Chapter Summaries

Chiyo, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya discussed Kirigakure’s relentless war against Konoha and suspected that the Third Mizukage had been controlled. Chiyo suggested contacting influential Kirigakure figures, especially Yagura, to investigate the Mizukage and possibly stop the fighting.

• Chiyo accepted the battle arrangement after recognizing that Kirigakure held the initiative at sea.
• Chiyo suspected the Third Mizukage was acting abnormally, and Orochimaru explained that he had recovered from years of illness and become more extreme.
• Orochimaru showed Chiyo Hatake Sakumo’s account of encountering the Third Mizukage, who fled while holding up his pants instead of fighting.
• Chiyo concluded that the Third Mizukage might have been controlled, though Jiraiya warned that suspicion alone could not stop the war.
• Chiyo advised Jiraiya and Orochimaru to contact someone influential in Kirigakure and suggested they approach Yagura.

Chiyo’s proposal to contact Yagura reached Konoha, where Tsunade and the Third Hokage considered sending a mission to Kirigakure after learning the Third Mizukage might be under suspicious circumstances. The Third Hokage struggled to choose who to send, while Tsunade left to speak with Chiyue and check on Danzo.

• Orochimaru and Jiraiya sent Chiyo’s suggestions to Konoha in an encrypted scroll, using Chiyue as a relay.
• Chiyue passed the slime-covered scroll to Pakura, who cleaned it and delivered it to Tsunade at the Hokage's Office.
• Tsunade and the Third Hokage read the report and concluded that the Third Mizukage’s age made his apparent condition suspicious.
• Tsunade agreed that Konoha should contact Yagura and Genji, but rejected the Third Hokage’s suggestion to send Chiyue.
• Tsunade proposed sending Orochimaru and Jiraiya instead, then left to speak with Chiyue and check on Danzo.

Chiyue told Tsunade that two hidden guests had been living in Danzo’s basement, and Tsunade ordered them captured for interrogation. Tsunade then explained that the Leaf wanted someone to investigate the suspicious Third Mizukage, but Chiyue refused the assignment and went to deal with Danzo’s hidden subordinates instead.

• Chiyue revealed that Danzo had gone days without proper food and that two people were hiding in his basement.
• Tsunade arranged to have food brought to Danzo and ordered Chiyue to capture the basement occupants for her to interrogate.
• Tsunade told Chiyue that Orochimaru and Jiraiya suspected the Third Mizukage was controlled or an impostor and wanted the Leaf to investigate Kirigakure.
• Chiyue pointed out that the Third Mizukage’s sudden recovery from years of illness was suspicious, but refused to infiltrate Kirigakure.
• Tsunade agreed not to send Chiyue, told him to feed Danzo at least every two days, and said she would handle the rest.
• Chiyue left to capture Danzo’s hidden subordinates.

Chiyue exposed the people Danzo had hidden in a secret chamber and captured them, using their Cursed Tongue Eradication Seals as evidence against Danzo. Tsunade brought the captives before the Third Hokage, who made major concessions, leaving Danzo in a more difficult position.

• Chiyue told Pakura to keep Danzo occupied while he arrested the people hidden in Danzo's home.
• Chiyue revealed that he had sensed the secret chamber from the beginning and warned Danzo to hide his research better.
• Chiyue smashed through the chamber wall, pulled out Danzo's two subordinates, knocked them unconscious, and found Cursed Tongue Eradication Seals on them.
• Pakura tied up the captives, and the Anbu repaired Danzo's home and delivered the men to Tsunade.
• Tsunade took the captives to the Third Hokage, who recognized the seals as evidence against Danzo and made major concessions.

Kakashi asked Minato why he kept searching for something after their training, and Minato revealed that Chiyue had given him a secret task but refused to explain what it was. Minato then described the reflex training Chiyue had assigned him to teach Kakashi and warned that Chiyue was far stronger than even the Yellow Flash; the chapter left Kakashi learning how formidable Chiyue and Kushina were.

• Kakashi noticed Minato searching for something after their training and asked him about it.
• Minato said Chiyue had assigned him a special search task but admitted he did not know what he was looking for.
• Minato explained that his exceptional neural reflexes made him well suited to strengthen Kakashi's counterattack ability.
• Kakashi asked whether Minato could match Chiyue, and Minato conceded that he could not defeat him.
• Minato told Kakashi that Chiyue was Konoha's most terrifying fighter and that Kushina was powerful too.

Minato found Yagura and several Kirigakure jonin near Konoha, and brought Chiyue to question them. Yagura said he wanted to discuss a major matter between the villages, but Chiyue interrupted his opening remarks by mocking the Mizukage.

• Minato discovered Yagura and several Kirigakure jonin in the forest and warned them not to make any hostile moves.
• Yagura said he had come to meet Konoha's Hokage or another person in charge, and Minato left to get help.
• Minato brought Kakashi back to Konoha, told him to go home and keep quiet, then took Chiyue to the forest.
• Chiyue offered Yagura some watermelon and demanded to know why he had come so close to Konoha.
• Yagura began explaining that both villages wanted to end the war, but Chiyue interrupted him with a jab about the Mizukage.

Yagura sneaked into Konoha to ask for help investigating whether the Third Mizukage had been controlled or replaced, hoping to end the war. Chiyue revealed that Konoha and Sunagakure had already suspected the same thing, but said the mission was one neither he nor Minato could handle.

• Chiyue warned Yagura to explain his purpose for entering Konoha and considered keeping him there if he could not persuade him.
• Yagura said he suspected the Third Mizukage had been controlled or replaced and asked Konoha to investigate with Kirigakure to help end the war.
• Minato considered Yagura's proposal, while Chiyue laughed at how closely it matched other recent plans.
• Chiyue explained that Chiyo had suspected the Mizukage was controlled and that Lord Naruto had assigned him a related mission, which he refused.
• When Minato asked why he refused, Chiyue said neither he nor Minato could touch that kind of mission.

Chiyue brought Yagura and his companions toward Konoha while Minato informed Tsunade, who called a high-level meeting to discuss the unexpected visit. At the meeting, Torifu Akimichi tried to smooth things over with Hatake Sakumo and asked about Danzo, prompting Tsunade to rebuke him.

• Chiyue sent Minato to notify Tsunade, then led Yagura and the others toward Konoha.
• Minato went to the Hokage's Office, learned Tsunade was at the Logistics Department, and went to find her.
• Tsunade told Minato to bring Chiyue's group to the conference room and summoned Konoha's senior figures, including Torifu Akimichi.
• Torifu Akimichi arrived with Shikaku Nara and tried to comfort Hatake Sakumo while criticizing the Third Hokage's past indecision.
• Torifu Akimichi asked where Danzo was, and Tsunade angrily demanded whether he knew what Danzo had done.
• Torifu Akimichi laughed it off and said Danzo should retire, while Tsunade remained unconvinced.

Yagura asked Konoha to help investigate whether the Third Mizukage was being controlled, prompting Tsunade to assemble a high-level meeting. As the leaders discussed cooperation and ending the war, Chiyue distracted Akamichi Torifu, who had approached him to plead on someone’s behalf.

• Mitokado Homura redirected a tense exchange between Tsunade and Akamichi Torifu, and the Third Hokage said they were waiting for someone important to arrive.
• Chiyue and Minato brought Yagura into the meeting, and Tsunade invited them to take part.
• Yagura told Konoha’s leaders that he suspected the Third Mizukage was being controlled and asked them to join Kirigakure’s investigation.
• Akamichi Torifu tried to approach Chiyue, but Chiyue steered their conversation toward food until Tsunade glared at him and he stopped.
• Yagura argued that investigating the Third Mizukage could end the war and strengthen ties between the two villages.

Yagura offered Konoha a non-aggression pact and access to Kirigakure’s maritime trade routes in exchange for help investigating whether the Third Mizukage had been controlled or replaced. The Third Hokage accepted Konoha’s cooperation, and Yagura asked Konoha’s representatives to help stage an act.

• The Third Hokage explained that investigating the Third Mizukage was Kirigakure’s internal affair, and Yagura offered a non-aggression pact once the investigation was complete.
• Yagura added that Genji would persuade Kirigakure to open its maritime trade routes to the Land of Fire, persuading the Third Hokage and the others.
• The Third Hokage agreed to cooperate with Kirigakure in the investigation.
• Yagura asked Konoha to send people to work with Kirigakure and put on an act, prompting Tsunade to ask what he meant.

Yagura asked Konoha to stage an assassination attempt on the Third Mizukage to force him to reveal a flaw. Hatake Sakumo and Chiyue refused to join, leaving the mission’s candidates unresolved as Tsunade asked Yagura to explain the plan.

• Yagura proposed that Konoha help Kirigakure stage an assassination attempt on the Third Mizukage, with Minato, Hatake Sakumo, and Chiyue as likely participants.
• Hatake Sakumo refused, saying he wanted to stay in the village and raise Kakashi.
• Chiyue also refused, saying he was tired and wanted to rest and teach his disciples.
• Tsunade redirected the discussion to Yagura’s plan, while the Konoha leaders set aside the question of who would take part.
• Yagura explained that the attack would be blamed on an enemy and that its purpose was to make the Third Mizukage reveal a weakness, not necessarily to kill him.

Tsunade secured Konoha’s agreement to Yagura’s maritime trade proposal and assigned Hatake Sakumo, Chiyue, and Minato to a mission involving the Third Mizukage. She overcame Hatake Sakumo and Chiyue’s reluctance by promising to send Danzo to prison, then declared that Sakumo’s retirement application would be withdrawn.

• After Yagura and his guards left for a secluded courtyard, Konoha’s leaders agreed to consider his terms, and the Third Hokage endorsed the proposal’s potential economic benefits.
• Tsunade assigned Minato to support an assassination plan targeting the Third Mizukage, with Hatake Sakumo and Chiyue tasked with forcing the Mizukage to reveal his true nature.
• Tsunade offered to send Danzo to prison and guard him around the clock if Hatake Sakumo and Chiyue accepted the mission without reward.
• The Third Hokage objected to Danzo’s imprisonment, but Tsunade placed the Hokage seal on the table and said she would proceed despite his opposition.
• Chiyue accepted Tsunade’s offer, and Tsunade treated Hatake Sakumo’s lack of strong objection as agreement while declaring his retirement application void.

Tsunade forced the Third Hokage to choose Konoha’s future over Danzo, securing Danzo’s imprisonment while agreeing to keep his crimes secret. After the meeting, the Third Hokage accepted that Tsunade would take over and urged the Elder Council to support her.

• Tsunade persuaded Hatake Sakumo to follow her and made clear that Danzo’s imprisonment was necessary for Konoha’s future.
• Chiyue mocked the Third Hokage’s defense of Danzo, and Minato tried to quiet him.
• The Third Hokage yielded, agreeing that Danzo would be imprisoned if Tsunade kept his crimes secret and stopped targeting him.
• Tsunade ended the meeting, took the Hokage seal, and left with Chiyue and Minato to coordinate with Yagura.
• Torifu Akimichi and Shikaku Nara left, while the Third Hokage told Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura to assist Tsunade.

Tsunade assigned Nawaki to guard Danzo, trusting his firm dislike of the prisoner to make him resistant to persuasion. After Minato brought Nawaki to Chiyue, the friends joked about Minato’s girlfriend while Danzo fumed nearby, and Nawaki suggested they share a meal before his prison duty began.

• Tsunade told Minato to fetch Nawaki and ordered Chiyue to keep an eye on Danzo until Nawaki took over guarding him.
• Tsunade argued that Nawaki’s firm distrust of Danzo made him difficult to fool, despite Chiyue’s doubts about his single-mindedness.
• Nawaki celebrated Danzo’s imprisonment as Minato used the Flying Thunder God to bring him to Chiyue.
• Nawaki froze when he saw Pakura, and Chiyue teased him and revealed that Minato had a girlfriend.
• Danzo angrily practiced calligraphy as Chiyue, Minato, and Nawaki joked nearby.
• Nawaki suggested the friends share a meal before he began guarding Danzo in prison, and Chiyue and Minato agreed.

Yagami Chiyue and his companions ate hot pot while guarding Danzo, then Chiyue revealed that he had orders to take Danzo to Konoha Prison. Danzo refused to believe Hiruzen Sarutobi had authorized his imprisonment, and Chiyue prepared to arrest him by force with witnesses present.

• Nawaki suggested hot pot, and Chiyue had Pakura bring ingredients while Danzo endured the smell from his cell.
• Nawaki teased Chiyue about keeping Pakura nearby and whether Kushina and Uchiha Mikoto would be jealous.
• After eating, Chiyue drew his Kusanagi Sword and ordered Danzo to surrender for detention in Konoha Prison.
• Danzo accused Chiyue of seeking personal revenge and demanded to see Hiruzen Sarutobi, while Minato confirmed the order came from the Hokage's Office.
• Nawaki and Pakura surrounded Danzo, and Chiyue called for the waiting Anbu to witness the arrest in case Danzo resisted.

Chiyue had Danzo surrounded by Anbu on Tsunade’s order, but Danzo surrendered rather than resist and was taken into custody. Chiyue remained convinced that provoking Danzo was the best chance of making him expose himself, while Danzo planned to escape and move his laboratory.

• Anbu surrounded Danzo’s residence, and their captain confirmed that Tsunade had ordered his arrest with no objection from the Hokage or elders.
• Danzo demanded to know who had issued the order, cursed Hiruzen Sarutobi, and threatened to remember what had happened.
• Chiyue hoped Danzo would attack or flee so he could capture him with witnesses, while Minato worried that Chiyue’s provocation would backfire.
• Danzo chose to surrender, and Anbu bound him with special restraints and placed seals on his body.
• Danzo planned to escape Konoha and move his laboratory, fearing Orochimaru might reveal his secrets.
• Minato told Chiyue that his provocation had backfired, but Chiyue defended his approach and criticized Minato’s inexperience with Konoha’s schemers.

Chiyue predicted that Danzo would escape his secret imprisonment and defect, while Tsunade made agreements with Yagura that included returning Samehada in exchange for Chakra Metal. The chapter ended with Tsunade assigning Chiyue, Sakumo, and Minato to wait at the frontline camp after Yagura and his people left secretly.

• Chiyue told Minato that Danzo would likely escape and become a Rogue Ninja, prompting Konoha to hunt him.
• Tsunade secretly imprisoned Danzo under Nawaki's guard, with an Anbu squad rotating in to assist.
• Tsunade met with Yagura and reached a series of agreements beneficial to Konoha.
• Tsunade visited Chiyue, demanded a feast, and told him that Yagura had asked for Samehada in exchange for Chakra Metal; Chiyue agreed to the trade.
• Tsunade told Chiyue that he, Sakumo, and Minato should wait at the frontline camp after Yagura and his people departed secretly at two in the morning.

Chiyue, Minato, and Hatake Sakumo traveled from Konoha to the frontline camp while waiting for Yagura to return to Kirigakure and report to Genji. Chiyue then visited Uchiha Mikoto and learned that the clan’s surviving members were shaken by the war’s casualties.

• Yagura left Konoha with his men, and Chiyue, Minato, and Hatake Sakumo set out the next morning for the frontline camp.
• Chiyue and his companions arrived at the camp, where they learned that Chiyo had taken Sunagakure’s forces to support battlefields across the region.
• Orochimaru gave Minato and Hatake Sakumo mission scrolls to show other villages that Konoha had sent reinforcements, but Chiyue left to visit the Uchiha Clan.
• Chiyue met Uchiha Mikoto, who explained that the clan’s many battlefield deaths had left its members tense and irritable.

Chiyue secured the Uchiha Clan’s overdue leave rotation by bringing the matter to Orochimaru, then warned him that Danzo was imprisoned and that hidden bases could expose their partnership. Orochimaru realized Danzo might betray him and darkly resolved to act.

• Uchiha Mikoto celebrated the coming leave rotation with Chiyue, who decided to ask Orochimaru to arrange rest for the Uchiha Clan.
• Chiyue told Orochimaru the Uchiha Clan needed its leave rotation, and Orochimaru agreed to notify them.
• Chiyue assured Orochimaru that Tsunade held no prejudice against the Uchiha Clan and revealed that Danzo was imprisoned.
• Chiyue reported that two marked shinobi had appeared at Danzo’s former holding place and suspected Danzo had secret bases outside Konoha.
• Orochimaru recognized the captured shinobi as people connected to their underground research base and saw that Danzo might expose him.
• After Chiyue left, Orochimaru became angry at Danzo and decided he could not remain passive.

Orochimaru left the frontline camp to investigate Kirigakure, while the Third Mizukage returned home after learning of unrest and worsening wartime shortages. Chiyue, Hatake Sakumo, and Minato joined Yagura to prepare an assassination attempt, with the Mizukage’s ship expected to reach their position the next day.

• Orochimaru assigned Jiraiya to manage the camp and departed to investigate the Kaguya Clan and Snow Clan in the Land of Water.
• Chiyue told Minato not to pursue Orochimaru, saying Danzo’s imprisonment made further evidence unnecessary.
• Yagura returned to Kirigakure, met Genji, and set an assassination plan in motion.
• The Third Mizukage learned of Kirigakure’s financial problems and clan unrest, then hurried back to the village.
• Chiyue, Hatake Sakumo, and Minato secretly traveled to meet Yagura, who showed them the route and timing of the Third Mizukage’s warship.