Recaps

Tsunade visited Uchiha Yao’s residence, where she discussed the Medical Department’s reforms and praised Kabuto Yakushi’s talent. She left after Uchiha Yao declined to tell her what her future held, though he invited her to return for a meal.

• Tsunade arrived with Shizune and joined Naruto, Hinata, and Uchiha Yao for dinner, insisting that his cooking was only passable.
• Uchiha Yao asked Tsunade about the Medical Department, and she described its upgraded equipment, new training system, and thirty-seven Genin who had passed preliminary assessments.
• Tsunade and Shizune praised Kabuto Yakushi’s medical aptitude and said he had mastered the A-rank Mystical Palm Technique.
• Uchiha Yao offered the Medical Department resources to support Kabuto’s development and said his eyes could see a person’s future.
• Tsunade asked Uchiha Yao what her future looked like, but he stayed silent, so she left with Shizune.
• Uchiha Yao invited Tsunade to return when she was hungry, and she denied wanting to come back.

Neji Hyuga provoked Hinata and Naruto by declaring that their fates were fixed, but Hinata challenged his beliefs and accepted his invitation to fight on a day off. After Naruto reported the encounter, Uchiha Yao praised Hinata for facing her fears and criticized her for holding back her strength.

• Neji Hyuga insulted Hinata and Naruto, arguing that people could not escape the fates they were born with.
• Hinata stood up to Neji and insisted that people could choose their paths and grow stronger through effort.
• Neji challenged Hinata to a fight, and she accepted, asking to face him on a day off.
• Naruto told Uchiha Yao about the confrontation and praised Hinata for standing up to Neji.
• Uchiha Yao praised Hinata for confronting her fears but told her she was too timid and held back her strength.

Uchiha Yao arranged for Hinata to face Neji in a public match at the Hyuga Clan’s Main House, insisting that the entire clan witness her strength. A few days later, Uchiha Yao, Naruto, and Hinata arrived at the packed training ground, where the match was about to take place.

• Uchiha Yao encouraged Hinata to stop hiding her strength and told Uchiha Kenji to summon Hyuga Hiashi.
• Uchiha Yao ordered Hyuga Hiashi to arrange a public match between Hinata and Neji at the Main House training ground and summon the entire clan.
• Hyuga Hiashi worried that Hinata would lose, but Uchiha Yao assured him she was far stronger than he imagined and demanded a grand match.
• A few days later, Hyuga Hiashi welcomed Uchiha Yao, Naruto, and Hinata at the Hyuga residence and led them to the crowded training ground.

Hinata faced Neji in a Hyuga Clan duel and showed that Uchiha Yao’s training had made her confident and formidable. After Hinata gained the advantage in their first exchange, Neji launched a furious Eight Trigrams Palms attack, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Hinata entered the field with Uchiha Yao’s encouragement while Neji mocked her and Naruto as weak.
• Hinata rejected Neji’s belief that fate was unchangeable and declared she would prove her courage through strength.
• Neji and Hinata activated their Byakugan and began fighting with the Gentle Fist.
• Hinata evaded Neji’s opening strike, countered his wrist, and forced him to retreat, astonishing the Hyuga Clan members.
• Hinata criticized Neji’s rigid attack, and he angrily launched his Eight Trigrams Palms technique at her.

Hinata defeated Neji in their match, countering his Gentle Fist and overpowering his strongest techniques with her own mastery. After winning, she told him that his future was his to decide, and the Hyuga clan no longer dared underestimate her.

• Hinata blocked Neji's close-range attacks and dodged his Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm before striking him down with Gentle Fist.
• Neji got back up and attacked Hinata with Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms, but she matched and outperformed his technique.
• Hinata escalated to Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, sealing Neji's chakra points and forcing him to his knees.
• Hinata told Neji that fate was not unchangeable and that he should decide his own future.
• Hinata walked toward the stands as the Hyuga clan stopped looking down on her.

Uchiha Yao declared Hinata the Hyuga Main Family’s sole heir and forced the clan to accept her position. Later, he walked Kurenai Yuhi home, where she questioned whether Tsunade was only his companion.

• Hinata returned to Uchiha Yao after defeating Neji, and Naruto praised her performance.
• Uchiha Yao declared Hinata the rightful and sole heir of the Hyuga Main Family and warned the clan against challenging her.
• Hyuga Hiashi and the clan members pledged to support Hinata, while Hiashi told Neji to consider Hinata’s words about changing his fate.
• Uchiha Yao left the training grounds with Naruto and Hinata, then later met Kurenai Yuhi outside the Hokage Building.
• As Uchiha Yao walked Kurenai home, she asked whether Tsunade was only his companion, and he paused to look at her.

Kurenai Yuhi kissed Uchiha Yao outside her home, then spent the next morning agonizing over how to face him. After Tsunade's disastrous cooking attempt, Kurenai went to the Hokage's Office to deliver a report, still flustered around Yao.

• Kurenai Yuhi kissed Uchiha Yao, then ran into her courtyard while he wished her good night.
• Kurenai woke the next morning embarrassed about kissing Yao and worried about seeing him at work.
• Tsunade and Shizune arrived at Kurenai's home, where Tsunade attempted to prove her cooking skills and ruined the kitchen.
• Kurenai left for work and delivered a mission completion report to Uchiha Yao, then tried to flee the office.

Uchiha Yao confronted Kurenai Yuhi about her kiss the previous night, then kissed her and heard her confess that she liked him. He declared that she was his woman, and they settled into a tender moment together in his office.

• Uchiha Yao stopped Kurenai Yuhi from leaving and reminded her that she had kissed him the previous night.
• Uchiha Yao kissed Kurenai Yuhi forcefully, then teased her about taking responsibility for him.
• Kurenai Yuhi confessed that she liked Uchiha Yao, and he answered with a gentle kiss.
• Uchiha Yao told Kurenai Yuhi that she was his woman, and she cried with happiness in his embrace.
• Uchiha Yao led Kurenai Yuhi to the sofa and poured tea while explaining that Shikaku Nara had handled most of his work.
• Kurenai Yuhi massaged Uchiha Yao's temples as he continued reviewing documents.

Uchiha Yao and Kurenai Yuhi grew closer, and he invited her to stay the night at his home after she helped Hinata train. Unable to sleep, Kurenai wondered whether Yao expected her to visit him and quietly left Hinata’s room to go to his.

• Uchiha Yao pulled Kurenai Yuhi onto his lap and told her she was his woman, and Kurenai kissed him.
• Over the following weeks, Kurenai Yuhi regularly spent quiet time with Uchiha Yao at his office or home.
• Kurenai Yuhi praised Hinata’s Gentle Fist training at Uchiha Yao’s residence, where Naruto and Hinata also spent the evening.
• Uchiha Yao asked Kurenai Yuhi to stay overnight and sleep with Hinata, and she accepted after Naruto and Hinata encouraged her.
• Unable to sleep, Kurenai Yuhi decided to seek out Uchiha Yao and quietly left Hinata’s room.

Kurenai Yuhi came to Uchiha Yao’s room at night and told him she wanted to become his woman for real. After confirming that she was certain and willing, Uchiha Yao carried her to bed and kissed her.

• Uchiha Yao heard Kurenai Yuhi approach and watched her enter his room in a nightgown.
• Kurenai Yuhi knelt before Uchiha Yao, then threw herself into his arms and asked whether his words calling her his woman still counted.
• Uchiha Yao affirmed that they did, and Kurenai Yuhi said she wanted to become his woman for real.
• Uchiha Yao asked whether Kurenai Yuhi had thought it through, and she confirmed that she had and was willing.
• Uchiha Yao helped Kurenai Yuhi untie her nightgown, carried her to bed, and kissed her.

Kurenai Yuhi and Uchiha Yao spent the night together, then woke to an embarrassed but affectionate morning. Yao hid Kurenai’s absence from Naruto and Hinata and brought her breakfast after they left for school.

• Uchiha Yao set up a barrier to keep sounds and detection from disturbing the sleeping Hinata and Naruto, and Kurenai Yuhi told him she was his for the night.
• The next morning, Uchiha Yao caught Kurenai Yuhi trying to touch his sleeping face and teased her before letting her fall asleep again.
• Uchiha Yao told Naruto and Hinata that Kurenai Yuhi had left before dawn to handle something urgent.
• After Naruto and Hinata went to school, Uchiha Yao brought breakfast to Kurenai Yuhi, who had been sleeping in his room.

Uchiha Yao and Kurenai Yuhi began living together as a couple, and he introduced her as the mistress of his household to Naruto and Hinata. Their private moment in the Hokage's Office was interrupted when Tsunade burst in, leaving her stunned to find Kurenai in Uchiha Yao's arms.

• Uchiha Yao fed Kurenai Yuhi breakfast and told her to rest at his residence for several days.
• Uchiha Yao announced to Naruto and Hinata that Kurenai Yuhi was the mistress of his household, and they congratulated the couple.
• Uchiha Yao and Kurenai Yuhi spent several happy days together as their relationship grew closer.
• Kurenai Yuhi brought Uchiha Yao intelligence reports in the Hokage's Office and embraced him while he sat at his desk.
• Tsunade kicked open the office doors to confront Uchiha Yao about the Medical Department's budget, then froze when she saw Kurenai in his arms.

Tsunade angrily confronted Uchiha Yao and Kurenai Yuhi, then stormed out after accusing them of disgracing Konoha. Kurenai suggested Tsunade was jealous, and Uchiha Yao went to find her after she began drinking alone at an izakaya.

• Tsunade criticized Uchiha Yao and Kurenai Yuhi for being affectionate in the Hokage's office and demanded that they consider Konoha's reputation.
• Uchiha Yao warned Tsunade, who threw the budget documents onto his desk and stormed out of the office.
• Kurenai Yuhi suggested that Tsunade's anger came from jealousy, and Uchiha Yao decided to resolve the conflict.
• Tsunade drank cup after cup of Clear Sake alone at an izakaya until Uchiha Yao arrived and spotted her.

Uchiha Yao confronted Tsunade about her anger over seeing him with another woman and tried to resolve their dispute. After Tsunade attacked him on a remote plain, he restrained her, and she fell silent as he drew close to her.

• Uchiha Yao brought Tsunade the approved Medical Department budget, but she rejected it and said she would quit as its head.
• Tsunade accused Uchiha Yao of neglecting her hard work while flirting with another woman, then smashed the izakaya table in anger.
• Uchiha Yao paid for the damage and used Heavenly Might to take Tsunade from Konoha to a remote plain.
• Tsunade attacked Uchiha Yao with Chakra Enhanced Strength and Painful Heavenly Kick, but he blocked her strikes.
• Uchiha Yao pinned Tsunade's hands and pulled her against him; she stopped struggling when he asked if she had vented enough.
• Uchiha Yao released Tsunade's hands, held her around the waist, and slowly lowered his head as they met each other's gaze.

Uchiha Yao confronted Tsunade about her feelings, kissed her, and urged her to stop hiding behind her anger and grief over Nawaki. Tsunade accepted his hand, and he used Heavenly Might to take them back to Konoha.

• Uchiha Yao asked Tsunade whether she liked him, and she denied it while insisting she was only angry about his behavior in the Hokage's Office.
• Uchiha Yao kissed Tsunade, and she eventually stopped resisting before pushing him away and accusing him of pursuing her despite having Kurenai.
• Uchiha Yao told Tsunade that she was jealous of Kurenai and described how she hid her pain over losing Nawaki behind gambling, alcohol, strength, and temper.
• Uchiha Yao promised Tsunade a different future, and she weakly pounded his chest before resting against him.
• Tsunade placed her hand in Uchiha Yao's, and he used Heavenly Might to return them to Konoha.

Uchiha Yao pressed Tsunade to accept a relationship with both him and Kurenai, then brought her home and announced that she and Kurenai would both be mistresses of the household. Naruto and Hinata walked in just as Tsunade reacted to the announcement.

• On Hokage Rock, Tsunade questioned whether Yao was serious and raised her concern about Kurenai.
• Yao told Tsunade he would not give up either her or Kurenai, while Tsunade insisted she needed time to think.
• Yao returned home with Tsunade holding his hand, where Kurenai welcomed them and took Tsunade's other hand.
• Yao announced at a family meeting that Kurenai and Tsunade would both be mistresses of the household.
• Naruto and Hinata entered the living room and froze at the gathering.

Uchiha Yao’s teasing left Tsunade flustered, and she spent the next week avoiding him by burying herself in work. He finally cornered her in the Medical Department and proposed a “deep discussion” about counseling medical ninja and easing postwar stress.

• Naruto mistook the tense gathering with Tsunade for a family meeting, making her choke on her tea and flee the Uchiha Compound.
• After Naruto and Hinata left, Kurenai Yuhi told Uchiha Yao she accepted his relationships and urged him to push Tsunade to stop delaying.
• Tsunade wandered Konoha’s quiet streets, cursing Uchiha Yao and struggling to calm herself.
• For a week, Tsunade avoided Uchiha Yao and sent Shizune to Hokage Building meetings while she focused on Medical Department work.
• Uchiha Yao entered Tsunade’s office and suggested a “deep discussion” about mental health counseling for medical ninja, leaving her blushing and calling him a pervert in her thoughts.

Uchiha Yao consolidated Konoha’s reforms and prepared for a looming threat beyond the village. He ordered Jiraiya and all Konoha jonin on missions to return, leaving the Shinobi World on the brink of war.

• Uchiha Yao kissed Tsunade and persuaded her to give him time before carrying her into the office lounge.
• Over the next six months, Uchiha Yao reformed Konoha’s Police Force, joining Uchiha and Hyuga ninja in patrol units and strengthening the village’s sensory barrier.
• Uchiha Yao resolved to prepare for threats including the Akatsuki Organization, Obito, Black Zetsu, and the Otsutsuki Clan.
• Uchiha Yao ordered Uchiha Kenji to tell Shikaku Nara to recall Jiraiya from his information-gathering mission.
• Uchiha Yao ordered every Konoha jonin on an outside mission to return within three days or be treated as a traitor.

Uchiha Yao summoned Konoha’s jonin and major clan heads to a highest-level meeting, while Jiraiya realized the Hokage might be preparing to unify the Shinobi World. Three days later, Konoha’s leaders assembled, awaiting Uchiha Yao’s announcement.

• Uchiha Yao ordered Shikaku Nara to summon every village jonin and major clan head to a meeting in three days and recall jonin on missions.
• Kakashi and elite ANBU found Jiraiya at a hot spring inn and delivered Uchiha Yao’s highest-level summons.
• Jiraiya inferred that Uchiha Yao intended to unify the Shinobi World and raced back to Konoha.
• Three days later, Konoha’s clan leaders, elite jonin, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and former advisor Mitokado Homura gathered in the Hokage Building’s conference room with Uchiha Yao seated at its head.

Shikaku Nara briefed Konoha's leaders on the state of the other great shinobi villages. Uchiha Yao argued that the one-country, one-village system perpetuated war and called for a world with only Konoha, then asked who supported or opposed his plan.

• Shikaku Nara described Sunagakure's financial troubles and Rasa's unstable control over Gaara.
• Shikaku Nara reported Kirigakure's bloody purges, Iwagakure's strength under Ōnoki, and Kumogakure's intact military and two capable Jinchuriki.
• Uchiha Yao questioned what war had brought Konoha and recalled the destruction of the First, Second, and Third Shinobi World Wars.
• Uchiha Yao condemned the one-country, one-village system for fueling suspicion and repeated wars.
• Uchiha Yao declared that he would destroy the existing system and establish a world with only Konoha, then asked the leaders who supported or opposed him.

Uchiha Yao won Konoha's leaders and elite shinobi over to his plan to unify the Shinobi World. With the village united behind him, he declared Level-One War Readiness.

• Hyuga Hiashi pledged the Hyuga Clan's full support for Uchiha Yao's decision.
• Jiraiya agreed that Konoha should act, while warning that the war required careful planning and minimal casualties.
• Tsunade and Shikaku Nara backed the plan, and Inoichi Yamanaka and Choza Akimichi joined their support.
• Kakashi agreed to fight, and Might Guy volunteered to lead Konoha's vanguard.
• Uchiha Yao announced that Konoha had entered Level-One War Readiness.

Uchiha Yao ordered a secret purge of spies in Konoha before the village went to war. Hyuga surveillance and coordinated arrests began that night, and a Hidden Sand spy was caught while trying to escape.

• Uchiha Yao told the assembled leaders that Konoha would eliminate its spies before fighting the other villages.
• Uchiha Yao assigned Hyuga Hiashi to use the Byakugan to locate suspicious people, Uchiha Kenji to coordinate arrests with ANBU and the Torture Department, and Inoichi Yamanaka to interrogate captured spies.
• Konoha increased patrols and began secretly arresting suspected spies across the village.
• Hyuga and Uchiha operatives identified ramen shop owner Takashi Hashimoto as an Iwagakure spy and captured him with genjutsu.
• A Hidden Sand spy tried to flee through an escape passage but encountered a Uchiha operative waiting in the darkness.

After Konoha’s Purification operation uncovered and executed 137 spies, Uchiha Yao and Shikaku Nara chose Sunagakure as Konoha’s first target. The chapter ended with Konoha preparing to strike the Land of Wind.

• Inoichi Yamanaka told Ibiki Morino that four major shinobi villages had planted 137 spies throughout Konoha’s departments.
• Konoha carried out the secret Purification operation for three days and captured every spy.
• Uchiha Kenji reported that all 137 spies had been executed and their intelligence networks destroyed.
• Shikaku Nara assessed the Five Great Villages and identified Sunagakure as the weakest and most suitable first target.
• Uchiha Yao agreed and chose Sunagakure as Konoha’s opening target.

Uchiha Yao finalized Konoha’s three-pronged deployment for a campaign against Sunagakure and revealed his plan to unite the Shinobi World to Uchiha Fugaku. Fugaku pledged to follow Yao and help clear every obstacle in his way.

• Shikaku Nara presented a three-route plan: Yao and Tsunade would lead the assault on Sunagakure, while Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Kai would defend the northern border against Iwagakure.
• Shikaku assigned a third defensive force to contain Kumogakure, and Yao said he would arrange its leadership.
• Yao ordered Konoha’s Intelligence, ANBU, and Logistics departments to prepare secretly and have every unit reach its position within two weeks.
• Yao told Uchiha Fugaku that Konoha would begin by conquering Sunagakure and ultimately unite the Shinobi World under one Konoha.
• Fugaku accepted Yao’s vision and pledged to obey his arrangements and remove obstacles in his path.

Uchiha Yao assigned Fugaku to lead a mixed force to defend the Land of Fire’s eastern border against Kumogakure while he prepared to attack Sunagakure. He then told Daimyo Chiba that he planned to unify the Shinobi World, and Chiba pledged the Land of Fire’s full support.

• Uchiha Yao ordered Fugaku to gather six hundred clan elites and secretly fortify the eastern border against Kumogakure.
• Fugaku vowed that Kumogakure would never enter the Land of Fire and departed to carry out his mission.
• Uchiha Yao arrived at the Daimyo’s Residence, where Chiba punished a servant who had mistaken him for an intruder.
• Uchiha Yao told Chiba that Konoha would go to war with Sunagakure and that he intended to unify the Shinobi World.
• Chiba pledged the Land of Fire’s full support and promised to cooperate at any cost.