Chapter Summaries

Kanna studied chakra nature transformation and concluded that it underlay advanced taijutsu and many powerful techniques. He practiced shaping water without hand seals but could only keep it stable with seals, leaving him determined to improve.

• Kanna examined damage from the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and reasoned that advanced taijutsu used chakra nature transformation.
• Kanna identified spherical shaping and stable transformation as basic principles, then focused on Tsunade’s Yin Seal as an example of chakra storage.
• Kanna tried to reshape a floating water droplet without hand seals, but it burst apart.
• Morishita Mai praised Kanna’s progress, while Kanna explained that seal-less techniques would give him an advantage in close combat.
• Kanna used hand seals to condense water into a column and crack a teacup, then reflected that he still could not control the water without seals.

At Kirigakure’s Chunin exams, Kanna watched Ringo Amayuri kill Hayashinaka Shigure with a lightning attack and recognized her as a future powerhouse. He told his father, Kanna Tokiomi, that although he could not fight her head-on, he was absolutely certain he would not lose to her.

• The proctor announced the revised one-on-one exam rules, and all six candidates signed the agreement.
• Ringo Amayuri challenged Hayashinaka Shigure, who accepted and began the match.
• Hayashinaka Shigure used a Water Clone and Water Prison to trap Amayuri, but she unleashed lightning and killed him.
• The proctor declared Amayuri the winner, and Kanna realized she was the future wielder of the Lightning Blade.
• Kanna told Kanna Tokiomi that he could not defeat Amayuri head-on but was certain he would not lose, gratifying his father.

Kanna watched Amayuri dominate the Chunin exam, then learned she would not be promoted because her conduct threatened the Mizukage’s exam reforms. At midnight, he drew the Water Style: Great Shark Bullet Technique, but its enormous chakra cost left him wondering how he could use it; then his father arrived to speak with him.

• Amayuri defeated Hayashinaka Shigure with a powerful, hand-seal-free Lightning Release, and Kanna judged her strength extraordinary.
• After the exam’s casualties, Kanna overheard the Third Hokage ask Tokiomi about Amayuri, and Tokiomi said she should not become a Chunin that year.
• Kanna returned home, trained, and considered how he would fight the exam’s ninjutsu specialists and Amayuri.
• At midnight, Kanna used his S-rank draw and acquired Water Style: Great Shark Bullet Technique, whose massive chakra requirement exceeded his current reserves.
• Kanna’s father arrived at his door and said he wanted to talk to him.

Kanna Tokiomi praised Kanna's study notes and told him that the Third Mizukage had agreed to teach him a secret chakra-circulation method. The next morning, Kanna began practicing the method, grateful for the Mizukage's trust.

• Kanna Tokiomi read Kanna's notebook and praised his independent study of advanced ninjutsu.
• Kanna Tokiomi told Kanna that the Third Mizukage had praised his courage and would teach him a secret method for chakra control.
• Kanna Tokiomi explained the method and its potential to improve chakra circulation, strengthen the body, and reduce wasted energy.
• Kanna learned that the Third Mizukage's Mind's Eye used genjutsu-based sensing and reflected on the Mizukage's generosity.
• Kanna followed the instructions the next morning and began his first chakra cycle.

Kanna used Highland to overcome the flaw in his chakra circulation method caused by his heart being on the right, creating a network throughout his body. He tested his enhanced control in a spar with Shiro Kamimizu, who recognized him as a prodigy.

• Kanna failed to complete the circulation method because his heart was on the right and considered having it surgically moved.
• Kanna realized Highland could analyze the method, erased the Flying Thunder God formula, and inscribed the circulation method in its place.
• Kanna used Highland to connect chakra throughout his body in a flawless network and believed repeated use would teach his body a new chakra cycle.
• Kanna formed and shaped water with ease, then rode a sheet of water along the apartment building using Water Style: Water Body Flicker.
• Shiro Kamimizu challenged Kanna, and their spar ended with each trapping the other in a Water Prison Technique.
• Kanna and Shiro Kamimizu exchanged names, and Shiro praised Kanna's skill and compared his talent to Zabuza's.

Kanna met Shiro Kamimizu and learned that Amayuri had killed Shiro’s star student in the Chunin Ninja Exams, then clashed with Amayuri over her cold, domineering manner. That night, the Hayashinaka Clan’s ninja cornered Amayuri and demanded she come with them, setting up a confrontation over Hayashinaka Shigure’s death.

• Shiro Kamimizu invited Kanna to eat, learned he was Kanna Tokiomi’s son, and told him he was a Kirigakure jōnin whose team was being reorganized after a student died.
• Kanna encountered Amayuri and Murakami Motohiko at the izakaya, and he and Amayuri exchanged hostile words before Murakami ordered her back to her seat.
• Shiro Kamimizu told Kanna that Amayuri had killed his star pupil during the Chunin Ninja Exams, and Kanna and Shiro exchanged contact information before leaving.
• After training, Amayuri walked alone through a secluded alley and sensed three ninja blocking her path.
• The Hayashinaka Clan’s ninja demanded that Amayuri accompany them to explain herself, and Amayuri drew her sword and refused.

After hearing that Amayuri had killed three Chunin, Kanna was questioned by the Security Force about their meeting and his whereabouts. When the investigators tried to press him beyond their authority, he pinned Aoki’s hand to the table and threatened to use the village’s juvenile rules against them.

• Kanna heard rumors that Amayuri had killed three Chunin and was waiting for the Security Force to arrive.
• Maki and Takeshita Izumi questioned Kanna about his dispute with Amayuri, his training, and his connection to Shiro Kamimizu’s student.
• Kanna refused to answer beyond the Security Force’s three-question limit and demanded authorization for further questioning.
• Takeshita Izumi accused Kanna of refusing to cooperate and said he would be forbidden from leaving the village.
• Kanna pinned Aoki’s hand to the table, invoked the juvenile correction rules, and drove his chopsticks toward the back of Aoki’s hand.

Kanna fought Aoki and Takeshita Izumi at a restaurant, using Shikotsumyaku to protect himself and frighten them off. When Kika’s Security Force squad tried to take him in, Kanna made them fear being blamed for injuring him; a representative from the Juvenile Correction Center then arrived to escort him.

• Kanna used Shikotsumyaku to block Takeshita Izumi’s attack, then pinned his hand to Aoki’s with chopsticks and knocked Aoki unconscious.
• Kanna threatened Takeshita Izumi, who fled, and promised to pay the restaurant owner for the damage.
• Aoki returned with Kika and the Security Force, but Kanna demanded proof of their authority and scattered their documents.
• Kanna pretended to injure himself to warn Kika against taking him to headquarters, and Kika withdrew his squad.
• A bespectacled shinobi from the Juvenile Correction Center arrived, and Kanna agreed to go with him.

Kanna learned that his arrest was part of a broader struggle between Kirigakure’s clans and the Third Mizukage over control of trade and village power. Sentenced to correctional labor, he decided to use the center as a refuge and joined Amayuri in provoking a longer stay.

• Gotō Shinnosuke sentenced Kanna to three months at the Juvenile Correction Center for breaking Aoki’s fingers with chopsticks.
• Morishita Mai told Kanna that the Third Mizukage and his father were trying to centralize control of trade, and that Kanna had been caught in the clans’ retaliation.
• Kanna learned that the merchant’s visit and first trade could keep him at the center for four or five months, and he asked who had ordered his arrest.
• Morishita Mai said too many people were involved for Kanna to take revenge, so he resolved to find a way to extend his term.
• Kanna met Amayuri, who had been sentenced to six months, and suggested they add more time by causing trouble.
• Kanna shouted that he would beat Amayuri and jabbed a finger at her forehead.

Kanna’s detention was extended after she accidentally knocked out Ringo Amayuri, and she later learned that Hozuki Mangetsu had come to challenge her. When Mangetsu provoked her, Kanna blasted him with Shinra Tensei, but his Hydrification Technique left him unharmed.

• Kanna’s finger strike made the exhausted Ringo Amayuri collapse, and the warden extended both girls’ detention terms by three months.
• A week later, Ringo told Kanna that Hozuki Mangetsu had arrived at the Juvenile Correction Center and seemed to be targeting her.
• Kanna’s Exploding Bubble went off when Ringo slapped it, and Mangetsu appeared to inspect the technique.
• Mangetsu warned Kanna and Ringo not to provoke him, so Kanna attacked him with Shinra Tensei and sent him crashing through a railing.
• Mangetsu healed his injuries with the Hydrification Technique and stood unharmed.

After fighting Hozuki Mangetsu, Kanna received three days in solitary confinement and an extended sentence, where warden Gotō Shinnosuke explained the clans’ political motives and urged him to form his own views. Shinnosuke promised to help Kanna and Amayuri and said he would teach them his way of the shinobi.

• Kanna dismissed Hozuki Mangetsu after their fight, and the authorities gave Kanna three days of solitary confinement, extended his sentence by two months, and extended Amayuri’s by one month.
• Gotō Shinnosuke told Kanna he supported the Third Mizukage and Kanna’s father but had to remain neutral as a Kirigakure shinobi.
• Shinnosuke urged Kanna to think independently about the conflict rather than blindly following his father’s position.
• Shinnosuke explained that the clans had targeted Kanna and Amayuri to keep them in the Juvenile Correction Center and disrupt their training after the Third Mizukage stripped the clans of power.
• Shinnosuke reassured Kanna that he could help him and Amayuri, then told Kanna he would teach them his way of the shinobi.

Kanna arranged to learn swordsmanship from Gotō Shinnosuke and used a staged attack to get himself sent back to solitary confinement. Shinnosuke began evening lessons for Kanna and Amayuri, assigning Kanna the Silent Killing Technique while Amayuri chose Nii-ryū.

• Kanna heard Shinnosuke explain his way of the sword and agreed to begin lessons once Amayuri was sent to solitary confinement.
• Amayuri was placed in solitary confinement after a fight with a Hayashinaka Clan member, and Kanna learned that his own detention was ending.
• Uji Shichigatsu took Kanna to Shinnosuke, where Hozuki Mangetsu learned he had been cleared and prepared to leave.
• Kanna staged an attack on Shinnosuke, who sentenced him to two weeks in solitary confinement.
• Shichigatsu secretly brought Kanna and Amayuri to a training room, where Shinnosuke began teaching swordsmanship.
• Amayuri chose Nii-ryū, and Kanna chose the Silent Killing Technique.

Kanna trained with Amayuri under Shinnosuke, developed his Silent Killing Technique, and drew several powerful ninjutsu over the following months. After acquiring Human Path: Mind Reading and White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu Ten Puppets, he realized he needed to overcome the Highland’s limit of holding only one technique.

• Kanna and Amayuri trained under Shinnosuke, and Kanna learned that Amayuri’s broad skills balanced his stronger ninjutsu.
• Shinnosuke taught Kanna the Silent Killing Technique, which Kanna practiced to cultivate stillness and balance in body, energy, and spirit.
• Three months later, Kanna drew Double Lariat and considered using a clone to perform it without needing a trusted partner.
• Three months after that, Kanna drew Sage Art: Rasengan and studied how it used Natural Energy, though he still needed the technique itself to use it.
• In the final two months, Kanna drew Human Path: Mind Reading and White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu Ten Puppets.
• Kanna recognized that his growing collection of ninjutsu made overcoming the Highland’s one-technique limit urgent.

After returning home from eight months of imprisonment, Kanna learned that the Third Kazekage had disappeared and prepared to enter Kirigakure’s Chunin Exams. He completed months of training and arrived at the exams with a broad set of techniques, confident he could pass on his first try.

• Kanna read a report about the Third Kazekage’s disappearance and recognized that the coming Third Shinobi World War could give him a chance to pursue his plans.
• Kanna decided to take Kirigakure’s Chunin Exams in March so he could gain more freedom to act during the approaching war.
• Kanna trained in Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, mastered Water Style: Water Cannonball and Water Style: Syrup Capture Field, and developed a defensive bone membrane through Shikotsumyaku.
• Kanna studied additional techniques, including White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu Ten Puppets and Ninjutsu: Exploding Bubble, while setting aside several lottery techniques he could not use or did not need.
• Kanna finished his pre-exam preparation with Shinra Tensei, several Water Style techniques, basic ninja techniques, Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, and his bone membrane at his disposal.

Kanna and Amayuri arrived at Kirigakure’s Chunin Exams and learned the rules of Ao’s difficult written test. As the exam began, they prepared to cheat together using their respective techniques.

• Kanna spotted Zabuza among the candidates and exchanged a wary look with him.
• Kanna and Amayuri entered the exam room and took their assigned seats among 135 candidates.
• Ao explained that the written exam had fifteen questions, a strict scoring system, and immediate disqualification for anyone caught cheating.
• Kanna recognized Ao and reasoned that the test rewarded skillful intelligence gathering, though the questions mattered most.
• Kanna prepared to use the Shadow Possession Jutsu in reverse, while Amayuri readied a hair thread to send signals through Lightning Release Chakra.

Kanna faced a difficult written exam and used Shadow Possession Jutsu to copy Zabuza’s answers while communicating with Amayuri. After learning the exam’s ruthless recommended response to a captured subordinate, the three exchanged challenges for the final exam.

• Kanna recognized that the first question was a trap after examinees reversed the Water Clone seals and began vomiting, then wrote his answer without testing the jutsu.
• Kanna skipped to the final question and decided to copy Zabuza’s response because he could not determine the right course of action for a captured subordinate.
• Kanna used Amayuri’s strand of hair to receive her message, then used Shadow Possession Jutsu to ask Zabuza for answers.
• Zabuza recognized Kanna from the graduation exam and agreed to let him copy his work, while Amayuri sent Kanna a message saying she would join their final-exam challenge.
• Kanna copied Zabuza’s answer recommending that a squad abandon or kill a captured subordinate, then exchanged challenges with Zabuza and Amayuri for the final exam.

Kanna watched the candidates use ingenious techniques to cheat during Ao’s written exam, then realized the accusations afterward formed a hidden test about protecting intelligence and taking responsibility. She exposed some candidates and turned herself in, and Ao ultimately declared her and the other named candidates had passed.

• Kanna observed candidates using sound, visual, and Water Style techniques to copy answers, and she exchanged help with one boy using water droplets.
• Ao collected and graded the papers, then accused candidates with matching answers and ordered cheaters to expose one another or face elimination.
• Kanna reasoned that the hidden question tested how a team handled a captured member and decided to protect the intelligence specialists by taking responsibility.
• Kanna accused Kyu Shichito and Mujin Kurumi of copying from her, then turned herself in and named Tachibana Rei, Jia Ma, Yuji, and Linqin Yu Yuli as people she had copied from.
• Other candidates, including Zabuza, exposed people and turned themselves in until everyone in the room had been named.
• Ao declared Kanna, Zabuza, Tachibana Rei, Jia Ma, Yuji, Linqin Yu Yuli, and the other named candidates had all passed.

Ao explained the written exam’s hidden question and announced the examinees who passed before Long introduced the team-based outdoor test. Kanna learned he was one of four pursuers and reunited with Zabuza, Amayuri Ringo, and Fuyuki Sanzenryo to plan their next move.

• Ao explained that the written exam tested observation, intelligence-gathering, judgment, and willingness to protect intelligence operatives, then named the examinees who passed.
• Ao led the remaining examinees to the river, where Long explained the outdoor exam’s roles, scoring rules, supply points, and restrictions.
• Long assigned roles based on written exam scores, and Kanna learned he was a pursuer alongside Fuyuki Sanzenryo, Momochi Zabuza, and Amayuri Ringo.
• Kanna identified the five intelligence operatives by their heavy backpacks and considered the pursuers’ advantage over the larger group of pursued examinees.
• After the exam began, Kanna hid in a tree, contacted the other pursuers, and met Zabuza, Amayuri Ringo, and Fuyuki Sanzenryo to discuss their plan.

Kanna watched Zabuza and Fuyuki Sanzenryo fight after their alliance collapsed, learning that Fuyuki had received powerful Water Release techniques from Yagura. Zabuza enveloped the battle in mist, and Fuyuki shouted that Yagura considered him a friend and companion, not a subordinate.

• Amayuri left with the Body Flicker Technique, while Zabuza demanded Fuyuki Sanzenryo's numbered tag and Kanna stayed out of their conflict.
• Fuyuki blocked Zabuza's attacks with the Water Release: Mirror Boundary Technique, captured Zabuza's sword, and drew a copy of it from a water mirror.
• Fuyuki revealed that Yagura had taught him the Mirror Boundary Technique and the Eighty-Four Thousand Water Insect Technique, which he had also taught Musen Kama.
• Kanna asked Fuyuki who his friend was, and Fuyuki identified him as Yagura; Zabuza then used the Hidden Mist Technique and Silent Killing Technique.
• Kanna began moving out of the mist, while Fuyuki shouted that Yagura regarded him as a friend and companion rather than a subordinate.

Kanna obtained Yetsuki’s coordinates and tracked her to a group of twelve candidates gathered with Asu Usagi. After declaring that she would take them all out, Kanna launched a water cannonball at Yetsuki’s group.

• Kanna borrowed ten points to get Yetsuki’s coordinates, then headed for Tiger Sector to find her and Asu Usagi.
• Yetsuki’s group debated whether to avoid the pursuers or confront them, and Asu Usagi persuaded them to follow their usual route and collect supplies.
• Yetsuki’s Coordinate Locator began beeping as Kanna approached the group from the woods.
• Kanna used Water Body Flicker to reach the group, counted twelve candidates, and announced that she would take them all out.
• Kanna flicked a droplet toward Yetsuki, drawing water from nearby puddles into a barrel-sized cannonball.