought Kōki, while Kōki arrived at the Iwagakure battlefield and routed the enemy forces with Wood Release. The surviving Iwagakure ninja fled in terror and began calling him the Green Demon.

• A patrol captain reported to Hiruzen Sarutobi that someone had fought Kōki using Wood Release, prompting Hiruzen to investigate the mysterious opponent.
• Kōki reached the battlefield as Iwagakure and Konoha forces fought to a deadlock.
• Kōki unleashed Wood Release, sending a torrent of trees into the Iwagakure forces.
• Kōki's arrival lifted Konoha's morale and terrified the Iwagakure ninja, who fled as the battle turned against them.
• The surviving Iwagakure ninja blamed their losses on Kōki's Wood Release and gave him the epithet Green Demon.

After Kōki returned from driving back Iwagakure, Jiraiya brought him to a war meeting, where the officers discussed the next course of action. Jiraiya then asked Kōki about the people who had fought him in the Land of Fire, and Kōki calmly prepared to explain their attack.

• Kōki returned to camp after defeating Iwagakure, and the Konoha ninja praised him until Jiraiya dispersed the crowd.
• Jiraiya welcomed Kōki and praised his help to Kushina, while privately feeling gloomy about how composed Kōki was.
• Jiraiya led Kōki to a meeting attended by clan ninja, including Uchiha Fugaku, Aburame, and Inuzuka.
• Jiraiya discussed the war, while Kōki decided to leave strategic matters to the senior officers and focus on his chakra research.
• Jiraiya asked Kōki who had fought him in the Land of Fire and why, and Kōki claimed they had sought out his Wood Release.

Kōki told the Konoha ninja about the powerful Light Organization and its members, prompting Jiraiya to report the group to the village. Later, Kōki reunited with Obito, Rin, and Kakashi, stopped Obito and Kakashi from fighting, and accepted their invitation to eat.

• Kōki described the enemy who fought him as stronger than an ordinary Kage and said two companions belonged to the same organization.
• Kōki named the group the Light Organization, and Jiraiya decided to inform Sarutobi and have the village monitor it.
• Obito spotted Kōki and called out to him, while Kakashi and Rin pulled Obito away from the crowd.
• Obito and Kakashi started brawling, so Kōki bound them to trees and asked what they wanted.
• Obito invited Kōki to eat with the team, and Kōki accepted.

Aizen inspected the ninja Kuroki had recruited at a bounty office in the Land of Frost. After Jörmungandr killed Yokooka for insulting them, the remaining recruits faced a one-minute assessment against Jörmungandr, and none chose to leave.

• Kuroki brought Aizen and his two companions to meet the recruits he had gathered at the bounty office.
• Yokooka mocked the three visitors and threatened Kuroki, but Kuroki warned him to show the organization's members respect.
• Jörmungandr appeared beside Yokooka unnoticed and killed him with a squeeze of his hand.
• Kuroki told the remaining recruits to respect the organization's full members, and they agreed.
• Kuroki announced that recruits had to last one minute against Jörmungandr to join, and the assessment began after no one withdrew.

Aizen accepted three injured ninjas as peripheral members and learned that the organization’s merit system could reward them with techniques. With the organization’s structure and recruitment underway, he chose Rōran as its future base for concealment and access to the Dragon Vein.

• Aizen accepted Fujimura Kasen, Koizumi Kana, and Chimori Akira into the organization as peripheral members.
• Kuroki explained that the organization’s seven full members were as strong as or stronger than Jörmungandr, and warned the recruits against leaving or challenging the upper ranks.
• Kuroki told the recruits that they could earn merit points and exchange them for ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu.
• Aizen left the new recruits with Kuroki and set out with Jörmungandr and Setsugetsu to find a base for the organization.
• Aizen considered several countries before choosing Rōran for its desert cover and the Dragon Vein’s immense chakra, planning to use genjutsu to deter Sunagakure investigators.

Aizen accepted a mission to enter Rōran while Jiraiya told Kōki about the Great Toad Sage’s prophecy linking a white-clad organization and the Rinnegan to a future crisis. Jiraiya left Kōki with a scroll from Tsunade, and Kōki was left pondering everything he had learned and received.

• Aizen accepted Rōran’s mission to stop an approaching sandstorm and departed with Jörmungandr and Setsugetsu, leaving Kuroki and the others in the Land of Frost.
• Jiraiya visited Kōki and asked about the mysterious organization that had attacked him, including whether any member possessed the Rinnegan.
• Kōki described the organization’s white clothing, sun emblems, and demon masks, and said none of the three attackers had special eyes.
• Jiraiya explained that the Great Toad Sage’s prophecy had changed and now foretold a white-clad organization with a Rinnegan wielder opposing the future savior.
• Jiraiya warned Kōki to be cautious around the organization and gave him a scroll from Tsunade, which he thought might relate to Kōki’s Wood Release.
• After Jiraiya left, Kōki’s expression turned complicated as he considered the valuable things Jiraiya had brought him.

Kōki opened Tsunade’s sealed gift and learned that he qualified to sign Shikkotsu Forest’s Summoning Contract. He signed it after discovering Hashirama Senju’s name on the scroll.

• Kōki wondered whether the Great Toad Sage’s prophecy meant Nagato or someone else would bring the Rinnegan to his organization.
• Kōki opened the sealed scroll Jiraiya had given him and summoned Katsuyu, Tsunade’s summoned beast.
• Katsuyu told Kōki that Tsunade had asked her to assess his eligibility for a Shikkotsu Forest contract, and she judged him more than qualified.
• Katsuyu produced Shikkotsu Forest’s contract scroll and explained that Kōki could summon her for healing or combat after signing.
• Kōki saw Hashirama Senju’s and Tsunade’s names on the scroll, realized Hashirama had trained in Shikkotsu Forest, and signed his own name in blood.

Kōki secured Katsuyu’s promise to teach him Shikkotsu Forest’s Senjutsu after the war. Meanwhile, Aizen and his companions reached Rōran and confronted the Queen to seek permission to establish their organization there and use the Dragon Vein.

• Kōki asked Katsuyu to teach him Senjutsu, and she warned him that the training was dangerous and difficult.
• Kōki insisted on learning, and Katsuyu told him to return after the war ended.
• Aizen sensed the Dragon Vein beneath Rōran and wondered whether his organization’s presence had changed the city’s history.
• Aizen and his companions used Genjutsu to enter Rōran’s council hall, where the Queen asked who they were and what business brought them.

Aizen introduced the Light Organization to the Queen of Roran and insisted on pursuing cooperation despite her refusal. Setsugetsu froze the sandstorm outside Rōran to demonstrate their power, leaving the queen ready to negotiate after the storm was released.

• Aizen told the Queen of Roran that the Light Organization had come to help Rōran prosper, but she rejected his explanation and ordered the group to leave.
• Aizen said the organization had accepted a mission posted by Rōran and proposed completing it to prove their sincerity.
• Aizen took Setsugetsu and Jörmungandr outside Rōran, where Setsugetsu raised an enormous ice wall that froze the sandstorm.
• The Queen of Roran feared for her people, abandoned thoughts of resistance, and returned to the council hall with her ministers to consider terms for negotiation.
• Aizen told Setsugetsu to release his Ice Release, and the sand fell as clear skies appeared over Rōran.

Aizen negotiated with the Queen of Roran for access to the Dragon Vein, promising that his organization would protect and enrich Rōran. The Queen agreed, with Aizen planning to formally enter Rōran in a few days and the Queen promising to unlock the Dragon Vein then.

• Aizen hypnotized the ministers so they would not remember the discussion, then confirmed that he had also hypnotized the civilians and promised to release them after reaching an agreement.
• Aizen told the Queen of Roran that his organization wanted the Dragon Vein and offered to protect Rōran and help it prosper in exchange for its chakra.
• Sara entered the council hall, and the Queen of Roran allowed her to hear the discussion after Aizen said she should learn about the deal as the future heir.
• The Queen of Roran agreed to provide the Dragon Vein's power on the condition that Aizen's organization protect Rōran and its people.
• Aizen said his organization would formally enter Rōran in a few days, and the Queen of Roran promised to unlock the Dragon Vein for them then.

The Queen of Rōran refused Sara’s suggestion to seek Sunagakure’s help against Aizen’s organization, fearing retaliation if the village’s attempt failed. Meanwhile, Kōki faced Iwagakure’s Jinchūriki Roshi and Han on the battlefield, and the chapter ended as they prepared to fight.

• Sara asked the Queen of Rōran who Aizen and his companions were, and the Queen admitted she feared their strength.
• Sara suggested asking Sunagakure for help, but the Queen rejected the idea because Sunagakure might fail and leave Rōran vulnerable to revenge.
• The Queen comforted Sara and changed the subject to food, while Aizen and his companions prepared to establish their base in Rōran.
• Ōnoki sent Iwagakure’s Jinchūriki Roshi and Han to confront Kōki, who felt pressured because his Yin Seal chakra was nearly depleted.
• Roshi criticized Ōnoki in front of Kōki, and Han warned him not to undermine Iwagakure’s standing.
• Kōki attacked Roshi and Han with tree roots; they dodged, and Roshi declared that they would fight him to the death.

Kōki fought Roshi and Han, using a feint to badly injure Han before unleashing Wood Release against them. Facing his overwhelming sea of trees, the two Iwagakure ninja prepared to draw on the power of the Tailed Beasts within them.

• Roshi activated his Lava Release Chakra Mode while Han used Boil Release, and they charged Kōki together.
• Roshi and Han’s coordinated attacks pressured Kōki until he baited Han with a leap and substituted a wooden figure for himself.
• Kōki appeared behind Han and struck him with enough force to send him crashing into a trench, leaving him badly injured.
• Kōki unleashed Wood Release, sending a vast sea of trees surging toward Roshi, Han, and the Iwagakure forces.
• Roshi and Han acknowledged that they needed more power and resolved to show Kōki Iwagakure’s strength.

Kōki unleashed his full-power Wood Release against Roshi and Han, who transformed into the Four-Tails and Five-Tails to fight back. Their Tailed Beast Bombs destroyed the sea of trees, leaving Kōki determined to learn Senjutsu and gain more chakra.

• Kōki used his full power to send Wood Release against Roshi and Han, who summoned the Four-Tails Son Gokū and Five-Tails Kokuō.
• Son Gokū and Kokuō rampaged through the regenerating forest, then agreed to destroy it with Tailed Beast Bombs.
• The two Tailed Beasts fired their bombs and obliterated the sea of trees, leaving two connected craters and shocking the battlefield’s ninja.
• Kōki remained calm after the explosion but thought he needed Senjutsu and more chakra to become strong enough to defeat the Tailed Beasts.

Kōki summoned a Wood Golem to face the Four-Tails and Five-Tails together, then used it to defeat the Four-Tails and suppress the Five-Tails. The two beasts returned to Roshi and Han, leaving both hosts unconscious or subdued on the battlefield.

• Kōki summoned the Wood Golem, spending most of his remaining chakra and impressing the Konoha ninja and Jiraiya.
• The Four-Tails and Five-Tails charged the Wood Golem and forced it backward with their combined strength.
• Kōki flipped the Wood Golem over the beasts, then focused its attacks on the Four-Tails until Roshi was knocked unconscious and the beast returned to him.
• The Five-Tails tried to flee with Roshi, but Kōki used Wood Release: Kakuan Entering Society with Bliss-Bringing Hands to suppress it and make it return to Han.

After defeating Roshi and Han, Kōki hid how exhausted he was while Konoha and Iwagakure fought around him. When his quick counterattack made Iwagakure believe he was still strong, Kitsuchi arrived and urged his troops not to be fooled.

• Kōki dispelled the Wood Human Technique after defeating Roshi and Han, then forced himself to stand despite his depleted chakra.
• Iwagakure ninja decided to seize Roshi and Han, while Konoha ninja moved to protect Kōki and block them.
• An Iwagakure ninja threw an explosive-tagged kunai at Kōki, but Kōki caught it and hurled it back, causing an explosion among the attackers.
• Kōki released a powerful aura and killing intent, making the Iwagakure ninja fear that his exhaustion had been a ruse.
• Kitsuchi broke away from Jiraiya, trapped him with Earth Release, and rallied the wavering Iwagakure ninja, insisting that Kōki was bluffing.

Kōki bluffed Kitsuchi into retreating, and Jiraiya arrived to reinforce Konoha and negotiate an end to the battle. Kitsuchi secretly tried to steal the captured Jinchūriki, forcing Kōki to prepare one last attack to stop him.

• Kōki approached Kitsuchi with confidence and used Wood Release to make Kitsuchi doubt his strength and retreat.
• Jiraiya escaped Kitsuchi’s Earth Release trap and joined Kōki, while the Iwagakure ninja’s morale collapsed.
• Jiraiya refused Kitsuchi’s demand to return Roshi and Han, and Kitsuchi stalled while secretly ordering their rescue.
• Kōki sensed an Iwagakure ninja dragging Han underground and warned Jiraiya that Kitsuchi was buying time.
• Kōki saw that Roshi was already half underground and prepared to use one final Superhuman Strength Technique to stop the theft.

Kitsuchi’s Iwagakure forces escaped with Han after Kōki captured Roshi, leaving Jiraiya furious at being outmaneuvered. Kōki secured Roshi and secretly sent his biological samples for research, then turned to addressing his own chakra limits by deciding to learn Senjutsu.

• Kitsuchi abandoned the attempt to take Roshi and ordered Iwagakure’s forces to retreat with Han, while Jiraiya pursued them before calling off the chase near their position.
• Kitsuchi reported Iwagakure’s defeat to Ōnoki, while Jiraiya returned to camp frustrated that Han had escaped.
• Jiraiya ordered Roshi kept under guard in camp until Hiruzen Sarutobi decided how to handle him, and Kōki took Roshi to the temporary prison.
• Kōki sealed blood and tissue he had taken from Roshi into a scroll and sent it to Aizen and the others through Kuroki’s summoned eagle for research.
• Kōki recognized that his chakra reserves were becoming a serious problem against Kage-level opponents and resolved to learn Senjutsu as soon as possible.

Kōki asked Katsuyu to teach him Sage Mode, but she warned him of the risks and agreed to let him make one attempt. She reverse-summoned him to Shikkotsu Forest, where he met Katsuyu’s enormous main body, Katsuyu the Sage.

• Kōki summoned Katsuyu and asked her to teach him Sage Mode.
• Katsuyu refused at first, warning Kōki that senjutsu training could kill him, but agreed to let him try once under her supervision.
• Kōki promised to give up learning senjutsu if his attempt failed.
• Katsuyu reverse-summoned Kōki to Shikkotsu Forest.
• Kōki saw Katsuyu’s main body and pretended to be surprised when she explained that the Katsuyu he had summoned was her clone.

Kōki began training in Shikkotsu Forest’s Sage Mode under Katsuyu the Sage and quickly formed senjutsu chakra. He awakened to Sage Mode’s enhanced perception and strength, leaving Katsuyu stunned by his unusual talent.

• Katsuyu the Sage explained the stages and dangers of senjutsu training to Kōki.
• Katsuyu placed a clone on Kōki to help him sense and absorb natural energy in Shikkotsu Forest.
• Kōki controlled the natural energy and merged it with his chakra, forming senjutsu chakra within minutes.
• Black sage markings appeared on Kōki’s face, astonishing Katsuyu, who suspected his body held an unusual secret.
• Kōki opened his eyes and sensed natural energy clearly, feeling his strength increase by at least thirty percent.

Kōki rapidly mastered Sage Mode without the slugs’ help, then experimented with his Senjutsu Chakra and created a powerful new form marked by a glowing cloak. Katsuyu the Sage was left astonished by a Sage Mode she had never seen before.

• Katsuyu the Sage questioned Kōki about his quick progress, and he said learning Sage Mode had felt simple.
• Katsuyu removed the slug clones and told Kōki to absorb natural energy without their assistance.
• Kōki quickly mastered stillness, sensed natural energy, and formed Senjutsu Chakra on his own.
• Kōki altered the balance of natural energy and chakra through risky experiments until he developed a new Sage Mode with a vivid cloak.
• Katsuyu the Sage stared in disbelief as Kōki opened his eyes and inspected his Senjutsu Cloak.

Kōki explained that his improved Sage Mode came from changing the ratio of natural energy to chakra, and Katsuyu the Sage offered him a reward for advancing Shikkotsu Forest’s senjutsu knowledge. Kōki asked to learn chakra fusion techniques, and Katsuyu promised to keep an additional reward available for him.

• Kōki told Katsuyu the Sage how he created a stronger Sage Mode by changing the fusion ratio of natural energy and chakra.
• Katsuyu the Sage recognized that Kōki’s discovery could greatly improve Shikkotsu Forest’s Sage Mode and offered him a reward.
• Kōki decided to ask Katsuyu the Sage about chakra fusion, hoping to learn principles that could help him develop Wood Release.
• Katsuyu the Sage agreed to teach him chakra fusion techniques and explained that she had used related principles to split and merge her body.
• Kōki declined to ask for anything else, so Katsuyu the Sage promised to keep another reward waiting for him.

Kōki tested his improved Sage Mode and discovered that it greatly amplified his ninjutsu while letting him maintain it far longer than ordinary Sage Mode. Katsuyu the Sage warned that prolonged exposure to concentrated natural energy could damage his body and alter his emotions, so Kōki accepted limits on its use and asked whether ordinary Sage Mode could fill the gaps.

• Kōki used senjutsu chakra to unleash powerful Wood Release and elemental techniques, destroying the forest clearing while Katsuyu the Sage watched.
• Katsuyu the Sage observed that Kōki could sustain his improved Sage Mode for around forty minutes and theorized that natural energy continuously flowed into him.
• Katsuyu the Sage warned Kōki that excessive natural energy could make him emotionally volatile, damage his cells, and eventually turn his body to stone.
• Kōki deactivated Sage Mode, realized it had affected his urge to destroy, and decided to limit its use to thirty minutes.
• Kōki asked whether a little Katsuyu could help him use special Sage Mode repeatedly, but Katsuyu the Sage explained that his body needed seven days to recover and recommended using it only once per week.
• Kōki asked whether he could use ordinary Sage Mode between special Sage Mode sessions, and Katsuyu the Sage concluded that this could work.

After mastering Sage Mode at Shikkotsu Forest, Kōki returned to Konoha's camp and learned that Kumogakure had routed Konoha's forces and pushed toward the Land of Fire. Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Kōki to lead reinforcements to the Kumogakure front, and Kōki agreed to depart the next day.

• Katsuyu the Sage warned Kōki not to become consumed by the pursuit of power, and Kōki mastered complete Sage Mode in three or four hours.
• Kōki returned to his room at Konoha's camp and found Jiraiya and several senior battlefield officers waiting for him.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi learned that Kumogakure's two Tailed Beasts had routed Konoha's forces and advanced to the Land of Fire's border.
• Jiraiya told Kōki that Hiruzen had ordered him to take ninja from the Iwagakure front and reinforce the Kumogakure front.
• Kōki agreed to leave the next day and told Jiraiya that he had returned from Shikkotsu Forest using its Reverse Summoning Technique.

After learning Sage Mode, Kōki set off to reinforce the Kumogakure battlefield. Meanwhile, Ōnoki hired Aizen’s Light Organization to help retrieve Roshi from Konoha, and the organization accepted the mission.

• Jiraiya left Kōki to rest, and Kōki reflected on his newly learned Sage Mode and increased strength.
• The next day, Kōki departed with a ninja force to reinforce the Kumogakure battlefield.
• After learning that Kitsuchi had lost Roshi to Konoha, Ōnoki condemned his son and decided to seek outside help.
• Ōnoki ordered a mission posted at the bounty exchange, marking its bounty with a sun symbol.
• Aizen learned of the mission from Kuroki and accepted it on behalf of the Light Organization, anticipating that Ōnoki wanted Roshi returned.