Recaps

Minato protected his students from Hiruzen’s attempts to recruit them while Hiruzen and Shikaku uncovered the Uchiha’s growing influence and weighed their next moves. Danzo, Koharu, and Homura allied against Hiruzen and killed Shin'nosuke, but Hiruzen began investigating their secret dealings.

• Minato refused Hiruzen’s plan to transfer Obito and Kakashi to Anbu, then explained to Kushina, Rin, Obito, and Kakashi that Hiruzen’s leniency and recruitment efforts served his own political aims.
• Hiruzen asked Shikaku how to handle Shisui and the Uchiha, and Shikaku concluded that Jin had unified the clan and won resources through the conflict.
• Shikaku warned Hiruzen not to retaliate against the Uchiha, while privately telling Koji that Minato was connected to Jin and that the clans might shift toward the Uchiha.
• Koji and Shikaku agreed to plan for opposing sides, with Koji preparing to bring half of the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka clans to the Uchiha.
• Danzo, Koharu, and Homura formed an alliance against Hiruzen, and Arashi helped them lure Shin'nosuke to Hokage Rock, where Danzo killed him.
• Hiruzen summoned his three old allies to discuss the Uchiha, rejected Danzo’s proposal to place Shisui’s group in Root, and grew suspicious of their calm response to Shin'nosuke’s disappearance.
• Hiruzen ordered Anbu to find Shin'nosuke and examine the elders’ movements, then learned that Koharu and Homura had met Danzo and that their forces were deploying covertly.

After learning that Danzo, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Arashi Sarutobi had killed Shin'nosuke Sarutobi, Hiruzen Sarutobi concealed the truth and pushed for a Kage Summit. Uchiha Jin gathered allies, began freeing Hyuga Aya from the Caged Bird, and convinced Nara Kazama that the Ino-Shika-Cho clans should join his side, leaving their leaders to reconsider their plan to divide their forces.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi had Inoichi Yamanaka inspect Arashi Sarutobi’s memories, confirming that Arashi, Danzo, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura had joined forces to kill Shin'nosuke Sarutobi.
• Inoichi Yamanaka and Shikaku Nara agreed that the Ino-Shika-Cho clans would publicly support Hiruzen while Nara Koji led half their members toward the Uchiha after the Stone Village Frontline ended.
• At the Jonin Council, Hiruzen Sarutobi blamed Cloud Village for Shin'nosuke’s death and proposed a Kage Summit, but Uchiha Jin rallied his allies to oppose the motion and called for total victory.
• After the summit motion passed, Uchiha Jin used his speech to attract new allies, and the returned frontline ninjas and village turned their attention to the summit and the Uchiha’s growing forces.
• Uchiha Jin used the Heavenly Domain to remove much of Hyuga Aya’s Caged Bird, then gave her a Signal Flare and promised to finish the remaining seal after recovering his ocular power.
• Hyuga Aya discovered that her Byakugan had no blind spots and kept Jin’s ability secret, while Hizashi Hyuga warned her away from Jin and told her she was to serve Hyuga Yu as a maid.
• Nara Kazama met with Nara Koji, Shikaku Nara, Choza Akimichi, Torifu Akimichi, and Inoichi Yamanaka, who explained their plan to stage a split between the Ino-Shika-Cho clans and win Hiruzen’s confidence.
• After learning the truth about the Nara Clan’s leadership and the clans’ staged suppression, Kazama urged the leaders to join Uchiha Jin, citing Jin’s ability to remove the Caged Bird and the power of his Mangekyo.

Uchiha Jin used the Ino-Shika-Cho clans’ defection and Shisui’s assault on Root to weaken Hiruzen Sarutobi’s position, while the shifting alliances exposed a plot around Shin'nosuke Sarutobi’s death. As Jin planned to exploit the Hokage faction’s divisions, Nara Koji warned him that Rin Nohara was in immediate danger, and Jin headed to Minato Namikaze’s home.

• Nara Kazama led the Ino-Shika-Cho clans in a secret migration to the Uchiha, while Uchiha Jin alerted his allies and Shisui launched a sweep against Root.
• Shisui and the Uchiha destroyed Root strongholds, Danzo retaliated against Anbu, and Hiruzen Sarutobi blamed the chaos on Cloud Village while learning of the Ino-Shika-Cho defection.
• Shikaku Nara helped Hiruzen devise a plan to use Root and Leaf forces against Cloud and Stone, while Danzo agreed to the mission and asked Hiruzen to recruit Uchiha Jin.
• Uchiha Jin questioned Nara Kazama and Nara Koji about the newcomers, accepted half of Ino-Shika-Cho, and heard Koji reveal the Elders’ role in Shin'nosuke Sarutobi’s death.
• Koji proposed secretly killing Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura to widen the rift between Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo, while Jin decided to consolidate the Uchiha’s gains and find someone else to carry out the plan.
• Minato Namikaze asked Jin to help trap the Third Raikage, and Jin agreed while warning Minato that Hiruzen might target Rin Nohara.
• Koji warned Jin that Shikaku Nara might act against Rin that day, and Jin left the Uchiha compound for Minato Namikaze’s home rather than let her be sacrificed.

Uchiha Jin helped Rin Nohara resist the village’s plan to use her as a weapon by confessing to her and persuading her to choose her own future. Rin agreed to become Jin’s girlfriend, while Obito awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan and tensions over Hyuga Aya’s ties to the Uchiha continued.

• Nara Koji revealed the plan to target Rin Nohara, and Uchiha Jin warned Minato Namikaze that Rin might sacrifice herself to prevent trouble for her friends and village.
• When Kakashi and Obito failed to confess their feelings to Rin, Uchiha Jin confessed instead, and Rin asked him for time while reconsidering her plan to die.
• Uchiha Jin pursued Rin openly, and Minato Namikaze agreed to help ensure she would not be hurt when the initial ruse ended.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shikaku Nara abandoned their immediate plan against Rin because Minato, Jin, and Nara Koji made it too dangerous.
• Uchiha Jin challenged Rin’s belief in the village’s ideals, and Rin decided to live, protect herself, and stop thinking about suicide.
• Rin learned that Jin’s confession had begun as part of Minato’s plan, but after Minato told her Jin truly liked her, she agreed to marry him and later accepted his offer to become his girlfriend.
• Obito accepted that Rin had chosen Jin, awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan, and showed Minato his Kamui ability, while Jin gave Rin secret techniques for Obito.
• Hyuga Aya and Hizashi Hyuga prepared to bring Branch Family members toward the Uchiha, while Hiashi Hyuga rejected the Elders’ attempt to exploit Aya’s connection to Jin.