Recaps

After a scroll exposed the leaders’ alleged misuse of village funds, the Third Hokage ordered the protests dispersed and prepared to counter the spreading scandal. He decided to send clan shinobi to fight alongside Sunagakure against Iwagakure, hoping battlefield merit would lessen the damage.

• The Third Hokage ordered the Hokage Guard Team and Police Force to disperse the protesters and arrest anyone who refused to leave.
• Tsunade told the Third Hokage that Jingyi had given her the intelligence and that the Anbu had begun investigating, then warned him and the other leaders to prepare for the worst.
• Tsunade berated the Third Hokage, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura for misappropriating village funds and failing to cover their tracks.
• The Third Hokage told Utatane Koharu to summon elders and clan heads so he could select shinobi to support Sunagakure against Iwagakure.
• The Third Hokage assigned Mitokado Homura to lead shinobi to the battlefield, and Homura accepted.

Tsunade accepted the Hokage Seal in case the Third Hokage could no longer lead, while rumors spread that he had diverted village funds to train ninja for his family and allied clans. The Third Hokage forcibly dispersed protesters and prepared families for war, but the scandal was already circulating, and Jingyi reviewed the interrogation results of those involved.

• The Third Hokage gave Tsunade the Hokage Seal, and she promised to take responsibility for the village if necessary.
• Fugaku Uchiha sent the Police Force to help the Hokage Guard Team disperse the protesters, arresting some and forcibly removing the rest.
• Jingyi told Fugaku Uchiha that rumors accused the Third Hokage of misusing village funds to train ninja for the Sarutobi and Shimura clans, and warned him to keep the Police Force cooperative.
• After the Third Hokage met with the heads and elders of several families, they returned home and began preparing ninja to leave for the battlefield.
• The rumors spread through secret conversations despite arrests, and Jingyi concluded that they could no longer be contained.
• Eagle brought Jingyi the interrogation report, and Jingyi read it and remarked that using money to pave the way was a good method.

Jingyi learned that the man behind the village rumors had been killed before he could be questioned, while the Third Hokage prepared to contain the scandal by sending beneficiary families to war against Iwagakure. As Konoha’s allies grew impatient for action, the chapter left the village facing pressure to begin fighting.

• Eagle told Jingyi that Kaiyuan Goro, who had spread the news, was found dead with a precise kunai wound, leaving investigators without usable intelligence.
• Jingyi sent Eagle to report everything to the Third Hokage, while keeping his own information to himself.
• Tsunade told Jingyi that the Third Hokage planned to send families that benefited from the scandal to the front lines against Iwagakure.
• Jingyi and Tsunade discussed Mitokado Homura becoming commander-in-chief and the risks to the Third Hokage’s plan if Konoha lost the war.
• Kumogakure grew impatient with Konoha and Sunagakure for accepting supplies and money without joining the fighting.

The Third Hokage faced growing pressure over diverted village funds while Konoha prepared to join Sunagakure in attacking Iwagakure through the Land of Grass. When Jingyi told the leaders to stop investigating the leak, Tsunade and the Third Hokage suspected the Daimyo's Court was involved.

• The Third Raikage welcomed Konoha's message that its ninja forces would soon deploy, hoping Konoha and Sunagakure would tie down Iwagakure's troops.
• Konoha villagers and lower-ranking ninja continued demanding that the Hokage Office disclose its spending, worsening the Third Hokage's crisis.
• Mitokado Homura led Konoha's force toward the Land of Grass to join Sunagakure and attack the Land of Earth.
• Utatane Koharu reported that the Hokage Guard Team and Police Force had found no new leads, while Jingyi said the Anbu had made some progress.
• Jingyi told Tsunade, the Third Hokage, and Utatane Koharu to end the investigation, but Utatane Koharu insisted they continue.
• Tsunade and the Third Hokage suspected the Daimyo's Court might be behind the information leak.

Tsunade learned that the Third Hokage had ordered the assassination of nobles at the Daimyo's Court, triggering retaliation against Konoha, and took the Hokage Seal to negotiate with the Daimyo. She left Jingyi to keep order and watch Shimura Danzō, whom they expected to flee before Tsunade returned.

• Jingyi revealed that a dead Daimyo's aide had exposed the Daimyo's Court's investigation into Konoha's assassinations of nobles.
• Tsunade confronted the Third Hokage, who admitted he had ordered the assassinations, and took the Hokage Seal before departing for the Daimyo's Court.
• The Third Hokage assured Tsunade that Jingyi could deal directly with anyone who caused trouble while she was away.
• After Tsunade and Jingyi left, the Third Hokage predicted that he, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura might be forced to retire, while Shimura Danzō faced harsher consequences.
• Tsunade warned Jingyi that Shimura Danzō might try to escape, and Jingyi said he hoped Danzō would flee so he could stop him.

As the Daimyo's Court retaliated for Shimura Danzō's assassination attempt and Tsunade moved to resolve the crisis, Utatane Koharu warned Danzō that Jingyi Hyuga would soon target him. Danzō fled to confront the Third Hokage, who told him to leave Konoha and declared that they owed each other nothing.

• Jingyi refused to let family ties alone settle the dispute, while Tsunade left for the Daimyo's Court to address the crisis.
• Utatane Koharu warned Shimura Danzō that Jingyi Hyuga was coming for him after Danzō's attack on nobles prompted the Daimyo's Court to retaliate and accuse Hiruzen of misusing public funds.
• Utatane Koharu told Danzō that Tsunade had taken the Hokage Seal and Hiruzen was preparing to retire, so Danzō changed into combat gear and escaped through a passage beneath his courtyard.
• Shimura Danzō went to the Hokage Office at night, where the Third Hokage urged him to leave Konoha because he could no longer protect him.
• The Third Hokage said he and Danzō owed each other nothing, arguing that he had repaid Danzō's past services by protecting him and supporting the Shimura Clan.

Shimura Danzō tried to escape Konoha through a secret passage after the Third Hokage refused to help him. Jingyi and his puppets surrounded him, and Shikaku Nara, Hyuga Hiashi, and Fugaku Uchiha emerged from hiding as Danzō insulted Jingyi.

• Shimura Danzō left the Third Hokage after threatening to return, while the Third Hokage chose not to help him escape in order to protect the Sarutobi Clan.
• Shimura Danzō used a secret passage he had prepared and slipped through a gap in its fence to flee toward the outskirts of Konoha.
• Jingyi's puppets surrounded Shimura Danzō, and Jingyi revealed that he had been watching the passage.
• Jingyi told Shimura Danzō that he would lend his head to quell the villagers' anger, and Danzō cursed Jingyi for not killing him earlier.
• Shikaku Nara, Hyuga Hiashi, and Fugaku Uchiha emerged from hiding after Danzō insulted Jingyi.

Jingyi offered to spare Shimura Danzō if he answered a question about the Hyuga Branch Family’s mark, then exposed his forehead to prove he had no Caged Bird Seal. The witnesses were left stunned as Hyuga Hiashi struggled to explain the mark’s absence.

• Jingyi asked Shimura Danzō to identify the Hyuga Branch Family’s mark and promised to spare him if he answered correctly.
• Jingyi sent Fugaku Uchiha to bring the Third Hokage as a witness, and the Third Hokage arrived after hearing what had happened.
• Jingyi warned Shimura Danzō that a wrong answer would lead to his death and his body being turned into a puppet.
• Shimura Danzō challenged Jingyi to remove his forehead protector, confident that the Caged Bird Seal would be there.
• Jingyi removed his forehead protector and revealed a smooth forehead with no Caged Bird Seal, leaving the witnesses stunned.
• Shimura Danzō suspected a Hyuga Clan conspiracy, while Hyuga Hiashi insisted the clan elders had personally placed Jingyi’s seal.

Jingyi revealed his Tenseigan, killed Shimura Danzō while forcibly examining his memories, and used what he learned to force the Third Hokage to command Konoha’s troops on the front lines. The Third Hokage agreed to leave for the battlefield the next day, while Jingyi kept Danzō’s secrets to maintain control over him.

• Jingyi revealed that the Byakugan could evolve into the Tenseigan and explained why he had pretended to suffer from Bloodline Disease.
• Shimura Danzō tried to stab Jingyi, but Jingyi immobilized him and slowly choked him while the Third Hokage watched.
• Jingyi examined Shimura Danzō’s memories, killing him when the process destroyed his brain.
• Jingyi implied that Danzō’s memories exposed the Third Hokage’s past crimes and demanded that he go to the front lines.
• The Third Hokage agreed to command the troops against Iwagakure starting the next day.

Jingyi had Shimura Danzō’s remains burned and sent the ashes to the Third Hokage, who left to bury them himself. Tsunade confronted the Daimyo about his retaliation against Hiruzen Sarutobi, then urged him to set their dispute aside for stability.

• Jingyi told Fugaku Uchiha to dispose of Shimura Danzō’s body, and Shikaku Nara explained that Jingyi would not publicly turn it into a puppet.
• Fugaku Uchiha burned the body, and Hyuga Hiashi gave him a box for the ashes to deliver to the Third Hokage.
• The Third Hokage accepted the ashes, remembered his bond with Shimura Danzō, and left to bury them.
• Tsunade arrived at the Daimyo's Court and warned the Daimyo that his retaliation against Hiruzen Sarutobi had gone too far.
• The Daimyo defended his actions by complaining about Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Tsunade told him to put the dispute aside and focus on stability.

Tsunade secured the Daimyo's support for Konoha and arranged protection for the Daimyo's Court as the village prepared for war with Iwagakure. Meanwhile, the Third Hokage decided to go to the front lines, leaving Tsunade's takeover of Konoha to proceed more smoothly.

• Tsunade showed the Hokage Seal, and the daimyo promised Konoha supplies and money for the war against Iwagakure.
• The daimyo asked for protection, and Tsunade said Jingyi Hyuga's puppets and Anbu personnel would guard the palace while Shimura Danzō would soon be dealt with.
• Tsunade left the Daimyo's Court to return to Konoha and take charge of the village.
• Utatane Koharu saw the box containing Shimura Danzō's cremated remains, and the Third Hokage explained that Jingyi had cremated him to protect Tsunade's reputation.
• The Third Hokage told Utatane Koharu that he would lead the Hokage Guard Team to the front lines to atone for his mistakes and help the village.

With the Third Hokage and Utatane Koharu heading to the battlefield, Jingyi and Shikaku Nara struggled to decide who would manage Konoha’s neglected offices and finances. Jingyi considered who could succeed Tsunade as Hokage, then seized on Orochimaru’s return as a chance to hand him a difficult task.

• Utatane Koharu joined the Third Hokage’s group departing for the battlefield to serve in the Medical Department and earn merit for the village.
• Shikaku Nara explained that the clans would struggle to clear their names once Tsunade reviewed the Finance Department’s records, which revealed the enormous funds the Third Hokage had diverted to them.
• Jingyi asked Shikaku Nara to oversee the Hokage Office, but Shikaku refused because he was exhausted from auditing the accounts and burdened with other work.
• Jingyi decided to leave the administrative mess for Tsunade and considered Nawaki or Minato as a possible successor.
• Orochimaru returned to the village, and Jingyi immediately told him that a difficult task was waiting.

Jingyi forced Orochimaru to handle Hokage Office paperwork while Tsunade was away, and took the Kusanagi Sword Orochimaru gave him. After Tsunade returned, she told Jingyi she did not want to become Hokage and asked who else could lead the village.

• Jingyi dragged Orochimaru into the Hokage Office and made him a temporary official to handle paperwork.
• Orochimaru gave Jingyi a Kusanagi Sword, and Jingyi promised to show him unusual experimental materials later.
• Tsunade returned to the village, went home to eat with Jingyi, and learned that Orochimaru was handling the Hokage Office's work.
• Tsunade told Jingyi she had no interest in becoming Hokage and asked whom he considered a suitable candidate.
• Jingyi named Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Nawaki, and Minato, while noting that the younger candidates needed training and that Orochimaru and Jiraiya had drawbacks.

Jingyi advised Tsunade on the Hokage succession, and she reluctantly became the Fourth Hokage. As war continued, Jingyi told her to reassure the villagers, publicize financial support, and focus on stabilizing the village and earning money.

• Jingyi ruled out Hatake Sakumo and assessed Tsunade, Orochimaru, Minato, and Nawaki as Hokage candidates, while Tsunade resisted taking the position.
• Jingyi told Tsunade to take over work at the Hokage Office, and she completed the appointment process and became the Fourth Hokage.
• Tsunade’s announcement blamed Shimura Danzō for the Third Hokage’s wrongdoing, noted Danzō’s execution and the Third Hokage’s deployment to the front, and helped calm the villagers.
• Jingyi instructed Tsunade to publicize Kumogakure’s aid and the Daimyo’s Court’s support, and to promote training for civilian ninjas.
• Tsunade raised concerns about Iwagakure’s strong performance, and Jingyi said Konoha should contain Iwagakure while steadily developing and making money.

The Third Hokage and Tsunade discussed keeping Konoha’s support for Kumogakure limited, while Hiruzen Sarutobi and Chiyo traded barbs at their shared front-line camp. The chapter left the commanders assessing Iwagakure’s refusal to divide its forces into small engagements.

• Tsunade questioned whether Konoha should reduce its support for Kumogakure, and she was told that dissolving the alliance remained an option if Kumogakure objected.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi took command at the Land of Grass camp, replacing Mitokado Homura, who shifted to managing supplies.
• Chiyo mocked Konoha’s turmoil, and Hiruzen countered by bringing up Sunagakure’s reparations and the Kazekage’s mining.
• Mitokado Homura urged Hiruzen and Chiyo to stop arguing and focus on their mission against Iwagakure’s Earth Release Corps.
• Hiruzen and Chiyo discussed Iwagakure’s numerical advantage and coordinated fighting, noting that its forces refused to split up for small-scale combat.

The Third Hokage and Chiyo realized that Yagura had deliberately provoked Kirigakure’s war with Kumogakure to eliminate dissidents, while Ōnoki used the conflict to tie down his enemies. The Third Raikage recognized that Kumogakure had been manipulated, and Madara Uchiha worried that the spreading wars could threaten his plans.

• The Third Hokage reviewed intelligence and concluded that Kirigakure had deliberately started its war with Kumogakure under Yagura’s orders.
• Chiyo compared Kirigakure’s use of clan shinobi to Konoha’s, then apologized after the Third Hokage and Mitokado Homura objected.
• Chiyo rejoiced that the wars would weaken the Five Great Shinobi Villages, while the Third Hokage shared Konoha’s analysis with Kumogakure.
• The Third Raikage realized Yagura had used Kumogakure but continued the war because it could not be stopped and Iwagakure remained the main enemy.
• Madara Uchiha listened to White Zetsu’s intelligence from the Land of Grass and worried that the nearby fighting could expose his base and endanger the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan.

Madara Uchiha ordered White Zetsu to keep searching for a suitable Uchiha pawn while Nagato matured. In Konoha, Jingyi brought Minato to spar with Killer B and began preparing to tell Minato something important.

• Madara Uchiha dismissed Yagura's war tactics and asked White Zetsu whether he had found a suitable Uchiha candidate to serve as a backup pawn.
• White Zetsu reported that no candidate met Madara Uchiha's demanding requirements, so Madara told him to keep looking while Nagato matured.
• White Zetsu asked Madara Uchiha what defecating felt like, and Madara ignored him and fell asleep.
• Jingyi brought Minato Namikaze to meet Killer B and arranged for them to spar regularly so Minato could improve his Taijutsu and combat reflexes.
• Jingyi praised Minato's progress with the Flying Thunder God, then turned serious to tell him something important.

Jingyi told Minato Namikaze to fight Killer B without talking or picking up his habits, then left him to train. Minato outmatched Killer B and realized that changing his attack angles after using straightforward assaults could help him master the flashy Flying Thunder God Technique.

• Jingyi instructed Minato Namikaze to fight Killer B directly and avoid speaking or learning his habits.
• Minato attacked Killer B with specially crafted kunai, and Killer B blocked the surprise strike before the two began fighting.
• Minato's speed, strength, and reactions overwhelmed Killer B, while Minato held back several potentially injurious blows.
• Minato figured out that alternating direct attacks with sudden, tricky weapon angles could give him an advantage.
• Minato adapted to Killer B's combat habits and routed him, while Killer B lost his ability to rap and speak normally.

Minato Namikaze repeatedly sparred with Killer B, whose attempts to copy Minato’s style only led to worse defeats, while the Eight-Tails redirected B’s attention to chakra control. Konoha stabilized amid the war, but rising prices became a new problem for Tsunade’s administration.

• Minato defeated Killer B in a spar, and the Eight-Tails explained that Minato adapted his simple, brutal style while B struggled to imitate it.
• The Eight-Tails comforted Killer B, who began singing to it until it redirected him toward improving his chakra control.
• Minato continued sparring with Killer B every other day, leaving B too busy training to write new songs.
• Konoha calmed the villagers’ anger and stabilized, though the war continued with little impact from the conflict with Iwagakure.
• Tsunade, Jingyi, and Shikaku Nara discussed how the war had driven up prices, especially for imported goods, and Tsunade pressed Jingyi to help find a solution.

Jingyi advised Tsunade on easing villagers’ resentment over rising prices by comparing Konoha’s costs with those elsewhere, and Shikaku Nara agreed to investigate. Tsunade also considered training Nawaki and Minato as assistants and choosing a permanent aide, with Mikoto Uchiha emerging as one possible candidate.

• Jingyi suggested that the village investigate prices in other countries and publish comparisons to reassure villagers that Konoha’s prices were relatively low.
• Tsunade assigned Shikaku Nara to arrange the price investigation, and he accepted the task.
• Tsunade proposed bringing Nawaki and Minato into the Hokage Office as assistants, and Jingyi recommended that they rotate monthly under a permanent assistant.
• Tsunade asked Jingyi to choose a permanent assistant, and he suggested Mikoto Uchiha because she was capable and trustworthy, while noting that her Uchiha affiliation could be an issue.

Jingyi and Tsunade chose Mikoto Uchiha to become the Hokage's assistant, and Fugaku agreed to transfer her from the Police Force. Kushina celebrated Mikoto's new post, while Jingyi asked her to bring Minato and Nawaki to meet him.

• Jingyi recommended Mikoto Uchiha for the Hokage's assistant role because Pakura's background made her unsuitable.
• Tsunade summoned Fugaku Uchiha and asked him to transfer Mikoto to the Hokage Office, and he agreed.
• Tsunade ordered Mikoto's file transferred, making her the Hokage's assistant the next day and leaving her bewildered.
• Kushina asked Jingyi whether he had arranged Mikoto's transfer, and he explained that Tsunade needed a suitable assistant.
• Kushina went to celebrate with Mikoto and agreed to notify Minato and Nawaki that Jingyi wanted to speak with them.

Kushina took Mikoto Uchiha away from the Police Force, while Jingyi teased Minato Namikaze and Nawaki about romance and warned them that work would leave little time for dating. At Ichiraku Ramen Shop, Minato drew out Nawaki’s admission that he might like Mia.

• Kushina picked up Mikoto Uchiha and had the Police Force send out squads to find Minato Namikaze and Nawaki.
• The Police Force reported that Nawaki had eaten with Mia, and Nawaki insisted it had only been a thank-you meal after he helped her squad.
• Jingyi told Minato Namikaze and Nawaki to take the Jonin Exam and study at the Hokage Office, then warned them to find girlfriends before their schedules became too busy.
• At Ichiraku Ramen Shop, Minato asked Nawaki whether he liked Mia, and Nawaki’s startled reaction gave him away.
• Minato teased Nawaki about acting before Mia might choose someone else, while Nawaki angrily told him to find a girlfriend himself.

Jingyi explained to Tsunade that the people probing her about Mikoto Uchiha’s appointment were driven by fear of the Uchiha, which he called Madara Uchiha Phobia. He traced that fear to the Senju’s history of conflict with the Uchiha, leaving Tsunade to consider how that history shaped her teachers’ attitudes.

• Minato encouraged Nawaki after ramen, while Nawaki and Minato began preparing for the Jonin Exam.
• Mikoto Uchiha started serving as Tsunade’s Hokage assistant, prompting several clans to probe Tsunade about the appointment.
• Tsunade complained to Jingyi that people kept questioning her about Mikoto, and Jingyi agreed that their behavior came from an illness.
• Jingyi named the illness Madara Uchiha Phobia and explained that the Senju’s long history of conflict with the Uchiha had left people afraid another Madara Uchiha might arise.
• Tsunade recalled that Tobirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki had told her stories of the clan’s history, in which the Uchiha appeared repeatedly.

Jingyi explained to Tsunade why the Uchiha inspired fear and said he was strong enough to keep them from becoming a threat, then planned to expose Madara Uchiha's Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan. Meanwhile, the war continued on multiple fronts, and Ōnoki faced the Third Raikage on the Land of Lightning battlefield.

• Jingyi told Tsunade that fear of the Uchiha came from their history and Madara Uchiha, while their Sharingan made them powerful but potentially dangerous.
• Jingyi said he did not fear the Uchiha because he could defeat them, and Tsunade stopped worrying about the clan.
• Jingyi decided to reveal Madara Uchiha's Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan before Madara could carry it out.
• Ōnoki avoided fighting Kitsuchi on the Land of Grass battlefield while the Third Hokage continued delaying Iwagakure's forces.
• Ōnoki and the Third Raikage met on the Land of Lightning battlefield, where the Third Raikage challenged Ōnoki's chances of winning with Iwagakure's resources.

The Third Raikage and Ōnoki traded insults over their villages’ finances and wartime burdens before withdrawing without escalating their confrontation. The Third Raikage warned Little A not to fight Ōnoki personally, then revealed he intended to take part in the war against Kirigakure and punish Yagura.

• Ōnoki argued that Kumogakure’s wealth was strained by supporting Konoha and Sunagakure, while the Third Raikage taunted him about Iwagakure’s struggling civilians.
• The Third Raikage and Ōnoki exchanged threats but withdrew with their forces because neither wanted to risk unleashing the other’s battlefield power.
• Little A asked why they had let Ōnoki leave, and the Third Raikage explained that both leaders were restraining themselves to prevent the war from worsening.
• The Third Raikage told Little A to remain at camp and stabilize morale while Dodai took charge of the fighting.
• The Third Raikage said he would avoid personally fighting on the Land of Lightning front but would enter the war against Kirigakure and target Yagura.