Chapter Summaries

Hatake Sakumo’s force was ambushed by Yotsuki Dana as it advanced through the Land of Soup, while Kumogakure’s 300 Heroes prepared to confront Ōnoki’s Iwagakure force. Nagato committed himself to trying to change the Shinobi World as the two sides clashed near the Land of Lightning.

• Hatake Sakumo learned that Kumogakure had attacked and surrounded Konoha, then Yotsuki Dana descended into his force and began killing its ninja.
• Minato Namikaze and Hatake Sakumo tried to use the Flying Thunder God Technique against Dana, but his Thunder Drums destroyed their marked weapons and his force field deflected them.
• Yotsuki Qi, Uzumaki Hirohiko, and Konan prepared an ambush in a valley, and Konan outfitted the 300 Heroes of Kumogakure with black robes patterned with red clouds.
• Yotsuki Qi told Nagato he could still withdraw, but Nagato chose to put his own ninja way into practice and Konan gave him Explosive Tags.
• Ōnoki appeared above the horizon, and Yotsuki Qi led the 300 Heroes of Kumogakure in a charge against the Iwagakure force.

Yotsuki Dana kept Konoha’s southern advance force contained by feigning an injury, while Amegakure prepared an ambush for Sunagakure and Kumogakure’s western force clashed with Iwagakure. The chapter left the southern Konoha ninja encouraged by Uchiha Fugaku’s apparent success, as battles opened on the other fronts.

• Yotsuki Dana used his Sage Lightning Armor and Thunder Drums to devastate Konoha’s advance force while preventing Hatake Sakumo and Minato Namikaze from teleporting near him.
• Hatake Sakumo’s coordinated attack failed, but Dana deliberately let Uchiha Fugaku’s shuriken strike his hand and pretended to be injured, giving Konoha hope.
• Hatake Sakumo and Minato Namikaze gave Fugaku special throwing weapons and asked him to coordinate attacks against Dana.
• Uzumaki Kagari sensed Sunagakure’s vanguard approaching, and Hanzo of the Salamander planned an ambush with Amegakure’s five hundred ninja.
• Yotsuki Ki, Uzumaki Hirohiko, Nagato, and Konan joined the battle against Iwagakure’s three-thousand-strong vanguard, while Ōnoki and Kitsuchi launched powerful attacks.

Kumogakure’s siege left Konoha on the brink, prompting its elders to ask Orochimaru to use Impure World Reincarnation while battles across several fronts intensified. As Konoha’s forces retreated toward their besieged village, Orochimaru began preparing the forbidden technique with two living sacrifices.

• Kumogakure overwhelmed Konoha’s defenses with rapidly rebuilt fortresses, while the Third Raikage repeatedly attacked the village and Mine Taro considered improvements to the fortifications.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura asked Orochimaru to summon the First and Second Hokage, and Orochimaru agreed to begin preparing Impure World Reincarnation.
• Black Zetsu showed Orochimaru a pair of Main Family Byakugan but withheld them until Orochimaru improved the technique further.
• Kumogakure’s western force halted Iwagakure’s advance at great cost, while Yotsuki Dana continued holding off Konoha’s surprise attack force in the south.
• Amegakure ambushed Sunagakure in flooded terrain; Hanzo severed Sasori’s arms before the Third Kazekage intervened to protect him.
• After learning Konoha was surrounded, Hatake Sakumo ordered a retreat and sent Minato Namikaze back ahead of the others, while Orochimaru began the summoning ritual beside two bound sacrifices.

Orochimaru summoned Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju to help Konoha resist Kumogakure’s siege. After seeing the fortress encircling the village and learning that Konoha had started the war, Hashirama attempted to save it by kowtowing to the Third Raikage.

• Orochimaru performed the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu and brought Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju back using two sacrifices.
• Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and the Nara Clan head explained Konoha’s desperate situation and its siege by Kumogakure.
• Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju used a Flying Thunder God mark to reach the Hokage Building’s exterior and saw the surrounding fortifications and bombardment.
• The Third Raikage recognized Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju, while Tobirama Senju learned that Konoha had started the war and sought negotiations.
• Hashirama Senju stopped Tobirama Senju and kowtowed to the Third Raikage, pleading for Konoha to be spared.

Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Hatake Sakumo negotiated a temporary ceasefire with Kumogakure while Konoha faced destruction, and Minato Namikaze sought Sunagakure’s help in ending the war. Meanwhile, Black Zetsu secretly drugged Blue B, and a hidden Land of Earth leader revealed that he had sacrificed a substitute Daimyo to turn the nations against Kumogakure.

• Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju negotiated with the Third Raikage, who demanded that Konoha return Blue B before talks could proceed.
• Hatake Sakumo returned to Konoha after covering the retreat of its surprise attack force and told Tobirama Senju that Blue B was held in Sunagakure.
• The Third Raikage and Yotsuki Dana agreed to a temporary ceasefire while one person went to retrieve Blue B, and Kumogakure redirected aerial support to its western front.
• Tobirama Senju discussed a possible breakout with Hashirama Senju while they remained under guard outside Konoha.
• Minato Namikaze asked Elder Chiyo to negotiate an end to the war, as Sunagakure’s vanguard retreated after heavy losses and the Third Kazekage fell unconscious.
• Black Zetsu disguised himself as a Sunagakure ninja and secretly poured a blackish-purple liquid into Blue B, while a hidden Land of Earth leader revealed that his substitute Daimyo was meant to die and provoke fear of Kumogakure.

The Eight-Tails rampaged through Sunagakure after Blue B’s Flying Thunder God mark was destroyed, while Konoha faced negotiations under Kumogakure’s overwhelming pressure. The Third Raikage left with Minato Namikaze to pursue the beast, and Yotsuki Dana prepared to begin negotiations with Konoha.

• The Eight-Tails appeared in Sunagakure and destroyed buildings as Rasa, Chiyo, and Minato Namikaze tried to respond.
• Minato Namikaze found that the Flying Thunder God mark on Blue B had been destroyed, while Konoha’s leaders prepared to negotiate with Kumogakure.
• Yotsuki Dana and the Third Raikage discussed how Kumogakure could control Konoha and the Land of Fire after its victory.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura revealed that Blue B had gone berserk in Sunagakure, and the Eight-Tails had been lured into the Land of Wind’s desert.
• Yotsuki Dana summoned Katsuyu to restore Minato Namikaze’s Chakra, allowing Minato to take the Third Raikage to the Land of Wind.
• Yotsuki Dana told Konoha’s leaders to begin negotiations at a new location with representatives from each ninja clan present.

Yotsuki Dana secured Hashirama Senju’s acceptance of Kumogakure’s terms for taking control of Konoha, while the Daimyo of the Land of Earth’s death triggered a Ten-Nation Alliance and years of East-West confrontation. After returning from the Joint Chunin Exam, Obito and Kakashi found Kumogakure shinobi rebuilding Konoha and encountered the resurrected Hashirama Senju.

• Yotsuki Dana laid out terms that stripped Konoha of its autonomy, and Hashirama Senju accepted them after apologizing to Konoha’s shinobi for the failures of the Ninja Village System.
• The Daimyo of the Land of Earth died in a Kumogakure prison, and ten nations formed the Ten-Nation Alliance against Kumogakure.
• The Ten-Nation Alliance’s forces were pushed back before switching to scattered raids, while the Cloud-Lightning Federation formed and began a period of East-West confrontation.
• Obito and Kakashi returned to Konoha after half a month of travel and found Kumogakure shinobi rebuilding the village.
• Obito mistook the resurrected Hashirama Senju’s cracked Edo Tensei Body for a grievous injury and told him to go to the hospital.

Kakashi, Obito, and Might Guy entered a Konoha now governed under Kumogakure’s victory and challenged Yotsuki Dana and Tobirama Senju. The fight ended with Tobirama overpowering Might Guy while Dana and Tobirama were discussing Konoha’s leadership.

• Shikaku Nara told Kakashi and Obito that Konoha had lost the war, the Fourth Hokage had stepped down, and no new Hokage had been chosen.
• Yotsuki Dana accepted Konoha’s Scroll of Seals as part of the settlement, while Konoha’s ninja limit was raised to twenty-six thousand and the clans’ techniques were left untouched.
• Tobirama Senju discussed the choice of a new Hokage and the two elders with Dana before Kakashi burst through the window and attacked Dana with a short sword.
• Obito followed Kakashi into the room and kicked Tobirama Senju, then joined Kakashi in confronting Dana and Tobirama.
• Might Guy arrived to help Kakashi and Obito, but Tobirama Senju caught his kick and slammed him into the floor.

Yotsuki Dana and Tobirama Senju discussed Konoha’s new leadership, with Dana proposing Minato Namikaze as Hokage and Uchiha and Hyuga elders to balance his authority. Uchiha Obito then announced his own Hokage campaign and left believing he might truly win.

• Shikaku Nara took Tobirama Senju, Hashirama Senju, and Uchiha Madara aside to explain Konoha’s situation.
• Yotsuki Dana rejected the proposed Hokage because the candidate had served in the former leadership and suggested Hashirama Senju instead.
• Tobirama Senju doubted Hashirama would accept, so Dana proposed Minato Namikaze as a commoner Hokage balanced by ninja-clan elders.
• Dana suggested giving the elder positions to the Uchiha and Hyuga, and Tobirama Senju warned him about using the Uchiha.
• Uchiha Obito returned to announce his candidacy for Hokage, and Dana told him to canvass for votes before sending him away.

Kakashi reunited with Hatake Sakumo and helped him rebuild Konohagakure, finding pride in his father's quiet efforts to restore the village. Meanwhile, Uchiha Obito campaigned to become Hokage, met the dead Hashirama Senju, and learned the village's original purpose was to protect children.

• Kakashi returned to Konohagakure and found Hatake Sakumo helping rebuild a dango shop with Cloud Ninja construction workers.
• Hatake Sakumo told Kakashi to begin with small, certain acts of kindness, and the two finished installing the shop's stove together.
• Kakashi saw Uchiha Obito campaigning for Hokage, and Hatake Sakumo said Obito's energy and concern for companions could help answer Kakashi's doubts.
• Obito struggled to make enough campaign flyers, then asked Hashirama Senju for advice about becoming Hokage.
• Hashirama gave Obito a strange list of supposed Hokage requirements and revealed that he was a ghost, frightening Obito.
• The narration explained that Hashirama Senju and Madara had originally envisioned a village and school to protect children from war.

Yotsuki Dana offered Hizashi Hyuga an elder position on the condition that the Hyuga Clan reform its Main Family and Branch Family system. Hizashi and Hyuga Hiashi agreed to work with Dana to end the Branch Family’s oppression.

• Hizashi Hyuga overheard Kumogakure Construction Ninjas criticizing the Hyuga Clan’s treatment of its Branch Family members.
• Yotsuki Dana summoned Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga, confirmed Kumogakure had not taken the missing Main Family member, and offered Hizashi an elder position reserved for the Branch Family.
• Dana explained that the Caged Bird system kept the Hyuga Clan from gaining Konohagakure’s trust or producing powerful shinobi, and said the clan would have to reform to receive the position.
• Hizashi accepted Dana’s offer to help break the Branch Family’s fate, and Hyuga Hiashi joined him in pledging their cooperation.

Yotsuki Dana discussed reforming the Hyuga Clan with Hizashi Hyuga and Hirohiko, then visited Uchiha Fugaku to enlist the Uchiha in joint Konoha–Kumogakure squads. Dana ended by announcing that he intended to reclaim authority over the Police Force.

• Hirohiko examined the Caged Bird mark on Hizashi Hyuga and said he could not yet remove it, so Dana proposed helping reform the Hyuga Clan from within.
• Dana and Hirohiko discussed Dana’s return to the Land of Lightning for the Cloud-Lightning Federation’s founding ceremony and joked about their future relationships.
• Dana and Hirohiko visited Uchiha Fugaku, whom Dana congratulated on becoming clan head.
• Dana asked Fugaku to send Uchiha elites to mixed Konoha–Kumogakure squads operating in the Land of Lightning, and Fugaku agreed to mobilize the clan.
• Dana told Fugaku that he intended to reclaim authority over the Police Force.

Dana pressed Uchiha Fugaku to surrender the clan’s control of the Police Force while offering him an elder position and a role for the Uchiha in mixed squads. After Tobirama challenged Dana’s plans and warned him against employing the Uchiha, Hashirama interrupted their tense exchange with his new lumber technique.

• Dana told Fugaku that the Police Force would become subordinate to the Inspector, who would control its appointments and dismissals, and Fugaku agreed to try to persuade the clan.
• Dana offered Fugaku a Leaf Village Elder position and said it would likely be announced in about ten days; Fugaku could not refuse.
• Dana asked Fugaku to pair an Uchiha elite with Red Fortress, then suggested selecting female Uchiha ninja to join mixed squads with Kumogakure’s men.
• After Dana and Hirohiko left, Dana joked with Hirohiko before Tobirama confronted him about consolidating authority and warned him not to employ the Uchiha Clan.
• Dana rejected Tobirama’s attempt to dictate his decisions, but Hashirama arrived carrying lumber and demonstrated his Infinite Lumber Technique.

Yotsuki Dana organized relief supplies for Konoha and learned that Hyuga Hiashi would take over as clan head as the village reorganized. Jishi arrived to help assess Konoha’s research, then revealed to Tobirama Senju that he had treated Tobirama’s younger brothers when they were children.

• Yotsuki Dana sent food, quilts, charcoal, and household supplies to Konoha, with the village set to repay the cost through future budgets.
• Hyuga Hiashi told the Main Family that Yotsuki Dana wanted younger leaders in the reorganized Konoha, and they agreed to transfer the clan head position to him early.
• Shinobi clans sent Yotsuki Dana invitations after learning he had met with the Hyuga and Uchiha clans, but he ignored them.
• Yotsuki Dana asked Tobirama Senju what Hashirama had been doing, then learned that Jishi had arrived at the Hokage Building.
• Jishi explained that he had visited the Land of Crafts and agreed to help inventory Konoha’s research, including the sealed New Root facilities.
• Jishi recognized Tobirama Senju and recalled treating Senju Itama and Senju Kawarama as children; Tobirama revealed that the Uchiha clan later killed them.

Yotsuki Dana brought Jishi, Tobirama Senju, and researchers to inspect Orochimaru’s New Root laboratory, where Jishi used his unusual tendrils to revive a Hashirama Cells test subject and fuse the cells with his own flesh. The chapter left Dana worried that Jishi, Orochimaru, and Tobirama Senju might join forces in dangerous research.

• Yotsuki Dana asked Orochimaru to introduce New Root’s research facilities to the visiting group.
• Jishi examined the unconscious child Kinoe, opened his tank with black tendrils, and used them to awaken and strengthen him.
• Jishi pulled Kinoe from the tank, while Yotsuki Dana ordered the child wrapped in a towel and taken aboveground.
• Jishi tested Hashirama Cells on one of his tendrils, which resisted assimilation before shedding a fused strip of flesh.
• Orochimaru and Tobirama Senju showed intense interest in Jishi’s abilities, and Yotsuki Dana worried about the three researchers working together.

Yotsuki Dana and Jishi finished taking stock of Orochimaru’s research and examined Hizashi Hyuga’s Caged Bird seal before the new leadership appointments were announced. Uchiha Fugaku welcomed his appointment as an elder, while the Hyuga Main Family reacted with disbelief and sent Hyuga Hiashi to challenge Hizashi’s appointment.

• Jishi assessed Orochimaru’s research, criticized his extreme methods, and noticed his serpentine eyes as Dana’s group left Root.
• Dana secretly arranged for Jishi to examine Hizashi Hyuga’s Caged Bird seal, then sent Jishi, Anzai Mamoru, and Killer B to the Heavenly Transfer Technique facility.
• Killer B celebrated his return to the village in rap-influenced speech, and Dana urged Jishi to stop him from rhyming.
• Dana announced Uchiha Fugaku and Hizashi Hyuga as the two new elders, prompting Fugaku’s clan to celebrate while recognizing its growing ties to Dana and the Cloud-Lightning Federation.
• The Hyuga Main Family questioned Hizashi’s appointment, and Hyuga Hiashi agreed to take the letter to Dana and explain the supposed mistake.

Hyuga Hiashi secured the Leaf Village Elder appointment for Hizashi Hyuga by persuading the Main Family to accept the Inspector’s decision. At the Inspectorate’s inauguration, Hizashi and a young Uchiha received elder posts, while Yotsuki Dana planned to use the clans’ struggle for influence to keep Konohagakure stable after his departure.

• Hiashi told the Hyuga Main Family that the Inspector had appointed Hizashi based on his ability and military merit, and would give the position to another clan if they refused.
• Hiashi urged the Main Family to accept Hizashi as elder, and the kneeling Hizashi said he would obey their arrangements.
• News spread that a Branch Family member would become an elder, but the Main Family continued ordering Hizashi around and the Branch Family’s hopes faded.
• A modern Inspectorate opened across from the Hokage Building, and Yotsuki Dana held an inauguration ceremony for two young elders from the Hyuga and Uchiha clans.
• Dana intended the Hyuga and Uchiha to compete for power within Konohagakure so their clans would be settled after he left.

Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga staged a rebellion to free the Branch Family from the Caged Bird system, with Dana’s support. Hiashi had Hizashi brand him with the final Caged Bird, ending the distinction between the Main and Branch Families.

• Hiashi told the Main Family he would abolish the Caged Bird and fought them after they tried to stop him.
• Hizashi reported that the Main Family had rebelled, and Konoha and Kumogakure forces captured the seven Main Family members with Chishin Yusuke’s help.
• Hiashi summoned the clan and announced that the seven captured members had lost their Main Family status.
• Hiashi declared that all Hyuga shared the same blood and promised that no child would be branded or controlled by the Main Family.
• Hiashi declared himself the clan’s final Main Family member and final Branch Family member, then asked Hizashi to brand him with the last Caged Bird.

Dana discussed the founding ceremony, border security, and Blue B’s damaged seal with the Third Raikage before heading to Ryūchi Cave to handle one last matter. Meanwhile, Minato was summoned to Mount Myōboku by Gamakosuke after learning that Jiraiya had died.

• Dana and the Third Raikage agreed to move the founding ceremony, deploy Konoha ninja to the borders, and continue seeking a way to repair Blue B’s seal.
• Dana remembered the imprisoned Tsunade and decided to consider releasing her after returning, then flew from the Inspectorate toward a visitor’s home.
• When Pulse Mind's Eye showed that his target had vanished, Dana used Reverse Summoning to travel to Ryūchi Cave.
• Gamakosuke appeared in Minato Namikaze’s home and urged him to answer the Great Toad Sage’s summons to Mount Myōboku.
• After hearing that Jiraiya had died and learning how to reach Mount Myōboku, Minato used Summoning Jutsu and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Minato Namikaze visited Mount Myōboku and learned that the Great Toad Sage believed he was destined to become its contract holder. The Great Toad Sage told him to find a purple-eyed boy who could bring Jiraiya back, while Dana arrived at Mount Myōboku with Ichikishimahime.

• Gamakosuke guided Minato Namikaze through Mount Myōboku to meet Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima.
• Sage Shima asked Minato about Yotsuki Dana, and Sage Fukasaku revealed that Dana had killed Jiraiya despite their efforts to help him.
• The Great Toad Sage told Minato that Jiraiya had been meant to guide him and that he was destined to become Mount Myōboku's contract holder.
• The Great Toad Sage instructed Minato to find a purple-eyed boy who could bring Jiraiya back and restore fate's proper course.
• Dana discovered that Minato had disappeared with a toad, went to Ryūchi Cave to learn Mount Myōboku's location, and arrived there with Ichikishimahime as his guide.