Chapter Summaries

Orochimaru and Yakushi Kabuto examined the dangerously regenerative body Orochimaru had left behind and considered it effectively immortal if it became inert. In Konoha, Lin Ke joined the First Medical Team and settled into his new office, intending to study medical knowledge.

• Orochimaru tested his Wind Release and told Yakushi Kabuto that his chakra control had been permanently reduced by the strange Natural Energy.
• Yakushi Kabuto explained that Orochimaru's former body continued to accumulate Natural Energy and could become extremely difficult to destroy.
• Orochimaru and Yakushi Kabuto discussed whether the body could be considered immortal if it existed as an inert object.
• Bai Cao welcomed Lin Ke to the First Medical Team, gave him a medical reference scroll, and showed him around the building.
• Lin Ke met Nan Shi, who told him that his office was next door and offered to help if needed.
• Lin Ke read through his assigned medical books and decided to study seriously.

Lin Ke continued training in medical ninjutsu and tried to understand why the Chakra Scalpel had not yet mutated, while improving his chakra control at Konoha Hospital. At the Seventh Training Ground, Might Guy arrived and offered to teach him Taijutsu, and Lin Ke accepted him as Guy-sensei.

• Lin Ke reasoned that medical ninjutsu mutated when he believed he had learned the technique, but he still lacked the chakra control needed to use the Chakra Scalpel.
• Lin Ke trained for over half a month, practiced healing with the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique, and treated patients at Konoha Hospital to improve his chakra control.
• At the Seventh Training Ground, Lin Ke did one-finger handstand push-ups while healing a rabbit.
• Might Guy approached Lin Ke, confirmed his identity, and offered to teach him Taijutsu.
• Lin Ke accepted Might Guy as his teacher and bowed to him as Guy-sensei.

Lin Ke demonstrated his unusual close-combat technique to Might Guy, who recognized his strength but noticed his reflexes and vision needed work. Guy began training him by pelting him with pebbles, and Lin Ke gradually improved at dodging.

• Lin Ke attacked Might Guy with limbs transformed into blades, but Guy's speed overwhelmed him and exposed his difficulty reacting to fast opponents.
• Might Guy judged Lin Ke's taijutsu to be at Special Jonin level and promised to create a training plan for him.
• Might Guy started Lin Ke on reflex and dynamic-vision training by throwing pebbles at him.
• Lin Ke endured the barrage and began dodging more effectively by tracking the pebbles with his eyes, ears, and skin.

Lin Ke continued his punishing taijutsu and Medical Ninjutsu training while helping Nara Yan Shui recover in secret. With the Chunin Exams approaching amid a dispute over a gold mine, Yan Shui warned that the event would be tense.

• Lin Ke reflected on his painful taijutsu training with Might Guy and used his Delicate Illness Extraction Technique to recover from injuries.
• Lin Ke practiced healing a suffocating fish, judging that his chakra control had reached a level that qualified him as a Medical Ninja.
• Lin Ke studied medical knowledge and helped Nara Yan Shui restore his body, learning that Yuan Wei and Xia planned to enter the Chunin Exams.
• Nara Yan Shui thanked Lin Ke for keeping his recovery and technique secret, since the technique could make its user effectively immortal.
• Lin Ke explained that the Chunin Exams were approaching amid a bitter dispute involving Sunagakure, the Land of Fire, and the Land of Rain over a gold mine.

Lin Ke recovered Nara Yan Shui and then successfully created a Chakra Scalpel, discovering it could cut chakra released outside the body. He left the chapter eager to test whether he could harvest chakra from Tailed Beasts or Susanoo and store it as a power source.

• Nara Yan Shui said Lin Ke’s two teammates could become chunin, and Lin Ke urged Yan Shui to exercise more while finishing his examination.
• Nara Yan Shui encouraged Lin Ke to keep working hard, and Lin Ke left to continue training.
• Lin Ke successfully formed a Chakra Scalpel and found that its blade passed through the rabbit without harming it.
• Lin Ke tested the scalpel on his released chakra and discovered that it could sever chakra, which then dissipated after losing control.
• Lin Ke reasoned that he might cut pieces from Tailed Beasts or Susanoo and store them as chakra supplies.

Lin Ke dreamed about the Mystical Palm Technique, followed his daily routine with the help of his Shadow, and agreed to spar with Uzumaki Naruto. The next morning, he encountered Team 7 and then Might Guy and another green-clad man during his run.

• Lin Ke woke from a dream in which he palmed the sages' faces and continued his daily training and work as a Medical Ninja.
• Lin Ke relied on his Shadow to help with his evening routine before going to bed.
• Uzumaki Naruto visited Lin Ke and asked to spar, so they agreed to meet at the Seventh Training Ground that afternoon.
• Lin Ke spotted Team 7 near his apartment while going for a run and greeted Haruno Sakura.
• Might Guy challenged Lin Ke to a race for a new pair of Nunchucks, then charged off with another green-clad man.

As the Chunin Exams and Konoha Crush Plan approached, Lin Ke intensified his training and was assigned to the Medical Team supporting the exams. At the Seventh Training Ground, he easily defeated Uzumaki Naruto’s Shadow Clones and restrained Naruto himself.

• Lin Ke realized the Chunin Exams were near and resolved to train harder so he could face Orochimaru again and help protect Konoha.
• The advisers rejected Lin Ke’s request to learn an A-Rank Earth Release jutsu, and the First Medical Team was assigned to provide medical support during the Chunin Exams.
• Yuan Wei and Xia told Lin Ke that their new squad planned to enter the Chunin Exams, then joined him to train at the Seventh Training Ground.
• Team 7 arrived, and Uzumaki Naruto challenged Lin Ke to a spar while Sasuke and Sakura watched.
• Naruto flooded the training ground with Shadow Clones, but Lin Ke moved faster than Sasuke could follow and quickly destroyed the clones.
• Lin Ke caught Naruto’s real body and said that he was still a little stronger than him.

After Lin Ke defeated Naruto, Naruto demonstrated his Sexy Jutsu, which Lin Ke found interesting. Two days later, Lin Ke studied drug compounding at the Konoha Library, where Second Pillar arrived to challenge him.

• Naruto regretted losing before showing his ultimate move and used the Sexy Jutsu in front of Lin Ke and the others.
• Sasuke left the Seventh Training Ground in embarrassment, and Sakura hurried after him.
• Naruto praised his Sexy Jutsu, and Lin Ke wondered whether his ability could reveal secrets about mutated ninjutsu.
• Two days later, Lin Ke studied pharmacology and drug compounding at the Konoha Library to prepare medicines and antidotes.
• Second Pillar approached Lin Ke in the library and quietly announced that he had come to challenge him.

Lin Ke redirected Second Pillar’s challenge toward his trained student Yuan Wei and reflected on how he could guide Second Pillar’s growth without Orochimaru. After experimenting with the Sexy Jutsu and training Yuan Wei and Xia, Lin Ke continued searching for a way to summon the dead more reliably.

• Lin Ke asked Second Pillar whether he wanted to prove his strength or become stronger, then told him to defeat Yuan Wei before challenging him again.
• Lin Ke reasoned that Konoha could train Second Pillar better than Orochimaru and resolved to keep changing the future according to his own plans.
• Lin Ke experimented with the Sexy Jutsu and concluded that his mutated ninjutsu depended on recognizing a technique as new, though his attempt produced only smoke.
• Yuan Wei reported that he had defeated Second Pillar after a difficult fight, and Lin Ke praised him before ordering him and Xia to resume training.
• Lin Ke considered using a medium connected to the dead to improve his Summoning Jutsu search and thought Tsunade’s pendant might help him summon the First Hokage.

Lin Ke invited Second Pillar to train with him and used his secret technique to remove the physical pain and exhaustion from his training. Second Pillar and Lin Ke’s companions trained at the Seventh Training Ground, where Lin Ke stayed behind to watch Second Pillar and continue studying the Mystical Palm Technique.

• Second Pillar asked Lin Ke how he could receive special training, and Lin Ke invited him to the Seventh Training Ground the next afternoon without asking for payment.
• Lin Ke decided to use Second Pillar’s need for strength and emotional bonds to bring him into his group and began planning his training.
• At the Seventh Training Ground, Lin Ke used his Delicate Illness Extraction Technique to ease Second Pillar’s physical pain and exhaustion, and Second Pillar immediately resumed training.
• Yuan Wei questioned whether Second Pillar was trustworthy, while Xia defended Lin Ke’s judgment; both companions then joined Second Pillar in training.
• As Yuan Wei and Xia prepared to leave for food, Lin Ke stayed behind to watch Second Pillar train and continued studying the Mystical Palm Technique.

Lin Ke failed to discover the true power of his mutated Mystical Palm Technique despite extensive testing. By late June, he gave up for the time being and turned his attention to dealing with Orochimaru and the possibility that the Chunin Exams plot had changed.

• Second Pillar collapsed from exhaustion after pushing himself too hard in training, and Lin Ke checked on him while Hatake Kakashi emerged from hiding.
• Second Pillar recovered after taking a Soldier Pill, thanked Lin Ke, and staggered away without asking his companions for help.
• A week later, Lin Ke found that the Mystical Palm Technique made his hands extraordinarily fast and somewhat tougher, but he could not determine its purpose.
• Lin Ke tested the technique on rabbits and various materials, then continued experimenting during his free time without uncovering its ability.
• As July approached, Lin Ke accepted that his tests had revealed nothing and decided to focus on Orochimaru and the Chunin Exams.

As the Chunin Exams began, Lin Ke sent Yuan Wei and Xia off before reporting to his Medical Team post in the Death Forest, while Team 7 entered the academy and Sasuke fought Rock Lee. On his way to his night shift, Lin Ke encountered Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara, and continued toward the medical room without reacting to their hostility.

• Lin Ke wished Yuan Wei and Xia good luck, then encouraged Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke as Team 7 arrived at the Ninja Academy.
• Rock Lee challenged Team 7, knocked Naruto aside, and fought Sasuke until Kakashi and Guy intervened.
• Lin Ke joined the Medical Team at the central tower and spent the day studying before starting his shift.
• Lin Ke encountered Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara in the tower; Temari greeted him, but Lin Ke walked on without responding.

Lin Ke discovered that he could suppress Mitarashi Anko’s Cursed Seal and began cutting it out after she agreed. Meanwhile, Orochimaru prepared Sunagakure’s attack on Konoha and left Sasuke’s capture to Yakushi Kabuto, but his expression suddenly changed.

• Lin Ke treated Mitarashi Anko’s pierced palm and learned that Orochimaru had infiltrated Konoha and marked her with a Cursed Seal.
• Lin Ke found that pressing his palm over the Cursed Seal stopped its strange chakra from leaking out.
• After feeling Lin Ke suppress the seal, Mitarashi Anko agreed to let him operate, and Lin Ke began cutting into her shoulder with a Chakra Scalpel.
• Yakushi Kabuto reported that Sunagakure was ready, and Orochimaru ordered him to handle Sasuke.
• Orochimaru reflected on Konoha and its coming destruction, then suddenly reacted with surprise.

Lin Ke removed the Chakra from Mitarashi Anko’s Cursed Seal, leaving it as a tattoo, and then confronted Gaara’s hostility toward him. Back in the medical room, Lin Ke theorized about how the Mystical Palm Technique interacted with Natural Energy and considered seeking other Cursed Seal subjects for research.

• Lin Ke used the Chakra Scalpel to remove the Chakra from Mitarashi Anko’s Cursed Seal, leaving its three black commas as a tattoo.
• Mitarashi Anko thanked Lin Ke, but he sent her out of the medical room and offered to help if she had further problems.
• Mitarashi Anko confronted Gaara in the corridor after sensing his killing intent, threatened to revoke his exam qualification, and warned him to stay away from Lin Ke.
• Gaara released his hand seal but grew increasingly angry and resentful toward Lin Ke.
• Lin Ke tested the Mystical Palm Technique, concluded that it could grasp dense Natural Energy drawn in by a Cursed Seal, and considered seeking other Cursed Seal subjects for research.
• Lin Ke found that the technique had no effect without a Cursed Seal and returned to reading while the Chunin Exam’s second stage continued.

Lin Ke suppressed the Cursed Seal Orochimaru had placed on Second Pillar, and the Chunin Exam preliminaries began with results that diverged from the expected course. After several matches, Hyuga Neji faced Gaara, who opened the fight by attacking with sand.

• Lin Ke learned that Yuan Wei and Xia had been eliminated in the first written exam and temporarily suppressed Second Pillar's Cursed Seal.
• The Third Hokage addressed the surviving examinees, and Hayate Gekko announced one-on-one preliminary matches.
• Second Pillar defeated Kin Tsuchi, while Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino knocked each other unconscious.
• Uzumaki Naruto defeated Hyuga Hinata, Nara Shikamaru defeated Tenten, Temari defeated Inuzuka Kiba, Rock Lee defeated Zaku Abumi, and Aburame Shino defeated Kankuro.
• Dosu Kinuta defeated Akimichi Choji, then Gaara faced Hyuga Neji and attacked with sand.

Hyuga Neji lost to Gaara after Gaara’s sand overwhelmed his Gentle Fist, and Lin Ke treated Neji’s severe injuries. After the preliminaries ended, Lin Ke checked on Sasuke and his Cursed Seal as the Third Hokage explained the final exam.

• Neji pierced Gaara’s Sand Shield and struck through his Sand Armor with the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, but Gaara’s sand crushed Neji’s legs and stopped his final strike.
• Might Guy scattered the sand and Hayate Gekko declared Gaara the winner; Baki watched Gaara closely in case the Jinchuriki lost control.
• Lin Ke treated Neji’s fractures, and Rock Lee vowed to defeat Gaara in the main tournament.
• Nan Shi carried Neji to the hospital while Lin Ke stayed behind to deal with Sasuke’s Cursed Seal.
• Hayate Gekko ended the preliminaries, the Third Hokage explained the Third Exam, and Lin Ke asked Sasuke how he was holding up.

After the preliminary tournament matches were drawn, Lin Ke discovered that his Mystical Palm Technique could disperse the Chakra in Second Pillar's Cursed Seal and disabled it. He then began telling Second Pillar the history of the Senju and Uchiha clans, leaving him listening despite his doubts.

• The tournament draw paired Uzumaki Naruto with Temari, Rock Lee with Gaara, Second Pillar with Nara Shikamaru, and Aburame Shino with Dosu Kinata.
• In the medical room, Lin Ke learned from Second Pillar that Chakra entangled by the Cursed Seal was disappearing when Lin Ke placed his palm near it.
• Lin Ke used a Chakra Scalpel to dismantle the Chakra structure within Second Pillar's Cursed Seal, then asked why he sought power.
• Second Pillar said he wanted revenge and to kill Uchiha Itachi, so Lin Ke began telling him about the Senju and Uchiha before Konoha was founded.
• After Lin Ke finished disabling the seal, Second Pillar confirmed he could no longer feel it and agreed to hear the rest of the story.
• Lin Ke recounted Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara's bond and the founding of Konoha, while Second Pillar listened without objecting.

Lin Ke told Second Pillar that Uchiha Fugaku had led the clan’s planned coup and stopped before explaining Itachi’s mission, leaving Sasuke shaken but still willing to return to training. Meanwhile, Itachi and Kisame headed toward Konoha on a mission to target a dangerous ten-year-old.

• Lin Ke recounted the Uchiha Clan’s marginalization and revealed that Uchiha Fugaku had led its rebellion plan, deeply unsettling Second Pillar.
• Lin Ke said that Uchiha Itachi had received a mission from the village leadership before the rebellion, then invited Second Pillar to return for the rest of the story.
• Second Pillar left the medical room in a daze, while Lin Ke reflected on how revealing the truth could earn Sasuke’s trust.
• At the Seventh Training Ground, Lin Ke ordered Yuan Wei and Xia to train three times as hard, and Second Pillar arrived ready to resume training.
• In a forest in the Land of Fire, Itachi warned Kisame that their ten-year-old target could prevent people from forming hand seals, then remarked that it was going to rain.

Lin Ke told Sasuke the truth behind the Uchiha Clan Massacre and summoned Uchiha Fugaku to let father and son speak. After Fugaku returned to the Pure Land, Lin Ke asked Sasuke what he wanted power for, and Sasuke chose to protect the people he cared about.

• Lin Ke explained the history of Shisui, Itachi, Danzo, and the Uchiha Clan Massacre to Sasuke.
• Sasuke asked why Lin Ke knew so much and why he was helping him, and Lin Ke described his parents' deaths before asking Sasuke to trust him.
• Lin Ke used the Summoning Jutsu to bring Uchiha Fugaku before Sasuke, then stepped away so they could speak privately.
• After Fugaku returned to the Pure Land, Lin Ke asked Sasuke what he pursued power for as rain fell over the training ground.
• Sasuke took Lin Ke's hand and said he wanted never to lose anything again, as three tomoe appeared in his eyes.

The Third Hokage and his advisers investigated the dead Anbu and secretly strengthened protection for Lin Ke and Second Pillar as the Chunin Exams approached. In Sunagakure, the Fourth Kazekage prepared for the Konoha Crush and ordered Baki to surrender if the attack failed, while Lin Ke was summoned to the Hokage and Hatake Kakashi asked to speak privately with Sasuke.

• Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and the Third Hokage discussed the Anbu corpse found in Kikyo Castle, suspected Orochimaru, and decided to continue the Chunin Exams while gathering intelligence.
• The Third Hokage told Utatane Koharu that Tenzō had been sent to protect Lin Ke and Second Pillar, and said Lin Ke was stronger than they imagined.
• The Fourth Kazekage reviewed Baki’s defense map and instructed him to surrender to Konoha if the Konoha Crush failed and the Kazekage died.
• At the Seventh Training Ground, Second Pillar defeated Yuan Wei and Xia in taijutsu, and Lin Ke treated their injuries.
• Hatake Kakashi arrived to tell Lin Ke that the Third Hokage wanted to see him and asked to borrow Sasuke for a private conversation.