Recaps

After returning to Konoha without Jiraiya, Hiko secured the Seven-Tails handover and became Head of Anbu, then imposed new rules and began expanding the unit. He recruited the Hyuga and Uchiha clans as Uchiha Shuu named him a clan elder before collapsing, leaving Hiko to manage the crowd at Konoha Hospital.

• Hiko reassured Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Hatake Sakumo that Jiraiya was safe and would return, then explained that he had captured the Seven-Tails alone because his enemies might target him outside Konoha.
• After Konoha negotiated compensation with Takigakure, Hiko summoned Seven-Tails Chōmei in the village square and controlled it with his Sharingan before Konoha’s Sealing Team sealed it for the envoys.
• The Third Hokage appointed Hiko Head of Anbu, while Danzo objected to his age and left the meeting after the other officials stayed silent.
• Hiko confronted Senju Shigehisa and announced that only he or the Hokage could mobilize Anbu, then ordered surveillance of the Uchiha Clan to stop and planned to recruit Uchiha and Hyuga members.
• Hiko and the Third Hokage settled on expanding Anbu to four hundred members, and Hyuga Akagari agreed to provide candidate files.
• Uchiha Shuu appointed Hiko the Ninth Elder, then collapsed after coughing blood and was taken to Konoha Hospital as news of his critical condition spread.
• At the Third Hokage’s request, Hiko had the Great Elder order the Uchiha crowd outside Konoha Hospital to disperse, then heard the Third Elder ask whether Mikoto had been visiting him.

Hiko expanded the Anbu and forced the Uchiha elders to accept recruits after their opposition stirred unrest in the clan. After settling the newcomers into the Anbu, he used Senju Hashirama's cells and was found unconscious, leaving Konoha alarmed and its leaders called to a meeting.

• Hiko began expanding the Anbu and proposed recruiting Uchiha, but the elders rejected the plan while Uchiha Shuu remained critically ill.
• Hiko publicized the elders’ refusal, turning Uchiha clansmen against them, then demanded an apology before allowing the clan into the Anbu.
• The elders accepted a settlement that gave qualified Uchiha Anbu positions, and Hiko pressed for better relations with other clans before agreeing to postpone broader changes.
• Hiko arranged the expanded Anbu’s teams and gathered its members, warning the Uchiha and Hyuga newcomers not to bring clan grudges into missions.
• Hiko left Anbu duties to the Third Hokage and attempted to fuse Senju Hashirama's cells into his body, enduring a violent surge of Chakra as his wounds repeatedly healed.
• The Third Hokage and Anbu searched for Hiko, and Shirono Mashiro tracked him to a hollow tree where he was asleep and covered in blood.
• The Third Hokage carried Hiko to Konoha Hospital, and rumors of an attack spread as he summoned Konoha’s high-ranking officials to a meeting.

Hiko covers up his injuries by blaming Kakuzu, strengthens Konoha’s Anbu perimeter, and welcomes Jiraiya back to the village. After helping his friends return to their duties and addressing tensions between the great nations, Hiko leads Sixth Squad on a poet’s escort mission to Kumogakure that also prepares Konoha to find a new jinchuriki.

• The Third Hokage proposed an Anbu perimeter after Hiko’s injuries shocked Konoha’s leaders, and the officials approved it despite Danzo’s objections.
• Hiko recovered, told the Third Hokage his injuries were not from an assassination, then invented a story blaming Kakuzu and persuaded the leaders to publicize a bounty and question Takigakure.
• Hiko deployed half the Anbu around Konoha, and the new defenses caught infiltrators as Takigakure conceded and Kakuzu went into hiding.
• Hiko and Orochimaru welcomed Jiraiya back after Hiko correctly guessed he would visit the pleasure district before reporting to the Hokage.
• Tsunade returned and beat Jiraiya for making her worry, while Hiko comforted her and later helped Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru pass their Jonin assessments.
• The Third Hokage assigned Sixth Squad to escort the poet Kuzhu to Kumogakure and then visit the Uzumaki Clan to seek a future Nine-Tails jinchuriki.
• Hiko briefed Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Hatake Sakumo, and Sixth Squad set out with Kuzhu, who eagerly walked beside Hiko.

Hiko led the Sixth Squad to the Land of Whirlpools to negotiate with the Uzumaki Clan about choosing a successor to Mito Uzumaki as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. After the clan delayed and insulted the delegation, Hiko challenged Kyuku Uzumaki, and their fight ended with her trapping his Susanoo in a powerful seal.

• Hiko brought the Sixth Squad to Kumogakure with Kuzhu, where Xiao Ai challenged him and Hiko used Genjutsu before the squad left under surveillance.
• Hiko revealed that the squad would travel to the Land of Whirlpools to find a replacement for Mito Uzumaki, and Tsunade agreed to lead negotiations.
• Kin Uzumaki kept the delegation waiting, so Hiko prepared to return to Konoha until Kin agreed to meet them.
• Uzumaki Clan members jeered at the delegation, and Hiko confronted Kin, who apologized for the clan’s hostility and the delayed meeting.
• Hiko insulted the clan’s fighters and accepted Kyuku Uzumaki’s challenge, wagering that she would become his maid if she lost and that he would join the Uzumaki Clan if he lost.
• Kin discovered that his son Heiyunji Uzumaki had stirred up the clansmen over his younger sister’s death and ordered him arrested.
• Kyuku attacked Hiko with the Adamantine Binding Curse, and Hiko summoned Susanoo to deflect her chains.
• Kyuku activated a buried mechanism that formed a six-pointed seal around Hiko and Susanoo, suppressing Susanoo as Hiko praised the trap.