Chapter Summaries

Hatake Ziyan confronted Minato Namikaze over his objections to bringing three bloodline limit ninja from the Water Ninja Village to Konoha. He left Minato humbled but insisted that Konoha should stand firm if the Water Ninja Village complained.

• Minato Namikaze found Hatake Ziyan at the Training Ground and complained that the three recruits would cause trouble with the Water Ninja Village.
• Hatake Ziyan rebuked Minato for acting indecisively, and the two argued over Minato's authority as Hokage.
• When Minato threatened to defend himself, Hatake Ziyan seized him by the throat and blocked his attempt to use Flying Thunder God.
• Minato begged for mercy but continued to call the recruits trouble, and Hatake Ziyan warned that he would have killed him if not for Kushina.
• Hatake Ziyan told Minato to blame him if the Water Ninja Village complained, then threw Minato to the ground.

Minato Namikaze stood firm against Mei Terumi’s demands that Konoha return the Water Ninja Village’s rogue ninja, threatening war instead. Hatake Ziyan then appeared and revealed that Minato had no authority over him, leaving Mei Terumi stunned.

• Hatake Ziyan urged Minato Namikaze to stand by his convictions, and Minato left to act decisively.
• Minato Namikaze told the onlookers to return to training and insisted that strength determined who made the rules.
• Mei Terumi confronted Minato Namikaze in the Hokage Office and demanded an explanation for the Water Ninja Village’s rogue ninja in Konoha.
• Minato Namikaze refused to hand over the ninja and challenged Mei Terumi to start a war if she wanted one.
• Hatake Ziyan appeared, teased Mei Terumi, and declared that Minato had no authority over him because he was Minato’s grandfather and trainer.

Hatake Ziyan took over Minato Namikaze’s negotiations with Mei Terumi and unsettled her when she tried to charm him into releasing the Missing-nin. Mei fled with Ao, leaving Minato stunned as Ziyan claimed he had resolved the problem.

• Mei Terumi learned from her companion that Hatake Ziyan’s claims were true and challenged Minato Namikaze, who told her to negotiate with Ziyan instead.
• Mei Terumi recalled that her Mizukage had ordered her to execute a Missing-nin, though she hoped to change the turmoil in Kirigakure.
• Mei Terumi tried to persuade Ziyan by flirting with him and asking him not to make things difficult for a young girl.
• Ziyan grabbed Mei Terumi’s waist and teased her, so she pulled free and hurried out with Ao.
• Minato remained stunned, and Ziyan told him he had solved the problem.

Hatake Ziyan reflected on his discovery of a powerful faction hidden outside the known plot and decided to investigate it while remaining in Konoha. After he left the courtyard, Hatake Sakumo feared he had angered him and fled with his luggage, leaving Kakashi a note.

• Hatake Ziyan returned to Hatake Sakumo's courtyard, where Sakumo pretended not to have seen him flustered and laughed secretly after he went inside.
• Hatake Ziyan recalled his years of loneliness, his encounter with a powerful member of an unknown faction, and his plan to investigate the group through Konoha.
• Hatake Ziyan remembered sensing a follower during his trip to the Water Ninja Village and resolved to rely on his strength while pursuing the mystery.
• Hatake Ziyan left before dinner to take care of something, making Sakumo worry that he had heard him laughing.
• Hatake Sakumo packed his luggage, left Kakashi a note, and ran away in case Hatake Ziyan planned to punish him.

Hatake Ziyan visited a secret base and learned that the hidden organization's leader was called Hamura, a name he believed belonged to someone who should have been dead for ages. He ordered Dragon to mobilize the organization and investigate the threat, then left, fearing the target might endanger everyone.

• Kakashi found Sakumo's note saying he had left on a mission and asking Kakashi to monitor Hatake Ziyan's mood, then ate his meal.
• Sakumo fled Konoha at great speed, using lightning release to stimulate his muscles.
• Hatake Ziyan entered a hidden base in the Land of Fire and asked Dragon about the investigation into the organization that had attacked him.
• Dragon reported that the enemy called their leader Hamura and that Owl was only a core member, not the leader.
• Hatake Ziyan reacted with shock because he believed Hamura, the Sage of Six Paths' younger brother, should have been dead, and ordered Dragon to investigate urgently.
• Hatake Ziyan left the base, while Dragon promised to hunt down the organization's members.

Hatake Ziyan unexpectedly ran into Hatake Sakumo in a small-town tavern, and each mistook the other’s actions for evidence that his own secret had been discovered. On the way back toward Konoha, Ziyan asked Sakumo what he had found, but Sakumo’s denial only convinced Ziyan that he had seen everything.

• Hatake Sakumo fled Konoha and stopped at a small-town tavern, where he thought he had escaped Hatake Ziyan.
• Hatake Ziyan entered the tavern, and Sakumo mistook the sword he set down for a threat and immediately begged forgiveness.
• Hatake Ziyan and Sakumo silently ate and then traveled together, each wondering what the other knew.
• When they were less than ten li from Konoha, Hatake Ziyan asked Sakumo what he had discovered.
• Hatake Sakumo said he had seen nothing and had only gone out to clear his head, but Hatake Ziyan assumed he was hiding what he had seen.

Hatake Ziyan’s trainees helped Konoha defeat the Hidden Cloud Village and end the war, but the Hidden Cloud secretly sent a squad into Konoha during peace treaty talks. The system gave Ziyan a choice of rewards, and he hesitated over which mission to undertake.

• Hatake Ziyan kept training while Konoha struggled with a manpower shortage and the Fourth Raikage continued border clashes.
• Hatake Ziyan sent his twelve trainees to the battlefield, where six of them killed many Hidden Cloud ninja and fought the Fourth Raikage.
• After Killer B and Yugito Nii joined the fighting, Minato found the Raikage and two tailed beasts being attacked by three people piloting giant mechs, and the Raikage conceded defeat.
• The Hidden Cloud Village sent a delegation to sign a peace treaty while secretly infiltrating Konoha with a squad assigned to target its bloodline limits.
• The system offered Hatake Ziyan a choice between ignoring the squad for a training reward or warning Minato and preventing the Hidden Cloud from targeting Konoha’s bloodline limits for a different reward.

Hatake Ziyan warned Minato Namikaze that unfamiliar chakra signatures were watching the Hyuga and Uchiha compounds, then killed a Hidden Cloud Village envoy who insulted him. The delegation postponed signing the ceasefire agreement, while Minato arranged patrols with the two clan leaders.

• Hatake Ziyan told Minato Namikaze that unknown chakra signatures had been lingering near the Hyuga and Uchiha compounds, and Minato agreed to strengthen patrols.
• Hatake Ziyan told the Hidden Cloud Village delegation to warn their Raikage that he had killed him, then killed the envoy who had insulted him and challenged the village to seek revenge in the Land of Iron.
• The Hidden Cloud envoys demanded an explanation and threatened to resume the war, but Minato Namikaze stood firm and asked whether they would sign the agreement.
• The delegation requested time to consult the Raikage and lodging while they considered their response, and Minato sent Hayate to escort them.
• Minato Namikaze invited the Hyuga and Uchiha Clan Leaders, explained the suspected infiltration and patrol plans, and both leaders agreed when they learned Hatake Ziyan had raised the alarm.

As Konoha prepared for a Hidden Cloud Village raid, another masked group led by Yan planned to abduct Kurama Yakumo. The Hidden Cloud shinobi were stopped at Hinata’s courtyard, while Yan’s team reached Kurama Yakumo’s house.

• Hatake Ziyan investigated the Hidden Cloud Village’s surveillance and found its scouts focused on the Hyuga compound.
• Yan instructed three subordinates to abduct Kurama Yakumo during the Hidden Cloud Village’s attack and warned them to stay hidden.
• Two Hidden Cloud shinobi infiltrated Hinata’s courtyard, where Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga ambushed them.
• One Hidden Cloud shinobi fired a signal flare before Hiashi and Hizashi killed him with Air Palms.
• Yan’s three subordinates infiltrated the Kurama compound and entered Kurama Yakumo’s house.

Three intruders tried to abduct Kurama Yakumo but were caught by Shisui Uchiha, Obito, and Kakashi Hatake after Shisui exposed their layered genjutsu. A masked operative killed the captives from afar, but Hatake Ziyan confronted the operative as they tried to leave.

• Three intruders injected Kurama Yakumo and packed her into a sack, but Shisui Uchiha’s genjutsu made them think they had reached the exit.
• Shisui exposed the intruders’ hidden poison teeth and broke a second illusion, revealing that they were still outside the room with Shisui Uchiha, Obito, and Kakashi Hatake waiting for them.
• Shisui demanded information about their organization, but the intruders’ chests suddenly exploded and they died before they could reveal much.
• Kakashi gathered the bodies while Obito complained about the failed mission, and the three worried about explaining it to Lord Ziyan.
• A masked person who had killed the intruders from a distance tried to leave, but Hatake Ziyan appeared behind them and confronted them about having operatives in Konoha.

Hatake Ziyan discovered Yan, the highest-ranking commander of an undercover organization in Konoha, and questioned him about the group. They parted without fighting, leaving Yan to plan his escape and Hatake Ziyan to plan his capture.

• Hatake Ziyan explained that he had tracked Yan’s three subordinates after noticing their chakra fluctuations disappear in the village.
• Yan revealed that his organization had monitored Hatake Ziyan since his first fight with Madara Uchiha, but said he did not know its leader or its goals.
• Hatake Ziyan and Yan avoided fighting in Konoha because neither wanted to endanger the villagers, then went their separate ways.
• Yan considered how to leave Konoha safely while Hatake Ziyan considered how to capture him.
• Hatake Ziyan returned home and told Kakashi and the other two to rest, assuring them he would handle what happened next.

After an attempted abduction at the Hyuga compound, Minato used the dead intruders to pressure the Hidden Cloud delegation and ended peace talks. The Fourth Raikage arrived in Konoha and confronted Minato, who stood firm as A threatened to resume the war.

• Hiashi reported that two intruders had tried to enter his daughter's room and admitted that one had sent a signal before dying, allowing their accomplices to escape.
• Minato ordered Anbu to place the bodies in the commercial district and watch for anyone from the Hidden Cloud Village who came to collect them.
• The Hidden Cloud delegation found the bodies but refused to touch them, then told Minato that the Raikage would accept his proposed treaty terms.
• Minato withdrew his promises, demanded that the Raikage negotiate in person, and had the delegation escorted out.
• After hearing the delegation's report, the Fourth Raikage used the Heavenly Transfer Technique to reach Konoha and confronted Minato at the Hokage Building.
• Minato challenged A's complaint and said Konoha would continue fighting if the Raikage wanted war, prompting A to head for the door while threatening to keep fighting.

Minato Namikaze forced A to negotiate a ceasefire on Konoha’s terms, using the threat of detaining the Hidden Cloud delegation and the precedent of the Second Hokage’s death to pressure him. A accepted reparations at eighty percent, but had to remain in Konoha until the payment arrived.

• Minato Namikaze refused to let A leave without agreeing to a ceasefire, and A reluctantly returned to the negotiating table.
• Minato Namikaze presented a new peace agreement, prompting A to smash the table, activate Lightning Release Chakra Mode, and threaten war.
• Minato Namikaze revealed Kakashi Hatake, Gekko Hayate, and three Uchiha members, then warned that A and his delegation might not survive a return journey if talks failed.
• Minato Namikaze invoked the Hidden Cloud Village’s role in the Second Hokage’s death and warned A that Konoha would follow its example.
• A bargained over reparations before agreeing to pay eighty percent, and Minato Namikaze required him to stay in Konoha until the money arrived.

Minato Namikaze forced A to accept Konoha’s terms and sent Kakashi and Hatake Sakumo to escort the Raikage’s party home. Later, Hatake Ziyan learned that Hanzō had attacked Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan, capturing Konan after being lured by rumors about Nagato’s Rinnegan.

• Minato Namikaze warned A against attacking Konoha, and A agreed to his terms.
• Minato Namikaze ordered Kakashi and Hatake Sakumo to accompany the Raikage’s party to the Hidden Cloud Village.
• Yan visited Hatake Ziyan and warned him that the three people he had trained in the Land of Rain were in danger.
• A subordinate reported that Hanzō had attacked Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan during supposed peace talks, capturing Konan while Yahiko and Nagato escaped.
• Hatake Ziyan’s subordinate revealed that someone had told Hanzō Nagato might possess the Rinnegan and had helped gain the trio’s trust.

Hatake Ziyan suspected Hiruzen Sarutobi had learned about Nagato’s eyes and confronted Yan after discovering him as a spy. Yan accidentally revealed that his organization’s leader had probably lived for over a thousand years, while Hatake Ziyan deduced that Yan needed him to leave Konoha before a reporting deadline.

• Hatake Ziyan considered how Hiruzen Sarutobi might have learned about Nagato’s eyes and warned himself not to let the former Hokage betray his trust.
• Hatake Ziyan tracked Yan to a dango shop and took him to a quieter street.
• Hatake Ziyan accused Yan of helping set events in motion to make him leave Konoha, but Yan denied it.
• Yan offered to answer Hatake Ziyan’s questions and let slip that his organization’s leader had probably lived for over a thousand years.
• Hatake Ziyan asked how many members of Yan’s organization matched his strength, then deduced Yan was eager for him to leave before Yan’s reporting deadline.
• Yan denied being in a hurry, and Hatake Ziyan challenged him, prompting Yan to ask if he was being threatened.

Hatake Ziyan tricked Yan into revealing that more than a dozen undercover agents were planted in Konoha, then chose to race to Amegakure to save Konan and stop Hanzō's plot. He arrived in a cage at the Land of Rain and found Konan unconscious, but she began to wake when he called her name.

• Hatake Ziyan pressured Yan into admitting that his organization had planted more than a dozen undercover agents in Konoha, and Yan fled.
• Hatake Ziyan triggered a choice and selected the option to reach Amegakure before morning, save Konan, and thwart Hanzō's plot.
• Hatake Ziyan used his technique to travel to the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain, then appeared inside a dimly lit cage.
• Hatake Ziyan sensed Konan nearby, found her unconscious, and called to her until she slowly opened her eyes.

Hatake Ziyan rescued Konan from a prison cell in Amegakure after she mistook him for part of a dream. He brought her to the Akatsuki’s secret base, where Yahiko and Nagato welcomed them and thanked him.

• Konan, still groggy in her cell, pinched Hatake Ziyan and tried to kiss him before he pushed her away and woke her fully.
• Konan realized Hatake Ziyan was real and mistakenly feared Hanzō had captured him, so Ziyan scolded her and pretended to leave.
• Hatake Ziyan created a wooden clone that transformed into Konan, then took the real Konan out of the cell while the clone remained behind.
• Hatake Ziyan brought Konan to the Akatsuki’s secret cave, where a member alerted Yahiko and Nagato to her return.
• Yahiko and Nagato thanked Hatake Ziyan for rescuing Konan, and Konan explained that they had not wanted to trouble him.

Hatake Ziyan warned Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan that Hanzō’s negotiations could be deadly, but Yahiko and Konan stayed carefree while Nagato worried. The next morning, Yahiko and Nagato led their team toward the agreed negotiation site, with Ziyan and Konan waiting nearby to provide support.

• Hatake Ziyan scolded Yahiko for underestimating Hanzō and said he and Konan would watch from a distance during the negotiations.
• Konan tried to protect Yahiko and Nagato, while Ziyan told Nagato to keep Yahiko from being fooled.
• Nagato asked Konan about Amegakure, but she blushed at memories of her time in the cell and ran away.
• Yahiko dismissed Nagato’s concerns and went to sleep, leaving Nagato to resolve to watch over his friends himself.
• The next morning, Yahiko and Nagato assembled their team and headed for the agreed negotiation site.

Yahiko and Nagato confronted Hanzō over the fake Konan, then tried to use the hostage exchange as an opening to attack. Yahiko struck first, and Nagato used Banshō Ten'in to pull him and Hanzō together, while the fake Konan fell from the cliff.

• Hatake Ziyan hid with Konan near the meeting site and watched Hanzō arrive with a captured clone disguised as Konan.
• Yahiko offered himself as a hostage, but Nagato reminded him that the captive was a fake Konan.
• Nagato planned to exchange himself for the fake Konan and attack Hanzō, but Yahiko leaped across instead.
• Yahiko killed an Amegakure ninja and threw his kunai at Hanzō, who released the fake Konan and attacked Yahiko with his sickle.
• The fake Konan fell from the cliff as Nagato used Banshō Ten'in to pull Yahiko and Hanzō together.

Hanzō captured Yahiko and tried to force Nagato to kill the Akatsuki members or join him, but Hatake Ziyan intervened. Hanzō recognized Ziyan and was stunned that he still looked so young.

• Nagato pulled Yahiko and Hanzō across the ravine, where Hanzō captured Yahiko and held a sickle to his neck.
• Yahiko urged Nagato to kill Hanzō, but Hanzō knocked Yahiko unconscious and used him to threaten Nagato.
• Hanzō demanded that Nagato kill the Akatsuki members and join him, then sent up a signal flare for his allies.
• When Hanzō's allies failed to appear, he sent his men across the ravine, and a blade from below killed them.
• Hatake Ziyan appeared behind Hanzō, who grabbed Yahiko as a shield and recognized Ziyan by his sword.
• Hanzō asked Hatake Ziyan how he was still so young.