Chapter Summaries

Six-year-old Naruto began at the Ninja Academy, where he befriended the reserved Shino Aburame and met Kiba Inuzuka. As Iruka took attendance, the class’s six years at the Academy began.

• The Third Hokage admonished Naruto for hitting people, and Naruto agreed while privately thinking he would do it again.
• Naruto offered the Third Hokage steamed buns he had made and talked about spending his money on food.
• Naruto sat beside Shino Aburame, introduced himself, and asked Shino to be his friend; Shino accepted.
• Kiba Inuzuka joined Naruto and Shino, introduced himself, and settled into the seat beside Naruto.
• Umino Iruka quieted the class and began taking attendance, starting with Sasuke Uchiha.

Seven-year-old Naruto Uzumaki kept loneliness at bay with a strict routine of training and school, where his friends offered brief warmth. After learning that Naruto struggled to obtain food, Shikamaru Nara and his friends agreed to help by commissioning him to make their lunches.

• Naruto trained alone each morning and afternoon, while school and time with his classmates gave him temporary companionship.
• Shikamaru Nara brought Choji Akimichi to a secluded park, where Shino Aburame and Kiba Inuzuka were waiting.
• Shikamaru told them Naruto had to sneak into shops at night to buy everyday necessities, despite the Nara Clan businesses being told to serve him.
• Kiba recalled that Naruto had shared a surprisingly good homemade rice ball with him and suggested paying Naruto to prepare some of their lunches.
• Shino clarified the idea as a regular commission for ingredients and a small payment, so Naruto could receive help without feeling he was accepting charity.
• Shikamaru approved the plan, and the friends agreed to ask Naruto to make their lunches.

Naruto Uzumaki sparred with Hinata Hyuga and Hanabi Hyuga, studying their contrasting Gentle Fist styles before inviting them to dinner and offering to teach Hinata to cook. When their friends joined them, Ino Yamanaka twisted Shikamaru's ear over his teasing, and Naruto offered cooking lessons to everyone, leaving the group laughing together.

• Naruto sparred with Hinata and Hanabi using only basic taijutsu, observing the differences between their Gentle Fist techniques.
• Naruto carried Hanabi and invited her and Hinata to eat his cooking; Hinata asked to watch and learn, and he agreed to teach her.
• Shikamaru suggested Naruto teach Ino to cook, then teased her about her temper and cooking skills.
• Ino grabbed and twisted Shikamaru's ear as Kiba, Choji, Shino, Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, Hinata, and Hanabi laughed.
• Naruto offered to teach everyone to cook, while Shikamaru and Kiba joked about visiting Naruto to mooch a meal.

Naruto challenged Konoha’s leaders to recognize that their apparent peace concealed foreign threats and humiliating concessions, then pressed Neji to answer whether the Hyuga Clan had any men. Neji declared himself a man of the Hyuga Clan, revealed his Caged Bird Seal was gone, and received Hyuga Hiashi’s approval.

• Naruto warned the meeting that rival nations and smaller countries threatened the Land of Fire despite the absence of open war.
• Naruto cited Kumogakure’s abduction attempts and Konoha’s concessions, then asked Neji whether the Hyuga Clan had any men.
• Neji stood before the gathered leaders, overcame his emotional turmoil, and declared that he was a man of the Hyuga Clan.
• Neji removed his forehead protector and revealed that his Caged Bird Seal had vanished.
• Hyuga Hiashi nodded to Neji with an approving smile as the hall reacted with shock and confusion.

Naruto rallied Konoha’s younger generation and challenged its leaders to support his plans for a new order. He announced that he would lead an invasion of Kusagakure, then call a Five Kage Summit to declare war on the shinobi world.

• Naruto called on Neji, Shikamaru, Choji, Shino, Kiba, Sasuke, and Rock Lee to stand with him, and they rose in support.
• Hanabi, Ino, Tenten, Sakura, and Hinata also stood up, prompting a shocked and furious reaction from Hyuga Hiashi.
• Naruto challenged Konoha’s jonin and clan leaders to stop accepting compromises and humiliations, while Jiraiya pulled the Third Hokage back down.
• Naruto declared that Konoha would wipe out Kusagakure and send logistics forces to secure the aftermath.
• Naruto announced plans to convene a Five Kage Summit in the Land of Iron and declare war on the entire shinobi world, then called on those willing to fight to stay.

Naruto secured Konoha’s support for military action against Kusagakure and assigned key wartime duties to the Hokage and clan leaders. As he prepared to leave for the Land of Grass that night, Uchiha Hikari insisted on joining him to bring lasting peace to the shinobi world.

• Inoichi Yamanaka pledged the Yamanaka Clan’s support for Naruto, and Shikaku Nara and other Konoha ninja stood with them.
• Naruto assigned Minato Namikaze, Tobirama Senju, Hashirama Senju, and Jiraiya their wartime responsibilities.
• Naruto ordered Shikaku Nara to draft a declaration of war against Kusagakure and announced that Konoha would begin its campaign the next morning.
• Naruto returned home to pack, planning to deliver the declaration to the Land of Grass that night.
• Uchiha Hikari told Naruto she would go with him to pursue lasting peace across the shinobi world.

Naruto, Uchiha Hikari, and Karin arrived outside Kusagakure, where Karin’s hatred of the village erupted. Naruto announced that he would attack at ten and gave its civilians and unwilling fighters five hours to evacuate.

• Naruto brought Uchiha Hikari and Karin to Kusagakure aboard Kurama’s golden form.
• Karin saw Kusagakure and begged Naruto to destroy it, overwhelmed by memories of her and her mother’s suffering there.
• Naruto told Karin he would give her a satisfying result once the operation was over.
• Kusagakure’s watchposts raised the alarm when they spotted Kurama, and Naruto sent a declaration detailing the village’s past crimes toward its central building.
• Naruto identified himself as the Sixth Hokage, gave Kusagakure until ten in the morning to evacuate noncombatants and unwilling fighters, and declared that he would attack then.

Kusagakure’s masked elders debated how to respond to the Sixth Hokage, who had arrived with the Nine-Tails and killed the Snake Mask Elder. They considered negotiating, then turned to the Box of Ultimate Bliss and proposed sacrificing their own ninja to open it.

• The Monkey Mask Elder and Pig Mask Elder urged negotiations, but the elders hesitated over who should act as envoy.
• The Rat Mask Elder refused to go, warning that a frightened envoy could provoke the Sixth Hokage and endanger the village.
• The Sheep Mask Elder proposed asking Mui to use the Box of Ultimate Bliss against Konoha.
• The Rabbit Mask Elder questioned how they could provide the chakra needed to open the Box or persuade Mui to use it.
• The Ox Mask Elder suggested using Kusagakure’s Chunin and Genin as sacrifices to supply the chakra.

Hashirama questioned whether his faith in peace through understanding was naive after Naruto proposed uniting the Shinobi World through force. Tobirama defended Naruto’s plan as a way to extend Konoha’s system of shared rules and identity across all nations.

• Hashirama recalled Naruto’s plan to use Konoha’s overwhelming power to end the Shinobi World’s divisions and build a unified ninja order.
• Hashirama compared Naruto’s vision to Madara’s old proposal for unifying the world by force and wondered whether his own ideals had been misguided.
• Tobirama began his logistics work and asked Hashirama whether he was thinking about war with other countries.
• Hashirama said that forced submission would bury resentment rather than create the peace he and Tobirama had sought when they founded Konoha.
• Tobirama argued that struggle had made Konoha’s founding possible and that extending its shared rules and identity worldwide could turn future disputes into internal conflicts.

Tobirama argued that unifying the shinobi world could bring lasting stability and revealed a detailed plan to conquer its villages, beginning with Sunagakure. He explained that he had considered this ambition since Konoha’s founding, while Hashirama wondered what might have happened if Tobirama, Hashirama, and Madara Uchiha had united.

• Tobirama called Naruto’s plan for war merciful because its evacuation periods and Five Kage Summit would give enemy nations time to prepare.
• Tobirama showed Hashirama a detailed offensive map and proposed striking Sunagakure before the other nations could react.
• Tobirama planned to attack Iwagakure next, using Minato or himself to keep Ōnoki occupied while Konoha’s main force assaulted the village.
• Tobirama said Konoha should force villages to surrender and join a new order rather than wage a war of extermination.
• Tobirama revealed that he had simulated unifying the shinobi world while alive and said a united effort with Hashirama and Madara Uchiha might have prevented later wars.

Hashirama struggled with whether to support Naruto and his allies’ plan to unify the shinobi world by force. Mito reassured him that his earlier choices and the current generation’s choices could both be right for their eras, leaving Hashirama more open to helping reduce the suffering caused by the coming war.

• Hashirama postponed deciding whether to support unification until Naruto’s battle report from Kusagakure arrived.
• Tobirama left Hashirama alone in the Hokage’s Office with his doubts about whether he had chosen the wrong path.
• Mito visited Hashirama after Tobirama told her about his struggle, and she comforted him rather than trying to persuade him.
• Mito told Hashirama that founding Konoha and unifying the shinobi world both depended on overwhelming military power suited to their eras.
• Hashirama reconsidered his doubts and began considering how he could help minimize the suffering caused by the coming conflict.

Hashirama asked Mito to return to life with him so they could protect Konoha and share a living future, and she gladly agreed. As Kusagakure’s deadline approached, Naruto and his companions watched the Grass Ninja bring a sinister, heavily covered object into the village square.

• Hashirama told Mito he wanted them to return to life together and explained that Konoha, Mito, and his own longing for her warmth motivated him.
• Mito accepted and said she had long hoped to travel freely with Hashirama as themselves.
• Grass Ninja gathered at Kusagakure’s entrance and hauled a massive, ominous cargo on a wooden cart.
• Naruto watched from atop the Nine-Tails with Uchiha Hikari and Karin as masked elders approached the cart and one waved his hand.

Naruto Uzumaki used the Nine-Tails to demonstrate the destructive power of a Tailed Beast Bomb after Kusagakure’s elders brought out the Box of Ultimate Bliss. He demanded the box and the conspirators’ surrender, leaving a second bomb aimed at the village center as his ultimatum.

• The Grass Ninja uncovered the Box of Ultimate Bliss, and the Tiger-Head Elder called for it to grant their wish to destroy Naruto’s forces.
• The Nine-Tails fired a Tailed Beast Bomb beside Kusagakure, obliterating the surrounding area and leaving a vast crater.
• Naruto demanded the box, the elders and core accomplices involved in the plot, and the surrender of the remaining Grass Ninja.
• The Nine-Tails formed another Tailed Beast Bomb and aimed it at the center of Kusagakure as Naruto warned that it would fire if they refused to surrender.

Mui tried to negotiate with Naruto as Konoha and the Nine-Tails threatened Kusagakure, but Naruto declared that revenge for the Uzumaki Clan and the Land of Fire’s expansion policy both justified the attack. Mui realized there was no room for compromise as the Nine-Tails prepared another Tailed Beast Bomb, and Naruto told him he was guaranteed to die.

• Mui asked Naruto to explain the attack and offered to investigate any offense and make amends.
• Naruto accused Kusagakure of betraying Konoha and helping destroy Uzushiogakure, then cited the Land of Fire Daimyo’s support for expansion.
• Naruto explained that personal revenge and national policy both made Kusagakure a target.
• Mui concluded that negotiation and stalling could not save the village as the Nine-Tails gathered another Tailed Beast Bomb.
• Naruto told Mui that he was guaranteed to die.

Naruto secured Kusagakure after its surrender, helped Karin recover from taking revenge, and began organizing the occupied village. Shikaku warned that administering Kusagakure and building Naruto’s railway would bankrupt Konoha, but Naruto proposed making the Land of Grass’s Daimyo pay.

• After Kusagakure surrendered, Naruto sealed its ninjas’ chakra and imprisoned them while Karin handed him a bloodstained kunai.
• Karin returned from killing those she hated and struggled with the emptiness afterward, so Naruto gently cleaned the blood from her face and promised to stay with her.
• Hikari overheard Naruto comforting Karin, then quietly closed the office door and left them alone.
• Shikaku presented Kusagakure’s debts and poor resources, warning Naruto that relief efforts and the standardized railway would overwhelm Konoha’s finances.
• Naruto dismissed the idea that Konoha should repay Kusagakure’s debts and said he would demand money from the Land of Grass’s Daimyo.

Naruto and Hikari assessed Kusagakure’s defenses and the villagers’ hardship as Naruto planned practical reforms to earn their trust. Later, Naruto chose a plum-blossom hair tie for Hikari, leaving her touched by his gesture.

• Hikari and Naruto found Kusagakure’s defenses dilapidated and its fighting strength limited to Mui, the elders, and a few weaker ninja.
• Naruto decided to improve villagers’ lives with work-for-food, schooling for children, and monthly supplies for the elderly instead of making empty promises.
• Naruto and Hikari visited a jewelry shop, where Naruto said he would teach her Flying Thunder God after they returned.
• Naruto asked Hikari to try on a silver plum-blossom hair tie, pretending he was choosing a gift for Karin.
• Hikari realized Naruto had picked the hair tie for her, and the shopkeeper stopped short of calling them a perfect match after Hikari gave him a cold look.

Naruto ordered Asuma, Sasuke, Rock Lee, and Neji to seize the estates of Kusagakure’s corrupt leaders and officials, while Shikamaru cataloged the confiscated assets. Afterward, Naruto prepared to earn money by writing Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

• Naruto paid for Hikari’s hair tie, then promised to teach her Flying Thunder God when they returned to the office.
• Naruto ordered Asuma, Sasuke, Rock Lee, Neji, and a Chunin squad to seize the estates of Kusagakure’s elders, senior officials, and their close relatives.
• Naruto assigned Neji to locate hidden valuables and told Sasuke and Rock Lee to restrain resistance without using excessive force.
• Naruto privately instructed Shikamaru to record the seized assets exhaustively, and Shikamaru understood that Naruto wanted the ledgers to exaggerate the officials’ corruption.
• Naruto gave Shikamaru money for a meal and rest, then wrote the opening lyric of Romance of the Three Kingdoms to prepare to make money.

Pain gathered the Akatsuki to discuss Konoha’s unexpected war and the threat posed by Naruto Uzumaki and the resurrected Hokage. The meeting ended with Deidara asking whether Pain or Hashirama Senju was stronger.

• Pain told the Akatsuki that Konoha had initiated a war, disrupting their plans to collect the tailed beasts.
• Kisame explained that Uchiha Itachi was gravely weakened after a draining technique and needed a long recovery.
• Kakuzu and the others discussed Orochimaru’s return to Konoha and the danger posed by the resurrected Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju.
• Pain called for the Akatsuki to reassess their strategy and pay closer attention to Naruto Uzumaki and Konoha’s resurrected Hokage.
• Deidara asked whether Pain or Hashirama Senju was stronger, leaving the gathering silent.

The Akatsuki debated whether Nagato or Hashirama was stronger, but Kakuzu refused to give a definitive judgment, and Hidan derailed the discussion with a Jashinist rant. In the Kamui Dimension, Obito learned that Hatake Sakumo had been resurrected and dismissed the news as a temporary disturbance before reaffirming his plan for the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

• Konan said Nagato would defeat Hashirama, but Kakuzu recalled failing to challenge the First Hokage and cautioned that matchups, conditions, and tactics mattered more than strength alone.
• Zetsu noticed Hidan was unusually quiet, prompting Hidan to erupt into excited preaching about Lord Jashin and sacrifice.
• Deidara complained about Hidan's noisy, unartistic rant, while Zetsu regretted drawing attention to him.
• A White Zetsu Clone told Obito that Konoha had resurrected Hatake Sakumo alongside the previous Hokage.
• Obito reacted sarcastically to Sakumo's return, then dismissed it and said everyone would eventually find peace in the dream world created by the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

Obito decided to target Naruto but learned that Zetsu could not locate him because of his keen sensing. Meanwhile, Minato arrived in the Land of Snow to meet Daimyo Kazahana Koyuki, who prepared to receive him while asking Mitaraishi Anko to stay alert.

• Obito asked Zetsu for Naruto's location and learned that Naruto's sensing had defeated their infiltration attempts.
• Minato reached the Land of Snow and saw how its geothermal generator had transformed the climate and landscape.
• Asama Sandayu welcomed Minato after learning he was Naruto's father and escorted him to the Daimyo's Mansion.
• Kazahana Koyuki learned that Konoha's envoy was Naruto's father and considered how his identity could be verified.
• Kazahana Koyuki asked Mitaraishi Anko to protect her if Minato acted suspiciously.