Chapter Summaries

Lin Mu used Senju Hashirama Template Fragments to strengthen himself, unlock Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique, and raise his template activation to 35%. He sent a tiny Wood Dragon to Naruto Uzumaki’s seal, where it began drawing out chakra and something from within him.

• Lin Mu examined the 10,000-Gold Coin price of Wood Release: Wood Human Technique, decided he could not afford it, and used a Senju Hashirama Template Fragment.
• The fragment raised his template activation progress to 25%, and Lin Mu used his remaining fragment.
• Lin Mu’s activation progress reached 35%, and the System awarded him Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique.
• After admiring the new jutsu and considering his improved strength, Lin Mu decided to test it on the Nine-Tails inside Naruto Uzumaki.
• Lin Mu formed a tiny Wood Dragon and sent it to Naruto Uzumaki’s belly, where it began absorbing his chakra and drawing something out from within him.

Lin Mu extracted and crushed a small amount of the Nine-Tails' chakra, provoking the sealed beast and revealing his Wood Release to it. Later, he used the Four Pillar House Technique to create a furnished shelter for himself, Jiraiya, and Naruto Uzumaki as they traveled.

• Lin Mu drew out some of the Nine-Tails' chakra through the Wood Dragon, heard the beast threaten him, and crushed the extracted chakra with his Wood Release.
• The Nine-Tails sensed Lin Mu's Wood Release and recalled how Senju Hashirama had once overwhelmed it, then vowed to kill Lin Mu if it escaped.
• Tsunade and her companion arrived at a town filled with casinos and chose a place to stop.
• Jiraiya decided to shelter from the approaching rain and told Lin Mu and Naruto Uzumaki to gather branches and leaves.
• Lin Mu stopped Naruto Uzumaki and used the Four Pillar House Technique to create a wooden house, then formed furniture inside it.
• Jiraiya marveled at Lin Mu's speed and strength, wondering whether he had changed during his battle with Kisame Hoshigaki.

Jiraiya explained to Naruto why people were after the Nine-Tails sealed inside him and promised to protect him. As the group traveled to find Tsunade, Jiraiya began Naruto’s training by demonstrating the Rasengan.

• Naruto asked Jiraiya why their pursuers were after him, and Jiraiya explained that they wanted the Nine-Tails sealed inside him.
• Jiraiya reassured Naruto that he would protect him, and Naruto resolved to get stronger by finding Tsunade and training.
• Jiraiya described Tsunade as a famous gambler who used a jutsu to appear much younger than her age.
• Jiraiya formed a blue sphere of chakra and demonstrated the Rasengan by driving it into a boulder, leaving a clean hole.
• Lin Mu recognized the Rasengan as the jutsu created by Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage.

Lin Mu watched Jiraiya teach Naruto Uzumaki the Rasengan and reflected on Naruto’s perseverance and ability to inspire others. After seeing Naruto head off to train, Lin Mu resolved to pursue the pinnacle of the Ninja World himself.

• Lin Mu watched Jiraiya explain the Rasengan to Naruto Uzumaki and envied the technique, though he decided not to ask to learn it.
• Naruto Uzumaki failed to understand Jiraiya’s explanation, so Jiraiya planned to teach him through practice and took him to buy training supplies.
• Lin Mu reflected on Naruto’s optimism, determination, and bonds with others, and felt inspired by him.
• Lin Mu caught up with Naruto Uzumaki and Jiraiya, determined not to let his own training fall behind.
• Lin Mu resolved to reach the pinnacle of the Ninja World and recognized how Naruto Uzumaki had influenced him.

Jiraiya began teaching Naruto the first stage of the Rasengan with a water-balloon exercise while Lin Mu watched and trained. By evening, Naruto was exhausted but still had not burst the balloon, and Lin Mu resolved to grow strong enough to prevent Jiraiya's future death.

• Jiraiya bought balloons and took Naruto and Lin Mu outside town to begin Rasengan training.
• Jiraiya explained how Naruto could use chakra rotation to stir the water inside a balloon until it burst.
• Lin Mu suspected Jiraiya was willing to teach him the Rasengan too and resolved to protect him from his future death.
• Naruto began practicing while Jiraiya rested, and Lin Mu refined his chakra nearby.
• By evening, Naruto had nearly exhausted his chakra, but his water balloon remained intact.

Jiraiya taught Naruto how to make the water balloon spin in the direction that matched his chakra, then explained that the A-rank jutsu had three training stages and had taken the Fourth Hokage three years to learn. Naruto continued training while Lin Mu practiced his Wood Style Body, and three days later Naruto still had not popped the balloon.

• Jiraiya woke from his nap, showed Naruto how to spin the water balloon to the right, and popped it himself.
• Jiraiya explained the jutsu's difficulty and left to gather information, while Naruto and Lin Mu stayed in the forest to train.
• Naruto trained for three more days but still could not pop the balloon, then resumed refining his chakra with renewed determination.
• Lin Mu watched Naruto struggle and reflected that his system let him learn ninjutsu by receiving implanted memories.

Lin Mu fought a powerful Violent Wild Bear during a normal mission and finally killed it with Wood Release techniques and Samehada. The mission earned him 300 Gold Coins, though the battle left him exhausted and wounded.

• Lin Mu realized the Violent Wild Bear was far stronger than expected after it knocked him back and kept fighting through its injuries.
• Lin Mu used Wood Style: Great Forest Technique to bind the bear, then struck it with Wood Style: Explosive Spear Tree.
• Lin Mu suspected the bear was pretending to be dead and rushed in with Samehada.
• The bear suddenly attacked, but Lin Mu dodged and slashed its neck with Samehada, killing it.
• The system announced that Lin Mu had completed the mission and awarded him 300 Gold Coins, and he collapsed from exhaustion.

Lin Mu treated Naruto Uzumaki’s injured hand with Wood Release chakra while they ate, and reflected on how difficult missions were building his combat experience. Naruto promised to repay Lin Mu when he became Hokage, while Lin Mu considered the people and qualities that would help Naruto become a hero.

• Naruto Uzumaki struggled to hold his chopsticks because he had injured his hand while practicing the Rasengan.
• Lin Mu used Wood Release chakra to ease Naruto’s pain, allowing him to eat comfortably.
• As they ate, Lin Mu reflected on the increased difficulty of his jonin-level missions and how real battles were improving his combat experience.
• Naruto finished his food and accepted Lin Mu’s offer to share his meal, promising to repay him when he became Hokage.
• Lin Mu thought about Naruto’s family, mentors, friendships, perseverance, and optimism as he watched him eat.

Naruto figured out the first stage of Rasengan training after watching a cat paw at his water balloon. He explained his method to Jiraiya, who praised him, while mistakenly crediting Lin Mu for keeping Naruto energetic.

• Naruto watched a cat play with his water balloon, and its movements gave him an idea.
• Naruto burst a water balloon with chakra and told Jiraiya he had completed the first stage, but Jiraiya fell asleep during the demonstration.
• Jiraiya apologized for dozing off, then praised Naruto's unconventional training method and claimed credit for teaching it.
• Naruto credited the cat with inspiring him to make the water inside the balloon spin in different directions.
• Jiraiya wondered how Naruto remained energetic and assumed Lin Mu had healed him with Wood Release chakra.

Jiraiya taught Naruto the second stage of chakra training, then left him to practice bursting a rubber ball on his own. After Naruto trained until nightfall, Lin Mu treated his aching hands and listened as Naruto shared why he wanted to grow stronger, promising to support him as his friend.

• Jiraiya showed Naruto how to burst a tough rubber ball and told him to master it before moving on.
• Jiraiya left to gather intel, refusing to guide Naruto further unless Naruto paid him.
• Naruto practiced all afternoon and into the night but failed to burst the rubber ball.
• Lin Mu visited the exhausted Naruto, warned him not to overwork himself, and healed his hands with his chakra.
• Naruto told Lin Mu he wanted to protect his loved ones, help Sasuke, find his parents, and become Hokage.
• Lin Mu quietly promised to stay by Naruto's side and help him as his friend.

Lin Mu protected the sleeping Naruto with a wooden shelter, then hunted a pack of Moon Wolves in the forest. He killed the pack and earned over twelve hundred gold coins from the system.

• Lin Mu healed Naruto’s hand, built him a wooden house, and went deeper into the woods to train.
• A pack of more than thirty Moon Wolves surrounded Lin Mu, who saw them as a source of money.
• Lin Mu fought back with Samehada and Wood Style techniques, binding the wolves and crushing the wolf king.
• The remaining wolves fled, but Lin Mu killed them with wooden javelins and finished off those still alive.
• The system rewarded Lin Mu with over twelve hundred gold coins for killing the wolves.

Lin Mu was ambushed by masked Root agents posing as Anbu and confronted them about their true allegiance. He exposed their connection to Shimura Danzō and demanded to know whose orders they were following while Konoha had no Hokage.

• Lin Mu celebrated reaching five thousand gold coins, halfway to buying the Wood Human Technique, before dodging a kunai thrown from the forest.
• Several masked men approached Lin Mu and claimed they were Anbu agents sent to recruit him because he had mastered Wood Style.
• Lin Mu recognized that the masked men were members of Root, and their surprise and killing intent confirmed his suspicion.
• Lin Mu accused the agents of serving Shimura Danzō and coming to capture him.
• Lin Mu pointed out that the Third Hokage was dead and the Fifth had not been chosen, then demanded to know whose orders had sent the agents.

Lin Mu realized Root had come to capture or kill him for his Wood Release abilities, so he attacked the masked shinobi before they could act. He killed one Root ninja and fought off an ambush in the forest, but the remaining enemies’ kunai forced him to raise a wooden barrier.

• The Root leader urged Lin Mu to serve Shimura Danzō, and Lin Mu attacked, beheading one masked man and wounding two others.
• Lin Mu retreated to a large tree and used Wood Style: Great Forest Technique to expose a Root ninja hiding behind it.
• Lin Mu struck the hidden ninja with Samehada, severely wounded him, and stomped him to death, earning 50 Gold Coins from the system.
• The remaining Root shinobi threw kunai at Lin Mu, and he blocked them with Wood Style: Tree Barrier Jutsu.

Lin Mu survived the Root members’ explosive-tag assault, killed a second enemy, and used pills to recover before unveiling the Multiple Wood Clone Technique. His clones filled the clearing, letting him divide the Chunin-level attackers from the Jonin as the battle continued.

• Lin Mu endured the explosive tags behind his Tree World Wall, then used the smoke to ambush and kill another Root member with Samehada.
• The Masked Man leader realized Lin Mu was injured and ordered the Root members to attack together.
• Lin Mu bought an Intermediate Chakra Pill and an Intermediate Healing Pill, restoring much of his chakra and healing his injuries.
• Lin Mu used Wood Style: Multiple Wood Clone Technique and produced dozens of clones.
• Lin Mu sent the clones to hold off the Chunin-level Root members while his original body prepared to face the Masked Man leader and the other Jonin.

Lin Mu fought the Root squad sent to capture or kill him, using Wood Style to injure their leader while taking a deep stab to his waist. As two Jonin attacked him from either side, he summoned a wooden dragon to block their blades.

• The Root leader split his sixteen-man force, sending six Jonin after Lin Mu and the rest to handle his clones.
• Lin Mu used Great Forest Technique to distract the six Jonin, then struck the leader with his enlarged ironwood arm and sent two Jonin flying.
• The leader stabbed Lin Mu in the waist, but Lin Mu countered with Cutting Sprigs and slashed the leader across the chest.
• Two Jonin rushed Lin Mu from either side, and he summoned Wood Dragon Technique to block their blades.

Lin Mu used his Wood Dragon Technique to overwhelm a Root squad and pursued the retreating ninjas. He replenished his chakra to make the dragon faster, then killed one of the fleeing Jonin with a wooden spear.

• Lin Mu's Wood Dragon knocked aside two Root Jonin and charged at the squad.
• The masked Root leader ordered his injured subordinates to retreat, but Lin Mu pursued them on the Wood Dragon.
• Lin Mu bought another Intermediate Chakra Pill and fed more chakra into the Wood Dragon to increase its size and speed.
• Lin Mu hurled a wooden spear at a fleeing Jonin, piercing his skull and killing him.

Lin Mu defeated and killed the Root squad that had pursued him, then treated his injuries and counted the gold coins he had earned. Exhausted but excited about saving for the Wood Golem Technique, he fell asleep among the corpses.

• Lin Mu used his wood dragon and wooden spears to kill the Root squad as its members fled or fought back.
• Lin Mu hurled a spear through the masked leader's broken blade, pinning him to a tree and killing him.
• Lin Mu treated his injuries with the Mystical Palm Technique and calculated that he had earned more than two thousand gold coins from the battle.
• Lin Mu checked his system panel and saw that he had 7,340 gold coins, bringing him closer to buying the Wood Human Technique.
• Lin Mu thought about the Wood Golem Technique's power, then lost consciousness and slept safely through the night.

Lin Mu returned to town after surviving the night in the forest, while Naruto Uzumaki continued training without him. On their way back to the mountain, Naruto watched a father and son together and was overcome with longing for his parents, leaving Lin Mu at a loss for how to comfort him.

• Lin Mu returned to town, changed clothes, and began focused chakra training on his bed.
• Naruto Uzumaki injured his hand while practicing with a rubber ball in the forest clearing.
• Jiraiya sent Naruto Uzumaki to town to buy food, interrupting his training.
• Lin Mu met Naruto Uzumaki on the way down, offered to heal his hand, and told him he had spent the day refining his chakra.
• Naruto Uzumaki watched a father share an ice pop with his son and thought sadly of his absent parents.
• Lin Mu felt Naruto Uzumaki's pain but did not know how to comfort him.

Lin Mu comforted Naruto after he became upset over his parents, while Jiraiya continued pushing him to train on his own. Naruto finally made the rubber ball burst, and Jiraiya rewarded his progress with half an ice pop.

• Lin Mu encouraged Naruto, who regained his resolve and declared he would become Hokage.
• Naruto asked Jiraiya to train with him, but Jiraiya refused and left for town; Lin Mu treated Naruto's injured hands.
• Jiraiya worried that Lin Mu had encountered danger, then later visited the sleeping Naruto and quietly left after watching him.
• Naruto used the pain in his hands to judge his chakra and burst the rubber ball by releasing his chakra at once.
• Jiraiya praised Naruto's progress and offered him half an ice pop, leaving Naruto overwhelmed with emotion.

Jiraiya taught Naruto Uzumaki to focus his chakra using a mark on his palm, then searched the town for someone. At Orochimaru’s secret base, Orochimaru learned that the person he sought was in Tanzaku Town and planned to go after her.

• Jiraiya explained how focusing on a mark could help Naruto Uzumaki concentrate chakra, and Naruto went off to practice.
• Jiraiya went into town and began asking people questions as he searched for someone.
• Kabuto Yakushi brought medicine to Orochimaru, who was suffering from painful wounds to his hands.
• Orochimaru learned that the legendary Sannin he sought was in Tanzaku Town and decided to leave the next day with Kabuto Yakushi.