Chapter Summaries

After the Six Paths of Pain attacked Sunagakure, Rasa recalled his forces from the front and rushed back to deal with the destruction and the loss of the One-Tail. The news spread, and Jiraiya complained that Hiko had ordered Konoha’s forces to stay in camp instead of exploiting Sunagakure’s weakness.

• Rasa and Grandma Chiyo learned that the Six Paths of Pain had devastated Sunagakure and taken the One-Tail.
• Rasa ordered Sunagakure’s forces to withdraw from the front and hurried back to the village to handle the aftermath.
• News of the attack spread across the world despite Rasa’s attempt to keep it secret.
• Jiraiya saw Hiko’s order to keep Konoha’s forces in camp and complained to Tsunade that they should counterattack.
• Tsunade told Jiraiya to obey Hiko’s order or accept the blame if he disobeyed.

After the One-Tail was stolen from Sunagakure, Hiko recognized that Black Zetsu and Nagato had begun capturing Tailed Beasts and chose to let the conflict unfold. He planned to protect the Nine-Tails, weaken the Ten-Tails, and try to bring Killer B to his side.

• Tsunade beat Jiraiya after he complained that Hiko’s orders and influence were growing too far-reaching.
• Hiko learned that six attackers had taken the One-Tail from Sunagakure and ordered Jiraiya to hold position while he warned the Third Hokage to slow the war.
• Hiko identified the attackers as the Six Paths of Pain and expected Nagato’s actions to draw the Five Great Shinobi Villages into conflict with Akatsuki and Amegakure.
• Hiko decided to stay out of the coming conflict so the Ten-Tails could emerge, while refusing to surrender the Nine-Tails and planning to keep the Ten-Tails weak.
• Hiko considered bringing Killer B to his side and expected the Third Raikage to cooperate under the threat of a crisis.

After Akatsuki devastated Sunagakure and captured the One-Tail, Rasa ordered an urgent investigation while the major villages struggled to learn who the attackers were. Sunagakure’s battle with Konoha paused, but Ōnoki continued fighting on another front as Black Zetsu prepared Akatsuki’s next moves.

• Rasa, shocked by Sunagakure’s destruction, ordered the Intelligence Department to investigate Akatsuki, though Grandma Chiyo prevented him from punishing it.
• Sunagakure’s intelligence agents began searching for information, while Konoha stayed out of the crisis and the other major villages grew wary of Akatsuki.
• Hiko withheld what he knew about Akatsuki, judging that revealing it could unite the major villages and halt the war.
• Sunagakure and Konoha withdrew to their camps and stopped fighting, while Ōnoki sent Iwagakure’s forces back into battle.
• Nagato remained unconcerned that Akatsuki had drawn attention, and Black Zetsu prepared the next stage after securing the One-Tail and Seven-Tails.

Nagato focused on capturing the Tailed Beasts while Black Zetsu tested Hiko’s limits and recruited powerful members for Akatsuki. Black Zetsu brought Kakuzu and Jyuuzou Biwa into the organization, leaving Jyuuzou affiliated with Akatsuki despite still being in Kirigakure.

• Black Zetsu planned to test Hiko’s psychological limits before deciding whether to revive Uchiha Madara.
• Nagato ordered the pursuit of the Two-Tails and left recruiting members and sealing arrangements to Black Zetsu.
• Black Zetsu recruited Kakuzu, an S-rank rogue ninja from Takigakure, into Akatsuki.
• Black Zetsu recruited Jyuuzou Biwa, the first owner of the Kubikiribōchō, while Jyuuzou was still in Kirigakure.

Black Zetsu tested whether Hiko would interfere as Akatsuki began sealing the Tailed Beasts. Hiko stayed passive, and Akatsuki proceeded from the One-Tail to target Kumogakure’s Two-Tails.

• Black Zetsu brought Jyuuzou Biwa into Akatsuki, bringing its core membership to six.
• Hiko left Konoha’s clashes with Iwagakure to Hatake Sakumo, who continued to impress Ōnoki despite noticing Hiko’s strange habit of talking to himself.
• Akatsuki began sealing the One-Tail with the Phantom Dragons Nine Sealing Technique, using the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to test Hiko’s reaction.
• Hiko realized Black Zetsu was testing whether he would challenge Nagato for control of the Demonic Statue, but he chose not to interfere.
• After sealing the One-Tail, Akatsuki set its sights on Kumogakure and the Two-Tails, whose Jinchuriki, Yugito Nii, was still struggling to control it.

Akatsuki abducted Yugito Nii, Kumogakure’s Two-Tails Jinchuriki, prompting the Third Raikage to seek intelligence and cooperation from the other major villages. As the villages grew wary of Akatsuki, the Six Paths of Pain captured Iwagakure’s Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Roshi.

• Sasori and Kakuzu defeated the guards and abducted Yugito Nii from her residence outside Kumogakure.
• The Third Raikage learned of the abduction, berated the guards, and ordered Kumogakure to request intelligence from the other major shinobi villages.
• Kumogakure’s message spread the news of Akatsuki’s attacks, and Sunagakure contacted Kumogakure to exchange information.
• The Six Paths of Pain captured Roshi, Iwagakure’s Four-Tails Jinchuriki, after he had left the village.

Hiko left the Nine-Tails with Hatake Sakumo as a battlefield safeguard and hurried back to Konoha. At a hidden research facility, Danzo and Orochimaru celebrated Yamato’s successful Wood Style experiment until the Third Hokage burst in with Anbu and surrounded them.

• Hiko warned Hatake Sakumo not to rely too heavily on the Nine-Tails, then left for Konoha.
• Danzo and Orochimaru examined Yamato, the sole successful survivor of their experiments with Senju Hashirama’s cells.
• Orochimaru cautioned Danzo that Yamato’s limited Wood Style would not make him comparable to Senju Hashirama or Uchiha Hiko.
• Danzo ordered Yamato to follow him, and the frightened child agreed.
• The Third Hokage and a large group of Anbu kicked open the laboratory door and surrounded Danzo and Orochimaru.

Hiruzen Sarutobi raided Danzo’s laboratory and uncovered years of human experimentation, missing villagers, and suspected embezzlement. Orochimaru agreed to surrender, but Danzo remained defiant as the two old rivals faced off.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived with Anbu and found Danzo’s laboratory full of experimental subjects.
• Hiruzen confronted Danzo and Orochimaru over the experiments and ordered them to surrender.
• Orochimaru agreed to cooperate, relying on Hiko to protect him from taking the blame.
• Danzo refused to show that he would surrender, leaving him and Hiruzen in a tense standoff while Orochimaru watched.

Danzo and Orochimaru were arrested after their experiments were exposed, while the Third Hokage gathered evidence and convened Konoha's leaders to decide their punishment. Hiko returned to the village and pressed the silent officials to begin deciding their fate, signaling that he would not let them off lightly.

• Danzo chose not to resist the Third Hokage, and he and Orochimaru were taken to the village under Anbu guard.
• The Third Hokage ordered the laboratory destroyed, useful intelligence collected, and Yamato kept in the Anbu.
• Konoha's leaders met in silence, struggling to agree on how severely to punish Danzo and Orochimaru.
• An Anbu reported that Uchiha Hiko had arrived, and the Third Hokage reacted with surprise at his return.
• Hiko entered the meeting, asked how the leaders would punish Danzo and Orochimaru, and urged them to begin deciding before news spread.

Hiko accused Danzo of stealing the Sharingan from Uchiha who died fighting for the village, using the claim to shut down any interference in his treatment of Danzo. He said the Uchiha would provide records and prepared to expose Danzo’s body, while the Third Hokage and the other officials reacted with alarm.

• Hiko raised the Uchiha Clan’s treatment of its dead in battle, and Utatane Koharu insisted that the dead must be treated with dignity.
• Hiko demanded that Danzo be stripped and angrily challenged the officials when they questioned him.
• Hiko claimed that many Uchiha bodies had been returned without their eyes and accused Danzo of removing them after they passed through Anbu and Root.
• Hiko promised to provide Uchiha records and warned the officials not to stop him from exposing Danzo’s body.

Hiko brought Konoha’s higher-ups to the Anbu to confront Danzo and prove his crimes against the Uchiha Clan. Danzo panicked when Hiko threatened to expose the secret on his body, while Orochimaru was summoned separately.

• The Third Hokage led the higher-ups to the Anbu to investigate Hiko’s claims about Danzo and the Uchiha Clan.
• Hiko ordered the Anbu to bring Orochimaru to him and take the group to Danzo’s cell.
• Hiko asked Danzo whether he had acted for himself or for the village, but Danzo refused to answer.
• Hiko said he had come to seek justice for the Uchiha Clan and threatened to unwrap Danzo to reveal his secret.
• Danzo panicked at the threat, making the higher-ups suspect that Hiko’s accusations were true.

Hiko confronted Danzo over stealing the Uchiha Clan’s Sharingan and threatened to retaliate against the Shimura Clan. The higher-ups realized Danzo had implanted the eyes in his bandaged arm, while Hiko warned that Danzo’s Izanagi would not save him.

• Hiko asked the Third Hokage to address the accusation that Danzo had tampered with fallen Uchiha members’ bodies and taken their Sharingan.
• Danzo stayed silent, and the Third Hokage concluded that the accusation was true.
• Hiko threatened to repay Danzo’s past persecution of the Uchiha by targeting the Shimura Clan and demanded the return of the stolen Sharingan.
• The higher-ups looked toward Danzo’s bandaged right arm and realized he might have implanted numerous Sharingan in it.
• Hiko revealed that Danzo had used the First’s cells and warned that Izanagi would only let him kill Danzo more times.

Orochimaru exposed Danzo’s use of stolen Sharingan and the First Hokage’s cells, prompting Danzo to reveal his altered body and defy Hiko. Hiko attacked with Susanoo, but Danzo escaped the prison’s destruction by using Izanagi, closing one of his Sharingan in the process.

• Orochimaru told the assembled officials that Danzo had transplanted Sharingan and the First Hokage’s cells to use Izanagi.
• Danzo revealed his pale, modified body and his right arm covered in Sharingan, then blamed Hiruzen for supporting Hiko.
• Danzo vowed to fight Hiko, and Hiko crushed the prison cell with Susanoo’s arm.
• A huge tree burst from the prison ruins and knocked Susanoo’s arm aside as Danzo reappeared nearby, having used Izanagi and lost one Sharingan.

Hiko fought Danzo but stopped short of pursuing him when the Third Hokage remained silent, allowing Danzo to escape. Hiko then ordered the Anbu to arrest the entire Shimura Clan to avenge the Uchiha, provoking fierce objections from the Third Hokage and other officials.

• Hiko attacked Danzo with Susanoo, forcing Danzo to dodge and flee.
• The village leaders and Anbu watched without intervening, while the Third Hokage showed grief but gave no orders.
• Hiko stopped pursuing Danzo after noticing the Third Hokage's silence, and Danzo escaped toward the village outskirts.
• Hiko questioned the Third Hokage and warned him that he would regret letting Danzo go.
• Hiko ordered the Anbu to surround the Shimura Clan compound and arrest every clan member, regardless of age or gender.
• The Third Hokage and other officials objected, and Hiko laughed at their reaction.

Uchiha Hiko demanded that Konoha choose between destroying the Shimura Clan and losing the Uchiha, then began preparing his clan to leave. Orochimaru agreed to go with him, while the Third Hokage protested and Hiko stood by his ultimatum.

• The Third Hokage and Konoha's higher-ups opposed Hiko's threat to massacre the Shimura Clan, but Hiko challenged them over their treatment of the Uchiha.
• Hiko demanded that Konoha choose between the Shimura Clan and the Uchiha, threatening to lead the Uchiha out of the village if the Shimura Clan survived.
• Hiko ordered the Uchiha to prepare to withdraw from the frontline and make arrangements to leave Konoha.
• Hiko invited Orochimaru to join him, and Orochimaru accepted.
• The Third Hokage accused Hiko of splitting Konoha apart, but Hiko repeated his ultimatum.

Hiko gave Konoha’s leaders one day to choose between allowing him to destroy the Shimura Clan and letting the Uchiha leave the village. The Uchiha began preparing to leave, while their departure from the front lines weakened Konoha’s forces as the Third Hokage faced the decision.

• Hiko led Orochimaru and the Uchiha out of Anbu headquarters, threatened anyone who tried to stop him, and gave Konoha’s leaders one day to choose between the Uchiha and the Shimura Clan.
• The Third Hokage left to handle the crisis, fearing a conflict with Hiko while Konoha was already fighting Iwagakure and Sunagakure.
• Hiko returned to the Uchiha Clan Grounds, where Uchiha members began packing and shutting their shops in preparation to leave Konoha.
• Shimura Clan elders pleaded with the Third Hokage to spare their clan, while other clans learned of the ultimatum and the Shimura spread rumors against the Uchiha.
• At the front, Uchiha forces left for Konoha, and Hatake Sakumo let them go, concerned that their departure had reduced Konoha’s strength in the war.

Hiko’s ultimatum to lead the Uchiha Clan out of Konoha spread across the shinobi world, while Konoha’s allies and rivals waited to see what the village would do. As Shimura Clan members began fleeing, someone asked the Third Hokage whether they should be stopped.

• Hatake Sakumo chose not to interfere with Hiko’s actions, believing that opposing him would bring trouble.
• Jiraiya panicked over Hiko’s demand, but Tsunade refused to intervene and told him to act on his own if he wanted to help.
• News that Hiko might take the Uchiha Clan out of Konoha spread, and other villages considered whether they could recruit the clan.
• Konoha’s higher-ups feared Hiko might unleash the Nine-Tails, while the Shimura Clan worried that the Third Hokage would side with the Uchiha.
• Shimura Clan members began secretly leaving Konoha, and someone asked Lord Hokage whether they should intercept them.

After the Shimura Clan secretly fled, the Third Hokage accepted that Uchiha Hiko mattered more to Konoha than any clan and decided to resign to persuade him to stay. He went to meet Hiko at Hokage Rock, where they looked out over the village.

• The Third Hokage asked Shikaku Nara whether the Uchiha or Shimura Clan mattered more, and Shikaku said keeping Hiko in Konoha was the greater concern.
• The Third Hokage admitted that Danzo's actions had caused the crisis and decided to step down as Hokage to show Hiko his resolve.
• Shikaku warned that Hiko was deeply angry and would be difficult to persuade, but the Third Hokage insisted he would handle it himself.
• The Third Hokage went to Hokage Rock and joined Hiko, who was watching Konoha's nightscape.
• The Third Hokage praised Konoha's founders, and Hiko agreed that Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara had built something great.

Hiko rejected the Third Hokage’s offer to hand him the Hokage position as a way to ease their conflict, insisting that the Shimura Clan had to be eliminated. The Third Hokage then secretly ordered the Anbu to announce Hiko’s succession and a handover ceremony within three days, forcing Hiko into the role he had refused.

• The Third Hokage offered to hand the Hokage position to Hiko, but Hiko said the position would not make him abandon his demands.
• Hiko declared that the Shimura Clan had to be erased, even if he left Konoha with his clansmen.
• The Third Hokage explained that, as Hokage, he had to protect Danzo and the Shimura Clan while they remained in Konoha.
• The Third Hokage revealed that the Shimura Clan was secretly fleeing and warned that Hiko, as Hokage, would have to pursue them as defectors.
• Hiko refused to take the blame for the situation and left, keeping his deadline for the Third Hokage’s response at the next day.
• The Third Hokage ordered the Anbu to spread news that Hiko would inherit the Hokage position, with a handover ceremony within three days.

The Third Hokage announced that he would step down and make Uchiha Hiko the next Hokage, shocking Konoha as the Uchiha were preparing to leave. The Shimura Clan began fleeing the village while Konoha’s leaders stayed out of their way, and Utatane Koharu questioned Hiruzen’s handling of the crisis.

• The Third Hokage ordered an Anbu member to spread the news of his decision from Hokage Rock.
• Villagers rallied behind Hiko and the Uchiha, condemning Danzo and the Shimura Clan over their treatment of the Uchiha.
• The Hokage Office Building announced that Hiruzen Sarutobi would step down and Hiko would take over within three days.
• The Shimura Clan elders convened to plan a response, while many clan members fled Konoha with their families without being stopped.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura discussed Hiruzen’s decision to bypass the usual approval process and appoint Hiko.