Chapter Summaries

Ye Feng and Jiraiya were ambushed by enemy ninja trying to keep Jiraiya from reaching the Land of Hot Water. Ye Feng used the Flying Thunder God Technique to help them evade the pursuers, and they hid near a trap set along the enemy’s route.

• Jiraiya fought through the ambush with Needle Jizo and Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet, then escaped while Ye Feng vanished.
• The enemy ninja pursued Jiraiya and repeatedly blocked his attempts to head toward the Land of Hot Water.
• Ye Feng reappeared using a Flying Thunder God Mark on Jiraiya’s clothes and explained that he had prepared a trap and an escape plan.
• Ye Feng and Jiraiya drew the enemy away, then used the Flying Thunder God Technique to return behind them.
• The enemy leader guessed they had used the Flying Thunder God Technique and led the group back, while Ye Feng and Jiraiya hid near their trap.

Ye Feng and Jiraiya wiped out an ambush on their way to find Tsunade, then learned that someone had leaked their route and suspected Shimura Danzō. They continued toward their destination in the Land of Hot Water, arriving after nightfall.

• Ye Feng activated four Metal Spirit Talismans to attack eleven enemy ninja, while he and Jiraiya prevented most of them from escaping.
• Two Jonin escaped the trap, but Ye Feng caught them, used Genjutsu to learn that their villages had received information about the pair, and killed them.
• Ye Feng told Jiraiya that someone had leaked their whereabouts and suspected Shimura Danzō of sending the information to Sunagakure and Iwagakure.
• Jiraiya questioned whether Danzo would betray Konoha, but Ye Feng argued that Danzo's desperation made it plausible.
• Ye Feng urged Jiraiya to resume their search, and they reached their destination in the Land of Hot Water after dark.

Ye Feng and Jiraiya found Tsunade and told her that the Third Hokage had been poisoned and left unconscious, so she agreed to return to Konoha to treat him. Ye Feng used the Flying Thunder God Technique to reach Jiraiya, but Tsunade mistook the sudden change of scenery for Genjutsu and attacked him.

• Ye Feng located Tsunade at an inn, where she was bathing, and Jiraiya noticed that Ye Feng seemed to have a special sensory ability.
• Tsunade spotted Jiraiya near the inn and punched him through several walls, then fled when the innkeeper demanded payment for the damage.
• Tsunade asked Ye Feng what had happened in Konoha, and he told her the Third Hokage was poisoned and unconscious.
• Tsunade set out to return to Konoha with Ye Feng, who blocked her attempt to examine him with chakra.
• When Jiraiya was missing, Ye Feng used the Flying Thunder God Technique to take Tsunade to him, and she attacked Jiraiya after mistaking him for an illusion.

Tsunade chased Jiraiya while Ye Feng watched, as Shimura Danzō’s planned attack threw Konoha into turmoil. With wild beasts storming the gates and twenty assassins closing in on the Third Hokage at the hospital, Orochimaru prepared to face them.

• Tsunade attacked Jiraiya, who called to Ye Feng for help, but Ye Feng watched instead of intervening.
• A fireball killed a guard at the Konoha Gate, and the surviving guard raised the alarm as explosions struck the gates.
• Konoha’s clans, Military Police Force, Anbu, and combat units mobilized, while Shimura Danzō dismissed the messengers with a sinister smile because he had planned the attack.
• Konoha’s ninja found no enemy at the gates and began fighting a huge stampede of wild beasts charging through the smoke.
• Assassins infiltrated Konoha Hospital and killed more than ten guards, while Orochimaru sensed twenty intruders approaching the Third Hokage’s room.
• Minato Namikaze offered to move the Third Hokage and Hatake Sakumo to safety, but Orochimaru refused and awaited the attackers.

Orochimaru and his allies used a staged retreat to lure assassins into attacking the Third Hokage and Hatake Sakumo, then stopped them with Minato's help. Meanwhile, Tsunade stopped beating Jiraiya and agreed to return to Konoha to treat the Third Hokage.

• Six black-clad ninjas tried to bomb the Third Hokage's hospital room, but Orochimaru protected it with an Earth Wall strengthened by true qi.
• Minato and Kakashi pursued the first attackers, while a second group entered the room and attacked Orochimaru, the Third Hokage, and Hatake Sakumo.
• Minato returned to stop an attacker targeting the Third Hokage, and the awakened Hatake Sakumo seized his own attacker and kicked him out the window.
• Orochimaru revealed that he and Minato had deliberately left the room lightly guarded to draw more assassins into a trap.
• Tsunade accused Jiraiya of peeking at her bathing, but Ye Feng vouched that Jiraiya had been with him.
• Tsunade believed Jiraiya and remembered that Ye Feng had brought her there, then Jiraiya urged them to return to Konoha so she could treat the Third Hokage.

Ye Feng brought Tsunade and Jiraiya back to Konoha, where they discovered an attack at the hospital and found the Third Hokage safe after Orochimaru defeated the infiltrators. Jiraiya realized the beast attack at the gate was a diversion targeting the hospital and rushed back as reinforcements were sent.

• Ye Feng used the Flying Thunder God Technique to transport Tsunade and Jiraiya to his home, and Jiraiya sent Ye Feng and Tsunade to Konoha Hospital while he went to the gate.
• Ye Feng and Tsunade found bodies and signs of battle at the hospital, while Orochimaru finished defeating the Black-Clad Ninjas near the Third Hokage's ward.
• Ye Feng and Tsunade found the Third Hokage and the others safe, but Tsunade collapsed after seeing the blood, so Ye Feng carried her to a clean ward.
• Jiraiya found beasts attacking the Konoha Gate and realized the assault was a diversion meant to target the Third Hokage at the hospital.
• Utatane Koharu sent Mitokado Homura to hold the gate and led five Elite Squads toward Konoha Hospital.

Jiraiya and the others found the Third Hokage alive after a series of attacks at Konoha Hospital, then confronted Shimura Danzō over the attempted assassination. Danzō denied responsibility and left, while Orochimaru remained certain of his guilt.

• Jiraiya and the others arrived at Konoha Hospital and found the Third Hokage missing from his damaged room.
• Minato Namikaze told them that the Third Hokage was unharmed and led them to his new room, where Hatake Sakumo and Orochimaru were waiting.
• Jiraiya asked about Ye Feng and Tsunade, and Orochimaru explained that Ye Feng had taken Tsunade to rest while she recovered.
• Jiraiya accused Shimura Danzō of arranging the attacks, and Hatake Sakumo recounted what had happened but admitted he had no evidence.
• Shimura Danzō denied the accusations, challenged the others to prove them, and left the room.
• Orochimaru recognized that Danzō would do anything to achieve his goals.

Tsunade found that she could remove the Third Hokage’s poison but was unsure she could repair the nerve damage, leaving his recovery uncertain and Konoha anxious about succession. Shimura Danzō pursued the Hokage position through secret means while Jiraiya and Orochimaru discussed who might replace the Third.

• After Shimura Danzō left, Orochimaru told Jiraiya that Danzō’s days were numbered but refused to explain his plan.
• Ye Feng stayed beside Tsunade overnight, and she woke the next morning before going with him to examine the Third Hokage.
• Tsunade said she could remove the poison but had less than a ten percent chance of repairing the brain nerve damage; otherwise, the Third Hokage might remain unconscious indefinitely.
• News of the Third Hokage’s condition spread, stirring unease among Konoha’s clans as they considered choosing a new Hokage.
• Shimura Danzō summoned a Root ninja and secretly gave him orders to help secure the Hokage position.
• Jiraiya complained that the clans were already forming factions, and Orochimaru suggested that Jiraiya become Hokage.

Ye Feng and Orochimaru worked to free a ninja from outside control while Konoha searched for a new Hokage. An urgent meeting drew Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade away, leaving Ye Feng and Minato Namikaze to guard the unconscious Third Hokage as Hatake Sakumo faced a dangerous operation.

• Jiraiya and Orochimaru refused to become Hokage, and Tsunade rejected the position when she arrived at the hospital; Minato Namikaze confronted her for insulting the office.
• Jiraiya took Minato Namikaze outside to calm the situation, while Ye Feng urged Orochimaru to reconsider becoming Hokage.
• Two days later, Ye Feng and Orochimaru successfully used their method to free an unconscious ninja from control.
• An Anbu ninja summoned Orochimaru to an urgent meeting with the Three Advisors, and Ye Feng went to Konoha Hospital in case Shimura Danzō made another move.
• Tsunade left for the Hokage Office meeting after Ye Feng assured her that he and Minato Namikaze could guard the Third Hokage.
• Minato Namikaze told Ye Feng that Hatake Sakumo had mostly recovered but still faced a potentially fatal operation for his comminuted fracture.

Ye Feng and the others planned to stop Danzo from becoming Acting Hokage as Sunagakure prepared for war. After Jiraiya and Orochimaru refused the Hokage position, Orochimaru offered Tsunade the chance to bring her younger brother and Dan Katō back to life if she accepted it.

• Minato Namikaze felt downcast after seeing Hatake Sakumo's condition, and Ye Feng cheered him by joking about his future as Hokage.
• Jiraiya reported Sunagakure's military buildup, while Orochimaru said Danzo had gained the Advisors' support to become Acting Hokage.
• Ye Feng suspected Danzo was counting on winning an afternoon Jonin vote and ordered Jiraiya and Orochimaru to help seize Root and eliminate Danzo's influence.
• Jiraiya and Orochimaru refused to take over as Third Hokage, and Tsunade also rejected the position.
• Orochimaru offered to fulfill any request, including resurrecting Tsunade's younger brother and Dan Katō, if she became Hokage.

Tsunade agreed to compete for the Hokage position after Orochimaru offered to revive her younger brother and Dan Katō, while Ye Feng helped her firm her resolve. At the assembly, Shimura Danzō sought a vote to become acting Hokage, but his supporters appeared to fall short of a majority.

• Orochimaru told Tsunade that his research into bringing the dead back to life was nearly complete and urged her to become Hokage.
• Ye Feng used genjutsu to help Tsunade make up her mind, and she agreed to compete for Hokage and left Danzō to him.
• Ye Feng's shadow clone attended the assembly while his original body joined Jiraiya and the Anbu in capturing Root ninja.
• Shimura Danzō announced that he would temporarily assume the Hokage position and called for a vote.
• Small and medium-sized clan ninja and three Aburame Jonin stood in support of Danzō, but they appeared to lack the votes for a majority.
• Shimura Danzō interrupted Utatane Koharu as she prepared to announce the result and demanded to know why she was hesitating.

Orochimaru interrupted Shimura Danzō’s apparent victory in the Jonin vote and challenged his qualifications by presenting evidence linking him to attacks on Konoha leaders. He revealed two captured suspects, and the chapter ended as he connected the attackers’ life-sacrificing drug to Root.

• Hyuga Sanada and five Hyuga Jonin stood to support Shimura Danzō, angering Takeda Hyuga and disappointing Ye Feng.
• Utatane Koharu began announcing Shimura Danzō’s victory, but Orochimaru interrupted and questioned his qualifications.
• Orochimaru presented Blood Shadow, a captured attacker whose tongue bore the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, while Shimura Danzō denied knowing him and claimed he had been framed.
• Orochimaru brought in a white-haired old man and identified him as one of the twelve ninja who had attacked the Third Hokage.
• Orochimaru said the old man’s appearance resulted from a drug that increased combat strength by consuming life force, then asked whether Root possessed such a drug.

Orochimaru exposed evidence that Shimura Danzō’s Root had trained an assassin to kill the Third Hokage, while Ye Feng and Jiraiya captured Danzō’s trusted subordinates. Danzō tried to deny responsibility and reclaim his men, but Jiraiya blocked him and revealed that Root’s other ninja were also in custody.

• Orochimaru sent a surviving attacker to the Analysis Team to examine his memories, causing Danzō to fear that Root’s role would be exposed.
• Ye Feng and Jiraiya broke into the Root Base, where Ye Feng used his Sharingan to incapacitate two of Danzō’s trusted subordinates and learn about Root’s hidden locations and personnel.
• The Analysis Team’s report identified the attacker as a Root-trained assassin who had taken the Potential Drug and trained in the Eight Gates Released Formation to kill the Third Hokage.
• Orochimaru showed the report to the Meeting Hall, and Utatane Koharu and the other attendees were shocked by the evidence against Danzō.
• Jiraiya arrived with Ye Feng and two captured Root Ninja, then stopped Danzō from taking them away as Danzō insisted his subordinates had acted without his knowledge.
• Jiraiya told Danzō that all of Root’s ninja were outside and offered to bring in whichever ones Danzō wanted.

Orochimaru used the Kurama Clan head’s genjutsu and Ye Feng’s imitation of Shimura Danzō’s voice to expose Danzō’s role in the attempt to assassinate the Third Hokage. Utatane Koharu ordered Danzō imprisoned pending a public trial, but Ye Feng suspected he would escape and asked how Nawaki and Dan Katō had been dealt with.

• Orochimaru asked the Kurama Clan head to use genjutsu on two Root Ninja and used his own abilities to counter the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.
• Utatane Koharu questioned the Root Ninja about the plot against the Third Hokage, but they initially remained silent.
• Ye Feng imitated Shimura Danzō’s voice, prompting a Root Ninja to reveal that Danzō had ordered the Blood Moon Squad to ambush and kill the Third Hokage using the Eight Gates Released Formation.
• The Jonin denounced Shimura Danzō, and Utatane Koharu removed him as advisor and ordered him imprisoned pending a public trial.
• Ye Feng noticed a glint in Shimura Danzō’s eyes and, worried he might escape, asked how Nawaki and Dan Katō had been dealt with in Danzō’s voice.

After learning Shimura Danzō had arranged the deaths of Nawaki and Dan Katō, Tsunade attacked him, but his sacrificial sealing technique engulfed her and Ye Feng. Jiraiya and Orochimaru were left uncertain whether they had survived as they stared at Shimura Danzō’s lifeless body.

• A Root Ninja revealed that Shimura Danzō had arranged Nawaki’s death and disguised Dan Katō’s death during the Spirit Transformation Technique.
• Tsunade charged Shimura Danzō, while Orochimaru blocked Utatane Koharu and Jiraiya restrained Danzō from escaping.
• Tsunade beat Shimura Danzō through the Hokage Building’s wall and continued attacking him in the open space outside.
• As he lay dying, Shimura Danzō activated the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique to take those around him with him.
• Ye Feng stopped Jiraiya and Orochimaru, activated the Eight Gates Released Formation, and rushed toward Tsunade, but the sealing sphere swallowed both of them.
• Jiraiya and Orochimaru found Shimura Danzō dead and feared that Ye Feng and Tsunade had not escaped.

Ye Feng rescued Tsunade from the aftermath of Shimura Danzō’s death, while Orochimaru secured support to lead Konoha’s forces against Sunagakure. The chapter ended with Tsunade resting at Ye Feng’s home as Konoha began arresting Root remnants.

• Ye Feng used the Flying Thunder God Technique to bring Tsunade to Jiraiya and then took her away to rest.
• Orochimaru proposed that Jiraiya and the Advisors defend Konoha while he led its forces against Sunagakure, and the clans stood to support him.
• Utatane Koharu announced the vote’s result, and the meeting continued for over two hours to settle battle plans and assignments.
• Ye Feng brought Tsunade to his home, made room for her, and went out to buy food and supplies while Garurumon watched over her.
• Ye Feng saw Anbu and the Military Police Force arresting suspected Root remnants and taking them toward the Hokage Building.

Ye Feng returned home to find Tsunade and Garurumon had wrecked his house while fighting, then agreed to stay at Tsunade’s place. Tsunade became fascinated with Garurumon and tried to take the tiny Summoning Beast for herself.

• Ye Feng arrived home and found Tsunade and Garurumon glaring at each other amid the wreckage; Garurumon complained that Tsunade had punched her.
• Ye Feng promised to take Garurumon outside, and she excitedly knocked him down and licked his face.
• Tsunade offered to pay for the damage, but Ye Feng declined and discovered his shadow clones had stayed behind a protective barrier instead of stopping the fight.
• Ye Feng brushed off Tsunade’s questions about his many shadow clones by claiming he was developing a new ninjutsu.
• Tsunade offered Ye Feng a place to stay, and he agreed to bring Garurumon along after shrinking her to palm size.
• Tsunade asked Ye Feng to give her Garurumon, then took the tiny beast from his clothes and cuddled her.

Ye Feng let Tsunade take Garurumon home for a few days and cooked a lavish meal at her request. Jiraiya and Orochimaru arrived to join them, and the three Sannin devoured the food while Ye Feng reflected on Naruto Uzumaki’s future.

• Tsunade took Garurumon to her home, while Ye Feng ignored Garurumon’s pleas for help.
• Ye Feng learned that Hiruzen Sarutobi had arranged for people to maintain Tsunade’s courtyard and thought about how Naruto Uzumaki would be neglected.
• Ye Feng cooked more than a dozen dishes for Tsunade, who eagerly began eating when he said the meal was ready.
• Jiraiya and Orochimaru arrived and sat down to eat, surprising Tsunade and Jiraiya when Orochimaru immediately started eating.
• Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru raced to finish the food, leaving the plates clean while Ye Feng watched.

Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Ye Feng planned Konoha’s response to Sunagakure’s invasion, agreeing that Tsunade would join the front lines after showing no sign of her hemophobia. As Jiraiya left, he noticed Ye Feng’s lecherous expression and concluded that Ye Feng might be able to see through things.

• Jiraiya said Sunagakure’s army had invaded the Land of Fire’s border and Orochimaru planned to lead the Ninja Forces against them.
• Orochimaru proposed bringing Ye Feng and Minato Namikaze while Tsunade stayed in Konoha with Jiraiya, but Ye Feng argued that Tsunade’s poison expertise and strength would be more useful at the front.
• Ye Feng cut his arm to test Tsunade’s hemophobia, and Tsunade showed no distress at the sight of blood.
• Jiraiya agreed Tsunade could go, reasoning that Might Duy and the Flying Thunder God Technique could help protect Konoha if danger arose.
• Tsunade told Jiraiya that Ye Feng would stay over with her, and Jiraiya recognized Ye Feng’s lecherous expression from earlier encounters.
• Jiraiya connected Ye Feng’s repeated presence and nosebleeds to his way of finding people, then shouted that Ye Feng could see through things.

Ye Feng escaped Jiraiya’s suspicions about his ability to see through things, then explained to Orochimaru that he wanted to limit Orochimaru’s power in the coming war. He revealed his plan to bring the Five Great Shinobi Villages into a controlled war to make them value peace and prevent future conflicts, leaving Orochimaru shocked by Ye Feng’s willingness to bear infamy.

• Jiraiya accused Ye Feng of using an ability to see through things, but Ye Feng claimed he could only sense people’s auras.
• Jiraiya and Orochimaru left, and Ye Feng found Tsunade deep in thought before he cleaned the kitchen and discovered she was gone.
• Ye Feng used the Flying Thunder God Technique to reach Orochimaru’s laboratory, where Orochimaru asked why he had insisted on sending Tsunade to the battlefield.
• Ye Feng said he wanted Orochimaru to hold back his strength and revealed his goal of ending the division among the five nations by making shinobi experience the pain of war.
• Orochimaru protested that Ye Feng planned to provoke the Third Shinobi World War, but Ye Feng argued that a controlled war could prevent future ones and said he would accept infamy before leaving the world.