Chapter Summaries

Jueming defeated Sayuri in the Chunin Exams by using Puppet Blade with the nearly weightless Leaf Blade Sword, then learned that his techniques outside the Grass Release System were causing Mutation. The Konoha higher-ups officially recognized him as the first-place winner and offered him his choice of village post or personal instruction.

• Jueming realized the Grass Release System protected him from Mutation, while his other techniques and Senju bloodline caused contamination as his abilities grew stronger.
• Jueming recalled the Leaf Blade Sword and declared his victory to the Konoha higher-ups.
• The spectators erupted as Minato Namikaze announced Jueming as the winner, and the Great Elder celebrated the Senju Clan’s renewed hope.
• Sayuri questioned her faith in the Konoha higher-ups after losing, while Mito Uzumaki praised Jueming.
• Utatane Koharu officially recognized Jueming as the Chunin Exams’ first-place winner and offered him a choice of village department or instruction from the higher-ups.

Jueming won the competition and nearly attacked Utatane Koharu, but Momoka Senju appeared and stopped the confrontation. The Fourth Training Ground then came under attack by Iwagakure forces, and Hiruzen Sarutobi rallied Konoha to fight.

• Utatane Koharu offered Jueming instruction from Konoha's upper ranks, but Jueming chose to remain with the Senju Clan and approached her while concealing his intent to use Momoka's S-Rank Water Severing Wave.
• Jueming insulted Utatane Koharu's appearance to distract her, but Momoka Senju arrived through a Shadow Clone using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Momoka Senju defended Jueming and ended the confrontation before her Clone burst into smoke, while Jueming left the platform still harboring resentment toward Konoha's upper ranks.
• An orange-haired child warned that the Iwagakure Main Force had arrived, and the Iwagakure Demolition Squad blew up part of the Fourth Training Ground.
• Iwa Ninja invaded and began killing the gathered spectators, prompting Hiruzen Sarutobi to order Anbu to protect the daimyos and call on Konoha to fight.

Iwagakure launched an assault during the Chunin Exams, turning the Fourth Training Ground into a battlefield as Konoha’s leaders and ninja fought to protect the evacuation. Jueming and Sayuri helped guide the younger students, but Shido Akimichi died holding back a boulder long enough for them to escape.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned Enma and joined Konoha’s leaders in fighting Iwagakure, while the Mist, Cloud, and Sand teams withdrew or evacuated.
• Minato Namikaze assigned Jueming and Sayuri to protect and lead Rin Nohara, Natsu Hyuga, Kakashi, Tekka Uchiha, and the other students to safety.
• An Iwagakure attack killed a Konoha Chunin and sent the students fleeing as Hiruzen used Enma’s Adamantine Staff to knock away enemy ninja.
• Black Zetsu explained that the attack exploited the unprotected Fourth Training Ground and served its scheme involving Momoka Senju.
• An Iwagakure Jonin hurled a massive boulder at the fleeing students, and Shido Akimichi used Expansion Jutsu to hold it up while they escaped.
• Sayuri sensed that Shido’s life force had vanished beneath the boulder, and Kurenai Yuhi and the others mourned his death.

Jueming rescued Obito Uchiha and Nara Maru from the slaughter at the Fourth Training Ground, then organized the survivors and returned with Kakashi, Tekka Uchiha, and Sayuri to search for more victims. The battlefield was still raging as Jueming encountered Mito Uzumaki, who insisted the Senju Clan would survive as long as Konoha did.

• Jueming found Obito Uchiha hiding beneath rubble and carried him away from the battlefield.
• Jueming rescued Nara Maru after an Iwagakure ninja severed his arm, while Anzu Senju died in the attack.
• Jueming reunited with Rin Nohara and the others, and Rin treated Nara Maru while the group counted survivors.
• Jueming sent one group toward the village and led Kakashi, Tekka Uchiha, and Sayuri back into the training ground to rescue more people.
• Jueming saw Mito Uzumaki fighting amid the carnage and told her that the Senju Clan could survive even if Konoha fell.

Jueming rescued Shizune and joined Kakashi and Sayuri in defeating two Iwagakure Chunin, but using techniques outside the Grass Release System worsened his Mutation and caused hallucinations. The group then encountered Aoki Senju, who was supposed to be dead, as Yahiko arrived and accused him of surviving.

• Jueming killed an Iwagakure Chunin who was about to attack Shizune, then sent Tekka Uchiha to evacuate her and the wounded.
• Jueming suffered hallucinations from his worsening Mutation and decided to avoid ordinary techniques, while Mito Uzumaki took control of the Leaf Blade Sword.
• Jueming, Kakashi, Sayuri, and Mito Uzumaki coordinated to kill two more Iwagakure Chunin.
• Aoki Senju emerged from the shadows, and Jueming recognized him as the man who was supposed to be dead.
• Aoki Senju denied joining Iwagakure, but Yahiko arrived and accused him of not being dead.

Aoki Senju revealed that he had joined the forces behind White Zetsu Cells to escape the Senju mutation problem and tried to recruit Jueming. Jiraiya ambushed him, but Aoki escaped in a Shadow Clone while his copies vanished underground, leaving his threat to the Senju Clan unresolved.

• Aoki Senju admitted that he had targeted Yahiko because Yahiko obstructed his plans and was in the way of Nagato falling into darkness.
• Aoki offered Jueming a place on his new path and claimed White Zetsu Cells had solved his mutation problem, while Sayuri condemned his betrayal of Konoha.
• Yahiko recognized that Aoki was hiding the price of his supposed cure and called Nagato and Konan to protect him.
• Aoki summoned more than twenty copies, but Jiraiya emerged from Yahiko's shadow and trapped him with Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld.
• Jiraiya grabbed Aoki, who revealed that he would return for Jueming and the Senju Clan before disappearing as a Shadow Clone while his copies sank underground.

After Aoki Senju’s revelation about curing Mutation unsettled Konoha’s leadership, Yahiko and his companions returned to the Land of Rain as war loomed. At the field camp, Jueming coached Tekka Uchiha to abandon his pride, while Kakashi asked whether Jueming would keep defying Utatane Koharu.

• Mito Uzumaki worried that Aoki Senju’s discovery could change the world, and Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato left with Jiraiya’s understanding as they prepared to defend the Land of Rain.
• Konoha’s ninja repelled Iwagakure’s retreating forces, while Sayuri reported Aoki Senju’s matter and the rescue participants were ordered to keep it secret.
• Jueming and Kakashi gorged themselves on food, and Tekka Uchiha joined them while lamenting his loss to Sayuri.
• Jueming told Tekka Uchiha that his pride held him back and urged him to learn from Kakashi’s willingness to do anything to grow stronger.
• Tekka Uchiha insulted an Akimichi Clan ninja and was taken behind the tents to wrestle, while Jueming left to answer the Great Elder’s summons.

Jueming discussed his plan to use Momoka Senju’s S-Rank Water Style against Utatane Koharu with the Great Elder, who warned him about the risks facing the Senju. Jueming asked to go to the battlefield after becoming a Chunin, and the Great Elder agreed while cautioning him about enemies inside and outside Konoha.

• The Great Elder questioned Jueming about whether he had planned to use Momoka Senju’s S-Rank Water Style against Utatane Koharu, and Jueming confirmed it.
• The Great Elder explained that Konoha’s higher-ups had turned against the pure-blooded Senju after the Wood Release Experiment became uncontrollable, and that Momoka’s presence deterred them from acting openly.
• The Great Elder warned Jueming that Momoka’s use of distorted techniques worsened her Mutation, and urged him to train hard and help the Senju rise again.
• Jueming asked to go to the battlefield after earning his Chunin qualification, saying he would bring Kakashi Hatake and could help heal Kakashi’s leg.
• The Great Elder agreed to Jueming’s battlefield request but warned that rival villages and Utatane Koharu’s faction might target him; Jueming asked for more equipment and Explosive Tags.

Black Zetsu recruited Aoki Senju and considered Senju Jueming a potential threat, while Konoha's elders plotted to exploit and eventually eliminate the Senju Clan. Jueming accepted Rin Nohara's medical kit, learned Obito Uchiha considered him a rival, and went to the clan meeting as the elders debated Aoki's betrayal.

• Black Zetsu confirmed that White Zetsu Cells and Aoki Senju's Wood Release Factor strengthened each other, and Aoki proposed recruiting or abducting Senju Jueming.
• Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Shimura Danzō discussed the war preparations and planned to use Jueming before capturing him as an experimental subject; Danzo also arranged for Yakushi Nonō to recruit Kakashi Hatake into Root.
• Rin Nohara gave Jueming a medical kit, and Jueming realized Obito Uchiha was nearby when his energy collection progress increased.
• Obito Uchiha thanked Jueming for saving him, declared him his rival, and ran off.
• Jueming went to the Senju Clan Ancestral Hall, where the elders discussed Aoki Senju's betrayal and suspected Konoha's leaders were behind it.

Jueming received Hashirama’s enormous weapon scroll as a reward and defended Sayuri from insults at the ancestral hall, though she still believed mixed-blood Senju were the clan’s future. After leaving, Jueming removed a leaf from her hair, while a hidden Root Ninja watched and triggered a mental-energy reward.

• The Great Elder gave Jueming Hashirama’s scroll, which held replacement weapons, and Jueming asked whether Tobirama Senju could summon the sea.
• Sayuri entered the ancestral hall to worship, and clan members called her a traitor.
• Jueming rebuked the clan members for mistreating Sayuri and used an analogy about not copying criminals to silence their objections.
• Sayuri told Jueming she still believed mixed-blood Senju were the clan’s future, and Jueming removed a leaf from her hair before leaving.
• A hidden Root Ninja watched the exchange, and Jueming received a notification that he had made Aburame Chiharu feel pain.

Jueming visited his mutated, sleeping teacher Momoka Senju, then attended the funeral for Konoha’s fallen and discovered Yamanaka Santai’s connection to Root. After the funeral, Kakashi agreed to join Root in exchange for surgery, and Jueming openly antagonized Santai while introducing himself.

• Jueming avoided visiting Momoka Senju immediately because he feared her physical examinations would reveal his own mutation, then found her asleep in the forbidden area with her corruption spreading.
• Two days later, Jueming attended the funeral and offered condolences to Rin Nohara, Sayuri, and Yakushi Nonō, provoking pain in their admirers.
• Jueming recognized Yamanaka Santai as a Root ninja who had guarded Kakashi’s hospital room and memorized his appearance.
• After the funeral, Yakushi Nonō told Kakashi that his surgery was ready if he joined Root, and Kakashi accepted.
• Jueming congratulated Kakashi, then called Yamanaka Santai a simp and boastfully listed his own accomplishments.

Jueming thwarted Yamanaka Santai’s attempt to control him and, while Kakashi underwent surgery, emptied Santai’s home using his sealing scroll. The system rewarded him with a new Grass Release skill, while Santai was left unconscious and nearly naked.

• Yakushi Nonō began operating on Kakashi in a bedroom converted into an operating room while Jueming waited outside with Yamanaka Santai.
• Yamanaka Santai tried to use the Mind Body Switch Technique to control Jueming, but Jueming dodged, causing the technique to backfire and knock Santai unconscious.
• Jueming decided not to kill Santai and instead used his scroll to seal away the furniture and belongings in Santai’s house.
• Jueming tore out fixtures and floorboards that could not be sealed normally, then stripped Santai and sealed his clothes as well.
• The system awarded Jueming the skill “Grass Release - Ninja - Phantom Thief,” which let storage-type Ninjutsu avoid worsening his Mutation.

Yakushi Nonō successfully operated on Kakashi Hatake, while Jueming deceived her with a genjutsu and took Kakashi home. Jueming bound Hashirama Senju's Great Scroll, gaining expanded storage and an exchange system that could trade stored items for other goods, but not delicious food.

• Yakushi Nonō removed the fragment from Kakashi Hatake's spine and told Jueming that someone would collect Kakashi in a few days.
• Jueming confronted Yakushi Nonō about sacrificing Kakashi's future, then used a genjutsu to hide the room's true condition and took Kakashi away.
• Yamanaka Santai woke to find his toilet exploding and his house restored to an unfinished bare room.
• Jueming brought Kakashi home and settled him in Senju Akira's former room to keep Danzo's people from taking him.
• Jueming bound Hashirama Senju's Great Scroll, expanding its storage capacity tenfold and unlocking an exchange system for stored items.

Jueming exchanged stolen supplies for Explosive Tags as the villages prepared to start the Third Great Ninja War. After recovering from surgery at Jueming’s home, Kakashi overheard Jueming telling Nonō that he was still bedridden.

• Jueming exchanged most of the supplies from his scroll for nine Explosive Tags and saved the rest.
• Baki warned the Third Kazekage about Jueming, and Sunagakure prepared to launch the Third Great Ninja War.
• Kumogakure’s leaders discussed abducting Jueming and mobilized to invade the Land of Fire.
• Ōnoki learned that Jiraiya had thwarted Iwagakure’s attack and prepared to declare war on Konoha.
• Kirigakure’s leaders discussed killing Jueming on the battlefield as the war became inevitable.
• Kakashi stood and began walking after three days of recovery, then overheard Jueming tell Nonō that Kakashi had not yet woken up.

Jueming tested the limits of his sealing ability on Anko, then left to find Yamanaka Santai and Nara Suzaku at Ichiraku Ramen. After learning Suzaku’s name, he marked the Root ninja as his next target.

• Nonō left after attributing Kakashi’s condition to a medicine side effect, and Jueming took Kakashi to the Senju Clan Forbidden Ground to recover.
• Jueming knocked Anko unconscious and sealed her lollipop, then confirmed that a conscious person could give him an item for him to seal it.
• Jueming tied Anko up in his bathroom, locked the front door from outside, and left her at home.
• At Ichiraku Ramen, Yamanaka Santai and Nara Suzaku discussed Santai’s failed mission and Jueming’s likely future on the battlefield.
• Jueming entered the ramen shop, greeted Santai, learned that his companion was Nara Suzaku, and chose Suzaku as his next target.

Senju Jueming tricked Yamanaka Santai into paying for a feast, while Kakashi found himself trapped inside the Senju Clan Forbidden Ground with a roaring monster in the fog. Tekka Uchiha continued growing stronger by provoking fights, and Jueming began planning something after noticing Nara Suzaku.

• Jueming made Yamanaka Santai pay for everyone’s meal by claiming Yakushi Nonō was nearby, then ate with Tekka Uchiha.
• Nara Suzaku stopped Santai from retaliating and urged him to wait until they met up with Yakushi Nonō.
• Kakashi encountered a Five Seal Barrier while trying to leave the foggy forbidden ground, then heard a monster roaring inside it.
• Tekka Uchiha told Jueming that provoking people into beating him had helped him grow stronger over the past three days.
• Jueming dismissed Tekka’s questions about Kakashi and his scroll, then formed a plan while watching Nara Suzaku leave.

Senju Jueming followed Nara Suzaku home under the pretense of discussing Kakashi joining Root, then secretly looted his house and agreed to join Root to lower Suzaku’s guard. Jueming knocked Suzaku unconscious, stripped the house bare, and left him tied to an explosive toilet before walking away as it detonated.

• Jueming followed Nara Suzaku home and silently stole the items in the entryway with his sealing technique.
• Jueming impressed Suzaku by identifying and appraising his antiques, then agreed to join Root.
• Jueming distracted Suzaku with the sight of an airplane, knocked him unconscious, and stole nearly everything in the house.
• Jueming tied Suzaku to the toilet, rigged it with a water-style explosive, and left him in the bathroom.
• Suzaku woke up trapped and the toilet bomb exploded while Jueming watched from outside.

Jueming exchanged his stolen valuables for Explosive Tags, prepared to defend his home, and began training in the Five Seal Barrier. Meanwhile, Aoki Senju returned to the Senju compound after merging with White Zetsu Cells and invited his childhood companions to join him in addressing the Mutation problem.

• Jueming exchanged all the valuables he had taken for twenty-one Explosive Tags, bringing his total to thirty, and decided to give Yakushi Nonō one last chance.
• Kakashi encountered a vicious Mutated Monster in the Senju Clan Forbidden Ground and blamed Jueming for setting him up.
• Jueming considered moving to protect his home, but Mito Uzumaki advised him to learn the Five Seal Barrier, and she began guiding his training.
• Aoki Senju returned to the Senju compound, where the White Zetsu Cells had resolved his Mutation and given him abilities including the Mayfly Technique.
• Aoki Senju met Jing Senju, Ryota Senju, and Otsuki Senju, then told them he had found a way to solve the Mutation problem and asked them to join him.

Jueming mastered the Five Seal Barrier, but activating it deepened his Mutation and transformed his body and thoughts. He rescued Kakashi from a monster in the Senju Clan Forbidden Ground, revealed the clan’s hidden secrets, and prepared to face the coming war as Kakashi’s comrade.

• Jueming mastered the C-Rank Five Seal Barrier, and Mito Uzumaki praised his talent as his Mutation Level rose to 10.
• Jueming hid the barrier’s talismans around his home and decided to avoid techniques outside the Grass Release System until he found a way to suppress his Mutation.
• Jueming activated the Five Seal Barrier in the Senju Clan Forbidden Ground, raising his Mutation Level to 12 and briefly experiencing Wood Release patterns and altered thoughts.
• Jueming recognized the pursuing monster as a likely Mutation byproduct expelled by Teacher Momoka and carried Kakashi out of the forbidden ground.
• Jueming told Kakashi the Senju Clan’s hidden secrets and said he needed Kakashi not to hold him back on the battlefield; Kakashi agreed to do his best.

Jueming stalled Yakushi Nonō’s attempts to bring him and Kakashi into Root while collecting his Chunin certificate as the Third Great Ninja War began. Two days later, Nonō returned to find Jueming and Kakashi still refusing to cooperate.

• Jueming made Yakushi Nonō leave without discussing Root, then told Kakashi he would collect his Chunin certification and vest.
• Nonō told Yamanaka Santai and Nara Suzaku to wait two days, assuring them Jueming and Kakashi would join Root and become their colleagues.
• Jueming collected his Chunin certificate and vest, then learned from Minato Namikaze that the war had begun and Minato was leaving for the front lines.
• Jueming called out to Sayuri and made Aburame Chiharu feel pain, advancing his A-Type Energy collection progress to 7/100.
• Two days later, Jueming again evaded Nonō’s demand that he join Root, and Kakashi played along with Jueming’s claim that they were going to take a bath together.