Recaps

After learning that the Third Hokage had enabled Danzo’s experiments, Itachi questioned his beliefs about the village. As the Uchiha, Hyuga, and Ino-Shika-Cho clans weighed the danger and their choices, Shikaku argued that backing Chiba could secure his clans a place in the new order.

• Itachi asked Fugaku whether the Third Hokage knew about Danzo taking Uchiha eyes, and Fugaku said the Hokage had approved and covered up Danzo’s actions.
• Hizashi warned Hiashi that Konoha’s leaders might target the Hyuga Byakugan, and Hiashi ordered the clan to cancel unnecessary trips and delay village orders.
• Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza asked Shikaku what their clans should do amid Chiba’s challenge to Konoha High Command.
• Shikaku outlined neutrality, support for Konoha High Command, and support for Chiba as their three options, warning that neutrality meant marginalization and the Third Hokage was unlikely to defeat Chiba.
• Shikaku recommended siding with Chiba and the Senju Clan, noting Chiba’s strength and Tsunade’s limited support, and Inoichi and Choza recognized the political value of joining him early.

After Danzo’s death, Chiba waited in the Senju Compound as Konoha’s clans began reacting to the upheaval. Shikaku Nara, Aburame Shibi, and Shisui Uchiha gathered before him, and Shikaku prepared to speak for the group.

• Chiba sensed Konoha’s Anbu, Root remnants, and ninja clans responding to the day’s events as he waited for visitors.
• Shikaku Nara arrived alone and obeyed Chiba’s instructions to sit, pour his own tea, and wait.
• Aburame Shibi arrived, joined Shikaku, and remained silent under Chiba’s pressure.
• Chiba detected Shisui Uchiha hiding on a beam and ordered him to join the gathering.
• Chiba asked the three men why they had come, and Shikaku stepped forward to answer.

Chiba demanded Sarutobi Hiruzen step down and Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura retire, then challenged Shisui Uchiha’s faith in the Will of Fire. By exposing Hiruzen’s wartime decisions, Chiba shattered Shisui’s certainty and began questioning Shikaku Nara about Konoha’s secrets.

• Shikaku Nara asked Chiba to explain his intentions, and Chiba demanded Sarutobi Hiruzen resign and Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura retire.
• Shisui Uchiha protested that removing Hiruzen would plunge Konoha into turmoil, but Chiba challenged him to define the Will of Fire.
• Chiba accused Hiruzen of sending Ninja Academy graduates to the front lines as cannon fodder during the Third Shinobi World War.
• Chiba asked Shikaku Nara where the other villages’ leaders had fought, and Shikaku described their roles on the front lines.
• Chiba contrasted those leaders’ sacrifices with Hiruzen staying in the Hokage Office, leaving Shisui shaken and unable to refute him.
• Chiba turned to Shikaku Nara and asked him to answer questions about Konoha’s closely guarded secrets.

Chiba exposed that the four clans of Konoha High Command had sent fewer than a hundred of their seventeen hundred ninja to the Third Shinobi World War, shattering Shisui Uchiha’s faith in the Will of Fire. He offered Shikaku Nara, Aburame Shibi, and Shisui a choice, and all three pledged to serve him.

• Chiba forced Shikaku Nara to reveal that the Sarutobi, Shimura, Utatane, and Mitokado Clans had nearly seventeen hundred registered ninja, including nearly a hundred Jonin.
• Chiba asked how many of those ninja had gone to the war’s front lines, and Shikaku Nara admitted that fewer than a hundred had been sent.
• Shisui Uchiha collapsed into despair as he realized the high-command clans had stayed safe while the Uchiha and civilian ninja suffered heavy losses.
• Chiba accused Sarutobi Hiruzen and the other leaders of exploiting Konoha’s clans, then offered the three men the choice of joining him or returning to the old order.
• Shikaku Nara pledged the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans to Chiba, and Aburame Shibi pledged the Aburame Clan.
• Shisui Uchiha rejected his former faith and offered to become Chiba’s blade against Konoha’s corruption.

Chiba revealed that he had sent Tsunade to secure the Land of Fire Daimyo’s support for removing Sarutobi Hiruzen and taking control of Konoha. As Shikaku Nara, Shisui Uchiha, and Aburame Shibi prepared for the Daimyo’s envoy, Tsunade and Shizune traveled toward the capital to meet Tsunade’s uncle.

• Chiba explained that Tsunade’s family ties to the Daimyo could give his takeover of Konoha political legitimacy.
• Shikaku Nara, Shisui Uchiha, and Aburame Shibi praised the plan and prepared to use the Daimyo’s support to undermine Sarutobi Hiruzen.
• Chiba privately revealed that he viewed the Daimyo as an ordinary man and would use force if the nobles tried to control him.
• Chiba dismissed the three Konoha elites and told them to prepare for the Daimyo’s envoy and the takeover.
• Near the capital, Tsunade complained to Shizune about Chiba sending her on an errand, then admitted she wanted to support him.
• Tsunade told Shizune they would reach the capital the next day and planned to persuade the Daimyo to remove Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Shisui Uchiha told Fugaku Uchiha that he had chosen to support Chiba’s plan to overthrow Sarutobi Hiruzen, and Fugaku agreed to rally the Uchiha Clan behind him. Fugaku condemned the village leadership’s treatment of the Uchiha and hoped their fortunes would improve under Chiba.

• Shisui Uchiha visited Fugaku Uchiha and reported that he, the Nara Clan Head, and the Aburame Clan Head had met with Chiba.
• Shisui Uchiha said he had decided to support Chiba’s plan to overthrow Sarutobi Hiruzen.
• Fugaku Uchiha agreed to call a clan-wide meeting and persuade the Uchiha elders to support Chiba.
• Fugaku Uchiha described how the village leadership had marginalized and surveilled the Uchiha, and said Danzo had implanted Uchiha eyes in his arm.
• Fugaku Uchiha explained that Chiba had saved his life and was too powerful to oppose, so supporting him was the clan’s best path forward.

Hyuga Hiashi and other clan leaders gathered at the Senju Compound to honor Chiba, while Sarutobi Hiruzen watched Konoha's support shift away from him. Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura found civilians openly condemning the leadership and rushed to warn Sarutobi, leaving him facing the collapse of the high command's standing.

• Hyuga Hiashi led his clansmen to the Senju Compound, followed by leaders of smaller shinobi clans seeking Chiba's favor.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen watched the gathering through his crystal ball and restrained himself from sending Anbu against the visitors.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura overheard Chunin and civilians condemning Danzo's crimes and questioning Sarutobi's knowledge of them.
• The advisers heard more public accusations, including renewed criticism over White Fang's suicide, as they hurried back to the Hokage Building.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura burst into Sarutobi Hiruzen's office, visibly shaken and out of breath.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and his advisers panicked as rumors about Danzo's human experiments spread through Konoha and turned public opinion against them. Hiruzen decided to step down, but revealed that he had no intention of handing the Hokage position to Chiba.

• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura warned Sarutobi Hiruzen that the rumors had spread across Konoha and that the clans Danzo had suppressed might be stirring up trouble.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered Anbu to find and arrest the people spreading the rumors, but the Anbu responded stiffly and seemed uncertain.
• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu blamed Chiba for orchestrating the rumors and proposed assassinating or poisoning him.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen rejected the plan, warning that Chiba's strength made an attack both futile and dangerous.
• After the advisers despaired over losing their influence, Sarutobi Hiruzen announced that he would step down voluntarily.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen clarified that he had never said he would give the Hokage position to Chiba.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and the advisors planned to bring Jiraiya back as a successor they could control, while trying to contain rumors undermining the High Command. The Daimyo’s envoy arrived with a decree requiring all Konoha Jonin—and Senju Qianye—to attend an announcement, leaving Hiruzen and the advisors alarmed.

• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu worried that Qianye’s Wood Style and the rumors about Danzo were weakening the High Command’s standing.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen proposed making Jiraiya Hokage and ordered the Anbu to find him before Qianye could act.
• An Anbu reported that rumors were spreading through Konoha and civilian trust in the High Command was falling.
• Fujiwara arrived as the Daimyo’s envoy and ordered Hiruzen to gather every Jonin within half an hour for the reading of a decree.
• Fujiwara demanded that Senju Qianye attend, alarming Hiruzen, Homura, and Koharu.

The Daimyo’s envoy, Fujiwara, condemned Konoha’s leadership and recommended Senju Qianye as a candidate for Fifth Hokage, using a funding cut to pressure the village. The chapter ended with Fujiwara telling Qianye that the Daimyo awaited his good news in the capital.

• Utatane Koharu questioned Chiba’s right to attend the meeting, but Fujiwara invoked the Daimyo’s authority and Sarutobi Hiruzen promised to summon Konoha’s Jonin.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu worried that the Daimyo’s support for Chiba could force them into an impossible choice between accepting him and risking a charge of treason.
• Konoha’s clan heads and Jonin gathered, and Senju Qianye entered the conference room as the attendees watched him warily.
• Fujiwara read the Imperial Decree, condemning Shimura Danzo’s human experiments and criticizing Sarutobi Hiruzen for failing to control his subordinates.
• Fujiwara announced the Daimyo’s recommendation of Senju Qianye for Fifth Hokage and a thirty-percent reduction in Konoha’s funding until a new Hokage took office.
• Fujiwara rejected Utatane Koharu’s protest and told Chiba that the Daimyo awaited his good news in the capital.

Sarutobi Hiruzen tried to block Chiba’s appointment as Fifth Hokage by nominating Jiraiya, but the Ino-Shika-Cho clans and the Aburame Clan publicly backed Chiba. Hiruzen turned to Fugaku Uchiha, hoping the Uchiha Clan would help him stop a Senju successor.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen argued that the Daimyo’s decree violated Konoha’s procedures, then announced he would step down and nominated Jiraiya as Reserve Hokage.
• Shikaku Nara rejected Hiruzen’s proposal and declared the Nara Clan’s support for Chiba as Fifth Hokage.
• Akimichi Choza and Yamanaka Inoichi joined Shikaku, announcing the Akimichi and Yamanaka clans’ support for Chiba.
• Aburame Shibi challenged the claim that the Senju were outsiders and added the Aburame Clan’s support for Chiba.
• Hiruzen accused the four clans of rebellion, then looked to Fugaku Uchiha to help him oppose Chiba’s succession.

Chiba secured the clans’ and civilian ninjas’ support, forcing Sarutobi Hiruzen and the advisors to yield control of Konoha. Chiba declared himself the temporary Fifth Hokage, leaving the village’s old and new ruling powers together after the meeting.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen tried to turn Fugaku Uchiha against Chiba, but Fugaku declared the Uchiha Clan’s full support for Chiba’s succession.
• Hyuga Hiashi saw that the major clans had backed Chiba and announced the Hyuga Clan’s unconditional support.
• Civilian ninjas joined the clans in condemning Konoha’s high command and demanding that Sarutobi Hiruzen and the advisors step down.
• Fujiwara affirmed that Chiba had the people’s support, and Chiba released his overwhelming Chakra before claiming the temporary office of Fifth Hokage and scheduling a formal succession ceremony in half a month.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen and the advisors stayed silent, while Fujiwara departed to report to the Daimyo and the meeting emptied, leaving Chiba with Konoha’s former and incoming leaders.

Sarutobi Hiruzen failed to win the Major Clans’ support against Chiba, and accused Chiba of lacking the experience to govern Konoha. Chiba answered by assigning the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans responsibility for the village’s daily administration, budget, and mission assignments.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen appealed to Shikaku Nara and the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans, but Shikaku said they had to prioritize their families’ survival.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen called Chiba a thug, and Fugaku Uchiha condemned him for allowing Danzo and Root to target Uchiha clan members.
• Aburame Shibi declared that the Aburame Clan supported Chiba, leaving Sarutobi Hiruzen without backing from any of the Major Clans.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura challenged Chiba’s ability to govern, and Sarutobi Hiruzen argued that his lack of administrative experience would plunge Konoha into chaos.
• Chiba told Shikaku Nara that the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans would manage Konoha’s daily administration, fiscal budgets, and mission assignments starting the next day.
• Shikaku Nara accepted the responsibility and pledged that the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans would not betray Chiba’s trust.

Chiba reorganized Konoha’s security and military responsibilities among the clans, then argued that a Hokage’s authority depended on absolute strength. His criticism shattered Sarutobi Hiruzen’s composure as Konoha’s clans pledged their loyalty to Chiba.

• Chiba assigned the Uchiha and Hyuga Clans to share the Police Force and coordinate border patrols, while the Aburame Clan took responsibility for intelligence handovers with the Anbu.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen accused Chiba of dividing Konoha’s power and warned that the clans might rebel, but Chiba said overwhelming strength made such centralized control unnecessary.
• Chiba condemned Sarutobi Hiruzen for clinging to authority, fearing stronger successors, and relying on the Will of Fire while others risked their lives.
• Fugaku Uchiha knelt and swore the Uchiha Clan’s lasting loyalty to Chiba, and the Ino-Shika-Cho, Aburame, and Hyuga Clans followed with pledges of support.

Chiba questioned Sarutobi Hiruzen, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura about resources their four clans had taken from Konoha. Sarutobi weighed whether to comply with Chiba’s ultimatum, while Koharu inadvertently admitted the resources had been used by their clans.

• Chiba sent Shikaku Nara, Yamanaka Inoichi, Akimichi Choza, and Fugaku Uchiha out of the conference room, then confronted the three former leaders alone.
• Chiba accused Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura, Utatane, and Mitokado of taking Konoha funds and resources, including Senju assets, war compensation, procurement kickbacks, and appropriations.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura denied the accusations and demanded evidence, but Koharu blurted out that the resources had been spent on their clans’ ninja, tools, and medicine.
• Chiba ignored Koharu and Homura and pressed Sarutobi Hiruzen, who recognized the demand as an ultimatum and considered the consequences of refusing.

Chiba forced Sarutobi Hiruzen and the other elders to surrender most of the Four Great Clans’ assets, while agreeing not to target the Sarutobi Clan after becoming Hokage. The elders accepted that obedience was their only chance of survival and left the conference room at Chiba’s mercy.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen offered seventy percent of the Sarutobi Clan’s assets, but Chiba demanded ninety percent before agreeing to negotiate.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen asked Chiba to protect the Sarutobi Clan from deliberate persecution and preserve its basic rights, and Chiba accepted the condition.
• Chiba ordered Shikaku Nara to audit the accounts and demanded eighty percent of each of the Four Great Clans’ assets within one month, threatening severe punishment for any shortfall.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura wondered whether they could hide assets or trust Chiba, but Sarutobi Hiruzen told them the audit could not be fooled and that Chiba would not bother betraying them.

Konoha’s clan heads prepared to prove themselves after Chiba assigned them major responsibilities, while Shikaku was ordered to audit the Sarutobi family’s assets. Walking through the village, Chiba found civilian children pelting a bloodied golden-haired boy with stones.

• Shikaku warned the clan heads that Chiba’s distribution of authority was a test of their competence, and they resolved to carry out their new duties well.
• Chiba ordered Shikaku to audit the Sarutobi family’s accounts for a month and transfer their confiscated funds and resources to the public treasury.
• The clan heads dispersed to prepare for their responsibilities, while Chiba walked through Konoha and sensed the village around him.
• Chiba found several civilian children throwing mud and stones at a golden-haired boy, who curled up in an alley without crying.

Chiba rescued six-year-old Uzumaki Naruto from village bullies and brought him to the Senju Compound, offering him a home and a place among family. Naruto settled in happily, and Chiba resolved to change the hardships he had endured.

• Chiba's killing intent frightened Naruto's bullies into fleeing, leaving him alone in the alley.
• Chiba asked Naruto to come live at the Senju Compound, and Naruto agreed after sensing Chiba meant him no harm.
• Two Anbu assigned to monitor Naruto saw Chiba take him away and decided to report the matter to the Third rather than interfere.
• Chiba brought Naruto to the Senju Compound, where Naruto explored, bathed, and ate a meal Chiba prepared.
• Chiba told Naruto that their Senju and Uzumaki ancestors were brothers, making them family.

The Uchiha, Hyuga, and Ino-Shika-Cho clans discussed Chiba’s new authority and decided to support his leadership. They prepared to reorganize and take on difficult duties, leaving the clans poised to help reshape Konoha under Chiba.

• Fugaku Uchiha called a clan meeting to announce that Chiba had given the Uchiha half of the village’s public security and border patrol authority.
• Shisui Uchiha challenged the elders’ suspicion of Chiba and urged the clan to prove itself, and Fugaku ordered the Uchiha to reorganize and await Chiba’s orders.
• Hiashi Hyuga told Hizashi that the Hyuga should become Chiba’s allies and ordered the clan to support him without reservation.
• Shikaku Nara explained that the Third Hokage’s faction had effectively surrendered and told the Ino-Shika-Cho clans to handle government duties and gather resources from four families within a month.

Chiba consolidated his control over Konoha and summoned Kakashi, assigning him to protect Naruto while revealing the truth about Hatake Sakumo’s death. Kakashi pledged his life to Chiba after learning that Konoha’s leaders had framed and sacrificed his father.

• Shikaku Nara led the Ino-Shika-Cho forces in seizing the assets of the Sarutobi, Shimura, Utatane, and Mitokado clans, while Aburame Shibi reported that the clans had surrendered nearly ten billion ryo and delivered files about Hatake Sakumo.
• Chiba went to the Hokage Building and ordered an Anbu operative to bring Kakashi to him.
• Chiba told Kakashi to protect Naruto, revealed Naruto’s identity as Minato Namikaze’s son, and promised to announce it when he became the Fifth Hokage.
• Chiba gave Kakashi the investigation report showing that Danzo, Root, Anbu, and Konoha’s leaders had manipulated events that led to Sakumo’s death.
• Kakashi erupted with killing intent, but Chiba restrained him and promised to honor Sakumo on the Memorial Stone; Kakashi then pledged to serve Chiba with his life.

Chiba found Tsunade gambling in the Capital of Land of Fire and urged her to return to Konoha for his Succession Ceremony. Tsunade refused for now, while Chiba told her Konoha would always be her home.

• Chiba traveled from Konoha to the capital and sensed Tsunade inside a gambling hall.
• Tsunade lost several million ryo, and Chiba paid her debt before following her out with Shizune.
• At an izakaya, Tsunade challenged Chiba over his treatment of Danzo, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and the Four Great Clans.
• Chiba said he had come mainly to see Tsunade and invited her to attend his Succession Ceremony.
• Tsunade refused to return to Konoha, and Chiba told her the Senju Clan would rise again and Konoha would always be her home.

Chiba secured the Daimyo’s approval for a 30 percent increase in Konoha’s funding and left Tsunade behind after promising to spare Sarutobi Hiruzen if he did not cause trouble. News of Chiba’s rise spread across the Ninja World, and Rasa ordered Sunagakure to prepare for the threat from Konoha.

• The Daimyo submitted to Chiba’s demands, approved a 30 percent increase in Konoha’s funding, and watched him leave in fear.
• Tsunade refused Chiba’s invitation to return to Konoha, and Chiba promised to spare Sarutobi Hiruzen unless he caused trouble.
• Tsunade wept after Chiba left and warned Sarutobi Hiruzen not to do anything foolish.
• News of Chiba’s Wood Style, his suppression of Konoha’s leadership, and Sarutobi Hiruzen’s resignation spread throughout the Ninja World.
• Rasa learned from Baki that Konoha’s spies confirmed Chiba’s power and ordered Sunagakure to pull back its border defenses, avoid provoking Konoha, and check on Gaara’s control of the One-Tail.

Reports of Senju Qianye’s Wood Style and Konoha’s upheaval alarmed the major ninja villages. Ōnoki ordered Iwagakure to stop probing the Land of Fire, the Raikage placed Kumogakure on highest-level combat readiness, and Obito realized Qianye had derailed his plans.

• Ōnoki read the report about Qianye’s Wood Style, recalled Hashirama Senju’s power, and ordered Iwagakure’s border forces to halt their probing of the Land of Fire.
• The Raikage dismissed the report as a conspiracy until Mabui confirmed Konoha’s leadership changes and the informant’s likely death, then ordered Kumogakure to prepare for combat.
• Karatachi Yagura dismissed Ao and Mei Terumi without responding to the report, and Obito emerged from behind him in a rage.
• Obito cursed Danzo’s death and recognized that Qianye’s rise and Konoha’s unity would make the Moon Eye Plan much harder to carry out.

After returning to Konoha, Chiba reviewed the clan leaders’ preparations and announced the Daimyo’s support for his succession and a thirty percent increase in military funding. He began planning a major reorganization of the village’s departments, then returned to the Senju compound, where Naruto greeted him.

• Shikaku Nara reported that the assets seized from the Sarutobi, Shimura, Utatane, and Mitokado clans were worth about three years of Konoha’s tax revenue.
• Fugaku Uchiha and Hyuga Hiashi reported that their clans had taken over patrols and expanded surveillance, while Aburame Shibi noted that some Anbu loyal to the Third generation were emotionally unstable.
• Chiba told the clan heads that the Daimyo had approved his succession and granted Konoha an additional thirty percent in military funding, then ordered them to prepare for his inauguration.
• Chiba considered how he would reorganize Konoha’s departments, including purging the Anbu, revising the Ninja Academy’s textbooks, and restructuring the Police Department.
• Chiba returned to the Senju Clan compound, where Uzumaki Naruto ran out to greet him, while Kakashi Hatake silently withdrew from his concealed post nearby.

Chiba became Konoha’s Fifth Hokage amid the villagers’ enthusiastic support and began reshaping the village’s leadership. He handed administrative and financial authority to the Ino-Shika-Cho clans, appointed Kakashi as head of Anbu and Shisui Uchiha as his deputy, and ordered them to purge Anbu’s corruption.

• Chiba arrived at the Hokage Building with Naruto and accepted the Hokage Hat from Sarutobi Hiruzen, proclaiming himself the Fifth Hokage.
• Chiba convened Konoha’s jonin and announced that the Ino-Shika-Cho clans would take over the Administrative Department and assist with village finances.
• Chiba appointed Kakashi Hatake as head of Anbu, with all Anbu operations answering directly to him.
• Chiba appointed Shisui Uchiha as Anbu deputy captain and ordered him to help Kakashi uncover and remove corruption.