Chapter Summaries

After a year of training, Senju Chen had grown stronger and watched Konoha’s relations with the Uchiha improve. He sent warnings to his contacts about Akatsuki’s rising danger, then met Uchiha Mikoto and the young Uchiha Itachi, hoping the boy’s future could be less tragic.

• Senju Chen advanced his Lightning Body Tempering and refined his mental-power control through daily practice.
• The Uchiha Clan’s work at the Ninja Academy and the Police Force’s Families Support Association gradually improved relations with Konoha’s villagers, while Kakashi Hatake’s training with Obito’s Sharingan strengthened him.
• Senju Chen read letters from Shizune and Mitaraishi Anko, then received Hatake Sakumo’s report that Akatsuki had grown rapidly and faced increasingly frequent clashes with the Rain Ninja.
• Senju Chen wrote replies to Shizune and Anko and sent Konan advice to build Akatsuki’s strength, prepare for Hanzō, and keep Yahiko from becoming overconfident.
• Uchiha Mikoto visited Senju Chen with Uchiha Itachi, and Chen hoped the child’s future would hold less tragedy.

Senju Chen witnessed Konoha celebrate after Iwagakure and Sunagakure surrendered, officially ending the Third Shinobi World War in Konoha’s victory. As the village prepared for postwar negotiations and the heroes’ return, Chen anticipated new internal conflicts.

• Uchiha Mikoto thanked Senju Chen for his advice to the Uchiha Clan and hoped Itachi would grow up with similar wisdom.
• A communications ninja announced at Strategic Command that Iwagakure had surrendered, and Shikaku Nara ordered the news reported to the Hokage.
• Konoha’s residents celebrated the end of the war throughout the village.
• Two days later, a report confirmed Sunagakure’s surrender, formally ending the Third Shinobi World War in Konoha’s favor.
• Senju Chen considered the coming negotiations, the heroes’ rewards, and the unresolved threats posed by the Uchiha problem, Danzo, and Hanzo of the Salamander.

After Konoha’s victory in the Third Shinobi World War, Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure struggled with defeat and political upheaval. Kirigakure’s new leader, Karatachi Yagura, imposed a lockdown and announced harsher graduation rules, beginning the Bloody Mist era.

• Konoha celebrated its victory for several days as the balance of power across the Shinobi World shifted.
• Ōnoki reviewed Konoha’s harsh compensation terms, while Kitsuchi reported Iwagakure had exhausted its reserves and civilians began blaming their leaders for the war.
• Rasa protested Sunagakure’s concessions, but Granny Chiyo and Ebizo urged him to accept defeat and rebuild, while reminding him that the Kazekage’s disappearance and Sasori’s absence remained unresolved.
• Kirigakure’s leaders accused Genji of betrayal after the Third Mizukage died and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen vanished; Kisame Hoshigaki drew his blade against Genji.
• Karatachi Yagura stopped the confrontation, ordered Kirigakure into lockdown, and announced that only the strongest would qualify as ninja under new graduation rules.

Senju Chen reviewed how the war had weakened Konoha’s rivals as the village celebrated the returning heroes. He joined Kushina at the entrance, where Jiraiya and Orochimaru appeared at the head of the procession.

• In Kumogakure, the Third Raikage celebrated capturing the Four-Tails, while the future Fourth Raikage credited Senju Chen’s plan and Wood Release.
• Senju Chen read Anbu intelligence and concluded that the other villages were too weakened to threaten Konoha soon; he anticipated dividing the spoils of war.
• Kushina rushed to Senju Chen’s residence and dragged him to the village entrance to welcome Minato and the returning heroes.
• Senju Chen and Kushina joined the packed crowd, where he spotted Uchiha Mikoto with Little Itachi and grieving families waiting for their loved ones.
• The crowd erupted as Jiraiya and Orochimaru appeared at the front of the returning procession.

Konoha welcomed its victorious ninja home, while Senju Chen considered how to turn the Uchiha Clan’s growing popularity into political influence. At a postwar leadership meeting, Minato Namikaze was proposed as a war hero and candidate for the next Hokage.

• Jiraiya, Orochimaru, the Uchiha Clan, and other returning ninja received cheers as they entered Konoha, and Shisui Uchiha smiled at Senju Chen.
• Villagers cheered Minato Namikaze as he returned, and he exchanged a tearful look with Kushina.
• Senju Chen reflected on Minato’s value to the village and considered how the Uchiha Clan could turn its improved reputation into political capital.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi convened the village leaders to discuss peace negotiations and rewards, and Utatane Koharu reported Konoha’s heavy wartime losses.
• Utatane Koharu proposed naming Minato Namikaze a war hero and making him a candidate for the next Hokage, leaving the meeting room silent.

The Konoha leadership reviewed wartime achievements and debated rewards for its shinobi and clans. Senju Chen’s extraordinary contributions on the northern front left the council struggling to decide how to recognize him, while Shimura Danzō dismissed his later role in the war.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi approved naming Minato Namikaze a candidate for the next Hokage and agreed to award Jiraiya and Orochimaru for their wartime achievements.
• Utatane Koharu reported the Uchiha Clan’s losses and victories, and Hiruzen Sarutobi offered to expand its role in reconstruction, policy, and the Police Force.
• The council reviewed the Hyuga Clan’s service and other commendations before Utatane Koharu began detailing Senju Chen’s record.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura credited Senju Chen with capturing Han and Roshi, helping secure the northern-front victory, and using Wood Release to devastate Iwagakure’s forces.
• As the council struggled to determine an appropriate reward for Senju Chen, Shimura Danzō argued that his achievements had already been rewarded and did not include the war’s later stages.

Konoha's leaders debated how to recognize Senju Chen's battlefield achievements, while Danzo tried to keep his status from rising too far. A proposal to put the thirteen-year-old directly on the Council of Elders stunned the meeting and threatened the Senju faction's control of its own banner.

• Danzo argued against giving Senju Chen too much recognition, but Hiruzen Sarutobi declared him a hero of Konoha and ended the dispute.
• Mitokado Homura proposed naming Senju Chen a Combat Hero, promoting him to elite jonin, and appointing him a visiting professor at the Ninja Academy.
• A Danzo-aligned official named Murasato unexpectedly called for Senju Chen to join the Council of Elders as a decision-maker.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura rebuked Murasato, while the rest of the leaders questioned Danzo's sudden change in position.
• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu recognized that Senju Chen's place on the Council could challenge their authority within the Senju faction.

Danzo proposed making thirteen-year-old Senju Chen an elder, using the idea to undermine Hiruzen Sarutobi and isolate Chen. Hiruzen deferred the decision, then reflected on Chen’s unusual behavior, while Chen prepared a victory banquet at the Senju compound.

• Danzo argued that Senju Chen’s strength and accomplishments qualified him for a Council of Elders seat and accused others of fearing his influence.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi recognized Danzo’s scheme and postponed the decision, with Hyuga Hiashi and Uchiha Fugaku agreeing that Chen was too young.
• After the meeting, Utatane Koharu asked Hiruzen what he would do about Chen, and Hiruzen chose to wait and see, believing the boy was unusually perceptive.
• At the Senju Clan Compound, Senju Chen welcomed Kushina and Minato Namikaze as they returned with ingredients for his victory banquet.
• Kushina praised the roast lamb and playfully put her arm around Chen’s neck before releasing him.

Senju Chen hosted a victory feast for Minato Namikaze and their friends, bringing the group together with his cooking. As the gathering showed him the value of bonds beyond battlefield victories, Chen resolved to demonstrate his importance to Konoha’s leaders in a different way.

• Senju Chen welcomed Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Minato Namikaze, Kushina, Shisui Uchiha, Kakashi, Might Guy, Mitaraishi Anko, Kurenai Yuhi, and Maruboshi Kosuke to his courtyard.
• Jiraiya boasted about the fighting at Kikyo Mountain while Minato Namikaze and Orochimaru discussed the postwar threat from Iwagakure and Kumogakure.
• Senju Chen served a feast that Maruboshi Kosuke and the others praised, then invited everyone to cook at the barbecue.
• Senju Chen asked Maruboshi Kosuke whether having many achievements was good or bad, and Kosuke pointed to the cheerful gathering as an answer.
• Senju Chen concluded that Konoha needed bonds and fresh blood as well as battlefield victories, and resolved to show the village leaders another kind of value.

At the postwar gathering, Senju Chen discussed the villages’ likely next moves and used his plan to look for Tsunade as a reason to leave Konoha. After the guests departed, he found Maruboshi Kosuke quietly clearing the tables.

• Senju Chen warned Orochimaru and Minato Namikaze that Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and especially Kumogakure could pose future threats.
• Senju Chen entertained Kushina, Mitaraishi Anko, and Kurenai Yuhi with cooking advice and kept Kakashi and Might Guy from fighting over food.
• Senju Chen told Jiraiya he planned to search for Tsunade, knowing Jiraiya would relay the news to Konoha’s leaders.
• Shisui Uchiha thanked Senju Chen for helping improve the Uchiha clan’s standing and said villagers now treated him with trust.
• After the guests left, Senju Chen saw that Maruboshi Kosuke had stayed behind to clear the dishes.

Senju Chen enlisted Maruboshi Kosuke to build a restaurant chain called Food Is Heaven as a cover for a Shinobi World-wide intelligence network. Kosuke accepted responsibility for the undertaking and pledged to serve until death.

• Senju Chen asked Maruboshi Kosuke whether the war’s victory would bring lasting peace, and Kosuke warned that another war would eventually come.
• Senju Chen revealed his plan to open restaurants across the Shinobi World, using them to gather intelligence from travelers and locals.
• Senju Chen gave Kosuke recipes and plans for standardizing and expanding the restaurants, inns, and hot springs.
• Maruboshi Kosuke accepted the scrolls and pledged to oversee the undertaking for Senju Chen until death.
• Senju Chen named the future chain Food Is Heaven.

Minato Namikaze told Senju Chen that Kushina had accepted his marriage proposal, and Chen promised to stay for their wedding before leaving to search for Tsunade. Kushina celebrated her engagement with Chen at lunch, where he offered to cook a feast.

• Minato Namikaze and Senju Chen trained together at Training Ground Three.
• Minato told Senju Chen that he had proposed to Kushina and she had said yes.
• Senju Chen told Minato he planned to leave the village to find his sister, Tsunade, but promised to attend Minato and Kushina's wedding first.
• At lunch, Senju Chen congratulated Kushina, who admitted she had accepted Minato's proposal and said she felt happy with him and Chen by her side.
• Senju Chen offered to cook Kushina a celebratory feast, and she asked for braised pork.

Konoha's leaders debated Senju Chen's plan to leave the village to find Tsunade, with Danzo objecting while the advisers and Hiruzen supported the trip. Hiruzen approved the departure, awarded Chen an honorary title and thirty million ryō, and ordered Anbu to watch him from a distance.

• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu welcomed Senju Chen's planned departure and proposed granting him honorary recognition while postponing substantive rewards.
• Shimura Danzō objected that Senju Chen was too important to Konoha to be allowed to leave, but Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura argued in favor of the trip.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi weighed the political relief of Chen's departure against the risk of losing a strategic shinobi while postwar negotiations remained unsettled.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi approved Senju Chen's trip to find Tsunade and granted him the honorary title of Konoha Hero and thirty million ryō for the Senju Clan.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered an Anbu squad to protect Senju Chen from a distance and report his movements.

Danzo resented Hiruzen for letting Senju Chen leave Konoha and ordered Root to spread rumors blaming Hiruzen for driving away the Senju and Konoha’s heroes. Meanwhile, Chen helped Minato and Kushina prepare for their wedding, which was five days away, while getting ready for his own departure from Konoha.

• Danzo condemned Hiruzen for allowing Senju Chen to leave and ordered a Root shinobi to secretly spread rumors that Hiruzen had driven away Tsunade and Chen.
• Chen sent a Wood Release Clone to help Kushina while he prepared dinner and thought about the wedding preparations keeping him busy.
• Shisui, Kakashi, and Might Guy joined Chen for dinner, and Shisui asked how long their peaceful days would last; Chen told them to cherish the present.
• Chen and his friends helped Minato and Jiraiya move furniture and decorate Minato’s new home, while Jiraiya looked forward to becoming the couple’s child’s godfather.
• On his way home, Chen reflected that the wedding was five days away and that he needed to ensure Kosuke’s Food Is Heaven plan was progressing before he left Konoha.

Senju Chen attended Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki’s wedding, where villagers’ warm wishes made Kushina feel accepted in Konoha. The celebration continued at the newlyweds’ home as friends and village leaders offered speeches and blessings.

• Senju Chen reassured the nervous Kushina and teased Minato into promising to care for her and help with the housework.
• Minato took Kushina from the Senju residence, and Senju Chen and the others escorted them through Konoha as villagers congratulated the couple.
• Senju Chen welcomed guests at Minato and Kushina’s new home, where leaders from Konoha’s clans and Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived to celebrate.
• Jiraiya urged Minato and Kushina to support each other, and Hiruzen Sarutobi praised their union as a source of happiness for Konoha.
• Senju Chen told Shisui Uchiha he hoped for a peaceful world without war, and Shisui agreed.

After Minato and Kushina’s wedding, Senju Chen received a Konoha Hero award and prepared to leave the village to find Tsunade. Before departing, he entrusted the Food Is Heaven project to Maruboshi Kosuke and looked forward to reuniting with Tsunade and Shizune.

• Minato and Kushina exchanged wedding tokens, and Senju Chen congratulated them and reminded Minato to do the housework.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Senju Chen a scroll awarding him the title of Konoha Hero and thirty million ryo, then learned he planned to find Tsunade.
• Senju Chen dismissed the award as political show and packed to leave the village the next day.
• Senju Chen reviewed Food Is Heaven’s staffing and training plans with Maruboshi Kosuke, urging him to maintain high standards and consider hiring across the Land of Fire.
• Senju Chen reassured Maruboshi Kosuke that he trusted him to manage the project and said Tsunade might join it if she returned to Konoha.
• Alone at the Senju residence, Senju Chen anticipated seeing Tsunade and Shizune again.

Senju Chen left the Senju estate alone after his wedding and traveled out of Konoha, aware that Hiruzen Sarutobi had sent Anbu to follow him. He outran and vanished from his pursuers with the Flying Thunder God Technique, then relaxed at a hot spring inn while considering places for Food Is Heaven.

• Senju Chen slipped out of the Senju estate before dawn and left Konoha without waking anyone.
• Senju Chen spent two days traveling leisurely along the trade roads while the Anbu followed him from the shadows.
• Senju Chen confronted the Anbu in a canyon and challenged them to keep up with him.
• Senju Chen used Lightning Body Tempering to escape their encirclement, then vanished with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• The Anbu failed to find Senju Chen and returned to report to Lord Hokage, while Senju Chen enjoyed a hot spring a hundred li away.

After Senju Chen left Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi accepted that he could not keep him and turned to the postwar negotiations. Meanwhile, Shimura Danzō spread fabricated rumors blaming Hiruzen for Chen’s departure, stirring public anger as part of his plan to weaken the Hokage and advance his own ambition.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi heard that the Anbu had failed to keep Senju Chen in the village, then set the departure aside to prepare for postwar negotiations.
• A disguised ninja spread a false story in a dango shop that Hiruzen had blocked Chen from joining the Council of Elders and sent him away with only an empty title and money.
• Villagers and ninja repeated the rumors across Konoha, comparing Chen’s treatment to Konoha’s White Fang and questioning Hiruzen’s wartime leadership.
• A subordinate told Shimura Danzō that the rumors had taken hold among villagers and lower- and middle-ranking ninja.
• Shimura Danzō ordered his subordinate to keep fueling the rumors and link Hiruzen to the White Fang’s death, hoping to undermine Hiruzen and prepare a weapon against future rivals.

Hiruzen Sarutobi faced growing opposition as rumors about his treatment of Tsunade and Senju Chen spread through Konoha, while Danzo ordered Root to intensify the campaign. Meanwhile, Senju Chen reached a gambling town and learned that Tsunade was at the Golden Toad casino.

• At a leadership meeting, Shikaku Nara raised the rumors about Hiruzen Sarutobi, but Konoha’s clan heads stayed silent and the meeting ended without resolution.
• Danzo learned that the rumors were gaining support and ordered Root to revive the story of Nawaki’s death and tie the Senju Clan’s tragedy to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Half a month later, Senju Chen arrived in a town near Cedar Village and asked casino patrons about a blond woman known as “The Legendary The Legendary Sucker.”
• A gambler told Senju Chen that Tsunade had gone to the Golden Toad after losing her money at another casino, and Senju Chen headed there.

Senju Chen found Tsunade and Shizune surrounded by men after Tsunade smashed through a tavern wall, and he rushed in to protect them. He defeated two attackers in a flash, then blocked the yellow-haired man's powerful kick without moving.

• Senju Chen heard an explosion and found Tsunade drunk, Shizune worried, and a burly man injured at the tavern.
• Shizune stepped in front of Tsunade as three men confronted them.
• Senju Chen used the Flying Thunder God Technique and Lightning Body Tempering to kick two men unconscious.
• The yellow-haired man launched a powerful spinning kick at Senju Chen.
• Senju Chen blocked the yellow-haired man's kick with his left arm and stood firm.