Recaps

Kōki Itō entered the Ninja Academy, earned early graduation, and joined Team Uehara as war with Sunagakure approached. After growing into a capable teammate, he faced a deadly ambush that left Mei and Kazushi dead and brought him into combat with the remaining Sand ninja.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi rescued Kōki Itō from a laboratory, discovered his Wood Release, and arranged for him to live in Konoha while Danzō planned to claim him for Root.
• Kōki enrolled in the Ninja Academy, defeated Obito Uchiha in an assessment, and persuaded Hiruzen to let him take an early graduation exam, which he passed against Kakashi Hatake.
• Hiruzen assigned Kōki to Mamoru Uehara’s team, where Kōki passed Mamoru’s test and joined Yui Fujiwara and Masato Yoshino on a bandit-clearing mission that rescued captives and destroyed the stronghold.
• Kōki pursued medical training and sought instruction from Yūhi Shinku while Team Uehara completed an escort mission to the Land of Rice Fields.
• After three months of training, Kōki and Team Uehara went to support Anbu carrying intelligence from Sunagakure and were ambushed by Sand ninja.
• Kōki, Katsuto, and Yui worked together to kill Kira, but Mei died, and Kazushi was killed after Sunagakure poison paralyzed him.
• Kōki treated the injured Katsuto and Yui, then joined Mamoru’s fight and incapacitated Jun with the Heavenly Foot of Pain before telling Taku that Kira was dead.

After losing Mamoru Uehara, Katsuto, and Yui, Kōki joined the Anbu and resolved to grow strong enough to revive them. As the Third Shinobi World War began, he studied Yin Release, created a body-possessing clone from Kurama Some’s corpse, and gained Kushina’s help with sealing jutsu.

• Kōki used Wood Release to defeat the Sunagakure force, but Mamoru Uehara, Katsuto, and Yui died, leaving him determined to revive them.
• Minato brought Kōki back to Konoha, where Hiruzen learned of his Wood Release and arranged for him to join the Anbu while keeping his ability secret.
• Rasa began the war against Konoha, and Hiruzen ordered the village to prepare as Iwagakure considered joining the conflict and Madara continued watching Obito.
• Kōki traded his Superhuman Strength Technique to Yūhi Shinku for Genjutsu research and studied Yin Release with him.
• Kōki used Tobirama Senju’s records and Shinku’s research to create a Yin Release clone that possessed Kurama Some’s corpse and wielded his Five Senses Manipulation.
• Kōki tested the clone’s abilities, then sealed Some’s body away when Minato and Kushina visited and Kushina asked for his help with Wood Release.
• Kōki asked Kushina how to keep Yin Release chakra from dissipating, and she gave him a sealing jutsu scroll and offered to answer future questions.

Kōki’s missions with Butterfly Squad escalated into a battle against Sunagakure, while Aizen hunted targets and gathered secrets independently. Sunagakure identified Kōki as the force behind the attacks, and Kōki left seeking another way to obtain Tobirama Senju’s research.

• Kōki sealed Kurama Some’s corpse into a long-lasting Shadow Clone, which named itself Aizen and set out to gather records and techniques while Kōki asked Hiruzen Sarutobi for Tobirama Senju’s research.
• Aizen killed Mano Seiichiro in Kumogakure, then hunted Kawasaki Ya and took his corpse after defeating him with Genjutsu.
• Kōki joined Nara Yūsuke, Yamanaka Kenji, and Akimichi Tsuyoshi on missions against Sunagakure infiltrators, saving the squad from an explosive trap and helping defeat the enemy team.
• Kōki’s squad attacked a Sunagakure outpost, where Kōki fought through the defenders and destroyed their puppets before the team moved on to disrupt supply lines.
• Kōki and his teammates burned a Sunagakure supply convoy, then fought through an encirclement and escaped toward the Land of Fire.
• Chiyo linked Kōki’s Water Release and Taijutsu to the attacks on Sunagakure forces and ordered that he be killed if encountered.
• Kōki demanded more of Tobirama Senju’s research from Hiruzen Sarutobi, then considered seeking the records from Tsunade or Orochimaru.

Kōki refined his Special Shadow Clone Technique, and Jörmungandr tested his enhanced body against Iwagakure fighters before Aizen negotiated future missions with Ōnoki. Back on the front, Kōki and his comrades were surrounded by Sunagakure ninja, and Kōki refused to leave them behind.

• Kōki improved his Special Shadow Clone Technique with Tobirama Senju’s research, created Jörmungandr from Kawasaki Ya’s corpse, and agreed with Aizen to build an organization.
• Jörmungandr strengthened his body with the Body Revival Technique and Medical Ninjutsu, opened six of the Eight Gates, and learned that each use cost him half a year of his lifespan.
• Aizen and Jörmungandr accepted a black-market mission to kill Iwahato, and Jörmungandr defeated him before fighting off Ōkura Suke’s Iwagakure unit.
• Butō challenged Jörmungandr, lost their taijutsu contest, and failed to defeat him with Earth Release or Dust Release before Ōnoki intervened.
• Ōnoki rescued Butō, offered Aizen and Jörmungandr work for Iwagakure, and arranged to post suitable missions on the black market with a sun symbol.
• Kōki joined Nara Yūsuke, Akimichi Tsuyoshi, and Yamanaka Kenji in destroying a Sunagakure outpost, then saved the trio from two enemies who exploded.
• After the squad was surrounded by more than a hundred Sunagakure ninja, Kōki stopped Akimichi Tsuyoshi from using the Three-Colored Secret Medicine and vowed to protect his comrades.