Memories from the Day of Snow

A demonstration erupts against the Kaminarimon Company over claims of unfair labor, and the Byakuya Gang welcomes the rising unrest in Konoha. Ryōgi reassures Gekkō that all of it serves justice. Sai and Shikamaru brief Naruto on the latest turns and weigh where events might lead. Boruto checks in on the scene with his friends, puzzled when Shikadai reacts with strange indifference. Ryōgi's thoughts drift back to how he joined the gang: his father came home mortally wounded from a mission, his mother was killed trying to help, and when the attacker turned on him, Ryōgi's Ice Release erupted to stop the man before he blacked out.

Waking afterward, Ryōgi was told by Gekkō that the assailant was dead and his parents already buried. Gekkō offered to train him, then introduced him to the Byakuya Gang, presenting it as the real work he and Ryōgi's father had done alongside their shinobi duties. Gekkō explained that the two of them had come to doubt a ninja's lot as a mere pawn carrying out orders from above. Remembering his mother's words that his father helped people, Ryōgi chose to join. In the present, Gekkō finds him lost in memory and notices a shōgi piece in his hand. Ryōgi says a friend gave it to him, and though Gekkō offers encouragement, out of earshot he mutters that it will soon be irrelevant.

Ryōgi sits down for a game of shōgi with Shikadai, who wins as they play past nightfall. Shikadai asks whether Ryōgi belongs to the Byakuya Gang, pointing out that he knew the reputation of Katasuke's lab despite claiming to be new, which suggests he had been scouting the village. When Ryōgi deflects, Shikadai notes that the lamp he brought so they could keep playing appears on the list of stolen items, and Ryōgi realizes he has been maneuvered into confirming the suspicion. Shikadai has no plan to report him, only to make him stop, but when he warns that Ryōgi will just become someone else's pawn, Ryōgi flares up, accusing Shikadai of never striving to better himself. He storms off to rejoin the gang, where Gekkō announces it is time to carry out the final phase of their plan.