Chapter Summaries

Ronglin watched Dan Katō flee through the Kumogakure base while Minato completed the mission and recovered the required item. As Dan Katō and the Elite Jonin rushed toward the entrance, Ronglin finished setting traps and began retreating.

• The Kumogakure Elite Jonin realized the base had been infiltrated and led his subordinates in pursuit of Dan Katō.
• Ronglin watched Dan Katō struggle to escape and decided not to help him, since Minato had already secured the mission objective.
• Ronglin set traps at the base entrance to hinder the pursuing Kumogakure ninja.
• Minato defeated the two Special Jonin guarding the secret chamber, obtained the mission item, and prepared to withdraw.
• Dan Katō rushed out of the base shouting for retreat, and Ronglin stepped back just before the Elite Jonin burst out and sensed danger.

Ronglin ambushed the pursuing Cloud Ninja with buried Explosive Tags and a powerful Fire Release technique, leaving their forces badly injured. Minato arrived at the entrance after witnessing the attack, while Dan Katō was mentioned but did not appear.

• Ronglin detonated the Explosive Tags buried at the base entrance, killing several Cloud Ninja and injuring the others.
• Ronglin attacked the survivors with an A-rank Super Great Fireball and then left with a taunt.
• The Cloud Ninja Elite Jonin countered with Lightning Release: Lightning Storm, causing a massive explosion that sent him crashing into a wall.
• Minato reached the entrance, saw the aftermath, and praised Ronglin’s planning.

Minato, Ronglin, and the injured Dan Katō escaped the Cloud Ninja base and took shelter in a cave, where Minato treated Dan’s wounds. Minato praised Ronglin and tried to improve relations within the team, then asked about the mission as Ronglin brought up Minato’s injured teammate.

• Minato killed the Cloud Ninja who ambushed him and helped Ronglin finish off the remaining enemies.
• Minato carried Dan Katō away from the base, and the three traveled to a concealed cave to rest and treat Dan’s injuries.
• Minato praised Ronglin for his actions and asked him not to hold Dan’s earlier conduct against him.
• Minato asked Ronglin what he thought of the mission, and Ronglin asked about Minato’s injured teammate from the hospital.

After completing missions with Minato and Dan Katō, Ronglin grew stronger and awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. When Danzo finally invited him to join Root, Ronglin refused, but the Root messenger began to insist that Danzo had given an order.

• Minato returned to the cave to care for Dan Katō, and the squad went back to Konoha once Dan Katō was stable.
• Ronglin, Minato, and Dan Katō completed difficult missions together, and Minato and Dan Katō came to recognize Ronglin's formidable strength.
• Ronglin suffered injuries in battle but continued developing his Power of Time, and his Sharingan awakened into the Mangekyō Sharingan during an intense fight.
• After Minato returned home, Ronglin went to turn in the mission items and found a Root ninja following him.
• The Root ninja said Danzo wanted to see Ronglin, but Ronglin refused to join Root and told the messenger to find someone else.
• The Root ninja began to say that Danzo had ordered Ronglin to go.

Uchiha Ronglin rejected Root’s attempt to recruit him and subdued the Root ninja with genjutsu. The Third Hokage ordered the Anbu to keep watching Ronglin without interfering unless Root went too far.

• Uchiha Ronglin told the Root ninja to get lost and used his Three Tomoe Sharingan to trap him in genjutsu.
• An Anbu Ninja checked the Root ninja, then reported the encounter to the Third Hokage.
• The Third Hokage instructed the Anbu Ninja to continue following Ronglin without interfering.
• The Anbu Ninja asked whether Captain White Fang should be recalled and complained that Root was trying to recruit someone expected to join the Anbu.
• The Third Hokage said White Fang’s return had to wait and promised to deal with Root personally if it went too far.

Ronglin discussed Dan Katō’s injury and a Root visit with Tsunade, who warned him to stay away from Danzo and Root. He then left to attend the Uchiha Clan’s annual celebration, while Tsunade was left reflecting on the Senju clan’s decline.

• Ronglin visited Tsunade, who asked why Dan Katō had been so seriously injured.
• Ronglin repeated that Dan Katō had insisted on fighting a strong enemy, and Tsunade chose not to pursue the explanation further.
• Ronglin told Tsunade that someone from Root had visited him, and she warned him not to cooperate with Root or Danzo.
• Ronglin left for the Uchiha Clan’s celebration as Tsunade recalled how the Senju clan’s own annual celebration had disappeared.
• The Uchiha Clan Compound filled with preparations for a celebration attended only by Uchiha.

Ronglin attended the Uchiha clan celebration and learned that the clan saw his growing reputation as a chance to pursue the Hokage position. He recognized Fugaku’s hopes for him but kept his own ambitions guarded.

• Ronglin changed into Uchiha clothes and went alone to the Clan Ancestral Hall.
• The Uchiha at the hall discussed Ronglin’s difficult missions and his record of defeating powerful enemies.
• The clan members recognized that nine-year-old Ronglin could become a major asset to the Uchiha.
• Ronglin understood that Fugaku had brought him back partly because the Uchiha lacked a promising Hokage candidate.
• Ronglin considered the possibility of becoming Hokage but kept his ambitions to himself.

Uchiha Diqin approached Ronglin at the clan celebration, but his bold flirting and suggestion that the clan head betroth her to him angered her. She turned away and sulked.

• Uchiha Diqin left the crowd of young Uchiha men and found Ronglin eating alone.
• Ronglin said he would rather keep eating and openly admired Diqin's appearance.
• Diqin blushed and demanded to know why Ronglin was staring at her.
• Ronglin joked that he could look with his eyes or feel with his hands, alarming Diqin.
• Ronglin said he would not try anything in public, but might ask the clan head to betroth Diqin to him.
• Diqin grew angry and turned away from Ronglin in silence.

At the Uchiha clan celebration, Ronglin explained that he had gone without food while completing a dangerous mission, leaving Uchiha Diqin impressed by how far he was beyond his peers. After she became flustered while staring at him, Ronglin hugged and kissed her, leaving her stunned.

• Ronglin ate eagerly at the celebration and told Uchiha Diqin he had spent the night hunting fugitives before returning to the village without resting or eating.
• Uchiha Diqin realized Ronglin had already faced dangers far beyond those troubling other children his age.
• Uchiha Diqin stared at Ronglin, blushed, and lost herself in thoughts about him.
• Ronglin teased Uchiha Diqin about staring at him, and she snapped back to her senses, mortified.
• Ronglin leaned toward Uchiha Diqin, hugged her, and kissed her, leaving her frozen in shock.

Ronglin kissed Uchiha Diqin in the Ancestral Hall, then met privately with Uchiha Fugaku, who described how the Uchiha had been excluded from Konoha’s major authority. Their conversation ended with the clan still facing resistance from other powerful families.

• Ronglin kissed Uchiha Diqin in the Ancestral Hall, then left after Uchiha Fugaku called him over.
• Uchiha Diqin fled into the woods and kicked a tree while angrily reacting to the kiss.
• Uchiha Fugaku met Ronglin in a secret room and described how the Uchiha had been isolated and denied influence in Konoha.
• Ronglin pointed out that the Uchiha were expected to contribute whenever the village faced trouble but received little when power was divided.
• Uchiha Fugaku recalled how the Senju had blocked the Uchiha, followed by resistance from the Hyuga and other clans.

Ronglin questioned why the Uchiha sought rebellion instead of protesting for their rights, and Uchiha Fugaku revealed that the clan intended to reclaim what belonged to them. After the clan celebration, Ronglin returned to normal life as Minato prepared to lead a new team and their squad’s time together neared its end.

• Ronglin argued that the Uchiha could protest Konoha’s treatment rather than rebel and questioned whether their pride was worth surrendering their rights.
• Uchiha Fugaku told Ronglin that the Uchiha needed to reclaim what rightfully belonged to the clan.
• Ronglin left the secret chamber troubled by Fugaku’s ambition and wondered whether the coming turmoil would match the events he remembered.
• The Uchiha celebrated within their compound late into the night, without inviting outsiders.
• After the celebration, Ronglin’s routine resumed as the Ninja Academy students’ graduation approached and Minato prepared to train a new team.

Minato told Ronglin that he had been assigned to teach Kakashi, and they discussed Kakashi’s early graduation and Minato’s new team. The chapter ended with Ronglin predicting that Minato would have his hands full with Kakashi, Obito, and Rin.

• Minato said the Hokage had given him an interesting pair of rookies, and Ronglin guessed that he would be teaching Kakashi.
• Ronglin pointed out that Kakashi had graduated at five and become a Chunin at six, and Minato praised his record.
• Minato reflected on the powerful teachers assigned to talented students, while Ronglin said he only cared about being stronger than Kakashi.
• Ronglin warned Minato that Kakashi would be difficult to teach and anticipated trouble from the relationships among Kakashi, Obito, and Rin.

Ronglin tried to convince Minato to let him hunt the rogue ninja while Minato carried the mission item, but Minato refused and proposed a bet instead. The chapter ended with Ronglin teasing Minato for looking like Jiraiya when he peeped at girls.

• Ronglin asked Minato to kill the Elite Jonin rogue ninja while Minato carried the target’s head back to Konoha.
• Minato refused Ronglin’s request and proposed a bet.
• Ronglin asked Minato what kind of bet he had in mind.
• Ronglin called Minato’s expression lecherous and compared it to Jiraiya’s.
• Minato blushed and protested that he had never looked like his teacher.

Ronglin and Minato argued over the terms of a race to the Land of Water, and Ronglin rejected a speed contest because Minato could use Flying Thunder God. The chapter ended with Ronglin asking about Minato’s progress on the technique’s second stage and calling it a pity that he had not reached it yet.

• Ronglin teased Minato about peeking at girls bathing and reminded him to explain the terms of their bet.
• Minato proposed that the first to reach the Land of Water would win, with the loser carrying the mission supplies.
• Ronglin pointed out that Minato’s Flying Thunder God made a speed contest unfair and suggested competing to see who was slower instead.
• Ronglin asked whether Minato had reached the second stage of Flying Thunder God, and Minato said he had not.
• Ronglin expressed regret, and Minato asked why.

Ronglin teased Minato about using Flying Thunder God to spy on girls before their conversation shifted to missions in the Land of Rain. They argued over who should carry the mission item, with neither agreeing to take it.

• Ronglin offered to teach Minato a way to see from every angle once Minato mastered the second stage of Flying Thunder God, and Minato rejected the idea.
• Ronglin joked that he would blame Minato if they were caught, prompting Minato to fall silent to avoid trouble with Kushina.
• Ronglin complained about missions in the Land of Rain and discussed how rogue ninjas hid there under Hanzō of the Salamander's suspicious rule.
• Ronglin asked who would carry the mission item, and Minato told him to decide as captain.
• Minato argued that Ronglin should listen to his senior, while Ronglin countered that a senior should take care of his junior.

Minato and Ronglin traveled to the Land of Rain to find their mission target, arriving in Amegakure amid relentless rain and severe poverty. As they observed the city’s bleak conditions, Minato noticed Ronglin gathering intelligence.

• Minato accepted Ronglin’s terms, and the two headed toward the Land of Rain without using Flying Thunder God or racing each other.
• Minato and Ronglin disguised themselves in ordinary clothes before entering Amegakure.
• The two walked through Amegakure and saw its numb civilians, filthy streets, and rain-soaked steel buildings.
• Ronglin gathered intelligence as they explored the city, and Minato asked what he was looking for.

Ronglin told Minato about Akatsuki, the organization founded by Jiraiya’s three Rain Country disciples, and suggested Minato had a connection to its leader. Ronglin explained his interest in the group and its members, while Minato said he would meet them if fate brought them together.

• Ronglin described Akatsuki as a group hunted by Hanzō and reminded Minato that Jiraiya had taught its founders during the Second Shinobi World War.
• Minato realized Ronglin meant Jiraiya’s three war orphans and mentioned hearing that one might possess the Rinnegan.
• Ronglin called the Rinnegan a waste and wondered when his Mangekyo and Byakugan might evolve.
• Minato asked why Ronglin cared about Akatsuki, and Ronglin said he was interested in some of its activities and people.
• Ronglin teased Minato about meeting his junior brother and sisters, and Minato said he would if fate allowed it.

Minato and Ronglin went undercover at a casino in Amegakure to find their A+-rank missing-nin target. They spotted the disguised target, and both continued gambling while keeping watch on him.

• Minato asked Ronglin to gamble at a casino because the missing-nin was known to enjoy gambling.
• Minato gave Ronglin a stack of bills to exchange for chips while he gathered intelligence.
• Ronglin gambled to maintain their cover as Minato listened for useful information.
• Minato spotted the disguised mission target, and Ronglin began watching him while continuing to gamble.
• Minato joined the gambling to avoid making the vigilant target suspicious.

Ronglin watched their mission target at a casino and unexpectedly won a large sum, attracting the target’s interest. He left with the money as several people followed him, while Minato joined him outside.

• Minato lost every bet, so he left the casino to keep watch outside while Ronglin monitored the target inside.
• Ronglin won repeatedly while secretly observing the mission target, drawing attention from gamblers and the target.
• Ronglin exchanged his chips for cash and left the casino, acting as though he feared being followed.
• Several people, including their mission target, followed Ronglin, and Minato met him outside while pretending they were excited winners.

Ronglin and Minato lured Yono into an abandoned district in Amegakure, where Ronglin revealed his Three Tomoe Sharingan and trapped Yono with his time-slowing ability. Minato watched warily as Ronglin’s power took effect.

• Ronglin handed the gambling winnings to Minato and took position on an abandoned rooftop while Minato dealt with the small-time robbers.
• Yono arrived last, hesitated when he found the others dead, and wondered whether he was walking into a trap.
• Ronglin called Yono by his hidden name, then revealed his Three Tomoe Sharingan.
• Yono recognized Ronglin as an Uchiha hunter and tried to flee.
• Ronglin slowed the time around Yono, restricting his movements, while Minato watched from the shadows and considered how the ability could threaten Flying Thunder God.