Chapter Summaries

Kawaguchi and two Genin left the village for Perching River Town after Akatsuki Ninja Village promised local farmers jobs, land management, and agricultural support. At the town entrance, Master Huang greeted them with a lavish procession and a bound steward.

• Kawaguchi led two Genin out of the village as grateful farmers saw them off.
• The villagers wanted to join the mission, but Kawaguchi refused and told them to await news.
• Kawaguchi and the Genin reached Perching River Town, where musicians played and local leaders waited.
• Master Huang welcomed the three ninja and presented the bound steward who had been beaten the day before.

Kawaguchi publicly exposed the Huang Family’s crimes and announced that Akatsuki Ninja Village would establish a security office in Perching River Town. A young villager took the platform to accuse Master Huang of ruining his family, leaving the bound landlord at the mercy of the villagers’ anger.

• Master Huang begged Kawaguchi for his life and offered his wealth, but Kawaguchi said Akatsuki Ninja Village needed none of the local families or their money.
• Kawaguchi read out the Huang Family’s crimes and announced that Akatsuki Ninja Village would uphold justice and establish a public security office.
• A young villager pushed through the crowd, stepped onto the platform, and shouted that Master Huang had it coming.
• The young man recounted how the Huang Family seized his family’s farmland during the famine and had his older brother murdered after he sought justice.
• When Master Huang tried to glare back, an Akatsuki Genin stomped him down, and the young man kicked him across the platform.

Kawaguchi oversaw the purge of Perching River Town’s old ruling families and the start of Akatsuki Ninja Village’s new agricultural system, while Uchiha Makoto considered the crackdown’s growing momentum and prepared Uchiha Madara’s funeral. Tobirama Senju returned to Konoha, where Hashirama Senju confronted him for hiding Madara’s funeral.

• Kawaguchi let the townspeople of Perching River Town punish Master Huang and the two great families, then announced land redistribution, production groups, and factory funding under Akatsuki Ninja Village.
• Kawaguchi and two young Genin arrested the old families’ lackeys, inventoried their wealth, and began surveying and reorganizing farmland with help from local clerks.
• Uchiha Makoto dismissed complaints from powerful families as the Black-and-Evil Crackdown spread across Akatsuki Ninja Village’s territory and ordinary people began organizing against local oppressors.
• Uchiha Makoto assessed the crackdown’s political risks, predicted Tobirama Senju would seek benefits rather than openly oppose Akatsuki Ninja Village, and continued preparing Uchiha Madara’s funeral.
• Tobirama Senju returned to Konoha, where Hashirama Senju accused him of hiding Madara’s funeral and leaving him at risk of dying with regrets.

Tobirama Senju returned home intending to rest, but Hashirama Senju told him he planned to attend Uchiha Madara’s Funeral in Akatsuki Ninja Village. Tobirama tried to stop him, fearing the visit would damage Konoha and expose Hashirama’s failing health, but Hashirama remained determined to speak with Uchiha Makoto.

• Tobirama Senju planned to spread the Konoha Record of Awakening to distract the public from rumors targeting him and stigmatize the Uchiha Clan.
• Hashirama Senju told Tobirama Senju that he knew about Madara’s upcoming Funeral and intended to attend it.
• Tobirama Senju denied the news at first, then warned Hashirama that attending could trigger damaging rumors about Madara’s death and Konoha’s leaders.
• Hashirama Senju said he wanted to see Madara one last time, accept responsibility, and prevent relations between the clans and villages from worsening.
• Tobirama Senju rebuked Hashirama for believing he understood Uchiha Makoto.

Tobirama Senju tried to stop Hashirama Senju from attending Uchiha Madara’s funeral in Akatsuki Ninja Village, warning that Uchiha Makoto was dangerous, but Hashirama dismissed his accusations as jealousy. Tobirama ultimately agreed to accompany him, provided they concealed their identities and Hashirama followed his orders.

• Tobirama Senju warned Hashirama Senju that Uchiha Makoto was dangerous, while Hashirama recalled Makoto’s success in governing Akatsuki Ninja Village and suspected Tobirama envied his talent.
• Hashirama Senju rebuked Tobirama Senju for letting personal resentment cloud his judgment, and Tobirama kept quiet because revealing Makoto’s secrets could expose their own shared misdeeds.
• Hashirama Senju insisted he would attend Uchiha Madara’s funeral despite Tobirama Senju’s objections.
• Hashirama Senju promised to hide his identity and attend discreetly, and Tobirama Senju agreed to go with him and require him to follow orders.
• After Hashirama Senju left, Tobirama Senju lamented that the funeral trip had ruined his plans to promote the Konoha Record of Awakening.

Uchiha Makoto’s purge across Akatsuki Ninja Village’s territory shook the Land of Fire and stirred unrest beyond its borders. Terrified that the upheaval would reach the capital, the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire summoned the weakened Land of Fire Elder to discuss how to respond.

• Uchiha Makoto’s ninjas arrested and publicly tried powerful figures and criminals across the territory under Akatsuki Ninja Village’s control.
• Displaced people and tenant farmers in other parts of the Land of Fire began to stir, prompting local nobles to suppress them by force.
• The Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire feared that Uchiha Makoto’s campaign would destroy the country’s established order and eventually reach the capital.
• The Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire summoned the Land of Fire Elder, who arrived in poor health and remained standing until an attendant brought him a chair.
• The Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire told the Land of Fire Elder that Uchiha Makoto had begun a large-scale purge and threatened to reduce the Daimyo Palace to an ornament.

The Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire decided to secretly organize the other great nations against Akatsuki Ninja Village and planned for Konoha to betray it at the decisive moment. The Land of Fire Elder accepted the order, hoping the conflict might also let him avenge his family.

• The Land of Fire Elder warned the Feudal Lord that Konoha and Tobirama Senju could not be trusted to fight Akatsuki Ninja Village.
• The Feudal Lord proposed uniting Kumogakure, Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and Sunagakure to weaken or destroy Akatsuki Ninja Village.
• The Land of Fire Elder cautioned that Uchiha Makoto might retaliate if he discovered the Land of Fire’s role in the attack.
• The Feudal Lord ordered the Elder to coordinate with the other daimyos and send a trusted subordinate to test Tobirama Senju’s reaction to Akatsuki Ninja Village’s crackdown.
• The Feudal Lord planned for Konoha to join the allied attack and strike Akatsuki Ninja Village from behind once its forces were engaged.
• The Land of Fire Elder accepted the order and resolved to gamble on the plan, seeing a chance to avenge his family.

Tobirama expected his book, "Konoha Record of Awakening," to turn public opinion against Uchiha Makoto, so he visited a bookstore to observe its launch. He found a huge crowd in line, but the words "New Ninja" made him realize the attention might be for something else.

• Tobirama remembered suspecting Uchiha Makoto and Senju clansmen of leaking the secret of Uchiha Madara's funeral, then knocked himself unconscious to get some sleep.
• Tobirama recalled that "Konoha Record of Awakening" was going on sale and planned to use it to attack the Uchiha through public opinion.
• Tobirama walked through Konoha's busy shopping street and noted how its economy was growing while remaining closely tied to Akatsuki Ninja Village.
• Tobirama disguised himself as a villager and went to a bookstore, where a long line for the new book filled him with satisfaction.
• Tobirama moved closer to the crowd and saw the words "New Ninja," causing his expression to darken.

Tobirama Senju bought New Ninja and grew furious over an article praising Akatsuki Ninja Village’s Will of Light at the expense of Konoha’s Will of Fire. He tried to counter its influence by promoting the Konoha Record of Awakening, but a villager publicly dismissed the book and accused the Second of writing it to cover up his role in Uchiha Madara’s death.

• Tobirama Senju disguised himself as an ordinary villager and bought the latest issue of New Ninja to investigate its popularity.
• He read an anonymous merchant’s account praising Akatsuki Ninja Village for helping civilians and arguing that its Will of Light surpassed Konoha’s Will of Fire.
• Tobirama Senju overheard a Konoha Chunin and villagers admiring the article and criticizing Konoha’s ideals, then decided to respond without revealing his identity.
• He brought out the Konoha Record of Awakening and warned the group that Uchiha members were dangerously unstable, citing Uchiha Madara as an example.
• A villager challenged Tobirama Senju, admitted he had not read the book, and argued that the Second had written it overnight to conceal his alleged role in Uchiha Madara’s death.

Konoha villagers and ninjas mocked Tobirama Senju’s Konoha Record of Awakening and the village’s restrictions on speech, refusing to follow his attempt to turn public opinion against the Uchiha Clan. The crowd’s discussion ended with a young villager openly declaring that fear of arrest was no reason to stay silent.

• A Konoha bystander accused someone of writing Konoha Record of Awakening to clear his name and sarcastically warned that Anbu might arrest him for speaking out.
• The bystander’s remarks reminded bookstore visitors of Anbu beating villagers who had gossiped about Tobirama Senju, until the Uchiha Great Elder intervened.
• New Ninja fans and other villagers laughed and joined the discussion, shifting attention away from Tobirama Senju’s planned attack on the Uchiha Clan and Uchiha Makoto.
• Villagers complained that Konoha restricted free speech while Akatsuki Ninja Village let ordinary people criticize its leaders.
• A young villager admitted he feared arrest but declared that people still had to say what needed to be said.

Tobirama Senju disguised himself among Konoha villagers and watched them mock his policies through jokes inspired by New Ninja, then learned that the Konoha Record of Awakening had sold poorly. He left the meeting determined to press ahead with the book, but the Uchiha Clan’s restrained response frustrated his plans to portray them as a threat.

• A Konoha villager told jokes about an Anbu saving a drowning man only to arrest him, and about Anbu mistaking criticism of Akatsuki Ninja Village for criticism of Konoha.
• Tobirama Senju blamed Uchiha Makoto for turning villagers against Konoha and abandoned his attempt to promote the Konoha Record of Awakening in the bookstore.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi reported that sales of the Konoha Record of Awakening were below expectations despite a staged launch-day rush.
• Tobirama decided he could use his authority to continue promoting the book and asked how the Uchiha Clan had reacted.
• Hiruzen said some young Uchiha had activated their Sharingan in anger but had restrained themselves, leaving Tobirama to suspect Uchiha Makoto was directing the clan.

After receiving the Fire Daimyo's demand that Konoha respond to Akatsuki Ninja Village's unauthorized crackdown, Tobirama Senju blamed Uchiha Makoto and reprimanded his students for missing the operation. He decided to contact Makoto, hoping to negotiate a deal while preparing to address the fallout.

• Tobirama Senju learned that Uchiha Makoto had brought the Uchiha Clan under control and realized his plan to divide the clan had been undermined.
• An Anbu ninja delivered an urgent personal letter from the Fire Daimyo, which reported that Akatsuki Ninja Village's crackdown had killed many nobles and violated the agreement separating village and country affairs.
• Tobirama Senju complained that Uchiha Makoto had acted without warning Konoha, while considering how Konoha could profit from opposing the operation.
• After reading the letter, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu faced Tobirama Senju's anger over Konoha's failure to detect the operation.
• Tobirama Senju ordered his students to mobilize Anbu and the Intelligence Division for a full report, then decided to contact Uchiha Makoto and negotiate.

Uchiha Madara struggled to adapt to teaching at Akatsuki Ninja Village’s Ninja Academy after his class ranked last overall in the monthly exams. His colleagues and students’ parents learned he had little teaching experience and suspected he had been hired through connections, leaving him under pressure from every side.

• Madara watched his students spar and reflected on how challenging he found the Academy’s broad curriculum.
• He recalled that he had ignored academic subjects and focused mainly on practical combat training.
• His class placed among the top few in practical exams but finished last among twenty classes overall.
• Teachers investigated Madara’s unimpressive fabricated résumé and concluded that he had been hired through connections.
• Parents learned Madara had no teaching experience, and some threatened to confront him before school security stopped them.
• Madara faced growing pressure from his colleagues, the parents, and the dean of students.

Uchiha Madara asked Uchiha Makoto for help after his class’s poor grades and unruly behavior threatened his standing as a teacher, and Makoto devised a parent-teacher meeting to change their attitude toward studying. At the meeting, Makoto began a tearful gratitude-education performance, leaving the parents and students caught in its carefully staged atmosphere.

• Uchiha Madara visited Uchiha Makoto’s villa and admitted that his class had come last in the grade and that parents were demanding answers.
• Uchiha Makoto promised to disguise himself as an academic teacher and use a parent-teacher meeting to improve the students’ attitude toward learning.
• Uchiha Madara told his class’s parents and students to attend their first parent-teacher meeting the following afternoon.
• Uchiha Makoto analyzed the class’s poor results, then signaled Uchiha Madara to start playing a mournful song.
• Uchiha Makoto remembered being moved to tears by gratitude-education speeches as a child while he stood on the podium to deliver his own performance.

Uchiha Makoto used mournful music and an emotional speech at a school meeting to make students confront the hardships their parents had endured. His performance left Uchiha Madara embarrassed and the parents and children overwhelmed with guilt and sorrow.

• Uchiha Makoto began his speech over mournful music, drawing the parents' and students' attention.
• Uchiha Makoto told the students that their safe lives and education came from their parents risking their lives on missions.
• Uchiha Madara felt an urge to flee despite sensing no genjutsu or chakra fluctuations.
• Uchiha Makoto urged the students to look closely at their parents and imagine the dangers and sacrifices they faced.
• The students grew tearful as they noticed their parents' signs of age, while the parents were overcome by memories of their own hardships.

Uchiha Makoto used an emotional parent-teacher meeting to make students promise to study and serve the village, then left Uchiha Madara to manage the class. In Konoha, Tobirama Senju reviewed reports showing that the Akatsuki Ninja Village’s crackdown had won popular support while driving nobles toward Konoha.

• Uchiha Makoto urged the crying children to kneel, thank their parents, and promise to study hard and shoulder Lord Shadow’s burdens.
• The children and their parents embraced in tears, and Uchiha Madara watched in shock as the meeting ended.
• Uchiha Makoto warned Uchiha Madara that emotional pressure would work only once, and Madara asked him to assign an experienced teacher.
• Tobirama Senju read reports that commoners welcomed Uchiha Makoto’s crackdown and land redistribution while nobles condemned it and sought Konoha’s support.

Tobirama Senju planned to condemn Uchiha Makoto’s purge publicly while secretly negotiating with him to move wealthy nobles and their fortunes to Konoha. Uchiha Makoto worried that a Sunagakure team had found Gelel Stones, then received Tobirama’s call and considered how to respond after Tobirama’s recent smear campaign.

• Tobirama Senju welcomed wealthy Land of Fire nobles seeking Konoha’s protection and planned to relocate them and their money to the village.
• Tobirama Senju decided Konoha would publicly condemn Uchiha Makoto’s purge, escort fleeing nobles to safety, and privately negotiate over their fortunes.
• Uchiha Makoto reviewed reports showing Akatsuki Ninja Village’s public-order campaign was gaining local support and expanding its control across part of the Land of Fire.
• Uchiha Makoto learned that a Sunagakure Strike Team had intercepted grain smugglers and discovered Gelel Stones, threatening Akatsuki Ninja Village’s secret energy supply.
• Uchiha Makoto sensed Tobirama Senju contacting him and suspected Tobirama wanted to discuss the purge or Uchiha Madara’s upcoming funeral, but resented Tobirama’s recent attempt to smear him.

Uchiha Makoto and Tobirama Senju clashed over Konoha's plan to escort Land of Fire nobles and their wealth, while Tobirama ordered his former students to lead the rescue teams. Afterward, Hashirama reminded Tobirama of his promise to secretly attend Madara's funeral, and Tobirama agreed to leave Konoha with him the next day.

• Uchiha Makoto taunted Tobirama Senju over Konoha's dependence on the nobles and warned that the Akatsuki Ninja Village would harass their evacuation.
• Tobirama Senju ended the call and ordered Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura to lead teams escorting nobles and their assets to Konoha.
• Shimura Danzō eagerly accepted the chance to prove himself during the evacuation mission.
• Tobirama Senju left the Hokage's Office early because of exhaustion, but Hashirama Senju was waiting at home to remind him about Madara's funeral.
• Tobirama Senju agreed to leave for the Akatsuki Ninja Village with Hashirama the next day and asked him not to tell Mito about the secret trip.

Mito Uzumaki learned that Hashirama Senju planned to attend Uchiha Madara’s funeral in the Akatsuki Ninja Village, but she chose not to stop him because of his poor health and their complicated bond. Tobirama Senju then entrusted her with overseeing Konoha while he and Hashirama were away.

• Mito Uzumaki confronted Tobirama Senju and accused him of hiding the reason for his planned departure.
• Tobirama Senju revealed that Hashirama Senju insisted on attending Uchiha Madara’s funeral and that he would accompany him.
• Mito Uzumaki accepted Hashirama’s decision, telling Tobirama to keep an eye on his health.
• Tobirama Senju asked Mito Uzumaki to oversee Konoha while he and Hashirama were away, and she confidently agreed.

Tobirama Senju learned that Mito Uzumaki had failed to win the Nine-Tails’ cooperation and decided to negotiate with it himself, with a jinchuriki plan ready if talks failed. He and Mito reached the sealed chamber, where Tobirama announced his intention to negotiate.

• Mito Uzumaki told Tobirama Senju that the Nine-Tails rejected her offers and remained hostile to Konoha.
• Tobirama Senju considered Konoha’s need for a new defense as Hashirama Senju’s health declined and his Hashirama cell experiments failed.
• Tobirama Senju decided that if his own negotiations failed, Konoha would forcibly seal the Nine-Tails inside a human vessel as a jinchuriki.
• Tobirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki left the Senju Clan Grounds and entered Konoha’s secret underground sealing chamber.
• Tobirama Senju faced the chained Nine-Tails and said he had come to negotiate.