Ch. 421Escorting Out

The Iron Wall Legion sold its captured ships and equipment, crossed the Land of Iron, and returned to the Land of Fire while Mifune watched warily. Back in the Land of Waves, Kakuzu expanded the navy, ordered Hiruko to prioritize Chakra Cannon production, and prepared to negotiate with Kirigakure as its blockade tightened.

  • Umino Sasuke distributed battle bonuses to the Iron Wall Legion and reserved the proceeds from selling Konoha's transport ships for the legion's wounded and fallen.
  • Mifune allowed the Iron Wall Legion to cross the Land of Iron after Uchiha Shun assured him it would follow the southern route, and the legion reached the Land of Fire.
  • Kakuzu returned the purchased spoils to the Land of Waves, where repairs would eventually raise its fleet to seven Ironclad Ships.
  • Kakuzu ordered Hiruko to stop prioritizing Kekkei Genkai experiments and solve the Chakra Cannon's mass-production problem, and Hiruko promised to do so within a week.
  • Fuma Tetsu told Kakuzu that Kirigakure's negotiation delegation had arrived and that the blockade was driving up prices in the Land of Water.
  • Kakuzu ordered the fleet to help the Submarine Force blockade the Land of Water and capture merchant ships instead of sinking them.

Ch. 422A Humiliating Treaty

Kakuzu negotiated an unequal treaty with Kirigakure, forcing the Land of Water to make sweeping concessions in exchange for lifting the maritime blockade. Afterward, Kakuzu and Fuma Tetsu weighed the Land of Waves’ gains against the risks of trying to conquer a great nation.

  • Fuma Tetsu assured Kakuzu that the Land of Waves could strengthen its blockade and defend against covert attacks from Kirigakure.
  • Mizuki Yuki and Ao protested the sinking of civilian ships and the raids at Whale Fishing Port, but Kakuzu dismissed their accusations and pointed to Kirigakure’s own wartime conduct.
  • Kakuzu warned the delegation that the blockade could collapse the Land of Water’s economy, then demanded reparations, access to major ports, and the cession of territory.
  • Ao rejected the cession of the Land of Water’s homeland but agreed to discuss transferring the Land of Seas, and Kakuzu accepted while demanding further concessions.
  • Mizuki Yuki and Ao signed the Wave-Water Friendly Trade and Navigation Treaty, granting the Land of Waves the Land of Seas, trade privileges, and compensation in materials and mining rights.
  • After the Kirigakure delegation departed, Kakuzu and Fuma Tetsu discussed why the Land of Waves lacked the strength to invade and occupy the Land of Water.

Ch. 423Luring the Enemy Deep

Umino Sasuke learned that the Land of Water had ceded the Land of Seas and planned five provinces for the expanded Land of Waves, while reports of Danzō’s advance against Hidden Stone Village raised suspicions of a trap. Hiruzen Sarutobi rushed to reinforce Danzō but was ambushed by Ōnoki’s forces in a mountain pass.

  • Kakuzu and Fuma Tetsu agreed to seek Umino Sasuke’s approval for dividing the expanded Land of Waves into provinces, and Kakuzu sent him the treaty details.
  • Umino Sasuke drafted a five-province administrative plan and sent it to the Land of Waves.
  • Senju Nawaki reported that Danzō’s legion had driven Hidden Stone Village’s forces back more than four hundred li, and Umino Sasuke ordered the victory report shared to raise morale.
  • Hatake Sakumo warned Danzō that the Stone Ninja’s orderly retreat might be a trap, but Danzō dismissed him and led Konoha’s forces into the Land of Earth.
  • Hiruzen Sarutobi realized Danzō might be falling for Ōnoki’s scheme and hurried ahead with the Fire Release Brigade and elite Anbu.
  • Ōnoki ambushed Hiruzen Sarutobi’s force of nearly six hundred Konoha Ninja in a mountain pass with about a thousand Stone Ninja.

Ch. 424Explosion Release Unit

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s reinforcements were devastated by Ōnoki’s clay-bomb unit, leaving Konoha’s Western Front cut off and dependent on Umino Sasuke’s return. Back in Konoha, Sasuke celebrated his legion’s homecoming, then found Umino Tetsu pushing himself toward collapse and reassured him that he was a genius.

  • Ōnoki’s clay bombs shattered Hiruzen Sarutobi’s formation, destroyed much of the Fire Release Brigade, and forced Hiruzen to retreat under Anbu protection.
  • Ōnoki pursued the wounded Hiruzen, while Shimura Danzō learned that Konoha’s supply line had been cut and pinned his hopes on Umino Sasuke and the Iron Wall Legion.
  • The Iron Wall Legion returned to Konoha to a jubilant welcome, and Umino Sasuke slipped away to the Umino Clan Compound for a family banquet.
  • Umino Taro told Umino Sasuke that the clan’s businesses had earned over eighty million ryo and that its reserves were growing, while Umino Tetsu had been praised for his swordsmanship talent.
  • Umino Sasuke found Umino Tetsu training until he fainted and learned that Kakashi’s rapid progress and Might Guy’s discipline had driven him to overwork himself.
  • Umino Sasuke healed Umino Tetsu and reassured him that he was a genius no weaker than Kakashi or Guy.

Ch. 425Fourth Hokage

After Umino Sasuke gave Umino Tetsu a Gene Evolution Potion, he learned that Hiruzen Sarutobi had been defeated and the Western Front trapped by Hidden Stone Village. At an emergency council, Umino Sasuke emerged as a leading candidate for Fourth Hokage while the officials argued over whether to rescue Hiruzen or the surrounded army.

  • Umino Sasuke encouraged Umino Tetsu, then secretly gave him a Gene Evolution Potion after he collapsed from training, and Umino Tetsu woke with renewed strength.
  • An Anbu delivered news that Hiruzen Sarutobi had been ambushed and vanished, the Fire Release Brigade had been destroyed by Dynamic Clay Bombs, and Shimura Danzō's Western Front force was surrounded.
  • Uzumaki Aloe summoned Konoha's senior officials and placed Umino Sasuke in the foremost seat beside her, prompting the clan leaders to recognize his growing claim to the Hokage position.
  • Sarutobi Ryoshi called for the clans to help search for Hiruzen Sarutobi, but Uchiha Fire Nucleus argued that Konoha should instead rescue the surrounded Western Front force and criticized Hiruzen's command.

Ch. 426Morale Soared Like a Rainbow

After Hiruzen Sarutobi went missing and the Western Front forces were surrounded, Umino Sasuke convinced Konoha’s clan representatives that the crisis was an opportunity to defeat Iwagakure and earn military merit. A nearly five-thousand-strong support legion assembled with soaring morale and marched toward the Land of Earth.

  • Sarutobi Ryoshi demanded that the clans help rescue Hiruzen Sarutobi, but Uzumaki Aloe arranged for Anbu to search first and postponed any rescue deployment until reliable information arrived.
  • Uzumaki Aloe asked the clans to send forces to the Western Front, but they offered excuses until Umino Sasuke argued that Konoha’s other enemies had been weakened and Iwagakure could be defeated.
  • Uchiha Fire Nucleus pledged his clan as the vanguard, prompting the other clans to commit more than two thousand fighters while Sarutobi Ryoshi silently vowed revenge.
  • Konoha issued an emergency mobilization order, and Umino Sasuke’s optimistic analysis spread among the assembled ninja, turning their fear into eagerness to earn military merit.
  • Umino Sasuke led nearly five thousand Iron Wall Legion, clan, and mobilized ninja out of Konoha toward the Land of Earth after they shouted that they would conquer it and capture Ōnoki.

Ch. 427Sowing Discord

Umino Sasuke teleported ahead to join Hatake Sakumo and Shimura Danzō, then learned the western front was surrounded by a much larger Hidden Stone force. As Danzō prepared to retreat into the mountains, Sasuke argued that Konoha should instead break through and link up with Mitarai Shishō.

  • Umino Sasuke left the reinforcement army with Uchiha Shun and Might Duy, then used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport them to the western front.
  • Hatake Sakumo mistook the arriving trio for enemies and attacked Sasuke, who blocked his White Fang Short Blade with a lightning shield.
  • Umino Sasuke told Hatake Sakumo and Shimura Danzō that five thousand reinforcements were coming, though the main army would need three to four days to arrive.
  • Umino Sasuke praised Danzō's battlefield record while disparaging Hiruzen Sarutobi's defeat, deepening Danzō's resentment toward the Hokage.
  • Shimura Danzō proposed sacrificing rear-guard troops and retreating into the mountains, but Umino Sasuke urged a frontal breakthrough to join Mitarai Shishō's forces.

Ch. 428Atomic Dismantling

Umino Sasuke devised a plan to lure the Explosion Release Unit into an ambush while Uchiha Shun and Might Duy kept Ōnoki occupied. Konoha’s forces began their staged retreat, and the chapter ended as an Anbu squad unleashed a massive Water Release against the Explosion Release Unit’s attack.

  • Umino Sasuke assigned Hatake Sakumo to lead the retreating vanguard and lure the Explosion Release Unit, while Uchiha Shun and Might Duy were tasked with restraining Ōnoki.
  • Danzo ordered Konoha’s forces to begin their staged retreat, and the rear guard stayed behind to delay the pursuing Stone Ninja.
  • Ōnoki ordered Kitsuchi to lead the Explosion Release Unit around the battlefield and intercept Konoha’s main force, while the Stone Ninja pressed the rear guard with combined Earth Release.
  • Hatake Sakumo led Konoha’s main force through Stone Ninja interception squads as Ōnoki moved to attack the rear guard, but Uchiha Shun trapped him in a genjutsu and Might Duy struck him with the Seventh Gate’s Daytime Tiger.
  • Uchiha Shun and Might Duy continued coordinating genjutsu, Fire Release, and taijutsu to keep Ōnoki occupied as he tried and failed to break away.
  • Kitsuchi’s Explosion Release Unit attacked Hatake Sakumo’s formation with explosive creatures, but an Anbu squad appeared and unleashed a massive Great Waterfall Technique against them.

Ch. 429Four Directions Kirin Formation

Umino Sasuke used a series of combined techniques to trap and destroy Hidden Stone Village’s Explosion Release Unit, turning the battlefield against the encircling Stone forces. Though exhausted, he rallied Konoha to counterattack as the balance of the war shifted in their favor.

  • Kitsuchi and the Stone Ninja defended against Konoha’s combined Water, Fire, and Wind Releases while Umino Sasuke prepared the battlefield with steam and sand iron.
  • Umino Sasuke trapped the Explosion Release Unit in a vast Sand Iron World Law, but Kitsuchi ordered the Stone Ninja to bombard it until it broke apart.
  • As the Stone Ninja prepared to charge and Hidden Stone reinforcements closed in, Umino Sasuke summoned four lightning Kirin that destroyed the defenses and devastated the Explosion Release Unit.
  • Hatake Sakumo and Danzo reacted in shock as Konoha’s Ninja cheered Umino Sasuke’s victory.
  • Umino Sasuke called on Konoha to counterattack against the approaching Stone forces, and the army answered with renewed morale.

Ch. 430Overlord Reborn

Umino Sasuke led Konoha’s counterattack and shattered the Stone Ninja army after their elite forces fell. As the Stone Ninja fled, Umino Sasuke coordinated with Uchiha Shun and Danzo to strike Ōnoki, blasting him into a mountain with the Super Electromagnetic Cannon.

  • Umino Sasuke abandoned the retreat plan and charged into the Stone Ninja army in his Plasma Thunder God Armor, breaking their defenses and disrupting their formations.
  • The Konoha forces followed Umino Sasuke through the shattered lines while Uchiha Shun and Might Duy kept Ōnoki occupied.
  • Danzo joined the fight against Ōnoki, and Umino Sasuke summoned Big White, whose wind blast helped collapse the Stone Ninja’s morale and send them fleeing.
  • Umino Sasuke noticed Danzo’s attacks nearly hit Uchiha Shun, then ordered Danzo to restrain Ōnoki while Shun created an opening.
  • Umino Sasuke fired the Super Electromagnetic Cannon at Ōnoki; Ōnoki’s Dust Release barrier blocked most of it, but the impact hurled him into a mountain.

Ch. 431Awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan

Umino Sasuke tricked Ōnoki into believing he had killed him, prompting Uchiha Shun to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan and rescue Sasuke’s apparent body. Shun then fought Ōnoki in the sky, using his new space-time and time-slowing abilities to suppress the injured Tsuchikage.

  • Umino Sasuke pretended to approach Ōnoki’s corpse while his real body slipped underground, but Ōnoki ambushed his Wood Style Clone with Dust Release and appeared to annihilate him.
  • Uchiha Shun’s grief and rage over Sasuke’s apparent death awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan, while Danzo reacted with shock and killing intent.
  • Umino Sasuke sent out a battered Wood Style Clone, and Shun used his new spatial ability to teleport it away from Ōnoki’s attack and into his hands.
  • Shun handed the unconscious clone to Hyuga Asuka and the Anbu, then attacked Ōnoki with spatial teleportation, time-slowing, fire, and kunai techniques.
  • Ōnoki struggled to defend himself against Shun’s relentless attacks as his injuries and depleted chakra left him unable to retaliate effectively.

Ch. 432A Hero's Last Days

Uchiha Shun defeated Ōnoki, while the Konoha forces believed their commander Umino Sasuke had been gravely crippled. Danzo arranged to escort him back to Konoha so he could seize control of the Iron Wall Legion, but the real Umino Sasuke secretly followed and his staged double awakened on the journey.

  • Ōnoki ordered a retreat after Uchiha Shun wounded him, and Shun stopped pursuing when his Mangekyō Sharingan reached its limit.
  • Inuzuka Ran told the Konoha forces that Umino Sasuke had lost his legs and would need Mechanical Prosthetic Limbs, prompting Danzo to secretly plot to control him.
  • Danzo arranged for two Root squads to escort the unconscious Umino Sasuke to Konoha, while Uchiha Shun and Might Duy failed to persuade him to let them join.
  • After sending a Shadow Clone to oversee the battlefield, Danzo secretly followed the escort, and Umino Sasuke also pursued them from underground.
  • The staged Umino Sasuke awakened on the journey, mourned his missing legs, and told Danzo he expected to take an easy desk job after returning to Konoha.

Ch. 433Wood Style Clone

Umino Sasuke deceived Danzo with a Wood Style Clone and exposed Danzo’s plot to control him, then revealed his Wood Release and confronted Danzo’s Root forces. He left the attackers’ assault unharmed behind his Plasma Thunder God Armor.

  • Danzo tried to secure Umino Sasuke’s support for becoming Fourth Hokage and promised him control of Root, but then ordered a Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal planted on him.
  • Aburame Ryoma and Root elites restrained the apparently injured Umino Sasuke, and Danzo sealed the tongue of the figure on the stretcher.
  • The figure transformed into a lifeless wooden clone, and Umino Sasuke emerged from a nearby tree, revealing that he had faked his injuries and trapped Danzo.
  • Danzo accused Umino Sasuke of forbidden experiments and demanded that he support Danzo, but Umino Sasuke rejected his offer and challenged his ambition.
  • Danzo ordered eighteen Root elites to attack Umino Sasuke, whose Plasma Thunder God Armor neutralized their ninjutsu and secret techniques.

Ch. 434Super Gravity Field

Umino Sasuke stripped Danzo of his Mangekyō Sharingan and confronted him over Kagami Uchiha’s death, while Iron Wall Anbu arrived to capture him. Danzo and his Root forces resisted, but Umino Sasuke’s gravity field and Aburame Shikuroo’s Nano Poison Insects overwhelmed their escape efforts.

  • Umino Sasuke evaded Danzo’s Mangekyō genjutsu with the Flying Thunder God Technique and removed the eye, then questioned Danzo about how he had obtained Kagami Uchiha’s Sharingan.
  • Umino Sasuke sent the eye away for safekeeping and demanded Danzo surrender, but Danzo decided to fight rather than face capture and punishment.
  • Senju Nawaki and the Iron Wall Anbu surrounded Danzo as Umino Sasuke used Super Gravity Field to pin down most of the Root elites.
  • Senju Nawaki blocked Danzo’s escape with an Earth Flow Wall, while Aburame Shikuroo confronted Aburame Ryoma and used Nano Poison Insects to devour his Kikaichū.

Ch. 435Danzo's Final Road

Senju Nawaki defeated Danzo by revealing his Wood Release, then removed his mask and revealed that he was alive. Danzo recognized Nawaki’s return as a chance for Konoha’s revival and entrusted its future to Umino Sasuke.

  • Aburame Shikuroo defeated Aburame Ryoma with Nano Poison Insects and joined the support around Senju Nawaki’s fight with Danzo.
  • Senju Nawaki survived Danzo’s Vacuum Great Ball by using Shadow Clones to fling his true body out of its path.
  • Danzo tried to break through the encirclement, but Gekko Yoru blocked him and Aburame Shikuroo sealed off his escape routes.
  • Senju Nawaki used Wood Release: Forest Creation to bind Danzo and drain his chakra.
  • Senju Nawaki removed his Cat Mask and revealed himself to be the supposedly dead Senju Nawaki, stunning Danzo and the Iron Wall Anbu.
  • Danzo celebrated Nawaki’s Wood Release and urged Umino Sasuke to lead Konoha to the pinnacle of the Shinobi World.

Ch. 436This Is So Danzo

Umino Sasuke spared Danzo and recruited him by imposing layers of control that Danzo himself proposed. Danzo then pledged loyalty to Sasuke as Fourth Hokage and began persuading Root to follow him, while Aburame Ryoma struggled to accept the change.

  • Umino Sasuke asked Danzo about the Shimura Clan, then revealed that he intended to make Danzo his subordinate rather than kill him.
  • Danzo agreed to serve Sasuke for Konoha’s future and suggested multiple safeguards to ensure Sasuke could control him.
  • Umino Sasuke placed seals, Flying Thunder God marks, and a poison pill on Danzo before releasing him from the Wood Release vines.
  • Danzo knelt and swore loyalty to Sasuke as Fourth Hokage, prompting the Iron Wall Anbu to join him.
  • Aburame Ryoma accused Sasuke of using genjutsu, but Danzo explained that Root served Konoha rather than any individual and defended his choice to follow Sasuke.

Ch. 437Danzo the Conservative

Umino Sasuke took complete control of Danzo’s Root and assigned Senju Nawaki to lead it, while commissioning Danzo to build a new covert internal-surveillance organization called the Western Depot. Gekko Yoru revealed how deeply the Eastern Depot had infiltrated the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, leaving Danzo alarmed by Sasuke’s reach and radical methods.

  • Umino Sasuke and Danzo persuaded Aburame Ryoma and the other Root members to accept Sasuke’s control through altered seals.
  • Umino Sasuke secretly brought the remaining Root members at the frontline camp under his control, then appointed Senju Nawaki as Root’s head.
  • Umino Sasuke tasked Danzo with establishing the Western Depot to monitor Konoha’s clans, leaders, and departments, while reorganizing Root into the Imperial Guard and outlining the Eastern Depot’s foreign intelligence role.
  • Gekko Yoru told Danzo that the Eastern Depot had recruited key financial officials in the Land of Fire and placed much of the Land of Wind’s financial administration under its influence.
  • Danzo warned Umino Sasuke that controlling officials and trusted ministers in both nations was dangerously radical, calling himself a timid conservative by comparison.

Ch. 438Touching the Red Line

Umino Sasuke reassured Danzo that he would postpone controlling the Daimyo, while Danzo and Gekko Yoru adjusted to their changing roles in Konoha’s competing departments. After Gekko Yoru reported that Ōnoki had mobilized over ten thousand Iwagakure ninja, Sasuke prepared to fight quickly but chose to keep the arriving clan corps and mobilized troops out of the decisive battle.

  • Danzo warned Umino Sasuke that controlling the Daimyo would unite the Shinobi World against Konoha, and Sasuke agreed to wait until Konoha grew stronger.
  • Aburame Ryoma became more devoted to Sasuke, while Gekko Yoru gained confidence in his authority and ability to restrain Danzo’s Western Depot.
  • Gekko Yoru reported that Ōnoki had established a border defense and mobilized over ten thousand Iwagakure ninja for a counterattack.
  • Danzo learned that the Eastern Depot had cultivated intelligence sources among nobles in the Land of Earth and praised Sasuke’s strategic ability.
  • Sasuke declared that Konoha would cripple the Stone forces but decided to exclude the arriving ninja clan corps and mobilized troops, and Danzo backed the plan while Gekko Yoru worried about the numbers.

Ch. 439Absorbing the Mangekyo

Umino Sasuke developed stable Hashirama Cells prosthetic limbs using imitation God Tree branches, then discovered that they could help him copy Senju Hashirama’s Sage Body traits and refine Wood Release. As he prepared to strengthen his role in the coming battle, he began filtering Yin Release power from Danzo’s Mangekyō Sharingan through the Chakra Outer Elixir.

  • Umino Sasuke ordered his forces to rest, expand reconnaissance, and attack the Stone Ninja Corps before Torifu Akimichi and the others arrived.
  • Umino Sasuke used an imitation God Tree branch to build prosthetic legs that safely stabilized Hashirama Cells, then fitted them to Wood Style Clone No. 9.
  • Umino Sasuke synchronized with Number Nine and realized he could simulate Senju Hashirama’s Sage Body traits to accelerate his own development.
  • Umino Sasuke added a God Tree skeleton and armor to Number Nine, allowing the clone to absorb God Tree traits and withstand powerful attacks.
  • Umino Sasuke used the Chakra Outer Elixir to purify Yin Release power from Danzo’s Mangekyō Sharingan, which then flowed toward the pineal gland in his forehead.

Ch. 440Opening an Eye in the Forehead?

Umino Sasuke returned to the front lines after developing a strange, eye-like power in his forehead and learned that Ōnoki was planning a surprise attack. Konoha sprang its own ambush, and the chapter ended with Ōnoki grounded and under heavy assault while Han remained pinned down by Might Duy.

  • Umino Sasuke felt Mangekyō Eye Power gather in a bulge on his forehead, greatly advancing his genjutsu, before an urgent message brought him back to the front lines.
  • Senju Nawaki and Danzo gave Umino Sasuke intelligence that Ōnoki was preparing a surprise attack, and Danzo predicted it would come within two days.
  • Umino Sasuke arranged an ambush, and Konoha forces struck Ōnoki’s vanguard and the two flanking Hidden Stone armies, inflicting heavy losses.
  • Uchiha Shun and Danzo fought Ōnoki while Might Duy held off Han and Hatake Sakumo cut through the Hidden Stone formation.
  • Umino Sasuke used Banshō Ten'in and sealing ink to bring Ōnoki down and disrupt his flight, then joined Uchiha Shun and Danzo in attacking him.
  • Might Duy continued to overpower Han as Ōnoki struggled against the combined assault and rapidly exhausted his chakra.
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