Recaps

Xuanye dealt with Orochimaru and Sarutobi Hiruzen’s efforts to block his path to becoming Hokage, then received envoys from Kumogakure and considered involving the Hyuga Clan in his plans. He showed Kakashi evidence about the campaign against Hatake Sakumo and asked him to let the Security Division’s elite learn Chidori.

• Xuanye told Orochimaru not to kill Jiraiya but to warn him that Xuanye might target those he cared about if he interfered.
• Xuanye learned that Sarutobi Hiruzen had sent ninja to meet the Daimyo and planned to undermine Xuanye’s candidacy for Hokage.
• Envoys from Kumogakure arrived to discuss trade and a peace treaty, prompting Xuanye to consider making plans with the Hyuga Clan.
• Xuanye found Kakashi waiting at his office and handed him a scroll containing details of the campaign against Hatake Sakumo.
• Xuanye asked Kakashi to let the Security Division’s elite learn Chidori in exchange for settling the favor Kakashi owed him.

Genya persuaded Kakashi to join the Konoha Security Division by arguing that the village needed new leadership, and Kakashi agreed to support him as a candidate for Hokage. Genya then pointed out that Kakashi’s transplanted Sharingan drained his Chakra, leaving Kakashi to consider the cost of keeping it.

• Genya gave Kakashi full rights to Chidori and asked him to join the Konoha Security Division.
• Genya argued that Sarutobi Hiruzen’s leadership had weakened Konoha and that Genya was best suited to become the Fifth Hokage.
• Kakashi questioned whether Genya would purge the Hokage Faction, and Genya promised not to target Shinobi who had merely followed orders.
• Kakashi bowed to Genya and agreed to work with him, calling him Lord Hokage.
• Genya told Kakashi that his strength had stagnated and that his transplanted Sharingan was draining his Chakra.

Xuanye persuaded Kakashi to consider becoming stronger and reassured him that Naruto would be raised safely, then visited Hyuga Hiashi, who refused to support any candidate in the Fifth Hokage election. The chapter left Xuanye facing the Hyuga Clan’s declared neutrality.

• Xuanye urged Kakashi to honor Obito’s gift by becoming stronger and reminded him that he still had friends to protect.
• Kakashi said he would seriously consider Xuanye’s advice, and Xuanye told him Naruto would have a normal childhood and would not be treated as a weapon.
• Xuanye visited Hyuga Hiashi, who received him with respect because of Xuanye’s influence over the Uchiha.
• Hyuga Hiashi said the Hyuga Clan would remain neutral and would not favor anyone in the Fifth Hokage election.

Xuanye invited the Hyuga Clan to join the Security Division, offering high salaries and benefits despite Hiashi’s initial refusal. Hiashi became tempted but asked why Xuanye wanted the Hyuga, and Xuanye explained that a planned partnership with the Inuzuka Clan had collapsed after the Uchiha’s Ninja Cats threatened to strike.

• Xuanye explained the Byakugan’s value to Konoha and why the Hyuga Clan could refuse to take sides in the political struggle.
• Xuanye told Hyuga Hiashi he wanted Hyuga ninja to join the Security Division, not to secure the clan’s vote.
• Hiashi initially declined, but reconsidered after Xuanye showed him the Security Division’s generous salaries and benefits.
• Hiashi asked why Xuanye had chosen the Hyuga, and Xuanye said he had first considered recruiting the Inuzuka Clan for patrols.
• Xuanye explained that the Uchiha’s Ninja Cats had threatened to strike if he partnered with the Inuzuka’s Ninja Dogs.

Kakashi removed Obito’s Sharingan and returned it to the Uchiha, then joined the Security Division. Xuanye kept the Mangekyō in reserve, while Sarutobi Hiruzen and the elders feared Kakashi’s move would shift Konoha’s support toward the Uchiha.

• Xuanye offered Hyuga Hiashi help in the future, but kept his reasons for approaching the Hyuga secret.
• Kakashi found his father’s swordsmanship scroll and decided to abandon the Sharingan so he could better protect his comrades.
• Kakashi painfully removed Obito’s eye, placed it in a test tube, and apologized to Obito while explaining his choice.
• Xuanye received the Sharingan from Kakashi and decided to store its Kamui rather than absorb it immediately.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu reacted angrily when they learned Kakashi had joined the Security Division and feared his influence would benefit the Uchiha.

Sarutobi Hiruzen planned to block Xuanye’s appointment by appealing to the Fire Daimyo, while Kumogakure’s envoys arrived in Konoha to negotiate a ceasefire. The envoys were escorted into the village under close watch, where Konoha’s Anbu warned them against acting arrogantly.

• Utatane Koharu urged Sarutobi Hiruzen to act against Xuanye, but he rejected assassination or declaring Kakashi a rogue ninja as too risky.
• Mitokado Homura asked whether Sarutobi Hiruzen had another option, and Hiruzen said he had summoned Jiraiya and planned to use the Daimyo’s authority to block Xuanye’s appointment.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen’s clan members accompanying the Fire Daimyo struggled to hurry his leisurely journey to Konoha.
• Kumogakure’s envoys reached Konoha openly and presented a scroll identifying them as delegates sent to discuss a ceasefire.
• Konoha’s Anbu verified the envoys’ identities and escorted them while keeping their distance, and an Anbu warned the lead envoy that Konoha would not tolerate their arrogance.

Sarutobi Hiruzen rushed to the Security Division after learning that Kumogakure’s envoys had been beaten and imprisoned, but found the Uchiha still attacking one while Kakashi watched. Kakashi explained that the envoys had caused trouble and attacked Security Division members, leaving Hiruzen to confront the crisis as negotiations loomed.

• A Kumogakure envoy mocked Konoha and entered the village with confidence, unaware of the Uchiha’s reputation.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen learned that Kumogakure’s envoys had been beaten and imprisoned, then hurried to the Security Division with two Anbu.
• Hiruzen found two Uchiha beating a chakra-sealed envoy while Kakashi watched, and his order to stop only made them strike faster.
• Kakashi ended the beating, while Inabi said the envoys had only been treated more gently because they represented Kumogakure.
• Hiruzen asked Kakashi why the Security Division had attacked the guests, and Kakashi said they had caused trouble, harassed women, and attacked the officers first.

A Kumogakure envoy’s arrogance led to a beating by Konoha’s Security Division, but his village’s real mission emerged when he abducted Hinata from the Hyuga compound. Xuanye confronted the fleeing envoy in an alley as Hyuga pursuers closed in.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen helped the battered Kumogakure envoy up, then ordered Anbu to escort the envoys to the embassy and keep them under watch.
• The Kumogakure envoys spent several days avoiding negotiations while recovering from their injuries.
• One night, a Kumogakure envoy sneaked into the Hyuga compound, abducted Hinata, and fled toward Konoha’s outskirts.
• The Hyuga Clan, Anbu, and Security Division mobilized to find the kidnapper, while the envoy discovered a dead Kumogakure spy in an alley.
• Xuanye confronted the envoy and drew his Ninja Blade as a palm strike swept toward the kidnapper from behind.

Xuanye stopped the Kumogakure envoy from taking Hinata, but Hiashi killed the envoy before learning his identity. The envoy’s death threatened Konoha’s peace agreement with Kumogakure, and Xuanye reminded Hiashi that his offer to the Hyuga Clan remained open at a higher price if they were desperate.

• Hiashi pursued the envoy into an alley and asked Xuanye to help capture him, while Xuanye said maintaining order was the Security Division’s responsibility.
• The envoy reached for baby Hinata’s eyes, but Xuanye used the Body Flicker Technique to sever both his arms and catch Hinata.
• Xuanye returned Hinata to Hiashi and criticized the Hyuga Clan’s weak defenses.
• Hiashi killed the disarmed envoy with a Gentle Fist strike, then recognized him after Xuanye identified him as Kumogakure’s peace envoy.
• Hiashi promised that the incident would not implicate the Uchiha Clan, and Xuanye warned that his offer to the Hyuga Clan would cost more if they were backed into a corner.

Kumogakure demanded that Konoha hand over Hyuga Hiashi after its envoy was killed, and Sarutobi Hiruzen chose to appease the village rather than defend Hiashi. Hiashi rejected Hiruzen’s decision, leaving the conflict between Konoha, the Hyuga Clan, and Kumogakure unresolved.

• Hyuga Hiashi took responsibility for killing the Kumogakure envoy and did not reveal Xuanye had been there.
• Two Kumogakure envoys demanded Hiashi’s surrender and threatened war, while Hiashi accused them of infiltrating the Hyuga Clan and attempting to kidnap his daughter.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen asked the envoys to leave and promised to investigate, but they stormed out after warning that Kumogakure would not be trifled with.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen told Hiashi that Konoha could not endure more turmoil and that the Hyuga Clan had to hand someone over.
• Hyuga Hiashi accused Sarutobi Hiruzen of betraying Konoha’s own shinobi by considering surrendering him.

Hyuga Hiashi rejected Sarutobi Hiruzen’s attempt to offer Hizashi as a substitute for him and lost faith in the Hokage’s faction. He went to Uchiha Genya at the Security Division, where Genya revealed he had anticipated the offer, leaving Hiashi stunned.

• Utatane Koharu suggested handing Hizashi Hyuga to Kumogakure in Hyuga Hiashi’s place, and Hiashi reacted with fury at the proposal to sacrifice his brother.
• Hyuga Hiashi left the Hokage Office disillusioned with Sarutobi Hiruzen and resolved to help Xuanye become Hokage instead.
• Hiashi went directly to the Security Division, where Uchiha Inabi said the chief had been expecting him.
• Xuanye offered Hiashi tea and correctly guessed that Sarutobi Hiruzen had proposed sending Hizashi to Kumogakure in his place.
• Hiashi stared at Xuanye in disbelief, wondering how he had learned about the private meeting so quickly.

Uchiha Genya explained why Sarutobi Hiruzen’s decision threatened the Hyuga Clan and revealed how he would have destroyed the clan if Hyuga Hiashi had refused to cooperate. Hiashi agreed to hear Genya’s additional demands, leaving their alliance under negotiation.

• Hyuga Hiashi told Uchiha Genya that Utatane Koharu, not Sarutobi Hiruzen, had proposed the plan concerning the Hyuga Clan.
• Uchiha Genya criticized Sarutobi Hiruzen’s leadership, and Hiashi was impressed by Genya’s insight.
• Hiashi asked what Genya would have done if he had surrendered Hizashi Hyuga to the village, and Genya described a plan to turn Konoha against the Hyuga, split the Main and Branch Families, and take control of the Branch Family.
• Hiashi realized that Genya could be a terrifying enemy and said that opposing him would be disastrous.
• Genya kept his original offer of pay and benefits for Hyuga Branch Family Shinobi but told Hiashi he would need additional concessions.

Xuanye negotiated with Hyuga Hiashi to bring Hyuga Branch Family shinobi into the Security Division, requiring that they keep their wages and benefits. Hiashi agreed to cooperate with the Uchiha, but returned to find Sarutobi Hiruzen had already announced a proposed solution to the Hyuga dispute, leaving him furious.

• Xuanye told Hyuga Hiashi that Branch Family shinobi must receive and keep their own salaries and benefits, and warned that the Security Division could intervene if the Main Family withheld them.
• Hyuga Hiashi agreed to Xuanye’s condition and to publicly support the Uchiha, while Xuanye kept the original price and described the clans as future allies.
• Hyuga Hiashi thanked Xuanye for the Uchiha’s assistance and returned to the Hyuga clan grounds in high spirits.
• Hyuga Hiashi noticed the Branch Family shinobi’s wary, sorrowful expressions and learned that Sarutobi Hiruzen had already announced a proposed solution to the Hyuga dispute.
• Hyuga Hiashi flew into a rage at Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others for acting before he could respond.

Hyuga Hiashi summoned the Main Family and Branch Family elders to address the demand that Hizashi be handed over to Kumogakure, but instead announced that Hyuga Shinobi would join the Security Division. His decision provoked the Main Family elders and exposed the clan’s deep divisions.

• Hiashi summoned the elders of both Hyuga families to the shrine after the Third Hokage demanded that Hizashi pay with his life for killing Kumogakure's envoys.
• The Main Family's senior elder told the gathered elders about the demand, and Branch Family elders protested while Hizashi feared for his life and his infant son, Neji.
• Hiashi announced that he had agreed with Director Xuanye to assign Hyuga Shinobi to the Security Division under Uchiha Genya, with equal treatment and benefits.
• Main Family elders condemned Hiashi for placing Hyuga Shinobi under Uchiha leadership and claimed it dishonored the clan.
• Hiashi accused an elder of trying to drive a wedge between the clans, then challenged him to repeat his claims about the Byakugan to Uchiha Genya.

Hyuga Hiashi defended Hizashi and rejected the proposal to hand him over to Sarutobi Hiruzen, arguing that doing so would destroy the Hyuga Clan’s honor. His speech silenced the Main Family Elders and earned him the Branch Family’s approval.

• Hiashi dismissed the Main Family Elder who had opposed him and explained that Uchiha Genya sought an equal alliance with the Hyuga.
• Hiashi argued that handing over Hizashi would disgrace the clan and set a precedent for sacrificing other Hyuga members.
• Hizashi was moved that his elder brother had spoken in his defense, despite their strained relationship.
• When an Elder warned that refusing could risk war, Hiashi challenged him to declare his opposition before the ancestors’ tablets.
• The Elders fell silent, and the Branch Family members began to look at Hiashi with approval.

Hiashi won the Hyuga elders’ support for aligning with Uchiha Genya and sending elite Branch Family Shinobi to the Security Division. He and Hizashi discussed the pay conditions and the cause of their broken bond, leaving Hizashi with a lighter step as he departed.

• Hiashi argued that the Hyuga should resist Sarutobi Hiruzen and support the Uchiha, and the Great Elder tacitly accepted his plan.
• Hiashi ended the meeting and pledged to lead the Hyuga into battle if war with Kumogakure came.
• Hiashi privately gave Hizashi a scroll detailing the Security Division’s pay and asked him to select around ten elite Branch Family Shinobi.
• Hizashi asked whether the assignment’s earnings would belong to the Shinobi, and Hiashi explained that Genya required them to control their own pay and benefits.
• Hiashi told Hizashi that he had used the Caged Bird to punish him for trying to kill Hinata, not for threatening the Main Family heir, and Hizashi left without replying.

Genya accepted Hizashi Hyuga and other Hyuga Branch Family members into the Security Division, giving them real authority and benefits. Their patrols quickly showed how fiercely they would enforce the law, leaving an unruly civilian badly beaten and surprising even the Uchiha.

• Genya approved the Hyuga Clan members' applications after Hizashi presented their list and declared his loyalty to Genya.
• Genya appointed Hizashi and another Hyuga Jonin as squad captains and assigned Hyuga Chunin to patrol squads.
• Hyuga Branch Family members began patrolling Konoha with their Byakugan activated to search for threats to public order.
• A civilian tried to mock a Hyuga patrol member, who struck him repeatedly with a baton before an Uchiha squad intervened.
• The Uchiha captain was shocked by the Hyuga member's brutality as the Branch Family members began displaying their fighting instincts.

A Hyuga Branch Family member was disciplined by Kakashi for beating a commoner too severely, but learned he could still earn a reward for the arrest. Sarutobi Hiruzen and his advisers panicked over the Hyuga Clan joining the Security Division alongside the Uchiha, while the Division’s pay and benefits threatened to attract even more clans.

• Kakashi deducted half of the Hyuga Branch Family member’s bonus and warned him to avoid striking people in the head or beating them too badly.
• The Hyuga Branch Family member accepted his reward and resolved to patrol more often to repay Uchiha Genya.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen summoned Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu after the Hyuga Clan’s arrival caused a stir in Konoha.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura warned that the Uchiha-Hyuga alliance threatened their influence and could help Uchiha Genya become Fifth Hokage.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen silenced his advisers as they failed to offer a solution to the growing appeal of the Security Division.

Uchiha Genya’s growing power drew Shinobi into the Security Division while the Hokage Faction lost support. Sarutobi Hiruzen tried to make Genya bear the pressure of Kumogakure’s demands, and the chapter ended as Genya arrived with the Hyuuga brothers at the Hokage Office.

• Uchiha Genya recruited elite Shinobi into the Security Division as villagers’ protests faded and the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans moved toward neutrality.
• Nara Shikaku recognized that Sarutobi Hiruzen’s handling of the Hyuuga Clan had pushed it toward Genya and left the Hokage Faction with little hope.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen decided to let the Kumogakure envoys confront Genya over their demands, hoping either outcome would damage the Uchiha.
• The Kumogakure envoys challenged Sarutobi Hiruzen in the Hokage Office, demanding the killer and compensation and threatening military action.
• Uchiha Genya entered with Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga behind him, while Sarutobi Hiruzen and Genya silently judged each other.

Xuanye confronted the Kumogakure envoys over their threats against the Hyuga and severed one envoy’s hand when he tried to grab Hiashi. He dismissed Sarutobi Hiruzen’s warnings about provoking war, leaving the conflict between Konoha and Kumogakure unresolved.

• Xuanye asserted that the Hyuga ninja who joined the Security Division were under his protection and demanded to know whether the Kumogakure envoys dared challenge him.
• Xuanye identified Hiashi as the man who killed the Kumogakure leader and dared the envoys to touch him.
• One envoy tried to grab Hiashi, and Xuanye cut off the man’s right hand with a flash of purple Lightning.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen warned Xuanye that Kumogakure might use the attack to start a war, but Xuanye retorted that Kumogakure never needed a reason to make war.

Xuanye rejected Sarutobi Hiruzen’s plan to appease Kumogakure, arguing that the village had only wanted concessions and was not ready for war. He drove the envoys out and challenged Konoha’s leaders to make sacrifices themselves, leaving Utatane Koharu poised to respond.

• Xuanye told Sarutobi Hiruzen that wars rarely needed a real reason and accused him of endangering Konoha by offering compensation and a Hyuga sacrifice to Kumogakure.
• Xuanye ordered the Kumogakure envoys to leave and taunted the Fourth Raikage to bring his army to the Land of Grass.
• The envoys rolled out of the Hokage’s office building, one leaving a trail of blood from his severed hand.
• Mitokado Homura tried to defend Sarutobi Hiruzen’s actions and reassure Xuanye that the Hyuga Clan would not be sacrificed.
• Xuanye suggested that Sarutobi Hiruzen or an elder publicly cut open his belly to apologize, then berated Mitokado Homura for speaking.
• Utatane Koharu showed courage as Xuanye’s abuse of Mitokado Homura continued.

Xuanye intimidated Sarutobi Hiruzen and the elders, demanded compensation for Danzo’s crimes, and ordered the village to hold the Fifth Hokage election within three days. He left Sarutobi with little choice but to comply and warned him not to pursue Jiraiya’s candidacy.

• Utatane Koharu challenged Xuanye, who used his Mangekyō to send her collapsing to the floor in agony.
• Xuanye accused Sarutobi Hiruzen and the other elders of avoiding sacrifice and staying away from the front lines, then dismissed their objections.
• Xuanye handed Sarutobi a scroll listing evidence of crimes in Danzo’s laboratory and demanded compensation for the victims’ families.
• When Sarutobi said the village had no money, Xuanye threatened him with violence and warned that evidence of his dealings with Root could be made public.
• Sarutobi asked Xuanye to protect Danzo’s reputation, but Xuanye condemned Danzo’s human experiments and ordered the compensation arranged.
• Xuanye gave Sarutobi three days to hold the Fifth Hokage election and warned him that Jiraiya would not become Hokage.

Genya left Sarutobi Hiruzen and the elders to deal with the enormous payment he demanded, while Jiraiya returned to Konoha as the village prepared to elect its Fifth Hokage. Orochimaru confronted Jiraiya outside the village and warned him against entering the election on Hiruzen’s behalf.

• After Genya left, Hiruzen told the elders their families would pool the money, but Koharu refused to pay from her own pocket and Hiruzen stormed out.
• Homura and Koharu went home to prepare the money rather than risk fighting Genya.
• Jiraiya hurried back to Konoha after hearing about the village’s upheaval and Minato and Kushina’s deaths, but he had no further information about what had happened.
• Near Konoha, Jiraiya sensed Orochimaru, who revealed that Genya had sent him to persuade Jiraiya to withdraw from the Hokage election.
• Orochimaru told Jiraiya that Hiruzen had tried to sacrifice him and had protected Danzo, then warned that backing Hiruzen could spark civil unrest or split Konoha.

Jiraiya returned to Konoha and found the village transformed by Uchiha Genya and the Security Division, including the expulsion of two Kumogakure Shinobi. He headed to the Uchiha Clan Compound to learn what had changed and was greeted by Kakashi.

• Orochimaru tried to dissuade Jiraiya from pursuing the Hokage position, then told him Kakashi and Minato's son were at the Uchiha Compound.
• Jiraiya entered Konoha and went looking for Uchiha Genya, noticing a Hyuga-led Security Division squad forcing two Kumogakure Shinobi to crawl out of the village.
• A Hyuga Jonin told Jiraiya the Kumogakure Shinobi had been punished for threats, extortion, and disrupting peace, leaving Jiraiya astonished by Konoha's new forceful behavior.
• Jiraiya continued to the Uchiha Clan Compound, where Kakashi came out to greet him.

Jiraiya visited the Uchiha grounds to take Naruto away, but Fugaku refused and explained that Minato had entrusted the child to Xuanye. Jiraiya learned that Xuanye’s influence within the clan now surpassed Fugaku’s, leaving Naruto in the Uchiha’s care.

• Jiraiya noticed Kakashi’s renewed fighting spirit and saw that he had begun training with his father’s White Fang Short Sword.
• Kakashi led Jiraiya through the Uchiha grounds to Fugaku’s residence, where Jiraiya marveled at how familiar Kakashi was with the clan members.
• Jiraiya asked Fugaku to let him take Naruto, but Fugaku refused, saying Minato had entrusted the child to Xuanye rather than Sarutobi Hiruzen.
• Fugaku promised to raise Naruto as his own son and told Jiraiya he could meet the child because Xuanye had allowed it.
• Jiraiya asked why Xuanye seemed to hold more authority than Fugaku, and Fugaku reflected on how Xuanye’s reforms and funding had won the Uchiha’s loyalty.