Recaps

Mitokado Homura persuaded the Third Hokage to support a deal between Jingyi and Chiyo, explaining how Konoha could profit from the exchange and related jobs. The next day, Konoha and Sunagakure signed a peace treaty, ending their war and arranging for both sides to withdraw or resume border defense.

• Mitokado Homura convinced the Third Hokage that Jingyi would likely share Sunagakure's Puppet Technique and Puppet Manufacturing Technology through a paid arrangement.
• Mitokado Homura explained that Konoha could earn commissions and create jobs handling exchanges, reproductions, materials, and related missions.
• The Third Hokage decided to help Chiyo and Jingyi reach a deal because it could bring Konoha steady profits and support village development.
• The Third Hokage and Chiyo signed and stamped the peace treaty on behalf of Konoha and Sunagakure, formally ending their war of more than three years.
• Konoha prepared to withdraw its ninja forces from the Land of Wind, while Sunagakure regained responsibility for defending its borders.

After Konoha and Sunagakure signed an armistice, Konoha celebrated while its leaders recognized how long recovery would take and their forces began withdrawing from the Land of Wind. The Third Kazekage returned to a subdued Sunagakure, where the peace felt like defeat despite the announcement.

• Konoha announced that peace talks with Sunagakure had concluded and the armistice treaty had been signed, prompting villagers to celebrate and mourn their losses.
• Jingyi, Tsunade, and Kushina watched the announcement’s reception, and Tsunade said repairing the war’s damage would take at least ten years.
• Jingyi expected Chiyo to wait a few days before approaching him about the puppet trade, while reports of the armistice reached other villages.
• Orochimaru announced the armistice to Konoha’s frontline troops, ordered their withdrawal, and arranged for wounded shinobi and supply squads to return first.
• The Third Kazekage returned to Sunagakure to deal with its problems as Konoha’s forces withdrew and Sunagakure’s villagers faced the peace as a defeat.

After Konoha returned Chiyo’s son and daughter-in-law, Jingyi negotiated with her over Sunagakure’s puppet techniques and technology. Chiyo asked for one hundred puppets, but Jingyi offered only thirty, leaving the deal unresolved.

• Sasori blamed the Third Kazekage for his parents’ deaths and watched the Kazekage’s office with hatred.
• Jingyi returned Chiyo’s son and daughter-in-law’s intact bodies, and Chiyo collected them after examining them.
• Chiyo said she remained proud of her family but still wanted to kill Hatake Sakumo; Jingyi warned her indirectly that Sakumo had grown much stronger.
• Chiyo offered Sunagakure’s Puppet Manipulation Technique and Puppet Manufacturing Technology in exchange for one hundred puppets.
• Jingyi countered with thirty and said his puppets used special materials rather than shinobi corpses.

Jingyi and Chiyo completed a puppet-for-scrolls trade after Jingyi warned her not to conceal anything, and Konoha and Sunagakure finalized terms for releasing prisoners. Back in Konoha, the Third Hokage faced a flood of funding requests and postponed payments for the Jonin Corps and Logistics Department.

• Jingyi refused to raise his offer of thirty puppets, and Chiyo accepted the trade after he warned her against withholding information or providing flawed goods.
• Chiyo added puppet-making and control knowledge to the exchange, and Jingyi gave her an extra puppet while Konoha officials collected the scrolls.
• Chiyo and the Third Hokage finalized prisoner-release terms, and Chiyo left Konoha with her delegation and the prisoners being returned.
• Mitokado Homura, Jingyi, Utatane Koharu, and Shikaku Nara raised funding needs at a high-level meeting as the Third Hokage struggled to allocate money.
• The Third Hokage postponed Jonin Corps funding and Logistics Department supply replenishment so other departments could receive funds first.

At a village meeting, Jingyi defended the Pharmaceutical Department’s earnings from Utatane Koharu’s attempt to claim them and threatened to cut the department off from village supplies. He later told Shikaku Nara that he could use its profits to support the Anbu if the Hokage Office cut their funding.

• The Third Hokage approved funding for the Anbu and Medical Department, while Jingyi reported that the Pharmaceutical Department’s profits would go to the Hokage Office after wages, expenses, and dividends were deducted.
• Utatane Koharu objected to dividing the Pharmaceutical Department’s revenue, but Mitokado Homura said the Logistics Department would follow the Hokage Office’s orders.
• When the Third Hokage stayed silent, Jingyi said the Pharmaceutical Department would procure its own supplies and require cash payment for its medicines and potions, then left the Hokage Office.
• Shikaku Nara and Mitokado Homura worried that Jingyi’s decision would cause trouble for the village departments, while the Third Hokage insisted the village needed the money.
• At Akimichi BBQ Restaurant, Jingyi told Shikaku Nara he could use Pharmaceutical Department profits to fund the Anbu and even welcomed the possibility of handing the Anbu’s missions to the Hokage Office.

Jingyi forced the Medical Department to pay for medicine from the Pharmaceutical Department, securing Tsunade’s funds and frustrating Utatane Koharu. Jiraiya and Orochimaru returned to Konoha with the withdrawn frontline forces.

• Jingyi told Shikaku Nara that he had only threatened to make the Pharmaceutical Department independent to help Tsunade recover her rightful funds, then left Shikaku with the meal bill.
• Jingyi explained to Tsunade that the money would ultimately reach the Finance Department and that the Pharmaceutical Department would stop supplying medicine until the other departments paid; Tsunade insisted she would accept no less than what she was owed.
• The Third Hokage released the Anbu and Medical Department funds, but the Pharmaceutical Department required cash payment for medicine, forcing Utatane Koharu to approve the funds after her staff reported the shortage.
• The Third Hokage and Jingyi avoided obstructing one another, while Utatane Koharu’s effort to reclaim the Pharmaceutical Department failed again.
• Jiraiya returned to Konoha with his two young companions after completing an S-rank mission, on the same day as Orochimaru and the withdrawn frontline forces.

Jiraiya returned to Konoha and traded barbs with Orochimaru while Nawaki and Minato headed home. They found their house under construction, where Kushina challenged Nawaki to prove he was stronger than her, and the two prepared to fight.

• Jiraiya envied Orochimaru’s welcome, but Nawaki reminded him that he had spent two years hiding in the Land of Rain.
• Orochimaru mocked Jiraiya for returning, and the two walked together to report to the Hokage.
• Nawaki and Minato found their house being rebuilt, where Kushina greeted them while supervising the construction.
• Nawaki threatened to discipline Kushina, but she insisted he prove he was stronger than her first.
• Shikaku Nara warned Nawaki against fighting Kushina, but Nawaki moved in as the workers cleared the area to watch.

Kushina easily defeated Nawaki with her Tailed Beast chakra, leaving him shaken by how far her strength surpassed his. After Kushina worried she had hurt him, Jingyi reassured her that Nawaki would recover, while Nawaki sat by the river in dejection.

• Shikaku told Minato that Nawaki was the one who might not be all right, then explained that Kushina was a Perfect Jinchūriki and one of the village’s strongest fighters.
• Kushina pinned Nawaki into a crater with a golden chakra hand, and Nawaki walked away feeling crushed by the loss.
• Minato hurried after Nawaki while Kushina ran to the Anbu base to tell Jingyi that she had messed up.
• Jingyi and Pakura reassured Kushina that Nawaki would recover, and Jingyi said Minato would help him regain his confidence.
• Nawaki sat by the river where he used to train, staring at the water in a dejected silence.

After Kushina pinned Nawaki, he cheered up when he learned Minato had also taken a hit and decided to tease his friend in return. Nawaki stayed at Minato’s home for several days, leaving Minato exhausted when he visited Jingyi the next day.

• Nawaki commiserated with Minato over both of them taking a hit, then turned around and comforted him.
• Jingyi brought Kushina home, where Nawaki laughed about Minato’s reaction and reassured Kushina that he was fine.
• Nawaki decided to stay at Minato’s house and tease him over old times when Minato had laughed at Nawaki.
• Nawaki refused to leave Minato’s home, and Minato showed up at Jingyi’s the next day with heavy dark circles.

Jingyi encouraged Minato Namikaze not to let Kushina’s talent discourage him, then heard about his missions and sealing skills. At dinner with Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade, Jingyi discussed the daimyo’s anger at Konoha, leaving the village’s relationship with the Daimyo’s Court headed for further conflict.

• Jingyi told Minato Namikaze that talent, hard work, and luck all mattered, and reminded him not to compare himself with Kushina.
• Minato Namikaze described Jiraiya’s conduct during their missions and demonstrated the Sealing Jutsu he had learned.
• Jingyi left Minato Namikaze and met Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade for dinner.
• Orochimaru told Jingyi that an envoy from the Daimyo’s Court seemed displeased with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Jingyi explained that the daimyo was angry because Konoha had rejected his influence and made peace with Sunagakure after receiving funds.

Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade discussed Konoha’s backlog of missions and the work awaiting them. Jingyi revealed that he planned to take Kushina along on an Anbu mission to hunt down a Rogue Ninja, which sounded to the others like a vacation.

• Orochimaru dismissed Jiraiya’s complaints about the Third Hokage and the daimyo, and Tsunade agreed that they could not interfere.
• Jingyi reported that Gold Fang and Black Fang were growing quickly and had greater potential than Manda.
• Orochimaru explained that Konoha’s severe losses had left high-level missions piling up, and that the Third Hokage expected him and Jiraiya to return to work soon.
• Jingyi said he had promised Kushina a trip once she became a Perfect Jinchūriki and planned to bring her along while hunting down a Rogue Ninja.
• Jiraiya and Tsunade envied Jingyi because he could choose the Anbu mission’s pace and turn it into a trip.

Jingyi saw Minato stay in Konoha to study sealing techniques while Jiraiya left on a mission with Nawaki, and Tsunade and Orochimaru departed afterward. In the Land of Fire palace, the furious daimyo asked his advisers how to undermine Hiruzen Sarutobi after the Hokage rejected the Daimyo's Court's bid to lead trade with Sunagakure, and learned they had found possible issues with the Sarutobi Clan.

• Jiraiya agreed to leave Minato in Konoha to study sealing techniques and took Nawaki on missions instead.
• Three days later, Jiraiya left the village with Nawaki, followed by Tsunade and then Orochimaru.
• The daimyo smashed a vase and cursed Hiruzen Sarutobi for rejecting the Daimyo's Court's proposal to lead commercial cooperation between Konoha and Sunagakure.
• The daimyo asked his advisers how to remove Hiruzen from office, and they explained that the Daimyo's Court lacked authority over the Hokage.
• An adviser suggested ruining Hiruzen's reputation and said the advisers had found possible issues with the Sarutobi Clan's development.

The daimyo ordered an investigation into whether Hiruzen Sarutobi had used Konoha’s resources to fuel the Sarutobi Clan’s growth. As Jingyi prepared to leave the village, Hatake Sakumo asked to join the Anbu because the Third Hokage continued to sideline him.

• The aide told the daimyo that the Sarutobi Clan’s rapid growth after Hiruzen Sarutobi became Hokage seemed impossible to support through its clan businesses, prompting the daimyo to order a careful investigation.
• Jingyi arranged for Nara Shikasui, the Anbu squad captains, and Shikashin Nara to handle Anbu affairs while he was away with Kushina.
• After Jingyi left, Nara Shikasui blamed Shikaku Nara for making him take the temporary Anbu assignment, while Shikaku secretly shifted the blame to Shikashin Nara.
• Hatake Sakumo told Jingyi that he wanted to join the Anbu, and Jingyi warned him that the role would erase his public identity as Konoha’s White Fang.
• Hatake Sakumo said he no longer wanted to live in the glory of his past and remained anxious because the Third Hokage continued to ignore him.

The Third Hokage sidelined Hatake Sakumo, so Sakumo joined Jingyi’s Anbu unit to regain a chance to fight and be recognized. After sending Sakumo on a dangerous intelligence mission, Jingyi left Konoha with Kushina for a small outing.

• The Third Hokage chose to ignore Hatake Sakumo and keep him out of missions unless the village ran short of shinobi.
• Hatake Sakumo asked Jingyi to help him join the Anbu, and Jingyi made him a squad leader after he signed the confidentiality documents.
• Hatake Sakumo chose a dog-head mask and the codename White Fang, then Eagle assigned him three teammates and a dangerous intelligence mission in Kirigakure.
• Jingyi ignored Tiger’s concerns about the mission and left the Anbu matters to Eagle.
• Jingyi sent Minato Namikaze away when he came to see Jingyi and Kushina off, then sat beside a small river and urged Kushina to hurry.

Jingyi exposed Kushina's plan to bring Mikoto Uchiha and Mie Hyuga along on their trip, then set out with the three women. Meanwhile, Hyuga Hiashi dismissed the clan elders' objections and grew more confident in his authority as young clan head.

• Jingyi revealed that his puppets had spotted Kushina inviting Mikoto Uchiha and Mie Hyuga to join the trip, and Kushina fired a signal flare to summon them.
• Mikoto Uchiha and Mie Hyuga arrived with bags, and Jingyi reassured them before the group departed.
• Hyuga Hiashi told the Hyuga Clan elders that Jingyi could protect Mie Hyuga, silencing their concerns about her safety.
• Hyuga Hiashi reflected that he had no reason to feel guilty or fear losing his position, and continued asserting his authority over the elders.

Hyuga Hiashi continued curbing the Main House elders’ treatment of Branch House members while Jingyi took Kushina, Mie Hyuga, and Mikoto Uchiha on a trip to the Land of Whirlpools. At the coast, he summoned Gold Fang to carry them across the sea.

• Hyuga Hiashi raised Branch House members’ status and warned the Main House elders not to interfere with Mie Hyuga’s affairs.
• Jingyi chose the Land of Whirlpools as the group’s first destination, and Kushina, Mie Hyuga, and Mikoto Uchiha chatted throughout the journey.
• At the coast, Jingyi reminded the others that he had a Summoning Beast and waited for it to arrive.
• Gold Fang emerged from the sea, greeted Jingyi, and said Black Fang was exploring the seabed.
• Jingyi asked Gold Fang to take them to the Land of Whirlpools, and the three girls admired the enormous serpent as they climbed aboard.

Jingyi brought Kushina, Mikoto Uchiha, and Mie Hyuga to the ruins of the Land of Whirlpools, where he explained why the Uzumaki Clan had been attacked and what Konoha had done. The next morning, the group set out for the Land of Rain, and Kushina signed a Summoning Contract with Gold Fang.

• As the group approached the Land of Whirlpools, Kushina grieved over her homeland and asked Jingyi why the Uzumaki Clan had been attacked.
• Jingyi said the clan's bloodline and Sealing Jutsu had made it a target, and revealed that Shimura Danzō's Anbu and Senju Clan supporters had gone there before Kushina and the clan's inheritance were brought to Konoha.
• Jingyi led Kushina, Mikoto Uchiha, and Mie Hyuga through the ruins, and Kushina went to bed early after seeing her former home.
• The next morning, Kushina asked Jingyi to take them to the Land of Rain, and he agreed.
• After breakfast, Kushina signed a Summoning Contract with Gold Fang.

As Jingyi and Kushina traveled toward the Land of Rain, Konoha faced growing protests as clan ninja competed with civilian ninja for a limited number of missions and jobs. The Third Hokage struggled to support the clans without depriving civilian ninja of their livelihoods.

• Jingyi encouraged Kushina to take revenge on Kumogakure and Kirigakure, and she happily embraced him.
• Kushina left the former site of the Land of Whirlpools with Jingyi and the others, traveling toward the Land of Rain with Gold Fang's help.
• Konoha's peace negotiations with Sunagakure drew criticism from villagers who saw them as an admission of defeat.
• Clan ninja began taking missions to replace lost financial subsidies, leaving civilian ninja with fewer ways to earn money.
• The Third Hokage reserved missions for clan ninja and placed others in village departments, but protests grew as civilian ninja struggled to support their families.
• Mitokado Homura warned the Third Hokage that the protests would worsen, while the Hokage acknowledged that the village had too few jobs for all the clan ninja.

The Third Hokage and Homura looked for ways to employ the Sarutobi Clan’s surplus ninja as the village’s financial troubles worsened. Homura approached Fugaku Uchiha to negotiate placing some of them in the Police Force.

• The Third Hokage and Homura discussed how the village could no longer afford to pay a large group of idle ninja.
• Homura noted that Jingyi Hyuga would not accept people into the Pharmaceutical Department or Anbu, so the Third Hokage suggested the Police Force.
• Homura agreed to ask Fugaku Uchiha for permission, despite concerns that the transferred ninja would not follow Uchiha orders.
• Homura visited Fugaku at the Police Force and candidly asked to transfer a batch of ninja into the department.

Mitokado Homura asked Fugaku Uchiha to let other shinobi join the Uchiha-controlled Police Force, and Fugaku sought Jingyi’s advice. Jingyi told Fugaku to accept the proposal while keeping command of the force and letting the Hokage Office handle the clan elders, though Fugaku doubted the Third Hokage would agree.

• Mitokado Homura told Fugaku Uchiha that civilian shinobi were losing mission work and proposed placing some in the Police Force.
• Fugaku rejected the idea and agreed to consider it, then contacted Jingyi as a middleman.
• Fugaku explained Homura’s proposal and his secret plans to deal with certain Uchiha clan elders to Jingyi.
• Jingyi advised Fugaku to accept new personnel but keep command authority and break them up among Uchiha squads.
• Jingyi suggested that Fugaku let the Hokage Office handle the clan elders so the blame would fall on the Third Hokage.
• Fugaku worried that the Third Hokage would refuse to take responsibility for the scheme.

Fugaku Uchiha negotiated with the Hokage Office to place about a hundred clan and civilian ninjas in the Police Force, while asking the village to handle Uchiha internal dissenters. The Third Hokage consulted his advisers, who began weighing the conditions.

• Jing-yi told Fugaku Uchiha that the Police Force could accept people and suggested involving Shimura Danzō in the Hokage Office's staffing plans.
• Fugaku Uchiha told the Third Hokage and Mitokado Homura that the Police Force would take about a hundred people, provided they were integrated into Uchiha squads and followed Uchiha command.
• Fugaku Uchiha asked the Hokage Office to deal with troublesome members of the Uchiha Clan, claiming he could not bring himself to do it.
• The Third Hokage summoned Utatane Koharu, Shikaku Nara, and Torifu Akimichi to discuss Fugaku Uchiha's conditions, though Torifu Akimichi stayed home.
• Utatane Koharu supported considering the arrangement, and Shikaku Nara said the Uchiha's demand for command authority was reasonable.

The Third Hokage and his advisers decided to involve Shimura Danzō in eliminating the Uchiha hawk-faction elders, hoping to stabilize the clan and gain Jingyi’s favor. Danzō agreed in exchange for freedom, and the Third Hokage said he would arrange the operation.

• After Shikaku Nara left, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura discussed the risks of helping Fugaku Uchiha deal with the clan’s elders.
• The Third Hokage and his advisers settled on Shimura Danzō as the one to carry out the killings and bear the blame.
• Utatane Koharu urged the Third Hokage to let Danzō redeem himself through service, and he agreed to speak with him.
• The Third Hokage visited the detained Shimura Danzō, who said he had expected the request because he could act in the shadows.
• Shimura Danzō agreed to handle the Uchiha elders in exchange for freedom within the village, and the Third Hokage said he would make arrangements.

Fugaku Uchiha and Third Hokage set a trap to eliminate radical Uchiha elders, with Shimura Danzō leading the operation. The elders gathered in an underground base, unaware that it was surrounded, and fighting began before Fugaku arrived.

• Third Hokage stripped Shimura Danzō of his advisory rights and relied on the Hokage Guard Team and allied family ninjas for the operation.
• Fugaku Uchiha arranged a secret high-level meeting in an underground base and summoned the radical elders.
• The elders arrived with their guards and criticized Fugaku and Konoha while waiting for him.
• Shimura Danzō led the surrounding force as Third Hokage, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura watched from afar.
• When the elders questioned Fugaku's absence, an exclamation sounded and the noise of battle reached the base.

Shimura Danzō led a force to attack the Uchiha elders at a supposed clan leadership meeting, while the village’s leaders let the assault proceed. Jingyi’s puppets intervened to reclaim the stolen Sharingan and corpses, and the Third Hokage ordered Fugaku Uchiha to make arrangements quickly as the village faced potential chaos.

• Shimura Danzō accused the Uchiha elders of plotting a coup and ordered his shinobi to attack them at their meeting place.
• The Uchiha elders realized Fugaku Uchiha and the village higher-ups had lured them into a trap as their guards fell and no help arrived.
• Shimura Danzō killed an Uchiha elder and gouged out his Sharingan, but Jingyi’s puppet ordered him to put it down.
• Jingyi’s puppets surrounded the attackers, forced Shimura Danzō to return the eye, and collected the Uchiha corpses and Sharingan.
• The Third Hokage discussed Jingyi’s extensive puppet surveillance with Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, then sent word to Fugaku Uchiha to coordinate arrangements.

After the Uchiha elders’ bodies were returned, Fugaku realized Jingyi’s puppets had prevented Shimura Danzō from taking the Sharingan. The Third Hokage confronted Danzō over the theft, but Danzō secured permission to pressure the Daimyo’s Court through a deniable operation.

• Mitokado Homura told Fugaku Uchiha to coordinate the Police Force and said Jingyi’s puppets had taken the elders’ bodies and their guards.
• A shadow delivered Fugaku a scroll containing the bodies, and Fugaku realized one Sharingan had been removed, likely by Shimura Danzō.
• The Third Hokage reprimanded Danzō for taking the Sharingan and warned him that Jingyi’s puppets and Hanzō’s corpse made provoking Jingyi dangerous.
• Danzō proposed pressuring the daimyo, and the Third Hokage forbade harm to the daimyo while permitting a small, deniable operation against people around him.
• Danzō accepted the restrictions and resolved to use the operation to make the daimyo recognize Konoha’s power.