Chapter Summaries

Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Shimura Danzō agreed to back Shin'nosuke Sarutobi over Orochimaru and planned to use evidence of Orochimaru’s experiments to ruin his Hokage prospects. The Third Hokage told Shikaku Nara that Orochimaru’s path threatened Konoha’s stability, leaving Shikaku caught in the succession struggle.

• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura discussed supporting Shin'nosuke Sarutobi because they valued stability, while Shimura Danzō privately considered ways to weaken the new Hokage.
• Shimura Danzō and the elders discussed using the unfinished Forbidden Techniques to damage Orochimaru’s Prestige, while warning that they must not repeat the White Fang Incident.
• Utatane Koharu proposed giving Orochimaru the materials for Impure World Reincarnation and gathering conclusive evidence of his human experiments.
• The Third Hokage told Shikaku Nara that the Anbu Captain and the elders had visited Root and warned that Orochimaru’s ambitions could plunge Konoha into turmoil.

Hiruzen Sarutobi chose Shin'nosuke Sarutobi as his preferred successor over Orochimaru and arranged for Shikaku Nara to support Shin'nosuke at the border. Shikaku left the Hokage Office wary of the Anbu Captain, who revealed that she had never hidden her efforts from the Third.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi warned Shikaku Nara that Shin'nosuke needed more support and strength to win over the village.
• Shikaku Nara inferred that Hiruzen had settled on Shin'nosuke over Orochimaru and raised the possibility of becoming Jonin Squad Leader.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed that Shikaku should go to the border to assist Shin'nosuke and asked him to encourage Shin'nosuke's training.
• Shikaku Nara left the Hokage Office and told the Anbu Captain that Hiruzen had ordered him to the border.
• The Anbu Captain told Shikaku Nara that she had never intended to hide her plans from the Hokage.

Orochimaru studied the Impure World Reincarnation and discussed his ambitions to become Fifth Hokage with Uchiha Yoruro. He explained that the Third Hokage’s control over Konoha’s political order stood in Orochimaru’s way, leaving Yoruro to recognize that the Uchiha would not risk everything for Orochimaru’s bid for power.

• Orochimaru celebrated discovering the Impure World Reincarnation, and Uchiha Yoruro examined the scroll and reasoned that the technique had existed since the Warring States Period in an incomplete form.
• Uchiha Yoruro told Orochimaru that he wanted him to become Fifth Hokage so the Uchiha could regain influence and Orochimaru could gain resources for his research.
• Orochimaru gave Yoruro intelligence about Konoha’s border defenses and the major clans’ control of businesses and village departments.
• Orochimaru described Konoha as a stagnant pool ruled by the Third Hokage and warned that the Hokage would not accept anyone trampling on his ideals.
• Yoruro realized that the Uchiha had only backed Orochimaru to regain influence and would not risk their entire position in a political struggle.

Orochimaru and Uchiha Yoruro openly shared their ambitions to pursue immortality and reshape the Shinobi World, while a confrontation in the Hyuga clan exposed the injustice of the Caged Bird seal. The chapter left Hizashi resolved to seek a different future for Neji, as Hinata wandered into the snow and was mocked by other children.

• Orochimaru and Uchiha Yoruro discussed the Third Hokage’s political power and agreed to pursue a Shinobi World ruled by immortals.
• Hyuga Hiashi trained three-year-old Hinata while Hizashi watched with Neji, who had just received the Caged Bird seal.
• Hizashi’s resentment surfaced as killing intent, and Hiashi used the Caged Bird seal to make his younger brother scream in pain.
• Hiashi took Hinata away and warned Hizashi not to forget his destiny, leaving Neji shaken by the cruelty he witnessed.
• Hizashi decided he would not let Neji inherit his fate and thought of Orochimaru as a possible ally.
• Hinata wandered into the snow and three children mocked her Byakugan.

Uchiha Yoru intervened when Hinata Hyuga was bullied, then used a coupon to give Naruto Uzumaki a chance to obtain warm clothes, prompting Shisui to question the village’s treatment of him. Later, Hizashi Hyuga pledged the Branch Family’s support to Orochimaru in exchange for help with the Caged Bird, and Yoru proposed adding a protective seal to neutralize its control.

• Uchiha Yoru stopped three older children from bullying Hinata Hyuga and led her away with Uchiha Shisui.
• Yoru dropped Shisui’s coupon for a set of winter clothes onto Naruto Uzumaki, and Shisui realized how cruelly the village was treating the Fourth Hokage’s son.
• Yoru told Shisui that Naruto’s hunger and isolation could be part of a political effort to make him dependent on the village.
• Hizashi Hyuga knelt before Yoru and offered the Hyuga Branch Family’s support for Orochimaru if he could remove the Caged Bird seal.
• Yoru examined Hizashi’s seal and said it had fused with his brain and Byakugan, making removal impossible with current methods.
• Yoru proposed placing another Sealing Jutsu over the Caged Bird so it could no longer be controlled by others and would protect its bearer.

Uchiha Yoruro persuaded Hizashi Hyuga to support Orochimaru by promising to investigate sealing away the Caged Bird, while arranging funding and secrecy. After the New Year, Yoruro managed Konoha Military Police affairs and noticed Uzuki Yugao’s distress, unaware that her staged debt story was part of an Anbu mission.

• Hizashi Hyuga embraced Yoruro’s idea of sealing the Caged Bird and pledged the Hyuga Branch Family’s support for Orochimaru.
• Yoruro asked Hizashi to keep the plan secret and bring research funding and Caged Bird materials as a cover for his visits.
• After the New Year, Gekko Hayate offered to help Uzuki Yugao with her supposed debts, but she refused to break her Anbu persona.
• Yoruro used shadow clones to train swordsmanship and Chakra nature transformation while conserving his energy at work.
• Yoruro showed leniency toward three drunken genin and directed surplus funds toward hardworking ninjas, food supplies, and the orphanage.

Uchiha Yoru set policies to support returning frontline ninja and reduce village disturbances, while Uzuki Yugao sought advice from Nakata Miko about repaying her debts. Nakata Miko urged Yugao to use her beauty and position to pursue a relationship with Uchiha Yoru, leaving Yugao stunned.

• Uchiha Yoru told Uchiha Shisui to treat troubled returning ninja as heroes, seek reconciliation and compensation, and minimize their prison sentences when possible.
• Uchiha Yoru ordered more patrol teams and night patrols, higher pay for the added work, and access to training grounds so returning ninja could vent their stress.
• Uchiha Yoru privately anticipated renewed conflict and believed the returning ninja could become a useful force when war resumed.
• Uzuki Yugao confided in Nakata Miko that her father's debts threatened her future, and Nakata Miko explained how difficult it would be to repay them through missions alone.
• Nakata Miko described how commoner ninja lacked the resources and inherited techniques of great clans, then suggested Yugao could change her prospects by pursuing Uchiha Yoru.
• Uzuki Yugao reacted with a stiff, bewildered expression as Nakata Miko's advice revealed the path the Anbu had anticipated.

Uchiha Yoru visited Orochimaru’s laboratory, where Orochimaru explained his research into Sage Chakra and Cursed Seals before giving Yoru scrolls on Sealing Jutsu. Meanwhile, Anbu operative Uzuki Yugao and Nakata Miko prepared to approach Yoru under a scheme, and the chapter ended with Yoru finding someone inside his house.

• Orochimaru showed Uchiha Yoru a prisoner bearing a Cursed Seal and explained how his research grew from a boy who absorbed natural energy.
• Yoru gave Orochimaru the Hyuga Caged Bird scroll and funding, then suggested using Sealing Jutsu to remove the seal.
• Orochimaru warned Yoru not to spend too much time studying Sealing Jutsu and let him choose one or two scrolls from his collection.
• Nakata Miko advised Uzuki Yugao about the risks of her plan to approach Yoru, while Yugao concealed her true motives behind a story about debt.
• Yoru returned to his residence at night, sensed someone inside, and readied his Sharingan, sword, and snakes.

Uchiha Yoru discovered Uzuki Yugao in his home and learned she had been sent to approach him under the pretext of needing help with her father’s debt. He agreed to pay off the debt in exchange for three years of her service, and the chapter ended with Yugao grateful for his kindness but still committed to spying on him and the Uchiha Clan.

• Uchiha Yoru entered his house cautiously and found Uzuki Yugao kneeling in his bedroom after she had cooked and cleaned for him.
• Uzuki Yugao told Uchiha Yoru that her family owed three million and offered to become his concubine or lover to secure his help.
• Uchiha Yoru suspected that the Anbu had arranged the encounter as a spy mission, but he invited Yugao to eat with him and offered her wine.
• Uchiha Yoru offered to clear Yugao’s debt in exchange for one million a year for three years, and Yugao accepted.
• The next morning, Yugao found breakfast and a note from Uchiha Yoru, felt moved by his kindness, but reaffirmed her mission to infiltrate his side and gather intelligence on the Uchiha Clan.

Uzuki Yugao returned from her first night with Uchiha Yoru and accepted money from Nakata Miko, then learned that her superior intended to use her as a spy inside the Uchiha. Uchiha Yoruro and Shisui discussed the village’s surveillance and the prison, while Yoruro decided to turn Yugao’s situation against the Third Hokage’s faction.

• Nakata Miko escorted Uzuki Yugao from the Uchiha Compound and gave her a basket containing tens of thousands of ryō from Uchiha Yoru.
• The Third Hokage’s Eldest Daughter-in-law confirmed Yugao’s mission had succeeded and ordered her to spy on the Uchiha by gradually becoming Uchiha Yoru’s concubine.
• Uchiha Shisui told Uchiha Yoruro that the clan knew about Yugao and had sent him an advance dividend.
• Uchiha Yoruro warned Shisui to watch the prison and told him there was no need to monitor Yugao, since the visible spy was less dangerous than hidden threats.
• Uchiha Yoruro asked Shisui to help teach Itachi and resolved to use the village’s attempt to manipulate Yugao against the Third Hokage’s faction.

Uchiha Yoru used money, personal attention, and training to draw Uzuki Yugao closer while she continued her Anbu spy mission. He gave her a sword and promised daily instruction, aiming to make her a loyal asset and keep her from the Anbu.

• Uzuki Yugao returned to work and tried to give Uchiha Yoru back the money he had given her, but he returned it and invited her to train with him.
• Gekko Hayate offered Yugao his pay to help with her troubles, but she told him Yoru had resolved them in exchange for ten years of following him.
• Yoru took Yugao to the Uchiha Training Ground, recited her personal details, and gave her Chakra Test Paper to identify her nature.
• Yugao discovered that her Chakra Nature was Wind Release, and Yoru praised her potential and gave her a finely crafted ninja sword.
• Yoru told Yugao to train with him every afternoon and promised to teach her swordsmanship and ninjutsu.

Uchiha Itachi graduated early and mistook the Third's Will of Fire speech as proof of the village leadership's corruption, resolving to help Shisui and Uchiha Yoru change things. Meanwhile, Danzō planned to undermine Orochimaru and Shin'nosuke Sarutobi, and he mistook the Third's tacit approval of Root's proposal for ruthless support.

• The Third presented Uchiha Itachi with his forehead protector and preached the Will of Fire, while Itachi secretly resolved to oppose the village's rotten leadership.
• The Third received word that the Land of Lightning was preparing to sign a peace treaty with Konoha and ordered Shin'nosuke Sarutobi to negotiate with Shikaku Nara's guidance.
• Shimura Danzō planned to damage Orochimaru's standing and Shin'nosuke Sarutobi's prospects by sending Orochimaru to the Land of Water border and targeting the Uchiha and Hyuga Clans.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura discussed Danzō's secret arrests, while the Third told him not to go too far but chose not to intervene.
• Shimura Danzō interpreted the Third's lack of stronger objections as approval and concluded that the Third intended to ruin Orochimaru.

Uchiha Yoru exposed Root’s abduction of Konoha children for Orochimaru’s experiments to Shisui and Kakashi, then deliberately let Might Guy witness the truth. He arranged for Shisui and Kakashi to guard the children and began drawing allies toward his side as tensions with Root grew.

• Orochimaru and Uchiha Yoru discussed Root supplying village ninjas as test subjects, and Yoru said Danzo’s ambition would bring others into action.
• Uchiha Yoru, Uchiha Shisui, and Hatake Kakashi watched Root Ninja deliver ten unconscious Konoha children for Orochimaru’s experiments.
• Uchiha Yoru told Kakashi that Root’s actions were known to the higher-ups and assigned Shisui and Kakashi to guard the children until the experiment succeeded.
• Might Guy appeared after secretly following Kakashi, and Uchiha Yoru wounded him before Kakashi stopped the attack and told Guy to keep the mission secret.
• Uchiha Yoru revealed that he had deliberately lured Might Guy there, then told Shisui to change every meeting place with Root.

Uchiha Yoru invaded Tatami Iwashi’s mind to obtain the Fourth Hokage’s Space-Time Ninjutsu, then gave Hizashi Hyuga a sealing technique that could shield the Hyuga Branch Family from the Main Family’s control. Hizashi agreed to move forward while Konoha’s attention was on peace talks with Kumogakure, with the Uchiha Compound offered as a refuge.

• Uchiha Yoru poisoned Tatami Iwashi, used the Mind Reading Technique, and searched his memories for the Space-Time Ninjutsu taught by the Fourth Hokage.
• Tatami Iwashi woke on his living room floor and realized that someone had invaded his brain, though he could not clearly recall what had happened.
• Uchiha Yoru told Hizashi Hyuga that he could not break the Caged Bird Cursed Seal, but presented Seal Caged Bird to prevent outsiders from sensing or controlling it.
• Hizashi Hyuga learned the sealing technique and vowed that the Hyuga Branch Family would remember Uchiha Yoru’s help.
• Uchiha Yoru proposed acting while Konoha focused on negotiations with Kumogakure and offered the Uchiha Compound as a place for the Branch Family to gather.
• Uchiha Yoru asked Hizashi Hyuga to secure money from the Main Family and warned him that someone had been watching him.

Uchiha Yoru visited Konoha’s major clans on Orochimaru’s behalf and borrowed a total of three hundred million from the Ino-Shika-Cho clans to fund research. He then visited Hiruzen Sarutobi, who questioned whether Orochimaru still resented him.

• Uchiha Yoru told Inoichi Yamanaka and Choza Akimichi that Orochimaru needed funds for research and asked to borrow three hundred million.
• Uchiha Yoru showed them a scroll listing loans from nearly every major Konoha clan, and Inoichi agreed that the Ino-Shika-Cho clans would lend eighty million each.
• Inoichi Yamanaka signed the loan scroll, and Uchiha Yoru arranged for the funds to be delivered to his office in the Seventh Division.
• After Uchiha Yoru left, Inoichi and Choza assumed Danzo had withheld Orochimaru’s research funds and expected repayment once the research succeeded.
• Uchiha Yoru visited Hiruzen Sarutobi, who remarked that Orochimaru had taken Uchiha Yoru as a disciple without discussing it with him and asked whether Orochimaru still blamed him.

Uchiha Yoruro persuaded Hiruzen Sarutobi to provide Orochimaru with research funds and obtained one of Hiruzen’s jutsu scrolls, while sowing speculation among the village clans. Back at the Uchiha compound, Yoruro told Fugaku and Setsuna that Orochimaru planned to bring the Hyuga Branch Family under his command, shocking them with the possibility that Orochimaru had broken the Caged Bird seal.

• Uchiha Yoruro visited Hiruzen Sarutobi with gifts and claimed Orochimaru needed one billion in research funding, prompting Hiruzen to promise five hundred million immediately and the rest later.
• Hiruzen gave Yoruro a scroll containing his A-rank Shuriken: Shadow Clone Jutsu, which Yoruro used to encourage the village clans to speculate about Hiruzen’s intentions and gather funds.
• Yoruro returned to the Uchiha compound and discussed the village’s promotion of Shin'nosuke Sarutobi with Uchiha Fugaku and Elder Setsuna.
• Yoruro said Orochimaru planned to bring the Hyuga Branch Family under his command and use the Uchiha residential area for them.
• Fugaku and Setsuna wondered whether Orochimaru had resolved the Hyuga Branch Family’s Caged Bird seal and recognized that the Branch Family could join the Uchiha as a powerful new force.

Uchiha Yoru secured Uchiha support for the Hyuga Branch Family and discussed his future with Orochimaru, while Kumogakure’s envoy was killed during an attempted abduction of Hinata. Konoha’s leaders gathered to weigh a diplomatic crisis against war, worried that conflict could strengthen Orochimaru’s claim to become Hokage.

• Uchiha Fugaku and Elder Setsuna agreed to support the Hyuga Branch Family as allies and examined Uchiha Yoru’s perfected Seal Caged Bird.
• Uchiha Yoru visited Orochimaru’s research base, where they discussed Yoru’s plans to inherit Orochimaru’s influence and the need for strength.
• Hyuga Hiashi’s guards killed a masked intruder who was revealed to be the Leader of the Land of Lightning’s Envoys, after he tried to abduct Hinata.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura met to discuss Kumogakure’s provocation and Konoha’s response.
• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu warned that war might force Konoha to send Orochimaru to the front and boost his prospects of becoming Hokage.

Hiruzen Sarutobi prepared Konoha to confront Kumogakure while using the crisis to rein in the Hyuga Clan, and Shimura Danzō grew resentful of his maneuvering. After Orochimaru left for the border with Mitarashi Anko, Uchiha Yoruro met Genma Squad, who asked to join his division, and agreed to discuss it.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi rejected calls for caution, ordered Orochimaru to the border, and put Konoha's border forces on alert while Danzō secretly monitored the Uchiha Clan.
• Kumogakure's envoys argued with Konoha's leaders, and Danzō realized Hiruzen had counted on Kumogakure's reluctance to start another war.
• Orochimaru departed Konoha with Mitarashi Anko as Uchiha Yoruro saw them off, then Shiranui Genma invited Yoruro to meet after his shift.
• Shiranui Genma, Namiashi Raidō, and Tatami Iwashi asked to join Yoruro's Seventh Division of the Konoha Military Police Force and serve Orochimaru.
• Yoruro told Genma Squad to sit down and said they could talk about their request.

Uchiha Yoruro recruited Genma Squad after Root drove the three former Fourth Hokage guards to seek protection, and Konoha’s standoff with Kumogakure intensified. A month later, the Third pressured the Hyuga Clan to answer for the death of a Kumogakure envoy inside their compound.

• Uchiha Yoruro heard Shiranui Genma, Namiashi Raidō, and Tatami Iwashi explain that Root had searched their memories and might silence them, so he offered them refuge at the Seventh Division Office Building.
• Genma Squad followed Uchiha Yoruro to the office building and decided to leave their gate-guarding posts rather than risk falling into Root’s hands.
• The Third reinforced Konoha’s front line toward Kumogakure and positioned Orochimaru near the Land of Sea while negotiations continued.
• Fourth Raikage Ay learned of Konoha’s military moves and ordered his envoys to demand an explanation from the Third.
• The Third told the Hyuga Clan that the death of the Kumogakure envoy in their compound had fueled the treaty dispute and placed the burden of resolving it on them.

Hyuga Hiashi and the Main Family elders decided to offer Hizashi as Konoha’s explanation to Kumogakure, while Hizashi prepared a Branch Family uprising to break the Caged Bird seals. Hiashi discovered the plan but secretly supported his younger brother, leaving the brothers reconciled as Hizashi’s revolt approached.

• Hyuga Hiashi told the Main Family elders he would give Hiruzen Sarutobi an explanation, but the elders proposed sending Hizashi in his place.
• Hizashi Hyuga met with four trusted Branch Family members and ordered them to gather the Branch Family Jōnin and begin their uprising that night.
• Three days later, Hyuga Hiashi confronted Hizashi at his residence and revealed that he had discovered the uprising plan.
• Hyuga Hiashi gave Hizashi a scroll containing his savings and the Main Family’s Gentle Fist techniques, and said he wanted the Caged Bird’s fate to end with their generation.
• Hizashi told Hiashi that the Branch Family would no longer protect the Main Family, but he would still protect his older brother as family.
• Two Branch Family Jōnin emerged from the inner room and confirmed they had overheard the brothers’ conversation.