Chapter Summaries

Uchiha Makoto considered how to shape Uchiha Taiichi’s future circle by nurturing promising children, including Hatake Sakumo and Orochimaru. After receiving Tobirama Senju’s signal, he went to his study as Tobirama weighed using fabricated evidence against Akatsuki Ninja Village and feared the negotiations might lead to war.

• Uchiha Makoto watched the children in the courtyard and resolved to select capable companions for Uchiha Taiichi while they were young.
• Uchiha Makoto identified Hatake Sakumo as a future powerhouse and planned to build his loyalty to Akatsuki Ninja Village while teaching him to be more flexible.
• Uchiha Makoto saw Orochimaru studying an insect and decided to nurture his research ambitions within Akatsuki Ninja Village.
• Uchiha Makoto sensed Tobirama Senju’s communication and returned to his study to answer it.
• Tobirama Senju examined Shimura Danzō’s fabricated evidence implicating Akatsuki Ninja Village in assassinations and worried that the coming negotiations could spiral into war.

Tobirama Senju confronted Uchiha Makoto over the assassinations in the Land of Fire and demanded that Akatsuki Ninja Village sacrifice operatives and return profits from its tobacco and liquor business. Makoto admitted responsibility without hesitation, leaving Tobirama to press his demands while hiding his more modest negotiating goals.

• Tobirama contacted Uchiha Makoto and claimed he had evidence linking Akatsuki Ninja Village to the assassinations.
• Makoto dismissed Tobirama’s threats and openly admitted that he had ordered the killings.
• Tobirama said the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire wanted the scandal exposed but offered to settle it privately.
• Tobirama demanded that Makoto hand over Akatsuki Ninja Village Anbu leaders and return profits from tobacco and liquor.
• Tobirama privately intended to settle for a few expendable bodies and a share of the company’s profits.

Uchiha Makoto rejected Tobirama Senju’s private demands and threatened to break with Konoha if it publicly exposed Akatsuki Ninja Village’s assassinations. Makoto prepared to use the profits from the tobacco and alcohol industry to keep Konoha’s clans on his side, while Tobirama called for an emergency meeting to decide how Konoha should respond.

• Makoto saw Tobirama’s demands as an attempt to profit from both sides and warned that exposing Akatsuki Ninja Village would lead him to found a new country in the Land of Fire.
• Tobirama threatened all-out war and invoked Hashirama Senju, but Makoto dismissed his threats and ended their call.
• Makoto told the Uchiha Great Elder that Tobirama’s evidence was probably fake and asked him to let Konoha’s clans see Akatsuki Ninja Village’s tobacco and alcohol profit report.
• Tobirama considered asking Hashirama for help, then decided to convene an emergency meeting of Konoha’s High Command to learn where the clans stood.

Tobirama Senju prepared forged evidence to accuse Akatsuki Ninja Village, hoping to regain the Land of Fire Daimyo's trust despite the risk of war with Uchiha Makoto's village. He entered a tense meeting with Konoha's clan leaders and senior officials, ready to present the evidence.

• Tobirama Senju reviewed Root's fabricated evidence and decided it could persuade the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire and Konoha's major clans.
• Tobirama Senju weighed the danger of breaking the alliance with Akatsuki Ninja Village against Konoha's declining standing and Hashirama Senju's failing health.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Tobirama Senju that more than half the clan leaders and senior officials had arrived.
• Konoha's clan leaders and senior officials gathered in a gloomy Meeting Room, suspecting the meeting concerned the Noble Assassination Case.
• Tobirama Senju entered the Meeting Room with the forged evidence, followed by Hiruzen Sarutobi, who shut the door.

Tobirama Senju presented evidence linking Akatsuki Ninja Village to the assassinations of Land of Fire officials and tried to use the scandal to pressure the village over its Tobacco and Alcohol Industry holdings. The Uchiha Great Elder challenged the evidence’s credibility in front of Konoha’s leaders, leaving Tobirama wary that the meeting was turning against him.

• Tobirama Senju presented evidence implicating Akatsuki Ninja Village in the assassinations, while many officials argued that the village was being framed.
• Tobirama Senju signaled Shimura Danzō, who argued that rogue members of Akatsuki Ninja Village had acted without Uchiha Makoto’s knowledge.
• Shimura Danzō revealed that the victims had ties to the Tobacco and Alcohol Industry and that Akatsuki-backed companies had bought their holdings after their deaths.
• The Uchiha Great Elder mocked the sudden appearance of evidence after earlier investigations had found nothing, prompting Tobirama Senju to order him to stop speaking.
• The Uchiha Great Elder challenged the meeting’s leaders to say whether he should be forbidden from speaking, and the room fell silent.

The Uchiha Great Elder challenged Tobirama Senju’s attempt to blame Akatsuki Ninja Village, arguing that the evidence and supposed motive did not prove its guilt. He left the meeting with the accusation turned back on Konoha’s assembled leaders, whom he suggested could also be suspects.

• The Uchiha Great Elder asserted that the other clan leaders would not permit Tobirama Senju to silence him or establish a dangerous precedent.
• Tobirama Senju warned the Uchiha Great Elder that he could be expelled from the meeting if he continued defending Akatsuki Ninja Village.
• The Uchiha Great Elder rejected Tobirama Senju’s accusation and said his doubts were meant to keep Konoha from being manipulated.
• The Uchiha Great Elder argued that the evidence could have been fabricated and that Akatsuki Ninja Village’s investment company buying Tobacco and Liquor Company shares did not prove a motive.
• The Uchiha Great Elder suggested that if those share purchases made Akatsuki Ninja Village a suspect, most of the people present could be suspects too.

The Uchiha Great Elder revealed that Konoha’s clans had invested in Akatsuki Ninja Village’s tobacco and alcohol businesses, complicating Tobirama Senju’s suspicions about their secret ties. He announced a first-month dividend of nine hundred million ryō, leaving the clan leaders stunned by the profits.

• Tobirama Senju grew uneasy when the Uchiha Great Elder implied Konoha was involved in Akatsuki Ninja Village’s tobacco and alcohol companies.
• The Uchiha Great Elder explained that a joint investment fund formed under the clans’ cooperation agreement had financed the Land of Fire’s tobacco and alcohol industry.
• Tobirama Senju suspected that Konoha clan leaders had secretly helped Uchiha Makoto conceal evidence during Root’s investigation.
• The Uchiha Great Elder said Akatsuki Ninja Village had captured nearly half the Land of Fire’s tobacco and alcohol market and announced Konoha’s first monthly dividend was nine hundred million ryō.
• Konoha’s clan leaders were astonished by the dividend and considered how much their investments could earn over a year.

The Uchiha Great Elder announced that Konoha’s clans would receive an enormous dividend from Akatsuki Ninja Village’s tobacco and alcohol monopoly, with payments expected to grow. Tobirama Senju realized Uchiha Makoto was using the money to bind Konoha’s clans to him and prevent Tobirama from opposing him.

• The Uchiha Great Elder told Konoha’s leaders that the announced dividend was only the first month’s payment and that next month’s could be higher.
• Tobirama Senju recalled how he had investigated the industry and realized that even his estimate of its profits had been far too low.
• Tobirama Senju regretted that Konoha had not joined the business, but recognized that challenging the Land of Fire’s nobles would have brought bloodshed.
• Tobirama Senju understood that Uchiha Makoto intended the dividends to win Konoha’s clans over and make them dependent on Akatsuki Ninja Village.
• Tobirama Senju concluded that opposing Uchiha Makoto could cost Konoha more than ten billion ryō each year, a temptation its clans would struggle to resist.

Uchiha Great Elder used the ninja clans’ dividends from Akatsuki Ninja Village to turn the meeting against Tobirama Senju and challenge Shimura Danzō’s accusations. Tobirama stopped the clans from attacking Danzō, but they then demanded an investigation of the evidence, leaving Tobirama unable to condemn Akatsuki Ninja Village.

• Uchiha Great Elder mocked Tobirama Senju for resenting the clans’ profits and celebrated their windfall in the meeting.
• Uchiha Great Elder pointed out that most clans had received dividends while the Shimura Clan had not, prompting the representatives to accuse Shimura Danzō of treating them as traitors.
• Shimura Danzō appealed to Tobirama Senju as the clans denounced him, and Tobirama ordered everyone to stop.
• Uchiha Great Elder questioned Danzō’s evidence and called for all the clans to examine it before reaching a conclusion.
• The clan representatives backed Uchiha Great Elder and praised Uchiha Makoto, while Tobirama realized their profits had made it impossible to present the evidence as conclusive.

Tobirama Senju failed to rally Konoha’s clans against the Akatsuki Ninja Village after its payouts secured their support, and the Uchiha Great Elder forced him to abandon the meeting’s accusations. The Great Elder left surrounded by newly friendly clan representatives while Tobirama watched, furious and isolated.

• Tobirama Senju realized the clans’ financial ties to the Akatsuki Ninja Village left him unable to use them to clear Konoha’s name or gain the Feudal Lord’s support.
• The Uchiha Great Elder warned the meeting to scrutinize Root’s evidence and not let fabricated accusations damage the village’s interests.
• Facing the clans’ unified silence, Tobirama Senju grudgingly agreed that the Uchiha Great Elder was correct, ending the meeting without its planned accusations.
• After the meeting, the Uchiha Great Elder was surrounded by fawning Konoha officials and representatives from small and medium ninja clans, whom he treated amiably.
• Tobirama Senju watched the gathering coldly, doubting the clans’ loyalty and resenting his loss of influence.

After Tobirama Senju lost support from Konoha’s clans, he reluctantly decided to seek a compromise with Uchiha Makoto to appease the Land of Fire Daimyo. Makoto ordered the Uchiha in Konoha to keep winning over the clans and, as Tobirama finally contacted him, anticipated the chance to negotiate from strength.

• Tobirama Senju considered secretly contacting Uchiha Makoto to secure a deal that could satisfy the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire.
• Uchiha Great Elder told Uchiha Makoto about the meeting, where Konoha’s clans sided with the dividend payments and Tobirama Senju was forced to concede.
• Uchiha Makoto ordered the Uchiha remaining in Konoha to keep distributing benefits and cultivating the clans’ dependence rather than provoke Tobirama Senju.
• Uchiha Makoto told Uchiha Great Elder to wait until the time was ripe before annexing Konoha, then predicted that Tobirama Senju would seek peace.
• Tsubaki Uzumaki was delighted when Uchiha Makoto implied Tsunade would come to the Akatsuki Ninja Village, and they went to dinner together.
• Tobirama Senju resolved to set aside his dignity and contact Uchiha Makoto, whose chakra-sensing revealed the incoming communication after dinner.

Uchiha Makoto mocked Tobirama Senju during a call, then agreed to discuss their shared political troubles after forcing Tobirama to acknowledge his defeat and address him as Lord Shadow. The two left the Land of Fire’s growing crisis unresolved, with Makoto insisting that those stirring up trouble would be killed.

• Uchiha Makoto called Tobirama Senju, mocked his loyalty to the Feudal Lord, and called him the Land of Fire’s most loyal servant.
• Tobirama admitted that Makoto had outmaneuvered him by winning over Konoha’s ninja clans and weakening Konoha’s unity.
• Makoto denied plotting against the clans and claimed he had only helped them earn money.
• Tobirama agreed to dispose of Konoha’s evidence and asked Makoto to help handle public doubts about Konoha and Akatsuki Ninja Village.
• Makoto declared that he would kill those stirring up trouble and refused to forgive them even if they apologized.
• Makoto made Tobirama call him Lord Shadow and admit he was convinced before continuing the discussion.

Uchiha Makoto and Tobirama Senju negotiated over the Land of Fire’s tobacco and liquor profits and the Daimyo’s anger. Tobirama rejected Makoto’s plan to blame the Bandits, but considered Makoto’s offer to clear out corrupt nobles in exchange for a share of the remaining industry.

• Uchiha Makoto finished berating Tobirama Senju and proposed blaming the Bandits, issuing public apologies, and killing nobles who resisted.
• Tobirama Senju refused to join Makoto in deceiving the Daimyo and offered to return some profits from the tobacco and liquor industry.
• Uchiha Makoto rejected returning the profits and noted that Konoha’s ninja clans also benefited from them.
• Tobirama Senju offered Senju Clan secret techniques and Konoha forbidden techniques in exchange for a concession, and Uchiha Makoto considered the offer.
• Uchiha Makoto proposed clearing corrupt nobles from the remaining industry, taking twenty percent while giving the Daimyo the other thirty percent.
• Tobirama Senju recognized that the arrangement might benefit the Daimyo but struggled with allowing Akatsuki Ninja Village to control seventy percent of the industry.

Tobirama Senju bargained with Uchiha Makoto over the remaining shares in the Land of Fire's tobacco and liquor industry, seeking a cut for Konoha in exchange for helping Akatsuki Ninja Village. Makoto tentatively agreed to give him ten percent, but Tobirama's first condition was to take Tsunade.

• Tobirama Senju argued that the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire and the country's nobles would make it difficult for Akatsuki Ninja Village to take over more shares.
• Tobirama hinted that he expected benefits for helping mediate, and Uchiha Makoto accused him of trying to line his own pockets.
• Tobirama threatened to have Konoha's Anbu obstruct Akatsuki Ninja Village's operations unless Makoto shared the twenty percent labor fee.
• Tobirama offered to help Konoha smooth the takeover in exchange for ten percent, and Uchiha Makoto tentatively agreed, subject to conditions.
• Tobirama stated his first condition: he wanted Tsunade.

Uchiha Makoto and Tobirama Senju negotiated over Tsunade’s upbringing and a memorial service for Uchiha Madara. Tobirama agreed to let Tsunade spend time in Akatsuki Ninja Village and attend its Ninja Academy, then decided not to forbid Konoha ninja from attending Madara’s service so he could expose which clans supported Makoto.

• Uchiha Makoto demanded that Tsunade spend her childhood in Akatsuki Ninja Village, but Tobirama Senju refused to let her leave Konoha permanently.
• Uchiha Makoto and Tobirama Senju compromised on Tsunade visiting Akatsuki Ninja Village each year and attending its Ninja Academy when she was older.
• Uchiha Makoto demanded that Tobirama not prevent Konoha ninja from attending Uchiha Madara’s memorial service, and Tobirama initially refused.
• Uchiha Makoto provoked Tobirama by threatening to invite Konoha’s major ninja clans to the service.
• Tobirama realized that allowing attendance would reveal which clans chose to support Makoto, and decided not to issue a ban.

Tobirama Senju accepted Uchiha Makoto’s challenge to hold a Funeral for Uchiha Madara, confident he could keep Konoha’s clans—and especially Hashirama Senju—from getting involved. Uchiha Makoto revealed he had insiders in the Senju Clan Grounds ready to spread the news, leaving Tobirama’s ability to keep it from Hashirama in doubt.

• Tobirama Senju accepted Uchiha Makoto’s condition, expecting Konoha’s clans to avoid the Funeral and planning to keep the rumors from Hashirama Senju.
• Tobirama Senju told Uchiha Makoto he would wait to see how many people attended, dismissing the plan as a feeble provocation.
• Uchiha Makoto revealed that his true target was Hashirama Senju and that he had covert connections among Senju Clan members.
• Uchiha Makoto’s intermediaries planned to spread news of the Funeral casually throughout the Senju Clan Grounds until it reached Hashirama Senju.

Uchiha Makoto and Tobirama Senju finalized a temporary agreement dividing the Land of Fire’s tobacco and alcohol industry, then argued over how Tobirama would explain it to the Daimyo. Tobirama planned to blame Makoto and present himself as a loyal negotiator, but Makoto exposed his secret ten-percent stake, prompting Tobirama to demand unity in front of the Daimyo.

• Uchiha Makoto ended negotiations after agreeing that Akatsuki Ninja Village would take sixty percent of the tobacco and alcohol industry, the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire thirty percent, and Konoha ten percent.
• Uchiha Makoto asked Tobirama Senju how he planned to secure the Feudal Lord’s support for taking over the remaining market.
• Tobirama Senju decided to tell the Daimyo a carefully framed version of the truth, blaming Makoto for corrupting Konoha’s clans while claiming he had protected the Daimyo’s thirty-percent share.
• Uchiha Makoto suggested threatening the Feudal Lord, but Tobirama Senju rejected the idea and insisted he would not repeat their past treasonous actions.
• Uchiha Makoto accused Tobirama Senju of hiding Konoha’s ten-percent share from the Daimyo, and Tobirama Senju told him not to undermine their unity with the Daimyo.

Uchiha Makoto let Tobirama Senju keep a ten percent share of the tobacco and alcohol profits, while Tobirama planned to use the money to strengthen Konoha and relied on the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire for support. The Feudal Lord reflected on the growing power of ninja villages as Konoha's envoy arrived with an urgent letter from Tobirama.

• Uchiha Makoto mocked Tobirama Senju for taking a share of the profits, then ended their communication.
• Tobirama Senju recognized the money would help Konoha but feared Akatsuki Ninja Village's much larger share and decided Konoha needed the Feudal Lord's backing.
• Tobirama Senju wrote a report that downplayed Konoha's problems and ordered an Anbu ninja to deliver it to the Daimyo.
• The Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire worried that organized ninja villages were gaining power and threatening the nobles' authority.
• The Feudal Lord's personal attendant announced that Konoha's envoy had arrived with an urgent confidential letter from Tobirama Senju.

The Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire read Tobirama Senju’s letter and learned that Konoha and Akatsuki Ninja Village had divided the tobacco and alcohol profits, leaving him only thirty percent. He accepted the deal for now and resolved to seek an alliance with other nations to weaken Akatsuki Ninja Village.

• The Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire received Tobirama Senju’s secret letter from a Konoha Anbu ninja, expecting evidence against Akatsuki Ninja Village.
• The Feudal Lord read that Akatsuki Ninja Village would receive sixty percent of the tobacco and alcohol shares, Konoha ten percent, and the Land of Fire thirty percent, then flew into a rage and destroyed his bedchamber.
• After calming down, the Feudal Lord considered whether Tobirama Senju had been outmaneuvered by Uchiha Makoto or was secretly cooperating with him.
• The Feudal Lord reluctantly accepted the thirty percent share and postponed deciding whether to increase Konoha’s funding until Tobirama Senju explained in person.
• The Feudal Lord decided to seek support from the other great nations to weaken Akatsuki Ninja Village, believing Hashirama Senju was no longer a reliable deterrent.

Shimura Danzō delivered the Konoha clans’ joint report rejecting the evidence against Akatsuki Ninja Village, leaving Tobirama Senju to blame Danzō for the mission’s failure to calm public outrage. After compensating Danzō and reassuring him that his position in Root was safe, Tobirama was left alone, burdened by Konoha’s troubles and without anyone to support him.

• Shimura Danzō brought Tobirama Senju the joint report in which Konoha’s ninja clans dismissed the evidence against Akatsuki Ninja Village as flawed and called the incident a mission accident.
• Tobirama Senju decided that someone had to take responsibility and told Danzō he would have to suffer another injustice for the village’s stability.
• Shimura Danzō accepted the blame, and Tobirama assured him that any public punishment would be for show and that his position in Root would remain secure.
• Tobirama Senju promised Danzō a share of the money expected from tobacco and liquor dividends if the Land of Fire’s Daimyo agreed to the deal.
• After Danzō left, Tobirama Senju reflected that, unlike Danzō, he no longer had anyone behind him to support him.