Chapter Summaries

Yūske rejected Danzō’s offer to cooperate and left with his subordinates after Danzō agreed not to start a war. At the temporary outpost, Yūske revealed that Orochimaru had been with Danzō and ordered Yono and the other Uchiha to report back to their clan and stop monitoring the Shimura compound.

• Yūske refused to cooperate with Danzō, who offered to let him capture rogue ninja and report a success instead.
• Danzō escorted Yūske out, and Yūske departed with his subordinates after returning Danzō’s two men.
• Danzō confronted Orochimaru, who explained he had refused to attack because Yūske was connected to Jiraiya and Tsunade.
• Yūske returned to the temporary outpost and told his subordinates that Danzō had proposed cooperation and Orochimaru had been inside.
• Yūske ordered Yono Uchiha and the others to return to the village, inform their Clan Head, and withdraw surveillance on the Shimura Clan compound.

Yūske returned to Konoha with Team Four and reported the capture of five rogue ninja to Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hiruzen explained why Kumogakure had halted its border operations, then reacted sharply when Yūske mentioned meeting Danzo.

• Yūske accepted five prisoners delivered by Danzo’s Root members at the Anbu outpost.
• Yūske led Team Four back to Konoha and went to the Hokage Building.
• Shimura Maki presented five sealed heads, and Hiruzen Sarutobi approved the assignment and asked Yūske to prepare an account of the capture.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Yūske that Kumogakure had stopped its operations while the Land of Lightning investigated the killing of a minister near the Land of Water.
• Yūske mentioned that Uncle Danzo had said the opportunity had passed, and Hiruzen demanded to know where Yūske had met Danzo.

Yūske told Hiruzen Sarutobi about Danzo’s surveillance and the suspected assassination plot, then discussed Kakuzu and the missing Anbu. After Hiruzen sent him home on leave, Hyuga Reon met him outside the Hokage Building and asked him to visit her father.

• Yūske recounted how Danzo had watched him and appeared to be involved with Orochimaru, and Hiruzen Sarutobi told him to leave the matter to him.
• Yūske explained that he suspected Kakuzu had targeted Anbu for their bounties and had tried to lure him out with Uchiha jonin, but Kakuzu had disappeared.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Yūske time off and urged him to marry Tsunade, while Yūske left without agreeing to a timeline.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned Shinnosuke after Yūske left the office.
• Hyuga Reon met Yūske outside the Hokage Building and took him toward the Hyuga Clan compound to meet her father.

Hyuga Reon brought Watanabe Yūske to the Hyuga Clan compound and pretended they had pledged themselves to each other to avoid a marriage arranged by the clan. Her father confronted Yūske about their relationship and revealed that Reon had been promised to Hizashi, leaving Yūske to realize she would become Hyuga Neji’s mother.

• Hyuga Reon clung to Watanabe Yūske and explained that she had told her family they were pledged to each other.
• Hyuga Reon escorted Yūske into the compound, admitting she had chosen him because he was the person she knew most likely to survive the ordeal.
• Hyuga Reon introduced Yūske to her father as her future father-in-law, and her father challenged Yūske about his intentions toward her.
• Hyuga Reon’s father warned that the Hyuga Clan forbade marriages to outsiders and questioned Yūske about his relationship with Tsunade.
• Hyuga Reon’s father revealed that the Clan Head had arranged her engagement to Hizashi, and Yūske realized Reon would become Hyuga Neji’s mother.

Hyuga Reon publicly declared her commitment to Yūske, and the Hyuga Clan Head drew Yūske aside to discuss the scandal. He insisted that Reon would have to stay with Yūske, leaving Yūske stunned by the clan’s decision.

• Hyuga Reon kissed Yūske and told her father she had chosen Yūske for life.
• The Hyuga Clan Head arrived with Hiashi and Hizashi and invited Yūske to speak with him outside.
• Yūske explained that Reon had asked him to help with her marriage arrangement and that he had only learned of her plan after arriving.
• The Hyuga Clan Head said the rumors threatened Reon’s reputation and the clan’s standing.
• The Hyuga Clan Head declared that Reon would have to stay with Yūske, whether he hid her in the Anbu or married her.

Yūske accepted the Hyuga Clan Head’s offer of the clan’s support and became an honored guest of the Hyuga Clan. The Clan Head then urged Hyuga Reon to assist Yūske and prepared Hiashi to take over the clan’s affairs as his illness worsened.

• The Hyuga Clan Head told Yūske that the clan could support him in exchange for a better future, and Yūske agreed to the alliance.
• The Clan Head declared Yūske an honored guest and invited him to stay for dinner.
• After Yūske left, Hiashi, Hizashi, and Hyuga Reon met with the Clan Head, who apologized to Reon and asked her to support Yūske.
• Hizashi questioned the decision to take sides, but the Clan Head said it would reduce risks to the clan and warned of the Uchiha Clan’s reasons for backing Yūske.
• The Clan Head revealed that his illness could not be cured, asked Hizashi and Reon not to resent Hiashi over the Caged Bird, and ordered Hiashi to take charge of the clan.

Yūske and Tsunade discussed the Flying Thunder God Technique and Impure World Reincarnation before enjoying a day off together. The next day, Yūske learned that Hatake Sakumo and the Fire Daimyo were approaching Konoha, leaving him curious about the visit.

• Yūske asked Tsunade to help him learn the Flying Thunder God Technique, but she refused to let him pursue Impure World Reincarnation.
• Tsunade told Yūske that the Hokage had approved her leave, and they spent the night together.
• Yūske woke near noon and found Aburame Shiho and the others waiting outside his home with news that Hatake Sakumo had returned.
• Aburame Shiho told Yūske that the Fire Daimyo was coming with Sakumo, though the Hokage had said Yūske did not need to greet them.
• Tsunade reacted with displeasure to the daimyo's arrival, then changed clothes while Yūske waited for more information.

Yūske spent the day resting with Tsunade before summoning Uchiha Fugaku and Kurenai Yūhi to discuss his suspicions about Danzo and the Daimyo. He decided to stay out of the upcoming clan meeting for now and told them to monitor the Daimyo’s movements.

• Tsunade encouraged Yūske to rest, and he agreed to join her for dinner at his home that evening.
• Shimura Maki and another subordinate returned with ramen, and Tsunade left after reminding Yūske not to overwork himself.
• Yūske assigned Maki and Gekko Yoru to invite Uchiha Fugaku and Kurenai Yūhi, while Aburame Shiho and Hiroya guarded the area.
• Yūske told Fugaku and Kurenai about his concerns involving Danzo, the Daimyo, and the Hokage’s unusual attitude toward him.
• Fugaku agreed to keep his clan in line, and Yūske asked both visitors to watch the Daimyo while he stayed away from the clan meeting.

The daimyo arrived in Konoha and questioned Hiruzen Sarutobi about the village’s war losses, his disciples, and a future Hokage candidate. He demanded that Hatake Sakumo serve as his long-term guardian, but Hiruzen refused, leaving the daimyo angry as he departed.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Konoha’s leaders welcomed the daimyo, who entered the village with his entourage and attended a banquet.
• The daimyo asked Hiruzen about Konoha’s losses in the war and praised the victory funded by his support.
• The daimyo questioned Hiruzen about his disciples and suggested the Sannin or White Fang as candidates for the Fourth Hokage.
• The daimyo asked Hiruzen to assign Hatake Sakumo as his long-term guardian ninja, but Hiruzen said Sakumo had other important missions.
• The daimyo angrily demanded other suitable guardians and left the banquet.

After the daimyo's forceful behavior unsettled Konoha's leaders, Hiruzen Sarutobi weighed the threat of Hatake Sakumo's growing ties with the Daimyo's Mansion. He restored Shimura Danzō's Root and tasked him with surveilling Sakumo, while asking him to summon Orochimaru.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi convened an emergency meeting with the Elder Council and Nara Shikamaru to discuss the daimyo's behavior.
• Nara Shikamaru suggested the daimyo was dissatisfied with Konoha for failing to send more personnel to protect the Daimyo's Mansion after an attack.
• Shimura Danzō burst into the meeting and argued that leaving Hatake Sakumo at the Daimyo's Mansion could make him loyal to the daimyo instead of Konoha.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi postponed replacing Sakumo permanently, ordered two jōnin to fill in temporarily, and arranged for the daimyo to meet the clan heads.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi questioned Shimura Danzō about Orochimaru, restored Root without funding, and assigned Danzō to surveil Hatake Sakumo.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Shimura Danzō to ask Orochimaru to come see him, and Danzō left without promising to do so.

Yūske learned that Konoha’s leadership distrusted Senior Sakumo and that Danzo had returned to the Hokage Building. At a meeting with the Fire Country daimyo, Sakumo received a half-sleeve bearing the Hokage’s emblem, prompting Danzo to demand whether the daimyo intended to appoint the Fourth Hokage.

• Kurenai Yūhi told Yūske that Konoha’s higher-ups had begun to distrust Senior Sakumo, and Yūske suspected his teacher’s recent distance had a deeper cause.
• Uchiha Fugaku told Yūske that Danzo had been seen entering and leaving the Hokage Building, and Yūske urged Fugaku to keep his clan members informed and cautious.
• Fugaku told Yūske that the clan heads would meet the Fire Country daimyo the next afternoon, and Yūske asked Fugaku to report what happened.
• The daimyo met with Konoha’s clan heads and gave them gifts, but presented Senior Sakumo with a half-sleeve styled after the Hokage’s robe.
• Shimura Danzō stood and angrily asked whether the daimyo was directly appointing the Fourth Hokage.

The Daimyo backed Hatake Sakumo as a candidate for Fourth Hokage and presented him with a Hokage Half-Sleeve, while Yūske revealed his own ambitions to Tsunade during their date. The chapter ended with Yūske urging Tsunade to gather the Senju clansmen and restore their clan.

• The Daimyo told Hiruzen Sarutobi he supported Hatake Sakumo becoming Fourth Hokage and gave Sakumo a Hokage Half-Sleeve, which Sakumo accepted.
• After the meeting, Yūske took Tsunade on a date and bought her a black kimono and a swimsuit.
• Yūske told Tsunade that Uchiha Clan businesses had given him shares in exchange for his promise to integrate the Uchiha into Konoha if he became Hokage.
• Yūske warned Tsunade that Hiruzen, Shimura Danzō, the Elder Council, and possibly Orochimaru and Jiraiya could oppose him, and Tsunade pledged to support him.
• Yūske asked Tsunade to gather the Senju clansmen so they could restore the Senju Clan.

Yūske encouraged Tsunade to revive the Senju Clan, then the two met with the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, who invited them to serve him and gave them gifts. They left for the Senju Clan Compound, while Konoha F4 argued in the Hokage's Office.

• Yūske urged Tsunade to seek out the Senju Clan's former members and careworn staff, and Tsunade resolved to do so.
• A samurai summoned Yūske and Tsunade to meet the Daimyo of the Land of Fire at a teahouse.
• The Daimyo invited Yūske and Tsunade to serve at his mansion, but Tsunade said they should discuss the offer with the Third Hokage.
• The Daimyo presented Yūske and Tsunade with gifts, and they accepted the boxes before leaving.
• Yūske suggested returning to the Senju Clan Compound, Tsunade agreed, and Konoha F4 argued in the Hokage's Office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Konoha’s elders feared the daimyo’s support for Hatake Sakumo and discussed acting against him. At the Senju Clan Compound, Yūske and the others discovered the daimyo had given them documents that could reshape Konoha’s politics, though his motives remained unclear.

• Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Shimura Danzō warned Hiruzen Sarutobi that the daimyo was using Hatake Sakumo to divide Konoha, and Hiruzen agreed they might need to act ruthlessly.
• Yūske brought Uchiha Fugaku, Kurenai Yūhi, and Nara Shikamaru to the Senju Clan Compound, where they discussed the danger facing Hatake Sakumo and the daimyo’s intentions.
• Uchiha Fugaku revealed that the daimyo had given him a scroll documenting grievances against the Third Hokage and other Konoha leaders, while Nara Shikamaru showed an appointment offer from the Daimyo’s Mansion.
• Yūske revealed a letter recommending him as Fourth Hokage, and Tsunade found a list of former Senju clan members who had become civilians.
• Nara Shikamaru suggested the list originated with Tsunade’s father and the Second Hokage, while Yūske suspected the daimyo had informants in Konoha.

Inside the Senju Clan Compound, Yūske and his allies debated the daimyo’s recommendation letter and how to respond to the threat against Hatake Sakumo, while Tsunade struggled with doubts about the village leadership and her clan. The chapter ended with Tsunade agreeing to show Yūske the ninjutsu scrolls her second grandfather had left her.

• Nara Shikamaru questioned why the daimyo had given Yūske a recommendation letter after publicly supporting Hatake Sakumo as Fourth Hokage.
• Yūske warned that openly backing Hatake Sakumo could bring retaliation from Konoha’s higher-ups, and the group agreed to wait and avoid gathering unnecessarily.
• Tsunade challenged Yūske over his suspicions of the Third Hokage, and Yūske said he wanted to stop their Teacher from making further mistakes and urged her to consider contacting her Senju clansmen.
• After the others left, Yūske reassured Tsunade that he would not lose himself in power struggles, then explained his connections with Konoha’s clans and his relationship with the Hyūga girl and Aburame Shiho.
• Yūske urged Tsunade to focus on strengthening themselves and asked to see her second grandfather’s ninjutsu scrolls, including the Flying Thunder God Technique; Tsunade agreed to take him to them.

Yūske obtained permission to study the Flying Thunder God Technique, then received a mission to find a missing Anbu squad in the Land of Water and continue its intelligence work. He prepared to leave with up to three teammates, while Tsunade reluctantly stayed behind after he refused to take her along.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi worried about his missing son and other elite jonin, then listened as Tsunade offered Yūske one of her chances to study from the Scroll of Seals.
• Yūske asked to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique, and Hiruzen copied the technique for him while warning that he would have to study it alone.
• Hiruzen told Yūske that First Division, Third Squad had gone missing in the Land of Water and tasked him with finding them and taking over their intelligence work.
• Hiruzen limited Yūske to three companions and urged him to prioritize safety as he prepared to leave the village.
• Tsunade asked to join Yūske as a medical ninja, but he refused because the mission was dangerous and she reluctantly accepted his decision.

Yūske led his team out of Konoha under merchant disguises and traveled to a border town to prepare for their infiltration of the Land of Water. After arranging passage and a contact on arrival, the team was set to board a merchant ship the next day.

• Yūske explained that the team would travel as merchants, with Gekko Yoru posing as his guard and Aburame Shiho and Shimura Maki as servants.
• Yūske and his team reached a border town, where a Konoha intelligence operative welcomed them and arranged their lodging.
• The operative told Yūske that a merchant ship would depart for the Land of Water at noon the next day, stopping in the Land of Crafts along the way.
• The operative explained that the team would need to pay off inspectors at the Land of Water’s ferry port and gave Yūske a necklace to identify their contact.
• Yūske praised the operative and his family for their years of service before inviting him to eat with the team.

Yūske and his companions arrived in the Land of Water disguised as merchants, where they learned Kirigakure was increasing patrols amid tensions with the Land of Lightning. After bribing a Kirigakure ninja for information and a possible passage to Kirigakure, they met their contact Kojiro and headed to a safehouse.

• Yūske and his companions boarded a merchant ship and sailed for eight days without incident.
• At the docks, Shimura Maki bribed a Kirigakure ninja, who warned them to stay on the island and revealed that Kirigakure was preparing for a possible war.
• Yūske learned that Kirigakure blamed the Land of Lightning for a death at the Daimyo's Mansion and was searching for the killer.
• The Kirigakure ninja offered to ask his captain about taking Yūske's group to Kirigakure on a merchant ship, and told them to meet him the next morning.
• Yūske pointed out their contact, and after Shimura Maki verified the code phrase, Kojiro led the group from the docks toward a safehouse.

Kojiro revealed that he and his companions were former Anbu reserves who had spent ten years supporting Konoha’s mission in the Land of Water. Yūske planned to use a Kirigakure ship to reach the next island, while considering the political constraints holding back the Third Mizukage.

• Kojiro led Yūske and his group into a secret room beneath the fishing tackle shop and explained that his team had sealed their chakra to work undercover.
• Yūske questioned Kojiro about the exposed Anbu squad and the intelligence network, learning that Kojiro’s team could pass on information but could not gather it themselves.
• Kojiro explained that the group could help Yūske reach the next island and that Kirigakure ships could be trusted if the group’s identities remained secret.
• Yūske decided that the group would rest overnight and head to the docks the next day to seek passage on a Kirigakure ship.
• Yūske and Aburame Shiho discussed the difficulty of entering the Land of Water, and Yūske suggested that the Third Mizukage faced constraints from the respected elder Genji.

Yūsuke bribed a Kirigakure ninja to arrange passage to the island where Kirigakure and the Daimyo’s Mansion were located. After arriving, his team headed toward Kirigakure, then stopped in a nearby town to restock and spend the night while planning to gather intelligence.

• Yūsuke told the Kirigakure ninja that he was a merchant competing to inherit his clan’s leadership and bribed him to arrange passage.
• Yūsuke and his companions boarded a ship that afternoon and reached the island the following day.
• Yūsuke asked Aburame Shiho to sense for nearby ninja and decided they should capture Kirigakure ninja for intelligence.
• Yūsuke’s group crossed the misty forest to a busy town and rented three rooms at an inn.
• Yūsuke, Aburame Shiho, and Gekko Yoru went to the bathhouse while Shimura Maki stayed behind counting their dwindling money.