Chapter Summaries

Ren learned that only a fifth of the Uchiha Clan still resisted his reforms, while the remaining dissenters had recruited ninja from outside the clan. He kept Tekka and Inabi behind after Yashiro left and challenged them to explain why they would praise his accomplishments but refuse to call him Clan Head.

• Yashiro told Ren that most of the clan members who had resisted the reforms had given up, while the remaining extremists opposed the Konoha Military Police Force's rules and had recruited outsiders.
• Yashiro asked Ren to spare Tekka and Inabi, and Ren assured him he would not harm his clan members.
• Ren told Yashiro to arrange another gathering for the next day so the remaining dissenters could choose their course.
• Ren ordered Tekka and Inabi to stay behind after Yashiro left, then recounted his achievements as clan head and Hokage.
• Tekka and Inabi praised Ren's work, and Ren asked why they were unwilling to call him Clan Head.

Ren questioned Tekka and Inabi about the Uchiha Clan’s glory, exposing their complaints as a desire to dominate weaker people. Tekka and Inabi finally admitted that they believed the strong had the right to bully the weak.

• Tekka and Inabi accused Ren of trampling Uchiha glory and complained that Shisui and the Konoha Military Police Force damaged the clan’s reputation.
• Tekka and Inabi vented their frustrations about the clan’s cooperation with other groups while avoiding criticism of Ren.
• Ren recalled that the men had once considered dying dramatically to awaken the Uchiha Clan’s fighting spirit, but had become more restrained over the years.
• Ren pressed Tekka and Inabi to define Uchiha glory and said their complaints amounted to wanting to bully others.
• Tekka and Inabi argued that the Uchiha were the strongest clan and that the weak should submit to the strong.

Ren persuaded Tekka and Inabi to go to the border to oversee Sarutobi Clan criminals, framing the assignment as service to Konoha. Meanwhile, Yashiro revealed that he had reported the dissident clansmen to Ren from the start, and Ren and Shisui arrived as the crowd reacted.

• Ren reminded Tekka and Inabi of the Uchiha Clan's past mistreatment and asked them to go to the border to manage Sarutobi Clan criminals.
• Tekka and Inabi agreed to serve at the border for Konoha and were told to recruit other willing ninja.
• The following evening, Uchiha clansmen argued over whether to keep resisting Ren or focus on their families and move on.
• Yashiro confessed that he had reported the clansmen's activities to Ren from their first meeting, prompting an uproar.
• Ren and Shisui appeared before the gathered clansmen, and Ren remarked that many did not recognize him as clan head.

Ren revealed himself as the Uchiha Clan Head at a clan gathering, assigned his clansmen a voluntary mission, and left with Shisui. Back in Konoha as Hokage, Ren found a mountain of paperwork caused by Hiashi suspending department heads and their deputies.

• Ren arrived at the Uchiha gathering with Shisui, and Yashiro, Tekka, and Inabi greeted him as Clan Head.
• Ren praised his clansmen and assigned them a voluntary mission through Tekka and Inabi before leaving with Shisui.
• Shisui asked Ren what key role he had been meant to play, and Ren claimed that events had changed his plans.
• Ren returned to work at dawn, where Mitsuba delivered more than ten stacks of documents requiring his review.
• Ren found that several documents concerned equipment damaged by a Barrier Team ninja and learned that Hiashi had suspended the relevant department heads and their deputies.

Ren delegated Konoha’s administrative matters and prepared to travel to the Land of Fire’s capital, while the daimyo and other powers reacted to his becoming Fifth Hokage. Obito delayed his plans and wondered whether becoming Hokage required visiting the daimyo’s residence.

• Ren returned Hiashi’s documents to their departments and ordered them to resolve the issues themselves, with a final assessment to choose each department’s leader.
• Three days later, Ren prepared to leave for the Land of Fire’s capital, while the daimyo recalled his father’s warning not to make demands of a Hokage from the Uchiha Clan.
• The daimyo ordered preparations for a welcoming ceremony, and Mei Terumi sent congratulations while Darui, Rasa, and Ōnoki considered their villages’ situations.
• Obito and Black Zetsu discussed Konoha’s strength and the stalled Eye of the Moon Plan, then Obito decided to wait until the Eight-Tails was revived.
• Obito wondered whether he would have to visit the daimyo’s residence to become Hokage.

Ren traveled with two Uchiha Clan ninjas and a group of Konoha ninjas, reflecting on the cruel system that left the Land of Fire’s people vulnerable to bandits. After five peaceful days, he encountered the person he had been waiting for and told them he was interested in their group.

• Ren set out on foot with two Uchiha Clan ninjas and other Konoha ninjas, hoping to encounter someone along the way.
• Ren reflected on how Konoha’s contract with the daimyo and its paid-mission rules left ordinary people exposed to bandits.
• Ren decided he had no interest in helping the people of the Land of Fire, who had no ties to him.
• After five days of peaceful travel, Ren rested at an inn in a small town and found the person he had been waiting for.
• Ren appeared behind the figure and asked them to tell the people behind them that he was interested in their group.

Ren spared White Zetsu and sent him to deliver a message about the stone tablet to Akatsuki’s true controller, signaling his intention to get involved in the Eye of the Moon plan. White Zetsu chose to report to Black Zetsu first.

• Ren asked White Zetsu to deliver a message and questioned him about Akatsuki’s leadership.
• Ren told White Zetsu to pass on the words “The stone tablet!” to his true controller.
• Ren resolved to get involved in the plans surrounding the Ōtsutsuki Clan and to seek the backpack that would lead him to the Eternal Flame.
• Ren reflected on his family and other personal anchors before vanishing from the spot.
• White Zetsu debated whom to tell and ultimately went to Black Zetsu first.

Black Zetsu received Ren’s message about the stone tablet and decided to meet him, while Ren prepared to negotiate with whoever arrived. The chapter ended with Ren hoping Black Zetsu would be the one to come.

• White Zetsu told Black Zetsu that Uchiha Yushu had sent a message for the person behind it.
• Black Zetsu learned that Ren’s message was “stone tablet” and inferred that Ren had seen ambiguous information on it.
• Black Zetsu took control of White Zetsu and ordered it to bring him to Uchiha Yushu the next day.
• Ren considered how to explain himself to Obito, Black Zetsu, or possibly Nagato and planned to join their undertaking.
• Ren hoped that Black Zetsu would be the one who came to meet him.

Uchiha Yushu met Black Zetsu and White Zetsu, revealed that Sasori had provided him information about the Akatsuki, and proposed cooperation. Black Zetsu silenced White Zetsu so they could speak privately, and Yushu asked Black Zetsu to introduce himself before they began.

• Yushu met Black Zetsu and White Zetsu and introduced himself as the Fifth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village.
• White Zetsu corrected Yushu, while Black Zetsu grew suspicious that Yushu recognized him and questioned where he got his information.
• Yushu said Sasori, a former Akatsuki member now working as a senior researcher in Konoha, had supplied his intelligence.
• Yushu proposed cooperation, and Black Zetsu asked how he wanted to work together.
• Yushu indicated that White Zetsu should not hear their discussion, so Black Zetsu covered White Zetsu until he could no longer speak or see.
• Yushu agreed to talk and asked Black Zetsu to introduce himself.

Yushu questioned Black Zetsu about the Infinite Tsukuyomi and pretended to believe its story about bringing peace to the ninja world. Black Zetsu claimed to be Indra and revealed that Akatsuki's leader Pain possessed the Rinnegan because he was Uchiha Madara, a previous incarnation of Black Zetsu's chakra.

• Yushu asked Black Zetsu what the Infinite Tsukuyomi was, implying he had learned of it from the Uchiha Stone Tablet.
• Black Zetsu recognized that Yushu knew about the Infinite Tsukuyomi and decided he was qualified to join the plan.
• Yushu acted surprised when Black Zetsu claimed to be Indra, the Uchiha ancestor and eldest son of the Sage of Six Paths.
• Yushu asked whether the Infinite Tsukuyomi had been left behind by the Sage of Six Paths as a way to achieve peace, and Black Zetsu agreed.
• Yushu asked who had obtained the Rinnegan, and Black Zetsu revealed that it belonged to Uchiha Madara, a previous incarnation of his chakra.

Ren questioned Black Zetsu about awakening the Rinnegan and the plan involving the tailed beasts, then negotiated cooperation while seeking to control the collection of tailed beast chakra. The two reached an agreement, and Ren asked Black Zetsu to help Akatsuki recruit a new Konoha S-rank rogue ninja.

• Ren pretended to be shocked by Madara's connection to Indra, and Black Zetsu agreed to be called by his current name.
• Ren told Black Zetsu that transplanting Hashirama Cells had not awakened his Rinnegan, and Black Zetsu explained that only Indra's reincarnation could awaken it.
• Ren asked about Infinite Tsukuyomi, and Black Zetsu disclosed limited information about the tailed beasts, the God Tree, and the Ten-Tails.
• Black Zetsu demanded the Six-Tails and Nine-Tails, while Ren insisted on being informed about captures and demanded permission to collect small portions of tailed beast bodies and chakra.
• Ren threatened to kill any tailed beasts he encountered unless Black Zetsu agreed, and the two eventually reached a deal.
• Before Black Zetsu left, Ren asked him to help Akatsuki recruit a new S-rank rogue ninja from Konoha.

After leaving Ren, Black Zetsu believed he had manipulated him into helping with his plan to free his mother. Ren reflected on the shinobi world’s history and concluded that lasting world peace was impossible, but keeping Konoha peaceful was enough for him as Hokage.

• Black Zetsu decided to help Ren, convinced that Ren’s pursuit of peace made him easy to manipulate.
• Black Zetsu returned to White Zetsu’s body and ordered him to leave, ignoring his complaints.
• Ren returned to his room and wondered whether his performance as a pacifist had fooled Black Zetsu.
• Ren compared Hashirama’s gradual approach to peace with Madara’s plan to unite the shinobi world, arguing that people would fight to protect what they had.
• Ren judged that the shinobi world had improved since villages were founded, and decided that Konoha’s peace was enough for him.

Ren arrived in the Land of Fire’s capital with his team and explored its contrasting districts. After seeing the nobles’ grand, orderly quarter and the crowded, filthy commoners’ district, he headed back.

• Ren led his team into the capital after completing the journey in less than two days.
• An official arranged luxurious accommodations for Ren and his team, then returned to report back.
• Ren left the residence and admired the capital’s broad streets, blue-stone paving, and distinctive buildings in the nobles’ district.
• Ren walked into the commoners’ district and found it crowded, dirty, and full of horse-manure stench.
• Ren could no longer tolerate the smell and prepared to return to the residence.

Ren entered the daimyo’s residence to meet the daimyo, while Kazuma’s companions learned he had concealed his identity as a former Guardian Ninja. The chapter ended with Ren entering the audience hall and sensing guards hidden in the shadows.

• The daimyo learned that Kazuma and his companions had returned in secret and arranged for them to stay before his meeting with Ren.
• Fū confronted Kazuma about his identity as one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, and Kazuma admitted he had lied about being a rogue ninja while insisting that he hated Konoha.
• Fū, Fudō, and Fuen agreed to stay with Kazuma and see Konoha’s new Fifth Hokage.
• Ren entered the daimyo’s residence with his team, then followed an attendant through the palace to the audience hall.
• Ren entered the hall, saw the daimyo and his servants, and sensed powerful guards concealed in the shadows.

Ren visited the Land of Fire’s daimyo to renew Konoha’s contract, completed the formalities, and prepared to leave for Konoha ahead of his subordinates. The daimyo heard conflicting assessments of Ren’s strength, while Ren asked Shisui to handle the group’s return.

• Ren met the daimyo, exchanged brief pleasantries, and presented the contract for renewal.
• The daimyo signed and stamped the contract, and Ren took his leave.
• After Ren departed, the daimyo asked what his attendants thought of the Fifth Hokage, and Kazuma said Ren did not seem impressive while another attendant called him very strong.
• Ren told his subordinates to return to Konoha on their own and asked Shisui to help.

Asuma told Shikaku that he refused to become head of the Sarutobi Clan, despite the clan’s troubles and its members urging him to lead them against the Hyuga Clan. After reflecting on his search for something worth protecting, Asuma asked Shikaku to arrange a secret meeting with the Fifth Hokage.

• Asuma and Shikaku played shogi while discussing the Sarutobi Clan’s recent troubles.
• Asuma told Shikaku that the clan wanted him to become its head and resist the Hyuga Clan’s targeting.
• Shikaku warned Asuma that the situation involved more than the Hyuga Clan, and Asuma said he understood the clan’s members being sent to the border.
• Asuma explained that he did not want to become clan head, recalling how his disillusionment with the world had led him to devote himself to protecting Konoha’s children.
• Asuma asked Shikaku to help him secretly meet the Fifth Hokage.

After reviewing intelligence about Sarutobi Asuma, Yushu met him atop Kage Rock. Asuma reported that Sarutobi Clan ninja were attempting a coup.

• Yushu read Shikaku's report and requested Asuma's records and recent intelligence.
• After reviewing the documents, Yushu formed a theory and summoned Shikaku again.
• Asuma waited for Yushu in a dark forest, uncertain about his decision.
• Yushu led Asuma to Kage Rock, where they spoke beneath the moonlight.
• Asuma told Yushu that some Sarutobi Clan ninja were attempting a coup.

Asuma told Ren that radical Sarutobi Clan members planned to stir up unrest inside Konoha and along its borders, hoping to force the village into concessions. Ren refused to act without evidence, leaving Asuma to face the choice of whether to follow Ren’s wishes and risk his clansmen’s deaths.

• Asuma reported that Sarutobi Clan radicals planned to provoke unrest both within Konoha and at its borders.
• Ren said the plot was serious but insisted he could not act against Konoha ninja without evidence.
• Asuma realized Ren would wait until the radicals acted, at which point they would be killed.
• Asuma regretted involving himself and struggled with whether he should follow Ren’s wishes.

Asuma decided to stop the radical clansmen before they could endanger Konoha’s children, despite the risk of becoming a rogue ninja. Ren welcomed Asuma into his plan, then told Xuanyue to continue with it after Asuma left.

• Asuma resolved to eliminate the radical clansmen before they could harm civilians and children.
• Asuma told Ren he would deal with the clansmen, and Ren surrounded him with Uchiha Clan members while asking him to wait for confirmation.
• Ren warned Asuma that attacking Konoha ninja before they acted could make him a rogue ninja, but Asuma said he understood the consequences.
• Asuma explained that he wanted to protect Konoha’s next generation, then left without accepting Ren’s praise about the Will of Fire.
• Xuanyue asked Ren what to do next, and Ren ordered him to continue with the plan.

Itachi Uchiha continued working in the Konoha Military Police Force after Ren became the Fifth Hokage, despite Hiruzen Sarutobi warning him to stay alert and investigate Ren. When Xuanyue and Ryusuke gave Itachi a secret clan mission to help seal off the Sarutobi Clan compound, he grew suspicious of their intentions.

• Ren's reforms strengthened Konoha, and he forced Hiruzen Sarutobi to step down before becoming the Fifth Hokage.
• Itachi reported to Hiruzen Sarutobi that he wanted to end his spy mission, but Hiruzen urged him to remain undercover and uncover Ren's true nature.
• Itachi kept serving diligently in the Konoha Military Police Force after accepting Hiruzen's request.
• Xuanyue and Ryusuke told Itachi to join two elite squads at the end of the month to seal off the Sarutobi Clan compound and kill any Sarutobi Clan ninja who left.
• Itachi questioned the mission's lack of official orders, and Xuanyue and Ryusuke said it was a clan mission whose details he could not yet know.
• Itachi recalled Hiashi's actions against the Sarutobi Clan and began to suspect the purpose of the new mission.