Chapter Summaries

Maki led four Sand Ninjas toward the central tower using the Cloth Concealment Technique while Xing Ran fought Hyuga Chongxue and Uchiha Ki. A hidden Shadow Clone spotted them on the final stairs and threw a marked kunai before dispelling itself, leaving the Sand team discovered at the gate.

• Xing Ran held off Hyuga Chongxue and Uchiha Ki, while his Shadow Clones defended the central tower gate from other examinees.
• Maki led four Sand Ninjas carrying both scrolls through the thinning Shadow Clone defenses with the Cloth Concealment Technique.
• Sensor ninjas detected the concealed Sand team, and Rasa and Hiruzen Sarutobi debated whether Sunagakure could take first place.
• A hidden Shadow Clone noticed Maki's group on the final stairs and threw a kunai marked with an S into their path.
• The Shadow Clone dispelled itself instead of calling out or attacking, leaving the Sand Ninjas discovered.

Yamanaka Xingran defeated Hyuga Chongxue and used a marked kunai to reach the tower before the Sand Ninja, shocking the observers who mistook his technique for the Flying Thunder God Technique. The chapter left the exam’s outcome nearly settled, with Xingran preparing to stop the Sand Ninja at the finish line.

• Maki led the Sand Ninja toward the tower, believing Xingran could not reach them in time.
• Xingran knocked Hyuga Chongxue unconscious, while Uchiha Ki retreated and then lost sight of him.
• The observers saw Xingran appear beside the Sand Ninja with a kunai and suspected he had used the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• The Third Hokage insisted Xingran had not learned the Flying Thunder God Technique and attributed his performance to taijutsu and the damaging Eight Gates.
• Xingran reopened the Eight Gates and sent the Sand Ninja flying away from the finish line.

After the Chunin Exam, Xing Ran weighed the consequences of revealing his Flying Thunder God Technique and was summoned to the Hokage Building. There, he overheard Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō arguing over whether he should be transferred to Root or protected by the Hokage.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the reactions to Xing Ran’s performance as Xing Ran became the only examinee to pass the third round.
• The village introduced a supplementary fourth round for exceptional examinees and those who had previously obtained the Heaven and Earth Scrolls.
• Xing Ran considered the risks and benefits of exposing his Flying Thunder God Technique and decided the revelation was probably worthwhile.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi covered for Xing Ran by publicly treating his ability as advanced Body Flicker Technique.
• Xing Ran overheard Shimura Danzō demand that he be transferred to Root, while Hiruzen Sarutobi argued that he should remain on the path to becoming a Konoha hero.

Hiruzen scolded Xingran for revealing that he could use the Flying Thunder God Technique, then explained that he had kept the secret from the other villages and warned Xingran to conceal it until he mastered it. After discussing Xingran’s promotion and Yamanaka Kōbō’s new position, Hiruzen sent him on his way, but Danzo stopped him in the Hokage Building corridor.

• Danzo argued to Hiruzen that Xingran belonged in Root, but Xingran interrupted their meeting by entering the Hokage’s office.
• Hiruzen furiously scolded Xingran for using the Flying Thunder God Technique during the exam and demanded to know how far his training had progressed.
• Hiruzen told Xingran that he had managed to conceal the technique from other villages and ordered him to keep it secret until he could use it in combat.
• Hiruzen explained that Xingran’s Chunin status would be announced after the exam and that Yamanaka Kōbō would become the Ninja Academy principal.
• Danzo waited for Xingran in a corridor and approached him, and Xingran greeted him with a bright smile and said goodbye.

Xing Ran rejected Danzo’s attempts to recruit him into Root, then realized Root was following him after he left the Hokage Building. He changed course to conceal his need to strengthen his spiritual power and ended up near the Chunin Exam’s fourth-round venue.

• Danzo tried to recruit Xing Ran into Root by appealing to his desire to protect the village and offering to train him, but Xing Ran pretended to prefer becoming a medical ninja and refused.
• Danzo concluded that Xing Ran was wary of him because Hiruzen had warned him, then left without forcing Xing Ran to examine Red Eye.
• Xing Ran left the Hokage Building and headed toward his family shrine to seek secret techniques that might strengthen his spiritual power.
• Xing Ran noticed Root agents following him and altered his route, wandering erratically to hide his intentions and mislead them.
• Xing Ran unknowingly arrived near the Chunin Exam’s fourth-round venue.

Xing Ran joined Might Guy and several Konoha ninja at a dango shop and learned that the Chunin Exam’s fourth round was a make-up assessment designed to draw crowds and boost Konoha’s income. After the group revealed they had gathered for a mission, Xing Ran realized he had been roped into unpaid work.

• Xing Ran met Might Guy and used the gathering of Konoha ninja as cover from Root’s intelligence network.
• Guy mistakenly comforted Xing Ran over supposedly failing the Chunin Exam and asked him to provide a year’s supply of Nourishing Liquid.
• The Third Hokage had arranged the make-up exam to attract spectators and earn money while giving allied villages a chance to participate.
• Xing Ran learned from Kakashi, Kurenai Yuhi, and the others why Konoha had added the make-up exam.
• Kakashi and the group told Xing Ran about a mission, and Xing Ran complained that it amounted to unpaid labor.

Xing Ran watched the Chunin Exam retest and mocked the Third Hokage’s points-league format, then boasted to spectators about defeating the contestants. The opening match ended almost immediately when Masao surrendered, leaving Xing Ran to wonder why the Puppet Master had given up.

• Nara Izumi agreed with Xing Ran that the Chunin Exam had little appeal, and the two joined the other volunteers in the stands.
• Xing Ran noticed that the retest used a points league, with matches scheduled every three days and additional fights possible for tied scores.
• Xing Ran introduced Sand Ninja contestants Masao and Maki, then claimed he had defeated both of them with ease.
• A spectator accused Xing Ran of using Ninjutsu: Bragging, and Xing Ran quietly claimed that everyone in the assessment had lost to him.
• Masao surrendered as soon as the referee started the match, prompting an uproar from the spectators.
• Xing Ran realized he had thought of a reason for Masao’s sudden surrender.

At the Chunin Exam, Masao surrendered and Xing Ran realized he could profit by betting against him, while Kakashi was summoned on a mission. The next day, Xing Ran visited the Yamanaka clan shrine to claim his reward and met the elder Yamanaka Kōbō and Yamanaka Aya.

• Maki praised Masao for surrendering, and Masao silently cried from humiliation because he had lost his puppets.
• Xing Ran noticed Masao's tears and decided to bet against him in the upcoming matches.
• An Anbu summoned Kakashi Hatake to report to Lord Hokage, and the next match began with Uchiha Ki facing a Sand Ninja.
• After dinner, Xing Ran sensed the Root ninja tailing him and resolved to keep acting like a hot-blooded youth.
• Xing Ran went to the Yamanaka clan shrine to claim his reward and met Yamanaka Kōbō, the elder on duty, and Yamanaka Aya.
• Yamanaka Aya blushed as she greeted Xing Ran, then hid behind Yamanaka Kōbō.

Xing Ran visited Yamanaka Kōbō to learn the Yamanaka Family’s secret techniques and gained access to the secret chamber beneath the ancestral hall. He found the S-rank Spirit Transformation Technique, whose immense power was matched by requirements so difficult that no living Yamanaka had mastered it.

• Yamanaka Kōbō tried to bring Xing Ran and Yamanaka Aya closer, but Xing Ran turned the conversation toward learning the family’s secret techniques.
• Yamanaka Kōbō led Xing Ran into the ancestral hall’s secret chamber and reminded him not to damage its materials.
• Xing Ran entered the room containing the Yamanaka Family’s secret techniques and found its famous ninjutsu and many lesser-known derivatives.
• Xing Ran discovered the S-rank Spirit Transformation Technique and learned of its sensing, possession, combat, and chakra-transfer capabilities.
• Xing Ran recalled that Hai Yi had not mastered the technique because his accumulation was insufficient, despite his exceptional talent.

Xing Ran studied the Spirit Transformation Technique and the Yamanaka Clan’s secret techniques, but found that his Spiritual Power and control were insufficient to perform the most advanced techniques. He left the chapter still searching the clan archives for a way to improve his weak mental resistance.

• Xing Ran attempted the Spirit Transformation Technique and failed when his Spiritual Power could not sustain its second stage.
• Xing Ran set aside the scroll after learning that the technique’s final stage demanded exceptional Spiritual Power and control.
• Xing Ran reviewed the Yamanaka Clan’s secret techniques to look for a way to strengthen his mental resistance, which had barely improved despite a year of cultivation.
• Xing Ran memorized the clan techniques but found that learning them from scrolls did not give him enough Spiritual Power to use them effectively.
• Xing Ran examined the Beast Control Technique and learned that its attempt to control multiple targets was impractical against people with strong willpower.

Xing Ran discovered a restorative secret medicine in the Yamanaka Clan’s scrolls that could briefly restore all Spiritual Power at the cost of the user’s health. He learned that a clan member had used it to gain quasi-Kage-level strength quickly, but the resulting Spiritual Power was poorly refined, and the chapter left the man’s downfall unexplained.

• Xing Ran examined the dusty scrolls in the secret room and found a recently handled scroll about the Yamanaka Clan’s secret medicine.
• Xing Ran learned that the potion restored all Spiritual Power temporarily by consuming the body’s energy, burdening the kidneys, and reducing cellular activity.
• Xing Ran read that the clan’s usual Spiritual Power training method relied on exhausting one’s power and recovering through food and rest, a process that took years.
• Xing Ran learned that a talented clan member had used large quantities of the medicine to train several times a day and reached quasi-Kage-level strength within months.
• Xing Ran read that the man’s Spiritual Power grew immense but lacked the quality and stability of power developed through patient training.

Xing Ran learned that the Yamanaka Clan’s secret medicine could rapidly restore Spiritual Power but carried severe costs, and he realized sunlight might let him train without interruption. He gathered ingredients under cover while considering how to deal with the Root ninja tailing him and Danzo’s growing suspicions.

• Xing Ran read the secret medicine scroll and learned of its dangerous side effects, restricted use, and costly ingredients.
• Xing Ran concluded that sunlight restored his cellular vitality and could let him train repeatedly once he found a way to recover Spiritual Power.
• Xing Ran memorized the prescription and bought Nourishing Liquid ingredients that also included several herbs needed for the secret medicine.
• Xing Ran noticed the Root ninja following him and decided the prolonged surveillance required a response.
• Xing Ran reasoned that Danzo suspected his sudden rise to genius and was investigating him beyond merely seeking leverage.

Xing Ran confronted a Root member who had been tailing him and exposed the man’s attempt to flee and take poison. The Root member admitted his affiliation, and Xing Ran insisted on bringing him to the Hokage, leaving Danzo to retrieve his subordinate.

• Xing Ran turned back after realizing that an uncle-faced man had been following him.
• Xing Ran tested the man by reaching for him, then attacked when the man dodged and revealed himself as a ninja.
• The Root member used the Substitution Technique and fled, but Xing Ran caught up with him using the Body Flicker Technique.
• Xing Ran spotted the poison capsule in the man’s mouth and threatened to open the Eight Gates if he tried to kill himself.
• The man admitted he was from Konoha’s Root and claimed he had been on official business.
• Xing Ran proposed taking the Root member to Lord Hokage, leaving Danzo with no choice but to retrieve him.

Xing Ran confronted Root’s surveillance and got the Third Hokage to warn Danzo to report any future actions involving him. While attending the Chunin Exam matches with Might Guy, Xing Ran gave him Nourishing Liquid, watched Masao surrender again, and later resumed making secret medicine after Root ended its surveillance.

• Xing Ran dragged the Root agent to the Hokage Building, where Danzo vouched for the investigation and the Third Hokage ordered Root to report future actions involving Xing Ran.
• Xing Ran trained at home while Root increased his surveillance from one watcher to four.
• Xing Ran attended the fourth round of the Chunin Exam and publicly gave Might Guy the Nourishing Liquid he had prepared.
• Masao surrendered again, leading Xing Ran to consider tracking his progress toward reviving Puppet No. 3 for future betting opportunities.
• Might Guy treated Xing Ran and others to dinner, and a week later Root withdrew its surveillance.
• Xing Ran secretly gathered the remaining ingredients and completed making his secret medicine.

Xing Ran tested the Spiritual Secret Medicine and confirmed that his Steel Body could recover from its harmful effects quickly by absorbing sunlight. Its extreme cost made using it for training unsustainable, so he needed a major source of income without abandoning his other research and training.

• Xing Ran used the Mind Clone Technique to exhaust his Spiritual Power, drank a bottle of Spiritual Secret Medicine, and confirmed that it restored his strength within minutes.
• Xing Ran examined the medicine’s effects on his body and found signs of reduced vitality and organ aging.
• Xing Ran basked in the sunlight and watched his body recover, then confirmed with a blood test that his condition had returned close to normal.
• Xing Ran calculated that the medicine cost about 10,000 ryo per bottle and that using it for training would quickly drain his funds.
• Xing Ran realized that casino winnings could not reliably cover his expenses without consuming too much time, while his research and training could not stop.

Xing Ran watched the Chunin Exam while waiting for Puppet Master Masao’s match, hoping to profit from a large bet on his little brother. The chapter ended as Masao was about to face a winless Takigakure ninja.

• Xing Ran returned to the arena and learned that Hyuga Chongxue, Uchiha Ki, and Sand Ninja Maki were among the leading contenders.
• Xing Ran bet six hundred thousand ryo on Masao defeating the Takigakure ninja, relying on his clone’s report that Masao’s Puppet No. 3 was ready.
• Xing Ran stared at Asuma while imagining the bounty on his head, and Asuma accused him of coveting Kurenai.
• Hyuga Chongxue and Uchiha Ki ended their match in a draw, disappointing bettors and leaving the pair likely to meet again in an overtime match.
• Xing Ran asked Might Guy about Kakashi and learned that Kakashi had been away on a distant mission for a long time.
• The arena prepared for the final morning match between Puppet Master Masao and the winless Takigakure ninja.

Xing Ran won 2.4 million ryō betting on Masao’s victory, but his plans to celebrate were interrupted when the Hokage summoned his squad to reinforce Kakashi Hatake in the Land of Snow. The mission had become an escort operation after Kazahana Dōtō staged a coup and King Kazahana Sōsetsu fled toward the Land of Fire.

• The Porcupine Taki Ninja defeated Masao’s Puppet No. 3 by slicing an explosive bomb and sending it into the puppet, then collapsed from exhaustion.
• Masao won the match but wept over losing another puppet, while Xing Ran collected 2.4 million ryō from several casinos.
• Xing Ran returned home with his winnings and invited Might Guy to share instant noodles when Guy arrived with a summons from the Hokage.
• The Hokage sent Xing Ran and Might Guy’s squad to reinforce Kakashi Hatake, who was escorting the fleeing King Kazahana Sōsetsu from the Land of Snow.
• Kazahana Dōtō’s coup turned the king’s protection mission into an escort as Kakashi faced the pursuing force without enough support.

Xing Ran was assigned to join Might Guy’s team in supporting Kakashi on a mission to the Land of Snow, despite wanting to stay home and train. The team traveled west by land because Might Guy could not endure boat travel, while Jiraiya searched for Tsunade and stopped at a fried chicken stall in the Land of Birds.

• Xing Ran realized Kazahana Dōtō’s coup had likely been delayed because his actions had changed events in Konoha 50.
• The Third Hokage ordered Xing Ran to join Might Guy and Nara Izumi in supporting Kakashi, stressing that Xing Ran’s medical skills and Flying Thunder God Technique could protect the mission’s target.
• Xing Ran accepted the assignment and considered leaving Flying Thunder God formulas along the route as spatial coordinates for a future laboratory.
• Xing Ran, Might Guy, and Nara Izumi left Konoha at full speed and traveled west because Might Guy was severely incapacitated by boat travel.
• Jiraiya searched for Tsunade through the Land of Rain and the Land of Birds, then ordered fried chicken bites at a stall in the Land of Birds’ capital.

Jiraiya encountered a transformed Orochimaru in the Land of Birds and pursued him into the mountains, where their fight escalated into a clash between their summoned beasts. The battle continued with Jiraiya and Gamabunta facing Orochimaru and Manda.

• Jiraiya spotted Orochimaru in the capital of the Land of Birds and confronted him, shocked by his familiar face and changed appearance.
• Orochimaru vanished, and Jiraiya chased him beyond the capital, attacking with shuriken and the Swamp of the Underworld.
• Orochimaru escaped the swamp with the Shadow Snake Hand, but Jiraiya cut his snake ropes and caught up to him.
• Jiraiya and Orochimaru summoned Gamabunta and Manda and began fighting in the mountain forest.
• Orochimaru blocked Jiraiya and Gamabunta's Toad Oil Flame Bullet with Rashomon, then attacked with giant snakes.
• Jiraiya defended himself with Needle Jizo as Manda and Gamabunta pressed the battle with their fangs and dagger.

Xing Ran, Might Guy, and Nara Izumi spotted Jiraiya battling Orochimaru in the Land of Birds and turned to reinforce him. Jiraiya and Orochimaru resumed their fight, and Jiraiya’s attempt to trap Orochimaru ended with blood spilling onto the ruined ground.

• Xing Ran used his vision to identify Manda and Gamabunta fighting and realized Jiraiya and Orochimaru were nearby.
• Xing Ran suggested reinforcing Jiraiya, and Might Guy agreed to lead the team toward the battle.
• Jiraiya released Gamabunta, while Manda returned to Ryūchi Cave without waiting for Orochimaru’s orders.
• Jiraiya pretended to be exhausted so Orochimaru would attack at close range, then tried to ensnare him with the Wild Lion Dance Technique.
• Orochimaru cut through Jiraiya’s kunai, and blood sprayed across the ground before Jiraiya’s hair could bind him.