Chapter Summaries

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu discussed their failed attempt to win support from Torifu Akimichi and the Ino-Shika-Cho clans. Hiruzen considered an armed coup, but Homura warned that they lacked the allies and authority to challenge Minato Namikaze and Uchiha Jin.

• Mitokado Homura urged Utatane Koharu to blame the dead Shimura Danzō rather than Sarutobi Hiruzen, and Koharu said she would not let her resentment disrupt their priorities.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen said Torifu Akimichi's resentment meant they could no longer count on the Ino-Shika-Cho clans.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura warned that Minato Namikaze might learn of their actions and use them as grounds to strike back if they did nothing.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen proposed one final gamble, prompting Koharu to warn that using force could bring disgrace and lasting condemnation.
• Mitokado Homura argued that an armed coup would likely fail because they lacked the major clans' support and Hokage authority, while Minato Namikaze and Uchiha Jin could count on the Uchiha, Hyuga, and civilian ninja.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu warned Sarutobi Hiruzen that their aging, weakened forces could not withstand Minato Namikaze, the Uchiha Clan, and the Hyuga Clan. Hiruzen rejected their pessimism, declared that his forces had the advantage, and insisted they must fight and win the coup.

• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu described the strength of the Uchiha and Hyuga clans and questioned whether the elders could launch an armed coup.
• Homura reminded Hiruzen that their potential opponents included Minato Namikaze, Uchiha Jin, Uchiha Fugaku, and other powerful ninjas, while Koharu revealed that her injuries had shortened her lifespan and left her unable to fight.
• Koharu compared the elders’ loss of legitimacy to the Uchiha Clan’s past suppression, and Homura fell silent rather than refute her.
• Hiruzen recalled his rise to Hokage and the village’s former prosperity, then declared that they still had the strength to fight.
• Hiruzen claimed he could deal with Minato Namikaze and the Hyuga Clan, leaving the Uchiha Clan as their main opponent, and argued that their three clans’ 1,500 ninjas outnumbered the roughly 400 Uchiha ninjas.
• Homura and Koharu were baffled by Hiruzen’s renewed confidence, but his resolve reignited their fighting spirit.

Sarutobi Hiruzen decided to launch an armed coup with Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, believing the Uchiha Clan and Minato Namikaze would never let them retreat peacefully. He proposed using Uzumaki Kushina to control Minato and exploiting resentment among the Hyuga elders, but the chapter ends before he explains how they would act against the Hyuga Clan.

• Utatane Koharu reminded Sarutobi Hiruzen that their predicament resembled the Uchiha Clan’s past, prompting him to commit to one final gamble.
• Mitokado Homura noted that the Uchiha Clan had only about four hundred fighters in the village, while the Sarutobi, Utatane, and Mitokado Clans could gather nearly one thousand five hundred.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen proposed using Hidden Agents in the Anbu to capture Uzumaki Kushina and manipulate Minato Namikaze.
• Utatane Koharu doubted they could control Minato Namikaze, while Mitokado Homura warned that handing Kushina to Danzo could have endangered them.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen said the Hyuga elders resented the Main House and Branch Family growing closer, and explained that they had noticed the clan slipping from their control during the Third Shinobi World War.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and the former Konoha authorities discussed the Hyuga Clan Elders’ conflict with Hyuga Hiashi and their control of the Caged Bird Seal. They planned to exploit the elders’ grievances to reclaim power before Uchiha Jin and his allies returned.

• Mitokado Homura recounted how Hyuga Hiashi took nominal control of the Archery Battalion while Hizashi Hyuga retained command and became Uchiha Jin’s subordinate.
• The Hyuga Clan Elders’ disputes with Hyuga Hiashi were suppressed after he became a Konoha Elder and allied with Minato and the Uchiha Clan.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen said the Hyuga Clan Elders had secretly approached him and wanted to replace Hyuga Hiashi with a more obedient leader.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen warned that the elders could use the Caged Bird Seal to restrain the Hyuga Branch Family and disable the clan’s fighting force.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen said they had to reclaim their former power before Uchiha Jin and the others returned, so they could unite the village against them.

Minato prepared to face the Third Generation and the two elders after they summoned him to account for Jin’s unauthorized operation in the Land of Rainbow. He explained why he had not yet purged the Anbu and hinted that the current opportunity would be used against a different target.

• An Anbu Ninja told Minato that the Third Generation, Mitokado, and Utatane had gone to Hokage Tower to see him, so Minato summoned Nara Shikaku, Hyuga Hiashi, and Uchiha Fugaku to join him.
• Kushina worried that the three leaders would accuse Minato over Jin’s attack on nobles in the Land of Rainbow, and Minato guessed they had learned of it through a leak in his Direct Anbu.
• Minato explained that Jin’s operation had not been approved by the village, but said that he, as Fourth Hokage, held the authority to decide how Jin would be disciplined.
• Kushina urged Minato to clean up the Direct Anbu, but Minato said another major purge would disrupt its work and had to be done gradually.
• Minato told Kushina that the incident was an opportunity for a cleanup, but the target would not be the Anbu.

Minato Namikaze explained to Uzumaki Kushina that he and Jin had deliberately left the Third Hokage and the elders an opening so they would make a serious mistake that justified removing them. He suspected their latest moves might conceal plans for an armed coup, and told Kushina that she was the weakness he worried about most.

• Minato Namikaze told Uzumaki Kushina that he and Jin had intentionally leaked information about Jin attacking the Land of Rainbow to draw the Third Hokage and the elders into making a mistake.
• Minato Namikaze explained that the Third Hokage, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu had tried to regain power by seeking the Land of Fire Daimyo’s support and rallying Konoha’s ninja clans.
• Minato Namikaze said their attempt had failed and given him a reason to remove them, but he suspected their actions might be a delaying tactic rather than their true goal.
• Minato Namikaze suggested that the Third Hokage and the elders might be preparing an armed coup, and said he had called Hiashi, Fugaku, and the others to guard against a trap.
• Minato Namikaze told Uzumaki Kushina that he was more worried about her than about the threat at the Hokage Tower because she was his greatest weakness.

Minato Namikaze confessed his feelings to Uzumaki Kushina, delaying his arrival at a tense late-night meeting in the Hokage Office. Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu worried their plan to lure Minato away from Kushina had already gone wrong, and Minato eventually appeared, unsteady on his feet.

• Minato Namikaze confessed to Uzumaki Kushina, and she blushed as their exchange turned intimate.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu took over the Hokage Office and waited to confront Minato.
• Hyuga Hiashi, Uchiha Fugaku, and Nara Shikaku arrived and questioned why the meeting had been called in the middle of the night.
• The six attendees grew concerned when Minato still did not arrive and realized he might be with Uzumaki Kushina.
• Minato appeared in the Hokage Office with unsteady steps and apologized for being late.

Minato Namikaze defended Uzumaki Kushina after Sarutobi Hiruzen and the elders questioned his delay, then challenged their intelligence accusing Uchiha Jin of attacking nobles. Nara Shikaku exposed that the accusation relied on speculation, leaving Sarutobi Hiruzen and the elders waiting for a signal.

• Minato Namikaze apologized for arriving late and rebuked Mitokado Homura for calling Uzumaki Kushina a Jinchuriki.
• Minato Namikaze said Kushina had gotten angry at an Anbu Ninja who woke her, and Sarutobi Hiruzen changed the subject to Uchiha Jin's alleged attacks on nobles.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen asked whether Minato Namikaze knew of or had ordered Uchiha Jin's actions, but Minato demanded proof that the intelligence was reliable.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu said merchant groups from their clans had corroborated reports of attacks by remnants of Konokuni.
• Nara Shikaku pointed out that the reports did not verify Uchiha Jin's involvement, and Mitokado Homura admitted the claim was speculation.

Nara Shikaku and Minato Namikaze defended Uchiha Jin against accusations that he mishandled his mission to pursue Konokuni’s remnants. Sarutobi Hiruzen received new information and declared that the overall situation was decided.

• Nara Shikaku argued that the remnants of Konokuni could have attacked the nobles themselves and warned against blaming Uchiha Jin without proof.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen questioned why Uchiha Jin had not returned, and Minato Namikaze said the mission was still ongoing.
• Mitokado Homura argued that Uchiha Jin’s delay could let other villages seize Konokuni’s Flying Technique and harm the village.
• Minato Namikaze defended Uchiha Jin by describing the risks of missions and challenged Sarutobi Hiruzen over Senior Hatake Sakumo’s death.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen received a stream of information, smiled, and told Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura that the overall situation was decided.

Hatake Kakashi received Minato Namikaze’s coded order to find Number Three and left Tenzo guarding Uzumaki Kushina. Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had been secretly observing them, guessed the order referred to Yakushi Nonō and watched Minato Namikaze’s residence.

• Tenzo arrived to relieve Hatake Kakashi and told him that Minato Namikaze had ordered him to find Number Three at Konoha Orphanage.
• Hatake Kakashi recognized the phrase as a code to seek Nohara Rin’s help and hurried off, telling Tenzo to guard Uzumaki Kushina.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen revealed himself to Tenzo and asked what the code meant.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen guessed that Number Three meant Yakushi Nonō, then turned his attention toward Minato Namikaze’s residence.

Sarutobi Hiruzen persuaded Tenzo to help restrain Uzumaki Kushina so Minato Namikaze could not interfere with their plan against Uchiha Jin. They attacked Kushina at Minato’s home, but her Nine-Tails chakra surged as Tenzo tried to hold her down.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen told Tenzo that their operation was meant to stop Uchiha Jin and protect the village, and Tenzo agreed to obey him.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen and Tenzo entered Minato Namikaze’s home, while Anbu and Sarutobi Clan ninjas sealed off the exits.
• Uzumaki Kushina questioned Sarutobi Hiruzen’s unexpected arrival, and he tried to press a sealing tag against her forehead.
• Uzumaki Kushina dodged the seal, cloaked herself in scarlet chakra, and attacked Sarutobi Hiruzen with a chakra claw.
• Tenzo blocked her attack with Wood Style and bound her, but Kushina grew three chakra tails and strained against the restraints as Tenzo prepared another technique.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Tenzo subdued Uzumaki Kushina after she began breaking free with the Nine-Tails Chakra. Hiruzen arranged to move her to a hidden base, leaving Tenzo to guard her while he began the next stage of the plan against the Uchiha Clan.

• Tenzo restrained Uzumaki Kushina with Wood Style, but she drew on more Nine-Tails Chakra and began to break free.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen sealed the Nine-Tails Chakra with a paper slip from Uzumaki Mito, then knocked Uzumaki Kushina unconscious.
• Tenzo revealed that using Hokage Style: Sixty-Year-Old Technique — Enclosed Hands had drained his life energy, and Sarutobi Hiruzen assigned him to guard Uzumaki Kushina.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen decided to move Uzumaki Kushina to an Underground Base to keep Minato Namikaze from finding her through his Flying Thunder God marks.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen created and dispelled a Shadow Clone to send out information as the next step began.

Sarutobi Hiruzen revealed that he had learned of Uchiha Jin’s attacks on nobles and accused the Uchiha Clan of betraying Konoha. As explosions erupted at the Uchiha compound, he threatened Minato Namikaze through Kushina’s safety, while Uchiha Fugaku insisted his clan could defeat Hiruzen’s forces.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen said his intelligence came from a spy in Minato Namikaze’s Direct Anbu and defended his plan as a purge of traitors.
• Nara Shikaku accused Hiruzen of rebelling, while Hiruzen blamed the Uchiha Clan for endangering Konoha.
• Uchiha Fugaku confronted Hiruzen, who declared that he had once regretted not eliminating the Uchiha Clan.
• Explosions and fighting began at the Uchiha compound, and Hiruzen revealed that his main body had launched an attack there.
• Hiruzen threatened to kill Uzumaki Kushina if Minato acted, claiming she had been moved beyond his Flying Thunder God sensing.
• Uchiha Fugaku told Minato that the Uchiha Clan had enough strength to defeat the private forces of the Sarutobi, Utatane, and Mitokado Clans.

Sarutobi Hiruzen tried to use his numerical advantage and Uzumaki Kushina's life to force Minato Namikaze to choose between her and Uchiha Fugaku and Hiashi Hyuga. The Hyuga Clan's elders blocked their reinforcements, but the confrontation shifted when an unseen attacker destroyed Sarutobi Hiruzen's Shadow Clone.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen claimed his forces outnumbered the Uchiha Clan and its allies, while Hiashi Hyuga declared the Hyuga Clan would stand with Uchiha Fugaku.
• Hiashi Hyuga used his Byakugan to discover that the Hyuga elders had sealed Hizashi Hyuga and prevented the clan's ninja from leaving.
• Uchiha Fugaku and Hiashi Hyuga attacked Mitokado Homura, but Sarutobi Hiruzen tried to persuade Hiashi to abandon the Uchiha Clan.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen demanded that Minato Namikaze choose between Uzumaki Kushina and Uchiha Fugaku and Hiashi Hyuga.
• An unseen figure appeared and destroyed Sarutobi Hiruzen's Shadow Clone, shocking Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.

Minato Namikaze revealed that the captured Kushina was a White Zetsu double, part of a trap prepared for the elders. The chapter flashed back to Minato arranging the disguise and began preparing to give White Zetsu a sealed portion of Nine-Tails Chakra.

• Uzumaki Kushina appeared in the Hokage Office and destroyed Sarutobi Hiruzen's Shadow Clone with a punch.
• Minato Namikaze told Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu that Kushina had never been under their control and that the woman they captured was a stand-in.
• Minato asked White Zetsu to use his Oddity Transformation Technique to impersonate Kushina, and White Zetsu copied her appearance and Chakra.
• Kushina identified the Nine-Tails as the disguise's weakness, and White Zetsu offered to take a small amount of its Chakra.
• Kushina proposed adding the Nine-Tails Chakra one tail at a time while sealing it inside White Zetsu.

Sarutobi Hiruzen led the Three Clans Allied Forces in a surprise assault on the Uchiha Clan Land, but the Uchiha forces retreated in disciplined formation rather than resisting. Hiruzen realized the Uchiha had evacuated their civilians beforehand and feared they had discovered the operation long ago.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered the Barrier Team to raise the Four Purple Yang Formation and launch the attack on the Uchiha Clan Land.
• The Three Clans Allied Forces overwhelmed the unprepared Uchiha ninjas and advanced through the clan grounds.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered his troops to advance cautiously after sensing something was wrong.
• Hiruzen recognized that the Uchiha ninjas were retreating in an organized way to gather their forces near the Ancestral Hall.
• Hiruzen noticed that no Uchiha civilians were present and concluded that the clan had evacuated them before the attack.

Sarutobi Hiruzen joined the Three Clans Allied Forces’ assault, only for Uchiha Setsuna to reveal that the Uchiha had anticipated the attack. Uchiha Jin then arrived with aerial reinforcements and shattered the Uchiha Clan’s barrier, leaving Hiruzen to organize a counterattack through the smoke.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered the Three Clans Allied Forces to intensify their assault, then attacked the Uchiha defenses himself with combined Earth and Fire Style ninjutsu.
• Uchiha Setsuna blocked Hiruzen’s attack and revealed that the Uchiha had monitored the other clans’ preparations and were ready for the assault.
• A huge shadow appeared overhead and dropped squads of reinforcements toward the battlefield, prompting Setsuna to pull the Uchiha forces back and strengthen their barrier.
• Uchiha Jin’s chakra arm tore through the Four Purple Flame Array, and aerial ninjutsu bombardment devastated the Three Clans Allied Forces.
• Hiruzen identified the reinforcements as Uchiha Jin’s force, steadied his troops, and ordered them to use smoke bombs and prepare anti-air attacks.
• Uchiha Jin watched from above as the battlefield filled with smoke and sneered at Hiruzen’s plan.

Uchiha Jin overwhelmed Sarutobi Hiruzen and the Three Clans Allied Forces with devastating fire attacks. As Sarutobi Hiruzen prepared to use Uzumaki Kushina as a hostage, a sudden flood of memories left him frozen.

• Uchiha Jin bombarded the smoke-covered battlefield, while Sarutobi Hiruzen countered with giant shuriken and a wind-driven flame tornado.
• Uchiha Jin attacked the tornado's central refuge with Fire Style, and Sarutobi Hiruzen used water techniques to protect the allied shinobi.
• Uchiha Jin's enormous fireball overwhelmed Sarutobi Hiruzen's defenses, and the boiling water killed many Sarutobi, Mitokado, and Utatane shinobi.
• Monkey King Enma urged Sarutobi Hiruzen to keep fighting and offered to use Reverse Summoning to take him to the Enma Clan's territory.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen regained his resolve and tried to threaten Uchiha Jin with Uzumaki Kushina, but a sudden flood of memories stopped him mid-sentence.

Uchiha Jin destroyed the Uchiha Clan Land with the Emperor of Fire and resolved to rebuild it at the expense of the Sarutobi, Mitokado, and Utatane Clans. Sarutobi Hiruzen survived by using Reverse Summoning, returned to confront Jin, and threatened him with Uzumaki Kushina’s life.

• Uchiha Jin detonated the Emperor of Fire above the Uchiha Clan Land, setting the night sky ablaze and devastating the clan’s homes.
• Uchiha Setsuna lamented the destruction, while Uchiha Jin argued that the clan could rebuild and reorganize its land, charging the costs to Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu.
• Uchiha Jin expected Sarutobi Hiruzen to have escaped the explosion and knew the battle was not over.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen reappeared in a burst of white mist after using Reverse Summoning to evade the blast.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen admitted defeat but threatened that Uzumaki Kushina was in his control and that her death would affect Minato Namikaze.
• Uchiha Jin calmly asked whether Sarutobi Hiruzen was trying to threaten him.

Uchiha Jin revealed that the Uzumaki Kushina captured by Sarutobi Hiruzen was a fake and fought Hiruzen, who unleashed his remaining strength for a final battle. Jin killed Hiruzen with Zanka no Tachi, then turned his attention to the other hidden danger.

• Uchiha Jin told Sarutobi Hiruzen that his captive Uzumaki Kushina was a fake created to imitate her appearance, aura, and Chakra.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen summoned Monkey King Enma as the Adamantine Staff and challenged Uchiha Jin to battle.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen pushed his aging body to its limits, formed four Shadow Clones, and attacked Jin with a combination of five elemental techniques.
• Uchiha Jin used Zanka no Tachi: North: Heaven and Earth Ashes to extinguish Hiruzen's attacks and turn Hiruzen and his Shadow Clones to ash.
• Uchiha Setsuna asked what had happened to Sarutobi Hiruzen, and Uchiha Jin confirmed he was dead and said he would deal with the other hidden danger.