Chapter Summaries

Ye Fan prepared a hidden cave and guided Laiyun through the dangerous process of mastering the Beast Mark. Laiyun awakened rare wind and lightning affinities, while contract feedback pushed Ye Fan to the peak of the fifth level of the Beast-Taming Stage and awakened Mind Theft.

• Ye Fan gave Uzuki Yugao medicinal powder and told her he would need to examine her injured friend before choosing a treatment.
• Ye Fan took Laiyun and Dark Shadow to a secluded cave, placed Blood Runes around its entrance, and prepared a formation to help Laiyun master the Beast Mark.
• Laiyun entered the formation and endured a painful transformation as the Beast Mark spread across its body.
• Ye Fan used a lightning strike drawn by his formation to help Laiyun absorb lightning energy and successfully master the Beast Mark.
• Laiyun awakened both Lightning Affinity and Wind Affinity, and the Soul Contract sent natural energy into Ye Fan.
• Ye Fan broke through to the peak of the fifth level of the Beast-Taming Stage, awakened Mind Theft, and completed his second Body Tempering.

Ye Fan benefited from Laiyun’s Beast Mark breakthrough and stayed in the cave to help it stabilize its new power. After noticing that Ye Fan’s medicine had improved her health and faded her scars, Yuugao Uzuki brought up his medical skills to Gekko Hayate, who was horrified to learn she had spent several million ryo on his pills.

• Ye Fan reached the peak of the fifth level of the Beast-Taming Stage and entered Laiyun’s Mindscape to help it stabilize its newly absorbed energy.
• After using Ye Fan’s medicinal powder, Yuugao Uzuki found that her thirst had increased, her energy had improved, and her old scars had faded.
• Yuugao Uzuki went to the Forest of Death to visit Gekko Hayate and found him coughing while inspecting the Chunin Ninja Exams venue.
• Yuugao Uzuki suggested taking Gekko Hayate to see Ye Fan, but Hayate doubted Ye Fan’s medical ability and warned her not to trust him.
• Yuugao Uzuki admitted that she had bought medicine from Ye Fan for a few million ryo, and Gekko Hayate nearly coughed himself breathless in shock.

Uzuki Yugao brought Gekko Hayate to Ye Fan for treatment, but after examining Hayate, Ye Fan warned that he had at most three years to live. Ye Fan said he could cure him with pills, provided Yugao first angered him until he coughed up blood.

• Uzuki Yugao and Gekko Hayate waited outside Ye Fan's home for hours, where Dark Shadow tried to communicate with them using word signs and accidentally insulted them.
• Ye Fan arrived riding Laiyun, whose oppressive presence frightened both visitors, and explained that Dark Shadow's signs were unreliable.
• Uzuki Yugao told Ye Fan why she had come, and he examined Gekko Hayate's illness.
• Ye Fan privately warned Uzuki Yugao that Hayate had at most three years to live and that continued use of medicine could worsen his condition.
• Ye Fan said pills could cure Hayate, but first Yugao had to anger him until he coughed up blood.

Uzuki Yugao tried and failed to make Gekko Hayate angry enough to cough up blood, as Ye Fan said was necessary for a complete cure. After Yugao paid Ye Fan four million ryo, he agreed to make Hayate so angry that he coughed up blood.

• Uzuki Yugao acted unreasonable toward Gekko Hayate, but he patiently fulfilled her demands instead of getting angry.
• Frustrated by her failure, Yugao returned to Ye Fan and asked whether she could beat Hayate until he coughed up blood instead.
• Ye Fan explained that Hayate could be saved without angering him, but the treatment would take longer, require expensive pills, and leave aftereffects.
• Yugao pleaded with Ye Fan to help, but he initially refused, citing the risk to his reputation and his promise to Kurenai Yuhi.
• Yugao offered increasing sums until Ye Fan accepted four million ryo and promised to make Hayate cough up blood from anger.

Ye Fan used Mind Theft to provoke Gekko Hayate into a violent emotional collapse, making him cough up putrid blood as part of his treatment. After Ye Fan left Hayate with Uzuki Yugao, Yugao hurried to Ye Fan's home the next morning, seemingly in distress.

• Ye Fan had Uzuki Yugao summon Gekko Hayate to a secluded clearing late at night.
• Ye Fan claimed he and Yugao were lovers, and Mind Theft intensified Hayate's jealousy until he attacked.
• Dark Shadow and Ye Fan's larger Ninja Hound defeated Hayate's attacks while Ye Fan continued to provoke him.
• Hayate's inner turmoil culminated in him vomiting putrid blood and fainting, and Ye Fan told Yugao to give him a pill.
• Ye Fan secretly used the Clear-Mind Mantra on Hayate and rode home, leaving Yugao to care for him.
• The next morning, Ye Fan sensed Yugao rushing to his home and suspected she had been crying.

Ye Fan advised Uzuki Yugao on how to clear up Gekko Hayate’s misunderstanding, then watched Kurenai Yuhi test Team 8’s combat skills. The chapter ended with Kurenai Yuhi pursuing Ye Fan and Laiyun during their match, unable to catch them.

• Uzuki Yugao asked Ye Fan to help her reconcile with Gekko Hayate, and Ye Fan told her to bring him her medical records and proof of her innocence.
• Kiba Inuzuka asked Ye Fan about a supposed date, and Ye Fan explained that he had taken leave because Laiyun was sick.
• Kurenai Yuhi tested Kiba Inuzuka in a one-on-one fight and advised him to make his intentions less obvious.
• Hinata Hyuga used her self-created Guardian Eight Trigrams Palm against Kurenai Yuhi, who praised the technique’s potential.
• Kurenai Yuhi defeated Shino Aburame with close-range attacks and Genjutsu.
• Kurenai Yuhi struck Dark Shadow away, but Ye Fan rode Laiyun out of her reach and taunted her as she gave chase.

Ye Fan used memory-reading and a paralyzing smoke bomb to defeat Kurenai Yuhi during their spar, revealing that he could protect himself despite lacking chakra. Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi considered aid for Sunagakure and ordered Hanabi's ailing squirrel released, then was stunned by a report that Ye Fan had angered Gekko Hayate badly enough to make him cough blood.

• Kurenai Yuhi's Genjutsu failed against Ye Fan, who read her memories as she tried increasingly powerful techniques.
• Kurenai Yuhi attacked with Shadow Clones, but Laiyun leaped over them and escaped the encirclement.
• Ye Fan filled the area with an improved smoke bomb containing a paralyzing drug, incapacitating Kurenai Yuhi until the smoke cleared.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi weighed Rasa's request for help against Iwagakure and considered sending Kakashi to Sunagakure.
• After learning that Hanabi's squirrel had lost its chakra and was near death, Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered the ANBU to return it.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi read a report that Ye Fan had angered Gekko Hayate enough to make him cough blood.

After Baiyun was returned to Ye Fan, he revealed that the squirrel had only pretended to be weak and had hidden its chakra to stay safe. That evening, Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma arrived in masks to give Ye Fan a special lesson, and Ye Fan prepared a trick for them.

• Kurenai Yuhi worried that Ye Fan’s confidence might make him careless and considered asking Asuma for advice on how to teach him caution.
• Ye Fan guided Hinata Hyuga through her Guardian Eight Trigrams before a masked ninja delivered the listless Baiyun to the training ground.
• Hinata Hyuga discovered that Baiyun had no visible chakra, but Ye Fan recognized the squirrel was pretending and revealed it was safe.
• Ye Fan took Baiyun to Hanabi Hyuga and explained that he had concealed and restricted its chakra so it would not be taken away again.
• Ye Fan considered leaving Konoha to train Laiyun in its Wind and Lightning Affinities, then detected Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma approaching in wooden masks.
• Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma planned to restrain Dark Shadow while giving Ye Fan a special lesson, and Ye Fan decided to prepare them a grand gift.

Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuhi secretly approached Ye Fan's courtyard, where Dark Shadow fought Asuma before Ye Fan fled on Laiyun and teased the masked pursuers. The chase ended when Ye Fan stopped and revealed that something was wrong with their bodies, leaving Asuma and Kurenai feeling unusually hot.

• Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuhi inspected the transplanted trees near Ye Fan's courtyard, suspected a trap, and climbed down cautiously.
• Dark Shadow attacked Asuma Sarutobi, using its speed and Heaven-Piercing Chain Flash to evade him before returning to the courtyard.
• Ye Fan rode Laiyun away from the courtyard, and Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuhi pursued him while Asuma threw branches and stones to slow them down.
• Ye Fan teased the masked pursuers about Kurenai Yuhi and her future husband, Asuma Sarutobi, making both of them flustered.
• Ye Fan stopped Laiyun and told Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuhi to check themselves; they realized their bodies had begun to feel hot.

Ye Fan defeated Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma Sarutobi’s surprise assessment with poison and a concealed needle, then tricked them into revealing their feelings for each other. The next day, Team 8 accepted a mission to deliver a letter in the Land of Water and prepared to leave the village.

• Ye Fan poisoned Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma Sarutobi, then learned they had come to test him after they revealed their identities.
• Asuma Sarutobi made a surprise grab for Ye Fan, but Ye Fan’s concealed needle paralyzed him and led Kurenai Yuhi to believe he was dying.
• Kurenai Yuhi tried to save Asuma Sarutobi through the supposed life-for-life exchange, and Asuma revealed he was fine after Ye Fan’s staged trick.
• The next day, Kurenai Yuhi took Team 8 to training and accepted a mission to deliver a letter to a village in the Land of Water.
• Kurenai Yuhi informed Hyuga Hiashi about Hinata Hyuga’s mission, and Team 8 set their departure for the following day.

Team 8 left Konoha Village for the Land of Water, and Ye Fan led them to shelter from a storm and the mudslide that followed. As the group realized his warning had saved them, they noticed Ye Fan trembling with his eyes closed.

• Hanabi Hyuga ran to the gate and gave Ye Fan a lunch box before Team 8 departed Konoha Village.
• Ye Fan noticed spiritual plants outside the village and recorded their locations during a rest stop.
• Ye Fan warned Kurenai Yuhi that a rainstorm and possible mudslide were approaching, then persuaded Team 8 to shelter in a cave.
• A violent storm struck, and a mudslide swept through the low ground below the cave.
• Kurenai Yuhi and the others noticed Ye Fan sitting cross-legged, trembling and unresponsive.

Ye Fan broke through to the Sixth Level of the Beast-Taming Stage and awakened Heaven's Might Surge, then concealed his breakthrough from Kurenai Yuhi and the others. In a town restaurant, he exposed a group of attackers who had killed Konoha ninjas, and the chapter ended with him searching their unconscious leader's group and finding Konoha forehead protectors.

• Ye Fan used smoke to knock Kurenai Yuhi and the others unconscious while he completed his breakthrough, reaching the Sixth Level and awakening Heaven's Might Surge.
• Ye Fan used Heaven's Might Surge to smash apart the mudslide, then pretended he had been knocked out by improperly stored smoke bombs when the group woke.
• Kurenai Yuhi's team traveled to a small town, where four armed men harassed Kurenai Yuhi and Ye Fan warned that they had killed Konoha ninjas.
• The four men attacked Kurenai Yuhi, but Ye Fan incapacitated them and told her that more enemies were upstairs.
• Ye Fan searched the unconscious men and found Konoha forehead protectors among their belongings.

After Team 8 captured nine attackers, Kurenai Yuhi learned they had a mysterious supporter and arranged for ANBU to take custody of them. The team reached the port for the Land of Water, where Ye Fan spent much of his money on a thousand-year Red King Ginseng.

• Ye Fan shared the captured attackers’ money pouches with Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Hinata Hyuga, then revealed his backpack was full of cash.
• Ye Fan studied the attackers’ Explosive Tags while Kurenai Yuhi interrogated them and learned they targeted Konoha shinobi and caravans under the backing of an unknown supporter.
• ANBU arrived that night to take custody of the attackers, and Kurenai Yuhi led Team 8 onward the next morning.
• Team 8 reached a busy port before dusk, where Kurenai Yuhi allowed everyone to explore together while they waited for their ship.
• Ye Fan bought a Land of Water map, guidebooks, and jade boxes, then spent over half his cash on a thousand-year Red King Ginseng.

Team 8 reached a deserted village in the Land of Water, where Kurenai Yuhi went ahead to investigate and returned gravely wounded. Ye Fan began treating her and prepared to face the enemies pursuing them.

• Team 8 found a village full of corpses, and Kurenai Yuhi ordered the others to wait while she scouted alone.
• Ye Fan used Beast Tongue—Forceful Domination to control animals in the village and send them toward Kurenai Yuhi, then moved the team to higher ground.
• When Kurenai Yuhi failed to return on time, Ye Fan sent Laiyun into the mist and prepared the others for battle.
• Laiyun returned carrying a bloodied Kurenai Yuhi, who warned the team to run.
• Ye Fan gave Kurenai Yuhi a pill and ordered Hinata Hyuga to treat her, then put her unconscious with a needle and sensed that enemies were approaching.

Ye Fan sent Laiyun to kill more than twenty Kirigakure rogue ninjas who had pursued the injured Kurenai Yuhi, then brought her and Team 8 to a secluded inn in a prosperous Land of Water town. Kurenai woke and learned that her students were safe and the attackers had all been killed, but she still did not know how Ye Fan had defeated them.

• More than twenty Kirigakure rogue ninjas pursued Kurenai Yuhi, hoping to kill her and provoke a war between Konoha and Kirigakure.
• Ye Fan controlled Laiyun to slaughter the pursuing Jonin, and Laiyun returned without a speck of blood on its fur.
• Ye Fan chose to take the injured Kurenai and Team 8 to a nearby town so she could recover while they continued their mission and gathered information.
• Kurenai woke at the inn, saw Hinata Hyuga and Dark Shadow nearby, and worried that Ye Fan and the others had been harmed.
• Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame told Kurenai that Ye Fan had gone to buy food and medicinal herbs and that the enemies had already been eliminated.
• Hinata confirmed with her Byakugan that the rogue ninjas were dead, leaving Kurenai determined to ask Ye Fan what had happened.

Ye Fan discovered traces of an Earth Spirit Flame and set out to find it, but came across Pakura being ambushed by Kirigakure ninja. After saving her from their poisoned attack, he learned that Sunagakure had abandoned her and defeated the attackers, leaving Pakura unconscious and the Kirigakure ninja helpless.

• Ye Fan confirmed that a stone he had bought carried residual energy from an Earth Spirit Flame and decided to track down the flame.
• Pakura traveled alone toward Kirigakure as an envoy, unaware that Sunagakure had sent her as a pawn to be killed.
• A Kirigakure ninja welcomed Pakura, then stabbed her with a poisoned kunai, while more ninja attacked her from ambush.
• Ye Fan arrived, gave Pakura an Antidote Pill, and stopped the Kirigakure ninja's poisoned weapons and water-style attacks with his True Qi barrier.
• Ye Fan read a Kirigakure ninja's memories and learned that Sunagakure had abandoned Pakura, then struck the attackers down as they tried to retreat.

Ye Fan rescued Pakura after Sunagakure betrayed her and persuaded her to leave her old life behind and follow him. After capturing Kirigakure ninjas to demand ransom, he faced the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi, and forcefully stopped her from taking Pakura.

• Pakura woke in Ye Fan's care, learned he had saved her, and struggled with the betrayal that had left her without a home.
• Ye Fan urged Pakura to stop blaming herself and offered to protect her if she followed him; she warned that helping her would bring trouble.
• Ye Fan revealed that he had captured sixteen Kirigakure ninjas and moved them before Pakura with his power, then said he wanted to ransom them.
• When a Kirigakure squad approached, Ye Fan left Laiyun to guard Pakura, captured four Jonin, and demanded money for their release.
• Mei Terumi arrived with the ransom and tried to take Pakura, but Ye Fan unleashed his pressure and techniques, forcing Mei Terumi and her group to their knees.

Ye Fan took Ye Cang away from the Hidden Mist Village and demonstrated how he could control and magnify her Bloodline Limit. As they continued toward the Earth Spirit Flame, he promised to teach her a Fire Manipulation Technique and said she could fuse with a small amount of the flame to greatly strengthen her power.

• Ye Fan and Ye Cang left the Hidden Mist Village, and Mei Terumi ordered her ninja not to pursue them or act against them without authorization.
• Ye Fan used Thousand-Mile Transmission to speak privately to Mei Terumi, who wondered why he favored Ye Cang and sensed that the world was about to change.
• As Ye Fan and Ye Cang traveled on Laiyun, he told her they were seeking the Earth Spirit Flame and asked to examine her Bloodline Limit.
• Ye Fan took control of Ye Cang's fire spheres, expanded them into a huge flaming mass, and shaped one into a fire dragon that destroyed a mountain peak.
• Ye Fan promised to teach Ye Cang a Fire Manipulation Technique after refining the Earth Spirit Flame and said she could fuse with a little of it to increase her Bloodline Limit's power several dozen times.

Ye Fan located the Earth Spirit Flame, fought and captured its Flame Sprite, then bound the sprite to Pakura and had it refine part of the flame for her. Pakura gained a connection with Little Flame, while Ye Fan’s battle left him battered and the story ended with the sprite eagerly speaking to its new master.

• Ye Fan used a fire ritual to locate the Earth Spirit Flame, then rushed toward an extinct volcano and left Pakura and Laiyun at a safe distance.
• Ye Fan shattered the volcano and fought the escaping Earth Spirit Flame, while Laiyun protected Pakura from a devastating shockwave.
• Ye Fan returned battered with the captured Flame Sprite and told Pakura to sit down so it could help her safely receive the Earth Spirit Flame’s power.
• Ye Fan used Pakura’s blood to reveal Little Flame, then pressed the sprite to her forehead and formed a bond between them.
• Little Flame told Pakura it had refined part of the Earth Spirit Flame and tempered her body, and said Ye Fan had taught it a cultivation technique.

Pakura recovered after contracting with the Flame Sprite, learned the Fire Manipulation Technique, and helped Ye Fan use a sealing scroll to store his purchases. Ye Fan prepared to return to Konoha, leaving Pakura nearby with money and a way to contact him through Little Flame.

• Pakura awoke in a cave after Body Tempering, discovered her clothes had burned away, and followed Laiyun to the lodging Ye Fan had prepared for her.
• Pakura used her sealing skills to withdraw and reseal money in Kirigakure's ransom scroll, giving Ye Fan a way to carry his purchases.
• Ye Fan shopped for herbs, ores, and books while secretly completing the mission, as Kurenai Yuhi recovered and Hinata Hyuga cared for her.
• Pakura spent two days practicing the Fire Manipulation Technique with the Flame Sprite and found that her strength and control over flames had greatly improved.
• Ye Fan told Pakura he would return to Konoha without her, arranged for her to stay nearby and contact him through Little Flame, and gave her the remaining money.