Chapter Summaries

Chihane defeated the Third Raikage in a clash of their strongest techniques, breaking the Raikage’s Strongest Spear. The Third Raikage died acknowledging Chihane as the strongest of the new era, while Chihane walked back toward the battlefield.

• Chihane overpowered the Third Raikage in a clash of Second Gorilla Slash and Three-Finger Nukite, cutting him and breaking through his defense.
• The Third Raikage called for a final contest, and Chihane formed his Asura phantom with nine swords.
• Chihane and the Third Raikage charged with their ultimate techniques, Asura: Nine Demon Flash and One-Finger Nukite.
• Chihane walked on after they passed each other, while the Third Raikage stood motionless and then raised his thumb toward him.
• The ninjas saw that the Third Raikage had lost his index finger, and he declared that the era belonged to Chihane Hatake before collapsing and dying.

After the Third Shinobi World War ended in Konoha’s victory, the villages counted their losses and Chihane’s fame spread as the strongest in the Shinobi World. Madara Uchiha identified Chihane Hatake as a threat to his plans, while Orochimaru returned to Konoha resolved to pursue immortality.

• Chihane killed the Third Raikage, prompting Iwagakure to withdraw and bringing the war to an end with Konoha victorious.
• Jiraiya let the Cloud Ninja retreat, and Chihane returned the Third Raikage’s body to Blue B.
• The villages assessed the war’s heavy casualties, including Uchiha Kageyama’s death and Kirigakure’s loss of strength.
• Black Zetsu reported Chihane Hatake’s rise to Madara Uchiha and Makoto Uchiha, and Madara named him the greatest obstacle to their plan.
• Orochimaru packed up his laboratory before returning to Konoha and resolved to continue pursuing immortality.

After Hanzō’s death, Nagato unified Amegakure and resolved to kill Chihane, whom he saw as an obstacle to his plan for peace through force. Chihane and the Konoha forces returned from the war to a village grieving those who would never come home.

• Nagato learned that Chihane had killed Hanzō and decided he would kill Chihane if he stood in the way of peace.
• Jiraiya’s injury brought Chihane and Tsunade together on the journey home, while Shizune privately resolved to teach Chihane a lesson for upsetting Tsunade.
• The Konoha column carried the ashes of fallen comrades as it traveled back from the front.
• Jiraiya halted the troops outside Konoha so they could straighten their formation before entering the village.
• Villagers searched the returning column for loved ones, and those who could not find them broke down in grief.

After Konoha honored the war dead, Chihane returned home and reunited with Kurenai and his friends. He found Kakashi, Obito, and Rin changed by the war, while Shinku Yuhi remained watchful over his relationship with Kurenai.

• Jiraiya carved the fallen heroes' names into Konoha's Memorial Stone, and the village postponed its commendation ceremony until Hiruzen Sarutobi returned from the Five Kage Summit.
• Chihane returned home and found Kurenai Yuhi waiting with Kakashi and their friends; Kurenai tearfully embraced him.
• Chihane noticed that Obito had matured and that Kakashi instinctively stood protectively beside Rin Nohara.
• Obito welcomed Chihane home, and Chihane spent the evening catching up with his friends.
• Chihane escorted Kurenai home, where Shinku Yuhi silently glared at him and vowed not to forgive him if he broke Kurenai's heart.

Chihane visited Orochimaru’s laboratory, met his new disciple Mitaraishi Anko, and discussed the Hokage succession and Chihane’s Eight Gates training. Orochimaru agreed to study the technique with Might Duy, while Chihane went to the Senju Residence to find Tsunade and encountered Shizune.

• Chihane found Orochimaru in his laboratory with Mitaraishi Anko, a timid war orphan who cried when Chihane approached her.
• Chihane and Orochimaru discussed plans for after Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped down, and Orochimaru said he would respect his teacher’s decision if Hiruzen refused to leave office.
• Orochimaru told Chihane that Uchiha Kageyama had died fighting the Iwa Shinobi.
• Chihane explained that his body could not withstand the side effects of opening more Eight Gates, so Orochimaru asked him to bring Might Duy the next day for further research.
• Chihane went to the Senju Residence to see Tsunade, but Shizune arrived and asked why he was standing outside the gate.

Chihane visited Tsunade and confronted her with Konoha’s treatment of the Senju Clan, the Land of Whirlpools, and his father, the Konoha White Fang. Tsunade ordered him out without answering, while Chihane left prepared to avenge his father if Hiruzen moved against him.

• Chihane followed Shizune into the empty Senju Clan compound and found Tsunade asleep drunk in her chair.
• After Tsunade dressed and woke, Chihane admitted he wanted her help, and she warned him not to involve her in the conflict between Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru.
• Chihane challenged Tsunade to face the decline of the Senju Clan and the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools, provoking her to order him to leave.
• Chihane accused Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo of helping bring about his father’s death and warned that Tsunade and her allies could be next.
• Tsunade again ordered Chihane out, and he left resolved to avenge his father if the conflict reached its worst point.

At the Five Kage Summit, the leaders of Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure demanded that Hiruzen Sarutobi surrender Chihane Hatake, offering Konoha enormous reparations. Hiruzen wavered under the pressure, and Ōnoki postponed the decision for seven days.

• General Mifune opened the Five Kage Summit, and Ai Yotsuki demanded Chihane Hatake as the killer of his father, the Third Raikage.
• Ōnoki and Karatachi Yagura joined Ai in demanding Chihane, threatening war if Konoha refused.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi rejected their demands and insisted that Konoha would not abandon one of its shinobi.
• Ōnoki, who had coordinated the confrontation, offered five hundred million ryō each from Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure if Konoha surrendered Chihane.
• Hiruzen wavered at the prospect of the reparations as Shimura Danzō signaled his approval, and Ōnoki proposed delaying the decision for seven days.

Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to Konoha and faced pressure from Danzo, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu to surrender Chihane to prevent another war. While Hiruzen called for the Jonin Council to decide, Chihane and Might Duy continued testing the Eight Gates with Orochimaru.

• Genma Shiranui told Chihane that Hiruzen Sarutobi had returned, and Chihane planned to ask him for the Scroll of Seals.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu that the Three Great Shinobi Villages had demanded Chihane at the Five Kage Summit.
• Danzo, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu urged Hiruzen Sarutobi to hand Chihane over, but Hiruzen called for the Jonin Council to decide.
• Danzo angrily left the Hokage's office after Hiruzen Sarutobi refused to make an immediate decision.
• Chihane and Might Duy sparred using the Eight Gates until Orochimaru stopped them and Chihane asked what he had learned.

Orochimaru learned about the Eight Gates of Death from Might Duy before being summoned to a Jonin Council meeting about Chihane. Hiruzen Sarutobi proposed handing Chihane over to Konoha’s enemies in exchange for peace, and Jiraiya and Mitokado Homura argued over the plan.

• Might Duy told Orochimaru that his family had refined the Eight Gates of Death across generations.
• A Dog-Faced ANBU summoned Orochimaru to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who brought him to a Jonin Council meeting without notifying Chihane.
• Jiraiya questioned why Chihane was absent, and Hiruzen Sarutobi explained that the meeting concerned him.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi said Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure had demanded Chihane’s surrender, offering five hundred million ryo each in reparations and threatening war otherwise.
• Jiraiya objected to handing Chihane over, while Mitokado Homura argued that sacrificing him would secure ten years of peace.

Hiruzen Sarutobi tried to secure the Jonin Council’s approval to hand Chihane over to the three ninja villages, but Tsunade’s furious opposition derailed the meeting. That night, Hiruzen and his allies confronted how much their influence in Konoha had diminished.

• Uchiha Fugaku and other Jonin opposed Hiruzen Sarutobi’s plan to hand Chihane over, while Orochimaru challenged Hiruzen to state his position openly.
• Hiruzen called for a vote, and many Jonin raised their hands in favor, but Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Minato Namikaze did not.
• Tsunade smashed a table and denounced Hiruzen, prompting many Jonin to lower their hands and forcing the meeting to lose its purpose.
• That night, Hiruzen, Shimura Danzō, and their allies discussed the council’s outcome and recognized Orochimaru’s, Jiraiya’s, and Tsunade’s growing influence.

Danzo concluded that Chihane Hatake had united the forces opposing Hiruzen Sarutobi and was the main obstacle to the elders’ plans. As Hiruzen and the others struggled to find a way to deal with Chihane, Danzo decided to take action himself.

• Danzo analyzed how Chihane Hatake’s rise had disrupted Hiruzen Sarutobi’s plan to install Minato Namikaze as Hokage and keep control through the elders.
• Danzo concluded that Chihane was the link binding Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze, Tsunade, and Might Duy together, and resolved not to share his conclusion with Hiruzen.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura acknowledged that they could not confront Chihane without the village’s support.
• Hiruzen regretted turning Orochimaru and Chihane against him and felt abandoned by his former students and the village.
• Danzo rose and told Hiruzen, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura that he would handle Chihane, deciding that Konoha should be left in his hands.

Chihane learned that Hiruzen Sarutobi planned to sacrifice him at the Five Kage Summit, and he secured Orochimaru’s support against the Hokage. Chihane urged Orochimaru to unite Konoha’s great clans and seek the Fourth Hokage position before confronting Hiruzen, while Uchiha Fugaku revealed the summit was five days away.

• Orochimaru brought Chihane and Might Duy to Uchiha Fugaku’s home, where Might Duy’s loyalty lay with Orochimaru because of the respect and training he had received.
• Uchiha Fugaku told Chihane what had happened at the meeting, and Chihane suspected Hiruzen Sarutobi had found a forbidden technique that made him confident enough to move against him.
• Chihane asked whether Orochimaru was prepared to oppose Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Orochimaru agreed to fight back to protect his student and supporters.
• Chihane advised Orochimaru to unite the great clans and have Hiruzen step down so Orochimaru could become the Fourth Hokage before they settled the conflict.
• Uchiha Fugaku said the Five Kage Summit would take place in five days and that Hiruzen planned to hand Chihane over to the Three Great Shinobi Villages.

After Orochimaru openly visited Konoha’s clans and prominent Jonin, rumors spread blaming Chihane for the threat of another war and demanding that the village hand him over. Chihane recognized the campaign as a provocation, while hostility toward him and Orochimaru grew throughout Konoha.

• Orochimaru assured Chihane that the Five Kage Summit posed no real danger, but Chihane dismissed the villages’ threats and resolved to show them what Chihane Hatake could do.
• Orochimaru visited Konoha’s major clans and prominent Jonin, while Hiruzen Sarutobi made no visible response.
• Rumors spread among civilians that Chihane’s killings had provoked three villages to attack Konoha and that the village should surrender him.
• Sasaki Yuki heard the growing accusations and believed Chihane could not withstand the whole village, despite Orochimaru’s protection.
• People threw refuse into the Hatake Clan courtyard and spread rumors against Chihane, who realized the campaign was meant to provoke him into attacking civilians.
• Rumors turned against Orochimaru as well, and Chihane’s childhood friends were overwhelmed when they tried to defend him.

Orochimaru told Jiraiya and Tsunade that he would confront the Five Kage Summit alone to protect Chihane. Jiraiya and Tsunade refused to let him go by himself, and the three Sannin prepared to face the danger together.

• Jiraiya and Tsunade visited Orochimaru, worried about the rumors spreading through Konoha about him.
• Orochimaru said the villagers would not be satisfied unless Chihane was sacrificed, and revealed his plan to eliminate the Kage at the Five Kage Summit.
• Jiraiya warned Orochimaru that the summit would gather too many powerful shinobi for him and Chihane to defeat.
• Orochimaru said he would go alone to protect Chihane and test whether Hiruzen Sarutobi would help him.
• Jiraiya offered to accompany Orochimaru, and Tsunade angrily insisted that they would go together.

Hiruzen Sarutobi defied the other Kage at the Five Kage Summit and refused to surrender Chihane Hatake, while demanding war reparations instead. He planned to use Danzo’s scheme to curb Orochimaru’s bid for Hokage and later clear Orochimaru and Chihane of the rumors, keeping powerful allies in Konoha while retaining power himself.

• Utatane Koharu questioned Danzo’s plan as the Five Kage Summit approached, but Danzo said his goal of undermining Orochimaru’s Hokage bid had succeeded.
• At the summit, Karatachi Yagura demanded Konoha hand over Chihane Hatake and threatened war with the three villages.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi refused to surrender Konoha’s shinobi and openly challenged the other villages to fight.
• Ōnoki warned that war would devastate the already weakened villages, and Karatachi Yagura sat down rather than escalate the confrontation.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi demanded war reparations if the other villages did not want war, while planning to blame Danzo for the rumors and protect Orochimaru and Chihane without allowing Orochimaru to become Hokage.

As Hiruzen Sarutobi demanded reparations from the other Kage, the Fourth Raikage threatened war, and Ōnoki tried to prevent the talks from collapsing. Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade arrived in the Land of Iron by summoning their enormous beasts, leaving the meeting and the capital in turmoil.

• The Fourth Raikage rose in anger and threatened to fight Konoha, while Blue B worried about the Cloud Village's weakened forces.
• Ōnoki urged the Fourth Raikage to wait and tried to redirect the argument, but Hiruzen Sarutobi insisted that the Kage either go to war or pay reparations.
• Orochimaru told Jiraiya and Tsunade his plan to surprise the Five Kage Council at the Land of Iron's capital.
• Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade summoned their giant beasts in three places around the meeting room, alarming the samurai and announcing the Sannin's arrival.
• The beasts' arrival shook the building and interrupted the Kage's argument, prompting everyone to go outside.

Orochimaru and his teammates confronted Hiruzen Sarutobi at the Five Kage Summit to protect Chihane, while Mifune feared a battle would devastate the Land of Iron. Chihane arrived and unleashed an overwhelming aura that knocked out samurai, civilians, and shinobi across the area.

• Karatachi Yagura accused Hiruzen Sarutobi of plotting to trap the four villages, and Hiruzen denied knowing why Orochimaru and his companions had come.
• Mifune urged Hiruzen Sarutobi to settle Konoha's internal disputes without endangering the Land of Iron.
• Orochimaru told Hiruzen Sarutobi that he would stand in for his student Chihane, and Chihane appeared on a rooftop eating dumplings.
• Mifune warned Hiruzen Sarutobi that the Land of Iron's samurai would defend their country if a battle broke out.
• Chihane finished his dumplings, stood up, and released an aura that made the building creak and knocked people unconscious across the area.

After defeating the Third Raikage, Chihane confronted the Five Kage at the Land of Iron summit and overwhelmed them with his Conqueror’s Haki and presence. The Kage stayed silent, leaving Chihane convinced that no one could challenge him until Madara Uchiha returned.

• Chihane’s Conqueror’s Haki left most of the gathered shinobi unconscious, while Ōnoki and the other Kage were shaken by his presence.
• Fourth Raikage A tried to attack Chihane, but Blue B restrained him as he cried out that he would avenge his father.
• Chihane challenged the Five Kage to fight him, even inviting them to attack together, but none of them answered.
• Orochimaru realized Chihane could overcome the problems he had worried about, while Jiraiya admired Chihane as a hero.
• Chihane mocked the silent Kage and reflected that he would remain alone at the summit until Madara Uchiha was resurrected.

Chihane left the Kage after destroying the pavilion and silencing their threats against Konoha. Before he departed the Land of Iron, Mifune challenged him and was decisively defeated, cementing Chihane's reputation as the strongest swordsman.

• Chihane cut through the pavilion beneath the Kage, then announced he was leaving for Konoha with Orochimaru and the others.
• Mifune stopped Chihane and asked to test his swordsmanship against the strongest Swordsman in the Shinobi World.
• Chihane challenged Mifune to make him draw his sword, and Mifune attacked with his fastest Iai slash.
• Chihane blocked Mifune's strongest strike with a small knife and effortlessly parried his follow-up slashes.
• Chihane coated the knife in Armament Haki and wounded Mifune across the chest with a black Slash before leaving.
• The spectators recognized Chihane as the strongest, while Mifune lay defeated and in tears.

After returning to Konoha, Chihane and Orochimaru became the subjects of rapidly spreading rumors about their confrontation at the Five Kage Summit. By the end of the day, the embellished stories cast them as the village’s saviors and Hiruzen Sarutobi as the villain.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi stayed behind to demand reparations from the other villages, convinced the money would benefit Konoha and strengthen his claim to the Hokage seat.
• Chihane, Orochimaru, and the others returned to Konoha and went home without making further moves.
• At Ichiraku Ramen, a ninja told listeners an exaggerated account of Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Chihane confronting the Five Kage and their guards.
• The rumor claimed Chihane subdued the gathered opponents with his presence, challenged the Kage, and defeated Mifune with a small knife.
• Stories about the summit spread throughout Konoha, increasingly portraying Chihane and Orochimaru as saviors and Hiruzen Sarutobi as a villain.