Recaps

Madara gave Izuna dango while Tobirama brought news that the Four Nations wanted a Five Kage Summit in the Land of Iron. After learning that the Three-Tails was inside the Jade Purifying Bottle, Izuna proposed establishing a Military Court to try the festival’s perpetrators, and the others decided Tobirama should oversee the idea.

• Madara gave Izuna Soy Sauce Dango, and Izuna happily ate it while Madara urged him to drink his soup.
• Tobirama received the Four Nations’ request for a Five Kage Summit in the Land of Iron and brought it to Izuna and Madara.
• Mokushō told Izuna and Tobirama that Hashirama had discovered the Three-Tails inside the Jade Purifying Bottle, prompting Izuna to want to leave and find the other Tailed Beasts.
• Tobirama stopped Izuna from leaving before the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Whirlpools were secure, and Izuna said he intended to kill the perpetrators after putting them on trial.
• Izuna explained the idea of a Military Court, and Hashirama, Madara, and Tobirama considered using it to hold ninjas and nobles accountable.
• Izuna and Madara entrusted Tobirama with finding a way to prevent the Military Court from being abused, and Tobirama angrily protested.

Izuna negotiated the return of prisoners and Divine Artifacts, discovered Kakuzu had secretly killed several criminals, and gave Enma and Haruto advice on protecting and profiting from the Land of Whirlpools' Barrier Ninjutsu. Before leaving the Land of Hot Water, Izuna and the others visited Jurōjin and then met Kyōnosuke, where Hashirama watched the ruler coldly.

• The Land of Hot Water and the Land of Whirlpools became allies, and Yotsuki A collected Kinkaku and Ginkaku after bargaining with Izuna for three Divine Artifacts and trading rights to iron ore and rare metals.
• Izuna realized Kakuzu had killed several criminals and taken their hearts, and Kakuzu later gave Izuna preserved Ketsuryūgan as a gift from the Land of Waterfalls.
• Izuna gave Enma and Haruto business and defense advice, including using Barrier Ninjutsu for commercial services and preparing the Land of Whirlpools to deter invaders.
• Izuna drank with Haruto and Enma before he and his companions visited Jurōjin, who thanked them on behalf of the Land of Hot Water.
• Izuna and his companions went to meet Kyōnosuke, while Hashirama stared at him coldly.

Izuna and the others left the Land of Whirlpools and prepared to attend the Five Kage Summit while planning to speak with the Tailed Beasts. After releasing Isobu at sea, Izuna offered to return him to his former home, but Isobu remained distrustful.

• Kyōnosuke warned Izuna to be careful of those around him, and Izuna said he trusted others because he could withstand betrayal.
• Hashirama, Madara, Izuna, and Tobirama discussed the upcoming Five Kage Summit and decided to release Isobu before speaking with Kurama.
• The group visited Mokushō's newly rebuilt shrine, where Mokushō showed them the Amber Purifying Pot holding the Three-Tails.
• Izuna used Susanoo to carry a rented boat out to sea, then opened the pot and released Isobu.
• Izuna introduced himself and the others to Isobu and offered to take him back to his former waters, but Isobu questioned whether the Ninjas meant to capture him again.

Izuna and his companions freed Isobu and arranged for him to live near the Land of Rain, where Tobirama formed a Contract with him. That evening, they assessed Konoha’s growing influence and the nobles’ plan to use a Five Kage Summit to contain it, leaving Tobirama asking how they would face the Four Kage.

• Isobu admitted he did not know where his home was, and Izuna offered to find him a new place to live.
• Izuna rejected sealing Isobu in the Amber Purifying Pot, and the group settled on sending him to the waters near the Land of Rain.
• Tobirama made a Contract with Isobu, who then sank beneath the sea to wait for them.
• Izuna, Madara, Hashirama, and Tobirama returned to the Land of Hot Water and reviewed documents about Konoha’s political situation.
• Tobirama explained that the nobles planned to use a Five Kage Summit to turn the Kage against Konoha, then asked how they would face the Four Kage.

Izuna proposed using a game about ninja life to ease other countries’ fears of Konoha and secure the Land of Wind’s puppet technology. The group agreed that Konoha could trade help restoring the Land of Wind’s environment for the technique and build goodwill, while Izuna also hoped to recruit its puppeteers.

• Izuna rejected threatening other countries and suggested showing calculated weakness to make them willing to negotiate.
• Namikaze Sōichi and Yūko visited to thank Izuna for protecting their family during the storm, then departed for Konoha with a Flying Thunder God-marked kunai from Tobirama.
• Izuna proposed making a game that let nobles and ordinary people experience missions and life as ninja, arguing that safe exposure to danger would make them curious about ninja power.
• Izuna suggested obtaining the Land of Wind’s puppet technology, while Madara and Hashirama concluded that Konoha could win goodwill by helping restore the land and teaching locals how to cultivate it.
• Izuna revealed that he wanted the Land of Wind’s puppeteers to teach their techniques in Konoha, especially to the Hyuga Clan.

Izuna and the others discussed how to secure the other countries’ cooperation before traveling to the Land of Iron for the Five Kage Summit. After subduing Kurama and making him Madara’s Summoning Beast, they arrived at Sendai Hall, where Hashirama opened the conference room door.

• Izuna argued that the countries still needed to make deals, and the others anticipated another unusual proposal from him.
• The Kage of the Land of Lightning, Land of Earth, and Land of Water arrived at Sendai Hall, followed by Reto and Shamon of the Land of Wind.
• Izuna’s speeding carriage nearly hit Reto, and Izuna apologized before entering Sendai Hall with Hashirama, Madara, and Tobirama.
• Two days earlier, Hashirama and Madara had fought Kurama, while Madara subdued him with Genjutsu.
• Izuna proposed that Kurama become Madara’s Summoning Beast instead of being sealed, and Kurama was forced to agree.
• Hashirama led the group into Sendai Hall, and he opened the conference room door.

Hashirama proposed a peace agreement at the Five Kage Summit and argued that the nobles were turning people against Ninja. The Kage began debating whether Ninja should change their role in society, with Byakuren rejecting the idea.

• The Four Kage questioned Hashirama’s Uchiha guards and the red fox before the meeting began, while Izuna advised Hashirama to bow rather than kowtow.
• Reto and A traded barbs before Ishikawa steered the summit toward avoiding war, and Byakuren challenged Konoha’s growing strength.
• Hashirama bowed to the Four Kage, then proposed a peace agreement and said he wanted to negotiate terms that would help their countries grow stronger.
• Hashirama explained that the nobles had used the events in the Land of Hot Water to undermine Ninja and make the world fear them.
• Izuna said the nobles treated Ninja like dogs, and Hashirama called for changing their circumstances; Byakuren rejected abandoning the Ninja identity.

Hashirama presented the other Kage with plans for economic cooperation and an inter-village training exchange, arguing that Ninja needed to reduce their dependence on mission fees. The four villages agreed to send trainees to Konoha, while Byakuren warned that anyone who stayed there would be treated as a defector.

• Hashirama explained that nobles were using the Land of Hot Water crisis to pressure Shinobi Villages and that their control over mission fees left Ninja economically vulnerable.
• Hashirama proposed pilot business projects between Konoha and the other villages, offering technology and promising that Konoha would cover losses; the Kage examined the draft agreements and raised concerns about their scale.
• Hashirama offered to share non-core Ninjutsu and logistical techniques through six-month training exchanges in Konoha, and Byakuren, A, and Reto agreed to participate for their villages.
• Ishikawa requested guardians for younger trainees, and Hashirama added that students could earn mission commissions to cover their expenses.
• Byakuren warned that trainees who chose to remain in Konoha would be considered defectors, leaving Hashirama glancing toward Izuna for help.

At the Five Kage Summit, Izuna proposed reforming the Ninja’s public image so people would know their deeds as well as fear their power. The discussion left the Kage considering how distrust of Ninja could provoke future conflict, while Yuan Yusheng acknowledged that nobles had lost their former authority.

• Izuna inferred that Byakuren’s strict rules aimed to prevent skilled young people from leaving the Land of Water, and he devised a policy for assessing exchange students who wanted to stay in Konoha.
• Ishikawa eased the dispute between Byakuren and Hashirama, who then introduced Izuna and announced the Ninja Image Reform Plan.
• Izuna asked the Kage whether they wanted people to admire Ninja rather than distrust them, then challenged their willingness to remain feared and treated as weapons.
• Izuna argued that Ninja should publicize their deeds and distinguish themselves from nobles, prompting the Kage to consider his image-reform proposal.
• Yuan Yusheng read a nobles’ account of the Summer Festival and admitted to Minamoto Mansaku that the Ninja’s power had ended the nobles’ illusion of authority.
• Izuna warned the Kage that ordinary people’s fear could turn into hostility, and A dismissed the threat because ordinary people could not use Chakra.

At the Five Kage Summit, Izuna used A’s unusual rise to power to warn the Kage about outside forces influencing the shinobi world, then pitched improving the ninja’s public image. He left the Kage’s representatives preparing for makeovers while the Five Kage resumed drafting a peace agreement.

• A admitted that he had gained Chakra after being caught in a fight between Ninja, and that he had united the Shinobi Clans of the Land of Lightning by defeating them and winning their loyalty with food and wine.
• Izuna urged the Kage to make friends and improve the Ninja’s public image, and the Kage sent representatives to discuss his proposal.
• Izuna brought Madara to the smaller meeting room and revealed his face to demonstrate how appearance shaped people’s first impressions.
• Izuna declared that cuteness was justice, and Hozuki Gengetsu agreed while Shamon and Mū considered his argument.
• Izuna opened a chest of clothes and accessories and told the representatives to take off their clothes so he could give them makeovers.
• The Five Kage gathered in the main meeting room to discuss a draft peace agreement.

At the Five Kage Summit, Hashirama Senju and the other Kage revised a draft agreement for economic cooperation intended to reduce the chance of another war. They added safeguards for costs, trainees, workers, disputes, and withdrawal, but continued to negotiate how disasters and unmet obligations would be handled.

• Hashirama Senju proposed that Konoha fund and support livelihood projects in other lands in exchange for resources, training, and labor, while Reto and A warned that Konoha could not bear all the risks or costs.
• Hashirama and the Kage discussed fair exchanges, force majeure provisions for delayed deliveries, and limits on suspending livelihood projects when a party breached the agreement.
• Byakuren, A, Reto, and Ishikawa raised concerns about trainees and craftspeople abroad, leading the group to propose return-to-service rules, border inspections, protections against poaching and detention, and basic-level skill exchanges with trainee caps.
• A proposed staged dispute resolution process, and Hashirama suggested a Joint Coordination Committee with representatives from all five villages to monitor obligations and determine compliance.
• Reto raised the possibility of withdrawal, and the Kage discussed advance written notice, settlement of debts and unfinished projects, and evidence requirements when disasters prevented a party from fulfilling its obligations.

The Five Kage finalized and signed a general peace agreement, then discovered Izuna had been entertaining their guards by restyling their hair and clothes. A conversation about marriage turned into the Kage trying to find wives for Madara and Izuna, leaving Izuna overwhelmed by their matchmaking.

• Hashirama calmed the arguing Kage, and the Five Kage settled the agreement’s clauses, signed their copies, and added their fingerprints.
• Ishikawa reflected on Hashirama’s dedication to peace before noticing that Mū and the other guards had not returned.
• Hashirama and the other Kage found Izuna combing Hozuki Gengetsu’s hair while Madara rested nearby, and A admired Killer B’s new outfit.
• The Kage chatted about their wives and families, and Madara revealed that he had never married while Izuna said he was unmarried too.
• Reto, A, Byakuren, Ishikawa, and Hashirama offered to find wives for Izuna, while Madara objected and Izuna asked them to stop.

Izuna helped Hashirama and the Four Kage settle policies for exchange students, missions, and sharing intelligence about global threats, then explained his role in defeating Ōtsutsuki Isshiki. After Izuna defeated Hozuki Gengetsu in a spar, the other Kage offered him jobs as a guest instructor.

• Izuna proposed rules for exchange students who wanted to remain in Konoha, and Hashirama and the Four Kage agreed to the plan.
• Izuna suggested that villages set their own mission prices and share intelligence about threats severe enough to endanger the world.
• Hashirama and Madara confirmed that Ōtsutsuki Isshiki had threatened the world and that Izuna had killed him.
• Hozuki Gengetsu challenged Izuna to a friendly spar, but Izuna saw through his Genjutsu and sent him flying with a blast of wind.
• A, Byakuren, Ishikawa, and Reto invited Izuna to become a guest instructor in their villages, leaving him dumbfounded.

Madara shielded Izuna from the other Kage’s attempts to invite him abroad, but Hashirama encouraged Izuna to handle the attention himself at dinner. Izuna befriended Gengetsu over food and conversation, while Mū recalled their hostile first meeting and Madara quietly struggled with jealousy.

• Madara refused the Four Kage’s requests to have Izuna visit their villages, and Hashirama redirected the discussion to dinner.
• The Five Kage and their guards ate at Yukimiya, where Gengetsu took the seat beside Izuna and asked about his appearance and interests.
• Izuna and Gengetsu chatted about plays, Noh, clothing, and village symbols as Madara watched jealously and made sure Izuna ate.
• Mū remembered meeting Gengetsu at an izakaya, where Gengetsu’s compliments and questions had led to a fight that cost Mū his mission reward.
• Gengetsu asked why Konoha had its name, and Izuna explained that Madara and Hashirama had chosen it to describe a village nestled in the woods.

Madara watched Izuna navigate the banquet with unexpected diplomatic skill, while Mū warned Izuna that Hozuki Gengetsu’s compliments might signal romantic interest. After the gathering, Izuna went shopping in the Land of Iron with Madara and Hashirama, where he began collecting rough stones for reasons he did not explain.

• Madara realized Izuna understood how to handle strangers and wondered whether Izuna might share more about his past.
• Hozuki Gengetsu frightened Madara with his long conversation with Izuna, while Izuna reassured Gengetsu that his brother was easy to talk to.
• Mū warned Izuna that Hozuki Gengetsu might have ulterior motives, and Izuna concluded that Gengetsu probably just had low emotional intelligence.
• Izuna, Madara, and Hashirama decided to explore the Land of Iron’s markets after the banquet and look for a better home for Tsukimiyo.
• At the Ishimiya shop, Izuna bought several inexpensive raw stones, saying that he liked them, while Madara and Hashirama wondered why.

Izuna bought stones and an old umbrella for Tsukimiyo, then spent a peaceful afternoon eating with Madara and Hashirama. Their outing ended when Tobirama arrived with news that trouble had erupted again in the Land of Hot Water.

• Madara tried to understand Izuna’s memories by listening as Izuna explained the stones and gemstones they examined.
• Izuna bought several stones, then chose an old umbrella as Tsukimiyo’s new home, insisting Tsukimiyo would like it.
• Izuna, Madara, and Hashirama ate skewers and drank sweet sake in the snowy lower district.
• Izuna wondered whether Hozuki Gengetsu had disfigured Mū in the original story and asked Madara how he would react to being praised for his looks.
• Four Messenger Hawks flew overhead, and Tobirama appeared to tell Hashirama that something had happened in the Land of Hot Water.
• Madara urged the others to return to the inn before Tobirama explained what had happened.