Chapter Summaries

Xuanyu persuaded Uchiha Hanjō to keep training and warned him to prepare the Uchiha Clan for trouble during the Chunin Exams. Meanwhile, Sarutobi Hiruzen approved Danzō’s plan to obtain Senju relatives for Impure World Reincarnation, and Shino Aburame waited outside Uchiha Hospital the next morning.

• Xuanyu convinced Uchiha Hanjō to continue training by promising him a meal every seven days.
• Xuanyu told Uchiha Hanjō to keep the clan alert during the Chunin Exams, while saying Orochimaru would handle the plans against Sarutobi Hiruzen and the Konoha Higher-Ups.
• Uchiha Izumi began contacting the families of missing people so they could post missions at the Mission Hall.
• Shimura Danzō told Sarutobi Hiruzen that Impure World Reincarnation could restore a shinobi’s former strength if performed with a blood relative’s body.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed to make the Senju Clan suffer for Konoha and warned Shimura Danzō to keep the operation quiet.
• Shino Aburame arrived early at Uchiha Hospital, eager to learn how far Xuanyu had developed his insects.

Xuanyu showed Shino Aburame Uchiha Hospital and explained why the Uchiha Clan treated commoners despite the lack of profit. He then led Shino into the secret laboratory beneath the hospital to see how his insects had evolved.

• Xuanyu brought Shino Aburame into Uchiha Hospital, where Shino saw commoners and visitors from outside Konoha receiving care.
• Shino asked why the Uchiha Clan ran an unprofitable hospital and said he believed it was meant to win public support for their bid for Hokage.
• Xuanyu explained that the hospital served injured Uchiha Merchant Guild members, concealed the laboratory, and fulfilled his promise to the doctors to treat commoners.
• Shino reflected that the Uchiha Clan offered commoners hope and doubted that the Sarutobi Clan could continue leading the village well.
• Xuanyu opened the laboratory entrance beneath his office and told Shino that his insects had been cultivated there.
• Shino sensed his insects inside the laboratory, felt both excitement and fear about their evolution, and followed Xuanyu down.

Xuanyu brought Shino Aburame to Hua Yu’s underground laboratory, where she demonstrated that his evolved insects could reassemble after being crushed. Shino learned that even these powerful insects were failed experimental products, and Hua Yu left him stunned by revealing that their teeth had evolved too.

• Xuanyu led Shino Aburame through a hidden underground passage to Hua Yu’s laboratory.
• Hua Yu told Shino that his insects’ evolution was complete and explained that she had created a new bloodline for them.
• Hua Yu crushed an insect, then used green light to show Shino how it reassembled and returned to life.
• Shino admired the insects’ Undying Body and asked whether the specimens in the Culture Vessels had all evolved successfully.
• Hua Yu said the insects were failed products that combined the Immortal Evil God Bloodline, Shikotsumyaku, and Giant Mouth Teeth, leaving Shino shocked.

Hua Yu showed Shino Aburame how her defective product bugs devoured a Culture Vessel and kunai, then explained their abilities and limits. She introduced Iron Armor Insects with hardened shells and had Shino test the shield they formed.

• Hua Yu agitated the defective product bugs, which ate through their Culture Vessel and then devoured a kunai and shuriken.
• Hua Yu explained that the bugs combined three genetic traits, could absorb Chakra and consume living things, and could reproduce quickly but could not evolve further.
• Shino Aburame realized he needed to learn Inner Space before he could house many bugs, and Xuanyu reassured him that he would learn the Aburame Clan secret technique.
• Hua Yu introduced Iron Armor Insects, whose shells were as hard as refined steel and could fuse with additional genetic sequences.
• Hua Yu made the Iron Armor Insects form a shield, handed Shino Aburame a kunai, and told him to stab it.

Hua Yu demonstrated the Iron Armor Insects’ defenses and abilities to Shino Aburame, then introduced the Giant Devouring Bugs. The chapter ended with Hua Yu asking Xuanyu to bring back some pigs for a test.

• Hua Yu urged Shino Aburame to stab the Iron Armor Insects’ shield, and his full-strength kunai strike failed to damage it.
• The Iron Armor Insects crawled up the kunai and devoured it, startling Shino Aburame into retreating.
• Hua Yu explained that the insects’ shells exceeded special refined steel in hardness, resisted a Great Fireball Technique briefly, and had 2.78 times the bite force of the Defective Products.
• Shino Aburame grew eager to use the Iron Armor Insects to protect himself as he became stronger.
• Hua Yu introduced the Giant Devouring Bugs, noting that their bite force was terrifying but their defense was weaker than the Iron Armor Insects’.
• Hua Yu asked Xuanyu to bring back a few pigs.

Hua Yu demonstrated how Giant Devouring Bugs flew, devoured pigs, and converted consumed energy into power for themselves and their host. Shino Aburame learned that the bugs could greatly strengthen him but that his body would limit how much energy he could withstand; Hua Yu then revealed that the final two insect types were fragile and had almost no combat power.

• Xuanyu brought pigs to the laboratory so Hua Yu could demonstrate the Giant Devouring Bugs.
• Hua Yu explained that the bugs had wings taken from Rove Beetles, then they flew at the pigs and devoured them completely.
• Xuanyu observed that the bugs converted what they ate into powerful stomach acid, while Hua Yu explained that their fused Anteater stomachs compressed energy and could feed it back to their host.
• Hua Yu warned that each bug could hold only as much energy as one pig and that Shino Aburame needed a stronger body to withstand the insects' feedback.
• Xuanyu urged Shino Aburame to train, and Hua Yu reassured him that the bugs' backlash was less severe than the Eight Gates Formation and could sustain him in a prolonged battle.
• Shino Aburame asked about the remaining two insect types, and Hua Yu said they were fragile and had almost no combat power.

Hua Yu revealed the Spirit Parasite Insects and Chakra Parasite Insects, which could enhance spiritual power and transfer stored Chakra to Shino Aburame. Shino gained control over the other evolved insects but nearly exhausted his mental power before attempting to control the two support insects.

• Hua Yu explained that the Spirit Parasite Insect could strengthen a person's spirit, and Shino Aburame tested its ability.
• Hua Yu introduced the Chakra Parasite Insect, and Shino Aburame received Chakra from it after it bit him.
• Shino Aburame considered how the evolved insects could complement one another and make him stronger in battle.
• Hua Yu told Shino Aburame to keep some insects for research and said they still had room to evolve.
• Shino Aburame gradually controlled the Defective Products, Iron Armor Insects, and Giant Devouring Bugs until his mental power was nearly depleted.
• Hua Yu warned Shino Aburame that the Spirit Parasite Insects and Chakra Parasite Insects were difficult to control and asked whether he wanted to rest.

Shino Aburame finished integrating his new insects, and Xuanyu arranged for the group to gather at the Mission Hall to accept a mission. Xuanyu gave Hua Yu Tsunade’s First Hokage crystal necklace, and as he headed to the Mission Hall, someone angrily called his name.

• Shino Aburame spent an hour drawing his insects into his body, placing them in positions that let them absorb Chakra, restore his mental energy, and protect vital areas.
• Shino Aburame eagerly challenged Xuanyu to spar, but backed down after Xuanyu warned that he could kill the insects.
• Hua Yu declined to reveal what she planned to research, and the group left the Underground Laboratory for Uchiha Hospital.
• Uchiha Izumi told Xuanyu she had arranged for a mission to be posted, and Xuanyu sent Shino Aburame to find Yuhi Kurenai Teacher and Hinata before they met at the Mission Hall.
• Xuanyu gave Hua Yu Tsunade’s necklace, explained that it contained the First Hokage’s crystal, and told her to demand a condition if Tsunade ever asked for it back.
• As Xuanyu headed toward the Mission Hall, someone angrily shouted, “Uchiha Xuan Yu!”

Xuan Yu watched Konohamaru fail to attack him, then went to the Mission Hall despite the approaching Chunin Exams. There, he paid to register a search mission for several missing Konoha residents and took it himself, intending to uncover the truth behind their disappearances.

• Konohamaru threatened Xuan Yu, but his guards restrained him and carried him away while he continued shouting for revenge.
• Xuan Yu met Hinata and Yuhi Kurenai at the Mission Hall and said he wanted a simple mission within the village.
• The mission clerks refused Xuan Yu, then turned away civilians seeking help finding their missing relatives because they could not afford the fee.
• Xuan Yu paid Liang Yuan ten thousand ryo to register the search mission and asked to take it himself.
• Xuan Yu intended to use the mission as a legitimate reason to expose what had happened to the missing residents.

Xuan Yu accepted an indefinite mission to find more than a hundred missing people, most of whom had disappeared in areas overseen by the Sarutobi Police Force. After learning that Xuan Yu and his team had taken the mission, Sarutobi Hiruzen recognized the danger and demanded to know who had processed it.

• Liang Yuan handed Xuan Yu the Mission Scroll, and Xuan Yu set the mission deadline to remain open until the missing people were found.
• Xuan Yu reassured the missing persons' families, then told Yuhi Kurenai that more than a hundred people had vanished and that the Sarutobi Police Force had blocked Uchiha investigators.
• Yuhi Kurenai warned Xuan Yu to be cautious about accusing Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō, but Xuan Yu said they would wait to see how the Hokage reacted.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen read the new mission listings, saw that Xuan Yu and his companions had accepted the Senju Clan's missing-persons mission, and questioned the two Sarutobi Clan members who had handled it.

Hiruzen Sarutobi learned that Uchiha Xuan Yu and Yuhi Kurenai had accepted a mission to investigate Konoha’s missing people, threatening his efforts to conceal the case. He moved to keep them away from the investigation and assigned Yuhi Kurenai to help with the Chunin Exams, while she called Kakashi to tell him about the disappearances.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi berated two mission-office workers after learning they had released the missing-persons case as a mission accepted by Uchiha Xuan Yu and Yuhi Kurenai.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned Shimura Danzō and discussed restricting Uchiha Xuan Yu, Hinata Hyuga, and Shino while keeping Yuhi Kurenai away from their team during the Chunin Exams.
• Shimura Danzō said he wanted Senju clansmen, and Hiruzen Sarutobi warned him not to draw attention to their actions or provoke the Uchiha Clan.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Sarutobi Asuma to keep Uchiha clansmen and Yuhi Kurenai out of Sarutobi Police Force territory near the Root Base, and to assign Yuhi Kurenai to exam preparations and training.
• Yuhi Kurenai met Kakashi near Hokage Rock and asked him to guess how many people had gone missing from Konoha in recent days.

Yuhi Kurenai told Kakashi that over a hundred Konoha civilians, recently all Senju clansmen, had gone missing, and that Xuanyu had arranged an investigation mission. After the Third Hokage ordered Kurenai to serve as a Chunin Exam instructor, Kakashi suspected the order was meant to stop her from helping Xuanyu investigate the disappearances.

• Yuhi Kurenai told Kakashi that more than a hundred civilians had gone missing in the past month and that recent victims were Senju clansmen.
• Yuhi Kurenai explained that Xuanyu had paid to post and accept a mission investigating the disappearances, and Kakashi vowed to investigate.
• Two Anbu ninja told Yuhi Kurenai that the Third Hokage had chosen her to serve as a Chunin Exam instructor starting the next day.
• Kakashi persuaded Yuhi Kurenai to accept the order, warning that refusing could lead the Third Hokage to damage her reputation.
• Kakashi and Yuhi Kurenai concluded that the Third Hokage was trying to prevent her from helping Xuanyu investigate the missing people.

Xuanyu checked on Neji Hyuga’s progress freeing the Hyuga Branch Family from the Caged Bird Curse Mark, then gathered with Hinata and Shino Aburame for training. Yuhi Kurenai arrived late and revealed that a mission would temporarily take her away from teaching them.

• Yuhi Kurenai and Kakashi concluded that Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to keep Kurenai out of the missing persons investigation, while Kakashi said he would investigate too.
• Xuanyu asked Neji Hyuga about the curse mark liberation, and Neji reported that two hundred Branch House clansmen had been freed and that no one was still monitoring them.
• Xuanyu and the others trained under Zhong Kui’s stronger Gravity Domain before Xuanyu brought Hinata to their meeting point.
• Shino Aburame, eager to test his improved insects, asked Yuhi Kurenai to spar with him, and Xuanyu said Shino’s confidence had grown after gaining strength.
• Yuhi Kurenai declined to spar and told Xuanyu and the others that a mission would temporarily take her away from teaching them.

Xuanyu and Yuhi Kurenai investigated the disappearances in Sarutobi territory, where Sarutobi guards blocked entry. At the jurisdiction border, Xuanyu joined Uchiha Izumi in a confrontation with Sarutobi Asuma and reframed the Uchiha force’s attempt to cross as a visit to learn from Sarutobi policing.

• Yuhi Kurenai told Xuanyu that the Third Hokage had ordered her to serve as a Chunin Exams examiner, but she agreed to investigate with him first.
• Xuanyu led Yuhi Kurenai, Shino Aburame, and the others toward Sarutobi territory, where Sarutobi guards blocked the border crossing.
• Xuanyu found Uchiha Izumi and Sarutobi Asuma arguing over whether the Uchiha could investigate the disappearances in Sarutobi territory.
• Sarutobi Asuma demanded that Uchiha Hanjō address the dispute, but Xuanyu declared that he led the Uchiha Police Force and could handle its affairs.
• Xuanyu prompted Uchiha Izumi to say they wanted to take a walk, then told Sarutobi Asuma they hoped to learn from the Sarutobi Police Force.

Uchiha Xuan Yu clashed with Sarutobi Asuma over investigating the missing people, and the two clans formally barred each other from their jurisdictions. Xuan Yu used a Konoha mission to enter Sarutobi territory and reached a nearly deserted civilian district, where he challenged the Sarutobi Police Force about its decline.

• Sarutobi Asuma refused to let the Uchiha investigate the missing people and declared Uchiha clansmen forbidden from Sarutobi Police Force territory.
• Uchiha Xuan Yu responded by forbidding Sarutobi clansmen from entering Uchiha territory, and Uchiha Izumi led the Military Police Force away.
• Xuan Yu showed Asuma a Mission Scroll and insisted on investigating under a Konoha mission, so Asuma let him and his companions pass.
• Yuhi Kurenai declined to report to the Chunin Exams until that afternoon, then joined Xuan Yu's group as they entered Sarutobi territory.
• Xuan Yu's group reached the desolate civilian district, and Xuan Yu asked the Sarutobi Police Force members why it had become so empty.

Xuanyu investigated the disappearances with Yuhi Kurenai, Hinata, and Shino Aburame, but found no clues at the missing people’s homes. When Root blocked his entry to a suspicious building, he withdrew after secretly observing its hidden basement and planned to return that night.

• Xuanyu mocked the Sarutobi Police Force Members as civilians avoided them, and Yuhi Kurenai noticed the clan showed no remorse.
• Xuanyu and his companions searched the homes of several missing people but found no traces.
• Xuanyu insisted on searching the surrounding area despite the Sarutobi Police Force Members’ impatience and orders to monitor him.
• Xuanyu approached a gloomy building, and Sarutobi Clan Members warned him that it was Root territory.
• Masked Root ninjas threatened Xuanyu, so he led his companions away while memorizing the facility and its basement, where people conducted research on test subjects.

After leaving the Root Base, Xuanyu told Yuhi Kurenai he would handle the suspicious disappearances himself. Shino Aburame then asked his father for training in opening an Inner Space and declared that the Aburame Clan should side with the Uchiha Clan, but Shibi Aburame refused.

• Sarutobi Police Force members mocked Xuanyu as he led Hinata and the others away from the Root Base.
• Yuhi Kurenai warned Xuanyu that the missing people were likely connected to Root, but Xuanyu said he would handle it and told her to prepare for the Chunin Exams.
• Shino Aburame decided the Aburame Clan would stand with the Uchiha Clan and went to speak with his father, Shibi Aburame.
• Shino asked Shibi for the ninjutsu to open an Inner Space, explaining that keeping weapons in a jar was a fatal weakness; Shibi agreed to give him the scroll despite warning him of the danger.
• Shino told Shibi that the Aburame Clan should side with the Uchiha Clan, and Shibi rejected the idea.

Shino Aburame insisted that the Aburame Clan side with the Uchiha Clan, prompting his father Shibi to challenge his judgment. Shino challenged Shibi to a fight and summoned the Giant Devouring Bug after their insects clashed.

• Shibi warned Shino that choosing a side could endanger the Aburame Clan, while Shino argued they should support the Uchiha Clan early.
• Shibi refused to risk the clan's future and told Shino he could make the decision only after defeating him and becoming clan head.
• Shino accepted the challenge, and Shibi led him to the backyard training area.
• Shibi's larger swarm overwhelmed Shino's ordinary insects, though Shino used the clash to assess his father's strength.
• Shibi urged Shino to surrender, but Shino declared that he would win and summoned the Giant Devouring Bug.

Shino Aburame challenged his father, Shibi Aburame, to admit defeat after his Giant Devouring Bugs overwhelmed Shibi’s swarm. Shibi’s Arrow Toads swallowed some of the bugs, but Shino revealed they had survived inside them and emerged, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Shino Aburame unleashed his Giant Devouring Bugs, which devoured and overpowered Shibi Aburame’s insects.
• Shibi sent another swarm at Shino, but Iron Armor Insects and other bugs protected Shino and devoured the attackers.
• Shibi brought out his poisonous Insect Bees and Arrow Toads, then used the Arrow Toads to swallow Giant Devouring Bugs.
• Shibi claimed the Arrow Toads’ stomach acid would dissolve the swallowed bugs and urged Shino to surrender.
• Shino snapped his fingers, and Giant Devouring Bugs burst out of an Arrow Toad that had swallowed them.

Shino defeated Shibi in an insect battle, taijutsu, and ninjutsu, then insisted that the Aburame Clan side with the Uchiha Clan. Shibi accepted Shino’s authority as the clan’s future head and realized Uchiha Xuan Yu may have helped Shino gain his strength and special insects.

• Shino’s Giant Devouring Bugs survived the Arrow Toads’ attacks and forced Shibi to make the toads spit them out.
• Shibi sent his Insect Bees to attack, but Shino’s insects devoured many of them until Shibi called off the fight.
• Shibi challenged Shino to taijutsu, but Shino’s enhanced strength overwhelmed him.
• Shino’s Great Fireball Technique overpowered Shibi’s, and Shibi conceded defeat.
• Shino demanded that Shibi side with the Uchiha Clan, and Shibi accepted Shino’s right to decide as the future clan head.
• Shibi suspected that Uchiha Xuan Yu had provided Shino’s special insects and helped him become powerful.