Chapter Summaries

Neji and Hinata led the Hyuga Branch Family in demanding change after Naruto removed Neji’s Caged Bird. Hiashi and the elders tried to contain the challenge, but Neji confronted Hiashi over treating freedom from the curse as a punishable offense.

• Hinata chose to accompany Neji to confront the Hyuga leadership and support changing the clan’s system.
• Neji told a Branch Family ninja that Naruto had removed his Caged Bird, prompting the ninja to gather the clan members.
• The Branch Family crowded into the council hall, voiced support for Neji, and learned that Naruto had helped him.
• A Hyuga elder arrived and offered to promote Neji to the Main Family, hoping to preserve the Caged Bird system.
• Hiashi said the Main Family would not hold Neji accountable for removing the mark, and Neji challenged him for calling its removal a mistake.

Neji demanded that the Hyuga Clan abolish the Caged Bird system, and Naruto arrived at the council hall after Hinata openly supported Neji. Hiruzen Sarutobi was brought in behind Naruto, leaving the clan leaders facing the protest without their former show of authority.

• Neji rejected promotion to the Main Family and called for the Caged Bird curse marks to be removed and the unequal clan rules abolished.
• A Hyuga elder claimed the Caged Bird might prevent clan members from sacrificing others to awaken a higher Byakugan form, but Neji argued that everyone should share that burden.
• When an elder attacked him, Neji swiftly struck him down, and Branch Family members began chanting for the Caged Bird's removal.
• Hiashi tried to delay a decision and ordered Hinata to leave, but Hinata declared her support for Neji and said the Hyuga Clan's fate needed to change.
• Naruto appeared at the entrance and confirmed the proposal was his idea, while the messenger returned with Hiruzen Sarutobi, who stood alone behind Naruto.

Naruto confronted Hiruzen Sarutobi before the Hyuga Clan, accusing him of repeatedly sacrificing innocents and defending the Caged Bird system through fear. He argued that a Hokage should protect Konoha’s people and confront threats rather than appease them, leaving Hiruzen unable to answer as the gathered clans watched.

• The Hyuga elders told Naruto and Hiruzen Sarutobi how the day’s conflict had unfolded, and Hiruzen urged Naruto to preserve the Caged Bird system as protection for the Branch Family.
• Naruto accused Hiruzen of enabling past tragedies, including Yakushi Nonō’s exploitation, the Konoha White Fang’s death, the Uchiha massacre, and Hizashi’s sacrifice to Kumogakure.
• Hiruzen defended his choices as necessary for Konoha’s stability, arguing that removing the Caged Bird would expose the Branch Family to danger and that sacrificing one person could save many.
• As Neji, Hinata, the Hyuga clansmen, and Konoha clan leaders listened, Naruto said he would protect the Hyuga by punishing anyone who tried to seize their Byakugan and by working to end the wars between villages.
• Naruto argued that Konoha should strengthen its defenses and resist aggressors instead of trading innocent lives for temporary peace, then pointed out that Kumogakure had not started a war after receiving Hizashi’s corpse.
• Hiruzen trembled with rage and insisted that sacrificing a few to save many was the way a Hokage should think, but Naruto continued condemning his treatment of the Hyuga and Uchiha clans.

Naruto won the clans’ support to become Fifth Hokage after denouncing Konoha’s sacrificial politics and persuading the Hyuga Clan to abolish the Caged Bird system. In a private confrontation above Kage Rock, Naruto exposed Hiruzen Sarutobi’s past failures, and Hiruzen fatally stabbed himself as Naruto left.

• Naruto condemned leaders who sacrificed individuals for the greater good and promised to reform the shinobi world.
• Nara Shikaku, Choza Akimichi, Yamanaka Inoichi, other clans, Sasuke, and Kakashi Hatake declared support for Naruto Uzumaki as Fifth Hokage.
• Hyuga Hiashi pledged the Hyuga Clan’s support and abolished the Caged Bird system, announcing that the curse marks would be removed.
• Naruto agreed to speak privately with Hiruzen Sarutobi and took him above Kage Rock, where he challenged Hiruzen’s accusations and revealed how he had manipulated public anger after the Nine-Tails incident.
• Naruto told Hiruzen that he would become Fifth Hokage the next day and left him alone with the kunai; Hiruzen then stabbed himself in the heart.

Jiraiya visited the Land of Waves and discovered that Dawn Company had transformed the country through trade, public services, and a new kind of education. After hearing a teacher describe ninja as people who should use their abilities to build and protect, he left beginning to accept Naruto’s vision.

• Jiraiya heard a boatman explain how Dawn Company had lifted the blockade and brought work, schools, and hospitals to the Land of Waves.
• Jiraiya saw the country’s clean port, busy streets, affordable goods, and a clinic where people from different ninja villages treated civilians.
• Jiraiya secretly observed a Ninja Academy lesson in which a teacher taught that ninja should be people who use knowledge and strength to serve others, not tools of war.
• Jiraiya listened as the teacher described a future of peace built through healing, controlling floods, reclaiming land, and creating homes.
• Jiraiya reflected on the lesson, recognized it as the ideal Naruto wanted to promote, and left with his steps heavy as he began to accept it.

Jiraiya saw how the Dawn Company used Ninjutsu to support construction and provide education and healthcare in the Land of Waves, then heard Zabuza explain the company’s plans and finances. He realized Naruto was serious about creating a unified nation, though achieving it could require a coordinated assault on shinobi villages and ruling elites, and Zabuza asked whether he accepted Naruto’s ideals.

• Jiraiya watched Tazuna direct Dawn Company shinobi as they used Ninjutsu to help build a construction site.
• Zabuza met Jiraiya and explained that Naruto had anticipated his arrival and asked him to answer Jiraiya’s questions.
• Zabuza described the Dawn Company’s schools, taxes, and costly public services, along with its seafood cold-chain business as a source of income.
• Zabuza said Naruto planned to defeat several countries’ shinobi villages and remove their daimyo and nobles in a coordinated campaign.
• Jiraiya reconsidered Naruto’s ideals after seeing the changes in the Land of Waves, and Zabuza asked if he would accept them.

Jiraiya listened as Zabuza explained why he followed Naruto and came to accept Naruto’s plan to transform the ninja world. Zabuza then showed him a factory developing mass-produced weapons, leaving Jiraiya with a view of the military technology behind Naruto’s ambitions.

• Zabuza told Jiraiya that he followed Naruto to end the brutal system and wars that had shaped the ninja world.
• Jiraiya reflected on the suffering he had witnessed and decided Naruto’s approach might be worth trying.
• Zabuza led Jiraiya to a factory where workers were building weapons using technology from the Sky Ninja Village.
• Zabuza showed Jiraiya a kunai launcher and described plans to improve it and develop more advanced chakra weapons.
• Jiraiya watched the weapon tests and recognized them as part of Naruto’s plan to unify the ninja world.

After Sunagakure surrendered to Konoha, Naruto visited Gaara in the hospital and revealed that his mother’s love had been protecting him through the sand. Gaara accepted Naruto’s invitation to help change the shinobi world, leaving the two of them allied.

• Sunagakure discovered that Rasa and his guards had been killed, then sent an envoy to Konoha to surrender unconditionally.
• Naruto, newly appointed Fifth Hokage, visited Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro in the hospital.
• Naruto threw a kunai at Gaara, and Gaara’s sand shield blocked it; Naruto explained he had wanted to show that the protective power was not Shukaku’s.
• Naruto told Gaara that his mother, Karura, had left her love in the sand to protect him, and that Temari and Kankuro cared about him too.
• Naruto invited Gaara to help create a world where Jinchuriki and other shinobi were not treated as tools.
• Gaara took Naruto’s hand, accepting his invitation without speaking.

Gaara returned to Sunagakure with the defeated delegation and began carrying out Naruto’s plan to become Kazekage. He secured Chiyo’s conditional support by offering information about the Third Kazekage’s disappearance and her grandson Sasori, then revealed Sasori’s crimes and ties to Akatsuki.

• Gaara recalled Naruto’s plan for him to become Kazekage, reform Sunagakure, and eventually help bring the Land of Wind into Naruto’s future empire.
• Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro returned to Sunagakure, where Baki left to attend a high-level meeting and Gaara went to seek Chiyo’s support.
• Gaara asked Chiyo to help him become Kazekage and offered information about the Third Kazekage’s disappearance and Sasori in exchange.
• Gaara told Chiyo that Naruto promised a future without Jinchuriki, but Chiyo warned him that the promise risked Sunagakure’s future.
• Chiyo agreed to verify Gaara’s information before committing her support, and Gaara began telling her about Sasori’s assassination of the Third Kazekage, Akatsuki, and spies within Sunagakure.

Baki delivered Naruto Uzumaki’s decision to accept Sunagakure’s surrender without compensation or territorial concessions, crediting Gaara with securing the favorable terms. Meanwhile, Naruto prepared for Itachi and Kisame’s arrival, then took Orochimaru to the Land of Whirlpools to seek the strength of someone sealed there for centuries.

• Three days earlier, Naruto told Baki he would accept Sunagakure’s surrender and preserve the alliance without compensation because of Gaara, on the condition that Baki publicize Gaara’s role.
• Gaara asked Baki to help him become Kazekage, and Baki agreed after judging that the choice could benefit Sunagakure.
• Baki reported Naruto’s offer to Sunagakure’s leaders, who accepted it despite doubts about Gaara’s supposed efforts to secure the terms.
• Naruto recruited Katasuke to study and improve the Sky Ninja weapons technology he had brought back from the Land of Waves, and passed Sasuke strategies for confronting Itachi.
• Naruto used the Flying Thunder God Technique to take Orochimaru to the Land of Whirlpools, explaining that he needed the strength of someone sealed there for several hundred years.

Naruto and Orochimaru traveled to the ruins of the Land of Whirlpools, where Naruto uncovered a hidden sealing platform and freed Uchiha Hikari, a powerful woman imprisoned for centuries. Hikari awakened and demanded to know who Naruto and Orochimaru were.

• Naruto explained that he had discovered Uchiha Hikari during his explorations through time and intended to make her one of his companions in unifying the ninja world.
• Naruto sent a Shadow Clone to clear out the rogue ninja and wandering samurai occupying the ruins while he and Orochimaru continued into Uzushio Village.
• Naruto revealed a hidden underground sealing platform that Orochimaru had never found.
• Naruto told Orochimaru that the Sarutobi, Senju, and Uzumaki clans had sealed Uchiha Hikari centuries earlier because of her power.
• Naruto released Hikari from her stone coffin and laid her on the ground.
• Hikari awoke, looked at Naruto and Orochimaru, and asked, "Who... are you?"

Uchiha Hikari attacked Naruto and Orochimaru after learning Naruto was an Uzumaki, then fled when Orochimaru blocked her fire technique. Naruto explained that centuries had passed and shared his plans for ending war; Hikari agreed to test him in a fight, and they began exchanging blows.

• Orochimaru introduced himself and Naruto, prompting Hikari to attack them with the Great Dragon Fire Technique.
• Orochimaru summoned Triple Rashomon to block the flames, and Hikari escaped under cover of smoke.
• Naruto sensed Hikari nearby and explained that the Warring States Era had ended over sixty years ago and she had been sealed for several centuries.
• Naruto told Hikari that ninja villages still waged wars and described his goal of ending warfare so ninja could live with dignity.
• Hikari agreed to fight Naruto to judge his character, awakened her Mangekyō Sharingan, and charged at him with a kunai.
• Naruto met Hikari's attack, and the two began an intense Taijutsu exchange as Orochimaru watched.

Naruto defeated Uchiha Hikari in a fierce battle and explained that he wanted to unite the world and reform the ninja system. After learning her name and inviting her to help build that future, Hikari agreed to go with him.

• Uchiha Hikari used Tsukuyomi, but Naruto and the Nine-Tails broke the Genjutsu in an instant.
• Uchiha Hikari and Naruto fought with Susanoo and the Nine-Tails' complete form until her exhausted Susanoo dispersed and she admitted defeat.
• Naruto gave Hikari food and water, and she asked why he needed her despite his overwhelming strength.
• Naruto described his plan to establish a unified country and create a peaceful world where ninjas could live freely.
• Naruto told Hikari her name was Uchiha Hikari, and she accepted his invitation to join him and see the future he envisioned.

Jiraiya witnessed Dawn Shipping’s newly trained Sky Ninja assemble into an aerial force and learned they were beginning a mission to reclaim the Land of Whirlpools. Meanwhile, Naruto and Uchiha Hikari arrived at Otogakure with Orochimaru, where they met the village’s core members.

• Jiraiya watched Dawn Shipping’s Sky Ninja launch from ironclad ships and form an aerial force after only three months of training.
• A port official told Jiraiya that the Sky Ninja would help Dawn Shipping and civilians from the Land of Waves and the Land of the Sea reclaim the Land of Whirlpools and build settlements there.
• Naruto and Uchiha Hikari entered Otogakure with Orochimaru, whose followers were surprised and hostile when they saw him defer to the visitors.
• Orochimaru introduced Naruto and Uchiha Hikari to Sakon, Ukon, Kidomaru, Jirobo, Tayuya, Dosu, Zaku, and Kin Tsuchi.
• Kabuto Yakushi remained with Konoha’s medical corps to serve the village under Naruto’s arrangements.

Naruto took control of Otogakure and ordered Orochimaru to release his test subjects and redirect his research. After Uchiha Hikari effortlessly defeated the Sound Four, the village’s ninja submitted to Naruto.

• Naruto ordered Orochimaru to free his test subjects and focus his research on practical technologies rather than human experiments and Forbidden Jutsu.
• Sakon and Ukon challenged Naruto’s authority, and Orochimaru rebuked them before explaining that his subordinates needed to witness Naruto’s strength.
• Naruto offered the Sound ninja a chance to leave or challenge him, and the Sound Four activated their Cursed Seal Level Two states.
• Uchiha Hikari stepped in and defeated Tayuya, Kidomaru, Jirobo, and Sakon and Ukon in seconds.
• The Sound ninja, including the injured Sound Four, knelt or crouched in submission to Naruto, while Orochimaru quietly accepted the change in leadership.

Naruto reorganized Otogakure into a research base for his plans to seize the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Hot Water, then cured Kimimaro’s bloodline disease. Naruto left Otogakure with Uchiha Hikari, while Orochimaru prepared to strengthen the village and its forces.

• Naruto ordered Orochimaru to abandon his scattered bases and reform Otogakure as a research center, with abundant funding and access to scientific talent.
• Orochimaru outlined Otogakure’s role in taking the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Hot Water and blocking Kumogakure’s advance.
• Naruto used medical Chakra to treat Kimimaro and gave Orochimaru a prescription expected to cure Kimimaro’s bloodline disease within a month.
• Kimimaro thanked Naruto after feeling his pain ease, and Naruto said he could send Kimimaro on the mission to take control of the two countries.
• Naruto and Uchiha Hikari vanished from Otogakure, and Orochimaru ordered Kimimaro to release the test subjects at the other bases and recruit willing ones.

Naruto helped Uchiha Hikari choose new clothes and disguise items before their journey continued. In Sunagakure, Chiyo verified Gaara’s intelligence about Sasori and the Third Kazekage, agreed to support Gaara’s bid to become Fifth Kazekage, and a masked figure entered the Land of Wind.

• Naruto took Uchiha Hikari to a clothing store in the Land of Rice Fields, where she chose a new outfit and happily accepted a gray hooded coat and fox mask from him.
• Chiyo received intelligence confirming Sasori had joined Akatsuki and likely fought the Third Kazekage before he disappeared.
• Gaara told Chiyo he wanted to become Fifth Kazekage, and she agreed that she and Ebizo would support him.
• Gaara asked Chiyo and Ebizo to stay silent while he dealt with opponents to his candidacy and to publicly support him when he took the position.
• A mysterious figure wearing a gray overcoat and fox mask entered the Land of Wind.

Obito urged Pain to advance Akatsuki’s plans after Naruto became Konoha’s Fifth Hokage and mastered the Nine-Tails, but Pain wanted more intelligence before acting. Pain ordered Itachi and Kisame to scout Konoha, leaving Itachi to prepare for a mission that also offered a chance to check on Sasuke.

• Obito told the Deva Path that Naruto’s rise as a perfect Jinchuriki and Hokage made Akatsuki’s existing plan more dangerous.
• The Deva Path argued that Akatsuki lacked the funds to move ahead and proposed gathering intelligence on Konoha first.
• The Deva Path used the Astral Projection Technique to summon Akatsuki’s members and explain Naruto’s rise and the reported death of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• The Deva Path assigned Itachi and Kisame to investigate Naruto and Konoha’s current situation.
• Itachi accepted the mission, wary of Naruto’s power and eager to learn what had happened in Konoha and how Sasuke was doing.

Naruto met Jiraiya in the Land of Waves and recruited him to help expand the new nation by persuading Hoshigakure and finding Tsunade. Jiraiya agreed, then learned he would join Naruto in the Land of Rain after completing the missions.

• Jiraiya reflected on the Land of Waves’ transformation and the hope Naruto’s work had given its people.
• Naruto arrived and told Jiraiya that his vision for a unified nation was taking shape in the Land of Waves.
• Naruto asked Jiraiya to persuade Hoshigakure to end Akahoshi’s rule, explaining the Peacock Secret Technique’s side effects and the village’s history.
• Naruto said Jiraiya would have two helpers: a woman due to meet him from Sunagakure and Tsunade, whom he was to find near Tanzaku Town.
• Jiraiya accepted the missions, and Naruto said they would travel to the Land of Rain afterward before disappearing.

Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki traveled toward Konoha and found its roads, construction projects, and farmland transformed by the Fifth Hokage’s policies. In the Hokage’s office, Naruto dismissed the Daimyo’s requests for a meeting and prepared to visit the research department.

• Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki noticed the newly widened road and wondered how Konoha had changed under its Fifth Hokage.
• Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki watched Konoha ninja use Earth Release to build roads and buildings, then continued toward the village.
• Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki saw a Konoha ninja use Water Release to irrigate terraced fields, leaving Itachi worried about Sasuke’s situation.
• Nara Shikaku told Naruto’s Shadow Clone that the Daimyo had again asked to meet, but Naruto said to ignore him.
• Naruto’s Shadow Clone considered the Daimyo’s uncertainty about his plans and the possibility of advancing the elimination plan if the Daimyo contacted other villages.
• Naruto left the Hokage’s seat to visit the research department and check on its progress.