Chapter Summaries

Uchiha Makoto secured support from nobles and merchants for expanding the Akatsuki Ninja Village Agricultural Association, then warned Tobirama Senju that the expansion could bring conflict and that grain shortages were expected. Tobirama accepted Makoto’s explanation but grew concerned that Makoto might also be involved in a sudden wave of discussion about Uchiha Madara in Konoha.

• Uchiha Makoto and the nobles and wealthy merchants agreed on a basic proposal to expand the Agricultural Association, though further lobbying and Imperial Court laws were needed.
• Uchiha Makoto contacted Tobirama Senju and warned him that Bandits might kill people during the Association’s expansion.
• Tobirama Senju suspected Makoto was concealing another scheme, but Makoto said he wanted to stockpile grain ahead of a predicted poor harvest and prevent prices from soaring.
• Tobirama Senju reluctantly accepted Makoto’s explanation, agreed to overlook his expansion of influence, and demanded that Makoto repay the money he owed.
• Tobirama Senju asked whether Makoto was involved in Konoha’s sudden public discussion of Uchiha Madara, which the Uchiha Clan appeared to be promoting.

Uchiha Makoto told Tobirama Senju that he had encouraged the Uchiha elders to back Uchiha Madara for Hokage, leaving Tobirama worried that his reforms would strengthen the Uchiha’s political position. Tobirama decided to campaign for support through public lectures and attacks on Madara’s reputation, and chose Shimura Danzō to carry out the smear campaign.

• Uchiha Makoto confessed that he had urged the Uchiha elders to focus on putting Uchiha Madara in the Hokage’s seat to divert them from Tobirama Senju.
• Tobirama Senju panicked that Madara might attend the Six Kage Summit beside Hashirama Senju, signaling that he was Konoha’s next Hokage.
• Uchiha Makoto ended the communication without offering Tobirama a solution and returned to preparing Akatsuki Ninja Village for the summit.
• Tobirama Senju resolved to defend his position by holding a Public Lecture and promising reforms that would improve life for Konoha’s villagers and lower-ranking ninja.
• Tobirama Senju planned to spread stories about Uchiha clansmen losing control because of the Sharingan to discredit Uchiha Madara.
• Tobirama Senju chose Shimura Danzō to spread the stories, reasoning that Danzō was already implicated in the assassination of the Land of Fire Elder.

Tobirama Senju ordered Shimura Danzō to spread rumors against the Uchiha Clan to undermine its bid for the Hokage position. Danzō accepted after Tobirama warned that their futures were bound together, and Tobirama prepared to send him on the mission with a squad and special support.

• Tobirama Senju summoned Shimura Danzō to an Anbu base and tested his loyalty by asking whether he loved gold or Konoha.
• Tobirama Senju gave Shimura Danzō a mission to spread rumors targeting the Uchiha Clan and Uchiha Madara.
• Shimura Danzō hesitated because the Uchiha were powerful and his clan could suffer if he chose the wrong side.
• Tobirama Senju promised the Shimura Clan would rise if he became Hokage and warned that Uchiha Madara would target them if he took power.
• Shimura Danzō accepted the mission and asked to bring Hiruzen Sarutobi, but Tobirama Senju refused and said Danzō alone was suited for the work.

Tobirama Senju campaigned for Hokage with public speeches, reform plans, and promises, raising his support while the Uchiha Clan’s campaign faltered. With tensions growing between the Uchiha conservatives and reformists, the Uchiha Great Elder decided to visit Uchiha Madara again and urge him to appear.

• Shimura Danzō accepted Tobirama Senju’s dangerous mission and left with the Mission Scroll.
• Tobirama Senju held speeches across Konoha, handed out eggs, and promoted reforms that promised jobs and better benefits for ninja.
• Tobirama Senju’s approval rose as the Uchiha Clan Elders’ campaign failed to offer practical plans and Uchiha Madara stayed hidden in Naka Shrine.
• The Uchiha Great Elder called an emergency meeting, where conservatives and reformists clashed over the failed campaign and the clan’s future.
• The Uchiha Great Elder agreed to bring more clansmen to Naka Shrine and invite Uchiha Madara to come out.

The Uchiha elders urged Uchiha Madara to intervene in the contest over the next Hokage, but Kagami Uchiha persuaded him to seek Hashirama Senju’s support instead. Madara left Naka Shrine to speak with Hashirama and stopped outside his home when he heard Hashirama and Tobirama discussing the Hokage candidate.

• The Uchiha Great Elder brought the clan elders to Naka Shrine and explained that Tobirama Senju was gaining support as a Hokage candidate.
• Uchiha Madara rebuked the elders for expecting him to handle Tobirama Senju, and the younger Uchiha fell silent under his pressure.
• Kagami Uchiha suggested that Madara ask Hashirama Senju to support his bid for Hokage.
• Madara left Naka Shrine, intending to lay everything bare with Hashirama Senju rather than pursue the Hokage position.
• Madara reached Hashirama’s home, heard Hashirama and Tobirama discussing the next Hokage candidate, and listened from outside.

Tobirama Senju pressed Hashirama Senju to support him as the next Hokage, while Hashirama struggled between his brother and Uchiha Madara. After overhearing their discussion, Uchiha Madara decided to leave Konoha with his clan and summoned the Uchiha who had awakened the Sharingan.

• Tobirama Senju argued that his work and experience made him the best choice for Hokage, and Hashirama Senju said he supported him while also wanting to recommend Uchiha Madara.
• Tobirama Senju warned Hashirama Senju that Uchiha Madara was unsuited to lead Konoha and raised concerns about the Uchiha, prompting Hashirama to stop him.
• Uchiha Madara overheard the conversation, concluded Hashirama would choose Tobirama Senju, and decided to leave Konoha with his clan.
• Uchiha clansmen gathered at Naka Shrine to discuss the Hokage contest, confident that Uchiha Madara's strength and record would secure him the position.
• Uchiha Madara entered Naka Shrine, where the Uchiha Great Elder greeted him and assumed he had gathered the clan to announce his victory.

Uchiha Madara announced that he would take the Uchiha Clan out of Konoha and establish a new village, shocking the clan and prompting many members to call for Tobirama Senju’s death. The Uchiha Great Elder stopped them from rushing into war, leaving the clan prepared to negotiate with Hashirama Senju or ally with Akatsuki Ninja Village if the Senju tried to keep power.

• Uchiha Madara told the gathered Uchiha clansmen that he planned to leave Konoha with the clan and establish a new village.
• The Uchiha clansmen suspected Hashirama Senju was forcing Tobirama Senju’s succession and demanded that they kill Tobirama and build New Konoha.
• Uchiha Madara was caught off guard by the clan’s calls for violence and did not want to restart the war between the Uchiha and Senju clans.
• The Uchiha Great Elder scolded the agitated clansmen and warned that a war against the Senju would bring heavy casualties.
• The Uchiha Great Elder said the clan should negotiate first and join forces with Akatsuki Ninja Village if Hashirama Senju insisted on keeping the Hokage position for the Senju.

Uchiha Madara told the Uchiha clan he intended to leave Konoha to pursue a new path to eternal peace, despite having a chance to become Hokage. The Uchiha Great Elder warned him about the clan's investments and the dangers of departure, but Madara remained determined and said he would discuss it with Hashirama Senju.

• The Uchiha Great Elder questioned why Madara would abandon the chance to become Hokage and urged him to negotiate with Hashirama Senju.
• Madara explained that Hashirama was willing to nominate him but also supported Tobirama Senju, and said Konoha no longer suited the Uchiha because his path to peace conflicted with it.
• The Uchiha Great Elder and the assembled clansmen rejected Madara's plan, arguing that he could become Hokage and protect the clan while pursuing his vision.
• The Great Elder warned Madara that leaving would cost the Uchiha their land, businesses, and standing, while risking Konoha treating them as traitors.
• Madara admitted he had not considered those practical difficulties but said they did not matter, and promised to speak with Hashirama about the clan's departure.

Uchiha Madara urged the Uchiha clan to leave Konoha and follow his path to eternal peace, but the clansmen resisted abandoning their lives there. He kept the Moon Eye Plan secret and pointed them to the clan’s ancestral Stone Tablet, leaving them angry at his arrogant answer.

• The Uchiha clansmen grew uneasy when Uchiha Madara proposed abandoning their businesses and leaving Konoha.
• The Uchiha Great Elder asked Madara for time to let the clan consider his proposal, and Madara agreed.
• The Uchiha Great Elder realized Madara truly intended to leave and tried to find a way to change his mind.
• The Uchiha Great Elder asked Madara to explain the path to eternal peace so the clan could decide whether to follow him.
• Madara kept the Moon Eye Plan secret and said the path was recorded on the clan’s ancestral Stone Tablet.
• The Uchiha clansmen grew restless when Madara claimed they were not qualified to know more.

Uchiha Madara urged his clan to leave Konoha and follow him toward the dream recorded on the Stone Tablet, but the Uchiha rejected his plan and chose to stay. Alone in Naka Shrine, Madara regretted failing to protect Izuna Uchiha and the clan, and wondered whether Uchiha Makoto had foreseen this outcome.

• The Uchiha Great Elder challenged Madara's decision, arguing that the Stone Tablet's legends were no reason to abandon Konoha.
• The Uchiha clansmen denounced Madara's plan and declared they would choose a new clan leader, until Madara silenced them with his overwhelming Chakra.
• Madara gave the clan time to decide whether to leave Konoha with him, warning that Tobirama Senju would eventually lead them to ruin if they stayed.
• One Uchiha after another refused to leave, citing family, work, and the lives they had built in Konoha.
• The Uchiha Great Elder promised to keep the meeting secret and urged Madara to reconsider, then left him alone in Naka Shrine.
• Madara mourned Izuna Uchiha, blamed Tobirama Senju for the clan's predicament, and wondered whether Uchiha Makoto had left because he foresaw what would happen.

Tobirama Senju reviewed Konoha’s worsening harvest prospects and the upcoming Six Kage Summit while worrying about Akatsuki Ninja Village’s expanding businesses. When he learned Uchiha Madara had secretly gathered all Uchiha clan members who had awakened their eyes, Tobirama suspected a rebellion and ordered the Anbu to prepare without alerting Hashirama Senju.

• Tobirama Senju noticed that Akatsuki Ninja Village businesses had spread across Konoha, including the breakfast stalls, but decided he could not spare attention to intervene.
• Tobirama Senju read an Anbu report warning that this year’s harvest could shrink and began considering stockpiling grain for the village.
• Tobirama Senju learned that Kage had set out for the Six Kage Summit but still did not know whom Hashirama Senju planned to bring.
• Tobirama Senju received intelligence that Uchiha Madara had summoned every Uchiha clan member who had awakened their eyes to Naka Shrine under a secrecy order.
• Tobirama Senju suspected the Uchiha Clan was preparing to seize the Hokage position and ordered the Konoha Anbu to enter combat readiness and monitor the clan without alerting Hashirama Senju.

Tobirama Senju misread the Uchiha Clan’s sudden friendliness as a plot by Uchiha Makoto and reluctantly contacted him to offer cooperation. Makoto used the opening to secure support for his plans involving food-producing countries and the tailed beasts, then asked Tobirama to help with the Six Kage Summit.

• Tobirama Senju suspected the Uchiha Clan’s peaceful behavior was a scheme by Uchiha Makoto, while Kagami Uchiha denied that anything was wrong.
• Tobirama Senju questioned Kagami Uchiha, but their conversation went nowhere, so Tobirama contacted Makoto and offered to cooperate if Konoha’s interests were protected.
• Uchiha Makoto let Tobirama believe he had orchestrated the Uchiha Clan’s actions and asked for help with integrating the Land of Fire’s agriculture and gaining support from nearby grain-producing countries.
• Tobirama Senju agreed to send people to assist Makoto and to let him use Konoha’s tailed beasts in a future confrontation with the great ninja villages.
• Tobirama Senju said he would attend the Six Kage Summit with Hashirama Senju and asked Makoto to resolve what he wanted there; Makoto said he would try to arrange Uchiha Madara’s attendance.

Tobirama Senju arrived late at the Hokage Building and learned Hashirama Senju had meant to bring Uchiha Madara to the Six Kage Summit, but instead chose Tobirama. Tobirama accepted the opportunity while deciding to advance a secret experiment to strengthen himself.

• Tobirama Senju woke late after finally relaxing, blamed Uchiha Makoto, and hurried to the Hokage Building without breakfast.
• Hashirama Senju told Tobirama Senju that Uchiha Madara had refused to see him, and Tobirama realized the breakfast had been meant for Madara.
• Hashirama Senju said he had planned to bring Uchiha Madara to the Six Kage Summit but asked Tobirama Senju to accompany him instead.
• Tobirama Senju considered the pressure from Uchiha Makoto and Uchiha Madara, then decided to begin his secret experiment early.
• Tobirama Senju ordered Hashirama Senju to come to the laboratory for a physical examination.

Tobirama Senju investigated Hashirama Senju’s cells and discovered that they could transform animals into plants, then traveled with Hashirama to the Six Kage Summit in Akatsuki Ninja Village. There, the First Kazekage and Second Raikage confronted the village’s overwhelming prosperity and strength, while the Raikage still hoped to obtain Konoha’s tailed beasts and strike back later.

• Tobirama Senju spent the night studying Hashirama Senju’s cells and watched them transform a lab mouse into a small tree.
• Tobirama Senju concluded that Hashirama’s cells could greatly enhance a person but were dangerously corrosive and difficult to control.
• Tobirama Senju and Hashirama Senju set out for Akatsuki Ninja Village to attend the Six Kage Summit.
• The First Kazekage saw Akatsuki Ninja Village’s prosperity and compared its abundance with Sunagakure’s shortages.
• The First Kazekage approached the Second Raikage, who revealed that he still intended to obtain Konoha’s tailed beasts and eventually launch a surprise attack on Akatsuki Ninja Village.

The Second Raikage persuaded the First Tsuchikage, First Mizukage, and First Kazekage to unite against the Konoha–Akatsuki Ninja Village alliance before the Six Kage Summit. Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju arrived at the Akatsuki Ninja Village, where Hashirama’s encounter with Two-Tails Matatabi left Tobirama considering an idea about Konoha’s Nine-Tails.

• The Second Raikage met the First Kazekage and First Tsuchikage in the visiting village district, where security prevented the First Mizukage and First Tsuchikage from fighting over their grudge.
• The Second Raikage urged the other three Kage to unite against Konoha and the Akatsuki Ninja Village, and they agreed to coordinate at the Six Kage Summit.
• Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju arrived at the Akatsuki Ninja Village and went to the Shadow Building to meet Uchiha Makoto.
• Two-Tails Matatabi sensed Hashirama Senju approaching and hid behind Uchiha Makoto, but Hashirama picked him up and petted him despite his protests.
• Tobirama Senju watched Hashirama pet Matatabi and began thinking about Konoha’s Nine-Tails.

Uchiha Makoto discussed the Six Kage Summit with Tobirama Senju while Matatabi enjoyed having its tail refined. At a crowded beer hall, Tengumaru explained Akatsuki Ninja Village’s visa and residency system and praised its opportunities for ordinary ninjas, leaving Matsumoto Takahashi and other visitors to consider the village’s appeal.

• Hashirama Senju left the Light Shadow's office, and Uchiha Makoto refined Two-Tails Matatabi’s tail while Tobirama Senju wondered whether the method might work on the Nine-Tails.
• Uchiha Makoto and Tobirama Senju turned to business ahead of the Six Kage Summit, which was three days away.
• Matsumoto Takahashi met his former acquaintance Tengumaru at a beer hall and was surprised to learn Tengumaru had joined Akatsuki Ninja Village.
• Tengumaru described the village’s visa system, explaining how ninjas and other newcomers could earn permanent Blue Cards through work, missions, or contributions.
• Matsumoto Takahashi questioned the long path to residency, and Tengumaru defended Akatsuki Ninja Village’s opportunities for ordinary ninjas to rise through achievement.
• Other Akatsuki ninjas joined Tengumaru in sharing stories of civilian recruits who had advanced, while Tengumaru basked in their support.

Tengumaru praised Akatsuki Ninja Village’s benefits to foreign ninjas at a beer hall, inspiring many to seek visas and Blue Cards. The resulting rush reached the visa office the next day and drew Uchiha Makoto’s attention.

• Tengumaru rebutted foreign ninjas’ doubts by describing Akatsuki Ninja Village’s medical support, safety net, education, and opportunities for ordinary ninjas.
• Tengumaru explained that qualified ninjas could obtain visas, outlined ways to shorten the ten-year wait for a Blue Card, and revealed that female ninjas could gain one by marrying an Akatsuki Ninja Village ninja.
• Matsumoto Takahashi and other foreign ninjas listened closely and began considering how to bring themselves and their acquaintances into Akatsuki Ninja Village.
• The beer hall discussion spread through ninja circles, and the next day crowds surged at Akatsuki Ninja Village’s visa office as male ninjas planned to defect later and female ninjas pursued Akatsuki Ninja Village men.
• The surge of female ninjas targeting men wearing Akatsuki forehead protectors grew so significant that Uchiha Makoto was alerted.

Uchiha Makoto learned that his visa and Blue Card policies were drawing ninjas from other villages toward Akatsuki Ninja Village, and he explained their strategic value to Tobirama Senju. As the Six Kage Summit approached, Makoto began drafting a public statement to promote the right of ninjas to pursue happiness and freedom.

• An Anbu ninja delivered intelligence to Uchiha Makoto, who celebrated the policies’ growing influence in nearby countries.
• Tobirama Senju read the report and realized Konoha ninjas, including members of the Senju Clan, had obtained Akatsuki Ninja Village visas and Blue Cards.
• Uchiha Makoto refused to reveal the cardholders’ names and told Tobirama Senju that Konoha should improve its own policies rather than oppose the program.
• Uchiha Makoto asked Tobirama Senju to help maintain unity at the Six Kage Summit and ordered an Anbu ninja to bring him paper and a brush.
• Uchiha Makoto drafted a public account of Tatsuhiko, a disabled civilian genin who escaped his village, found care and work in Akatsuki Ninja Village, and pursued a Blue Card.

Uchiha Makoto finished an article that criticized Kumogakure’s treatment of ordinary ninja and promoted Akatsuki Village’s Visa and Blue Card policies as a path to freedom and security. Tobirama Senju recognized the article’s political purpose, then watched Makoto mobilize Akatsuki Village’s Printing Factory to publish it before the Six Kage Summit’s formal meetings.

• Uchiha Makoto added a reflection blaming Kumogakure’s lingering Warring States-era flaws and its outdated system, while Tobirama Senju realized the article was designed to draw ninja toward Akatsuki Village.
• Tobirama Senju warned that the article could create internal conflict and drain elite ninja from other villages, but Uchiha Makoto threatened him into silence by invoking Konoha’s alliance with Akatsuki Village.
• Uchiha Makoto took Tobirama Senju to Akatsuki Publishing House’s Printing Factory, where workers labored under relentless production slogans.
• Tobirama Senju examined a propaganda board praising a model worker, and Uchiha Makoto explained that the man had risen to become a workshop director.
• Uchiha Makoto handed the workshop director the article and ordered it made the headline of the next New Ninja issue within two days, prompting the workers to intensify production.

Uchiha Makoto released a special issue of New Ninja in Akatsuki Village, where its story of a discarded ninja finding happiness stirred foreign readers to question their own villages and consider defecting. Chiyo began longing to escape Sunagakure, and the influx of prospective defectors prompted the four Kage to urgently meet again.

• Uchiha Makoto ordered the latest issue of New Ninja sold in Akatsuki Village as a special publication for foreign ninjas.
• Chiyo visited Akatsuki Village, marveled at its clean air and prosperity, and bought her first copy of New Ninja.
• Chiyo read Tatsuhiko's story of leaving his cruel village for Akatsuki Ninja Village and began considering escape from Sunagakure.
• Foreign female ninjas praised Akatsuki Ninja Village and condemned their home villages, while they angrily dismissed a woman's defense of those villages.
• Ninjas from small and great villages crowded the Visa Processing Office, and the four Kage of Kumogakure, Sunagakure, Kirigakure, and Iwagakure called another urgent meeting.