Chapter Summaries

Ming Jing, Yakumo, and Yuexi prepared for the first day of school, while Naruto got ready for class with Yuexi’s help. At the school gate, Naruto joined Ming Jing and the others, and Karin felt an unexpected pull toward him.

• Ming Jing told Yakumo that Naruto was Yuexi’s little brother, and Yakumo mistakenly wondered if he belonged to the Kurama Clan.
• Yakumo changed into her school uniform while Naruto cleaned up, chose new clothes with Yuexi’s help, and packed his schoolbag.
• Yuexi took Naruto to the school gate, where the people who had once feared him stared at his new appearance.
• Yakumo complimented Naruto’s looks, then criticized his smile, while Ming Jing reacted jealously to her praise.
• Karin sensed a comforting aura from Naruto, worried about her reaction, and reaffirmed that she liked Ming Jing most.

Hinata joined Ming Jing and the others at the school gate, where she learned his eyes were temporarily blind after fighting the Third Tsuchikage. As the children entered the Ninja Academy, Ming Jing and Itachi agreed to meet at Zhonghua Cuisine Restaurant, and Ming Jing sent Yuexi to invite Izumi.

• Hizashi Hyuga left Hinata at the school gate, where she greeted Ming Jing and worried about his closed eyes.
• Mai stopped Ming Jing from touching Hinata's hair, while Yakumo and Naruto greeted Hinata and introduced themselves.
• Itachi arrived with Sasuke and asked about Ming Jing's eyes; Ming Jing said he had temporarily lost his sight while capturing the Third Tsuchikage.
• Ming Jing invited Itachi and Sasuke to Zhonghua Cuisine Restaurant, while Naruto and Sasuke made it clear they did not want to know each other.
• After the children entered the Ninja Academy, Ming Jing remarked that the class contained many of Konoha's clan heirs, and Itachi wondered whether their gathering was a coincidence.
• Ming Jing arranged to meet at the restaurant and asked Yuexi to invite Izumi.

Yuexi helped Izumi Uchiha pass her makeup exam and graduate as a Konoha Genin. After Izumi celebrated her new status, Yuexi invited her to join Ming Jing and Itachi at Zhonghua Cuisine Restaurant.

• Yuexi visited the Ninja Academy and learned from Teacher Nakata that Izumi was retaking her graduation exam.
• Yuexi used an ice mirror to show Izumi the correct answers, and Izumi completed the exam.
• Nakata gave Izumi her graduation booklet and forehead protector, officially making her a Genin of Konoha.
• Izumi thanked Yuexi and celebrated becoming a ninja like Itachi.
• Yuexi invited Izumi to meet Ming Jing and Itachi at Zhonghua Cuisine Restaurant, and the two girls headed there together.

Ming Jing reunited with Itachi and demonstrated his new genjutsu, Other's Belief, which made its victims accept an illusion as reality. Itachi left intrigued by the technique and resolved to train harder so he could surpass Ming Jing.

• Ming Jing and Itachi recalled their promise to pursue world peace in their own ways and discussed politics and strength.
• Izumi joined Itachi and Ming Jing, and they talked about Ming Jing's technique and Shisui's absence on a mission.
• Ming Jing cast Genjutsu: Shibuki no Jutsu, making Itachi believe he had left the private room and entered the restaurant's main hall.
• Ming Jing explained Other's Belief as a genjutsu that made victims believe their perceptions were true, and Itachi used Mirror Heaven and Earth Rotation to return to the actual room.
• After lunch, Itachi questioned diners who confirmed they had seen him in the main hall, leaving Izumi puzzled and Itachi pondering the genjutsu.
• Itachi decided to intensify his training so he could catch up to and surpass Ming Jing.

Ming Jing met with the Third Hokage, received the locomotive technology Kakashi had stolen from the Land of Snow, and explained his plan to build a railway network. He left the meeting determined to begin with three lines connecting Konoha, the Royal Capital, the Land of Wind border, and the Land of Grass.

• An Anbu summoned Ming Jing to the Hokage Office, where the Third Hokage urged him to return to Konoha and discussed the Police Department's impact on ninja missions.
• The Third Hokage told Ming Jing that Kakashi had completed his mission and handed over the locomotive materials, which Yuexi checked and confirmed were in order.
• The Third Hokage summoned two people Kakashi had brought back from the Land of Snow, including locomotive and railway specialists.
• Ming Jing told the Third Hokage he planned to extend railways beyond the Land of Fire and proposed three initial lines linking Konoha, the Royal Capital, the Land of Wind border, and the Royal Capital of the Land of Grass.

Ming Jing welcomed two railway experts from the Land of Snow and arranged for them to plan a line between the Royal Capital and Konoha. Afterward, he apologized to Asuma for deliberately sending him away during the events in the Land of Grass, and Asuma asked him not to exclude him from the team again.

• The Third Hokage introduced Ming Jing to Matsumoto and Sakai, experts from the Land of Snow, and Ming Jing hired them to help build railways in the Land of Fire.
• Ming Jing asked Taichi Odagiri to escort the experts to the Royal Capital and told them to assess a railway route from the Royal Capital to Konoha.
• The Third Hokage urged Ming Jing to apologize to Asuma, then watched him leave and considered the benefits of another railway line.
• Asuma confronted Ming Jing about being sent to the Land of Waves on a false errand while Ming Jing acted in the Land of Grass.
• Ming Jing explained that he had sent Asuma away to avoid putting him in conflict with the reorganization of Kusagakure, then apologized for hurting him.
• Asuma accepted Ming Jing’s apology, asked him not to do it again, and left before they picked up the children.

Dohyo Chikuho arrived in the Land of Grass and tried to delay his meeting, while Yakumo and Yuexi teased Naruto about kissing Sasuke. The chapter ended with Itachi finding Sasuke brushing his teeth unusually hard after the kiss.

• Dohyo Chikuho reached the Foreign Minister's Office, where Mugen greeted him on behalf of Kusagakure.
• Dohyo Chikuho tried to postpone his meeting with the daimyo and the Land of Fire's representative by a day.
• Yakumo told Ming Jing that Naruto and Sasuke had kissed in front of their class, and Yuexi joined her in teasing Naruto about the pair.
• Ming Jing reassured Naruto that Sasuke had lost his first kiss too, which made Naruto feel better.
• Itachi came home early and found Sasuke brushing his teeth hard in the washroom.

Yuexi persuaded Mai to let Hinata spend time alone with Ming Jing, using their marriage agreement and Hinata’s chance to choose for herself. The group went to a restaurant to celebrate Yakumo’s first day of classes, where Ming Jing remembered Hinata’s favorite dessert.

• Yuexi approached Hinata and Mai, then reminded Mai that Hinata and Ming Jing had a marriage agreement and urged her to let Hinata decide whether to spend time with him.
• Yuexi persuaded Mai to allow Hinata some time with Ming Jing, while Mai vowed to watch from the shadows.
• Yuexi secretly signaled Ming Jing, who praised her for resolving the problem of Mai’s supervision.
• Ming Jing brought the group to Zhonghua Cuisine Restaurant to celebrate Yakumo’s first day of classes, and Naruto eagerly ordered several dishes.
• Ming Jing ordered two servings of sweet red bean paste for Hinata, who thanked him shyly.

Ming Jing and Hinata climbed Hokage Rock together, sharing a quiet evening as Hinata guided him while he was blind. Their solitude was interrupted when Ming Jing spotted suspicious activity above them and asked Hinata to investigate with her Byakugan.

• Ming Jing and Hinata left the restaurant together and set off for Hokage Rock, with Hinata guiding him through the village.
• They bought snacks along the way, and Ming Jing sealed the leftovers in a scroll before they climbed the stairs.
• At a platform, Hinata told Ming Jing about the Nine-Tails attack and said she was not afraid of Naruto because Ming Jing and Yakumo were not afraid of him.
• Ming Jing carried Hinata into hiding when he noticed something above the next platform, then asked her to use her Byakugan.
• Hinata saw six ninja chiseling something on Hokage Rock, and Ming Jing questioned why they were working there at night.

Ming Jing and Hinata encountered six mysterious intruders inside Hokage Rock, and Ming Jing fought them despite being blind. After Hinata opened her eyes in alarm, Ming Jing unexpectedly regained his sight and saw her first.

• Ming Jing decided to leave Hokage Rock with Hinata, but she spotted five intruders pursuing them while a sixth remained above.
• Ming Jing used snacks and a bamboo skewer to fend off the attackers, then killed the Earth Style user with his genjutsu after the man threatened Hinata.
• The remaining four attackers switched to Senbon and wounded Ming Jing as he defended himself without Hinata's Byakugan guidance.
• Ming Jing tried to escape the attackers' encirclement, but the lead attacker blocked him with a kunai.
• Hinata opened her eyes despite Ming Jing's warning, and Ming Jing regained his sight as he looked at her.

Ming Jing fought off the attackers while struggling with blurred vision, using Genjutsu to defeat them and protect Hinata. He left Aji frozen for Konoha's Anbu and continued upstairs with Hinata, teaching her to fight carefully and flee when necessary.

• Ming Jing used the Mist Servant Technique to evade the attackers' senbon and Kunai while Hinata watched with her Byakugan.
• Ming Jing killed A-Wu with a bamboo skewer, while the Hell Viewing Technique frightened A-Si into freezing in place.
• Aji chased Ming Jing but stabbed A-Si instead, and Ming Jing killed A-San and froze Aji for Konoha's Anbu.
• Ming Jing took Hinata upstairs and explained that she should observe opponents, strike decisively, and flee if her first attack failed.
• Hinata thanked Ming Jing for protecting her.

Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki discovered a dead man at Hokage Rock, where Ming Jing and Hinata faced an attacker who tried to recruit Ming Jing to destroy Konoha. The Third Hokage arrived and recognized the attacker as Sakura, the first Anbu Chief, who had been presumed dead.

• Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki found a dead man outside the Hokage Building and alerted the Third Hokage while Kotetsu climbed to Hokage Rock.
• Ming Jing and Hinata encountered a man who revealed he wanted to destroy Konoha and asked Ming Jing to join him, but Ming Jing refused.
• The man attacked Ming Jing and Hinata with Earth Style: Heavenly Falling Lid and Fire Style: Scorched Earth Technique, while Kotetsu recognized the first jutsu from a record linked to Mori Ibiki.
• The Third Hokage imposed a curfew, organized the evacuation, and headed up Hokage Rock with Anbu members.
• Kotetsu reported that Ming Jing and Hinata were facing an unknown hostile, and the Third Hokage recognized the attacker as Sakura, the former Anbu Chief.

Sakura attacked the Third Hokage and declared his intention to destroy Konoha, while Ming Jing and Hinata watched from safety. Sakura challenged the village over how it had erased Kyōmu Kurama’s legacy, then used her technique to summon the First, Second, and Third Hokage from Hokage Rock.

• Ming Jing retreated with Hinata and Kotetsu Hagane as Sakura confronted the Third Hokage and said he had returned to destroy Konoha.
• Sakura opened the Gate of Limit and struck the Third Hokage with Twilight Bliss, but the Third Hokage escaped to shelter beside Ming Jing.
• The Third Hokage advised Ming Jing to study ninjutsu beyond Genjutsu and discussed Kyōmu Kurama’s skill in Wind Release with Sakura.
• Sakura accused Konoha of erasing Kyōmu Kurama’s contributions, pointing out that her name was missing from the Hero Monument.
• Sakura performed Kyōmu Kurama’s technique, drawing blue smoke from the First, Second, and Third Hokage’s faces on Hokage Rock and forming figures of the three Hokage.

Ming Jing and the Third Hokage confronted Sakura, who fused with phantoms of the First, Second, and Third Hokage to wield their abilities. After Sakura fought them with powerful techniques, Ming Jing’s apparent beheading of him proved to be an illusion, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Ming Jing chose to stand with Konoha, and the Third Hokage sent Hinata away from the mountaintop.
• Sakura explained that his technique, Hokage Infusion, could turn illusion into reality, then fused with the three Hokage phantoms.
• Sakura used the fused Hokage’s Water Release to attack, while the Third Hokage countered with Earth Release and Fire Release.
• Ming Jing dodged Sakura’s water blades with Dynamic Vision, but Sakura trapped him in a Rock Pillar Prison and attacked with a fire dragon.
• The Third Hokage’s fire attack forced Sakura beneath the water, and Ming Jing struck at him from behind, only for Sakura’s body to turn into water.
• Sakura reappeared from the earth and revealed that Ming Jing’s apparent attack and the empty prison had been part of a Genjutsu.

Ming Jing and the Third Hokage fought Sakura on Hokage Rock, discovering that Sakura could use unusual Wood Release and powerful elemental techniques. As Ming Jing fell from the mountaintop, he activated Sage Mode and tried an experimental attack to save himself.

• Hinata returned to Yuexi, Qing Yan, and Yakumo, then told them Ming Jing was fighting alongside the Third Hokage.
• Ming Jing trapped Sakura with the Mirror Flower Technique, but found an enormous Mind Barrier instead, while the Third Hokage survived Sakura's Dragon Fire Technique with an Earth Clone.
• Sakura attacked with Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs, but Ming Jing escaped through Genjutsu as the Third Hokage countered with fire and earth techniques.
• Sakura caught Enma's Adamantine Staff and flung the Third Hokage behind Ming Jing, then attacked both of them with Dragon Flame Song Technique.
• Ming Jing cut through two fire dragons with Blade-less Head Shave, but leapt from the mountaintop to escape a larger one and activated Sage Mode during his fall.
• Ming Jing formed a pale blue sphere of Natural Energy and shouted "Kamehameha!" just before hitting the ground.

Ming Jing failed to use a Kamehameha and learned that Sakura’s Mind Barrier only blocked offensive Genjutsu, giving him a way to help the Third Hokage. He joined the battle with a Genjutsu that concealed an Explosive Tag, injuring Sakura for the first time.

• Ming Jing’s attempted Kamehameha failed, and the Third Hokage pulled him clear of falling rocks before scolding him.
• Ming Jing and the Third Hokage realized Sakura’s broad range of techniques was limited by his Chakra reserves.
• The Third Hokage explained that Mind Barrier only defended against offensive Genjutsu, and Ming Jing recognized how he could exploit it.
• The Third Hokage launched himself to the mountaintop, and Ming Jing followed by grabbing his retracting Adamantine Staff.
• Ming Jing disguised an Explosive Tag as a lightning hound with Genjutsu, and the blast badly injured Sakura’s arm.

Ming Jing and the Third Hokage fought Sakura’s overwhelming plant attack and discovered that his apparent Wood Style came from planted seeds. Their combined fire and wind techniques consumed the vegetation, but Sakura survived and struck back with Evening Elephant, leaving the Third Hokage under attack.

• Sakura unleashed Deep Forest Emergence, forcing Ming Jing and the Third Hokage to fend off a mass of vines and roots.
• Ming Jing used a borrowed short blade to escape the vegetation and recognized that Sakura’s Wood Style was actually fast-growing seeds.
• Ming Jing summoned Gama Bunta, who joined the Third Hokage in combining oil and fire against the plants.
• The Third Hokage used Wind Release to strengthen the flames and overwhelm Sakura’s Deep Forest Emergence.
• Sakura survived the inferno, sent Gama Bunta back to Mount Myōboku with an Air Cannon, and fired another attack at the Third Hokage.

Ming Jing used his Hangu illusion to stop Sakura after Sakura opened the Eighth Gate and overwhelmed the Third Hokage. Sakura regained his composure, gave Ming Jing a scroll belonging to Lord Xiang Meng, and died peacefully as the Third Hokage saw him off.

• Enma blocked Sakura’s Air Cannon long enough for the Third Hokage to escape, and Ming Jing asked the Hokage to help him get close enough to Sakura to use his technique.
• Sakura charged out of the flames and shattered the Third Hokage’s earthen defenses, forcing the Hokage to flee with Ming Jing.
• The Third Hokage placed Ming Jing in front of Sakura, allowing Ming Jing to trap Sakura in Hangu with his Illusion Technique.
• Sakura returned to the summit of Hokage Rock and collapsed unconscious as the Plum Blossom Seal faded from Ming Jing’s forehead.
• Sakura woke near death, praised Ming Jing’s technique, and handed him a scroll before calmly dying while the Third Hokage said goodbye.

Ming Jing returned from the mountain injured and exhausted but reassured everyone that he was safe. The next morning, still unable to see clearly, he had Yuexi read Sakura’s scroll and learned it was called the Hokage Possession Technique.

• Ming Jing told the Anbu not to disturb the Hokage and returned to Zhonghua Cuisine Restaurant, where Yakumo and the others were waiting.
• Hinata Mai took Hinata home, and Naruto declared that Ming Jing was his goal and vowed to surpass him and become Hokage.
• Ming Jing rode home in a carriage and fell asleep while Yakumo and Karin watched over him.
• The next morning, Ming Jing discovered his vision was still blurry and asked Yuexi to retrieve Sakura’s scroll.
• Yuexi read the scroll’s opening passage about the Hokage’s spirit and Konoha’s unity, then stopped because the rest contained sensitive secrets.

Ming Jing studied Kyōmu Kurama’s Hokage Possession Technique and learned how it gathered villagers’ faith into a powerful spirit. After discovering his own wind affinity, he asked Qing Yan to obtain Konoha’s Wind Release techniques, and the Third Hokage provided three scrolls.

• Ming Jing read Kyōmu Kurama’s notes and learned that the Hokage Possession Technique gathered people’s mental energy and faith into a spirit.
• Ming Jing reflected on Sakura’s use of the technique and compared Kyōmu Kurama’s method with his own Hangu.
• Ming Jing tested his Chakra and discovered that he had a wind attribute.
• Ming Jing ordered Qing Yan to request Konoha’s Wind Release techniques from the Third Hokage.
• Qing Yan visited the Third Hokage, who handed him three Wind Release scrolls for Ming Jing.