Chapter Summaries

Qi Shuang identified the skeleton as Rin Nohara’s by detecting tailed beast chakra in its bones and sealed it for safekeeping, though he said he needed an unknown person’s help to use it. On their return to Kirigakure, he and Mei Terumi learned that the Fourth Mizukage had expelled the Kaguya Clan after they argued with him over returning to the village.

• Qi Shuang examined the skeleton’s finger bone and sensed a violent tailed beast chakra signature, concluding that it belonged to Rin Nohara.
• Qi Shuang sealed Rin Nohara’s skeleton in a scroll and told Mei Terumi that an eccentric, dangerous person could help him use the bones.
• Qi Shuang and Mei Terumi returned to Kirigakure and encountered Kaguya Clan members angrily confronting the village guards.
• A Kirigakure shinobi told Qi Shuang and Mei Terumi that the Fourth Mizukage had driven out the Kaguya Clan after they tried to force him to let them return to the village.

After entering Kirigakure, Qi Shuang studied Wind Release while Mei Terumi struggled to learn Fire Release despite lacking a natural affinity for it. The chapter ended with news that the retired Third Hokage had died peacefully on the day the Fourth Hokage took office.

• Qi Shuang and Mei Terumi entered Kirigakure after the Kaguya Clan withdrew from the village entrance.
• Qi Shuang trained in Wind Release, while Mei Terumi tried to master Fire Release despite her Lava Release affinity being limited to Water and Earth.
• Mei Terumi grew frustrated and kicked apart her bonfire, but Qi Shuang suggested focusing on fire’s individual characteristics to guide her practice.
• Mei Terumi resumed training with renewed determination, and Qi Shuang returned to studying the natural wind from atop an ice pillar.
• The retired Third Hokage died peacefully after the Fourth Hokage took office.

Kirigakure mourned the Third as political factions cautiously resumed maneuvering, while Qi Shuang returned from an escort mission and trained in Wind Release. After learning to shape wind but failing to give it cutting power, he recalled how a future shinobi had developed that property and began retracing the process.

• Kirigakure held a grand funeral for the Third, and the Reformist Faction cautiously regained influence as the village’s factions pursued their interests.
• Qi Shuang and his companion completed an escort mission, killing several bandits along the way, and returned to Kirigakure after nearly a week.
• Qi Shuang used an ice pillar to sense the wind and quickly learned to transform his chakra into moving air.
• Qi Shuang tried to give his Wind Release a cutting property but could not determine what he was doing wrong.
• Qi Shuang recalled how a future shinobi had added wind’s cutting property to the Rasengan and began reviewing that shinobi’s training process.

Qi Shuang discovered that chakra strands rubbing against each other could create exceptionally sharp Wind Release, then demonstrated its cutting power to Mei Terumi. After slicing through an ice pillar, he realized Wind Release—and possibly piercing Lightning Release—could exploit a weakness in his Ice Release Defense, before cutting apart the falling pillar to save himself.

• Qi Shuang recalled Asuma Sarutobi’s explanation of Wind Release and realized that friction between chakra strands could create sharpness.
• Qi Shuang tested his theory by rubbing two strands of Wind Chakra against each other and cleanly cutting through his clothing.
• Qi Shuang told Mei Terumi he had mastered Wind Release and demonstrated its power by slicing through an ice pillar with a Wind Chakra-coated Kunai.
• Qi Shuang recognized that Wind Release could cut through gaps in his Ice Release Chakra and considered that piercing Lightning Release might pose a similar threat.
• Mei Terumi warned Qi Shuang that the ice pillar was falling, and he swiftly cut the section above himself into fragments before the rest crashed to the ground.

Qi Shuang reconsidered how to counter Wind Release and Lightning Release, then took Mei Terumi out for barbecue. At the restaurant, they overheard Mist ninja report that Konoha’s Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had died, leaving Mei Terumi shocked and Qi Shuang calm.

• Qi Shuang realized he should avoid relying on Ice Release to block powerful Wind Release and Lightning Release attacks.
• Mei Terumi blamed Qi Shuang for interrupting her Fire Release practice, pinched his waist, and accepted his offer to buy her food.
• Qi Shuang and Mei Terumi went to a barbecue restaurant, where they listened to two Mist ninja discuss news from Konoha.
• One Mist ninja announced that Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze had died less than a year after taking office.
• Mei Terumi was stunned and wondered how Minato could have died despite his Flying Thunder God Technique, while Qi Shuang calmly turned the meat on the grill.

Qi Shuang and Mei Terumi discussed reports that the Nine-Tails had rampaged through Konoha and Minato Namikaze had died protecting the village. Qi Shuang regretted that Minato’s death might mean the loss of the Flying Thunder God Technique, while Mei hoped Konoha would lose it forever.

• Two Kirigakure shinobi confirmed that the Nine-Tails had rampaged in Konoha and that the Fourth Hokage had died in battle, then celebrated the news.
• Mei Terumi told Qi Shuang that Konoha’s luck had run out, and he agreed while reflecting that the village’s conflict with the Uchiha clan would worsen.
• Mei Terumi burned her mouth on hot grilled meat, and Qi Shuang laughed until she kicked him under the table.
• Mei Terumi challenged Qi Shuang for seeming regretful about Minato Namikaze’s death, and he explained that he mourned the likely loss of the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Mei Terumi said she hoped the technique would disappear because it belonged to Konoha.

A masked man visited Rin’s grave and vowed to destroy Konoha and retrieve her body from Kirigakure. Over two years, Mei Terumi struggled to fuse Fire Release with Lava Release into a Kekkei Tōta, remaining stuck at the balance between all three chakra transformations.

• The masked man told Rin he had released the Nine-Tails into Konoha, blamed Minato for failing to protect her, and promised to destroy Konoha and bring her body back from Kirigakure.
• After nearly a year of training, Mei Terumi mastered Fire Release chakra transformation and began trying to combine it with Lava Release.
• Qi Shuang explained that Mei first needed to disrupt Lava Release’s stable water-and-earth structure, then create a new balance among all three transformations.
• Mei repeatedly failed to balance the three chakra types, as water and earth naturally fused into Lava Release and rejected Fire Release.
• Another year passed as Qi Shuang advanced his Ice Release research while Mei remained unable to overcome the Kekkei Tōta fusion bottleneck.

Qi Shuang encouraged Mei Terumi to stop dwelling on her stalled chakra fusion experiments and visit Kirigakure’s Jutsu Library for inspiration. On the way, they encountered Zabuza and Haku, and Zabuza told Haku to surpass Qi Shuang in Ice Release so he could use Haku as a whetstone and defeat him.

• Mei Terumi reflected on the dangers and lack of progress in her chakra fusion experiments, while Qi Shuang admitted he could not help her.
• Qi Shuang suggested that Mei Terumi visit the Jutsu Library, and he supported her when her numb legs gave way.
• Qi Shuang spotted Zabuza on the village’s main road and approached him with Mei Terumi.
• Zabuza introduced Haku as an Ice Release user and told him to surpass Qi Shuang so Zabuza could eventually defeat him.
• Mei Terumi greeted Zabuza and asked about the little fellow beside him.

Zabuza brought Haku, a young Ice Release user, back to Kirigakure and used his Anbu authority to give him a clean identity. He intended to train Haku to help him deal with Qi Shuang, while Qi Shuang and Mei Terumi continued toward the Jutsu Library to research jutsu formulas.

• Mei Terumi mistook Haku for a girl until Zabuza clarified that Haku was a boy.
• Zabuza revealed that he had spared Haku because Haku possessed Ice Release and planned to train him to challenge Qi Shuang.
• Zabuza explained that he had killed those who knew Haku’s origins and created a clean identity for him using his Anbu authority.
• Qi Shuang told Zabuza that he and Mei Terumi were heading to the Jutsu Library to seek inspiration for developing jutsu formulas.
• Zabuza criticized their research, then left with Haku and promised to challenge Qi Shuang again.

Qi Shuang and Mei Terumi witnessed the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, drive the Kaguya Clan from the Mizukage Building. After Kirigakure youths provoked the departing clan members, the Kaguya attacked the crowd, leaving the street beneath the building soaked in blood.

• Karatachi Yagura threw several Kaguya Clan ninjas from the Mizukage Building and ordered them to leave Kirigakure.
• Kirigakure bystanders criticized the Kaguya Clan, while the village's clans and officials tacitly accepted Yagura's rejection of them.
• A Kaguya Clan ninja threatened the crowd, and several hotheaded youths challenged him as others quietly backed away.
• Qi Shuang pulled Mei Terumi back when he saw the confrontation turning dangerous.
• The leading Kaguya Clan ninja used the Body Flicker Technique to seize and kill one youth.
• The Kaguya Clan ninjas fired Shikotsumyaku: Ten Finger Nukes into the packed crowd, piercing many people and spreading panic and bloodshed.

Kirigakure’s guards crushed the Kaguya Clan members who had attacked the village, and Qi Shuang and Mei Terumi went to the Jutsu Library to study the Snow Clan’s collected techniques. The chapter left them splitting up to search for techniques that interested them.

• The Kaguya Clan members broke through the crowd surrounding them and charged toward the village entrance, while Yagura decided to leave the matter to Kirigakure’s guards.
• Kirigakure’s guards blocked the Kaguya Clan members, restrained them with Water Whip techniques, and electrocuted them with Lightning Release.
• The guards ordered any surviving Kaguya Clan members taken to prison, and Qi Shuang and Mei Terumi left after the disturbance was suppressed.
• Qi Shuang told Mei Terumi that he wanted to examine the Snow Clan’s Ice Release techniques in the Jutsu Library.
• Mei Terumi chose to study materials on Water, Fire, and Earth Release, so she and Qi Shuang split up.

Qi Shuang browsed the Jutsu Library’s basic Ice Release scrolls while Mei Terumi searched for a way to harmonize her Water, Fire, and Earth chakra. Mei Terumi rushed to the training ground after suspecting that shared chakra properties could bridge the three types, and Qi Shuang headed to the library’s second level.

• Qi Shuang left Mei Terumi and went to the Jutsu Library, where Special Jonin could access its third level but he chose to browse the first level instead.
• Qi Shuang read through the Ice Release scrolls, including Ice Arrow, and found that the first-level techniques mostly taught simple shape transformations.
• Mei Terumi wondered why scrolls with different chakra attributes could be grouped by similar functions and connected that idea to her attempts to fuse three chakra types.
• Mei Terumi suspected that finding shared properties among Water, Fire, and Earth chakra could let her connect them, then hurried to the training ground.
• After finishing the first-level Ice Release scrolls without finding anything profound, Qi Shuang went to the second level.

Qi Shuang explored the third level of the Jutsu Library and found the Ice Armor Technique, a flawed defensive technique that restricted its user's movement. After studying its shortcomings, he realized he knew a way to fix them.

• Qi Shuang entered the third level of the Jutsu Library after finding nothing exceptional among the Ice Release techniques on the second level.
• Qi Shuang found the Ice Release section and took down a scroll titled "Ice Armor Technique."
• Qi Shuang recognized the technique from Snow Bear's use of it against Ming's Lava Release.
• Qi Shuang learned that the technique spread Ice Release chakra over the body for powerful defense but left the user vulnerable by hindering movement.
• Qi Shuang realized he knew how to overcome the Ice Armor Technique's flaw and planned to restore its potential.

Qi Shuang studied the Kirigakure Jutsu Library’s Ice Release scrolls and chose two techniques to copy before searching for Mei Terumi. He found her at their usual training ground, sitting cross-legged and brewing something.

• Qi Shuang read the Magic Mirror Ice Crystal scroll and decided to learn its ice-mirror movement technique while avoiding its dangerous reliance on the mirrors.
• Qi Shuang finished browsing the Ice Release scrolls and selected Ice Armor Technique and Magic Mirror Ice Crystal to copy.
• Qi Shuang paid one hundred thousand ryo for blank scrolls, ink, and brushes, then copied the two techniques.
• Qi Shuang searched the Jutsu Library for Mei Terumi but could not find her, so he headed to their usual training ground.
• Qi Shuang spotted Mei Terumi sitting cross-legged and brewing something at the training ground.

Qi Shuang offered Mei Terumi a safer way to balance three chakra transformations, and Mei found a new direction for her experiments. Elsewhere, Suikazan Fuguki killed a Mist shinobi and reclaimed Samehada after the Hozuki Clan sent it to him.

• Mei Terumi failed to fuse three types of chakra and injured her hands, so Qi Shuang treated her wounds.
• Mei explained how the Jutsu Library's scroll classifications had inspired her chakra-fusion experiments, and Qi Shuang proposed coordinating the three chakra types instead of forcing them into a single structure.
• Qi Shuang demonstrated how Wind Release could support Water Release to form Ice Release, prompting Mei to reconsider how the elements in her Lava Release worked together.
• Mei concluded that Qi Shuang's idea might help her continue her experiments.
• Suikazan Fuguki ambushed and killed a passing Mist shinobi, then took Samehada, which the Hozuki Clan had sent him after the Fourth Mizukage returned it.

A wounded former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen reclaimed Samehada, while the Kaguya Clan’s leader restrained his angry clan after their Kirigakure delegation was killed. In Kirigakure, Qi Shuang studied Magic Mirror Ice Crystal, discovered he could quickly master its chakra resonance, and began comparing its movement technique to Substitution Technique.

• The recovered swordsman removed Samehada from a dead man and left the alley, intent on reclaiming his place among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen despite his lasting injuries.
• The Kaguya Clan learned that their negotiators had been killed in Kirigakure, and its members demanded an attack on the village.
• The elderly Kaguya clan leader forbade retaliation and said he would send someone else to investigate what had happened.
• After completing a bandit-elimination mission, Qi Shuang studied Magic Mirror Ice Crystal and tried linking his chakra with an ice wall.
• Qi Shuang embedded his arm in the ice wall through chakra resonance, struggled to regain the sensation, and eventually pulled free.
• Qi Shuang realized his Ice Release expertise made resonance easy to learn and wondered whether its movement method resembled Substitution Technique.

Qi Shuang practiced moving through his own ice while Mei Terumi experimented with combining Water and Fire chakra. In Kirigakure, Ao warned Yagura that the Kaguya Clan might rebel, and the officials decided to negotiate with the clan after Yagura left the matter to them.

• Qi Shuang compared the Substitution Technique and Magic Mirror Ice Crystal with the Flying Thunder God Technique, then repeatedly practiced traversing ice.
• Mei Terumi tried to combine Water and Fire chakra, but her experiments repeatedly failed as the chakra proportions proved unstable.
• Ao told Yagura that the Kaguya Clan was increasingly restless after repeated rejections and the deaths of its members.
• Yagura dismissed the threat and left the Kaguya Clan matter to Ao and the other officials before using the Body Flicker Technique to leave.
• Ao and the officials decided to visit the Kaguya Clan, assess its intentions, and negotiate if it wanted to return to Kirigakure.

Orochimaru received Kabuto’s intelligence on Hozuki Suigetsu and considered targeting him to study the Hozuki Clan’s Water Transformation ability. Meanwhile, Kirigakure’s envoy met with the Kaguya Clan’s head to ask whether the clan truly needed to return to Kirigakure.

• Kabuto gave Orochimaru a photograph and intelligence about Hozuki Suigetsu and the Hozuki Clan’s defenses.
• Kabuto warned Orochimaru that Suigetsu’s injured older brother, Hozuki Mangetsu, remained dangerous and could make an exposed escape from Kirigakure difficult.
• Orochimaru explained that he wanted a pure-blooded Hozuki Clan member as an experimental subject for research into their Water Transformation ability.
• Kabuto told Orochimaru that Danzo had ordered him to leave the Land of Water for an infiltration mission in Iwagakure, and Orochimaru dismissed him.
• Kirigakure’s envoy met the Kaguya Clan’s head, who welcomed him in hopes that the clan could return to Kirigakure.
• The envoy asked whether the Kaguya Clan truly needed to return to Kirigakure.

The Kaguya Clan leader died of a cerebral hemorrhage after learning that Kirigakure might allow his clan to return under strict rules. The clan blamed the fleeing Mist Village Envoy and, unable to catch him, gathered for an assembly that night.

• The Mist Village Envoy told the old clan leader that the Kaguya Clan could return to Kirigakure if it established rules to restrain its clansmen.
• The old clan leader became overexcited and died from a cerebral hemorrhage as the envoy sat with him.
• Two Kaguya clansmen found the old leader dead, while the Mist Village Envoy slipped away from the hall.
• The Kaguya clansmen learned the envoy had fled and scattered to search for him.
• The envoy escaped toward Kirigakure, and the Kaguya Clan convened an assembly that night.

The Kaguya Clan erupted into a revolt after their clan leader’s suspicious death, while Kirigakure strengthened its defenses for a possible attack. As Orochimaru watched the mobilization, the Great Toad Sage summoned Fukasaku.

• The Kaguya Clan abandoned its plan to capture the envoy and rallied to destroy Kirigakure in revenge for their leader and fallen clansmen.
• Orochimaru watched the Kaguya Clan assemble and realized they were preparing to go to war with Kirigakure.
• The envoy reported the clan leader’s suspected death and the Kaguya Clan’s unrest, prompting Kirigakure’s leaders to reinforce the village defenses.
• Qi Shuang, Mei Terumi, and their squad joined the expanded guard force, where Mei complained about being woken in the middle of the night.
• The Great Toad Sage called for Fukasaku, who heard the summons while eating with his wife.