Chapter Summaries

Ye Yuexin fought four Rock Ninja border guards, killing three with his speed and strange intangibility technique. He faced their captain, Tugang, who recognized the technique and began considering how to counter it.

• Ye Yuexin used Flying Dagger Mode to kill one Rock Ninja while the others' blades passed through his body.
• Tugang warned the others, but Ye Yuexin killed another Rock Ninja and then cut a fleeing ninja's throat.
• Ye Yuexin threw a dagger at a Rock Ninja gathering chakra underground, but Tugang raised an earth wall that interrupted his attack.
• Tugang confronted Ye Yuexin and identified his technique as similar to the Hozuki Clan's Hydrification Technique.
• Tugang reasoned that Fire Release could counter Ye Yuexin's formless technique, leaving Ye Yuexin wary as Tugang admitted he did not know Fire Release.

Ye Yuexin fought Tugang and discovered that Tugang could use Earth Release chakra armor to withstand his wind-infused blade. After Ye Yuexin pierced Tugang’s thick armor, Tugang’s hidden Earth Thorn attack impaled him in the lower abdomen.

• Ye Yuexin attacked Tugang’s thigh, but Tugang armored his leg with Earth Release chakra and kicked Ye Yuexin away.
• Ye Yuexin gathered and compressed nearly half his wind-natured chakra into his short blade, then charged Tugang at his fastest speed.
• Tugang covered his body in thick Earth Release armor, but Ye Yuexin pierced his chest about four centimeters deep.
• As Ye Yuexin tried to retreat, more than a dozen Earth Thorns burst from the ground and one pierced his lower abdomen.

Ye Yuexin was gravely wounded by Tugang’s concealed Earth Release attack and realized his Wind Transformation and footwork could not guarantee his escape. As Tugang probed him and offered surrender, Ye Yuexin noticed a familiar smile and sensed that Tugang was about to act.

• Tugang used a hidden Earth Release thorn to wound Ye Yuexin, then punched him away as he tried to escape with a whirlwind.
• Ye Yuexin sealed a damaged blood vessel and bandaged his abdomen while Tugang treated his own chest wound.
• Ye Yuexin realized his injury left him unable to fight or use his footwork, and regretted relying too much on his Wind Transformation Technique.
• Tugang explained how nature transformation could counter Ye Yuexin’s jutsu, mocked his arrogance, and offered him a place in Iwagakure if he surrendered.
• Ye Yuexin suspected Tugang was stalling because he feared the Flying Dagger, but Tugang interrupted his boast and smiled as if he had figured out how to kill him.

Trapped and nearly drained, Ye Yuexin forged a radiant flying dagger and killed Tugang, but a surviving Chunin stabbed him as he lay helpless. Ye Yuexin lost consciousness before rescue arrived, leaving his fate uncertain.

• Tugang trapped Ye Yuexin in an earth sphere that drained his chakra, and Ye Yuexin failed to break through its chakra-reinforced wall.
• As his strength faded, Ye Yuexin remembered his father, Anko, and Kurenai Yuhi, then drew white points of light into his flying dagger.
• Ye Yuexin sent the newly formed dagger through the earth sphere and killed Tugang with a strike through the neck.
• The earth sphere cracked apart, and Ye Yuexin waited for Might Guy and the rescue team, relieved that Tugang was dead.
• A surviving Chunin stabbed Ye Yuexin in the thigh, then approached him after realizing he could not fight back.
• Ye Yuexin's vision blurred, and he lost consciousness.

Ye Yuexin woke in the Konoha hospital after two days unconscious, with Kurenai, Might Guy, and Ebisu at his bedside. He learned that his teammates had survived the mission and that he had been promoted to elite jonin, leaving him stunned by the news.

• Kurenai stayed beside the unconscious Ye Yuexin, and a nurse explained that his physical injuries were healing but mental trauma was keeping him asleep.
• Might Guy and Ebisu visited Kurenai with flowers and breakfast, and they discussed why Ye Yuexin had not yet woken up.
• Ye Yuexin woke and thanked Kurenai, Might Guy, and Ebisu before asking how he had been rescued and how his teammates were doing.
• Might Guy explained that Kakashi had recovered, Obito and Rin were caring for him, and Genma Shiranui was undergoing special clan training.
• Might Guy told Ye Yuexin that the mission had earned the team promotions to Chunin and that Ye Yuexin had been made an elite jonin, leaving him stunned.

After recovering from his injuries, Ye Yuexin left the hospital and returned home with Kurenai Yuhi, where an awkward bathing incident left him flustered. He then focused on recovering and improving his abilities so he would not be trapped in danger again.

• Might Guy told Ye Yuexin that his missions had earned him promotion to Elite Chunin, while Guy resolved to train harder.
• Ye Yuexin ate breakfast with Kurenai Yuhi, checked his healing wounds, and discharged himself from the hospital.
• Kurenai Yuhi brought Ye Yuexin home, opened the windows, and decided to bathe there while helping him recover.
• Ye Yuexin found Kurenai Yuhi's underwear among her clothes in the bathroom and struggled to keep his thoughts in check before bathing.
• After washing up, Ye Yuexin hurried to his room and waited for Kurenai Yuhi to finish the laundry before settling down.

Konoha’s leaders investigated Ye Yuexin’s background after she defeated two elite Jonin and debated how to manage her growing threat. The Third Hokage agreed to let Root become involved in her training, while Danzo set his sights on learning her throwing-knife technique.

• An Anbu reported that Ye Yueming had raised Ye Yuexin in Konoha, that her mother was an unidentified ninja, and that he had been searching for her mother during his travels.
• The Third Hokage and the elders considered Ye Yuexin’s power and connections, while Danzo argued that her unknown maternal origins and ties to the Uchiha Clan made her dangerous.
• The Third Hokage rejected Danzo’s demand to take Ye Yuexin, but agreed that Root could participate in her training to prepare for possible danger.
• Danzo reviewed Ye Yuexin’s mission report and became determined to uncover how her ordinary throwing knives had killed two elite Jonin.
• Danzo concluded that Ye Yuexin had invented a replicable technique and began plotting to obtain it for Root.

After recovering, Ye Yuexin trained in Swift Release and refined his Flying Dagger Mode, while discovering that a potentially powerful new technique took too long to use in battle. Kurenai Yuhi called him to lunch, and he told her he was working to reach Kage Level sooner.

• Ye Yuexin used Flying Dagger Mode to gather spirit particles and pierce a tree, then sliced 130 falling leaves with his short blade using Swift Release.
• Ye Yuexin recalled that Swift Release opened four artificial meridians to boost speed but could restrict the use of ninjutsu, and he had opened only the first.
• Ye Yuexin tested a Flying Dagger technique that gathered spirit particles into his blade, but the process took more than fifty seconds, so he shelved it.
• Kurenai Yuhi called Ye Yuexin to lunch and expressed concern that he had resumed training so soon after recovering.
• Ye Yuexin told Kurenai Yuhi he was training to get stronger and reach Kage Level sooner, and she said she would look forward to it.

Ye Yuexin learned that he had been assigned to the Land of Lightning battlefield with Minato Namikaze and two jonin, and prepared to leave the next morning. He left Kurenai after kissing her forehead, convinced his teammates would keep the mission safe and easy.

• Ye Yuexin went shopping with Kurenai Yuhi and learned from Might Guy and Ebisu that they had been assigned a mission to the Land of Water battlefield.
• An Anbu operative delivered the Third Hokage’s order for Ye Yuexin to leave for the Land of Lightning battlefield with Minato Namikaze, Akimichi Todō, and Inuzuka Gaku.
• Ye Yuexin returned home, where Kurenai helped him prepare his ninja tools, and he looked forward to an easy mission with three jonin.
• Kurenai prepared breakfast for Ye Yuexin before his departure, and he kissed her forehead as he left for the village entrance.

Ye Yuexin joined Minato Namikaze, Akamichi Todō, and Inuzuka Gaku on a mission to intercept a Kumogakure strike team targeting Konoha’s front line. As they traveled, Ye Yuexin pieced together the causes of the Third Shinobi World War and proved he could keep pace with the elite jonin.

• Minato Namikaze thanked Ye Yuexin for his role in the previous mission and praised his talent, while Akamichi Todō and Inuzuka Gaku introduced themselves.
• Minato Namikaze explained the war situation, and Ye Yuexin connected the conflict to Sasori’s assassination of the Third Kazekage and the resulting attacks among the great nations.
• Minato Namikaze told the team that Kumogakure planned to strike Konoha’s front-line defenses before its main force advanced.
• Ye Yuexin traveled with Minato Namikaze, Akamichi Todō, and Inuzuka Gaku toward the front line to intercept the Cloud Ninja squad.
• Akamichi Todō and Inuzuka Gaku tested Ye Yuexin’s stamina during the journey, and he kept pace while replenishing his chakra on the move.