Chapter Summaries

Namikaze Minato sparred with Uchiha Dan in an underground training room, showing off his growing skill with clones, traps, and the Rasengan. After the fight, Dan revealed that Orochimaru had been secretly watching them, and Minato met him for the first time.

• Uchiha Dan sparred with Namikaze Minato and praised his improved clones, ninjutsu, and Rasengan.
• Minato landed several Rasengan attacks, but Dan evaded them and stopped Minato’s final strike by disrupting his Chakra.
• Dan demonstrated how he could briefly walk through the air without using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Dan called Orochimaru out of the passage, revealing that he had watched the spar while testing his Chakra Concealment Technique.
• Orochimaru introduced himself to Minato, who greeted him formally while quietly testing his personality.

Uchiha Dan discussed Hiruzen Sarutobi’s plans with Orochimaru, then showed Namikaze Minato the Forbidden Jutsu Research Lab and warned him about dangerous techniques. He planned to take Minato to Shikkotsu Forest that night to test his aptitude for Senjutsu.

• Orochimaru told Uchiha Dan that Hiruzen Sarutobi had asked him to report on Dan’s actions and his interactions with Tsunade.
• Uchiha Dan said he had prepared more gifts for Hiruzen Sarutobi and explained that Namikaze Minato was clever enough to hear their plans.
• Orochimaru described the improved Stealth Technique and its limits as a surveillance tool.
• Uchiha Dan brought Namikaze Minato to the Forbidden Jutsu Research Lab, where he said it held about fifty techniques and warned Minato to consult him before learning any.
• Uchiha Dan said he would take Namikaze Minato to Shikkotsu Forest that night to test his talent for Senjutsu, prompting Minato to ask whether Senjutsu made a major difference.

Uchiha Dan began training Namikaze Minato in Shikkotsu Forest Senjutsu and prepared him to master the Flying Thunder God Technique, while Tsunade resumed her work at Konoha Hospital. In Kumogakure, the Third Raikage sent Hamed to Konoha to ask for Tsunade’s hand in marriage.

• Uchiha Dan explained Senjutsu’s benefits to Namikaze Minato and took him to Shikkotsu Forest, where Minato proved able to learn its Senjutsu.
• Tsunade felt discouraged that Uchiha Dan and Namikaze Minato could learn Shikkotsu Forest Senjutsu while she could not.
• Uchiha Dan planned to train Namikaze Minato in Senjutsu and the Flying Thunder God Technique, eventually making him powerful enough to succeed Tsunade as Hokage.
• Tsunade returned to Konoha Hospital and took over much of the Medical Department’s work, leaving Utatane Koharu unable to stop her.
• The Third Raikage ordered Hamed to go to Konoha and ask Tsunade to marry him.
• Hamed set out for Konoha with guards, and a messenger hawk carried the Third Raikage’s request for a visit ahead of them.

Hiruzen Sarutobi deflected blame for the Land of Whirlpools incident onto Shimura Danzō while public concern shifted to Kumogakure’s envoy and a possible war. Meanwhile, Uchiha Dan and Orochimaru pursued research that could let shinobi develop nonhereditary Kekkei Genkai, with Tsunade watching Dan in the laboratory.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi connected Tsunade and Uzumaki Mito to the rumors against him and considered how to respond to Kumogakure’s marriage proposal and visit request.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi announced that Shimura Danzō’s false intelligence had caused the Land of Whirlpools crisis, removed him as Hokage Assistant, and made him accept public blame.
• Konoha’s villagers shifted their attention to Kumogakure’s envoy and a possible war, while many began blaming Tsunade for provoking the crisis.
• Uchiha Dan and Orochimaru combined their research on Chakra Nature Transformation with studies of test subjects to seek a scientific way to unlock nonhereditary Kekkei Genkai.
• Orochimaru kept Uchiha Dan in the laboratory to settle on a research direction, while Tsunade watched him adoringly.

Uchiha Dan explained to Tsunade and Orochimaru why Sarutobi Hiruzen’s public-relations tactics would ultimately fail, since Tsunade’s actions could withstand scrutiny while Hiruzen’s administration relied on secrets and slander. As they walked home, Dan predicted Hiruzen would use Kumogakure’s demands to portray himself as a peacemaker and direct Konoha’s anger at Tsunade.

• Tsunade brought Uchiha Dan news of Sarutobi Hiruzen’s latest moves, and Dan praised Hiruzen for learning to wield public opinion.
• Dan told Tsunade and Orochimaru that the truth would favor Tsunade because her deeds could be made public while Hiruzen’s administration had shady secrets to hide.
• Orochimaru suggested that stubborn people who continued believing rumors should be eliminated and used as test subjects.
• Dan decided not to reveal his planned present for Hiruzen yet, since doing so now could look like deliberate provocation and harm Tsunade.
• Tsunade asked Dan how they should handle Kumogakure, and he predicted Hiruzen would grant its envoy excessive concessions before blaming Tsunade for the resulting frustration in Konoha.

Tsunade grew more determined to reform Konoha after Uchiha Dan explained how Hiruzen Sarutobi put the village’s interests at risk. At a tense meeting with the Kumogakure delegation, Hiruzen and Hamed traded accusations over Tsunade’s intervention in the Land of Whirlpools, and Hiruzen asked what Kumogakure wanted.

• Uchiha Dan reassured Tsunade that the worsening conduct of Konoha’s leaders strengthened the need for change, and she resolved to stay true to her convictions.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi sent Mitokado Homura to greet the Kumogakure delegation led by Hamed when it arrived in Konoha three days later.
• At the Hokage Building meeting, Hamed demanded an explanation for Kumogakure’s losses in the Land of Whirlpools, while Hiruzen defended Tsunade’s intervention as aid to Konoha’s ally.
• Hamed accused Hiruzen of breaking his promise not to send troops, and Utatane Koharu angrily reminded Hamed that he was a captive.
• Hiruzen stopped Utatane Koharu from escalating the argument and asked Hamed what Kumogakure wanted.

Hamed pressed Konoha for an explanation over the deaths of Kumogakure shinobi and threatened war, then proposed marrying Tsunade to form an alliance. Hiruzen Sarutobi acted as though he was considering the offer while seeing it as an opportunity to move against Tsunade.

• Hamed threatened that Kumogakure would declare war on Konoha if its explanation proved unsatisfactory, and warned that the other villages might join in.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi recognized that Kumogakure was not truly ready for war and resolved to pursue his plan against Tsunade.
• Hamed offered an alliance, and Utatane Koharu's remark gave him an opening to shame her over Konoha's abandonment of the Uzumaki Clan.
• Hamed revealed that he wanted to marry Tsunade, arguing that the marriage would preserve peace and create a lasting alliance between Kumogakure and Konoha.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi called Tsunade too important to treat casually, and Hamed handed him a scroll offering a generous bride price.

Hiruzen Sarutobi considered Kumogakure’s enormous bride price while planning to shift blame onto Tsunade if she refused. Third Raikage A revealed that the proposal was meant to inflame Konoha’s internal divisions, and Hamed publicized the offer and threatened war if Konoha rejected it.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi read Kumogakure’s generous bride-price offer and pretended to deliberate, intending to let public pressure fall on Tsunade.
• Third Raikage A explained to his secretary that the marriage proposal was designed to provoke a clash between Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tsunade and weaken Konoha without war.
• Third Raikage A examined an anonymous intelligence scroll that had suggested the scheme and wondered who had sent it.
• Hamed spread the proposal and its bride price throughout Konoha, while Hiruzen Sarutobi quietly helped the news travel.
• Hamed declared at a Konoha tavern that Kumogakure would declare war if Konoha rejected the offer.

After Hiruzen Sarutobi’s actions put Tsunade in danger, Uchiha Dan comforted her and confronted the Hokage. Dan left Hiruzen alive, vowing to ruin him and make him suffer before his eventual death.

• Tsunade wrecked Konoha Hospital in a rage, and Uchiha Dan stopped her and took her home to rest.
• Uchiha Dan found Hiruzen Sarutobi spying on his home with the Telescope Technique and confronted him in the Hokage’s office.
• Dan used his Mangekyō Sharingan to prevent Hiruzen from escaping or using ninjutsu, then blamed him for helping endanger Tsunade.
• Hiruzen claimed the Third Raikage had forced his hand, while Dan said Hamed would die in Kumogakure and that he intended to exploit the resulting chaos.
• Dan choked Hiruzen against the wall and promised to disgrace him, turn his allies and families against him, and eventually have Tobirama Senju kill him.

Uchiha Dan used a powerful illusion to torment Hiruzen Sarutobi with a vision of Dan’s plans and set an anchor for future prophecies. He then urged Tsunade to answer Hiruzen’s actions with infighting, confident that Konoha would grow stronger under her leadership.

• Uchiha Dan revealed in an illusion that Hiruzen Sarutobi had acted against him without Tobirama Senju’s orders and threatened to make Hiruzen suffer.
• Uchiha Dan ended the illusion, and Hiruzen Sarutobi woke in his office unable to remember the dream but shaken by an image of unfamiliar Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Uchiha Dan treated his eyes after using his Nightmare genjutsu and planned to use its subconscious anchor to torment Hiruzen with visions of a terrible future.
• Tsunade told Uchiha Dan she believed Kumogakure was trying to divide Konoha, and Dan agreed before proposing infighting in response to Hiruzen’s actions.
• Uchiha Dan reassured Tsunade that Konoha would prosper under her leadership and began telling her what to do next.

Tsunade confronted Hiruzen Sarutobi over his handling of Kumogakure’s marriage proposal, while Torifu Akimichi’s public support helped blunt the damage to her reputation. Hiruzen planned to use Hamed and a possible Kumogakure attack to discredit Tsunade and crush her supporters, but an unexpected event disrupted his plans before they began.

• Tsunade confronted Hiruzen Sarutobi, who defended asking her to consider Hamed’s marriage proposal and urged her to put Konoha’s interests first.
• Torifu Akimichi publicly warned that Hiruzen might sacrifice anyone for his own interests, shifting public opinion and weakening Hiruzen’s plans.
• Some Konoha residents attacked Uchiha Dan, while rumors spread that Hiruzen was trying to undermine Tsunade or that Kumogakure was sowing discord.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi planned to use Hamed and a Kumogakure attack to blame Tsunade for Konoha’s losses, regain public support, and purge her allies.
• Before Hiruzen’s plan could begin in earnest, an unexpected event left him devastated.

A man under an Uchiha Clan genjutsu publicly confessed to Biwako Sarutobi, using Hiruzen Sarutobi’s words to defend his actions. Uchiha Fukuyama recognized the genjutsu and realized the incident offered the opportunity he had been waiting for.

• A middle-aged man gathered a crowd outside a teahouse and announced that he loved Biwako Sarutobi and wanted her to leave Hiruzen Sarutobi for him.
• The man cited Hiruzen Sarutobi’s remarks to Tsunade and promised to treat Shinnosuke Sarutobi like his own son.
• Biwako Sarutobi and her friend protested, and Biwako ordered the Police Force to arrest the man.
• The man claimed that the Third supported him, prompting Uchiha Fukuyama to stop his subordinates.
• Uchiha Fukuyama detected an Uchiha Clan genjutsu on the man and connected the incident to Tsunade’s humiliation the previous day.

Uchiha Fukuyama used a public love confession directed at Biwako Sarutobi to confront Hiruzen Sarutobi over his treatment of Tsunade. Hiruzen realized Fukuyama was challenging him and suspected the Uchiha Clan was secretly supporting Tsunade.

• Uchiha Fukuyama ordered the Police Force to surround the man confessing to Biwako Sarutobi but not arrest him, then went to consult Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Uchiha Fukuyama reported the incident to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who angrily demanded to know why the man had not been arrested.
• Uchiha Fukuyama cited Hiruzen Sarutobi's rules and his words to Tsunade to argue that the civilian should not be punished for confessing his feelings.
• Hiruoka Sarutobi accused Uchiha Fukuyama of rebellion after Fukuyama pointed out that Hiruzen had deliberately humiliated Tsunade.

Uchiha Fukuyama gambled on Tsunade and Uchiha Dan, seeing them as the Uchiha Clan’s best chance to avoid extinction or defection. After Fukuyama ordered the Police Force to arrest the man who publicly confessed to Biwako, rumors spread through Konoha and further damaged Hiruzen Sarutobi’s reputation, leaving the village waiting to see what he would do.

• Uchiha Fukuyama reflected on the Uchiha Clan’s bleak future and decided to bet on Tsunade and Uchiha Dan, trusting Dan’s abilities and his Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Uchiha Fukuyama to bring in the man who confessed to Biwako, and Fukuyama later returned to the scene.
• Uchiha Fukuyama told the Police Force to arrest the man under Hiruzen Sarutobi’s orders, while the man declared that his confession was meant to defend Lord Tsunade and condemn Hiruzen’s treatment of her.
• Rumors about Hiruzen Sarutobi’s anger and his alleged plan to punish critics spread through Konoha, turning more residents against him and making the village anxious about his next move.

Uchiha Fukuyama apologized to Uchiha Dan for the clan’s role in his expulsion and revealed that he had known Dan was framed. He then warned Dan that Hiruzen Sarutobi was deliberately worsening the Uchiha Clan’s position, and began explaining how Hiruzen had blocked reforms to the Police Force.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi’s release of the man who confessed failed to restore people’s trust, and he vowed to make Uchiha Fukuyama suffer.
• Uchiha Fukuyama met Uchiha Dan in secret and apologized for allowing him to be expelled from the Uchiha Clan.
• Uchiha Fukuyama admitted that Kagami Uchiha had framed Dan and pressured him to accept the accusations, though he had secretly protected Dan afterward.
• Uchiha Fukuyama recounted his recent confrontation with Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Dan cautioned him against provoking the Hokage.
• Uchiha Fukuyama said Hiruzen had rejected his proposed Police Force reforms and suggested that Hiruzen was deliberately suppressing the Uchiha Clan.

Uchiha Fukuyama sought Uchiha Dan’s help to save the Uchiha Clan from the hostility he believed Hiruzen Sarutobi had cultivated against them. Dan demanded the clan’s wealth and property deeds as collateral, and Fukuyama agreed before the two discussed the clan’s options.

• Uchiha Fukuyama told Uchiha Dan that Hiruzen Sarutobi had rejected his proposed Police Force reforms and deliberately fueled hatred toward the Uchiha Clan.
• Uchiha Fukuyama pledged the Uchiha Clan’s support for Lord Tsunade if Dan helped them avoid destruction.
• Uchiha Dan questioned whether Fukuyama might be secretly cooperating with Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Fukuyama asked what would prove his sincerity.
• Uchiha Dan demanded the deeds to the clan’s properties and all funds not needed for clan operations, promising to return them if Fukuyama had been honest.
• Uchiha Fukuyama agreed and handed over the first batch of wealth and deeds.
• Uchiha Dan and Uchiha Fukuyama discussed the clan’s short-, medium-, and long-term options for two hours, leaving Fukuyama confident about their prospects.

Hamed tried to vent his humiliation over Tsunade rejecting him by provoking her fiancé, Uchiha Dan, into a fight. Dan and Tsunade baited him in public, but Hamed held back, leaving Dan’s plan to help Tsunade escape Hiruzen Sarutobi’s trap and set his Great Prophecy Technique in motion unresolved.

• After learning Tsunade and Uchiha Dan were out shopping together, Hamed decided to provoke Dan and hurried to confront them.
• Hamed pretended to share a close history with Tsunade, but Dan mocked his attempt to drive a wedge between them.
• Tsunade reminded Hamed that she had defeated him and ordered him to return to Kumogakure, then dismissed his threat of war.
• Hamed insulted Dan’s blindness and challenged him to fight, while Dan answered with jokes and refused to take the bait directly.
• Dan revealed that he and Tsunade had appeared to provoke Hamed as part of a plan connected to Hiruzen Sarutobi’s trap and the Great Prophecy Technique.

Uchiha Dan accepted Hamed’s duel after wagering that Kumogakure would not attack Konoha for two years if he won. Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō grew alarmed and headed to the eastern training ground to see the fight.

• Hamed challenged Uchiha Dan to a duel, and Dan agreed to bet that Kumogakure would avoid war with Konoha for two years if he won.
• Hamed accepted the wager, while Dan offered only to admit Hamed was impressive if he lost.
• Hamed questioned why Tsunade had not stopped the duel and worried that Dan might be stronger than the intelligence reports suggested.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi heard about the duel, experienced a troubling vision of Dan revealing his Sharingan, and set out for the eastern training ground.
• Shimura Danzō realized he had secretly sent intelligence to Kumogakure to worsen tensions between Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tsunade, then went to watch Dan fight Hamed.

Uchiha Dan faced Hamed in a crowded training ground, using the Flying Thunder God Technique to evade the young Kumogakure fighter’s attacks. After Hamed angrily accused him of only dodging, Uchiha Dan began removing his eye bandages to end the fight.

• Orochimaru, Namikaze Minato, Uzumaki Kushina, and the Divine Tree arrived early to watch Uchiha Dan fight Hamed, and Minato insisted that his brother was invincible.
• Anbu Ninja surrounded the training ground as crowds gathered, while Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi worried that Uchiha Dan might be hiding his true abilities.
• At Hiruzen Sarutobi’s signal, Hamed entered Lightning Release Chakra Mode and attacked Uchiha Dan at high speed.
• Uchiha Dan repeatedly evaded Hamed with the Flying Thunder God Technique, frustrating Hamed after a minute of unsuccessful attacks.
• Uchiha Dan told Hamed he had been dodging to let him lose with dignity, then began untying the bandages around his eyes.

Uchiha Dan revealed that his Mangekyō Sharingan had recovered and summoned the Perfect Susanoo, shocking the gathered Konoha and Uchiha observers. Hamed lost his nerve before the fight began, but Dan showed no intention of letting him go unharmed.

• Uchiha Dan removed his bandages and revealed his restored Mangekyō Sharingan, confirming Hiruzen Sarutobi's vision of the scene.
• Uchiha Dan formed a nearly two-hundred-meter-tall Perfect Susanoo, stunning the crowd and frightening Hamed.
• The Uchiha onlookers regretted driving Uchiha Dan from the clan, while Uchiha Fukuyama celebrated his power and Uchiha Fugaku vowed to surpass him.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi despaired at having let Uchiha Dan grow powerful and recognized that Dan's support strengthened Tsunade's bid for the Hokage position.
• Hamed nearly broke down at the sight of the Perfect Susanoo, but Uchiha Dan prepared to make him pay for challenging him.