Chapter Summaries

Baishi received reports of the elders’ attempt to seize ANBU authority and of Orochimaru’s remnants at the Land of Wind border, then set plans in motion to confront both threats. The chapter ended with Pakura and Sunagakure forces surrounding Sound ninja at Withered Bone Hill.

• Mikoto gave Baishi a report that Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura planned to push an amendment transferring ANBU authority to the elder advisory council.
• Baishi dismissed Mikoto’s offer to prepare for the high-level meeting and decided to confront the elders himself.
• Mikoto delivered urgent intelligence about Orochimaru’s remnants recovering mutated creatures at Withered Bone Hill, where two ANBU had gone missing.
• Baishi ordered Konoha’s reconnaissance squad to observe from a distance and instructed Mikoto to leak the intelligence to Danzo.
• At Withered Bone Hill, Pakura and Sunagakure ninja surrounded Sound ninja carrying sealed corpses with strange Wooden Fibers, and Pakura began gathering Scorch Release fireballs.

Pakura led Sunagakure shinobi in ambushing Sound Ninja who were recovering Orochimaru’s failed Wood Release test subjects at Withered Bone Hill. She invoked her lord’s command to completely cleanse Orochimaru’s leftovers, and the attack began.

• Sound Ninja sealed the last mutated test subject into a Scroll and prepared to leave Withered Bone Hill.
• Kikuchi discovered the sand was heating up, and the Sound Ninja realized they were under attack.
• Sunagakure shinobi surrounded the Sound Ninja, with a Crescent Moon Mask-wearing Pakura at their head.
• Pakura revealed her Scorch Release and was recognized as Sunagakure’s supposedly dead hero.
• Pakura declared that she would cleanse Orochimaru’s filth by her lord’s command and swept her hand downward.

Pakura slaughtered Orochimaru’s Sound Ninja Squad with Scorch Release, forcing the Sunagakure elites to swear loyalty to her as Lady Dark Moon. Meanwhile, the Fifth Hokage arrived late to a Konoha meeting about ANBU oversight by blasting open the conference-room door.

• Pakura used Scorch Release to kill the Sound Ninja Squad and destroy Orochimaru’s mutated Wood Release test subjects in the ravine.
• The Sunagakure shinobi recognized Pakura’s destructive power, knelt before her, and swore loyalty to Lady Dark Moon.
• Pakura accepted her role as the Fifth Hokage’s loyal weapon and looked east toward the next battlefield.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura tried to begin deliberations on the ANBU Power Oversight Amendment while the Hokage’s seat was empty.
• The Fifth Hokage blasted through the conference-room door and entered, saying he was late.

Baishi arrived late to the Konoha council meeting by smashing through the doorway, then faced Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura as they pushed an amendment placing ANBU under oversight. He rejected their appeal to the Third Hokage’s wishes and began invoking a different will of his predecessors as a menacing chakra stirred within him.

• Baishi entered the meeting room through the shattered doorway and ignored Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura’s furious accusations.
• Baishi reached the Hokage’s seat and told the advisors he had been handling something more important.
• Utatane Koharu presented the ANBU Power Oversight Amendment and announced that she and Mitokado Homura supported it.
• Mitokado Homura invoked the Third Hokage’s wishes and demanded that Baishi accept the amendment.
• Baishi removed his Hokage hat, mocked their appeal to their predecessors, and awakened a fearsome chakra.

Baishi used the combined pressure of Shukaku's One-Tail Chakra and Wood Release to crush the advisers' resistance, tear up the ANBU oversight amendment, and declare his authority over Konoha. After Baishi left, Utatane Koharu secretly ordered a Root ninja to tell someone that Root should return to the surface.

• Baishi unleashed the terrifying force of Shukaku's One-Tail Chakra and Wood Release, overwhelming the Konoha higher-ups and cracking the meeting table.
• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu failed to object as Baishi challenged them over the will of the predecessors.
• Baishi tore up the ANBU Power Oversight Amendment and declared that questioning the Hokage or dividing the village's power would be treated as betrayal, authorizing ANBU to purge traitors without trial.
• Baishi left the meeting room, and Mitokado Homura collapsed after coughing up blood.
• Utatane Koharu secretly gave a patterned Scroll to a Root ninja and ordered him to tell someone it was time for Root to return to the surface.

After Baishi left the ruined Meeting Room, Shikaku Nara heard Hyuga Hiashi describe the terrifying powers sealed within him and chose to align the Ino-Shika-Cho clans with the Fifth Hokage. As Shikaku left, an ANBU delivered a summons from the Hokage.

• Choza Akimichi and Yamanaka Inoichi asked Shikaku Nara about the powers they had sensed in Baishi.
• Hyuga Hiashi described seeing Shukaku bound and drained by thorn-covered Vines inside Baishi, and declared that Baishi was a monster.
• Shikaku Nara accepted that the old era had ended and announced that the Ino-Shika-Cho clans would side with the Fifth Hokage.
• Shikaku admitted he was afraid and said the clans should join the rising power to survive.
• An ANBU stopped Shikaku in the Hokage Building and told him the Hokage requested his presence.

Baishi forced Shikaku to pledge the Ino-Shika-Cho clans’ unconditional obedience, and Shikaku offered intelligence about a secret force cultivated by Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu. The chapter ended with Shikaku revealing rumors that Danzo had left a Forbidden Legacy beneath Root’s base.

• Shikaku met Baishi in a cleared room in the Hokage Building, where Baishi asked what mattered most to Konoha.
• Baishi declared that he wanted absolute command of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans and threatened to replace Shikaku if he refused.
• Shikaku agreed that the three clans would obey every command from the Fifth Hokage.
• Shikaku offered details of an elite force that Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu had secretly built from Root’s remnants.
• Shikaku told Baishi that the force’s members had undergone Forbidden Legacy, which was rumored to have been left by Danzo deep within Root’s base.

In Konoha Hospital, Utatane Koharu ordered Root’s Cicada team to release Danzo’s forbidden A-Designation monster and send it toward the Hokage Residence to kill Baishi. Unseen by Koharu, a paper butterfly witnessed the conspiracy and slipped away into the night.

• Utatane Koharu dismissed the medical ninja and confronted Cicada, the Root ninja secretly posing as one.
• Cicada confirmed that A-Designation remained sealed beneath the Nest and that its seal was intact.
• Utatane Koharu gave Cicada the Bone Key and ordered him to release the monster and lure it toward the Hokage Residence that night.
• Cicada accepted the order and vanished into the shadows as Utatane Koharu declared Baishi’s end was near.
• A hidden paper butterfly recorded the conversation and flew into the night.

After receiving evidence that Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura planned to send a forbidden weapon against him, Baishi ordered Mikoto Uchiha to weaken the Hokage Building’s defenses. He intended to lure the weapon in as an experimental subject.

• Baishi returned to his study exhausted from assimilating Shukaku and unleashing his Chakra at the elders’ meeting.
• Mikoto Uchiha entered and massaged Baishi’s temples as he considered Shikaku Nara’s allegiance and the elders’ likely resistance.
• A paper butterfly showed Baishi Utatane Koharu giving a bone key to the Root shinobi codenamed Cicada and ordering him to lead the A-Designation weapon toward the Hokage Residence.
• Baishi ordered Mikoto to withdraw thirty percent of the ANBU defensive Barrier around the Hokage Building that night.
• Baishi told Mikoto that he wanted the forbidden weapon as an experimental subject.

Baishi tricked Kushina into pouring her Nine-Tails Chakra into him, using it and his Hashirama Cells to devour Shukaku’s power and will. Kurama sensed the truth and warned Kushina to get away from Baishi.

• Kushina burst into Baishi’s study, smelled Mikoto’s lingering scent, and accused him of seeing another woman.
• Baishi faked a struggle with Shukaku’s Chakra and convinced Kushina that Mikoto had only visited on village business before his seal lost control.
• Kushina apologized and poured her Nine-Tails Chakra into Baishi to help suppress Shukaku.
• Baishi used the Nine-Tails Chakra and Hashirama Cells to bind, tear apart, and devour Shukaku’s Chakra and will.
• Baishi gained power fused with Wind Release and Magnetic Release, while Kurama sensed the devouring and urgently warned Kushina to flee.

Cicada opened Root’s sealed laboratory and awakened Danzo’s A-Designation, a monstrous fusion of First Hokage’s Cells and Uchiha Sharingan. The Mutant drained Cicada, smashed through the base, and charged toward the Hokage Residence, drawn by Baishi’s Chakra.

• Cicada used Koharu’s Bone Key to open the forbidden Iron Door beneath Konoha.
• Cicada found A-Designation, a deformed Mutant covered in more than a hundred Sharingan, inside a nutrient tank.
• Cicada pressed the Release button, causing the Mutant to awaken and drain him of his life force.
• The Mutant broke out of the tank and killed Cicada, while the other two Root ninja tried to flee.
• The Mutant sensed Baishi’s powerful Chakra and smashed through the underground base toward the Hokage Residence.

After witnessing Baishi’s power, Hyuga Hiashi offered the Hyuga Clan’s secrets in exchange for protection. Baishi interrupted the surrender to show him a powerful threat charging toward the Hokage Residence.

• Hyuga Hiashi recalled seeing Baishi devour Shukaku and decided the Hyuga Clan had to submit to the new order to survive.
• Hyuga Hiashi retrieved the secret scroll on the Caged Bird Cursed Seal and went to the Hokage Residence at night.
• Hyuga Hiashi knelt before Baishi and offered the clan’s possessions and secrets in exchange for protection.
• Baishi told Hyuga Hiashi to remain quiet and watch as a monstrous mass of chakra charged through the forest toward the residence.
• Hyuga Hiashi activated his Byakugan, saw the approaching monster, and cried out in terror.

Baishi calmly faced a rampaging Mutant made from Wood Release and Sharingan while ordering Hyuga Hiashi to observe it for him. The Mutant smashed through the Hokage Residence and burst into the study, where Baishi waited for the attack to begin.

• Hyuga Hiashi warned Baishi that the Mutant was destroying the residence and that the defensive Barrier could not stop it.
• Baishi refused to evacuate and ordered Hiashi to kneel and describe the Mutant's Chakra and Sharingan as it attacked.
• The Mutant broke through the main residence's gate and charged toward the study, drawn to Baishi's Chakra.
• The Mutant leaped through the study's windows and wall as Baishi calmly stood before it.

Baishi effortlessly seized control of the Mutant’s Wood Release and forced it to attack itself, leaving Hyuga Hiashi stunned by the Fifth Hokage’s overwhelming power. The Mutant began to self-destruct, but its many Sharingan suddenly shed black blood as an even more violent force erupted.

• The Mutant burst through the study wall and attacked Baishi with dozens of Wood Release tentacles.
• Baishi used a Ram seal and his superior Yang Release power to freeze the tentacles and compel them to stab the Mutant.
• Hyuga Hiashi realized Baishi had dominated the assassination attempt without even setting down his teacup.
• The Mutant stopped attacking itself and began gathering enough unstable Chakra to destroy the Hokage Residence and nearby streets.
• The Mutant’s Sharingan started streaming black blood as a force more destructive than its self-destruction erupted.

Baishi used Kamui to devour Utatane Koharu’s Mutant before it could self-destruct, then sent its remains to her as a “final tribute.” At dawn, Koharu opened the scroll and screamed when the Sharingan-covered remains stared back at her.

• Hyuga Hiashi watched the Mutant reach the brink of self-destruction as Baishi revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Baishi used Kamui to swallow the Mutant and its explosive energy, then recovered its core and ordered ANBU to seal it.
• Baishi sent the Mutant’s remains to Utatane Koharu as his final tribute to her as a Konoha elder.
• At dawn, Utatane Koharu opened the scroll in Mitokado Homura’s hospital room and screamed when the remains’ Sharingan fixed their gaze on her.

Utatane Koharu broke down after seeing the returned remains of the Sharingan creation, and ANBU detained her under orders from Baishi, the Fifth Hokage. Mitokado Homura awoke to find Koharu imprisoned and deranged, leaving him to face the aftermath.

• Utatane Koharu panicked at the returned remains and the stitched Sharingan, then collapsed into incoherent laughter and fear.
• ANBU entered the hospital room, sealed off the floor, and announced that they were acting under the Fifth Hokage's orders.
• ANBU confined Utatane Koharu to her room, barred visitors, and sealed the remains and room behind a Barrier.
• Mitokado Homura woke and saw the wrecked room, the ANBU guards, and Utatane Koharu in the corner.

Mitokado Homura woke to find Utatane Koharu broken and both of them under ANBU guard, then signed an agreement surrendering his faction’s power to protect his family. At the Hokage Residence, Baishi received word that the hospital had been handled and turned to demand Hyuga Hiashi’s sincerity.

• Mitokado Homura woke in the hospital and saw Utatane Koharu raving beside the sealed remains of Danzo’s failed trump card.
• An ANBU told Mitokado Homura that he and Utatane Koharu were prisoners and presented a confession and power-transfer agreement on Baishi’s orders.
• The ANBU threatened to purge the Mitokado Clan if Mitokado Homura refused to sign, and he signed and stamped the agreement to spare his family.
• ANBU reported to Baishi that the hospital had been taken care of.
• Baishi addressed the kneeling Hyuga Hiashi and demanded to discuss the Hyuga Clan’s sincerity.

Baishi forced Hyuga Hiashi to surrender the Hyuga Clan’s Caged Bird seal and demonstrated his power by transforming it into a more controlling mark called the Waning Moon. Hiashi submitted, and Baishi ordered the Hyuga Clan to prove its loyalty through a bloody first trial.

• Baishi told Hyuga Hiashi that Konoha’s good news meant the advisory elders had been brought down.
• Hiashi offered Baishi the Hyuga Clan’s secret Caged Bird seal scroll and pledged the clan’s loyalty.
• Baishi saw through the seal’s purpose and criticized it as a crude mechanism that destroyed branch-family members’ Byakugan upon death.
• Baishi used precise Chakra Scalpel techniques to dismantle the Caged Bird seal and replace it with the Waning Moon mark.
• Hiashi collapsed in submission as Baishi declared that the Hyuga Clan would become his blade and begin its first trial.

Baishi forced Hyuga Hiashi to pledge the Hyuga Clan’s help in purging Root, giving him a detailed list of hidden bases and ordering the Byakugan to locate them for ANBU. Hiashi left to carry out the task before daybreak, while Baishi anticipated uncovering further secrets within Root.

• Baishi told Hyuga Hiashi that the Hyuga Clan must prove its allegiance by helping eliminate Root’s remaining forces.
• Hyuga Hiashi warned that fighting Root could cause severe casualties, but Baishi explained that ANBU would attack while the Hyuga used their Byakugan to locate targets.
• Baishi gave Hyuga Hiashi a detailed list of Root bases, commanders, and estimated forces.
• Hyuga Hiashi accepted the assignment and promised to complete it before daybreak, binding the Hyuga Clan to Baishi’s purge.
• Baishi speculated that Root’s hidden bases might contain secrets about Orochimaru or the Uchiha.

Kushina woke to signs of destruction in Baishi’s study and hurried to find him, while the Nine-Tails warned her that Baishi was a terrifying predator who had devoured a powerful monster. She found Baishi injured amid the wreckage, and his apparent weakness only intensified her fury as he prepared to manipulate her concern.

• Kushina woke exhausted and sensed chaotic Chakra and damage coming from Baishi’s study.
• The Nine-Tails panicked and warned Kushina that Baishi had devoured the stitched monster and Shukaku, and would eventually consume everything around him.
• Kushina ignored the Nine-Tails, cloaked herself in its Chakra, and rushed through the damaged corridor to the study.
• Kushina found Baishi standing in the ruined study with a torn Hokage Haori and a pale, exhausted appearance.
• Baishi coughed blood as Kushina demanded to know who had hurt him, and he privately saw her concern as an opportunity to manipulate her.