Recaps

The daimyo awarded Sakumo the Hokage Half-Sleeve and Danzo the mysterious Daimyo Half-Sleeve, unsettling the Eastern Front troops with speculation about what the latter meant. Danzo hurried his forces back to the village, while Takahashi Yū urged Sakumo to support Danzo in changing the country.

• The daimyo awarded Sakumo the Hokage Half-Sleeve, prompting the troops to discuss whether he or Danzo would become the Fourth Hokage.
• The daimyo awarded Danzo the Daimyo Half-Sleeve, leaving Danzo and the troops confused about its significance.
• Shunji suggested the Daimyo Half-Sleeve might mean Danzo would become the next daimyo, and his companions beat him to silence him.
• Danzo took the half-sleeve and ordered the Eastern Front troops to pack up and return to the village.
• Takahashi Yū told Sakumo that Danzo could improve life for the common people and urged him to believe in Danzo's plans.

Danzo and the Eastern Front troops returned to Konoha amid rumors of Danzo’s ambitions and growing support for him among the soldiers. Their battlefield formation and fierce appearance alarmed the villagers and the Third Hokage as the three thousand ninja surrounded the village entrance.

• Takahashi Yū whispered an outrageous suggestion to Danzo, who replied that they should stockpile grain and not rush to proclaim themselves king.
• The Eastern Front soldiers’ morale rose as they interpreted Danzo’s words as proof of his hidden ambitions and rallied behind him.
• Villagers, the Third Hokage, and the Uchiha gathered at Konoha’s gate to welcome the returning Eastern Front forces.
• Danzo realized the troops had bypassed Konoha’s perimeter guards and rushed ahead to the village gate.
• Yamanaka Arashi and Akimichi Daixiong led the Eastern Front ninja onto the main road, where they formed a threatening encirclement around the entrance.

Danzo returned to Konoha with the victorious Eastern Front, where his soldiers’ loyalty and the clans’ suspicions made the Hokage’s welcome tense. After Sakumo revealed that Takahashi Yū had gone to his Farm, the clan representatives grew more fearful and Sakumo invited Danzo’s family to visit there.

• Mitokado Homura challenged Sakumo over the Hokage Half-Sleeve, and Danzo rebuked him for Konoha’s failure to learn about the daimyo’s honor.
• The Third Hokage welcomed the Eastern Front home, but its soldiers waited for Danzo’s signal before entering the village.
• The Uchiha admired Danzo and considered drastic action, while Danzo urged the soldiers to obey the Hokage and enter peacefully.
• The clan representatives suspected Danzo was making a bid for power and weighed joining him, especially after learning he had the daimyo’s support and Takahashi Yū’s backing.
• Sakumo told Danzo that Takahashi Yū had gone to his Farm and invited Danzo to bring his family there; Danzo replied that he would be busy, prompting the clan representatives to infer that he would become Hokage.

Takahashi Yū returned to Konoha and reunited with Mizuki and Simba at the wheat field, while Gekko Yūma discovered that his pregnant wife Ryōko had become aggressive after the captain’s murderous-intent ability strengthened their unborn son. The chapter left Yūma facing a difficult wait until his son Hayate was born.

• Takahashi Yū followed Mizuki’s directions through an illusory wall and found a wheat field outside Konoha.
• Mizuki welcomed Takahashi Yū home and said the orphanage had helped plant the crops.
• Gekko Yūma returned from the welcome ceremony worried that his father and wife had not come to greet him.
• Yūma found Ryōko pregnant, irritable, and ready to slap him, then learned that their unborn son’s heart had formed and his body was repairing itself.
• Yūma learned that Ryōko was expecting a boy they planned to name Hayate, and his father left him to cope with her until the birth.

Yūma visited Takahashi Yū to ask about the effects of his blood, and Takahashi arranged to consult Orochimaru. Meanwhile, Danzo confronted Hiruzen Sarutobi over the Nine-Tails and the Hokage’s secrecy, then ordered Root to publicize the Eastern Front’s battle record and intelligence from the Capital as he changed his plans.

• Yūma asked Takahashi Yū to help explain why his blood affected ordinary people, and Takahashi agreed to ask Orochimaru.
• Mizuki summoned a small white snake from a scroll, and the snake vanished after looking at Takahashi Yū.
• Danzo questioned Hiruzen Sarutobi about Lady Mito and the Nine-Tails, but Sarutobi refused to share Hokage-only information.
• Danzo put on the Daimyo Half-Sleeve, warned Sarutobi that news from the Eastern Front and the Capital would spread, and left the Hokage’s office.
• Danzo ordered Root to spread the intelligence, invite Uchiha Fugaku and Orochimaru, and publicize Sarutobi’s actions more widely.

Rumors about Danzo, the Eastern Front, and the Third Hokage spread through Konoha, prompting Sarutobi to prepare a response to the growing public pressure. Uchiha Fugaku arrived at Danzo’s home and knelt, asking to join him and help restore the Uchiha’s glory.

• A vegetable seller told a young man that the Third had recalled the victorious Eastern Front and was concealing his mistakes, while Shinnosuke said he would ask Danzo whether the ninja forehead protector’s symbol should change.
• Sarutobi, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu argued over Danzo’s campaign and the Third’s decision to stop him, then Sarutobi ordered detailed Eastern Front casualty reports.
• Uchiha Fugaku came to the Shimura Clan grounds, resolved to follow Danzo, and considered the chance to ease the Uchiha’s conflict with the village and earn merit.
• Danzo opened the gate, and Fugaku knelt before him, asking for an opportunity to achieve great deeds.

Fugaku persuaded Danzo that Konoha had abandoned the democratic process for choosing Hokage, and they agreed to work together to set the village right. After Fugaku left, Sakumo learned that someone was spreading accusations against Danzo and the Eastern Front troops.

• Danzo welcomed Fugaku and listened as he complained that the Uchiha were being disparaged despite their heavy losses on the Land of Water Frontline.
• Fugaku offered to rally Uchiha fighters to help Danzo become Fourth Hokage, but Danzo urged him to pursue the position through normal means.
• Fugaku questioned whether Konoha had ever used the First Hokage’s promised voting system, making Danzo reconsider how previous Hokage had taken office.
• Danzo asked Fugaku to join him in rooting out traitors and setting Konoha right, and Fugaku agreed to announce their alliance at the Uchiha Clan Meeting.
• Sakumo walked through Konoha with Kakashi and was told by a young Sarutobi from the Eastern Front that people were spreading claims that Danzo treated his soldiers as expendable.

Takahashi Yū, Danzo, and Sakumo attended the Uchiha clan meeting, where Yū’s murderous intent crushed the Uchiha who challenged Fugaku. Danzo took the clan head’s seat and demanded the clan’s loyalty, threatening death if they refused.

• Takahashi Yū, Danzo, and Sakumo toured the Uchiha compound with Shunji, who introduced his young cousin Obito.
• Takahashi Yū reacted with surprise to Obito’s name, while Danzo said he believed the boy would do great things.
• Shunji led the visitors to Naka Shrine, where Fugaku offered Danzo the seat of honor and an old Uchiha reprimanded him for welcoming outsiders.
• Takahashi Yū unleashed his murderous intent, forcing many Uchiha to the floor and silencing the old man.
• Danzo sat in the clan head’s seat and demanded the Uchiha offer their loyalty or die.

Danzo forced the Uchiha to accept his leadership, then explained that their Military Police Force had isolated them from other clans and civilians. He argued that the Uchiha would thrive on the battlefield, leaving Fugaku and the others to consider his proposed solution.

• Sakumo drew his blade as Danzo demanded the Uchiha declare whether they would follow him, while Takahashi Yū tried to reassure Fugaku.
• Uchiha Setsuna entered the shrine and declared that the Uchiha were willing to follow Danzo after seeing his Declaration of War.
• Danzo stopped Takahashi Yū from directing his killing intent at Setsuna, then invited Setsuna and Fugaku to sit beside him.
• Danzo told the Uchiha that their Military Police Force had become a clan monopoly, shutting them out of other departments and alienating both other clans and civilians.
• Danzo criticized the Uchiha for wasting elite members on village policing and concluded that the battlefield was the best place for their clan to grow.

Danzo organized Fugaku’s Guard Unit to bring other clans and civilians into village affairs while winning the Uchiha’s support. After reviewing the Eastern Front casualty roster and seeing how many Shimura had died, Danzo resolved to speed up his plans against Sarutobi.

• Danzo told Fugaku to reserve Guard Unit positions for other clans and recruit civilians, then joined the Uchiha gathering at Naka Shrine.
• Shunji asked when the Undying Squad could act, and Danzo said it would be soon, after he finished making arrangements.
• The next day, Danzo had Fugaku send invitations to the shinobi clans while Fugaku worried about rumors accusing Danzo of sacrificing comrades for achievements.
• Danzo summoned Root and obtained the Eastern Front casualty roster, then found pages of fallen Shimura clan members, including Shimura Tarō, whose family had been wiped out.
• Danzo blamed Sarutobi for judging the casualty count without reading the details and decided to accelerate his plans, smashing the tatami with his bare hand.

Danzo and the Third Hokage competed for the clans’ support as Konoha’s postwar tensions grew. At the Memorial Stone ceremony, Takahashi Yū and Sakumo led a large procession of Eastern Front shinobi, while Danzo stood alone with the register of the fallen.

• Danzo assigned Military Police Force positions to several shinobi clans and urged them to give the jobs to members with less severe disabilities.
• Takahashi Yū visited Hyūga Ryūhei, whose recovery was complete even though he still had to remain blind in the hospital, as tensions between the Hyūga Main Family and branch family settled into an uneasy balance.
• The Third Hokage and Danzo maneuvered to win clan support, with the Third Hokage recalling Sarutobi troops to Konoha and Danzo continuing to meet clan leaders.
• Takahashi Yū dressed for the Memorial Stone ceremony, met Sakumo, and joined Eastern Front shinobi gathering to walk to the cemetery together.
• Takahashi Yū led the growing black-clad procession to the cemetery, where the Third Hokage delivered a speech and Danzo stood apart holding the thick register of the fallen.
• Fugaku stopped Uchiha members from leaving their assigned places to stand beside Danzo.

At Konoha’s memorial ceremony, the Third Hokage read the casualty rosters from the fronts as Danzo and the Eastern Front shinobi arrived. The Eastern Front roster’s overwhelming number of Shimura names unsettled the Third and left the crowd listening in shock.

• The Third Hokage and Utatane Koharu presented the Northwestern and Southern Front casualty rosters at the Memorial Stone.
• Takahashi Yū and Sakumo led the battle-worn Eastern Front shinobi into the cemetery and joined Danzo.
• The Third Hokage called on Danzo to bring the Eastern Front casualty roster, which was much thicker than the others.
• The Third Hokage saw a page crowded with the surname Shimura and realized he had lost his covert confrontation with Danzo.
• The Third Hokage read the Shimura names aloud as the Eastern Front shinobi stood straighter and Danzo’s back stooped.

After the Eastern Front honored its fallen, Danzo gained the visible support of several clans while the Third Hokage worried that he was losing Konoha’s loyalty. Danzo privately sought the Hokage Position through proper means, though his eager subordinates mistook his instructions to wait for a plan to seize power.

• During the memorial, Danzo and his brothers left the ranks, and shinobi from the Eastern Front and several clans followed them, alarming the Third Hokage.
• The Third Hokage dismissed the gathering and feared Danzo had gained enough popular support to challenge him at the postwar review meeting.
• Takahashi Yū asked Danzo how he had gained the Aburame and Inuzuka clans’ support, and Danzo explained his plan to give clan shinobi administrative roles.
• Danzo told Sakumo he had once considered promoting him to Hokage, then made his own interest in the position clear to the Eastern Front shinobi.
• Danzo whispered to a subordinate to stay quiet, conserve strength, and await orders, but the shinobi assumed he was secretly preparing a forceful takeover.

Sarutobi entered a postwar conference where Danzo’s Eastern Front Jonin openly acted like they were ready to rebel, while the Uchiha argued over whether to join them. The meeting began with Mitokado Homura challenging the Jonin, and Fugaku cautiously backed Takahashi Yū’s defense of their arrogance.

• Sarutobi prepared for the conference, worried that Danzo’s terms with Kumogakure and his own reparations record had cost him support.
• Takahashi Yū watched the armed, menacing Eastern Front Jonin fill the conference room while Danzo wondered whether he could still take power peacefully.
• Uchiha Yashiro urged Fugaku to join the apparent rebellion, then accused him of being too weak as clan head; Fugaku silenced him.
• Sarutobi entered and saw Danzo’s Jonin posing with weapons, leaving him frozen in the doorway.
• Mitokado Homura accused the Eastern Front Jonin of rebellion, and Takahashi Yū challenged him by asking what law forbade arrogance.
• Fugaku stated that the village had no law against arrogance while Yashiro silently wished he would join the rebellion outright.

Takahashi Yū confronted Sarutobi over the meager reparations accepted from the Land of Wind, while Danzo contrasted them with the riches Konoha had seized from Kumogakure. Danzo formally challenged Hiruzen Sarutobi’s fitness to serve as Third Hokage, leaving the meeting at a political breaking point.

• Danzo rebuked Mitokado Homura and told Sarutobi to enter the postwar meeting, where Sarutobi read out the reparations negotiated with the Land of Earth, the Land of Water, and the Land of Wind.
• Takahashi Yū smashed the table and demanded to know who had agreed to Sunagakure’s compensation, as the Eastern Front jonin and the Undying Squad prepared to fight.
• Sarutobi said he had approved the deal because Sunagakure could offer no more and ending one battlefield’s fighting would boost Konoha’s morale.
• Danzo intervened to stop Takahashi Yū and had Yamanaka Arashi distribute documents detailing Konoha’s enormous gains from defeating Kumogakure.
• Danzo compared Kumogakure’s wealth and remaining forces with Sunagakure’s, then formally questioned Hiruzen Sarutobi’s ability to serve as Third Hokage and challenged his fitness.

Konoha’s clans and elder Utatane Koharu backed Danzo’s motion against Hiruzen Sarutobi, forcing Hiruzen to take responsibility for the war’s losses and call an election for Fourth Hokage. Danzo announced his candidacy and suggested Sakumo run too, leaving the election ahead.

• Uchiha Fugaku and several other clan representatives seconded Danzo’s motion, while the Hyūga hesitated.
• Utatane Koharu seconded the motion, devastating Hiruzen Sarutobi’s standing and leaving him with little support.
• Hiruzen accepted responsibility for Konoha’s losses in the war and announced an election for Fourth Hokage.
• Shimura Danzō declared that he would run for Fourth Hokage, and Mitokado Homura nominated Orochimaru.
• Danzo asked Takahashi Yū to consider running, but Takahashi Yū proposed Sakumo instead.

After Hiruzen resigned, Konoha celebrated and prepared for the Fourth Hokage election while Danzō took control of the Hokage’s office. Takahashi Yū’s warning about a last-minute Sarutobi clan challenge made Danzō reconsider how secure his victory was.

• Eastern Front ninja celebrated Hiruzen’s resignation and threatened the Inuzuka Clan Head, until an Inuzuka Jonin revealed he was their father and the crowd fled.
• The Inuzuka Clan Head scolded his son for bringing Kuromaru into the Hokage Building, then punched both him and the dog.
• Konoha residents spread rumors about Hiruzen’s resignation as taverns filled with people discussing the news.
• Workers built a platform for the Fourth Hokage election while ANBU and Military Police enforced Danzō’s lockdown on Konoha.
• Danzō told Fugaku and Sakumo that he wanted outsiders to hear about the leadership crisis, then surprise them after it was settled.
• Takahashi Yū warned that Sarutobi clan Jonin could still change the vote, leaving Danzō deep in thought as Shinnosuke listened outside the window.

Jiraiya stayed away from Konoha to train Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan, while the other villages reacted to the aftermath of the war and Madara Uchiha received reports from Tobi. Madara learned that Konoha was choosing a Fourth Hokage and that Mito Uzumaki’s presence had vanished, leaving him to reflect on being the last remnant of the old era.

• Jiraiya read a letter in the Land of Rain, thought Nagato might be the Child of Prophecy, and went to join Yahiko and the other children.
• Kitsuchi received a report that Konoha was under lockdown, ordered Iwagakure to strengthen its border defenses, and wished Ōnoki would wake up.
• The Third Kazekage and Chiyo discussed Sunagakure’s inability to intervene, while the Third Mizukage ordered Yagura to attack the rebellious Yuki Clan.
• Madara Uchiha questioned Tobi about events outside, dismissed Takahashi Yū as unimportant, and took interest in Shimura Danzō.
• Tobi told Madara that Konoha was choosing a Fourth Hokage and that White Zetsu had entered the village after a powerful presence faded.
• Madara concluded that Mito Uzumaki was dead and reflected that he was the only remnant of the old era.

Konoha elected Shimura Danzō as Fourth Hokage by a vote of 138 to 15, and he addressed the village about its perceived weakness. His speech incited the Eastern Front ninja and Uchiha Yashiro to demand another war, while Danzo realized his subordinates were far more extreme than he intended.

• Mitokado Homura counted the ballots, and Shimura Danzō defeated Orochimaru 138 to 15 as the Eastern Front ninja cheered and marked the dissenting votes for investigation.
• Shimura Danzō took the stage and argued that Konoha was weak because other nations attacked it and escaped its mercy after surrendering.
• Uchiha Yashiro called for a Third Shinobi World War, while the Undying Squad restrained Uchiha Shunji and the Eastern Front ninja roared for another charge.
• Shimura Danzō realized his Uchiha subordinates had taken his speech as a call for war, and Sakumo stopped Takahashi Yū before explaining that they should catch their enemies off guard.

Danzo was acclaimed as the Fourth Hokage after Shinnosuke brought him the Hokage robes, while his subordinates celebrated and circulated a book of his recorded sayings. Inuzuka Li discovered one such entry about Danzo cursing Sakumo for sharpening his blade near his tent.

• Danzo tried to calm his subordinates, then noticed Shinnosuke waiting behind him with the Hokage hat and robes.
• Shinnosuke gave Danzo the Hokage gear, and Danzo put on the robes as the crowd cheered for him as the Fourth Hokage.
• Eastern Front ninja celebrated Danzo’s appointment and showed a clan ninja a booklet of his recorded ambitions, compiled by Yamanaka Arashi and Aburame Hideki.
• Inuzuka Li read a booklet entry recounting how Danzo had cursed Sakumo for sharpening his blade near Danzo’s tent while Aburame Hideki secretly recorded his words.

At his first Jonin meeting as Fourth Hokage, Shimura Danzō announced sweeping appointments that reshaped Konoha’s leadership. Hiruzen Sarutobi and Mitokado Homura objected, but Danzō overruled them, leaving Homura to walk out and Hiruzen to warn that Danzō would regret it.

• Shimura Danzō arrived at the Jonin meeting in Hokage robes while Hiruzen Sarutobi sat awkwardly among the attendees as a former Hokage.
• Danzō appointed Hatake Sakumo head of the Jonin Commander and director of ANBU, ordering him to take over within three days.
• Danzō reappointed Utatane Koharu as an elder and Medical Department director, then named Hiruzen Sarutobi an elder.
• Danzō appointed the Inuzuka Clan Head director of the Military Police Force, the Aburame Clan Head commander of the Konoha Outer Forces, and Uchiha Fugaku an elder.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Mitokado Homura objected, but Danzō overruled them; Homura left, and Hiruzen warned Danzō that he would regret it.

Danzo appointed Shimura clan survivors to senior posts, gave Orochimaru broad resources to establish a Konoha Research Institute, and announced policies aimed at strengthening the village and increasing its population. Fugaku awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan after beating Yashiro, and Danzo celebrated its ability to make people mute.

• Danzo named several Shimura clan members to high-ranking posts and appointed Orochimaru to lead a new research institute with whatever money and personnel he needed.
• Danzo told the new ministers to follow Konoha’s policies and bring unreasonable matters directly to his office before ending the meeting.
• Yamanaka Arashi posted new policies abolishing Ninja Academy tuition and covering childbirth costs and medical expenses for children under three.
• Fugaku learned that a member of the Uchiha clan had been made a Konoha elder, then beat Yashiro for suggesting the position could help the clan.
• Fugaku awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan, whose ability could make people mute, and Danzo eagerly praised its usefulness.

A month after settling at his Farm Estate, Takahashi Yū saw how Danzo’s leadership had changed Konoha and visited Ryūhei in the hospital. Ryūhei worried about the Hyūga clan’s conflict, and Takahashi Yū urged him to wait until he was stronger before acting.

• Takahashi Yū left his Farm Estate with Mizuki’s freshly picked strawberries and learned that Yakushi Nonō had helped grow them.
• Takahashi Yū passed villagers selling ninja tools and saw residents from rival adult academies flee when the Military Police Force arrived with dogs.
• Takahashi Yū visited Ryūhei, whose eyes Doctor Zhipin said should adjust to light gradually before being uncovered.
• Takahashi Yū told Ryūhei about the Third Raikage and the Eastern Front, and noted the seals surrounding Ryūhei’s Caged Bird Seal.
• Ryūhei asked whether Takahashi Yū hated the Hyūga, and Takahashi Yū told him to wait until he was stronger before pursuing anything he wanted to do.

Takahashi Yū joined Danzo, Sakumo, and Fugaku for a barbecue and learned that the village’s adult academies were teaching chakra extraction. The chapter ended with Aburame Hideki’s Eastern Front Academy preparing to teach ordinary students a commoner version of Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

• Takahashi Yū met Danzo at Yakiniku Q, where Danzo explained that he had reorganized Konoha’s departments after taking office.
• Danzo said Sakumo had taken over ANBU and was teaching them sword techniques, while Fugaku had established an adult academy for the Uchiha.
• Sakumo revealed that the adult academies were teaching students to extract chakra, and Fugaku defended the decision as a response to the Eastern Front Academy doing the same.
• Danzo approved expanding the academies and said their students could become Konoha’s grassroots administrators.
• Aburame Hideki decided the Eastern Front Academy would teach a commoner version of Lightning Release Chakra Mode to keep pace with the Uchiha Academy.

At dinner, Takahashi Yū explained how the Uchiha could prevent Mangekyō Sharingan blindness, prompting Danzo to fund Orochimaru’s research into Hashirama cells. The chapter ended with Orochimaru eager to experiment on two Uchiha prisoners.

• Fugaku asked Sakumo to teach Kenjutsu at the Uchiha Academy, but Sakumo said he was too busy with ANBU duties and his son.
• Takahashi Yū revealed that excessive Mangekyō Sharingan use could cause blindness, and Fugaku begged him for help.
• Takahashi Yū explained that merging the Mangekyō of close relatives could create the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, and that Hashirama cells could also prevent blindness.
• Orochimaru struggled to make progress studying Takahashi Yū’s killing intent seed in Konoha’s new underground laboratory.
• Danzo transferred five hundred million ryō to Orochimaru’s laboratory and urged him to accelerate Hashirama cell research, mentioning two Uchiha prisoners as possible test subjects.
• Orochimaru eagerly considered using the prisoners for his experiments.