Chapter Summaries

Shiraishi Yoshijo captured Sarutobi Hiruzen, destroyed Konoha with Hayaka’s Tailed Beast Balls, and left the former Hokage alive under a Cursed Seal. Obito then considered recruiting Sarutobi to seek revenge, while the ruins of Konoha became a lake.

• Shiraishi Yoshijo’s forces searched Konoha, arrested its holdouts, and confronted Sarutobi Hiruzen atop Kage Rock.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen fought the Anbu until Shiraishi severed his arm, and the Anbu subdued him and sealed his chakra.
• Shiraishi accused Sarutobi of enabling Danzo’s crimes, then ordered Hayaka to bombard Konoha with Tailed Beast Balls.
• Obito and Zetsu watched Konoha’s destruction, and Obito proposed persuading Sarutobi to join them against Shiraishi.
• After Konoha was reduced to a crater, Shiraishi restored Sarutobi’s life force, placed a Cursed Seal on him, and departed with the Anbu.

Obito recruited the rejuvenated Sarutobi Hiruzen into Akatsuki by promising revenge on Shiraishi Yoshijo and the restoration of Konoha. After Obito and Hiruzen left, Namikaze Minato surfaced from the lake and suspected he was in Konoha.

• Obito and Zetsu discovered that Shiraishi Yoshijo had restored Sarutobi Hiruzen's youth and greatly increased his Chakra.
• Obito told Hiruzen that Konoha was gone and claimed to be Uchiha Madara, then offered him a chance to take revenge on Shiraishi Yoshijo.
• Obito proposed gathering the Tailed Beasts to destroy Shiraishi Yoshijo's Peach Country and rebuild Konoha, and Hiruzen agreed to cooperate.
• Hiruzen chose the name Butterfly Slayer and followed Obito to join the reborn Akatsuki.
• Zetsu discussed Obito's successful deception after the pair left, and Namikaze Minato emerged from the lake and wondered if he was in Konoha.

Namikaze Minato and the Konoha survivors faced Hiruzen Sarutobi's suspected death while resettling in Peach Country under Shiraishi Yoshijo's control. When they entered Konoha Academy and saw Yoshijo's statue, Danzo erupted in anger and was stopped by Minato.

• Namikaze Minato reported Hiruzen Sarutobi's suspected death, and Danzo argued with Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura about Hiruzen's refusal to leave.
• Namikaze Minato spoke with Kakashi about Hiruzen and the past, then reunited with the pregnant Kaede and said he still intended to lead and protect everyone.
• Oyashiro En resettled the arriving Konoha clans, and Shiraishi Yoshijo ordered the Anbu, Police Force, and samurai troops to crush a riot, arresting tens of thousands and executing its clan leaders.
• Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Danzo led the Konoha people into the completed Konoha Academy, where they saw a statue of Shiraishi Yoshijo.
• Danzo drew his sword against an official who praised Yoshijo, but Namikaze Minato blocked him and the advisors rebuked him.

Danzo’s forces failed to destroy Shiraishi Yoshijo’s statue, and Shiraishi maintained its barrier with the Dragon Vein’s Chakra while tormenting Konoha. Meanwhile, Sarutobi Hiruzen joined Akatsuki, and Shiraishi agreed to return the Nine-Tails after warning the Daimyo about the risks of containing it.

• Danzo led hundreds of ninja in an attack on Shiraishi Yoshijo’s statue, but Shiraishi activated the Four Violet Flames Formation and blocked them.
• Shiraishi’s voice insulted Danzo and the academy, causing Danzo to collapse and later leaving the two advisors bedridden.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen appeared before Akatsuki as a new member called Butterfly Slayer, shocking Sangzhi.
• Shiraishi’s statue continued broadcasting insults through the night while Konoha’s ninja attacked its barrier for nearly a month.
• Shiraishi sustained the barrier with the Dragon Vein’s Chakra as Sari and Sara watched with concern.
• Shiraishi agreed to return the Nine-Tails to Zhixiong, but explained that its power would endanger an ordinary Jinchuriki and shorten the vessel’s lifespan.

Shiraishi Yoshijo returned the Nine-Tails to the Land of Fire by sealing it into Kazuma, while secretly retaining some of its Chakra. Afterward, Obito learned of the transfer, and Sarutobi Hiruzen reflected on the misery of the Land of Rain and Akatsuki’s ambitions.

• The Daimyo agreed to return the Nine-Tails to the Land of Fire and planned to have Kazuma become its Jinchuriki.
• Two days after Konoha stopped destroying Shiraishi Yoshijo’s statues, Shiraishi recovered in Rōran and then traveled with Hayaka to meet the Daimyo and Kazuma.
• In a distant mountain range, Shiraishi extracted some Nine-Tails Chakra for himself, then sealed the beast into Kazuma and warned the Daimyo that Kazuma might go berserk.
• Obito and Zetsu appeared in the mountains after Shiraishi left, and Obito confirmed that the Nine-Tails had been sealed into one of the Daimyo’s jonin.
• In Amegakure, Sarutobi Hiruzen observed the hardships of the Land of Rain and recalled learning about Akatsuki’s plan to use Tailed Beast weapons to rule the world.

Obito tested Sarutobi Hiruzen by proposing that they use the Nine-Tails to attack Konoha Academy, while Hiruzen considered how to protect his loved ones. As alliances reshaped the political landscape, Peach Country’s rapid growth began to strain its capacity.

• Obito told Sarutobi Hiruzen that the Nine-Tails was in the Daimyo’s hands and proposed using it to destroy Konoha Academy, prompting Hiruzen to offer his help while privately considering his options.
• Namikaze Minato became Konoha Academy’s third dean and reformed its administration, but the advisors and Danzo pushed the Uchiha to the academy’s outskirts.
• Reika asked Shiraishi Yoshijo to take in the Uchiha, but he refused unless the Land of Fire’s Daimyo approved their departure.
• Uchiha Fugaku sat alone after the Daimyo refused to meet him, while the Uchiha remained marginalized at the academy.
• The Lands of Wind, Earth, and Lightning formed an alliance in response to the alliance between the Land of Fire, the Land of Water, and Peach Country.
• Peach Country’s factories, trade, and cross-border marriages drove its population to nearly ten million in six months, placing growing pressure on the island.

Shiraishi Yoshijo faced Peach Country’s financial troubles, then raised money through wealthy connections as the country prospered. After the Third Shinobi World War ended, he refused to let his children learn the Butterfly Manipulation Secret Technique, insisting they should build their own futures in Peach Country.

• Oyashiro En reported Peach Country’s growing population, financial strain, research costs, and public security problems to Shiraishi Yoshijo.
• Shiraishi Yoshijo ordered officials to borrow from the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and the Daimyo of the Land of Water and find ways to get money from merchants, then fled before Oyashiro En could ask for funds from his private treasury.
• After another year passed, the Third Shinobi World War ended without resolution, and Shiraishi Yoshijo earned nearly a billion by consorting with wealthy women and influential daimyo wives across smaller nations.
• Shiraishi Yoshijo took his 727 children running and infused them with vitality afterward.
• Nianze, Yan Xuan, and other children asked to learn the Butterfly Manipulation Secret Technique, but Shiraishi Yoshijo refused because it was a forbidden technique linked to Anbu service.

Orochimaru joined Akatsuki and discovered that his former teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had become one of its members. A month later, Obito and Sarutobi Hiruzen lured Kazuma into the mountains and killed his wife and child to provoke the Nine-Tails.

• Orochimaru recognized Sarutobi Hiruzen despite his youthful appearance, and Pain assigned them to work together.
• Orochimaru gave Sarutobi Hiruzen a Disguise Technique scroll and urged him to leave Akatsuki and return to Konoha.
• After a month of working together, Obito brought Sarutobi Hiruzen to the Land of Fire’s capital to target Kazuma and the Nine-Tails.
• Obito and Zetsu used Sarutobi Hiruzen’s capture of Kazuma’s family to lure Kazuma into the mountains.
• Obito killed Kazuma’s wife and threw her down the mountain, then threw down the child’s corpse as Kazuma watched.

Obito unleashed the Nine-Tails on Konoha Academy, while the Daimyo suspected Shiraishi Yoshijo and demanded that he stop Konoha from sealing the beast. Shiraishi denied causing the attack and challenged the Daimyo’s demand, leaving their alliance strained as the Nine-Tails rampaged.

• Obito provoked Kazuma into transforming, then escaped as the Nine-Tails broke free and destroyed part of a mountain.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen fled to warn Minato, but Obito reached Konoha Academy first and summoned the Nine-Tails into the settlement.
• The Nine-Tails attacked Konoha residents, and Danzo refused to help, insisting that Minato handle the beast.
• The Daimyo learned that the Nine-Tails had appeared in Konoha and confronted Shiraishi Yoshijo through the ring.
• Shiraishi denied responsibility and warned that appearing at Konoha Academy would make him a suspect and threaten his alliance with Konoha.

Shiraishi Yoshijo refused the Fire Daimyo’s demand for powerful Ninjutsu inheritances, then learned that the Nine-Tails was attacking Konoha Academy and went to investigate with Tsunade. At the academy, he found Sarutobi Hiruzen battling the beast, raising questions about Hiruzen’s apparent return and Obito’s plans.

• Shiraishi Yoshijo refused to sell the Fire Daimyo high-level Ninjutsu, forbidden techniques, or Sealing Techniques, then ended their contact.
• Shiraishi Yoshijo told Tsunade that the Nine-Tails had broken free and was attacking Konoha Academy; they decided to go investigate despite the risk of implicating Peach Country.
• Shiraishi Yoshijo recalled that Jiraiya had told Tsunade about Namikaze Naruto, and he wondered whether events were following the original plot.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen arrived at Konoha Academy disguised as an old man, summoned Enma, and used the Adamantine Enma Staff to drive the Nine-Tails away from the residential district.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen grabbed the Nine-Tails with Enma and hurled it over his shoulder, while Shiraishi Yoshijo watched in shock and questioned why Hiruzen was there.

Obito attacked Konoha, but Namikaze Minato freed the Nine-Tails from his control and brought it to the mountains to seal it. After Shiraishi Yoshijo secretly healed Kaede, Minato began sacrificing himself to seal half the Nine-Tails inside Naruto, while Kaede helped protect their son.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen fought the Nine-Tails while Obito ambushed Namikaze Minato and used Kaede and Naruto to force him into a confrontation.
• Minato escaped with Kaede and Naruto, and Shiraishi Yoshijo and Tsunade secretly appeared at his home, where Shiraishi healed Kaede and sensed Naruto’s unusual life energy.
• Minato used the Contract Seal to break Obito’s control of the Nine-Tails, then Obito escaped through Kamui.
• Minato and Gamabunta restrained the Nine-Tails, and Minato transported it to the mountains before returning to bring Kaede and Naruto to it.
• Kaede restored Minato’s Chakra and supported his decision to protect Konoha by sealing half the Nine-Tails with the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
• As the Nine-Tails struck at Naruto, Minato and Kaede shielded their son and were pierced by its claws.

After Sarutobi Hiruzen became Konoha Academy’s Fourth Headmaster, Akatsuki reorganized and expanded under Sangzhi’s financial leadership. Meanwhile, the Land of Hot Water faced foreign incursions and a collapsing economy as its immortality business encouraged people to sell their lifespans and stop working.

• Namikaze Minato died after entrusting Naruto to Sarutobi Hiruzen, who regretted his choices and later became Konoha Academy’s Fourth Headmaster over Danzo’s objections.
• Obito confronted Sarutobi Hiruzen over betraying Akatsuki and reclaiming control of Konoha, but withdrew when Anbu appeared.
• Pain reassigned Akatsuki’s teams because the missing Butterfly Slayer remained at large, while Sasori asked Sangzhi to help turn him into a puppet hidden inside Hiruko.
• Sangzhi managed Akatsuki’s finances and brought his underground organizations under its banner, helping it attract dark missions and grow rapidly.
• Several nations sent ninja into the Land of Hot Water to steal immortality machines, but its forces killed many intruders, and the stolen machines proved difficult to operate.
• Right Red told Shiraishi Yoshijo that Immortality Clinic was losing money, encouraging people to sell their lifespans and undermining work and industry; Shiraishi Yoshijo reacted with murderous intent after hearing the losses had reached at least six billion.

Shiraishi Yoshijo ordered the destruction of the Land of Hot Water, and Peach Country suffered lasting military and political fallout from the massacre. After Shiraishi Sayo became president and curbed his funding, she confronted him about his collapsing reputation and insisted he attend a fireworks festival.

• Shiraishi Yoshijo ordered Right Red to gather Peach Country’s forces and destroy the Land of Hot Water, whose inhabitants were massacred and whose women were taken away.
• Shiraishi Yoshijo ignored Oyashiro En, ministers, and Takemoto Masamasa as they pleaded with him to stop the slaughter.
• Peach Country’s troops suffered widespread psychological trauma, and Shiraishi Yoshijo treated some survivors while secretly executing those with severe symptoms.
• After a national vote, Shiraishi Sayo became president and cut the imperial family’s funding by one-third, citing the emperor’s lack of virtue.
• Shiraishi Sayo told Shiraishi Yoshijo that his reputation had fallen below Oyashiro En’s and ordered him to attend the fireworks festival.

Sayo explained that the clans had backed her presidential campaign to curb the Chinoike Clan’s influence and protect the emperor’s authority. She laid out a plan to improve Shiraishi Yoshijo’s public image, then made a personal demand that stunned him.

• Shiraishi Yoshijo realized the Kawaigawa, Takemoto, and Shide Clans had helped Sayo rise to office because they resented the Chinoike Clan’s influence.
• Sayo accused Oyashiro En of overshadowing Shiraishi Yoshijo and explained that she wanted to reshape the emperor’s image while limiting the Chinoike Clan’s power.
• Sayo told Shiraishi Yoshijo to appear among the people on holidays and handle domestic emergencies himself, while she arranged the rest.
• Shiraishi Yoshijo cautioned Sayo not to push Oyashiro En and the Chinoike Clan too far, and she said the clan leaders shared her concerns about Oyashiro En’s precedent.
• Sayo sat in Shiraishi Yoshijo’s lap and said she wanted to sleep with him, explaining that she had divorced her husband.

Sayo persuaded Shiraishi Yoshijo to sleep with her by offering her fortune, while admitting she had amassed billions through legal loopholes. Meanwhile, Sarutobi Hiruzen took control of Konoha City after negotiating with the Daimyo, and Konoha’s leadership again turned against the Uchiha.

• Sayo called Shiraishi Yoshijo a gigolo and offered him money and a child to convince him to sleep with her.
• Sayo revealed she had amassed seven or eight billion by exploiting legal loopholes, angering Shiraishi Yoshijo.
• The Daimyo began relocating Konoha City residents to build a rival academy, prompting Sarutobi Hiruzen to renegotiate their arrangement.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen gained control of Konoha City, while the Daimyo received some A-rank Ninjutsu inheritances and began training ninja in the capital.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen restored Konoha’s ninja village system, while his officials grew more suspicious of the Uchiha and Danzo secretly killed Uchiha ninja on missions.

Shiraishi Yoshijo investigated the killings of Peach Country’s people in the Land of Fire and suspected the Daimyo was manipulating him amid Konoha’s tensions with the Uchiha. He met Uchiha Fugaku, who revealed his plan for a bloodless coup, leaving Shiraishi convinced Fugaku was dangerously naive.

• Right Red reported that Peach Country’s people had been assassinated in the Land of Fire, and Shiraishi Yoshijo confronted Zhixiong about Konoha’s actions.
• Shiraishi learned that the Uchiha were considering an armed coup and suspected the Land of Fire’s Daimyo had arranged the killings to use him against Konoha.
• Shiraishi asked Reika to contact Uchiha Fugaku, and Fugaku agreed to meet him that evening.
• Shiraishi and Reika met Fugaku at the Uchiha clan grounds, where Fugaku revealed his Mangekyo Sharingan and discussed the clan’s choices.
• Fugaku said his son Itachi could help him achieve a bloodless revolution, while Shiraishi privately doubted that plan and Itachi’s loyalty.

Shiraishi Yoshijo negotiated with Uchiha Fugaku for Konoha to protect Peach Country’s interests and demanded Uchiha women for Yan Xuan, revealing Reika’s Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and admitting he had killed Fugaku’s grandfather. After Fugaku agreed to the terms, he confronted Itachi about the Uchiha clan’s plight and the prospect of a coup.

• Shiraishi Yoshijo learned that the Daimyo had not contacted Uchiha Fugaku for years and that Shisui had died, leaving only Fugaku and Itachi with the Mangekyo Sharingan.
• Shiraishi Yoshijo demanded Konoha protect Peach Country’s interests and asked Fugaku to choose Uchiha women as concubines for Yan Xuan, but Fugaku refused.
• Reika revealed her Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, and Shiraishi Yoshijo admitted he had murdered Fugaku’s grandfather after Fugaku confronted him.
• Reika accused Shiraishi Yoshijo of arranging her defection and keeping Uchiha Shoen alive, and Shiraishi Yoshijo promised to return Shoen if Fugaku met his conditions.
• Fugaku gave Shiraishi Yoshijo one hundred pairs of Sharingan, and Shiraishi Yoshijo left Reika’s sleeping powder for Fugaku to use on Itachi.
• Fugaku showed Itachi his Mangekyo Sharingan and discussed the clan’s persecution and the risks of a coup, while Itachi rejected using force against the village.

Uchiha Itachi learned that Uchiha Fugaku planned a coup and saw how Danzo pressured him to help destroy his clan. Shiraishi Yoshijo warned Fugaku that the massacre could happen the next night, then agreed to support the Uchiha attack on Konoha's leaders.

• Uchiha Fugaku showed Uchiha Itachi an illusion of the clan using the Nine-Tails to devastate Konoha and asked him to help with a bloodless revolution.
• Uchiha Itachi reported the Uchiha clan's plans to Konoha's top officials, and Danzo privately demanded that he kill his clan to protect Konoha.
• Reika left Shiraishi Yoshijo to pursue Uchiha Itachi after learning that Danzo was exploiting him.
• Shiraishi Yoshijo showed Uchiha Fugaku the meetings and warned that Uchiha Itachi might act the next night.
• Uchiha Fugaku gave Shiraishi Yoshijo three hundred pairs of Sharingan, and Shiraishi promised to handle everyone beyond the Uchiha assault on Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo.

Uchiha Itachi struggled with the choice between the Uchiha and Konoha until Reika and Shiraishi Yoshijo confronted him about his plan to massacre his clan. Shiraishi challenged Itachi’s understanding of peace and handed him a book, leaving him to reconsider the political forces behind the conflict.

• Uchiha Itachi stood at the cliff where Shisui had entrusted him with his Mangekyo and ideals, torn between his clan and Konoha.
• Reika revealed herself and warned Itachi not to trust Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo, then recognized that he intended to kill the Uchiha for Konoha’s peace.
• Itachi attacked Reika with Amaterasu, but she absorbed and dispersed the flames before revealing her Eternal Mangekyo.
• Reika called Itachi her nephew and introduced him to her son Yan Xuan before Shiraishi Yoshijo appeared beside her.
• Shiraishi questioned whether peace built on sacrifice was real peace and explained how political conflict between Konoha and the Land of Fire’s Daimyo had led to the coup plot.
• Shiraishi told Itachi he had lost himself in false appearances and handed him a book titled Road to Peace.

Uchiha Itachi read Shiraishi Yoshijo’s autobiography and considered its bleak account of power and peace while watching Sasuke and Naruto at the Academy. He warned Konoha’s senior officials that Uchiha Reika might interfere in the coup, but believed the Uchiha’s victory was inevitable.

• Shiraishi Yoshijo gave Itachi his unpublished autobiography and explained that his power and Peach Country protected him, while Reika called him a scumbag.
• Itachi watched Sasuke race Naruto at the Academy, then read Shiraishi’s account of his life, the founding of Peach Country, and his plans to impose peace through authoritarian power.
• Itachi reflected that Shiraishi’s intervention had made the coup impossible for him to influence and wondered what Shisui would have done.
• Itachi told Konoha’s four senior officials that Reika had appeared in the Uchiha compound and could interfere in the coup, potentially drawing Shiraishi into the conflict.
• The officials worried that Reika’s involvement could destroy the alliance with Peach Country, while Itachi withheld Shiraishi’s presence and hoped the warning would persuade them to retreat.