Chapter Summaries

Deidara disabled the explosive tags beneath the arena, saving the crowd from Danzō's planned massacre. Orochimaru then took the Land of Fire daimyo hostage and publicly blamed Hiruzen Sarutobi for the plot, leaving the Hokage condemned by the furious villagers as Orochimaru prepared to confront his former teacher.

• Deidara used Explosion Release: Landmine Fist to sever the chakra controlling the explosive tags, stopping them from detonating.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi realized Uchiha Yoru had once again prevented Leaf Village's plan from succeeding.
• Orochimaru revealed himself in the VIP stands, unleashed snakes, and took the Land of Fire daimyo hostage.
• Orochimaru told the crowd that Hiruzen and Danzō had planned to kill the arena's civilians and allied visitors with the explosive tags.
• The crowd turned on Hiruzen, and Orochimaru challenged his former teacher to settle their old scores.

Orochimaru trapped Hiruzen Sarutobi inside the Four Violet Flames Formation and confronted him over their shared history. Hiruzen summoned Enma to fight, while Uchiha Yoru mocked him as the First and Second Hokage were reincarnated to face him.

• Four Otogakure shinobi sealed the VIP platform inside the Four Violet Flames Formation, trapping Hiruzen Sarutobi with Orochimaru.
• Orochimaru accused Hiruzen of enabling his experiments and using him as a political weapon before casting him aside.
• Uchiha Yoru and Kurotsuchi watched from the chief seat, eating sunflower seeds and mocking Hiruzen.
• Hiruzen tore off his ceremonial robe and faced Orochimaru, who summoned the First and Second Hokage with Impure World Reincarnation.
• Hiruzen summoned Enma and condemned Orochimaru, but Uchiha Yoru applauded and taunted him about his disciples.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, broken by the collapse of Leaf Village, used the Reaper Death Seal against Uchiha Yoru. The summoned Death God recognized Yoru and froze, leaving Hiruzen’s desperate attack unable to proceed.

• Yoru mocked Hiruzen for losing the respect of his former disciples, and Hiruzen spat blood as he faced his enemies and former teachers.
• Hiruzen decided to kill Yoru and began forming the seals for the Reaper Death Seal, ignoring Enma’s warning.
• Jiraiya and Orochimaru realized Hiruzen was using the forbidden technique as the Death God appeared above the barrier.
• The Death God reached for Yoru’s soul, but Yoru calmly greeted it, and it froze upon recognizing him.
• Yoru told Hiruzen that the same technique would not work on him and mocked the Death God for having fled from him before.

Yoru used his Mangekyō Sharingan and a Wood Release-armored Perfect Susanoo to destroy the Death God's phantom and leave Hiruzen Sarutobi near death. He refused to let Hiruzen escape responsibility through death and declared that he did not even deserve to die.

• The Death God's phantom recognized Yoru and froze, but Hiruzen Sarutobi forced it to attack him again.
• Yoru awakened his full-power Mangekyō Sharingan and summoned a Perfect Susanoo reinforced with Hashirama Senju's Yang Release and Wood Release.
• Yoru's Susanoo kicked the Death God's phantom, shattering it before the assembled spectators.
• The broken Reaper Death Seal inflicted a devastating backlash on Hiruzen Sarutobi, who collapsed with his life hanging in the balance.
• Yoru confronted the wounded Hiruzen Sarutobi and told him he did not deserve to die.

Uchiha Yoru broke the barrier, captured Hiruzen Sarutobi, and had Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha bring in Shimura Danzō. He exposed the Hokage and Danzō’s hidden crimes to the Chūnin Exam crowd, leaving the arena stunned.

• Uchiha Yoru shattered the barrier and threw the battered Hiruzen Sarutobi into the arena.
• Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha arrived with the captured Shimura Danzō.
• Yoru addressed the spectators and announced that he would reveal Konoha’s history.
• Itachi used Tsukuyomi Projection to show Hiruzen’s role in Tobirama Senju’s death and his knowledge of Danzō’s Root abuses.
• The projection revealed Danzō’s plot against Yahiko and his dealings with Orochimaru, shocking the spectators.

Yoru exposed the circumstances behind Hatake Sakumo’s suicide and showed an illusion of the planned Uchiha massacre, accusing Konoha’s leadership of driving the clan to defect. He challenged the villagers’ faith in the Hokage and the Will of Fire, leaving the arena stunned and shaken.

• Yoru told Itachi to reveal more hidden images, and Itachi showed Sakumo abandoning a mission to rescue comrades before the village condemned and ostracized him.
• The image showed Sakumo killing himself, and Kakashi broke down as he realized the village leadership’s actions had helped cause his father’s death.
• Itachi showed Fugaku pleading with a masked man, followed by a vision of Itachi massacring the Uchiha and raising his blade against Sasuke.
• The crowd reacted in horror, and Yoru said the massacre was an illusion of what Konoha’s leaders had planned if the Uchiha had not defected.
• Yoru blamed the Third Hokage and his aide, then denounced the Hokage and the Will of Fire as a false throne built on the dead.

Uchiha Yoru watched as Konoha’s citizens, enraged by Shimura Danzō’s crimes, rioted and beat him to death in the arena. The chapter ended with Danzō trampled into an unrecognizable heap while Yoru refused to stop the crowd.

• A scar-faced middle-aged man accused Shimura Danzō of causing his father’s death and struck him with a stone.
• Konoha civilians and ninja surged into the arena, overwhelming the Anbu and rushing toward Danzō.
• Utatane Koharu called for the crowd to be stopped, while Uchiha Yoru watched and Kurotsuchi worried that people would die.
• The scar-faced man kicked Danzō, and the crowd attacked him with punches and kicks while accusing him of their loved ones’ deaths.
• The enraged crowd beat Danzō to death and trampled his body beyond recognition.

After Shimura Danzō’s death, the Daimyō stripped Hiruzen Sarutobi of his authority and sentenced him to life in prison. As Anbu escorted him away in disgrace, Uchiha Yoru called the punishment merciful, and Hiruzen saw the word “Thief!” painted on his face on Kage Rock.

• Villagers and shinobi silently turned their contemptuous attention from Shimura Danzō’s corpse to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• The Daimyō of the Land of Fire stripped Hiruzen of his positions and sentenced him to permanent imprisonment without pardon.
• Two Anbu sealed Hiruzen’s chakra in shackles and dragged him from the arena as the crowd made way for him.
• Kurotsuchi questioned whether Hiruzen’s punishment was too cruel, and Uchiha Yoru said it was merciful compared with the harm Hiruzen had caused.
• At the arena exit, Hiruzen looked at Kage Rock, saw “Thief!” painted on his carved face, and wept.

After Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo fell, Yoru rejected Kurotsuchi’s pity for Konoha’s villagers and declared that the village had to be torn down and rebuilt. He ordered his allies to clean up and prepare to return to Stone Village, leaving Konoha’s future in ruins.

• Yoru told Kurotsuchi that Konoha’s villagers had enabled its cruelty and shared responsibility for the village’s downfall.
• Yoru declared that Konoha had to be completely destroyed before a new order could be built.
• Yoru said the village’s fate had been decided when he and his allies defected from Konoha.
• Yoru ordered Itachi and Shisui to clean up, Deidara to put away his bombs, and Naruto and Sasuke to get ready to leave.
• Yoru told Ōnoki to pack up and return home because the farce was over.

Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki appeared alive at the arena, prompting Konoha's villagers to beg Minato to return as Hokage. Minato weighed their pleas against his life in Iwagakure and the treatment Naruto would have faced, then stood before the crowd to respond.

• Yoru declared the fighting over as the Iwagakure team prepared to leave.
• Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki emerged before the arena, and the spectators recognized them as alive.
• Kakashi and the villagers rejoiced, and thousands knelt to beg Minato to return as Fourth Hokage.
• Minato considered the villagers' past treatment of Naruto and his years living freely in Iwagakure under Yoru's protection.
• Minato picked up the sound-amplifying ninja tool and faced the silent crowd, but only let out a quiet sigh.

Minato addressed Konoha’s villagers, condemning the village for its treatment of Naruto and its betrayal of its own people. He declared that he had joined Iwagakure and left with Kushina, turning his back on Konoha.

• Minato thanked the crowd for remembering him, then rejected the title of hero because he had failed to protect his family.
• Minato revealed that Naruto was his son and condemned Konoha’s leaders for making him a jinchuriki, hiding his identity, and allowing the villagers to mistreat him.
• Minato blamed Konoha for abandoning Naruto, driving out the Uchiha Clan, and sacrificing its people for political reasons.
• Minato told the despairing crowd that they had to fight for their own future and announced that he had officially joined Iwagakure.
• Minato said that his home was now in Iwagakure, set down the amplification ninja tool, and left with Kushina to join Uchiha Yoru and the Iwagakure group.

After Minato joined Stone Village, Konoha's residents watched their village lose its hero as the daimyo slashed its military budget and merchants withdrew their business. Yoru left Konoha aboard Stone Village's train, telling Naruto that the village's downfall was only beginning and predicting that Hiruzen Sarutobi would appoint a new Hokage to salvage the situation.

• Minato declared that his home was in Stone Village and left with the Stone Village delegation, crushing Konoha's hopes of bringing him back.
• The Land of Fire's daimyo cut Konoha's military budget by eighty percent, and merchants abandoned their contracts in favor of Stone Village.
• Konoha's residents reeled from the revelations and Minato's departure as the village's supporters left the arena and its people questioned their future.
• Yoru rode away from Konoha aboard Stone Village's Chakra Hover Train with Naruto and told him that Konoha deserved its suffering for how it had treated Naruto and the Uchiha.
• Yoru predicted that Hiruzen Sarutobi would resist the collapse and might find a new Hokage to clean up the mess.

Yoru’s train left Konoha as Kakashi, Asuma, Might Guy, and hundreds of villagers and key specialists followed, seeking refuge in the Stone Village. Yoru welcomed them aboard, and as the train sped away, he told Ōnoki that Konoha’s foundations were nearly uprooted.

• Naruto questioned why Yoru was leaving Konoha, and Yoru reminded him how the villagers had treated him and the Uchiha.
• Kakashi, Asuma, Might Guy, and hundreds of Konoha residents and specialists followed the departing train with their families.
• Asuma rejected his ties to the Hokage and Konoha, while Kakashi discarded his Konoha forehead protector and asked Yoru for refuge.
• Yoru opened the train to the followers, warning them that they would have to work for the Stone Village.
• Might Guy led the newcomers aboard, and Orochimaru drove the train away from Konoha.
• Ōnoki praised Yoru for weakening Konoha, and Yoru said he was nearly finished digging up its roots.

Aboard the train to Stone Village, Yoru received Hyuga Hiashi’s request to relocate the entire Hyuga Clan and accepted it. He told the Leaf Village defectors that he would return to meet the Hyuga in three days and invited Kakashi to help deliver a “gift” to his former teacher.

• Naruto and Deidara argued over a card game until Yoru threatened to dock their allowance.
• A Hyuga branch-family messenger appeared with a poisoned kunai, but Yoru caught the weapon and learned the messenger was carrying a letter from Hyuga Hiashi.
• Yoru read Hiashi’s request for the Hyuga Clan to abandon Leaf Village and seek refuge in Stone Village, and Ōnoki urged him to accept.
• Yoru told the messenger that Stone Village would take in the Hyuga and ordered him to prepare the clan to move within three days.
• Yoru welcomed Kakashi, Asuma, and the other Leaf Village defectors to Stone Village, then invited Kakashi to return with him and surprise his former teacher.

With Konoha leaderless after Hiruzen Sarutobi’s fall and Danzo’s death, Jiraiya found Tsunade in Tanzaku Town and asked her to return. After learning the village was on the brink of collapse, Tsunade agreed to go home and take charge.

• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura ordered Anbu to search for Tsunade and bring her back to Konoha.
• Tsunade lost all her money gambling in Tanzaku Town and worried with Shizune about where they would sleep.
• Jiraiya arrived and asked Tsunade to return to Konoha, but she initially refused because of her grief and resentment toward the village.
• Jiraiya told Tsunade about Konoha’s recent upheaval and showed her the necklace Anbu had recovered from the advisors.
• Tsunade put the necklace back on and told Shizune they were going home to clean up Konoha’s mess.

Tsunade took office as Hokage and discovered that Konoha was bankrupt, short on supplies, and losing its ninja and technical staff to Iwagakure. After seeing how thoroughly Uchiha Yoru had isolated the village, she broke down and declared that she quit.

• Tsunade entered the Hokage office with Shizune and Jiraiya and found a towering pile of documents.
• Tsunade read the reports and learned that Konoha had a thirty-billion-ryo deficit, depleted military supplies, and a wave of defections to Iwagakure.
• Tsunade confronted Jiraiya for hiding the severity of the village's crisis and smashed the new desk in anger.
• Tsunade studied the map and realized that Uchiha Yoru's strategy had cut off Konoha's supply routes and left neighboring villages under Iwagakure's influence.
• Tsunade punched through a cracked wall and shouted that whoever wanted to be Hokage could take the job, lamenting that Konoha's remaining money could not cover her gambling debts.

With Konoha distracted by financial troubles, Pain sent Kakuzu and Hidan to capture Utakata, the Six-Tails' jinchuriki, in the Land of Water. They found Utakata beside a secluded lake with his disciple Hotaru, and he attacked them with corrosive bubbles.

• Tobi mocked Konoha's financial crisis during an Akatsuki meeting, and Pain decided to exploit the turmoil to capture a tailed beast.
• Pain ordered Kakuzu and Hidan to capture Utakata alive, and Kakuzu eagerly accepted after Pain promised a reward.
• Utakata lived in seclusion with his disciple Hotaru after Mei Terumi overthrew the Bloody Mist rule.
• Kakuzu and Hidan appeared through the mist and confronted Utakata, with Kakuzu mentioning the bounty on his head.
• Utakata shielded Hotaru and unleashed a torrent of acidic bubbles at Kakuzu and Hidan.

After learning that the Akatsuki had attacked Utakata in the Land of Water, Yoru sent Kisame and Kakuzu to stop the attackers while he headed there himself. He left with a threat aimed at the Akatsuki Organization.

• Mei Terumi told Yoru that the Akatsuki had attacked Utakata at Mirror Flower Lake, and Yoru ended their call and decided to intervene.
• Yoru summoned Kisame and Kakuzu and explained that Kakuzu and Hidan were attacking Utakata.
• Yoru ordered Kakuzu to seize the five hearts and fortune of his Akatsuki counterpart, and told Kisame to capture Hidan alive for Orochimaru.
• Yoru activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and vanished, warning the Akatsuki Organization not to harm anyone under his protection.

Yoru arrived just as Hidan was about to kill Utakata and preserved Utakata’s last breath. Recognizing Yoru as his former boss, Kakuzu turned on Hidan and chose to join Yoru for the money.

• Hidan completed his ritual and prepared to deliver the final blow to the dying Utakata.
• Yoru appeared, sent Yang Release chakra into Utakata, and kept him alive.
• Kakuzu recognized Yoru, who called him an old friend and his boss.
• Hidan charged Yoru, but Kakuzu impaled him with Earth Grudge Fear.
• Kakuzu picked up Hidan’s money bag, apologized, and said the offer was too good to refuse.

Yoru captured Hidan, whose immortality drew Orochimaru’s eager interest. Orochimaru arrived to take Hidan for experiments, hoping to uncover the secret of human death.

• Kakuzu tore Hidan apart, but Hidan’s severed head continued to curse and claimed that Jashin’s protection made him immortal.
• Yoru bound Hidan and his scattered limbs with Wood Release, then decided to deliver him to Orochimaru for research.
• Yoru called Orochimaru and told him he had captured a man with an immortal body sustained by faith energy.
• Orochimaru opened a spatial portal, rushed to Yoru, and eagerly prepared to experiment on Hidan.
• Orochimaru thanked Yoru and said Hidan might help him unravel the secret of human death.