Chapter Summaries

As Konoha’s crisis deepened, Shazo reassured Shisui Uchiha that they would restore the village and prepare for the Fifth Hokage. Shazo’s alliance had already hollowed out Hiruzen Sarutobi’s authority, largely because Kakashi Hatake had brought the Anbu under their control.

• Shisui Uchiha asked Shazo whether Konoha could again belong to its ninja, and Shazo promised a better village under the Fifth Hokage.
• Shazo told Shisui he would help resolve Konoha’s crisis, then sent him away to shoulder an important responsibility.
• Uchiha Izumi told Shazo that the clans supported his plan and that they had been quietly stripping Hiruzen Sarutobi of authority.
• Shazo explained that Kakashi Hatake joined their alliance after learning the Third Hokage had lied about the village’s handling of rumors against Hatake Sakumo.
• Kakashi Hatake’s influence over the Anbu grew until he controlled its command and the Second Training Department, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi unable to see or hear the truth.

Shazo prepared to remove Hiruzen Sarutobi through legal procedures after the Kumogakure crisis shifted Konoha’s ninja against the Third Hokage. The next morning, Hiruzen’s refusal to meet the Fourth Raikage left the diplomatic crisis unresolved as Shazo’s group prepared to act.

• Shazo explained that the crisis had won overwhelming support among Konoha’s ninja for Hiruzen Sarutobi to step down, and Uchiha Izumi praised his strategy.
• Shazo told Izumi to notify their allies that they would move the next day, while promising that he and Shisui would handle the invading Kumogakure forces after Hiruzen fell.
• Naruto Uzumaki declared that Shazo was destined to become the Fifth Hokage, then dismissed Tsunade as an unworthy rival.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi met with his old classmates after the Fourth Raikage refused the Hokage’s envoy for the fifteenth time and demanded to meet Hiruzen in person.
• Hiruzen, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura opposed meeting the Fourth Raikage because of the past ambush that had killed Tobirama Senju, leaving the diplomatic dispute unresolved.

Shazo organized a secret Konoha Jonin Assembly to challenge Hiruzen Sarutobi’s rule, leaving the Third Hokage surrounded by the village’s gathered Jonin. Hiruzen still believed he might defeat the coup if enough Jonin remained loyal to him.

• Yoshida Hiroki told Hiruzen Sarutobi and the two advisors that the Konoha Jonin Assembly had convened without the Hokage’s permission.
• Hiruzen realized Shazo had organized the coup and suspected Kakashi Hatake had cut him off from Anbu and the intelligence network.
• Forty-eight Jonin escorted Hiruzen through a barrier, while Shisui Uchiha watched with his Mangekyō Sharingan activated.
• Hiruzen entered the assembly hall and saw all 335 Konoha Jonin, including members of the Sarutobi, Mitokado, Utatane, and Shimura Clans.
• Hiruzen concluded that Shazo had gathered every Jonin secretly, but believed he could still prevail if enough Jonin supported him.

Shisui Uchiha announced that the Konoha Jonin Assembly had authority to impeach Hiruzen Sarutobi and accused him of failing to protect Konoha from repeated crises. The assembly moved toward inviting Shazo to question the Third Hokage, despite objections from Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi assessed the Jonin in the Meeting Hall and realized that only about a quarter of them supported him.
• Shisui Uchiha explained that the Jonin Assembly held Konoha's highest authority and declared its purpose was to impeach the Third Hokage.
• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu protested that Jonin could not impeach their Hokage.
• Shisui Uchiha accused Hiruzen Sarutobi of mishandling the Uchiha Clan's near-destruction and the Cloud Ninja's advance into the Land of Fire.
• Utatane Koharu defended Hiruzen Sarutobi by citing his envoys to the Kumogakure army, but Shisui Uchiha proposed inviting Shazo into the assembly to question the Hokage.
• Mitokado Homura objected to allowing a Chunin into the Jonin Assembly, while Shisui Uchiha silently fought to follow Shazo's instructions.

Shazo entered the Konoha Ninja Assembly after the Jonin overwhelmingly approved his right to question Hiruzen Sarutobi. He challenged Hiruzen over returning as Hokage instead of Orochimaru and maintaining stability for more than ten years, then asked where Konoha’s renowned young geniuses had gone.

• Shisui Uchiha argued that a Chunin could question the Hokage under the Second Hokage’s rules, and the Jonin overwhelmingly voted to let Shazo proceed.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the Jonin keep their hands raised as Shazo entered the meeting hall.
• Shazo asked Hiruzen why he had resumed the Hokage position after the Fourth Hokage’s sacrifice instead of making Orochimaru the Fifth Hokage.
• Hiruzen denied knowing about Orochimaru’s human experiments and said he had returned to maintain stability, but Shazo pointed out that he had maintained it for ten years and two months.
• Mitokado Homura claimed no one else could shoulder the Hokage’s responsibilities, and Shazo challenged him to explain where Konoha’s many renowned young ninjas had gone.

Shazo accused Hiruzen Sarutobi of causing Konoha’s succession crisis and eliminating potential rivals so the Sarutobi Clan could retain the Hokage seat. The Konoha ninjas began to suspect Hiruzen, whose reputation collapsed as he could neither refute the accusations nor safely attack Shazo.

• Shazo reminded the Konoha ninjas of the Uchiha Clan’s role in founding the village and accused Hiruzen of failing to protect its people.
• Shazo connected Konoha’s losses over the past decades to Hiruzen’s rule, and the ninjas’ attention turned toward the Third Hokage.
• Shazo accused Hiruzen of deliberately eliminating young ninjas who could compete for Hokage, then speculated that he wanted Asuma Sarutobi and Konohamaru to inherit the position.
• Hiruzen angrily denied the accusations, but Shazo’s claims persuaded even some Sarutobi Clan ninjas that the theory was plausible.
• Hiruzen could not attack Shazo without making himself appear guilty, and the Konoha ninjas’ image of him as a kindly old man collapsed.

Shazo’s coup succeeded, and Hiruzen Sarutobi was stripped of the Hokage title. Shazo then won authorization to handle the Kumogakure invasion and the Fourth Raikage, promising to resolve the crisis within two days.

• Shisui Uchiha presided over the Jonin vote, which impeached Hiruzen Sarutobi and removed him as Hokage.
• Mitokado Homura proposed that Hiruzen Sarutobi temporarily act as Hokage to negotiate with Kumogakure, but Shikaku Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka rejected the proposal.
• Shisui Uchiha recommended Shazo to resolve the crisis, citing his past victories and diplomatic skills.
• Shazo entered the meeting, demonstrated his power, and promised to resolve the Kumogakure army and the Fourth Raikage within two days.
• The Konoha Jonin accepted Shazo’s proposal without a formal vote.

Shazo and Shisui Uchiha traveled to meet the Fourth Raikage, while Shazo explained how Konoha’s political rivals were trying to block his path to becoming Fifth Hokage. Shisui blasted open the Kumogakure camp’s fence with Fire Style, and the Fourth Raikage arrived to meet them.

• Shazo told Shisui Uchiha that the Konoha elders had appointed him as a witness to prevent Shazo from making a private deal with the Raikage.
• Shazo explained that Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to prevent him from becoming Fifth Hokage, and predicted that Tsunade would be brought back as a rival.
• Shazo and Shisui Uchiha reached the Kumogakure camp after avoiding its distant sentries and lookouts.
• Shisui Uchiha used Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation to burn away the camp’s crude fence, then extinguished the flames before they consumed the camp.
• The Fourth Raikage A arrived with Killer B, Dodai, and a young white-haired Kumogakure ninja.

Shazo confronted the Fourth Raikage at the Kumogakure camp and unleashed a massive Wood Release technique that transformed the battlefield into a forest and devastated the Kumogakure forces. The Fourth Raikage and Killer B charged at Shazo with their combined lightning technique, but they failed to hit him.

• Shisui Uchiha deferred to Shazo when the Fourth Raikage demanded to know why Konoha had come.
• Shazo challenged the Fourth Raikage and began building up a huge Wood Release technique after the Raikage refused to answer.
• The Fourth Raikage ordered the Kumogakure ninja to attack, while Killer B joined him in preparing a lightning-charged assault.
• Shazo unleashed Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence, which blocked the Kumogakure lightning attacks and turned the camp into a vast forest.
• The forest's branches and roots seized and killed many Kumogakure ninja as the survivors struggled to escape.
• The Fourth Raikage and Killer B used Absolute Bull Lightning Plow Hot Blade to charge Shazo, but they failed to strike him.

Shazo’s Wood Release and Shisui Uchiha’s Susanoo trapped the Cloud forces and restricted the Eight-Tails, leaving the battle’s outcome to Shazo and the Fourth Raikage. The Raikage attacked at full speed but could neither catch Shazo nor stop him from killing Cloud Ninja.

• Shazo bent the trees and roots to misdirect the Fourth Raikage and Killer B, then trapped them after their combined attack lost momentum.
• The Fourth Raikage released Killer B, who used Gyuki’s power and his partial Eight-Tails transformation to clear a path through the forest while the Raikage entered Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
• Killer B fully transformed into the Eight-Tails and flooded the forest, but Shisui Uchiha’s Susanoo battled Gyuki while Shazo’s Wood Release restrained it and helped the Susanoo gain the upper hand.
• Gyuki could not unleash its full strength because Cloud Ninja were trapped in the forest, and the clash between the giant fighters reached a stalemate.
• The Fourth Raikage attacked Shazo at full speed but failed to catch him, while Shazo disrupted Killer B and killed Cloud Ninja one by one.

Shazo evaded the Fourth Raikage’s attacks with a prepared Substitution Technique while restraining the surviving Kumogakure ninjas. With the battlefield cleared, Shazo began forming a Human Body Great Elixir to sharpen his senses and unleash greater speed and power, setting up his fight with the Raikage.

• The Fourth Raikage used Hell Stab: Four Fingers Thrust, but Shazo escaped with a prepared Substitution Technique.
• The Fourth Raikage repeatedly attacked with Four Violet Fists, yet Shazo evaded each strike until the Raikage exhausted much of his chakra.
• The Fourth Raikage realized he could not catch Shazo and wondered what had happened to the Kumogakure ninjas whose screams had stopped.
• Shazo revealed that he had tied up the surviving Kumogakure ninjas and cleared a wide battlefield for his duel with the Fourth Raikage.
• Shazo compressed his body and chakra into a Human Body Great Elixir to heighten his senses and prepare to unleash greater speed and strength.

Shazo fought the Fourth Raikage at full speed and discovered that the Raikage’s Lightning Release Armor could paralyze him and deliver powerful counterattacks. When Shazo’s Kekkei Genkai automatically absorbed the force of a heavy blow, he realized the Raikage’s attacks could help him complete his Flame Style fusion, and decided to keep fighting.

• Shazo and the Fourth Raikage charged at each other and fought in an evenly matched clash of speed and strength.
• The Fourth Raikage revealed that his improved Lightning Release Armor could slow or paralyze fast opponents and struck Shazo with a heavy punch.
• Shazo’s Kekkei Genkai automatically dispersed most of the blow’s force, leaving him with only a small lightning burn.
• Shazo realized his false Kekkei Genkai Dan needed an external force to help him integrate Flame Style, and the Fourth Raikage’s attacks were powerful enough to do it without seriously injuring him.
• Shazo regarded the Fourth Raikage as a fellow Daoist who could help him succeed and prepared to continue the fight.

Shazo endured the Fourth Raikage’s attacks while fusing Flame Style and completing the balance of his ten Kekkei Genkai. After escaping the Raikage’s Liger Bomb, Shazo revealed an immense chakra reserve, and the Raikage resolved to kill him before he could reshape the Ninja World.

• The Fourth Raikage struck Shazo, who theatrically spat tomato-scented blood and provoked him into a furious exchange of blows.
• Shazo used the Raikage’s attacks to disrupt his pseudo-core’s repulsion and fuse Fire Style and Lightning Release chakra into Flame Style.
• Shazo completed his ten-Kekkei-Genkai balance, causing the interlocking pseudo-core to shatter and the abilities to form a circle.
• The Fourth Raikage seized Shazo and attempted to finish him with a Liger Bomb, but Shazo unleashed a chakra storm, broke free, and expelled the Raikage’s Lightning Release chakra.
• The Fourth Raikage sensed Shazo’s vast chakra reserves and recognized the threat he posed, then renewed his resolve to kill him.

Shazo fought the Fourth Raikage in a brutal close-quarters battle after escaping his Liger Bomb, and the Raikage’s desperate power awakened the Kekkei Genkai Ring’s potential. Shazo seized the advantage as the Raikage’s body began suffering the backlash of his beyond-the-limit eruption.

• Shazo escaped the Fourth Raikage’s grasp by compressing and detonating the Great Elixir, then charged back into the fight eager to test his strength.
• Shazo and the Fourth Raikage exchanged devastating blows, forcing Killer B and Shisui Uchiha to stop fighting and watch from a distance.
• Killer B expected the Fourth Raikage to win, while Shisui believed Shazo was holding back because he had not bled or used his self-healing ability.
• Shazo’s strength rapidly increased as the Fourth Raikage’s attacks awakened the Kekkei Genkai Ring’s potential, turning the fight in Shazo’s favor.
• The Fourth Raikage realized he could no longer reverse the battle, and his uncontrolled Lightning Release chakra began damaging his body, though he protected his vital organs.

Shazo defeated the Fourth Raikage and forced Kumogakure to accept a ransom for its remaining Cloud Ninja. The peace pact between Konoha and Kumogakure was established, though the Raikage left furious at Shazo’s humiliation and demands.

• Shazo shattered the Fourth Raikage’s Lightning Release Armor with a hurricane of attacks, breaking his ribs and forcing him to collapse, while Shazo’s hands were badly injured.
• Killer B shielded the fallen Raikage, but Shisui pinned him with Susanoo as Shazo recovered and the Raikage asked what price would let the Cloud Ninja return home.
• Shazo demanded money for the Cloud Ninja’s time in the Land of Fire and threatened to kill more prisoners when the Raikage questioned compensation for the dead.
• After Shazo repeatedly humiliated him and threatened the lives of the remaining Cloud Ninja, the Fourth Raikage accepted his terms.
• Shazo set compensation at one million ryo per surviving Cloud Ninja, waived payment for those killed, and established a peace pact between Konoha and Kumogakure.

Shazo forced the Fourth Raikage to agree to withdraw Kumogakure from the Land of Fire and pay one million ryo for every surviving ninja. On the way back to Konoha, Shazo and Shisui Uchiha discussed the enormous reparations, with Shisui pointing out that Shazo had no sense of money.

• Shazo and the Fourth Raikage made a verbal pact requiring Kumogakure to leave the Land of Fire by dawn and pay one million ryo for each living Kumogakure ninja.
• The Fourth Raikage accepted the terms, while Killer B despaired and Shisui Uchiha celebrated Konoha’s victory and reparations.
• Shazo reminded the Fourth Raikage to have every Kumogakure ninja out by dawn, then left with Shisui Uchiha.
• Shisui Uchiha asked how much money Konoha would receive, and Shazo estimated over seven billion ryo.
• Shisui Uchiha explained that Shazo had misunderstood mission rewards, but Shazo dismissed the sum as pocket change and teased him for worrying about it.

Shazo reported that he had forced the Cloud Ninja to withdraw and secured over seven billion ryo in compensation, while Hiruzen Sarutobi struggled to understand why the Fourth Raikage had yielded. Mitokado Homura returned to Konoha with Jiraiya, who learned that Hiruzen had been impeached and removed from office.

• Shazo told the Konoha Jonin Assembly that the Fourth Raikage had withdrawn after Shazo defeated him, killed roughly seven hundred Cloud Ninja, and demanded compensation of one million ryo per Cloud Ninja.
• The Konoha Jonin celebrated the agreement, while Hiruzen Sarutobi questioned Shazo and then admitted that he had been wrong about the Fourth Raikage.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared to lose heart, though an inscrutable gleam remained in his lowered eyes.
• Mitokado Homura returned to Konoha with Jiraiya and handed him over to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Jiraiya was startled by Hiruzen's aged appearance and asked whether he had been impeached and removed from office, and Hiruzen confirmed it.

Jiraiya refused Hiruzen Sarutobi’s demand that he become Hokage but agreed to bring Tsunade back as the Fifth Hokage. After Shazo and Shisui Uchiha overheard them planning to visit Naruto, Shazo decided to gather friends to witness Jiraiya’s reaction to Naruto’s former home.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi demanded that Jiraiya either find a suitable Hokage or take the position himself, and Jiraiya rejected the offer while proposing Shazo.
• Hiruzen refused to appoint seventeen-year-old Shazo and persuaded Jiraiya to bring Tsunade back to become the Fifth Hokage.
• Jiraiya asked about Naruto Uzumaki, learned he was thriving at the Ninja Academy, and agreed to visit him with Hiruzen.
• Shazo and Shisui Uchiha listened to the conversation through infrared surveillance and inferred that Hiruzen wanted to use Naruto’s home to influence Jiraiya.
• Shazo explained that Hiruzen planned to take Jiraiya to Naruto’s old, miserable home, then invited Shisui to gather Naruto, Izumi, Tenten, and Kakashi to watch.

Naruto removed his “idiot Naruto” mask and confronted Hiruzen Sarutobi about the neglect and mistreatment he had endured. He revealed that he had found a loving adoptive family and learned that Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki were his parents.

• Shazo sent Naruto, Tenten, Uchiha Izumi, and Kakashi Hatake to watch Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya inspect Naruto’s old apartment.
• Jiraiya grew angry at Naruto’s bare room and argued with Hiruzen about how Naruto had been treated.
• Naruto arrived in his “idiot Naruto” persona, then removed his mask and introduced himself to Jiraiya and Hiruzen as the real Naruto Uzumaki.
• Naruto listed the poisoning, neglect, deprivation, surveillance, and unfair restrictions he had suffered under Hiruzen’s care.
• Naruto told Hiruzen that he had a loving adoptive family and said his older brother had helped him grow normally.
• Naruto revealed that Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki were his parents and that he had met their chakra spirits inside the seal.

Naruto Uzumaki rejected Hiruzen Sarutobi’s attempt to have Jiraiya become his teacher and demanded his parents’ inheritance instead. Hiruzen could not return Minato Namikaze’s spent money or the Uzumaki Sealing Techniques that had been dispersed and absorbed into the Sarutobi Clan.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi recognized Naruto’s childhood mischief, then questioned him about his big brother and sister.
• Naruto named Shazo and Uchiha Izumi and warned Hiruzen not to try to deal with Shazo.
• Hiruzen pleaded with Naruto and asked Jiraiya to stay in Konoha as his teacher, but Naruto accused him of trying to undermine Shazo’s influence.
• Naruto demanded Minato Namikaze’s money and Kushina Uzumaki’s Sealing Techniques, prompting Jiraiya to angrily ask Hiruzen where they were.
• Hiruzen hesitated because he had spent Minato’s inheritance on Konoha’s expenses and allowed Kushina’s Sealing Techniques to be dispersed, with the most essential portion held by the Sarutobi Clan.