Chapter Summaries

Rasa and Chiyo tried to organize the Three Villages Allied Forces’ retreat after Orochimaru’s appearance revealed that Konoha had surrounded them. Minato Namikaze suddenly attacked Rasa with the Flying Thunder God, leaving his fate uncertain.

• Rasa overwhelmed Uzumaki Kushina with gold-dust attacks, while Chiyo survived Kushina’s assault among her wrecked puppets.
• Chiyo urged Rasa to retreat and offered to cover the rear, but Rasa refused to abandon her and planned to leave a thousand soldiers behind.
• Orochimaru’s summon Manda appeared on Dinghao Mountain, and Chiyo recognized that the allied forces had been trapped.
• Rasa fired Sunagakure’s retreat Signal Flare, prompting Iwagakure and Kumogakure to signal their own withdrawals.
• Rasa used Gold Sand Waterfall Flow to help the allied forces retreat, but Minato Namikaze appeared beside him after a Flying Thunder God Kunai cut his cheek.

Minato Namikaze wounded Rasa, but Chiyo Elder rescued him and withdrew with the Sunagakure forces. Nara Shikaku explained why Konoha should avoid cornering the retreating enemy army, then ordered the defenders to keep inflicting casualties while allowing them a route to escape.

• Chiyo Elder used Father and Mother to rescue the gravely wounded Rasa from Minato Namikaze and withdrew under guard.
• Uzumaki Kushina challenged Nara Shikaku for stopping her and Minato from pursuing their advantage, and he explained that cornering the enemy could provoke a deadly counterattack.
• Nara Shikaku told Uzumaki Kushina that he had recalled her because her strength was needed with the central army, while privately intending to protect the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
• Nara Shikaku ordered Yamanaka Inoichi to have the army eliminate enemy forces and tell Choza’s defenders on First Mountain to retreat while leaving the enemy a route through.

Nara Shikaku planned to turn the Three Villages Allied Forces’ retreat into a chance to cripple Iwagakure, ordering Konoha to target Sunagakure and Kumogakure while preparing to trap Iwagakure at Tenchi Bridge. The Battle of Kikyo Mountain Fortress ended in a decisive Konoha victory, but both sides suffered heavy losses and the war continued.

• Nara Shikaku chose Tenchi Bridge in the Land of Grass as the site to intercept Iwagakure and ordered Jiraiya to send five hundred ninja there.
• Nara Shikaku ordered the Konoha forces to prioritize killing Sunagakure and Kumogakure ninja while allowing Iwagakure ninja to retreat in batches.
• Uchiha and Uchiha Obito led reinforcements from Second Mountain and Third Mountain, helping Konoha stabilize the fighting on First Mountain and overwhelm the allied forces.
• The Battle of Kikyo Mountain Fortress ended with Kumogakure nearly destroyed, Sunagakure badly depleted, and more than half of Iwagakure’s troops killed or wounded.
• Konoha won the battle, but more than two thousand of its six thousand five hundred soldiers died, several hundred were severely wounded, and the war remained unfinished.

In the Hokage Office, Hiruzen and the Konoha F4 reviewed the victory at Kikyo Mountain and debated how to handle the retreating enemy forces. Hiruzen approved Shikaku’s plan to pursue Iwagakure while monitoring Sunagakure, then decided to reinforce the Land of River border and looked toward Danzō.

• Hiruzen presented Shikaku’s report stating that the Three Villages Allied Forces had been repelled and detailing Konoha’s casualties and pursuit plan.
• Danzō demanded that Konoha also pursue the retreating Sunagakure and Kumogakure forces, but fell silent when he sensed Hiruzen’s displeasure.
• Homura and Koharu argued that Konoha lacked the strength to divide its remaining troops and that Shikaku’s plan was sound.
• Homura recommended letting Sunagakure’s survivors withdraw while focusing on the Iwagakure remnants and keeping watch at the Land of River border.
• Hiruzen agreed to monitor Sunagakure and announced that he would send a strong fighter with two hundred men to reinforce the Land of River border, then looked toward Danzō.

Sarutobi Hiruzen forced Shimura Danzō to send Tenzo from Root to guard the Land of River border and transfer him to the Anbu, while offering to forgive Danzō’s role in the assassination plot. He then revealed that the daimyo had given the Uchiha Clan Konoha’s thirty billion liang in funding and would direct all future funding to them.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen asked Shimura Danzō to lead two hundred men to guard the Land of River border, but Danzō refused to leave Konoha before the Fourth Hokage Election.
• Danzō offered to send an experienced Elite Jonin from Root instead, and Sarutobi Hiruzen named Tenzo as the team leader.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered Danzō to transfer Tenzo’s files to the Anbu, remove his restrictions, and accept forgiveness for his past; Danzō agreed.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen told Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu that the daimyo had allocated thirty billion liang to the Uchiha Clan and would direct future funding to them.

Sarutobi Hiruzen told Konoha’s elders that the Daimyo had redirected future funding to the Uchiha Clan and placed Uchiha Shisui among the Twelve Guardian Ninja. He reasoned that the Uchiha had approached the Daimyo to gain leverage against Konoha, leaving the elders angry but without a way to retaliate against the Daimyo.

• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu reacted with alarm when Sarutobi Hiruzen revealed that the Daimyo’s funding would go to the Uchiha Clan, while Shimura Danzō worried about their prior agreement to divide the money.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen explained that he knew little about the deal and revealed that Uchiha Shisui had joined the Daimyo’s Twelve Guardian Ninja.
• Shimura Danzō argued that the Daimyo had chosen the Uchiha Clan because they opposed Konoha, and Sarutobi Hiruzen relayed Tianming’s justification that the Uchiha were Konoha’s founding elders like the Senju Clan.
• Shimura Danzō pointed to the Uchiha Clan’s history of conflict with the Senju and accused the Daimyo of supporting the Uchiha against Konoha.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen concluded that the Uchiha had approached the Daimyo to increase their leverage, and Mitokado Homura developed murderous intent over the lost funding.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu debated how to stop the Uchiha Clan from controlling the daimyo’s three billion liang in aid funds. Hiruzen postponed action until they learned the Uchiha Clan’s intentions, while suspecting they were hedging their support between him and Shimura Danzō.

• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura urged restraining the Uchiha Clan so they could regain influence over the aid money.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen warned that attacking the Uchiha Clan could backfire and destabilize Konoha after the war.
• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu proposed publicizing the Uchiha Clan’s role and using inflated rumors and bills to pressure it.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen asked Shimura Danzō for his view, and Danzō advised finding out the Uchiha Clan’s attitude before deciding what to do.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed to delay action, and wondered whether the Uchiha Clan was negotiating with both him and Shimura Danzō.

Uchiha Jin’s pursuit squad drove Iwagakure’s retreating forces toward Tenchi Bridge while coordinating with the other Konoha squads for an encirclement. Tobi reported that Ōnoki was leading a new Iwagakure army of two thousand toward the Land of Grass, expected to arrive in five hours.

• Uchiha Jin’s squad defeated its fifth group of Iwagakure Ninja, bringing its total kills to more than three hundred.
• Hizashi Hyuga reported forty casualties, and Uchiha Jin ordered ten people to stay behind while the rest continued toward Tenchi Bridge.
• Uchiha Jin told Hizashi Hyuga to contact the other pursuit squads and confirm they could reach their designated positions on time.
• Tobi reported that the Fourth Raikage was gravely injured, while Sunagakure had withdrawn and Kirigakure had abandoned its feint against Konoha.
• Tobi revealed that Ōnoki was leading a new Iwagakure army of two thousand toward the Land of Grass, where it was expected to arrive in five hours.

Uchiha Jin learned that Ōnoki was leading Iwagakure reinforcements toward the Land of Grass and hurried to intercept the fleeing Iwagakure force. The Iwagakure leader rallied his exhausted troops to break through the Konoha defensive line at Tenchi Bridge.

• Uchiha Jin sent Tobi away after questioning him, then led his pursuit squads toward the Land of Grass with Hizashi Hyuga handling the remaining arrangements.
• An exhausted Iwagakure force of a thousand men fled through the forest, encouraged by news that Ōnoki and reinforcements would reach Kannabi Bridge within two hours.
• An Iwagakure reconnaissance squad reported that at least five hundred Konoha Ninja were defending Tenchi Bridge, though the bridge remained intact.
• The Iwagakure leader reassured his troops that they outnumbered the defenders and urged them to fight through the Konoha line to escape.
• The Iwagakure force regained enough resolve to charge toward Tenchi Bridge.

Konoha's garrison defended Tenchi Bridge against a desperate Iwagakure assault, contracting its lines and retreating across the bridge to blunt the enemy's numbers. When four Konoha pursuit squads arrived, the Iwagakure force collapsed, and Minato Namikaze killed the last surviving enemy, ending the battle.

• The Konoha commander ordered his five hundred ninja to hold the Tenchi Bridge position against more than a thousand charging Iwagakure Ninja.
• After the Iwagakure attackers broke into close combat, the commander contracted the defense line and used the bridge to limit their numbers.
• Iwagakure Ninja tried to flank the position along the gorge's cliff faces, so the Konoha force followed its emergency plan and retreated across Tenchi Bridge.
• The Konoha garrison held the far side of the bridge while both forces suffered heavy casualties.
• A signal flare announced the arrival of four Konoha pursuit squads, led by Uchiha, Uchiha Obito, Minato Namikaze, and Orochimaru, and they broke the Iwagakure defensive line.
• Minato Namikaze killed the last Iwagakure Ninja, bringing the war to an end.

After Konoha’s victory at Kikyo Mountain, Kitsuchi escaped, and Uchiha Jin explained that the new Hokage’s postwar challenges all came down to money. The Konoha forces withdrew toward the Land of Fire while Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi stayed behind to finish an experiment.

• Hizashi Hyuga reported that Kitsuchi had escaped with a small unit and fewer than a hundred Iwagakure Ninja had fled through the river.
• Uchiha Jin told the Konoha forces to stop salvaging the battlefield and withdraw with their wounded and fallen comrades before Iwagakure reinforcements arrived.
• Uchiha Jin predicted that Konoha would soon choose a Fourth Hokage who would face major internal repairs and difficult peace negotiations.
• Orochimaru identified Iwagakure as the hardest village to negotiate with and said capturing Kitsuchi would have given Konoha leverage.
• Uchiha Jin said money could solve Konoha’s problems and revealed he had a preliminary plan to address them.
• Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi stayed near Tenchi Bridge to complete an experiment while Uchiha Jin and the others led the assembled Konoha Ninja toward the Land of Fire.

After Ōnoki found Iwagakure’s defeated forces, he withdrew rather than confront Konoha’s reinforcements. Back in Konoha, Uchiha Jin met with Mitokado Homura and Shimura Danzō, then insisted that the Uchiha Clan would manage and allocate the Daimyo’s funding for the village.

• Ōnoki learned that Minato Namikaze, Uchiha Jin, Orochimaru, and another powerful Uchiha had led the battle, so he ordered his army to collect the dead and return to the Land of Earth.
• Three days later, Uchiha Jin and Minato Namikaze returned to Konoha with the surviving Konoha Ninja, while Jin brought the surviving Uchiha Ninja back to their clan land.
• Uchiha Jin went to the Konoha Military Police Force and summoned Uchiha Setsuna, Uchiha Ya, and Uchiha Fugaku to meet him.
• Mitokado Homura and Shimura Danzō arrived to question Uchiha Jin about the Daimyo’s three billion taels in subsidy funds.
• Uchiha Jin said the Uchiha Clan would not only safeguard the funds but also allocate them, including future payments from the Daimyo Manor, angering Mitokado Homura.

Uchiha Jin maneuvered Mitokado Homura into confirming that the Uchiha Clan would safeguard the three billion taels in subsidy funds. When Homura presented compensation and repair budgets for Jin to approve, Jin challenged the procedure because they bore Sarutobi Hiruzen’s signature despite Hiruzen having stepped down as Hokage.

• Mitokado Homura opposed Jin’s attempt to give the Uchiha Clan authority to allocate the subsidy funds, and Jin backed down to redirect the argument toward safeguarding them.
• Homura agreed that the Konoha Military Police Force should secure the funds, allowing Jin to declare that the Uchiha Clan would safeguard all three billion taels.
• Shimura Danzō shifted the meeting to the village’s compensation payments and repairs for damage caused by the Kumogakure Envoy.
• Jin initially accepted the budgets in principle but pointed out that Sarutobi Hiruzen had signed them after stepping down from the Hokage Position.
• Homura realized Hiruzen no longer held formal authority to approve the budgets, while Danzō watched Jin’s challenge in silence.

Uchiha Jin challenged Sarutobi Hiruzen’s claim to be Acting Hokage by arguing he had not met the required procedures, and Shimura Danzō backed him. Mitokado Homura left to discuss countermeasures with Sarutobi Hiruzen as Konoha prepared to elect the Fourth Hokage.

• Mitokado Homura argued that Sarutobi Hiruzen could exercise Hokage authority as Acting Hokage until the Fourth Hokage took office.
• Uchiha Jin said he did not recognize Sarutobi Hiruzen as Acting Hokage because the temporary Jonin Meeting lacked a proper vote and Hiruzen had not received the Daimyo’s approval.
• Uchiha Jin asked Shimura Danzō whether he recognized Hiruzen’s Acting Hokage status, and Danzō said he did not.
• Shimura Danzō used Hiruzen’s lack of formal documents to argue that Hiruzen’s past orders stripping him of his Elder position and restricting Root were not valid.
• Mitokado Homura left to confer with Sarutobi Hiruzen after announcing a Jonin Meeting for nine the next morning to discuss electing the Fourth Hokage.

Jin reassured Shimura Danzō that the Uchiha Clan’s agreement over the daimyo’s subsidy funds still stood, then agreed to have the clan nominate him for Fourth Hokage at the next day’s Jonin Meeting. Jin intended to push Danzō into an open clash with Sarutobi Hiruzen while keeping the Uchiha Clan positioned to benefit.

• Shimura Danzō demanded an explanation for the Uchiha Clan taking control of the thirty billion liang in subsidy funds, and Jin argued that their agreed share remained thirty-five percent.
• Jin told Shimura Danzō that the Uchiha Clan would leave the rest of the funds to the Fourth Hokage for distribution and discuss future subsidies later.
• Shimura Danzō demanded that the Uchiha Clan publicly nominate him for Fourth Hokage at the next day’s Jonin Meeting.
• Jin warned that openly backing Shimura Danzō would expose the Uchiha Clan’s position and give Sarutobi Hiruzen time to respond, but Shimura Danzō insisted on settling the matter.
• Jin agreed to the nomination, and Shimura Danzō promised him a Konoha Elder position and access to the subsidy funds if he became Hokage.
• Jin escorted Shimura Danzō out of the Konoha Military Police Force, intending to fuel the conflict between Shimura Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Uchiha Jin told the Uchiha elders that he controlled Konoha’s thirty billion liang in daimyo subsidies through an agreement with Daimyo Manor. He explained that a proposed marriage to Tsunade was an extra condition that might never happen, and left the elders aware that Mitokado Homura and Shimura Danzō had come to test his stance.

• Uchiha Jin returned to his office and told Uchiha Setsuna, Uchiha Ya, and Uchiha Fugaku that Mitokado Homura and Shimura Danzō had come over the thirty billion liang in subsidies.
• Uchiha Jin revealed that he had agreed to marry Tsunade, the Princess of the Land of Fire, in a proposed alliance with Daimyo Manor.
• Uchiha Jin explained that he had secured control of Konoha’s subsidy funds as a safeguard for the Uchiha Clan and that the daimyo had already transferred the money to him.
• Uchiha Setsuna, Uchiha Ya, and Uchiha Fugaku discussed the proposed marriage, but Uchiha Jin said Tsunade might refuse and that the funds would remain with the Uchiha regardless.
• Uchiha Jin told the elders that the daimyo wanted the Uchiha to keep Sarutobi Hiruzen and his allies in check, and suggested Homura and Danzō had come to test his attitude.

Uchiha Jin secured the Uchiha Clan’s control over the Daimyo Manor’s subsidy funds and warned that the power would bring scrutiny. He ordered the clan to delay consolation payments until after the Fourth Hokage’s election to avoid appearing unfair, leaving Uchiha Setsuna, Uchiha Ya, and Uchiha Fugaku to explain the decision to the clansmen.

• Uchiha Jin warned that controlling the subsidy funds could make the Uchiha Clan a target, and Uchiha Ya predicted the issue might arise at the next Jonin Meeting.
• Uchiha Jin explained how he had secured Mitokado Homura and Shimura Danzō’s acknowledgment that the funds should remain with the Uchiha Clan, delighting Uchiha Setsuna, Uchiha Ya, and Uchiha Fugaku.
• Uchiha Jin told Uchiha Setsuna and Uchiha Ya to care for the families and orphaned children of the more than 150 Uchiha killed in the Kikyo Mountain Battle.
• Uchiha Jin ordered the clan to wait until after the Fourth Hokage’s ascension before distributing consolation money, arguing that paying the Uchiha first would appear unfair to the village.
• Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Ya agreed to soothe the clansmen and explain that the delay would likely last only a few days.

Uchiha Jin told Hyuga Hiashi that he had partnered with the daimyo to take a Finance Department income source, while the Hyuga Godly Archer Camp faced pressure from the Main House elders. The Jonin Meeting began with Sarutobi Hiruzen seated apart from the other Konoha F4 members, leaving the meaning of the altered seating unclear.

• Uchiha Jin arrived at the Hokage Tower with Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Setsuna, and Uchiha Ya for the Jonin Meeting.
• Uchiha Jin told Hyuga Hiashi that he had partnered with the daimyo and seized one of the Finance Department’s income sources.
• Hyuga Hiashi told Uchiha Jin that the Main House elders wanted control of the Hyuga Godly Archer Camp, which Hizashi Hyuga had handed to Hiashi.
• Uchiha Jin urged Hyuga Hiashi to delay the elders while Orochimaru and Uzumaki Kushina researched the Caged Bird Seal and Minato secured his position as Fourth Hokage.
• Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Shimura Danzō took their seats at the meeting table, while Sarutobi Hiruzen sat near its front and the main seat had only three places.

Mitokado Homura announced that Sarutobi Hiruzen had formally resigned as Hokage and that the Hokage seat was vacant, then opened the Fourth Hokage election meeting. After Jiraiya and Orochimaru received the strongest support as candidates, Homura asked whether they would participate.

• Nara Shikaku speculated that the meeting was related to the elders' visit to the Uchiha, while Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Minato Namikaze admitted they did not know what had happened.
• Mitokado Homura declared that Sarutobi Hiruzen had resigned as Hokage and would attend only in his other village roles, and said that he, Utatane, and Shimura would chair the meeting.
• Mitokado Homura cited Konoha's postwar crises and announced that the meeting would begin the Fourth Hokage election.
• A Jonin nominated Jiraiya, another ninja nominated Orochimaru, and the room filled with support for both men.
• Mitokado Homura asked Jiraiya and Orochimaru whether they would participate in the election.

Orochimaru and Jiraiya declined to run for Fourth Hokage, and Minato Namikaze was confirmed as the first candidate. When the meeting struggled to name another contender, Uchiha nominated Shimura Danzō.

• Jiraiya refused to become Hokage, saying he was not suited to command others.
• Orochimaru declined to run, explaining that he had found a pursuit greater than becoming Hokage, then used Jiraiya's quest for the Child of Prophecy as an example.
• Mitokado Homura ended the argument and invited nominations for other candidates.
• Jiraiya nominated Minato Namikaze, whose supporters praised his abilities and battlefield accomplishments.
• Minato Namikaze accepted the nomination, and Mitokado Homura confirmed him as a candidate after no one objected.
• Uchiha nominated Shimura Danzō, recalling his promise to lead them to conquer the moon.