Chapter Summaries

Kurenai Yuhi accompanied Ye Fan to investigate the desolate place where he had found Little Squirrel, but discovered nothing unusual. After Ye Fan suggested the Hyuga Clan would investigate the pet themselves, Hanabi Hyuga headed back toward Ye Fan’s residence, trying to leave Ko Hyuga behind.

• Kurenai Yuhi and Ye Fan traveled to Little Squirrel’s den, where she found tracks but no other signs of anything suspicious.
• Kurenai Yuhi questioned Ye Fan about finding Little Squirrel and its chakra, but he offered little explanation.
• Ye Fan advised Kurenai Yuhi not to report Little Squirrel because the Hyuga Clan would investigate it, especially since Hanabi Hyuga cared for it.
• Hanabi Hyuga decided to return to Ye Fan’s residence, then suggested Ko Hyuga go home while she took a walk alone.
• Ko Hyuga realized Hanabi Hyuga wanted to slip away and visit Ye Fan.

Ye Fan welcomed Hanabi Hyuga and Ko Hyuga back to his courtyard, where Hanabi defended her independence and helped Ye Fan prepare materials for a crude pill furnace. Ye Fan then took Hanabi out to buy supplies on his Ninja Hound, leaving Ko Hyuga racing after them to protect her.

• Ye Fan returned to his courtyard with Hanabi Hyuga and Ko Hyuga, and Hanabi promised to care for her pet White Cloud.
• As Ye Fan worked on his furnace, he told Hanabi that becoming the Hyuga Clan head would limit her, and Hanabi insisted that her future was her own.
• Hanabi helped Ye Fan with the muddy mixture, while Ko Hyuga realized she had grown close to Ye Fan.
• Hanabi and Ye Fan left the courtyard on the Ninja Hound to buy supplies, despite Ko Hyuga's protests.
• Ko Hyuga chased after them and activated his Byakugan when the Ninja Hound sped out of sight.

Ko Hyuga searched for Ye Fan and Hanabi Hyuga but lost them after exhausting his Byakugan. Ye Fan and Hanabi went to a grilled skewer shop, where Asuma Sarutobi and Team 10 encountered them and questioned Ye Fan about skipping training.

• Ko Hyuga followed reports around Konoha until he spotted Ye Fan and Hanabi Hyuga at a weapons shop, but he arrived after they had left and could no longer track them with his Byakugan.
• Ye Fan and Hanabi Hyuga left the weapons shop and decided to get lunch on Food Street.
• Asuma Sarutobi took Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi, and Shikamaru Nara out for grilled skewers after their mission.
• Asuma Sarutobi recognized Ye Fan and Hanabi Hyuga riding together on the Ninja Hound and led Team 10 into the grilled skewer shop.
• Asuma Sarutobi asked Ye Fan why he was there instead of training and where his teacher was.

Ye Fan shared a meal with Asuma Sarutobi and Team 10, impressing them with his humor and explaining why his ninja hound had attacked Sasuke Uchiha. When Ino Yamanaka’s reaction put him at odds with the group, Hanabi Hyuga publicly declared that anyone who targeted Ye Fan would be her enemy.

• Ye Fan and Hanabi Hyuga joined Asuma Sarutobi and Team 10 for lunch and introduced themselves.
• Hanabi Hyuga explained the Ino-Shika-Cho alliance, and Ye Fan recounted how he passed his make-up exam against Neji Hyuga.
• Asuma Sarutobi told Team 10 that Ye Fan’s ninja hound had hospitalized Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sakura Haruno.
• Ye Fan explained that Sasuke had nearly killed Kiba Inuzuka, whom Ye Fan still considered his little brother, and warned against anyone seeking revenge.
• Hanabi Hyuga stood up for Ye Fan, declaring that anyone who targeted him would be her enemy, before Ye Fan soothed her and she sat down.

Ye Fan and Hanabi Hyuga left Asuma Sarutobi’s meal after Ye Fan warned Ino Yamanaka to learn more about Sasuke Uchiha and urged Asuma to prepare her for the truth about the Uchiha Incident. Asuma’s students discussed Ye Fan’s guarded nature and considered joint training with Team 8, until Ko Hyuga arrived searching for Hanabi and rushed off after learning she had left with Ye Fan.

• Hanabi Hyuga said she was full, and Ye Fan left the meal with her after warning Ino Yamanaka that she should learn what Sasuke Uchiha was really like.
• Ye Fan urged Asuma Sarutobi to speak with Ino about the Uchiha Incident, leaving Ino confused and Asuma concerned she might be hurt by her feelings for Sasuke.
• Shikamaru Nara told Asuma that Ye Fan seemed guarded, sharp, and as if he were assessing Asuma’s strength, and the group discussed arranging joint training with Team 8.
• Ko Hyuga arrived searching for Hanabi, learned she had left with Ye Fan, and hurried out in frustration.

Ye Fan trained Hanabi Hyuga in Thousand Mechanisms Pull and showed her how sensing energy and aura could reveal movements her Byakugan could not track. After Hanabi began to grasp this new perception, Ye Fan taught her Still Zen Meditation to help her sense natural energy.

• Hanabi Hyuga demonstrated her progress in Thousand Mechanisms Pull, and Ye Fan praised her before explaining how the technique guided qi and momentum.
• Ye Fan explained that Hanabi relied too heavily on her Byakugan and demonstrated how he could evade her vision by moving beyond what her eyes could perceive.
• At Ye Fan's guidance, Hanabi closed her eyes, calmed her breathing, and sensed a blurred vortex that let her catch traces of his movements.
• Ye Fan taught Hanabi Hyuga Still Zen Meditation, a modified cultivation method meant to help her sense the natural energy of heaven and earth.

Ye Fan guided Hanabi Hyuga through her first meditation, then sent her home with Ko Hyuga and rested. When he woke late at night, he discovered he had broken through to the Fourth Layer of the Beast-Taming Stage and awakened Beast Tongue.

• Ye Fan helped Hanabi Hyuga grasp Still Zen Meditation while her Little Squirrel played nearby.
• Ye Fan received a cartload of scrap metal, ores, and damaged weapons to refine into a crude pill furnace.
• Ko Hyuga arrived exhausted and found Hanabi meditating; she greeted him casually and went to Ye Fan to describe her experience.
• Ko Hyuga persuaded Hanabi to leave so Ye Fan could rest, and Ye Fan went to sleep after they departed.
• Ye Fan woke late at night, realized he had reached the Fourth Layer of the Beast-Taming Stage, and learned he had awakened Beast Tongue.

Ye Fan awakened Beast Tongue and broke through to the fourth layer of the Beast-Taming Stage, then built a pill furnace and used it to prepare Five-Colored Porridge. Kiba Inuzuka arrived with food from Hana Inuzuka and watched as Ye Fan served the glowing porridge.

• Ye Fan awoke after a few hours and found that he had advanced to the fourth layer of the Beast-Taming Stage, awakening the power of thought and greatly expanding his Detection Ability.
• Ye Fan concluded that using Soul Power and accumulating True Essence Power had helped trigger his breakthrough, then consolidated his cultivation.
• Ye Fan spent the night building a pill furnace from scrap materials and inscribed four low-grade auxiliary arrays into it.
• Ye Fan tasked Laiyun with fetching water and Dark Shadow with gathering firewood, then cooked Five-Colored Porridge in the furnace.
• Kiba Inuzuka arrived with a food box from Hana Inuzuka, and Ye Fan served the glowing porridge, captivating Kiba.

Ye Fan served Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru one bowl each of his medicinal Five-Colored Porridge, then promised to make more for them the next day. At Team 8’s training ground, Kiba relayed Ye Fan’s request for leave, leaving Kurenai Yuhi furious when she heard he might stay away for several days.

• Ye Fan gave Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru one bowl each of Five-Colored Porridge and explained that eating more could cause toxins to accumulate.
• Kiba enjoyed the porridge, asked for another bowl, and arranged with Ye Fan to return the next morning for more.
• Laiyun stopped Akamaru from licking Ye Fan’s bowl, and Kiba asked Ye Fan to prepare extra porridge for Akamaru the next day.
• Kiba arrived late at Team 8’s training ground and told Kurenai Yuhi that Ye Fan had asked him to request a day off.
• Kiba relayed Ye Fan’s question about how many days of leave Kurenai could approve and said Ye Fan might not come for the next few days, angering Kurenai.

Ye Fan refined Health-Replenishing Pills and Spirit-Transforming Pills, but the poor quality of his herbs and the strain on his furnace limited his work. Afterward, he searched the river with his sensing ability and found Water Creeper, which he could use to make beauty products and earn money.

• Ye Fan used the flawed pill furnace to refine dozens of Health-Replenishing Pills, which he judged to be low quality because the herbs lacked Spirit Power.
• Ye Fan refined twelve Spirit-Transforming Pills that were more effective than the ones Little Squirrel had eaten, along with several other common pills.
• Ye Fan stopped refining after using up his herbs and pushing the furnace to its limit, then went to gather more medicinal plants.
• Ye Fan searched the riverbed with Laiyun and Dark Shadow and discovered a thriving patch of Water Creeper that could help him make beauty products and earn income.

Ye Fan searched Konoha for a secluded place to help Laiyun master the Beast Mark, but paused to guide Naruto Uzumaki and enter his sealed space. After taking some of the Nine-Tailed Fox’s chakra and helping it recover, Ye Fan left it wondering what a cultivator was.

• Ye Fan detected Naruto Uzumaki practicing with Shadow Clones and found that he was trying to draw Laiyun to train his courage.
• Ye Fan agreed to guide Naruto Uzumaki and used Mind Multiplexing to enter the sealed space inside him.
• Ye Fan approached the wary Nine-Tailed Fox, which admitted that it did not want to resist him again.
• Ye Fan took some of the Nine-Tailed Fox’s chakra and gave it True Essence Power to help it recover.
• Ye Fan called himself a cultivator and vanished, leaving the Nine-Tailed Fox confused.

Ye Fan found a secluded underground space for Laiyun to master the Beast Mark, while Konoha’s leaders grew alarmed by the squirrel’s extraordinary chakra and sent Kurenai Yuhi to question Ye Fan. Kurenai reached his empty home, where Dark Shadow told her to “Wait like an idiot!”

• Ye Fan found a hidden space beneath an old tree and decided it would be suitable for Laiyun to master the Beast Mark.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Hyuga Hiashi questioned Kurenai Yuhi about the squirrel and learned that it had more chakra than most Jonin.
• Hyuga Hiashi suspected the squirrel might be an experiment created by Orochimaru, and Hiruzen ordered an investigation and asked him to speak with Hanabi.
• Kurenai Yuhi went to Ye Fan’s home but found him away, so she asked Dark Shadow to lead her to him.
• Dark Shadow brought Kurenai Yuhi two cards that read, “Wait like an idiot!”

Ye Fan met with Hiruzen Sarutobi and Hyuga Hiashi to discuss the Little Squirrel he had given Hanabi. He defended the gift and asked that the squirrel be returned to Hanabi after an investigation, then challenged Hiashi over how well he knew his daughter.

• Kurenai Yuhi told Ye Fan that Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to see him alongside Hanabi's father.
• Ye Fan gave Hiruzen Sarutobi an edited account of how he had found the Little Squirrel.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi warned Ye Fan that the squirrel had powerful chakra, and Ye Fan argued that its strength did not prove it was dangerous.
• Ye Fan agreed that the squirrel could be investigated but insisted it should not be killed before any danger was proven and should be returned to Hanabi afterward.
• Hyuga Hiashi challenged Ye Fan's claim that he knew Hanabi well, and Ye Fan retorted by asking how much Hiashi knew about his daughter.

Ye Fan discussed Hanabi Hyuga’s training and future with Hyuga Hiashi, then gave Hiruzen Sarutobi information about the squirrel. After returning home, Ye Fan teased Kurenai Yuhi about her relationship with Asuma Sarutobi, leaving her embarrassed.

• Hyuga Hiashi agreed to meet Ye Fan alone at the Hyuga residence the next day after Ye Fan said Hanabi Hyuga was being restricted by the clan.
• Ye Fan told Hiruzen Sarutobi that Dark Shadow said the squirrel had been experimented on and warned that it feared being confined and studied.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Ye Fan to have Dark Shadow question the squirrel and report back, then sent Ye Fan and Kurenai Yuhi away.
• Kurenai Yuhi questioned Ye Fan about the squirrel and Hanabi’s new fist technique, and Ye Fan said he had created the technique himself.
• Ye Fan gave Kurenai Yuhi beauty cream and revealed that Dark Shadow had smelled her scent on Asuma Sarutobi’s clothes, embarrassing her.

Ye Fan visited the Hyuga Clan and discussed Hanabi, the clan’s leadership, and a flaw in how the Main House controlled the Branch House. He offered Hyuga Hiashi suggestions, while Hanabi secretly watched their meeting and saw Ye Fan wink at her.

• Ye Fan arrived at the Hyuga Clan, reunited Hanabi with Dark Shadow and White Cloud, and went to meet Hyuga Hiashi.
• Hyuga Hiashi questioned Ye Fan about the technique he taught Hanabi and asked whether Hinata or Hanabi could lead the clan; Ye Fan said neither was suited.
• Ye Fan described the Main House’s control over the Branch House and pointed out that children born before receiving the Cursed Seal might inherit an unrestricted Byakugan.
• Hyuga Hiashi grew unsettled by Ye Fan’s observation, and Ye Fan offered to keep it secret and share suggestions for the clan.
• After waiting for over two hours, Hanabi activated her Byakugan to spy on the meeting, and Ye Fan noticed her and winked.

Ye Fan warned Hanabi that the Hokage might take White Cloud for investigation and promised to help get the squirrel back. To help Hanabi become stronger, he performed Body Tempering on her and upgraded the chakra in her body, leaving her to adjust to her transformed physique.

• Ye Fan told Hanabi that the Hokage might take White Cloud away because of its great chakra, and reassured her that he would find a way to get it back.
• Hanabi said she wanted to become stronger, and Ye Fan offered to temper her body with a painful potion.
• Hanabi drank the Body-Tempering Liquid and endured its effects while Ye Fan guided the energy through her body.
• Ye Fan had Hanabi release her chakra, then used purified chakra from a jade plaque and a Spirit-Transforming Pill to upgrade it.
• Hanabi woke after the process feeling changed and light, then noticed that foul-smelling liquid covered her body and some of Ye Fan's clothes.

Ye Fan persuaded Hiruzen Sarutobi to assign an influential escort and increase the reward for his search for the squirrel’s former holding place. Uzuki Yugao was assigned to accompany him, and the chapter ended with Ye Fan finally preparing to leave after eating and shopping, much to her frustration.

• Ye Fan brought White Cloud to Hiruzen Sarutobi and proposed following the squirrel to find where it had been held.
• Ye Fan asked for a capable, influential escort, a witness, and a mission reward, then negotiated ten times the C-rank reward if he found the experimental site.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Uzuki Yugao to accompany Ye Fan on the mission.
• Ye Fan stopped to eat at Ichiraku Ramen and shop for supplies while Uzuki Yugao waited impatiently.
• Ye Fan finally left the shop with a backpack and said he wanted to finish the mission quickly, further angering Uzuki Yugao.

Ye Fan and Uzuki Yugao entered the dangerous Bone-Burying Forest on a special mission, passing its guards with Uzuki Yugao’s token. Ye Fan repeatedly stopped to collect plants and mushrooms, leaving Uzuki Yugao increasingly irritated as they continued into the forest.

• Uzuki Yugao warned Ye Fan about the Bone-Burying Forest, but he said he had come to confirm something there.
• Five ninja blocked their path, and Ye Fan claimed they had Hokage authorization before Uzuki Yugao showed her token and gained them entry.
• Ye Fan collected seeds from a rare medicinal herb called Three-Leaf Green and declined to explain its uses to Uzuki Yugao.
• Ye Fan stopped again to gather spotted mushrooms, claiming they looked nice rather than being mission clues, and Uzuki Yugao grew angry.

Uzuki Yugao wondered why the forest’s venomous insects avoided Ye Fan, who said he had made repellent powder. After Dark Shadow and Little Squirrel led them to an injured mother bear, Ye Fan began treating it, leaving Uzuki Yugao stunned by how readily the cubs and bear trusted him.

• Ye Fan gathered herbs while Uzuki Yugao grew impatient with his slow progress through the forest.
• Uzuki Yugao noticed that venomous insects and mosquitoes had mostly avoided them, and Ye Fan explained that he had made repellent powder.
• A beast’s roars drew Dark Shadow and Little Squirrel away, and Ye Fan and Uzuki Yugao followed them to a dead venomous python and a poisoned mother bear.
• Two bear cubs guarded their mother, but they approached Ye Fan and seemed to beg him for help.
• Ye Fan determined that the bear had been bitten by a venomous snake and gave it three pills, while Uzuki Yugao watched in shock.

Ye Fan sold Yuugao Uzuki two Antidote Pills after using one to save a poisoned mother bear. As they continued through the forest, he detected a special liquid ahead and wondered which department had left it there.

• Ye Fan gave the poisoned black bear an Antidote Pill, and the bear recovered enough to leave with its cubs.
• Yuugao Uzuki bought two Antidote Pills from Ye Fan for two hundred thousand ryo so she could study them.
• Ye Fan and Yuugao Uzuki continued through the forest, following a route he had secretly set with the little squirrel.
• Ye Fan stopped near the forest’s exit after detecting a special liquid scattered ahead and asked Yuugao Uzuki which department might be responsible.