Chapter Summaries

Ronglin listened as the Uchiha elders argued over the clan’s heavy losses and Fugaku’s injuries, then challenged their right to accuse him and questioned why he could not become clan leader. The clan’s growing resentment toward Fugaku and support for a stronger leader remained unresolved.

• The Third Elder rejected the Fifth Elder’s proposal to demand an explanation, while Uchiha Kuolie urged the clan to tend to its wounded, bury its dead, and comfort their families.
• The Second Elder pointed out that rumors and resentment were spreading among the clan, drawing attention to Ronglin.
• Ronglin denied responsibility for leading the clan into battle and suggested that those who needed to step down should do so.
• Conservative Uchiha members protested Ronglin’s remarks, and he answered that Fugaku had invited him back, that he was not responsible for the losses, and that he had won much of the clan’s battlefield glory.

After the clan meeting, Uchiha Ronglin told three elders he could lead the Uchiha to prosperity if given the clan head position. He claimed he could make all of Konoha the Uchiha’s vassal within ten years, leaving the elders stunned and skeptical.

• Uchiha Ronglin silenced clan members who challenged his qualifications by claiming he had led the Uchiha to victories.
• Uchiha Kuolie intervened to end the argument and later asked Ronglin to remain after the clan meeting.
• Uchiha Kuolie and the other elders questioned whether Ronglin could lead the clan and stabilize its growing dissatisfaction with Uchiha Fugaku.
• Ronglin said the clan head position belonged to whoever was capable and vowed to make all of Konoha an Uchiha vassal within ten years.
• Uchiha Kuolie doubted Ronglin’s boast, but Ronglin cited the Senju clan’s dominance in the eras of the First and Second Hokage.

Ronglin challenged the Uchiha elders to change the clan’s conduct, while the village mourned its war dead and continued sending forces to the front. The chapter ended with Konoha’s war against Iwagakure deepening and someone questioning whether a decision was appropriate.

• Ronglin criticized the Uchiha elders for their arrogance and failure to fight for anything, then left them to decide whether to act on his words.
• Uchiha Mikoto told Uchiha Fugaku that the clan was recovering, but Fugaku became agitated when she mentioned Ronglin and his return.
• Uchiha Mikoto represented the injured Fugaku at the burial of the Uchiha dead, where Uchiha Diqin, Uchiha Shisui, Ronglin, and the Third Hokage mourned.
• Konoha transferred the Uchiha back to rest and reorganize while other clans continued to the front, and the war with Iwagakure remained a growing burden.
• Someone asked whether the decision was really appropriate.

Uchiha elders and clan members openly backed Uchiha Ronglin as a replacement for Uchiha Fugaku, whose defeat against Iwagakure had weakened his standing. After hearing the report, Fugaku was stunned by the challenge to his position.

• At a shrine meeting, the First, Third, and Fifth Elders and other Uchiha members supported Ronglin, arguing that the clan needed reform and that Fugaku had failed in the war against Iwagakure.
• Uchiha opponents objected that Ronglin lacked the seniority to become clan head, sparking an argument between the factions.
• The clan’s growing criticism of Fugaku’s defeat led more Uchiha to compare him unfavorably with Ronglin.
• In the hospital, Uchiha Izumi Nishi told Fugaku that the elders and other clan members had openly supported Ronglin.
• Fugaku was shocked and nearly fainted upon learning that his position as clan head was under threat.

Uchiha Ronglin moved to replace Uchiha Fugaku as clan leader, spreading the news throughout Konoha and building support among Uchiha members. When Fugaku attended a meeting in the ancestral hall, he confronted Ronglin instead of reviewing the clan’s casualty report, leaving the elders dissatisfied.

• Ronglin used the war and Fugaku’s weak standing as clan leader to push for his removal, with three elders supporting him.
• Ronglin helped spread news of the attempted leadership change, shocking Konoha and drawing reactions from the Third Hokage, Hyuga Hiashi, and Danzo.
• Many lower-ranking Uchiha, especially those withdrawn from the battlefield, supported Ronglin because they trusted his strength more than Fugaku’s leadership.
• Fugaku entered the ancestral hall meeting and angrily accused the others of planning to replace him, ignoring the casualty report placed before him.
• Ronglin watched as Fugaku’s outburst disappointed several attendees, and Fugaku demanded to know what Ronglin was scheming.

Ronglin challenged Uchiha Fugaku’s leadership, accusing him of failing to protect the clan during the war. Fugaku could not answer the charges, leaving his standing among the Uchiha in question.

• Uchiha Fugaku angrily confronted Ronglin for declaring him an unqualified clan leader.
• Ronglin argued that Fugaku could have requested reassignment for the Uchiha rather than blindly obeying the village’s orders.
• Ronglin accused Fugaku of hiding his Mangekyo and letting clansmen die instead of using his full strength during their first ambush.
• Ronglin questioned why Fugaku continued leading the Uchiha against Iwagakure after their heavy losses, and Fugaku was unable to respond.

Ronglin blamed Uchiha Fugaku for failing to negotiate with the Hokage and exposed how the Uchiha had been excluded from Konoha’s official positions. The chapter left Fugaku unable to defend himself as the clan confronted its political weakness.

• Ronglin said he had refused a similar order to support the front line, then questioned why Fugaku had not negotiated with the Hokage.
• Fugaku struggled to explain that he had never considered negotiating because the village’s major clans had ostracized the Uchiha.
• The Uchiha grew disappointed with Fugaku and blamed him for the clan’s heavy losses.
• Ronglin pointed out that the Uchiha held only the Konoha Police Force Chief position among the village’s official duties.
• Ronglin criticized the Uchiha for focusing on higher-level posts instead of building support through lower-level positions, and compared their lack of representation with other clans.

Ronglin took control of the Uchiha after Uchiha Fugaku stepped down, then began reshaping the clan by donating most of its stored supplies to Konoha. He argued the donation would help the Uchiha gain influence as the village struggled.

• Ronglin's speech left Uchiha Fugaku unable to respond, and distrust spread among the Uchiha clan.
• Word of the meeting stirred the clan and village, forcing the Third Hokage to clarify events while Danzo was left carrying blame.
• Within three days, most Uchiha supported Ronglin, and Uchiha Fugaku stepped down as clan head and Police Force head.
• Ronglin became the youngest clan head in Uchiha history and refused to hold a costly celebration.
• Ronglin ordered seventy percent of the Uchiha's stored supplies donated publicly to the village.
• Uchiha Kuolie objected, but Ronglin argued the donation would help the clan earn a voice and support Konoha during its weakness.

Ronglin persuaded the Uchiha clan to donate half their supplies to Konoha during the war, hoping to improve the clan’s standing in the village. The Third Hokage accepted the news with surprise and asked Ronglin what the Uchiha wanted in return.

• Ronglin urged the Uchiha elders to support reforms by donating supplies while Konoha was struggling in the war.
• Ronglin reassured the clan that Konoha would win and said the donation amount could be negotiated.
• The Uchiha clan meeting agreed to donate fifty percent of its supplies.
• Ronglin brought two reports to the Hokage’s Office Building and clarified that the supplies were a donation, not a loan.
• The Third Hokage asked Ronglin what the Uchiha were doing this for.

Ronglin persuaded the Third Hokage to accept the Uchiha Clan’s donation of supplies and request for ordinary positions for several clan members. Once the donation became public, Konoha’s villagers praised the Uchiha while the other clans faced pressure to contribute too.

• Ronglin directed the Third Hokage to read a document requesting ordinary posts for several Uchiha members, and the Hokage agreed to consider it.
• The Third Hokage accepted the Uchiha Clan’s supplies and told Ronglin to have the clan members come to his office the next day.
• News spread across Konoha that the Uchiha Clan had donated a huge amount of supplies to support the war.
• Konoha’s villagers praised the Uchiha, while the major clans worried that they would now be expected to donate supplies as well.

After the Uchiha donated half their supplies, Hiruzen Sarutobi gathered the Sarutobi Clan and secured an equal donation, resolving Konoha’s front-line shortage. Ronglin gained prestige from leading the effort, while other clans faced pressure to follow and Jiraiya recognized the move as a bid for influence.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi convened the Sarutobi Clan’s decision-makers, and the clan agreed to donate half its supplies.
• The Uchiha and Sarutobi donations solved Konoha’s supply shortage and left other clans unsure how to respond.
• Hyuga Hiashi and Danzo struggled with whether to match the donations, weighing their clans’ resources against the public attention Ronglin had earned.
• Ronglin used the donations to build his standing as a contender for Fourth Hokage against Minato.
• Jiraiya read White Fang’s scroll and realized Ronglin was using the effort to gain political support.
• White Fang praised Ronglin’s move and said the Hatake Clan could no longer stay out of the effort.

Ronglin secured supplies for the war effort by pressuring the clans, leaving Tsunade furious as the Senju faced a costly demand. With Uchiha recovering from its losses, Ronglin continued reshaping the clan and expanding its influence.

• Jiraiya and White Fang laughed as Tsunade roared at Ronglin for forcing the clans to hand over supplies.
• Tsunade worried that the depleted Senju clan could not afford to refuse the demand and vowed to take revenge on Ronglin.
• Ronglin’s plan resolved the supply shortage, earning the Third Hokage’s admiration and keeping Uchiha from returning to the front line.
• Ronglin gained benefits from the Third Hokage, and his standing within Uchiha rose while Uchiha Fugaku remained an elder and Police Force chief.
• Ronglin opened the Uchiha clan grounds to outsiders and abolished restrictions that had kept female ninja from serving, increasing the clan’s strength.

In Konoha Year 46, the Third Hokage sent Ronglin to investigate a hidden underground research facility near the village, suspected to be connected to Orochimaru and Danzo. Ronglin left with his team to uncover their past crimes while keeping the mission secret.

• The Third Hokage gave Ronglin a secret mission to investigate a hidden research facility outside Konoha.
• Ronglin suspected the facility belonged to Orochimaru and Danzo and left the Hokage's Office with the mission scroll.
• The Third Hokage reflected on his suspicions about Orochimaru and decided Ronglin was the most suitable person to investigate.
• Ronglin led Shisui, Kisame Hoshigaki, Mei Terumi, and Uchiha Diqin away from the village without revealing their mission.
• Ronglin's team began investigating the facility, which was less than fifty kilometers from Konoha.

Ronglin and his team uncovered a secret research facility where children were being used in forbidden human experiments. He ordered the guards and researchers captured alive so they could be questioned.

• Ronglin sent Kisame Hoshigaki and Shisui into the facility first, while Mei Terumi and Uchiha Diqin stayed above to keep watch.
• Kisame Hoshigaki and Shisui subdued the guards they encountered and continued deeper into the facility.
• Shisui and Kisame Hoshigaki discovered children imprisoned in glass tanks, some already dead, and confronted the facility's guards and researchers.
• Ronglin arrived, saw the experimental subjects, and ordered his team to break everyone's hands and feet and take them alive.

Ronglin discovered Orochimaru and Danzo’s secret laboratory and took some of Hashirama Senju’s cells while preserving evidence. He summoned the Third Hokage to inspect the facility, leaving the Anbu in control and the perpetrators’ identities hidden from them.

• Ronglin entered a separate laboratory and stopped someone from destroying documents.
• Ronglin found Hashirama Senju’s cells and records detailing experiments and the origins of the test subjects.
• Ronglin took some of the cells and left the remaining evidence behind.
• Ronglin sent Shisui to bring the Third Hokage to the site without taking the people or documents back to the village.
• The Third Hokage arrived with Anbu, who secured the facility, while Ronglin and the Third Hokage kept the documents and the Anbu remained unaware of the masterminds.

Ronglin revealed evidence that Orochimaru and Danzo had used the First and Second Hokage’s remains in secret experiments, prompting the Third Hokage to leave and arrest them. Ronglin stayed behind to oversee the prisoners, experimental subjects, and laboratory materials.

• Ronglin told the Third Hokage that Orochimaru and Danzo had built the laboratory, that the Shimura Clan funded it, and that Danzo had transplanted the First Hokage’s cells into himself.
• Ronglin revealed that Tobirama Senju’s corpse had also been tampered with, and the Third Hokage shouted Danzo’s name in fury.
• The Third Hokage recognized that the evidence implicated Orochimaru, Danzo, the Shimura Clan, the Sarutobi Clan, and himself, then decided to arrest Orochimaru and Danzo personally.
• The Third Hokage left with two trusted Anbu members, while the remaining operatives stayed with Ronglin.
• Ronglin ordered the captured people returned to the village for interrogation, the experimental subjects saved or disposed of, and the files and equipment transported or destroyed.

After Ronglin was left in charge of the Hokage's Office, the Third Hokage traveled to the front line to confront Orochimaru and Danzo. He arrived at Danzo's Command Center, startling Danzo.

• The Third Hokage left the village with several people to question Orochimaru and Danzo in person.
• Ronglin stayed behind in the Hokage's Office and faced a desk piled with documents.
• Danzo and Orochimaru both felt that something was about to happen but blamed their unease on Ōnoki and Iwagakure.
• A Konoha ninja rushed into Danzo's Command Center and reported that the Hokage had arrived.
• The Third Hokage announced himself outside the tent, and Danzo realized Hiruzen Sarutobi was there.

Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived at the front without warning and confronted Danzo and Orochimaru over documents from an underground research base near the village. He revealed that the base contained experimental subjects and the First Hokage's Flesh, leaving the two men to answer for what had been done.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived at the front in battle armor and ordered everyone except the Anbu to leave the Command Center.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi demanded an explanation from Danzo and Orochimaru and placed a stack of documents on the table.
• Orochimaru recognized the documents and understood that Hiruzen Sarutobi had discovered the research base.
• Danzo read the documents and panicked when Hiruzen Sarutobi revealed the base's experimental subjects and the First Hokage's Flesh.
• Orochimaru calmly asked whether the base had been discovered.

The Third Hokage confronted Orochimaru over the secret human experiments, but Danzō attacked and helped Orochimaru escape. The Third Hokage ordered the pursuit and declared both men criminals for violating village regulations and fleeing arrest.

• Orochimaru acknowledged that the Third Hokage had uncovered his underground research base and asked what he planned to do.
• The Third Hokage said Uchiha Ronglin had moved while Root remained in the village, explaining how the base had been found.
• Danzō suddenly attacked the Third Hokage, sending him through the Command Center tent and leaving him injured.
• Danzō and Orochimaru fled together after Danzō vowed to remember the day.
• The Third Hokage ordered the Anbu to pursue them and accused both men of conducting secret human experiments and escaping arrest.

Orochimaru and Danzo became rogue ninja after attacking the Third Hokage, who ordered their capture and returned to Konoha injured. As Iwagakure watched for an opening, White Fang was ordered to take command on the front line and stabilize Konoha’s forces.

• The Third Hokage’s Anbu and nearby Konoha shinobi pursued Orochimaru and Danzo after the pair fled the camp.
• Ōnoki learned that Orochimaru and Danzo had defected and regretted missing a chance to attack Konoha during the confusion.
• Jiraiya, White Fang, and Tsunade received Anbu intelligence reporting the defection and the Third Hokage’s failed attempt to capture the pair.
• White Fang accepted orders to take command at the Iwagakure front before the enemy could exploit Konoha’s turmoil.
• White Fang left the Command Center and entrusted the situation there to Tsunade.