Chapter Summaries

Uchiha Cheng fought Orochimaru during an assessment, forcing him to reveal increasingly powerful techniques before the Third Hokage stopped the battle. The Third Hokage offered Cheng direct promotion to Jonin, but Cheng asked to study swordsmanship under Konoha White Fang instead of becoming Orochimaru’s disciple.

• Orochimaru used an Earth Clone and swarms of venomous snakes against Uchiha Cheng, who countered with lightning techniques and a fire attack.
• Uchiha Cheng used the Transformation Technique to disguise himself as a Fuma Shuriken, then struck Orochimaru with a Big Ball Rasengan; Orochimaru survived using his Body Replacement Technique.
• Orochimaru prepared a larger Summoning Technique as Uchiha Cheng formed a Lightning Blade, but the Third Hokage ended the assessment before they could continue.
• The Third Hokage praised Cheng’s strength and offered to promote him directly to Jonin, but Cheng said Orochimaru had held back and requested Konoha White Fang as his swordsmanship mentor.

Uchiha Cheng became Hatake Sakumo’s student and received Swordsmanship Mastery and the Mirage Moon Wheel technique. The academy assigned the graduating class to teams, and Cheng arrived with Sakumo to meet his surprised teammates.

• The Third Hokage approved Hatake Sakumo as Uchiha Cheng’s teacher and ordered Sakumo to form a team from the graduates.
• Uchiha Cheng gained Swordsmanship Mastery and the ultimate technique Mirage Moon Wheel, while Orochimaru resolved to seek forbidden techniques to grow stronger.
• Nomura-sensei announced the graduating class’s team assignments, including Kushina Uzumaki, Mina Shimura, and Nanako Kishimoto on Team 2.
• Orochimaru silenced the noisy class before taking Nawaki Senju’s team, and Jiraiya led Minato Namikaze’s team away.
• Mikoto Uchiha waited with a restless short-haired girl for their team leader and final teammate.
• Uchiha Cheng entered with Hatake Sakumo, and the short-haired girl recognized Cheng and the Konoha White Fang with astonishment.

Uchiha Cheng and his teammates introduced themselves to Sakumo Hatake, then tested their skills against Cheng in a bell-stealing exercise. Cheng outmaneuvered Anna Tachibana and Mikoto Uchiha, leaving their first team training session still underway.

• Sakumo Hatake led Uchiha Cheng, Mikoto Uchiha, and Anna Tachibana to Training Ground Number Seventeen and had them introduce themselves.
• Sakumo gave Cheng two bells and ordered Mikoto and Anna to take them, while Cheng had to defend them under restrictions.
• Anna ran twenty laps chasing Cheng, fell exhausted, and tried to fake tears while Mikoto launched a sneak attack.
• Anna attacked Cheng with a kunai and a whip kick, then joined Mikoto's Great Fireball Technique in a pincer attack.
• Cheng blocked Mikoto's fireball with Water Release: Water Formation Wall, caught Anna as she fell, and smacked her again.

Uchiha Cheng’s team began its first B-rank mission, infiltrating Black Tiger Stronghold to eliminate a rogue ninja and more than two hundred bandits. As Cheng attacked without hesitation, Annai and Mikoto confronted the reality of killing and joined the assault, where Mikoto’s first strike ended with a witness screaming behind her.

• Annai claimed a bell during training, and Mikoto and Annai later shared their lunches with the hungry Uchiha Cheng.
• Hatake Sakumo assigned the team a B-rank mission and gave them the choice to leave the ninja world or face its violence; Mina, Mikoto, and Annai chose to proceed.
• Hatake Sakumo led Uchiha Cheng, Mikoto, and Annai to Black Tiger Mountain, where he ordered them to wipe out the stronghold without his intervention.
• Uchiha Cheng began silently killing the bandits, while Hatake Sakumo warned Mikoto and Annai that a ninja’s path required confronting death.
• Annai attacked a bandit, and Mikoto joined the assassinations by stabbing a scarred bandit through the heart; a woman nearby screamed when she saw her.

Uchiha Cheng slaughtered a mountain stronghold’s bandits after Mikoto survived an attempted betrayal, and the team’s growth arc ended. A year and a half later, an attack destroyed Konoha’s delegation in the Land of Rain, and Yuji Senju led a thousand Konoha ninja across the border as the Rain forces prepared to fight.

• Mikoto was nearly stabbed by a captured woman, but Uchiha Cheng killed the attacker with a shuriken.
• Uchiha Cheng activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and killed 205 mountain bandits, while Anna Tachibana and Mikoto Uchiha killed three and one enemies.
• An enemy force attacked Konoha’s delegation camp before the alliance agreement could be signed, and Oda Nishimura betrayed Asakura Senju to protect his sister.
• Hanzo of the Salamander found the camp destroyed, while Oda later told Yuji Senju that the delegation had been attacked and died.
• Yuji Senju led more than a thousand Konoha ninja into the Land of Rain, and a Rain Ninja captain ordered his troops to prepare for battle.

The attack on Konoha’s envoy in the Land of Rain sparked Yuji Senju’s invasion, and the great Ninja Villages began mobilizing for war. The chapter ended with Orochimaru’s team in the Land of Grass ordered to scout Iwagakure’s army ahead of Konoha’s reinforcements.

• Yuji Senju led Konoha forces into the Land of Rain after Asakura Senju went missing, and the fighting left a red-haired boy with ripple-patterned eyes orphaned.
• Ōnoki ordered Iwagakure to mobilize, sending forces toward the Lands of Birds, Rain, and Grass.
• The Third Kazekage sent Sunagakure forces to the Lands of Birds, Rain, and Rivers despite Ebizo’s concerns about logistics.
• Konoha dispatched Mitokado Homura toward the Land of Rain and sent Utatane Koharu and Tsunade north to support the Land of Grass.
• The Hokage ordered Orochimaru’s team to scout Iwagakure’s army and report its location to Konoha’s approaching reinforcements.

Uchiha Cheng used a bizarre transformation-based trick to provoke the caravan he was tracking and expose whether its members were enemy ninja. When the trick finally humiliated Scarface, the disguised Stone Ninja lost his patience and unleashed his Chakra.

• Uchiha Cheng considered how to test the caravan and chose an unconventional plan to earn the greatest Eight Inner Gates reward.
• A cleaver-wielding youth repeatedly chased caravan members disguised as people who owed him money, irritating the guards while they tried to stay calm.
• The youth chased a bikini-clad woman resembling the caravan’s lone female guard, provoking laughter and anger among the group.
• The youth then chased a naked, scar-faced man resembling Scarface and accused him of raping a sow.
• Scarface erupted with Chakra and shouted for the caravan to kill, ending his disguise.

Uchiha Cheng lured the disguised Stone Ninja away from the caravan, then chose to face the assassination squad alone. After his traps killed or wounded half the group, the survivors trapped him in an Earth Release barrier that began draining his Chakra.

• Uchiha Cheng drew Scarface and the disguised Stone Ninja into the forest while the caravan hurried toward Green Cloud City.
• Uchiha Cheng rejected using a signal flare and chose to fight the enemy alone, earning a Ninja Raven Summon, Genjutsu: Bubble, and three Revival Pills as rewards.
• Uchiha Cheng activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and revealed that the group was standing among traps.
• Uchiha Cheng and his Shadow Clone detonated Exploding Tags beneath and above the Stone Ninja, leaving six of them dead or wounded.
• The surviving Stone Ninja used ninjutsu against Uchiha Cheng, who escaped their first attack with a Substitution Technique while a teammate's Earth Clone was struck by his blade.
• A Stone Ninja caught Uchiha Cheng in an Earth Release Barrier: Earth Prison Dome, which began draining his Chakra.

Uchiha Cheng defeated the Stone Ninja assassination squad, killing all five members after breaking free of their Earth Prison Dome. White Fang and the others arrived to find the battle over and followed Cheng’s trail.

• Uchiha Cheng broke Old Tian’s Earth Prison Dome with Lightning Blade and killed him.
• Scarface attacked with Earth Release, but Uchiha Cheng destroyed the earthen spears and killed another Stone Ninja with Chidori Sharp Spear.
• Scarface ordered the remaining four Stone Ninja to flee, but Uchiha Cheng opened the Fourth Gate and pursued them.
• Uchiha Cheng killed the first three fleeing Stone Ninja, then opened the Fifth Gate and found and killed Scarface despite his Rock Concealing Technique.
• Uchiha Cheng received a Ninja Raven Summon, Genjutsu: Bubble, and three Revival Pills from the system.
• White Fang and the others arrived at the ruined battlefield, and Mikoto Uchiha anxiously asked whether Cheng-nii was safe.

Uchiha Cheng returned from defeating a group of enemies, but a Konoha distress flare led Hatake Sakumo and the others to a ruined battlefield where Nawaki Senju was being attacked by Stone Ninja. Sakumo drove the enemy back with a powerful sword technique and pursued the ninja who had taken Nawaki’s internal organs.

• Uchiha Cheng returned carrying an enemy, and Mikoto and Annai welcomed him as he explained that he had defeated the group alone.
• Hatake Sakumo had the team seal the corpses, then led them toward a Konoha signal flare that had appeared on the horizon.
• A dying Senju clan member told Sakumo to save Nawaki, and Sakumo followed the battle’s trail into the ruins.
• Sakumo saw Stone Ninja surrounding the badly injured Nawaki and stabbing him in the abdomen.
• Sakumo used Secret Technique: Heavenly Moon Blade to cut through the Stone Ninja’s defenses and kill or injure many of them.
• Sakumo told Uchiha Cheng to protect the battlefield, then pursued the Stone Ninja who had taken Nawaki’s internal organs.

Uchiha Cheng and his companions survived a Stone Ninja ambush and reunited with Konoha reinforcements, but Tsunade discovered that her younger brother Nawaki had been killed. Tsunade thanked Cheng for restoring Nawaki’s body as she held him.

• Uchiha Cheng used the Mystical Palm Technique to restore Nawaki’s face before Stone Ninja attacked the group with explosive tags and trapped them in a swamp.
• Cheng used Genjutsu: Bubble to turn some Stone Ninja against one another, then split the swamp with Duan Xue and escaped with Mikoto Uchiha and Anna Tachibana.
• Cheng, Mikoto, and Anna countered the Stone Ninja’s Earth Release attacks with Rashomon and a combined fire-and-wind technique that engulfed their enemies.
• Hatake Sakumo returned with Nawaki’s organs, and Konoha reinforcements arrived, including Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Utatane Koharu.
• Tsunade learned that Nawaki had died, held his body, and thanked Uchiha Cheng for restoring it.

After Nawaki died, Tsunade desperately tried to revive him while grieving and blaming Orochimaru, who began to question the fragility of human life. At night, Uchiha Cheng left Mikoto Uchiha and went to Tsunade’s tent, where Jiraiya was still trying to persuade her to stop.

• Tsunade exhausted herself using Medical Ninjutsu on Nawaki, but he remained dead, and she broke down in grief.
• Orochimaru returned from reconnaissance, learned Nawaki had died, and explained that he had stayed behind to hold off the Stone Ninja.
• Jiraiya accused Orochimaru of failing to protect Nawaki, and Tsunade struck Orochimaru, forcing him to use the Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique.
• Orochimaru reflected on his parents’ deaths and Nawaki’s life, and a new conviction about seeking immortality took root in him.
• Tsunade continued trying to revive Nawaki through the night despite Jiraiya’s pleas to stop.
• Uchiha Cheng left Mikoto Uchiha and approached Tsunade’s tent, where Jiraiya was still trying to persuade Tsunade to rest.

Uchiha Cheng entered Tsunade’s tent and used a slap to break her out of her grief, then offered to revive Nawaki. After Tsunade agreed to watch, Cheng gave Nawaki a Revival Pill, but it had not taken effect yet.

• Uchiha Cheng entered the tent despite Jiraiya’s objections and told Tsunade he could save Nawaki.
• Cheng slapped Tsunade, earning the Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation ninjutsu and bringing her back to her senses.
• Tsunade attacked Jiraiya after mistaking his attempt to grab Cheng for an attempt to interfere with her.
• Cheng told Tsunade that Nawaki’s revival was possible, and she let him proceed after he insisted she witness it.
• Cheng put the Revival Pill into Nawaki’s mouth, but Nawaki remained motionless, and Cheng told Tsunade the medicine needed time.

Uchiha Cheng revived Nawaki with a divine pill, and Tsunade thanked him by kissing him after he demanded compensation. Jiraiya walked in on them, fled to the woods to vent his heartbreak, and Uchiha Cheng received the Basic Sage Body.

• Uchiha Cheng suggested giving Nawaki water, but Tsunade found that the pill had vanished and Nawaki began to glow.
• Nawaki woke healed, accused Uchiha Cheng of feeding him feces, then recognized Tsunade before falling asleep from exhaustion.
• Uchiha Cheng stopped Tsunade from shaking Nawaki awake, and she thanked him and asked what compensation he wanted for saving her brother.
• Uchiha Cheng demanded a kiss, and Tsunade kissed him; when Jiraiya interrupted, Cheng insisted she continue.
• Jiraiya ran into the woods and smashed trees with his fists and jutsu as the Konoha ninja mistook his outburst for camp work.
• Uchiha Cheng received the Basic Sage Body from the system.

Uchiha Cheng warned Tsunade that Konoha’s higher-ups might be weakening the Senju Clan and urged her to protect her clan’s future. Tsunade accepted his first two recommendations but doubted she could secure an alliance with the Uchiha, and Cheng hinted that an opportunity to prove herself was coming.

• Uchiha Cheng’s Chakra surged after a belated system notification, and Tsunade shoved him away after he moaned during their kiss.
• Uchiha Cheng raised the possibility that Nawaki’s attack was deliberate, and Tsunade considered the suspicious deaths of Senju clan members.
• Uchiha Cheng accused Konoha’s higher-ups of exploiting the Senju Clan’s loyalty and warned Tsunade that Nawaki could be targeted again.
• Uchiha Cheng advised Tsunade to take leadership of the Senju, protect her clansmen in battle, and eventually form a secret alliance with the Uchiha.
• Tsunade said she would work on the first two plans but could not yet persuade the Senju to ally with the Uchiha, and Uchiha Cheng hinted she would soon have a chance to distinguish herself.

Uchiha Cheng left Tsunade’s tent after she thanked him for saving Nawaki and promised him a favor, then denied the Konoha leadership’s suspicions about his role in Nawaki’s resurrection. As the Stone Ninja moved to destroy Konoha’s smaller reinforcement force, the armies met in battle, where Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade summoned Manda, Gamabunta, and Katsuyu to face the enemy’s charge.

• Tsunade bowed to Uchiha Cheng, thanked him for saving Nawaki and helping the Senju, and promised to grant him one request.
• News of Nawaki’s return spread through the camp, and Utatane Koharu questioned Uchiha Cheng about it; he denied knowing anything about the resurrection.
• The Stone Ninja gathered over five hundred troops and prepared to attack Konoha’s reinforcement force of just over three hundred.
• Hatake Sakumo convinced Utatane Koharu to arrange Konoha’s troops in small units, and she adopted his formation plan.
• Mihara Otake ordered the Stone Ninja to charge with summoned beasts, while Konoha answered with Manda, Katsuyu, and Gamabunta standing before its army.

Konoha and the Stone Ninja army began a major battle, with summoned beasts colliding before the ninja forces clashed. Mihara Otake’s giant lizard broke into Konoha’s formation, but Konoha’s coordinated fire and wind attacks forced the Stone Ninja front ranks to raise earth walls.

• Tsunade left the summoned beasts to Orochimaru and Jiraiya so Katsuyu could be reserved for healing, and Jiraiya charged forward with Gamabunta.
• Gamabunta, Manda, and the other summoned beasts collided with the Stone Ninja beasts, while Mihara Otake summoned the Inkstone Mountain Giant Lizard.
• Manda attacked the giant lizard, but its fangs stuck in the lizard’s rocky back, and the lizard plowed into Konoha’s formation as Stone Ninja forces followed.
• Mihara Otake ordered the Stone Ninja left and right wings to encircle Konoha after the central army broke into the formation.
• Konoha’s Genin fired Flame Bullets in coordinated ranks, then used Great Breakthrough to drive the flames into the advancing Stone Ninja.
• The Stone Ninja commander ordered the front ranks to erect linked Earth Walls, which met Konoha’s fiery assault.

Uchiha Cheng took Mikoto onto the battlefield and taught her to survive by dragging weaker opponents into drawn-out fights. As they moved toward the main battle, his Shadow Clone rescued Konoha troops, and Mikoto mastered Lightning Blade.

• Uchiha Cheng chose to take Mikoto into the battle and led her to a chaotic fight on the outskirts.
• Uchiha Cheng drew two Iwagakure Genin into a slow fight while teaching Mikoto how to conserve strength and avoid attracting stronger enemies.
• Uchiha Cheng wounded one Genin when he tried to use ninjutsu, then had Mikoto fight the other as they slowly moved toward the battle.
• Uchiha Cheng and Mikoto ambushed more Stone Ninja, while his Shadow Clone used Lightning Blade to save injured Konoha forces.
• Uchiha Cheng received a power boost to Great Fire Annihilation, Mikoto mastered Lightning Blade, and Konoha White Fang joined the central battle.

Uchiha Cheng and Mikoto unleashed Lightning Transmission and powerful Fire Release attacks to break through the Stone Ninja right wing and support Konoha’s formations. As they continued fighting, Cheng rescued Mikoto from Rock Pillar Spears and used Lightning Release: Thousand Birds Needles, then kissed her cheek.

• Uchiha Cheng chose to join forces with Mikoto and attack the Stone Ninja right wing, earning the rank ninjutsu Lightning Transmission.
• Mikoto and Cheng used Shadow Clones to unleash Lightning Transmission, cutting through the Stone Ninja ranks and forcing the right wing to retreat.
• Cheng and Mikoto followed with Konoha’s formations as Cheng’s enhanced Great Fire Annihilation overwhelmed the Stone Ninja defenses and spurred Konoha’s counterattack.
• Stone Ninja Jonin advanced toward Cheng, while he and Mikoto fought together through the disordered right wing.
• Cheng pulled Mikoto clear of Rock Pillar Spears, used Lightning Release: Thousand Birds Needles, and kissed her cheek.

Uchiha Cheng fought off an assassination unit while carving through the Stone Ninja’s rear lines, then unleashed his Mirage Moon Wheel and devastated the right wing. The battlefield erupted into chaos as Tsunade recognized the lone fighter as Uchiha Cheng.

• Uchiha Cheng sensed skilled Stone Ninja assassins targeting him and sent a Shadow Clone to take Mikoto to safety.
• Uchiha Cheng opened the Third Gate and slaughtered dozens of Stone Ninja with his sword, drawing the hidden assassins into the fight.
• Uchiha Cheng countered the assassins’ Earth Release attacks and broke free from their stone-pillar prison with Mirage Moon Wheel.
• Uchiha Cheng’s Mirage Moon Wheel tore through the Stone Ninja right wing, leveling a wide area and plunging the battlefield into chaos.
• Tsunade saw Uchiha Cheng standing in the devastation and recognized his exceptional swordsmanship.