Recaps

Xuanye forced Uchiha Hikari to train with Itachi by promising to undo her Sealing if she could defeat him without ninjutsu or the Sharingan. Meanwhile, Kakashi and Guy tracked down Kakuzu, whose tireless work on the Black Market impressed Kakashi.

• Xuanye taunted Uchiha Hikari about her past defeat and ordered her to train her Taijutsu and throwing skills.
• Xuanye promised to undo Uchiha Hikari's Sealing if she defeated Itachi without ninjutsu or the Sharingan, and Itachi agreed to train her.
• Uchiha Hikari objected when Itachi called her Great-grandmother.
• Kakashi and Guy found information about Kakuzu in underground Black Markets across several countries.
• Kakashi learned that the elderly Kakuzu remained a formidable Shinobi who constantly took jobs, and Kakuzu's work ethic inspired Kakashi to take his own duties more seriously.

Kakashi and Guy lured Kakuzu out with a paid commission and invited him to meet the new Hokage, Uchiha Genya. Kakuzu, wary of Konoha but tempted by Genya’s generous gesture, agreed to consider the invitation and became interested in meeting him.

• Guy praised Kakuzu’s perseverance, while Kakashi focused on their mission to bring the elderly rogue ninja to Konoha.
• Kakashi posted an S-rank commission at an Underground Exchange, and Kakuzu arrived less than a day later.
• Kakuzu recognized Kakashi and questioned why Konoha had summoned him, while Guy prepared to defend Kakashi if needed.
• Kakashi gave Kakuzu a one-million-ryo deposit and explained that Genya wanted to discuss a matter with him in Konoha.
• Kakuzu suspected a trap and considered returning the money, but Kakashi clarified that it was a gift whether or not he accepted the invitation.
• Kakuzu was impressed by Genya’s understanding of him and became curious about meeting the Hokage.

Xuanye installed Uchiha Hikari as clan leader, leaving her as a puppet under Fugaku and Uchiha Genya, then handled Konoha’s administration and studied the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu. The chapter ended with him examining the forbidden technique in the Scroll of Sealing.

• Kakuzu took the million ryō and agreed to meet Uchiha Genya with Kakashi.
• Uchiha Hikari became clan leader at Xuanye’s direction, but Fugaku blocked her unrealistic orders and she discovered that few Uchiha obeyed her.
• Uchiha Hikari threw a tantrum over being treated as a puppet, then vowed to grow stronger, defeat Uchiha Itachi, and reclaim her power.
• Xuanye delegated most village administration, finished a month’s work in half a day, and spent time with Matatabi.
• Xuanye opened the Scroll of Sealing and began studying the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu.

Genya gave up on mastering the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu and chose to study illusion techniques before going to welcome Kakashi, Guy, and their unfamiliar companion. His barefoot greeting moved Kakuzu, who had been disheartened by how much Konoha had changed.

• Genya realized that the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu was beyond his current abilities and decided to rely on the system for learning other forbidden techniques.
• Genya chose to study A-rank illusion techniques, especially the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, and remembered his promise to give Itachi a pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
• An Anbu Shinobi reported that Kakashi and Guy had returned with an unfamiliar Shinobi, so Genya decided to welcome them himself.
• Genya removed one shoe and used the Body Flicker Technique to hurry out to meet Kakashi, Guy, and Kakuzu.
• Kakuzu saw Genya rushing to greet him barefoot and became deeply moved by the gesture.

Xuanye welcomed Kakuzu to Konoha and hired him to audit ten years of procurement accounts, offering him a commission for every irregular fund he uncovered. Kakuzu suspected the village’s financial losses were enormous, but had not yet agreed to the job.

• Xuanye praised Kakashi and Guy for completing an S-rank mission that brought Kakuzu to Konoha.
• Xuanye offered Kakuzu a warm welcome and said he wanted his help with a dangerous but nonlethal task.
• Xuanye brought Kakuzu to the Hokage Office, where Kaho served tea and then left them alone.
• Xuanye handed Kakuzu a scroll containing ten years of departmental procurement accounts and asked him to audit them for irregularities.
• Xuanye offered Kakuzu a five-per-thousand commission on problematic funds, and Kakuzu questioned whether the rate was worth the work.

Xuanye hired Kakuzu to audit Konoha’s departments, exposing the old guard’s extensive financial misconduct. Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and the Shimura Clan head pressured Sarutobi Hiruzen to intervene, but Hiruzen realized Xuanye’s postwar authority made him difficult to oppose.

• Xuanye persuaded Kakuzu to audit nearly twenty years of accounts, choosing him because he had no financial ties to Konoha’s families.
• Xuanye exempted the Security Division and signaled that he would tolerate limited graft but not unchecked greed.
• The Sarutobi, Mitokado, Utatane, and Shimura families grew alarmed because their dealings under Sarutobi Hiruzen had left incriminating traces.
• Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and the Shimura Clan head went to Sarutobi Hiruzen and demanded his help.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen rebuked the old advisers and recognized that Xuanye’s victory over Kumogakure had made his position in Konoha unassailable.

Sarutobi Hiruzen confronted Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and the Shimura clan head about the clans’ massive embezzlement before Uchiha Genya became Hokage. He ordered them to keep quiet and prepare to return the money, then resolved to speak with Genya.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen questioned Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu about how much they had embezzled, and their silence convinced him they had taken nearly everything they could.
• Utatane Koharu claimed they had taken the money to protect Konoha from Uchiha Genya, while Sarutobi Hiruzen realized Genya’s audit had exposed the missing funds.
• Mitokado Homura urged Sarutobi Hiruzen to stop Uchiha Genya, and the Shimura clan head agreed, though the Shimura Clan had embezzled less than the others.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen recognized that his own clan was vulnerable to the audit because its past conduct would not withstand scrutiny.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen told the others to keep their heads down, prepare to return everything they had pocketed, and leave him to speak with Uchiha Genya.

As Kakuzu uncovered extensive financial fraud in Konoha, attackers tried to silence him, but Genya’s Anbu ambushed them. Kakashi recognized the captured former Anbu as people tied to the Third and confronted their leader, who accused Shisui of betraying Lord Third.

• Kakuzu found numerous financial loopholes in Konoha’s accounts and realized recovering the stolen money could earn him a substantial commission.
• Attackers hurled kunai at Kakuzu’s office, but Kakashi told him that the Fifth Hokage had stationed Anbu to protect him.
• Anbu surrounded and captured five jonin attackers, and Kakashi ordered his forces to kill anyone who resisted.
• Kakashi recognized several attackers from his Anbu service and asked whether the Third had sent them after Kakuzu.
• The attackers’ leader ignored Kakashi and accused Shisui of betraying Lord Third.

Shisui helped Kakashi’s Anbu capture Sarutobi Shinnosuke and four other conspirators before their operation could succeed. Hizashi Hyuga defended Genya’s authority against Shinnosuke’s insults, hoping to secure a better future for the Hyuga Branch Family and his son, Neji.

• Shisui used an Illusion Technique to immobilize five jonin briefly, then severed the tendons in their arms and legs so the Anbu could capture them.
• Kakashi recognized Sarutobi Shinnosuke among the prisoners and ordered the Anbu to return all five to prison for Genya to deal with.
• Hizashi Hyuga punched Shinnosuke for addressing Genya disrespectfully and insisted that he use the Hokage’s proper title.
• Shinnosuke insulted Hizashi’s status as a Hyuga Branch Family member, but Hizashi calmly had the prisoners taken away.
• Hizashi hoped that supporting Genya would help him win a different future for the Branch Family and his son, Neji.

Genya received Kakuzu’s audit, which uncovered more than thirty billion ryō in questionable accounts and enraged Kakashi over the money stolen from Konoha. After reviewing his government staff’s work, Genya turned to the Scroll of Sealing and pressured Uzumaki Kaho to learn her assigned techniques.

• Genya read Kakashi’s report identifying attackers from all four major clans, including Sarutobi Shinnosuke, and wondered why Sarutobi Hiruzen had acted without consulting him.
• Kakuzu barged in and reported that his preliminary audit had found more than thirty billion ryō in questionable accounts.
• Kakashi grew furious as he considered how the embezzlement had weakened Konoha and cost lives during the Third Great Ninja War.
• Genya told Kakuzu to focus on auditing the accounts and assured him the rest of the matter would not involve him.
• Genya reviewed the division of government duties, began reading the Scroll of Sealing, and taught basic ninjutsu to the recovering Uzumaki Kaho.
• Genya demanded that Kaho master her sealing techniques immediately after she admitted she had not learned the Four Symbols Seal.

Uchiha Genya confronted Sarutobi Hiruzen over corruption, a recent attack on Kakuzu, and Hiruzen’s son Shinnosuke’s involvement. Hiruzen pleaded for his clan, but Genya clarified that his promise not to purge Hiruzen personally did not protect the Sarutobi Clan.

• Genya berated Uzumaki Kaho for not working hard to learn the Four Symbols Seal until an Anbu announced that Hiruzen had requested an audience.
• Hiruzen saw Kaho leave and assumed Genya had mistreated her, then asked why Genya was auditing the accounts despite promising not to conduct a political purge.
• Genya accused Hiruzen of failing to control his clan and asked whether he knew about the attack on Kakuzu; Hiruzen denied involvement and realized his clan members had created evidence against themselves.
• Genya revealed that Hiruzen’s son Shinnosuke had joined the attackers, prompting Hiruzen to ask whether Genya would harm him.
• Hiruzen pleaded for Genya to honor his promise, but Genya said it applied only to Hiruzen personally and reminded him of his continued troublemaking and wealth accumulation.

Xuanye learned that Darui and Kumogakure’s shinobi had attacked the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, leaving him unconscious, and ordered Yugito brought to the Hokage Office. Yugito saw Matatabi resting with Xuanye and feared that her Tailed Beast would be extracted, a process she believed would kill her.

• Xuanye demanded that Sarutobi Hiruzen investigate the Daimyo’s finances and pay a hundred million ryo for Sarutobi Shinnosuke’s head.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen blamed Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu for the crisis and considered sending Asuma away.
• Xuanye received word that Darui and Kumogakure’s elite had attacked the Daimyo’s convoy, killing his guards and leaving the Daimyo unconscious.
• Xuanye ordered Yugito brought to him after Kumogakure completed its part of their arrangement.
• Yugito saw Matatabi dozing on Xuanye’s desk and asked whether her time was up.

Xuanye released Yugito after warning her to hide that she had lost access to Matatabi’s power, then sent Kakashi to escort her to Kumogakure. After completing the mission to establish authority, Xuanye received a Lightning Release Chakra Training Scroll and considered how Yugito might be forced to defect.

• Xuanye told Yugito she was free to leave and warned her not to tell Kumogakure that she could no longer use Matatabi’s power.
• Xuanye ordered Kakashi to escort Yugito to the Land of Fire border, remove her seal there, and hand her over to Kumogakure.
• Kakashi accepted the mission and left with Yugito, suspecting Xuanye wanted him away from an impending event in Konoha.
• Xuanye settled his side mission to defeat Kumogakure and received a Lightning Release Chakra Training Scroll.
• Xuanye laughed over the reward and thought that Yugito might have no choice but to betray Kumogakure.

Xuanye studied Kumogakure’s Lightning Release Chakra Secret Technique and considered how easily he could master its dangerous final stage. After meeting Mitaraishi Anko while off duty, he heard her complaints about her routine Security Division patrols and left her questioning whether she could take on more meaningful work.

• Xuanye read that the Lightning Release Chakra Secret Technique used lightning to strengthen the body and nerves, with its third stage requiring survival after being struck by natural lightning.
• Xuanye concluded that his own Lightning Release talent would let him summon lightning and master the secret technique without much risk.
• Xuanye went out for food after studying and encountered Mitaraishi Anko buying three-color dango.
• Xuanye ate one of Anko’s dango skewers, then told her to act normally because he was off duty.
• Anko complained that villagers avoided trouble whenever they saw her Security Division uniform, leaving her with repetitive patrol work.
• Xuanye said the peaceful streets showed that the Security Division was doing its job, but Anko still felt she should be doing something significant.

Xuanye and Hong Dou came across Asuma Sarutobi pestering Kurenai Yuhi after she rejected him again. Asuma’s insecurity and pride surfaced when Xuanye intervened, leaving the encounter under the watch of a Security Division member.

• Hong Dou said she wanted to do something more meaningful than patrol, and Xuanye offered her work in the Hokage Office.
• Kurenai Yuhi told Asuma Sarutobi to stop bothering her, while Asuma said he was being sent to serve as a Guardian Ninja at the Daimyo Mansion.
• Asuma became angry when Kurenai rejected him and said Konoha would no longer indulge his spoiled attitude.
• Xuanye approached Asuma and Kurenai, and Asuma immediately addressed him respectfully as the Hokage.
• Xuanye said he was off duty and directed Asuma to treat the Security Division member beside him as the one on duty.

Xuanye and Hong Dou patrolled Konoha, where Hong Dou fined Sarutobi Asuma for harassing Kurenai. After learning that Kakuzu had organized the financial records, Xuanye prepared to settle accounts.

• Kurenai reported Sarutobi Asuma to Hong Dou, who fined him five thousand ryo and warned him to leave Kurenai alone.
• Kurenai invited Hong Dou to Ichiraku Ramen after work, while Xuanye noticed her matchmaking hint but kept his ambitions in mind.
• An Anbu member told Xuanye that Sarutobi Hiruzen had paid one hundred million ryo to ransom Sarutobi Shinnosuke and that the other three families had pooled money to ransom their men.
• Xuanye considered how to draw wealth from the ninja clans while eating ramen with Hong Dou.
• An Anbu member reported that Kakuzu had organized the financial records, and Xuanye decided it was time to settle accounts.

Xuanye learned that Konoha’s four clans had embezzled fifty billion ryo and confronted Sarutobi Hiruzen with the audit records. Hiruzen faced Xuanye’s demand to accept every term or risk having the scandal exposed to the Ninja World.

• Xuanye returned to the Hokage Office, where Kakuzu demanded his commission for auditing the accounts, and Xuanye explained that Konoha lacked enough cash to pay him immediately.
• Xuanye summoned Sarutobi Hiruzen and handed him the scroll documenting the clans’ embezzlement.
• Xuanye accused the Sarutobi Clan of stealing money, including charging ninety thousand ryo for a single Explosive Tag during the Third Great Ninja War.
• Hiruzen admitted defeat and asked Xuanye to name his terms, but Xuanye revealed that the clans had taken fifty billion ryo and threatened to publish the records unless Hiruzen accepted every demand.
• Hiruzen realized that exposing the scandal would bring the families of fallen ninja down on the clans and ruin their names for generations.

Xuanye forced Sarutobi Hiruzen to repay the embezzled funds within five days and ordered him and two other elders to leave Konoha afterward. He then told Nara Shikaku to prevent influential people from buying property, shops, or supplies, leaving the reason unexplained.

• Xuanye rejected Sarutobi Hiruzen’s objections and demanded that the families repay every coin they had embezzled, allowing payment in property and goods at market value.
• Xuanye dismissed Sarutobi Hiruzen’s warning that the families might seek the Daimyo’s protection and denied involvement in the attack on the Daimyo.
• Xuanye gave Sarutobi Hiruzen five days to repay the money and ordered the three old men to retire somewhere outside Konoha.
• Xuanye summoned Nara Shikaku and said someone would soon bring Konoha money.
• Xuanye instructed Nara Shikaku to forbid influential people from buying property, shops, kunai, or Explosive Tags, without revealing that the order came from the Hokage’s office.

Xuanye ordered Shikaku to direct the clans to buy property, while Orochimaru warned Hiruzen to retire and stop acting against Uchiha Genya. Hiruzen and the Konoha F4 sold clan assets to settle their debt to Konoha, and Genya acquired their properties at eighty percent of market value.

• Xuanye gave Shikaku an unexplained order to tell the clans to buy shops and property, and Shikaku agreed to carry it out.
• Orochimaru warned Hiruzen that further moves behind the scenes could lead to his ruin, but Hiruzen dismissed him.
• The Konoha F4 struggled to sell their properties because the major clans refused to buy, leaving the Konoha administration as their only offer.
• Hiruzen confronted Uchiha Genya over the low offer, then agreed to sell the properties for eighty percent of market value.
• Hiruzen handed Genya ten billion ryō and the property deeds, settling the debt after his clans surrendered assets, including ancestral property.

After Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed to retire, Uchiha Genya paid Kakuzu for his work with Konoha property deeds and offered him the head of the Finance Department position. Kakuzu rejected joining Konoha, but Genya began making a different offer based on Kakuzu’s history with Takigakure.

• Genya warned Sarutobi Hiruzen to retire quietly and said he would not let the families’ stolen public funds go unpunished.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen left, accepting that he would stop challenging Genya and retire to a small village.
• Genya paid Kakuzu with property deeds worth about 250 million ryo, calculating Kakuzu’s commission from their full value.
• Genya offered Kakuzu the head of Konoha’s Finance Department, but Kakuzu said he would not join another faction.
• Genya recalled how Takigakure imprisoned Kakuzu after his failed attempt to assassinate the First, and Kakuzu asked what Genya planned to offer him.

Xuanye persuaded Kakuzu to join Konoha as head of the Finance Department, promising future ways to make money and offering him a place among comrades rather than treating him as a hired worker. At the Jonin Conference the next day, Kakuzu appeared wearing a Konoha Forehead Protector, confirming his new allegiance.

• Xuanye explained that the Finance Department salary would be limited, but urged Kakuzu to keep his assets and wait for Konoha's future policies to increase their value.
• Kakuzu asked whether the job would restrict his freedom, and Xuanye told him he could take Konoha missions instead of Black Market commissions.
• Xuanye offered Kakuzu a Konoha Forehead Protector and said he wanted mutual trust rather than an employer-for-hire arrangement.
• Kakuzu accepted the offer, took the Forehead Protector, and asked when he could make a fortune.
• Xuanye summoned a full Jonin Conference for the next day and said he would announce Kakuzu's appointment there.
• At the conference, the gathered Shinobi saw Kakuzu wearing a new Konoha Forehead Protector.

Xuanye appointed Kakuzu head of Konoha’s Finance Department after announcing that Kakuzu had recovered five hundred billion ryo for the village. Xuanye then prepared to explain his plan for spending Konoha’s newly abundant funds.

• Xuanye announced that Kakuzu would become head of the Finance Department, prompting Hyuga Hiashi to question openly accepting a rogue ninja into Konoha’s leadership.
• Xuanye said Kakuzu had recovered five hundred billion ryo for Konoha, persuading the gathered Shinobi that his contribution justified the appointment.
• Xuanye appointed experienced deputies and advisers to support Kakuzu and prevent him from controlling the Finance Department alone.
• Xuanye gathered the group’s attention and began presenting a plan to spend Konoha’s funds, saying the Shinobi profession still had untapped potential.

Genya presented two Three-Year Plans to expand Konoha and help clans grow profitable businesses, promising shared prosperity while setting village oversight and funding rules. He left the gathered shinobi excited to invest, while making clear that clans that had fought Kumogakure would receive priority over the Sarutobi, Mitokado, Utatane, and Shimura clans.

• Genya proposed expanding Konoha’s infrastructure and attracting merchants, then funding clan businesses that could grow across the Land of Fire.
• Genya won the jonin’s applause by promising that the village would grow richer and share the benefits.
• Genya declared that Konoha would take the larger share of profits and required clans to submit written applications for limited funding.
• Genya gave shinobi who fought Kumogakure priority for funding, angering the Sarutobi, Mitokado, Utatane, and Shimura clan heads.
• The gathered shinobi compared Genya’s rewards for wartime service with Sarutobi Hiruzen’s treatment of past sacrifices, and many felt eager to show loyalty to Genya.

After the Jonin Conference, Xuanye offered Konoha’s clans village-backed business opportunities in exchange for investment and conditions that would benefit the village. He secured their agreement to expand their businesses, while requiring that shops outside Konoha display no clan names or crests.

• Xuanye assigned Fugaku and Hiashi to plan Konoha’s expansion and required them to involve civilian-born Shinobi.
• Xuanye offered the Uchiha and Hyuga clans fifty-percent increases in procurement quotas if they paid to expand production, and Fugaku and Hiashi agreed.
• Xuanye proposed funding the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans’ expansion across the Land of Fire in exchange for ninety percent of initial profits, with the clans’ ten-percent shares going to individuals.
• Nara Shikaku accepted Xuanye’s terms after hearing his case for the businesses’ long-term potential and Konoha’s costs.
• Xuanye required all clans to avoid using clan surnames or crests on shops outside Konoha, while saying he would favor names connected to Konoha.

Xuanye invited Konoha’s clan heads to propose investments in their family businesses and negotiated with Kakuzu over investing his fortune in Konoha property and shops. Before Fugaku left, Xuanye gave him Kumogakure’s Lightning Release secret technique and declared that he would treat all clans impartially from then on.

• Xuanye told the clan heads to develop business proposals and test the market using confiscated shops and land.
• Xuanye warned Kakuzu not to sell stolen goods openly in Konoha, but agreed to let him invest in separate shops and properties without management rights.
• Kakuzu revealed he had around four billion ryō and assets he could mortgage, then accepted Xuanye’s investment conditions.
• Fugaku asked Xuanye about Matatabi, and Xuanye explained that she was a portion of the Two-Tails’ chakra and had agreed not to cause trouble in Konoha.
• Xuanye gave Fugaku Kumogakure’s Lightning Release Chakra Secret Technique for suitable Uchiha clan members and said it was his last act of favoritism toward the family.