Chapter Summaries

After defeating Hidan and capturing Utakata, Lin Ke salvaged the battlefield, treated the wounded, and left the ruined Nikko Shukuba. As he flew away, he reflected on his growing strength and considered training new ranged techniques.

• Lin Ke had the shadows collect Hidan’s fragments, carry his head, and seal away his Akatsuki ring while he recovered his stamina with medicine.
• Lin Ke scrubbed the corrosive liquid off the Eight Tails’ chakra with soil, sealed the chakra, and planned to obtain more from Utakata.
• The shadows searched the ruins and found more than a dozen wounded survivors, whom Lin Ke treated with chakra and Tsunade’s Healing Pills.
• Lin Ke summoned the Earth Dragon and flew away from Nikko Shukuba with Utakata, Hidan, and the shadows carrying their supplies.
• Lin Ke reflected on his improved close-combat abilities and considered training lightning techniques such as Chidori.

Lin Ke and Utakata traveled to Tanzaku Street to visit Granny Cat's Ninja Tool Shop, where Lin Ke placed a generous order. Granny Cat recognized Lin Ke by name as she examined the payment.

• Over ramen, Utakata asked why Lin Ke liked it and where they were going, while Lin Ke said they were visiting Granny Cat's Ninja Tool Shop.
• Lin Ke met Hina outside Tanzaku Street and gave her a Matatabi Drink as a gift between friends.
• Hina led Lin Ke and Utakata through the rain into Tanzaku Street, where they encountered Tian Huo and many watching ninja cats.
• Granny Cat noticed Utakata's Jinchuriki nature as Lin Ke handed over a shopping list and money for scrolls and other goods.
• Granny Cat examined the payment, praised Lin Ke's generosity, and addressed him by name.

Lin Ke harvested Tailed Beast Chakra from Utakata and planned to use it to strengthen his shadows and attack his enemies. Half a month later, his attempt to create an Earth Dragon with the chakra had failed repeatedly, and he decided to save the remaining chakra for shadows before returning to the village.

• Lin Ke left Granny Cat's Ninja Tool Shop with Utakata and brought him to an open area.
• Utakata transformed into the Six Tails, allowing Lin Ke to harvest and seal away several Tailed Beast Chakra Cubes.
• Lin Ke imagined using his upgraded Shadow Army to attack Orochimaru and hunt the Akatsuki Organization, eventually taking Pain's Rinnegan.
• Half a month later, Lin Ke watched another Earth Dragon crumble into stone after its shadow absorbed a Tailed Beast Chakra Cube.
• Lin Ke crossed Earth Dragon off his notebook and decided to reserve the remaining chakra for shadows before returning to the village.

Lin Ke told Utakata that he still needed him while withholding his plans, and Utakata accepted being treated as a tool rather than return to loneliness. Days later, Lin Ke collected his equipment and asked Granny Cat to adopt Hina.

• Lin Ke said he would leave in two days after the Tailed Beast Chakra was mostly used up, and Utakata asked to know what they were planning.
• Lin Ke said he had no goal beyond wanting to become more than he was, then reminded Utakata that he would always need him while the Tailed Beast remained inside him.
• Utakata decided he would live as Lin Ke's tool for now.
• Lin Ke visited Granny Cat's Ninja Tool Shop, where Hina reported that the Land of Rain had been sealed off and no information could be obtained.
• Lin Ke picked up his scrolls and asked Granny Cat to let him adopt a Ninja Cat, saying he thought Hina was good.

Lin Ke returned to Konoha with Hina, a ninja cat he had recruited, and settled her into his home before going to the Medical Team with Hidan’s captured remains. Shizune took Hidan into the laboratory for examination, while Lin Ke learned Tsunade was away and received medicine for his next mission.

• Lin Ke returned to Konoha with Hina and Hidan’s fragments, telling Inuzuka Hana that the bag contained new experimental equipment for the Medical Team.
• Lin Ke brought Hina home, arranged for three Shadows to follow her, and promised to take her on future missions.
• Lin Ke went to the Medical Team to deliver a scroll listing the herbs he needed and learned Tsunade was absent.
• Shizune gave Lin Ke his medicine, including a new endurance drug that could slightly increase chakra reserves but had strong side effects.
• Lin Ke told Shizune about capturing Hidan and helped her bring his head, still trapped in Utakata’s bubble, into the laboratory.

Lin Ke returned to Konoha, visited his teacher and the Third Hokage, then sparred with Sasuke and refused to let him confront Itachi yet. Sasuke hid his knowledge that Itachi intended to make him awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, while Itachi prepared to act because Lin Ke and Sasuke were growing stronger.

• Lin Ke explained Hidan's blood-based ritual technique to Shizune, left Hidan in her care, and brought medicine and souvenirs to visit Nara Shikaku and Nara Yan Shui.
• Nara Yan Shui told Lin Ke that Yuan Wei, Xia, and Kakashi's two students had become chunin, then invited him to barbecue that evening.
• Lin Ke spoke with the Third Hokage and went to the Seventh Training Ground, where he sparred with Sasuke and narrowly won.
• Sasuke told Lin Ke he wanted to find Itachi, but Lin Ke refused because Sasuke was still too weak and the fight carried too many risks.
• Sasuke concealed that Itachi had revealed his plan to sever Sasuke's most important bond so he could awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, and resolved to face Itachi alone.
• Uchiha Itachi, coughing blood in an Uchiha base, considered Lin Ke's growth and Madara's plans, then left after deciding Sasuke needed to awaken the Mangekyō.

Lin Ke learned the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, then left Konoha with medicine and Hina to investigate Orochimaru’s Southern Base. He recruited Utakata at his Land of Waves base, and the group prepared to begin their operation.

• Lin Ke practiced the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and worried about Tsunade’s continued absence and Orochimaru’s growing threat.
• Lin Ke visited Shizune, learned Tsunade had not returned, and requested medicine and a mission to search for precious herbs before leaving Konoha.
• Lin Ke bought Hina new clothes, treats, and supplies, then set out for the Land of Waves.
• Lin Ke reached his base and asked Utakata to join a new operation; Utakata agreed without asking for details.

Sasori rejected Gaara’s offer of friendship while Chiyo struggled with whether her grandson could ever return to the village. Lin Ke’s team found Orochimaru’s abandoned island base and rescued two captives, while Yakushi Kabuto’s latest Cursed Seal experiment ended in another failure.

• Sasori left Chiyo after taking the scrolls containing his old creations, and Chiyo remained alone in the corridor.
• Gaara offered to be Sasori’s friend, but Sasori dismissed him and vanished; Gaara concluded that Sasori was still lonely.
• Lin Ke, Hina, and Utakata found a deserted island covered in decaying bones and located Orochimaru’s base.
• Utakata rescued an injured adult man and a red-haired girl from the base while Lin Ke’s shadow collected equipment and devices.
• In a Land of Earth base, a Cursed Seal experiment lost control and exploded into blood, and Yakushi Kabuto called it another failure.

Yakushi Kabuto reflected on the failed experiments and found himself sharing a body with Orochimaru’s soul, while Lin Ke’s group rescued Karin from the destroyed base. After Karin recovered enough to explain the disaster, Lin Ke left her in the care of a retired shadow and headed for Orochimaru’s Northern Base.

• Yakushi Kabuto recalled the failures of the first four rounds of experiments and discovered that the failed reincarnation had left two muddled souls bound inside his body.
• Karin woke in Lin Ke’s base, learned that Tezuru had survived but lost both legs, and collapsed from her injuries and exhaustion.
• Lin Ke and a healer treated Karin, who recognized Lin Ke and explained how the test subjects had transformed into monsters and attacked the base.
• Lin Ke told Karin she would stay at the base under a retired shadow’s watch, then left with Utakata and a ninja cat for Orochimaru’s Northern Base.

Lin Ke and Utakata encountered a rampaging experimental subject near Orochimaru's Northern Base, then found another monster attacking them at the base. The second creature overwhelmed Utakata and clashed with Lin Ke's shadows, leaving the fight unresolved.

• A month earlier, Chuan led Amegakure ninja into Orochimaru's Northern Base to seek power for revenge, while Guren and Yayan watched them enter as prey.
• Lin Ke, Utakata, and Hina found a monster attacking a village, and Utakata doused the fires and trapped it in a bubble before detonating it.
• The monster regenerated and attacked again, but Lin Ke's shadows tore off its limbs; Lin Ke struck it until it returned to human form and died.
• Utakata learned the monster had been a missing Ronin and that similar incidents had occurred nearby, while Kumogakure ninja searched the area.
• Lin Ke's group found the damaged Northern Base, where a nearly five-meter-tall orange-haired monster charged out and knocked Utakata away.
• Lin Ke's shadows intercepted the monster and fought it in a fierce melee, matching its attacks through their numbers despite being slower and weaker.

Lin Ke and his shadows subdued the hulking Jugo, whose Natural Energy-fueled body could regenerate and fire a devastating beam. After the Mystical Palm Technique suppressed his transformation, Lin Ke left Hina and the shadows to guard him and entered the base with Utakata to search for Orochimaru’s research records.

• Utakata treated his broken arm while Lin Ke identified the hulking opponent as likely Jugo and assessed his strength.
• Lin Ke sent in two Eight Gates Shadows, which overwhelmed Jugo with their speed and taijutsu.
• Jugo fired a beam that permanently destroyed more than a dozen ordinary shadows, but the Eight Gates Shadows dodged it.
• The Eight Gates Shadows continued attacking Jugo, and Lin Ke used the Mystical Palm Technique to disperse his Natural Energy and knock him unconscious.
• Lin Ke left Hina and the shadows to guard Jugo, then entered the base with Utakata to look for Orochimaru’s experimental records.
• Hina touched Jugo and wondered aloud why humans could grow so tall while her partner could not.

Second Pillar saw Itachi’s Genjutsu showing Lin Ke engulfed in black flames and rushed toward Orochimaru’s Base, intent on killing his brother. There, Lin Ke’s group was ambushed by Itachi and Kisame, and the two sides prepared to fight.

• Itachi used a Crow’s Transcription Seal to show Second Pillar a vision of Lin Ke apparently defeated, then told him he would be waiting.
• Second Pillar rejected the vision as Genjutsu but ran toward the base, determined to confront Itachi.
• Lin Ke, Utakata, and Hina found Orochimaru’s Base emptied of its equipment and research, and Lin Ke took the sleeping big man with them.
• Itachi and Kisame attacked at the base, flooding the area and striking at Lin Ke’s group.
• Utakata fought Kisame underwater while Itachi trapped Jugo in Sharingan Genjutsu and Hina fled.
• Lin Ke summoned Rashomon and brought out Uchiha Fugaku, Baki, Momochi Zabuza, and Haku as Zabuza urged Haku to retreat.

Uchiha Itachi fought Lin Ke and the three elite jonin, using his Sharingan, Susanoo, Genjutsu, and Amaterasu to evade their attacks and trap Lin Ke with Haku. Itachi ended the battle exhausted, while the Crow arrived overhead as his plan remained unresolved.

• Momochi Zabuza attacked Uchiha Itachi through the Hidden Mist Technique, and the two fought at close range while Baki and Uchiha Fugaku watched for an opening.
• Uchiha Fugaku burned away the mist and charged Lin Ke, but Itachi used Fire Release and steel wires to cut down the shadows blocking his path.
• Momochi Zabuza, Baki, and Uchiha Fugaku coordinated an attack on Lin Ke, but Itachi blocked them with Susanoo's orange ribs.
• Uchiha Itachi caught Lin Ke in Genjutsu, and Lin Ke realized Itachi had cast it without making eye contact.
• Uchiha Itachi covered Lin Ke and Haku with Amaterasu, then looked toward the approaching Crow as he panted and bled from one eye.

Lin Ke survived Itachi’s Amaterasu, but Sasuke struck him under Itachi’s Genjutsu, triggering a chaotic clash among their allies. Sasuke then awakened a Mangekyō technique, broke Kotoamatsukami, and pierced Itachi as the battle’s outcome remained uncertain.

• Itachi’s Amaterasu failed to reach Lin Ke because White Album formed an ice barrier, while Fugaku wounded Itachi and the allied fighters kept him surrounded.
• Sasuke suddenly pierced Lin Ke’s chest under Itachi’s Genjutsu, leaving Haku trying to save Lin Ke and Utakata charging toward the attackers.
• Fugaku recognized the Genjutsu and tried to protect Sasuke, but Sasuke rose with a newly awakened Mangekyō Sharingan and bloody tears on his cheeks.
• Sasuke’s new Mangekyō technique blinded Itachi and stripped away his Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, while Itachi raised Susanoo with his remaining chakra.
• Sasuke charged Itachi with lightning in his hand and pierced him, and Itachi accepted the blow as his strength and consciousness faded.

After Sasuke killed Uchiha Itachi, Lin Ke revealed that he had survived the fatal wound and reconsidered his plans after discovering the Clone Technique could protect him from lethal damage. The group set off together, while Lin Ke considered approaching Black Zetsu and cooperating with Akatsuki.

• Kisame Hoshigaki abandoned Uchiha Itachi's corpse and fled as Amaterasu burned the crows overhead.
• Lin Ke rose unharmed after pretending to die, having used the Clone Technique to survive Sasuke's Chidori and conceal its capabilities.
• Utakata, Uchiha Fugaku, and the others reacted with relief and surprise, while Baki memorized what he had witnessed.
• Lin Ke congratulated Sasuke for completing one of his revenge targets and invited him to go home together.
• Lin Ke gathered the group and considered contacting Black Zetsu and cooperating with Akatsuki to obtain tailed beast chakra.

Lin Ke revealed that he had helped Uchiha Itachi guide Sasuke toward awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, then declared his intention to end the ninja profession and remake the world. Sasuke pledged to become Lin Ke’s strength, and Utakata answered Lin Ke’s proposal by promising to watch him and kill him if he went too far.

• Second Pillar revealed his Cave of Heaven Rock ability, which erased the eyesight and Dojutsu of anyone who made eye contact with him.
• Lin Ke explained that he had anticipated Itachi’s plan and placed the scroll containing Itachi’s corpse on the tatami.
• Lin Ke told Sasuke he would eliminate the ninja profession, ascend the Throne of Heaven, and change the world, and Sasuke clasped his hand and pledged his strength.
• Lin Ke and Sasuke’s chakra intertwined, letting Lin Ke learn Sasuke’s feelings as they opened their hearts to each other.
• Utakata came down from the roof, and he told Lin Ke he would watch him and kill him before he could act if necessary.

Lin Ke learned how Orochimaru’s experiments caused Jugo and the other subjects to depend on living cells, then took Jugo back to the base. Several days later, Lin Ke helped weaken the Six Tails and discovered that Tailed Beast Chakra let him use original versions of ninja techniques, then prepared to locate Orochimaru and seize the mysterious Original Body.

• Sasuke used the Sharingan to make Jugo recount Orochimaru’s experiments, the subjects’ dependence on living cells, and the events that led to his release.
• Lin Ke decided Jugo might still be useful and ordered him to pack up and return to the base.
• On an island near the Land of Waves, Lin Ke used a Chakra Scalpel to extract the Six Tails’ Chakra until Utakata stopped him, explaining that the cuts also damaged the beast’s will.
• Utakata transferred some of the Six Tails’ Chakra to Sasuke and Lin Ke, and realized he could no longer transform into the Tailed Beast because its will was gone.
• Lin Ke found that techniques made with Tailed Beast Chakra worked in their original form, while any mixture with his own Chakra mutated them.
• Lin Ke decided to pursue Orochimaru rather than delay for training and asked Utakata for more Chakra so he could use Hermit Purple to locate everyone.

In the Land of Rain, Chuan’s group seized an Akatsuki-affiliated pawnshop and forced Ginji to reveal what he knew before killing Kyoya. Meanwhile, Lin Ke used Hermit Purple to track Akatsuki members and discovered Konan fighting Orochimaru’s test subjects, prompting a new plan.

• Chuan’s group broke into the pawnshop, subdued Kyoya and Ginji, and questioned Ginji about Akatsuki and Kakuzu.
• Ginji revealed everything he knew, and Chuan ordered his companion to kill and consume Kyoya while promising Ginji he would be spared if he cooperated.
• Lin Ke finally drew Hermit Purple and used it to locate Zetsu near the Land of Waves base, then considered negotiating with Akatsuki and using them to obtain the Tailed Beasts.
• Lin Ke’s photographs showed Obito atop Hokage Rock and Nagato alone in his tower before revealing Konan struggling against two of Orochimaru’s test subjects.
• Lin Ke connected Konan’s fight to the stolen research materials and Jugo’s flesh, then began forming a plan.

Lin Ke returned to Konoha after Hermit Purple’s photograph suggested Orochimaru was hiding in the Land of Earth, possibly in Yakushi Kabuto’s body. At the Hokage’s office, he helped secure Sasuke’s promotion and access to ninjutsu, then asked the village for support in pursuing Orochimaru.

• Lin Ke studied a photograph of masked Yakushi Kabuto and suspected Orochimaru had taken over his body, then used another photograph to locate Orochimaru in the Land of Earth.
• Lin Ke decided to return to Konoha for intelligence on the Land of Earth and found Sasuke at the Hokage’s office, where the Third Hokage and the advisors discussed Itachi’s death.
• Lin Ke recommended Sasuke for promotion to Jonin, and the Third Hokage agreed despite Utatane Koharu’s opposition.
• Lin Ke and Sasuke requested access to the village’s ninjutsu, including Forbidden Techniques, and the Third Hokage accepted.
• Lin Ke showed the Third Hokage the photograph of Orochimaru and requested village support to pursue him in the Land of Earth.

Lin Ke told Sasuke that they would target Danzo after New Year and promised to take on his hatred, while Sasuke resolved to leave the village with him. That night, Lin Ke wrestled with his own attachments and used the Summoning Jutsu to complain to his Pure Land contacts about Konoha’s treatment of the Uchiha.

• At Ichiraku Ramen, Lin Ke congratulated Sasuke on his upcoming jonin promotion and said they would deal with Danzo after New Year.
• Lin Ke assigned Sasuke and the Shadow to act against Danzo and promised Sasuke he would share his hatred and protect his Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Kakashi joined them, gave Lin Ke and Sasuke letters from Naruto, and mentioned that Sakura had worried about Sasuke.
• Sasuke quietly accepted that he would leave the village, despite valuing Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura as companions.
• That night, Lin Ke resolved to leave the village for a while and opened the Summoning Jutsu to complain to his Pure Land contacts about the Second Hokage and Konoha’s policies toward the Uchiha.