Chapter Summaries

Guanglin Huateng ran a black-market booth in Kagyu Town after fleeing Konoha’s Root investigation. Yamanaka Xingran arrived in disguise to collect a bounty, and the chapter ended with Guanglin agreeing to lower his handling fee.

• Guanglin Huateng recalled leaving the Land of Fire after Root’s perfunctory investigation and setting up a black-market business in Kagyu Town.
• A green-eyed stranger submitted a bounty through Guanglin’s office, and Guanglin accepted the job for 7.8 million ryo.
• Yamanaka Xingran arrived disguised as an ordinary person with Yamazaki Ryuji’s head and demanded the four-million-ryo bounty.
• Guanglin offered Xingran 3.5 million ryo after deducting fees, and Xingran pinned the check with a kunai and challenged the charge.
• Guanglin repeatedly lowered his fee as Xingran threatened to leave, finally agreeing to charge 100,000 ryo.

Xing Ran accepted a ten-million-ryo bounty on the rogue Takigakure ninja Cheng Ge and asked Orochimaru’s intelligence network to track him down. He then traveled to the Land of Rivers to buy medicinal herbs, while Orochimaru ordered his subordinates to quietly investigate why Xing Ran needed so much money.

• Xing Ran collected 3.9 million ryo from Guanglin Huateng and took the bounty file on Cheng Ge, a rogue ninja skilled in Wind Release and Earth Release.
• Xing Ran used the Flying Thunder God to reach a hidden spot near Orochimaru’s base and arranged for the intelligence network to search for Cheng Ge.
• Xing Ran disguised himself and traveled to the capital of the Land of Rivers to buy herbs for Spiritual Secret Medicine and Nourishing Liquid.
• An intelligence officer told Orochimaru that Xing Ran had accepted Cheng Ge’s ten-million-ryo bounty and that the bounty on Yamazaki Ryuji had been completed.
• Orochimaru told the officer to keep cooperating with Xing Ran and quietly investigate why he needed so much money.

Xing Ran prepared a large stock of Spiritual Secret Medicine and used his sealing skills to store it in a scroll before setting out to find someone near Musha Town. After noticing something wrong and secretly tampering with test tubes at the base, he used the Flying Thunder God Technique to reach the town and began searching for his target.

• Xing Ran made 350 bottles of Spiritual Secret Medicine and several bottles of Nourishing Liquid, then used a customized Sealing Scroll to store the medicines individually.
• An Otogakure agent told Xing Ran that the person he was tracking had been seen near Musha Town and might soon enter the Land of Wind's desert.
• Xing Ran sensed that something was wrong, returned to the laboratory bench, and left greenish liquid in several test tubes before departing.
• Xing Ran disguised himself and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to reach a location near Musha Town.
• Xing Ran entered the rundown border town, activated his senses and enhanced hearing and vision, and began searching for the person.

Xing Ran tracked Cheng Ge from a town into the desert after suspecting Orochimaru had deliberately manipulated him. He found Cheng Ge from the air and launched a surprise attack, leaving their confrontation about to begin.

• Xing Ran paid the izakaya owner for information and learned that Cheng Ge had headed northwest toward the desert.
• Xing Ran reasoned that Orochimaru’s intelligence team had delayed reporting Cheng Ge’s location to push him into action and investigate his medicine-making.
• Xing Ran cleaned the laboratory equipment with Nourishing Liquid and residual Spiritual Secret Medicine, expecting Orochimaru to analyze the wastewater.
• Xing Ran used Super Strength and Flying Thunder God to leap across the sky while searching for Cheng Ge.
• Xing Ran spotted Cheng Ge running through the desert and dove from the sky to attack him.

Xing Ran fought Cheng Ge, breaking free from his genjutsu and killing him before he could claim the mission prize. As Xing Ran moved to take Cheng Ge's head, an unseen attacker struck from underground and trapped the corpse among earthen spears, prompting Xing Ran to smash the surrounding ground.

• Xing Ran attacked Cheng Ge, but Cheng Ge's genjutsu made him believe he had killed his target.
• Cheng Ge appeared beside Xing Ran and tried to stab him, but Xing Ran blocked the kunai and killed him with a roundhouse kick.
• Xing Ran credited his Spiritual Power and Glass Necklace with helping him escape the genjutsu, then recharged the necklace while approaching Cheng Ge's corpse.
• An unseen attacker used Earth Style: Earth Mausoleum Spear to trap Cheng Ge's corpse among three earthen spears as Xing Ran prepared to take his head.
• Xing Ran sensed that the attacker was underground and used Heavenly Guardian Kick to devastate the surrounding terrain.

Xing Ran recognized Kakuzu and decided to make him a personal enemy to hinder Akatsuki’s finances while keeping his own identity concealed. The chapter ended as Kakuzu attacked Xing Ran with Earth Spear.

• Xing Ran evaded Kakuzu’s ambush and recognized him by his Akatsuki robes and appearance.
• Xing Ran decided to disguise his identity and sabotage Kakuzu’s bounty hunting to slow Akatsuki’s development.
• Kakuzu mocked Xing Ran and charged at him using Earth Spear.

Xing Ran fought Kakuzu, using his speed and strength to overcome Kakuzu’s Earth Spear defense and extended attacks. After hurling Kakuzu into a mound, Xing Ran considered how to defeat him without revealing his identity.

• Xing Ran dodged Kakuzu’s attack and punched him across the ground, then waited as Kakuzu feigned unconsciousness.
• Kakuzu rose, threatened Xing Ran, and revealed his Earth Grudge Fear threads, which increased his reach and mobility.
• Kakuzu extended his arm with Tentacle Heavy Fist, but Xing Ran’s punch blasted the forearm away and snapped its threads.
• Kakuzu demanded to know who Xing Ran was, and Xing Ran replied that he was someone Kakuzu had angered.
• Xing Ran punched Kakuzu into a distant mound, then avoided using techniques that could expose his identity.

Xing Ran ambushed Kakuzu with banknotes mixed with Explosive Tags and used a Chakra Scalpel to destroy one of his hearts. Kakuzu released his three mask monsters and counterattacked, ending the chapter as a lightning spear struck Xing Ran.

• Xing Ran decided that he needed earth-release ninjutsu and prepared a surprise attack using banknotes and Explosive Tags.
• Xing Ran used Body Flicker Technique to stab Kakuzu’s water-release mask with a Chakra Scalpel, destroying one of Kakuzu’s hearts.
• Kakuzu released his remaining three mask monsters as Xing Ran detonated the Explosive Tags and tried to retreat.
• Kakuzu’s fire-release mask monster attacked Xing Ran with Fire Style: Headhunter, but Xing Ran escaped the encirclement with Body Flicker Technique.
• Kakuzu’s wind-release mask monster used Wind Style: Pressure Damage to restrict Xing Ran’s movement, then the lightning-release mask monster struck him with Lightning Style: False Darkness.

Xing Ran battled Kakuzu and discovered that Steel Body could withstand the masked monsters’ attacks, though Kakuzu’s support made close combat dangerous. He summoned hundreds of Shadow Clones and planned to target the monsters, while Kakuzu struck at the clones with Earth Style: Earth Mausoleum Spear.

• Xing Ran avoided Kakuzu’s False Darkness with a substitution and rejected using Flying Thunder God because revealing it could expose his identity.
• Xing Ran used Body Flicker to attack Kakuzu with Chakra Scalpel and taijutsu, but Kakuzu’s masked monsters joined the fight and cornered him.
• Xing Ran traded injuries with Kakuzu, severing one of his arms and leaving several wounds, while Steel Body protected Xing Ran from the monsters’ attacks.
• Xing Ran decided to distract Kakuzu’s main body with Shadow Clones and eliminate the masked monsters first.
• Xing Ran created hundreds of Shadow Clones, and Kakuzu used Earth Style: Earth Mausoleum Spear to destroy many of them.

Xing Ran used his Shadow Clones to distract Kakuzu and destroyed the Lightning Style masked monster before attacking Kakuzu through the flames. He exposed Kakuzu’s attempt to fake his death and shattered another heart, leaving Kakuzu with one life remaining.

• Xing Ran hid among his surviving Shadow Clones and pierced the Lightning Style masked monster’s head with a Chakra Scalpel.
• Kakuzu recalled the Wind Style and Fire Style masked monsters and entered his Earth Grudge Fear form.
• Xing Ran used Super freeze breath to carve a path through Kakuzu’s sea of flames, then pierced Kakuzu’s chest.
• Xing Ran told Kakuzu that he knew he still had two lives, startling him out of his feigned death.
• Xing Ran shattered another mask, completing his fourth kill and leaving Kakuzu with one heart.

Xing Ran failed to kill Kakuzu after Kakuzu’s Wind Style heart launched a counterattack, and the story shifted to the Akatsuki Organization, where its members discussed Kakuzu’s defeat and the search for Clark.

• Kakuzu’s Wind Style mask monster used Pressure Damage to blow Xing Ran away and carry Kakuzu’s body into the distance before vanishing in an explosion of smoke.
• Xing Ran abandoned the pursuit, searched underground, and took Cheng Ge’s head without finding Kakuzu.
• The story revealed that Pain ruled the Land of Rain as Hanzo of the Salamander’s replacement, while Nagato Uzumaki controlled Pain as a puppet.
• At an Akatsuki gathering, Konan asked about the organization’s reduced operating funds, and Kakuzu pressed Zetsu for information about Clark.
• The red-haired youth mocked Kakuzu for losing and killing his teammates, and Kakuzu snapped back before leaving without speaking to Pain.

The Akatsuki Organization considered missions while Obito tried to influence its direction, and Orochimaru examined Xing Ran’s experimental medicine. More than half a year later, Xing Ran was still away from Konoha and had lost his remaining money to his teacher in a game.

• Obito tried to stir dissatisfaction over Kakuzu’s conduct, but the Akatsuki Organization moved on to discuss commissions.
• Pain rejected Yomi’s coup commission, then assigned Sasori a mission involving a cult in the Land of Hot Water and discussed another mission in the Land of Water.
• Orochimaru analyzed Xing Ran’s restorative medicine, identified its flaws, and sent someone to ask whether Xing Ran could join him on a research project.
• By the summer of Konoha Year 52, Xing Ran had been away from Konoha for almost a year and was nearing his fifteenth birthday.
• Xing Ran’s teacher won their game and demanded more money, while Xing Ran pleaded that he needed his remaining funds for research.

Xing Ran left Tsunade after receiving the Yin Seal as payment for teaching her gambling techniques. He agreed to relay Tsunade’s demand that Orochimaru release Shizune, while their stalled resurrection research remained unresolved.

• Tsunade accused Xing Ran of conducting secret human experiments, and Xing Ran defended his cellular and genetic research with Orochimaru.
• Tsunade offered Xing Ran two more techniques but demanded gambling lessons, and Xing Ran refused to teach her more tricks before leaving.
• Tsunade asked about the resurrection method she and Orochimaru were studying, and Xing Ran explained that neither trusted the other enough to continue their cooperation.
• Tsunade told Xing Ran to ask Orochimaru to release Shizune and count her past work as unpaid labor; Xing Ran agreed to pass on the message.
• Xing Ran revealed that Tsunade had taught him the Yin Seal after he helped her develop a method for winning at dice, though she had since won more than five million ryo from him.

Xing Ran learned that Tsunade had ended her cooperation with Orochimaru and demanded Shizune’s release, but Orochimaru refused because Shizune’s body was valuable to his research. After completing his training in cloning technology, Xing Ran proposed a way to create a compatible container for Orochimaru.

• Xing Ran reflected on Shizune’s capture and her survival of Orochimaru’s Heavenly Curse Mark, which made her valuable to his research.
• Orochimaru praised Xing Ran’s cloning research report and said he had effectively graduated in cellular and genetic cloning technology.
• Xing Ran told Orochimaru that Tsunade had ended their cooperation and wanted Shizune released.
• Orochimaru refused to release Shizune because her physiology could help him improve the Heavenly Curse Mark and the Living Corpse Reincarnation jutsu.
• Xing Ran suggested using Orochimaru’s own cells to clone a body that could serve as his container.

Xing Ran traveled from Orochimaru’s base to his hidden laboratory in the Land of Marshes, where he reviewed the research he had completed and the subjects he still hoped to master. He had finished his cloning studies and planned to use that knowledge to help Orochimaru while earning Tsunade’s favor.

• Xing Ran left Orochimaru with a revised graduation report and used a Shadow Clone to cover his departure from the assigned laboratory.
• Xing Ran teleported to his secret base in the Land of Marshes, which could only be entered through Space-Time Ninjutsu.
• Xing Ran marked cellular and genetic cloning research as complete on his project chart.
• Xing Ran reviewed the techniques and research he had already learned from Orochimaru and Tsunade, along with the subjects he had not yet mastered.
• Xing Ran noted that he had only learned scattered theoretical topics related to Impure World Reincarnation and had no access to Ryūchi Cave.

Xing Ran completed his first cloning experiment using his own blood and Kryptonian-influenced genes. The healthy clone matured in a cultivation tank, but Xing Ran could not yet activate it with implanted memories because he had not studied genjutsu.

• Xing Ran drew 300 milliliters of his blood and restored his wounds after eating a meal in the Land of Hot Water.
• Xing Ran began a cloning experiment with his own blood, testing whether a genetic copy could use his Kryptonian abilities.
• After two failed attempts and three days of work, Xing Ran completed a clone embryo and grew it according to a half-month maturation standard.
• Xing Ran examined the mature clone and found it healthy, though it had no memories and was only a humanoid organism.
• Xing Ran postponed implanting memories into the clone because he had not systematically studied genjutsu.

Xing Ran tested a clone and concluded that its lack of consciousness caused it to lose solar energy quickly. Meanwhile, Danzo ordered a replacement Sharingan and Kakashi was sent to investigate an abandoned Orochimaru facility, leaving Hiruzen suspicious of Danzo’s motives.

• Xing Ran observed his clone in the desert and found that sunlight briefly increased its vitality, but its stored energy dissipated quickly without sunlight.
• Xing Ran concluded that the clone’s lack of consciousness caused its inefficient energy use and prepared to activate it for another experiment.
• Danzo revealed that his Sharingan had gone dim and ordered Root members Bee and Dan to find a replacement, naming Kakashi Hatake as a target.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi sent Kakashi to investigate an abandoned Orochimaru research facility after an outside team reported finding it.
• Danzo questioned Hiruzen’s choice of investigator, and Hiruzen realized Danzo’s searches for Orochimaru’s bases might have another purpose.

Tsunade confronted Orochimaru over his refusal to release Shizune, and he urged her to help Xing Ran improve the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique instead. Meanwhile, Xing Ran failed to awaken his clone with genjutsu and briefly controlled it through the Spirit Transformation Technique before his consciousness was pulled back to his original body.

• Tsunade demanded that Orochimaru release Shizune and end their arrangement, but Orochimaru insisted Shizune would remain captive until he improved the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique.
• Tsunade smashed several walls in Orochimaru's base, and Orochimaru averted a fight by saying he would honor his promise if Xing Ran found a solution.
• Xing Ran could not activate the clone body by implanting memories with genjutsu and wondered whether his spiritual power or skill was inadequate.
• Xing Ran used the Spirit Transformation Technique to enter the clone body and make it sit up, but a force pulled his consciousness back to his original body.

Xing Ran tested a Heavenly Curse Mark on his clone and discovered that it let his spirit remain in the body longer and gradually stabilize there. Unable to solve why the clone still could not develop consciousness, he sought Orochimaru’s advice and was directed to two contrasting failed specimens.

• Xing Ran implanted a Heavenly Curse Mark in the clone using senjutsu cells and a simulated soul aura, and the clone accepted it with only minor adverse reactions.
• Xing Ran descended into the marked clone for an extended period and tested its perception, chakra refinement, physical abilities, and recovery.
• Xing Ran concluded that the curse mark anchored and stabilized a spirit inside the clone, easing the discomfort of adapting to the body.
• Xing Ran dismissed the Spirit Transformation Technique and returned to Orochimaru’s secret base to ask why the clone could not activate consciousness.
• Orochimaru could not explain the problem, but told Xing Ran about two failed specimens that had developed consciousness and requested Xing Ran’s research data and clone.

Xing Ran traveled to Orochimaru’s secret laboratory in the Land of Fire to investigate two failed monster snake clones, hoping to revive them without handing Orochimaru a subject made from his own genes. After reading Orochimaru’s research records, he stood before the frozen creatures and considered how to activate them.

• Xing Ran told Orochimaru he wanted to study the two failed clones independently before asking for help.
• Orochimaru gave Xing Ran a map to his secret laboratory in the Land of Fire.
• Xing Ran teleported to a hidden Flying Thunder God mark, traveled to Iron Tree Village, and left another mark outside it.
• Xing Ran found the concealed laboratory, checked that it was empty, and entered without triggering its defenses.
• Xing Ran read Orochimaru’s records and learned the monster snakes were uncontrolled clones born with only wild-beast instincts.
• Xing Ran stood before the refrigeration tanks and pondered how to activate the frozen clones.