Chapter Summaries

Kushina met Hozuki Leng Che, commander of Kirigakure's forces, who offered to defect with his clan and other Kirigakure ninja in exchange for her help against Karatachi Yagura. Kushina accepted their allegiance privately and arranged for them to wait at sea until the war ended.

• Kushina and Minato Namikaze watched Kirigakure's fleet from shore while Anju considered how to handle its forces.
• Hozuki Leng Che emerged from the water and told Kushina that his Hozuki Clan wanted to pledge allegiance to her.
• Hozuki Leng Che explained that Karatachi Yagura was persecuting Kekkei Genkai Families and had begun massacring the Hozuki Clan.
• Kushina agreed to accept the defection, and she and Hozuki Leng Che signed a written agreement.
• Kushina told Hozuki Leng Che to keep his forces at sea until the war ended, while Minato Namikaze gave him a Flying Thunder God Kunai for emergencies.

Kushina kept sending Shadow Clones on missions, frustrating the Akatsuki’s attempts to ambush her. Meanwhile, Konoha’s elders funded the Akatsuki’s continued protection of Chikamatsu Kawahei to keep Kushina away from the village, as the war with Sunagakure and Iwagakure continued.

• Minato Namikaze’s Shadow Clone returned to Kushina after Pain ambushed it, and Nagato Uzumaki decided to abandon the mission until the client offered another month of funding.
• Nagato Uzumaki agreed to continue the mission as a protection job, and Obito Uchiha told Chikamatsu Kawahei that his ninja protection had been extended for another month.
• Mitokado Homura told Utatane Koharu that Danzo’s plan had funded the Akatsuki to keep Kushina from returning to Konoha.
• Mitokado Homura explained that Iwagakure demanded Konoha hand over the Masked Man while Sunagakure’s war effort was backed by Rasa’s gold dust and increased authority.
• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu discussed the Hyuga Clan’s ties to Naruto Namikaze, and Mitokado Homura said they could educate Naruto after he entered the Ninja Academy.

Sunagakure used a Sealing Sand Array to hide its main force underground in River Country, confounding Konoha’s searches. After Minato helped locate the force, Kushina disrupted the array and confronted Rasa, who began discussing his purpose with her.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen struggled to find Sunagakure’s main force as its squads used a Sealing Sand Array to detect and evade Konoha’s troops.
• Kushina and Anju failed to locate Sunagakure’s supplies or army, so Anju suggested that Minato investigate in person using Flying Thunder God marks.
• Rasa regretted that Sunagakure was bearing the burden of the war while Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure held back.
• A Sunagakure Anbu reported Space-Time Ninjutsu traces and a chakra signature resembling Kushina’s, prompting Rasa to prepare for her attack.
• Minato helped locate the underground Sunagakure force, and Kushina disrupted its Sealing Sand Array after Rasa confronted her.
• Rasa praised Kushina’s sealing ability and began discussing his purpose with her, a candidate for Hokage.

Kushina rejected Rasa’s proposal to weaken Konoha’s mission rights and negotiated a plan for a road through River Country instead. After promising to honor the alliance once she became Hokage, she left, and Rasa ordered Sunagakure’s forces to withdraw.

• Rasa offered Kushina a document that would end Sunagakure’s hostilities in exchange for making Konoha compete for missions in the Land of Wind, but Kushina refused.
• Kushina told Rasa that Raikage A had already reached an agreement with her and that Kirigakure’s shinobi were only pretending to follow the Mizukage’s orders.
• Kushina proposed building a road through River Country to the Land of Wind, with the Land of Fire Daimyo proposing the project and Rasa supporting it.
• Rasa asked Kushina to secure missions for Sunagakure after becoming Hokage, and she promised to honor Konoha’s alliance agreement once she took office.
• Kushina departed using the Flying Thunder God Technique, and Rasa ordered Sunagakure’s forces to return to the Land of Wind.

Kushina met with Kato Tsukitani to arrange funding and support for roads, then confronted Sarutobi Hiruzen at the Konoha Main Camp and demanded that he step down. She claimed to have ended the war and presented agreements with Sunagakure and Kumogakure, leaving Sarutobi stunned by the proposed road project.

• Kushina discussed road construction with Kato Tsukitani, who agreed to help secure the Land of Fire Daimyo’s support and invest in the project.
• Sunagakure withdrew across the border, while Sarutobi Hiruzen wondered why it had retreated despite inflicting heavier losses on Konoha.
• Kushina entered Sarutobi Hiruzen’s tent and told him to step down, prompting him to call her a rebel and summon Anbu ninja.
• Kushina claimed she had secured ceasefires with Sunagakure and Kumogakure, arranged for Kirigakure’s forces to be incorporated, and deterred Iwagakure from invading.
• Kushina handed Sarutobi Hiruzen preliminary agreements with Sunagakure and Kumogakure, and he questioned why they included road construction.

After Konoha made peace with Kumogakure and Sunagakure, Kushina gained the allegiance of most of Kirigakure’s defecting forces and sought a place to resettle them. Anju stopped her from seizing the Land of Waves and directed the group to the Land of Whirlpools Ruins, where Kushina hoped to learn more about surviving members of her clan.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen and Kato Tsukitani helped persuade the Land of Fire Daimyo to discuss road construction with the Land of Lightning and Land of Wind Daimyo.
• Obito revealed that Kirigakure’s Kekkei Genkai Families had defected, and Kushina accepted the allegiance of about fourteen hundred ninja led by Hozuki Leng Che.
• Hozuki Leng Che proposed stationing the defectors in the Land of Waves, but Anju warned Kushina that taking the land could anger the Land of Fire Daimyo.
• Anju told Kushina to send Hozuki Leng Che’s forces to the Land of Whirlpools Ruins and build a temporary port there.
• Anju hinted that members of the Uzumaki Clan had survived the Land of Whirlpools’ destruction, and Kushina eagerly asked whether it was true.

Hozuki Leng Che explained why Kushina’s exiled Kirigakure ninja had been sent to the Land of Whirlpools, while Terumi Mei accepted his answer. In the Land of Fire’s capital, Anju arranged a sea-trade deal with Kato Tsukitani, who eagerly welcomed the chance to revive his clan’s fortunes.

• Terumi Mei questioned Hozuki Leng Che about bringing their force to the Land of Whirlpools instead of the Land of Waves.
• Hozuki Leng Che said Kushina wanted them to stay hidden there until she became Hokage and could bring the Land of Whirlpools under her control.
• Anju and Kushina visited Kato Tsukitani in the Land of Fire’s capital to learn about the Land of Waves.
• Anju offered Kato Tsukitani sea trade using more than a hundred large ships guarded by several hundred ninja.
• Kato Tsukitani enthusiastically accepted the opportunity and said he would make his clan great again.

Kushina learned that the Land of Waves was a neutral port governed by agreements among four countries, then arranged a business partnership with Kato Tsukitani to supply her fleet and its 1,300 Kirigakure ninja supporters. She left Kato’s letter with his butler to secure provisions for Hozuki Leng Che and the others.

• Kato Tsukitani eagerly offered to help Kushina after learning she had more than a hundred ships, and she asked him about the Land of Waves.
• Kato explained that the Land of Waves was a neutral harbor where major ninja villages could not station ninjas, and Kushina said her ships were at the Land of Whirlpools Ruins.
• Kato assumed Kushina’s 1,300 ninja supporters came from Konoha, but she clarified that they were Kirigakure ninjas, and Anju encouraged her to form a business partnership with him.
• Kushina and Kato agreed to cooperate, and Kato wrote a letter for his family to arrange supplies for her fleet.
• Kushina and Minato arrived at Hakoami Castle, where she used genjutsu to subdue Kato Kinzan and gave Kato Tsukitani’s letter to the butler, who arranged provisions.

Kushina and Minato Namikaze attacked Chikamatsu Kawahei in the Land of Rain, drawing in Pain and Obito Uchiha. Minato confronted Obito, but Obito trapped him with Wood Release, leaving Kushina’s warning and escape plan urgent.

• Kushina set up her Bewitching · Phantom Array outside the town while Minato Namikaze approached Chikamatsu Kawahei’s location.
• Deva Path Pain detected them and sent six Pains toward Kushina, who fired a Tailed Beast Ball that Pain knocked into the sky; its explosion devastated the town and collapsed the castle.
• Obito Uchiha emerged from the Kamui Dimension with Chikamatsu Kawahei as the blast brought down the castle and buried the small noble inside.
• Minato Namikaze appeared beside Obito and attacked with a Rasengan, while Obito sent Chikamatsu Kawahei into the Kamui Dimension and revealed his identity.
• Minato Namikaze urged Obito to return to Konoha, but Obito refused and used Wood Release to trap Minato in a sealed space, prompting Minato to call out to Kushina.

Minato Namikaze tried to break through Obito Uchiha’s blockade so he could support Kushina, while Kushina’s Phantom Array briefly incapacitated Nagato’s Six Paths of Pain. Nagato resumed controlling the damaged puppets, and Kushina struggled to find a way to fight Deva Path Pain.

• Minato Namikaze realized he needed to escape Obito Uchiha’s Wood Release blockade without dispelling his Shadow Clone, and Obito attacked him with surging roots.
• Asura Path Pain bombarded Kushina’s barrier while Animal Path Pain sent the Hellhound Splitter into her array.
• The Phantom Array used the Hellhound’s Chakra receivers to ensnare Nagato Uzumaki, causing the Six Paths of Pain and summoned beasts to fall.
• Konan disrupted Nagato’s Chakra flow and helped him break free of the illusion, and Nagato resumed controlling the damaged Pains despite Konan’s concerns.
• Kushina fired a Tailed Beast Ball at the Pains, but Deva Path Pain repelled it with Shinra Tensei.
• Kushina asked Anju for a useful technique, but rejected his suggestions and complained that he had not developed wind-, water-, or Yin-Attribute ninjutsu.

Kushina escaped Nagato’s Planetary Devastation with a Flying Thunder God Formation, while Minato fought Obito and detonated his Flame Sun Courages to rupture the Sealing Array. The blast injured Obito, but Minato’s escape remained unresolved.

• Kushina expanded her sealing array to trap the Preta Path, but Deva Path Pain pulled it free and used Planetary Devastation against her.
• Kushina activated a Flying Thunder God Formation sealed in scrolls and vanished from the rising rocks before Nagato could seal her.
• Minato used Flame Sun Courages to weaken Obito’s Wood Release, while Obito tried to conceal his position with Great Fire Annihilation.
• Minato detonated more than a dozen Flame Sun Courages at once, tearing apart the battlefield and killing three hidden White Zetsu Clones.
• Obito survived the blast by using Kamui, but he was badly burned and coughed blood.

Kushina escaped the Flying Thunder God Formation with Anju's help, recovered in a flower valley, and broke down in relief when Minato's Chakra appeared. She returned to Konoha, where she found that Danzo's rumors had erased her achievements, and an Anbu escorted her to the Hokage.

• Kushina arrived in a flower valley with all four limbs dislocated, while exhausted Anju collapsed in her Sealing Space.
• Kushina used Nine-Tails Mode to heal herself, then punched and cried against Minato's Chakra for leaving her terrified during the mission.
• Kushina told Minato's Chakra that she wanted to abandon the mission and stop pursuing the Hokage position, and he agreed.
• Kushina created a Shadow Clone disguised as Black Cloak and returned to Konoha with it.
• Konoha's gate guards welcomed Kushina, but Anbu stopped them from notifying the Hokage and summoned her instead, while Kushina learned that rumors had obscured her accomplishments.

Kushina confronted Sarutobi Hiruzen and refused to continue the mission, then declared that she should become Hokage. After Danzō attacked her and fled, she left the Hokage Building, while Danzō went to find Naruto at the Training Grounds.

• Danzō criticized Kushina for abandoning the mission, and Hiruzen warned her about its effects on Konoha and her Hokage election chances.
• Kushina told Hiruzen to complete the mission himself and said he should make her Hokage.
• Danzō used Wind Release: Vacuum Bullet against Kushina, but Hiruzen blocked her counterattack; Danzō escaped through a hole in the office wall.
• Kushina left after promising to thank Danzō, while Hiruzen told the advisors that Danzō had gone to find her chains.
• Danzō appeared at the Training Grounds and told Naruto that Kushina had returned, but Naruto said he would visit his mother himself.

Kushina gave up her bid to become Hokage because she feared dying before Naruto grew up, but Naruto rushed to the Uchiha Military Police Force to stop her from abandoning the role. After learning she had returned and withdrawn, Fugaku ordered the clans to launch a coup in her name.

• Kushina confronted Shimura Danzō at the training ground, sent the Anbu away, and told Naruto she no longer wanted to become Hokage.
• Naruto argued that Kushina would disappoint her supporters by quitting, then ran to the Uchiha Clan Residence to find Fugaku.
• Naruto interrupted Fugaku and the Uchiha ninja as they discussed staging a coup, and announced that Kushina had returned and given up the mission.
• Naruto asked Fugaku to kidnap him, claiming he was the reason Kushina would not launch a coup.
• Fugaku ordered Tekka to notify the clan and other ninja clans that Kushina was launching a coup to seize power.

Anju learned that Naruto was preparing to overthrow the Third Hokage because Kushina had been bullied, and rushed to confront him. Naruto refused to back down and secured Kurama’s help, leaving Anju to support the dangerous plan to defeat the Third Hokage.

• Kushina watched recordings of Naruto and Hinata with Minato, then told Anju she had returned to Konoha and met the Third Hokage without following Anju’s plan.
• Anju realized Naruto might take drastic action for Kushina and saw footage showing him negotiating with Hiashi and approaching the Uchiha Clan.
• Anju went to Naruto’s Sealing Space and brought Naruto there, where Naruto admitted he intended to start a civil war because his mother had been bullied.
• Naruto insisted Kushina stay uninvolved and asked Kurama for Chakra so he could defeat the Third Hokage.
• Anju urged Kurama to help Naruto, and Kurama agreed, declaring he wanted to challenge Konoha alongside him.

Naruto rallied the Uchiha Clan and other ninja clans to pressure Third Hokage into stepping down in favor of Kushina. As Konoha's factions mobilized, Naruto addressed his supporters at the Military Police Force Hall and declared Kushina the rightful next Hokage.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen learned that the Uchiha Clan and other clans were assembling ninja, while Shimura Danzō prepared the Hokage Faction's forces to confront them.
• Anju told Kushina that Naruto was leading a coup and urged her to stay out of it, explaining that Minato Namikaze could intervene if necessary.
• Anju connected Kushina to Naruto's view, where she watched Naruto meet with clan representatives alongside Fugaku.
• Naruto addressed the gathered ninja, praised Kushina's wartime achievements, and called for Third Hokage to hand over the Hokage position to her.
• Kushina's supporters cheered Naruto's declaration that Kushina should become Hokage.

Anju arranged for Minato Namikaze to bring reinforcements from the Land of Whirlpools as Naruto’s coup began in Konoha. Naruto and the Uchiha forces reached the Hokage Building, where Sarutobi Hiruzen’s side confronted them.

• Anju told Kushina to summon Minato Namikaze and use Flying Thunder God to bring her vassals from the Land of Whirlpools to support Naruto.
• Kushina ordered Minato to fetch the ninja army, and he sent a Shadow Clone Chakra before departing Konoha.
• Naruto and Fugaku led nearly a thousand ninjas toward the Hokage Building while Uchiha Shisui left the Military Police Force to join them.
• The Uchiha-led force met roughly two thousand ninjas outside the Hokage Building, and Fugaku demanded Sarutobi Hiruzen step down and Shimura Danzō be executed.
• Shimura Danzō tried to attack Fugaku, but Sarutobi Hiruzen stopped him and asked Naruto whether the Uchiha had coerced him.

Sarutobi Hiruzen attacked Uchiha Fugaku while accusing the Uchiha of coercing Naruto, and the two fought fiercely on Konoha Central Street. As Hiruzen gained the upper hand, Danzo tried to seize Naruto, but Uchiha Shisui stopped him.

• Danzo blamed the Uchiha Clan for attacking Naruto and suggested they planned to control the Nine-Tails, while Naruto told the Third Hokage to step down.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen revealed his armor and summoned Enma, then attacked Fugaku, who used his Mangekyo Sharingan and Susanoo to defend himself.
• Fugaku unleashed Amaterasu, but Hiruzen evaded it with an Earth Clone and countered with Enma's Adamantine Staff and combined fire and water techniques.
• Hiruzen shattered Susanoo's left arm, but Fugaku escaped the strike with Takamagahara and appeared on the ground, exhausted.
• Hiruzen pressed his attack with Shuriken Shadow Clone, while Danzo rushed toward Naruto to capture him.
• Uchiha Shisui stood between Danzo and Naruto and drove Danzo back with Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.

Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shisui tried to protect Naruto as Danzo attacked, but Naruto’s Storm’s Eye filled the street with dust and concealed the arrival of more than eleven hundred Kirigakure Ninja. Hozuki Leng Che and the Kirigakure forces pledged themselves to Naruto, forcing Sarutobi Hiruzen to restrain Danzo and leaving Konoha’s conflict unresolved.

• Kakashi Hatake charged at Uchiha Shisui while Danzo praised him and moved toward Naruto.
• Naruto used Storm’s Eye to blast Danzo back, and its explosion raised a dust cloud that let Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Shisui, and Kakashi Hatake retreat.
• As the dust cleared, more than eleven hundred Kirigakure Ninja appeared, and Hozuki Leng Che and a Terumi Clan representative knelt before Naruto in loyalty to Lady Kushina.
• The Kirigakure force had arrived through Minato Namikaze’s Flying Thunder God after Kushina’s Shadow Clone led him to gather them at the Land of Whirlpools Ruins.
• Danzo summoned Dream Eater and attacked, but the Kirigakure Ninja countered with Water Release techniques, prompting Danzo to retreat.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered Danzo to stop, and Danzo left after accusing Hiruzen of weakness.

Sarutobi Hiruzen accepted that Kushina had won the struggle for Hokage and began explaining the village’s secrets and handing over his duties. Kushina prepared to take office while Konoha’s clan heads waited anxiously to learn how she would treat them.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen dismissed his assembled forces and sent Naruto to fetch Kushina so they could discuss the Hokage transition.
• Kushina confronted Anju in her Sealing Space about hiding his new ability to grant Chakra, then left to meet Minato Namikaze.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen told Kushina that the Uchiha Clan had allegedly caused comrades’ deaths to awaken the Sharingan and showed her documents he said supported the accusations.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen urged Kushina to spare Danzo and handed her records about the ninja villages, research, and agreements with the daimyo.
• More than twenty Konoha clan heads gathered in the Hokage Office, worried that Kushina might threaten their interests after they had opposed her.