Chapter Summaries

Ye Yuexin and Itachi Uchiha learned that they would graduate as a team of free Genin without a team leader while the Third Shinobi World War strained Konoha’s personnel. After leaving the academy, Ye Yuexin headed with Itachi to their usual place to eat, carrying weapons tied to his past life as Li Huan.

• Haino Fuji summoned Ye Yuexin and Itachi Uchiha to his office after class.
• Ye Yuexin teased Itachi in the hallway and invited him to their usual red bean dango soup, with Itachi paying as usual.
• Haino Fuji explained that the war had left the village short of team leaders, so Ye Yuexin and Itachi would be paired as free Genin until a suitable Jōnin or Elite Jōnin became available.
• Ye Yuexin accepted the arrangement and led Itachi out of the academy.
• Ye Yuexin walked with Itachi toward their usual place to eat, and the narration revealed that his crescent throwing knives were connected to his former life as Li Huan.

Ye Yuexin described how wind-nature chakra shaped his movement skills and how he befriended Itachi after their spar. Later, he and Itachi visited a dumpling shop, where Ye Yuexin ran into Anko, who had just returned from a mission.

• Ye Yuexin used wind-nature chakra to refine his blade and movement technique through daily meditation.
• Ye Yuexin and Itachi sparred, but neither could land a decisive advantage, and they became friends afterward.
• Ye Yuexin asked Itachi about his unborn little brother, and Itachi said the boy was due in a couple of months.
• Ye Yuexin and Itachi went to Wanfu Dumpling Shop, where Ye Yuexin spotted Anko eating dumplings.
• Anko invited Ye Yuexin to sit with her and offered to pay after saying she had just finished a mission.

Ye Yuexin reunited with Anko over dumplings and remembered how he had raised her after finding her scavenging as a child. Anko returned to her wartime duties, while Ye Yuexin and Itachi went their separate ways, with Itachi asking what Ye Yuexin planned to do the next day.

• Ye Yuexin treated Anko and Itachi to dumplings, and Anko proudly offered to share her mission reward with him.
• Ye Yuexin remembered finding Anko as a child and providing for her, including buying her clothes and Ninja Academy training gear.
• Anko explained that she was escorting a medical team during the ongoing war and would leave on another mission the next day.
• Anko left to meet her teammates, and Ye Yuexin worried about her safety as he watched her go.
• Ye Yuexin and Itachi finished a costly meal, then Itachi asked Ye Yuexin what he planned to do tomorrow.

Ye Yuexin reflected on the three specialized throwing knives he had developed and the years of experimentation behind them. He had mastered the dangerous Void Shatterer technique with shadow-clone training, but its enormous chakra cost remained a limitation.

• Ye Yuexin described tempering Body Cutter with Wind Release until it could slice through ordinary rocks and explaining how his throwing technique let it ride the wind.
• Ye Yuexin developed Soul Cutter to counter genjutsu, testing hundreds of materials before discovering that crystal could store spiritual energy.
• Ye Yuexin explained how he designed Void Shatterer to channel Wind Release's tearing force through a throwing knife, which crumbled after striking a target.
• Ye Yuexin began studying under Hui Yeteng so he could learn the Shadow Clone Technique and practice Void Shatterer without risking severe injury.
• Ye Yuexin mastered Void Shatterer after a year and a half, but he could practice it only briefly because it consumed so much chakra.

After graduating, Ye Yuexin planned to earn money with a food stall and take time to consider his future, but Itachi Uchiha found him and insisted they accept a mission together. Ye Yuexin agreed to join Itachi on a C-rank mission and began choosing one at the mission hall.

• Ye Yuexin skipped his old Academy routine and set up a street stall instead of seeking D-rank missions, which had been suspended.
• Itachi Uchiha found Ye Yuexin after searching for two hours and urged him to take a mission with him.
• Itachi explained that wartime shortages had ended D-rank missions and that newly graduated ninjas had to team up for C-rank missions.
• Ye Yuexin agreed to go with Itachi, and they headed to the mission hall together.
• Itachi handed Ye Yuexin the C-rank mission book and let him choose; Ye Yuexin skimmed through missions, most of which involved bandits and brigands.

Ye Yuexin and Itachi Uchiha traveled to a village to deal with crop-raiding Big-Toothed Rabbits. They prepared a trap to catch the rabbits, but Ye Yuexin returned to find Itachi using meatballs as bait.

• Ye Yuexin and Itachi Uchiha accepted a mission and left Konoha for a distant village.
• After reaching the village at dusk, Ye Yuexin and Itachi headed toward the mountains and spotted a Big-Toothed Rabbit raiding a field.
• Itachi pinned the rabbit with a Kunai, and Ye Yuexin proposed luring the rabbits together and setting a trap to wipe them out.
• Ye Yuexin and Itachi arranged dry rice straw in a circle, planning to use bait and Fire Release to trap the rabbits.
• Ye Yuexin returned with wooden stakes and found Itachi planting three-colored meatballs as bait, claiming his neighbor's rabbit liked them.

Ye Yuexin and Itachi Uchiha split up to address the Big-Toothed Rabbit problem, with Itachi searching for jackals and Ye Yuexin finding another way to lure the rabbits. Ye Yuexin drew more than a hundred Big-Toothed Rabbits into an electrified carrot field and prepared to round them up.

• Ye Yuexin abandoned the meatball plan and told Itachi Uchiha to search nearby for jackals while he continued working on traps.
• Itachi Uchiha agreed and ran toward the distant mountains, while Ye Yuexin searched the area for what was attracting the Big-Toothed Rabbits.
• Ye Yuexin found a carrot field surrounded by an electrified wire fence and switched off its power.
• Ye Yuexin used wind chakra to shred carrots and scatter their scent, luring more than a hundred Big-Toothed Rabbits into the field.
• After waiting for the rabbits to stop arriving, Ye Yuexin decided it was time to round them up.

Ye Yuexin killed the remaining Big-Toothed Rabbits, then rushed to help Itachi Uchiha after a distress flare appeared. Itachi was badly injured and fighting Xiaoyan, an Elite Chunin, as the chapter left him at a severe disadvantage.

• Ye Yuexin used Flying Dagger Mode and Wind-Carrying Footwork to kill the remaining Big-Toothed Rabbits, including Tuno.
• Ye Yuexin saw Itachi Uchiha's distress flare and sprinted toward it, realizing someone had likely disrupted the local food chain.
• Xiaoyan taunted the wounded Itachi Uchiha while another enemy, Lord Lin Mu, ordered Xiaoyan to finish him and leave.
• Itachi Uchiha surprised Xiaoyan with a kick and grabbed a Kunai, but Xiaoyan overwhelmed him with his strength and kicked him away.

Itachi Uchiha used a carefully planned deception to kill the burly man, but Tuno nearly killed him before Ye Yuexin intervened. After rescuing Itachi and restraining Tuno, Ye Yuexin asked how the apparent C-rank mission had turned dangerous.

• Itachi Uchiha used a Great Fireball Technique as a distraction and killed the burly man with a Kunai.
• Tuno recovered and tried to kill Itachi, who had exhausted his chakra and could not fight back.
• Ye Yuexin appeared and blocked Tuno's strike, then knocked him away and tied him up.
• Itachi recovered enough to move, and Ye Yuexin asked how he had encountered the two men.
• Itachi explained that he had found an injured jackal with a Shuriken in its abdomen, then spotted Tuno and hid to capture him.

Ye Yuexin questioned Tuno after Itachi Uchiha used his newly awakened Sharingan to place him under genjutsu, uncovering a plan involving an Iwagakure jonin and wandering ninja. Ye Yuexin left to follow the group toward Twin Ox Mountain while Itachi stayed behind to notify the village.

• Itachi Uchiha recounted how five attackers had ambushed him, and Ye Yuexin apologized before deciding to question their captive.
• Ye Yuexin beat Tuno until he was dazed, then Itachi Uchiha used his Sharingan and genjutsu to make Tuno answer questions.
• Tuno revealed that Lord Lin Mu, a jonin from Iwagakure, wanted to turn jackals into summoning beasts and was negotiating with wandering ninja.
• Tuno said seven wandering ninja had contacted another squad and were heading to Twin Ox Mountain, twenty li east.
• Ye Yuexin tied up Tuno and left to follow the group, while Itachi Uchiha agreed to notify the village.

Ye Yuexin confronted the Bamboo Pole Man in a rocky valley and defeated him in his first real battle. After tying him to a rock and recovering briefly, Ye Yuexin continued pursuing the others.

• Ye Yuexin dodged a surprise shuriken attack as he crossed the valley.
• The Bamboo Pole Man emerged from the rocks, mistook Ye Yuexin for the killer of Xiaoyan, and attacked him with shuriken and kunai.
• Ye Yuexin evaded the weapons, charged the Bamboo Pole Man, and landed a powerful kick that wounded him.
• Ye Yuexin used wind chakra to get behind the Bamboo Pole Man and knock him unconscious.
• Ye Yuexin tied the Bamboo Pole Man to a rock, rested briefly, and continued the pursuit.

Ye Yuexin cautiously crossed the plains and entered Twin Ox Mountain, where a suspicious sound behind him made him fear an ambush. Itachi Uchiha caught up, and after Ye Yuexin nearly attacked him by mistake, the two discussed Ye Yuexin’s throwing knives.

• Ye Yuexin crossed the open plains under gathering clouds and cautiously made his way toward Twin Ox Mountain.
• Ye Yuexin heard branches breaking behind him and panicked, believing the Rock Ninja had discovered and surrounded him.
• Itachi Uchiha ignored Ye Yuexin’s instructions, recovered his chakra, and hurried after him into the forest.
• Ye Yuexin mistook Itachi for an enemy and nearly threw a knife at him before recognizing him.
• Itachi said Ye Yuexin’s knives were too fast to dodge, and Ye Yuexin claimed they never missed and were reserved for real fights.

Ye Yuexin and Itachi Uchiha investigated the chain bridge linking the two mountains and planted Explosive Tags to stop Lin Mu's group from crossing. They escaped notice by the patrols, but someone in a building watched them before silently disappearing.

• Itachi Uchiha joined Ye Yuexin and shared information that the enemy planned to meet the next day on Mountain A, which was connected to Mountain B by a chain bridge.
• Ye Yuexin and Itachi Uchiha reached the bridge and decided to destroy it before Lin Mu's group crossed.
• Itachi Uchiha gave Ye Yuexin fifty Explosive Tags and used the Phantom Vision Technique on two patrols.
• Ye Yuexin climbed beneath the bridge, planted the Explosive Tags, and returned to the trees.
• Ye Yuexin noticed a person watching them from a window, but the figure soon disappeared without raising an alarm.

Ye Yuexin and Itachi Uchiha tried to ambush Lin Mu on a rope bridge, but Lin Mu and his two companions survived and caught them by surprise. Lin Mu revealed that killing the Konoha ninjas was now a condition of his deal with the rogue ninjas, and Ye Yuexin faced the fight with a defiant challenge.

• Ye Yuexin decided the rogue ninjas were testing Konoha’s strength and warned Itachi Uchiha to prepare for a fight with Lin Mu.
• Ye Yuexin and Itachi Uchiha hid near the rope bridge and waited for Lin Mu and two Iwagakure ninjas to arrive.
• Ye Yuexin detonated the Explosive Tags as Lin Mu and the others crossed, destroying the bridge in a blast.
• Ye Yuexin and Itachi Uchiha dodged earthen spikes, then discovered Lin Mu and his companions had appeared behind them.
• Lin Mu mocked Ye Yuexin’s ambush and explained that the rogue ninjas would cooperate with him if he killed the Konoha team before reinforcements arrived.
• Ye Yuexin challenged Lin Mu’s confidence as the two rogue ninjas drew their katanas.

Ye Yuexin and Itachi fought Lin Mu and his twin subordinates, with Ye Yuexin gaining the upper hand against Lin Mu and Itachi killing Xiao Wu. The chapter ended as Itachi attacked the remaining twin, Yemu, while Yemu continued forming hand seals.

• Lin Mu ordered the twins to kill Ye Yuexin and Itachi, and Itachi opened the fight with a Great Fireball Technique.
• Itachi took on the twins while Ye Yuexin challenged Lin Mu, who sent him flying into the woods with a powerful kick.
• Ye Yuexin used his wind-assisted footwork to change direction midair and kicked Lin Mu into the woods.
• The twins wounded Itachi with their coordinated sword attacks, but Itachi used genjutsu and the Substitution Technique to create an opening and kill Xiao Wu with kunai.
• Yemu threw his sword and began forming hand seals, and Itachi rushed in to stop him and stabbed toward his neck with a kunai.

Itachi Uchiha fought Yemu, whose Rock Transformation Technique made him nearly impervious to attacks, while Ye Yuexin battled the elite jonin Lin Mu. Itachi defeated Yemu after exploiting the rain, but Lin Mu trapped Ye Yuexin in an Earth Release attack.

• Yemu used the Rock Transformation Technique to block Itachi Uchiha’s kunai and hurl him into a tree stump.
• Itachi retreated and attacked Yemu with fire techniques, noticing that maintaining the jutsu slowed him down and consumed chakra.
• Rain fell and steamed against Yemu’s heated body until his skin cracked, his jutsu failed, and he collapsed.
• Ye Yuexin kicked Lin Mu, who used the Rock Transformation Technique to withstand the blow and emerged unharmed.
• Lin Mu used Earth Collapse to trap Ye Yuexin between slabs of earth, then began Earth Rock Lid as Ye Yuexin leaped to dodge.

Ye Yuexin survived Lin Mu’s relentless Earth Release attacks and used a shadow clone, the Transformation Technique, and a flying dagger to kill him. Exhausted after his first real battle, Ye Yuexin retrieved his dagger and said he would bury Lin Mu.

• Ye Yuexin narrowly dodged Lin Mu’s Earth Rock Lid and leaped clear of spikes that erupted beneath him.
• Ye Yuexin charged Lin Mu again, but Lin Mu trapped him in a wide-area Earth Ground Spikes attack.
• The impaled Ye Yuexin vanished in a puff of smoke, revealing that Lin Mu had struck a shadow clone.
• Ye Yuexin appeared beside Lin Mu and revealed that his flying dagger had pierced Lin Mu’s neck.
• Lin Mu died, and Ye Yuexin retrieved his dagger, closed Lin Mu’s eyes, and promised to bury him.

Ye Yuexin and Itachi returned to Konoha after defeating Lin Mu and reported the mission to the Third Hokage, who suspected Iwagakure was preparing an attack on Konoha’s rear. Ye Yuexin went home exhausted and considered how to strengthen his body and master his movement technique without injuring himself.

• Itachi found Ye Yuexin beside Lin Mu’s corpse, vowed to surpass him, and helped seal the bodies while Ye Yuexin kept watch.
• Ye Yuexin and Itachi returned to Konoha and told Hiruzen Sarutobi about their mission and the trouble they had encountered.
• After the two left, Hiruzen ordered the Anbu to notify the three elders and arrange a meeting about a possible Iwagakure attack.
• Ye Yuexin and Itachi reported the mission at the mission office as C-rank, then went their separate ways.
• Ye Yuexin bathed, noticed his legs had turned blue, considered body training and improving his movement technique, and fell asleep.

After the autopsy revealed that Ye Yuexin had defeated an elite Jonin, the Third Hokage decided to train him publicly and build his reputation as a future pillar of Konoha. Danzo accepted the decision after the Third Hokage agreed to let Shisui Uchiha join Root.

• The Third Hokage postponed the plan by three days and assigned Minato Namikaze to eliminate the Rock Ninja strike squad when his team returned.
• An Anbu member delivered Lin Mu’s autopsy report, which showed that Lin Mu had been an elite Jonin and stunned the Third Hokage and the elders.
• Danzo asked the Third Hokage to hand Ye Yuexin over to Root, but the Third Hokage refused and chose to train Ye Yuexin openly as a symbol of hope for civilians.
• The Third Hokage offered Danzo Shisui Uchiha’s recruitment into Root as compensation, and Danzo reluctantly accepted.
• The Third Hokage ordered Anbu to publicize Ye Yuexin’s accomplishment to civilians and send the intelligence to shinobi on the front lines.

Ye Yuexin received an A-rank mission reward and chose the Wind Release: Half-Moon Slash technique, then learned that Konoha had begun spreading stories about his skill. Meanwhile, Itachi Uchiha asked Shisui Uchiha to teach him the Body Flicker Technique so he could keep up with a talented opponent.

• An Anbu ninja told Ye Yuexin that his mission had been upgraded to A-rank, gave him additional payment, and offered him an A-rank ninjutsu.
• Ye Yuexin chose Wind Release: Half-Moon Slash and spent the morning studying its scroll.
• Itachi Uchiha asked Shisui Uchiha to teach him the Body Flicker Technique because he wanted to match a fast and talented opponent.
• Shisui Uchiha agreed to teach Itachi and encouraged them to help each other improve.
• At Ichiraku Ramen, Ye Yuexin heard villagers praising a young genius who never missed with a throwing knife and had defeated an experienced Jonin.
• Ye Yuexin realized the villagers were talking about him, suspected Konoha's higher-ups had spread the story, and quietly left.