Chapter Summaries

Qifeng met Orochimaru at his secret research base, then continued his effort to eliminate Danzo and disrupt Konoha’s fragile balance. After recruiting Yakushi Nonō by promising her freedom from Danzo’s control, Qifeng learned that Danzo planned to take Kabuto into Root in three days.

• Orochimaru’s Shadow Clone vanished, and Orochimaru discussed his research and pursuit of eternal life with Qifeng.
• Qifeng considered Danzo’s influence over Konoha and discovered that Danzo was hiding beneath the Hokage Building.
• Qifeng followed Yakushi Nonō and offered to free her from Danzo’s control, protect the orphanage, and help her join the Medical Department.
• Yakushi Nonō told Danzo that Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to adopt Kabuto, prompting Danzo to order her to hand the boy over in three days.

Qifeng watched Danzō launch a Root operation against the Konoha Orphanage, then confronted him inside the Four Violet Flames Formation as Konoha’s leaders and the Uchiha arrived. Danzō tried to use Sharingan genjutsu and the Reaper Death Seal on Qifeng, but Qifeng resisted and called out Hiruzen Sarutobi and Namikaze Minato for doubting him.

• Qifeng reassured Shisui that he and Itachi would remain his disciples before leaving them to train.
• Danzō surrounded the Konoha Orphanage with Root ninja and raised the Four Violet Flames Formation while Qifeng sent Yakushi Nonō and Yakushi Kabuto away.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi, Namikaze Minato, and Uchiha Fugaku arrived outside the barrier, where they saw Danzō’s Sharingan and learned he intended to seal Qifeng with the Reaper Death Seal.
• Danzō used the Sharingan to place Qifeng under genjutsu as two Root ninja prepared the Reaper Death Seal, while Hiruzen Sarutobi and Namikaze Minato hesitated after hearing Danzō’s accusations.
• Qifeng broke free of the genjutsu and criticized Hiruzen Sarutobi and Namikaze Minato for questioning his credibility instead of stopping Danzō.

Qifeng countered Danzō’s attempt to use the Reaper Death Seal, then turned the confrontation into a fight to the death as Hiruzen Sarutobi and Namikaze Minato tried to intervene. The chapter left Minato shaken when Qifeng warned that Danzō might target Uzumaki Kushina next.

• Danzō summoned the Shinigami to seal Qifeng, but the Shinigami turned on the two Root ninjas who had performed the technique and consumed their souls.
• Qifeng used Lightning Armor and an Iron Sand blade to knock Danzō into the Four Violet Flames Formation and sever his right arm.
• Qifeng disrupted the formation by sending buried Iron Sand beneath its four Root maintainers, then walked out as Danzō’s remaining Root ninjas attacked him.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi tried to stop Qifeng and promised an explanation, but Qifeng accused him of tolerating Danzō and recalled how he had handled Hatake Sakumo’s death.
• Namikaze Minato tried to intervene, but Qifeng warned that Danzō might target Uzumaki Kushina, leaving Minato frozen.

Qifeng pursued Danzo after Danzo’s failed attempt to kill him, while Uchiha Fugaku and the Uchiha Clan blocked Root from intervening. After Hiruzen Sarutobi sentenced Danzo to life imprisonment and the abolition of his ninjutsu, Qifeng killed him, then received only a month of confinement and claimed Root’s authority.

• Orochimaru sensed that Danzo was isolated and laughed while conducting an experiment with Qifeng.
• Uchiha Fugaku’s ninja stopped Root from interfering as Qifeng hunted Danzo, and Fugaku explained the Uchiha Clan’s stance to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Jiraiya, Tsunade, and other Konoha ninja arrived, and Minato explained that Danzo had trapped Qifeng with the Four Violet Flames Formation and tried to kill him.
• Qifeng demanded that the Konoha leaders judge Danzo, challenged Hiruzen Sarutobi over Root’s prior crimes, and struck Utatane Koharu when she defended Danzo.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi sentenced Danzo to life imprisonment and the abolition of his ninjutsu, but Qifeng crushed Danzo with Iron Sand and killed him.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi confined Qifeng for one month, and Qifeng asked Uchiha Fugaku to return Root’s ninja to their base until he could take charge.

Qifeng consolidated his control over Root while Konoha recovered from the war under the newly appointed Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato. After learning that Uzumaki Kushina was pregnant, Qifeng began planning her protection and considered using her delivery to trap Obito, while seeking a way to gain enough power to defeat Uchiha Madara.

• Uchiha Fugaku told Qifeng that Root's former members remained obedient and that he had resigned from the Konoha Military Police Force, and Qifeng offered the Uchiha Clan a Root captain position.
• Namikaze Minato became the Fourth Hokage, enacted reforms, and secured harsh postwar terms from Sunagakure's delegation under Rasa.
• Qifeng learned that Kirigakure's Anbu leader, Suikazan Fuguki, was exchanging intelligence with Root, and he restored control over Danzo's former Root ninja after his confinement ended.
• At a meal with Minato, Kushina, and their friends, Qifeng learned that Kushina was pregnant and that Yamanaka Inoichi was also about to become a father.
• Qifeng proposed assigning Root guards to the group’s families, then increased Kushina’s detail to thirty ninja after they teased him about finding a wife.
• Qifeng considered using Kushina's delivery to trap Obito and concluded that he needed to seek power through Orochimaru to face Uchiha Madara within ten months.

Qifeng learned the sage arts of Ryūchi Cave, Mount Myōboku, and Shikkotsu Forest, gaining a broad range of enhanced abilities and drawing Orochimaru’s wary respect. He returned to Konoha and resumed research as the village prospered under Namikaze Minato, while a conspiracy against Konoha quietly took shape.

• Qifeng asked Orochimaru for Ryūchi Cave’s location, and Orochimaru gave him its Reverse Summoning Scroll and warned him about the snakes and difficult training.
• Qifeng traveled to Ryūchi Cave, convinced the White Snake Sage to teach him, and mastered its sage arts after a month.
• Qifeng went on to learn the sage arts of Mount Myōboku and Shikkotsu Forest, combining the three traditions’ enhancements.
• Orochimaru sensed Qifeng’s newfound strength and decided not to reveal that Konoha was sheltering such a powerful person.
• Qifeng returned to researching with Orochimaru, while Konoha recovered under Namikaze Minato and Hiruzen Sarutobi as a conspiracy against the village unfolded.

Qifeng discovered that Hiruzen Sarutobi had excluded him from the plans for Uzumaki Kushina’s delivery after receiving a suspicious scroll signed by Uchiha Madara. When Obito attacked Konoha with the Nine-Tails, he confronted Namikaze Minato and claimed to be Uchiha Madara.

• Qifeng told Uchiha Fugaku to increase Konoha patrols and ordered Itachi Uchiha to stay with his mother until Sasuke’s birth.
• After Sasuke was born, Qifeng realized Minato and Hiruzen had not told him when Kushina would give birth and suspected their trust in him had weakened.
• Hiruzen showed Minato a scroll describing Qifeng’s battle with Uchiha Madara and a Sharingan-wielding ninja, then decided to keep Qifeng away from Kushina’s delivery.
• Hiruzen and Minato secretly arranged for two Anbu teams to protect Kushina, while Minato reluctantly accepted the plan.
• Obito appeared over Konoha controlling the Nine-Tails and declared his intention to gather the other Tailed Beasts to create a world with Rin Nohara.
• Minato confronted Obito with Gamabunta, and Obito introduced himself as Uchiha Madara.

Obito attacked Konoha with the Nine-Tails, and Minato and Hiruzen struggled against his intangibility and Susanoo. As Minato prepared to risk his life, Jiraiya and Qifeng joined the fight, with Qifeng restraining the Nine-Tails and demanding to know why Hiruzen had kept Kushina’s delivery date secret.

• Minato attacked Obito with the Flying Thunder God Technique and a Rasengan, but Obito phased through the blow and countered with Susanoo.
• Minato and Hiruzen tried to separate Obito from the Nine-Tails, while Minato prepared to confront the beast and entrusted the village to Hiruzen.
• Qifeng watched from the morgue and sent his Puppet Clone to intervene, believing Minato was prepared to die after Kushina’s death.
• Jiraiya struck Susanoo and the Nine-Tails with a Sage Art Rasengan as Hiruzen attacked, interrupting the Nine-Tails’ attempt to fire a Tailed Beast Bomb.
• Qifeng arrived and restrained the Nine-Tails with Iron Sand and lightning, then demanded that Hiruzen explain why he had not told him about Kushina.

Obito used the Nine-Tails and Susanoo to overwhelm Konoha’s defenders, but Qifeng and his puppet disrupted his control long enough for Minato to separate the Nine-Tails and invoke the Reaper Death Seal. Minato died sealing the Nine-Tails and entrusted it and his family to Qifeng, who revealed his name to Minato’s departing soul.

• Obito attacked Konoha with the Nine-Tails and Susanoo, driving back Qifeng, Minato, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Jiraiya.
• Minato scattered Flying Thunder God kunai as Qifeng raised an Iron Sand sphere around Obito and the Nine-Tails, while Hiruzen and Jiraiya entered to help restrain them.
• Qifeng and the All Creation Puppet used the Grid-Separating Restraint Illusion Technique to weaken Obito’s control, allowing Minato, Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and Qifeng to separate the Nine-Tails from Obito’s Susanoo.
• Obito revealed his fully complete Susanoo, while Minato activated the Reaper Death Seal and began extracting the Nine-Tails’ chakra.
• Minato gave the Nine-Tails to Qifeng, asked him to protect Konoha and care for his child, and died as the Shinigami took his soul.
• Minato’s soul waved to Qifeng’s true body, and Qifeng told him, “My name is... Maruyama Qifeng!”

Qifeng absorbed the Nine-Tails’ power, took the Rinnegan, and transformed into “Sarutobi Hiruzen” to defeat Uchiha Obito’s Susanoo. Obito escaped with Izanagi, while Konoha’s shinobi looked to Qifeng as the village’s future leader.

• Qifeng absorbed the Nine-Tails’ Chakra, implanted the Rinnegan, and resumed his “Sarutobi Hiruzen” disguise.
• Qifeng entered Perfect Sage Mode and caught Obito’s Susanoo blade, then shattered it and drove Obito beyond Konoha’s borders with a black rod.
• White Zetsu warned Obito that his borrowed power was running out, so Obito tried to escape through Kamui Space.
• Qifeng struck Obito with a Tailed Beast Bomb, but Obito used Izanagi to survive and escape.
• Qifeng told Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya that Obito had escaped, while Konoha’s shinobi recognized Qifeng’s strength and Uchiha Fugaku concluded that Qifeng would become the next Hokage.

After the Nine-Tails’ attack killed Namikaze Minato, Qifeng saved Uzumaki Kushina and resolved to find a way to resurrect Minato. He gained Minato’s Flying Thunder God Technique and entered his own seal to confront the Nine-Tails, calling it Kurama.

• Qifeng found Kushina near death with her newborn son, and she named the infant Naruto.
• Qifeng restored Kushina’s strength with some of the Nine-Tails’ Chakra and told her to raise Naruto herself.
• Qifeng left to seek a way to retrieve Minato’s soul from the Shinigami and bring him back.
• Qifeng looted Minato’s corpse and gained the complete Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Qifeng entered his sealing space, removed the seal on the Nine-Tails’ gate, climbed onto its head, and called it Kurama.

Qifeng attended Konoha’s leadership meeting after the Nine-Tails’ Rampage, where he exposed two advisors for embezzlement and reclaimed their hidden wealth for the village. The meeting ended with widespread support for Hiruzen Sarutobi to become Fifth Hokage and a push for the Third Hokage to retire.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi convened Konoha’s leaders to discuss the village’s losses and the threats gathering at its borders.
• Uchiha Fugaku proposed that Hiruzen Sarutobi become Fifth Hokage, while Utatane Koharu argued that he should remain acting Hokage until the village recovered.
• Qifeng revealed two chests of money and valuables found in Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura’s homes, accused them of accepting bribes and embezzling, and ordered Root to detain them and return the wealth to Konoha’s treasury.
• Qifeng urged Hiruzen Sarutobi to retire, and Uchiha Fugaku and the other clan leaders endorsed Hiruzen Sarutobi as Fifth Hokage.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi accepted the meeting’s outcome with a sigh, while Jiraiya stayed silent.

After becoming Konoha’s Fifth Hokage, Qifeng reshaped the village and strengthened its leadership. Three years later, he stopped Pain’s assault on Konoha and used a Black Metal Rod to locate Nagato’s hidden body.

• Obito and Zetsu discussed recruiting Kisame Hoshigaki, Kakuzu, and Sasori while waiting for the Two-Tails and Three-Tails to revive.
• Qifeng became Fifth Hokage, disbanded the Anbu, placed its work under Root, and established a Konoha Supervision Department led by Hiashi Hyuga.
• Qifeng strengthened Konoha by supporting Orochimaru’s research, curing Tsunade’s hemophobia, and helping Kakashi resume training after revealing Obito’s identity.
• Three years later, Pain and the other five Paths prepared to attack Konoha and capture the Nine-Tails, with Akatsuki members poised to strike from outside the village.
• Qifeng marked Pain with the Flying Thunder God Technique, destroyed the Six Paths, and used a Black Metal Rod to find Nagato.
• Nagato realized Qifeng was more powerful than expected and urged Konan to activate their contingency plan.

Nagato resurrected several past Kage with Impure World Reincarnation to support his plan, but Qifeng arrived and fought them. Qifeng sealed Senju Hashirama before Obito took Nagato away, then returned to Konoha’s forces and asked Kakashi to help find Obito.

• Nagato used Impure World Reincarnation to summon Senju Hashirama, Senju Tobirama, Mu, A, and Hozuki Mangetsu, intending to control them for his plan for peace.
• Qifeng entered and revealed himself as Konoha’s Fifth Hokage, while Senju Tobirama broke Nagato’s control over himself.
• Senju Hashirama attacked Senju Tobirama, but Qifeng intercepted him and sealed him inside a Truth-Seeking Orb.
• Obito used Kamui to take Nagato away, leaving Konan behind as Qifeng vanished from the scene.
• Qifeng reappeared beside Konoha’s forces and asked Kakashi to help locate Obito.

Qifeng prepared for a coming war by gathering Tailed Beast Chakra and strengthening himself with a Rinnegan. After inviting the Great Hidden Villages’ leaders to the Land of the Moon, where Obito was hiding, he prepared to confront Obito and Uchiha Madara.

• Qifeng helped Kakashi awaken his Mangekyō Sharingan and used Kamui to find Obito in the Kamui Space.
• Obito killed Nagato, took his Rinnegan, and escaped with Zetsu before Qifeng and Kakashi could reach him.
• Qifeng looted Nagato’s corpse, returned to Konoha, and ordered the village to prepare for war.
• Qifeng gathered Tailed Beast Chakra from several Jinchuriki and beasts, then used Kushina’s Fuinjutsu to restrain them in Konoha.
• Qifeng infused the gathered Chakra into the Nine-Tails and took Nagato’s remaining Rinnegan, completing a transformation that gave him nearly complete Six Paths Power.
• Qifeng invited the Great Hidden Villages’ leaders to the Land of the Moon, where Obito was hiding, and prepared to end the conflict.

Qifeng defeated Obito and Uchiha Madara, destroyed Black Zetsu, and ended the threat of Otsutsuki Kaguya's revival. He demanded peace from the Four Great Hidden Villages, whose ninja armies agreed after he lowered a meteor toward them.

• Obito attacked Qifeng with Chibaku Tensei, but Qifeng revealed his identity and used Six Paths powers to destroy Obito's Six Paths Clones and overwhelm him.
• Black Zetsu took control of Obito and used Reanimation Jutsu on Uchiha Madara, who took both Rinnegan and returned to his peak.
• Qifeng and Uchiha Madara fought with meteors, Wood Release, and other powerful techniques, but Qifeng's Truth-Seeking Orbs pierced Madara and ended his revived life.
• Qifeng used the Truth-Seeking Orbs to destroy Black Zetsu, removing Otsutsuki Kaguya's chance of revival.
• Qifeng demanded peace from the ninja armies of the Four Great Hidden Villages, then made a meteor descend until they agreed.