Chapter Summaries

Asuma Sarutobi struggled with his father's death while patrolling Konoha, and Tsunade nearly killed him before choosing to walk away. Jiraiya regretted the losses caused by his devotion to prophecy, while Sarutobi Clan members at a border outpost learned of Hiruzen Sarutobi's death and awaited Tsunade's orders.

• Asuma Sarutobi patrolled Konoha with Sarutobi Clan members, and Kurenai Yuhi brought him food and comforted him over Hiruzen Sarutobi's death.
• Tsunade confronted Asuma but restrained herself from killing him and told him to treat Kurenai well.
• Jiraiya apologized to Tsunade, who blamed him for knowing nothing about Hiruzen Sarutobi's darkness and told him not to see her again.
• Ryunosuke Sarutobi received a message announcing Hiruzen Sarutobi's death and told the Sarutobi Clan members at the border outpost to await the Fifth Hokage's instructions.

Natsuki brought Tenten to Tsunade and persuaded her to take Tenten on as a Registered Disciple for a year. Tenten left excited to train hard and earn Tsunade’s formal acceptance.

• Natsuki brought Neji, Rock Lee, and Tenten to meet Tsunade at the hospital.
• Tenten tried the medical-ninjutsu test again but killed the fish, then demonstrated her skill with a scroll and shuriken.
• Tsunade said Tenten lacked medical-ninja talent but had strong Space Talent suited to the Summoning Technique.
• Natsuki offered Tsunade forty million to take Tenten as a Registered Disciple for a year, and Tsunade agreed.
• Tenten formally greeted Tsunade, who told her to train for two hours each day when she had no missions.
• Natsuki encouraged Tenten to study hard, and she vowed to earn Tsunade’s official acceptance.

Natsuki helped Tenten and Rock Lee before telling Neji that he would be needed against a future enemy. He then revealed to Tsunade that his Sharingan could see the past and future, warned her about alien enemies, and described the Third Hokage’s hidden crimes, leaving her furious.

• Natsuki told Rock Lee to visit daily for injury treatment and nourishing medicine, claiming it was Guy's instruction.
• Natsuki told Neji that taijutsu would be needed against a future enemy and that Neji himself had high potential.
• Natsuki proved to Tsunade that his eyes could see the past by repeating Dan Katō's private words to her.
• Natsuki told Tsunade that aliens were future enemies and revealed that Orochimaru was his ally.
• Natsuki explained that the Third Hokage had framed Danzo and listed deaths and inheritances tied to his wrongdoing, making Tsunade furious.

Natsuki told Tsunade about the Otsutsuki threat and recruited her into his alliance. After she agreed, he bet that his Chakra control talent matched hers in exchange for learning the Hundred Healings Jutsu, and Tsunade prepared a test.

• Tsunade condemned Hiruzen Sarutobi for targeting the Senju and Uchiha Clans, and Natsuki said Orochimaru could easily handle the leaderless Sarutobi Clan.
• Natsuki explained the Otsutsuki Clan's plans to invade the planet, Obito's role in their scheme, and why he expected the Fourth Shinobi World War to make the Shinobi World recognize the threat.
• Natsuki invited Tsunade to join his alliance and asked to learn the Hundred Healings Jutsu and Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Mode, but Tsunade said the techniques were out of reach.
• Tsunade agreed to join Natsuki's alliance, and he gained Chakra control talent.
• Natsuki bet that his Chakra control talent was as good as Tsunade's and offered one hundred million if he lost; Tsunade accepted and demonstrated the Chakra control test.

Natsuki demonstrated exceptional Chakra control, received Tsunade’s Hundred Healings Jutsu scroll, and left her a large payment. Hiashi freed the surviving Hyuga Main Family members and told them Orochimaru had spared them from execution, leaving him convinced the clan’s family system had to end.

• Natsuki completed the Chakra control tests by guiding multiple threads at once, impressing Tsunade.
• Tsunade gave Natsuki the Hundred Healings Jutsu scroll and explained its link to the Yin Seal and Creation Rebirth.
• Natsuki declined to pursue Ryūchi Cave Sage Mode and left Tsunade a scroll containing one hundred million.
• Hiashi met the twelve surviving Hyuga Main Family members in Konoha Prison and told them the Hokage had classified the crisis as an internal clan conflict.
• Hiashi revealed that Orochimaru had considered executing the entire Main Family because the Caged Bird system had nearly destroyed the Branch Family.

Hiashi abolished the Hyuga Clan’s Caged Bird seal and main-branch distinction after Orochimaru intervened, while Hinata returned to find her family transformed. Sasuke returned to a quiet Uchiha compound and received a chance to stay connected with Natsuki and Itachi through the Summoning Technique.

• Hiashi announced that the Hyuga Clan would abolish the Caged Bird and main-branch distinction, compensate Hizashi and Neji with Byakugan, and end main-family stipends.
• Team Seven returned to the village, and Minato disbanded the team before Hinata hurried home to find the main-family residence empty because Orochimaru had detained its members.
• Hiashi told Hinata about the reforms and offered to guide her training, making her happy that he had not given up on her.
• Sasuke returned to a deserted Uchiha compound and sat alone at the training ground, feeling lonely after his mission.
• Natsuki found Sasuke and promised to teach him the Summoning Technique, giving him two days to learn it before Natsuki left.

Naruto returned to Konoha, reunited with Minato, and went to the Uchiha Compound to learn the Summoning Technique from Natsuki with Sasuke. Meanwhile, Orochimaru issued an official ruling on the Hyuga Clan incident that blamed Danzo and portrayed the Third Hokage as a hero, leaving the Sarutobi Clan relieved that it would not face immediate retaliation.

• Naruto returned home, learned that Anbu would no longer watch him after the Third Hokage's death, and reunited with Minato.
• Minato told Naruto that the Hyuga Main Family had suffered casualties but Hinata's family was safe and Neji's eyes had healed.
• Naruto went to the Uchiha Clan Compound, where Natsuki invited him to learn the Summoning Technique alongside Sasuke.
• Orochimaru's official ruling described the Hyuga incident as an internal conflict exploited by Danzo and named the Third Hokage a hero who sacrificed himself to protect Konoha.
• Sarutobi Clan Members saw the ruling and were relieved that Orochimaru appeared to have no plans to settle accounts with their clan.

Orochimaru offered the Sarutobi Clan a chance to fill the Police Force’s staffing gap, while warning that the clan would receive no extra resources and could be expelled if it failed. The clan elders chose to recall five hundred members from border outposts, leaving Ryunosuke Sarutobi and the others preparing to return to Konoha.

• Takashi Sarutobi met Orochimaru, who declined to pursue the Third Hokage’s past borrowing but refused future extra resources and offered the Sarutobi Clan Police Force positions with salaries for only eighty members.
• Orochimaru warned Takashi that the clan had to perform well or Konoha would not support its members.
• Takashi discussed the offer with Sarutobi Kō and Daigo Sarutobi, and the three decided to recall five hundred clan members to make up for their limited abilities with numbers.
• Messenger Birds carried the recall orders to Sarutobi Clan outposts across the Land of Fire.
• Ryunosuke Sarutobi told the members at his outpost they could return to Konoha and join the Police Force, but warned they could be expelled if they failed their duties.
• The Sarutobi Clan Members accepted the risk and began preparing to return to the village.

Hyuga Kanade and other Main Family members returned from the Mission Hall without choosing a mission and clashed with Hyuga Shunta, who mocked their dependence on the Caged Bird seal. Shunta defeated Kanade in front of the Branch Family, while Hiashi watched in hiding and left the Main Family to face the consequences of their weakness.

• Hyuga Kanade and the other Main Family members spent the day considering missions but rejected both the danger of B-rank work and the indignity they associated with C-rank missions.
• Hyuga Kanade and his companions returned to find Branch Family members tearing down the wall between the courtyards, and Hyuga Shunta mocked them for failing to choose a mission.
• Hyuga Kanade defended the Main Family and threatened Shunta over the abolition of the Caged Bird, so Shunta challenged him to fight.
• Hyuga Shunta evaded Kanade’s attacks with one hand behind his back, then struck him hard enough to knock out two teeth.
• The Branch Family members cheered Shunta’s victory and ridiculed Kanade, while Hiashi watched the confrontation from concealment.

After Hyuga Kanade used the forbidden Caged Bird seal on Hyuga Shunta, Hiashi summoned Fifth Hokage Orochimaru to judge the violation. Orochimaru arrived and killed Kanade on the spot, leaving the Hyuga clan stunned.

• Hyuga Kanade activated the Caged Bird seal on Hyuga Shunta, but Hiashi knocked him unconscious before the torture could continue.
• Hiashi ordered Hayato to summon the Fifth Hokage and warned Kanade that defying the ban could cost him his life.
• Orochimaru arrived, heard Hiashi recount the incident, and killed Hyuga Kanade with Iwashi Tatami's weapon.
• Orochimaru surveyed the silent Hyuga clan while Hiashi and Hizashi looked on helplessly.

Orochimaru killed Hyuga Kanade to enforce his ban on the Caged Bird Curse Mark and end the distinction between the Hyuga main and branch families. Hiashi sent Byakugan and a proposal for the Police Force to Orochimaru, while Kanade’s grieving younger brother collapsed at his grave.

• Orochimaru warned the Hyuga Clan that anyone who used the Caged Bird Curse Mark again would face the same fate as Hyuga Kanade, and declared the main and branch families equal.
• Hiashi ordered Hyuga Shunta not to provoke fellow clansmen and sent Hyuga Hayato to bring Kanade’s body to him.
• Hiashi removed Kanade’s Byakugan and gave them to Hayato to deliver to Orochimaru, along with a question about the Police Force.
• Orochimaru promised to promote Hyuga Police Department members to squad captains and place returning Sarutobi Clan members under their leadership.
• Hyuga Sora mourned at Kanade’s grave for three days before a clansman found him unconscious.

After Hiruzen Sarutobi’s funeral, Kakashi learned from Orochimaru why the Third Hokage had died and resolved to keep fighting and avenge his loved ones. Orochimaru’s search for White Zetsu and the Sarutobi Clan’s quiet return reshaped Konoha’s security forces.

• Orochimaru held a modest funeral for Hiruzen Sarutobi, while Tsunade stayed away and Asuma and Konohamaru mourned.
• Natsuki taught Sasuke and Naruto the Summoning Technique, then used Itachi and the Spirit Array to return by Reverse Summoning with Hyuga Kaito’s assimilated Byakugan for Nagato.
• Orochimaru explained Hiruzen Sarutobi’s past to Kakashi, who then returned home and resolved to stop Obito and avenge Minato and his wife.
• Orochimaru used barriers and Jugo’s Sage Chakra to screen Konoha for White Zetsu, caught several stragglers, and returned to his laboratory to work on embryo research.
• The Sarutobi Clan quietly returned to Konoha, and Hyuga Hayato assigned its five hundred members to the Police Force to help replace the depleted Hyuga Clan.

Ōnoki assessed the threats facing Iwagakure and encouraged Kurotsuchi to learn Lava Release to connect with Deidara. Deidara praised her angle-changing sculpture but remained focused on Sasori, wondering whether he was still alive.

• Ōnoki reviewed reports about Obito, the Third Hokage’s death, Konoha’s Wood Release, and the Hyuga Clan’s losses, and sent spies to learn Konoha’s condition.
• Ōnoki chose to focus on training Deidara as a successor and encouraged Kurotsuchi to practice Lava Release so she could share interests with him.
• Kurotsuchi showed Deidara a stone sculpture that displayed different images from different angles.
• Deidara called the sculpture interesting but said true art had to be dazzling, while Kurotsuchi argued that its Lava Release reinforcement made it eternal.
• Deidara looked toward Sunagakure and wondered whether Sasori was still alive.

Yugito and Yōya learned of the Third Hokage’s death and Konan’s association with the Uchiha while sailing toward the Land of Fire aboard ten steamships. Back on the coast, Natsuki welcomed the Hyuga refugees and prepared for the ships’ arrival.

• Yugito and Yōya received reports that the Third Hokage had died and that Konan was working alongside the Uchiha Clan.
• Yugito questioned Yōya about Konan, but he admitted that he did not know who she was.
• Itachi told Natsuki that Hyuga Clan Members had arrived while Natsuki was away.
• Natsuki welcomed the Hyuga refugees, appointed Hyuga Teru captain of their squad, and asked Itachi to find them a guide.
• Hyuga Teru spotted ten unflagged steamships approaching, and Natsuki recognized them as the Uchiha Clan’s ships.

Uchiha Clan members boarded the Cloud Village’s ten ships after Yugito delivered them and learned that Konan had joined Natsuki’s organization. As the ships prepared to depart, Yugito sought intelligence about Obito’s Rinnegan and noticed Hyuga Clan members among the Uchiha.

• Yugito and Yōya leaped from the approaching steamship and met Itachi and Natsuki at the pier.
• Natsuki introduced Konan as a former Akatsuki Organization member who had joined his organization, and Konan explained why she had sought refuge with the Uchiha Clan.
• Natsuki warned Yugito that Obito now possessed the Rinnegan and might target her, prompting her to agree to learn more about its abilities from Konan.
• Yugito arranged for the Uchiha Clan to board the ships while Natsuki’s five Shadow Clones used the Light-Weight Rock Technique to speed them along.
• Yugito noticed the Hyuga Clan members among the Uchiha and went to Konan to learn about the Rinnegan.

Natsuki gave Nagato compatible Byakugan and reassured Yahiko that he would eventually be able to appear in public again. Meanwhile, Kakuzu helped Fudō and Buyuan gather materials for Dionysus, who used Impure World Reincarnation on two captives in an underground base.

• Natsuki gave Nagato Byakugan taken from Hyuga Kaito, and Nagato found them highly compatible with his Hashirama Cells.
• Natsuki told Yahiko to dye his hair after they arrived so he could move around freely.
• Kakuzu, Fudō, and Buyuan wiped out a village in the Land of Rivers and collected corpse tissue and Corpse Soil.
• Kakuzu returned with Fudō and Buyuan to an underground base where Dionysus had gathered bound captives.
• Dionysus used Impure World Reincarnation to turn two captives into Reanimated bodies.

Black Zetsu directed Kakuzu to capture jonin for Dionysus’s Impure World Reincarnation research while Kazuma and Būfū continued collecting corpses near the border. Kakuzu returned to the Land of Fire, learned about the major upheavals in the ninja world, and received a bounty registry.

• Black Zetsu told Kakuzu to capture jonin as materials, and Kakuzu promised to bring back five within a month.
• Kazuma and Būfū continued collecting corpses near the Land of Rain and Land of Grass border while Black Zetsu urged them to wait for a better opportunity to attack Konoha.
• Kakuzu traveled to the Land of Fire to gather intelligence and met the bald man at their hidden passage.
• The bald man told Kakuzu that Pain had died, Obito had taken the Rinnegan, the Uchiha Clan had left Konoha, and the Third Hokage had died in battle.
• Kakuzu reacted with disbelief to the news about Pain and listened as the bald man described the other upheavals.
• The bald man handed Kakuzu a bounty registry.

Kakuzu used coded messages in a bounty ledger to exchange intelligence with a bald operative, while Sunagakure discussed sending spies to Konoha. The chapter ended with Yura recovering sealed memories and resolving to rescue Sasori of the Red Sands.

• Kakuzu deciphered coded intelligence about Obito, Natsuki, and the Rinnegan, then used Earth Grudge Fear threads to leave his own message in the ledger.
• The bald operative discovered Kakuzu's coded reply and interpreted their exchange as a negotiation over exclusive intelligence about Obito.
• Sunagakure's leaders discussed Konoha's upheaval, Gaara's growth, and Sasori of the Red Sands before Rasa approved sending spies into the Land of Fire.
• Yura's memory seal broke as he left the meeting, and he resolved to rescue Sasori of the Red Sands.

After a month at sea, Natsuki and the Uchiha Clan reached Great Chestnut Island, where Takuya and Shisui were waiting. Meanwhile, Natsuki gathered intelligence on Akatsuki and Obito as the clan prepared to establish its own country.

• Orochimaru appointed Sarutobi Kō as Advisor Elder, and Kō accepted the role with little authority or responsibility.
• Natsuki used the Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique on the ships to steady them and ease the passengers’ seasickness.
• Natsuki learned from Kakuzu’s intelligence that Zetsu had recruited Dionysus to research the Impure World Reincarnation and ordered further investigation into Obito’s base.
• Kakuzu asked whether Pain was alive, and Natsuki concluded that Nagato and Konan would not revive Pain and that the answer was no.
• After a month-long voyage, Natsuki and the Uchiha Clan arrived at Great Chestnut Island, where Takuya and Shisui welcomed them.

Natsuki and the Uchiha Clan arrived at Great Chestnut Island and settled into the facilities left behind by the Land of Water. The clan named its new country Radiant Country, and Natsuki planned to build its territory around the island.

• Natsuki arrived at Great Chestnut Island, where Takuya briefed him on the port and the vacant residences and commercial district.
• The Uchiha representatives debated the country's name, and Natsuki chose Radiant Country; the clan made him its national ruler and the head of Radiant Hidden Village.
• Shisui reported that Iwagakure's construction team was on its way to reclaim land on the four islands, and Natsuki approved the estimated cost of one billion.
• Natsuki planned to make Great Chestnut Island the center of Uchiha territory and use its existing houses to shelter the clan's civilians.