Chapter Summaries

Qian fought the Mist Ninja fleet, using his Chakra Wings and ninjutsu to evade attacks and destroy a warship. With the ballistae switching volleys to limit his movements, he abandoned his next attack and focused on dodging.

• Qian dodged Osawa Yuki’s attacks, countered with fire and wind techniques, and wounded two Mist Ninja.
• A Mist Ninja fired a crossbow bolt from a ballista, and others revealed the fleet’s remaining ballistae and began firing at Qian.
• Qian evaded the barrage and flew toward the fleet’s eastern side, where he forced a Mist Village Jonin away from a warship.
• Qian destroyed a Mist Village warship with fire techniques, then saw the ballistae preparing alternating volleys to trap him.
• Qian gave up on attacking the next warship and concentrated on dodging the incoming bolts.

Qian repeatedly attacked the Kirigakure fleet to pressure the Mist Ninja and exhaust their ballista bolts, helping force Osawa Yuki to order a retreat. Sano Nobuhisa declined to pursue, and Qian sent a Shadow Clone to follow the fleet while he returned to training.

• Qian dodged the ballista volleys, attacked the fleet, and withdrew before the Mist Ninja could trap him.
• Qian repeated his attacks to deplete Kirigakure's ballista bolts, and Osawa Yuki recognized his strategy but could find no effective counter.
• After confirming that Black Stone Outpost could not be captured, Osawa Yuki ordered the Mist Ninja to retreat.
• Sano Nobuhisa chose not to pursue after learning the condition of the surviving Leaf ninja.
• Sano Nobuhisa ordered Qian to follow the retreating fleet, so Qian sent a Shadow Clone and resumed his training.

After returning to Black Stone Outpost, Qian learned that the main fighting continued at a breach on the Southern Defense Line and used the quiet night to practice Earth Release: Hardening Technique. He imprinted the technique onto his panel and raised it to level 2 before running out of Chakra and going to sleep.

• Qian absorbed his Shadow Clone's memories and learned from Sano Nobuhisa that the Southern Defense Line breach remained contested and their unit might be called to support it.
• Qian created two Shadow Clones to practice Earth Release: Hardening Technique while he trained his body and Sharingan.
• Qian successfully imprinted Earth Release: Hardening Technique onto his panel and used five Shadow Clones to raise it to level 1.
• Qian tested the technique against a kunai, then raised it to level 2 and found that its defense and casting speed had improved.
• Qian stopped training after his Chakra ran low and went to sleep.

Qian tried to learn the Sealing Array so he could store the reagent bottle containing the Byakugan, but discovered that he lacked the necessary perception of space. He sent a shadow clone to exchange for a Storage Scroll, hoping it would help him gain that perception, and the clone returned with it.

• Qian exchanged merit points for a Sealing Array and set out to learn it so he could seal away the reagent bottle containing the Byakugan.
• After several hours of practice, Qian failed to engrave the Sealing Array onto his Status Panel, though his Earth Release: Hardening Technique advanced to lv3.
• Qian read that sensing space was essential to learning the Sealing Array and realized he could not use the Status Panel to bypass that requirement.
• Qian sent a shadow clone to Black Stone Outpost to exchange for a Storage Scroll, hoping its sealing and release would help him sense space.
• While waiting, Qian practiced the Mystical Palm Technique and the Mind Reflection Technique, and noted that his Wind Release: Wind Wings was nearing advancement.
• The shadow clone returned with the Storage Scroll after the exchange was approved by the higher-ups.

Qian learned the Sealing Array, gained a vague sense of space, and used a sealing scroll to store the Byakugan. He divided his Shadow Clones among several skills before focusing on the Mystical Palm Technique and Mind Reflection Technique.

• Qian opened the sealing scroll, sensed the space it briefly revealed, and unlocked the Sealing Array on his proficiency panel.
• Qian trained the Sealing Array with Shadow Clones until it reached entry level and discovered he could vaguely sense the surrounding space.
• Qian sealed the Byakugan inside the scroll and decided to devote more time to the Mystical Palm Technique and Mind Reflection Technique.
• Qian assigned ten Shadow Clones to practice selected ninjutsu and techniques, then began training his body and Sharingan.

Qian monitored the Mist Ninja in Flying Fish Town overnight while training at Reef Beach, then returned to Black Stone Outpost to report and sleep. After waking, he planned to resume training, but a knock at his door interrupted him.

• Qian added Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall to his panel and planned to focus his chakra on Earth Release: Hardening Technique.
• Qian flew to Flying Fish Town, observed the Mist Ninja’s defenses, and then left without approaching the town.
• Qian sent a shadow clone to monitor the Mist Ninja while he trained with ten other shadow clones at Reef Beach through the night.
• Qian confirmed that the Mist Ninja had made no unusual moves, returned to Black Stone Outpost, and had a clone submit his mission report.
• Qian ate, slept through the morning, and woke planning to train before someone knocked at his door.

Qian was summoned to Command Headquarters after Mist Ninja forces advanced from Flying Fish Town by land and sea. Sano Nobuhisa proposed striking first, and the meeting weighed the plan's risks before the chapter ended with the danger of being trapped between both enemy forces.

• Nakagawa Ichiro told Qian that the Mist Ninja in Flying Fish Town were making a move, and Qian hurried to Command Headquarters.
• Sano Nobuhisa reported that the Mist Ninja had split into land and sea forces and could reach the outpost within three hours.
• Sano Nobuhisa proposed taking the initiative, prompting a debate over abandoning the outpost's defensive advantage to ambush the enemy.
• Qian asked about the enemy's numbers and strength, and Sano Nobuhisa said their numbers matched the previous attack but their ranks had fewer Chunin and Jonin.
• The group considered targeting one enemy force first, but recognized that a prolonged battle could let the other force attack the outpost and cut off their retreat.

The stronghold decided to attack the approaching Mist Ninja by land while sending a smaller team to harass their fleet. Qian joined Hyuga Kaede’s scouting squad, learned the enemy’s location and route, then flew ahead to monitor them.

• The meeting decided to send two-thirds of the stronghold’s manpower against the Mist Ninja approaching overland, while the rest guarded the stronghold or harassed the enemy fleet.
• Sano Nobuhisa assigned Qian to the land operation, and Qian flew to rendezvous with Hyuga Kaede’s scouting squad.
• Qian followed Kikaichū signals to the squad’s hiding place and met Hyuga Kaede, an Aburame Clan ninja, a Civilian Ninja, and a Yamanaka Clan ninja.
• Hyuga Kaede showed Qian the Mist Ninja’s position and their planned route from Flying Fish Town.
• Qian memorized the terrain, told the squad to continue its mission, and flew ahead to scout the Mist Ninja.

Qian tracked the Mist Ninja toward a valley chosen for an ambush, while using shadow clones to train Earth Release: Hardening Technique. After it reached lv4, he tested its improved defense and flew toward the approaching battle.

• Qian spotted the Mist Ninja and decided the valley ahead was a suitable ambush site if Sano Nobuhisa and the others arrived in time.
• Qian left a shadow clone to continue aerial reconnaissance and trained Earth Release: Hardening Technique with five other clones.
• As the Mist Ninja entered the forest, Qian relayed their movements to Hyuga Kaede and the others, who monitored and reported the enemy's progress.
• Qian received word that the Mist Ninja were nearing the valley, dispelled his clones, and absorbed their training experience.
• Qian advanced Earth Release: Hardening Technique to lv4 and found that it could stop a kunai, though it reduced his agility and took seconds to activate.
• Qian used Wind Release: Wind Wings and flew toward the valley.

Sano Nobuhisa used scattered Leaf squads to make Yasuda Akigiku believe the valley held only a small force, drawing the Mist force into an ambush despite their lost scout team. The Mist entered the valley confident they could withstand any attack, while the chapter left open whether they could hold out long enough for reinforcements.

• Yasuda Akigiku halted the Mist force after learning its scout team had missed its scheduled report.
• Yasuda Akigiku sent six squads in three directions to investigate, and an Exploding Tag detonated in the forest.
• Sano Nobuhisa had Yamanaka Aoi tell the Leaf squads to hide most of their forces and use a few shinobi to mislead the Mist probes.
• Yasuda Akigiku confirmed that only a few Leaf squads seemed to be inside the valley and ordered the Mist force onward.
• Sano Nobuhisa relied on Qian's strength to make the ambush succeed, while Yasuda Akigiku assumed his force could hold out until reinforcements arrived.

During the battle in the valley, Qian joined the Leaf ambush and targeted a Mist Village Special Jonin, Hasegawa Ichiro. Qian wounded him and pressed the attack, but Hasegawa escaped the final blow with the Substitution Technique.

• Yasuda Akigiku split the Mist force across the valley and ordered a report sent to the force advancing by sea before reinforcing the flanks.
• Qian arrived at the battle, dispelled his Shadow Clone, and learned that Sano Nobuhisa wanted him to target the enemy’s strongest fighters.
• Qian spotted Hasegawa Ichiro fighting a Leaf Jonin and dove in to attack him.
• Hasegawa dodged Qian’s opening attacks, but Qian wounded his shoulder and cut his face during their sword fight.
• Qian drove Hasegawa against a tree, but Hasegawa used the Substitution Technique to escape Qian’s descending blade.

Qian killed Hasegawa Ichiro with his sword and Rasengan, then joined a Leaf Village Jonin against Ito Shohei. When two Mist Village Jonin arrived to reinforce Ito, Qian engaged them and gained the upper hand.

• Qian used Sharingan genjutsu and Rasengan to wound Hasegawa Ichiro, then cut his throat and killed him.
• Qian rushed to help a Leaf Village Jonin, and together they cornered Ito Shohei.
• Qian wounded Ito Shohei and left him to the Leaf Village Jonin when two Mist Village Jonin came to assist.
• Qian fought both reinforcements with his swordsmanship and Sharingan, forcing one back with genjutsu and badly striking the other despite taking a shoulder wound.

Qian defeated Shimizu Kenta and surveyed the battle, realizing that the Leaf Village had to win quickly to prevent Mist reinforcements from trapping them. He left the treetop to help another Leaf Village Jonin, relying on the lack of free Mist Jonin to fight without being surrounded.

• Qian fought two Mist Village jonin, wounded one, and gained the upper hand over the other.
• Qian exploited Shimizu Kenta’s opening and slashed his throat with a Wind Style Chakra-enhanced blade, leaving him to die.
• Qian climbed a tree and saw that the Leaf Village held the advantage, but the battle remained a chaotic melee.
• Qian recognized that a prolonged fight could let Mist reinforcements overwhelm Black Stone Outpost and attack the Leaf forces from both sides.
• Qian jumped down and charged toward another Mist Village Jonin fighting a Leaf Village Jonin.

Qian’s attacks turned the battle against Kirigakure by killing several of its jonin, and he joined Uchiha Shisui against Kaguya Kotaro. The chapter ended with Qian and Shisui evading Kotaro’s spinning bone attack while waiting for his burst of strength to fade.

• Qian killed a Kirigakure jonin, who detonated an Exploding Tag as Qian and another Leaf Village Jonin retreated from the blast.
• Qian’s earlier kills freed Leaf Village Jonin to support one another and pushed Kirigakure’s forces toward collapse.
• Qian spotted Uchiha Shisui fighting Kaguya Kotaro and joined the battle, forcing Kotaro to face two Sharingan users.
• Kaguya Kotaro took a slash from Shisui and unleashed the Dance of the Larch, spinning his bone spurs at Qian and Shisui.
• Qian and Shisui used Body Flicker to evade Kotaro’s pursuit and waited for his powerful outburst to end.

Qian and Uchiha Shisui teamed up to overwhelm Kaguya Kotaro after his stamina faltered. They killed him, while Qian learned an upgraded Fire Release technique that broke through its previous level cap.

• Uchiha Shisui attacked Kaguya Kotaro as soon as he stopped using Dance of the Larch, and Qian followed up from behind.
• Kaguya Kotaro blocked Qian’s blade with Bone Armor, but the defense drained his Chakra and left him vulnerable to Uchiha Shisui’s Great Dragon Fire Technique.
• Qian learned Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique by watching Uchiha Shisui, then retreated before the fire dragons struck Kaguya Kotaro.
• Qian and Uchiha Shisui pressed their attacks, badly burning and injuring Kaguya Kotaro, but he charged them again with two bone swords.
• Qian locked blades with Kaguya Kotaro while Uchiha Shisui used the Body Flicker Technique to stab him through the back and heart.
• Qian slashed Kaguya Kotaro’s carotid artery, and Kaguya Kotaro bled out and collapsed.

After Qian and Uchiha Shisui helped rout the Mist Village’s Jonin, Yasuda Akigiku ordered Plan B, sacrificing part of his force to cover a retreat. The main group escaped through the valley toward Black Stone Outpost, where they intended to join another Mist squad and attack the Leaf’s outpost.

• Qian and Uchiha Shisui joined the fight against the Mist Village Jonin, turning the battle into a rout after Kaguya Kotaro’s death.
• Yasuda Akigiku blamed Qian and the Leaf’s unexpected strength for ruining his plan to stall for time.
• Yasuda Akigiku ordered Yokoyama Yukio to relay Plan B, a last-resort withdrawal in which some Mist Ninja would hold off the Leaf pursuit.
• After fifteen minutes of preparation, a whistle signaled the Mist Ninja to retreat while others launched intense attacks to cover them.
• Yasuda Akigiku led the retreating Mist Ninja toward Black Stone Outpost to rendezvous with another squad and attack the outpost.

After the Mist Ninja force headed toward the stronghold, Sano Nobuhisa sent Qian to monitor and delay them while reinforcements followed. Qian harassed the force briefly, then flew to Black Stone Outpost to check whether another Mist squad had arrived.

• Sano Nobuhisa asked Qian to track the Mist Ninja and stall them if they attacked the stronghold, explaining that two squads were already following them.
• Qian agreed, used Wind Release: Wind Wings to fly after the Mist Ninja, and contacted Yamanaka Aoi, who was with the pursuing Konoha squads.
• Qian repeatedly feinted toward the Mist formation, slowing it briefly before Yasuda Akigiku ordered his troops to resume their pace.
• Qian stopped trying to disrupt the formation and flew toward Black Stone Outpost to check on the other Mist squad from Flying Fish Town.
• Yasuda Akigiku abandoned his plan to surprise-attack Black Stone Outpost and decided to rendezvous with Captain Osawa.
• Qian reached Black Stone Outpost after more than ten minutes of flight.

Qian reached Black Stone Outpost, warned Senmu Zheyi that surviving Mist Ninja were approaching, and then flew out to scout the enemy fleet. Finding the fleet still advancing while its forces fought Sano Nobuhisa’s harassment squad, Qian launched an attack to rescue the Konoha ninja and create an opening against the Mist Ninja.

• Qian told Senmu Zheyi that the ambush had succeeded, Sano Nobuhisa was returning, and escaped Mist Ninja were heading toward Black Stone Outpost.
• Qian shared what he knew about Yasuda Akigiku’s group and warned Senmu Zheyi to prepare for the approaching enemy forces.
• Qian flew toward the sea to locate the second Mist Ninja squad and check whether Sano Nobuhisa’s harassment team had slowed it down.
• Qian found Mist Ninja surrounding several Konoha ninja while their fleet continued toward Black Stone Outpost.
• Qian dove toward the battlefield, threw shuriken to make a Mist Chunin dodge, and began casting Fire Release: Fire Dragon Technique.

Qian joined the battle between the Leaf ninja and Mist Village shinobi, killing two Chunin and using Shadow Clones to turn the fight in the Leaf’s favor. He trapped Mist Village Jonin Akasaka Yosuke with a coordinated attack and struck him with Wind Style: Rasenshuriken.

• Qian killed a Mist Village Chunin with Fire Release: Fire Dragon Technique, then cut down another with his blade and Illusion Sword Technique.
• Qian summoned four Shadow Clones, sending two to delay the Mist reinforcements while he and the others attacked nearby Mist shinobi.
• Qian worked with a Leaf Special Jonin to force a Mist Village Jonin, Akasaka Yosuke, to retreat into a Shadow Clone’s Wind Style: Wind Blade.
• Qian appeared before Akasaka Yosuke and hit him with Wind Style: Rasenshuriken, enveloping him in its chakra sphere.

Qian and a Konoha Special Jonin fought Omura Ken together, using their coordination to break through his defense. Qian’s Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique injured Omura Ken, leaving him disheveled as the battle continued.

• Qian killed a Mist Village jonin, then attacked Omura Ken with a Konoha Special Jonin at his side.
• Omura Ken focused on blocking and evading Qian’s attacks until the Special Jonin joined the fight and took the main attacker’s position.
• Qian used his Sharingan to read Omura Ken’s movements and spotted an opening when Omura Ken blocked the Special Jonin’s counterattack.
• Qian’s Flash Sword Technique forced Omura Ken to dodge, allowing the Special Jonin to wound his right arm.
• Omura Ken raised a Water Formation Wall against Qian’s Fire Release, but Qian’s three fire dragons circled around it and injured him.