Chapter Summaries

Yichen visited Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan in River Ninja Village, bringing Ninjutsu from Iwagakure and securing their participation in Iwagakure’s Joint Chunin Exams. Nagato taught Yichen Shinra Tensei, which Yichen learned but could barely use because it consumed so much Chakra.

• Yichen met Yahiko and discovered that they had both reached the quasi-Kage level, while Yahiko explained that leading the Land of Rivers had driven his growth.
• Yichen gave Yahiko’s group a large collection of Ninjutsu with Ōnoki’s approval, and Yahiko agreed to attend Iwagakure’s Joint Chunin Exams.
• Yichen introduced his four disciples, and Nagato asked him for advice about choosing students; Yahiko and Konan also expressed interest in taking disciples.
• Nagato offered to teach Yichen Shinra Tensei, explaining how it differed from Banshō Ten'in and sharing the training method he had developed.
• After seven or eight days of instruction, Yichen learned a weak version of Shinra Tensei, but its heavy Chakra cost and long interval limited its usefulness.

Yichen secured Amegakure’s agreement to Iwagakure’s Chunin Exams and watched Hanzo’s swordsmanship inspire Kawakita. Back in Iwagakure, Yichen found Ōnoki trying to recruit a Giant Panda as a summoning partner and suggested Matsutani Shinya try to earn its recognition.

• Yichen’s disciples sparred with River ninja, and their strong performances exposed the gap between the villages while Yahiko encouraged the River ninja to train harder.
• Yichen left the River Ninja Village with a Black Rod, visited Hanzo, and gained Amegakure’s agreement to Iwagakure’s Chunin Exams and a possible alliance.
• Hanzo instructed Kawakita in a sword match, breaking his sword with a swift strike and leaving him dazed as he approached the level of a Jonin.
• Yichen promised Hanzo that Iwa ninja would not enter the Land of Rain while Hanzo remained there, then hurried back to Iwagakure with his disciples.
• Yichen found Ōnoki trying to gain the Giant Panda’s cooperation as a summoning partner and suggested Matsutani Shinya, who was close to small animals, try to earn its recognition.

Yichen and Ōnoki agreed to trade the giant panda’s Summoning Beast arrangement for its method of absorbing Natural Energy, despite the danger of cultivating sage techniques. Yichen began modifying the Natural Energy Seal to concentrate energy safely, but repeated experiments ended with the seals wrecked by violent Natural Energy.

• The giant panda offered to teach its method of absorbing Natural Energy in exchange for the place where it was sealed, and Ōnoki took the proposal to Iwagakure’s advisers.
• At the High-Level Meeting, Mei warned against the risks, while Saka supported the trade; Ōnoki decided to proceed and limit cultivation attempts to one senior ninja at a time.
• Ōnoki, Ikura, and Yichen made the trade, and the giant panda explained that Natural Energy had to be absorbed through a dense, liquefied external medium.
• Yichen proposed increasing the Natural Energy concentration inside the seal and set up a guarded research site to develop a controlled method.
• Yichen and the Barrier Team simplified the seal, then tried removing and replacing its balancing mechanisms; more than a dozen experiments ended with violent Natural Energy damaging the seals.

After six months of costly research, Yichen and his team successfully produced a drop of liquefied Natural Energy, which Yichen used to begin training in Sage Jutsu. His first two attempts at merging the energy failed, but he gathered useful experience and prepared to keep trying.

• Yichen and the researchers produced a drop of golden, oil-like liquefied Natural Energy, which vanished quickly after Ōnoki ordered that it be tested.
• Yichen waited four days to calm down, then began his first test inside a Natural Energy Barrier while Ikura stood by with a Black Rod.
• Yichen absorbed the Natural Energy and tried to merge it with his own, but the attempt failed and Ikura used the Black Rod to stop the dangerous influx.
• Yichen and the researchers found no lasting physical abnormalities, recorded his sensations, and learned that he had held out for five minutes.
• With Ōnoki's permission, Yichen tried again and lasted longer, but still failed to merge the Natural Energy.

Yichen studied Iwagakure’s S-rank Secret Archive and used its methods to refine his Sage training while preparing for the upcoming Joint Chunin Exams. His attempts still failed, but he began to understand how to fuse a small portion of Natural Energy and felt close to succeeding.

• Ōnoki let Yichen read the S-rank Secret Archive for Dust Release and then gave him another Sealing Jutsu.
• Yichen watched Ogura Saki, Matsutani Shinya, and Takuya train for the approaching Joint Chunin Exams, while Natsuki reluctantly practiced Taijutsu.
• Yichen studied the archive’s advice on balancing three kinds of energy and decided to focus most of his effort on controlling Natural Energy.
• On his third attempt, Yichen isolated a small portion of Natural Energy and tried to fuse it with his other energies, but Ikura interrupted him as petrification accelerated.
• Yichen made three more unsuccessful attempts before the Chunin Exams, gradually grasping the process and feeling close to fusing the isolated Natural Energy.

Yichen struggled to advance his Lightning Release training and added Sage Arts to his plans for extending his life and breaking through his body's limits. To draw the Cloud ninja into the Joint Chunin Exams, he persuaded Mei to let him use the Byakugan, which they went to retrieve from the Anbu.

• Yichen watched over his and Ikura's six disciples, along with Natsuki, while Ikura handled preparations for the Joint Chunin Exams.
• Yichen developed Chidori but found that his limited Lightning Release Chakra left him unable to make much further progress.
• Yichen added Sage Arts training to his main quest because he hoped it could extend his lifespan and help him overcome his body's limits.
• Yichen decided to use the Byakugan to attract the Cloud ninja to the Joint Chunin Exams.
• Yichen assured Mei that he would personally keep the Byakugan safe, and Mei agreed to take him to retrieve it from the Anbu.

Yichen used the Byakugan as bait to lure Kumogakure into sending a team to Iwagakure, then helped spread a false report that Sunagakure had acquired it. Kumogakure’s delegation arrived too late to pursue the Byakugan, but decided to continue with the Joint Chunin Exams.

• Yichen learned from Mei that the Byakugan research was well documented, though the team had found no way to counter its vision, and he took four Anbu Squads to help with his plan.
• Yichen disguised himself as a young rogue ninja and persuaded a Kumogakure spy posing as an innkeeper to inspect the Byakugan outside Iwagakure.
• The innkeeper sent the Byakugan intelligence to Kumogakure, which decided to participate in Iwagakure’s Joint Chunin Exams.
• Yichen, Mei, Ōnoki, and Saka arranged for the innkeeper to hear that Sunagakure had already traded for the Byakugan.
• Tanimoto Naoto arrived with five Genin squads and was told Sunagakure had obtained the Byakugan, but he decided Kumogakure would still participate in the exams.

Yichen brought his disciples to the Cloud ninja lodgings and arranged sparring matches, hoping to learn about Lightning Release. After Yanagihara defeated Matsutani Shinya, Yichen gained insight into Lightning Release, and Tanimoto Naoto challenged him to send another contestant.

• Yichen visited Tanimoto Naoto with six disciples and proposed sparring between the Iwa and Cloud ninja contestants.
• The Iwa disciples defeated several ordinary Cloud ninja genin, frustrating both Yichen and Tanimoto Naoto.
• Tanimoto Naoto sent Yanagihara to fight Matsutani Shinya, who used Water Release, Wind Release, and an Earth Clone in a Combination Ninjutsu.
• Yanagihara used Lightning Release through his sword to counter Shinya’s attack, and Shinya conceded after exhausting his Chakra.
• Yichen studied Yanagihara’s Chakra circulation and gained insight into Lightning Release, while Tanimoto Naoto asked him to send another fighter against the Cloud ninja swordsmanship.

Yichen studied Yanagihara’s Lightning Release techniques during a series of sparring matches in Iwagakure. In Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s advisers debated the growing threat of Iwagakure’s alliances and confronted Danzo over his failed attempt to seize the Rinnegan, leaving Hiruzen considering how Konoha might approach Nagato.

• Yichen had Shimoyama Tamaki and Nakada Tatsunori spar with Yanagihara, then sent Haraguchi Hampei to defeat him after Yanagihara won three matches.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and the advisers discussed Iwagakure’s Joint Chunin Exams and decided to send Minato Namikaze to lead a force against the Mist ninja in the Land of Whirlpools.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi confronted Danzo about the Akatsuki Organization and learned that Danzo had joined forces with Hanzo to attack it and failed to capture the Rinnegan.
• Danzo described Nagato’s repulsive and attractive force techniques, great chakra reserves, and possible connection to the Uzumaki Clan.
• Danzo suggested Konoha had someone who could make the Akatsuki lower its guard, and Hiruzen Sarutobi’s expression shifted before he composed himself.

Hiruzen Sarutobi identified Jiraiya as a possible source of information about the Akatsuki, then ordered support for the Uchiha Clan. In Iwagakure, Yichen monitored the first round of the Joint Chunin Exams, discovered a promising Sunagakure candidate, and experienced a new level of sensory perception.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura that Jiraiya had trained three disciples in the Land of Rain, one of whom possessed the Rinnegan, then ordered Minato Namikaze to lead support for the Uchiha Clan.
• Yichen watched candidates cheat during the written exam and saw an Anbu struggle with a transplanted Sharingan while Tsurugi observed through a Byakugan.
• Yichen asked Tsurugi to observe the Cloud ninja's Lightning Release techniques during the next day's survival test, explaining that Iwagakure teams would provoke them with the Tsuchikage's approval.
• Tsurugi identified a Sunagakure candidate controlling a concealed centipede puppet and Chakra thread, which Yichen struggled to detect amid the classroom's many Chakra sources.
• Yichen focused his Mind's Eye on the Chakra thread outside the classroom, sensed the puppet and the candidate it was observing, and was startled by the enormous scale of the candidate's Chakra.
• Yichen recovered and realized that his unusual sensory experience had opened a new door in his perception.

Yichen and Tsurugi used Mind's Eye and the Byakugan to observe Cloud ninja and analyze their Lightning Release techniques during the second exam. After the finalists were decided, a large group of eliminated Sunagakure ninja headed home, drawing the attention of Tanimoto Naoto.

• Yichen tested whether Mind's Eye could sense Chakra flow inside Tsurugi and found he could not discern its exact pathways, even through the Byakugan.
• Yichen and Tsurugi watched Cloud ninja fight Iwa ninja and studied their Lightning Release techniques, identifying three C-rank techniques Iwagakure had not recorded.
• Yichen's disciples fought Yanagihara's squad; Takuya lost to Yanagihara, but Yanagihara's teammates were incapacitated, eliminating their squad from the group event.
• The second round ended with fourteen squads and forty-two examinees advancing to the finals, which would begin a month later and be held across three days.
• A large group of eliminated Sunagakure ninja departed for their village, attracting the attention of Tanimoto Naoto.

Tanimoto Naoto led Kumogakure Jonin to ambush Sunagakure’s returning ninja and seize the Byakugan, while Yichen and Iwagakure tracked both groups. After Iwagakure’s leaders discussed alliances and granted Yichen access to A-rank Ninjutsu and secret scrolls, Yichen’s team moved closer as Kumogakure began its attack.

• Tanimoto Naoto gathered five Jonin and split them off to ambush Sunagakure, while Iwagakure’s leaders discussed inviting the Land of Wind and Amegakure to the Chunin Exam finals.
• Yichen reported that Tanimoto Naoto had left the returning Kumogakure group, and Ōnoki sent Yichen and Ikura to watch Sunagakure and prevent Kumogakure from blaming Iwagakure.
• Yichen described his Lightning Release research and possible long-range A-rank technique, so Ōnoki granted him access to all A-rank Ninjutsu and secret scrolls.
• Yichen, Ikura, Tsurugi, and the Anbu left Iwagakure to follow Sunagakure, while Tanimoto Naoto’s group disguised themselves as Konoha Anbu and waited to attack farther from the village.
• Tsurugi tracked both groups until Kumogakure closed in on Sunagakure, and Yichen’s team advanced to observe the ambush from about five hundred meters away.

Yichen and his companions observed the Cloud ninja attack Sunagakure, then Ikura intervened and defeated them with a massive Earth Release technique. Tanimoto Naoto was captured after revealing the Cloud ninja’s plot, while Ikura claimed Iwa had already obtained the Byakugan from rogue ninja.

• Yichen and Tsurugi watched the Cloud ninja use a Lightning Release technique to split and overwhelm Yūma’s Sunagakure force.
• Yūma sacrificed his chance to counterattack to protect his subordinates, then ordered them to retreat as the Cloud ninja focused their attacks on him.
• Ikura struck the Cloud ninja with Water Release, then used Earth Overturning to bury the five Jonin; Tanimoto Naoto escaped with Storm Release but was badly injured.
• Tanimoto Naoto revealed his identity and tried to turn Yūma against Iwa, but Ikura said Iwa had already obtained the Byakugan from rogue ninja.
• Ikura wounded Tanimoto Naoto with Earth Rising Spear, knocked him unconscious, and took him prisoner.

Ikura handed the captured Tanimoto Naoto to Yūma and proposed an alliance between Iwagakure and Sunagakure, which Sunagakure's leaders accepted. As Yichen returned to training in Iwagakure, Yotsuki A gave up waiting for Tanimoto Naoto, and Rasa considered using the alliance to consolidate his power.

• Ikura confirmed the Cloud ninja's identities to Yūma, handed over Tanimoto Naoto, and offered an alliance against Konoha and the Cloud ninja.
• Yūma declined Ikura's offer of treatment and returned to Sunagakure with Tanimoto Naoto, while Yichen regretted losing the chance to question the Storm Release ninja.
• Yichen returned to Iwagakure and planned to learn copied Lightning Release techniques before practicing an upgraded Chidori.
• Yotsuki A stopped waiting for Tanimoto Naoto and ordered the Cloud ninja support unit, including Killer B, to return to the village.
• Yūma's return persuaded Sunagakure's leaders to approve an alliance with Iwagakure during the third exam round, while they set aside the Byakugan intelligence.
• Rasa reflected on his limited control over Sunagakure and considered using the alliance to accelerate his consolidation of power.

Yichen learned that Karatachi Yagura had used the Uchiha-Konoha rift to help the Mist defeat Minato Namikaze’s forces, prompting Hiruzen Sarutobi to give Danzo greater power to target the Uchiha. As Iwa’s leaders discussed Konoha’s likely response, Yichen considered Fugaku Uchiha’s Mangekyō Sharingan and what might be required to awaken it.

• Yichen practiced Lightning Release—Lightning Explosion while guarding Han, then left with Zero after Ōnoki summoned him to review an urgent report.
• The report described Karatachi Yagura and the Three-Tails attacking Minato Namikaze’s forces while the Uchiha staged a fake battle elsewhere, leaving Konoha defeated and Minato suspicious of the Uchiha’s estrangement from the village.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi developed murderous intent toward the Uchiha, while Danzo used the crisis to secure more Root funding and permission to recruit talented clan members.
• Minato Namikaze spoke with Uchiha No and Fugaku Uchiha, then reached a tentative understanding with Fugaku to try to mend relations between the Uchiha and Konoha’s leaders.
• Mei, Ikura, Yichen, and Ōnoki discussed Karatachi Yagura’s strategy and Konoha’s possible response, while Yichen wondered whether Fugaku had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and considered its requirements.

Yichen discussed Konoha’s likely response to the Uchiha Clan, then developed and tested Chidori Flow. He was sent to receive Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan, who arrived in Iwagakure with representatives from the Land of Rivers.

• Saka warned that Konoha might use force against the Uchiha Clan, and Ōnoki ordered him to monitor the village’s leaders.
• Yichen and Ōnoki discussed Han taking disciples, while Yichen and Ikura talked about whether they would train new students.
• After seven days of practice, Yichen completed Chidori Flow and recorded its training method to submit to Iwagakure.
• An Anbu told Yichen that Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan had arrived with officials from the Land of Rivers, and Ōnoki assigned him to receive them.
• Yichen greeted Yahiko and Nagato at Iwagakure’s entrance, registered the group, and led them into the village.

Yichen hosted Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan in Iwagakure, introduced them to his disciples, and prepared cultivation insights for their prospective students. During the Joint Chunin Exams, Ōnoki, Rasa, and Yahiko began forming an alliance, while Yichen secretly patrolled Iwagakure for threats; the second day began with the leaders on friendlier terms.

• Yichen showed Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan around Iwagakure, then wrote down his cultivation insights as a gift for Nagato's future students.
• Yichen brought his six disciples to meet the visitors, sparred with Yahiko and Nagato, and easily defeated Konan.
• Rasa arrived for the third round of the Joint Chunin Exams, where he discovered that River Ninja Village had two Kage-level fighters and joined Ōnoki and Yahiko in alliance talks.
• Ōnoki proposed using match results to settle disagreements, and Yahiko's choice of Ogura Saki over Rasa's puppet master proved correct when Ogura Saki won decisively.
• Yichen secretly patrolled Iwagakure after all three of his disciples advanced, and the second day of matches began as the alliance leaders grew more harmonious.

After Iwagakure’s Chunin Exams, Yichen comforted his defeated disciples, disbanded Team Two, and began planning his training. The Third Shinobi War ended with the nations assessing its outcome, and Iwagakure emerged as the only true victor.

• Yichen watched the Sunagakure Puppet Master Ryosuke win the Chunin Exams while his three disciples fell short of the top three.
• Yichen encouraged his disciples to learn from defeat, and Ogura Saki underwent her first transformation after hearing his words.
• Yichen disbanded Team Two, gave his three disciples Ninjutsu scrolls, and told Ōnoki he intended to focus on cultivation.
• Ōnoki asked Yichen to take more disciples, but rejected his proposal to add advisors and reduce his administrative duties.
• Yichen began developing Lightning Release: Spiraling Sphere as the Third Shinobi War ended and the nations recognized Iwagakure as its only real winner.

Yichen completed his senjutsu training and became Iwagakure’s first Sage, establishing a safer path for the village to learn senjutsu. The chapter ended with Ōnoki preparing to begin training using Yichen’s notes.

• Yichen read that Orochimaru had remained in the Land of Whirlpools and suspected he had started human experimentation there.
• Yichen tested his Lightning Release: Spiraling Sphere against Han, but Han’s Tailed Beast Chakra Cloak absorbed the attack without injuring him.
• Yichen and Han discussed Han’s preparations to select disciples from the Ninja Academy graduates.
• Yichen and Ikura carried out an experiment that let Yichen absorb and fuse with all the Natural Energy already inside him, successfully awakening Sage Mode.
• Ōnoki, Saka, and Mei inspected Yichen’s Sage Face Markings and celebrated his success as a new foundation for Iwagakure.
• Yichen handed Ōnoki his senjutsu training documents, and Ōnoki agreed to go next.

Yichen tested Sage Jutsu and found that it greatly increased the power of his techniques but consumed Sage Chakra quickly, so he planned to improve his ability to absorb Natural Energy and remain in Sage Mode. He then prepared to select his third batch of disciples, while Giant Panda helped identify graduating students suited to partnering with ninja cats.

• Yichen lifted a giant rock and tested Sage-enhanced Ninjutsu, but exhausted his limited Sage Chakra after a few techniques.
• Ōnoki and the others judged Sage Jutsu's power and Chakra cost, concluding that it could raise Yichen's combat ability to the Kage level.
• Yichen practiced absorbing Natural Energy with Ikura, entered Sage Mode again, and decided to remain in it while he worked toward converting all his Chakra.
• Yichen arranged for Giant Panda to visit the Ninja Academy and identify students with an affinity for Ninja Beasts, hoping to find homes for Dango's four kittens.
• Yichen told Tomoko that he had chosen her as his first disciple because she had seemed to notice him using Camouflage Jutsu and Light Rock Jutsu at the academy.