Chapter Summaries

Danzo was stripped of his positions, while Hiruzen Sarutobi reacted to reports of Jiraiya attacking Xia Yan during a mission. Xia Yan planned changes to the Anbu and administrative department, and Uchiha Shin decided to cooperate with Senju Natsuhiko for the sake of peace; the chapter ended with Xia Yan taking Senju Renka out for dango.

• Danzo raged over his punishment but resolved to endure, while Hiruzen Sarutobi blamed his own past indulgence and confirmed Danzo would live in retirement.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi reviewed the daimyo payments and learned that Jiraiya had attacked Xia Yan during a mission, prompting him to suspect Xia Yan was making his move.
• Xia Yan planned better Anbu compensation, access to its ninjutsu archive, and an expanded Administrative Affairs Department, considering Senju Renka and others for staff roles.
• Uchiha Sora advised Uchiha Shin that his clan could resist its leader for peace as its predecessors had resisted Madara Uchiha, and Shin decided to accept Senju Natsuhiko's offer of cooperation.
• Xia Yan invited Senju Renka to eat dango, explaining that he had once used it to comfort a girl but had never tried it himself.

Xia Yan met with Senju Renka at the Dango Shop and revealed that he had become Anbu Director after killing the former Director, then asked her to help reform the Anbu. Their conversation was interrupted by Uchiha Sora and Uchiha Shin, and Xia Yan revealed his new title to them.

• Xia Yan brought Renka to the Dango Shop, where he explained that he was now Anbu Director and had killed the previous Director for refusing to deploy the Anbu during the Nine-Tails Incident.
• Xia Yan asked Renka to help him reform the Anbu, warning that her work could expose her to its deepest intelligence.
• Uchiha Shin recalled how Xia Yan had defended Sora from bullies in their childhood and first shared dango with her.
• Sora and Shin entered the crowded Dango Shop, where Sora greeted Xia Yan and met Renka.
• Shin addressed Xia Yan as Squad Leader, and Xia Yan told him that he should now call him Director.

Xia Yan revealed to Uchiha Shin and Sora that he had become Director of the Anbu, then negotiated deeper cooperation with Shin and offered Renka a chance to prove herself. As Xia Yan left the shop, Sora asked whether she could join the Anbu too.

• Xia Yan told Uchiha Shin and Sora that he was the Director of the Anbu, shocking them both.
• Xia Yan reassured Sora that they were still friends and offered her sweet dumplings, while Uchiha Shin recognized their closeness.
• Uchiha Shin declared that he would cooperate more deeply with Xia Yan and help the Uchiha integrate into Konoha.
• Renka agreed to prove herself in the Anbu and revealed that she was Xia Yan's fiancée, surprising Sora and Shin.
• Xia Yan proposed recruiting younger Uchiha with battlefield experience and reforming the Military Police Force by including civilian and other-clan shinobi.
• As Xia Yan and Renka left the shop, Sora stopped Xia Yan and asked whether she could join the Anbu.

Xia Yan arranged Anbu reforms, questioned Yamato about Orochimaru’s experiments, and brought him into the Anbu. Uchiha Sora began her assessment under Renka, while Xia Yan headed to a laboratory to search for evidence and materials.

• Xia Yan told Renka to assess Uchiha Sora and devised a Secretariat with separate secretarial systems and a squad to protect and monitor its staff.
• Xia Yan questioned Yamato, who blamed Orochimaru for the Wood Release experiments and said Danzo had saved him; Xia Yan had Senju Yo and the others watch Orochimaru.
• Xia Yan told Yamato he would serve in the Anbu under the name Yamato, and Kakashi took him away.
• Renka met Sora and began her assessment after Sora said she would do her best and would not disappoint Xia Yan.
• Xia Yan went to a laboratory associated with Orochimaru and Danzo, sent a lizard to search for flesh and other materials, then put on a disguise and vanished to join it.

Orochimaru encountered Xia Yan raiding his underground laboratory and fought him, learning that Xia Yan could wield Nine-Tails Chakra with extraordinary speed and perception. After gathering intelligence, Orochimaru destroyed the laboratory and escaped, while Xia Yan’s raid continued.

• Orochimaru reflected on Danzo’s failed attack on the teacher and recalled Xia Yan’s powerful Wood Release before sensing an intruder in the laboratory.
• Xia Yan used the little lizard’s chakra signal to enter the laboratory, steal Hashirama Senju’s cells, and search for documents, where Orochimaru attacked him.
• Xia Yan revealed that he wielded Nine-Tails Chakra, defeated Orochimaru’s defenses, and overwhelmed the Root guards as Orochimaru speculated that he belonged to a powerful organization.
• Orochimaru used clones, Earth Release, and the Kusanagi Sword to test Xia Yan, but Xia Yan perceived his moves and repeatedly struck him down.
• After assessing Xia Yan’s strength and sensory ability, Orochimaru used a new body, collapsed the laboratory with Earth Release, and escaped inside a giant snake.

Xia Yan forced Orochimaru to hand over his research reports, test-subject list, and pieces of Hashirama Senju’s corpse, then concealed his role in the attack while confronting Hiruzen Sarutobi at the ruined laboratory. After deciding to strengthen his Sage Mode, Xia Yan searched the Valley of the End and found a High-Level Senjutsu Chakra Seed.

• Orochimaru escaped the collapsing laboratory, but Xia Yan confronted him outside and demanded his research records, test-subject list, and pieces of Hashirama Senju’s corpse.
• Xia Yan left using the Flying Thunder God Technique, disguised his return as Senju Natsuhiko, and warned Orochimaru about the Nine-Tails attacker while pretending to know nothing about the fight.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived at the ruined laboratory, and Xia Yan challenged his authority to investigate before leaving the site.
• Sora told Uchiha Shin that she had joined the Administrative Affairs Office, and he celebrated her position in the Anbu.
• Xia Yan traveled to the Valley of the End and found a High-Level Senjutsu Chakra Seed.

Xia Yan strengthened the Anbu and set a plan in motion to expose Orochimaru’s experiments, hoping to force Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi into revealing their roles. The Anbu began spreading the information, while Xia Yan prepared to see how his former superior Antelope would respond to a dangerous test.

• Xia Yan reviewed the growth of the Anbu and its departments, noting that major clans had begun sending members as his policies took effect.
• Xia Yan ordered Kakashi and the other captains to reveal that the Anbu was investigating Orochimaru, then leak selected details to pressure those connected to him.
• Xia Yan told Renka that assigning Antelope to the operation would test his loyalty and asked her to identify suitable replacements if he failed.
• Xia Yan explained that the rumors were meant to push Danzo into sacrificing a pawn and draw scrutiny toward Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Xia Yan considered the trap he had laid for Orochimaru, Danzo, and Hiruzen Sarutobi, and asked whether they were ready.