Chapter Summaries

Hatake Ziyan recruited Sasori after learning that poison had let him kill the Third Kazekage, then met Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan in Amegakure. He chose to leave Nagato’s Rinnegan alone and received the simplified Nine Turns Mysterious Technique, which could reach the Heavenly Immortal Realm when fully mastered.

• Hatake Ziyan agreed to let Sasori use living people to make Human Puppets for now, while urging him to use enemy corpses in the future.
• Sasori sealed the Third Kazekage in a scroll, and Hatake Ziyan learned that Sasori had killed him with a previously unknown poison before leaving Sunagakure.
• Hatake Ziyan traveled to Amegakure and met Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan; Nagato warned Yahiko that Hatake Ziyan had immense chakra and might want his eyes.
• Hatake Ziyan told Nagato that he was not interested in the Rinnegan, then briefly released his aura to show the trio the gap in their strength.
• Hatake Ziyan chose to leave the story unchanged rather than take Nagato’s Rinnegan, and the system rewarded him with the simplified Nine Turns Mysterious Technique.

Hatake Ziyan challenged Yahiko’s belief that unifying the Shinobi World would end war, then hinted that lasting unity required winning people’s hearts rather than ruling by force. He introduced himself to Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato, and Konan recognized him as Lord Sword God.

• Yahiko asked Hatake Ziyan why he had come, and Ziyan claimed he was interested in Yahiko’s organization and its ideals.
• Yahiko argued that unifying the Shinobi World under one ruler could end wars, but Ziyan questioned what would happen if powerful shinobi and clans opposed decisions that harmed their interests.
• Yahiko realized that dissatisfied shinobi might rebel and prey on ordinary people, but Ziyan insisted that unification could help if it won people’s hearts instead of relying on force.
• Ziyan reflected that Hashirama and Madara had misunderstood his earlier advice, and he decided to recruit Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato for training.
• Yahiko asked Ziyan how to win people’s hearts, and Ziyan told him to focus on gaining strength before reaching for distant goals.
• Ziyan gave Yahiko his name, and Konan recognized him as Lord Sword God.

Hatake Ziyan began training with the Pangu Visualization Diagram and the simplified Nine Turns Mysterious Technique, enduring a painful surge in mental power as his body adapted. After six days, he emerged stronger and sensed Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan waiting outside his room.

• Konan told Hatake Ziyan that Jiraiya had described him as a legendary shinobi, and Hatake Ziyan decided he would beat Jiraiya the next time they met.
• Hatake Ziyan began visualizing Pangu splitting heaven and earth, but the surge in his mental power caused severe pain.
• Hatake Ziyan practiced the first level of the Nine Turns Mysterious Technique to protect and strengthen his body.
• After six days, Nagato sensed the natural energy entering Hatake Ziyan's room had stopped, and he told Yahiko and Konan that Hatake Ziyan would soon emerge.
• Hatake Ziyan ended his training, found his head pain had vanished, and sensed Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan outside through the door.

After four years of extreme training with Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato, Hatake Ziyan decided to leave when his latest ninjutsu research had progressed. He headed toward Konoha to check on his former friend's descendant, whom he considered his student.

• Hatake Ziyan learned that he had spent several days shut away researching ninjutsu and told Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato that stronger people would eventually appear in the shinobi world.
• Hatake Ziyan spent four years training with the group, first having them strike him with wooden and iron clubs, then teaching them monstrous strength techniques and how to use them with weapons.
• Yahiko secretly tried Hatake Ziyan's training method, and Konan nearly killed him with a blow from the wooden club before Hatake Ziyan intervened.
• Hatake Ziyan's training with chakra-conductive iron weapons nearly killed him when Yahiko struck with full force, leaving him a week to recover.
• Hatake Ziyan told Konan that his body could withstand their strikes and that he was leaving for Konoha to check on a friend's descendant, now his student.

Hatake Ziyan returned to Konoha after four years of training and reunited with Hatake Sakumo and Kakashi. Sakumo revealed that Kakashi’s teammates kept dying on missions and that the village blamed the Hatake clan, while he feared returning to the battlefield would bring more trouble from Konoha’s leaders.

• Hatake Ziyan warned Nagato to avoid using the Rinnegan unless necessary, advised Yahiko to work on his personality, and asked Konan to contact Konoha if she needed help.
• Hatake Ziyan left the hideout and reflected on his training, growing defenses, spiritual power, and uncertainty about whether Obito Uchiha would turn against Konoha.
• Hatake Ziyan arrived at Hatake Sakumo’s courtyard, where Kakashi greeted him, and sent Kakashi to bring Kushina and Nawaki to the training ground.
• Hatake Sakumo told Hatake Ziyan that Kakashi’s teammates had repeatedly died on missions and that villagers blamed the Hatake clan for bringing misfortune.
• Hatake Ziyan offered to handle the situation and asked whether Hatake Sakumo wanted to return to the battlefield, while Sakumo admitted that he feared the village’s leaders would suppress him again.

Hatake Ziyan restored Hatake Sakumo’s resolve and brought him to the Hokage Office to join the war effort. He planned to use Minato Namikaze’s rise to Hokage to reshape Konoha, while the leaders discussed the Land of Water front.

• Hatake Ziyan urged Hatake Sakumo to trust his sword and stop letting outside pressure weaken his resolve, and Sakumo decided to go to the battlefield.
• Hatake Ziyan told Sakumo he could fight but must not earn military merit, then revealed his plan to make Minato Namikaze Hokage and use him to change Konoha.
• Hatake Ziyan and Sakumo entered the Hokage Office, where Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage Advisors, and Shikaku Nara were discussing the front.
• Hatake Ziyan mocked Danzo’s health and interrupted Hiruzen Sarutobi, who said Sakumo was already being considered to lead troops to the Land of Water front.

Hatake Ziyan met with Kushina, Nawaki, and Kakashi before their deployment to the battlefield, then summoned Minato Namikaze to discuss his dream of becoming Hokage. Minato agreed he wanted the position, and Hatake Ziyan offered to build his military merit and reputation through legitimate means.

• Hatake Ziyan reunited with Kushina, Nawaki, and Kakashi at the Training Ground and learned they had new teachers and were about to head to the battlefield.
• Hatake Ziyan warned Nawaki about battlefield dangers and gave him a letter to deliver to Orochimaru.
• Hatake Ziyan asked Kushina to summon Minato, then asked Minato whether he wanted to become Hokage.
• Minato said becoming Hokage had always been his dream, and Hatake Ziyan promised to help him earn the merit and fame needed to succeed Hiruzen Sarutobi legitimately.
• Hatake Ziyan asked whether Minato could use Flying Thunder God, and Minato said he had mastered Level One and mostly mastered Level Two.

Hatake Ziyan persuaded Minato to follow his plan to become Hokage and gave him three pouches with instructions for his Land of Earth missions. After Minato left, Ziyan confirmed his choice to Kushina, Nawaki, and Kakashi, then sent them to prepare for the battlefield.

• Minato agreed that Konoha needed new leadership and asked Hatake Ziyan to teach him how to become Hokage.
• Hatake Ziyan gave Minato three brocade pouches to open at specific stages of his Land of Earth assignments and explained why Minato was suited to the plan.
• Minato accepted the pouches and left after Hatake Ziyan told him to prepare to return to the battlefield.
• Kushina asked whether Ziyan intended to make Minato Hokage, and Ziyan confirmed that Minato's strength and character made him suitable.
• Nawaki objected that he wanted to become Hokage too, but backed down when Ziyan challenged him to defeat Minato.
• Hatake Ziyan reminded Kushina that she would stay off the battlefield unless Konoha faced a serious threat, then told the children to return alive.

Hatake Ziyan arranged for Konoha’s front commanders to delay their victories until Minato Namikaze arrived and could claim the military credit. He went to meet the Uchiha, killed a gatekeeper who insulted him, and asked Fugaku whether the clan had considered leaving Konoha.

• Hatake Ziyan told Hatake Sakumo to hold the Land of Water forces in check and let Minato take credit for a decisive victory.
• Hatake Ziyan sent Tsunade instructions to wait for Minato before attacking and had Nawaki tell Orochimaru to help Minato’s rise to Hokage.
• Hatake Ziyan visited the Uchiha compound, where a gatekeeper insulted him, and killed the man with a touch.
• Uchiha Fugaku confronted Hatake Ziyan, who warned him against mistaking respect for weakness and threatened that even the grand elder would approve his death.
• Hatake Ziyan asked Fugaku whether the Uchiha had considered defecting from Konoha, and Fugaku denied that the clan intended to rebel.

Hatake Ziyan challenged Fugaku’s belief that Konoha High Command alone had caused the Uchiha’s poor reputation, arguing that the clan’s harsh policing had turned ordinary villagers and ninja against them. Fugaku began to see that the Uchiha’s arrogance and treatment of suspects had contributed to their predicament.

• Hatake Ziyan asked Fugaku whether he had considered leading the Uchiha out of their predicament, then questioned his claim that Konoha High Command had spread rumors about the clan.
• Hatake Ziyan argued that gossip could have spread through Konoha’s many clans and squad system, then asked Fugaku what the Uchiha did as members of the Military Police Force.
• Fugaku proudly described the Uchiha’s policing and illusion-based interrogations, and Hatake Ziyan explained how forceful arrests and false confessions could make civilians resent them.
• Fugaku admitted that ordinary people would hate a police force that prevented them from earning a living or imprisoned them unjustly, and he began questioning the Uchiha’s control of the police force.
• Three Uchiha clansmen boasted about making a suspect confess through illusion, and Fugaku concluded that the clan’s arrogance had helped cause its predicament.

Hatake Ziyan persuaded the Uchiha leaders to cooperate with Sakumo’s plan for the Land of Water campaign and explained how sharing authority in the Konoha Military Police Force could ease the clan’s predicament. The Uchiha agreed, with Fugaku promising to lead their forces and keep them in line.

• Fugaku asked Hatake Ziyan whether the Uchiha Clan could change its situation, and Ziyan said he would help if they cooperated.
• Fugaku brought Ziyan to meet the elderly Uchiha Tazawa, who agreed to assist Ziyan’s plan without knowing its details.
• Ziyan told Tazawa and Fugaku to cooperate with Sakumo and avoid defeating Kirigakure too quickly, and Fugaku promised to lead the Uchiha forces and enforce discipline.
• Fugaku asked how the Uchiha could ease their predicament, and Ziyan advised them to hand some Military Police Force authority to commoner ninja.
• Ziyan explained that the Uchiha could use their intelligence network to publicize the commoner ninja’s actions in the police force and show villagers that the job’s duties caused resentment.

Hatake Ziyan taught Fugaku how to improve the Uchiha Clan’s reputation and advised them to relinquish some authority over Konoha’s Military Police Force. He explained that the Second Hokage had assigned the force to isolate the Uchiha from ordinary people, and Fugaku apologized after understanding the warning.

• Fugaku agreed to spread stories portraying the Uchiha as misunderstood, but Hatake Ziyan criticized him for not thinking beyond the immediate results.
• Hatake Ziyan outlined a broader campaign that would frame the Uchiha as strict law enforcers who had sacrificed their authority and manpower for Konoha.
• Tianze asked why the Uchiha should give up some Military Police authority, and Hatake Ziyan warned that their struggle for power could lead to their destruction.
• Fugaku awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan under Hatake Ziyan’s pressure, but Tianze ordered him to deactivate it.
• Hatake Ziyan explained that the Second Hokage had given the Uchiha the Military Police role to alienate them from the public, and that the Land of Water campaign gave them a chance to request help with policing.
• Fugaku apologized to Hatake Ziyan after he and Tianze understood the political purpose behind the Uchiha’s authority.

Hatake Ziyan secretly followed Minato Namikaze’s squad after Minato received orders to reinforce Konoha’s front lines and destroy Kannabi Bridge. Minato split from Kakashi, Obito, and Rin to aid the beleaguered front, where he turned the battle against the Iwagakure forces.

• Hatake Ziyan told Sakumo that Uchiha Fugaku had agreed to lead his men to the Land of Water battlefield, then secretly followed Minato’s squad out of the village.
• Minato read Hatake Ziyan’s sealed instructions, which predicted his orders and told him to reinforce the front before returning to lead the Kannabi Bridge mission.
• Near Kannabi Bridge, Minato assigned Kakashi to destroy it with Obito and Rin, then left to reinforce the front lines.
• Kakashi spotted four Iwagakure ninja and engaged two jonin while Obito and Rin took on the two chunin.
• Minato reached four Konoha ninja pinned down at the front, gave them marked Flying Thunder God kunai to scatter, and drove the Iwagakure forces into a one-sided retreat and slaughter.

Minato Namikaze destroyed Iwagakure's supply bridge and sent word to Jiraiya, while Kakashi fought Mahiru and his forces. Kakashi was buried by an Earth Release attack, and Obito awakened his Sharingan in fury as he believed Kakashi had died.

• Minato Namikaze killed the Iwagakure Jonin and told four Konoha ninja to inform Jiraiya that Kannabi Bridge had been destroyed and the forces should hold their position.
• Kakashi killed Taiseki with help from an unseen pebble and used Lightning Release techniques to defeat two Chunin and drive back Mahiru's shadow clones.
• Mahiru trapped Kakashi in Yellow Spring Swamp and buried him with Earth Flow River before opening fissures beneath the ground.
• Obito Uchiha saw that Kakashi had not emerged and awakened his Sharingan as he shouted that he would not let Kakashi die.

Obito fought Mahiru while Kakashi joined the battle and was trapped underground, but Minato arrived in time to kill Mahiru and rescue him. The team reached Kannabi Bridge, drove off the Iwagakure ninja, and destroyed the bridge.

• Obito attacked Mahiru to avenge Kakashi, using his newly awakened Sharingan to cut Mahiru.
• Kakashi left Hatake Ziyan and ambushed Mahiru, but Mahiru revealed himself to be an earth clone and dragged Kakashi underground.
• Minato appeared and killed Mahiru with a kunai through the heart, then freed Kakashi and reunited with Rin, Obito, and Kakashi.
• Minato led the team toward Kannabi Bridge, where Iwagakure ninja retreated after recognizing him as the Yellow Flash.
• Minato's team placed explosive tags on the bridge's supports, and the explosions sent Kannabi Bridge plunging into the ravine.

Hatake Ziyan chose to follow Minato Namikaze to the front against the Land of Lightning, where Minato was assigned to confront A and Killer B. Minato rescued Orochimaru from A’s attack and began facing the A-B Combo alone.

• Minato sent Kakashi, Obito, and Rin back to Konoha while he headed to support the front against the Land of Lightning.
• Hatake Ziyan chose to witness Minato’s rise to fame and traveled to the front instead of returning to Konoha to rest.
• At the main camp, Orochimaru asked Minato to hold off A and Killer B while he commanded Konoha’s counterattack.
• Orochimaru lured A and Killer B away from the main battle, then revealed Minato as their opponent and tried to escape.
• Minato rescued Orochimaru from A’s Lariat with Flying Thunder God, then struck Killer B’s tentacle with a Rasengan.
• A and Killer B prepared to fight Minato together as Minato recognized the challenge their teamwork posed.

Minato Namikaze fought A and Killer B until Orochimaru revealed that the Hidden Cloud Village army had lost and A chose to retreat. After the battle, Orochimaru told Minato that the old man had sent an Anbu message that might call him back to the village.

• Minato Namikaze dodged A’s attacks with Flying Thunder God as A figured out that Minato used his shuriken as coordinates and shattered them with Liger Bomb.
• Killer B caught Minato in a standoff, but Minato escaped and later avoided A and Killer B’s Double Lariat with the Substitution Technique.
• Minato Namikaze tried to pursue A, but tentacle strikes delayed him until Orochimaru blocked A’s path and announced that the Hidden Cloud Village had already lost.
• A decided to retreat with Killer B to rescue the Hidden Cloud Village ninja, while Orochimaru and Minato Namikaze returned toward the main camp.
• Orochimaru told Minato that the old man had sent an Anbu message that might call him back to the village, and Minato took a slip of paper from a brocade pouch.

After Minato and Orochimaru read Hatake Ziyan’s note, Ziyan revealed himself by striking Orochimaru with a pebble and then encountered Black Zetsu. Ziyan chose to spare Black Zetsu, gained power, and went with him to meet the still-living Madara Uchiha.

• Minato gave Orochimaru Hatake Ziyan’s note, which told them to avoid returning to camp after the battle.
• Hatake Ziyan struck Orochimaru’s arm with a pebble after Orochimaru insulted his handwriting.
• Black Zetsu approached Hatake Ziyan, who chose to spare him and gained a minor realm in the Nine Turns Mysterious Technique.
• Hatake Ziyan ordered Black Zetsu to take him to Madara Uchiha.
• Hatake Ziyan met the aged Madara Uchiha in a secluded cave and said he had never believed in Hashirama’s ideas.

Hatake Ziyan pretended to accept Madara’s offer of cooperation in exchange for a promise of resurrection, while probing Madara’s plans and protecting his own schemes in Konoha. After Ziyan left, Madara told Black Zetsu that the offer was meant to keep Ziyan from interfering with his resurrection plan.

• Madara offered to revive Hatake Ziyan if he joined forces with him to unite the Shinobi World.
• Hatake Ziyan feigned interest but questioned Madara’s resurrection ability, his intentions, and the risks of helping him.
• Madara claimed the Rinnegan could revive the dead and proposed ruling the Shinobi World by force before bringing it under order.
• Hatake Ziyan agreed to their partnership and promised to try to bring Konoha onto Madara’s side without taking power by force.
• After Hatake Ziyan left, Black Zetsu questioned Madara’s decision to work with him, and Madara explained that he wanted to prevent Ziyan from disrupting his resurrection plan.

Hatake Ziyan left Madara’s cave and headed for the Land of Wind, where Minato Namikaze and Tsunade launched a decisive battle against Sunagakure. After Minato defeated Bunpuku, Chiyo ordered Sunagakure to retreat.

• Madara told Black Zetsu to use Nagato to resurrect him if Hatake Ziyan disrupted his plans, and said he would deal with Ziyan himself.
• Hatake Ziyan left Madara’s cave and ran toward the battlefield in the Land of Wind.
• Tsunade gave Minato Namikaze the latest antidote and agreed to launch the decisive battle against Sunagakure the next morning.
• Minato Namikaze and Tsunade led Konoha’s forces against Chiyo’s Sunagakure army, while Tsunade fought Chiyo and Minato attacked Sunagakure’s ninja.
• Chiyo called Bunpuku into the battle, and Minato Namikaze struck him with a Big Ball Rasengan before Bunpuku collapsed.
• Tsunade knocked Chiyo back, but Chiyo reached Bunpuku and ordered Sunagakure to retreat.