Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Toji reflects that Ryūchi Cave is a lawless, human-eating place, making its inhabitants potential allies precisely because they have no human loyalties.
• He asks Orochimaru for Ryūchi Cave’s Summoning Scroll. Orochimaru admits he has repeatedly failed to learn Sage Mode, but gives Toji the scroll without hesitation. Toji signs the contract.
• At home, Toji tells Chiri he plans to visit Ryūchi Cave. He asks her to control the summoned snake rather than accompany him.
• Toji summons Manda, who threatens to eat the family and refuses to cooperate. Chiri uses her Mangekyō Sharingan to restrain him with genjutsu while leaving him conscious.
• Manda agrees to take Toji alone to Ryūchi Cave, hoping that bringing the Hokage there will earn him credit with the White Snake Sage and a chance to cultivate a human form. Toji releases him from the genjutsu and travels with him.
• Before Toji vanishes, Chiri notices that his left hand appears black and has no visible chakra. Afterward, she questions Mingnü, who reveals that Toji went overseas—not to Root—and returned with an injured hand, though she does not know what he did.

Character developments

• Toji shows strategic interest in Ryūchi Cave and its dangerous inhabitants, while keeping his recent overseas activity and hand injury secret from Chiri.
• Orochimaru acknowledges his lack of aptitude for Senjutsu, but remains cooperative with Toji. He also takes quiet pleasure in the prospect of Toji confronting Ryūchi Cave’s snakes.
• Chiri demonstrates confident control of Manda, then becomes suspicious and concerned when she notices Toji’s hand. She insists on learning the truth rather than accepting evasions.
• Manda is hostile at first, but becomes practical once he understands Toji’s purpose. His ambition to earn a human form motivates his cooperation.
• Mingnü struggles between loyalty to Toji and Chiri’s demand for honesty, eventually admitting what she knows.
• Maki senses tension between the adults and retreats, but secretly watches in case a fight breaks out.

Significant themes

• Power and negotiation: Toji approaches Ryūchi Cave as a place where leverage matters more than shared morality; Chiri’s genjutsu secures cooperation without escalating to violence.
• Secrecy and trust: Toji’s concealed trip and injury raise questions about what spouses owe one another and how secrecy strains trust.
• Ambition and failure: Orochimaru’s unsuccessful attempts at Sage Mode contrast with Manda’s hope of earning a human form through guiding a successful candidate.
• Family concern beneath conflict: Chiri’s interrogation is driven by fear that Toji has harmed himself, while Maki’s comic worry reflects the family’s closeness.

Character interactions

• Toji gently praises Orochimaru’s work with Minato before directly requesting the scroll, balancing encouragement with authority.
• Chiri and Toji coordinate smoothly to control Manda, but Toji’s secrecy soon creates tension between them.
• Manda and Toji negotiate under pressure: Manda sets the condition that Chiri stay behind, and Toji agrees.
• Chiri questions Mingnü firmly but gives her room to explain; Mingnü’s answers reveal only part of Toji’s hidden activities, ending with Chiri asking how he returned so quickly.

Key plot points and events

• Toji arrives at Ryūchi Cave by reverse summoning, riding Manda. He forces the arrogant snake into submission with a single stomp and makes clear that he expects respect.
• The White Snake Sage senses Toji’s arrival and calls him an “extraordinary” guest. She cancels the usual trials and sends the three snake princesses—Tagorihime, Tagitsuhime, and Ichikishimahime—to escort him.
• On the way, the princesses find Toji overpowering Garaga, the cave’s volatile, powerful snake. Their surprise at his youth quickly gives way to respect.
• Toji introduces himself as Konoha’s Third Hokage and Orochimaru’s teacher, then accompanies the princesses to meet the White Snake Sage.
• The Sage immediately recognizes that Toji carries Mount Myōboku senjutsu chakra and that Gamamaru placed a seal on his left hand before Toji killed him. She promises to keep his secret and have her attendants help remove the seal.
• When Toji asks to learn Ryūchi Cave’s Sage Mode, the Sage says that will require a separate payment: the cave’s snakes need high-quality food. Her ambition has grown since Gamamaru’s death, and she hopes to strengthen her snakes enough to defeat Mount Myōboku and take it over.

Character developments and interactions

• Toji establishes control through overwhelming force, first over Manda and then Garaga. He is calculating as well as powerful: he has chosen to reveal some of his secrets to Chiri on his own terms, and he pursues Ryūchi Cave’s knowledge and abilities strategically.
• Manda shifts from defiant to fearful and compliant after Toji beats him.
• The three snake princesses begin prepared to test Toji, but defer to the White Snake Sage’s warning. Seeing him defeat Garaga, they recognize his strength and treat him respectfully.
• The White Snake Sage is both perceptive and pragmatic. She recognizes Toji’s connection to Mount Myōboku, offers help partly because of her hostility toward Gamamaru, and treats Sage Mode training as a negotiation rather than a favor.
• Toji and the White Snake Sage share a wary but direct exchange: she reveals how much she knows, while he refuses to be drawn into cryptic talk and pushes for what he wants.

Significant themes

• Power and respect: Ryūchi Cave operates by strength; Toji earns cooperation by demonstrating that he is more dangerous than its formidable residents.
• Knowledge as a bargain: The Sage offers help with Toji’s seal, but training carries a separate cost.
• Rivalry and changing power balances: Gamamaru’s death weakens the old balance among the sage regions, emboldening the White Snake Sage to pursue expansion.
• Ambition and self-interest: Toji seeks useful abilities such as levitation and invisibility, while the Sage wants stronger snakes and better prospects against Mount Myōboku.

Key plot points and events

• Ryūchi Cave’s White Snake Sage offers Toji access to its Sage Mode in exchange for human sacrifices. Toji accepts, intending to use enemies from the other Great Ninja Villages and keep Konoha’s people safe.
• Toji and the Sage agree to cooperate against Mount Myōboku if necessary. Ryūchi Cave will accept sacrifices but will not help capture them; the three Snake Princesses will instead travel with Toji, receive the offerings, help remove Gamamaru’s seal, and guide his training.
• Toji signs summoning contracts with Tagorihime, Tagitsuhime, and Ichikishimahime. Secretly, he also sees them as potential sources of Senjutsu Chakra in an emergency.
• Toji uses Shadow Clones to train in his place, allowing him to keep his real body away while the clones absorb Natural Energy and pass their learning back to him.
• Sage Mode training begins with Ichikishimahime’s venom. Toji tolerates far more than expected, eventually draining all three Snake Princesses of their venom and sensing Natural Energy—though he has not yet mastered controlling it.

Character developments and interactions

• Toji is shown to be calculating, ruthless, and pragmatically willing to exploit enemies and allies alike. He treats the sacrifice bargain as a straightforward trade and approaches the Snake Princesses’ venom with remarkable pain tolerance.
• The White Snake Sage recognizes Toji’s strength and ambition, sees him as a useful partner against Mount Myōboku, but carefully limits her side’s obligations.
• The Snake Princesses are wary of Toji and reluctant to serve him, yet obey the Sage. Their surprise at his resilience grows as he withstands and demands more venom.
• Orochimaru is mentioned as a trainee who can sense Natural Energy but apparently cannot combine it with his own energy to create Senjutsu Chakra.

Significant themes

• Mutual exploitation and political pragmatism: Toji and Ryūchi Cave cooperate because each can benefit, without genuine trust.
• Power at a cost: Sage Mode requires enduring dangerous venom and risking bodily harm; extraordinary abilities demand extraordinary sacrifices.
• Nature versus human limits: Humans must struggle to control Natural Energy, unlike the sacred creatures naturally adapted to it.
• Ingenuity and adaptation: Toji’s use of Shadow Clones turns a difficult, time-consuming training process into something he can accelerate.

Key plot points and events

• Toji completes his initial Sage Mode preparations in Ryūchi Cave and arranges for future sacrifices to be delivered to Akatsuki Ninja Village, using it as a front rather than involving Konoha. Kakuzu will handle the operation.
• Tagorihime and Tagitsuhime take charge of receiving sacrifices; Ichikishimahime will stay with Toji to guide his training and replenish venom. Manda, impressed by Toji’s power and hoping to advance himself, tries to ingratiate himself with him, but Ichikishimahime sends Toji back to Konoha.
• Chiri confronts Toji about the new Curse Mark on his hand. He tells her that the Great Toad Sage sealed it before Toji killed him. Chiri is furious at the toads but cares more about Toji than about judging his actions, and asks him not to keep dangerous secrets from her.
• Afterward, Chiri notices unusual mental excitement. Toji suspects it is a side effect of Sage Transformation, triggered in his own body by the Snake Princesses’ venom and Natural Energy.
• Toji realizes he may have developed the rare constitution he had been seeking in the Libra Clan. This could provide material for developing the Sage Transformation Curse Mark, potentially enhancing Susanoo with Natural Energy. He shares the possibility with Chiri, who wonders whether their child, Maki, might have inherited it if they had waited longer.

Character developments

• Toji gains a new avenue of power and research: his body may naturally possess Sage Transformation, despite his original plan to obtain it from the Libra Clan. He also remains focused on overcoming the seal on his hand.
• Chiri reaffirms her unconditional loyalty to Toji, prioritizing his safety over morality or Hokage expectations. Her unusual response after their intimacy may be evidence of Sage Transformation effects.
• Manda shifts from resentment to opportunism, hoping service to Toji could help him become a snake sage. Ichikishimahime assumes responsibility for Toji’s training and manages Manda’s expectations.
• Maki is indirectly drawn into the possibility: Chiri wonders whether she could have inherited the constitution.

Significant themes

• Power through adaptation: Natural Energy, venom, and bodily change may grant strength outside conventional bloodlines.
• Loyalty versus morality: Chiri’s devotion to Toji outweighs questions of right and wrong.
• Unexpected consequences: Toji’s search for a power source may have transformed his own body, while that change may also affect those closest to him.
• Power and its costs: Sage Transformation offers major gains but risks mental instability and loss of control.

Character interactions

• Toji negotiates with the Snake Princesses over Ryūchi Cave’s sacrifices and training arrangements; Ichikishimahime becomes his direct guide.
• Manda attempts to win Toji’s favor, while Garaga looks on with contempt at Manda’s reversal.
• Chiri approaches Toji gently about his Curse Mark, then reacts fiercely to the revelation about the Great Toad Sage. Their conversation strengthens their trust, though she asks him to include her in future dangers.
• Toji and Chiri discuss his suspected transformation and its possible implications for Chiri and Maki.

Key plot points and events

• After his Ryūchi Cave experience, Toji tells Chiri that Ichikishimahime will soon help him train in Sage Mode. Chiri shows no jealousy and falls asleep; Toji’s Natural Energy, passed to her through their physical intimacy, subtly affects her body, though its future effects are unknown.
• Toji gives Orochimaru a sample of his blood and asks him to create a research team to investigate whether it can help others gain Sage-like traits without conventional training. Orochimaru proposes using Curse Marks.
• The idea revives Orochimaru’s interest in Sage Mode and gives new purpose to his late mother’s unfinished Prototype Curse Mark. He questions what made Toji’s transformation possible and asks Manda about Ryūchi Cave. Manda reveals only that the White Snake Sage received Toji, refusing to say more out of fear and respect.
• Several days later, a group of Uzushiogakure students arrives in Konoha for an exchange program. Kushina Uzumaki is overwhelmed by Konoha’s size, wealth, and prosperity, and privately wonders whether Uzushio should merge with the village.
• At the Ninja Academy, students compete to become Study Partners for the visitors. Minato volunteers earnestly, while Maki Zenin initially treats the role as pointless. Nonō reminds her that the villages are allies, prompting Maki to consider the program as a way to build future alliances.
• Maki senses a presence among the Uzushio students that fills her with revulsion and recognizes it as Earth Grudge Fear.

Character developments and interactions

• Toji turns his Sage-like transformation into a potential research and power-sharing project, entrusting its investigation to Orochimaru.
• Orochimaru shifts from routine research to renewed ambition, seeing a possible link between Toji’s blood and his mother’s Prototype Curse Mark. His exchange with Manda exposes how guarded Ryūchi Cave’s secrets are.
• Chiri remains calm about Ichikishimahime’s arrival, while Toji’s Natural Energy may have lasting consequences for her.
• Kushina moves from awe at Konoha to considering political integration, revealing both her ambition and awareness of Uzushio’s relative weakness.
• Maki begins reconsidering the Study Partner program after Nonō frames it as alliance-building. Their conversation shows Nonō’s charitable view of Maki and Maki’s strategic, transactional instincts.
• Minato pursues the opportunity despite already being Orochimaru’s student, showing humility and initiative. Academy students’ curiosity about the visitors contrasts with the official effort to welcome them respectfully.

Significant themes

• Power, inheritance, and transformation: Toji’s blood and Orochimaru’s Curse Mark research raise the possibility that Sage-like abilities can be inherited or engineered.
• Secrets and hierarchy: Manda’s silence illustrates the authority of the White Snake Sage and the danger of challenging stronger beings.
• Alliance-building across generations: The exchange program presents education and personal bonds as ways to strengthen ties between villages.
• Ambition and pragmatism: Kushina considers political merger, while Maki sees relationships as potential assets; both assess how to secure their people’s future.
• Unequal development: Konoha’s prosperity unsettles Kushina and highlights the gap between the allied villages.

Key events

• Maki Zenin instinctively recoils from the Uzumaki students because their vitality aggravates the Earth Grudge Fear within her. Kushina provokes the strongest reaction, revealing how exceptionally pure her Uzumaki bloodline is.
• The Uzushio exchange students are dispersed among Konoha’s classes. Kushina, the Uzukage’s daughter, is placed in first-year Class A and feels isolated among unfamiliar classmates.
• Kushina introduces herself, saying she hopes to become Uzukage. Maki leads the class in applauding, and the teacher seats Kushina beside Maki and Yakushi Nonō.
• Nonō offers to help Kushina with her studies and explains that Maki is the year’s top student. Kushina admires Maki and offers to teach her Sealing Jutsu in return.
• Minato Namikaze notices Kushina and feels an immediate attraction, but she judges him too gentle and ranks him below Maki.
• Maki asks Uchiha Ayano to make her Kushina’s study partner. Ayano alters the assignment, and Maki offers to show Kushina around Konoha. Kushina is delighted, though neither girl suggests living together.
• Elsewhere, Toji orders Kakuzu to gather a team to capture ninja for an upcoming sacrifice. Kakuzu accepts, eager to profit. When Toji checks the Academy through his crystal ball, he is bewildered that Kushina is spending time with Maki instead of Minato.

Character developments and interactions

• Maki sees Kushina’s exceptional talent as a valuable friendship, despite the pain Kushina’s presence causes her. Her desire to earn her father’s approval motivates her to endure the discomfort and take charge of the study-partner arrangement.
• Kushina is initially anxious and homesick, but begins to warm to Maki and Nonō. She is proud of her village and refuses to curry favor merely because Maki is a princess.
• Nonō acts as a friendly bridge between the two girls, offering academic help and introducing Maki’s strengths.
• Minato is quietly drawn to Kushina, while she barely notices him and considers him too soft.
• Toji expects a Minato–Kushina connection and is surprised to find Maki has instead become central to Kushina’s life.

Significant themes

• Power and belonging: Kushina’s high status and ability do not prevent her from feeling alone in a foreign village.
• Friendship as strategy: Maki initially approaches friendship in terms of usefulness and approval, while Kushina values dignity and mutual respect.
• Cultural exchange and rivalry: The students’ interactions reflect both cooperation between allied villages and the pressure to represent their home communities.
• Destiny disrupted: Toji’s expected pairing of Minato and Kushina is unsettled by Maki’s deliberate intervention.

Plot points and events

• Third Hokage Toji discovers that Kushina’s assigned study partner is his daughter Maki, not Minato. Uzushio required same-sex partners, and Maki volunteered. Toji accepts the setback and looks for other ways to guide Kushina’s path.
• Toji finds Maki, Kushina, and Nonō shopping together. He warmly meets Kushina, recognizes her as Ashina Uzumaki’s daughter, and encourages her to visit Mito, her great-grandmother.
• Maki treats the others generously and offers Kushina the key to her Konoha apartment, making Kushina feel welcome. Kushina then visits Mito with a letter from her father requesting instruction in sealing jutsu.
• Mito learns that Kushina has exceptional vitality and sealing talent. She decides Kushina may be the ideal successor as Nine-Tails jinchuriki, though she will first teach and quietly observe her.
• Mito sees Kushina’s growing affection for Maki as a promising sign that she is beginning to form bonds with Konoha.

Character developments and interactions

• Toji realizes his matchmaking plan for Kushina and Minato has been disrupted, but remains confident there will be later opportunities. He also seeks to bring Mito and Kushina closer so Mito can eventually relinquish the Nine-Tails.
• Kushina begins to relax in Konoha through her friendship with Maki and Nonō. She admires Toji’s courtesy and kindness, and approaches Mito respectfully as both family elder and prospective teacher.
• Maki shows generosity and genuine care for Kushina, even offering her a home if she feels uncomfortable at the Senju compound.
• Mito shifts from seeking a suitable jinchuriki to seeing Kushina as her strongest candidate. She intends to train Kushina strictly while assessing her character and loyalty over time.
• Mito and Kushina discuss the Uzumaki Clan’s history: Mito had urged closer ties with Konoha, while Kushina’s great-grandfather resisted cooperation out of concern for clan identity and distrust of Konoha’s leadership.

Significant themes

• Legacy and succession: Mito’s fading life and responsibility for the Nine-Tails drive her search for a successor.
• Alliance and political integration: Making Kushina the next jinchuriki could bind Konoha and Uzushio more closely, protect the Uzumaki, and sustain long-term exchange.
• Belonging and trust: Kushina’s new friendships and positive view of Konoha may help establish the attachment Mito considers essential.
• Plans versus human relationships: Toji’s carefully designed plan is altered by circumstances, while authentic connections—especially Kushina and Maki’s friendship—open new possibilities.

Summary

Key plot points and events

• Toji confirms that Kushina will study sealing jutsu under Mito. He believes Mito’s remaining purpose is to train the next Nine-Tails jinchūriki and expects her death to follow soon. He must let the transfer happen willingly: forcing Mito would provoke Konoha and be difficult even for him.
• Through his remote, parasitic body, Toji oversees Kakuzu’s covert campaign to capture bounty-listed ninja across several countries. Kakuzu has imprisoned 37 captives, whom the Snake Princesses of Ryūchi Cave drain as offerings.
• In return for the captives, Toji demands Sage Mode training, instruction in the Snake Princesses’ abilities—especially flight and invisibility—and large quantities of venom. He uses shadow clones to train without subjecting his original body to the process, aiming eventually to gain both Sage Mode and a lasting sage physique.
• Kakuzu salvages hearts from two captured Special Jōnin. Toji takes samples from them, then uses their bodies as vessels for Impure World Reincarnation.
• The chapter reveals Toji’s extensive hidden military reserve: reanimated Hashirama and Tobirama, several powerful ninja, and more than a hundred jōnin-level fighters. He is preparing for a future campaign to collect the tailed beasts and for the possibility that Konoha may turn against him.
• Toji considers who could command the reanimated army, naming Uchiha Yan, Kakuzu, Mingnü, and Orochimaru as trusted candidates. He recognizes that Impure World Reincarnation requires living subjects and is too dangerous to research openly in Konoha.
• Back in Konoha, Toji summons Jun Hyuga and asks him and his wife, Kotone, to compile a list of Main Family members who have violated the Will of Fire. Jun understands that this is effectively an execution list—and that Toji is beginning to act on his long-standing promise to free the Branch Family.

Character developments and interactions

• Toji emerges as a calculating, ruthless leader. He accepts the deaths of captives as a transaction, builds up secret forces, and plans politically and militarily for threats to his rule. At the same time, he honors his promise to Jun, though through violent means.
• Mito is presented as lonely and physically declining, with training Kushina as her last meaningful purpose. Toji’s intervention brings that purpose closer, while also hastening the end of her life.
• Kakuzu efficiently carries out Toji’s orders and makes use of the captured ninja, underscoring how fully he participates in Toji’s covert operations.
• The Snake Princesses cooperate with Toji because the arrangement benefits Ryūchi Cave, though they are uneasy about his demands. Ichikishimahime volunteers to travel to Konoha to train him.
• Jun Hyuga remains loyal despite Toji’s earlier delay in fulfilling his promise. His shock at the request turns into understanding: he recognizes both the intended purge and the prospect of liberation for the Branch Family.

Significant themes

• Power pursued through sacrifice: Toji’s ambitions depend on turning people—captives, allies, and even political enemies—into resources.
• Hidden violence behind public order: Konoha appears peaceful, while its Hokage secretly runs abductions, forbidden experiments, and preparations for war.
• Promises and compromised ideals: Toji’s commitment to freeing the Hyuga Branch Family is real, but his chosen method suggests that justice and vengeance may be difficult to separate.
• Loneliness and purpose: Mito’s final devotion to training Kushina gives meaning to her remaining life, even as it signals her approaching death.
• Preparation for catastrophe: Toji’s secret army reflects his determination to survive a future conflict, including the possibility of betrayal from within Konoha.

Plot points and events

• Jun Hyuga accepts Hokage Toji’s order to compile a list of Main Family members who have betrayed the Will of Fire. His real motive is to help end the Caged Bird system, though he plans to verify the evidence so innocents are not targeted.
• Toji privately considers two ways to purge the listed Hyuga: use Branch Family mistreatment as public justification, or arrange a coordinated attack during a deliberately weakened period of Konoha’s defenses. The second plan would also let him seize Byakugan and potentially blame the attack on another village.
• Ichikishimahime arrives in Konoha to help Toji learn Sage Mode. Chiri asks her to help remove the seal on Toji’s left hand and requests that she conceal her connection to Ryūchi Cave to avoid damaging Toji’s public standing. Ichikishimahime agrees to use the name “Zenin Shima.”
• A partial solar eclipse darkens Konoha. Toji is at an observation station with Hiruko, whose research into the eclipse is intended to advance the Chimera Technique. As the eclipse arrives earlier than Hiruko predicted, Toji wonders whether Hamura’s descendants on the moon caused it—and whether they may be developing a Tenseigan.

Character developments and interactions

• Jun Hyuga is shown as disciplined and loyal to Toji, but his deeper commitment is to freeing the Branch Family from the Caged Bird Curse Mark. His hatred of the system stems from fear that any child he has would be branded at age three.
• Toji reveals a ruthless, calculating side: he treats the Hyuga purge as a means to obtain Byakugan and possibly provoke a wider war. He also supports Hiruko’s research and begins connecting the eclipse to possible threats—and opportunities—beyond Earth.
• Chiri acts as Toji’s protective political partner, anticipating how Ryūchi Cave’s reputation could reflect on him. Her exchange with Ichikishimahime remains respectful and practical.
• Ichikishimahime is deferential in Konoha, accepts Chiri’s request without offense, and looks forward to experiencing human society.
• Hiruko is an ambitious, eccentric researcher whose work receives Toji’s trust and institutional support. Toji encourages him and stays present during the crucial observation.

Significant themes

• Oppression and liberation: Jun’s desire to protect a future child highlights the enduring cruelty of the Hyuga clan’s hereditary curse.
• Power and political calculation: Toji’s plans show how public justification, village security, and war can be manipulated for personal gain.
• Reputation and prejudice: Chiri recognizes that Ryūchi Cave’s fearful reputation could undermine Toji despite his prestige.
• Science, supernatural forces, and uncertainty: Hiruko’s research and the eclipse blur the line between scientific observation and extraordinary shinobi-world possibilities, while Toji’s suspicions point toward a larger lunar threat.

Toji approved Hiruko’s Chimera Technique, which could steal and combine kekkei genkai, and encouraged him to develop it using the Four Great Nations’ ninja as potential sources. After directing Hiruko to keep the research secret, Toji returned to the Zenin Clan, where a family dinner left him wondering whether Kushina had become unusually attached to Maki.

• Toji considered investigating the moon after deciding the yellow Tenseigan posed no threat to him.
• Hiruko told Toji that the solar eclipse had helped him develop the first version of a technique for stealing and combining kekkei genkai.
• Toji reassured Hiruko, supported the research, volunteered to be its first test subject, and named it the Chimera Technique.
• Hiruko realized an annular eclipse might help perfect Chimera, then returned to his laboratory while keeping the secret from Tsunade and Orochimaru.
• Shima told Toji that Maki could learn Ryūchi Cave Sage Mode when she grew up, and Toji agreed to consider it.
• Toji hosted a dinner with the Zenins, Kushina, Ayano, and Tsunade, while Shima challenged Tsunade to a drinking contest and Toji worried about Kushina’s closeness with Maki.

Jiraiya returned to Konoha after Mount Myōboku’s destruction, but his paranoia and promise to keep the sacred land’s secrets led him to conceal the truth from Toji. After accusing Uchiha Yan and Diablo of attacking him, he left Toji with a new claim to investigate.

• Jiraiya returned to Konoha and was detained by Fugaku Uchiha after the village suspected he had gone missing or rogue.
• While training in his cell, Jiraiya found Danzo’s accusations carved into the walls and dismissed them as the ravings of a defeated man.
• Toji reviewed Jiraiya’s examination report, confirmed he had no detectable abnormalities, and ordered his early release.
• Toji confronted Jiraiya about his implausible account of the past month and demanded the truth.
• Jiraiya admitted he had traveled to Mount Myōboku for treatment but concealed its secrets, then claimed Uchiha Yan and Diablo had attacked him.

Toji learned that Jiraiya was hiding information about Mount Myōboku and secretly listened as Jiraiya told Senju Kenyu about the Great Toad Sage’s death and the prophecy of a Konoha ninja destroying the shinobi world. Senju Kenyu challenged Jiraiya to consider whether fate could be changed, and Jiraiya chose to fight the prophecy; Kenyu agreed to help.

• Toji let Jiraiya leave the Hokage Office, then used Soul Transformation Jutsu to send Mingnü to eavesdrop on Jiraiya and Senju Kenyu.
• Jiraiya told Senju Kenyu that the Great Toad Sage had been killed by a Person of Destruction and had left a prophecy and an item with Sage Fukasaku.
• Senju Kenyu set up a Micro Barrier and had Jiraiya write down the prophecy, which warned that a ninja wearing a Konoha Forehead Protector would destroy the shinobi world.
• Jiraiya explained that Sage Fukasaku was searching for the Person of Destruction and needed help from Konoha, while Senju Kenyu questioned whether the prophecy was fixed or could be changed.
• Senju Kenyu warned that changing the predicted future might carry a terrible price, but Jiraiya resolved to act rather than do nothing, and Kenyu agreed to help.

Jiraiya and Senju Kenyu chose separate ways to prepare for the threat in the prophecy: Jiraiya stayed in Konoha to investigate, while Kenyu left to seek power through Impure World Reincarnation. Toji learned of their plans and decided to let Kenyu proceed until he could use the forbidden technique against him.

• Jiraiya chose to remain in Konoha and investigate the suspected destroyer, while Senju Kenyu decided to leave and learn Impure World Reincarnation to resurrect the previous Hokage.
• Jiraiya and Kenyu discussed their plans over ramen, and Jiraiya warned Kenyu not to let suspicion prevent him from living normally.
• Zenin Mingnü reported what she had overheard to Toji, who inferred that the Great Toad Sage had left both a prophecy and an item connected to the toads’ search for power.
• Toji decided to monitor Jiraiya and Kenyu instead of attacking Mount Myōboku, and continued using Dan Katō’s Soul Transformation Jutsu to spy on them.
• Toji learned that Senju Kenyu had accepted an A-rank mission to the Land of Demons and realized Kenyu intended to use the dead as power through Impure World Reincarnation.
• Toji ordered Dan Katō to leave Konoha and secretly monitor Kenyu, planning to expose his human experimentation and force him either to return for investigation or become a rogue ninja.

Senju Kenyu left Konoha on a long-term mission while Toji quietly prepared a purge of the Hyuga Main Family using evidence Jun Hyuga had gathered. In Kirigakure, Madara Uchiha completed preparations to start a war against Uzushiogakure after the New Year, seeking a vessel for the Sage’s Eye.

• Senju Kenyu departed Konoha, while Dan Katō began secretly tracking him for Toji.
• Jiraiya monitored the Uchiha and Zenin Clans, but Toji told Uchiha Chiri to leave him alone because he was still useful.
• Maki reported that Mito Uzumaki was teaching Kushina sealing jutsu and preparing her for the Nine-Tails transfer.
• Jun Hyuga gave Toji evidence of crimes committed by the Hyuga Main Family, and Toji promised to eliminate those named after the New Year.
• Toji planned to spare only Hyuga Hiashi among the young Main Family members and intended to take the other members’ Byakugan.
• Madara Uchiha’s Hashirama cells began resonating with his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, and he decided to start a war against Uzushiogakure after the New Year.