Recaps

Chen shared lunch with Orochimaru, who explained his theory for achieving immortality by transferring his soul into new bodies and gave Chen a Joint Softening potion. Orochimaru still needed access to Forbidden Jutsu and further research to pursue his idea.

• Orochimaru took Chen to his laboratory kitchen, where Chen shared boxed lunches instead of eating the instant noodles Orochimaru had stocked.
• Over lunch, Orochimaru told Chen that he wanted an assistant and had rejected Danzo's candidates because Danzo wanted access to his research.
• Orochimaru explained that he wanted to obtain Impure World Reincarnation to investigate whether he could preserve his soul by transferring it into a young body.
• Orochimaru gave Chen a tested Joint Softening potion and instructions, and Chen stored it in his Ninja Pouch.

After Konoha expanded its barrier, Chen, Minato, and Kushina went for shaved ice and caught Nawaki lurking outside the Bathhouse. Nawaki begged Kushina not to tell Nonō, and she sent him to buy shaved ice for them.

• Chen, Minato, Kushina, and the Barrier Team completed Konoha's barrier expansion after half a month of work.
• Kushina joined Chen and Minato for shaved ice after receiving half a day off.
• The trio spotted Nawaki crouching on a wall outside the Bathhouse, and Kushina accused him of peeping and stealing underwear.
• Nawaki insisted he was innocent, then begged Kushina not to tell Nonō.
• Kushina agreed to keep quiet if Nawaki bought six shaved ices for them.

Nawaki's plan to confess to Nonō was interrupted by Kushina, who nearly attacked him after he mocked her rank. As the group relaxed afterward, Chen gave Minato a Scroll containing the Flying Thunder God Technique.

• Nawaki admitted that he had followed Nonō to the bathhouse because he wanted to confess to her, but he postponed his confession when she went inside with Kana.
• Kushina teased Nawaki and encouraged him to confess, then grew furious when he mocked her for being a Chunin.
• Nonō and Kana arrived before Kushina could confront Nawaki, and Kushina later kept his plan secret because she wanted to watch him confess.
• Chen and Nawaki noticed Kana and Minato blushing and teased Minato about his feelings for her.
• Chen handed Minato a Scroll containing the Flying Thunder God Technique, and Minato thanked him.

Chen visited the Hatake Clan Compound and met the young Kakashi for the first time. Sakumo asked Chen to become Kakashi’s teacher and later his Jonin instructor, and Chen agreed despite noting Kakashi’s young age.

• Chen used his merits to obtain the Flying Thunder God Technique for Minato, who still lacked the strength and Chakra to match his future reputation.
• Chen visited the Hatake Clan Compound and playfully caught and teased Kakashi when the boy tried to dodge him.
• Sakumo made Kakashi apologize to Chen and introduced him as Konoha Lightning, Uchiha Chen, whom Kakashi admired.
• Sakumo asked Chen to teach Kakashi and eventually become his Jonin instructor after graduation.
• Chen agreed, while Sakumo planned to send Kakashi to the Ninja Academy the following year.

Chen reflected that Kakashi’s Sharingan had limited his potential, then sparred with Sakumo and demonstrated techniques that could counter the White Fang’s swordsmanship. Their fight ended when Odaichi called them to dinner, with Sakumo eager to continue another time.

• Chen told Sakumo he would return after completing an upcoming mission, and Sakumo invited him to stay with the family.
• Sakumo said he expected the Third Hokage to assign him another S-rank mission and explained that his strength kept him from taking easier work.
• Sakumo invited Chen to spar at the Training Ground, and Chen followed him outside.
• Chen and Sakumo exchanged attacks as Chen used a Wind Release technique and a snap-induced disruption to evade Sakumo.
• Chen used a sound-based Genjutsu during another clash and pressed his hand against Sakumo’s sword before Odaichi called them to dinner.

Kushina grew discouraged as the Third Hokage delayed making her a Jonin, while the Nine-Tails rejected her sympathy. The Third Hokage then assigned Uchiha Chen and Kushina to retrieve Uzumaki legacy from the Land of Whirlpools, leaving Chen to prepare for the mission.

• Kushina worried that the Third Hokage had forgotten his promise to make her a Jonin, and she felt better after comparing her confinement to the Nine-Tails’ captivity.
• The Nine-Tails bristled at Kushina’s sympathy and asked her to remove its seal, but she ignored it.
• Uchiha Chen told the Third Hokage that the Police Force bored him and declined his joking suggestion that he work in the Hokage Office.
• The Third Hokage recalled Chen’s earlier argument that Kushina should be allowed to leave the village and explained that he would pair them for missions.
• The Third Hokage gave Chen a mission to retrieve Uzumaki legacy from the Land of Whirlpools, and Chen planned to prepare carefully and escape by Reverse Summoning if necessary.

Chen told Kushina about a mission to the Land of Whirlpools, giving her a chance to revisit her hometown, and brought her newly issued Jonin gear. The chapter ended with Kushina excitedly going to change so Chen could see whether her flak jacket fit.

• Homura Mitokado questioned the Third Hokage's decision to let Kushina travel with Chen, but the Third Hokage defended his choice and trusted Chen to protect her.
• Chen visited Kushina at her home, where she hurried to tidy up and change before letting him in.
• Chen asked Kushina about her memories of Uzumaki Village and invited her to return there with him on a mission.
• Kushina asked if Kana could come too, but Chen said she could not and that Minato would take Kana there someday.
• Chen gave Kushina her Jonin Flak Jacket and issued equipment, and Kushina hugged him before going to change.

Uchiha Chen and Kushina traveled to Niigata on their way to the Land of Whirlpools, where they searched for a captain who knew the sea route. Meanwhile, Fugaku practiced his Mangekyo Sharingan in the Land of Water and ordered Raiga Kurosuki to target Chen, while planning to kill Chen himself later.

• Chen and Kushina left Konoha and arrived in Niigata, where port officials told them the route to the Land of Whirlpools had been removed from sea charts.
• Chen obtained addresses for retired captains and took Kushina to eat, where she slammed a thug's head against a table after he approached her.
• In the Land of Water, Fugaku used wood spikes, Amaterasu, flight, and a crushing force to defeat Mist Ninja while White Zetsu complained about his practice battles.
• White Zetsu told Fugaku that Kushina had left Konoha with Raikou, and Fugaku chose Raiga Kurosuki to go after them rather than seize the Nine-Tails himself.
• Fugaku said he would kill Uchiha Chen himself and learned that his clansmen had complaints about the substitute impersonating him in Konoha.

Chen and Kushina sailed from the Land of Fire toward the Land of Whirlpools, accompanied by the veteran sailor Old Muzi. As they spent the night at sea, Old Muzi spoke of freedom and Chen savored the sea air.

• Chen and Kushina returned to Niigata’s port, where the harbor master respectfully led them to their prepared boat.
• Old Muzi piloted the boat while Chen and Kushina settled in and discovered the provisions stocked aboard.
• After anchoring for the night, Chen, Kushina, and Old Muzi shared grilled food and sake on deck.
• Old Muzi explained that he had returned to sailing for the excitement and freedom of life at sea, then played his wind flute.
• Chen toasted freedom and death with Kushina and remarked that the sea smelled fishy and salty.

Chen and Kushina reached the Land of Whirlpools, where Kushina revisited her childhood home and uncovered a time capsule. After reading a letter from her five-year-old self and writing a reply, she asked Chen to return with her in four years.

• Chen and Kushina reached shore while Old Muzi stayed aboard the boat to rest.
• Kushina led Chen through the ruins to the tree where her father had marked her height.
• Kushina and Chen dug up a time capsule containing family keepsakes and a letter addressed to her fifteen-year-old self.
• Kushina read her childhood letter, cried, and wrote a reply to her younger self before resealing both letters in the capsule.
• Kushina asked Chen to return to the Land of Whirlpools with her in four years.

Chen and Kushina found the Uzumaki Clan’s hidden shrine and discovered dangerous Hannya Masks among its relics. After taking valuables back toward the coast, they felt the ground shake and found their boat missing, so they rushed to investigate.

• Chen and Kushina followed Mito’s map to a hidden shrine protected by a space-time barrier that absorbed Chakra.
• They explored the shrine, where Chen nearly put on a Hannya Mask before Kushina knocked it from his hand.
• Kushina explained that the masks were dangerous relics passed down since the era of the Sage of Six Paths.
• Chen and Kushina searched the shrine for two hours and packed its valuable objects, including the entrance statue, into a Sealing Scroll.
• Kushina asked about getting land for an Uzumaki Clan shrine and joked that she wanted property in the village center to rent out.
• A violent tremor shook the area, and Chen noticed their boat had vanished, so he and Kushina raced toward the beach.

Chen and Kushina fought a group of Kirigakure ninja, with Chen quickly defeating three Jonin while Kushina overused the Nine-Tails’ Chakra against another opponent. Chen arrived to protect her and faced the remaining Mist Ninja, who wielded a Lightning Blade and vowed to kill him before capturing the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

• Three Kirigakure ninja emerged from the sea and attacked Chen and Kushina, but Chen used Lightning Release to paralyze one and killed another with a Kunai.
• Chen dodged a Water Dragon Bullet barrage, attacked from beneath the sea, and killed the third Jonin with Chidori.
• Chen rushed to Kushina and found her cloaked in Nine-Tails Chakra after a Mist Ninja’s sneak attack had left her exhausted.
• Chen told Kushina to rest, then faced the remaining Mist Ninja as he raised his Lightning Blade and threatened to hold a funeral for Chen.

Chen fought Raiga Kurosuki, the wielder of the Lightning Blades and one of Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen. Chen sealed the blades' abilities and killed Raiga with a Shadow Clone, then claimed the swords.

• Chen recognized Raiga Kurosuki and taunted him about the Third Mizukage before Raiga attacked with the Lightning Blades.
• Chen used Chidori and Chidori Stream, but Raiga's blades absorbed the Lightning Release and fired a Lightning Ball at him.
• Chen knocked the Lightning Ball aside with explosive kunai and deduced that the Lightning Blades could absorb Lightning Release and summon lightning from the sky.
• Chen evaded Raiga's lightning strikes until Raiga's Chakra began to run low, then approached with Chidori.
• Chen used a sealing technique to disable the Lightning Blades, while a Shadow Clone struck Raiga through the chest with Chidori.
• Chen picked up the Lightning Blades and dismissed Raiga as he lay dead.

After surviving the Mist Ninja attack in the Land of Whirlpools, Chen and Kushina found Old Muzi and set sail for the Land of Fire. On the way, Kushina reflected on where she belonged and asked about Chen’s hidden past; Chen promised to tell her when he was ready, and planned to visit the Land of Craftsmen before returning to Konoha.

• Chen and Kushina discovered Old Muzi had survived, and Old Muzi identified where the Mist Ninja ship was moored.
• Chen found the ship, and Old Muzi estimated they could reach the Land of Fire in about five days.
• Kushina told Chen that Konoha felt like home and asked why he had once seemed as distant as she had; Chen said he had secrets he could not yet explain.
• Kushina asked Chen to tell her first when he was ready to share his secret, and Chen agreed.
• Chen told Kushina they would visit the Land of Craftsmen so he could modify the Lightning Blade as a gift for Kakashi.

Chen and Kushina traveled to the Land of Craftsmen, where Chen commissioned Tame Nakaiichirō to reforge the Lightning Blade into a new weapon. After leaving the craftsman’s cave, Chen revealed that he planned to name the finished weapon Infinity Blade.

• Chen and Kushina arrived in the Land of Craftsmen after four days of travel.
• Chen brought the Lightning Blade to Tame Nakaiichirō and asked him to fuse its two blades according to a blueprint.
• Tame Nakaiichirō agreed to reforge the weapon, and Chen left a deposit before departing with Kushina.
• Kushina asked what Chen would name the new weapon, and Chen chose Infinity Blade.

Chen returned to Konoha with Kushina and reported their mission to Sarutobi Hiruzen, who considered trading the Lightning Blade back to Hidden Mist Village. Chen revealed he had reforged the sword, and the Third Hokage accepted that it could no longer be traded and received leftover materials as a gift for Asuma.

• Chen collected the newly forged Infinity Blade from Tame Nakaiichirō and tested it with Lightning Release Chakra.
• Chen and Kushina returned to Konoha, where Chen reported that Hidden Mist shinobi had ambushed Kushina.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen suspected Danzo might have leaked information about Kushina's mission and discussed a possible trade for the Lightning Blade.
• Chen showed Hiruzen that he had remade the Lightning Blade, leaving the Third Hokage unable to trade it back to Hidden Mist Village.
• Chen gave Hiruzen a scroll of leftover sword materials for Asuma and agreed to visit and teach him.

Cee accepted Kakashi as his disciple in a formal apprenticeship ceremony, then assessed the nearly three-year-old boy’s ninja tool skills and Chakra control. The chapter ended with Cee electrocuting Kakashi in the pool and laughing as he scrambled out with his hair standing on end.

• Cee gave the Lightning Blade materials to Asuma to build rapport with the Third Hokage, then went to the Hatake Clan Compound to meet Sakumo and Kakashi.
• Sakumo explained the apprenticeship arrangements, and Kakashi offered Cee tea and kowtowed before calling him “Teacher.”
• Cee took Kakashi to the Training Ground and learned that Sakumo had taught him Chakra extraction, basic Taijutsu, and Ninja Tool throwing.
• Kakashi hit the bullseye with three of five Kunai, and Cee praised his performance before testing his water-walking control.
• After Kakashi threw three Shuriken from underwater, Cee caught them and sent electricity through the pool, making Kakashi scramble out with his hair standing up.

Chen tried to cheer up Kakashi, tested his Chakra nature, and took him to an ice cream shop. There, Kakashi met Uchiha Kyoko and was joined by her young son, Obito.

• Chen promised Kakashi ice cream and tested his Chakra nature, discovering Lightning, Water, and Earth.
• Chen explained Chakra nature transformations and told Kakashi to master at least two by graduation.
• Chen used the Body Flicker Technique to take Kakashi to Kyoko's shop for ice cream.
• Kakashi ordered a Preserved Egg and Lean Meat Milkshake and formally introduced himself to Kyoko.
• Obito delivered the ice cream, sat beside Kakashi, and stayed with Chen at the shop.

Chen introduced Obito and Kakashi, who immediately clashed over Chen’s attention and teaching. He told Himeji he planned to travel to Ryūchi Cave to strengthen himself before the Ninja World War, leaving her to guide Kakashi while he was away.

• Chen introduced Obito and Kakashi, and Obito declared that he would become Hokage while Kakashi dismissed him.
• Obito learned Kakashi was Chen’s student and argued that he deserved to be Chen’s disciple too.
• Chen and Himeji discussed Kakashi’s training and the possibility of taking Might Guy as a disciple.
• Chen explained that he would not teach Obito because cross-clan mentorship could ease tensions between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha.
• Chen told Himeji he planned to go to Ryūchi Cave within one to three months, and she agreed to guide Kakashi while he was gone.

Uchiha Chen reached Ryūchi Cave to learn its senjutsu from the White Snake Sage. She agreed to teach him without a test, and Tagorihime prepared to inject Natural Energy into his neck, leaving Chen wary of the dangerous method.

• Chen used the Reverse Summoning Jutsu to arrive at Ryūchi Cave, where Big White led him through the passages.
• Manda offered to guide Chen to the White Snake Sage, hoping he would fail to withstand Natural Energy and become food.
• Chen met the White Snake Sage, who recognized him and warned that failed senjutsu training could make him lose his mind.
• The White Snake Sage agreed to teach Chen for free and assigned Tagorihime to train him.
• Tagorihime said she would inject Natural Energy into Chen's neck with her fangs, and Chen considered going to Jiraiya instead.

Uchiha Chen began training to master Sage Chakra at Ryūchi Cave so he could gain enough power to end the coming Third Great Ninja War quickly. As Tagorihime fed him Natural Energy, Chen struggled to control it and began transforming into a dragon-like figure.

• Uchiha Chen refused to go to Mount Myōboku and decided to pursue Sage Chakra training at Ryūchi Cave.
• Chen considered the approaching Third Great Ninja War and concluded that Sage Chakra was his best path to overwhelming strength.
• Tagorihime led Chen into a cave, bit his neck, and injected Natural Energy into his body.
• Chen used his abundant Chakra and Yang Release to contain the Natural Energy, then gradually worked to balance and fuse them.
• Chen stabilized the Natural Energy, but his skin turned pale, white scales appeared, and a horn began growing from his forehead.

Chen mastered perfect Snake Sage Mode in one month under Tagorihime’s guidance, then tested its power with a Sage Art lightning technique. He prepared to continue training Ryūchi Cave’s combat techniques while exploring how Sage Chakra enhanced his Ninjutsu.

• Chen progressed through Sage Mode’s second stage by merging his body and mind with the vibrating air around him.
• After a month, Chen absorbed and balanced Natural Energy, entered perfect Sage Mode, and gained golden snake eyes and new facial markings.
• Tagorihime congratulated Chen and explained that Ryūchi Cave’s Sage Art training also included combat techniques.
• Chen tested Sage Art: Lightning Release: Chidori Sharp Spear, throwing the solidified spear into rock and noting its greater speed and power.
• Chen formed a massive Rasengan to test another technique, while Manda decided to hide from the explosions.

After mastering Sage Mode, Chen trained with Tagorihime and learned Snake Kata before asking her to teach him powerful Sage Arts. She demonstrated and taught him Inorganic Reanimation, which Chen began practicing as he considered its relationship to Yin-Yang Release.

• Chen and Tagorihime sparred in Ryūchi Cave, where he used Sage Mode and Snake Kata to suppress her.
• Chen thanked Tagorihime for training him and asked her to teach him Sage Arts.
• Tagorihime demonstrated Inorganic Reanimation by animating the cave floor into stone snakes and spikes, then agreed to teach Chen the technique.
• Chen practiced using Sage Chakra to animate and control inorganic matter.
• Chen noticed that Inorganic Reanimation resembled Yin-Yang Release and wondered why Sage Art could resist its power.

Yagura advanced a plan to overthrow the Third Mizukage, whose Bloody Mist policies had plunged Hidden Mist Village into fear. He left the village preparing to contact Suigetsu and seize an opportunity when the Seven Ninja Swordsmen departed.

• The Third Mizukage demanded that Juzo Biwa find Suigetsu within three months or face the Seven Ninja Swordsmen being reduced to five.
• Yagura reported that the new graduation exam, which made Ninja Academy students kill one another, faced no opposition and earned the Third Mizukage's praise.
• After leaving the Mizukage Building, Yagura told Tobi that their coup plan had reached its crucial stage and that the Third Mizukage had grown weaker after injuries in the Land of Fire.
• Yagura ordered Tobi to contact Suigetsu and stop approaching Terumi Sora, whose daughter Mei Terumi had two Kekkei Genkai.
• Yagura told Tobi to prepare for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to leave the village, calling their planned uprising a way to set things right.

Yagura lured the Third Mizukage out of the village to stage a coup, but Fugaku revealed that the Mizukage was White Zetsu in disguise and defeated the ambush. Fugaku planned to control Yagura and install him as the Fourth Mizukage, while announcing that the Third Mizukage had disappeared.

• Yagura tricked the Third Mizukage into leaving the village by claiming Suigetsu had been spotted and was fighting the patrol.
• Suigetsu confronted the Third Mizukage in a forest clearing, and Yagura stabbed him before Kirigakure ninja surrounded him.
• The supposed Third Mizukage revealed himself as White Zetsu, while Fugaku arrived and identified himself as Uchiha Madara.
• Fugaku trapped the Kirigakure ninja inside the Four Violet Flames Formation and defeated them.
• Fugaku decided to control Yagura with Genjutsu, make him the Fourth Mizukage, and announce that the Third Mizukage had disappeared.