Chapter Summaries

Qian reviewed his skill progress and finalized his training plans before leading his battalion toward Aburatsu Port. The coordinated assault was meant to draw Kirigakure’s attention while a jonin team carried out a secret decapitation strike.

• Qian noted Shadow Clone Technique and Wind Release: Wind Wings were nearing lv6, and planned to invest more chakra in Chakra Scalpel.
• Kobayashi Shunji reported that the personnel had assembled, and Qian ordered the battalion to advance toward Aburatsu Port.
• Kobayashi Shunji questioned whether Qian was ordering an attack on Kirigakure’s Main Camp, and Qian said other allied forces would move at the same time.
• Kobayashi Shunji relayed Qian’s order, and the battalion set out as dozens of other units converged on Aburatsu Port.

Qian’s team stopped advancing toward Aburatsu Port and fought the Mist Ninja to throw the battlefield into chaos, allowing Konoha’s decapitation operation to proceed. Namikaze Minato transported Qian to a gathering point for the operation, where Qian realized his heightened senses might let him learn the Flying Thunder God Technique.

• After Kobayashi Shunji asked whether they should keep advancing, Qian ordered the team to stop and defend their position against the Mist Ninja.
• Qian used a Kunai marked by Namikaze Minato and waited for the planned decapitation operation while Konoha command teams moved in to direct the fighting.
• Namikaze Minato arrived, grabbed Qian, and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to transport him away.
• Qian noticed he could sense the spatial changes during the transfer and concluded he could likely learn the Flying Thunder God Technique if he obtained its cultivation method.
• Namikaze Minato left, and Qian turned toward several people already gathered nearby.

Qian watched Namikaze Minato assemble a powerful force of Konoha clan leaders and elite ninja for the mission against Kirigakure's Main Camp. After gathering more than fifty people, Minato took command and assigned their tasks, while Qian realized Sarutobi Hiruzen was positioning him as a successor.

• Qian recognized Aburame Shibi and the Aburame ninja, while Shibi sensed Qian's hidden strength and warned his clan to watch him and move toward him if danger arose.
• Namikaze Minato brought Uchiha Shisui to the gathering, and Qian inferred that Shisui had not yet awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Minato teleported in clan leaders and elite ninja from across Konoha, leaving his Chakra greatly depleted and assembling a force of more than fifty people.
• Qian realized the village had committed heavily to the operation and judged that strengthening the unit as a whole could justify Minato's reduced combat strength.
• Namikaze Minato reiterated the mission plan and assigned tasks as the operation's commander, while Qian understood that Sarutobi Hiruzen was preparing Minato to succeed him as Hokage.

Konoha’s three assault groups broke through Kirigakure’s defenses at Aburatsu Port and advanced toward the command headquarters. Qian judged that the Decapitation Mission was likely to succeed as the Mist Ninja struggled to defend their headquarters and could not get reinforcements.

• Namikaze Minato led the Leaf forces to Aburatsu Port, while Uchiha Fugaku refused support and sent the Uchiha group to attack alone.
• Akimichi Choza, Nara Shikaku, and Yamanaka Inoichi combined their techniques to break the central defense, while Hyuga Hiashi’s group and the Uchiha also overwhelmed defenders on their fronts.
• The three groups entered Aburatsu Port and charged toward the Mist Village Command Headquarters.
• The Mist headquarters ordered its personnel to consolidate their defenses and called outside forces back, but Konoha’s command squad pinned down the Mist Ninja on the battlefield.
• Qian considered why Uchiha Madara had not revealed their plan and concluded that the Decapitation Mission should succeed.

Qian slaughtered several Mist Village shinobi using his sword, Sharingan genjutsu, shuriken, and Fire Release. After Yoshino Tsukasa attacked him, Qian met him head-on, and their weapons clashed.

• Qian used Flash Sword Technique to kill two wounded Mist Village shinobi and attacked another.
• Qian trapped a Mist Village Chunin with Sharingan genjutsu, then killed him with a concealed shuriken while Yoshino Tsukasa blocked two visible ones.
• Kojima Shinrai attacked Qian with Lightning Whips, but Qian broke them with Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique and drove him back.
• Yoshino Tsukasa charged at Qian to avenge his companion, and Qian drew his sword to meet him.
• Qian and Yoshino Tsukasa clashed their long sword and kunai, sending sparks flying.

Qian fought Mist Ninja at the Mist Village Command Headquarters, killing Yoshino Tsukasa and badly wounding Kojima Shinrai before more enemies intervened. He surveyed the battle and realized the Leaf ninja might face reinforcements if the assault failed to capture the headquarters quickly.

• Yoshino Tsukasa shut his eyes to avoid Qian’s Sharingan genjutsu, but Qian pressed the attack and cut open his chest.
• Kojima Shinrai launched compressed lightning balls, and Qian dodged them before striking Yoshino Tsukasa with a Wind Blade that killed him.
• Kojima Shinrai tried to flee, but Qian wounded him with his sword and a Rasengan, leaving him near death.
• More Mist Ninja surrounded Qian, so he abandoned the finishing blow and leapt onto a nearby roof.
• Qian surveyed the battle and saw the Leaf ninja outnumbered, while warning that returning Mist reinforcements could endanger them if the headquarters assault dragged on.

Qian repelled successive attacks from the Mist Ninja while Namikaze Minato and his team broke through to the Mist Village's Command Headquarters. When an opening let Qian escape the encirclement, he unleashed a series of attacks and wiped out the remaining Mist Ninja around him.

• Qian blew back a barrage of poisoned and explosive kunai with Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, then leaped into the Mist Ninja ranks and slaughtered them.
• Namikaze Minato and the others broke through the Mist Village's final defenses and reached its Command Headquarters as Qian prepared for another wave of enemies.
• Qian reflected that the battle would likely conceal the White Zetsu impostors and prevent the village from uncovering how its intelligence had leaked.
• After a nearby explosion forced the Mist Ninja to retreat, Qian escaped their encirclement and used Earth Release: Hardening Technique to withstand their kunai.
• Qian attacked with Fire Release techniques and explosive kunai, then used his blade to finish off the wounded Mist Ninja; two minutes later, the field was silent.

Qian spotted Mist Ninja reinforcements approaching Aburatsu Port and realized the Leaf force risked being surrounded if it did not withdraw soon. He agreed with Namikaze Minato to hold them off while the battle at Command Headquarters ended, then flew out to intercept the reinforcements.

• Qian saw a squad of Mist Ninja arriving from the defensive lines outside Aburatsu Port and warned Namikaze Minato that more reinforcements could follow.
• Namikaze Minato told Qian the Leaf force would finish its battle within five minutes and ordered him to follow the third retreat plan.
• Qian estimated he could hold off the Mist Ninja for ten minutes and flew toward them using Wind Release: Wind Wings.
• Yoshida Hideo recognized Qian and led his team in casting Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique to conceal their movements as they advanced.

Qian broke through the Mist Ninja’s concealment with powerful wind and fire techniques, then attacked Yoshida Hideo to draw two Special Jonin away from the Mist Village Command Headquarters. With the two Special Jonin now confronting him, Qian had achieved his goal of keeping them from affecting the battle at the headquarters.

• Qian blew apart the Mist Ninja’s white mist and scattered their force with a massive Great Fireball.
• Qian pursued Yoshida Hideo from the air, dodged his thrown Kunai, and wounded him with repeated fire ninjutsu.
• Two Mist Village Special Jonin came to Yoshida Hideo’s aid, and one used adhesive Water Release attacks that Qian avoided.
• Qian drove Kawada Koji back with a Wind Blade, then held off from pressing the three Mist Ninja now gathered before him.

Qian fought Yoshida Hideo, Kawada Koji, and another Mist Village Special Jonin to prevent them from reaching the Mist Village Command Headquarters. After seriously injuring Kawada Koji, he was interrupted by two more Mist Village Jonin as a large unit of reinforcements arrived.

• Yoshida Hideo and the other two Special Jonin tried to rush toward the Mist Village Command Headquarters, but Qian intercepted them with Fire Release attacks and forced them into close combat.
• Qian deflected the three Special Jonin's kunai attack and used explosions to block their escape routes before fighting them with his sword.
• Qian used a feint to expose Kawada Koji and struck him with a Rasengan, seriously injuring him.
• Yoshida Hideo and the remaining Special Jonin protected Kawada Koji, while Qian sensed their fear and attacked again.
• A kunai from a newly arrived Jonin interrupted Qian as he was about to injure a second opponent, and two Jonin joined Yoshida Hideo as a large Mist Ninja unit approached.

Qian used four shadow clones to hold back nearly a hundred Mist Ninja while he fought Yoshida Hideo and three other Mist Village jonin. The Mist forces were delayed, and Qian remained able to withstand the jonin’s encirclement.

• Qian decided he could not let the incoming Mist Ninja reach the central battlefield and created four shadow clones.
• Yoshida Hideo realized Qian was buying time and ordered the others to stop him, but Qian raised an Earth Flow Wall to protect the clones.
• The shadow clones used Wind Wings to fly over the Mist Ninja and struck them with four Great Fireballs, setting a wide area ablaze and killing several ninja.
• The surviving Mist Ninja began defending and counterattacking, while the shadow clones kept them occupied.
• Qian fought off Yoshida Hideo and three other Mist Village jonin, blocking their attacks and finding chances to counterattack.

Qian fought off Yoshida Hideo’s group while Mist Ninja reinforcements arrived, then withdrew after Namikaze Minato ordered the surviving Leaf shinobi to gather for a breakout. The chapter ended with the final survivors assembled and Yamanaka Inoichi confirming they could begin escaping.

• Qian wounded one Mist Village Special Jonin badly enough to remove him from the fight, but a Shadow Clone warned that a third group of Mist Ninja was approaching.
• Qian sent two Shadow Clones to delay the reinforcements, and they held them back until the clones were killed as the Mist Ninja reached Aburatsu Port.
• Yamanaka Inoichi relayed Namikaze Minato’s order to execute the third retreat plan, and Qian broke away from Yoshida Hideo’s group.
• Two Shadow Clones blocked the pursuing Mist Ninja while Qian rescued several Leaf shinobi and led them to the gathering point.
• Qian reunited with Namikaze Minato and the other survivors, and Yamanaka Inoichi announced that everyone left had gathered and they could break out.

Namikaze Minato’s group escaped Aburatsu Port but discovered that Mist Ninja had surrounded them and set up a defensive line along the shortest route to the Konoha defense zone. With Qian scouting from the sky, Minato chose to force their way through the checkpoint before reinforcements arrived.

• Namikaze Minato ordered Hyuga Hiashi to find a gap in the Mist Ninja encirclement while Inoichi and Shibi supported him.
• Hyuga Hiashi guided the group through searches and blockades until they escaped Aburatsu Port, but then warned that they might be surrounded.
• Qian flew up, spotted the Mist Ninja encirclement, and guided Minato’s group toward the area with the fewest enemies.
• Qian’s flight misled some Mist Ninja, while Minato’s group advanced under Hiashi’s Byakugan and avoided scattered enemy teams.
• Qian spotted a Mist Ninja defensive line ahead on the route to the Konoha defense zone, and Minato ordered the group to break through it head-on.

Akimichi Choza used the Spinach Pill and his Spiky Human Bullet Tank technique to break into the Mist Village defensive line, while Namikaze Minato and the other Leaf jonin engaged the Mist jonin. Qian attacked from the sky to keep the lower-ranked Mist ninja in disarray as the battle began.

• Akimichi Choza took the Spinach Pill, wrapped himself in kunai-studded steel wire, and charged toward the Mist Village defensive line as a Spiky Human Bullet Tank.
• A Mist jonin blocked Choza with an Earth Flow Wall, but Choza went over it and tore through the Mist formation, spreading panic and inflicting heavy casualties.
• Namikaze Minato and nearly twenty Leaf jonin reached the defensive line and clashed with the Mist jonin.
• Qian stayed airborne and used ninjutsu to disrupt the lower- and mid-ranked Mist ninja, preventing them from joining the fight.

Qian and Akimichi Choza helped Namikaze Minato’s group break through the Mist Village’s defensive line and escape into the forest. After returning to the Konoha Camp, they learned that they would rest briefly before rejoining the ongoing front-line battle.

• Qian attacked the Mist Ninja from the air while Akimichi Choza helped keep their lower- and mid-ranked fighters from joining the battle.
• Qian spotted an approaching Mist Ninja squad and used the Telepathy Technique to warn Namikaze Minato, who ordered the clan heads to clear the way.
• Namikaze Minato and the other Leaf ninja suppressed the Mist Jōnin and broke through the defensive line, while Akimichi Choza and Qian followed into the forest.
• Mist Ninja pursued them into the forest but triggered traps and explosions, forcing them to abandon the chase.
• Namikaze Minato’s group evaded further traps with help from the Hyuga clan ninja and reached the Konoha Camp before three in the morning.
• Nara Akimitsu explained that the group would rest briefly before returning to the ongoing battle, and Qian silently recovered his Chakra.

Qian joined the battle as a stabilizing force, coordinated Konoha troops to drive the Mist Ninja back to Aburatsu Port, and stopped the advance after a night of heavy fighting. At sunrise, Uchiha Shisui reminded him to report the results to Command Headquarters, and they left for the meeting.

• Qian arrived at the battlefield and saved Kobayashi Shunji from a Mist Village Chunin's sneak attack.
• Qian confirmed that Kobayashi Shunji had received orders, then gathered nearby Leaf forces to attack the Mist Ninja.
• Qian and the other commanders coordinated Konoha's forces, which recaptured the territory lost over the past two-plus months.
• The Mist Ninja regrouped at Aburatsu Port, and Qian halted the pursuit as both sides needed to recover.
• At sunrise, Uchiha Shisui reminded Qian to report the battle's results, and they headed to Command Headquarters.

Three days after the Decapitation Mission, Kirigakure remained quiet while Qian stayed at the battlefield and trained. He learned Water Release: Water Severing Wave, but his attempt to develop Lightning Release Chakra remained unsuccessful.

• Kirigakure made no attacks and retreated inside Aburatsu Port, so Nara Akimitsu kept the transferred jonin on guard and Qian remained at the battlefield.
• Qian received the Water Release: Water Severing Wave scroll in exchange for village merit and assigned a shadow clone to study it.
• Qian sent shadow clones to train his other skills and research Lightning Release Chakra, which his body seemed to resist developing.
• After hours of training, Qian raised Water Release: Water Severing Wave to lv1 and used it to cut through a large tree.
• Qian found that Lightning Release Chakra was still undeveloped and continued practicing the Shadow Clone Technique, postponing its next advance until tomorrow.

Qian advanced his Shadow Clone Technique to lv6, gaining more clones and the ability to create flying clones while airborne. After testing their flight, he considered resuming development of his Shadow Sword Technique and looked toward Aburatsu Port for more chakra.

• Qian advanced his Shadow Clone Technique to lv6, increasing his maximum number of clones from twenty to thirty and reducing its chakra cost.
• Qian created a shadow clone while flying with Wind Release: Wind Wings, confirming the clone could also fly.
• Qian tested the clone's flight and found it could use Wind Release: Wind Wings as effectively as he could, but consumed chakra at roughly three times the rate.
• Qian began replenishing his chakra and considered developing the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique as the basis for his Shadow Sword Technique.
• Qian looked toward Aburatsu Port and considered making the Mist Ninja there suffer again.

Qian practiced Wind Release: Wind Wings, the Mystical Palm Technique, and the Mind Reflection Technique while tracking his physical growth and Mangekyō Sharingan progress. After a shadow clone secretly drained a Mist Village patrol for chakra, Qian sent out two clones to continue training and research the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique, then absorbed their experience.

• Qian created a shadow clone to practice Wind Release: Wind Wings while he resumed practicing the Mystical Palm Technique and the Mind Reflection Technique.
• The returning shadow clone had drained the chakra of four Mist Village patrol members near Aburatsu Port, and Qian accepted the chakra it had gained.
• Qian absorbed the clone’s cultivation experience, bringing Wind Release: Wind Wings close to level 6.
• Qian created two more shadow clones, sending one to practice Wind Release: Wind Wings and the other to research the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique for the Shadow Sword Technique.
• The Wind Release clone returned without attacking again, and Qian absorbed its latest training experience.

Qian advanced Wind Release: Wind Wings to level six, gaining much greater control and doubling his maximum flight speed. After realizing the air resistance made fast flight dangerous, he began developing a defensive technique called Chakra Feather Cloak and assigned a shadow clone to research it.

• Qian tested his improved Wind Release: Wind Wings, hovering easily before flying at high speed through the forest and into the sky.
• Qian estimated that his maximum flight speed had doubled to two hundred meters per second, then reflected that even perfecting the technique would not let him leave the planet.
• Qian decided he needed protection from air resistance and developed the idea for a chakra barrier inspired by a Tailed Beast Cloak.
• Qian named the planned defensive technique Chakra Feather Cloak after confirming that modifying the chakra layer from his Flash Sword Technique seemed viable.
• Qian created three shadow clones to research the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique, continue practicing Wind Release: Wind Wings, and develop Chakra Feather Cloak.
• Qian completed his training for the night and returned to rest.