Chapter Summaries

Chiyu accepted Orochimaru’s offer to become his disciple and faced a lethal test. After Orochimaru exposed Chiyu’s weaknesses and defeated him, Chiyu activated his Sharingan to continue the fight.

• Chiyu decided that the benefits of learning from Orochimaru outweighed the risks and asked him to accept him as a disciple.
• Orochimaru set a test in which Chiyu had to fight with the resolve to kill or be killed, and Chiyu immediately attacked with Thunder Breathing First Form: Thunderclap and Flash.
• Orochimaru dodged Chiyu’s charge, identified its straight-line weakness, and countered with Hidden Shadow Snake Hands.
• Chiyu used Thunder Breathing Fourth Form: Distant Thunder to burn the snakes and attack Orochimaru, but Orochimaru evaded his strikes and blasted him with Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.
• Orochimaru restrained Chiyu with a snake, pulled him in, and punched him in the abdomen before criticizing his battle adaptability.
• Chiyu recovered and activated his Sharingan.

Chiyu fought Orochimaru, who tested his battle instincts and assessed the power of his Thunder Breathing techniques. Chiyu launched a surprise follow-up to Thunderclap and Flash, leaving the result of his Sixfold Strike unresolved.

• Orochimaru used an Earth Clone and an underground attack to catch Chiyu off guard, then trapped him amid a swarm of snakes.
• Chiyu used Swarm of Mosquitoes into Thunder to evade and electrocute the snakes before spotting Orochimaru and striking with Heat World Lightning.
• Orochimaru escaped the powerful attack with the Body Flicker Technique, while Chiyu panted from the move's heavy Chakra cost.
• Chiyu declared he had enough Chakra for one last move, and Orochimaru waited for him to attack.
• Chiyu began Thunderclap and Flash, tracked Orochimaru's evasion with his Sharingan, and redirected himself off a tree to unleash Sixfold Strike.

Chiyu used Thunder Breathing: Thunderclap and Flash—Sixfold Strike to battle Orochimaru, then trapped him with concealed steel wire and landed a beheading strike. Orochimaru survived with the Great Snake Flow Body Replacement Technique, but agreed to become Chiyu’s teacher after the Graduation Exam.

• Chiyu used terrain to change direction repeatedly as he attacked Orochimaru with Thunderclap and Flash—Sixfold Strike.
• Orochimaru identified the limits of Chiyu’s attack and predicted that Chiyu had only one direction change remaining.
• Chiyu used steel wire prepared around the trees to bind Orochimaru, then beheaded him with his final strike.
• Orochimaru crawled out of his headless body using the Great Snake Flow Body Replacement Technique and praised Chiyu’s combat judgment.
• Orochimaru told Chiyu to call him Teacher and said he would find him after the Graduation Exam ended four days later.

Chiyu reflected on how Orochimaru’s guidance could help him grow stronger before war, then told Kushina Uzumaki that he would train under Orochimaru after graduation. He gave her one of a pair of linked bells so he could find her if she was ever in danger.

• Chiyu decided to absorb everything Orochimaru taught him and use it to prepare for the coming war.
• Kushina Uzumaki told Chiyu she was unhappy that Mito Uzumaki expected her to study sealing jutsu instead of taking missions with him after graduation.
• Chiyu revealed that Orochimaru had accepted him as a disciple and would begin training him, meaning he and Kushina would spend less time together.
• Chiyu gave Kushina Uzumaki a linked bell and told her to ring it if she was in danger so he could find her.
• Kushina Uzumaki happily rang her bell and heard the matching bell sound from Chiyu.

Chiyu passed the Ninja Academy graduation exam and became a ninja alongside Kushina Uzumaki. Orochimaru brought him to an underground base, assessed his Chakra natures, and set out a demanding training regimen for him.

• Chiyu demonstrated the Three-Body Technique flawlessly, passed the exam, and received his forehead protector from Shota Hayabusa.
• Kushina Uzumaki joined Chiyu outside the academy, and Orochimaru arrived to take Chiyu away for training.
• Chiyu followed Orochimaru to an underground base, where a Chakra paper test revealed his lightning, fire, water, and earth natures.
• Orochimaru planned Chiyu's training around Lightning Release, other Chakra natures, his Sharingan, Thunder Breathing Full Sword Form, and the Summoning Jutsu.
• Orochimaru showed Chiyu his room and warned him to avoid any rooms marked with seals.

Chiyu began an intense training regimen under Orochimaru, pushing his physical endurance in the morning and learning several elemental Ninjutsu in the afternoon. Exhausted after his first day, he realized the training ahead would be grueling.

• Orochimaru woke Chiyu before dawn and put him through repeated one-minute sessions of striking summoned snakes without using Lightning Release Chakra.
• Orochimaru let Chiyu activate his Sharingan after the snakes began biting him, then ended the taijutsu training nearly five hours after it began.
• Orochimaru assessed Chiyu's speed, endurance, concentration, and Sharingan use, and said future taijutsu sessions would include strength training.
• Orochimaru cooked Omurice for Chiyu at lunch and announced that Ninjutsu training would begin in the afternoon.
• Orochimaru taught Chiyu C-rank Lightning, Fire, Water, and Earth Ninjutsu, making him practice until his Chakra ran out and he had to refine more.
• Chiyu finished training around six in the evening and collapsed onto his bed after eating a few bites of dinner.

After a month of grueling training under Orochimaru, Chiyu left Konoha for a C-rank mission to eliminate bandits in the Land of Rice Fields. He infiltrated a village where the bandits had slaughtered everyone and prepared to attack them.

• Orochimaru trained Chiyu intensely, taught him the Shadow Clone Technique, and supplied him with a daily nutrient solution.
• Orochimaru accepted a C-rank mission for Chiyu and gave him a pouch of ninja tools before they left Konoha.
• Orochimaru told Chiyu to eliminate every bandit in a village in the Land of Rice Fields without using Thunder Breathing.
• Chiyu scouted the village and found the bandits feasting among the bodies of the villagers they had killed.
• Chiyu approached the gathering with a kunai and fixed the celebrating bandits with killing intent.

Chiyu infiltrated a village occupied by bandits and killed them using stealth and ninjutsu. After the surviving bandits fled and their leader disappeared, Chiyu pursued the remaining targets.

• Chiyu used his Sharingan to count thirty-four bandits and silently killed four who had gone to fetch wine.
• Chiyu continued assassinating isolated bandits until the group noticed thirteen were missing and gathered to search for him.
• Chiyu attacked the bandits with Earth Release and Fire Release, then soaked them with Water Release and electrocuted them with Lightning Release.
• Chiyu beheaded the paralyzed bandits with his sword as the others fled, and he realized their leader had escaped.
• Chiyu said nine remained and charged after the fleeing bandits.

Chiyu killed the bandit leader after eliminating the rest of the gang, completing Orochimaru’s test of his month of training. Orochimaru praised Chiyu’s stealth, ninjutsu, trap, and habit of striking enemies’ heads or throats.

• Chiyu pursued and killed the fleeing bandits, including two who had surrendered, until only their leader remained.
• The bandit leader triggered Chiyu’s Explosive Tag trap, which blew off his right leg.
• Chiyu used his Sharingan to confront the injured bandit leader and killed him with a sword thrust to the throat.
• Orochimaru appeared and praised Chiyu’s use of ninjutsu, his careful trap, and his effective lethal strikes.

Orochimaru praised Chiyu’s training, identified slow hand seals as his main weakness, and promised to teach him Ryūchi Cave summoning and secret techniques. After recognizing Chiyu’s desire to escape Konoha, Orochimaru acknowledged him as a disciple and vowed to help him grow, while Chiyu remained uncertain about Orochimaru’s intentions.

• Orochimaru told Chiyu to improve his hand seal speed before signing a Ryūchi Cave contract and learning summoning techniques.
• Orochimaru said he understood that Chiyu saw Konoha as a prison and expected him to leave someday, while Chiyu insisted he would always be a Konoha ninja.
• Orochimaru reflected on Nawaki’s death, his interest in immortality through the soul, and the ethical limits that kept him from pursuing human experiments.
• Orochimaru recognized in Chiyu the same willingness to do anything to reach a goal that he had once possessed.
• Orochimaru told Chiyu to follow his own plans and promised to train and help him, leaving Chiyu unsure whether Orochimaru truly regarded him as a disciple.

After Chiyu returned to Konoha from his first mission, Hiruzen Sarutobi praised him and briefed Orochimaru on mounting tensions among the hidden villages. The chapter ended with the prospect of a war targeting Konoha growing closer.

• Orochimaru returned to the inn the next morning, and he and Chiyu set out for Konoha.
• Orochimaru took Chiyu to turn in the mission, then brought him to meet Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi praised Chiyu's work, and Orochimaru said he was very satisfied with his disciple.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Orochimaru that Iwagakure and Kumogakure were probing Konoha's borders, while Sunagakure remained hostile and Kirigakure had not replied to his letters.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi said Sakumo and Jiraiya had been sent to guard threatened borders and warned that local clashes could begin within two years.
• Chiyu realized that the Third Great Ninja War might be approaching and thought that Kumogakure's attempt to kidnap Kushina Uzumaki might soon follow.

Chiyu learned that Orochimaru would remain in Konoha to help Hiruzen Sarutobi plan for the looming conflict, then used his day off to visit Kushina Uzumaki and meet Mito Uzumaki. Mito recognized that Chiyu remained guarded around her.

• Orochimaru told Chiyu he would stay in Konoha and asked how he might divide Iwagakure and Kumogakure, but Chiyu had no specific plan.
• Orochimaru gave Chiyu the day off and said he would take him to form a contract with Ryūchi Cave the next day.
• Chiyu visited Kushina Uzumaki, who greeted him warmly and explained that Mito Uzumaki had sensed his arrival.
• Kushina took Chiyu to meet Mito Uzumaki, who noted that he had grown up and sensed his continued guardedness toward her.

Mito Uzumaki tried to speak privately with Chiyu about Kushina and Konoha’s secrets, but sensed his hostility and realized he knew about the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki plan. The chapter ended with Chiyu refusing to openly admit what he knew or challenge Konoha’s decision.

• Mito Uzumaki reflected on Chiyu’s hidden hatred of Konoha and asked Kushina Uzumaki to leave so they could speak alone.
• Chiyu resisted the private conversation, then agreed after Mito appealed to him as Kushina’s elder.
• Mito told Chiyu she could trust him with Kushina’s future and began explaining the Uzumaki Clan’s constitution and a Konoha secret.
• Mito sensed Chiyu’s malice and inferred that he knew Kushina had come to Konoha to become the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
• Chiyu realized Mito could sense malice, but denied knowing anything and said he had no right to interfere with Konoha’s decision.

Chiyu told Mito Uzumaki that he wanted Kushina to be happy and resented her becoming the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, while refusing to say whether he would challenge Konoha’s plans. He left Mito and set off with Kushina to celebrate his first mission payment.

• Mito Uzumaki asked Chiyu to speak openly, but he said Kushina’s happiness mattered more than accepting her fate as a Jinchuriki.
• Chiyu argued that calling Kushina’s forced role destiny only disguised her lack of choice, then avoided saying whether he would change the outcome.
• Mito asked whether Konoha was important to Chiyu, and he answered by asking whether Kushina was important to her.
• Mito let Chiyu go to Kushina, and after he left, she called him a little fox.
• Chiyu found Kushina admiring a wildflower growing through the floorboards, then carried her away to buy a meal with his mission reward.

On his way back to Orochimaru's base, Chiyu was confronted by two Uchiha who mocked his origins, and he swiftly defeated them. He revealed his Sharingan and left the injured men to report back to the Uchiha Clan, daring them to come find him at Orochimaru's base.

• After seeing Kushina Uzumaki home, Chiyu headed toward Orochimaru's underground base and thought about Mito Uzumaki's ability to sense malice.
• Uchiha Yuto and Uchiha Kazuma blocked Chiyu and insulted him, then attacked when he tried to leave.
• Chiyu overpowered both men, broke their right arms, and told them he had acted in self-defense.
• Chiyu activated his Sharingan, revealed he was Orochimaru's disciple, and challenged the Uchiha to come find him at Orochimaru's base.

Chiyu slept after defeating Uchiha Yuto and Uchiha Kazuma, while the injured pair told Uchiha Masaki that Chiyu had awakened the Sharingan. Masaki and his son Uchiha Fugaku were shocked by Chiyu’s talent, and Fugaku felt unsettled by the comparison.

• Chiyu returned to the underground base, showered, and went to sleep without worrying about Uchiha Yuto and Uchiha Kazuma.
• Uchiha Masaki arrived at the Ninja Hospital with Uchiha Fugaku and scolded Uchiha Yuto and Uchiha Kazuma for provoking Chiyu against his orders.
• Uchiha Yuto told Uchiha Masaki that Chiyu had awakened the Sharingan, making Masaki stop in disbelief.
• Uchiha Fugaku said Chiyu was twelve, and Uchiha Masaki realized Chiyu might have awakened the Sharingan even younger.
• Uchiha Fugaku felt shaken and unwilling to accept that Chiyu had awakened the Sharingan while he had not.

Uchiha Masaki questioned Uchiha Fugaku about Chiyu and learned of his strength, his past ties to Kushina Uzumaki, and her secret role as Konoha’s future Nine-Tails vessel. Masaki concluded Chiyu could never return to the Uchiha Clan, while Fugaku believed Chiyu would not want to reconcile with them.

• Uchiha Fugaku told Uchiha Masaki that Chiyu had endured bullying at the Ninja Academy and had consistently matched or surpassed Minato Namikaze, even after Minato became Jiraiya’s student.
• Uchiha Fugaku recounted how Chiyu nearly crippled a Genin who had attacked Kushina Uzumaki, and Uchiha Masaki connected the incident to Chiyu later giving Thunder Breathing Nintaijutsu to Konoha.
• Uchiha Masaki revealed to Uchiha Fugaku that Kushina Uzumaki was Konoha’s chosen successor to Mito Uzumaki as the Nine-Tails vessel.
• Uchiha Masaki decided Chiyu could never return to the Uchiha Clan because he was close to Kushina and had Konoha’s approval, while Uchiha Fugaku doubted Chiyu would ever choose to return.

Uchiha Masaki sent Uchiha Fugaku to apologize to Chiyu and offer clan scrolls in hopes of gaining his goodwill. Chiyu rejected the apology by burning the scrolls and declaring that he refused it.

• Uchiha Masaki decided that Uchiha Fugaku should bring Chiyu Fire Release scrolls and Sharingan notes to apologize for Yuto and Kazuma’s actions.
• Chiyu trained at Orochimaru’s base and sensed someone triggering the barrier.
• Uchiha Fugaku apologized on behalf of the Uchiha Clan and gave Chiyu two scrolls as proof of sincerity.
• Chiyu challenged Uchiha Fugaku’s assumption that he had accepted the apology and burned both scrolls with lightning.
• Chiyu told Uchiha Fugaku that he refused the Uchiha Clan’s apology.

After Chiyu tricked Uchiha Fugaku into thinking he had burned the Uchiha scrolls, he revealed he had kept them and discussed the clan’s motives with Orochimaru. Orochimaru began teaching Chiyu Summoning Jutsu and demonstrated his Ryūchi Cave contract by summoning a large blue snake.

• Uchiha Fugaku left after Chiyu appeared to burn the Fire Release and Sharingan scrolls, and he gave Chiyu his name when asked.
• Chiyu reflected on Itachi Uchiha’s future massacre of the Uchiha Clan and condemned him as a traitor to his family.
• Orochimaru revealed he had watched Chiyu, and Chiyu showed that he had secretly switched the scrolls for blank ones before setting them alight.
• Chiyu and Orochimaru discussed why the Uchiha Clan had approached Chiyu, with Orochimaru suggesting they wanted ties to the Hokage through him.
• Orochimaru explained the basics of Summoning Jutsu and demonstrated it, summoning a large blue snake.

Chiyu signed the Ryūchi Cave contract and received Orochimaru’s training plan and secret techniques. Uchiha Masaki, enraged that Chiyu burned the Uchiha scrolls, ordered Fugaku to monitor the clan as he warned that war and a possible purge were approaching.

• Orochimaru demonstrated the Summoning Jutsu, and Chiyu signed the Ryūchi Cave contract.
• Orochimaru gave Chiyu a scroll of secret techniques and assigned him training in Fire Release, summoning, and physical conditioning.
• Uchiha Fugaku told Uchiha Masaki that Chiyu had burned both Uchiha scrolls and rejected the clan’s apology.
• Uchiha Masaki smashed a table in anger, then instructed Fugaku to restrain and monitor the clan’s troublemakers.
• Uchiha Masaki warned Fugaku that war would likely erupt within a year and that the Uchiha Clan risked a purge if it did not change.
• Uchiha Masaki remained furious but recognized that Orochimaru, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Mito Uzumaki protected Chiyu.