Chapter Summaries

Six-year-old Nara Kagetsu used his Mayuri Kurotsuchi talent to study biology and pharmacology, seeking to build a foundation through research. Inuzuka San visited to report that Kagetsu’s new dog food had improved Sanmaru’s fitness, and that his father planned to visit Kagetsu’s parents.

• Nara Kagetsu examined his Mayuri Kurotsuchi talent card and recognized its research and biological modification abilities.
• Nara Kagetsu left the rooftop to study the Nara Clan’s books on anatomy, meridians, and pharmacology.
• Inuzuka San arrived with Sanmaru and told Nara Kagetsu that the puppy’s fitness had improved after eating his new dog food.
• Inuzuka San said his father planned to visit Nara Kagetsu’s parents in a few days.

Nara Kagetsu’s dog food earned recognition from the Inuzuka Clan, while he sought resources to support his research. He then demonstrated his new Shadow Black Coffin technique to Nara Shikaji, who recognized its value and asked him to document it; the technique’s recognition unlocked fresh insight for Kagetsu.

• Sanmaru devoured Nara Kagetsu’s dog food, and Kagetsu gave Inuzuka San a bag to take home.
• Kagetsu hoped the Inuzuka Clan’s interest would bring him seed money for his research, which required substantial resources.
• Nara Kagetsu told Nara Shikaji that he had succeeded and demonstrated the Shadow Black Coffin by trapping and piercing a peach.
• Nara Shikaji recognized the technique as a profound new Shadow Secret Technique and asked Kagetsu to prepare his thought process and hand seals.
• Kagetsu handed Nara Shikaji his prepared notes, and the technique’s interface appeared with new recognition and inspiration for further development.

Kagetsu planned to cultivate the Unknown Larva into a weapon, intending to seek help from the Akimichi Clan. At the Ninja Academy’s opening ceremony, he recognized several notable classmates and restrained his urge to study their bodies.

• Kagetsu inspected the Unknown Larva and considered adapting the Akimichi Clan’s Yang Release training methods to help it grow.
• Kagetsu decided to model the larva’s development on Ashisogi Jizo and planned to ask the Akimichi Clan for help.
• Kagetsu moved the larva’s flower pot beside his bed and went to sleep.
• At the Ninja Academy, Hiruzen Sarutobi gave a speech as Kagetsu spotted classmates including a masked silver-haired child, a green-clad boy, and a child in sunglasses.
• Kagetsu felt an urge to collect samples from his classmates but suppressed it, then remained unmotivated as Hiruzen’s speech ended.

Kagetsu used profits from a new dog-food partnership to set up a laboratory and prepared for the Ninja Academy’s practical exam. The exam began with his match against Aburame Qingzhi, whose insects surged toward him as the fight started.

• Inuzuka San's father reached a partnership with the Nara Clan to sell Kagetsu's dog-food formula and supply medicinal herbs, and Kagetsu received money and herbs for his work.
• Kagetsu bought basic instruments and turned an unused room into a laboratory, prompting Nara Yuno to send Nara Shikaji to check on him.
• Kagetsu told Nara Shikaji that he was preparing for the practical exam, and Shikaji accepted the explanation without pressing him.
• At the Ninja Academy exam, Yeka Shuren announced assessments in weapons, ninjutsu, and one-on-one combat; Uchiha Obito challenged Kakashi but was ordered back into line.
• Yeka Shuren called Nara Kagetsu and Aburame Qingzhi for the first match, and Qingzhi sent a swarm of insects toward Kagetsu as the battle began.

Nara Kagetsu defeated Aburame Qingzhi by luring him into misjudging the range of the Shadow Imitation Technique and using an insecticide to kill the Kikaichū covering him. After the match, Qingzhi asked how Kagetsu had obtained information about his insects, and Kagetsu left the question unanswered.

• Aburame Qingzhi kept his distance from Nara Kagetsu and sent his Kikaichū to swarm him, believing Kagetsu could no longer fight.
• Kagetsu revealed he had feigned defeat and used the insects’ attack to bring Qingzhi within range of his Shadow Imitation Technique, while insecticide killed the Kikaichū on his body.
• Kagetsu controlled Qingzhi with his shadow and threatened him until Qingzhi surrendered; examiner Yeka Shuren declared Kagetsu the winner.
• Qingzhi released more insects to consume the dead Kikaichū, then approached Kagetsu and asked where he had obtained specimens and information for the insecticide.
• Kagetsu did not answer Qingzhi’s question as the next assessment match began.

Kagetsu’s insecticide earned him recognition and boosted his physical fitness and Chakra as the exams continued. The chapter ended with Jiraiya reuniting with Orochimaru, who said Tsunade was burying herself in work and alcohol.

• Kagetsu told Aburame Qingzhi that he had collected a few Kikaichū corpses, then received rewards for his insecticide.
• Kagetsu assessed his improved physical fitness and Chakra before turning his attention to Uchiha Obito’s match against Kakashi Hatake.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi praised Kagetsu’s performance to Nara Shikaji and asked whether the Nara Clan had developed an insecticide that could kill Kikaichū.
• Hiruzen considered Konoha’s postwar recovery and medical services, then returned to his official work.
• Jiraiya met Orochimaru near the village bathhouses, and Orochimaru said Tsunade was numbing herself with Medical Department work and alcohol.

Jiraiya returned to Konoha and discovered that Orochimaru and Tsunade had grown distant after Dan’s death, while Tsunade’s grief had left her with hemophobia. In the forest, Orochimaru encountered Nara Kagetsu collecting snake venom and offered to supply toxins after learning about the insect Kagetsu hoped to raise as a Summoning Beast.

• At a reunion dinner, Orochimaru left Jiraiya and Tsunade behind, and Tsunade went home with a little girl supporting her.
• Jiraiya visited Hiruzen Sarutobi, learned that Dan had died and Tsunade had developed hemophobia, and agreed to try to persuade his companions.
• Nara Kagetsu collected venom from a poisonous snake in the forest near Hokage Rock.
• Orochimaru appeared behind Kagetsu, asked why he was collecting venom, and learned about Kagetsu’s plan to raise a toxin-adapting insect as a Summoning Beast.
• Orochimaru offered to provide Kagetsu with toxins and asked to see the insect, and Kagetsu agreed.

Orochimaru visited Nara Kagetsu, examined his unusual bug and research, and decided to become a team leader after taking an interest in him. He asked Hiruzen Sarutobi to assign Kagetsu and Mitarashi Anko to his team, and Hiruzen agreed provided Kagetsu’s father approved.

• Orochimaru visited the Nara residence, reassured Nara Shikaji and Nara Yuno, and walked with Kagetsu to his workshop.
• Orochimaru explained how shinobi could sense emotions through Chakra and examined Kagetsu’s research notes.
• Kagetsu showed Orochimaru his larva, which resisted being handled with poisonous secretions and the Akimichi Clan’s Multi-Size Technique.
• Orochimaru left after telling Kagetsu he would bring him a needed gift, and Nara Shikaji concluded that Orochimaru meant him no obvious harm.
• Orochimaru visited Hiruzen Sarutobi and asked to become a team leader, naming Nara Kagetsu and Mitarashi Anko as his candidates.
• Hiruzen agreed to Orochimaru leading Kagetsu if Nara Shikaji approved.

Nara Kagetsu and Mitarashi Anko met Orochimaru for their first training session and faced his bell-taking test for a chance to join the Ryūchi Cave Summoning Contract. Kagetsu’s plan helped him take the bell, and Orochimaru recognized his unfamiliar Shadow techniques.

• Orochimaru introduced himself as Kagetsu and Anko’s future squad leader and set a test: take his bell or face punishment, with a Ryūchi Cave contract entry as the reward.
• Anko proposed attacking while Kagetsu supported her, but Kagetsu suggested a preplanned sequence because they lacked time to coordinate.
• Anko launched a Dragon Fire Technique, and Kagetsu used the resulting mist to bind Orochimaru briefly with the Shadow Imitation Technique.
• Anko and her Shadow Clone attacked while Kagetsu used Shadow Coffin as a feint and sent the Shadow Sewing Technique to carry off the bell.
• Kagetsu showed Orochimaru the bell, and Orochimaru deduced how Kagetsu’s shadow techniques had secured it.

Orochimaru passed Kagetsu and Anko’s bell test and taught them about the dangers and rules of Ryūchi Cave’s Summoning Contract. After experimenting with the technique, Kagetsu learned that powerful intelligent snakes required personal agreements, and Orochimaru left him with a warning about the freedom strength gave him to experiment in Ryūchi Cave.

• Orochimaru declared Kagetsu and Anko had passed his test, warned them about summoning Ryūchi Cave’s giant snakes, and promised to teach them ninjutsu the next day.
• Orochimaru took Kagetsu and Anko to a barbecue restaurant, where they met Jiraiya, Namikaze Minato, and Kushina Uzumaki; Minato gave the new students special Kunai.
• Kagetsu tested the Summoning Technique at home, found that an ordinary Ryūchi Cave snake could follow only simple orders, and discovered that an intelligent snake had refused his summons.
• Kagetsu asked Orochimaru about his findings, and Orochimaru confirmed that powerful snakes required personal agreements and that Manda demanded human sacrifices.
• Orochimaru explained that Ryūchi Cave’s snakes were dangerous but that strong summoners could experiment on them without fearing the Ryūchi Cave Sage’s retaliation.

Orochimaru brought Kagetsu to Tsunade to learn Medical Ninjutsu, and Tsunade agreed to teach him for two months in exchange for payment. After Kagetsu and Shizune studied and practiced the Mystical Palm Technique, Tsunade returned and demonstrated it, giving them expert guidance.

• Orochimaru arranged for Tsunade to teach Kagetsu Medical Ninjutsu for two months and paid her in advance.
• After Orochimaru left, Tsunade sent Kagetsu to study with Shizune, who showed him the Medical Ninjutsu scrolls and books.
• Shizune explained the Mystical Palm Technique and Medical Ninja training, while Kagetsu read the materials and confirmed that he had Yang, Yin, and Lightning Chakra attributes.
• Kagetsu and Shizune practiced the Mystical Palm Technique on a fish while they waited for Tsunade to return.
• Tsunade demonstrated the Mystical Palm Technique, identified their weaknesses, and gave them detailed instruction.
• Tsunade tossed the healed fish to Shizune for dinner and fled when Shizune asked whether she had lost the money again.

Kagetsu and Shizune advanced quickly in Medical Ninjutsu while working in Konoha’s understaffed Medical Department. Tsunade warned Shizune that Kagetsu resembled Orochimaru and might become entangled in dangerous affairs, then—overwhelmed by pressure and the Wood Release experiments—suddenly suggested they leave the village and travel.

• Kagetsu and Shizune spent their days training with Orochimaru and Tsunade, then assisting patients in the Medical Department.
• After a month, Kagetsu and Shizune demonstrated their skill with the Mystical Palm Technique, Delicate Illness Extraction Technique, and Chakra Scalpel, earning Tsunade’s praise.
• Tsunade told Shizune that Kagetsu treated Medical Ninjutsu as a tool rather than a calling and warned that he shared troubling traits with Orochimaru.
• Tsunade reflected on the Wood Release experiments and the pressure binding her to the village, recognizing that she could neither intervene nor face the situation directly.
• Tsunade asked Shizune whether she wanted to travel far away with her.

Kagetsu examined Might Guy and learned that his extreme training had left him physically depleted, so he accepted the Eight Gates Release scroll from Might Duy in exchange for medicine and help conditioning their bodies. After studying the technique, Kagetsu asked Tsunade whether Medical Ninjutsu could offset its physical damage, and she explained why balancing the two would be difficult and limited.

• Kagetsu diagnosed Might Guy as overtrained and warned Might Duy that continuing the regimen could harm his development.
• Kagetsu asked to examine the Eight Gates Release, and Might Duy gave him the scroll in exchange for prescriptions to strengthen and replenish their bodies.
• Kagetsu studied the scroll and learned how the technique opened eight gates while placing an escalating burden on the user's body.
• Kagetsu showed Tsunade the scroll and asked whether Medical Ninjutsu could repair the damage caused by opening the gates.
• Tsunade explained that Medical Ninjutsu might balance the first three gates with exceptional control, but that higher gates would overwhelm the user's ability to recover.
• Tsunade said she was searching for a combat path suited to her own powers.

Kagetsu explained his idea for Blood Armor, a new technique inspired by the Eight Gates Release, to Tsunade, who brought Orochimaru in to help develop it. The three began researching the technique together, with Tsunade hoping their work would also help complete her own jutsu.

• Kagetsu told Tsunade how he obtained the Eight Gates Release scroll from Might Duy and explained why the technique was not suited to her.
• Kagetsu proposed Blood Armor, a technique that would use Chakra to strengthen the body while limiting the damage caused by releasing power.
• Tsunade became interested in Kagetsu's concept and summoned Orochimaru to help develop it.
• Orochimaru divided Blood Armor into Blut Arterie, for controlled offensive power, and Blut Vene, for continuous defense and bodily nourishment.
• Tsunade revealed her Creation Rebirth and Strength of a Hundred Sealings Technique, and explained that she hoped Blood Armor research would help solve their Chakra costs.
• Kagetsu, Tsunade, and Orochimaru spent the night discussing and researching the techniques while Nara Clan members arrived and quietly left.

Kagetsu and Orochimaru developed the initial form of Blood Armor, then Orochimaru taught Anko Blut Arterie while Tsunade taught Shizune Blut Vene. Anko and Shizune tested their techniques in a spar, and Tsunade and Orochimaru concluded that Blood Armor worked, with controlled use causing hunger afterward.

• The Third Hokage asked Jiraiya to reconnect with Tsunade and Orochimaru, but Jiraiya left rather than get involved in their strained relationship.
• Anko confronted Orochimaru and Kagetsu for excluding her from their work, and Orochimaru promised she could be the first to learn their new technique.
• Orochimaru taught Anko Blut Arterie while Tsunade helped Shizune master Blut Vene, and Anko gained an initial grasp of her technique after three days.
• Anko sparred with Shizune, showing that Blut Arterie greatly increased her strength and speed while Shizune's Blut Vene absorbed attacks.
• Tsunade examined Anko after the spar and found that controlled use of Blood Armor left her hungry, so Orochimaru declared the technique successful.

Kagetsu and Orochimaru completed Blood Armor, though its offensive and defensive modes could not yet be used together, and Tsunade left the village with Shizune. Kagetsu brought the technique to the Nara Clan, where Shikaji recognized its potential and learned that Orochimaru had allowed the clan to use it.

• Tsunade gave Kagetsu a scroll for Might Duy, then departed with Shizune after deciding to leave the village.
• Kagetsu’s Status Panel recognized Blood Armor as an S-rank ninjutsu and rewarded him as its recognition rose.
• Orochimaru told Kagetsu and Anko to prepare for a mission in two days and gave Kagetsu permission to take Blood Armor to his clan.
• Kagetsu delivered Tsunade’s scroll to Might Duy and Might Guy, who responded with tears and more frog jumps.
• Kagetsu showed Shikaji the Eight Gates Release Technique and the two Blood Armor scrolls; Shikaji praised the technique, and Kagetsu said Orochimaru had allowed them to use it.

Kagetsu proposed sharing powerful ninjutsu with the Ino-Shika-Cho clans before leaving the village with Orochimaru and Anko on a mission. They found the mutated Tenbin Jugo, whose uncontrolled transformation was caused by exposure to concentrated Natural Energy, and Orochimaru subdued him.

• Kagetsu suggested giving Blut Arterie and Blut Vene to the Ino-Shika-Cho clans as shared techniques, and Nara Shikaji accepted the scrolls.
• Orochimaru took Kagetsu and Anko out of the village on a B-rank mission, explaining that they were going to meet Tenbin Jugo.
• Anko spotted an attacker near a dilapidated village and threw a kunai, provoking the mutated boy to attack the group.
• Kagetsu used Blut Arterie and the Dragon Fire Technique against the boy, but the boy survived and rapidly healed.
• Orochimaru restrained the boy with a golden snake and used the Hell Viewing Technique to make him lose consciousness.
• Orochimaru identified the boy as Tenbin Jugo and explained that Natural Energy had caused his mutations and mental instability.

Orochimaru explained Natural Energy and Sage Art to Anko while bringing the unstable Tenbin Jugo with them. Jugo agreed to let Orochimaru study his body in hopes of learning to control his violent episodes, and the chapter ended with Anko and Kagetsu subduing him during another berserk attack.

• Orochimaru explained that Sage Art used Natural Energy and that the Three Great Sage Locations offered better training than the place they had found.
• Two days later, Anko questioned the withdrawn Jugo, who explained that Natural Energy caused him to lose control and that he had fled to avoid hurting others.
• Orochimaru told Jugo he wanted to study his body, and Jugo agreed in exchange for help controlling his episodes.
• Kagetsu reassured Jugo that studying his body might help him control Natural Energy, and Jugo eagerly accepted the possibility.
• Three days later, Jugo went berserk during their journey, and Kagetsu restrained him with the Shadow Imitation Technique while Anko injected him with neurotoxin.
• Kagetsu examined Jugo and concluded that the toxin would not harm him and that the excess Natural Energy should dissipate as his body cleared it.

Orochimaru brought Kagetsu, Anko, and Jugo to his hidden mountain base, where Kagetsu assisted with research into Jugo’s body and its connection to Natural Energy. Jugo’s data gave Orochimaru a promising path toward Sage Art and immortality, though he warned Kagetsu that Ryūchi Cave’s sage was dangerous.

• Orochimaru led Kagetsu, Anko, and Jugo into his hidden base and assigned Kagetsu to assist with research the next day.
• Orochimaru spent the day examining Jugo, while Kagetsu helped and Anko watched uneasily.
• Anko asked Jugo if he resented the experiments, and Jugo explained that he had consented and preferred being researched to killing people.
• Orochimaru studied the results and saw Jugo’s body as a guide toward Sage Art and immortality.
• Orochimaru warned Kagetsu not to approach Ryūchi Cave’s sage before he was strong enough to protect himself.

After months of research at Orochimaru’s base, Kagetsu helped identify how conflicting wills in Jugo’s Natural Chakra caused experiments to fail, and the group returned to Konoha. There, Kagetsu learned that Sakumo Hatake had died by suicide and that Kakashi had graduated early.

• Kagetsu suggested that Jugo’s will within Natural Chakra clashed with a test subject’s Chakra, prompting Orochimaru to revise the Cursed Seal research.
• Orochimaru decided to return to Konoha, leaving Jugo at the base with neurotoxin injections and Kagetsu’s promise of future treatment.
• Orochimaru and Kagetsu returned to Konoha, where they sensed that the village was unsettled.
• Kagetsu asked Shikaji what had happened and learned that Sakumo Hatake had died after abandoning a mission.
• Shikaji told Kagetsu that Kakashi had graduated from the Ninja Academy early and was expected to become a chunin.