Chapter Summaries

Uchiha Hiko accused Dan Katō of failing to stop his subordinates from spreading information harmful to Konoha and demanded he accept responsibility. After Dan Katō refused to cooperate and appealed to Tsunade, Hiko convicted him and ordered a ten-year prison sentence, leaving Dan Katō in the custody of Anbu guards.

• Hiko confronted Dan Katō over allowing his subordinates to spread sensitive information and said he was responsible as their superior.
• Dan Katō denied wrongdoing and demanded to see Tsunade, but Hiko said he had authority to determine the charges.
• Dan Katō refused to confess, so Hiko kicked him into a wall and ordered a conviction and ten-year prison sentence.
• Hiko stamped the conviction scroll and left, while guards restrained Dan Katō as he continued to protest his innocence.

Hiko punished Hatake Sakumo, Sarutobi Ichiraku, Eikyoku, and Dan Katō over the failed mission and the spread of news about it. He also proposed a village-wide fine system for mission failures, which the Third Hokage reviewed.

• Hiko confronted Sarutobi Ichiraku and Eikyoku for publicly blaming Hatake Sakumo after he saved them, and ordered them to serve seven years in prison.
• Hiko sentenced Hatake Sakumo to five years and Dan Katō to ten years, revoked all four men’s contributions, and imposed fines on the three men whose fines were specified.
• Hiko brought the punishment document to the Hokage’s Office and asked the Third Hokage to approve it.
• Hiko explained that future mission failures would carry fines based on the ninja’s strength and the mission’s difficulty, alongside other punishments.
• The Third Hokage read Hiko’s proposal and considered the new fine system.

Hiko persuaded Konoha’s leaders that fining ninjas for mistakes could reduce punishment while bringing substantial revenue to the village. The leaders recognized the system’s potential and considered its benefits despite the likely protests from ordinary villagers.

• The Hokage’s Office was stunned when Hiko’s proposed fine system drew their attention away from Hatake Sakumo’s prison sentence.
• Hiko argued that fines would create a major source of income for Konoha and let ninjas pay money instead of facing harsher punishment.
• Hiko explained that ninjas would value Contribution Points more than money and would pay fines to avoid losing access to advancement and Ninjutsu Scrolls.
• Hiko defended applying fines regardless of a person’s status and argued that stronger ninjas could afford to pay more.
• Hiko predicted that Konoha’s leaders and ninjas would accept the system and that other villages would eventually adopt it too.

Hiko proposed a fine system to divert attention from Hatake Sakumo’s imprisonment and improve Konoha’s finances. The Third Hokage and the Elder Council approved it unanimously, clearing the way for its implementation.

• Hiko introduced a fine system that let ninjas pay money rather than lose valuable Contribution Points.
• The Third Hokage and the other leaders judged the system feasible and recognized it could help shift attention from Hatake Sakumo’s case.
• The Third Hokage stamped the document to approve the system.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura agreed on behalf of the Elder Council, and the other higher-ups also supported implementation.

After Hiko left the Hokage's Office, the village announced the punishments for Hatake Sakumo and the others, along with a new fine system. Ordinary villagers protested the policy, which was set to face strong resistance as it began.

• Hiko vented to the Third Hokage about the incident and left him to handle the fine system.
• Konoha imprisoned and fined Hatake Sakumo, his two teammates, Medical Department staff, and villagers who had spread the news and obstructed the investigation.
• The Hokage Office announced that the fine system would be enforced without compromise.
• Ordinary villagers crowded into the Hokage Office Building to protest being subject to fines, while most ninja accepted the system.

Hiko discussed how Konoha’s new fine system had redirected public attention from Hatake Sakumo and spoke with Tsunade about Dan Katō and other villages copying Konoha’s policies. He then went to the Ninja Academy, collected Hatake Kakashi, and set out for Konoha Prison.

• Tsunade and Hiko observed that villagers’ protests over the new fine system had eclipsed the controversy surrounding Hatake Sakumo.
• Tsunade asked what Hiko had arranged for Dan Katō, and Hiko left his fate uncertain.
• Hiko and Tsunade discussed how other shinobi villages might copy Konoha’s fine system to improve their finances.
• Tsunade returned to the Medical Department after eating and drinking with Hiko.
• Hiko went to the Ninja Academy, collected Hatake Kakashi, and told him they were leaving for Konoha Prison.

Hiko brought Hatake Kakashi into Konoha Prison so he could visit his father, Hatake Sakumo, who was working in the underground mining area. Hatake Sakumo and his son reunited, and Hiko left them alone together.

• Hiko escorted Hatake Kakashi through the prison's strict security and explained that Hatake Sakumo might remain imprisoned for several years.
• An Anbu told Hiko that Hatake Sakumo was working in the Mining Area, so Hiko led Hatake Kakashi underground to find him.
• Hiko called out to Hatake Sakumo, who stopped working and froze when he saw Hatake Kakashi beside Hiko.
• Hatake Sakumo hesitated to touch his son with his dirty hands, but Hatake Kakashi stepped closer, and Hatake Sakumo rubbed his head.
• Hiko left to inspect the area and gave Hatake Kakashi and Hatake Sakumo privacy.

Hiko visited Hatake Sakumo in the Mining Area and brought Hatake Kakashi to see his father. He discovered Dan Katō being forced to mine alone under harsh conditions and left after telling Sakumo to contact him if anything came up.

• Hatake Sakumo accidentally dirtied Hatake Kakashi's hair while greeting his son, and the two silently stared at each other.
• Hiko noticed Dan Katō mining alone at the edge of the Mining Area and asked an Anbu member why.
• The Anbu member explained that Hiko's order to give Dan Katō special care had left him isolated with a difficult quota.
• Hiko approved the treatment, teased Dan Katō with a salute, and watched an Anbu reprimand him for staring instead of working.
• Hiko returned to Hatake Sakumo, ended the visit, and told Hatake Kakashi to find his uncle if anything happened while he was away.

Hiko arranged for Hatake Kakashi to visit his imprisoned father, Hatake Sakumo, every three months and promised to reduce Sakumo’s sentence to two years. He then told Kakashi that his teacher had been chosen, though Kakashi would remain at the Ninja Academy until teammates were found, and Minato Namikaze reported that Kakashi was a good but peculiar child.

• Hatake Sakumo urged Hatake Kakashi to wait for his return, while Hiko promised visits every three months and said he would seek to reduce Sakumo’s sentence to two years.
• Hiko led Hatake Kakashi away from the prison and reassured him that Sakumo’s release was the limit of what he could arrange.
• Hiko told Hatake Kakashi that his teacher had been chosen, then explained that Kakashi could not leave the Ninja Academy until he had teammates.
• Hiko returned Kakashi to the school and went back to the Anbu, where Minato Namikaze said Kakashi was a good child with a peculiar personality.

Minato Namikaze learned that Hatake Kakashi would be his student, while Hiko warned him that teaching would bring trouble. Months passed as Konoha’s fine system spread to all Five Great Shinobi Villages, and Hiko watched Uchiha Fugaku move on from Mikoto Uchiha while avoiding the Third Hokage’s attempts to make him teach another class.

• Hiko told Minato Namikaze that Hatake Kakashi was assigned to him and gave him a few days off to watch the boy.
• Hiko returned to his Anbu workload and worried that the Third Hokage was preparing him to take over more Hokage duties.
• Konoha’s fine system increased its revenue, and within half a year the other major villages adopted similar systems.
• Uchiha Fugaku stopped pursuing Mikoto Uchiha and married another girl from the Uchiha Clan, prompting Hiko to wonder whether Uchiha Itachi would still be born.
• Hiko’s two former students became teachers in the Hokage Office Building and proved capable instructors.
• Hiko avoided the Third Hokage whenever he suspected the old man wanted to place more students in his care.

Hiko encountered Danzo outside the Hokage’s Office and sensed the influence of Hashirama’s cells in him. He then spoke with the Third Hokage about Danzo’s demands, his own growing authority, and bringing Hatake Sakumo out of confinement after two years.

• Hiko met Danzo in the corridor and taunted him about his changed aura and age.
• Danzo avoided confronting Hiko and left, while Hiko privately vowed to deal with him someday.
• Hiko asked the Third Hokage why Danzo had visited, and learned he had sought tax matters and positions for the Shimura Clan.
• The Third Hokage reaffirmed that Hiko was his choice for Hokage and asked why Hiko resisted the succession.
• Hiko said he had come to discuss releasing Hatake Sakumo, and noted that the Third Hokage would also need to consult Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura.

Hiko pushed the Third Hokage to arrange Hatake Sakumo’s early release and warned him to pay attention to Shimura Danzō. The Third Hokage agreed to consult the other elders, and Hiko left before he could object.

• Hiko insisted that Hatake Sakumo had served enough time and asked the Third Hokage to persuade the other elders to approve his release.
• Hiko warned the Third Hokage that something was strange about Shimura Danzō, but the Third Hokage said he had sensed nothing unusual.
• Hiko told the Third Hokage he would collect Hatake Sakumo from prison the next morning and complained about the Third Hokage repeatedly sending his seal to the Anbu.
• Hiko left the Hokage's Office, leaving the Third Hokage to accept the task of persuading Elders Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura.
• The Third Hokage summoned Elders Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura to discuss the matter.

The Third Hokage told Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura that Uchiha Hiko wanted Hatake Sakumo released early and planned to collect him from prison the next morning. He asked the two elders to accept Hiko’s offer, leaving them to consider it while expecting the matter to go through.

• The Third Hokage summoned Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura to his office and told them Hiko had requested Hatake Sakumo’s release.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura strongly objected, arguing that Sakumo had served only two years of his five-year sentence.
• The Third Hokage explained that Hiko had said he would collect Sakumo the next morning, whether or not the elders agreed.
• The Third Hokage told the elders that Hiko had offered them a promise if they approved the release, then left them to discuss their choice.
• The Third Hokage watched the elders consider the offer and privately concluded that the matter was settled, while resenting Hiko for leaving him to handle it.

Hiko secured Hatake Sakumo’s early release from prison and brought him to celebrate at the thriving Uchiha Clan restaurant. As Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru arrived, Hiko angrily confronted Jiraiya for abusing his previous offer of free dining.

• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura reluctantly accepted Hiko’s promise and let the Third Hokage issue Hatake Sakumo’s release order.
• Hiko brought the official document to Konoha Prison, where the Anbu handed Hatake Sakumo over to him.
• Hiko took Hatake Sakumo to the Uchiha Clan’s prosperous restaurant and showed him the private room on the top floor.
• Hiko said Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru would join them to celebrate Hatake Sakumo’s release.
• Jiraiya complained that Orochimaru and Tsunade could eat for free, and Hiko scolded him for misusing a previous free visit.

Hiko scolded Jiraiya for running up unpaid bills and bringing prostitutes to his private room, while Hatake Sakumo urged him to settle down. As they waited for Tsunade and Orochimaru, Hatake Sakumo told Jiraiya that prison had been difficult but Hiko had looked after him.

• Hiko threatened to report Jiraiya to the Hokage Office Building if he kept talking without paying his debts.
• Jiraiya fell silent under Hiko's reprimand, and Hatake Sakumo criticized him for remaining unreliable and refusing to settle down.
• Jiraiya boasted that he was a romantic poet, so Hiko kicked him and mocked his suggestive books.
• Hiko and Hatake Sakumo sat down to wait for Tsunade and Orochimaru, and Jiraiya joined them.
• Jiraiya asked Hatake Sakumo about his time in prison, and Hatake Sakumo said Hiko had taken care of him before warning Jiraiya not to cause trouble again.

Hiko revealed that Orochimaru had provided the dangerous substance responsible for Hiko’s unusual youth, and Orochimaru explained its risks to Jiraiya and Hatake Sakumo. He then began disclosing that Senju Hashirama’s corpse had been used after his death, revealing Tobirama Senju as the person who had done so.

• Hatake Sakumo promised Hiko he would avoid another mistake that could jeopardize his standing in the village.
• Jiraiya asked Hiko why he seemed to grow younger, and Hiko said Orochimaru knew the secret and had supplied him with something.
• Orochimaru arrived and warned Jiraiya and Hatake Sakumo that the substance was unstable, potentially fatal, and could turn them into monsters.
• With Hiko’s approval, Orochimaru told Jiraiya and Hatake Sakumo that Senju Hashirama’s corpse had been used after his death.
• Orochimaru revealed that Tobirama Senju, Hashirama’s younger brother and Konoha’s Second Hokage, had used the corpse.

Hiko told Tsunade, Jiraiya, Hatake Sakumo, and Orochimaru about secrets recorded on the Uchiha Clan’s ancient stone tablet, including the origins of several clans and the creation of the Rinnegan. He concluded that Nagato’s eyes had likely been given to him by someone else.

• Hiko said Tobirama Senju had experimented on Senju Hashirama’s corpse to study Wood Style, and that Danzo later continued the research.
• Tsunade arrived and joined Hiko, Jiraiya, Hatake Sakumo, and Orochimaru as they discussed a story involving the Uchiha, Senju, and Uzumaki Clans.
• Hiko claimed an ancient Uchiha stone tablet recorded the clans’ origins and linked the Uchiha, Senju, and Uzumaki to the Sage of Six Paths.
• Hiko explained that combining Senju and Uchiha powers could awaken the Rinnegan, then pointed out that Nagato had no Sharingan lineage.
• Hiko concluded that someone else must have given Nagato his Rinnegan.

Hiko explained the Sage of Six Paths’ connection to the Uchiha, Senju, and Uzumaki clans and revealed that the Uchiha’s stone tablet described how to awaken the Rinnegan. He said the tablet’s secrets were hidden from most Uchiha, then turned the discussion to why Uchiha Madara had not learned everything it contained.

• Jiraiya rejected Hiko’s claim that Nagato had been given the Rinnegan, but Hiko asked him to wait while he explained the clans’ history.
• Tsunade questioned whether the Uchiha, Senju, and Uzumaki were descended from the Sage of Six Paths, and Hiko pointed to the stone tablet in the Uchiha Ancestral Hall.
• Hiko argued that the Uchiha’s many enemies and the Senju’s ability to gain allies helped the Senju prevail, despite Uchiha Madara being able to hold Senju Hashirama back.
• Hiko explained that the stone tablet revealed more of its contents as an Uchiha’s Sharingan evolved, and that only a few Uchiha could read its secrets.
• Hiko asked why Uchiha Madara had not seen all of the tablet’s contents, prompting Orochimaru and Hatake Sakumo to consider the danger the Rinnegan could pose to Konoha.

Hiko explained how the Uchiha and Senju bloodlines could combine to awaken the Rinnegan, prompting his companions to fear that Uchiha Madara might still be alive. He admitted Madara's survival was highly possible but left his own potential Rinnegan uncertain, and Tsunade asked how he had obtained Wood Style.

• Hiko said combining the Uchiha Sharingan with the Senju body's power could produce the Rinnegan.
• Orochimaru asked whether Hiko might also awaken the Rinnegan, and Hiko said it was possible but would take time.
• Hiko explained that the Uchiha and Senju descended from brothers who inherited different powers from the Sage of Six Paths.
• Tsunade worried that Uchiha Madara might still be alive and young enough to threaten Konoha, and Hiko said Madara's survival was highly possible but that he could not be very young.
• Tsunade asked Hiko how he had obtained Wood Style and whether that meant he might truly possess the Rinnegan.

Hiko explained that Nagato's uncontrolled Rinnegan could make him a danger to the Five Great Shinobi Villages, and warned Jiraiya to stay away from him. The group began Hatake Sakumo's welcome meal, but Tsunade still wanted Hiko to explain the relationship between the Hyuga, Uchiha, and Senju clans.

• Tsunade pressed Hiko with questions about his Wood Style, the Rinnegan, and why Uchiha Madara had chosen Nagato.
• Hiko said Nagato could not control the Rinnegan, but it might protect him and awaken under intense emotional strain.
• Jiraiya admitted that Nagato had told him a mysterious power protected him from danger, and that Jiraiya had once thought him the world's savior.
• Hiko warned Jiraiya that Nagato could become a threat capable of destroying the Five Great Shinobi Villages, and explained that the Uzumaki were suited to wield the Rinnegan.
• Restaurant staff served the food for Hatake Sakumo's welcome banquet, and Hiko sent them away so the group could eat by themselves.
• Tsunade reminded Hiko that he still had not explained the relationship between the Hyuga, Uchiha, and Senju clans.