Chapter Summaries

Yichen stepped away from the Lightning Release development team and reflected on the changes in his village and disciples over the past year. After deciding to help Takuya find a new path as a speed-type ninja, Yichen disguised himself as a Konoha Anbu and attacked him to test his abilities.

• Yichen handed the development team captaincy to Qi, who was set to lead research on a new A-rank Lightning Release technique.
• Yichen noted Ōnoki's improved Dust Release, Han's growing bond with Kokuō, and the progress of his disciples, including Matsutani Shinya's transformation into a Jonin.
• Yichen reconsidered his expectations for Takuya and decided to help him find a path suited to his speed and agility.
• Yichen notified the village patrol personnel, disguised himself in Konoha Anbu clothing, and ambushed Takuya as he walked home.
• Takuya dodged Yichen's Sword Qi and fled, then abruptly changed direction to use agility instead of trying to outrun his pursuer in a straight line.

Yichen disguised himself as an enemy to push Takuya into finding a fighting style of his own, and Takuya discovered a series of rapid evasive movements that surprised his teacher. After Yichen revealed the test and reassured Takuya that he cared about him, Takuya crossed a threshold of his own, leaving Yichen to conclude that Team Two’s three members had all met their goals.

• Yichen chased Takuya through the streets, and Takuya used increasingly sharp evasive footwork to keep him at bay.
• Takuya chained several sudden shifts together, including five evasions from a standstill, and escaped Yichen’s attack range.
• Takuya recognized Yichen beneath the Anbu mask and collapsed from exhaustion after Yichen explained that he had pushed him to find his own path.
• Takuya confessed that he had feared Yichen cared more about Ogura Saki, and Yichen reassured him that a teacher worried more than they were disappointed.
• Takuya laughed after Yichen’s encouragement, and Yichen realized that Team Two’s three members had now achieved their goals.

Ōnoki and Yichen set out for the Land of Hot Water after learning Jiraiya was there, intending to help the Cloud ninja attack him. Before leaving, Yichen entered Sage Mode and tested how it enhanced his sensory abilities as they flew toward their target.

• Ōnoki told the meeting that Anbu had found Jiraiya in the Land of Hot Water and planned to ambush him with Dust Release while the Cloud ninja drew his attention.
• Yichen volunteered to accompany Ōnoki, and the village leaders agreed on arrangements for Iwagakure during their absence.
• Yichen entered Sage Mode at the Natural Energy facility, where Shimoyama Tamaki helped prepare the liquid Natural Energy.
• Yichen and Ōnoki flew toward the Land of Hot Water using the Light-Weight Rock Technique and Camouflage Jutsu.
• Yichen reported that Sage Mode expanded Mind's Eye's sensing range to nearly three thousand meters and significantly increased his Sensory Ninjutsu range.
• Ōnoki asked Yichen what his most powerful senjutsu was, and Yichen had not yet answered.

Yichen and Ōnoki found Jiraiya and Orochimaru fighting the Cloud ninja in the Land of Hot Water, then Yichen intervened to help Killer B’s side. His attacks helped drive Manda away and led to Gamabunta being struck and dismissed, leaving Jiraiya unable to stop the Summoning Beasts’ defeat.

• Yichen explained his increased Chakra and Sage Mode capabilities to Ōnoki as they flew toward the Land of Hot Water.
• Yichen and Ōnoki spotted Jiraiya and Orochimaru fighting the Cloud ninja alongside their Summoning Beasts, with Killer B and the Eight-Tails battling them.
• The Two-Tails Jinchuriki joined the battle, and Yichen decided to help the Cloud ninja while Ōnoki remained concealed.
• Yichen struck at Manda with Sage-enhanced Earth Style, allowing Killer B and the Eight-Tails to knock Manda into the rock formation.
• Yichen used Sage-enhanced Chidori Flow to paralyze Manda, who canceled his Summoning Jutsu and returned to Ryūchi Cave.
• The Eight-Tails charged Gamabunta, whose attempted escape was interrupted by a powerful suction force, forcing him to cancel his Summoning Jutsu after being hit.

Yichen and Ōnoki helped the Cloud ninja defeat Jiraiya and Orochimaru, with Ōnoki killing Jiraiya using Dust Release and the Fourth Raikage finishing him off. The Raikage accepted Ōnoki’s proposal for an alliance against Konoha, while privately planning to warn Konoha about Iwa’s growing strength.

• Yichen drove away Manda and Gamabunta, then joined the Cloud ninja’s assault on Jiraiya and Orochimaru with a Sage-enhanced Water Release that combined with their Lightning Release.
• Jiraiya recognized Yichen’s Senjutsu and briefly lost focus, allowing Ōnoki to strike Jiraiya and Orochimaru with Dust Release.
• The Fourth Raikage charged into the blast and killed the badly injured Jiraiya, while Orochimaru was sent flying but survived.
• Yichen and Ōnoki proposed an alliance against Konoha, and the Fourth Raikage agreed before returning to his forces.
• The Fourth Raikage resolved to send Konoha intelligence about Ōnoki and Yichen, then ordered his men to take Jiraiya’s corpse back to the village.

After Jiraiya’s death, Hiruzen Sarutobi prepared Konoha for the coming Fourth Shinobi War and appointed Minato Namikaze as the Fourth Hokage. The chapter ended with Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan divided over whether to avenge Jiraiya and how to judge Yichen’s role in his death.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi weighed Konoha’s weakened strength and internal tensions, then ordered his Shadow Guard captain to find Tsunade and contact Orochimaru.
• Minato Namikaze assured Hiruzen Sarutobi that Kushina Uzumaki could unleash the Nine-Tails’ power and argued that both the village and the Uchiha Clan had contributed to their strained relationship.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped down and chose Minato Namikaze as the Fourth Hokage; Danzo opposed the decision but backed down.
• Minato Namikaze took office, and Konoha’s clans cooperated with preparations for the coming war.
• Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan argued over avenging Jiraiya, while Nagato blamed Yichen and Yahiko and Konan considered that Yichen might have been following Ōnoki’s orders.

Nagato questioned the Akatsuki Organization’s direction as its ideals clashed with the pressures facing the Land of Rivers, while Iwagakure and Sunagakure prepared for the Fourth Shinobi War. The chapter left Yichen assembling Iwagakure’s Southern Front forces as Rasa consolidated Sunagakure’s support for the war.

• Nagato rejected White Zetsu’s claims but grew increasingly uncertain about the Akatsuki Organization’s future as smaller nations resisted it and its members adopted the habits of a great village.
• Ōnoki and Yichen convened Iwagakure’s leaders, who decided to prepare for war and consider pressuring Konoha by demanding that it surrender desired ninja arts.
• Yichen was appointed commander of Iwagakure’s Southern Front and led two thousand ninja toward the border while Ikura worked to gain other nations’ support.
• Rasa reclaimed the One-Tail, secured funding from the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, and won Sunagakure’s support for the war by revealing Pakura’s Kage-level strength.
• Rasa took control of Sunagakure’s war preparations and obtained the Third Kazekage Puppet from Chiyo.

Yichen learned that Kirigakure had ambushed Konoha forces in the Land of Whirlpools, leaving Obito Uchiha dead and Kakashi Hatake with a transplanted Sharingan. He planned to exploit the Uchiha Clan’s loss to deepen divisions in Konoha, then continued his Storm Release training while arranging for Ikura to guard him during its final stage.

• Sunagakure completed its war preparations after Pakura supported Rasa, while Kirigakure launched a surprise attack on Konoha forces in the Land of Whirlpools.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi repelled the Mist ninja, but most of the eight hundred Konoha ninja were killed or injured, and Obito Uchiha died while Kakashi Hatake received his Sharingan.
• Yichen discussed using Obito’s death to stir conflict between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha’s leadership, then ordered Tomoko to tell Shimura Danzō to incite the clan’s return to the village’s center.
• Yichen reviewed reports of limited clashes between Iwa and Konoha, then trained his Storm Release despite the rejection caused by his two bloodline limits.
• Yichen estimated that Storm Release would reach its final stage in a month or two and wrote to Ikura to come guard him while he underwent the resulting weakness.

Yichen completed his Storm Release bloodline and returned to training his six disciples while the Fourth Shinobi War remained in a tense standoff. He taught Uchiyama Takuhiro Light-Weight Rock Technique and began guiding the others, though Kanako’s next steps depended on a reply from Konan.

• Yichen completed his second physical evolution under Ōnoki’s protection and developed the Storm Release bloodline, becoming the only ninja known to possess two bloodlines.
• With Ikura remaining commander of the Southern Front, Yichen brought his six disciples back from South Front Camp to resume their training.
• After receiving Ōnoki’s approval, Yichen taught Uchiyama Takuhiro Light-Weight Rock Technique, which he mastered in about half a month.
• Yichen began teaching Kawazoe Yura the A-rank Five Elements Sealing Jutsu and asked Konan by letter how Kanako should continue developing her Paper Style Jutsu.
• Yichen recognized that Kanako’s Exploding Tags made her combat potential substantial, while Suda Himezuki continued focusing on taijutsu and learned the Great Fireball Jutsu.

Yichen planned training for his six disciples before Ōnoki appointed him to preside over Iwagakure’s wartime Chunin Selection Exams. More than a month later, the Genin gathered at the examination site, where the chapter left off as the assessment was about to begin.

• Yichen trained Fenghuo in Chakra Control, Suda Himezuki in taijutsu, and Yoshimura Kazumasa in Hand Seals, while assessing Katsuya’s need for independent combat skills.
• Yichen investigated Iwagakure’s limited Genjutsu research and discussed with Katsuya how he could attack while maintaining Genjutsu.
• Ōnoki assigned Yichen to oversee Iwagakure’s Chunin Selection Exams, intended to promote promising Genin ahead of the war.
• Yichen’s disciples grew nervous about being examined by their teacher, and five of them accelerated their training.
• More than a month later, Genin arrived at the training ground to compete, with many participating alone or in pairs and Yichen’s, Han’s, and Tomoko’s disciples entering as full teams.

Yichen organized the combat-only Chunin Selection Exam, using Porcelain Release to assign candidates their match numbers. The first matches began, and the crowd focused on Yichen’s disciple Suda Himezuki as she entered Area Nine.

• Han returned from the front lines after Roshi replaced him, and trained his three disciples for the exam.
• Yichen divided the Training Ground into sixteen match areas and created a viewing area for the spectators.
• Tomoko explained that candidates would be judged on their demonstrated strength, regardless of whether they won or lost.
• Yichen distributed numbered stones with Porcelain Release, and candidates gathered for their assigned matches.
• The first sixteen matches began, while Wada Akio watched Yichen’s disciples and prepared to challenge Uchiyama Takuhiro.
• Suda Himezuki entered Area Nine to face an experienced Genin, drawing the attention of candidates and spectators.

Suda Himezuki defeated the experienced Yamaguchi Tomo by using Fenghuo and a wire-assisted burst of speed, while Kanako also won her match. The chapter ended as Uchiyama Takuhiro and Wada Akio began their much-anticipated fight, which Yichen had deliberately arranged.

• Yamaguchi Tomo used his experience and varied tactics to gain an early advantage over Suda Himezuki, but she adapted and counterattacked with Fenghuo.
• Yamaguchi Tomo drew a longsword and dodged Suda Himezuki's thrown kunai, but she used its attached wire to accelerate past him and land a decisive punch.
• Suda Himezuki pressed her advantage with a fresh kunai and Fenghuo's support, prompting Yamaguchi Tomo to concede; Yichen approved of her risky tactic and decided both fighters could advance.
• Kanako overwhelmed her opponent with Paper Style Jutsu and paper cranes made from Exploding Tags, and Yichen decided she had passed.
• Yichen revealed that he had influenced the opponents chosen for his six disciples, and Wada Akio faced Uchiyama Takuhiro in the match he had hoped for.
• Wada Akio asked Uchiyama Takuhiro to fight seriously, and the two signaled the examiner to begin.

Yichen explained to Wada Akio why he chose disciples who needed guidance rather than talented ninja who could succeed alone, asking him to judge candidates from the village’s perspective. As Wada Akio and Uchiyama Takuhiro reconsidered their paths, both began transforming toward becoming Jonin, and Yichen and Tomoko stood guard over them.

• Wada Akio dominated Uchiyama Takuhiro in their match, but Uchiyama Takuhiro used the Light-Weight Rock Technique to fly beyond his reach, and they accepted the result as a draw.
• Tomoko brought Wada Akio and Uchiyama Takuhiro to Yichen, who invited Wada Akio to watch the candidates’ matches beside him.
• Yichen explained that he chose disciples such as Katsuya and Tomoko because they needed his guidance, while talented ninja like Wada Akio could thrive without it.
• Yichen urged Wada Akio to assess the candidates from the village’s perspective as they watched Katsuya win and Yoshimura Kazumasa defeat his opponent with rapid hand seals.
• Wada Akio and Uchiyama Takuhiro both began transforming toward becoming Jonin, prompting Yichen and Tomoko to stand guard over them.

After the Chunin Assessment’s first round, Yichen promoted his five victorious disciples and later selected one hundred new Chunin. He discussed Kekkei Tōta with Ōnoki, learned how Dust Release techniques could guide its development, and began planning to create a new Kekkei Tōta of his own.

• Kawazoe Yura lost her match after fighting with a costly arsenal of sealed weapons, while Katsuya won using a new sustainable Genjutsu he had developed with Yichen’s help.
• Yichen advanced his five winning disciples, and Kawazoe Yura remained eligible for promotion through the Barrier Team; Uchiyama Takuhiro had also made a major breakthrough toward becoming a Jonin.
• Five days later, Yichen gave Ōnoki the list of one hundred newly promoted Chunin, noting that Wada Akio and Uchiyama Takuhiro could become Jonin by the following year.
• Ōnoki discussed Dust Release with Yichen and explained that its World Splitter Jutsu and Limit Splitter Jutsu were applications of Kekkei Tōta that might work with other Kekkei Tōta as well.
• Yichen reviewed the steps for developing Kekkei Tōta and concluded that he first needed to learn World Splitter Jutsu before safely fusing three elemental Chakras outside and then inside his body.

After his six disciples became Chunin, Yichen trained them while beginning to fuse water, earth, and lightning Chakra into a new Kekkei Tōta, which he and Ōnoki named Light Release. The training camp ended with the disciples choosing their own paths, while Yichen’s Light Release research remained unfinished.

• Yichen told his newly promoted Chunin disciples that they would continue special training before their team eventually disbanded.
• Yichen began developing a Kekkei Tōta as his six disciples trained, then invited Ōnoki to help him attempt to fuse three Chakra types.
• Over a month of training, Yichen endured repeated explosions, identified the technique’s destructive effect, and named the developing Kekkei Tōta Light Release.
• Yichen ended the training camp and advised Kawazoe Yura, Suda Himezuki, Kanako, Uchiyama Takuhiro, and Yoshimura Kazumasa as they chose their future assignments.
• Yoshimura Kazumasa told Yichen he had decided to join the Ninjutsu Development Department, surprising Yichen, who had not realized the department existed.

Yichen investigated the Mist ninja’s renewed invasion and suspected the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist might be preparing a separate attack. After Konoha and the other villages deployed their Kage-level fighters, he spotted a Mist ninja fleet of roughly three thousand heading toward the Land of Fire.

• Yoshimura Kazumasa asked Yichen to support his plan for a branch researching simplified hand seals, while Katsuya chose to pursue combat experience as a squad leader.
• Team Three and Team Four disbanded, and Ōnoki ordered Yichen to travel to the Land of Whirlpools after the Mist ninja invaded with more than seven thousand troops.
• Yichen suspected Karatachi Yagura might be controlled by Madara Uchiha and predicted Konoha would target the Mist ninja first.
• Yichen searched the Land of Waves and nearby seas for signs of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist but found none at first.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi led Konoha’s forces against the Mist ninja as other nations reinforced their fronts, and Minato Namikaze left Konoha to command in person.
• Yichen spotted a Mist ninja fleet of around three thousand at sea and headed toward the Land of Fire.

Yichen’s warnings helped push Sunagakure and the Cloud ninja into escalating pressure on Konoha, while Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly drove back the Mist forces on the Land of Whirlpools battlefield. The story left Konoha facing a deep Mist invasion as Minato Namikaze and Hiruzen hurried to defend it, with the other villages exploiting the crisis and Iwa falling silent.

• Yichen alerted Sunagakure and the Cloud ninja to the Mist invasion plan, then told Ikura to stay put as the other villages increased pressure on Konoha.
• Minato Namikaze warned Hiruzen Sarutobi that the front had become dangerous, and Hiruzen decided to attack the Three-Tails with Tsunade and Katsuyu.
• Hiruzen led Konoha’s assault, prompting Hozuki Chizuki to order a retreat; the Three-Tails went berserk and caused heavy losses before the Mist forces withdrew.
• Hiruzen learned that roughly three thousand Mist ninja, led by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, had penetrated deep into the Land of Fire.
• Minato sent two thousand ninja back to Konoha, while Hiruzen rushed ahead to intercept the Mist force; Sunagakure and the Cloud ninja advanced, and Minato clashed with the Fourth Raikage and Fourth Kazekage.
• The Iwa ninja, who had been threatening to attack, suddenly fell quiet.

Danzo redirected his poisonous-insect plan against Sunagakure after the Iwa ninja withdrew, while Yichen watched Might Duy defeat the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and collected their weapons and Duy’s body. Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to the front lines with Minato Namikaze’s reinforcements and reported that the Mist ninja detachment had withdrawn.

• Danzo ordered Aburame Shikuroo to move the poisonous insects toward Sunagakure and sent a subordinate to request ten members of the Aburame Clan from Minato Namikaze.
• Yichen captured a Konoha Chunin of the Kurama Clan and followed the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist into the Land of Fire.
• Might Duy opened the Eight Inner Gates, killed Kushimaru Kuriarare, Munashi Jinpachi, Chiriku Hozuki, and Jinin Akebino, and drove Suikazan Fuguki, Juzo Biwa, and Raiga Kurosuki to flee.
• Yichen collected Nuibari, Kabutowari, the Twin Swords Hiramekarei, the Exploding Blade Shibuki, and Might Duy’s corpse, then escaped.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi met Might Guy and the other children, joined Minato Namikaze’s returning reinforcements, and ordered them back to the front lines.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Minato Namikaze that the Mist ninja detachment had withdrawn.

Minato Namikaze learned that Might Duy had driven off the Mist ninja at the cost of his life, while Danzo’s insect attack forced Sunagakure to retreat and changed the war’s balance. Yichen returned to Iwagakure with the captured ninja swords and bodies, bringing Ōnoki, Mei, and Saka the news that a Konoha Genin had killed four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

• Minato Namikaze agreed to provide Danzo with ten Aburame Clan ninja after Hiruzen Sarutobi said Danzo’s plan would likely work.
• Danzo used five Aburame Clan ninja to lure poisonous insects to the Sunagakure camp, forcing the Sunagakure ninja to retreat.
• Yichen sealed the four captured ninja swords, then used the Exploding Blade Shibuki with Ikura to retrieve several hundred thousand Exploding Tags.
• Yichen gave Kanako five thousand Exploding Tags before returning to Iwagakure.
• Yichen handed a Kurama Clan member to the Interrogation Department and brought the four ninja swords and bodies to Ōnoki, Mei, and Saka.
• Yichen told Ōnoki, Mei, and Saka that a Konoha Genin had killed four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

Yichen briefed Ōnoki and the others on the captured ninja swords, Konoha’s poisonous insects, and the dangers posed by Might Duy’s forbidden technique. The meeting ended with Iwagakure planning how to study its captured spoils and reconsidering further action against Konoha.

• Yichen and Saka discussed Sunagakure’s withdrawal after Kikaichū attacked its forces, and they suspected Shimura Danzō had used Kusa Ninja as feed to raise the insects.
• Ōnoki ordered the Barrier Team to study the summoning seals on the four ninja swords before selling them back to Kirigakure through the black market.
• Yichen warned the meeting about Might Duy’s Eight Inner Gates, and Ōnoki ordered Iwa ninja to watch for exceptionally strong Konoha fighters and target them when possible.
• Yichen revealed that he had captured a Konoha Genjutsu ninja who might belong to the Kurama Clan, so Ōnoki assigned the Genjutsu research team and Katsuya to study him.
• Ōnoki’s meeting turned to the war’s changing balance, as Iwagakure’s leaders grew wary of attacking Konoha after its victories over Kirigakure and Sunagakure.