Chapter Summaries

Tsunade convened Konoha’s leaders to plan how to govern the Shinobi World after the war, and Kawafune presented a fifteen-point program to unify and modernize it within five years. The meeting ended with the proposal ready for implementation and no further additions.

• Tsunade promised Shota three extra days off, then called the meeting to order and asked how to unite the Shinobi World.
• Sakumo argued that Konoha needed control over the ninja villages’ forces to prevent rebellion, and others supported keeping the Daimyo’s power in check.
• The attendees debated postwar governance, transportation, communication, and economic independence until Tsunade stopped their argument.
• Kawafune presented Konoha’s first Five-Year Plan, including abolishing the Kage titles, appointing regional officials, building transportation and communication systems, expanding industry, and establishing the Konoha Group and Ninja Academy.
• No one added to Kawafune’s proposal, and he looked forward to bringing modern technology to the Naruto World.

Kawafune reviewed candidates for Konoha's new Kekkei Genkai class and approved twenty, including Mei Terumi and Kaguya Rinnosuke. After deciding to add more students from Konoha, he woke from a nap to give Ginji and Aotsuki spending money.

• Kawafune ordered the establishment of a Kekkei Genkai class and reviewed the candidate files Onoda Ei had gathered.
• Kawafune approved Mei Terumi, Kaguya Rinnosuke, and eighteen other candidates, bringing the approved list to twenty.
• Kawafune decided to select a few more children from Konoha to make the class thirty students.
• Ginji and Aotsuki visited Kawafune's office, where Ginji asked for spending money and Kawafune gave money to both children.

Mei Terumi and Kaguya Rinnosuke arrived in Konoha with the other children chosen for the Ninja Academy, where Hatake Kawafune began shaping them into members of Konoha. After Kawafune’s first lesson won many of the students’ admiration, he called Rinnosuke over as he left the classroom.

• Mei Terumi and Kaguya Rinnosuke arrived in Konoha, where Rinnosuke said he hoped its Medical Ninjas could cure his illness.
• After all the children arrived, Hatake Kawafune welcomed the thirty students to the Ninja Academy and gave each a Konoha Forehead Protector.
• Kawafune told the students they were now members of Konoha but could choose whether to leave or stay after completing their studies.
• Kawafune taught that ninja would protect people and fight criminals rather than serve as weapons of war, and many students became admiring of him.
• Kawafune left the classroom, returned to the door, and called Rinnosuke over.

Kawafune brought Rinnosuke, a sickly Kaguya Clan child with the Shikotsumyaku, to Orochimaru for treatment and research. Orochimaru agreed to try to save him and began examining him, while Kawafune suggested the disease might stem from the Shikotsumyaku’s evolution.

• Rinnosuke agreed to follow Kawafune after Kawafune asked whether he wanted to live.
• Kawafune brought Rinnosuke to Konoha First People's Hospital, where Orochimaru examined the boy’s Shikotsumyaku and diagnosed him with only a few years to live.
• Orochimaru offered to try treating Rinnosuke, and Rinnosuke accepted despite the risk of dying.
• Orochimaru drew Rinnosuke’s blood, examined his body, and collected small bones for research before sending him home.
• Kawafune suggested Rinnosuke’s illness might result from his body failing to withstand an evolving Shikotsumyaku, and Orochimaru agreed to consider the possibility.

Tsunade decided to resign as Hokage now that Konoha and the Shinobi World were stable, and she announced her decision to the village leadership. The first vote tied Nawaki and Minato as the leading candidates for the Fifth Hokage.

• After a year of progress on Konoha’s Five-Year Plan, Tsunade told Kawafune she wanted to step down, and he agreed to begin the Hokage election process.
• Tsunade arrived at the office in high spirits and told Shota she planned to resign; Shota eagerly anticipated retiring alongside her.
• Tsunade summoned Konoha’s higher-ups and formally announced her resignation, despite their attempts to persuade her to stay.
• Kawafune asked the attendees to recommend candidates for the next Hokage and hold a final election between the two leading names.
• The vote put Nawaki and Minato in a tie for first, leaving the Fifth Hokage to be chosen between them.

Konoha held an unprecedented public election to choose its Fifth Hokage between Senju Nawaki and Minato Namikaze. After the villagers voted, the ballots were counted in public, leaving the result unknown.

• Tsunade opened the election and introduced Nawaki and Minato as the candidates.
• Nawaki and Minato delivered their campaign speeches as their supporters cheered them on.
• Tsunade announced that villagers would vote by secret ballot and that future Hokage elections would use the same process.
• Staff members collected ballots throughout the day, including votes from people unable to attend.
• Tsunade selected twenty villagers and ninjas to count the ballots publicly as Nawaki and Minato waited nervously.

Minato Namikaze won the close election and became Konoha’s Fifth Hokage. Nawaki was appointed Anbu Director, while Minato returned to Kushina and fulfilled their promise to marry.

• Tsunade counted the ballots and announced that Minato Namikaze had defeated Nawaki by one vote.
• Minato and Nawaki congratulated each other, and Tsunade handed Minato the Hokage hat during the handover ceremony.
• Kawafune brought Nawaki to the Anbu offices and told him he would become the Anbu Director.
• Minato returned home, then visited Kushina and asked her to become the Hokage’s wife, and she agreed.

Minato and Kushina celebrated their wedding at the Namikaze Residence, where friends got them drunk and Tsunade secretly gave them medicine. The newlyweds woke in their bridal chamber and began their first night together.

• Minato and Kushina held their wedding, with Kawafune and Tsunade seated as their elders of honor.
• Kushina fled to use the bathroom after the tea ceremony, then joined Minato in a drinking contest and got drunk with him.
• After the guests left, Kawafune and Tsunade carried the newlyweds to their room and gave them Tsunade's hangover medicine, which she had secretly enhanced.
• Minato and Kushina woke as the medicine took effect, drew close, and began their wedding night.
• Kawafune questioned Tsunade about the medicine, and she admitted she had added something extra.

After Sakumo and Kawafune stopped fighting following the birth of their daughters, Kawafune urged the Hyuga Clan to end its main and branch family divisions. The clan abolished the ancestral rule and removed all Caged Bird Seals, leaving it united and stronger.

• Tsunade and Nayuki kicked Sakumo and Kawafune out after their fighting resumed, then decided to try to become pregnant together.
• Tsunade and Nayuki became pregnant, and each gave birth to a daughter: Hatake Riyue and Hatake Hoshina.
• In Konoha’s forty-seventh year, Hizashi Hyuga’s son, Hyuga Neji, was born, and Tsunade and Kawafune visited the Hyuga Clan with congratulatory gifts.
• Kawafune told Hyuga Nobunaga and Hiashi to reconsider the rules that divided the main and branch families.
• A week later, the Hyuga Clan abolished the division and lifted all Caged Bird Seals, becoming united again.

Kawafune learned that Kushina and Minato had been struggling to conceive while Mikoto prepared for her second child, Sasuke. A month later Kushina became pregnant with Naruto, and Kawafune promised to guard her during childbirth despite the danger posed by the Nine-Tails.

• Kawafune took Liyue shopping and ran into Kushina, who explained that she was buying gifts for pregnant Mikoto rather than expecting a child herself.
• Kushina visited Mikoto, learned that Orochimaru had taken Itachi as his disciple, and discussed her difficulty conceiving before leaving after hours of gossip.
• Kushina and Minato tried for a child that night, and a month later Kushina became pregnant.
• Tsunade warned Kushina that the Nine-Tails seal would weaken during childbirth, while Kawafune promised to stand guard and protect her.

After the births of Naruto and Hinata, Kawafune joined Tsunade at Orochimaru’s laboratory and agreed to collect cells from the Five-Tails and Six-Tails for their fusion research. The experiment continued to advance, with the researchers eager to discover the result of combining all nine tailed beasts’ cells.

• Mikoto gave birth to another son, whom the family named Second Pillar, and Kushina later gave birth to Naruto.
• Hyuga Hiashi’s wife gave birth to Hinata, completing the Konoha Twelve.
• Tsunade told Kawafune that Orochimaru wanted him at the laboratory, and they left Liyue with Nayuki before going there.
• Orochimaru told Kawafune that the fusion experiment needed cells from the Five-Tails and Six-Tails, and Kawafune agreed to retrieve them.
• Orochimaru and Tsunade continued their research as the cultivated tailed beast cells grew and the fusion experiment became their main priority.

Hatake Kawafune subdued Kokuō in the Land of Iron and collected one of its horns, then persuaded Saiken in the Land of Water to give him a tail for his experiment. With both samples secured, he headed back to Konoha.

• Kawafune found Kokuō in the Land of Iron, broke its horn in a fight, and used Kakuan Entering Society with Several Hands to suppress and defeat it.
• Kawafune sealed Kokuō's broken horn in a scroll and traveled by passenger ship toward the Land of Water, reflecting on the changes brought by the Five-Year Plan.
• Kawafune found Saiken hiding in a swamp and threatened to use Wood Style until the Six-Tails emerged.
• Saiken gave Kawafune one of its tails, which he sealed in a scroll before letting Saiken return to the swamp.
• Kawafune set out for Konoha carrying portions of Kokuō and Saiken.

Kawafune returned with remains from two tailed beasts and learned that his cells could fuse with Uchiha Madara’s cells. After Kawafune revealed that Nagato’s Rinnegan had awakened through Hashirama Cell transplantation, Orochimaru agreed to prepare a transplant for him.

• Kawafune returned quickly with two sealed samples from tailed beasts, impressing Orochimaru, Tsunade, Misaki, and Itachi.
• Orochimaru described Kawafune’s strength to Itachi, then sent him back to finish his chakra control training.
• Kawafune asked Orochimaru about the research on Uchiha Madara’s corpse and learned that Madara’s cells could fuse with his own.
• Orochimaru said Madara’s cells had killed every test subject, but Kawafune’s cells had fused with them.
• Kawafune revealed that Nagato’s Rinnegan belonged to Madara and had awakened after Hashirama Cells were transplanted.
• Orochimaru agreed to prepare a Madara cell transplant for Kawafune while taking steps to protect his life.

Kawafune underwent Madara's cell transplant under Orochimaru and Tsunade's supervision, and the fusion proceeded smoothly. He felt no clear changes afterward, so Orochimaru drew blood for further examination while Tsunade and Misaki left him to it.

• Kawafune thanked Tsunade and Orochimaru for their work before heading to the laboratory with Tsunade.
• Orochimaru checked Kawafune's condition, and Tsunade secured him and placed electrode pads before the transplant began.
• Orochimaru injected Madara's cells, and Kawafune felt an intense but pleasant sensation as the fusion took place.
• Kawafune woke after the process ended and reported no discomfort, while Orochimaru found the fusion had gone smoothly.
• Orochimaru pushed Kawafune down to draw blood, and Tsunade and Misaki left the room as Kawafune called for help.

After two years of rapid change in the Shinobi World, Kawafune and his family embarked on their first trip together, traveling from the Land of Snow through the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water before returning to Konoha. Their two-month journey left the family with many cherished memories.

• Orochimaru repeatedly tested Kawafune’s blood and concluded that Madara cell transplantation had brought him only negligible gains.
• Kawafune reflected on Konoha’s completed Five-Year Plan and the Shinobi World’s rapid modernization before setting out with his family of eight.
• Kawafune and his family traveled by train to the Land of Snow, where the children enjoyed the snowy scenery, built snowmen, and played with Ghost Mastiff and Little White.
• Kawafune created two wooden villas in the snow so the family could spend the night together in comfort.
• Kawafune and his family traveled through the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water, circled the Shinobi World, and returned to Konoha after two months.

Kawafune’s family reunion turned serious when Minato reported that powerful figures’ graves had been robbed across the Shinobi World. Kawafune suspected Uchiha Madara was about to return and ordered the village to prepare for war.

• Minato and Nawaki brought their families to the Hatake Clan home, where everyone reunited, exchanged gifts, and shared a meal.
• Minato told the group that Nagato would return in three months and that Nonō was pregnant; Kawafune proposed holding Yahiko and Konan’s wedding at the same time as Nagato and Nonō’s.
• Minato reported that graves belonging to Kage and powerful shinobi had been robbed across the Shinobi World.
• Kawafune ordered Nagato’s immediate return, surveillance of suspicious people, and a state of war readiness, then sent a warning through Katsuyu.
• Kawafune told the others he believed Uchiha Madara was about to appear again and would bring an enormous disaster.

In a secluded cave in the Land of Lightning, Black Zetsu used Impure World Reincarnation to summon Madara, who learned that Konoha had unified the Shinobi World. Madara resolved to reclaim his Rinnegan from Nagato and pursue the Eye of the Moon Plan, unaware Nagato was in danger.

• Black Zetsu performed Impure World Reincarnation on a White Zetsu and summoned Madara.
• Madara questioned his location and learned from Black Zetsu that they were in the Land of Lightning.
• Black Zetsu told Madara that Konoha had unified the Shinobi World and that Nagato was in the Land of Lightning with Madara's Rinnegan.
• Madara dismissed the peace under Konoha as false and vowed to carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan.
• Madara transformed his eyes into the Mangekyō Sharingan and then the Rinnegan while Nagato remained unaware of the danger approaching him.

Nagato and Nonō planned to return to Konoha to marry, but an urgent warning from Kawafune sent them racing home. Madara intercepted them at sea and revealed that he intended to use Nagato’s Rinne Rebirth Technique to resurrect himself, leaving Nonō to flee for help.

• Nagato and Nonō agreed to return to Konoha, marry, and build a family together.
• Nagato received Kawafune’s urgent message and immediately set off with Nonō toward the Land of Fire.
• Nagato sensed a powerful Chakra approaching, and Madara landed before them and identified himself as Uchiha Madara.
• Madara revealed that he had given Nagato his eyes and intended to use the Rinne Rebirth Technique to resurrect himself.
• Nagato used Shinra Tensei to send Nonō away, and she ran across the sea to alert Kawafune while Madara prepared to face Nagato.

Nagato tested Madara with ninjutsu, then fought him in Sage Mode, but Madara absorbed his attack and overwhelmed him in close combat. Madara ended the duel and rushed in to incapacitate Nagato so Black Zetsu could control him and use the Rinne Rebirth Technique.

• Nagato attacked Madara with Lightning Water Dragon Bullet, and Madara absorbed it with Blocking Technique Absorption Seal.
• Nagato confirmed Madara had the Rinnegan’s abilities, activated Sage Mode, and charged into close combat.
• Madara switched to Sharingan and fought Nagato across the sea, then kicked him away after finding an opening.
• Nagato used Shinra Tensei, but Madara countered with the same ability and seized the advantage.
• Madara repeatedly suppressed Nagato and decided to incapacitate him so Black Zetsu could use the Rinne Rebirth Technique.

Nagato unleashed Chibaku Tensei in a desperate attempt to defeat Madara, but Madara shattered it with his Complete Body Susanoo and struck Nagato with a meteor. Black Zetsu retrieved Nagato from the sea, leaving him gravely injured and under its control.

• Nagato launched Chibaku Tensei at Madara, hoping its gravitational pull could turn the battle around.
• Madara summoned his Complete Body Susanoo and split Chibaku Tensei apart with a single sword strike.
• Madara used Tengai Shinsei to summon a gigantic meteor toward Nagato.
• The meteor struck the sea, and Nagato disappeared beneath the resulting waves.
• Madara ordered Black Zetsu to retrieve Nagato, and Black Zetsu covered his broken, unconscious body.