Chapter Summaries

Yuhara defeated Juzo Biwa, then drove off Hozuki Mangetsu and escaped Mei Terumi’s deadly acid mist. In the woods, he found the dead Konoha child and executed Captain Hayase, leaving the child’s death unanswered.

• Yuhara recovered from his injuries after killing Juzo Biwa, but his Chakra was nearly depleted.
• Hozuki Mangetsu attacked Yuhara, who smashed him away with Kubikiribōchō and broke the sword.
• Mei Terumi used Boiling Release: Clever Mist Technique, and Yuhara fled before the acid mist covered the lake.
• Yuhara found a trail of Konoha corpses and confirmed that the youngest child had died from a blow to the chest.
• Captain Hayase ordered Yuhara to escort him, but Yuhara killed him with a Mercury Longsword.

Yuhara found Tigo dying and used a desperate, incomplete Living Corpse Reincarnation ritual to seal away something from her before her body died. Though grief made him question returning to Konoha, he decided to go back after recovering his teammates’ bodies and destroying the captain’s corpse.

• Yuhara refused Captain Hayase’s orders, killed him, and continued retreating through the Land of Fire.
• Yuhara found Tigo gravely wounded and attempted to preserve her life with Living Corpse Reincarnation.
• Yuhara completed the ritual and sealed a substance drawn from Tigo, but could not tell whether it was her spirit and energy or only her Chakra.
• After considering how his comrades had died and who bore responsibility, Yuhara decided to return to Konoha.
• Yuhara planned to recover as many teammates’ bodies as possible and destroy the captain’s corpse to hide the different wounds on it.

Yuhara returned to Konoha and gave an account of his squad’s destruction, which the investigators confirmed through questioning and examination of the recovered bodies. Minato Namikaze ordered an investigation into the squad’s commander and asked for a count of young Ninjas still stationed on the front line.

• Yuhara told Konoha investigators that Captain Hayase’s poor decisions led to the squad’s destruction by Mist Ninjas, including Karatachi Yagura and Juzo Biwa.
• Yuhara explained that he had escaped by hiding inside iron sand, and the investigators accepted his account after using hypnotic guidance.
• Yuhara signed the casualty list, noticed Unno Iruka’s name, and said the boy had been too young to die on the battlefield.
• Konoha’s Torture Department examined the recovered corpses and confirmed that their evidence matched Yuhara’s account, while implicating the commander.
• Minato Namikaze ordered an Anbu Ninja to investigate how the commander had led the squad and asked the operations department to count front-line Ninjas under fourteen.

After his squad was wiped out, Yuhara remained in Konoha under watch and spent several days resting and assessing his abilities. He identified balancing his speed and strength modes as his next goal, then felt his mood lift while watching Spirit Beasts in a plaza.

• Yuhara stayed at his inn while Konoha Ninjas watched him to ensure he did not flee.
• Yuhara rested for three days and reflected on the battle, his abilities, and his next steps.
• Yuhara assessed his combat strength and concluded that he needed to use his speed and strength modes simultaneously and in balance.
• Yuhara wandered around Konoha and sat beside a plaza, where he watched Spirit Beasts doze in the sun and felt less melancholy.

Yuhara told a retired old man that he wanted to prove civilian ninjas could match clan ninjas if given equal training, and tied his goal to the Sage of Six Paths’ unfinished vision of equality. The old man warned him that the clans would resist, but Yuhara said he would try anyway.

• Yuhara woke when a retired old man sat beside him and struck up a conversation about his slovenly appearance and the war.
• Yuhara complained that, despite serving on the front line several times, no one had taught him ninjutsu.
• Yuhara compared the Ninja world’s hierarchy to a religion whose leaders monopolized its teachings.
• Yuhara argued that the Sage of Six Paths had spread chakra but not techniques, leaving civilian ninjas disadvantaged compared with clan ninjas.
• The old man warned that Yuhara’s plan would face enormous resistance from clan leaders, and Yuhara said he would try it anyway.

Minato Namikaze considered postwar population and shinobi matters over lunch, while Yuhara replenished his mercury, discovered a possible way to make money, and went to get a new hairstyle. The chapter left Yuhara asking a barber for Hatake Sakumo’s hairstyle and keeping an ordinary hair tie from a passing stranger.

• Minato Namikaze discussed the easing war and postwar population concerns with his wife, then suggested Kakashi help with the next matter.
• Yuhara finished speaking with the retired old man and went to the Ninja Tool Shop to replenish his mercury and adjust his Sword Crate supplies.
• The shopkeeper showed Yuhara a Chakra Blade priced at two hundred thousand ryo, which Yuhara rejected.
• Yuhara realized he could make money with his kunai and went to a barbershop to request Hatake Sakumo’s hairstyle.
• Yuhara stopped the barber from discarding his hair tie, explaining that he had no intention of throwing it away.

Yuhara cleared the suspicion surrounding him, registered for Konoha’s Chunin Exam, and began preparing for the next stage. He barely passed the first written test and learned that the following day’s exam would be a jungle battle royale.

• Yuhara received notice that the investigation had cleared him and blamed the destroyed squad on its captain.
• Yuhara saw an announcement for a Chunin Exam in two weeks and immediately registered.
• Yuhara spent the next half-month trying to complete his balanced mode and learn a new ninjutsu.
• Yuhara took the written exam at the Ninja Academy and scored fifty-one points, one point above the passing mark.
• The examiners announced that the second stage would be a jungle battle royale held the following day.

Yuhara entered the second Chunin exam, where examinees had to secure two genuine ciphertexts while surviving a forest full of dangerous opponents. He ignored the memorization challenge and headed into the forest, planning to gather enough ciphertexts to pass through probability.

• The chief examiner announced that examinees had one week to obtain and verify two genuine ciphertexts, while killing was forbidden.
• Yuhara recognized that memorizing the decryption instructions and ciphertexts would be difficult as the other Genin formed teams to divide the work.
• Yuhara claimed his ciphertext without studying the curtain and entered the forest alone, drawing concern and scorn from the other examinees.
• Yuhara suspected that most or all of the supposed enemy prisoners were disguised Konoha Ninja and decided to pass by collecting ciphertexts from ten or more people.

Yuhara used a campfire as bait during the Chunin Ninja Exams, capturing enemy teams and collecting coded messages until the examiners declared him passed. Kakashi Hatake escorted him out, and Yuhara asked Kakashi about the advantages of shinobi-clan ninjas.

• Yuhara lit a campfire in the woods and trapped two disguised Konoha Ninjas with his metal-binding technique.
• Yuhara captured several more attackers and candidate teams, gathering fifteen coded messages as the examiners noticed people were disappearing in his area.
• A Hyuga Ninja used his Byakugan to find captives hanging from a tree, and the examiners decided to pass Yuhara and bring him out.
• Kakashi Hatake found Yuhara and told him he had passed, leaving the captives for others to rescue.
• Yuhara followed Kakashi out and asked about shinobi-clan ninjas, and Kakashi said their early advantages did not determine their later achievements.

Yuhara passed the second Chunin Exam and entered the final assessment, where he was paired against the young Uchiha Shisui. He overwhelmed Shisui, stopped an Uchiha ninja who charged into the arena, and launched an advanced Wind Release technique as the Fourth Hokage intervened.

• Kakashi told Yuhara he had passed the second exam and ordered him to report for the final assessment in seven days; Yuhara handed him the coded scrolls he had collected.
• Yuhara arrived at the final exam, where the Fourth Hokage, Third Hokage, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru watched from the viewing platform.
• Shiranui Genma drew Yuhara and Uchiha Shisui as the first opponents, and Yuhara questioned whether the match was fair because Shisui looked so young.
• Yuhara unleashed several techniques and armored himself with the Art of the Holding Magnet, but Shisui's Great Fireball failed to harm him; Yuhara struck Shisui into a wall.
• An Uchiha ninja rushed into the arena, and Yuhara struck him with an iron arrow and pinned him to the wall.
• Yuhara formed and threw a False Sage Art: True Wind Release: Spiraling Shuriken at the Uchiha ninja, prompting the Fourth Hokage to act as Yuhara ran out of Chakra.

Yuhara defeated Uchiha Shisui and another Uchiha with a devastating Rasenshuriken, then returned to the waiting area as the exam paused for repairs. Minato Namikaze and the others reviewed Yuhara’s records and considered what his extraordinary victory meant.

• Yuhara’s Rasenshuriken destroyed part of the arena, while Flying Thunder God kunai moved the three Uchiha out of its path.
• An ANBU Ninja tried to stop Yuhara from approaching the damage, but the Fourth Hokage intervened and Shiranui Genma declared Yuhara the winner.
• Yuhara helped dig Uchiha Shisui out of the wall, blamed Shiranui Genma for allowing the match, and returned to the examinees’ waiting area exhausted.
• Minato Namikaze reviewed Yuhara’s records, which noted his creation as Orochimaru’s Test Subject, his teammate’s death, and his encounter with a wiped-out Kirigakure squad.
• Orochimaru laughed at Yuhara’s hostility toward the Uchiha, then regretted having misjudged his former Test Subject.

After impressing Konoha’s leaders with his Wind Release, Yuhara forfeited his next Chunin Exam match and watched the tournament conclude. The Fourth Hokage summoned him afterward to ask about the technique, and Yuhara claimed it was his original ninjutsu.

• Orochimaru regretted abandoning Yuhara as a test subject, while the Third Hokage explained his earlier encounter with the young shinobi and the Fourth Hokage praised Yuhara’s strength.
• Yuhara forfeited his second-round match, saying he had used too much Chakra, and his opponent advanced without a fight.
• An Akimichi Clan shinobi won the tournament, though Konoha postponed announcing which candidates had passed the exams.
• Kakashi brought Yuhara to meet the Fourth Hokage, who asked about the Wind Release Ninjutsu he had used in the arena.
• Yuhara told the Fourth Hokage that the Wind Release technique was his original ninjutsu.

Yuhara explained his Rasenshuriken to the Fourth Hokage and hinted at the dangers facing the Hokage’s family, then encountered Orochimaru, who questioned him about Nature Energy. Jiraiya confronted Orochimaru afterward, while Yuhara left without revealing his secrets.

• Yuhara explained that his Rasenshuriken was based on a model of celestial bodies, and the Fourth Hokage accepted his explanation.
• Yuhara asked the Fourth Hokage what he would do if Konoha and his family were threatened at the same time.
• Yuhara met Orochimaru in an alley, where Orochimaru asked how he had applied Nature Energy and suggested they might cooperate.
• Jiraiya emerged after Yuhara left and accused Orochimaru of teaching Yuhara Senjutsu.
• Orochimaru denied involvement, leaving Yuhara’s origins and the growing attention from Konoha’s factions unresolved.

After being promoted to Chunin, Yuhara accepted an appointment to Konoha's Anbu and joined Gojo's team under the codename Lu Yu. His first assignment began with an eight-hour shift of tactical security duty in the Hokage administration building.

• Sixteen Genin, including Yuhara, were promoted to Chunin after the exam results were announced.
• Yuhara retrieved the belongings he had hidden outside Konoha and received a sealed letter offering him an appointment from a central Konoha department.
• Yuhara reported to the Anbu headquarters and met Gojo, his team captain, along with new recruits Batsu and Kizuna.
• Yuhara chose the codename Lu Yu, put on his Anbu equipment and a fox-faced mask, then joined Gojo's team.
• Gojo led Yuhara, Batsu, and Kizuna to the Hokage administration building, where they took over an eight-hour tactical security shift.

Yuhara studied Chakra nature transformation during his ANBU guard duty before receiving a secret mission to capture a fellow Konoha ninja. The target was revealed to be Uchiha Tetsu, an Uchiha jonin who opposed Konoha.

• Yuhara learned about the Critical Cultivation Method and tried to begin learning Fire Release nature transformation.
• After his guard shift, Yuhara found a card ordering him to attend an ANBU mission briefing.
• Captain Gojo briefed the squad on a secret mission to capture a Konoha ninja alive as he left the village.
• Gojo assigned Yuhara to capture the target while the other three squad members restrained him.
• Gojo identified the target as Uchiha Tetsu, a staunch anti-Konoha faction member in the Uchiha Clan.

Yuhara and Gojo’s Anbu squad captured Uchiha Tetsu in a staged ambush, but Yuhara later attacked Gojo after suspecting him of framing Kakashi. The chapter ended with Yuhara’s lightning-charged hand poised near Gojo’s heart.

• Yuhara and three Anbu ninja ambushed Uchiha Tetsu, who avoided their first attack with the Substitution Technique.
• Yuhara used his armor, a headbutt, and a trap wire to help subdue Uchiha Tetsu, who was then paralyzed by a lightning-charged arrow.
• Gojo praised Yuhara, and the squad secretly returned Uchiha Tetsu to Konoha through an Anbu channel.
• Gojo dismissed Yuhara and the other Anbu before taking Uchiha Tetsu to complete the handoff.
• Yuhara attacked Gojo from behind with a lightning-charged hand and suggested that Gojo had been stabbed by Kakashi.

Yuhara suspected that the mission to capture a Uchiha ninja was an illegal plot and ambushed Gojo to stop him from silencing the witnesses. He brought the wounded squad leader near the Hokage's office and went to report the matter privately to Minato Namikaze.

• Yuhara concluded that the sudden mission to capture a Uchiha jōnin had not been legitimately ordered and would put the three new Anbu shinobi in danger.
• Yuhara ambushed Gojo and wounded him, intending to capture him alive and take him to the Fourth Hokage.
• Gojo spat a poisoned needle at Yuhara, but Yuhara restrained him, blocked his mouth with iron sand, treated his wounds, and encased him in iron.
• Yuhara carried Gojo near the Hokage's office building, left him in an alley, and entered to request a private meeting with Minato Namikaze.
• Minato recognized Yuhara by his codename and asked about the poisoned needle lodged in his mask before taking him to the rooftop.

Yuhara reported that an unauthorized mission had led to Uchiha Tetsu being captured and handed to an unknown party, prompting Minato Namikaze and the Third Hokage to investigate. Interrogation linked the forged orders to Danzō’s Root Organization, but key details remained concealed, and the Third Hokage went to confront Danzō.

• Yuhara told Minato Namikaze that an ANBU squad had secretly captured Uchiha Tetsu under a forged order, and reported that he had captured Gojo and tied up the squad leader.
• Minato sent trusted ANBU to take the squad leader to the Torture and Interrogation Department, then went to consult the Third Hokage while Yuhara stayed behind.
• Inoichi Yamanaka reported that Gojo had been trained by the Root Organization, but the order’s issuer and Uchiha Tetsu’s eventual custodian could not be identified.
• The Third Hokage and Minato learned that Uchiha Tetsu was the grandson of a former Uchiha clan head, and considered why Danzō might have targeted him.
• The Third Hokage said he would speak with Danzō about the incident.

Yuhara reflected on his growing standing in Konoha and planned to improve his skills while finding a way to obtain Orochimaru’s research on Living Corpse Reincarnation. On his way back to the inn, he rejected Shimura Danzō’s attempt to recruit him into Root and prepared to fight the masked messenger.

• Yuhara waited with Kizuna for their absent captain, Gojo, while the Anbu dealt with the tense aftermath of the Uchiha kidnapping incident.
• Yuhara considered his recent reward and trust from the Fourth Hokage, then set goals to improve his taijutsu and ninjutsu and seek Orochimaru’s help with reviving his former teammate.
• A masked ninja blocked Yuhara on his way to the inn and demanded that he come meet an important person.
• Yuhara threatened the stranger until the ninja revealed he served Shimura Danzō, who wanted Yuhara to join Root.
• Yuhara refused Danzō’s invitation, and the mercury in his palm began to tremble as he prepared to act.

Yuhara refused Danzo’s offer to join Root and fought off the recruiter, then reported the incident to the Fourth Hokage. Danzo recorded Yuhara’s name for later, leaving their conflict unresolved.

• A Root Ninja threatened Yuhara for rejecting Danzo’s invitation, and Yuhara challenged him instead of backing down.
• Yuhara struck the Root Ninja with a lightning-charged blow and trapped him in iron sand until he admitted he understood Yuhara’s refusal.
• Yuhara released the injured ninja and left, worrying that Danzo might target him through Root while he worked to grow stronger.
• The Root Ninja reported Yuhara’s Magnet Release abilities to Danzo, who ordered his subordinates to leave Yuhara alone for now and wrote his name in a notebook.
• The Fourth Hokage found Yuhara’s first-person report about the recruitment attempt on his desk the next morning.