Chapter Summaries

Mo Xingchen trained Kushina and advanced to Early Foundation Establishment as years passed, while Hatake Sakumo’s conduct left him demoted and estranged from Kakashi. The chapter ended with Sakumo learning that Kakashi had invited Orochimaru, but not him, to his graduation ceremony.

• Mo Xingchen supervised Kushina’s physical training while she complained about not yet being able to fly.
• Shimura Danzō returned to Konoha and reported Sunagakure’s compensation and Kumogakure’s agreement to support the village.
• By Konoha Year 42, Mo Xingchen had refined his spiritual energy and reached Early Foundation Establishment.
• Hatake Sakumo’s deliberate decline in rank made him Konoha’s strongest Genin, while his relationship with Kakashi grew strained.
• Sakumo told Mo Xingchen that five-year-old Kakashi had graduated early, then discovered Kakashi had invited Orochimaru to the ceremony but not him.

Kushina was ambushed by four Kumogakure ninjas while training in the Forest of Death and fought her way past two of them. Exhausted and pursued, she fled toward Mo Xingchen's farm, where the remaining enemies trapped her with ninjutsu.

• Four Kumogakure ninjas surrounded Kushina in the Forest of Death, intending to take her back to Kumogakure.
• Kushina tricked the attackers with a fake Fire Style jutsu and killed Boar with a thrown kunai.
• Kushina used Shave to strike down another attacker, then made Shadow Clones to flee from the two surviving ninjas.
• As her clones disappeared and their experiences further drained her, Kushina ran toward Mo Xingchen's farm and called for Big Brother Mo.
• The pursuers blocked Kushina with an Earth Style: Mud Wall and attacked her with Lightning Style: Black Spotted Leopard.

Kumogakure ninja Wei Yang and Wu Ma captured Kushina after knocking her unconscious, but Mo Xingchen confronted them on the way back. Mo Xingchen killed Wei Yang, spared Wu Ma, and ordered him to follow as he carried Kushina toward his farm.

• Wei Yang struck Kushina unconscious after she was paralyzed by the lingering electricity from his attack.
• Wei Yang and Wu Ma discussed Kushina's value and the loss of their companions, then encountered Mo Xingchen.
• Wei Yang mocked Mo Xingchen, who suddenly appeared and ripped out and crushed Wei Yang's heart.
• Mo Xingchen told Wu Ma he would spare him, then picked up Kushina and ordered Wu Ma to follow with Wei Yang's corpse.
• Wu Ma judged escape too risky and followed Mo Xingchen toward the farm.

Mo Xingchen rescued Kushina from the men who attacked her, then had Minato Namikaze defeat Wuma and bury him and Weiyang. He sent Minato home with Kushina and told him to take credit for the rescue, leaving Mo Xingchen alone at the farmhouse.

• Mo Xingchen brought Kushina and Wuma to his farmhouse, then told Wuma to bury Weiyang beside the vegetable garden.
• Minato Namikaze revealed himself after Mo Xingchen called him down from the roof and ordered him to deal with Wuma.
• Minato Namikaze easily defeated Wuma and buried both men, then returned to the courtyard.
• Mo Xingchen teased Minato Namikaze about liking Kushina, and Minato admitted his feelings.
• Mo Xingchen told Minato Namikaze to take Kushina home and claim he had rescued her, and Minato agreed before Mo Xingchen went inside to sleep.

Minato Namikaze rescued Kushina and carried her back to the village, prompting Mo Xingchen to tease her about having a boyfriend the next morning. Mo Xingchen then returned to Konoha and visited Mito Uzumaki, where Tsunade accused him of extorting the gifts he brought.

• Minato Namikaze told the waking Kushina that he had searched for her because he was worried, and he carried her toward the village beneath the moon.
• The next morning, Kushina confronted Mo Xingchen for leaving her alone, then revealed that Minato Namikaze had saved her.
• Mo Xingchen teased Kushina about getting a boyfriend, and she hurried off toward the forest with Minato Namikaze following her.
• Kushina called back that Mito Uzumaki wanted to see Mo Xingchen, so he headed to Konoha after the pair left.
• Shopkeepers filled Mo Xingchen's hands with gifts as he walked through Konoha, wary of provoking him after his past violence against dishonest merchants and his critics.
• Mito Uzumaki greeted Mo Xingchen at her courtyard, while Tsunade accused him of extorting the gifts and Mito scolded her for losing money.

Mo Xingchen teased Tsunade and effortlessly blocked her attack before Mito Uzumaki explained the tailed beasts and asked him to become the Nine-Tails’ next jinchuriki. The chapter ended with Mo Xingchen questioning why she had chosen him.

• Mo Xingchen mocked Tsunade about being unmarried, blocked her furious punch with one finger, and dodged when she tried to bite him.
• Mito Uzumaki stopped Tsunade from attacking Mo Xingchen and later asked whether he would protect Konoha.
• Mito Uzumaki explained the tailed beasts, how they had been distributed among the villages, and how they were sealed inside jinchuriki.
• Mito Uzumaki revealed that the Nine-Tails was sealed inside her and asked Mo Xingchen to become its next jinchuriki.
• Mito Uzumaki said she had chosen Mo Xingchen because he was powerful and good-tempered, and because Tsunade could not yet suppress the Nine-Tails.

Mo Xingchen refused to become the Nine-Tails’ Jinchuriki but claimed he could subdue the fox himself, giving Mito Uzumaki hope that she would not need to sacrifice herself. Mito took him and Tsunade to a distant plain and unleashed the Nine-Tails’ Chakra to test his strength.

• Mito Uzumaki explained that her strength was declining and she feared she would soon be unable to seal the Nine-Tails safely inside Mo Xingchen.
• Mo Xingchen refused to become a Jinchuriki, then suggested that the Nine-Tails did not need to be sealed and promised to beat it if it acted up after Mito’s natural death.
• Mito Uzumaki and Tsunade questioned whether Mo Xingchen was truly strong enough to defeat the Nine-Tails, and he urged Mito to demonstrate her control over it.
• Mito Uzumaki, Tsunade, and Mo Xingchen traveled to an open plain far from Konoha so Mito could release the Nine-Tails’ Chakra without endangering the village.
• Mito Uzumaki transformed with six Chakra tails and charged at Mo Xingchen.

Mo Xingchen faced Mito Uzumaki as she escalated into her Eight-Tails form, while Tsunade watched from a distance. Mo Xingchen revealed his overwhelming speed and power, striking Mito into the air and leaving her hurtling toward the ground.

• Mito Uzumaki attacked Mo Xingchen, who caught her fist and tossed her aside before urging her to fight harder.
• Mito released more of the Nine-Tails' power, transforming into a skeletal, eight-tailed fox form and blasting rocks at Mo Xingchen.
• Mo Xingchen unleashed his full aura, frightening Tsunade and making Mito feel the force of his presence.
• Mo Xingchen struck Mito with God Fist: Shake Heaven, but she stayed calm and countered with a pillar of fire.
• Mo Xingchen appeared behind Mito and hit her with Wind God Leg, sending her crashing toward the earth.

Mo Xingchen battered Mito Uzumaki in her Eight-Tails state, then taunted the Nine-Tails until Mito decided to release him. The Nine-Tails emerged in his full form, leaving Mo Xingchen to face the enormous fox.

• Mo Xingchen kicked Mito Uzumaki through the air and slammed her into the ground, creating a massive crater.
• Mito Uzumaki hesitated to release the Nine-Tails because she would not be able to seal him again and feared he might attack Konoha.
• Mo Xingchen mocked the Nine-Tails, who promised Mito Uzumaki that he would not retaliate against Konoha if she let him out to kill Mo Xingchen.
• Mito Uzumaki warned Mo Xingchen that she could not control the Nine-Tails after releasing him, but Mo Xingchen laughed at the threat.
• Mito Uzumaki removed the Talismans from the sealing gate, and the Nine-Tails emerged as an enormous orange fox with nine tails.

Mo Xingchen fought the Nine-Tails, dodging its Tailed Beast Bombs before trapping it with an earth dragon and striking it with a giant sphere of rock. The Nine-Tails charged him, but Mo Xingchen’s Qimen technique overturned it in midair.

• The Nine-Tails fired repeated Tailed Beast Bombs at Mo Xingchen while Tsunade fled from the explosions.
• Mo Xingchen used Kun Character: Earth Dragon Swim to bind and bite the Nine-Tails, but the beast tore apart the stone wyrm after several minutes.
• Mo Xingchen threw a small stone at the Nine-Tails as a fake Poké Ball, then gathered the wreckage and rocks into a huge sphere and smashed the beast with it.
• The enraged Nine-Tails lunged at Mo Xingchen, but his Qimen technique made it fly upside down.

Mo Xingchen battered Kurama until the fox submitted, using the threat of the Jinghong Sword and repeated death to overcome his defiance. Mo Xingchen then promised Kurama he would not be sealed again if he behaved, and Kurama asked if the promise was real.

• Mo Xingchen grabbed Kurama with a wooden hand and slammed him around until the grassland was riddled with pits.
• Kurama insisted that Mo Xingchen's attacks could not kill him, but recoiled in fear when the Jinghong Sword appeared.
• Kurama threatened Mo Xingchen by pointing out that killing him would also kill Mito, and Mo Xingchen threatened to cut him apart and kill him again after he revived.
• Kurama gave in and submitted when Mo Xingchen brought out the Jinghong Sword again.
• Mo Xingchen put Jinghong away, then promised Kurama he would not be sealed again if he behaved, and Kurama asked if he meant it.

Mo Xingchen subdued the Nine-Tails and persuaded it to stay by his side while it worked on its temperament, then reunited Mito Uzumaki with Tsunade. As they returned to Konoha, Black Zetsu reported to Madara that unrest among the hidden villages could soon lead to war.

• The Nine-Tails accepted Mo Xingchen's promise not to seal it away and returned to Mito Uzumaki's human form.
• Mito Uzumaki thanked Mo Xingchen for resolving the Nine-Tails' hatred and said she was satisfied with the outcome.
• Tsunade reached Mito Uzumaki, checked that she was safe, and managed to cope with the blood on her grandmother's clothes.
• The chapter revealed that Mo Xingchen had been using exposure to blood to help treat Tsunade's hemophobia.
• Black Zetsu told Madara that Iwagakure's conflicts could lead to war and that Kumogakure and Sunagakure would likely join in.

Madara Uchiha ordered Black Zetsu to advance the war and find someone to help Nagato capture the tailed beasts. In Konoha, Danzō failed to transfer Mo Xingchen and Hatake Sakumo to Root, then asked to recruit Kakashi Hatake, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi choking in surprise.

• Madara Uchiha dismissed Nagato's peace organization as naive and ordered Black Zetsu to find a backup candidate to help capture the tailed beasts.
• Black Zetsu said Mito Uzumaki had detected him before he could enter Konoha, so Madara ordered him to push the war forward and make Nagato suffer.
• Danzō presented Hiruzen Sarutobi with a mission report showing that Mo Xingchen and Hatake Sakumo had completed no missions in five years, then proposed stripping them of their ninja status.
• Hiruzen refused Danzō's requests to transfer Mo Xingchen and Hatake Sakumo to Root and told him to leave.
• Danzō asked to take a newly graduated child into Root, and Hiruzen choked when Danzō named Kakashi Hatake.

Hiruzen Sarutobi rejected Danzo’s demand to recruit Kakashi Hatake into Root, and Danzo left the office after their argument. At the farm, Orochimaru achieved Qi Refining Early Stage and prepared to demonstrate his new abilities.

• Danzo demanded that Kakashi Hatake join Root, but Hiruzen Sarutobi refused and argued that Konoha did not need a five-year-old to protect it.
• Danzo declared that he was the Hokage, then left Hiruzen Sarutobi’s office in silence.
• In the Forest of Death, Minato Namikaze watched Kushina train and resolved to train harder himself.
• Orochimaru celebrated reaching Qi Refining Early Stage after five years of cultivation, and Katsuyu congratulated him on learning Senjutsu.
• Orochimaru invited Katsuyu to watch him demonstrate the sect’s immortal arts.

Orochimaru accidentally scorched Mo Xingchen’s vegetable garden while testing Samadhi True Fire and tried to enlist Minato Namikaze to help him escape punishment. Kushina negotiated a training plan and the chance for Minato to choose one Forbidden Jutsu, leaving Minato wary of what Orochimaru’s favor would require.

• Orochimaru used Samadhi True Fire, but his flames scorched the vegetables in Mo Xingchen’s garden.
• Kushina arrived and recognized that Orochimaru wanted Minato Namikaze to take the blame for him.
• Kushina demanded that Orochimaru create a training plan for Minato and offer him a chance to choose a Forbidden Jutsu.
• Orochimaru agreed to the training plan and one Forbidden Jutsu chosen from a list he would make.
• Minato Namikaze realized that helping Orochimaru might involve more than a small favor.

Orochimaru persuaded Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki to take the blame for the ruined vegetables, while Mo Xingchen returned home and tried to prove his cooking was good. Mito Uzumaki agreed to fund Mo Xingchen’s plan to open a tavern, and Tsunade asked whether she could drink there for free.

• Orochimaru convinced Minato Namikaze to claim he ruined the vegetables, and Kushina Uzumaki insisted that Minato include her in the blame.
• Orochimaru scared Minato with hints of Senior Mo’s punishment, and Katsuyu ate the ruined vegetables after Orochimaru promised three barbecue meals.
• Mo Xingchen offered to cook dinner, but Tsunade stopped him and warned Mito Uzumaki that his food had nearly poisoned Orochimaru and Jiraiya.
• Mo Xingchen and Tsunade bickered over the meal, and Tsunade snatched away his chance to cook.
• Mo Xingchen asked Mito Uzumaki for money to open a tavern, and she offered to buy him a shop outright.
• Tsunade asked Mo Xingchen whether she could drink at the tavern for free.

Kakashi told Hatake Sakumo he planned to enter the Anbu Training Class, but Sakumo recognized it as Root and failed to persuade him to reconsider. The next morning, Sakumo brought Kakashi to meet Mo Xingchen, who had just discovered that a third of his vegetables had disappeared.

• Kakashi told Sakumo he had been invited to train for the Anbu, and Sakumo forbade him from going because the training class was Root.
• Kakashi accused Sakumo of trying to control him and insisted he would join anyway, so Sakumo agreed to take him to meet someone the next day.
• Mo Xingchen arrived at his vegetable garden and discovered that a third of his crops had vanished, prompting him to begin divining for the thief.
• Sakumo arrived with Kakashi, who insulted Mo Xingchen and doubted he could persuade him.
• Sakumo pulled Mo Xingchen aside to explain the situation while Kakashi mistook their private conversation for a sign that Mo had led his father astray.

Hatake Sakumo asked Mo Xingchen to stop Kakashi from joining Danzo’s Root, and Mo Xingchen tried to dissuade the boy by mocking him and tarnishing the ANBU’s reputation. Kakashi revealed that he wanted to join the ANBU to prove his father had an outstanding son and silence the villagers; Mo Xingchen’s claim that the ANBU was a dark, murderous department left Kakashi furious and unconvinced.

• Hatake Sakumo explained that Danzo had coaxed Kakashi into choosing to join the Root, leaving no direct order for Hiruzen Sarutobi to overturn.
• Mo Xingchen promised to make Kakashi lose interest in both the Root and the ANBU, then snatched Kakashi’s mask and teased him until he returned it.
• Mo Xingchen asked Kakashi why he wanted to join the ANBU, and Kakashi said he wanted to show everyone that Hatake Sakumo had an outstanding son.
• Mo Xingchen described the ANBU as a department that killed entire families and claimed its members were twisted bullies, prompting Kakashi to angrily call him a liar.

Mo Xingchen took Kakashi to Root’s hidden base to show him what Anbu Ninja was really like, while Hatake Sakumo returned to guard a vegetable patch. At the chapter’s end, Mo Xingchen made a Root ninja buy him candied hawthorn after confirming the man was an Elite Jonin.

• Kakashi followed Mo Xingchen to see Anbu Ninja for himself, and Hatake Sakumo went back to guard the fields.
• Mo Xingchen led Kakashi to a desolate courtyard and called for someone to come out of the dry well.
• Danzo discussed recruiting Kakashi with Nonō and promised to let her run an orphanage if she succeeded.
• A Root ninja told Danzo that Mo Xingchen was causing a disturbance above the base, and Danzo ordered him to drive Mo Xingchen away.
• The Root ninja greeted Mo Xingchen respectfully, identified himself as an Elite Jonin, and was told to buy Mo Xingchen a skewer of candied hawthorn.

Mo Xingchen used a request for candied hawthorn to prove to Kakashi that he was really standing outside Root, then had Yakushi Nonō confirm Root’s ruthless reputation. The chapter left Kakashi convinced and Nonō answering Mo Xingchen’s questions about Root.

• Mo Xingchen asked a Root ninja to buy candied hawthorn, while Kakashi mistook the scene for genjutsu and tried to dispel it.
• The Root ninja returned with the snack, and Mo Xingchen fed Kakashi a piece to show him the scene was real.
• Kakashi insisted that the Root ninja was Mo Xingchen’s accomplice until Mo Xingchen confirmed that Yakushi Nonō was inside the base.
• Danzo ordered Nonō to go outside and send Mo Xingchen away rather than confront him.
• Nonō knelt before Mo Xingchen, and Kakashi’s last doubts vanished when she addressed him as Lord Mo Xingchen.
• Nonō confirmed that Root bullied the weak, feared the strong, and sometimes eliminated witnesses after missions.