Chapter Summaries

After transmigrating into Yichen, a five-year-old war orphan in Iwagakure, Qin Yi sought ninja training and quickly advanced through preschool lessons. As Iwagakure opened Ninja Academy enrollment early because of the war, Yichen took the entrance assessment and realized it might test mental ability as well as physical fitness.

• Qin Yi recovered from soul fusion in Yichen's body and learned that Yichen's ninja parents had died in the Second Shinobi World War.
• Yichen thanked Hongyan for helping him and asked her to teach him ninja training; she explained the path to becoming a ninja.
• Yichen enrolled in the schoolhouse, learned its curriculum quickly, and studied books about ninja while keeping mostly to himself.
• After noticing Yichen practicing hand seals, the Teacher contacted the Ninja Academy, which granted him an early entrance assessment as Iwagakure expanded enrollment for the war.
• Yichen arrived at the Ninja Academy and joined a large group of candidates for testing, then inferred that the assessment might include mental ability and hoped to qualify for the Advanced Class.

Yichen took the Ninja Academy’s early entrance tests, hoping to earn a place in the Advanced Class despite his ordinary physique. His careful performance drew the Teachers’ attention, and they learned he had prompted the early enrollment; the strength test was still underway.

• Yichen considered the advantages of the Advanced Class and worried that his average physical ability and limited resources would hold him back.
• Yichen completed the three-thousand-meter endurance test with an average result, while stronger clan children surged ahead and the Teachers focused on promising civilian students.
• A Chunin Teacher explained the Mu Jin strength test, and Yichen chose the fourteenth block, lifted it, and stopped without attempting a heavier one.
• The Teachers praised Yichen’s self-assessment, and Toru revealed that Yichen’s request to enroll early had led Lord Tsuchikage and the Advisor Elders to arrange early enrollment.
• A taller student lifted the tenth and ninth Mu Jin blocks, failed at the eighth, and smugly challenged Yichen.

Yichen recognized and broke the Genjutsu in the third entrance-exam round, impressing the teachers despite his ordinary physique. They placed him in Class One, and the round ended while most students still did not realize they had been tested.

• Yichen noticed distortions in the Genjutsu, realized the uneasy feeling was part of the soul test, and focused on its flaws until he broke it.
• The teachers recognized Yichen’s quick awareness and calm temperament, then recommended him for Class One despite his average physical results.
• Yichen rested to recover his mental power while most of the students remained unaware that they were under Genjutsu.
• The teachers ended the third round before most students recognized the illusion, and the clan children mistook Yichen’s surprised expression for confusion.

Yichen passed the Ninja Academy’s final assessment by displaying exceptional sensory ability and entered its strongest Advanced Class. After reflecting on his advantages and ambitions, he began classes and introduced himself as a future ninja who would protect his companions and village.

• Yichen sensed into a room through the assessment helmet and accurately described its ninja, animals, and objects, impressing the Teachers.
• The Teachers admitted Yichen to the Advanced Class, and he considered how his Soul Fusion and mental strength could help him pursue a path toward becoming Tsuchikage.
• Yichen arrived at the Ninja Academy the next morning and met Teacher Ishikawa and his classmates.
• Mubuki, Taniya, and Fujino declared that they would become Tsuchikage, and Teacher Ishikawa stopped their argument from becoming a fight.
• Tana shared her dream of filling the Land of Earth with flowers, while Shinohara said he wanted to lead the Demolition Squad against Konoha.
• Yichen introduced himself as someone who hoped to become an outstanding ninja and protect his companions and village.

Yichen followed an exhausting routine of study and training while struggling to extract chakra, and his classmates’ antics gave him a few moments of relief. After a month, he finally overcame his body’s resistance and produced his first wisp of chakra, though he still ranked near the bottom in cultivation.

• Yichen asked Teacher Ishikawa about his inability to extract chakra and was warned against methods that could cause irreversible harm.
• Yichen intensified his training, studied ninja theory, practiced hand seals, and used the Academy’s equipment to train with kunai and Shuriken.
• Yichen endured classmates’ conflicts, including Shinohara’s repeated challenges, and amused himself by encouraging Tana to approach Ikura.
• After a month of daily practice, Yichen’s body stopped resisting chakra extraction, and he produced his first wisp of chakra during theory class.

Yichen struggled to control his limited Chakra, then discovered an unusually large amount of Chakra with a possible Yin Release affinity after a strange dream. Teacher Ishikawa and a Sensory Ninja alerted Ōnoki, who ordered Yichen brought in for examination.

• Yichen refined more Chakra than before, practiced controlling its flow until he exhausted himself, and slept through the Academy’s practical combat class.
• The next day, Yichen identified his strong mental power as an advantage and considered whether he could form Chakra with a greater Yin Release component.
• After failing to reproduce a strange dream in which he seemed to refine Chakra while partly asleep, Yichen woke with far more Chakra inside him.
• Teacher Ishikawa asked a Sensory Ninja to inspect Yichen, who confirmed the unusually large amount and said it seemed to lean toward darkness.
• Ishikawa and the Sensory Ninja reported their findings to Ōnoki, who ordered Ishikawa to bring Yichen in for a personal examination.

Ōnoki examined Yichen’s unusual Chakra and gave him a scroll on Yin Release in exchange for any insights he might gain. After studying it and experimenting for two months, Yichen successfully extracted Quasi-Yin Attribute Chakra while awake and began to understand how his unusually strong, steadily growing soul affected his Chakra.

• Teacher Ishikawa brought Yichen to meet Ōnoki, who had two ninjas examine Yichen’s body and Chakra.
• The examiners found Yichen’s Chakra had an unusually high proportion of mental power, making Yin Release Nature Transformation easier for him to learn.
• Ōnoki gave Yichen a scroll on Yin Release Chakra and agreed that Yichen could come to him with questions.
• Yichen studied the scroll, adjusted his meditation method, and spent two months developing a new Chakra extraction method.
• Yichen successfully extracted Quasi-Yin Attribute Chakra while awake and concluded that his mental power grew faster than his physique because of his fused soul.

Yichen used his newly expanded Chakra reserves to begin Chakra Control training while navigating rivalries among his classmates. Nearly two years later, he had learned the Transformation Jutsu, but his limited Chakra still forced him to rely on intensive training and Tana’s help with medicinal preparations.

• Yichen recorded his Chakra cultivation insights and gave them to Teacher Ishikawa as payment for Ōnoki’s scroll.
• Yichen provoked Shinohara by encouraging Tana to find ways to get closer to Ikura, then practiced Chakra Control after exhausting his Chakra.
• Over the next two years, Yichen and his classmates advanced to practical ninja training, and many learned to use Chakra to strengthen their taijutsu.
• Yichen learned the Transformation Jutsu and intensified his physical training to cope with his small Chakra reserves, using compensation funds and Tana’s medicinal preparation methods.

Yichen successfully performed the Transformation Jutsu, becoming the third student in his class to master one of the Three Basic Jutsu. After choosing to learn the Clone Technique, he began his first internship with the village Barrier Team, arranged by Ōnoki.

• Yichen completed the Transformation Jutsu after half a month of practicing with only enough Chakra for one attempt each day.
• Tana, Shinohara, and the other students watched as Teacher Ishikawa praised Yichen and urged the class to learn from him.
• Yichen teased Shinohara while disguised as Teacher Ishikawa, then changed back when Shinohara demanded it.
• Teacher Ishikawa asked which basic jutsu Yichen wanted to learn next, and Yichen chose the Clone Technique.
• Yichen went to the village Barrier Team after dinner, presented Ōnoki's work authorization, and began his first day as an intern.

Seven-year-old Yichen began interning with Iwagakure’s Barrier Team, where Bunji assessed his Sealing Jutsu knowledge and assigned him to work in the archives. Balancing the job with school and training, Yichen received unexpected support from classmates and was left uneasy about how much he had come to care about them.

• Youjin confirmed that the Tsuchikage had assigned seven-year-old Yichen to the Barrier Team, then left Bunji to introduce him to the work.
• Bunji tested Yichen’s Sealing Jutsu knowledge, praised his strong foundation and Chakra Control, and assigned him to help in the archives after school.
• Yichen began working six hours each day, earning a salary to help cover the growing cost of his training.
• Shinohara, Tana, Taniya, Ikura, and Meikou each approached Yichen with concern or offered training and advice.
• Yichen realized he had formed close bonds with more classmates than he had expected and feared the pain of losing them in the dangerous ninja world.

Yichen advanced his Sealing Team studies and mastered the Three Basic Jutsu, then focused on adapting the Substitution Technique to use water. His first experiment let him swap places with water in a bucket, but the water could not take his shape, leaving him to seek a way to make the technique mislead an opponent.

• Yichen learned the Barrier Team's structure and duties while copying more than thirty books, earning Contribution Points and impressing Bunji with his grasp of the material.
• Yichen mastered the Clone Technique and Substitution Technique, then spent three months practicing until he could reliably substitute with nearby wood or branches in about five seconds.
• Yichen increased his Chakra Amount and control, becoming one of only three classmates to learn all three basic techniques, while recognizing that classmates such as Shinohara and Tana far surpassed him physically.
• Yichen decided to experiment with water as a substitute and successfully swapped places with water in a bucket, but the water failed to take on his appearance.
• Yichen concluded that he needed to solve the problem of water's shape for the Substitution Technique to distract enemies effectively.

Yichen tested his Chakra attributes and discovered he had Water and Earth, then went to Iwagakure’s Earth Release training ground to learn Nature Transformation. He succeeded by connecting with an old Earth Prison Technique, but nearly ran out of Chakra while escaping it, and returned to tell Teacher Ishikawa what had happened.

• Yichen spent most of his Contribution Points on a Chakra test paper and learned that he had Water and Earth attributes.
• Yichen asked Teacher Ishikawa where to train Earth Release and went to Training Ground No. 9 to find a rock that resonated with his Chakra.
• Yichen connected with the Chakra inside a spherical Earth Prison Technique and experienced the original caster’s Earth Release Nature Transformation.
• Yichen discovered he had merged inside the sphere and carefully extracted Chakra while the technique absorbed it.
• Yichen used the connection with the sphere’s Chakra to pass through its wall and escape just before his Chakra ran out.
• Yichen returned to the Ninja Academy and told Teacher Ishikawa he had succeeded, leaving his teacher relieved but speechless.

Yichen perfected a water-based Substitution Technique and resumed his routine before Captain Bunji assigned him to learn scroll-making from Meishe. After impressing Meishe with his precision and quickly mastering the basics, Yichen left the practice room late at night with a new skill to build on.

• Yichen used Earth Release Chakra to turn bucket water into a substitute that collapsed back into water when struck, and he named the technique Water Clone.
• Yichen returned to his regular training and Barrier Team duties, focusing on Wood Clone and Water Clone.
• About two months later, Bunji tested Yichen's knowledge and Chakra Amount, then sent him to the practice room to study under Meishe.
• Yichen demonstrated excellent control by cutting scroll material precisely with a Chakra-conducting knife, so Meishe let him skip beginner training.
• Meishe taught Yichen to make Blank Scrolls, and Yichen produced a usable one before studying the finer details with him late into the night.

Yichen discovered a Kirigakure spy hiding in Iwagakure and used deception, a Water Clone, and a knife to injure him before fleeing toward the Barrier Team. He shouted for help as the injured spy pursued him and began a Water Release attack.

• Yichen noticed an extra rain barrel with no drainage pipe and realized someone might be hiding nearby.
• A Kirigakure spy revealed himself, threatened Yichen, and tried to learn how he had been discovered.
• Yichen distracted the spy, used a Water Clone and Substitution Technique to evade his attack, then wounded him with a small knife.
• Yichen escaped across rooftops and used a Clone Technique to fool the pursuing spy.
• Yichen ran toward the Barrier Team and shouted that there was a spy, drawing attention from nearby ninja.
• The injured Kirigakure spy decided to attack Yichen with Water Release: Water Arrow Jutsu.

Yichen killed a Mist ninja spy who attacked him, then confronted the shock of facing real danger and began to understand what it meant to be a ninja. After Teacher Ishikawa assessed his actions and explained how the battle had changed his Chakra, Yichen learned he could earn Contribution Points for his improved Water Clone technique, while the Anbu reported the incident to Ōnoki.

• Yichen evaded the Mist ninja’s Water Arrow Jutsu, then struck him with a wooden splinter and killed him.
• Anbu arrived, verified Yichen’s account, recorded his testimony, and escorted him home under guard.
• Yichen asked Teacher Ishikawa to evaluate the fight, and Ishikawa criticized his poor vigilance and failure to fight back while retreating.
• Teacher Ishikawa praised Yichen’s improved Water Clone and suggested he submit its method to the village for Contribution Points.
• Teacher Ishikawa explained that the battle had condensed Yichen’s willpower and transformed the quality of his Chakra.
• The Anbu member who handled the spy incident reported its details to Ōnoki.

After killing a Mist ninja, Yichen tested his improved Chakra control, began learning Sealing Jutsu under Meishe, and received recognition and rewards from Iwagakure. He remained with the Barrier Team for now, but the village treated him as a qualified Genin and his combat talent pointed toward a future on the battlefield.

• An Anbu report confirmed Yichen had stumbled upon the Mist ninja and fought well, prompting Ōnoki to ask whether the enemy carried important intelligence.
• Yichen tested the Three Basic Jutsu and found they took less Chakra and time than before, especially when he used a branch for the Substitution Technique.
• Meishe taught Yichen to practice drawing sealing runes and encouraged him to develop smooth Chakra flow with the brush.
• Three days later, Yichen learned that Iwagakure had awarded him 1,000 Contribution Points for his Water Clone insights because many Earth Release users could learn the technique.
• Yichen received another 100 Contribution Points and 100,000 ryo for killing the Mist Chunin, and the village began recording his Barrier Team work as Genin missions.

Yichen spent his Contribution Points on weapons, supplies, and training gear before returning to school with a short sword. After revealing how he survived killing an enemy Chunin, he helped his classmates consider how to face real combat, and Ikura resolved to develop a ninja’s will and catch up with him.

• Yichen exchanged Contribution Points for Senbon, Shuriken, a short sword, Exploding Tags, Soldier Pills, Weighted Training Gear, and medicinal herbs, then modified his clothes to carry his tools.
• Yichen returned to school wearing the training gear and carrying his short sword, prompting his classmates to ask about it.
• A classmate recognized Yichen as the academy student who had killed an enemy Chunin, and Yichen agreed to explain what had happened on the training field.
• Yichen described how the Chunin had underestimated him and how fear and desperation had pushed him to stay calm and find a chance to survive.
• Ikura realized that he lacked a ninja’s will, thanked Yichen, and said he would seek practical combat training before challenging him again.
• Yichen judged that his success against the Chunin did not make him stronger than classmates like Shinohara, whose Taijutsu could decisively defeat him.

Yichen demonstrated the combat insight Ikura had been searching for by defeating his classmates, including the stronger Shinohara, and Teacher Ishikawa presented his success as mastery of the Will of Stone. Four years later, as the Second Shinobi War neared its end, the chapter described its toll and Hanzo’s decline, which weakened his hold over Rain Village and set the stage for the Akatsuki Organization.

• Yichen challenged his classmates to spar and defeated students of equal and greater strength, then used the Substitution Technique to swiftly beat Shinohara.
• Yichen told the class that his battles showed what Ikura was searching for, and Teacher Ishikawa explained the concept as the Will of Stone.
• Teacher Ishikawa used Yichen’s Barrier Team work and mission record to motivate the class, whose performance improved across their studies and training.
• Four years passed as the Second Shinobi War approached its final stages, after causing severe losses, especially for Konoha.
• Hanzo misread Rain Village’s wartime losses as failure, lost strength and confidence, and weakened his control over Rain Village, paving the way for the Akatsuki Organization.

As the Second Shinobi War neared its end, Yichen earned access to Iwagakure’s B-rank Sealing Jutsu and helped develop a theoretical Five Elements Sealing Jutsu. The technique’s first potential use arose when the Five-Tails began breaking free from Katsuragi, leaving Yichen at the scene as Ōnoki’s suppression faltered.

• Yichen’s method of studying Sealing Jutsu in separate stages helped Iwagakure ninjas master B-rank techniques, earning him an A-rank mission credit, access to the archives, and one million ryo.
• Yichen and Bunji explored ways to perform the Five Elements Sealing Jutsu with multiple ninjas, and Meishe proposed connecting their seals through prepared scrolls and reinforced talismans.
• The Barrier Team theoretically developed scrolls for the Five Elements Sealing Jutsu, though they had not yet made any for practical use.
• Katsuragi’s seal weakened after he drew on the Five-Tails’ power during the war, and the beast went berserk as he neared the village.
• An Anbu brought Yichen to the scene, where Ōnoki was holding back Katsuragi’s Partial Tailed Beast Transformation while the failing seal threatened to release the Five-Tails.

Yichen helped Iwagakure seal the Five-Tails with the Five Elements Sealing Jutsu, then met Ōnoki to claim his reward. He left with permission to obtain resources for training in C-rank Ninjutsu, increased to half the resources for a C-rank technique.

• Yichen joined Meishe and the other seal masters, created two Water Release scrolls, and helped prepare the Five Elements Sealing Jutsu.
• Ōnoki and four others performed the jutsu, forcing the Five-Tails back into Katsuragi before it could break free completely.
• Medical Ninja treated Katsuragi, while Ōnoki considered replacing him as Jinchuriki because he could no longer suppress the Five-Tails.
• Ōnoki rewarded Yichen with an S-rank mission record and the choice of an A-rank Ninjutsu or an equivalent reward.
• Yichen asked for resources to train in C-rank Ninjutsu, and Ōnoki granted him resources for half a C-rank technique.