Chapter Summaries

After Sakura Haruno was hospitalized, Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned Ye Fan to answer for the incident while Kakashi demanded permission to discipline him. Ye Fan denied responsibility for the injury and began recounting the events, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi and Kakashi waiting to hear his account.

• Sakura Haruno was sent to the hospital after Laiyun knocked her away, and ANBU reported the incident to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered ANBU to bring Ye Fan to his office, while Kakashi arrived and demanded that Ye Fan be handed over to him.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi warned Kakashi not to act before the matter had been investigated, and Kakashi stood by as Ye Fan arrived with Laiyun.
• Ye Fan defended his actions by criticizing Sakura Haruno's foul mouth and arguing that such behavior could endanger teammates on a mission.
• When Hiruzen Sarutobi pressed him about Sakura Haruno's injury, Ye Fan said Laiyun had caused it and began recounting what had happened.

Ye Fan defended Laiyun’s attack on Sakura Haruno by arguing that he had been falsely accused and that Konoha must protect the dignity of its orphans. Kakashi’s anger erupted into a fight with Laiyun, and the chapter left Hiruzen Sarutobi furious as Ye Fan continued to justify the destruction of his office.

• Ye Fan told Hiruzen Sarutobi that Sakura Haruno had tried to ruin his reputation and argued that Laiyun’s attack had been restrained.
• Ye Fan challenged Hiruzen Sarutobi over whether orphans who had lost their parents serving Konoha deserved protection from false accusations.
• Kakashi told Ye Fan that he had no right to punish Sakura Haruno, and Ye Fan taunted him until Kakashi lunged at him.
• Laiyun intercepted Kakashi, tore his clothing, and unleashed its chakra, shattering the office glass and door as Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered everyone to stop.
• Ye Fan called Laiyun back, then used Kakashi’s outburst and the wrecked office to argue that a ninja needed to protect his own dignity, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi enraged.

Ye Fan returned to the training grounds after being summoned by Hiruzen Sarutobi and told Kurenai Yuhi that he had sent Sakura Haruno to the hospital, fought Kakashi, and damaged the Hokage's Office. He planned to meet Naruto Uzumaki that night, but when he got home, he discovered the Spirit-Transforming Pill was missing.

• Ye Fan returned to the training grounds and told Hinata Hyuga that Naruto Uzumaki had been discharged from the hospital.
• Ye Fan explained to Kurenai Yuhi that he had sent Sakura Haruno to the hospital, fought Kakashi, and torn down the Hokage's Office, then said Hiruzen Sarutobi had let him go.
• Kiba Inuzuka told Ye Fan that Naruto Uzumaki liked Sakura Haruno and that Hinata Hyuga liked Naruto.
• Ye Fan decided to tell Naruto what had happened and intended to extract the Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra regardless of Naruto's reaction.
• Kurenai Yuhi dismissed the team early and hurried off, while Ye Fan returned home with Laiyun.
• Ye Fan discovered that the Spirit-Transforming Pill he had hidden in a tree was gone.

Ye Fan tracked the missing Spirit-Transforming Pills to a snow-white squirrel hiding in a remote cave and discovered that it had been altered by an experiment and carried lingering chakra. He helped it absorb the pills’ medicinal power and decided to take it in and train it as a ninja squirrel.

• Ye Fan found small-animal tracks in his courtyard and followed them with Laiyun and Dark Shadow.
• Ye Fan located the missing Spirit-Transforming Pills in a cave and discovered a lone snow-white squirrel hiding there.
• Ye Fan ordered Dark Shadow to drive the squirrel out, then caught it as it tried to flee with the pills.
• Ye Fan discovered unusual chakra and signs of experimentation in the squirrel’s body, then used True Qi to activate the pills it had eaten.
• The squirrel began absorbing the chakra energies, and Ye Fan decided he could bring it back and train it.

Ye Fan tamed the snow-white squirrel, cleared its lingering chakra, and helped it absorb purified chakra so it could become Hanabi's pet beast. After leaving it and Dark Shadow to play in the courtyard, he went to Naruto Uzumaki's home, where something made him pause before knocking.

• Ye Fan learned through a spiritual mark that the squirrel had been used in painful experiments, escaped, and instinctively sought out the Spirit-Transforming Pill.
• Ye Fan removed the squirrel's lingering chakra and strengthened its meridians as it absorbed a large amount of purified chakra.
• The squirrel began using its new chakra to move quickly and played with Dark Shadow while Ye Fan planned to train it before giving it to Hanabi.
• Ye Fan told Dark Shadow to guard the house and keep the squirrel inside the courtyard, then went to Naruto Uzumaki's home.
• Ye Fan raised his hand to knock on Naruto Uzumaki's door, but furrowed his brows and stopped.

Ye Fan searched for Naruto Uzumaki and found him brooding in the forest over Sakura Haruno's criticism. Naruto asked how to become stronger, and Ye Fan proposed a game to teach him about the Multi Shadow Clone Technique while a female ANBU ninja watched nearby.

• Ye Fan checked Naruto Uzumaki's home and Ichiraku Ramen Shop, where Ayame gave him coupons and said she had seen Naruto looking dejected.
• Ye Fan searched the area and found Naruto Uzumaki lying in a forest clearing, upset over Sakura Haruno blaming him for Sasuke's injuries.
• Ye Fan gave Naruto the ramen coupon from Ayame, but Naruto remained quiet and asked how he could become stronger.
• Ye Fan sensed the female ANBU ninja monitoring Naruto and suggested they play a game to improve Naruto's mood and help him understand the Multi Shadow Clone Technique.

Ye Fan challenged Naruto Uzumaki to hide his real body among his Shadow Clones and identified him every time, even among more than a thousand clones. Naruto demanded to know how Ye Fan did it, while the watching Uzuki Yugao was stunned when Ye Fan looked toward her hiding place.

• Ye Fan asked Naruto Uzumaki to use the Multi Shadow Clone Technique and try to confuse him.
• Ye Fan identified Naruto's real body twice, including after Naruto and his clones switched positions.
• Naruto created more than a thousand Shadow Clones, but Ye Fan still pointed out his real body on a tree branch.
• Naruto leaped down and asked Ye Fan how he had found him, while Uzuki Yugao wondered how Ye Fan had done it.
• Ye Fan turned his gaze toward Uzuki Yugao's hiding place, making her fear that he had discovered her.

Ye Fan explained how to spot Naruto Uzumaki’s Shadow Clones, though Uzuki Yugao realized his explanation was a lie. Ye Fan then challenged Naruto to a chase with a wager that could let him stay at Naruto’s house for a year, while Yugao suspected he was plotting against Naruto.

• Uzuki Yugao wondered how Ye Fan had noticed her and concluded that his Ninja Hound had detected her hiding place.
• Naruto Uzumaki asked how Ye Fan had identified his real body, and Ye Fan claimed the Shadow Clones could be distinguished because they did not breathe.
• Uzuki Yugao recognized that Ye Fan’s explanation could not work in the dim, crowded conditions and realized he was lying to Naruto.
• Ye Fan challenged Naruto to hide using the Multi Shadow Clone Technique while Ye Fan chased him, wagering a year of ramen against a year of access to Naruto’s house.
• Naruto accepted the wager, hoping Ye Fan might teach him more and keep him company, while Uzuki Yugao suspected Ye Fan had ulterior motives.

Naruto Uzumaki challenged Ye Fan to a game of hide-and-seek, betting a year’s worth of ramen against a place to stay. While Ye Fan set out to find him, he discovered Yuugao Uzuki was secretly monitoring Naruto and left her fuming after teasing her about the mission.

• Naruto Uzumaki and Ye Fan agreed to meet again after twenty minutes, and Naruto scattered his Shadow Clones through the forest.
• After waiting three minutes, Ye Fan headed toward Yuugao Uzuki’s hiding place with Laiyun.
• Ye Fan spotted Yuugao Uzuki in a tree and questioned her about monitoring Naruto Uzumaki.
• Yuugao Uzuki refused to explain her mission, while Ye Fan guessed that the ANBU were watching Naruto.
• Ye Fan rode away to search for Naruto Uzumaki, leaving Yuugao Uzuki angry and promising not to reveal her mission.

Ye Fan found Naruto Uzumaki hiding and began training him to overcome the Multi Shadow Clone Technique’s fatal flaw by strengthening his will against intimidating presence. Naruto endured Laiyun’s escalating pressure and stood firm, completing the first stage of training.

• Naruto Uzumaki lost their hiding game when Ye Fan found him by following his scent, despite the Shadow Clones scattered through the forest.
• Ye Fan explained that Naruto could address the Multi Shadow Clone Technique’s flaw by tempering his will and resistance to intimidation.
• Naruto dispelled the Multi Shadow Clone Technique and stood still as Laiyun released an increasingly powerful intimidating presence.
• Ye Fan repeatedly challenged Naruto to reject cowardice and fate, and Naruto rose from one knee, shouting that he refused to accept his fate.
• Ye Fan praised Naruto for completing the first stage and told him to rest before they continued.

Ye Fan helped Naruto Uzumaki face Laiyun’s murderous aura, then entered Naruto’s sealing space while Naruto practiced resisting it. There, Ye Fan confronted the Nine-Tailed Fox and began preparing to extract more of its chakra.

• Ye Fan guided Naruto Uzumaki through another round of Laiyun’s aura, using ramen as a mental image to help him overcome his fear.
• Ye Fan used Mind Multiplexing to enter the sealing space inside Naruto Uzumaki.
• The Nine-Tailed Fox sensed the threat to its Jinchuriki, grew enraged, and tried to strike the seal.
• Ye Fan appeared before the Nine-Tailed Fox and said he intended to extract more of its chakra.
• The Nine-Tailed Fox demanded that Ye Fan stop as he began forming hand seals.

Ye Fan used the Netherworld Spirit Flame to purify and gather chakra from the Nine-Tailed Fox, then intensified the technique to scorch its soul. Outside the barrier, Naruto Uzumaki overcame Laiyun’s killing intent, and the chapter ended with him embracing Ye Fan and calling him Big Brother Ye Fan.

• Ye Fan trapped the Nine-Tailed Fox in the Netherworld Spirit Flame to burn away the evil aura in its chakra while collecting and condensing the chakra.
• After the Nine-Tailed Fox threatened him, Ye Fan pressed it to the ground and used Soul Scorch, leaving it severely weakened before he stopped the attack.
• Naruto Uzumaki endured Laiyun’s overwhelming killing intent as Ye Fan encouraged him despite his own exhaustion.
• Naruto Uzumaki found the resolve to defy Laiyun’s intimidation, and the killing intent faded after he overcame his mental barrier.
• Ye Fan congratulated Naruto Uzumaki, who became emotional, knocked him to the ground in an embrace, and began calling him Big Brother Ye Fan.

Uzuki Yugao followed Naruto Uzumaki’s tracks, only to realize Ye Fan had misled her and deliberately drawn her away. She found Naruto Uzumaki safe beside a pale Ye Fan, but Ye Fan brushed off her arrival as that of a lost big sister.

• Uzuki Yugao tracked the heavier footprints she believed belonged to Naruto Uzumaki’s real body through the forest.
• Uzuki Yugao found Ninja Hound pawprints and a stone message revealing that Ye Fan had sent her in the wrong direction.
• Uzuki Yugao reasoned that Ye Fan had deliberately diverted her from Naruto Uzumaki and used the Multi Shadow Clone Technique to search for him.
• Uzuki Yugao saw Naruto Uzumaki’s Shadow Clones disappear, then received a signal from one of her own clones and hurried toward its location.
• Uzuki Yugao found Naruto Uzumaki lying motionless beside a pale Ye Fan, but Naruto sat up and asked who she was.
• Ye Fan told Naruto Uzumaki that Uzuki Yugao might be a big sister who had gotten lost.

Ye Fan returned home with three jade tablets containing chakra extracted from the Nine-Tailed Fox and planned for Laiyun to use it to master the Beast Mark. Later, Hiruzen Sarutobi heard that Ye Fan had approached Naruto Uzumaki and feared he was targeting the Nine-Tails.

• Ye Fan placed three jade tablets filled with the Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra on his desk and told Laiyun the chakra could help it master the Beast Mark.
• Ye Fan told Laiyun to guard the house while he rested and asked it to teach the Little Squirrel some skills for Hanabi.
• Laiyun caught Dark Shadow and the Little Squirrel as they played too noisily, then scolded them until they stopped disturbing Ye Fan.
• Uzuki Yugao's Shadow Clone reported to Hiruzen Sarutobi that Ye Fan had approached Naruto Uzumaki and might be targeting the Nine-Tails.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi was shocked by Uzuki Yugao's suspicion.

Hiruzen Sarutobi considered Uzuki Yugao’s warning that Ye Fan might know about the Nine-Tailed Fox, then dealt with his grandson Konohamaru’s demand to learn powerful ninjutsu so he could defeat Hanabi Hyuga. The tense discussion ended when Konohamaru used Sexy Jutsu, prompting Uzuki Yugao’s clone to disappear.

• Uzuki Yugao warned Hiruzen Sarutobi that Ye Fan’s Ninja Hound might have revealed Naruto Uzumaki’s secret, and she offered to monitor Ye Fan again.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Uzuki Yugao about Naruto Uzumaki, then Konohamaru arrived with Ebisu and demanded to learn powerful ninjutsu.
• Konohamaru said he wanted a technique as powerful as Naruto Uzumaki’s Multi Shadow Clone Technique so he could defeat Hanabi Hyuga.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Konohamaru that Hanabi Hyuga was confined to her home, and Konohamaru accused him of interfering and insisted he would defeat her himself.
• Konohamaru used Sexy Jutsu in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Uzuki Yugao, whose Shadow Clone promptly vanished.

Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame found that Ye Fan had sent Dark Shadow to deliver a sick-leave request instead of coming to training. Kurenai Yuhi read Ye Fan’s claim that he was too frightened to attend and decided to visit him after training.

• Kiba Inuzuka met Hinata Hyuga at the training grounds, and she said Senior Xiao no longer needed to escort her.
• Hinata Hyuga told Kiba Inuzuka she had another idea for her New Gentle Fist research and wanted Ye Fan’s advice.
• Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuga, and Shino Aburame waited for Ye Fan and Kurenai Yuhi, then learned from Dark Shadow’s letter that Ye Fan would miss training.
• Kiba Inuzuka told his teammates Ye Fan had a slight cold, though Dark Shadow had explained that Ye Fan was actually busy researching.
• Hinata Hyuga suggested visiting Ye Fan after training, and her teammates agreed.
• Kurenai Yuhi read Ye Fan’s note claiming he was too frightened to attend and decided to visit him after training.

Konohamaru went to the Hyuga Main House with Ise Udon and Kazematsuri Moegi to challenge Hanabi and prove he could defeat her. He used the Shadow Clone Technique, but Hanabi quickly destroyed his clones and held her fingers at his throat, defeating him again.

• Konohamaru told Ise Udon and Kazematsuri Moegi he planned to challenge Hanabi with a powerful ninjutsu he had learned.
• Konohamaru and his friends entered the Hyuga Main House estate and found Hanabi training with Hiashi nearby.
• Hanabi accepted Konohamaru's challenge after he insisted he could beat her.
• Konohamaru created three Shadow Clones and surrounded Hanabi.
• Hanabi destroyed the clones and pressed two fingers against Konohamaru's throat, declaring him defeated.

Hanabi Hyuga defeated Konohamaru with an unfamiliar sequence of movements, then learned that her confinement had been lifted. She set out with Ko Hyuga and Team 8 to visit Ye Fan, who was absent from training because he was sick.

• Hanabi Hyuga defeated Konohamaru before he could use the Shadow Clone Technique, leaving him dejected as he ran off with Kazematsuri Moegi and Ise Udon.
• Hyuga Hiashi questioned Hanabi Hyuga about her unfamiliar movements, but she refused to explain, and he allowed her to rest.
• Ko Hyuga told Hanabi Hyuga that her confinement had been lifted, and she asked him to take her to see Ye Fan.
• Hanabi Hyuga found Hinata Hyuga, who told her Ye Fan had taken sick leave, and Hinata offered to visit him with her.
• Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Kurenai Yuhi joined Hinata Hyuga and Hanabi Hyuga as they headed to Ye Fan's residence.

Ye Fan welcomed Kurenai Yuhi and the others to his residence while secretly building a casting table, then gave Hanabi Hyuga a chakra-rich white squirrel as a gift. Ko Hyuga used his Byakugan to inspect the creature and was shocked by what he saw.

• Ye Fan told Kurenai Yuhi he was building a stove, then warned her to tell him if anyone caused her trouble.
• Ye Fan revealed that the white Little Squirrel was a gift for Hanabi Hyuga, who happily accepted it.
• Ye Fan explained that Little Squirrel had chakra and could fight as well as an ordinary Genin.
• Ko Hyuga activated his Byakugan to inspect Little Squirrel and was stunned by its condition.

Ko Hyuga and Hinata Hyuga discovered that the Little Squirrel had an extraordinary amount of chakra, prompting Kurenai Yuhi to question Ye Fan about its origins. Hanabi Hyuga named the squirrel White Cloud and formed a mysterious bond with it, then insisted it belonged to her.

• Ko Hyuga and Hinata Hyuga examined the Little Squirrel and found that its chakra rivaled or exceeded that of a Jonin and Kurenai Yuhi.
• Kurenai Yuhi questioned Ye Fan about where he had found the squirrel, and he offered to take her there.
• Hanabi Hyuga accepted the Little Squirrel as her pet, named it White Cloud, and listened as Ye Fan secretly explained something to her.
• Hanabi Hyuga offered White Cloud a drop of her blood, and Ye Fan used the moment to complete the Blood Contract he had placed on it.
• Hanabi Hyuga sensed a connection with White Cloud and understood its chirps, while Ko Hyuga urged her to seek the clan head's approval.
• Hanabi Hyuga declared that White Cloud was hers and warned the others not to try to take it.