Chapter Summaries

Senya carried Tsunade home, cooked her a meal, and brought out his homemade baijiu when she asked for alcohol. The two prepared to drink together, while Senya worried about what Tsunade might do if she got drunk.

• Senya carried Tsunade to his home, where she thanked him and went to admire the sapling he had planted for her.
• Senya cooked five Chinese dishes while Tsunade watched him from the kitchen doorway.
• Tsunade helped Senya set the dishes on the table, and they began eating together.
• Tsunade asked Senya for alcohol, and he revealed that he still had two jars of homemade baijiu.
• Senya warned Tsunade not to drink too much, but she poured them both drinks and challenged him to join her.
• Senya hesitated over the cup as he worried that a drunken Tsunade might overpower him.

Senya drank with Tsunade, believing he had outlasted her and could take her to the guest room. Tsunade revealed she had been pretending to be drunk and turned their encounter into a role-playing game, while Senya secretly played along too.

• Senya and Tsunade drank cup after cup until Tsunade collapsed onto the table.
• Senya helped Tsunade toward the guest room, but she grabbed his waist and pulled him onto the bed.
• Tsunade revealed she remembered their previous night together and accused Senya of pretending not to.
• Tsunade restrained Senya and teased him as the Fifth Hokage, while Senya tried to argue and escape.
• Tsunade tore Senya's clothes and pressed ahead, while Senya's apparent panic gave way to aggression and satisfaction.

Senya used his Mangekyō Sharingan to restrain Tsunade and turn the situation around after she had overwhelmed him earlier. Tsunade called a truce for the night and fell asleep in Senya’s arms.

• After Tsunade fell asleep, Senya bound her with chains summoned by his Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Tsunade woke and accused Senya of using an ocular technique, while he reminded her that she had treated him the same way earlier.
• Senya stopped Tsunade from protesting and reversed their roles, leaving her exhausted after the encounter.
• Tsunade angrily rejected Senya’s teasing, but called him back when he began to leave.
• Tsunade asked for a truce, turned her back to Senya, and soon fell asleep.

Senya left Tsunade a note and breakfast before going to the Police Force, and Tsunade went to the Hokage Building to meet Nara Shikaku. After a few hours of handling paperwork, she quit her Hokage trial and returned to Senya, demanding he find a way to fix things.

• Senya woke beside Tsunade, made breakfast, left her a note, and went to the Police Force to help with paperwork.
• Tsunade woke at noon, read Senya's note, ate the breakfast he had left, and headed to the Hokage Building.
• Tsunade met Choza and Inoichi outside the building, then found Nara Shikaku waiting to hand her a pile of documents.
• Shikaku left Tsunade to handle the paperwork, and after eight hours she stormed out and declared her Hokage trial over.
• Tsunade kicked in Senya's front door, threw him onto the sofa, and demanded that he solve the paperwork problem or she would refuse to be Hokage.

Tsunade told Senya that irregular funding in the Medical and Civil Affairs departments was her biggest concern, and Senya reminded her of the preparations she still needed to make before becoming Hokage. He promised to ease her paperwork burden with his own method, but said she would have to meet his terms, and the two ended the night together.

• Shizune interrupted Tsunade and Senya, then Tsunade explained that the Medical and Civil Affairs departments had serious funding irregularities under Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura.
• Senya reminded Tsunade to meet Hiruzen, arrange for craftsmen to make Kageyama a model, and have a Hokage robe tailored.
• After dinner, Tsunade worried about the volume of Hokage paperwork, and Senya promised he had a way to reduce her workload after a few days.
• Tsunade eagerly asked Senya to explain his method, and he made it depend on how she performed.
• Shizune heard Tsunade and Senya together in the bedroom and eventually fell asleep.

Tsunade confronted Hiruzen Sarutobi about the crimes that drove her from Konoha and the death of her brother, Nawaki. She could not bring herself to strike her former teacher, but she realized she believed Hiruzen had manipulated those around him to preserve his power.

• Tsunade visited Hiruzen Sarutobi’s home and entered his study after meeting Shin'nosuke Sarutobi and Konohamaru Sarutobi.
• Tsunade accused Hiruzen of evading responsibility for the deeds that had driven her from the village, while Hiruzen defended his actions as necessary for Konoha.
• Shin'nosuke carried Konohamaru home, leaving Tsunade and Hiruzen alone in the house.
• Tsunade raised her fist against Hiruzen but stopped before hitting him, then broke the study floor as she condemned him for Nawaki’s death and the Senju experiments.
• Hiruzen insisted the sacrifices had been necessary to replicate Wood Release, and Tsunade concluded that he had used Danzo and others to maintain his public image and power.

Hiruzen Sarutobi explained to Tsunade how he consolidated power as Hokage by manipulating clan rivalries and weakening rival clans. He admitted that he had permitted Danzo’s plan to kill Nawaki to prevent the Hokage position from remaining within a succession of connected disciples and relatives.

• Hiruzen recalled how the village’s clans had resisted accepting him as Hokage because they feared losing their share of power and resources.
• He explained that he chose Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru as disciples to secure support from both the clans and civilian shinobi.
• Hiruzen admitted that he had diverted village funds to strengthen allied clans and used the wars to weaken others until no one challenged his rule.
• Tsunade asked why Hiruzen had moved against Nawaki, and he confessed that he had permitted Danzo’s plan and Nawaki’s death.
• Hiruzen said Nawaki had to die because his identity and growing reputation threatened to keep the Hokage position within an established line of relatives and disciples.
• Tsunade listened as Hiruzen explained that he had also prevented his own disciples from succeeding him for the village’s long-term development.

Tsunade severed her ties with Hiruzen Sarutobi after confronting him about his distrust of the clans, then returned home to Senya and Shizune for comfort. She told Senya what had happened and remained uncertain about her choices, while Senya encouraged her to act as Hokage with his support.

• Tsunade told Hiruzen Sarutobi that they were no longer master and disciple, and he knelt to apologize for failing her, her brothers, and the Senju Clan.
• Tsunade left Hiruzen's house in turmoil but found comfort when she returned home to Senya and Shizune.
• Tsunade leaned on Senya, ate dinner with him and Shizune, and later recounted her confrontation with Hiruzen.
• Senya urged Tsunade to make her own decisions as Hokage and promised to support her, while they teased each other before bed.
• Senya woke to find Tsunade staring hungrily at Little Senya.

Hiruzen Sarutobi reflected on his old regrets and memories with his disciples, while Tsunade and Senya spent the morning recovering after their fierce night together. Tsunade’s thoughts about Senya were interrupted at work by Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, whom she sent flying through the office wall with a punch.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi reread his notes and mourned the lost days with Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru.
• Tsunade and Senya ate breakfast together, and Shizune told Tsunade that the ancestral residence was ready, but Tsunade chose to stay with Senya.
• Shizune admitted that Tsunade and Senya were getting louder at night, leaving Tsunade pondering how to improve her strength against Senya.
• Tsunade struggled to focus on Hokage paperwork as she thought about Senya and their nighttime sparring.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura barged into Tsunade’s office to challenge her over budget cuts, and Tsunade punched through the wall and scolded them for interrupting her break.

Tsunade confronted Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura in the Hokage's office, then demanded to know why they had come. When they challenged her budget cuts, she exposed extensive embezzlement in the Medical Department accounts and began berating them.

• Tsunade's punch sent Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura stumbling in fear, while she told the guards to leave and repair the office.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura asked Tsunade why the Medical Department and Civil Affairs Department budgets had been cut.
• Tsunade handed them the department accounts, and both claimed their budgets were reasonable.
• Tsunade cited long-running medical payments for Yoko Sumie and Kozuchi Kazuki as evidence that Utatane Koharu had siphoned off over a hundred million ryo.
• Tsunade accused the Utatane Clan of embezzling at least a billion ryo from the Medical Department, while Mitokado Homura privately compared that amount to his clan's smaller thefts.

Tsunade confronted Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura over their clans’ embezzlement and misuse of village funds, then ordered them to repay the village and purge the Civil Affairs Department of Mitokado Clan members. The two elders tore up her promissory notes and threatened her, but Tsunade revealed that Hiruzen and Danzo had used their clans before the confrontation continued.

• Mitokado Homura admitted that he had embezzled more than two hundred million ryo and promised to repay it, while Utatane Koharu silently blamed him for betraying their alliance.
• Tsunade exposed Mitokado Homura’s misuse of Civil Affairs Department funds and the Mitokado Clan’s control of more than half the department’s positions.
• Tsunade ordered the Utatane Clan to repay two billion ryo within five years and the Mitokado Clan to dismiss its Civil Affairs Department members and repay one billion ryo within five years.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura tore up their promissory notes and threatened Tsunade, claiming their support had helped make her Hokage.
• Tsunade laughed at their threats and told them Hiruzen and Danzo had used their clans, prompting the elders to defend Hiruzen and invoke the White Fang.

Tsunade defeated Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, stripped them of their positions, and was publicly announced as Konoha’s Fifth Hokage. News of her appointment spread across the ninja world, alarming Sunagakure and Iwagakure while Obito manipulated Yagura in Kirigakure.

• Tsunade struck Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura into the office wall, then removed them as Hokage’s Assistants and increased their compensation amount by thirty percent.
• Kakashi announced to the villagers that Hiruzen Sarutobi would step down in three days and Tsunade would become the Fifth Hokage.
• Konoha’s villagers and many ninja celebrated Tsunade’s appointment, and the news spread to other villages through spies.
• Grandmother Chiyo reacted angrily to Tsunade’s appointment, while Ōnoki worried about the deal involving Nawaki’s death.
• Obito appeared behind Yagura and began controlling him as he wrote new orders onto a scroll.

Orochimaru killed a failed test subject and refused to let Kimimaro face the pursuer, deciding to confront the threat himself. He expected Akatsuki but found Itachi instead, and their fight began with Itachi burning through Orochimaru’s snakes.

• Orochimaru ended the failed experiment by killing the test subject and told Kimimaro he was too young to face the elite pursuer.
• Orochimaru suspected Akatsuki had sent someone after him for leaving the organization and prepared to test his newly mastered Impure World Reincarnation.
• Orochimaru sensed Itachi approaching and greeted him, but immediately sent a mass of snakes to attack.
• Itachi thought about the week-long pursuit and his hoped-for raise from Senya, then countered with Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Flower Claw Red and wiped out the snakes.

Itachi defeated Orochimaru's summoned snakes and fought him with a tactical short sword, using the Sharingan and a wire trick to wound him. Orochimaru healed the cuts and became even more obsessed with taking Itachi's body and Sharingan.

• Itachi used the Puppet Shuriken Technique and Phoenix Sage Flower Claw Red to destroy Orochimaru's snake swarm while conserving his Chakra.
• Itachi mocked Orochimaru, drew a tactical short sword, and attacked him at close range.
• Orochimaru evaded Itachi's throat strike with his stretched neck and countered with a Kusanagi Sword, cracking Itachi's short sword.
• Itachi threw the cracked sword as a feint, then used a wire to make its fragments cut Orochimaru's neck.
• Orochimaru healed his wounds and fixated on the Sharingan, imagining how taking Itachi's body would advance his pursuit of power and immortality.

Itachi defeated Orochimaru with a three-tomoe Genjutsu and explained that Senya wanted him brought back to Konoha to clear his name. When Itachi promised Senya could reveal a path to immortality, Orochimaru eagerly agreed to return with him.

• Itachi trapped Orochimaru in a Genjutsu and cut off his right arm, leaving Orochimaru overwhelmed by pain and despair.
• Orochimaru lamented that his pursuit of immortality had cost him his bonds, love for the village, and body, while Itachi tried awkwardly to comfort him.
• Orochimaru accused Itachi of humiliating him, but Itachi clarified that he had come to bring him back to Konoha, not kill him.
• Itachi explained that Senya had found evidence in Root's secret scrolls proving Orochimaru had been wronged and wanted to clear his name.
• Itachi promised that Senya would reveal a method to achieve immortality if Orochimaru returned, and Orochimaru eagerly replaced his body and agreed to go home.

Itachi persuaded Orochimaru to leave his desert base and return to the village, while both he and Kimimaro privately misjudged each other. As Orochimaru sent clones to retrieve his equipment, Konan and Sasori arrived at the base and found evidence that someone had attacked it.

• Itachi urged Orochimaru to finish packing and return to the village before Tsunade became Fifth Hokage.
• Orochimaru took Itachi to meet Kimimaro, who welcomed Orochimaru and immediately disliked Itachi.
• Itachi suspected Orochimaru intended to take Kimimaro’s body and resolved to save the boy after they returned to the village.
• Orochimaru used the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu to send clones through the base and collect valuable equipment and materials.
• Konan and Sasori reached the desert base, found severed snake remains, and concluded Orochimaru was likely hiding underground.

Orochimaru gave Kimimaro the Cursed Seal of Heaven in hopes of saving him, then joined Itachi aboveground to confront Konan and Sasori. Itachi countered their first attacks with powerful Fire Release, and the fight remained underway.

• Orochimaru stopped Kimimaro from joining the fight, gave him the Cursed Seal of Heaven, and ordered Itachi to use the Reverse Summoning Technique to send him away.
• Orochimaru and Itachi went aboveground and defended themselves against Konan and Sasori’s paper shuriken and poisoned senbon.
• Orochimaru recognized Konan and Sasori as his former Akatsuki comrades and traded taunts with them.
• Sasori sent his puppet at Orochimaru while Konan attacked with Dance of the Shikigami.
• Itachi used the Great Dragon Fire Technique to destroy Konan’s paper wheel and force Sasori to shield her with Hiruko.

Sasori and Konan confronted Orochimaru, who used Impure World Reincarnation to bring back the Third Kazekage. The Third Kazekage and Sasori clashed, and Sasori destroyed the reincarnated body while turning his attention to Orochimaru.

• Sasori emerged from Hiruko and attacked Orochimaru with the Third Kazekage puppet's iron sand.
• Orochimaru summoned the Third Kazekage with Impure World Reincarnation, shocking Sasori, who had killed him and kept his corpse.
• Orochimaru placed a curse-marked kunai in the Third Kazekage's head, then ordered him to fight Sasori's puppet.
• The Third Kazekage unleashed Iron Sand Shower, and Sasori's puppet blocked the attack while Konan dodged the iron sand.
• Sasori's puppet struck the Third Kazekage with more than a hundred fists, breaking his reincarnated body apart, and Sasori threatened Orochimaru.

Orochimaru and Itachi fought Sasori and Konan, using the reanimated Third Kazekage until Orochimaru’s taunts caused him to break free. With Orochimaru nearly out of Chakra, Itachi stepped in and awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, leaving Orochimaru eager to study it despite abandoning thoughts of taking Itachi’s body.

• Orochimaru controlled the reanimated Third Kazekage as Sasori and Konan repeatedly attacked, but the Kazekage revived after being blasted apart.
• Orochimaru taunted the Third Kazekage about making him a pawn, prompting the Kazekage to break free and disappear.
• Sasori and Konan combined Iron Sand with Konan’s paper spears, piercing two of Orochimaru’s Triple Rashomon gates before detonating the Explosive Tags.
• Itachi stepped in to protect the exhausted Orochimaru and told him he would handle the rest.
• Itachi awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, and Orochimaru restrained his desire to take Itachi’s body so he could observe the new eyes instead.

Itachi used Clone Great Explosion to destroy Sasori’s Iron Sand Puppet, but Konan then revealed a vast field of Explosive Tags surrounding them. The chapter ended as Konan activated the trap and Orochimaru realized its staggering cost.

• Itachi sent two explosive clones at Konan and Sasori, and one destroyed Sasori’s Iron Sand Puppet in a massive blast.
• Itachi explained that Clone Great Explosion used disguised crows and drew on an opponent’s Chakra before detonating.
• Konan received a signal on a Paper Crane and decided to end the fight with a final move.
• Konan took flight with Sasori attached beneath her as Itachi spotted Explosive Tags covering the desert for a hundred meters in every direction.
• Konan activated the trap, turning the surrounding sand into Explosive Tags, and Orochimaru estimated they were worth at least a hundred million ryō.