Chapter Summaries

Yichen used medicinal food to master Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall, then exchanged for Water Style: Water Line Jutsu to develop his Water Release. He left the exchange center still hoping to save enough Contribution Points for a powerful Sensory Ninjutsu.

• Yichen exchanged his mission voucher for forty-five meals of medicinal food and hired a chef to prepare it.
• Yichen practiced Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall for nine days, mastering it with a one hundred percent success rate while reducing its seals and Chakra cost.
• Yichen decided to improve his Water Release Transformation before learning another Earth Style jutsu.
• Yichen browsed the available Sensory Ninjutsu and learned that the technique he wanted cost thirteen thousand Contribution Points, more than he could afford.
• Yichen exchanged one thousand Contribution Points for Water Style: Water Line Jutsu and left the exchange center.

Yichen struggled to master the Water Line Technique, then joined Iwagakure’s leadership and sealing specialists to discuss expanding their sealing corps and replacing the Five-Tails’ Jinchuriki. The meeting ended with Meishe suggesting they seek new Sealing Jutsu ideas from Ninja Academy students.

• Yichen developed a theory for concentrating pressure along a Water Line Technique, then succeeded in piercing a rock after nearly three hundred failed attempts.
• Yichen learned that his Medicinal Food was nearly gone just as the Anbu summoned him to the Tsuchikage’s office.
• Elder Bao explained that Iwagakure planned to expand and train its Sealing Squad after the Five Elements Sealing Jutsu controlled the Five-Tails, and that the village needed a new Jinchuriki.
• Minister Wen presented a recruitment plan, but the leaders struggled to find safe ways to train sealing specialists.
• Ōnoki asked Yichen for advice, and Yichen proposed developing more Sealing Jutsu to build expertise through experimentation.
• Bunji confirmed that developing the Five Elements Sealing Jutsu had improved his sealing skills, and Meishe suggested asking Ninja Academy students for ideas.

Yichen proposed splitting each Tailed Beast between two Jinchuriki, while Iwagakure prepared to reseal the Five-Tails. After improving his Water Release, Yichen tested his Ninjutsu against Ikura and struggled to use it effectively in a spar.

• Yichen suggested splitting a Tailed Beast into two parts and sealing them into separate Jinchuriki, but the group had no way to do it yet.
• After the meeting, Iwagakure's leaders kept several Jonin behind to plan the resealing of the complete Five-Tails.
• Yichen finished his Medicinal Food, improved his Water Release and physical strength, and reached a stable Chakra Amount of about 2.1C.
• Yichen challenged Ikura to a spar, but Ikura defeated him decisively and appeared to have reached Chunin level.
• More than half a month later, Yichen and Ikura sparred under a Jonin's supervision; Yichen's Substitution Technique worked smoothly, but his slow Water Style: Water Line Jutsu barely pierced Ikura's Earth Flow Wall.

As graduation approached, Yichen worried about the dangers awaiting new Genin and focused on preparing for attacks by Missing-nin. He developed his Sealing Jutsu-based combat options, but his need for supplements left him short on Contribution Points, and he regretted spending them on ninja tools.

• Yichen weighed the dangers of rogue ninja and Missing-nin and decided to prioritize survival over learning a wide range of techniques.
• He concentrated on Sealing Jutsu, using his skill to make Ninjutsu scrolls and seal Earth Style: Earth Flow Walls and Water Style: Water Line Jutsu.
• After spending a month making one hundred scrolls and two more months attempting to seal techniques, Yichen succeeded with three Earth Flow Walls and two Water Line Jutsu.
• Yichen improved his Water Line Jutsu proficiency and hand seal speed to 2.2 seals per second, though he had not mastered the technique.
• The Barrier Team raised Yichen's pay to 600,000 ryo and 200 Contribution Points per month, but the cost of supplements kept his Contribution Points low.
• Yichen regretted using Contribution Points to buy ninja tools when village merchants sold similar items for ryo.

Yichen spent his remaining money hiring Chunin Han Lei to teach him Earth Rising Spear, and made rapid progress under his guidance. After deciding he needed Contribution Points to obtain Sensory Ninjutsu, Yichen turned to studying B-rank Sealing Jutsu for ideas that could benefit the village.

• Yichen prepared for missions by sealing backup weapons and supplies onto his body, buying real ninja tools, and resuming practice of Earth Rising Spear.
• Yichen posted a one-million-ryo B-rank Mission to hire an Earth Rising Spear instructor, and Chunin Han Lei accepted it.
• Han Lei explained that Earth Rising Spear had to be formed beneath the ground before erupting, and Yichen began producing and controlling small earth protrusions.
• Over five days, Han Lei taught Yichen how to direct the protrusions and shape them into spears before declaring the mission complete.
• Yichen realized he needed more Contribution Points to exchange for Sensory Ninjutsu and began studying the B-rank Sealing Jutsu available through the Barrier Team.

Yichen proposed that Iwagakure target the Uzumaki Clan’s people and secretly turn Konoha and Sunagakure against the Cloud ninja and Kirigakure during the attack on the Land of Whirlpools. Ōnoki’s schemes helped Iwagakure seize sealing knowledge and Uzumaki descendants while Konoha suffered heavy losses and descended into political conflict.

• Yichen suggested that Iwagakure capture Uzumaki people as well as Sealing Jutsu, then secretly inform Konoha so it would clash with the Cloud ninja and Kirigakure.
• Ōnoki and the advisors decided to join the operation, and an advisor proposed grooming Yichen as a future advisor or Tsuchikage candidate.
• More than a month later, news spread that the Land of Whirlpools had been destroyed, and Yichen learned that Ōnoki had secretly fed manipulated intelligence to Konoha and Sunagakure.
• The White Fang, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya were caught in battles against the Mizukage, Raikage, and Kazekage; Jiraiya was badly wounded, and Konoha lost many Anbu.
• Ōnoki seized Sealing Jutsu from Uzushio Village while Iwagakure’s advisors gathered people with Uzumaki blood, and both groups returned without killing anyone.
• Danzo challenged Hiruzen Sarutobi’s leadership and sought punishment for the White Fang and the Three Sannin, while the other nations divided the Land of Whirlpools’ spoils.

Yichen studied the Uzumaki Clan’s stolen Sealing Jutsu for half a year, advancing his skills and suspecting that seals drew on Natural Energy. He chose the S-rank Fire Domain Sealing Jutsu to investigate that idea, then gathered his Barrier Team colleagues to share and compare their interpretations of unfamiliar sealing terms.

• Ōnoki explained that Iwagakure had taken only part of the Uzumaki Clan’s vast Sealing Jutsu collection, and the ninjas sorted the scrolls by type and Chakra requirements.
• Ōnoki assigned each ninja a number of scrolls to study, granting Yichen permission to read one S-rank, three A-rank, and fifteen B-rank Sealing Jutsu.
• Yichen spent the next half year studying the scrolls, analyzed his allotted B-rank and A-rank techniques, and learned to use Chakra Masking with his 6.2C Chakra Amount.
• Yichen suspected Sealing Jutsu mobilized Natural Energy and chose the S-rank Fire Domain Sealing Jutsu to investigate how it could produce flames beyond the Chakra initially spent.
• Yichen gathered Barrier Team colleagues, shared his interpretations of unfamiliar terms, and arranged for them to compare notes before meeting again in two days.

Yichen advanced his study of the S-rank sealing jutsu “Fire Domain” while preparing to graduate from the Ninja Academy. Teacher Ishikawa announced the new teams, placing Yichen with Shinohara and Tana.

• Yichen and the Barrier Team pooled their translated vocabulary, divided credit proportionally, and agreed to meet every ten days to exchange insights.
• Yichen broke the “Fire Domain” seal into hundreds of fragments and tested them, deciphering more as his experiments progressed.
• Four years after entering the academy, Yichen had reached age nine and improved his ninjutsu and sealing skills before graduation interrupted his experiments.
• Teacher Ishikawa announced the first team as Taniya, Mubuki, and Fujino, whose relief at being grouped together made the class laugh.
• Teacher Ishikawa assigned Ikura, Meikou, and Uzumaki Yumi to Team Two, prompting protests from the girls and leaving Tana visibly disheartened.
• Teacher Ishikawa announced Team Five as Yichen, Shinohara, and Tana.

Yichen, Shinohara, and Tana were assigned to Team Five under the young Jonin Kitsuchi, Ōnoki’s son. During a combat test, Kitsuchi overwhelmed their coordinated attack and targeted Yichen, who was left in danger as the chapter ended.

• Yichen teased Shinohara about Tana before the graduates waited for their Jonin captains.
• The village assigned Ikura, Meikou, and Uzumaki Yumi to Team Two under the head of the Barrier Team.
• Kitsuchi introduced himself as Team Five’s captain, and Yichen recognized him as Ōnoki’s son.
• Kitsuchi asked Yichen, Shinohara, and Tana to attack him so he could assess their abilities.
• Yichen, Shinohara, and Tana coordinated an attack, but Kitsuchi grabbed Shinohara and evaded their strikes.
• Yichen used Earth Style: Earth Rising Spear, but Kitsuchi countered with Earth Release—Earth Splitting Palm and rushed toward the fallen Yichen.

Yichen and his teammates lost a spar against Kitsuchi, who encouraged them and took them out to celebrate the formation of Team Five. At a group dinner, Yichen befriended Uzumaki Yumi by giving her his Sealing Jutsu notes, hoping to help her feel welcome in Iwagakure.

• Yichen used a double transfer with the Substitution Technique to escape Kitsuchi, but Kitsuchi later buried him with the Headhunter Jutsu and defeated Team Five.
• Kitsuchi comforted Yichen, Tana, and Shinohara after the spar and invited them to celebrate Team Five with a barbecue meal.
• At the restaurant, Yichen joined tables with Ikura, Meikou, Captain Mizuhara, and Uzumaki Yumi, then arranged for Tana to sit beside Ikura.
• Meikou introduced Yumi to Team Five, and Yichen learned that Captain Mizuhara would teach her Sealing Jutsu.
• Yichen gave Yumi his Sealing Jutsu notes, and Mizuhara assured her that Yichen's knowledge made them useful; Yumi accepted the gift and thanked him.

Yichen and his teammates began taking C-rank missions under Kitsuchi, choosing to escort a town official to the Land of Earth’s capital. They completed the journey safely without encountering any danger, leaving the rookie ninja disappointed that they had no chance to test their skills.

• After the dinner gathering, Kitsuchi told Yichen, Tana, and Shinohara to meet at the Mission Hall the next morning and announced that they would take C-rank missions.
• At the Mission Hall, Yichen, Tana, and Shinohara argued before choosing an escort mission to accompany a client from a town near Iwagakure to the capital of the Land of Earth.
• Kitsuchi led Team Five to the town, teaching the rookies about the ninja world as they traveled and keeping them in a combat formation after they arrived.
• The team met the client, an official responsible for the town’s government affairs, and escorted him toward the capital while staying alert for missing-nin and other threats.
• Yichen, Tana, and Shinohara completed the five-day journey safely, then felt disappointed that no incident had given them a chance to use their skills.

On their return from a mission, Kitsuchi and Team Five discovered that three enemy Chunin were pursuing an injured Iwa squad and rushed to help. Kitsuchi charged ahead while Yichen led Tana and Shinohara against one attacker, and the chapter ended as Yichen completed an Earth Style technique.

• Kitsuchi spotted tracks showing that three Chunin were pursuing an injured group, and Yichen, Tana, and Shinohara agreed to provide support while marking the route for reinforcements.
• The four found the enemy attacking a group trapped in a jagged rock field, and Kitsuchi rushed ahead while ordering Yichen to command Team Five.
• One of the enemy Taijutsu ninja, Takeo, broke away and charged at Yichen, Tana, and Shinohara, so Yichen directed the team to engage him.
• Yichen and Tana feigned weak attacks and hand seals, drawing Takeo into stabbing range while Tana struck his abdomen with a kunai.
• Takeo realized Yichen had completed Earth Style: Earth Rising Spear as Yichen pressed both palms to the ground.

Yichen's team killed Takeo and helped Kitsuchi defeat the rogue ninjas, then rescued an injured squad and returned to the village. After reflecting on the danger of missions and studying during his break, Yichen spent the next year completing C-rank missions with Team Five.

• Takeo was killed by Yichen's team, who then hurried to support Kitsuchi.
• Yichen protected his team from an Earth Dragon Bullets attack, and Kitsuchi killed the rogue ninja casting it.
• Yichen's team and Kitsuchi rescued four trapped ninjas, and an Anbu medical ninja treated their severely injured captain.
• After returning to the village, Yichen wrote a mission report and spent his extra days off studying the Fire Domain Sealing Jutsu.
• Team Five completed a bandit-clearing mission and spent the following year undertaking C-rank missions, including a lengthy search for a spy.

Yichen helped the Barrier Team investigate two unsolved fragments of the Fire Domain Sealing Jutsu, then spent his mission reward on Sensory Ninjutsu and mastered it. He joined Team Five on a search for a missing child, intending to test his new technique.

• Yichen gathered the Barrier Team's experts and explained his year of research into the Fire Domain Sealing Jutsu, focusing on two fragments he believed involved generating flames and converting Natural Energy.
• Ōnoki joined the Barrier Team's discussion, but the researchers made no progress beyond theory and experiment design during Yichen's five-day break.
• Ōnoki awarded Yichen five thousand Contribution Points for his research, and Yichen exchanged them for Sensory Ninjutsu.
• Yichen successfully learned Sensory Ninjutsu, sensing nearby lifeforms and mastering its range through practice.
• Yichen told Team Five about his new technique and proposed choosing a mission where he could use it.
• Team Five selected a mission to find a child who had gone missing in a distant town.

Team Five tracked missing Little Sumire to an orphanage in Zhuchang Town, where Yichen recognized the nun Yakushi Nonō and exposed her hidden ninja abilities. Kurotsuchi fought Nonō and defeated her, leaving the team with her identity still unknown.

• Yichen led Team Five along Little Sumire’s footprints to a village, where the chief revealed that a kidnapper had taken the child and then handed him over to a nun from Zhuchang Town.
• Team Five found the orphanage, reunited with Little Sumire, and Yichen recognized its caretaker as Yakushi Nonō.
• Yichen threw a wire-guided Shuriken toward a child to test Nonō, and Kurotsuchi noticed her unnatural reaction.
• After Team Five left town with Little Sumire, Nonō followed them and refused to reveal her identity when Kurotsuchi confronted her.
• Kurotsuchi fought Nonō while Yichen monitored the orphanage, and Tana and Shinohara’s Shuriken helped Kurotsuchi gain the advantage.
• Kurotsuchi landed several heavy blows, leaving Nonō unable to stand.

Yichen negotiated with Nonō for her Medical Ninjutsu insights in exchange for leaving the orphanage alone, then returned to Iwagakure with the scroll. The village rewarded Team Five, promoted Yichen to a Chunin assessment, and arranged special combat training for him.

• Yichen offered to spare the orphanage if Nonō recorded her Medical Ninjutsu methods, and she agreed after Kitsuchi approved the deal.
• Yichen verified Nonō's scroll, and Kitsuchi led Team Five back to Iwagakure while Nonō treated her wounds and relocated the orphans.
• Ōnoki and the advisors accepted Yichen's decision, rated the mission A-rank, awarded the team 3,000 Contribution Points, and scheduled Yichen's Chunin assessment for three days later.
• Ōnoki decided Team Five would stay together after Yichen's promotion, with Yichen leading a team only after they disbanded in a few years.
• Kitsuchi began special combat training for Yichen, whose Chakra Amount had risen to 42C and whose Ninjutsu control and hand seal speed had improved.

Yichen underwent three days of taijutsu training with Kitsuchi to prepare for the Chunin Assessment, where he faced the experienced Chunin Kenbon. Yichen’s improvised combination caught Kenbon off guard, but Kenbon blocked his slash and used its force to retreat, leaving their fight unresolved.

• Kitsuchi trained Yichen to defend himself at close range and create openings to use ninjutsu, while Shinohara and Tana tested his progress.
• Ikura also received notice to take the Chunin Assessment, and Kitsuchi told Yichen that his opponent would be the cautious, taijutsu-skilled Kenbon.
• Yichen and Ikura arrived at the assessment with their teams, and Ōnoki and several advisers watched them face separate Chunin opponents.
• Yichen concealed his hand seals in his sleeves and used Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall to disrupt Kenbon’s approach.
• Yichen followed with shuriken and a Quick Draw Slash, but Kenbon deflected the shuriken, blocked the blade with a kunai, and retreated using the slash’s force.

Yichen used feints, clones, and Earth Style attacks to control his fight against Kenbon, but Kenbon endured the traps and forced his way closer. With no time left to cast another jutsu, Yichen charged into close combat, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Yichen baited Kenbon behind an Earth Flow Wall, then used Earth Rising Spear to drive him back before tricking him into defending against a fake Great Fireball Jutsu.
• Yichen used Sensory Ninjutsu to identify Kenbon's real body and Earth Style Clone, then prepared an explosive-tag ambush with a weak clone of his own.
• Kenbon mistook Yichen's clone for his real body and was caught by the lit Exploding Tag, but his Earth Flow Defense shielded him from the blast.
• Yichen failed to finish Kenbon while he was recovering because Kenbon's Earth Style Clone kept him occupied, allowing Kenbon to regain his footing.
• Kenbon charged through Yichen's Earth Rising Spear attacks and evaded another attack from a sealed scroll, closing the distance until Yichen had to rush him with Taijutsu.

Yichen defeated Kenbon in the Chunin Assessment by exploiting his opponent’s known abilities and personality, earning promotion alongside Ikura. After Ōnoki awarded them Chunin vests and Medicinal Food, Yichen tried to make Kitsuchi treat both teams to barbecue.

• Yichen used a sealed spare longsword to disrupt Kenbon’s defense, then defeated him with Earth Style: Earth Rising Spear before Kitsuchi intervened to rescue Kenbon.
• The officials praised Yichen’s abilities and tactics, and he reflected on how his intelligence advantage had helped him win while consuming much of his Chakra.
• Yichen watched Ikura defeat Nagao after a prolonged battle that included a powerful B-rank Ninjutsu.
• Ōnoki awarded Yichen and Ikura Chunin vests and two servings of Medicinal Food each, and Yichen decided to focus more on Ninjutsu training.
• Yichen asked Kitsuchi to celebrate his promotion with barbecue, then announced to Team Two that Kitsuchi was treating them as well.

Yichen trained with the Jonin Seiichi for twenty days, improving his Water Release and strengthening Water Style: Water Line Jutsu while learning Water Style: Raging Frost Stream. He then returned to the Barrier Team and was overwhelmed by the research progress and growing number of experiments on the "Fire Domain" fragment.

• Yichen practiced Water Style: Water Line Jutsu while waiting for a guide, and Jonin Seiichi arrived to teach him about Water Release Transformation.
• Yichen shared his ideas about adding pressure to Water Style: Water Line Jutsu, inspiring Seiichi to explain Water Release and share his insights in return.
• During twenty days of training with Seiichi and using Medicinal Food, Yichen learned Water Style: Raging Frost Stream and improved his Water Release techniques, while Seiichi developed three Ninjutsu.
• Yichen's upgraded Water Style: Water Line Jutsu became faster and powerful enough to pierce his Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall, though it consumed much more Chakra.
• Yichen visited the Barrier Team and learned that their nonstop research on the "Fire Domain" fragment had produced major progress in Sealing Jutsu and many new experiments.
• Yichen became absorbed in the Barrier Team's research reports and realized he had read less than one-tenth of the documents when it was time to go home.