Recaps

Xuanye explained why he had let Shimura Danzō live, arguing that killing him and Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately would turn them into Konoha heroes. He planned to expose their crimes and make them suffer the disgrace of becoming Konoha’s sinners before executing them.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered an Anbu member to summon Jiraiya back to the village and vowed to keep the Hokage position from the Uchiha.
• Inabi challenged Xuanye for letting Danzō go, while Fugaku was reminded of his own earlier approach to Kakashi’s transplanted Sharingan.
• Xuanye asked the Uchiha to consider the consequences of killing Danzō and Hiruzen, explaining that their deaths could make them celebrated heroes.
• Xuanye said he intended to prove their crimes, brand them as Konoha’s sinners, and personally execute them after making them live with their disgrace.
• The Uchiha were thrilled by Xuanye’s plan, while Inabi worried that Xuanye might hold a grudge over their childhood fights.

Xuanye stopped Kakashi from pursuing Danzo alone and explained that killing him would let Sarutobi Hiruzen portray Danzo as a hero and Kakashi as a rogue ninja. Kakashi asked whether Xuanye had a better plan, leaving their next move undecided.

• Inabi pledged to cooperate with Xuanye, who noticed Shisui had disappeared and told Inabi to send him over when he returned.
• Kakashi followed Danzo toward Root's training base, determined to kill him over the deaths of his father, teacher, and teacher's wife.
• Xuanye caught up with Kakashi and stopped him from attacking Danzo alone.
• Kakashi suspected Xuanye had made a deal with Sarutobi Hiruzen, but Xuanye denied needing any bargain to become Fifth Hokage.
• Xuanye warned that Sarutobi Hiruzen could call Danzo a hero and brand Kakashi a rogue ninja if Kakashi killed him.
• Kakashi asked Xuanye if he had a better plan and offered to pledge his life to him.

Xuanye enlisted Kakashi in his plan to destroy Danzo, while Shisui offered Sarutobi Hiruzen a chance to use Kotoamatsukami against Xuanye. Hiruzen concealed his fear of Shisui's power and sent intelligence about it to Danzo, hoping Danzo would test the dangerous technique.

• Xuanye told Kakashi he would help avenge Minato and Kushina, and Kakashi agreed to follow his instructions despite his conflict over his teacher's memory.
• Shisui reported to Sarutobi Hiruzen that Xuanye controlled the Uchiha and Security Division, and that Fugaku might support him.
• Shisui revealed his Mangekyō and offered to use Kotoamatsukami to make Xuanye loyal to Konoha.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen forbade Shisui from using the technique, then resolved to deal with him and sent an Anbu Ninja to deliver intelligence about Kotoamatsukami to Danzo.

After confronting Shisui about his secret Mangekyō ability, Genya challenged his divided loyalties and offered him one last chance to choose where he stood. Shisui followed Genya, who warned that he would kill him if he made the wrong choice.

• Inabi warned Shisui that Genya had given him a chance and threatened him if he betrayed the clan.
• Genya confronted Shisui about what he had told Sarutobi Hiruzen and revealed that he knew about Kotoamatsukami.
• Shisui asked why Genya was not afraid of his Mangekyō, and Genya argued that his knowledge gave him the advantage.
• Genya asked whether Shisui was loyal to Konoha or to Sarutobi Hiruzen, but Shisui could not answer clearly.
• Genya told Shisui to come with him for one last chance and threatened to kill him if he chose wrongly; Shisui followed.

Danzo ambushed Shisui to seize his Mangekyō, using Izanagi to escape Shisui’s illusion and steal his right eye. Shisui escaped the Root Shinobi, while Danzo branded him an S-Rank Rogue Ninja and ordered a wanted notice.

• Root Shinobi surrounded Shisui, and Danzo confronted him about Kotoamatsukami and questioned what he would do if the village continued rejecting the Uchiha.
• Danzo lunged for Shisui’s eye, but Shisui caught his wrist and trapped him in an ordinary illusion.
• Danzo escaped the illusion with Izanagi, struck Shisui with taijutsu, and gouged out his right Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Shisui recognized Izanagi and fled after the Root Shinobi’s Fire Release and Water Release filled the area with steam.
• Danzo sealed away the stolen Mangekyō and ordered Shisui classified as an S-Rank Rogue Ninja for allegedly attacking the Hokage Assistant.

Xuanye revealed that Danzo had targeted the Sharingan and used Shisui’s Kotoamatsukami attempt against him. The chapter left Shisui defeated and blind, with Xuanye holding both of his Mangekyō.

• Shisui realized Danzo had transplanted a Sharingan and learned Izanagi, and suspected Hiruzen had approved the attack.
• Xuanye explained that Danzo had killed Minato and his wife, but Shisui insisted he would try to persuade Hiruzen to prevent an Uchiha rebellion.
• Shisui secretly used his left-eye Kotoamatsukami to overwrite Xuanye’s will.
• Xuanye revealed that Shisui had only seen an illusion, then struck him with Lightning Release and removed both Mangekyō.
• Xuanye regretted that Shisui had wasted Kotoamatsukami and left him incapacitated.

Xuanye defeated Shisui, took his Mangekyō, and confronted the young Itachi, warning him against betraying the clan. He left Itachi tense by implying that Sasuke could become a target.

• Xuanye revealed that he had used Mirror Flower, Water Moon on Shisui and had not been affected by Kotoamatsukami.
• Xuanye called out Itachi, whose Sharingan had awakened to Three-Tomoe after witnessing Shisui's defeat.
• Xuanye held a Ninja Blade to Itachi's neck and asked whether he would kill Shisui to awaken the Mangekyō.
• Xuanye warned Itachi not to defy him or betray the clan as Shisui had.
• Xuanye mentioned that Sasuke had grown lately, leaving Itachi tense.

Xuanye forced Itachi to submit by threatening Sasuke and ordered him to take Shisui back to the Uchiha compound. Meanwhile, Danzo tried to use the eye he had taken from Shisui, but the sealing scroll opened empty, leaving its whereabouts unknown.

• Xuanye threatened Sasuke, and Itachi agreed to obey him as Shisui's freedom was restricted to the Uchiha Clan Compound.
• Itachi supported the blinded Shisui, who accepted returning to the clan and felt relieved to be out of the conflict between the clan and the village.
• Danzo went to the Hokage Building and told Sarutobi Hiruzen that he had taken one of Shisui's eyes, while falsely declaring Shisui a rogue ninja.
• Danzo opened the sealing scroll to transplant Shisui's eye, but found it empty, leaving both Danzo and Sarutobi Hiruzen bewildered.

Danzo discovered that Shisui had used Kotoamatsukami to make him believe he had stolen Shisui’s eye, leaving Hiruzen to manage the fallout and try to keep Shisui neutral. Xuanye kept the eye and wondered whether he could use Saha World to absorb its power and strengthen his own Mangekyō.

• Hiruzen examined the unused sealing scroll as Danzo realized Shisui had altered his memories with Kotoamatsukami.
• Hiruzen refused Danzo’s proposal to declare Shisui a rogue ninja and decided to speak with him personally, hoping to keep him neutral.
• Danzo left for Root, warning Hiruzen that he would regret his decision.
• Xuanye rejected transplanting the Kotoamatsukami eye into himself or giving it to another Uchiha, and considered absorbing its ocular power with Saha World.

Xuanye absorbed the power of Shisui’s Kotoamatsukami eyes to awaken the Eternal Mangekyō and strengthen his abilities. The next morning, he followed Anko to Orochimaru’s hidden base, where Orochimaru offered to help him but demanded to test his worth first.

• Xuanye used Saha World to drain the power from Shisui’s eyes and fuse it into his Mangekyō, awakening the Eternal Mangekyō.
• Xuanye’s vision recovered, and the Eternal Mangekyō strengthened Mirror Flower, Water Moon and Saha World.
• The next morning, Xuanye learned that Anko had come to take him to Orochimaru and went with her outside the village.
• Anko led Xuanye to Orochimaru’s hidden underground base, where he recognized signs of Wood Release research.
• Orochimaru offered to help Xuanye deal with Sarutobi but said he would first test whether Xuanye was worthy of working with him.

Xuanye subdued Orochimaru with Mirror Flower, Water Moon and tortured him inside an illusion while Hong Dou watched. Hong Dou then asked to join the Konoha Security Division, and Xuanye agreed to assign her duties.

• Xuanye used Lightning Style: Earth Flash to destroy Orochimaru's snakes, then trapped Orochimaru in Mirror Flower, Water Moon when he attacked.
• Xuanye subjected Orochimaru to repeated tortures inside the illusion, while Orochimaru failed to break free.
• Hong Dou rushed into the laboratory after hearing screams and found Orochimaru writhing on the floor as Xuanye watched.
• Hong Dou asked Xuanye whether she could join the Konoha Security Division, and he told her to submit an application and said he would assign her duties.

Xuanye used Mirror Flower, Water Moon to torture Orochimaru until he agreed to cooperate. After noticing Orochimaru’s weakened state, Xuanye deduced that a secret technique had damaged his soul and warned him to stop cultivating it.

• Xuanye ended his first illusion when Orochimaru stopped struggling, but saw that Orochimaru remained wary and arrogant.
• Xuanye trapped Orochimaru in another illusion and made him experience the pain of childbirth, then intensified it until Orochimaru passed out.
• Hong Dou splashed Orochimaru with water, and he woke up terrified of suffering Xuanye’s illusion again and agreed to discuss cooperation.
• Xuanye noticed Orochimaru’s unusual weakness, inferred that a secret technique had damaged his soul, and warned that further cultivation could make even a three-Tomoe Sharingan overwhelm him.

Xuanye persuaded Orochimaru to abandon Danzo as a patron and cooperate with the Uchiha in exchange for support for his research. Later, Xuanye led an angry crowd to the Hokage Building after Shisui was reported blinded in an ambush by Danzo, who furiously denied the accusation.

• Xuanye warned Orochimaru that Sarutobi Hiruzen might sacrifice him and offered the Uchiha's support for his research in exchange for his Wood Release findings.
• Orochimaru agreed to cooperate with the Uchiha, and Xuanye said he had another way to help Orochimaru remain in Konoha legally.
• News spread that Shimura Danzō had gouged out both of Shisui's eyes, but members of the Konoha Security Division had rescued the wounded Shisui.
• Xuanye led enraged Uchiha clansmen and the blind Shisui from the Uchiha compound to the Hokage Building as villagers gathered to watch.
• Danzo smashed objects in his room and accused Uchiha Genya of slandering him.

Xuanye led the Uchiha in a public march to accuse Danzo of attacking Shisui and stealing his eyes, while also implicating Sarutobi Hiruzen in the Nine-Tails disaster. Hiruzen defended Danzo, and Xuanye prepared to reveal more before the watching clans.

• Hong Dou joined the Uchiha march carrying a banner as the crowd swelled to more than a thousand people.
• Xuanye confronted Hiruzen outside the Hokage Building and accused Danzo of attacking Shisui and causing the Nine-Tails disaster.
• Shisui told the crowd that Danzo and Root had attacked him and that Danzo had possessed a Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
• Xuanye called Danzo a traitor and warned that anyone shielding him should also be treated as one.
• Hiruzen defended Danzo and insisted that the village's laws should judge him.
• Xuanye addressed the gathered spectators, while Hiruzen sensed that Xuanye had more accusations to reveal.

Uchiha Genya revealed that Shisui’s Mangekyō possessed Kotoamatsukami, turning Konoha’s clans and leaders against Shimura Danzō and forcing Sarutobi Hiruzen to confront him. The chapter ended with Hiruzen demanding that Danzō surrender Shisui’s Mangekyō after Root was surrounded.

• Genya explained Kotoamatsukami’s ability to permanently alter a person’s consciousness, prompting Konoha’s clan heads to fear Danzō acquiring it.
• Hyuga Hiashi, the Aburame, Inuzuka, Ino-Shika-Cho, and Hokage advisors demanded that Danzō hand over Shisui’s Sharingan, while Genya said it should be destroyed.
• Genya led the crowd to surround Root’s base, where Danzō emerged and accused them of betraying the village.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen and the clan heads moved closer to the Uchiha, fearing Danzō might use Kotoamatsukami against them.
• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu urged Danzō to stop resisting, but he denied committing any crime.
• Hiruzen accused Danzō of attacking fellow villagers and stealing the Mangekyō, then demanded that he surrender Shisui’s eye.

Orochimaru publicly confessed to his role in human experimentation, then accused Danzo of ordering the capture and abuse of missing Konoha villagers and Shinobi. He presented a scroll as evidence, leaving the crowd convinced of Danzo’s guilt and viewing Orochimaru as a coerced accomplice.

• Orochimaru interrupted the confrontation and announced that he had a confession to make.
• Orochimaru admitted involvement in the disappearances, then blamed Danzo and Root for the kidnappings and human experiments.
• Xuanye challenged Danzo, whose silence made the crowd believe he had ordered Root to capture innocent villagers.
• Orochimaru presented a scroll listing missing people and documenting experiments, and accused Danzo of pursuing Wood Release and Sharingan transplants to overthrow Konoha.
• Orochimaru claimed he had endured the crimes to gather evidence, and the crowd began to see him as a victim rather than a willing accomplice.

Xuanye used Orochimaru’s staged suicide and Danzo’s attack on the evidence to order the Security Division to arrest Danzo. Hiruzen tried to shield him by proposing an Anbu prison, but the gathered clans turned against Danzo, and Hiruzen wondered whether Uchiha Genya had planned the entire confrontation.

• Orochimaru pretended to attempt suicide, and Xuanye took the kunai from him.
• Danzo attacked Orochimaru’s scroll with Wind Release, but Xuanye blocked the attack and accused Danzo of destroying evidence and trying to kill a witness.
• Xuanye ordered the Security Division to arrest Danzo, and Uchiha forces surrounded Danzo and his Root Shinobi.
• Danzo called on Hiruzen for help, and Hiruzen proposed holding him in an Anbu prison until the charges could be investigated.
• Xuanye challenged Hiruzen’s plan and pointed out that the gathered clan leaders would not accept Danzo’s release.
• Hiruzen realized the secret Kotoamatsukami had turned the crowd against Danzo and wondered whether Uchiha Genya had planned the confrontation.

After Danzo refused to surrender Shisui’s eye, he ordered Root to attack Uchiha Genya, but Genya stopped his suicide sealing technique and exposed the Sharingan hidden beneath Danzo’s bandages. The gathered shinobi saw proof that Danzo had stolen Shisui’s eye.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered Danzo to stop resisting and hand over Shisui’s eye, but Danzo denied having Kotoamatsukami and realized Hiruzen had abandoned him.
• Danzo commanded Root to attack Uchiha Genya, and Aburame Torune unleashed Rinkaichu before Uchiha elites burned the insects and Torune with a combined Fire Release technique.
• As the Uchiha closed in, Danzo activated the Reverse Four-Seal Technique, but Genya ordered the Police Force to retreat and struck Danzo with Lightning Release: Kirin, halting the seal.
• Genya tore the bandages from Danzo’s head and revealed a Sharingan in his right eye, giving everyone present proof that Danzo had stolen Shisui’s eye.

Xuanye exposed Danzo’s Sharingan and implicated him in stealing Shisui’s Kotoamatsukami, then killed him as the gathered villagers watched. Danzo’s last words blamed Sarutobi Hiruzen for the Uchiha tragedy, leaving Hiruzen unable to defend himself before Xuanye struck.

• Xuanye pierced Danzo after his Sharingan was exposed, and Danzo revived with Izanagi at the cost of his right eye.
• Xuanye accused Danzo of stealing Izanagi and destroying the Mangekyō he had taken from Shisui, while Danzo denied possessing it and admitted that he had attacked Shisui.
• Danzo realized he had lost any chance of becoming Hokage and accused Sarutobi Hiruzen of cowardice for not destroying the Uchiha sooner.
• Xuanye ignored Hiruzen’s attempt to speak and killed Danzo with a flurry of lightning-fast slashes from Musō Isshin.

Xuanye killed Danzo with Musō Isshin and ordered Root seized so its crimes and assets could be claimed. Sarutobi Hiruzen tried to protect Danzo’s reputation, but Xuanye refused to let his legacy escape scrutiny.

• Xuanye killed Danzo with Musō Isshin, and Danzo’s Reverse Four-Seal Technique destroyed his body and buried any remaining Kotoamatsukami.
• Fugaku watched Xuanye’s display of power and reconsidered whether Xuanye was better suited to lead the Uchiha.
• Xuanye summoned Orochimaru for an investigation into suspected human experiments, and Orochimaru cooperated as the Security Division escorted him away.
• Xuanye ordered the Security Division to seize Root’s property, investigate its former members, and document Danzo’s crimes.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen asked Xuanye to preserve Danzo’s reputation, but Xuanye insisted that Danzo’s deeds would be exposed.

Xuanye used Danzo’s death and evidence of his crimes to pressure Sarutobi Hiruzen into yielding the Hokage position, while Konoha’s clan leaders considered how to respond to the Uchiha’s growing power. Orochimaru settled into a comfortable room under Security Division guard and learned that his young guard was Uchiha Itachi.

• Xuanye warned Sarutobi Hiruzen that the Security Division would expose Danzo’s charges and implied that Hiruzen’s own secrets could be revealed if he resisted the Fifth Hokage election.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen left with Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, while Konoha’s clan leaders weighed whether to support the Uchiha.
• Inabi escorted Orochimaru to a comfortable room at the Security Division and explained that specialized equipment would arrive later.
• Orochimaru accepted his confinement as a vacation and asked the young Uchiha guarding him for his name.
• The guard introduced himself as Uchiha Itachi.

After Konoha lost the Fourth Hokage and his wife during the Nine-Tails' rampage, Kumogakure considered exploiting its weakness, while Iwagakure hesitated over reports of a powerful purple giant. Both villages left the possibility of conflict unresolved as their leaders weighed their depleted resources.

• Fourth Raikage A celebrated the deaths of the Yellow Flash and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and called for an attack on Konoha, but Samui warned that Kumogakure could not afford another war.
• Samui proposed sending an envoy to pressure Konoha and seize children from Kekkei Genkai families or obtain Secret Techniques, and A ordered the envoy to cause as much trouble as possible.
• Ōnoki read a spy's report about the purple giant that had defeated the Nine-Tails with one slash and worried that another figure like Uchiha Madara might have emerged from the Uchiha Family.
• Kitsuchi asked what Iwagakure would do, and Ōnoki chose to wait and see because the village could not withstand further losses.

Rasa suppressed his desire to act on the news because Sunagakure could not survive another defeat, while Kirigakure remained consumed by Yagura’s purges. In Konoha, Genya’s Security Division uncovered Danzo’s experiments, and Genya found a Root report bearing Hatake Sakumo’s name.

• Rasa considered acting on the news but chose to keep panning for gold rather than risk Sunagakure’s future.
• Kirigakure continued its Bloody Mist purges under Karatachi Yagura, turning against its own clans and isolating the village.
• With Orochimaru’s intelligence, the Security Division uncovered Root bases and found Uchiha Sharingan, human specimens, and more than a hundred villagers’ corpses in Danzo’s laboratory.
• Genya ordered Root’s records sealed and the Uchiha remains and Sharingan recovered.
• An Uchiha member brought Genya a scroll whose first name was Hatake Sakumo, revealing that Root had recorded Danzo’s role in his death.

Xuanye brought the surviving Wood Release experiment subject, later identified as Yamato, to the Security Division and visited Orochimaru in prison. He asked Orochimaru to perfect Hong Dou’s Cursed Seal, leaving Orochimaru questioning how much Xuanye knew about Natural Energy.

• A Security Division member reported that one boy had survived Root’s Wood Release experiments, and Xuanye ordered him taken to the Security Division with his Chakra sealed and his needs provided for.
• Xuanye brought Hong Dou to the prison, where she saw Orochimaru enjoying a steak and wine before leaving to patrol.
• Orochimaru asked whether Xuanye was interested in Hong Dou, and Xuanye admitted he found her attractive.
• Orochimaru asked Xuanye to fulfill his promise, but Xuanye said he wanted Orochimaru to perfect Hong Dou’s Cursed Seal rather than pursue Wood Release.
• Orochimaru grew cautious about Xuanye’s ambitions and asked what he knew about the Cursed Seal and Natural Energy.

Xuanye discussed Orochimaru’s unstable Cursed Seal research and offered him funding and condemned prisoners in exchange for help against Sarutobi Hiruzen. They agreed to target Hozuki Castle for test subjects, while Xuanye required safeguards on the Cursed Seal and tasked Orochimaru with keeping Jiraiya from interfering in the Hokage struggle.

• Orochimaru explained that he had developed the Cursed Seal from Ryūchi Cave Senjutsu and that its unstable prototypes offered only a fraction of true Senjutsu’s enhancement.
• Xuanye refused to provide ordinary people for experiments and suggested using condemned prisoners from Hozuki Castle instead.
• Xuanye revealed that Kusagakure possessed Dragon Life Reincarnation, which could potentially extend life, and Orochimaru agreed to cooperate.
• Xuanye required the Cursed Seal not to harm a user's body or Kekkei Genkai and forbade Orochimaru from hiding his soul inside it.
• Xuanye asked Orochimaru to keep Jiraiya from interfering between Sarutobi Hiruzen and him in the struggle for Fifth Hokage.