Chapter Summaries

Uchiha Jin recommended Shimura Danzō as a candidate for Fourth Hokage, but Sarutobi Hiruzen publicly objected and accused Danzō of causing the Battle of Kikyo Mountain Fortress. Hiruzen ended by demanding that Danzō be stripped of his posts and imprisoned for the deaths of nearly four thousand Konoha ninja.

• Uchiha Jin praised Shimura Danzō’s seniority and service before recommending him as a Fourth Hokage candidate.
• Mitokado Homura accepted Uchiha Jin’s recommendation and asked the meeting whether anyone objected.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen raised his hand and publicly opposed Shimura Danzō’s candidacy.
• Shimura Danzō challenged Sarutobi Hiruzen to provide evidence, and Hiruzen blamed him for provoking the war and weakening Konoha’s border defenses.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen held Shimura Danzō responsible for nearly four thousand Konoha ninja casualties and demanded that he be imprisoned.

At the Jonin Meeting, Sarutobi Hiruzen tried to challenge Shimura Danzō over the losses at Kikyo Mountain Fortress, but Danzō invoked his rank and defended the campaign by comparing Konoha’s casualties with those of other villages. Danzō left Utatane Koharu silenced and appeared confident that Hiruzen could no longer oppose him.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen realized Danzō’s alliances with the Uchiha Clan and Hyuga Clan threatened Minato Namikaze’s path to becoming Fourth Hokage, so he resolved to bring Danzō down at the Jonin Meeting.
• Shimura Danzō dismissed Hiruzen as a Ninja Academy principal and claimed he had no right to question a village elder or Hokage Assistant.
• Utatane Koharu demanded that Danzō explain Konoha’s losses in the Battle of Kikyo Mountain Fortress.
• Shimura Danzō compared Konoha’s losses with those suffered by Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure, arguing that Konoha’s victory had secured fifteen years of peace.
• Shimura Danzō accused Utatane Koharu and the other leaders of mishandling the Third Shinobi World War and the sacrifices of Konoha’s ninja, leaving Koharu speechless.
• Shimura Danzō privately dismissed Konoha’s high-level leaders as useless and took satisfaction in Hiruzen’s loss of authority.

At the Jonin Meeting, Shimura Danzō tried to divert scrutiny by attacking Sarutobi Hiruzen’s conduct as Ninja Academy principal. Hiruzen resigned the post to end the dispute, then continued confronting Danzō, who threatened to challenge his remaining positions.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen interrupted Shimura Danzō, who accused him of lacking manners and proposed removing him as Ninja Academy principal.
• Mitokado Homura defended Hiruzen, but Danzō called for an investigation into Hiruzen’s record at the academy.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen resigned as principal, recognizing that the position had little value to him and could become a liability.
• Danzō dropped the etiquette accusation but asked what authority Hiruzen had to speak, pointing to his posts as Minister of the Ministry of Education and Squad Leader of the Task Force.
• Hiruzen realized Danzō was threatening those remaining positions but chose to keep pressing him.

At the Jonin Meeting, Sarutobi Hiruzen insisted on speaking despite Shimura Danzō’s attempt to restrict him, and Uchiha Jin used a dispute over formal titles to embarrass Mitokado Homura. Utatane Koharu then accused the Uchiha Clan of seizing the Daimyo Manor’s subsidy funds, leaving Uchiha Jin to answer before an angry assembly.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen declared that he could speak at the Jonin Meeting as an active Konoha jonin, and Shimura Danzō allowed him after recognizing the risk of angering the other jonin.
• Shimura Danzō criticized Sarutobi Hiruzen for addressing him by name, and Uchiha Jin backed the use of formal titles while implying that the Mitokado Clan controlled the Finance Department.
• Mitokado Homura accused Uchiha Jin of making the Konoha Military Police Force an Uchiha Clan operation, and Uchiha Jin replied that the village had authorized the Uchiha Clan’s privilege.
• Utatane Koharu defended Mitokado Homura and accused the Uchiha Clan of seizing the Daimyo Manor’s subsidy funds, prompting an uproar among the attendees.

Uchiha Jin defended the Uchiha Clan’s custody of Konoha’s subsidy funds, arguing that the clan’s history and the Military Police Force’s duties gave it the right to protect them. He exposed Mitokado Homura’s prior agreement, leaving Homura so enraged that he fainted.

• Uchiha Jin admitted that the Uchiha Clan held the Daimyo Manor’s three billion liang subsidy funds and said it would safeguard all future subsidies as well.
• Uchiha Jin reminded the meeting that the Uchiha Clan had contributed the land for Konoha and sacrificed lives and wealth for the village.
• Uchiha Jin argued that the Military Police Force could safeguard funds intended for Konoha residents and said the Daimyo and two elders had approved.
• Uchiha Jin and Shimura Danzō revealed that Mitokado Homura had personally agreed to the arrangement the previous day.
• Mitokado Homura grew furious and fainted, prompting Sarutobi Hiruzen, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Clan ninjas to call for medical ninjas.

At the Jonin Meeting, Utatane Koharu postponed the Uchiha Clan’s proposal to safeguard the daimyo’s subsidy funds until after the Fourth Hokage was elected. Sarutobi Hiruzen accused Shimura Danzō of causing the war through bad decisions, and Danzō admitted he had deliberately provoked it, insisting he acted to secure peace for Konoha.

• Utatane Koharu stabilized Mitokado Homura, and he returned to the meeting instead of going to Konoha Hospital.
• Utatane Koharu proposed delaying discussion of the Uchiha Clan safeguarding the daimyo’s subsidy funds until after the Fourth Hokage election.
• Minister Uchiha agreed the Hokage’s approval was necessary but argued that the daimyo controlled his own funds.
• Utatane Koharu invited Sarutobi Hiruzen to explain his objections to Shimura Danzō’s nomination for Fourth Hokage.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen blamed Shimura Danzō for provoking the war and said the Uchiha and Hyuga had helped save Konoha from the allied forces.
• Shimura Danzō admitted he had intended to provoke the war and argued that striking first would make Konoha’s enemies fear it and bring lasting peace.

Sarutobi Hiruzen challenged Shimura Danzō over the losses at Kikyo Mountain Fortress, but Danzō argued that Iwagakure and Sunagakure had planned to attack regardless. Hiruzen then hinted at a separate accusation, and Danzō realized Hiruzen could use his past actions to portray himself as merely having indulged Danzō.

• Shimura Danzō admitted transferring five hundred shinobi from the Border Defense Force but denied that his actions alone caused Konoha's defensive line to collapse.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen challenged Danzō's defense and maintained that he still had another matter to question him about.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at Orochimaru and considered using a backup plan that would implicate his Direct Disciple.
• Shimura Danzō threatened to expose Sarutobi Hiruzen's own past, but Hiruzen said his greatest mistake had been indulging someone too much.
• Shimura Danzō realized that Hiruzen's tacit approval and token punishments could make Danzō's own misconduct look like Hiruzen's attempt to correct a past mistake.

At a Jonin Meeting about the Fourth Hokage election, Sarutobi Hiruzen apologized before bringing up the Uchiha coup and the village’s human experimentation. Uchiha Setsuna defended his actions, and the revelations left many attendees admiring him and viewing the Uchiha more favorably.

• Shimura Danzō insisted that Sarutobi Hiruzen stop questioning him after one more explanation, and Sarutobi agreed.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen stood and bowed to the Meeting Room, then announced that he would address a rumor that had led a clan to launch a coup against the Hokage.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen looked toward Uchiha Setsuna and admitted that the village had been at fault, though he called the Uchiha’s response too extreme.
• Uchiha Setsuna accused the Hokage Faction of using children for human experimentation and said his coup had exposed the wrongdoing.
• The gathered ninja reacted with outrage and discussed how Uchiha Setsuna had faced punishment for the coup while earning the other clans’ support.
• Many attendees praised Uchiha Setsuna’s courage, improving their opinion of him and the Uchiha Clan.

Sarutobi Hiruzen defended the village’s human experimentation by describing Senju Tobirama’s original efforts to recreate Wood Release, but Uchiha Jin condemned the sacrifice of individuals for the village. Jin explained that Konoha was founded to protect people and children, then began revealing why Uchiha Madara left the village, leaving the disagreement between Madara and Senju Hashirama unexplained.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen said Senju Tobirama had begun human experiments to recreate Wood Release after the First Shinobi World War, first using Senju Clan members before expanding the trials.
• Uchiha Jin called Tobirama’s actions a theft of virtue and challenged Sarutobi Hiruzen to define the relationship between the village and the individual.
• Uchiha Jin said Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama had founded Konoha to end clan wars and protect children and individuals.
• Uchiha Jin rejected the claim that Uchiha Madara left Konoha merely because he lost the Hokage election, saying Madara had seen a danger within the village and disagreed with Senju Hashirama’s ideals.

Uchiha Jin explained that Uchiha Madara left Konoha after clashing with Senju Hashirama over the village’s treatment of rival nations and its willingness to sacrifice clan members for the collective. He argued that this mindset also led to Senju Tobirama’s Human Experimentation, leaving the Meeting Room to consider whether Madara’s accusations were justified.

• Uchiha Jin said Uchiha Madara had wanted Konoha to eliminate rival villages, while Senju Hashirama had favored peace and negotiation.
• Uchiha Jin explained that Senju Hashirama sacrificed the Senju Clan’s interests for Konoha’s growth, alarming Uchiha Madara.
• Uchiha Jin said Senju Hashirama had declared he would oppose anyone who stood against the village, even friends, brothers, or family.
• Uchiha Jin argued that sacrificing minority interests for the majority could lead to ruin and said Senju Tobirama’s Human Experimentation followed that logic.
• Uchiha Jin asked whether he had been wrong to call Senju Tobirama a Thief of Virtue, while the Meeting Room listened in silence.

Sarutobi Hiruzen admitted that he had once restarted the Second Hokage’s human experiments, then revealed that they had secretly continued under Shimura Danzō and produced Tenzo, a Wood Release user. The Meeting Room turned its attention to Shimura Danzō, who faced demands to explain himself.

• Uchiha Jin criticized Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō for using the village’s needs to justify sacrifices and exploit those beneath them.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen admitted that he had restarted the human experiments during wartime before halting them after they brought no significant results.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen revealed that he had recently discovered the experiments never stopped and called Tenzo into the Meeting Room.
• Tenzo demonstrated Wood Release by growing a sapling from his palm, stunning the gathered leaders and Orochimaru.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen accused Shimura Danzō of secretly continuing the experiments, and the Meeting Room demanded an explanation from him.

Shimura Danzō and Orochimaru shifted blame for the Human Experimentation onto Sarutobi Hiruzen, who challenged Danzō over Tenzo. Danzō claimed Tenzo was a survivor from experiments already underway when Hiruzen ordered them stopped, leaving Hiruzen unable to prove his case through Tenzo’s records alone.

• Shimura Danzō admitted overseeing Human Experimentation and said Sarutobi Hiruzen had ordered it while Orochimaru had managed the experiments.
• Orochimaru said he had only followed orders and declared that he now wanted to be a good man, angering Sarutobi Hiruzen.
• Shimura Danzō accused Sarutobi Hiruzen of abandoning him after using him for Konoha, and Hiruzen spat blood in rage.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen questioned Danzō about Tenzo and presented the identity records as evidence that experiments had continued after the ban.
• Shimura Danzō claimed that sixty subjects were still being experimented on when the order came and that Tenzo was the sole survivor who received identity records.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen realized Danzō's explanation undermined the case based on Tenzo and decided they would need a more direct approach.

At the Jonin Meeting, Tenzo testified that Shimura Danzō had subjected him and others to human experiments, including experiments involving the Uchiha Clan’s Sharingan. Danzō tried to discredit Tenzo, but Sarutobi Hiruzen turned to Orochimaru and pressed him to confirm the allegations.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen asked Tenzo to testify, and Tenzo described his life in Root’s laboratory and the experiments he had witnessed.
• Tenzo accused Shimura Danzō of conducting Wood Release and Sharingan experiments and offered to lead the attendees to Root’s experiment bases.
• Uchiha Setsuna, Uchiha Fugaku, and Uchiha Ya reacted angrily, but Uchiha kept them quiet so the clan could let Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen weaken each other.
• Shimura Danzō called Tenzo ungrateful and unreliable, claiming he had raised and trained him, while Tenzo struggled to respond.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen defended Tenzo and challenged Danzō’s denial, then asked Orochimaru to tell the truth about the human experiments.

Orochimaru refused to help Sarutobi Hiruzen implicate Shimura Danzō in the Wood Style experiments, and Hiruzen threatened to expose Orochimaru’s later research. Uchiha Jin then revealed that the Uchiha Clan had partnered with Orochimaru, leaving the meeting to judge their human experiments in light of Jin’s explanation.

• Orochimaru said he had conducted the Wood Style experiments under orders, had withdrawn when Sarutobi Hiruzen commanded it, and had not known Tenzo survived.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen pressured Orochimaru to admit that his later experiments involved Shimura Danzō, but Orochimaru refused and briefly unleashed his killing intent.
• Jiraiya tried to calm Orochimaru, who restrained himself and closed his eyes.
• Uchiha Jin said Orochimaru’s later experiments had been conducted with the Uchiha Clan, not Shimura Danzō.
• Uchiha Jin explained that the experiments used enemy-village corpses and bandits in an effort to treat Uchiha Itachi’s Bloodline Disease.

Uchiha Jin defended Orochimaru and proposed a Uchiha-funded Konoha Research Institute to bring his experiments under supervision. Sarutobi Hiruzen failed to find evidence against Shimura Danzō, and the meeting ended with Minato Namikaze and Shimura Danzō confirmed as candidates for Fourth Hokage.

• Uchiha Jin said the Uchiha Clan vouched for Orochimaru and would fund the Konoha Research Institute, where his experiments and results would be made available for oversight and village use.
• The meeting room approved the proposal, while Sarutobi Hiruzen recognized that the Uchiha Clan was protecting Orochimaru and felt increasingly wary of its influence.
• Shimura Danzō demanded that Sarutobi Hiruzen produce evidence, and Utatane Koharu ended the matter when Sarutobi Hiruzen could offer none.
• Utatane Koharu confirmed Minato Namikaze and Shimura Danzō as the Fourth Hokage candidates and scheduled the election to begin on the morning of the third day.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura discussed the threat Shimura Danzō posed after he became a leading candidate to succeed the Fourth Hokage. Hiruzen warned that Danzō could use the Uchiha Clan, the Daimyo Manor, and evidence of their families’ corruption to seize control, and admitted that he had accepted benefits while Danzō had not.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen gathered Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura at his home and said they had two urgent matters to address.
• Hiruzen and Homura agreed that they could no longer reconcile with Shimura Danzō, despite Koharu’s reluctance to abandon their old ties.
• Hiruzen warned that Danzō might take power as Fourth Hokage or obstruct Minato Namikaze’s appointment and eventually remove them from power.
• Homura argued that Danzō could not expose them without implicating himself, but Hiruzen pointed out that their clans had diverted village resources.
• Hiruzen told Koharu and Homura that he had accepted benefits for the Sarutobi Clan, while Danzō had never accepted any.

Sarutobi Hiruzen warned Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu that Shimura Danzō might sacrifice his clan to protect Root, and explained that the Uchiha Clan and Daimyo Manor were key to stopping him from becoming Fourth Hokage. The elders agreed to offer the Uchiha a Konoha Elder position, seek Tsunade’s help, and approach the Hyuga Clan as well.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen explained that Shimura Danzō valued Root above the Shimura Clan and might destroy the clan to protect his interests.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen identified the Uchiha Clan and Daimyo Manor as the urgent issues, saying Uchiha support could decide whether Danzō became Fourth Hokage.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen proposed offering the Uchiha Clan a Konoha Elder position, and Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu agreed.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen decided to send someone to ask Tsunade to visit the Daimyo Manor and oppose Danzō’s rise.
• Mitokado Homura volunteered to speak with the Hyuga Clan and offer them another Elder position.

Orochimaru reported that his Hashirama Cell-based potion had suppressed Uchiha Itachi’s Bloodline Disease and given him basic Wood Style and self-healing. Jin then launched a second experiment to support Mangekyō Sharingan users and gave Orochimaru plans for mass-produced firearms and other weapons.

• Orochimaru demonstrated that Itachi’s new potion improved his physique, let him grow small saplings, and gave him visible self-healing.
• Jin proposed making customized fusion potions for Mangekyō Sharingan users to replenish their pupil power, citing Obito’s successful fusion with Hashirama Cells.
• Orochimaru asked where Obito was, and Jin explained that Obito had left on an important task.
• Jin gave Orochimaru a document about developing hot weapons and ordered him to turn its gunpowder and weapon concepts into mass-produced reality as soon as possible.

Uchiha Jin persuaded Orochimaru to develop modern firearms, hoping to arm White Zetsu and exploit the villages’ losses in the Kikyo Mountain Battle to launch a rapid campaign for unifying the Ninja World. Orochimaru agreed to produce a batch of weapons within three days, while Jin planned to recruit Puppet Masters for future production.

• Uchiha Jin explained that AK47 rifles could let ordinary people match trained ninja and urged Orochimaru to study the weapon designs.
• Orochimaru asked why Jin was rushing the project, and Jin confirmed that the Kikyo Mountain Battle had created an opportunity to strike before the major villages recovered.
• Uchiha Jin described his plan to equip one hundred thousand White Zetsu with firearms and use their underground travel for a Blitzkrieg across the Ninja World.
• Uchiha Jin said Uchiha Obito was consolidating the White Zetsu while he strengthened Konoha, and that they could begin the final battle within half a year once the weapons were ready.
• Orochimaru promised to provide finished weapons in three days and suggested recruiting Puppet Masters from Sunagakure to help manufacture them.

After Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō fell out, Uchiha Jin told his clan to stay neutral while preparing to support Minato Namikaze and reshape Konoha’s forces. He planned to become Anbu Minister after Minato took office, confident the Uchiha could replace the Anbu’s current members if they resisted.

• Uchiha Setsuna regretted that Shimura Danzō had cleared himself of the human experimentation allegations, but Uchiha Jin said the clan should avoid taking sides until the final moment.
• Uchiha Jin decided that the Uchiha Jonin Trust Votes would go to Minato while the clan concealed its choice and waited for Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō to offer terms.
• Uchiha Jin told Uchiha Fugaku to have Hachidai Uncle finish organizing the Konoha Military Police Force’s materials and draft a reform plan before Minato took office.
• Uchiha Jin said he would become Anbu Minister after Minato took office and asked Uchiha Fugaku to resume leading the Konoha Military Police Force.
• Uchiha Jin dismissed concerns about Sarutobi Hiruzen’s influence over the Anbu, saying the Uchiha and Hyuga could replace its members if they refused to obey.