Chapter Summaries

Yakushi Nonō and her allies impeached Sarutobi Hiruzen for trying to secure the Hokage position for the Sarutobi Clan, and Konoha’s gathered leaders voted him out. Hiruzen reluctantly surrendered his Hokage robes and hat but was forced to remain for the next Hokage’s election and the handover.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen defended his clan’s claim to the Hokage position and accused Yakushi Nonō of reaching beyond her authority.
• Orochimaru, Tsunade, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura entered and joined Yakushi Nonō in impeaching Hiruzen.
• Tsunade challenged Hiruzen’s claim by arguing that the Senju Clan had stronger qualifications to lead Konoha.
• Yakushi Nonō called for a vote, and the meeting’s forty voters removed Hiruzen with thirty-five votes in favor, two against, and three abstentions.
• Two ordinary clerks collected Hiruzen’s God-robe and conical hat, and Yakushi Nonō made him sit back down to await the new Hokage’s election and hand over his duties.

Orochimaru became the Fourth Hokage and took control of Konoha’s forces and sealed archives before Tsunade opened a public trial against Sarutobi Hiruzen. As Uchiha Kusuhi presented his father’s final letter, the trial turned to whether Sarutobi Hiruzen had deliberately sent Kagami Uchiha to his death.

• Yakushi Nonō oversaw a vote in which Orochimaru defeated Tsunade, who withdrew and urged her supporters to back him as Hokage.
• Orochimaru demanded that Sarutobi Hiruzen hand over the Anbu, Jonin Squad, Scroll of Seals, and access to the village’s forbidden techniques, then learned the sealing methods during the handover.
• Tsunade opened a trial with Yakushi Nonō as prosecutor and Sarutobi Hiruzen as defendant, while Li Qing restrained him with gravity.
• Yakushi Nonō questioned Sarutobi Hiruzen about allegedly betraying the Second Hokage and sending Kagami Uchiha to a deadly battle; Torifu Akimichi defended him on the first charge.
• Uchiha Kusuhi revealed that he was Kagami Uchiha’s son and challenged Sarutobi Hiruzen’s claim that his wartime decisions came from inexperience.
• Uchiha Kusuhi produced his father’s final letter, which he said could prove Sarutobi Hiruzen had deliberately sent Kagami Uchiha to his death.

Tsunade read Uchiha Kagami's letter, and Yakushi Nonō questioned Sarutobi Hiruzen about Kagami's death and Konoha's wars. The inquiry shifted toward Konoha's finances when Nonō introduced the Land of Fire's senior finance magistrate and decades of account books, leaving Hiruzen visibly alarmed.

• Tsunade read Kagami's letter, which warned his son Kusuhi about Hiruzen and urged him to conceal his talent.
• Fugaku confirmed that Elder Yan had raised Kusuhi at Kagami's request, while Nonō challenged Hiruzen over Kagami's assignment and death.
• Hiruzen defended his decisions, but Nonō and Torifu judged the circumstances of Kagami's death doubtful.
• Nonō questioned Hiruzen's role in the Land of Rain war and established that he had commanded Konoha forces in several wars.
• Nonō introduced Fujita Shinsu, the Daimyo's senior finance magistrate, and revealed account books documenting Konoha's financial handovers over more than forty years.
• Hiruzen turned pale and nearly fled when he saw the account books.

Yakushi Nonō revealed an audit showing that 277 billion ryo had gone missing from Konoha’s mission funds during Sarutobi Hiruzen’s twenty years as Hokage. The clan heads, enraged by the scale of the alleged embezzlement, turned decisively against Hiruzen as the chapter ended.

• Fujita Shingo explained that the Land of Fire’s daimyo had provided Konoha with 20 billion ryo annually for years.
• Orochimaru ordered Manzo Trading Company to audit and publicly account for Konoha’s mission records, and the auditors worked through the night.
• Tsunade spoke with Sun Keyun on the roof about Hiruzen’s transformation, power, and the desire to change the world.
• Yakushi Nonō presented the audit, which showed that 189.8 billion ryo had reached ninja from mission rewards while 466.8 billion ryo had been provided through daimyo funding and private missions.
• The clan heads compared the missing 277 billion ryo with their own clans’ resources and became furious at Hiruzen.

Yakushi Nonō presented evidence accusing Sarutobi Hiruzen of embezzlement, clan favoritism, wartime abuses, and other crimes, and Orochimaru took steps to reorganize Konoha’s government and forces. After Sarutobi Hiruzen was convicted and placed under guard, he escaped the courtroom using an illusion and Body Flicker Technique.

• Yakushi Nonō accused Sarutobi Hiruzen of embezzling public funds and using his authority during wars to benefit the Sarutobi Clan while other clans suffered heavy losses.
• Yakushi Nonō raised further accusations involving the Uzumaki Clan, Hatake Sakumo, and the Hokage textbooks, while Orochimaru and Tsunade defended Orochimaru’s research into Hashirama’s cells.
• Yakushi Nonō presented the court record, and clerks stamped Sarutobi Hiruzen’s thumbprint on it after he refused to sign.
• Orochimaru ordered Sarutobi Hiruzen’s Chakra sealed and placed him under guard in Root Prison, then announced reforms to Konoha’s laws, military, intelligence service, and Uchiha Security Department.
• After the meeting ended, Sarutobi Hiruzen used Illusion Technique: Night Walker and the Body Flicker Technique to escape through a window.

Sarutobi Hiruzen escaped Konoha intending to flee to Kirigakure, but realized Orochimaru had arranged for him to leave and fight outside the village. At the Valley of the End, Orochimaru killed his former teacher with an invisible sound wave.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen chose Kirigakure as his destination and slipped out of Konoha after encountering Sun Keiyun at the gates.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen inferred that Orochimaru had cleared the gates to draw him into a fight away from the village.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen reached the Valley of the End and confronted Orochimaru, who said he had to die for the sake of a new era.
• Orochimaru struck Sarutobi Hiruzen with an invisible sound wave before he could complete his Water Collision Wave Technique.
• Orochimaru watched Sarutobi Hiruzen's corpse sink into the lake and felt a moment of tranquility.

After defeating Sarutobi Hiruzen, Orochimaru returned to Konoha and joined the Root Action Team’s assault on the Sarutobi clan grounds. The attack reached the main family’s inner ring as the Root forces overwhelmed the clan’s defenses.

• Orochimaru defeated Sarutobi Hiruzen, who fled to the Valley of the End and died after falling into the lake.
• Orochimaru flew back to Konoha and found Yakushi Nonō’s Root Action Team capturing Sarutobi clan members.
• Yakushi Nonō told Orochimaru that 2,500 Root members had stormed the clan grounds and explained how widespread Chakra education had enabled the team’s growth.
• The Root Action Team pushed through the Sarutobi residence’s outer rings while the main family remained behind a barrier in the innermost ring.
• Root ninja coordinated Fire, Wind, and Lightning Release attacks to break the branch family’s defenses and engulf Sarutobi clansmen in flames.

Orochimaru paused the assault on the Sarutobi Clan’s main house and gathered Konoha’s clans to witness the confrontation and share responsibility for what happened. As the clans arrived in force, Sarutobi Kumo and Sarutobi Tō faced an increasingly overwhelming siege.

• Orochimaru learned that Yūhi Kurenai had been left in the Hokage’s home and arranged for a Root ninja to care for her away from the battle.
• Root finished defeating the Sarutobi Branch Family, with forty-five killed and thirty-eight captured, and advanced to the main house gates.
• Yakushi Nonō challenged Sarutobi Kumo to surrender, but he demanded Sarutobi Hiruzen and refused to open the barrier.
• Orochimaru delayed attacking so other clans could witness the battle and take part in bringing down the Sarutobi Clan.
• The Uchiha, Shimura, Hyuga, and other clans arrived with fighters, while Hyuga Hiashi organized his people to guard against escapes.
• Sarutobi Kumo and Sarutobi Tō watched the gathering forces grow and their expressions darkened.

Orochimaru gathered Konoha’s clans to attack the Sarutobi Clan while using the campaign to organize their members into four legions. Spiritual Rice convinced the recruits—and Uchiha Fugaku—that serving in the legions could bring great strength, leaving Fugaku eager to support Orochimaru and secure his clan’s place under the new Hokage.

• Uchiha Fugaku and Hyuga Hiashi defended their clans’ participation as Konoha’s other clan heads condemned Sarutobi Hiruzen and pledged to fight for themselves.
• Orochimaru explained that Root clerks would assign the clansmen to four legions, and the clerks began calling members into their new units.
• The clerks offered recruits Mind Methods, spells, Taijutsu, and unlimited Spiritual Rice, persuading the young ninjas to accept legion service.
• Uchiha Fugaku tasted Spiritual Rice and felt it increase his Chakra, then asked Orochimaru to enlist him as well.
• Orochimaru told Fugaku to continue helping govern Konoha and promised rice quotas to clans that cooperated, while Fugaku resolved to show unwavering support for the Fourth Hokage.

Sun Keiyun learned about Root’s Spirit Water and Spiritual Rice research as Orochimaru organized the Four Great Legions and appointed their commanders. Sarutobi Kumo then warned the clan heads that surrendering their private troops could leave their clans vulnerable, and they turned to Orochimaru for an answer.

• Yakushi Nonō explained that Root’s Science Academy had infused Water Style spiritual energy into water to create Spirit Water and cultivate Spiritual Rice.
• Sun Keiyun discussed the Great Harmony Society’s scientific advances with Yakushi Nonō and later reassured Orochimaru that the evidence found at his clan residence was genuine.
• Orochimaru appointed Sun Keiyun, Namikaze Minato, Tsunade, and Jiraiya as commanders of the Four Great Legions, and said he would temporarily lead Minato’s and Jiraiya’s legions while they were absent.
• Sarutobi Kumo challenged Sun Keiyun’s appointment and warned the clan heads that giving up their private troops could leave their clans exposed to attack.
• The clan heads grew uneasy about their families’ safety and looked to Orochimaru for a response.

Orochimaru persuaded the major clan heads that private troops persisted because Konoha lacked adequate education and security, then proposed a public code and separate departments for lawmaking, enforcement, and sentencing. The clan heads and villagers gathered at the Sarutobi residence to help shape the code, where Orochimaru created a plaza and raised a monument bearing its name.

• Orochimaru questioned Fugaku and the other clan heads about why they maintained private troops, leading them to cite distrust, missing children, and inadequate Academy enrollment.
• Fugaku accused Konoha's authorities of obstructing the Uchiha Security Department, while Hiashi explained that rejected Academy applicants from clan families became private troops.
• Orochimaru proposed opening education to all school-age children and establishing shared rules enforced equally, including against the Hokage.
• Orochimaru proposed restricting the Military Police Force to enforcement and interrogation, with separate departments handling legislation and sentencing; Fugaku pledged the Uchiha Clan's support.
• The other clan heads agreed to participate, and villagers joined them at the Sarutobi residence to discuss Konoha's code.
• Orochimaru leveled the residence's front courtyard into a plaza and raised a stone monument engraved with “Konoha Code.”

Sarutobi Kumo and Sarutobi Tō sought a way to surrender as Orochimaru’s public lawmaking weakened the Sarutobi Clan’s resolve. Sarutobi Kumo argued that the clan should not bear Sarutobi Hiruzen’s guilt, but Fugaku secured agreement in principle to punish the family as accomplices, leaving the specific labor-service terms for later discussion.

• Sarutobi Kumo and Sarutobi Tō failed to find the embezzled money and debated whether Sarutobi Hiruzen had hidden or invested it elsewhere.
• Sarutobi Kumo persuaded Sarutobi Tō that surrender might save the clan, since Orochimaru had not attacked and the branch family’s resolve was faltering.
• Orochimaru led villagers and ninjas in debating laws for the Konoha Code, and Sarutobi Kumo asked whether the Sarutobi Clan could propose a law.
• Sarutobi Kumo argued that an embezzler’s family should not automatically be punished, while villagers debated whether relatives shared responsibility.
• Uchiha Fugaku argued that the Sarutobi Clan had knowingly benefited from Sarutobi Hiruzen’s crimes and proposed repayment and labor service for his relatives.
• Sarutobi Kumo and Sarutobi Tō accepted the proposal in principle and asked to negotiate the labor terms, while Orochimaru silently observed.

Konoha’s reforms under Orochimaru proceeded smoothly as the Sarutobi Clan surrendered and its members were detained. A hidden vault containing hundreds of billions in moldy money was discovered, leaving the clan leaders convinced that Orochimaru could govern Konoha fairly.

• The Sarutobi Clan shut down its barrier and surrendered after its punishments were decided, while Uchiha Fugaku and others guarded its members.
• Orochimaru led former Anbu members and clerks through the Sarutobi compound to search for the clan’s hidden wealth.
• The searchers uncovered a concealed passage beneath Sarutobi Hiruzen’s house and found a vast room filled with money.
• Orochimaru ordered auditors to count the funds as the assembled clan leaders grew angry over Sarutobi Hiruzen’s hoarding and called for harsher punishment.
• The clan leaders accepted Orochimaru as Hokage and credited his fairness and the Great Harmony Society’s support for Konoha’s rapid reforms.

Orochimaru explained that Sarutobi Hiruzen had favored his clan and personal interests because he feared losing power, and argued that Konoha’s system made clan and village interests seem opposed. He left the clan leaders considering his proposed solution: redefining how clans and the village related to each other.

• Orochimaru asked the clan leaders why Sarutobi Hiruzen had hidden village funds and put his own clan’s interests first.
• Orochimaru said Hiruzen had feared the Uchiha Clan and Hyuga Clan growing powerful, while keeping money as a safeguard for the Sarutobi Clan.
• Uchiha Fugaku and Hyuga Hiashi objected that their clans would be suppressed whenever the Hokage came from another clan.
• Orochimaru argued that any clan holding the Hokage position might put its own interests first, while a weak civilian Hokage could become a puppet of the major clans.
• The Nara Clan Head asked whether Orochimaru had a solution, and Orochimaru asked why a clan’s growth had to harm the village.

Orochimaru explained to Fugaku, Hiashi, and the clan heads how clans and Konoha depended on one another, while warning that powerful clans could undermine the village through rivalry and corruption. He left them with a stone-wall summary of how different balances of clan and village strength shaped Konoha’s fortunes.

• Fugaku admitted he could not resolve the conflict between the Uchiha Clan’s interests and the village, and Hiashi agreed to hear Orochimaru’s view.
• Orochimaru explained that clans depended on the village for protection and that the village depended on clans for people and strength.
• He argued that rivalry among clans stalled both clan and village development, pointing to Konoha’s decline from its early strength.
• Orochimaru warned that clans given positions of power might embezzle public funds to benefit their own clans.
• He wrote four outcomes on a stone wall, concluding that strong clans weakened a strong village through infighting.

Orochimaru proposed splitting the great clans into smaller households to integrate them into Konoha while preserving their surnames. He then offered to protect and monetize clan techniques through a Ninjutsu Mall, leaving several smaller clans interested in selling their inherited skills.

• Fugaku challenged Orochimaru’s plan to suppress the clans, while the Nara Clan Head asked whether there was a better solution.
• Tsunade suggested following the First Hokage’s example by abandoning clan surnames and integrating clans into the village.
• Orochimaru proposed dividing clans into smaller households that retained their surnames but separated their property, management, and residences.
• Orochimaru reassured the clan heads that their secret techniques could be protected under a Patent Law and sold through a Ninjutsu Mall.
• The Hatake Family and other small clans considered selling their inherited techniques to earn money.

Orochimaru presented the clan heads with a detailed plan for branching out, including new homes, jobs, and support for disabled shinobi. Fugaku realized the policy was inevitable and considered how the Uchiha Clan could benefit, while anticipating greater resistance from the Hyuga Clan.

• Orochimaru explained that clans could either abandon their surnames or retain them while branching out, and proposed selling secret techniques whose secrecy could no longer be maintained.
• Fugaku said he needed to consult the Uchiha elders and members, and Orochimaru gave each clan head a copy of the Konoha Family Branching Regulations.
• Fugaku read that households would receive new detached homes and that village departments would provide work, while disabled shinobi could obtain assistive devices.
• Fugaku concluded that Orochimaru had carefully prepared the policy and that the weakened clans had little chance to resist it.
• Fugaku accepted that branching could improve the Uchiha Clan's circumstances and thought the Hyuga Clan would face greater difficulties because of its main and branch families and the Caged Bird Seal.

Sun Keiyun and Orochimaru reviewed the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu and considered reviving the First and Second Hokage, while Tsunade weighed whether summoning the dead would violate their wishes. Sun Keiyun left the chapter planning research into ways to control summoned souls and potentially extend the Great Harmony Society’s reach into the afterlife.

• Orochimaru established Konoha’s new government departments, completing the initial setup of a modern political system.
• Sun Keiyun found the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu in the Scroll of Seals and proposed having the Ninjutsu Research Institute study it.
• Orochimaru agreed the technique could be useful but worried that revived Hokage might resist the Great Harmony Society, and Sun Keiyun assigned the problem to the research institute.
• Tsunade read the technique after Sun Keiyun asked her opinion about reviving the First and Second Hokage, and she worried that doing so might desecrate the dead.
• Sun Keiyun argued that summoned souls should decide whether to accept the summons and imagined offering them payment and access to entertainment.
• Sun Keiyun outlined research into restricting Impure World Reincarnation, limiting summons to contract holders, and testing whether the Power of Faith could benefit the dead.

Sun Keiyun approved Zhao Linglong’s admission to the Great Harmony Society and her leadership of Konoha’s Intelligence Department. The meeting set plans for village reforms and a decisive campaign in the Land of Rain, while Linglong received permission to use known spies to spread information.

• Yakushi Nonō presented Zhao Linglong’s assessment, and Sun Keiyun, Orochimaru, and Tsunade approved her admission to the Society.
• Sun Keiyun asked Zhao Linglong to stay as meeting secretary and discussed the operation against Sarutobi Hiruzen and the need to continue separating clan branch families.
• Orochimaru agreed to have the Civil Affairs Department census villagers and assign surnames as part of the reforms.
• Sun Keiyun directed the group to focus on ending the war in the Land of Rain and destroying enemy forces, and Tsunade expressed confidence about facing Kumogakure’s AB Combination.
• Sun Keiyun ordered copies of the verdicts and confiscation records sent to the front lines, then approved Zhao Linglong’s plan to use known spies to spread information about Konoha’s ideas and reforms.

News of Sarutobi Hiruzen’s death and Konoha’s coup reached the other villages, prompting their leaders to weigh how the change might affect the war. Kumogakure decided to send reinforcements toward Konoha, while Sunagakure remained under pressure on several fronts as Orochimaru’s First Legion advanced.

• Third Raikage A laughed at the report of Sarutobi Hiruzen’s death, but C warned that Orochimaru might make Konoha a stronger rival.
• C urged Kumogakure to attack Konoha while it was unsettled, and A ordered a thousand reinforcements sent despite Kumogakure’s preparations to fight Iwagakure.
• Ōnoki of Both Scales learned that Iwagakure could not exploit Konoha’s upheaval because its forces were positioned to counter Kumogakure.
• Karatachi Yagura considered whether Kirigakure could adopt Konoha’s branch-family policies and began thinking about promoting Genius Civilian Ninja.
• Rasa lamented Sunagakure’s strained forces, finances, and weakening position as it fought on multiple fronts.
• Orochimaru’s First Legion, led by Sun Keiyun, advanced toward Sunagakure.