Chapter Summaries

Three days after Sakumo Hatake's suicide, Kakashi grieved at his father's nameless grave while Sosuke Aizen tried to comfort him. Kakashi rejected Aizen's kindness, but after Aizen left, he was torn between his father's warning and the village's praise of Aizen.

• Kakashi stood in the rain at Sakumo Hatake's grave, still struggling to understand his father's death and the villagers' condemnation.
• Sosuke Aizen brought Kakashi Ichiraku Ramen and urged him to eat and accept support from the adults in the village.
• Kakashi slapped the ramen away and accused Aizen of pretending to care, citing his father's warning that Aizen was dangerous.
• Aizen left his umbrella and the remaining bowl of ramen with Kakashi, then departed after collecting the broken dishes and spilled food.
• Alone under the umbrella, Kakashi questioned whether his father or the village had been wrong and wondered whether he could trust Aizen.
• At the cemetery entrance, Aizen told the watching ANBU that Kakashi was innocent and would recover, then headed to report to the Hokage.

Sosuke Aizen asked Hiruzen Sarutobi to let him adopt Kakashi, while Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō discussed using Aizen as a moral example and concealing the circumstances of Hatake Sakumo's death. The chapter ended with Aizen revealing that he had captured Sakumo's soul fragment and was pleased to study it.

• Aizen visited Hiruzen Sarutobi and organized the Hokage's confidential documents while discussing Kakashi's grief over his father's death.
• Aizen asked to adopt Kakashi, and Hiruzen said he would consider it.
• After Aizen left, Shimura Danzō urged Hiruzen to expose him to darkness, but Hiruzen instead described Aizen as a moral benchmark for the village.
• Hiruzen and Danzō agreed that Danzō would manage problems within the village and spread the idea that Hatake Sakumo had feigned his death.
• Aizen appeared in a hidden place with Sakumo's soul fragment bound in a glass frame and said he was glad to examine it.

Sosuke Aizen tortured Hatake Sakumo’s soul while explaining his research into souls, Nature Energy, and Chakra, and claimed Kakashi would become his adopted son. Afterward, Dan Katō confronted Aizen but walked alongside him despite disapproving of his methods.

• Aizen addressed Hatake Sakumo’s soul in a laboratory and said Kakashi would become his adopted son.
• Aizen taunted Sakumo about his suicide and his failure to consider what life would be like for Kakashi.
• Aizen activated machinery that tortured Sakumo’s soul while he explained his theories about self-will, Nature Energy, Chakra, and souls.
• Aizen described Dan Katō’s death and said he needed Sakumo to help verify his research.
• Aizen left Sakumo under the machinery’s effects and encountered Dan Katō in the corridor.
• Dan admitted he had come because he sensed a new soul and disliked Aizen’s methods, but walked beside him.

Sosuke Aizen spoke with Dan Katō about his plans to develop Soul Reapers and loosen Konoha’s system while keeping the dead under observation. Dan returned to his coffin, and an unidentified voice later wondered what Aizen had seen.

• Dan Katō questioned Aizen about using Sakumo’s son to provoke him, and Aizen said Sakumo needed further Soul Surgeries.
• Aizen explained that the dead could see people and the world more clearly, and praised Dan for keeping his observations from Konoha.
• Dan asked why Aizen rejected Chakra, and Aizen said he feared its originator might still be watching them.
• Aizen described plans for materializing souls, compressing soul traces, and forging Zanpakuto, then said he wanted to loosen Konoha’s system.
• Dan’s soul faded into a coffin labeled with his name, and Aizen left after checking the instruments.
• Hours later, an unidentified voice asked what Aizen had seen that changed him.

Sosuke Aizen reflected on the cruelty and historical ignorance of the Ninja World, then spoke with Kakashi Hatake in his calligraphy room. After Kakashi asked whether he could trust him, Aizen offered to make him his son.

• Sosuke Aizen wrote “Do Not Turn Back” and hung the calligraphy to dry.
• Kakashi Hatake visited Aizen’s home, unsettled by the imposing calligraphy room and its artwork.
• Kakashi asked Aizen whether he could trust him.
• Aizen told Kakashi to judge people by their actions and explained how misplaced trust could distort his understanding.
• Aizen offered to make Kakashi his son.

Sosuke Aizen showed Kakashi Hatake his defensive technique, Blut Vene, and offered to teach it to him as an adopted son or simply as a gift. After Aizen left for a meeting with the Third Hokage, Kakashi questioned whether his father had been wrong to distrust him.

• Kakashi agreed to test Aizen’s strength and attacked him with a Kunai, which Aizen stopped with one finger.
• Aizen explained Blut Vene and demonstrated that it could protect his body from Kakashi’s attacks, then offered Kakashi a scroll containing the technique.
• Kakashi used the Substitution Technique and attacked Aizen from behind, but Blut Vene stopped the Kunai again.
• Aizen asked Kakashi to consider becoming his adopted son and urged him to keep the secret technique even if he refused.
• An ANBU summoned Aizen to a meeting with the Third Hokage, and Aizen left Kakashi alone with the scroll.
• Kakashi wondered whether his father had been wrong about Aizen and sank into confusion.

Aizen was appointed Konoha’s Acting Advisor after the Third Hokage and the Jonin praised his devotion to the village. The meeting ended with news that Sunagakure’s Third Kazekage and several key figures had gone missing, hinting at a major upheaval.

• Aizen attended a Jonin meeting where the Third Hokage announced his appointment as Konoha Acting Advisor.
• Aizen initially refused the post, but the Third Hokage and the Jonin persuaded him to accept it.
• Aizen accepted the appointment and began taking notes as the meeting turned to assigning Genin teams.
• A black-clad Ninja delivered a scroll reporting that Sunagakure’s Third Kazekage, the Kazekage Guard, Sasori, and others were missing.
• Aizen watched the Jonin react to the news while remaining calm.

As Konoha prepared for war amid rumors linking it to Sunagakure’s losses, Kakashi completed testing an improved Blut Vene that could withstand ordinary Chunin-level attacks. He returned to Aizen’s home and found an unfamiliar ninja in a white haori waiting in the writing room.

• Rumors blamed Konoha for the deaths of the Third Kazekage, his guard squad, and Sasori, while Konoha began mobilizing for war.
• Sosuke Aizen’s mutual-aid policies helped Konoha maintain relative stability as the village prepared for conflict.
• Kakashi’s thirteenth Blut Vene test showed that the improved technique could endure ordinary Chunin-level ninjutsu, weapons, and taijutsu.
• A middle-aged ninja congratulated Kakashi and asked him to pass along his regards to Aizen, but Kakashi declined further conversation and left.
• Kakashi returned to Aizen’s home and saw an unfamiliar ninja wearing a white haori seated in the writing room.

Kakashi overheard Kagami Uchiha tell Sosuke Aizen that he intended to go to the front lines to help stop the coming Third Shinobi World War. After Kagami departed, Aizen pointed Kakashi toward records about Kagami and Dan Katō, then announced that they would begin studying Blut Arterie.

• Kakashi entered Aizen's Writing Room and noticed a grief-stricken Uchiha with no shadow kneeling inside.
• Kagami Uchiha told Aizen he planned to fight for Konoha and stop the coming war, but Aizen argued that the village should rely on everyone's strength rather than one person's sacrifice.
• Kagami said he did not trust the Third Hokage and would go to the front lines, offering data from his nearly completed Mimicry Shikai.
• Kagami vanished and reappeared behind Kakashi, warned him to be careful around Aizen, then left after Aizen reminded him that Dan Katō was waiting.
• Aizen suggested Kakashi look up Kagami and Dan in Konoha's records, then told him their next research would focus on Blut Arterie.

Sosuke Aizen persuaded the Third Hokage to grant him access to the Scroll of Seals so he could research techniques that might help Chunin and Genin survive. After receiving authorization and a guard detail, Aizen reflected on his plans and went to see Kakashi.

• Aizen asked the Third Hokage and Shimura Danzō for access to forbidden techniques and Space-Time Ninjutsu, arguing that his research could help weaker ninja survive.
• The Third Hokage approved Aizen's access to the Forbidden Jutsu Scroll but required that any techniques he developed remain secret.
• Aizen told Shimura Danzō that he respected Konoha's hidden work and asked about the Sannin's command of the border regions.
• Danzō promised to arrange Jonin knowledgeable in Space-Time Ninjutsu to advise and guard Aizen.
• After leaving the Hokage Building, Aizen wondered whether Kagami Uchiha and Dan Katō had reached the Sannin's camp, then walked toward Kakashi, who was practicing shuriken in the courtyard.

The Sannin pursued two masked figures who entered Konoha’s command tent, only to discover one resembled the dead Dan Katō and the other was an Uchiha. The pair used their blades to make Tsunade and Orochimaru vanish, then the Uchiha pierced Jiraiya’s shoulder and called him his junior.

• Jiraiya questioned why the Sannin had pursued the two figures without notifying anyone, while Tsunade and Orochimaru insisted they needed to identify them.
• The two masked figures stopped in a forest clearing and criticized the Sannin for leaving the camp vulnerable while pursuing them.
• The Sannin recognized one figure as an Uchiha and the other as Dan Katō, prompting Tsunade to plead with Dan to answer her.
• The masked pair drew their blades, invoked Pseudo-Shikai, and made Tsunade and Orochimaru disappear, leaving Jiraiya and the Uchiha in the clearing.
• The Uchiha pierced Jiraiya’s shoulder with a Withered Branch and called him his junior.

Jiraiya fought a masked Uchiha who used Nature Energy, extreme speed, and a burning branch to overwhelm him while explaining his views on chakra. Jiraiya activated Blut Vene to withstand the Uchiha’s attack, and their battle continued in the burning forest.

• The masked Uchiha repeatedly struck Jiraiya with a wooden stick, explaining that his companion could trap enemies in a soul-space for a one-on-one fight.
• The Uchiha taught Jiraiya about his Instant Step footwork and claimed people could live through will and Nature Energy without chakra.
• The Uchiha warned that Jiraiya would die as a warning to Konoha if he could not endure, while Jiraiya noticed the dead branch beginning to smoke.
• Jiraiya used Mimicry Hadō, Four: White Lightning, then activated Blut Vene to withstand the Uchiha’s burning branch attack.
• Jiraiya recognized Aizen Sosuke’s equipment and taunted the Uchiha for revealing information, but the Uchiha struck him again and the two continued fighting amid the flames.

Jiraiya struggled against a mysterious Uchiha whose Shikai deprived him of his ability to breathe, while his Blood Stasis Armor kept him alive. The Uchiha nearly unleashed Bankai, but a white-haired masked man stopped him and the pair vanished, leaving the defeated Sannin with a warning about dangers in the shadows.

• Jiraiya's Blood Stasis Armor withstood the Uchiha's fire, but the Uchiha disrupted his Summoning Jutsu with Boundary Seal.
• The Uchiha revealed that his Shikai, Jiejin, attacked Jiraiya's understanding of oxygen and used his vitality to fuel flames that would suffocate him.
• Jiraiya asked why the Uchiha had explained his ability, and the Uchiha said he hoped Jiraiya would grow strong enough to defeat them and confront a greater hidden threat.
• The Uchiha began to release Bankai, but the moon-white-haired masked man seized his wrist and stopped him, warning that the move would attract someone's notice.
• The Uchiha and the masked man warned the Sannin to beware of shadows, the dead, and those closest to them, then disappeared and left the Sannin defeated in the burning forest.

After recovering from their defeat, the Sannin considered the warning from the two White Haori figures and learned that Dan Katō and Kagami Uchiha served the Soul Society. They decided to secretly report the suspected threat to the Third Hokage, whose reaction to their scroll was shock.

• Orochimaru analyzed the battle and warned Jiraiya that the figures’ information might be incomplete or false, while suspecting their abilities were connected to Sosuke’s sealed research on the Soul Transformation Body.
• Orochimaru argued that Sosuke Aizen was unlikely to be behind the attack, since he could have taken control of Konoha already if he had possessed that power.
• Tsunade revealed that her opponent was Dan Katō, who had told her that he and Kagami Uchiha served the Soul Society and that their encounter was a trial imposed by an unknown force.
• Tsunade said Dan’s information had been true as far as he believed, and trusted it because Dan would have sacrificed himself to make her happy.
• The Sannin agreed to send the information to the Third Hokage through trusted ANBU Ninja under the highest classification, then returned to the main camp.
• A day later, the Third Hokage read their scroll, dropped his pipe, and stared in shock.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Konoha’s leaders debated a report about the theft and manipulation of former comrades’ souls, and Sosuke Aizen argued that the culprit was likely an outside faction or someone inside Konoha seeking power. His analysis prompted Shimura Danzō to take charge of the investigation, while Aizen gained authority over village publicity and education.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen angrily confronted Shimura Danzō, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Sosuke Aizen about the report concerning Dan Katō and Kagami Uchiha.
• Sosuke Aizen argued that the culprit likely served a smaller village or was a Konoha insider confident they could control the fallout.
• Shimura Danzō volunteered Root to hunt spies and potential traitors, and Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed to leave the investigation to him.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen assigned ANBU to guard Aizen and approved his work with Kakashi on Blut Arterie.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen transferred responsibility for village publicity and education to Aizen, quietly stripping authority from Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura.

Sosuke Aizen’s efforts to improve ordinary villagers’ lives strengthened his popularity in Konoha, while Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō secretly debated whether he or the Uchiha Clan was behind a suspected plot. Aizen revealed he knew they were watching and used his open presence to reassure the ANBU, as Kagami Uchiha reacted angrily to the agents trapped in an illusion.

• Sosuke Aizen reflected on the costs of war and praised people who tried to change the world, then walked through rainy Konoha and bought groceries from grateful villagers.
• Villagers’ goodwill toward Aizen had grown after he investigated prices, cracked down on corrupt merchants, and organized aid for the poor and disabled.
• Shimura Danzō mocked Hiruzen Sarutobi’s suspicion that Aizen might be a traitor, while Hiruzen worried that the evidence surrounding Aizen was too coincidental.
• Danzō blamed the Uchiha Clan for the suspected scheme, arguing that its members wanted an Uchiha Hokage rather than integration into Konoha, and Hiruzen ended their discussion.
• After Hiruzen and Danzō left, Aizen spoke with Kagami Uchiha in the Writing Room and said his visible presence was meant to reassure the ANBU watching him.
• Kagami saw that the Konoha ANBU were caught in an illusion and clenched his fists.

Sosuke Aizen confronted Kagami Uchiha and Dan Katō about their incomplete Shikai and Bankai, urging them to discover their own reasons to live before facing him. They left without understanding him, and Aizen remained alone beneath the moon as Kakashi Hatake went to train.

• Sosuke Aizen told Kagami Uchiha and Dan Katō that their efforts to hide their strength were obvious and that their Shikai and Bankai were imitations shaped by borrowed feelings.
• Kagami accused Aizen of mocking them and Konoha’s beliefs, but Aizen argued that true courage meant understanding life and choosing to face death rather than using it to escape problems.
• Aizen urged Kagami and Dan to find answers within themselves before confronting him, and they departed without accepting his reasoning.
• Aizen told Kagami and Dan that Sakumo-kun would wake the next day and temporarily become captain of the 11th Division.
• Kakashi Hatake declined Aizen’s offer of food and went to train while Aizen continued drinking alone beneath the moon.

Kakashi visited his father’s neglected grave and met a masked Konoha ninja who claimed to have been Hatake Sakumo’s friend. The man tried to comfort Kakashi, but Kakashi insisted he had to bear his father’s disgrace and ran back to Aizen’s home, leaving the stranger stunned.

• Kakashi reflected on Aizen’s diligent work and questioned his father’s accusations against him.
• Kakashi went to Hatake Sakumo’s neglected grave and began clearing away the weeds.
• A masked ninja in a white haori marked Eleven joined Kakashi and said he had been Sakumo’s friend.
• Kakashi told the man that Sakumo was remembered as a traitor and that he would bear the consequences of his father’s actions.
• The masked man urged Kakashi not to torment himself, but Kakashi rejected his comfort and ran away.
• The man remained frozen after Kakashi left.

Sosuke Aizen worked late on Konoha reforms while Hatake Sakumo questioned how the village and his own beliefs had changed. Aizen challenged Sakumo to judge Konoha for himself, leaving him to reconsider his fears and look at the village as Kakashi Hatake’s father.

• Sosuke Aizen sent away an ANBU Ninja who urged him to rest and continued reviewing urgent documents.
• Hatake Sakumo visited Aizen and asked about his grave and the changes he had witnessed while watching Kakashi.
• Aizen told Hatake Sakumo that his hostility came from fear of Aizen’s power and the unknown, then threatened him against abusing Aizen’s mercy.
• Hatake Sakumo reflected that Aizen’s reforms had helped Kakashi and Konoha, despite his unease about Aizen.
• Aizen urged Hatake Sakumo to view Konoha as Kakashi Hatake’s father rather than as Konoha’s White Fang.

Hatake Sakumo, Dan Katō, and Kagami Uchiha observed Konoha from hidden Soul Transformation Bodies and discussed whether Sosuke Aizen was truly their enemy. They set aside their disagreement when Kagami agreed to investigate the mysterious watcher near the Uchiha Clan's ancestral grounds.

• Dan Katō and Kagami Uchiha marveled that Aizen's techniques let them sit openly in Konoha without being noticed or recognized.
• Hatake Sakumo questioned whether Aizen was evil, citing his treatment of the dead, his support for civilians, and the benefits he had given Kakashi.
• Hatake Sakumo explained that he had little reason to oppose Aizen, while Dan Katō and Kagami Uchiha were defending their own interests and commitments.
• Hatake Sakumo asked about Aizen's long-term mission to find who had secretly investigated Konoha and watched the Uchiha Clan's ancestral grounds.
• Kagami Uchiha said he would investigate the watcher.