Chapter Summaries

Duke, Asuma, and Kurenai tested their abilities against Zixiao during the bell exercise. Duke revealed powerful Water and Ice Release techniques before Zixiao knocked him unconscious, and the team reunited afterward.

• Kurenai’s traps failed to stop Zixiao, so Asuma used a Great Fireball to help her escape.
• Duke confronted Zixiao alone, using Shadow Clones, taijutsu, and Water Release techniques to attack him.
• Duke unleashed Ice Release: Blizzard and fought Zixiao with freezing techniques that slowed him and shattered the ice around them.
• Zixiao became serious and knocked Duke unconscious with a swift strike to the back of his neck.
• Duke woke beside Zixiao, Asuma, and Kurenai, then healed his wounds while reflecting on the danger of fighting a Jonin.

Duke, Asuma, and Kurenai celebrated becoming independent ninjas with a meal at Ichiraku Ramen, then continued their D-Class trash-clearing mission under Zixiao. After Duke’s Shadow Clone vanished, Zixiao decided to take the team on a C-Class mission outside the village and began teaching Asuma and Kurenai the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

• Zixiao treated Duke, Asuma, and Kurenai to ramen at Ichiraku, where Teuchi persuaded Duke to eat a glowing special bowl and charged him for it.
• Duke, Asuma, and Kurenai picked trash from a river while Zixiao supervised, and Duke used Water Attribute chakra to clear a stretch without getting wet.
• Asuma tried to imitate Duke with Wind Attribute chakra but blew water over himself, while Duke’s Shadow Clone vanished after running out of chakra.
• Zixiao told Asuma and Kurenai to finish the cleanup and meet him at the Hokage’s Office the next day for a C-Class mission outside the village.
• Zixiao deducted Duke’s mission pay for using a Shadow Clone, then offered to teach Asuma and Kurenai the B-Class Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Mitarashi Shixiao led Duke, Asuma, and Kurenai out of Konoha on a C-Class mission to escort intelligence to the Land of Hot Water, where they learned about the weakening Yugakure and reached a bustling hot spring town. Meanwhile, Yugakure ninja plotted to reclaim the daimyo’s notes and draw a God Cult into conflict with Konoha and the Land of Lightning, while Shixiao tried to stop Duke from misleading Asuma about the town’s pink storefronts.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Shixiao Squad a C-Class intelligence escort mission to the Land of Hot Water, and Zixiao led the team out of Konoha.
• Zixiao taught Duke, Asuma, and Kurenai about ninja caution, Yugakure’s decline, and how mercenaries and Missing-nin took missions.
• Two Yugakure ninja discussed the daimyo’s plan to abandon Yugakure and decided to recover his notes from Konoha or Cloud Shinobi, then involve the God Cult.
• The team arrived in a prosperous border town known for its hot springs, and Duke tricked Asuma into thinking the pink storefronts were barbershops.
• Mitarashi Shixiao stopped Duke and Asuma’s discussion and insisted that he had never been to a barbershop.

Duke, Asuma, and Kurenai exposed Zixiao’s visit to a brothel during their hot-springs trip, then fought off an ambush on the road back to Konoha. After Duke found and froze an enemy using an invisibility technique, the remaining attacker was left incapacitated.

• Duke and Asuma soaked in the Land of Hot Water’s springs, and Asuma persuaded Duke and Kurenai to look for Zixiao’s supposed secret base.
• Asuma led Duke and Kurenai to a brothel, where they caught Zixiao leaving with a woman, and Duke threatened to tell Aunt Natsuki.
• Over the next three days, Duke used Zixiao’s indiscretion to take his money and undermine his authority as team captain.
• On the road to Konoha, four blades sprang from a puddle and skewered Zixiao before six black-robed, red-tattooed ninjas attacked the three youngsters.
• Duke, Asuma, and Kurenai combined fire, wind, and genjutsu to kill the six attackers, then prepared for another enemy hiding nearby.
• Duke used Ice Release: Blizzard to reveal and freeze an Iwagakure ninja using the Camouflage Concealment Technique, then explained how the technique could be detected.

Duke and his team were forced onto a dangerous route after Konoha’s false intelligence drew attackers after them. When thirty enemies cornered them, Duke unleashed overwhelming Water and Ice Release techniques, wiping out the entire group and leaving the team stunned.

• Duke revealed that his frost-covered ground had exposed the black-robed ninja, and Zixiao interrogated the captive before killing him and sealing his corpse.
• Zixiao explained that the attackers belonged to a religious sect from the Land of Hot Water and had been misled by Konoha Anbu’s fabricated intelligence, forcing the team to flee toward Konoha.
• After a two-day detour, Zixiao, Duke, Asuma, and Kurenai were confronted by thirty Yugakure ninja, sect members, and wandering ninja in a basin.
• Zixiao prepared to hold off the attackers while Duke, Asuma, and Kurenai refused to abandon him.
• Duke flooded the basin with Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave, then froze it with Ice Release: Artificial Glacier, killing or incapacitating the attackers.
• Zixiao killed the remaining survivors, and all thirty attackers were wiped out.

After Duke exhausted himself with a massive Ice Release technique, he recovered in Konoha and met Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, who discreetly investigated his possible Uzumaki heritage. Their ramen outing was interrupted by Jiraiya, whom Kushina immediately accused of trying to lure Minato away to peep.

• Duke used up most of his Chakra creating a vast field of ice, and Asuma carried him toward Konoha with Zixiao and Kurenai.
• At Konoha Hospital, Duke stayed for two days before Zixiao introduced him to Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.
• Kushina mistook Duke for a girl, pinched his cheeks, and then probed him for signs of Uzumaki blood while treating him to ramen with Minato.
• Duke asked Minato about Obito, and Minato described Obito as kind while admitting that he was often late.
• Jiraiya arrived at Ichiraku Ramen, and Kushina blocked him from taking Minato away to peep.

Jiraiya showed Minato the Rasengan and agreed to teach it to Duke after Duke used Sexy Jutsu and Harem Jutsu to persuade him. At the waterfall, Duke quickly mastered the first two stages of Rasengan training, and Jiraiya praised his chakra control.

• Kushina scolded Jiraiya at the ramen shop, then called avoiding him the fourth of the Four Ninja Prohibitions.
• Jiraiya showed Minato the Rasengan, and Minato introduced Duke as Zixiao-senpai’s child.
• Duke used Sexy Jutsu to make Jiraiya faint, then offered Harem Jutsu in exchange for Rasengan lessons.
• Jiraiya agreed to teach Duke the Rasengan and explained its principles and training stages beside a waterfall.
• Duke quickly gathered chakra in his palm and demonstrated control of the second training stage, impressing Jiraiya.

Duke advanced his Rasengan training by using Kushina’s Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu to master its third stage quickly. After Jiraiya asked what a shinobi was, he explained the Rasengan’s final stage, leaving Duke ready to continue training.

• Jiraiya taught Duke the Rasengan’s third stage, and Duke struggled to compress and control the spinning chakra.
• Kushina taught Duke the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, and Duke created more than a hundred clones to train.
• One clone mastered the third stage in under ten minutes, and Duke absorbed the experience and learned it.
• Kushina, Minato, and Jiraiya took Duke’s stamina and clone feedback as evidence that he might have Uzumaki blood.
• Jiraiya asked Duke what a shinobi was, then told him that a shinobi was someone who could endure everything.
• Jiraiya began teaching Duke the Rasengan’s final stage, which combined the techniques from the previous three stages.

Duke mastered the Rasengan in one day and combined it with his Ice Release to create a devastating new technique. Minato tested the Ice Release Rasengan and judged it to be a terrifying S-rank jutsu.

• Kushina wanted Duke taught Uzumaki sealing techniques, but Minato explained that Duke already had a team and an awakened Yuki Clan Ice Release bloodline.
• Duke trained through repeated failures, healing his injured hand with Medical Ninjutsu, until a Shadow Clone formed a Rasengan before sunset.
• Duke announced he would research nature transformation, then realized he did not know how and instead infused the Rasengan with Ice Release chakra.
• Duke created the Ice Release Rasengan, transforming it into a large sphere of flowing ice that chilled the area around him.
• Minato sent out a Shadow Clone for Duke to test the technique, and the Ice Release Rasengan froze and tore it apart.
• Minato assessed the technique as S-rank and explained that its freezing effect stopped the target's bodily functions and chakra circulation.

Duke’s Ice Release Rasengan prompted Minato to consider using Sage Mode to make nature transformation safer, and Jiraiya invited Duke to become his disciple. The chapter ended with Minato telling Duke he had been registered for the upcoming Chunin Exam, which Duke had not known about.

• Jiraiya, Minato, and Kushina examined Duke’s unusual resistance to his own ice technique, and Minato decided to pursue Sage Mode to help develop a nature-transformed Rasengan.
• Duke summoned Katsuyu and explained that he was contracted to Shikkotsu Forest, after which Jiraiya asked him to become a disciple and Duke accepted.
• Minato proposed the name “Ice Wheel Crystal Freezing Arrow Style One” for Duke’s technique, but Duke kept calling it Ice Release Rasengan.
• Minato told Duke that Zixiao had registered him for the Chunin Exam in a little over a month, and Duke realized he had never been informed.

Duke considered whether to conceal his abilities at the upcoming Chunin Exam, then returned home after finding Anko and Hades causing a street brawl. He told Zixiao that Jiraiya had accepted him as a disciple, but his demonstration of the Sexy Jutsu nearly exposed them to Natsuki.

• Duke worried that becoming a Chunin at nine would attract dangerous attention from other villages, especially Hidden Mist.
• Duke caught Anko and Hades leading a group of children in a fight and sent them home with him.
• Anko’s mother, Natsuki, scolded her for running off and took her to bathe.
• Duke told Zixiao that Jiraiya had made him his disciple after seeing his ninjutsu, and Zixiao demanded a demonstration.
• Duke used the Sexy Jutsu, embarrassing Zixiao, who stopped him from explaining it to Natsuki.

Duke learned that Zixiao had enrolled him in the Chunin Exam without telling him, then joined Kurenai and Asuma at the crowded Konoha exam hall. After Obito arrived just in time, the first round began with a squad-scored written test, leaving the candidates to face its rules and questions.

• Duke confronted Zixiao about entering him in the Chunin Exam, and Zixiao explained its importance and warned him about Genin from defeated villages.
• At the start of Konoha Year 42, Duke, Kurenai, and Asuma arrived at the exam hall, where Duke spotted Might Guy and Might Duy among the candidates.
• Duke greeted Kakashi and Rin, then helped ensure Obito appeared before the proctor closed the classroom door.
• Kakashi noticed frost on his hand and suspected Duke had used a convincing clone to conceal Obito's lateness.
• The chief proctor explained that candidates had sixty minutes to answer ten questions and that each squad's combined score determined whether it passed.

Duke used an invisible ice mirror to copy Ibiki’s answers and help his teammates pass the Chunin Exam’s written round, while an Ice Clone took Obito’s place. Hiruzen allowed the deception to stand and learned that Duke had Uzumaki blood, leaving Kushina free to teach him sealing techniques.

• Duke discovered that the written test had no easy tenth question and used an invisible ice mirror to copy Ibiki’s answers for himself, Asuma, Kurenai, and Obito’s Ice Clone.
• The proctors ended the exam and explained that it tested intelligence gathering; forty teams remained among the 120 Genin who passed.
• Rin told the late-arriving Obito that he had earned full marks, while Kakashi warned him not to be late again.
• Hiruzen and Minato discussed how Duke’s Ice Clone had fooled the Jonin, and Hiruzen let Minato Squad keep its exam eligibility.
• Hiruzen confirmed Duke’s Uzumaki blood and allowed Kushina to teach him the clan’s sealing techniques.

Obito arrived late to the team battle matches and accidentally choked on his candy before Might Guy’s kick knocked it loose. Kakashi carried his team to victory, and the exam ended after two rounds, leaving the Genin half a month to recover and prepare for the individual matches.

• Duke’s team defeated Ibiki’s squad, while several teams from other villages were eliminated in the opening matches.
• Obito rushed in an hour late, claiming he had helped an elderly woman at Konoha Hospital and been given candy.
• Obito began to use Fire Release against Might Guy, choked on his candy, and was struck by Guy’s Konoha Hurricane, which dislodged it.
• Kakashi defeated Might Guy, Genma Shiranui, and Ebisu largely on his own, securing his team’s win.
• The proctor ended the exam after ten teams advanced and announced that the third stage’s individual matches would begin in half a month.
• Asuma boasted about his strength, while Duke warned him not to underestimate his opponents and Kurenai wondered where Duke’s rumored powerhouse was.

The Chunin Exam individual matches began, and Duke fought Might Duy in a fierce taijutsu match after discovering how badly years of extreme training had damaged Duy's body. The chapter ended with Duy opening the First Gate and Duke inviting him to fight without holding back.

• Kakashi and Rin brought Obito to the arena, where Guy knocked him out again in their first-round match, and Rin treated his injuries.
• Kurenai defeated Asuma with Illusion Techniques, and Obito claimed his red, itchy eyes meant his Sharingan had awakened before Duke diagnosed him with pinkeye.
• Duke and Might Duy met for their match, and Duke warned Duy that his body was riddled with hidden injuries from years of extreme training.
• Duke and Duy exchanged a blisteringly fast barrage of taijutsu that cracked the arena floor, then paused on opposite sides of the platform.
• Duy realized his full-strength attacks had not injured Duke, and Duke urged him to stop holding back.
• Duy shouted, "First Gate, Gate of Opening!"

Duke and Might Guy's Father fought a fierce taijutsu match in the Chunin Exam, revealing their powerful techniques to the audience. The examiners grew suspicious of Might Guy's hidden strength and planned to report him to the Third Hokage.

• Might Guy's Father opened the first three gates and attacked Duke, who countered his blows with chakra-enhanced strength.
• Might Guy's Father overwhelmed Duke with rapid attacks, but Duke's hidden Ice Armor kept him from being injured.
• Duke used Iron Body, Shave, and Machine Gun Combo Punch to overpower Might Guy's Father and knock him to the ground.
• Might Guy, Asuma, Obito, Kakashi, and the other spectators reacted to the fighters' strength, with Asuma resolving not to give up on his goal.
• The examiners questioned how Might Guy's Father had concealed his abilities, and the chief examiner ordered the match recorded for the Third Hokage.

Duke and Might Dai fought a devastating taijutsu match in the Chunin Exam, ending in a draw after both admitted defeat and collapsed. Duke treated Dai’s injuries and reflected on the power of his youth.

• Dai opened the Fourth Gate and overwhelmed Duke with his speed and strength, forcing Duke to rely on Iron Body and then Agility.
• Dai opened the Fifth Gate and attacked with Reverse Lotus, but Duke met him with Six Powers: Shave and Megaton Kick; Dai won the final clash, and both fighters collapsed.
• Duke and Dai each declared that he had lost, so the examiner ruled the match a draw.
• Duke treated Dai’s injuries and explained that Dai had given up the chance to open more gates, so Duke could not claim victory.
• Dai praised Duke to Might Guy, then passed out from pain after Duke pointed out his torn muscles and broken bones.

After the Chunin Exam ended, Zixiao explained that Kakashi and Might Duy were promoted while Shixiao Squad’s members were eliminated, then promised to teach Duke, Asuma, and Kurenai new techniques. That night, Duke entered the Unknown Space and met four new versions of himself, including the sword-wielding Dead Fish Eye Duke from Gintama World, whose Bankai was revealed.

• Zixiao told Duke, Asuma, and Kurenai that Kakashi and Might Duy had been promoted, while Kurenai had missed selection because Shixiao Squad had completed too few missions.
• Duke questioned the purpose of the exam, and Zixiao offered to teach the squad Wind Release and Illusion Techniques after criticizing Duke for relying only on taijutsu.
• Duke entered the Unknown Space and met four new versions of himself: Wuxia World Duke, Demon Eye Duke, Executioner Duke, and Dead Fish Eye Duke.
• The Dukes shared memories and discussed their different worlds, hardships, and swordsmanship.
• Bleach Intern Duke recognized Dead Fish Eye Duke’s strength, and Dead Fish Eye Duke smugly confirmed that he could use Bankai.

Duke left Shino Academy for Rukongai after sensing that his Zanpakuto was calling to him, while training his Shunpo along the way. He continued toward the outer districts, determined to grow stronger before his class graduated.

• Duke told his roommate Iba Tetsuzaemon that he was heading to Rukongai and asked him to request a week of leave; Iba warned him to return before their class graduated.
• Duke traveled through Rukongai overnight, ate his limited rations, and reflected on how high-Reiryoku souls depended on scarce food and water to survive.
• Duke noticed several souls approaching to steal his supplies and continued onward, thinking about how his Golden Finger had strengthened his Reiatsu and swordsmanship.
• Duke used Shunpo repeatedly as he traveled, stopping to recover his Reiryoku and gradually improving his speed and control.

Duke got lost in the wilderness, failed to use trees and other tricks to find his way, and eventually reached North Rukongai District 70. After slaughtering a band of attackers, he left in search of stronger opponents, still unable to learn his Zanpakuto’s name.

• Duke spent three days lost in the wilderness and failed to determine direction using trees or his Zanpakuto.
• Duke emerged from the forest, robbed several men of food and water, and learned he was in North Rukongai District 70.
• Duke entered a ruined town and slaughtered the souls who attacked him for his Zanpakuto.
• Duke spared a surrendering attacker, but his Reiatsu killed the man when he tried a sneak attack.
• Duke left the town seeking a challenging opponent and asked his Zanpakuto when it would reveal its name.