Chapter Summaries

Hatake Sakumo prepared to take his own life after Konoha turned against him, but Hatake Ziyan arrived and stopped him. Ziyan condemned Konoha’s leaders and left Sakumo worried about what he would do to the village.

• Konoha civilians blamed Hatake Sakumo for abandoning a mission, and he sent Kakashi to school before preparing to kill himself.
• Danzo and the Third Hokage argued over the campaign against Sakumo, and Danzo said he had searched for the Sword God for nearly twenty years without finding him.
• Hatake Ziyan arrived at Sakumo’s gate, silenced the crowd with his aura, and was greeted by Sakumo as his clan head.
• Ziyan rebuked Sakumo for accepting the abuse instead of protecting his family and clan, then warned that Konoha had forgotten his earlier warning.
• Sakumo trembled as he remembered Ziyan’s teachings and worried about what his uncle would do to Konoha’s leaders.

Hatake Ziyan returned to Konoha and confronted Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo after learning Danzo had moved against Hatake Sakumo. He killed a Root ninja who tried to speak for Danzo, then demanded to hear what Danzo had to say.

• Hatake Ziyan left Hatake Sakumo’s courtyard with him and headed to the Hokage Building.
• Danzo told Hiruzen Sarutobi that Hatake Ziyan had returned and admitted he had acted against Hatake Sakumo while believing Ziyan was dead.
• Hatake Ziyan entered the Hokage’s office, ignored Hiruzen’s attempt to explain, and questioned Danzo about what had happened.
• Hatake Ziyan’s killing intent overwhelmed those in the room, forcing Danzo to bend and two Root ninja to collapse.
• A Root ninja began defending Danzo, but Hatake Ziyan killed him with an unseen sword strike and insisted that Danzo speak.

Hatake Ziyan severed Danzo’s arm and forced Hiruzen Sarutobi to clear the slander against Hatake Sakumo. Back at Sakumo’s courtyard, Ziyan rebuked Sakumo for considering suicide, then encountered young Kakashi, who drew his sword and demanded to know what had happened to his father.

• Hatake Ziyan severed Danzo’s right arm as punishment and warned him not to target the Hatake Clan again.
• Hatake Ziyan ordered Hiruzen Sarutobi to clear the slander against Hatake Sakumo within a day, then left the Hokage Building with Sakumo.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi arranged medical treatment for Danzo, and Sakumo departed after accepting the Hokage’s apology.
• Hatake Ziyan scolded Sakumo for thinking his death would protect his clan and family, arguing that strength and survival were necessary to defend them.
• Hatake Ziyan left Sakumo alone to reflect, then pointed his sword at young Kakashi, who demanded to know what he had done to his father.

Hatake Ziyan revealed himself to Kakashi as the Hatake Clan’s former leader, then Hatake Sakumo explained Ziyan’s role in the Warring States era and his reputation as the Blood-Colored Swordsman. The story ended with Sakumo recounting Ziyan’s legendary battle with Madara Uchiha, whose outcome remained unknown.

• Hatake Ziyan parried Kakashi’s attack, disarmed him, and endured Kakashi’s lightning technique without harm.
• Hatake Sakumo stopped Kakashi and explained that Ziyan was his uncle and the Hatake Clan’s former leader.
• Hatake Sakumo told Kakashi that Ziyan’s help had contributed to the peaceful village they lived in.
• Hatake Sakumo described how Ziyan led a Hatake branch to the Land of Iron, then returned to avenge his wounded father.
• Hatake Sakumo recounted that Ziyan killed thousands of Uchiha allies and their Grand Elder before fighting Madara Uchiha, after which Madara declared the Uchiha would no longer be enemies of the Hatake.

Hatake Ziyan learned that Hiruzen Sarutobi had brought him to meet Mito Uzumaki, who wanted to see him. He reunited with Mito and met Kushina, but his attempt to scare the girl ended with Mito restraining him.

• Hatake Sakumo told Kakashi that Ziyan had helped the Senju and Uchiha end their war and establish Konoha, then sent Kakashi to train before answering why the history books credited Hashirama.
• Hatake Ziyan checked his system interface and reflected that his progress had slowed at level 101.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Ziyan that Mito had requested to see him and led him to her courtyard.
• Ziyan sensed hidden ninja near Mito's courtyard, ordered Hiruzen to withdraw them, and entered after they left.
• Mito greeted Ziyan and introduced Kushina Uzumaki, whom Ziyan recognized as the girl he had once been asked to protect.
• Ziyan pressured Kushina with his aura as a joke, but Mito bound him with Adamantine Sealing Chains.

Hatake Ziyan learned that Mito Uzumaki was nearing the end of her life and agreed to protect Kushina until she could defend herself, then left Mito’s home after reuniting with Tsunade. Mito and Tsunade discussed the village’s treatment of Sakumo and Danzo’s alleged role in it.

• Hatake Ziyan examined Mito Uzumaki and learned that her health was failing.
• Mito introduced Kushina to Hatake Ziyan and asked him to keep her safe; he agreed to stay in Konoha until Kushina could protect herself.
• Mito told Hatake Ziyan to return in seven days to help seal the Nine-Tails.
• Tsunade arrived, greeted Hatake Ziyan affectionately, and then caught up with Mito after he left.
• Tsunade said she had heard Danzo was behind the slander against Sakumo and condemned him.

Hatake Ziyan told Hiruzen Sarutobi to leave Mito alone, then rejected Orochimaru’s request for help becoming the Fourth Hokage. After six days spent visiting Mito and instructing Kakashi, he returned to the Senju Clan Compound, where Mito urged him to find a wife and continue his family line.

• Hatake Ziyan learned from Hiruzen Sarutobi that the rumors about Sakumo had been cleared up, and told Hiruzen to leave Mito alone while promising to handle the Nine-Tails’ seal.
• Hatake Ziyan criticized Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tobirama while standing on Hokage Rock, where Orochimaru approached him and asked for help becoming the Fourth Hokage.
• Hatake Ziyan refused Orochimaru’s request, then ordered a subordinate to watch the people they had been searching for and wait for an opportunity.
• Hatake Ziyan spent the next six days visiting Mito and giving Kakashi some instruction.
• Hatake Ziyan visited Mito on the seventh morning, and Mito urged him to find a wife and carry on his family line.

Hatake Ziyan accepted Mito Uzumaki’s request to teach Nawaki, triggering a choice that offered him either a Wood Release bloodline limit or an eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. He later collected the Scroll of Seals and prepared to seal the Nine-Tails in Mito and Kushina, leaving both women ready for the procedure.

• Mito Uzumaki asked Hatake Ziyan to teach Nawaki, and Ziyan agreed after choosing the option that rewarded him with a Wood Release bloodline limit.
• Hatake Ziyan took Mito Uzumaki and Kushina to a prepared mountain site, leaving Tsunade and the others behind.
• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu confronted Hiruzen Sarutobi over losing control of the Nine-Tails, while Hiruzen warned them that Hatake Ziyan had taken Mito and Kushina.
• Hatake Ziyan entered the Hokage’s office, asked Hiruzen Sarutobi for the Scroll of Seals, and left with it.
• Hatake Ziyan returned to the mountain, where Mito Uzumaki and Kushina lay ready on separate operating tables for the sealing procedure.

Hatake Ziyan transferred the Nine-Tails from Mito Uzumaki to Kushina and secured Kurama’s agreement to cooperate. Mito died after the sealing, and Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Hokage Advisors confronted Hatake Ziyan over Kushina.

• Mito Uzumaki released the Nine-Tails, and Hatake Ziyan persuaded Kurama to accept being sealed in Kushina in exchange for occasional freedom.
• Hatake Ziyan sealed the Nine-Tails inside Kushina, forming an Eight Trigrams Seal on her stomach.
• Mito Uzumaki collapsed and died after asking Hatake Ziyan to look after Kushina, who wept over her grandmother.
• Hatake Ziyan confronted dozens of Konoha ninja led by Hiruzen Sarutobi, while Utatane Koharu claimed Kushina belonged to Konoha.

Hatake Ziyan forced Hiruzen Sarutobi to choose whether Utatane Koharu would live, prompting Hiruzen to kill her before she could reveal the truth about Hatake Sakumo. After sending the Konoha group away, Ziyan prepared Mito Uzumaki’s remains and sat alone above the village, where Orochimaru appeared.

• Utatane Koharu challenged Hatake Ziyan, but Hiruzen Sarutobi clarified that she spoke for herself and agreed to get out of Ziyan’s way.
• Hatake Ziyan asked Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo whether he could kill Utatane Koharu, and Hiruzen ultimately said he had no objections.
• Utatane Koharu offered to reveal what happened on Hatake Sakumo’s mission, but Hiruzen Sarutobi killed her with a chakra-strike before she could explain.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi called Koharu’s claims nonsense, and Hatake Ziyan dismissed him and the others after making clear that he had achieved his aim.
• Hatake Ziyan prepared Mito Uzumaki’s remains, placed her in a coffin at the Senju Clan Compound, and went alone to Hashirama’s statue with sake.
• Orochimaru appeared beside Hatake Ziyan and remarked that even the Sword God could not prevent death and human frailty.

Hatake Ziyan warned Orochimaru that transferring his soul into new bodies would gradually weaken it, then offered to trade a solution for something valuable. After Ziyan left, Orochimaru remained uncertain about the warning, while Hiruzen Sarutobi struggled to contain the political fallout from Utatane Koharu’s death and Danzo worked to spread it.

• Orochimaru told Hatake Ziyan that he wanted to develop a ninjutsu that could grant eternal life by moving his soul into other bodies.
• Hatake Ziyan warned Orochimaru that reincarnation would erode his soul and weaken his resistance to genjutsu, then claimed his own pursuit of immortality would yield better results.
• Orochimaru asked Hatake Ziyan how to prevent the loss of soul power, but Hatake Ziyan said he would only share the answer in exchange for something valuable and warned him not to experiment on Konoha’s people.
• Hatake Ziyan left Orochimaru, having chosen a system reward that would help him research the Immortality Reincarnation Technique and mitigate its side effects.
• Orochimaru set aside his doubts and prepared to visit Mito Uzumaki to say farewell, while Hiruzen Sarutobi tried to contain the fallout from killing Utatane Koharu and Danzo sought to spread the news and drive Hiruzen from office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi confronted Danzo over rumors blaming him for killing Utatane Koharu, while Danzo used the scandal to pressure him. At Mito Uzumaki’s burial beside Hashirama Senju, Hatake Ziyan discovered Hashirama’s remains had been tampered with but chose not to expose Danzo, leaving him fearful.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered witnesses to keep Utatane Koharu’s death secret and gave them S-rank mission rewards.
• After rumors spread that Hiruzen Sarutobi had killed Koharu to escape Lord Ziyan’s anger, he summoned Danzo and demanded to know his terms.
• Danzo denied spreading the rumors, but Hiruzen Sarutobi warned him that Lord Ziyan might punish him over his role in what happened to Sakumo.
• Three days later, Tsunade, Konoha’s clan leaders, and Konoha High Command gathered to bury Mito Uzumaki beside Hashirama Senju.
• Hatake Ziyan touched Hashirama’s coffin and discovered that someone had tampered with his remains, while Danzo anxiously tried to stop him from opening it.
• Hatake Ziyan chose to leave the coffin closed and taunted Danzo, implying that someone feared their secret would be revealed.

After Mito Uzumaki’s funeral, Hatake Ziyan intimidated Danzo, comforted Tsunade, and left Hiruzen Sarutobi wary of his influence over Kushina. Konoha settled into a quiet period while Ziyan taught Kakashi, Kushina, and Nawaki.

• Hatake Ziyan frightened Danzo, then spared him and comforted Tsunade before leaving Mito Uzumaki’s funeral.
• After the funeral, Hiruzen Sarutobi encouraged Tsunade and Nawaki, then warned Kushina not to leave Konoha on missions.
• The Nine-Tails told Kushina it sensed malice from Hiruzen, and Kushina said she would follow Ziyan if he took her outside the village.
• Hiruzen left, planning to speak with Kushina again so an outsider would not take the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki away.
• Konoha entered a peaceful period, and Hatake Ziyan taught Hatake Kakashi, Kushina, and Senju Nawaki.

Hatake Ziyan moved the children’s training to a secluded ground and accepted Orochimaru’s agreement to serve him in exchange for a scroll. He revealed that Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō had concealed the truth about Orochimaru’s Hashirama-cell research, leaving Orochimaru angry at Danzō and suspicious of his teacher.

• Hatake Ziyan persuaded Hiruzen Sarutobi to prepare a secluded training ground and arranged for Kakashi, Kushina, and Nawaki to train there together.
• Hatake Ziyan brought the three children to the new training ground and set them to physical conditioning while he watched.
• Orochimaru asked Hatake Ziyan for help, agreed to serve him, and received a scroll to study in secret.
• Hatake Ziyan questioned Orochimaru about his Hashirama-cell experiments, and Orochimaru explained that Shimura Danzō had commissioned the research and that the test subjects had died.
• Hatake Ziyan claimed someone with Hashirama-like chakra had survived and accused Danzō and Hiruzen Sarutobi of hiding the truth from Orochimaru.
• Orochimaru grew furious at Danzō and began to question Hiruzen Sarutobi’s role in the experiments.

Hatake Ziyan told Orochimaru why Konoha kept him, then had him test Kakashi, Kushina, and Nawaki. The children fought back, but Kushina’s fear of snakes triggered a Tailed Beast Cloak, and Orochimaru warned Ziyan that she had gone berserk.

• Hatake Ziyan explained that Konoha kept Orochimaru because he was a powerful and useful fighter, and urged him to investigate the truth himself.
• Orochimaru agreed to test Kakashi, Kushina, and Nawaki, and Hatake Ziyan challenged the children to fight him seriously.
• Kakashi and Nawaki attacked Orochimaru, but his earth clone evaded Kakashi’s strike while Kushina bound and threw him with her Adamantine Sealing Chains.
• Orochimaru recognized Kushina as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and attacked her with Hidden Shadow Snake Hands.
• Kushina panicked at the snakes, unleashed a Tailed Beast Cloak, and made Orochimaru call to Hatake Ziyan for help subduing her.

Kushina revealed that she remained in control as a Perfect Jinchuriki and fought Orochimaru during training. Hiruzen Sarutobi tried to take charge of her, but Hatake Ziyan demonstrated Kushina’s mastery and forced Hiruzen to apologize.

• Kushina broke through the seal on her communication with the Nine-Tails and struck Orochimaru with its chakra tails.
• Orochimaru drew a sword from his mouth, but Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived and mistook Kushina’s power for a loss of control.
• Hatake Ziyan confronted Hiruzen after he demanded custody of Kushina, and Kushina briefly activated her Perfect Nine-Tails Form.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi realized Kushina was a Perfect Jinchuriki and apologized to Hatake Ziyan for the misunderstanding.

Hatake Ziyan intimidated Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo after confronting them over their actions. On the way home, he met Minato Namikaze and teased him about his teacher, Jiraiya.

• Hatake Ziyan let Hiruzen Sarutobi leave after warning him, then dismissed Orochimaru and the three children.
• Hatake Ziyan confronted Danzo at Root over having someone follow him and killed the Root ninja hiding nearby.
• Danzo blamed Hiruzen Sarutobi for the unauthorized surveillance and ordered his Root ninja to keep quiet and dispose of the body.
• Hatake Ziyan met Minato Namikaze on the street and called Jiraiya a pervy toad.
• Minato Namikaze defended Jiraiya, saying his teacher was gathering material rather than peeping.

Hatake Ziyan treated Minato Namikaze to ramen at Ichiraku, where he recalled the disastrous time he had mistaken Ichiraku for a hidden Ōtsutsuki fighter and nearly killed him. Ichiraku asked why Ziyan had returned to Konoha, and Ziyan said Mito had asked him to look after two people, leaving Ichiraku questioning whether he truly cared about the village.

• Hatake Ziyan invited Minato Namikaze to Ichiraku Ramen and ordered two bowls of tonkotsu ramen.
• Hatake Ziyan remembered how he had attacked Ichiraku years earlier after believing rumors that he was an Ōtsutsuki, and Hashirama had barely saved him.
• Ichiraku recognized Hatake Ziyan and recalled that nothing bad had happened to him except Ziyan's assault.
• Hatake Ziyan told Ichiraku that Mito had asked him to look after two people, so he would stay in Konoha for a while.
• Ichiraku asked whether Ziyan would clean up Konoha, and Ziyan denied caring about the village before Ichiraku challenged that claim.

Hatake Ziyan befriended Minato Namikaze and spent the next three years training children and tormenting Danzo. After learning that Jiraiya had left and his people were approaching the Rinnegan boy’s group, Ziyan prepared to depart, warning the children that the Shinobi World would soon become turbulent.

• Hatake Ziyan offered Minato Namikaze guidance, then laughed with the owner of Ichiraku about Jiraiya’s respectful description of him.
• Over the next three years, Hatake Ziyan trained three children, sometimes advised Minato Namikaze, and repeatedly beat Danzo.
• Hatake Ziyan ordered a subordinate to quietly approach Jiraiya’s group, support them, and earn the trust of their leader, the boy with the Rinnegan.
• Hatake Ziyan gave Hatake Sakumo gifts for the three children and left, warning them to grow stronger because the Shinobi World would soon become dangerous.

Hatake Ziyan left Konoha after warning Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo not to harm the people he cared about, then traveled to Sunagakure and witnessed Sasori ambush the Third Kazekage. After defeating Sasori’s human puppets, Ziyan invited him to join his organization while Sasori continued turning the Kazekage into a puppet.

• Hatake Ziyan told Hiruzen Sarutobi he was leaving Konoha and warned him to keep Danzo from scheming against the people Ziyan cared about.
• Outside Sunagakure, Sasori lured the Third Kazekage into helping with his research, stabbed him, and used a poison to prevent him from mobilizing chakra.
• Sasori began transforming the Third Kazekage into a human puppet and silenced him by cutting off his tongue.
• Hatake Ziyan caught Sasori’s thrown scalpel and revealed himself, then cut apart the dozens of human puppets Sasori summoned.
• Hatake Ziyan invited Sasori to join his organization, and Sasori continued his work while asking what the organization did.