Chapter Summaries

Shimura Danzō investigated Nara Kaikei and considered recruiting him into Root, while Kaikei spent two days training and independently developed the Rasengan. He then fused it with his shadow techniques to create the A-Rank Shadow Spiral.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi questioned Shimura Danzō about recruiting Nara Kaikei and warned him not to expect an easy recruit.
• Shimura Danzō ordered Root to gather information on Kaikei and considered awakening darkness in him to bring him into Root.
• Nara Kaikei used Shadow Clones and his Chakra Crystal to master the Rasengan.
• Kaikei began combining the Rasengan with Shadow Piercing Bullet and developed the Shadow Spiral, which could shift between shadow and tangible states.

Nara Kaikei refined his Yin Release technique before being summoned to the Nara clan grounds, where Nara Shikaku questioned him about rumors that he had defeated Uchiha Shisui. Kaikei confirmed the duel and warned that someone might be spreading the story to provoke conflict between the clans.

• Nara Kaikei tested [Shadow Spiral], recognized its Chakra-disrupting properties, and redirected his research toward improving the [Spiral Shadow Piercing Bullet].
• Big Horn delivered a letter calling Nara Kaikei back to Kikyo Castle, where he saw Akimichi shinobi queued outside Kikyo Orphanage for fried chicken.
• Nara Shikaku praised Kaikei's [Lacquer Eye] secret technique and asked whether he knew about rumors of a Nara shinobi defeating Uchiha Shisui.
• Nara Kaikei admitted that he had defeated both Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Inaho in a fight.
• Nara Kaikei suspected that someone was deliberately spreading the story to stir up trouble between the Nara and Uchiha clans, and Nara Shikaku pledged the clan's support.

Nara Kaikei received elemental ninjutsu scrolls from the Nara Clan and quickly learned five of the six techniques. He told Nara Shikano and Nara Shikaku that he was developing another secret technique, leaving the clan heads wondering how to reward him if he succeeded.

• Nara Shikaku gave Nara Kaikei a box of elemental ninjutsu scrolls, including two Earth Style techniques, to help him make use of the Chakra Crystal.
• Nara Kaikei used the Lazy Ghost System to learn five techniques from the scrolls, excluding Lightning Release: Earth Run.
• Nara Kaikei said he wanted to repay the clan by researching a special secret technique, and Nara Shikaku praised the idea.
• Nara Kaikei told Nara Shikano and Nara Shikaku that he had a direction for a new technique, which he intended to develop as Shadow Binding Bullet without its spiral acceleration.
• Nara Shikano and Nara Shikaku looked forward to seeing the technique, while Nara Shikaku wondered what reward the clan should offer if Kaikei succeeded.

Shimura Danzō ordered Root to act against Yakushi Nonō after she severed contact, while Nara Kaikei developed a basic version of Shadow Binding Bullet and visited Kikyo Orphanage. He sensed something was wrong when the person who appeared to be Yakushi Nonō addressed him strangely and asked her identity.

• A Root ninja reported that Nara Kaikei had left for Kikyo Castle, and Shimura Danzō learned that Yakushi Nonō had cut off contact with Root.
• Shimura Danzō ordered Shin and Hayashi to carry out the second plan against Yakushi Nonō.
• Nara Kaikei developed the basic Shadow Binding Bullet and went to Kikyo Orphanage, where fried chicken sales had overwhelmed the staff and nearly depleted Konoha’s chickens.
• Nara Kaikei waited for Yakushi Nonō, then questioned her after she called him “Nara-kun” and asked whether he had bought fried chicken.
• Nara Kaikei pointed toward her shadow and asked the apparent Yakushi Nonō who she was.

Nara Kaikei exposed a Yamanaka Clan ninja controlling Yakushi Nonō and forced the intruder to release her by breaking the possessed body's arm. As attackers ambushed them at Kikyo Orphanage, Kaikei struck a small figure that triggered a Mind Body Switch Puppet Curse Seal Technique against him.

• Nara Kaikei restrained the impostor posing as Yakushi Nonō and identified her as a Yamanaka Clan ninja using the Mind Body Switch Technique.
• Kaikei broke Yakushi Nonō's right arm, causing the controller's arm to break as well and forcing her to withdraw her mental energy.
• Kaikei confirmed Yakushi Nonō's identity, freed her, and learned that a Chakra-suppressing drug prevented her from using Medical Ninjutsu.
• Attackers hurled shuriken and a scythe into the room, and Kaikei defended Yakushi Nonō with his shadow techniques.
• Kaikei pierced a small figure rushing through the doorway, but a female voice then activated the Mind Body Switch Puppet Curse Seal Technique in his mind.

Nara Kaikei broke Yamanaka Hayari’s Mind Body Switch technique and pursued the Root ninja who had attacked him and Yakushi Nonō. He killed Shin, the second Root operative, and earned a B-rank Ninja Scroll.

• Yamanaka Hayari used a curse-seal trap to take control of Nara Kaikei’s Shadow Clone, but the clone shattered Hayari’s spiritual consciousness and forced him back into his own body.
• Nara Kaikei reappeared and learned from Yakushi Nonō where the attacker had gone, then left to pursue him despite her warning that Root had targeted him.
• Hayari told Shin that the mission had failed and warned him not to approach Nara Kaikei before passing out.
• Nara Kaikei overheard Shin identify Shimura Danzō as the mission’s sponsor, then evaded Shin’s Wind Style attack while remaining concealed.
• Nara Kaikei shot Shin through the heart with a Spiral Shadow Piercing Bullet and received a B-rank Ninja Scroll.

Nara Kaikei defeated two Root attackers, spared the injured Yamanaka kunoichi as potential evidence against Shimura Danzō, and gained the B-Rank jutsu Sensory Perception. After returning to Kikyo Orphanage, he confronted Yakushi Nonō about whether she was also a Root ninja.

• Nara Kaikei confirmed the attackers were the only Root Ninja nearby and left the unconscious Yamanaka kunoichi alive, breaking her limbs so she could not resist or escape.
• Nara Kaikei opened the Wind Style ninja’s scroll and learned Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere, whose chakra-control technique gave him an idea for a rapid-fire Shadow Piercing Bullet.
• Nara Kaikei opened the Yamanaka ninja’s scroll and obtained the B-Rank jutsu Sensory Perception, then withdrew his mental energy to avoid alerting other sensory ninjas.
• Nara Kaikei left a Shadow Clone to guard the scene and returned to Kikyo Orphanage, where Yakushi Nonō embraced him in relief.
• Nara Kaikei told Yakushi Nonō that he had dealt with the two Root attackers and asked whether she was a Root Ninja too.

Nara Kaikei revealed his acceptance of Yakushi Nonō despite her Root identity and persuaded her to leave Root, then exposed the attack on him to the Pig Deer Butterfly clans. After Inoichi Yamanaka identified the attackers and traced their orders to village higher-ups, the clan leaders headed to confront the Hokage.

• Nara Kaikei embraced and kissed Yakushi Nonō, told her he accepted her regardless of her Root past, and persuaded her to leave Root.
• Nara Kaikei showed Yakushi Nonō the surviving and dead attackers, then met with Nara Shikaku and Nara Shikano as they arrived at the secluded building.
• Nara Shikano and Yakushi Nonō identified clues linking the attackers to the Yamanaka, Shimura, and Sarutobi clans, while Nara Kaikei signaled Yakushi Nonō to keep quiet about Root.
• Nara Shikaku contacted the Yamanaka and Akimichi clans, and Inoichi Yamanaka and Torifu Akimichi arrived to investigate the attack.
• Inoichi Yamanaka examined both attackers' memories, identified them as Yamanaka Hayari and Shimura Shin, and confirmed they had acted on orders from village higher-ups.
• Nara Shikano called for the group to demand an explanation from the Hokage, and the clan leaders left Kikyo Castle with Nara Kaikei and Yakushi Nonō.

The Pig Deer Butterfly leaders brought Shimura Shin’s corpse and the unconscious Yamanaka Hayari to Hiruzen Sarutobi, accusing a high-ranking official of ordering an attack on Nara Kaikei and Yakushi Nonō. Shimura Danzō arrived and deflected the confrontation by revealing that Sunagakure had mobilized to search for its missing Third Kazekage.

• Torifu Akimichi, Inoichi Yamanaka, Nara Shikano, and Nara Shikaku brought Shimura Shin’s corpse and the unconscious Yamanaka Hayari to Hiruzen Sarutobi’s office.
• Nara Shikaku reported that Shimura Shin and Yamanaka Hayari had attacked Nara Kaikei and Yakushi Nonō on orders from a superior, putting Hiruzen Sarutobi under pressure to answer for the crime.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered an Anbu ninja to summon Shimura Danzō, who arrived and accused the Pig Deer Butterfly clans of murdering a Shimura Clan ninja.
• Shimura Danzō demanded that both suspects be handed over to Root for examination, but Nara Shikaku asked whether Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed.
• Shimura Danzō mocked the clans and announced that Sunagakure had mobilized to search for its missing Third Kazekage.

After Shimura Danzō’s attempt to abduct Nara Kaikei failed, Kaikei openly challenged him as Sunagakure’s mobilization pushed Konoha toward war. At Konoha Hospital and Kikyo Orphanage, Yakushi Nonō escaped Root’s control and gave Kaikei her detailed Super Beast Imitation Painting scroll, ending with the two sharing a kiss.

• Shimura Danzō learned that his abduction plan had failed and threatened Yakushi Nonō, prompting Nara Kaikei to warn him against harming children.
• Kaikei and Danzō traded threats until Nara Shikano intervened, then Shikano agreed to help remove Nonō from her Anbu position.
• Kaikei accompanied Nonō to Konoha Hospital, where a medical ninja extracted the chakra-suppressing drugs and treated her injured arm.
• Kaikei opened the Ninja Scroll he had earned from Danzō’s mission and found the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.
• Nonō gave Kaikei her self-developed Super Beast Imitation Painting scroll as thanks, and Kaikei kissed her.

After developing Shadow Beast Imitation Painting with Yakushi Nonō, Nara Kaikei presented the technique to Nara Shikano and received an S-Rank Ninja Scroll containing Shadow Transformation Technique. The chapter ended with Kaikei discovering that the new jutsu could create many kinds of shadow creatures and let them serve as temporary vessels for his consciousness.

• Nara Kaikei spent the night with Yakushi Nonō, then trained with Arhat Fist the next morning and increased his Taijutsu attribute to C-.
• Yakushi Nonō explained how she created Super Beast Imitation Painting, and Kaikei used Shadow Clones and her help to develop its Yin Release derivative, Shadow Beast Imitation Painting.
• Yakushi Nonō accepted a copy of the derivative technique, and Kaikei asked whether he could share it with the Nara Clan; she left that decision to him.
• Nara Kaikei demonstrated Shadow Beast Imitation Painting to Nara Shikano, showing a shadow deer change into an eagle, and Shikano declared it an S-rank clan mission called Shadow Shikigami.
• Nara Kaikei completed the mission by handing over the jutsu scroll and opened his reward, an S-Rank Ninja Scroll containing Shadow Transformation Technique.

Nara Kaikei received the S-Rank Shadow Transformation Technique and discussed a reward for his modified Shadow Beast Imitation Painting with Nara Shikano. The clan agreed to seek a Chakra Crystal, sealing techniques, and a restrictive Water Release jutsu, then gave Kaikei the Hokage’s explanation for the Root conflict: an A-Rank Bringer-of-Darkness Technique scroll.

• Nara Kaikei examined the Shadow Transformation Technique and realized it could create powerful shadow constructs and a force of shadow soldiers.
• Nara Kaikei told Nara Shikano that he had adapted Yakushi Nonō’s Super Beast Imitation Painting into Shadow Beast Imitation Painting and said Nonō deserved part of the mission reward.
• Nara Shikano admitted the clan had few rewards left and asked Kaikei what he wanted in exchange for his jutsu.
• Nara Kaikei requested a Chakra Crystal, some sealing techniques, and a Water Release jutsu with binding or restrictive effects, and Nara Shikano agreed to look for them.
• Nara Shikano handed Nara Kaikei the Hokage’s explanation regarding the Root conflict, and Kaikei’s panel identified the scroll as the A-Rank Bringer-of-Darkness Technique.

Nara Kaikei learned that Shimura Danzō had arranged the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique as a consolation reward, then returned to Kikyo Orphanage and confronted Oyashiro En. After Oyashiro left, the orphanage discovered that Fat Nun had vanished and received a coded scroll from Orochimaru.

• Nara Shikano explained that Shimura Danzō had secretly replaced the Third Hokage’s reward with the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, which hindered the Nara Clan’s shadow techniques, and warned Nara Kaikei to be careful.
• Nara Kaikei returned to Kikyo Orphanage and found Oyashiro En visiting and proposing to invest in its fried chicken business.
• Nara Kaikei rejected Oyashiro En’s proposal because he considered him dangerous, and Yakushi Nonō backed Kaikei’s decision.
• Oyashiro En asked whether the orphanage took in homeless children, then left after the conversation stalled.
• Thin Monk reported that Fat Nun was missing and delivered a scroll sent by snake; Nara Kaikei recognized that it required a special code, and Yakushi Nonō identified it as Root’s contact code from Orochimaru.

Nara Kaikei and Yakushi Nonō met Orochimaru in the forest, where he revealed that Shimura Danzō had ordered a mission against them but tried to recruit Kaikei instead. When Kaikei refused, Orochimaru attacked him and triggered an A-Rank Ninja Battle Mission.

• Nara Kaikei and Yakushi Nonō translated Orochimaru’s message and suspected the meeting was connected to Root and the Fat Nun’s disappearance.
• Nara Kaikei and Yakushi Nonō met Orochimaru alone in the suburban forest outside Kikyo Castle.
• Orochimaru used his killing intent to intimidate them, then admitted Shimura Danzō had given him a mission order against them.
• Orochimaru offered to take Nara Kaikei under his command, but Kaikei declined and said he was effectively Tsunade’s subordinate.
• Orochimaru stretched his neck and coiled around Nara Kaikei, triggering an A-Rank Ninja Battle Mission to defeat or kill him.

Nara Kaikei and Yakushi Nonō fought Orochimaru, who denied that he intended to carry out Shimura Danzō’s assassination order and claimed he only meant to give Kaikei a lesson. Orochimaru escaped Kaikei’s restraint with his substitution technique as the battle continued.

• Orochimaru struck at Nara Kaikei and Yakushi Nonō, but both targets turned out to be clones made with their respective techniques.
• Nara Kaikei used the ink snakes as a feint and caught Orochimaru with the Shadow Binding Technique through the snakes’ lingering shadows.
• Orochimaru told Nara Kaikei that he had only invited him and Yakushi Nonō to give Kaikei a small lesson, and denied taking the nun from Kikyo Orphanage.
• Orochimaru launched his Kusanagi Sword at Nara Kaikei, who dodged while several tiny black scorpions approached Orochimaru.
• Orochimaru shed his body with the Orochimaru-style Substitution Jutsu to escape the restraint.

Nara Kaikei and Orochimaru traded techniques in a battle, but Orochimaru repeatedly escaped lethal attacks with substitution techniques. Kaikei completed the mission to defeat Orochimaru and received a B-Rank Ninja Scroll, though Orochimaru remained alive.

• Orochimaru escaped Nara Kaikei's Shadow Binding Technique by using Shadow Multiple Snake Hands to disrupt his shadow, while Yakushi Nonō's poison scorpions dissolved his shed body.
• Orochimaru attacked Nara Kaikei with the Kusanagi Sword, but Kaikei used a shadow decoy and briefly seized the sword before Orochimaru recalled it.
• Orochimaru revealed that Root knew about Kaikei's Shadow Piercing Bullet and summoned a swarm of snakes to interfere with the Nara Clan's shadow techniques.
• Kaikei struck Orochimaru with a Spiral Shadow Binding Bullet and two Spiral Shadow Piercing Bullets, but Orochimaru shed his injured body and evaded another attack.
• Kaikei stopped fighting after Orochimaru survived, and the system marked the A-Rank mission complete and awarded him a B-Rank Ninja Scroll.

Nara Kaikei and Yakushi Nonō drove Orochimaru away, and Kaikei discovered that Orochimaru’s B-Rank scroll contained Sky Sword, a technique that used Natural Energy. Orochimaru later demanded the God of Shinobi’s cells from Shimura Danzō, while Kaikei remained wary of the Fat Nun’s unexplained return.

• Orochimaru survived Nara Kaikei’s attacks, but Yakushi Nonō flew away with Kaikei on an Ink Eagle, forcing Orochimaru to abandon the fight.
• Nara Kaikei reassured Yakushi Nonō that Root would likely pause its schemes, then returned to Kikyo Orphanage and learned that the Fat Nun had come back on her own.
• Nara Kaikei opened Orochimaru’s B-Rank scroll and found Sky Sword, a jutsu that used Natural Energy to control chakra-infused inorganic matter.
• Orochimaru sent a scroll to Tsunade, then returned to Root and told Shimura Danzō that Nara Kaikei’s connection to Tsunade had not been disclosed.
• Orochimaru demanded the promised payment from Shimura Danzō: the cells of the God of Shinobi.

Nara Kaikei studied the newly acquired [Sword of Heaven] and concluded he needed to learn how to sense Natural Energy before he could use it. Yakushi Nonō returned with an infant named Chiyo, whom Kaikei suspected was Oyashiro En’s daughter, and Tsunade arrived and called Kaikei away.

• Nara Kaikei examined [Sword of Heaven] and realized that, despite its potential, he could not use it until he learned to sense Natural Energy.
• Nara Kaikei decided to keep cultivating [Sage Clan Guiding Technique], which had improved his ordinary senses but had not yet let him perceive Natural Energy.
• Yakushi Nonō returned with an infant named Chiyo and explained that a mental genjutsu had caused the nun to leave Kikyo Orphanage without notice.
• Nara Kaikei recognized Chiyo as likely being Oyashiro En’s daughter, and Yakushi Nonō agreed that they would need to find Oyashiro En to learn the truth.
• Tsunade entered Kikyo Orphanage, mistook Chiyo for Yakushi Nonō’s child, then told Nara Kaikei to come with her.

Tsunade summoned Nara Kaikei to test his strength after hearing about his recent growth, but his blood triggered her phobia and instantly ended their first match. Their rematch continued at the training ground, where Nara used shadow techniques to restrain Tsunade despite her overwhelming strength.

• Tsunade brought Nara Kaikei to the training ground and challenged him to fight at full strength.
• Nara cut his palm, causing Tsunade to freeze in fear of blood and completing his A-rank mission.
• After recovering, Tsunade and Nara began a rematch with the rule that he could not bleed.
• Tsunade broke free of Nara's Shadow Binding Technique and dodged his Shadow Strangulation Technique with her strength.
• Tsunade smashed the ground and charged through the dust, but Nara caught her with the Shadow Grip Technique.

Nara Kaikei sparred with Tsunade, who exposed his weakness in taijutsu and offered to train him. The system registered her training as an A-Rank mission, leaving Kaikei with a new goal: earn Tsunade’s approval.

• Tsunade tested Nara Kaikei’s Shadow Secret Techniques, and he restrained her with the Shadow Grip Technique.
• Tsunade and Kaikei sparred using taijutsu, and she disarmed him with a precise strike to his wrist.
• Tsunade told Kaikei that his taijutsu was weak and explained why it mattered in battle.
• Tsunade assigned Kaikei regular taijutsu training and said he would spar with her or other ninja each day.
• The system displayed the A-Rank Mission: Learning, requiring Kaikei to study taijutsu under Tsunade and earn her approval.