Chapter Summaries

Kazuna ordered the Uchiha to patrol with smiles, claiming it would help them integrate into Konohagakure, while Shisui and the clan found the idea unsettling. Uchiha Itachi warned Kazuna that Danzo was about to move against him, and Kazuna was unsurprised.

• Utatane Koharu, Danzo, and the Third Hokage wondered why the Uchiha were smiling and suspected they had achieved a goal involving the Hyuga.
• Kazuna made the Uchiha Military Police Force practice smiling and ordered them to keep smiling during patrols.
• Kazuna told the Uchiha to balance patrol work with studying ninjutsu, then left with Shisui.
• Kazuna warned Shisui and Uchiha Itachi against taking every burden upon themselves, while privately reflecting on their choices in the Original Work.
• Uchiha Itachi told Kazuna that Danzo was about to make a move against him, and Kazuna accepted the warning without surprise.

Itachi told Kazuna that Danzo had ordered him to lure Kazuna from the village and kill him with Root’s help. Kazuna chose to enter the trap to weaken the Hokage Faction, and Shisui decided he could no longer trust the Hokage and would go with him.

• Itachi told Kazuna and Shisui that Danzo had ordered him to lure Kazuna away and kill him, with Root assisting.
• Kazuna rebuked Shisui for thinking the Hokage did not know of Danzo’s plan and argued that Hiruzen had betrayed the Will of Fire by allowing Danzo to corrupt Root.
• Kazuna told Itachi to gain Danzo’s trust but warned him not to appear during the planned trap because Danzo had prepared for Kazuna’s Mangekyo.
• Kazuna said he would enter the trap to weaken the Hokage Faction and bring its strength closer to the Uchiha’s.
• Shisui said he could no longer trust the Hokage and offered to accompany Kazuna as a Mangekyo wielder.

Kazuna warned Shisui and Itachi that Danzo would target Shisui for his Mangekyo and exposed Danzo’s human experiments and stolen Senju and Uchiha powers. Shisui vowed to defend himself as Kazuna urged both Uchiha to beware of Danzo’s Wood Release and Izanagi.

• Kazuna scolded Shisui for revealing Kotoamatsukami to the Hokage and warned that the Hokage and the other leaders would fear power they could not control.
• Kazuna told Shisui that Danzo might personally lead an attack against him, and Shisui vowed to fight back with his Mangekyo.
• Kazuna revealed to Shisui and Itachi that Danzo had conducted human experiments with children and secretly captured Senju and Uchiha clan members.
• Kazuna explained that Danzo had gained some Senju and Uchiha powers, including limited Wood Release and the ability to use Izanagi.
• Kazuna warned Shisui and Itachi that Danzo might use Izanagi to take their eyes, then speculated that Fugaku's Mangekyo might grant precognition.

Uchiha Itachi reported to Shimura Danzō that he could not join the planned ambush on Uchiha Kazuna, warning that Kazuna was wary of him and Shisui. Danzō learned Kazuna might be cultivating valuable herbs in the Forest of Death and feared he could ally with the Nara clan, leaving Danzō more determined to kill him.

• Uchiha Itachi told Shimura Danzō that Kazuna would appear in the Forest of Death but that Itachi could not attend because Kazuna was watching him and Shisui.
• Itachi said Kazuna had discovered valuable herbs in the Forest of Death and might be seeking cooperation with the Nara clan.
• Danzō feared an alliance between the Uchiha and Nara clans could strengthen the Uchiha faction and resolved to eliminate Kazuna.
• Danzō asked Itachi about Kazuna's strength, and Itachi said Kazuna was stronger than Fugaku Uchiha and had no visible limits.
• Danzō ordered Itachi to withdraw without arousing Kazuna's suspicions, and Itachi left using the Body Flicker Technique.

Itachi monitored the Uchiha as Danzō ordered, while Kazuna prepared for the coming siege and encouraged the clan to focus on its own duties. As villagers reacted to the Uchiha withdrawing from public intervention, Kazuna recruited Uchiha Hyōmaru to help shape the clan’s response.

• Itachi reflected on Konoha’s hidden power struggles, then reported to Kazuna that Danzō had ordered him to monitor the Uchiha.
• Kazuna said Danzō would send Root to watch the clan and insisted that no powerful fighters could defeat him.
• Kazuna learned the Uchiha were studying ninjutsu during patrols because they were also helping widows and orphans.
• Patrolling Uchiha ignored public disputes and a call to catch a thief, leaving villagers dissatisfied.
• Kazuna asked Uchiha Hyōmaru to find clan members skilled with words.

Kazuna lured Danzo’s Root forces into the Death Forest and fought them with Blood Flame. As the battle raged, Hiruzen prepared to intervene, but Danzo and the elders backed the operation and condemned the Uchiha.

• Danzo ordered Root to ambush Kazuna after he entered the Death Forest, and Aburame Shikuroo revealed himself as the one tracking him.
• Root ninja attacked Kazuna with a Nara shadow technique, an Akimichi Partial Expansion Jutsu, and Shikuroo’s insects, but Kazuna evaded them and destroyed a Yamanaka ninja with Blood Flame.
• Kazuna created four Shadow Clones and unleashed Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation, setting the surrounding area ablaze.
• An Anbu reported the battle to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who decided to gather Anbu and go to the Death Forest.
• Danzo confronted Hiruzen in the Hokage’s office and defended the attempt to kill Kazuna, while Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura sided with Danzo and denounced the Uchiha.

The Third Hokage rushed to the Death Forest as Danzo’s actions against Kazuna threatened to provoke the Uchiha. When Danzo’s order barred Fugaku and the clan from leaving their grounds, Fugaku defied it and prepared to confront the Anbu.

• The Third Hokage left with more than a dozen Anbu to reach the Death Forest, while Danzo privately insisted he could not lose to the Uchiha.
• Sensor ninja discovered the battle in the Death Forest, and Uchiha clansmen gathered after learning Kazuna was fighting.
• Fugaku selected six Jonin to accompany him, but an Anbu delivered Danzo’s order that the Uchiha must stay on their clan grounds.
• Fugaku recalled the Uchiha’s forced inaction during the Night of the Nine-Tails and refused to obey Danzo, awakening his Three Tomoe Sharingan.
• The Anbu and Uchiha faced off as Fugaku demanded to learn what consequences Danzo would impose, and a cane tapped nearby.

Fugaku Uchiha defied Danzo’s order to keep the Uchiha in the village and rallied his clan to support Kazuna, who was fighting elsewhere. After threatening open conflict and exposing the elders’ clan interests, Fugaku led the Uchiha toward the battle, and no one dared stop them.

• Fugaku confronted Danzo, declared he was going to support Kazuna, and struck Danzo with a blast of flames when Danzo tried to bar his way.
• Fugaku accused Danzo of targeting the Uchiha, prompting gathered ninjas from other clans to glare at Danzo with hostility.
• Fugaku challenged Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura over their clans’ gains, then asked the assembled ninjas whether they would stop the Uchiha from aiding Kazuna.
• Yashiro Uchiha and the clan rallied behind Fugaku, while Shikaku Nara tried unsuccessfully to calm him.
• Fugaku led the Uchiha toward the battle beneath the Blood Flame, and the others followed after no one moved to stop them.

After Danzo’s attempt to stop the Uchiha sparks a confrontation, Shikaku Nara recognizes Kazuna’s careful strategy of balancing pressure on Konohagakure’s clans. Kazuna continues fighting Root’s assassination squad and invites its remaining members to reveal their last resort before Hiruzen Sarutobi and the clans arrive.

• Utatane Koharu rebuked Shikaku Nara for not stopping Fugaku Uchiha, but Shikaku warned that pushing the Uchiha too hard would provoke a backlash.
• Danzo left after recognizing that his interference during Kazuna’s fight had crossed the Uchiha’s limit.
• Shikaku told Choza Akimichi and Inoichi Yamanaka that Kazuna’s schemes could bring major changes to Konohagakure while preventing the clans from wanting a civil war.
• Kazuna burned one Root ninja to ash and taunted Aburame Shikuroo as the ten-member assassination squad dwindled to four survivors.
• Aburame Shikuroo ordered the remaining Root ninja to launch a desperate attack, and Kazuna prepared to face them before Hiruzen Sarutobi and the clans arrived.

Uchiha Kazuna overwhelmed Danzo’s Root forces, but they trapped him in a Four Symbols Seal. Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi was lured to a fake battlefield by Kazuna’s Shadow Clone and then spotted a gigantic Susanoo in the distance.

• Kazuna killed an Akimichi ninja with his Great Fire Dragon Technique and burned away Aburame Shikuroo’s insect-concealing smoke.
• Aburame Shikuroo revealed four hidden Jonin, who trapped Kazuna inside a Four Symbols Seal.
• Kazuna’s Shadow Clone baited Hiruzen Sarutobi and his Anbu to a false battlefield, then vanished when Kazuna released it.
• Hiruzen’s group saw a gigantic Susanoo in the distance, and the sensor ninja announced that he had found Kazuna.
• Hiruzen ordered his forces to move toward the real battlefield.

Uchiha Kazuna slaughtered Aburame Shikuroo and the Root ninja with his Susanoo, then dramatically accused Danzo of trying to kill him in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hiruzen denied the accusation while the stunned shinobi watched.

• Uchiha Kazuna broke through Aburame Shikuroo's Four Symbols Seal with Susanoo and killed several Root ninja.
• Kazuna strengthened Susanoo, then launched its Red Magatama at Aburame Shikuroo and the remaining Root ninja, destroying them as Hiruzen Sarutobi and other shinobi arrived.
• The assembled shinobi saw the enormous crater and realized the scale of Kazuna's power, while Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura arrived and asked what had happened.
• When Hiruzen called out to him, Kazuna clutched his chest and pretended to be terrified, claiming Danzo wanted to kill him.
• Hiruzen denied that Danzo would harm Kazuna, and the shinobi reacted awkwardly to their exchange.

After Danzo's failed assassination attempt, Uchiha Kazuna confronted Hiruzen Sarutobi and pressured him to hold Konoha's Barrier Team accountable. The clans withdrew with tensions unresolved, while the Anbu Captain saw that conflict between the Hokage and the Uchiha remained inevitable.

• Kazuna traded barbed remarks with Hiruzen and joked about which clans might have attacked him before claiming that unknown ninjas had ambushed him while he practiced.
• Kazuna argued that the Barrier Team had failed to protect Konoha and demanded that it be dealt with, prompting Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura to raise other groups' responsibilities.
• Hiruzen ordered Kazuna to investigate the Barrier Team, and Kazuna agreed that the Uchiha would provide an explanation.
• Kazuna and Fugaku returned to the Uchiha Clan Grounds as the other clans departed, while Hiruzen ordered the Anbu to clean the site and summon Danzo.
• The Anbu Captain noted that the Root attackers' identities could not be traced and suspected that one side of the unreconciled Uchiha-Hokage conflict would eventually be destroyed.

Danzo struggled with the destruction of his Root force while Shikaku Nara concluded that the Ino-Shika-Cho clans needed to break from Hiruzen Sarutobi’s circle of power. He proposed that they choose the next Hokage themselves.

• Danzo learned that Kazuna had killed all fourteen Root jonin, including Aburame Shikuroo, and vowed to destroy the Uchiha.
• Shikaku Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka explained to Choza Akimichi that Danzo had taken members from their clans and used them as Root operatives.
• Shikaku argued that Danzo would recruit more clan members and that Hiruzen had pushed Ino-Shika-Cho out of power.
• Shikaku warned that the Uchiha might blame the four clans for their members’ attack on the Uchiha Vice Clan Leader, while the Hokage would send them to the front lines in a war.
• Shikaku declared that Hiruzen should step down and that Ino-Shika-Cho would choose the new Hokage themselves.

Kazuna advised the Uchiha clan on how to act after he crippled Root, while considering using Kotoamatsukami on Obito if he came to Konohagakure. Fugaku then asked whether war would break out between the Uchiha and the village.

• Fugaku rebuked Kazuna for acting casually during the clan meeting, and Setsuna praised Fugaku for standing up to Danzo.
• Kazuna considered testing Kotoamatsukami on Obito and reflected on Obito's past actions against Konohagakure and the Uchiha.
• Kazuna told the clan to avoid meddling, learn more ninjutsu, and show goodwill to the villagers now that Root was weakened.
• Fugaku explained that learning ninjutsu and copying it with the Sharingan took time, then said he would have already defeated the Hokage if the clan were as talented as Kakashi.
• Fugaku asked Kazuna whether war would break out between the Uchiha and the village.

Kazuna assured the Uchiha leaders that the village would not openly attack them, then revealed he had defeated fourteen ninja, including several Special Jonin. His disclosure shocked the assembled clan members, and Setsuna pressed Fugaku about the strength of the Susanoo.

• Kazuna joked that two tigers on one mountain would stop fighting if one were male and the other female, angering the Uchiha gathered for the meeting.
• Fugaku asked whether the village might act against the Uchiha, and Kazuna said there would be no open conflict for now because the Hokage Faction lacked the strength.
• Kazuna revealed he had taken out twenty Jonin over two days, then clarified that he had defeated fourteen ninja, several of them Special Jonin.
• The Uchiha leaders erupted in shock as they realized Kazuna’s opponents had been formidable.
• Setsuna asked Fugaku whether he could match Kazuna’s Susanoo, and Fugaku complained that Setsuna was using the question to praise his grandson at Fugaku’s expense.

Kazuna reassured the Uchiha that their strength could deter the Hokage Faction, while urging them to avoid civil war and proceed cautiously. After discussing plans to keep other clans neutral or win them over, he sensed a masked intruder listening nearby and confronted him.

• Fugaku warned the Uchiha to reserve Mangekyo power and revealed that Shisui had awakened his own Mangekyo, giving the clan three pairs.
• Kazuna urged the Uchiha not to act impulsively or start a civil war, and told them to follow his plans steadily.
• After the other Uchiha left, Kazuna and the remaining leaders discussed the struggle with the Hokage Faction and efforts to influence the major clans.
• Fugaku asked whether Kazuna's eyes were all right, but Kazuna instead called out someone who had been listening.
• A person wearing a spiral orange mask appeared after space twisted and greeted the Uchiha.

A masked intruder appeared in the Uchiha Clan Grounds, and Kazuna identified him as an Uchiha with Mangekyo before he escaped using a space-time ability. The breach exposed how vulnerable the clan’s defenses were, so Fugaku took charge of strengthening internal security while Kazuna focused on external matters.

• Fugaku confronted the masked intruder, and Kazuna identified him as an Uchiha Rogue Ninja with Mangekyo.
• Obito Uchiha questioned Kazuna about Danzo, but Kazuna denied hating him and demanded to know Obito’s purpose.
• Kazuna claimed to be Madara Uchiha and challenged Obito, who refused to reveal his name and vanished with a space-time ability.
• Kazuna sent Itachi to investigate the defenses, and Itachi found that genjutsu had disabled the Barrier Team and sensor ninja.
• Fugaku took personal responsibility for internal security, with Setsuna and Zongyi assisting him.

Kazuna’s new approach eased tensions between the Uchiha and the village, but Hiruzen and Danzo argued over how to deal with him after Danzo’s failed attack. Itachi joined their meeting and declared that Kazuna had to die, leaving Hiruzen and Danzo ready to use him against the Uchiha leader.

• Fugaku agreed to help Kazuna strengthen the Uchiha compound’s defenses, and the clan stopped interfering in so many village affairs.
• Hiruzen criticized Danzo for losing twenty-one Jonin and ordered him to stop using force against Kazuna inside the village.
• Danzo proposed luring Kazuna out of the village before attacking him, while Hiruzen lamented that Kazuna never left.
• Itachi arrived at the meeting and said he wanted to kill Kazuna because he threatened the village’s peace.
• Hiruzen apologized to Itachi and implied that the village and Kazuna could no longer reconcile, and Itachi agreed that Kazuna had to be eliminated.

Uchiha Itachi reported to Hiruzen Sarutobi that Uchiha Kazuna might leave the village, while Kazuna had sent him to provoke the Hokage faction. Kazuna revealed that he planned to use their attempts to assassinate him to weaken their power.

• Itachi told Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others that the Mangekyō Sharingan caused pain and blindness, and that Kazuna would likely leave the village.
• Danzo condemned Kazuna as a man filled with darkness and insisted that everything he did was for Konohagakure; Itachi repeated the phrase, unsettling the Hokage faction.
• Itachi returned to Kazuna, who joked with Shiraha before asking what had happened at the Hokage's office.
• Kazuna explained that he had deliberately told the Hokage faction about his departure so they would send assassins and weaken their ranks.
• Kazuna laughed when Itachi described the officials' reactions to hearing him say, “Everything was for Konohagakure.”

The Third Hokage agreed to let Danzo expand Root, and Danzo went to the Hyuga Clan to demand that it prove its loyalty by opposing the Uchiha. Hiashi Hyuga challenged a main family elder to lead the attack, leaving the clan’s next move unresolved.

• Ninja clans grew increasingly resentful of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo as Kazuna’s Hidden Agents stirred their discontent.
• Danzo asked Hiruzen Sarutobi to expand Root and recruit ninja from a list; Hiruzen approved supplies and crossed out several names.
• Danzo visited the Hyuga Clan and threatened it, prompting Hiashi Hyuga to suspect he was being accused of cooperating with the Uchiha.
• Hiashi Hyuga confirmed that Danzo wanted the Hyuga Clan to act against the Uchiha, and a main family elder volunteered to comply.
• Hiashi Hyuga challenged the elder to lead the team against the Uchiha.