Chapter Summaries

Shin discussed the Byakugan’s possible evolution and a resurrection method with Tobirama, then approved Mikoto and Kushina’s trip and spoke with Obito about his planned eye-transplant surgery. He suspected Uchiha Clan Fugaku was secretly pushing the surgery for reasons Shin could not understand.

• Tobirama questioned Shin about the Byakugan’s evolution, and Shin claimed Hyuga Clan ancient texts might contain a method to bring the dead back to life.
• Shin left the laboratory after asking Tobirama to research the Byakugan, while privately considering Nagato’s Rinnegan and Black Zetsu.
• Mikoto asked Shin to approve a trip to a neighboring country with Kushina, and Shin granted them permission for about a week.
• Samui told Shin that Mabui had prepared a new maid outfit for him, while Yugito had prepared nothing.
• Shin summoned Obito, learned that the Uchiha Clan head had arranged Obito and Kakashi’s eye-transplant surgery, and suggested Obito ask Tobirama about Wood Release.
• After Obito left, Shin suspected Uchiha Clan Fugaku was driving the eye transplant and wondered whether Fugaku knew about Kamui.

Shisui and Itachi met Yakushi Kabuto and his companions training on Uchiha grounds, and Shisui invited them to return. When Kabuto went to see Nonō, he discovered the Hokage in her room.

• Shisui told Itachi he wanted to join the Crown Guard, while Itachi considered how he could help his father.
• Shisui and Itachi found Yakushi Kabuto, Urushi, and a girl practicing shuriken in Uchiha training grounds.
• Kabuto apologized for training on their grounds, and Shisui invited him to come back; Kabuto remembered Shisui's name.
• Urushi and the girl urged Kabuto to follow Mother Director Nonō's rules as they returned home.
• Kabuto entered Nonō's room when she called for him and was surprised to find the Hokage there.

Naruto told Yakushi Kabuto he would leave the orphanage to begin life as a Konoha ninja, while reassuring him that he could still visit Nonō and his friends. As Kabuto prepared to enter a much larger world, Naruto and Nonō discussed the other children’s training and future.

• Naruto told Kabuto to build a sense of self and arranged for him to live independently with support from the village.
• Nonō accepted that Kabuto needed to leave and discussed the children’s training with Naruto, who proposed sending the older ones to the Ninja Academy’s graduating class.
• In the dormitory, Kabuto’s friends teased Urushi about his ambition to become as powerful as the Hokage, and their joking turned into a pillow fight.
• Kabuto thought about the Uchiha he had met and resolved to work harder as he prepared to leave the orphanage for the wider ninja world.

Yahiko decided to reorganize Akatsuki as Amegakure’s elite force after Konan advised him to define its role, while Obito and Kakashi reconciled after their eye surgery. After Obito reported the successful operation to Fugaku, Fugaku considered killing Rin to provoke Obito’s Mangekyō Sharingan.

• Konan advised Yahiko to make Akatsuki an elite village department without authority, and Yahiko agreed to reorganize it.
• Nagato recommended the rogue ninja Byakuryu for Akatsuki, while Yahiko cautioned him about handling people and making promises.
• Rin visited Kakashi and Obito after their surgery, and Kakashi explained what Obito’s Sharingan had meant to him before the two friends made peace.
• Obito told Fugaku that his eye replacement surgery had succeeded, and Fugaku told him to rest and follow the doctors’ instructions.
• Fugaku considered arranging Rin’s death on a mission with Obito to trigger Obito’s Mangekyō Sharingan.

Yahiko accepted Byakuryu into Amegakure after Nagato brought him to the village, but Byakuryu secretly fixated on Nagato’s Rinnegan. In Konoha, Tobirama struggled to reproduce Orochimaru’s soul-splitting experiments until the Fifth Hokage sent him a group of orphaned children to use as test subjects.

• Yahiko welcomed Byakuryu into Amegakure as a genin, and Nagato took him to register and settle into his new home.
• Byakuryu hid his vicious intentions and murmured about the Rinnegan after returning to his residence.
• Tobirama examined twin White Zetsu test subjects whose souls Orochimaru had split and recombined, but he could not determine how to reproduce the process.
• Tobirama considered the human experiments he would need and worried that asking Shin would put him under the Hokage’s control.
• An Anbu led Tobirama to an outpost where the Fifth Hokage had gathered orphaned children for his experiments.
• Tobirama returned to Konoha and privately wondered whether his brother would blame him if he resurrected him.

Mikoto and Kushina investigated the White Snake Sage after hearing claims that he healed the sick and granted wishes. At the shrine, they encountered snake-headed attendants and discovered an enormous eight-headed white python.

• Mikoto and Kushina enjoyed the hot springs, shopping, and food in a town in the Land of Hot Water.
• The women heard townspeople praise the White Snake Sage for healing injuries and granting blessings, and Kushina persuaded Mikoto to investigate.
• The next day, Mikoto and Kushina followed worshippers to the White Snake Shrine and climbed to the mountaintop.
• Two snake-headed figures summoned Mikoto and Kushina to meet the White Snake Sage, and the women followed them into the shrine.
• Mikoto and Kushina saw a gigantic white python with eight heads coiled in the shrine's main hall.

Kamado rescued Mikoto and Kushina from the White Snake Sage’s shrine in the Land of Hot Water, where the snake and its followers controlled the townspeople and transformed the mountain into monsters. After Shin sent Anbu to investigate, Kamado found that the snake, the battle damage, and the townspeople’s memories had all vanished.

• The White Snake Sage bewitched Mikoto and Kushina into kneeling, but Kamado broke into the shrine and rescued them.
• The townspeople attacked Kamado, Mikoto, and Kushina, and Kamado blasted apart the shrine and half the mountaintop to stop them.
• The rocks and trees transformed into snake-headed humanoid monsters, so Kamado led Mikoto and Kushina down the mountain and escaped.
• Kamado told Shin what had happened, and Shin recognized the Eight Branches Technique and sent Anbu to investigate.
• Kamado returned with the Anbu and reported that the white snake and all traces of the battle had disappeared, while the townspeople remembered nothing.

Mana investigated the mystery of the White Snake Sage and visited Kushina, where Rin turned him away. He caught Rin alone afterward, kissed her despite her protests, and promised to marry her, but she rejected his offer to become one of his wives and left.

• Mana sent an Anbu squad to continue investigating the White Snake Sage in the Land of Hot Water.
• Mana visited Kushina, but Rin told him to leave, and he departed without staying.
• Mana caught Rin in an empty alley and confronted her about avoiding him before kissing her.
• Rin cried and accused Mana of playing with her feelings because he had a wife and child.
• Mana promised to marry Rin, but she rejected his offer to become another wife and walked away.

Samui pressured Yugito to stop relying on the household and prepare to please the Hokage, while Mabui supported Samui's demands. Yugito finally began changing into the revealing outfit Samui had chosen for her.

• Samui came home late and told Mabui she planned to ask the Hokage to cancel their living allowance, emphasizing that Yugito could still stay with them for free.
• Samui confronted Yugito about her earlier proposal, and Mabui refused to comfort her, reminding her how hard Samui worked for their household.
• Yugito agreed to Samui's plan, and Samui told her to put on clothes from a bag in her bedroom.
• Yugito found a cat-ear headband and other provocative clothes, then reflected on how isolated and aimless she had become in Konoha.
• Samui urged Yugito to change and warned that the Hokage might eventually tire of her; Yugito took a deep breath and began unbuttoning her pajamas.

Shin addressed the Ninja Academy’s graduation concerns and arranged Uchiha Itachi’s future training before handling a mission request from the Land of Fire’s ministers. He chose Kakashi to escort a princess and sent Might Guy to join the daimyo’s Twelve Guardian Ninja, leaving both assignments ready to proceed.

• Shin told the Academy principal not to lower graduation standards and arranged for struggling students to repeat courses or attend ordinary schools at the village’s expense.
• After hearing that Uchiha Itachi was ready to become a ninja, Shin arranged for him to have a civilian girl from the graduating class as a teammate and said he would choose the third member himself.
• Shin agreed to send an impressive escort with the Land of Fire delegation to receive the Land of Rice Fields princess, and recommended a candidate to replace an aging Guardian Ninja.
• Shin assigned Kakashi to lead the princess-escort mission and select several companions.
• Shin told Might Guy to serve among the daimyo’s Twelve Guardian Ninja for two or three years to gain experience and temper himself.

Kakashi escorted the Land of Rice Fields princess, Kushinadahime, into the Land of Fire and worried about the effect her beauty might have on the daimyo. Meanwhile, Rin turned Obito’s planned one-on-one escort mission to the Land of Birds into a group outing with Anko, and their peers speculated about Anko’s rapid promotion to Jonin.

• Kakashi met the Land of Rice Fields delegation at the border and saw Kushinadahime enter the carriage prepared by the Land of Fire.
• Obito invited Rin on an escort mission to the Land of Birds, but Rin invited Kurenai and Anko to join them.
• Kurenai later decided not to go, leaving Rin, Anko, and Obito to undertake the mission together; Anko revealed she had been promoted to Jonin by Zhen.
• Genma, Ebisu, Aoba Yamashiro, and Asuma discussed the mission, Anko’s promotion, and the absence of their former classmates from the village.

Obito, Rin, and Anko arrived in the Land of Birds and spent the evening shopping while a group of watchers discussed targeting them. In Konoha, Itachi and Fugaku discussed Itachi’s possible early graduation, while Mikoto, Kushina, and Ayari drank together and Ayari drunkenly revealed that Mana would go to her sister’s bed if she rejected him.

• Obito, Rin, and Anko reached the Land of Birds, completed their escort mission, and booked rooms overlooking the lake.
• Obito followed Rin and Anko through the shopping district and carried their bags as they browsed.
• Several watchers identified Anko as a Crown Guard member and planned to wait for a chance to separate her from the others.
• Itachi showed Fugaku his test results, and Fugaku agreed to meet with the principal about Itachi graduating early.
• Fugaku took Itachi to Uncle Yashiro’s house for dinner after Mikoto stayed out drinking with Kushina and Ayari.
• Ayari drunkenly told Mikoto that Mana would climb into her sister’s bed if Ayari refused to let him sleep in hers.

In the Land of Birds, Rin and Anko were abducted as part of a plan to lure Obito into a trap. Obito fought the masked attackers with Wood Release but was overwhelmed and kicked down, while Rin remained bound nearby.

• Anko found a grand-opening flyer and went to Nagano Dango Shop, where she sensed Chakra from its owner and ordered dango.
• Obito woke to breaking glass, found Rin and Anko missing from their room, and realized Rin had been taken.
• Rin awoke bound beside a lake and overheard the kidnappers discuss Tekka, their clan head, and their plan to wait for Obito.
• Obito arrived at the lake, where four masked men attacked him as Rin watched and wondered whether he had staged the rescue.
• Obito unleashed several Wood Release techniques, but the attackers countered them and continued taunting him.
• After Obito's strongest attacks failed, one masked man kicked him in the chest and sent him flying.

Rin revealed that Uchiha Tekka and his companions were attacking her and Obito, then exposed her Three-Tails Jinchuriki power and helped Anko capture them. After the group returned toward Konoha, Mana recognized Uchiha Fugaku’s scheme to awaken Obito’s Mangekyo, but resolved that Rin would not be allowed to die.

• Rin identified the masked attacker as Uchiha Tekka, transformed under a Tailed Beast cloak, and knocked him away.
• Tekka ordered his men to continue their mission, but Anko arrived after Uchiha Inaho was thrown back into the clearing.
• Anko overwhelmed Tekka and the other Uchiha, and Rin asked how they should be dealt with.
• Anko captured the Uchiha and broke their arms and legs before taking them back toward the village.
• Anbu intercepted the group in the Land of Fire, took the Uchiha into custody, and redirected Obito, Rin, and Anko to Adofuku Street.
• Mana connected the attack to Uchiha Fugaku’s plan to awaken Obito’s Mangekyo and decided he would not let Rin die.

Fugaku visited Obito after five Uchiha were reported killed and tried to discover whether Obito had awakened more than the Mangekyō Sharingan. Shin revealed that he had been posing as Obito and exposed Fugaku’s plot; after Kamado reported finding Itachi, Shin confronted Fugaku about betraying the village.

• Fugaku heard that Obito had supposedly killed Tekka and four other Uchiha, and accepted responsibility as clan head while claiming he knew nothing about the attack.
• Fugaku visited Obito and asked how he had defeated five jonin; Obito said he had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Fugaku pressed Obito about whether he had awakened another power, but Obito deduced that Fugaku wanted the Rinnegan and recognized that he had seen the stone tablet.
• Obito transformed into Shin, who confronted Fugaku about his interest in the Rinnegan and his role in the attack on Rin and Anko.
• Shin revealed that Tekka and the others were alive, while Kamado reported that Itachi had been found at the training ground west of the village.
• Shin cited the Uchiha clan’s dwindling numbers and asked Fugaku what fate awaited a clan head who betrayed the village.

Fugaku returned home after the Hokage forced him to accept a Caged Bird Seal or face the death of Itachi and his clansmen. He confessed his failed assassination plot to Mikoto and asked her to plead with the Hokage, leaving her shocked by what he was asking her to do.

• Shin threatened Fugaku with the Caged Bird Seal and warned that resisting would put Itachi in danger.
• Fugaku returned home and concealed his distress from Mikoto until he told her that Tekka, Inaho, Genji, Kei, and Kyo were dead.
• Fugaku admitted that he had ordered the five Uchiha to assassinate Nohara Rin so Obito would awaken his Mangekyo.
• Fugaku told Mikoto that the Hokage knew of the plot and asked her to plead with him for leniency.
• Mikoto offered to ask Ayari for help, but Fugaku insisted she go to the Hokage himself and apologized as her chopsticks fell.

Itachi returned home with a new seal on his neck, and Fugaku’s panicked reaction left him confused about his family. At the Hokage Residence, Mikoto stayed for dinner and reflected on her shattered marriage, deciding that everything she did was for Itachi.

• Itachi told Fugaku that he had visited Shisui and the Hokage, and Fugaku found a seal on the back of his neck.
• Fugaku collapsed after seeing the seal and told Itachi that Mikoto would be away until late.
• Mikoto visited Ayari and Neji, declined to discuss having another child, and agreed to stay for dinner.
• Naruto returned to the Hokage Residence, kissed Ayari, and joked that Mikoto could stay the night.
• Mikoto watched Naruto and Ayari together and concluded that her actions were all for Itachi.

At dinner, Shin and Mikoto flirted while discussing Itachi’s early graduation and future, and Shin discreetly indulged a private encounter beneath the table. Mikoto left the Hokage’s residence alone, walking home through the night to the son waiting for her.

• In the restroom, Mikoto teased Shin about helping Ayano cook, then wiped her wet hands on her sweater instead of using his towel.
• At dinner, Mikoto praised Ayano’s cooking and joked with Ayari about her comfortable life and being a Hokage’s Wife.
• Shin, Ayari, and Mikoto discussed Itachi’s early graduation, with Shin praising his talent and urging Mikoto not to pressure him to become Hokage.
• While Ayari and Mikoto talked, Shin felt a faint tickle against his calf beneath the table and kept eating without reacting.
• After dinner, Shin walked Mikoto to the gate, where they flirted and discussed her inviting him to try her new dishes.
• Mikoto left alone and walked home through the deserted streets, where Itachi was waiting for her.

Itachi learned that he would one day join the Crown Guard, then graduated and was assigned to Team Nine with Kabuto and Shinko under Hyuga Kiyomi. Meanwhile, Makoto considered Konoha’s shortage of Chunin Exam candidates and met with Shisui and Kamado before Yugito and Mabui served him lunch in revealing costumes.

• Itachi told Fugaku that the Hokage had promised him a future place in the Crown Guard, and Mikoto comforted him that night while trembling and crying.
• Itachi joined Team Nine with Yakushi Kabuto and Sakurada Shinko, and Hyuga Kiyomi introduced himself as their Jonin instructor.
• Makoto learned Konoha had just over fifty qualified candidates for the Chunin Exams, far fewer than Sunagakure’s nearly hundred Genin, and set the problem aside.
• Shisui reported his completed mission to Makoto, then encountered Kamado, who encouraged him to keep working toward joining the Crown.
• Makoto planned to inspect the Science Craftsmen Department, but Yugito and Mabui woke him by bringing lunch in bunny-girl and catgirl outfits.

Mana received Konan and Nagato in Konoha and let Fugaku see Nagato’s Rinnegan, then questioned Fugaku about his former obsession with the eyes and his loyalty. Anko mistook an Amegakure visitor for someone she remembered, while the chapter ended with Fugaku inviting Mana to Mikoto’s home for dinner.

• Might Guy reported that the Land of Fire’s daimyo had neglected state business because of his infatuation with Kushinadahime.
• Mana summoned Fugaku to meet Konan and Nagato, who had come from Amegakure to discuss their village’s responsibilities.
• Fugaku stared at Nagato’s Rinnegan, and Mana later asked him about his former obsession with the eyes and claims that Nagato was the Sage of Six Paths’ reincarnation.
• Anko mistook a thin Amegakure ninja for someone familiar, apologized, and returned to the dango shop feeling desolate.
• Fugaku declared his loyalty to Mana, and Mana recalled that Mikoto had invited him to try her cooking.