Recaps

Kakashi struggled with guilt over Rin’s death as Minato assigned him to join Oto and Zou for a mission. Outside the village, Oto and Zou sparred with the indebted Bell Cat while preparing tactics meant to counter ANBU.

• Kakashi woke from recurring nightmares about killing Rin and went to the ANBU base.
• Minato told Kakashi he could still call him sensei and ordered him to summon Oto and Zou for a mission.
• Minato reflected on his limited control over village affairs and hoped his diplomatic mission to the Land of Earth would help him change Konoha’s policies.
• Kakashi tracked Oto and Zou to a training ground outside the village after finding they were not at the Ninja Academy.
• During the spar, Zou defeated the Bell Cat’s sneak attack with Gentle Fist, while Oto laid underwater explosive tags and a concealed wire trap as preparation for fighting ANBU.

Oto Uchiha defeated Zou Hyuga in a spar before Kakashi summoned their squad to meet the Fourth Hokage. The Fourth assigned the three-member ANBU team to escort him on a visit to the Land of Earth, leaving Zou resentful that he and Oto remained in ANBU.

• Oto Uchiha used fire release to burn the poison from Zou Hyuga's wire trap, then defeated him in their spar.
• Zou Hyuga sensed someone approaching, and he and Oto identified the newcomer as Captain Kakashi.
• Kakashi told Oto and Zou that Minato-sensei had summoned their squad and brought them to the Hokage Office.
• The Fourth Hokage explained that Asuma had left the ANBU squad for personal reasons, leaving Kakashi, Oto, and Zou as a three-member team.
• The Fourth assigned the ANBU team to escort him on his upcoming visit to the Land of Earth.

Zou, Oto, and Kakashi guarded Minato Namikaze’s delegation as it traveled to the Land of Earth to sign an agreement. After an attack by impostors wearing Iwagakure Forehead Protectors, the delegation continued without discovering who had sent them.

• Zou, Oto, and Kakashi stocked up on ANBU weapons and supplies before departing with the Fourth.
• Minato Namikaze’s delegation set out with Jiraiya and other guards, and traveled safely for a week.
• A squad of nine Chunin and one Jonin attacked the delegation with Explosive Tags and Earth Release techniques.
• Kakashi, Zou, and Oto killed the attackers and captured one, but the captive died from a poison sac before he could be questioned.
• Zou recognized the Iwagakure Forehead Protectors as black-market loot, leaving the attackers’ true origins unknown.

After a dawn attack by impostors posing as Iwa ninja, Jiraiya told the ANBU that the attackers had returned and that Minato had gone to confront them. The delegation spent the night in a border town, where Zou Hyuga, Oto Uchiha, and Kakashi guarded Minato’s room while Kakashi impersonated the Hokage.

• The delegation continued toward Iwagakure after the morning attack unsettled its members, and the Fourth restored their confidence.
• The delegation reached a border town and settled in for the night while Kakashi ate with Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha before Jiraiya joined them.
• Jiraiya said the returning attackers were neither Iwa ninja nor from Sunagakure, and revealed that Minato had gone to gather intelligence.
• Jiraiya ordered Kakashi, Zou Hyuga, and Oto Uchiha to guard Minato’s room so nobody would discover the Hokage had left.
• Kakashi impersonated Minato in the room while Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha hid nearby and wondered whether they would face another attack in the Land of Earth.

The Fourth Hokage led the Konoha delegation into Iwagakure to negotiate a peace treaty, while Zou Hyuga watched for danger and observed the village’s leaders. A week into their stay, negotiations began amid hostility from Iwagakure hardliners, who waited for the Konoha ANBU to give them an excuse to provoke a confrontation.

• The Fourth gathered the delegation and set out for the Land of Earth's border, while Jiraiya explained that the previous attackers belonged to a small village that opposed peace between Iwagakure and Konoha.
• After crossing into the Land of Earth, Zou Hyuga spotted Iwagakure ANBU and reported their numbers to the Fourth, then learned from Jiraiya that their escort’s resentment came from the Fourth’s past attack on Iwagakure forces.
• Several weeks later, the Fourth led the delegation into Iwagakure and met Ōnoki, while Zou Hyuga assessed the danger posed by the Third Tsuchikage and his Dust Release.
• The delegation moved into its assigned compound, and Zou Hyuga used his Byakugan to check for traps and listening devices before settling in.
• A week later, the Fourth and Jiraiya began peace negotiations as the Konoha ANBU guarded them, while Iwagakure hardliners stared at the squad and waited for a chance to provoke them.

At the Tsuchikage Building, Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha were drawn into a sparring match with Iwagakure ninja alongside Kakashi. The battle escalated from close combat to ninjutsu, with Kakashi blocking an incoming Rock Cannonball as the fight continued.

• Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha ignored the Iwagakure ninja's taunts and ate lunch in the shade, provoking the Iwagakure squad captain.
• The Iwagakure jonin challenged the Konoha ANBU squad to fight, and Kakashi accepted on behalf of Konoha.
• Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha joined Kakashi in forming the Seal of Confrontation, and both teams moved to a nearby sparring area.
• The two teams exchanged shuriken and fought at close range, where Zou struggled against the Iwagakure ninja's rock-coated fists and Oto struggled against their defenses.
• Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha prepared to use their Byakugan and Sharingan, while Kakashi raised an Earth-Style Wall to block a Rock Cannonball.

Kakashi, Zou Hyuga, and Oto Uchiha fought Iwagakure ninja while Minato Namikaze and Ōnoki watched from above. The battle nearly became a diplomatic crisis when Kakashi lost control and attacked an Iwagakure Jonin, but Oto and Zou stopped him.

• Iwagakure ninja launched Earth Release attacks at the Konoha ANBU, and Zou Hyuga realized Ōnoki and Minato Namikaze were watching from the Tsuchikage Building.
• Ōnoki admitted he had ordered the provocation to test Konoha's young ninja, while Minato allowed the fight to continue.
• As the Iwagakure ninja ran low on chakra, Kakashi, Zou, and Oto pressed their attacks, with Zou and Oto concealing their full strength.
• Kakashi's Chidori broke through an Iwagakure Jonin's defense and headed for his heart, prompting Zou and Oto to rush in and Ōnoki to prepare to intervene.
• Oto froze Kakashi with genjutsu, and Zou sealed his chakra points, stopping the attack and restoring Kakashi's clarity.

Kakashi lost control during a spar with Iwagakure ninja, but Zou and Oto stopped him before the fight caused a diplomatic crisis. As peace negotiations continued, Ōnoki reconsidered his plans against Konoha and grew wary of the Fourth Hokage and the young ANBU.

• Kakashi admitted defeat after Zou and Oto intervened, and Minato caught him when he nearly collapsed.
• Minato and Ōnoki ended the spar and resumed negotiations, while Zou and Oto returned to their ANBU duties.
• Zou warned Oto to pretend they had suffered serious injuries, then worried that Ōnoki had noticed their hidden abilities.
• Ōnoki learned that Jiraiya was part of Konoha's ten-person envoy and rejected his ANBU captain's suggestion to trap the Hokage.
• Ōnoki abandoned his plan to kill Minato because Iwagakure could not risk the losses and he suspected Konoha's internal conflicts had been resolved.

Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha tried to avoid duty by pretending to be injured, while Minato Namikaze led negotiations with Iwagakure to a peace agreement. The Konoha envoy group departed with a political victory, and Ōnoki worried about Iwagakure’s lack of a suitable successor.

• Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha discussed faking injuries, but Zou changed his plan when Jiraiya entered and pretended he was undressing.
• Minato thanked Zou Hyuga and Oto for helping prevent Kakashi from killing an Iwagakure ninja, then told them they would miss the negotiations but remain in Iwagakure.
• After two weeks of talks, Minato and the Iwagakure envoys signed a peace agreement that acknowledged Iwagakure’s unlawful invasion and gave Konoha a small payment.
• The Konoha envoy group left Iwagakure, while Ōnoki watched them go and worried about Minato’s political promise and Iwagakure’s lack of a suitable Tsuchikage successor.

After returning to Konoha with the peace treaty, the Fourth Hokage began planning reforms and efforts to unite the village's clans. Zou Hyuga focused on growing stronger before the looming Nine-Tails attack and prepared a secret experiment involving natural chakra and ninja beasts.

• Jiraiya led the envoy group home after the Fourth returned to Konoha, and Kakuzu of Takigakure withdrew rather than fight them.
• The envoy group returned to a warm welcome, and the Fourth granted Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha half a month of leave.
• The Fourth considered reforms to ANBU, Root, and clan-controlled institutions, and planned to reconcile the Uchiha and Hyuga while building support among other groups.
• Zou Hyuga learned that the Fourth had visited Konoha's clans to secure their backing and bring the Hyuga and Uchiha together.
• Zou Hyuga suspected the Nine-Tails attack was less than a year away and decided he needed to become much stronger.
• Zou Hyuga found a cave for secret experiments and planned to use natural chakra to communicate with or control ninja beasts.

Danzo told Hiruzen that Root had suffered heavy losses in the Land of Rain and warned him about Minato’s growing influence. He then visited Orochimaru’s laboratory to ask about the secret Wood Release experiments, where Orochimaru offered to transplant Hashirama cells if Danzo could obtain a three-tomoe Sharingan.

• Danzo complained to Hiruzen that Minato was trying to take control of Root, then revealed that nearly half its ninja had been lost in the Land of Rain.
• Danzo said Root had been helping Hanzō suppress Amegakure’s missing-nin when it encountered a ninja whose power rivaled a tailed beast.
• Hiruzen agreed to deal with Minato but ordered Danzo not to recruit more Root members, and Danzo warned him that Minato was getting close to the Uchiha.
• Danzo visited Orochimaru’s underground laboratory and asked how the Wood Release research was progressing.
• Orochimaru said most test subjects had failed but the Hashirama cell transplant had an eleven percent success rate, and he offered to perform it if Danzo found a three-tomoe Sharingan.

Orochimaru and Danzo negotiated an exchange involving Amegakure information and a First Hokage cell-transplant technique while Zou Hyuga secretly began underground experiments with natural chakra. Oto Uchiha encountered Shisui and Itachi, then returned home and decided to put her summoning beast to work.

• Orochimaru continued his experiments as Danzo offered information about Amegakure in exchange for his First's cell-transplant technique.
• Zou Hyuga entered Sage Mode and cautiously traveled underground to experiment with natural chakra on living creatures.
• Oto Uchiha met Shisui Uchiha and Uchiha Itachi in the compound, where Shisui said he hoped to join Lord Fourth's ANBU.
• Shisui and Itachi discussed their hope that the village and the Uchiha would eventually accept one another, while Itachi wondered about Zou's note.
• Oto Uchiha summoned Bell Cat at home and considered making the ninja cat do chores such as laundry, cooking, and farming.

Oto missed Zou after he left the village and, with Bell Cat’s help, found his hidden laboratory. Zou returned to Konoha with her, accepting that she would remain involved in his work while he considered how to protect his privacy.

• After cleaning Oto’s house, Bell Cat noticed that she was lonely without Zou and told her it knew where he had gone.
• Oto questioned Bell Cat until it revealed Zou’s location, along with its secret skimming of money from their spoils.
• Zou prepared a hidden underground laboratory to study the effects of natural chakra on living creatures.
• After sensing Oto and Bell Cat nearby, Zou stopped his experiment and met them aboveground.
• Oto apologized for finding him without permission and asked him to move his laboratory, but Zou refused and returned to the village with her.

Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha successfully blocked Bell Cat from sensing Zou, then spent their remaining vacation time visiting a dango shop, where Guy asked Zou about his unusual training method. The conversation turned to a legendary genin who could reverse a waterfall with taijutsu, while Zou reflected on Asuma leaving the ANBU and the dangers of their past missions.

• Over ten days, Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha experimented and successfully prevented Bell Cat from sensing Zou, though Kisame Hoshigaki remained a distant security concern.
• With his vacation nearly over, Zou remembered his unfinished research into natural chakra and went with Oto to wander Konoha and eat three-color dango.
• Might Guy thanked Zou for his training method and asked him to demonstrate it, but Zou refused.
• Guy invited Asuma to practice reversing a waterfall with taijutsu, and Oto and Kurenai recognized Guy as the person capable of such a feat.
• Zou bought the group more dango and exchanged teasing remarks with Asuma, then reflected on their improved friendship and the dangers of their ANBU missions.

Zou Hyuga and his friends discussed ANBU and noticed Kakashi becoming more willing to interact with them. As Zou returned home to prepare for his ANBU missions, his uncle Hyuga Yu invited him in for a meal.

• Asuma told Zou Hyuga and the others that the Fourth Hokage was expanding ANBU recruitment amid tensions with Kumogakure, and Guy said he wanted to join.
• Zou Hyuga warned Guy that ANBU was cruel and that Guy was not suited for its work in the shadows.
• Kakashi arrived, reminded Zou Hyuga and Oto that their leave ended in two days, and said Minato-sensei had a mission for them.
• Asuma and Guy observed that Kakashi had changed and seemed to be emerging from the shadow of the incident.
• Zou Hyuga and Oto parted ways with their friends, and Zou headed home to prepare for his return to ANBU.
• Hyuga Yu stopped Zou Hyuga at his front door and invited him to eat at his home, and Zou followed him despite already having eaten.

Zou Hyuga asked his uncle Hyuga Yu to activate the Caged Bird Seal so he could study its restraints, but found the pain surprisingly tolerable. He suspected his Sage Mode or black markings had weakened the seal, though he remained wary of its power.

• Zou Hyuga visited Hyuga Yu and discussed the restrictions faced by the Hyuga Branch Family.
• Zou Hyuga asked Hyuga Yu to activate the Caged Bird Seal's restraints so he could experience them.
• Hyuga Yu activated the seal, and Zou Hyuga felt only tolerable pain while studying its effects.
• Zou Hyuga pretended to suffer severely, and Hyuga Yu gave him ointment and sent him home to rest.
• Zou Hyuga concluded the seal's hold on him was weakened, but recognized it could still threaten his life.

Zou Hyuga worried about his declining uncle and reflected on the moon’s Hyuga-related clan, then returned to ANBU duty with Oto and Kakashi. After guarding the Fourth Hokage during a month of political visits, Zou realized the Hokage was gathering support for ambitious plans that would soon bring reforms and turmoil to Konoha.

• Zou Hyuga worried that Hyuga Yu had only a few years left and feared being subjected to the Main Family’s restrictions after his uncle’s death.
• Zou reflected on the Moon Otsutsuki Clan, which had created the Tenseigan and destroyed its Main Family, but dismissed trying to reach the moon as impossible.
• After their leave ended, Zou Hyuga and Oto returned to the ANBU base, where Kakashi revealed he had requested limits on equipment taken from the base.
• The team received orders to guard the Fourth Hokage during visits to Konoha’s major clans and the Land of Fire’s nobles instead of traveling to the borderlands.
• After more than a month of political visits, Zou realized the Fourth Hokage was gathering support for ambitious plans and that future reforms would stir turmoil in Konoha.

After Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha finished guarding the Fourth Hokage, Orochimaru tried to recruit them, but they refused to leave their ANBU posts. Jiraiya later confronted Orochimaru about the Hokage election, and the chapter ended with Jiraiya reflecting on how the Sannin had drifted apart.

• Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha discussed the Fourth Hokage's likely reforms as they left the Hokage Building.
• Orochimaru praised Zou and Oto's abilities and offered to recruit them, but Zou refused on behalf of the Fourth Hokage's ANBU.
• Jiraiya arrived and asked Zou to help with a plan involving the bathhouse, then left to follow Orochimaru.
• Jiraiya dropped his liquor flask and followed Orochimaru, revealing that he had only pretended to be drunk.
• Jiraiya questioned Orochimaru about the Hokage election, but Orochimaru dismissed him and vanished.
• Jiraiya reflected that Tsunade had left, Orochimaru had joined Root, and he was searching for the Child of Prophecy.

Zou Hyuga tested whether he could control ninja beasts with natural chakra and make them cast ninjutsu, but their weak bodies produced feeble techniques and several animals died. He ended the experiment unresolved, while Oto Uchiha wondered whether he could control humans and admitted she could not control him.

• Zou Hyuga took Oto Uchiha to a forest clearing and asked her to watch for anyone approaching while he experimented on ninja beasts he had created from wild animals.
• Zou Hyuga controlled a ninja beast to form hand seals and cast Fire, Wind, and Water Release techniques, but each technique was weak.
• Zou Hyuga recorded his results and concluded that the beasts' poor constitutions limited their chakra and ninjutsu; several collapsed or died during the tests.
• Oto Uchiha returned after Zou Hyuga whistled, helped check the beasts, and sent the survivors back as Zou Hyuga explained his findings.
• Oto Uchiha asked whether Zou Hyuga could control ninja and admitted she could not control him, prompting him to suggest that she might manage it after awakening her legendary Uchiha eyes.

Zou Hyuga used Sage Mode to sense the natural chakra he had planted in Kisame Hoshigaki, learning that he could locate Kisame but could not control him. The chapter ended with Kisame continuing his Kirigakure mission while fearing the unseen watcher connected to the chakra inside him.

• Oto Uchiha asked Zou Hyuga about the Mangekyō Sharingan, and he reminded her that extreme emotional shock could awaken it.
• Zou Hyuga entered Sage Mode while Oto Uchiha guarded their surroundings, then sensed the chakra he had left inside Kisame Hoshigaki and found he could track Kisame but not control him.
• Zou Hyuga ended Sage Mode when the strain became too great, and he and Oto Uchiha resumed their ANBU mission instead of sparring.
• In the Land of Water, Kisame Hoshigaki joined a Kirigakure squad hunting rogue ninja while remaining wary of the chakra Zou Hyuga had left inside him.
• After Kisame killed a rogue ninja, he felt the chakra stir and sensed the unseen watcher, then accepted a handkerchief from a female ninja and continued the mission.

Oto Uchiha met with Fugaku, who revealed he knew her Sharingan might have advanced and urged her to value her Hyuga teammate, Zou. Fugaku later weighed the Fourth Hokage’s proposal to place ANBU or other ninja in the Military Police Force, leaving the clan’s response undecided.

• A Military Police Force chunin summoned Oto Uchiha to meet Fugaku at the Clan Leader’s Residence.
• Fugaku told Oto that the Fourth Hokage had said her Sharingan might have two or three tomoe, and Oto kept quiet about her strength.
• Fugaku asked whether Oto’s ANBU colleague was the Hyuga Branch Family ninja she had worked with for years, then warned her to cherish him.
• Fugaku reflected that the Sharingan advanced through emotional turmoil and considered the Fourth Hokage’s proposal to assign ANBU or other ninja to the Military Police Force.
• Fugaku decided the proposal needed discussion with the clan’s jonin and thought about meeting Zou, whom Itachi admired.

The Fourth Hokage sought Ino-Shika-Cho’s support for reforms that would challenge powerful clans and village leaders. Meanwhile, Nagato revived Akatsuki under Yahiko’s name, while the Masked Man and Venus Flytrap set their sights on Konoha.

• The Fourth Hokage explained his reforms to Shikaku Nara, Choza Akimichi, and Inoichi Yamanaka, warning that they would provoke resistance.
• Shikaku, Choza, and Inoichi agreed to support Minato, despite the risk of opposition from their clans.
• After Ino-Shika-Cho left, the Fourth Hokage reflected on the Uchiha’s ostracism and Danzo and Orochimaru’s refusal to disclose Root’s roster.
• Konan visited Nagato, who declared that Akatsuki had been reborn and that Yahiko would remain its leader, then showed her several corpse puppets.
• The Masked Man told Venus Flytrap that they would go to Konoha and make the village remember pain.

Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha joined Kakashi for a mission assigned by the Fourth Hokage: protecting his pregnant wife, Kushina. Oto questioned the Hokage about her three tomoe Sharingan, and he acknowledged her bond with Zou as unusually strong.

• Zou Hyuga reflected on the Fourth Hokage's gradual reforms and prepared for the upheaval he expected to follow.
• Oto Uchiha confided that learning how her clan members had awakened the Sharingan made her fear she might also harm someone she cherished for power.
• Zou learned that Uchiha Clan Head Fugaku might have awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan and considered him a threat to plan against.
• The Fourth Hokage assigned Zou, Oto, and Kakashi to protect Kushina, and Zou's attempt to refuse the mission failed.
• Oto asked whether the Fourth Hokage had noticed her three tomoe, and he confirmed it while praising her bond with Zou and their abilities.

Kakashi visited the Heroes' Cemetery with Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha, and Zou tried to prevent him from revealing sensitive information aloud. After the ANBU squad left, the Masked Man and Zetsu appeared at the cemetery and discussed Kakashi, Zou, and Oto before disappearing.

• Kakashi led Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha to the village flower shop and then to the Heroes' Cemetery instead of Kushina's courtyard.
• Zou Hyuga and Oto placed flowers at the graves of their fallen comrades, while Kakashi mourned Obito and Rin Nohara.
• Zou stopped Kakashi from speaking aloud at the memorial and warned him not to reveal ANBU information where others could hear.
• After the squad left, the Masked Man appeared with Zetsu, angrily discarded the flowers, and discussed Zou's cautious habits and Oto's potential as an asset.
• The Masked Man and Zetsu vanished, while Zou and Oto left the cemetery and shared a watermelon.

Zou Hyuga joined Kakashi and Oto Uchiha in protecting the pregnant Kushina while the Fourth Hokage was away, and he observed the couple’s efforts to build ties with the Uchiha and Hyuga clans. The chapter left Zou wary of Obito and of the political opposition threatening the Fourth Hokage’s reforms.

• Zou Hyuga sensed unusual movement at the cemetery and suspected Obito, so he stopped his experiments and returned to the Hyuga compound.
• The Fourth Hokage assigned Kakashi, Zou, and Oto to protect Kushina, whose pregnancy had left her more vulnerable.
• During a week of guard duty, Zou noticed other unidentified ninja watching Kushina and reported their presence to the Fourth Hokage.
• Kushina took Oto shopping, then gave the ANBU squad gifts and invited them to dinner with the Fourth Hokage.
• Zou told Oto that Kushina was trying to strengthen ties with the Uchiha, while Oto worried about her clan’s disagreement over the Fourth Hokage’s new policy.
• After seeing Oto back to the Uchiha compound, Zou reflected that he wanted the Fourth Hokage to remain in power despite the danger of political opposition or an early death.