Chapter Summaries

Minato and his companions tried to rescue two more Konoha ninja, only to be confronted by Steam Ninja Han. Minato completed a Sage technique just as Han overwhelmed their defense, leaving Minato holding back Han’s punch.

• Minato persuaded Kunugi Mokume to wait by the river for two fleeing people, and they found the wounded Might Dai and Umino Iruka.
• Han appeared behind Dai and Iruka, but Minato blocked his attack and sent Kunugi Mokume to evacuate the injured ninja across the river.
• Minato summoned Iron Arm Toad and Mighty Toad while asking Kunugi Mokume to buy time as he prepared a technique.
• Han’s Five-Tails Mū King sensed special energy like Hashirama Senju’s, and Han released a dark red chakra cloak to boost his strength.
• Minato entered Sage Mode and grabbed Han’s wrist, stopping his punch before it could strike Iron Arm Toad.

Minato used Frog Kata to overpower Steam Ninja Han and destroy his armor, only to learn it had protected others from Han’s scalding steam. Han transformed into the Five-Tails’ partial form and fired a Tailed Beast Ball, forcing Minato and Kunugi Mokume to flee.

• Minato used Frog Kata’s invisible Natural Energy strikes to overwhelm Han in taijutsu while Kunugi Mokume watched.
• Han repaired his armor with steam and charged again, but Minato plugged its vents with shuriken and kept attacking until it exploded.
• Han revealed that his armor had kept his steam from scalding others and that he had never had friends because of his power.
• Han entered a partial Tailed Beast Transformation and formed a Tailed Beast Ball.
• Minato’s Sage Art: Metal Storm Tenth Style deflected the Tailed Beast Ball, and he grabbed Kunugi Mokume and ran as it exploded nearby.

Minato Namikaze forced Han into a berserk state, drawing Stone Hidden Village’s forces away and allowing Kunugi Mokume to lead more than fifty rescued Konoha ninja to safety. The group met Konoha reinforcements, where Minato’s strength and Sage Mode became known, and Shimura Enboku prepared to report their victory to the Hokage.

• Huangtu saw Han rampaging in a half-Tailed Beast state and ordered the Iwa Ninja to converge while Ōnoki sent reinforcements.
• Minato regrouped with Kunugi Mokume, Yoshimaru, Haneina, Might Dai, and Umino Iruka, and the team withdrew after treating Might Dai’s injuries.
• Kunugi Mokume gathered more than fifty rescued Konoha ninja, and they met reinforcements led by Shimura Enboku after entering the Land of Fire.
• Kunugi Mokume and the rescued ninja credited Minato with defeating Han and saving them, and Minato revealed that Jiraiya had taught him Sage Mode.
• Shimura Enboku led the group toward the village to report their victory to the Hokage, while reflecting on Minato’s growing influence on Danzo’s plans.

Minato returned to Konoha and reported his battle against Steam Ninja Han as the village’s leaders gathered to learn about Sage Mode. Orochimaru challenged Jiraiya to demonstrate his own Sage Mode, and Jiraiya prepared to fight.

• Minato headed back to Konoha with the wounded convoy and asked Akimichi Jirokuma and Haneina to bring Uzumaki Shinmen to the village.
• At Konoha’s entrance, Minato met Orochimaru, who was waiting for Jiraiya; Jiraiya arrived and declared himself the Toad Sage.
• Orochimaru led Jiraiya, Minato, and Kunugi Mokume to the Death Forest sparring ground, where the Third Hokage and Konoha’s other leaders had gathered.
• Minato told the leaders that Sage Mode had helped him face Steam Ninja Han and that Kunugi Mokume had bought him time to enter it.
• Jiraiya absorbed Natural Energy, transformed into Sage Mode, and told Orochimaru to form the Seal of Confrontation.

Jiraiya demonstrated Sage Mode by overpowering Orochimaru, then pointed him to Minato for its secrets. Hiruzen Sarutobi approved Minato’s promotion to jonin, but Danzo persuaded him to order a plan to weaken Senju Takeoto.

• Jiraiya used Sage Mode’s enhanced strength to overpower Orochimaru in a spar, and Orochimaru emerged unharmed through his snake substitution.
• Jiraiya refused to explain Sage Mode’s secrets and told Orochimaru that Minato had improved it; Orochimaru left with Jiraiya, Minato, and Kunugi Mokume.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi concluded that Minato had earned a promotion to jonin.
• Danzo objected, arguing that Minato’s promotion would strengthen Senju Takeoto’s influence, and Mitokado Homura supported his concerns.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Danzo to devise and carry out a plan to weaken Senju Takeoto.

Minato returned to Konoha, gave Orochimaru his senjutsu insights in exchange for Wood Release research materials, and reunited with Kushina and Shinmen. He planned to study Water-nature chakra and prepared Yoshimaru and Haneina to train for the Chunin Exams.

• Minato watched Jiraiya and Kunugi Mokume get drunk and heard them praise Kato Dan's reputation.
• Minato gave Orochimaru his senjutsu insights and received a scroll of Wood Release research materials in return for his request to study plant growth.
• Minato visited the crowded Summer Cicada Shop, where Kushina recognized him and rushed into his arms.
• Minato reunited Kushina with Shinmen and asked Kushina to teach him how to refine Water-nature chakra.
• Minato told Yoshimaru and Haneina that he had found them a teammate and urged them to train for the Chunin Exams.

Minato tested Might Dai’s taijutsu as a possible teammate for Yoshimaru and Haneina, but repeatedly sent him flying back to the same spot. After Might Dai pushed himself to awaken the Opening Gate, Minato offered to recommend him for the Chunin Exams if he could make another breakthrough within a month.

• Minato introduced Might Dai to Yoshimaru, Haneina, and Kushina and praised his endurance and resolve.
• Might Dai removed his weights and repeatedly charged Minato, but Minato easily knocked him back to his starting point.
• Might Dai’s chakra surged briefly during the test, then collapsed, and he left after hearing Minato planned to test Shirakumo Hayama next.
• Might Dai ran around Training Ground 17 until he returned at noon with a pale green energy surrounding him and shouted that he had opened the Opening Gate.
• Minato punched Might Dai away and offered to recommend him for the Chunin Exams if he made another breakthrough within a month.

Minato trained with Kushina to develop Water Release chakra, and their practice led to several accidental kisses as their feelings grew closer. He eventually managed the Drizzling Rain Technique and prepared to begin developing Plant Gigantification Ninjutsu.

• Minato sparred with Might Dai for several days and trained with his teammates while Kushina helped him study Water Release.
• While sensing Kushina’s Water Release chakra, Minato’s unstable chakra surged, knocking them into the pond, where they shared their first kiss.
• Kushina blushed around Minato during team training, and Haneina noticed and teased her about the secret.
• Over the next several days, Minato and Kushina repeatedly practiced in the pond, and Kushina increasingly used the sessions as an excuse to kiss him.
• Minato used the Drizzling Rain Technique and decided he could now begin developing Plant Gigantification Ninjutsu.

Minato developed ninjutsu to gigantify plants, helping crops grow rapidly and earning a system reward as his reforms began to bear fruit. As the summer Chunin Exams advanced to the finals, Yoshimaru’s team passed the first two rounds, and the daimyo’s representative arrived in Konoha.

• Minato studied Orochimaru’s Wood Release research and experimented with four Earth and Water techniques, then added Wind Release to improve plant growth.
• During the twenty days before the exams, Minato trained Yoshimaru, Might Dai, and Haneina; Dai opened the Healing Gate, while Minato and Kushina practiced Water Release together.
• Minato cultivated huge tomatoes and fast-growing chives, sent seeds and the scroll to Guangxia, and received 50 Chakra from the system for the results of his reforms.
• Yuza and Shirakumo Hayama accepted Minato’s delivery mission to Liangju Town, with Hayama planning to return in time for the Chunin Exams.
• Yoshimaru’s team passed the theory test and Death Forest round, with Might Dai leading them through the forest and celebrating their first second-round success.
• After Hawk Guard General died, the daimyo sent the Grand Minister of State to Konoha with Senju Takeoto, and the Chunin Exams finals began.

Minato watched the Chunin Exams, heard about a possible problem with the Hyuga Clan’s guardian ninja post on Bumper Guard Road, and celebrated as his teammates became chunin. Jiraiya officially disbanded his team, leaving Minato, Yoshimaru, and Haneina to part ways as independent Konoha ninjas.

• Minato watched Akimichi Jirokuma win his match, then heard from Shirakumo Hayama that Hyuga River had been recalled from Bumper Guard Road under unclear circumstances.
• The system rewarded Minato with chakra after the Spring Bloom Organization’s Kyoto Sealing Technique School opened its first teaching building and Da Jian taught eighty orphans.
• Jirokuma, Haneina, and Might Dai each became chunin after competing in the exams, despite their modest rankings.
• Minato gathered with Jiraiya and his teammates at a barbecue restaurant, where Jiraiya announced that Jiraiya’s Team was officially disbanded.
• Jiraiya left after bidding farewell, and Yoshimaru and Haneina said goodbye to Minato as they parted ways.

After Bumper Guard General was assassinated, Minato led an investigation while Senju Takeoto faced blame and resistance from Konoha’s leadership. Takeoto arranged additional protection for the General’s younger brother with Senju, Uchiha, and Hyuga ninja, as Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo watched their departure and discussed a secret Root mission.

• Minato learned that Bumper Guard General and his Guardian Ninja, including Hyuga River, had been killed, and formed an investigation team with Yoshimaru, Haneina, Might Dai, Hizashi Hyuga, and Shirakumo Hayama.
• At a Hokage Office meeting, Danzo criticized Senju Takeoto, while the advisors debated the investigation and rejected her request to protect Bumper Guard General’s five-year-old younger brother before a successor was appointed.
• Senju Takeoto left the meeting feeling isolated and ordered Senju Soushou to take reliable ninja to protect the younger brother while Minato focused on the assassination investigation.
• Senju Soushou and Senju Chihiro formed teams with four Senju women, while Uchiha Sura, Uchiha Takisha, and Hyuga Tono also joined the effort.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo watched the teams leave through a crystal ball, and Danzo said Root ninja were carrying out a secret mission.

Minato investigated the murders of the Bumper Guard General, Hyuga River, and the Guardian Ninja, concluding that the attacks were carried out by an organized ANBU team. Sage Shima tracked one teacup’s owner northwest, giving Minato’s squad a lead to pursue.

• Minato and Hizashi Hyuga arrived in the capital and examined Hyuga River’s death, finding signs he had been killed by someone he trusted.
• Minato inspected the General’s sleeping quarters and determined that eight attackers had assassinated the Guardian Ninja and the Bumper Guard General using ANBU methods.
• Grand Minister Nan Song reported tensions with the River Country and suggested the River Country’s nobles or Sand Hidden Village might be responsible.
• Minato asked Senju Soushou to investigate Hyuga River’s acquaintances while he sought to track the murderer.
• Minato summoned Sage Shima, who used the Tongue Tracking Technique on a teacup and traced its owner northwest.

Minato Namikaze tracked a group of masked Root ninja, whose rear guards died trying to stop him and whose masks exploded to conceal their identities. Shimura Enboku led the survivors away from Konoha and planned to sacrifice himself to protect two young Shimura Clan members while a separate assassination plan remained in motion.

• Boli G Lang identified the enemy’s scent and led Minato Namikaze, Hizashi Hyuga, and their companions toward the fleeing ninja.
• Captain Jia ordered Geng and Xin to cover the rear, and Minato killed Xin with Trident Kunai and Shadow Clones.
• Xin’s mask detonated when Minato removed it, and another masked ninja’s mask also exploded after Hizashi’s group defeated him.
• Boli G Lang determined that the dead ninja were not the owners of the teacup, while Ding warned Jia that Minato was pursuing them.
• Shimura Enboku recognized Minato’s tracking ability, and Jia redirected the Root group north to lead Minato in circles.
• Jia resolved to find a chance for Yi and Bing, the young Shimura Clan members, to escape.

Shimura Enboku’s group fled as Minato Namikaze’s team closed in, while Ding prepared the Aburame Clan’s Jar Poison Technique to stop their pursuers. Minato and the toad sages unleashed Sage Art: Goemon, destroying the poison cloud and killing Ding before the pursuit continued.

• Shimura Enboku sent Ding, Wu, and Ji to delay the pursuers, then warned Yi and Bing to keep running if the enemy caught up.
• Ding unsealed corpses in a cave and used them to cultivate nano venom insects for the Jar Poison Technique.
• Minato sensed an unsettling presence, entered Sage Mode, and had Hizashi Hyuga locate the poison-filled cave.
• Minato summoned Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima, then joined them in using Sage Art: Goemon to burn away the poison cloud and forest.
• The flames consumed Ding and his corpses, ending the Jar Poison Technique; Minato collected evidence from the cave and resumed the pursuit.

Minato Namikaze killed Yi and Bing and captured the Shimura ninja pursuing them, while suspecting Konoha had arranged the assassination plot. In Bumper Guard Road's Capital City, Root and Sand ninja began an attack on the Bumper Guard General's younger brother, and Konoha defenders met them.

• Jia stayed behind to cover Yi and Bing, but Minato Namikaze killed Yi with a thrown teacup and Bing with a Trident Kunai.
• Minato Namikaze used Boli G Lang's Genjutsu to subdue Shimura Enboku, whose mask mechanism detonated and killed him; Minato sealed the corpses and returned toward the capital.
• Ren told a Sand Anbu captain that killing the Bumper Guard General's younger brother would destabilize Bumper Guard Road and keep Konoha from interfering in the River Country.
• Hyuga Tono followed the Bumper Guard General's younger brother into the courtyard, where an attacker exploited the Byakugan's blind spot and killed him with a kunai.
• Uchiha Sura launched a Great Fireball Technique to warn the Konoha ninja as masked Noh dancers revealed their ninja clothes and attacked; Sand Anbu, Senju Clan members, and Uchiha ninja clashed around the younger brother.

Sand ninjas ambushed the Senju Clan and the Bumper Guard General’s younger brother, killing Hizashi Hyuga and Senju Xiaoling and nearly killing Senju Zihua. Minato Namikaze arrived with reinforcements, defeated the hidden Puppet Masters and the Sand captain, and ended the attack.

• Senju Soushou ordered Senju Qian Kong and Senju Zihua to protect the Bumper Guard General’s younger brother after Hizashi Hyuga was killed.
• Senju Xiaoling was blasted back by an exploding mask, then stabbed by a dog-shaped puppet.
• Uchiha Sura and Senju Soushou used combined Fire and Wind Release against the Sand ninjas and chose to hold their ground until Minato Namikaze arrived.
• A snail puppet nearly killed Senju Zihua, but Akimichi Jirokuma smashed it with his staff.
• Minato Namikaze and the reinforcements attacked, and Minato located and killed the hidden Puppet Masters.
• Minato struck the Sand captain with a Rasengan, sending him onto poisoned puppet spikes and ending the battle.

After the attack on the General's Residence, Minato reassured Senju Soushou about the Senju Clan's future and gave Senju Chihiro a path to grow stronger. The next day, Minato watched Yoshimaru and Senju Zihua spar, then taught Shirakumo Hayama the Wind Cutter Technique.

• Senju Soushou told Minato how close the Senju Clan had come to disaster and feared it could disappear if its strongest members died.
• Senju Chihiro asked Minato to help him become stronger, and Minato gave him a Wood Release research scroll obtained from Orochimaru.
• Haneina woke Minato the next day to watch Yoshimaru and Senju Zihua spar, believing they had feelings for each other.
• Uchiha Sura and Senju Soushou watched the young ninjas train while guarding the General's Residence.
• Shirakumo Hayama asked Minato to teach him how to attach wind blades to weapons, and Minato offered to teach him the Wind Cutter Technique.

Mitokado Homura tried to present Sand Ninja as the sole culprits behind the Bumper Guard General's assassination, but Minato revealed evidence implicating masked Konoha operatives. Tsunade ordered the suspicious bodies investigated and left Mitokado unable to dismiss the case or target Soushou.

• Mitokado Homura arrived in the Capital City of Bumper Guard Road and demanded the recovered killers' bodies from Senju Soushou.
• Minato showed Mitokado forty-two Sand Anbu corpses and eleven puppets, then presented two headless bodies and suggested the killers might have come from Konoha.
• Tsunade entered the hall, and Minato sealed away the corpses before her hemophobia could be exposed.
• Minato revealed evidence of the Jar Poison Technique and the masked killers' knowledge of the Branch Family's Byakugan blind spots.
• Tsunade ordered Soushou to take the suspicious bodies to Orochimaru for investigation and warned Mitokado not to intercept or kill Soushou.
• Tsunade refused to return to the village, leaving Mitokado to watch her depart.

Danzo learned that his son, nephew, and Shimura Enboku had died, then brought Orochimaru into Root despite Orochimaru's refusal to conceal Root's role from Tsunade. Hiruzen agreed to meet Tsunade in person and try to prevent the truth about the Bumper Guard General's assassination from destabilizing Konoha's relationship with the Land of Fire.

• Orochimaru identified Shimura Enboku and revealed that the other two corpses were Danzo's nephew and youngest son.
• Danzo proposed recruiting children and orphans without official records for Root, and Orochimaru agreed to join so he could use Root's resources.
• Danzo urged Orochimaru to conceal Root's actions from Tsunade, but Orochimaru vowed to tell her and help her deal with the trouble.
• Orochimaru left a scroll containing six more Root ninja corpses with Danzo and departed the stronghold.
• Hiruzen arrived, and Danzo urged him to persuade Tsunade before she learned that Konoha ninja had assassinated Bumper Guard General.
• Hiruzen agreed to delay Orochimaru's disclosure for a day or two and leave the village to speak with Tsunade in person.

Minato helped the Autumn Fruit Organization turn chakra-enhanced rice cultivation into a seed trade business, selling high-yield seeds to towns around Liangju Town. With the Bumper Guard General's administration considering broader promotion, Minato funded the new Seed Merchant Guild and left Guangxia to expand its crops.

• Senju Soushou told Minato that Tsunade and the Third Hokage had agreed to end the political turmoil, leaving Takeoto in office and blaming the Bumper Guard General's assassination on the Sand Anbu.
• Minato left the General's Residence and traveled to Liangju Town, where Guangxia showed him rice seedlings three times larger than those in the control plot after three rounds of chakra-assisted breeding.
• Minato proposed that the Autumn Fruit Organization establish a Seed Merchant Guild and sell High-Yield Rice Seeds, then asked Grand Minister Nan Song to provide administrative support.
• Minbu Taiu Menta and the heads of ten nearby towns visited the experimental fields and bought seeds at Liangju Town's seed fair, while Minato confirmed the crop could be planted twice a year.
• Guangxia told Minato that the fair had earned three hundred thousand ryo, and Minato gave him another one million ryo to start the Autumn Fruit Seed Merchant Guild and develop seeds for other crops.