Recaps

Orochimaru investigated Sawada Hiroki by questioning one of his classmates, who described Hiroki as quiet and difficult to remember. Meanwhile, Hiroki realized Orochimaru was repeatedly injecting Genjutsu through an active connection and spotted the source of the signal.

• Orochimaru visited the Academy grounds and asked a student what Sawada Hiroki was like.
• The student said Hiroki was quiet, kept to himself, and seemed like a shadow in the classroom.
• Orochimaru suspected Hiroki behaved more like an adult trying to avoid notice than an ordinary child.
• Hiroki used his mental Task Manager to stop a Hell Viewing Technique process, but another Genjutsu process immediately appeared.
• Hiroki realized Orochimaru was sustaining the attack through a high-privilege connection and needed a way to block it.
• Hiroki spotted an active WiFi connection labeled Orochimaru-Open-Signal.

Hiroki used a mental firewall to block Orochimaru’s genjutsu attacks, adapting it to stop malicious processes, disguised programs, and overwhelming system strain. He stabilized his mind, while Orochimaru’s Shadow Clone ran low on chakra.

• Hiroki identified Orochimaru’s forced mental connection and created a firewall to intercept genjutsu attacks.
• Hiroki terminated the Hell Viewing Technique and blocked the Nirvana Hermitage Technique, escaping the first genjutsu and returning to reality.
• Hiroki detected and removed a disguised svchost.exe process, causing Orochimaru’s venomous-snake illusion to break apart and vanish.
• Orochimaru launched a direct assault that overloaded Hiroki’s mind, so Hiroki wrote an emergency routine to limit resource usage and stabilize himself.
• Orochimaru’s Shadow Clone realized its chakra was nearly exhausted as it prepared to continue the attack.

Hiroki passed Orochimaru’s assessment by defending against his Genjutsu, while Orochimaru recognized Hiroki’s unusual resistance and wondered whether his reluctance to attack was a weakness. Afterward, Kushina resolved to seek Grandma Mito’s help so she could grow strong enough to stand beside Hiroki.

• Orochimaru ended the assessment and told Hiroki to meet him at the same time and place the next day.
• Orochimaru received his Shadow Clone’s memories and realized Hiroki could dismantle Genjutsu without using the standard release technique.
• Orochimaru suspected Hiroki’s passive approach to combat might be a weakness, despite knowing Hiroki could attack through physical contact.
• Hiroki passed the assessment, and Kushina reflected on how often he had solved dangers while she had been helpless.
• Kushina remembered Grandma Mito’s offer of help and decided to ask her how to become stronger.

Orochimaru concealed Kushina’s true abilities from Danzō, who ordered him to shape her into a weapon for Konoha. Hiroki returned home after his test and found Orochimaru waiting for him.

• Orochimaru reported that Kushina had great chakra and vitality but downplayed her talent and claimed she struggled against high-level Genjutsu.
• Danzō suspected Orochimaru was withholding information, but accepted his denial of betraying Konoha and ordered him to make Kushina an obedient weapon for the village.
• Danzō wondered whether Hiroki’s Kekkei Genkai had abilities beyond copying and reading memories, and considered seeking clues from the Second Hokage.
• Hiroki returned home, intending to review his battle with Orochimaru and investigate the forced “WiFi Connection.”
• Hiroki entered his room and found Orochimaru waiting by his workbench, playing with a large, muscular rat.

Orochimaru confronted Sawada Hiroki about his secret experiments and knowledge, while Hiroki tried to hide the truth behind a fabricated Kekkei Genkai. Orochimaru concluded that Hiroki had ties to the Second Hokage and offered to help him develop his abilities in exchange for that knowledge, leaving Hiroki baffled.

• Orochimaru appeared in Hiroki’s room, examined his caged test subjects, and deduced the purpose and flaws of Hiroki’s muscle-growth experiments.
• Hiroki calmed himself and claimed his Kekkei Genkai let him perceive the essence of life, but Orochimaru challenged his explanation and demanded his experiment log.
• Orochimaru reasoned that Hiroki’s unusual knowledge came from the Second Hokage’s research and that Hiroki might have been one of his test subjects.
• Orochimaru warned Hiroki that weakness was a sin and offered to help him develop his Kekkei Genkai if he shared what he had learned from the Second Hokage.
• Hiroki was left confused by Orochimaru’s claim that his knowledge came from Senju Tobirama.

Hiroki weighed how to respond when Orochimaru demanded knowledge of the Second Hokage, then offered a cautious compromise by admitting he had unexplained knowledge and abilities. Orochimaru agreed to help develop them, and the chapter ended with a visitor announcing she would become the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

• Hiroki considered the risks of agreeing to Orochimaru's demand or refusing him and decided to neither confirm nor deny what he knew.
• Hiroki told Orochimaru he did not know about the Second Hokage's knowledge but did possess unexplained knowledge and abilities, and asked for help developing them.
• Orochimaru accepted Hiroki's offer and promised access to experiments, ninjutsu users, and his expertise.
• Orochimaru offered to teach the girl Chunin training at the training ground the next day or take Hiroki to his lab immediately.
• A girl knocked at the door and shouted to Hiroki that she knew how to get stronger and would become the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Hiroki learned that Kushina wanted to become the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to grow stronger and prove herself, and he promised to help her pursue strength and become Hokage. Determined to change the Shinobi World, he began experiments with Orochimaru and continued after his first test subject died.

• Kushina told Hiroki that Grandma Mito had explained the risks of becoming the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, but she still wanted to catch up to him and become Konoha's first female Hokage.
• Hiroki promised Kushina he would support her, urged her to study Fuinjutsu first, and vowed they would grow stronger and change Konoha together.
• Hiroki resolved to gain enough strength to change the Shinobi World and agreed to begin Orochimaru's Muscle Automation Growth Technique experiment.
• Hiroki asked Orochimaru to confirm that the hooded test subjects were criminals who deserved to die, then began the experiment.
• A test subject died from catastrophic physical effects, and Hiroki told Orochimaru to continue.

Hiroki analyzed why his first human trial killed its subject and rewrote the muscle-growth program to limit its targets and intensity while monitoring vital resources. He began a second experiment, and early readings suggested the new safeguards were keeping the subject stable.

• Hiroki reviewed the failed trial and suspected the script’s global, maximum-strength instructions overwhelmed a human body’s resources.
• Hiroki replaced the global instruction with a required target muscle group and set growth intensity to a conservative 5%.
• Hiroki added real-time monitoring of blood calcium and pH, emergency shutdowns, and work-rest cycles, completing muscle_sustainable_growth_v0.2.bat.
• Hiroki executed the new program on the second criminal despite the subject’s terror.
• Researchers reported that blood calcium had dropped 3% but remained relatively stable, while lactate and heart rhythm stayed within safe ranges.

Hiroki planned a controlled test of the Muscle Patch and tested his chakra natures to investigate why Lightning Style: False Darkness had exhausted him. He discovered he lacked Lightning nature and asked Orochimaru to teach him a compatible jutsu and Shadow Clone.

• Hiroki divided the remaining prisoners into experimental and control groups and required a double-blind study to assess the Muscle Patch.
• Hiroki explained the placebo effect to Orochimaru and the researchers, then received Orochimaru's approval to lead the experiment.
• Hiroki tested a chakra paper and showed Water, Wind, and Fire natures, but no Lightning nature.
• The researchers speculated that Hiroki had forced himself to imitate Lightning Release, explaining why using Lightning Style: False Darkness had drained him.
• Hiroki decided to learn a jutsu compatible with his chakra natures and asked Orochimaru to teach him Shadow Clone.

Sawada Hiroki copied ninjutsu from Yakushi Jiro’s memories and successfully used Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere, revealing his ability to Orochimaru. Meanwhile, Shimura Danzo sent a Root ninja to Orochimaru’s laboratory to investigate what he was hiding.

• Hiroki connected to Yakushi Jiro and began copying the Shadow Clone Technique, Vacuum Sphere, and other files, but Jiro’s awareness triggered a memory seal that blocked the transfer.
• Hiroki used his Brain Overload Script to stop Jiro from resisting, resumed copying, and realized that the mastery labels on copied files reflected their owners’ own assessments.
• Hiroki finished copying the files and demonstrated Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere, impressing Orochimaru with how quickly he had learned it.
• Hiroki noticed the technique had barely drained his battery and concluded that his ability could help him test and analyze ninjutsu.
• Shimura Danzo ordered a Root ninja to visit Orochimaru’s laboratory, while privately deciding that Yakushi Jiro should also be dealt with.

Uzuki infiltrated Orochimaru’s laboratory to investigate his younger brother Jiro and dismissed Hiroki as an ordinary child. When Hiroki touched Jiro, Uzuki became convinced he was reading Jiro’s memories and rushed out to stop him, though Uzuki briefly wondered if Hiroki had been influencing his thoughts.

• Uzuki entered Konoha’s underground through secret Root routes and sensed Orochimaru’s laboratory from a safe distance.
• Uzuki detected Orochimaru, his younger brother Jiro, and Hiroki among the people inside, but judged Hiroki’s chakra to be unremarkable.
• Uzuki worried that Hiroki might be able to detect or read minds, then dismissed the possibility and blamed his distracted thoughts on concern for Jiro.
• When Hiroki placed a hand on Jiro’s shoulder, Uzuki decided Hiroki was reading Jiro’s memories and copying his ninjutsu.
• Uzuki rushed toward the laboratory to stop Hiroki, briefly wondering whether he had been having too many thoughts since sensing the boy.

Uzuki stormed into Orochimaru’s lab to rescue his brother, Yakushi Jiro, and attacked Sawada Hiroki’s Shadow Clone. Just as Uzuki was about to strike, his thoughts abruptly stalled, leaving him open to a wind bullet through the chest.

• Uzuki burst into Orochimaru’s underground lab and found Yakushi Jiro bound to a chair.
• Orochimaru asked Sawada Hiroki whether he wanted Uzuki taken care of, and Hiroki silently formed a Shadow Clone.
• Uzuki became strangely convinced that Hiroki and Orochimaru needed to learn basic courtesy, then attacked Hiroki’s Shadow Clone with Chakra Scalpels.
• Hiroki’s Shadow Clone fired Vacuum Spheres, which Uzuki sliced apart as he rushed in to kill it.
• Uzuki’s mind stalled before he could complete his attack, and a wind bullet pierced his chest.

Hiroki used a Shadow Clone and his ability to alter minds to defeat Root ninja Uzuki while copying Uzuki’s ninjutsu files. As Orochimaru deferred dealing with the wounded Uzuki, he asked Hiroki about the Third’s intentions and his final teammate.

• Hiroki detected Uzuki’s unusual WiFi signal and discovered that Danzo had sent him to investigate Orochimaru.
• Hiroki’s Shadow Clone disrupted Uzuki’s thoughts and defeated him with a Vacuum Sphere while Hiroki copied five ninjutsu files.
• Hiroki reflected on how his mind-hacking ability and Shadow Clone Technique had helped him, while remaining uncertain about Orochimaru’s abilities.
• The researchers watched Hiroki in astonishment, questioning how he had learned and used jutsu so quickly.
• Orochimaru told Hiroki to leave the wounded Uzuki alone for now, then asked whether Hiroki knew why the Third had assigned him as a teacher and who his last teammate would be.

Senju Tokuma and his allies plotted to kill Rope Tree, whom they saw as a threat to their political influence. They planned to hire bounty hunters to ambush Orochimaru’s team during its first mission outside the village.

• Senju Kenji told Senju Tokuma and Senju Ryosuke that Rope Tree had joined Orochimaru’s team with Uzumaki Kushina and Sawada Hiroki.
• Senju Ryosuke dismissed rumors about Sawada Hiroki’s strength, and Senju Tokuma insisted that Rope Tree was their only target.
• Senju Tokuma proposed luring Orochimaru away when the team went on a mission, while Senju Ryosuke suggested hiring foreign ninja to stage an ambush.
• Senju Tokuma ordered Senju Kenji to learn the details of the team’s first C-rank mission and sent Senju Ryosuke to hire bounty hunters through the Underground Exchange.
• Senju Ryosuke agreed to hire four jonin and promised to erase every trace of the plot.

Hiroki and Kushina met Tsunade and her younger brother Nawaki before joining Orochimaru's Team 7. As the team received its first mission, Hiroki remembered that Nawaki had died at twelve and realized that he might soon be in danger.

• Kushina urged Hiroki to hurry so they could meet their teacher, and told him that Mito had postponed her advanced Fuinjutsu training until she improved her chakra control.
• Hiroki and Kushina arrived at the Forest of Death and found Tsunade giving Nawaki Hashirama's necklace as he declared his dream of becoming Hokage.
• Orochimaru arrived and assigned Hiroki, Kushina, and Nawaki to Team 7.
• Orochimaru led Team 7 to the mission assignment office and gave them a D-Rank task to find the daimyo's wife's lost cat, Tora.
• Hiroki searched his memories and discovered that Nawaki had died at twelve during the Second Shinobi World War.

Hiroki realized Nawaki’s death was approaching with the Second Shinobi World War, then joined his team in searching for Tora. As Nawaki and Kushina struggled to climb a wall with chakra, Hiroki adapted code from a copied ninjutsu to manage chakra control but realized he did not know how much chakra to output.

• Hiroki recognized that Nawaki was twelve and feared his death would soon herald the Second Shinobi World War.
• Orochimaru led Hiroki, Nawaki, and Kushina on a mission to find Tora, and Nawaki spotted the cat on a high wall.
• Orochimaru demonstrated how to climb a wall by concentrating chakra in the soles of the feet.
• Nawaki failed to climb the wall, while Kushina climbed briefly before her excessive chakra damaged the bricks and knocked her down.
• Hiroki used Windows in his mindscape to adapt chakra-control code from Vacuum Sphere for climbing.
• Hiroki wondered how much chakra he needed to output and looked to Orochimaru for guidance.

Hiroki created a chakra measurement system called Kaka by calibrating the cost of a Transformation Technique, then used it to calculate the chakra needed for wall climbing. His first measured attempt worked, though his footing was initially unsteady.

• Hiroki asked Orochimaru how much chakra was needed to stick to a wall, and Orochimaru estimated it at about one-sixth of the chakra used for a basic Transformation Technique.
• Hiroki rejected the Transformation Technique as a fixed unit and used it to establish Kaka, defining one standard Transformation Technique as 100 Kaka.
• Hiroki calculated his chakra pool as 3,125 Kaka and estimated that climbing would take 11.67 Kaka per second.
• Hiroki channeled the calculated amount into his feet, stepped onto the wall, and steadied himself after briefly wobbling.

Sawada Hiroki succeeded at climbing a wall on his first try by precisely measuring his chakra, leading Orochimaru and the hidden shinobi to recognize the potential of quantified chakra training. Orochimaru then gave Hiroki a chakra amount for walking on water, and Hiroki adjusted his output until he ran across the stream.

• Sawada Hiroki climbed the wall on his first attempt after applying a measured amount of chakra.
• Orochimaru realized Hiroki’s method could make chakra control and ninjutsu training measurable and more efficient.
• Nawaki, Uzumaki Kushina, and the hidden Root and Anbu Ninja watched Hiroki’s success in stunned silence.
• Orochimaru ran across the stream and told Hiroki to use twice the chakra he had used for climbing the wall.
• Sawada Hiroki increased his chakra output until he steadied himself and ran across the water.

Hiroki demonstrated precise chakra control and introduced a measurable unit that Orochimaru expanded into a system for evaluating chakra. Orochimaru planned to present the Hiroki Theory to the Third, but an Anbu summoned him and Team 7 to the Hokage’s office.

• Hiroki crossed the water effortlessly, then taught Kushina and Nawaki to measure chakra output in units called Kaka.
• Orochimaru measured the children’s chakra output and proposed using standard deviation to assess control precision.
• Orochimaru explained total chakra reserves, maximum extraction rate, and control precision, then assigned training priorities based on each child’s measurements.
• Nawaki and Kushina vowed to improve their chakra control, while Orochimaru said he would submit the Hiroki Theory to the Third.
• Hiroki retrieved Tora, but an Anbu appeared and ordered Orochimaru to bring Team 7 to the Hokage’s office immediately.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sent Orochimaru and Team 7—Nawaki, Kushina, and Hiroki—on an urgent mission to scout Amegakure’s activity along Konoha’s border as war threatened. After they departed to prepare, Hiruzen and Danzō discussed the risks to the children, while Hiruzen hoped all three would survive.

• An Anbu reported Hiroki’s precise chakra control and proposed measurement unit to Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzō, who discussed the potential value and difficulty of standardizing chakra measurements.
• Orochimaru arrived with Team 7, and Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered him to scout Amegakure, gather intelligence near the border, and attack enemy ninja found inside Konoha territory.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen warned Nawaki, Kushina, and Hiroki that the mission was real warfare and told them to prepare to depart at once.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered Orochimaru to avoid conflict with Sunagakure ninja in Amegakure but kill any found inside Konoha territory, and Orochimaru led Team 7 away.
• After the team left, Danzō said at least two of the children would likely survive and accepted the possibility of losing them, while Sarutobi Hiruzen privately hoped all three would return.

Senju Ryosuke hired four rogue ninja to attack Nawaki’s squad and keep Orochimaru occupied, then arranged to hire Kakuzu as backup in case the mercenaries failed. He accepted that finding Kakuzu could take a month and insisted Nawaki had to die.

• Senju Ryosuke ordered four rogue ninja to distract Orochimaru and kill Nawaki’s squad, but they demanded more money because Sawada Hiroki was among the targets.
• Scar agreed to the mission after receiving an additional deposit, clarifying that the mercenaries would prioritize Nawaki and would not target the other children.
• Senju Ryosuke asked the Black Market Exchange manager to arrange a reliable backup who could finish the job and kill the four mercenaries if necessary.
• The manager recommended Kakuzu, whose fee would be at least three times the mercenaries’ total payment and who might take a month to contact.
• Senju Ryosuke accepted the delay and ordered the manager to find Kakuzu, offering whatever payment was necessary to ensure Nawaki’s death.

Orochimaru brought Team 7 to Outpost 99, where patrol teams had been vanishing and Amegakure forces were increasingly active. He ordered Hiroki, Kushina, and Nawaki to stay safe at the outpost, while enemy teams prepared an attack involving an insider and a target already inside.

• Orochimaru and Team 7 arrived at Outpost 99 and reported to Captain Kitagawa.
• Kitagawa explained that patrol teams had vanished without a trace and that Amegakure teams had grown more numerous along the border.
• Orochimaru told Hiroki, Kushina, and Nawaki to remain at the outpost while he handled the mission.
• Scar and three other Jonin teams planned to attack the outpost, draw Orochimaru away, and assassinate a target inside.
• Scar began sensing for Ninjas as Hiroki detected a new WiFi signal labeled "Scar_Soma Benigaki."

Hiroki discovered a plot to assassinate Nawaki and warned Orochimaru through a disguised chakra-control lesson. As enemies attacked the outpost from within and without, a mysterious assailant burst into the command post and targeted Nawaki.

• Hiroki connected to Scar Soma Benigaki's signal and learned of an inside agent, a plan to lure Orochimaru away, and an assassination order against Nawaki.
• Hiroki warned Orochimaru in coded language, conveying that there was an inside agent and at least four enemies preparing to act.
• Kitagawa sensed something was wrong, then volunteered to investigate a report of a large Amegakure force at the western defensive line.
• Kitagawa transformed into Orochimaru as he left, and Orochimaru transformed into Kitagawa.
• An attacker smashed through the command post wall and lunged at Nawaki as explosions and screams signaled an assault on the outpost.

Hiroki and Orochimaru fought off an assassination team that had infiltrated the command post, capturing Rattlesnake and learning that the attack plan involved Scar. Hiroki then noticed the attackers had targeted patrols only three times despite seven frontline outposts being attacked, leaving Orochimaru to reconsider the enemy’s wider operation.

• Black Bear and Rattlesnake attacked the command post while Skinny Monkey tried to assassinate Nawaki, but Hiroki kicked Nawaki out of danger and detected the underground attacker.
• Orochimaru fought Black Bear as Hiroki disabled Skinny Monkey and injured Black Bear, then warned Orochimaru that only two enemies remained.
• Hiroki and Orochimaru stopped Rattlesnake as she tried to retreat, and Orochimaru ordered Hiroki to keep the surviving enemies alive for interrogation.
• Hiroki read Rattlesnake’s memories and copied her ninjutsu and mission files, discovering that Scar had ordered the team to draw Orochimaru away.
• Hiroki reminded Orochimaru that seven frontline outposts had been attacked, but the enemy had targeted patrols only three times.

Senju Ryosuke learned that the four elite Jōnin he hired had all been killed, and the Underground Exchange identified Sawada Hiroki as the likely culprit. Ryosuke agreed to renegotiate Kakuzu’s contract while Hiroki examined newly copied ninjutsu from a tree.

• The Underground Exchange manager told Senju Ryosuke that the mission had failed and all four bounty hunters were dead from an unknown poison.
• The manager explained that Orochimaru had fought two Jōnin directly, while the evidence suggested the three Genin had killed the others.
• The manager identified Sawada Hiroki as the likely poison user, citing his earlier destruction of Jiraiya’s Shadow Clone.
• The manager said Kakuzu would come to meet Ryosuke and that the contract now carried a Super S-Rank Risk surcharge, and Ryosuke agreed to proceed.
• The manager reported that the targets were seeking a place to rest because they suspected Ryosuke had an accomplice at the Konoha Outpost.
• Hiroki opened the files on the newly copied ninjutsu while sitting in a tree.