Chapter Summaries

Anyo deciphered part of the Uchiha Clan's stone tablet and resolved to change the Shinobi World. He asked Minato to join him, but Minato refused because Anyo could not promise that his plans would benefit Konoha.

• Anyo deciphered a passage about yin and yang becoming all creation, but could not uncover the tablet's hidden section with his Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Anyo told Shisui he was no longer his captain and ordered him to leave the Anbu.
• Anyo admitted to Minato that he had used poison to kill twenty thousand Allied Forces troops at Kikyo Mountain.
• Anyo asked Minato whether he still wanted to become Hokage, then proposed that they work together to change the Shinobi World.
• Minato refused to join Anyo because he could not be sure Anyo's changes would be good for Konoha.

Anyo warned Minato that Obito and Kakashi were likely in danger, while Obito rushed to save them after learning Rin was surrounded by Kirigakure Ninja. He arrived too late to stop Kakashi from killing Rin, and Obito awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan before massacring the Mist Ninja.

• Minato told Anyo that Obito had sacrificed himself during the Kannabi Bridge mission, and Anyo realized Obito and Kakashi might still be in danger.
• Obito recovered in Madara's Underground Palace until a White Zetsu told him Rin and Kakashi were surrounded by Kirigakure Ninja.
• A White Zetsu wrapped itself around Obito, enabling him to break through the stone wall and race to save Rin and Kakashi.
• Anyo urged Minato to search near Kirigakure, and Minato left Konoha to find his students.
• Obito arrived just as Kakashi pierced Rin's heart, and his Sharingan evolved into the Mangekyō Sharingan as Kakashi collapsed unconscious.
• Obito attacked the Kirigakure Ninja in a rage and slaughtered them without mercy.

After learning that Rin had died by Kakashi’s Chidori, Anyo met with Hiruzen Sarutobi and received the appointment as Anbu commander. He used his first order to give his Anbu squad members the chance to return to ordinary lives.

• Minato found Kakashi unconscious at the bloody battlefield, with Rin and the Mist Ninja gone, and brought Kakashi back to Konoha.
• Kakashi told Minato and Anyo that Rin had died after impaling herself on his Chidori to prevent the Three-Tails from reaching Konoha.
• Anyo recognized Madara Uchiha’s plan to use Rin’s death to manipulate Obito, while Kakashi fell unconscious from exhaustion.
• Anbu summoned Anyo to meet Hiruzen Sarutobi, who asked about the Battle of Kikyo Pass and then gave him the Anbu commander appointment.
• Anyo ordered his Anbu squad members to leave the Anbu and return to normal lives, and Hiruzen agreed if they consented.

Hiruzen appointed Anyo as Anbu Chief, and Anyo used his new authority to confront Danzo over the supposedly halted Wood Release Experiment. After discovering the hidden trials were killing their child subjects, Anyo began investigating the experiments himself and identified the cause of their deaths.

• Hiruzen told Minato that he had decided to appoint him, leaving Minato stunned.
• Anyo showed Danzo his appointment letter and asserted authority over Root, then forced Danzo to take him to the Wood Release Experiment.
• Danzo led Anyo to a hidden laboratory where dozens of children were submerged in experimental vessels, despite Hiruzen having ordered the research stopped.
• Anyo tested the green liquid on several children, but each subject burst apart and died.
• Anyo determined that the diluted Hashirama cells overwhelmed the children's bodies, while stronger subjects would reject the cells.

As Anyo continued researching underground, Konoha mourned its war dead and prepared to elect a Fourth Hokage. Minato and Fugaku emerged as leading candidates, and Fugaku decided to seek Anyo’s support through Mikoto.

• Konoha announced its war dead, the Third Hokage’s intention to step down, and the approaching Fourth Hokage election.
• Uchiha clansmen demanded Kakashi Hatake’s Sharingan, but Fugaku refused to take it from the village hero.
• Uchiha clansmen urged Fugaku to run for Hokage, and he agreed.
• Minato told Kushina that he had been appointed to succeed as the Fourth Hokage, and she celebrated with him.
• Fugaku worried that Minato’s wartime reputation threatened his chances and asked Mikoto to approach Anyo for support.

Anyo's experiments with Hashirama Cells suggested that balancing them against the Third Raikage's cells might strengthen his own cells, but the mixture exploded before he could achieve a stable result. Mikoto asked him to support Fugaku's bid for Hokage, and a week later Anyo attended the election meeting, where Minato Namikaze and Uchiha Fugaku were the final candidates.

• Anyo tested Hashirama Cells alongside the Third Raikage's cells and his own blood, but the vessel exploded after the three types of cells clashed.
• Anyo returned home, where Mikoto visited and asked him to support Fugaku's bid for Hokage; he agreed.
• After Mikoto left, Anyo suspected Danzo had leaked his Anbu appointment to manipulate Fugaku and cause friction with Sarutobi.
• A week later, Anyo attended Konoha's Fourth Hokage election meeting as Minato Namikaze and Uchiha Fugaku entered as the final candidates.

Minato Namikaze won the Hokage election and became Konoha’s Fourth Hokage, while Anyo worried about the coming Nine-Tails attack and resolved to keep Minato alive. After Anyo returned to his research, Shinku Yuhi brought a group of young ninja back to Konoha and told Kurenai Yuhi that the Third Shinobi World War had ended.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi praised Fugaku and Minato Namikaze before they gave their campaign speeches, and the senior officials overwhelmingly voted for Minato.
• Fugaku left the ceremony bitter and dejected as Minato was named Fourth Hokage and celebrated by the villagers.
• Anyo thought about the threats posed by Obito and the Nine-Tails, then promised Minato he would help him while keeping his concerns secret.
• Anyo returned to the Wood Release Experiment Laboratory to research how to eliminate his Mangekyō Sharingan’s side effects and decided to ensure Minato survived the Nine-Tails attack.
• Shinku Yuhi returned to Konoha with the young ninja and told Kurenai Yuhi that the Third Shinobi World War was over; Kurenai went to see whether someone had returned.

After the war, Kurenai Yuhi learned that Anyo’s identity and new Anbu position were secret, while Anyo continued experiments in Root and developed his lightning techniques. His research failed to safely use Hashirama cells, but studying the Third Raikage’s cells strengthened his abilities and led him to master Lightning Swordsmanship.

• Kurenai Yuhi found Anyo’s home empty for several days and asked Shinku where he had gone.
• Sarutobi told Shinku that Anyo was now Anbu Chief, that his former identity as Ye had been declared dead, and that Shinku should find spies in Konoha.
• Shinku forbade Kurenai Yuhi from seeking Anyo because his identity and new residence were confidential, prompting an argument between them.
• Anyo’s attempt to introduce Hashirama cells into his body nearly transformed the injection site into wood, so he expelled the cells.
• Anyo studied the Third Raikage’s cells, created the defensive Lightning Domain, and refined his use of lightning chakra.
• Anyo infused the Unintentional Blade with lightning and pierced the laboratory’s reinforced steel door, mastering his Lightning Swordsmanship.

Anyo learned that Konoha had erased his former Anbu identity and arranged a secret residence for him while Shinku investigated spies seeking information about Death Poison Valley. Meanwhile, Minato recruited a grieving Kakashi into the Anbu, where Anyo gave him a new White Light Chakra Sabre and his swordsmanship scroll before agreeing to test Guy for a place in the unit.

• Shinku gave Anyo a list of infiltrators and told him Sarutobi had declared his former Anbu codename dead and arranged a new residence.
• Kurenai played a board game with her friends while thinking about Anyo, and Guy followed Kakashi after seeing his grief.
• Kakashi faltered during a mission when memories of Rin overwhelmed him, and Guy rescued him from enemy ninja.
• Minato ordered Kakashi to join the Anbu as his right-hand man, and Kakashi accepted the assignment.
• Anyo welcomed Kakashi into the Anbu, gave him a forged White Light Chakra Sabre and a swordsmanship scroll, and offered him a chance to leave if needed.
• Guy asked to join the Anbu, and Anyo said he would recommend him to Minato if he answered three questions correctly.

Anyo returned to his former residence and resumed training before Shopkeeper Niannian came to ask him to help recover his missing daughter. Anyo agreed to seek out Sasori, believing Sasori had taken her.

• Anyo tested Guy with questions about handling enemy ninja, then regretted considering him for the Anbu after Guy answered the final question with a spinning kick.
• Anyo returned to his old residence, reflected on his past with Tsunade, and spent the next day training with his swords.
• Anyo accepted a free kunai from a villager, then realized the gift was a way to identify Anbu members when Shopkeeper Niannian arrived at his gate.
• Niannian explained that his daughter had gone missing after he secretly moved her to a safe place, and he suspected Sasori had taken her.
• Anyo reassured Niannian that Sasori would not harm the girl and left the village to find their contact point.

Anyo met with Sasori through a puppet and agreed that Boss Niannian’s kidnapped daughter would be returned after a month, while using the incident to pressure Niannian into cooperating. In Sunagakure, Sasori struggled to soothe the crying baby until Grandmother Chiyo arrived to help.

• Anyo opened the barrier-sealed box and summoned a puppet containing part of Sasori’s soul, who explained that Rasa was hidden and the Elder Council was under his control.
• Sasori admitted he had kidnapped Boss Niannian’s daughter and explained that Niannian’s poorly guarded card shipments had failed to spread the game beyond the bandits.
• Anyo told Sasori to care for the girl and return her in a month, then assured Niannian that the separation would happen once a year and urged him to act in good faith.
• Niannian realized Anyo knew about his tricks and reluctantly accepted the arrangement.
• Sasori failed to calm the crying baby with puppets or rice porridge, and Mabui pointed out that she needed milk.
• Grandmother Chiyo arrived, took the baby from Mabui, and promised Sasori she would find out what was wrong.

While Anyo continued his Wood Release Experiment, Minato faced diplomatic pressure over Anyo’s controversial Five Nations Kill cards. Minato chose to halt overseas sales, but Kushina demanded the rare signed deck he had accidentally given away.

• Anyo struggled with his Wood Release Experiment and worried that he was running out of test subjects.
• Minato investigated complaints from other nations about Five Nations Kill and learned from Niannian that an Anbu member had made the cards.
• Minato recognized the card creator as Anyo, summoned him, and heard that he had made the deck to earn money and deliberately annoy the other nations.
• Anyo refused to change the cards and threatened to take on another twenty-thousand-strong Allied Forces if anyone fought over them.
• Minato and Sarutobi agreed to halt sales abroad, but Sarutobi took the deck from the office to play with it.
• Kushina demanded her limited-edition signed deck, and Minato used Flying Thunder God to leave and promised to get her another signed copy.

Anyo made a signed card set for Minato and learned that Minato and Kushina were getting married because Kushina was pregnant. At their small wedding, Anyo reunited with Mikoto and received a message that Yugao wanted to see him.

• Minato used Flying Thunder God to find Anyo and asked him for signed cards for Kushina, so Anyo took him to Niannian's shop and made a set by hand.
• Minato told Anyo that he and Kushina would hold a simple wedding in a week and revealed that Kushina was pregnant; he decided to name their child Naruto after Jiraiya's novel.
• Anyo attended Minato and Kushina's small home wedding, where he learned that Mikoto was over four months pregnant and Fugaku had withdrawn from public life after losing the Hokage election.
• Inoichi, Shikaku, and Chōza toasted Anyo at the wedding, and Inoichi secretly told him that Yugao was looking for him and did not want to leave the Anbu.

At Minato and Kushina’s wedding, Anyo rejected Fugaku’s invitation to return to the Uchiha clan and become its next head. He then reassured Yugao that she could remain in the Anbu and demonstrated his sword techniques for her.

• Anyo told Minato and Mikoto that he was already married, then refused Mikoto’s offer to find him a wife.
• Fugaku invited Anyo to return to the Uchiha clan and become its next head, but Anyo refused and urged him to focus on strength instead of clan status.
• Yugao told Anyo she would stay in the Anbu because she had nowhere else to go, and Anyo agreed to continue training her.
• At their usual training ground, Anyo demonstrated his eight great sword techniques, ending with a strike that shattered a rocky hill and left Yugao stunned.

Anyo traveled to Orochimaru’s hideout under the pretense of hunting the rogue ninja, hoping to join Orochimaru and Danzo’s Wood Release Experiment. Orochimaru agreed to help stage a fight at his abandoned hideouts, then led Anyo toward the experiment and warned him away from a hidden door.

• Anyo gave Minato antidote pills and protective medicine for Death Poison Valley, then claimed he was leaving to investigate a possible sighting of Orochimaru.
• Anyo left Konoha on his War Hawk Puppet and greeted Orochimaru at his hideout as his uncle.
• Orochimaru demanded Anyo fill a bottle with his blood before agreeing to hear his request, and Anyo complied.
• Anyo asked Orochimaru to stage a fight at several abandoned hideouts so he could remain there and join the Wood Release Experiment with Danzo.
• Orochimaru recognized Anyo’s interest in the experiment and led him through the research base, warning him not to enter a hidden door near the Wood Release laboratory.

Anyo and Orochimaru worked together on Wood Release experiments, and Anyo created a successful clone combining Wood Release and a Sharingan. A scroll then prompted Anyo to leave the laboratory and return to Konoha.

• Anyo studied Orochimaru's research and used messenger hawks to update Minato while refusing to return to Konoha.
• Anyo began a new experiment, using his chakra and blood to control Hashirama cells in a test subject.
• When the subject began to self-destruct, Anyo used Soul Division Technique to give it a new soul, and it performed three Wood Release techniques.
• The test subject survived with Wood Release and a Three-Tomoe Sharingan, but its original soul was destroyed and it became Anyo's substitute.
• Anyo tested the clone's abilities, including its precise Transformation Technique, before Orochimaru gave him a scroll from someone seeking him.
• After reading the scroll, Anyo told Orochimaru that he needed to return to Konoha.

Anyo sent a Wood Release clone back to Konoha to visit Mikoto while his original body continued experimenting with Hashirama cells. He helped Mikoto when her labor began, and Sasuke Uchiha was born.

• Orochimaru suggested that Anyo send his clone to Konoha, and Anyo left his original body behind to continue the experiments.
• Anyo reported to Minato, who introduced Jiraiya and sent Anyo to visit the Uchiha Clan Compound.
• Shisui led Anyo to Mikoto, where he greeted her and Itachi and brought baby clothes and toys.
• Mikoto sent Fugaku and Itachi out so she could speak privately with Anyo, who used Medical Ninjutsu to check her condition.
• Anyo realized Mikoto was going into labor, fetched the doctor, and Sasuke Uchiha was born.

Mikoto gave birth to Sasuke, while Anyo was kept outside and learned that Kurenai Yuhi wanted to meet him. At their riverside meeting, Anyo revealed his plans to change the world and leave Konoha, and Kurenai promised to wait for him as he faced his grief and reaffirmed his resolve.

• Mikoto gave birth to a healthy boy, and Fugaku named him Sasuke Uchiha while Itachi vowed to protect his little brother.
• Fugaku stopped Anyo from entering Mikoto's room, and Mikoto sent Itachi out with a note ordering Anyo to meet Kurenai Yuhi.
• Anyo read Mikoto's note and went to the riverside where he and Kurenai Yuhi had pledged their love.
• Anyo told Kurenai Yuhi that he intended to change the world, would face enemies, and planned to leave Konoha until his dream was fulfilled.
• Kurenai Yuhi asked whether Anyo loved her, then left in tears after promising to wait for him.
• Anyo reflected on how Haku's death had made him resist affection and resolved to reclaim what he had lost once he fulfilled his dream.

Kushina prepared to give birth in a secret residence while Kakashi visited Rin’s grave and Obito learned that Anyo had to be dealt with before the Nine-Tails plan could begin. Meanwhile, Anyo lured Jiraiya into a trap at Orochimaru’s hideout, where a space-time barrier transported Jiraiya away.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Minato and Kushina that her delivery had to take place inside a distant barrier, and Kushina told Mikoto she had chosen the name Naruto.
• Minato released Kakashi from his protection assignment, and Kakashi left flowers at Rin Nohara’s grave before heading to tell Obito about Minato’s child.
• Obito planned to exploit the Nine-Tails seal during Kushina’s childbirth, but a voice underground warned him to wait until Anyo had left Konoha and been dealt with.
• Anyo and Jiraiya searched a suspected Orochimaru hideout, and Jiraiya followed Anyo into a corridor where a trap sent him away through a space-time barrier.
• Orochimaru revealed that he had prepared the barrier while setting up the Four Red Yang Formation, and Anyo praised his foresight.

Anyo returned toward Konoha to protect Minato and Kushina during the Nine-Tails' attack, but a mysterious assailant struck him before he reached the village. Minato saved newborn Naruto from the Masked Man, who abducted Kushina, and the Nine-Tails emerged in Konoha as the battle began.

• Anyo and Orochimaru tried to integrate Hashirama cells into Anyo's body, and Anyo left for Konoha after learning it was October eighth.
• Anyo's War Hawk Puppet was struck by a powerful barrier and attacked with rockets, but he defended himself with Rashomon and confronted an airborne figure.
• Kushina went into labor while Minato and Biwako guarded the Nine-Tails' seal, and Kushina gave birth to Naruto.
• The Masked Man killed Biwako and a medical worker, seized Naruto, and threatened Minato into stepping away from the Jinchūriki.
• Minato caught Naruto and discarded the explosive patch, but Kushina and the Masked Man disappeared in the blast.
• The Nine-Tails opened its eyes in Konoha and unleashed its savage aura over the village.