Recaps

Madara Uchiha arrived at the Council Chamber and exposed Danzo's stolen Sharingan and Hashirama Cells, then hurled him through the Hokage Building. As Root forces gathered outside, Madara summoned dozens of powerful Wood Clones and surrounded them.

• Madara Uchiha smashed through the Council Chamber wall, shocking Ye, Fugaku, and Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Danzo accused the Uchiha Clan of rebellion, but Madara used Banshō Ten'in to seize him and chop off his right arm.
• Danzo's severed arm transformed into a wooden limb covered in Sharingan, and Madara condemned Konoha's leaders for stealing Uchiha eyes and Hashirama Senju's cells.
• Danzo called Madara an outsider, so Madara used Shinra Tensei to blast him through the Hokage Building's outer wall and shatter his bones.
• Ye invited Fugaku to watch the fight as Root forces gathered around Danzo outside the building.
• Madara grew a massive tree and produced dozens of Wood Clones, surrounding the Root forces and overwhelming the gathered ANBU.

Madara crushed Danzo’s Root forces and left Danzo near death, forcing Hiruzen to beg for his life. Madara rejected Hiruzen’s attempt to blame the conflict on the Uchiha Clan, then looked toward Uchiha Ye, whose smile suggested he was the one Madara had come for.

• Madara’s Wood Clone Techniques subdued more than ten Root elites, including ANBU wearing Hokage-issued masks, while Hiruzen arrived and recognized Madara’s Rinnegan.
• Madara appeared before the wounded Danzo and stomped him into the stone, leaving him barely alive.
• Hiruzen stopped his ANBU from intervening and bowed to Madara, pleading for Danzo’s life.
• Fugaku and the other Uchiha watched Hiruzen beg, and Fugaku reflected bitterly on how the clan had endured years of suspicion without protection.
• Madara dismissed the Uchiha Clan as too weak to deserve his help, and Hiruzen offered to punish Danzo if Madara gave Konoha a chance.
• Madara looked past Hiruzen and Fugaku toward Uchiha Ye, who leaned against a broken beam and smiled at him.

Ye called Madara his grandfather, shocking the assembled Konoha forces and turning Madara’s protective attention toward him. Madara killed Danzo and blamed Konoha’s leaders for framing Ye, while Ye began accusing the advisers of targeting him and Obito.

• Ye called Madara “Grandpa,” leaving Madara, Hiruzen, Fugaku, Obito, Kakashi, Rin, and the Uchiha clan stunned.
• Madara checked Ye for injuries, reassured him, and learned Konoha’s leaders had tried to use rules against him.
• Madara crushed Danzo’s chest and heart beneath his foot, killing him as Hiruzen failed to intervene.
• Madara accused Konoha’s higher-ups of framing Ye, and Hiruzen blamed Danzo’s personal decision while promising an investigation.
• Ye told Madara that Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura had supported detaining him and that Danzo wanted to take his and Obito’s Mangekyō Sharingan.

Madara forced Konoha’s leaders to declare Ye, Obito, Kakashi, and Rin innocent and revoke their detention orders after killing Danzo. As the group tried to leave, Hiruzen insisted that Rin remain under surveillance as the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, and Madara challenged him by asking whether Konoha treated its Nine-Tails Jinchuriki the same way.

• Madara crushed Danzo and threatened to destroy Konoha if anyone harmed Ye or his companions.
• Madara asked Hiruzen, Koharu, and Homura whether Ye and the others still faced charges, and Hiruzen declared all four innocent and revoked their detention orders.
• Ye, Obito, Kakashi, and Rin began leaving with Madara, while Konoha’s clansmen and ANBU reacted to the verdict.
• Hiruzen stopped them and demanded that Rin stay in the village under surveillance because she was the Three-Tails Jinchuriki.
• Madara confronted Hiruzen, asking whether Konoha’s Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was treated as a prisoner too.

Madara forced Hiruzen to release Rin Nohara and condemned Konoha for imprisoning its Jinchuriki under the guise of protection. After leaving the ruined hearing, Madara asked Ye to show him around the village, and Ye led everyone off to find breakfast.

• Madara challenged Hiruzen's treatment of Rin and the village's fear of its own power, leaving Hiruzen unable to answer.
• Hiruzen allowed Rin Nohara to leave, and Madara led Ye, Obito, Rin, and Kakashi out of the ruins.
• Hiruzen ordered the scene sealed and Danzo's body recovered, while Fugaku told Nohibi to follow Madara alone and show the Uchiha's sincerity.
• Madara stopped beneath an eave to look at Hokage Rock and asked Ye to show him what the village had become.
• Ye complained that the leadership had not provided breakfast, and Madara's killing intent began to return before Ye hurried everyone toward food.

Ye took Madara to a barbecue restaurant, where Madara doted on him and unnerved Obito, Kakashi, and Rin. After they left, Hiruzen confronted Koharu and Homura over Danzo’s forbidden experiments and the resources secretly supplied to him, demanding to know who Konoha’s real parasite was.

• Ye brought Madara and the others to an expensive barbecue restaurant and treated Madara to the best food.
• Madara showed affection for Ye and encouraged Obito to eat, while Obito, Kakashi, and Rin sat too intimidated to ask questions.
• After Ye and his group left, Hiruzen covered Danzo’s eyes and watched ANBU clear the ruins.
• Koharu and Homura blamed Hiruzen for Madara’s attack and the Three-Tails Jinchuriki’s escape, demanding an explanation.
• Hiruzen accused the consultants of enabling Danzo’s experiments by secretly providing supplies and funding, then asked who Konoha’s parasite was.

Hiruzen resigned as Hokage after Danzo’s experiments and the destruction of the Hokage Building exposed the failures of Konoha’s leadership. He named Minato Namikaze as his successor and ordered him recalled from the front, leaving Konoha’s future dependent on his return and his connection to Madara Uchiha.

• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura denied responsibility for Danzo’s experiments and funding, but Hiruzen confronted them over the approval forms bearing their seals.
• Hiruzen formally resigned as Hokage, and Koharu and Homura pleaded with him to stay while blaming Danzo for the village’s abuses.
• Hiruzen declared that Minato Namikaze should become the Fourth Hokage because he could lead Konoha and might reach Madara Uchiha through Uchiha Ye.
• Hiruzen rebuked Koharu and Homura for questioning Minato’s suitability and ordered a liaison ANBU to recall him from the front using the highest-level secret order.

Hiruzen mourned Danzo while Minato held the war front and learned Kirigakure was retreating. A top-priority order from Hiruzen then commanded Minato to return to Konoha immediately, leaving the reason unknown.

• Hiruzen ordered the ANBU to secure the Root evidence, then personally recovered Danzo's body and arranged to see him off.
• Minato learned that Kirigakure was retreating, but kept the news secret while he assessed the threats from Iwagakure and Hidden Cloud.
• Minato hoped to become Hokage so he could free Kushina from her restrictions and thought fondly of his four students, unaware they were eating with Madara Uchiha.
• A ninja hawk delivered Hiruzen's sealed emergency order, and Minato read the command to return to Konoha immediately using the Flying Thunder God.

Minato rushed back to Konoha expecting a disaster, only to find the village leaders injured and the Hokage’s Office hastily rebuilt. Hiruzen and the advisors offered him the Fourth Hokage position, and Minato was left stunned as they insisted Konoha needed him.

• Minato handed command of the northern front to Hatake Sakumo and used Flying Thunder God to return to Konoha.
• Minato arrived in the damaged Hokage’s Office and found Hiruzen Sarutobi, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura injured and disheveled.
• Minato feared that Konoha had been attacked or that Kushina and his students had died, but Hiruzen assured him there was no foreign invasion.
• Hiruzen asked Minato to become the Fourth Hokage, and Koharu and Homura praised his suitability for the role.
• Minato declined and suggested Hatake Sakumo or Orochimaru, but the advisors rejected both and urged him to accept.

Minato accepted Hiruzen’s decision to name him the next Hokage, then learned that Hidden Cloud had attacked and rushed back to the front lines before he could go home. Meanwhile, Ye and Madara shared a barbecue with Obito, Kakashi, and Rin until Uchiha Yehuo arrived and addressed Ye as “My Lord.”

• Hiruzen told Minato that he had resigned as Hokage and that Minato would succeed him after the war, and Minato agreed to take the responsibility.
• Minato signed the succession proposal and learned that Madara was alive, had killed Danzo, and had demolished the Hokage Building.
• An ANBU reported that Hidden Cloud’s A and Killer B had broken through Konoha’s first defense line, and Minato left immediately to aid Hatake Sakumo at the front.
• Minato used the Flying Thunder God technique to depart without visiting Kushina at home.
• Ye ate barbecue with Madara, Obito, Kakashi, and Rin as Uchiha Yehuo entered and performed a formal clan-head greeting.
• Uchiha Yehuo bowed to Ye and loudly requested to report to him in private, startling Obito into spilling tea onto the grill.

Ye ate a barbecue meal with Madara, Obito, and Nohibi, whose admiration earned him Madara’s approval. In a private alley, Nohibi relayed the clan head’s request for Madara to return, but Ye refused, and Nohibi instead declared his loyalty to Ye as the Uchiha’s future.

• Nohibi praised Ye’s strength and pledged his life to him, prompting Madara to welcome him to the table.
• Ye fed Nohibi expensive beef, while Obito grew jealous of the attention Nohibi received.
• Ye told the shopkeeper to charge the 18,600-ryo bill to the Uchiha Police Force under Fugaku’s name.
• Nohibi asked Ye to speak privately and relayed the clan head’s request for Madara to return and lead the Uchiha.
• Ye refused, reminding Nohibi how the clan had treated Madara when he left the village.
• Nohibi accepted that Madara might not return and declared that the clan should follow Ye instead.

Ye persuaded Madara to settle in Konoha, where Madara began training Ye and Obito while promising limited help to the Uchiha. Seven days later, the Uchiha Hawk faction moved to force Madara to help them seize Konoha, while Fugaku remained silent.

• Madara decided to stay in Konoha near Ye and began ordering him to undergo daily Taijutsu, reaction-speed, and Chakra-control training, with Obito assigned as a sparring partner.
• Nohibi reported Madara's decision to Fugaku, who bought Madara a secluded courtyard and received his promise to help the Uchiha once if needed.
• Madara's brutal daily training left Ye battered but pleased by the system rewards, and Ye gradually learned to withstand Madara's opening attacks.
• Seven days later, Hawk faction members at the Naka Shrine called for the Uchiha to seize the Hokage Building and demanded that Madara lead them.
• The scar-faced brute drew his Short Sword and ordered Fugaku to move aside as the Hawk faction prepared to act without him.

Fugaku used his Mangekyo to end the Uchiha faction’s push for rebellion, while Minato consolidated power as the Fourth Hokage and appointed Fugaku as his assistant. The chapter ended with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen retreating after receiving a mysterious message during their attack on Guy’s team.

• Fugaku revealed his Mangekyo and threatened to treat anyone who invoked Madara’s name to force a rebellion as a traitor.
• Ye continued training under Madara, while Kushina visited Madara’s courtyard and enjoyed tea with him.
• Minato relied on Madara’s advice as Hiruzen transferred authority to him, and the Uchiha abandoned their thoughts of rebellion.
• At his inauguration, Minato appointed Fugaku as Hokage Assistant and announced that Kushina was pregnant and would receive the highest security protection.
• Guy told Ye, Kakashi, Obito, and the others that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had fled after their leader received a Water Release paper crane carrying an unknown message.

Ye and Minato's team guarded Kushina through Naruto's birth, preventing the Nine-Tails Night and surviving Obito's alarming but harmless heat-patch prank. Days later, Minato assigned the team a highly classified escort mission to the Land of Snow and an investigation into missing border outposts.

• Ye secretly used White Zetsu to monitor the area as Minato's team guarded Kushina during childbirth.
• Naruto was born safely, and Minato introduced him to the team.
• Obito mistook a heat patch for a harmless gift and stuck it on Naruto, alarming Minato, Kakashi, and Ye before proving it was not an Explosive Tag.
• Minato and Kakashi kicked Obito into the snow, while Kushina emerged with Naruto and the team returned to Konoha.
• Minato gave Ye, Obito, Kakashi, and Rin a classified mission to escort a royal envoy to the Land of Snow and investigate three silent border outposts.

Minato assigned Ye’s team an S-Rank mission to escort a royal envoy from the Land of Snow and investigate three missing Konoha outposts. After learning that Madara had abandoned the Eye of the Moon Plan and taken the White Zetsu army to Konoha, Black Zetsu decided to seek out Ōtsutsuki Isshiki.

• Minato briefed Ye, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin on the dangerous Land of Snow mission and ordered Ye to command the team.
• Ye joked that the S-Rank mission was an all-expenses-paid snow trip, easing the tension before Minato assigned their roles and ordered them to gather at dawn.
• Black Zetsu recalled discovering that Madara had settled in Konoha, claimed Ye as his grandson, and transferred the White Zetsu into Konoha’s communications network.
• Realizing Madara would no longer pursue the Eye of the Moon Plan, Black Zetsu considered seeking help from Ōtsutsuki Isshiki and decided to find him.

Black Zetsu abandoned his limits to seek Isshiki’s power, while Ye and his team departed on an S-Rank mission and Kushina broke free to follow them. Madara was left babysitting Naruto, whose sudden shower of urine ruined his confidence in his new talent.

• Black Zetsu decided to seek Isshiki’s power so he could help Mother escape, then slipped underground.
• Ye, Obito, Kakashi, and Rin left Konoha at dawn to begin their S-Rank mission.
• Madara secretly sent White Zetsu to monitor the team while telling Kushina that she should pursue her wish to see the snow.
• Kushina ran after the team, leaving Madara responsible for Naruto and dinner for Minato.
• Madara tried to soothe Naruto, who stopped crying briefly before urinating all over him.

Madara struggled to care for Naruto and asked Mikoto to teach him how to soothe the baby. Meanwhile, Kushina joined Ye, Obito, Kakashi, and Rin on their mission, and Ye redirected the team through the Land of Hot Water.

• Madara brought Naruto to Fugaku’s home and asked him to fetch Mikoto so she could teach him how to soothe a child.
• Kushina surprised Obito, Kakashi, and Rin on the snowy road and said she had left Naruto and dinner with Madara to join their S-Rank mission.
• Kushina swore to follow Captain Ye’s orders as an ordinary Genin, leaving Ye and the others stunned.
• Ye changed the team’s route to pass through the Land of Hot Water, and Obito reluctantly agreed after Ye invoked Minato’s wife.
• Kushina began teaching Rin Sealing Jutsu and, with Ye’s help, picked Obito as a practical training aid.

Ye’s team reached the Land of Hot Water, rested while Kushina shopped, then set out with a caravan toward the Land of Snow. Meanwhile, Kazahana Dōtō’s first Chakra Armor sets were ready, and Nadare Rōga reported that their forces had wiped out three border outposts without leaving survivors.

• Matsumoto welcomed Kakashi’s team at the Land of Hot Water border and arranged lodging after explaining that shipping had been delayed.
• Kushina spent two days shopping, then ordered the group to leave with the caravan for the Land of Snow.
• Ye instructed the caravan and his team to maintain formation and reach the Land of Snow border safely.
• Kazahana Dōtō inspected the calibrated First-Generation Chakra Armor and warned the technical officials not to let it fail.
• Nadare Rōga reported that Snow Ninja had destroyed three border outposts, killing seventy-four men without allowing a messenger to escape.

Dotō prepared to seize the Land of Snow’s capital and ordered warships to intercept Konoha’s envoy, while Sōsetsu learned that Konoha had accepted his commission and pulled back his remaining guards. The Snow Ninjas sailed into the winter night, confident they would defeat the arriving team, unaware of its true strength.

• Dotō ordered the Royal Guard’s third and fifth commanders bought off and planned to eliminate five loyal commanders before taking control of the capital.
• Sōsetsu’s hidden guard leader reported Dotō’s preparations for a coup, and Sōsetsu revealed that Konoha had accepted his commission.
• Sōsetsu ordered his remaining hidden guards to withdraw and survive while they waited for Konoha’s people at North Harbor.
• Nadare told Dotō that Konoha’s team was on its way, and Dotō dismissed the threat and ordered three Chakra Armor-equipped warships to intercept them.
• Nadare led thirty elite Snow Ninjas aboard the warships, which broke through the harbor ice and sped toward the strait before dawn.

On the ship, Rin asked Kushina whether the Three-Tails could be let out into the open sea, prompting Kushina to recall her promise to give the Nine-Tails freedom. With Ye and Obito nearby as safeguards, Kushina chose to release the Nine-Tails and tore open the core of its seal.

• Rin sensed the Three-Tails responding to the open sea and asked Kushina if it could come out for fresh air.
• Kushina recalled how Madara had urged her to treat Tailed Beasts well and remembered promising the Nine-Tails she would give it freedom.
• Kushina entered the sealing space and invited the Nine-Tails to come out, but it dismissed her offer as empty words.
• Kushina judged the empty sea and Ye and Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan sufficient safeguards, then returned to the cabin.
• Obito screamed and Kakashi drew his sword as Kushina formed the hand seals and broke open the core shackles of the Nine-Tails' seal.

Kushina opened the seal completely and freed Kurama, who raced across the frozen sea to clear a path for the merchant convoy. Kurama’s misfired Tailed Beast Ball destroyed one of Dōtō’s warships, but Nadare Rōga continued south toward the Konoha team.

• Kushina opened the sealing gate, and Kurama told her to use his name before leaping out into the storm.
• Kurama landed on the icy sea and joyfully smashed a channel through the ice while Kushina rode on his head.
• Matsumoto ordered the merchant ship to follow Kurama’s cleared route, and the convoy sped toward the Land of Snow.
• Kurama accidentally fired his Tailed Beast Ball off course after Kushina asked him to demonstrate it.
• The Tailed Beast Ball struck a warship led by Nadare Rōga, vaporizing it and throwing the two remaining ships into chaos.
• Nadare Rōga blamed the destruction on a far northern calamity and ordered the damaged warships to continue south.

Kurama broke ice ahead of the merchant ship while Rin released Isobu, who agreed to help tow the vessel. With both Tailed Beasts driving the ship at extraordinary speed, it passed the planned interception point long before Nadare Rōga and his Snow Ninja could attack.

• Kurama gleefully smashed and paddled through the ice as Ye watched from the bow.
• Isobu begged Rin to let him out, and Kushina connected the sealing spaces and persuaded him to help pull the ship.
• Rin released Isobu into the sea, soaking Obito and nearly capsizing the merchant ship as he surfaced.
• Rin used Chakra chains to attach Isobu to the ship, and Kurama cleared ice while Isobu towed the vessel north at high speed.
• Nadare Rōga waited at the interception point with his battered Snow Ninja, unaware the merchant ship had already passed hundreds of miles to the west.

Ye and the Konoha team arrived at North Harbor, where Yamada and thirty Snow Ninja in Chakra Armor ambushed them. After Ye effortlessly disarmed and struck down Yamada, the armored squad attacked, and Ye began activating his Mangekyo Dojutsu: Takemikazuchi.

• Ye, Kakashi, and Matsumoto arrived at an abandoned North Harbor, where Kakashi sensed danger.
• Yamada attacked Matsumoto, but Ye caught his Chakra-infused sword between two fingers, knocked the weapon away, and slapped Yamada into a snowbank.
• Thirty Snow Ninja in Chakra Armor emerged and aimed their weapons at Ye, while their captain threatened the Konoha group.
• Kushina, Rin, and Kakashi mocked the Snow Ninja, provoking their captain into ordering an attack.
• The armored squad fired ice spears and Chakra beams at Ye as Obito and Kakashi prepared to intervene, but Kushina stopped them.
• Ye remained in place and activated his Mangekyo Dojutsu, Takemikazuchi.

Ye stopped the Snow Ninja elites’ attacks and mocked their failed weapons before letting his teammates test their armor. Kakashi and Obito killed two armored ninjas, with Obito proving that Kamui bypassed the armor’s Genjutsu reversal mechanism.

• Ye halted and shattered the Snow Ninja elites’ Chakra beams and ice spears, leaving them terrified and dismayed.
• The lead captain ordered the Snow Ninja to charge Ye with their blades after their attacks failed.
• Kakashi struck the foremost Snow Ninja’s armor, slipped his blade through a gap, and killed him.
• Obito’s Genjutsu was reversed by the armor, and a Snow Ninja mocked him for failing.
• Obito used Kamui to remove the mocking Snow Ninja’s head, bypassing the armor’s reversal mechanism.

Kushina, Rin, and Kakashi defeated thirty Snow Ninja wearing Chakra Armor, and Ye learned that Kazahana Dōtō planned a coup within three days. Ye decided to head for the Capital City that night, while Matsumoto realized the daimyō could pay for the expanded mission.

• Kushina, Rin, and Kakashi destroyed the Snow Ninja squad and its armor in under a minute.
• Ye interrogated the squad captain with his Eye Power and learned that Dōtō had 130 suits of armor, Royal Guard commanders backing him, and planned to kill Kazahana Sōsetsu within three days.
• Kakashi marked the Royal City and Daimyō Mansion on a map, and Ye ordered the crew to collect the armor and guard the prisoners.
• Ye announced they would go to the Capital City that night to warn Kazahana Sōsetsu and confront Dōtō.
• Ye told Matsumoto the escort job had become a siege and implied the fee should increase, and Matsumoto decided the daimyō could cover the cost.