Chapter Summaries

Konoha and Sunagakure negotiated peace, but Chiyo refused to offer money or supplies as reparations. She presented alliance, non-aggression, and economic agreements as Sunagakure’s bottom line, leaving Konoha to consider a deal that promised little immediate gain but could secure long-term ties.

• Mitokado Homura tried to provoke Chiyo, but she ignored him and forced the Third Hokage to take over the negotiations.
• The Third Hokage demanded compensation, while Chiyo insisted Sunagakure had no resources to pay.
• Chiyo handed over a document listing Sunagakure’s peace terms, and the Third Hokage passed it to Jingyi to read.
• Jingyi summarized the terms as military cooperation, a non-aggression pact, and stronger economic ties between the villages.
• Chiyo declared the agreements Sunagakure’s bottom line, and Konoha’s representatives considered their long-term value.

Chiyo offered Sunagakure’s terms for peace, which promised long-term benefits but no compensation, and Konoha’s leaders debated whether to accept them. Jingyi argued that the treaty could leave Konoha with no tangible gains, and the discussion ended with the Third Hokage’s expression darkening.

• Chiyo presented Sunagakure’s peace terms and said the village could not afford compensation, while Jingyi warned her not to mix his personal debt with village debts.
• The Third Hokage sent the Sunagakure delegation to its quarters and gathered Konoha’s leaders to discuss the proposal.
• Jingyi tried to leave when the others looked to him for advice, but Shikaku Nara pressed him back into his seat and offered his own assessment.
• Shikaku said Sunagakure’s offer represented its bottom line, and the Third Hokage noted that accepting it would damage Konoha’s reputation by making the war appear inconclusive.
• Jingyi argued that Konoha could not force Sunagakure to pay reparations and that a treaty without tangible benefits would make Konoha look worse.

Konoha's meeting on peace terms and a possible exchange of Puppet Technique ended without a decision, while Chiyo considered Sunagakure's future and studied Jingyi Hyuga's weaknesses. She concluded that Jingyi might be persuaded with beautiful female ninja, leaving her to contemplate how to use that insight.

• Jingyi told Shikaku Nara that Konoha might still obtain Sunagakure's Puppet Technique, though negotiations depended on Sunagakure's willingness to trade.
• Shikaku Nara asked Jingyi whether the peace talks would succeed, and Jingyi predicted they probably would while refusing to take responsibility for the agreement.
• Chiyo reflected on Sunagakure's postwar recovery and questioned whether the village should continue relying on its puppets after seeing Jingyi's overwhelming advantage.
• Chiyo's guard delivered intelligence describing Jingyi Hyuga's resentment toward the Hyuga Clan, weak attachment to Konoha, and interest in money and beautiful women.
• Chiyo concluded that Jingyi might be susceptible to being bought off with beautiful female ninja, reasoning that he had abducted Pakura because he coveted her beauty.

Chiyo rejected Konoha’s demand for Sunagakure’s Puppet Technique and puppet-manufacturing methods, then unexpectedly offered to make a separate deal with Jingyi. The negotiations ended with Jingyi caught off guard by her proposal.

• Chiyo considered whether Sunagakure could win Jingyi over with beautiful women, but concluded Konoha had more to offer him.
• The Third Hokage and Mitokado Homura discussed Utatane Koharu, the peace talks, and Jingyi’s growing status and connections.
• After a three-day break, Chiyo received notice that the negotiations would resume the next day.
• Mitokado Homura told Chiyo that Konoha would accept Sunagakure’s terms only if it also received the Puppet Technique and puppet-manufacturing methods.
• Chiyo refused to hand over the techniques, then offered to make a separate deal with Jingyi, surprising everyone in the room.

During negotiations with Sunagakure, Chiyo refused the Third Hokage’s demands but offered Jingyi a separate trade for his puppets in exchange for Sunagakure’s Puppet Manipulation Technique and manufacturing knowledge. Jingyi agreed to discuss it after the villages signed their agreement and planned to pass the acquired materials to Konoha’s Mission Department for sale.

• Chiyo offered Jingyi Sunagakure’s Puppet Manipulation Technique, control experience, and Puppet Manufacturing Technology in exchange for some of his puppets for research.
• Jingyi declined to discuss the private trade until the official negotiations were over, while Chiyo pressed the Third Hokage to accept Sunagakure’s final terms.
• Jingyi told Tsunade about Chiyo’s offer, and Tsunade agreed he should wait until the villages had signed their agreement.
• Jingyi explained that he would organize the techniques and technology for the Mission Department to sell as copied scrolls, creating income for himself and Konoha.
• Mitokado Homura checked on the silent Third Hokage, who exhaled smoke and nodded to show he was all right.

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.