Recaps

Moriyue woke in Kumogakure after transmigrating into the badly injured body of an ordinary young man, and discovered that the Dog Talisman was keeping him alive. He hid the talisman inside his heart and set out to return to Kumogakure, intending to rise despite having no talent for ninjutsu.

• Moriyue recovered memories of the original Moriyue, whose fall from a mountain had left him mortally injured.
• Moriyue realized he was in the Naruto World and found that he could not die despite his shattered body.
• Moriyue recognized the Dog Talisman and learned that it granted immortality as long as he held it.
• Moriyue pierced his chest and placed the Dog Talisman inside his heart to keep it from being taken.
• Moriyue treated his wounds as best he could and resolved to return to Kumogakure and make his way without ninjutsu talent.

Moriyue returned to Kumogakure after surviving his fall, hoping to have his injuries treated while concealing the Dog Talisman's secret. A nurse and a researcher persuaded him to undergo an experimental forbidden technique, and the chapter ended as the researcher prepared to test it on him.

• Moriyue worried that others would target the Dog Talisman and decided to keep a low profile while seeking strength to protect himself.
• Moriyue washed off the blood from his wounds and returned to Kumogakure, where he headed to the hospital for treatment.
• A nurse discovered that Moriyue's internal injuries were far worse than they appeared and said conventional treatment could not save him.
• The nurse told Moriyue about an experimental forbidden technique, and he agreed to try it despite the risk of death.
• A bald researcher wrapped Moriyue in a scroll and revealed that he planned to use him as a test subject for the dangerous technique.

Moriyue survived a forbidden technique that gave him a powerful but unstable dark-red energy he could not use like ordinary Chakra. After accidentally blowing up his hospital bed with the Shadow Clone Jutsu, he decided he would have to rely on forbidden techniques.

• Moriyue endured the forbidden technique’s painful transformation and discovered that he could produce a strange energy, while the bald doctor wondered why he had survived.
• Moriyue hid what had happened from the doctor, who left with the damaged scroll to investigate it.
• After resting, Moriyue tried to cast the Shadow Clone Jutsu, but the unstable energy caused an explosion that destroyed his bed and sent him into the corridor.
• Moriyue concluded that he would have to learn forbidden techniques instead of using ordinary ninjutsu.

After an explosion in the hospital, Moriyue was taken by Darui and other Kumogakure ninjas for an assessment of the forbidden jutsu that had kept him alive. Moriyue activated Life Burning to show his strength, leaving Darui alarmed by how much of his lifespan he seemed willing to sacrifice.

• The ninjas investigated the hospital explosion, found no casualties or suspicious evidence, and treated it as an accident.
• Darui and the other ninjas carried Moriyue to a raised platform for a strength test.
• Darui read Moriyue's file and dismissed Life Burning as an inefficient forbidden jutsu with severe side effects and little potential.
• Moriyue activated Life Burning and hardened his muscles with its violent Chakra.
• Darui realized Moriyue's stance was likely costing him years of lifespan and grew uneasy about testing him.

Moriyue fought Darui using the Life-Burning Forbidden Jutsu during a test to join Darui’s squad. Though the clash left Moriyue badly injured and drained, Darui acknowledged him as a warrior and accepted him onto the team.

• Darui unleashed Black Panther and met Moriyue’s life-burning punch with Storm Release.
• Moriyue and Darui collided in a direct fistfight that shook the stone platform.
• The dust cleared to reveal Moriyue’s arm badly burned and Darui with a blood-red mark on his chest.
• Moriyue collapsed from exhaustion, and Darui carried him while praising his resolve.
• Darui told Moriyue he had passed the test and become a member of the squad.

Moriyue’s selection for Darui’s squad sparked widespread ridicule in Kumogakure, but Darui remained committed to him after seeing his resolve. Darui brought Moriyue to meet the squad, where the other men openly mocked him.

• Ninjas in Kumogakure criticized Darui for recruiting Moriyue, calling him weak and dismissing forbidden techniques as a poor path to power.
• Darui brought the injured Moriyue to the hospital, where a nurse explained that forbidden techniques had strengthened his recovery at the cost of his lifespan.
• Moriyue asked Darui to take him training, saying he wanted to learn as much as he could before his life ended.
• Darui agreed to take Moriyue to meet the other squad members, though he complained that teaching was a hassle.
• At the training facility, the men there stopped training and mocked Moriyue for being a frail practitioner of forbidden techniques.

Moriyue challenged the Kumogakure Genin who objected to Captain Darui’s decision and faced Wuk in a fight. He activated his life-consuming forbidden technique and injured Wuk, leaving the dojo crowd intimidated by his willingness to risk his life.

• Moriyue invited anyone dissatisfied with Captain Darui’s decision to challenge him, provoking an uproar among the dojo’s practitioners.
• Wuk, a powerful Nintaijutsu practitioner, stepped forward to fight Moriyue.
• Wuk used the Body Flicker Technique to attack Moriyue from behind with a lightning-charged fist.
• Moriyue activated his forbidden technique, caught Wuk’s punch, and warned him that he was willing to wager his life.
• Moriyue unbalanced Wuk and kicked him away; Wuk used the Substitution Technique but still landed injured and spat blood.
• The practitioners called Moriyue a lunatic and grew wary of provoking him.

Moriyue’s dangerous sparring display caught Yugito Nii’s attention, and she took over as his acting teacher. After warning him that relying on a forbidden jutsu was reckless, she began his basic training with a heavy sword and limb weights.

• Moriyue’s reckless use of a forbidden jutsu stunned the genin, and they stopped openly mocking him.
• Yugito Nii introduced herself as Moriyue’s new training instructor and ordered the others to resume training.
• Yugito Nii warned Moriyue that a forbidden jutsu could leave him helpless against a patient enemy, and he agreed that he needed other fighting skills.
• Yugito Nii brought Moriyue to a training room and said he must complete basic training before taking missions.
• Yugito Nii gave Moriyue a heavy katana and attached heavy iron weights to his limbs, telling him to wear them until he could move freely.

After nearly a month of intense physical training with Yugito Nii, Moriyue began learning Kumogakure swordsmanship and tested his skills against her. Their sparring left Darui confident that Moriyue was on his way to becoming an independent warrior.

• Moriyue completed more than two hundred push-ups while wearing heavy iron rings, and Yugito Nii praised his progress.
• Moriyue asked to learn swordsmanship and other forbidden jutsu, while Yugito Nii warned him that forbidden jutsu's side effects were difficult to overcome.
• Yugito Nii gave Moriyue a katana and took him to a raised stone platform to begin sword training.
• Moriyue climbed the platform on his own and exchanged swift sword strikes with Yugito Nii.
• Darui woke at the sound of their sparring, decided that leaving Moriyue with Yugito Nii had been the right choice, and went back to sleep.

After losing a sparring match to Yugito Nii, Moriyue recovered quickly and asked her to show him forbidden techniques, hoping to find a way to survive his condition. Yugito instead suggested mechanical augmentation, but Moriyue refused and followed her to Kumogakure’s ninjutsu storage room, where he saw its vast collection of scrolls.

• Yugito Nii defeated Moriyue after he pushed her into her Tailed Beast Transformation, then carried him to the hospital.
• Moriyue woke up unharmed, and the nurse scolded him for treating his loss to the Two-Tails Jinchuriki as a disappointment.
• Moriyue asked Yugito to take him to see forbidden techniques, and she agreed while warning him that their effects could not be counterbalanced.
• Yugito proposed mechanical augmentation to reduce the side effects of forbidden techniques, but Moriyue rejected the idea.
• Yugito took Moriyue to Kumogakure’s ninjutsu storage room, where he saw tens of thousands of scrolls.

Moriyue searched Kumogakure’s scroll archive for techniques suited to his unstable Chakra and chose Lightning Torture as one of his two allowed scrolls. He left the other slot open as he went to inspect the forbidden techniques.

• Yugito Nii told Moriyue he could choose two scrolls and warned that many were incomplete or unsuitable.
• Moriyue skipped the ninjutsu shelves and examined the Nintaijutsu, rejecting techniques that required precise Chakra control.
• Moriyue found Crushing Break, Lightning Torture, and Reversal, and decided to take Lightning Torture to strengthen his body.
• Moriyue returned Crushing Break and Reversal to the shelves and headed to the forbidden techniques.

Moriyue chose the forbidden jutsu Reverse alongside Lightning Torment, despite Yugito Nii’s objections and the technique’s reputation as worthless. He left with Yugito, unaware that the gatekeeper feared Kumogakure’s leaders would oppose their friendship and guarded a chamber of statues holding opened scrolls.

• Moriyue considered several forbidden jutsu but chose Super Regeneration as the practical option before becoming drawn to the supposedly useless Reverse.
• Yugito Nii approved of Moriyue’s Lightning Torment choice but was shocked when he also selected Reverse.
• The gatekeeper explained that choosing from the forbidden jutsu shelves was a rare opportunity, and Moriyue realized Yugito had meant to help him counter the weakness caused by his Life-Burning Forbidden Jutsu.
• Moriyue apologized to Yugito and insisted Reverse would be useful, then admitted he did not understand its diagrams; Yugito ordered him to practice Lightning Torment for an inspection the next day.
• After Moriyue and Yugito left, the gatekeeper worried that Kumogakure’s higher-ups would oppose their friendship and entered a secret chamber filled with lifelike statues holding opened scrolls.

Moriyue began training in Lightning Torment, enduring its painful electrical stimulation as he prepared to study Forbidden Jutsu: Reverse. The next morning, Yugito Nii took him toward the forbidden-jutsu researchers, where the doctor who had used a forbidden jutsu on him appeared.

• Moriyue returned home after a month of training with Yugito Nii and learned she would take him to meet forbidden-jutsu researchers the next day.
• Moriyue spotted Yugito Nii speaking with three black-clad ninja, then saw her chakra flare and two ghostly blue tails appear as the others vanished.
• Moriyue activated Lightning Torment and endured intense pain as lightning chakra stimulated his muscles.
• Moriyue woke the next morning still hurting and went to find Yugito Nii, who agreed to take him to the researchers near the hospital.
• The doctor staggered over, called Yugito Nii the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, and offered to test his improved Life Burning forbidden jutsu.

Moriyue learned that the forbidden technique Reversal might interact unpredictably with the changes Life Burning had made to his body, but he decided to test it himself. After finishing his training with Yugito Nii, he challenged anyone who doubted his place on Darui's team, and Karui stepped forward to represent Killer B's side in a rivalry between Jinchuriki.

• Yugito Nii shielded Moriyue from the scientist and demanded his assessment of the Reversal technique.
• The scientist said Reversal was dangerous for ordinary ninjas but might work for Moriyue because Life Burning had altered his Chakra pathways.
• Moriyue decided he would try the technique and asked Yugito Nii whether he could begin taking missions.
• Moriyue faced the hostile villagers and challenged anyone who considered him unworthy of joining Darui's team.
• Karui accepted Moriyue's challenge, and he framed their contest as a rivalry between the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails sides.

Moriyue faced Karui in a public sparring match in Kumogakure, surprising the crowd by countering her opening attack. The fight continued with both combatants eager to test each other.

• The crowd gathered around Moriyue and Karui, and gamblers overwhelmingly bet on Karui to win.
• Moriyue asked Yugito Nii to bet on him, then agreed not to use his life-burning forbidden jutsu before the match began.
• Karui opened with Cloud Style: Front Slash, rushing in and striking downward with her sword.
• Moriyue braced with his practice iron sword, deflected Karui's blade, and drove an elbow into her, sending her flying.
• Karui landed safely and called for another exchange as the crowd reconsidered Moriyue's abilities.

Moriyue countered Karui’s lightning techniques with Lightning Torment and used the technique to paralyze her during their exchange. He left her unconscious after striking her with a powerful electric shock.

• Karui attacked Moriyue with Severing Lightning Flash and Shadow Lightning Stab while spectators and Yugito Nii watched.
• Moriyue activated Lightning Torment and smashed his iron sword into the ground, scattering Karui’s lightning serpent.
• Spectators argued over whether Moriyue had used a forbidden technique, and ninja identified his move as Lightning Torment.
• Moriyue flipped into the air to evade Karui’s sword strikes, then charged into her as she stood paralyzed.
• Moriyue asked Karui if she had ever heard of Hundred Thousand Volts and shocked her unconscious.

Moriyue defeated Karui by unleashing an uncontrolled, amplified Lightning Torment, winning the crowd’s respect and collecting his bet winnings. Yugito Nii warned him that his reckless training could kill him, but he dismissed her concern and went to find Captain Darui for a mission.

• Moriyue’s Lightning Torment shocked Karui unconscious, and the spectators debated whether his technique was a forbidden jutsu.
• Moriyue declared victory, asked the crowd for another challenger, and told them to take Iruka to the hospital.
• Moriyue collected his gambling winnings with Yugito Nii and left the grounds carrying a sack of money.
• Yugito Nii relayed the Two-Tails’ warning that Moriyue’s reckless fighting could shorten his life, but Moriyue brushed off her concern.
• Yugito Nii told Moriyue to find Darui for a mission and decided to train harder herself.

Moriyue told Darui that he had defeated Karui, and Darui explained that the fight alone could not earn him Chunin certification. After a secretary delivered a document, Darui revealed that Moriyue had a chance to become a Chunin.

• Darui finished his paperwork and tried to rest until Moriyue arrived, scorched and frizzy from training with Yugito.
• Moriyue said Yugito believed he was ready for missions, and Darui estimated that he had reached Genin strength.
• Moriyue revealed that he had barely defeated Karui, surprising Darui because Karui was already a Chunin.
• Darui questioned Moriyue about his dangerous methods and explained that he could not certify him as a Chunin based on the fight alone.
• A secretary brought Darui a document, and Darui told Moriyue that he now had a chance to become a Chunin.

Moriyue accepted Darui’s mission to represent the Hidden Cloud at the joint Chunin Exams, hoping to earn the rank and resources. Back home, he began practicing Forbidden Jutsu: Reverse, but his Chakra pathways shattered under the strain.

• Darui explained that the Raikage would send a team to the joint Chunin Exams and offered Moriyue a chance to participate; Moriyue accepted.
• Darui told Moriyue to get treatment and said he would help secure resources if the mission succeeded.
• Moriyue went to the hospital, then returned home and recalled several notable people expected at the exams.
• Moriyue read the scroll explaining Forbidden Jutsu: Reverse and learned that its creator had died during the experiment.
• Moriyue released his Chakra and began practicing Reverse, but his Chakra meridians broke under the pressure.

Moriyue completed the forbidden technique by destroying his chakra pathways, absorbing the escaping Chakra into his body, and forming new threads that connected to his dantian. He tested his new power and realized he could control Chakra freely, vary his techniques’ strength, and cast without hand seals.

• Moriyue endured the destruction of his chakra pathways and fused the escaping Chakra with his body, surviving through the Dog Talisman.
• After resting, Moriyue formed tiny Chakra threads through his flesh and linked them to his dantian, completing the forbidden technique as the scroll decayed.
• Moriyue tested his new Chakra control by firing lightning and found he could use techniques without hand seals.
• Moriyue realized he could freely adjust the power of his techniques, potentially turning ordinary ninjutsu into forbidden techniques if he had enough Chakra.

Moriyue used the forbidden technique reversal to create an unusual version of the Shadow Clone Jutsu, then prepared to travel to Sunagakure for the Chunin Exams. He set out with Darui and two familiar ninjas, aiming to gather ninjutsu scrolls and become a Chunin.

• Moriyue used reversal to perform the Shadow Clone Jutsu and discovered that his apparent clone was his real body while the original-looking figure was the clone.
• Moriyue recognized that the unusual technique could mislead enemies and provide him with a surprise attack.
• Moriyue prepared for the Chunin Exams in Sunagakure and decided to seek out more ninjutsu scrolls.
• Darui reminded Moriyue and the two accompanying ninjas to scout the other villages' ninja and remain in the exams as long as possible.
• Moriyue and his team set off for Sunagakure.

Moriyue traveled from Kumogakure to Sunagakure with Ando and Kazeki for the Chunin Exams, learning to work with his new teammates along the way. After a long wait at the village entrance, Gaara appeared as Sunagakure’s newly appointed Kazekage and welcomed them.

• Moriyue introduced himself to Ando and Kazeki, his temporary teammates, and apologized after accidentally touching Kazeki, who disliked being touched.
• Moriyue, Ando, and Kazeki talked as they traveled and arrived safely at Sunagakure.
• Moriyue presented Darui’s documents to a Sunagakure guard, who went to verify them while the group waited outside the village.
• Ando and Kazeki suspected Sunagakure was making them wait as a show of force because of Kumogakure’s poor relations with other villages.
• Gaara arrived and welcomed the Kumogakure group to Sunagakure.

Moriyue and his team settled in Sunagakure while waiting for the Chunin Exams, and Moriyue planned practice questions for the Written Exam. As more ninja arrived, he recognized Team Three among them.

• Gaara explained the visiting ninjas' temporary arrangements to Moriyue and warned that physical fights would lead to disqualification.
• Moriyue sensed Shukaku inside Gaara and considered the tailed beasts expected to appear during the coming battle.
• Moriyue suggested predicting the Written Exam questions, and Ando and Kazeki responded differently to his plan.
• Moriyue gave his teammates a mix of plausible and misleading predicted questions, which Kazeki wrote down while Ando doubted their usefulness.
• Ninjas from other villages arrived, and Moriyue recognized the voices of Rock Lee and the other members of Team Three.

Moriyue considered approaching Konoha’s Team Three, but Ajisai’s test and the hostility toward Kumogakure’s sole team made him abandon the plan and return to the inn. As other exam participants mocked his team, Ando answered their insults while Moriyue quietly observed.

• Moriyue weighed approaching Rock Lee and the others, while Ando and Kazeki recognized the Konoha team and Kazeki recalled their abilities.
• Ajisai bumped into Moriyue, accused him of being cruel when he did not insist on helping her, and wondered whether she had sensed unusual Chakra in him.
• Moriyue decided to leave for the inn after realizing that someone had targeted his team and that other villages were watching them with hostility.
• Ninja from several villages mocked Kumogakure’s team and questioned why a supposedly crippled Moriyue had entered the Chunin Exams.
• Ando traded insults with the other ninja while Kazeki tried to remain composed and Moriyue silently took in the scene.

Moriyue and his teammates arrived in Sunagakure for the Chunin Exam and learned that several villages viewed them as enemies. As the exam drew near, dissent against Gaara surfaced, while a cheerful Takigakure kunoichi arrived hoping to make friends and represent her village.

• Moriyue calmed Ando after other examinees insulted them, though Kazeki sensed his quiet anger.
• Moriyue, Ando, and Kazeki reached the inn Gaara had arranged, and Moriyue asked Zero about the people they had encountered.
• Zero warned that Konoha, Sunagakure, and smaller villages might oppose them, so Moriyue reassured Kazeki and began studying the exam material with Ando.
• A Sunagakure ninja told a shadowed man that Gaara was unfit to lead and was selling the village to Konoha.
• A bald monk played a pipa beneath the moon while a lively blue-green-haired girl arrived in Sunagakure, eager to make friends and show Takigakure's strength.