Recaps

Lin Chuan continued training in Root while Maruboshi Kosuke returned to Konoha and learned that Lin Chuan had joined Danzo’s ANBU. Kosuke explained to Lin Chuan’s father that the boy may have accepted to protect his family, leaving his parents fearful of Danzo’s power.

• Lin Chuan reached Genin level with Water Prison and developed several combinations using it with Water Clone.
• Lin Chuan planned to train Shadow Clone and Heavenly Weeping toward Chunin level.
• Maruboshi Kosuke returned to Konoha after a year away and encountered Lin Chuan’s father at the Mission Department.
• Lin Chuan’s father told Maruboshi Kosuke that Danzo had taken Lin Chuan into the ANBU more than a year earlier.
• Maruboshi Kosuke realized Lin Chuan had joined to protect his family and warned Lin Chuan’s father that refusing Danzo could have endangered them all.
• Lin Chuan’s father compared his family’s vulnerability to the Uchiha and feared Danzo could have erased them to claim Lin Chuan.

Maruboshi Kosuke asked Hiruzen Sarutobi to rescue Lin Chuan from Danzo’s Root, and Hiruzen agreed while promoting Kosuke to Jonin. Hiruzen learned Lin Chuan was already on an undercover mission in the Land of Grass and decided to wait until he returned.

• Lin Chuan's father told Maruboshi Kosuke that Danzo had taken Lin Chuan, and Kosuke resolved to ask Hiruzen Sarutobi for help.
• Kosuke went to the Hokage Tower and pleaded with Hiruzen to get his student, Chiba Lin Chuan, out of Danzo's ANBU.
• Hiruzen agreed to retrieve Lin Chuan from Root and promoted Kosuke to Konoha Jonin, assigning him the mission of teaching the boy.
• After Kosuke left, Hiruzen ordered the ANBU to obtain Root's records and learned Lin Chuan had reached Chunin strength in two years.
• Hiruzen discovered Danzo had sent Lin Chuan on an undercover mission in the Land of Grass and decided to discuss the matter when he returned.

Lin Chuan traveled toward Kusagakure on an undercover mission while reviewing his ninjutsu progress and planning ways to turn compressed Water Release into weapons and attacks. He remained determined to harvest life points from Grass Ninja targets without exposing his cover.

• Lin Chuan recalled that Root had assigned him to infiltrate Kusagakure and investigate the small village alone.
• Lin Chuan reviewed his ninjutsu progress, including Shadow Clone and Water Release: Heavenly Weeping nearing a breakthrough, and chose not to train further before reaching Kusagakure.
• Lin Chuan considered Karin and decided not to approach or kill her because either action could expose his undercover identity; instead, he planned to target other Grass Ninja for life points.
• Lin Chuan traveled west with a Konoha merchant caravan, carrying only his Chakra Blade.
• Lin Chuan developed ideas for compressing Water Release into weapons, armor, Ice Release weapons, and water-droplet attacks.

Lin Chuan arrived in Kusagakure under a false identity and discovered that his teammates and captain were familiar Grass Ninja characters with life points. He abandoned his Root investigation assignment and decided to assassinate them and other Grass Ninja he considered targets.

• Lin Chuan experimented with compressed Water Release, creating Water Drop, Water Kunai and Shuriken, Water Armor, and Water Weapon techniques, though the weapons lacked durability.
• Lin Chuan crossed into the Land of Grass hidden in a crate and met his contact, the retired white-haired elder Xiu, who gave him identity papers and team information.
• Lin Chuan reached his assigned home in Kusagakure and reviewed the records of the orphan Genin whose identity he would assume.
• Lin Chuan recognized Bulemi and Kazami as his teammates and Preta Path as his captain, and resolved to kill them and other Grass Ninja targets instead of carrying out Root's investigation assignment.

Undercover as Amu, Lin Chuan worked low-level missions with a Kusagakure team while waiting for a chance to kill one of his teammates. He murdered Kazami during a hunting mission, gained Life Points, and returned to the village; the team discovered Kazami was missing the next morning.

• Lin Chuan posed as Amu and joined Captain Bulemi, Kazami, and their team on a week of farmwork followed by a month of minor missions.
• The team accepted a deer-hunting mission outside Kusagakure, and Bulemi suggested they split up after two days without finding any deer.
• Lin Chuan followed Kazami, poisoned a fruit he offered him, and stabbed him with Senbon when the poison took effect.
• Lin Chuan carried Kazami into a tiger's territory, killed him, and left his body for the tiger to eat.
• Lin Chuan concealed evidence, returned to Kusagakure, and the team discovered Kazami was missing the next morning.

Lin Chuan killed Kazami, Bulemi, and the Preta Path captain, then disguised the deaths as wild animal attacks and posed as the lone survivor. While recovering in Kusagakure’s hospital, he encountered Karin and experienced her healing ability.

• The Preta Path captain found Kazami’s remains in the tiger’s territory and continued the deer-search mission with Lin Chuan and Bulemi.
• Lin Chuan poisoned Bulemi with fruit, stabbed him, and left him for the wolves to kill.
• Lin Chuan lured the Preta Path captain to a bear, stabbed him with poisoned Senbon, and arranged for the bear to devour his body.
• Lin Chuan reached Kusagakure’s gates and claimed the captain had sacrificed himself while he escaped a bear attack.
• At the hospital, Lin Chuan bit Karin’s arm to heal his injuries, while investigators recorded the captain’s and Bulemi’s deaths as animal attacks.

Lin Chuan continued secretly killing Kusagakure Genin to collect life points, then stopped when an investigation made further killings too risky. He focused on training and finally advanced his Ninjutsu and strength to Chunin, leaving his talent rated decent.

• Lin Chuan convinced a police officer that he would continue his mission, then saw that his life points had risen to six.
• Lin Chuan followed Wuan's squad, drugged Wuan in a latrine, suffocated him, and staged his death as an accidental drowning.
• Lin Chuan killed more than ten Kusagakure Genin and gained five life points, but the deaths prompted an Anbu investigation that briefly focused on him.
• After being cleared of suspicion, Lin Chuan stopped killing, completed the wild deer mission, and trained his Ninjutsu at the training ground.
• Lin Chuan raised Shadow Clone and Water Release: Heavenly Weeping to Chunin level, advancing his strength to Chunin and his talent to decent.

Lin Chuan reviewed his growing abilities and prepared to kill two Grass Ninja at Kusagakure's hospital before defecting and returning to Konoha. He began his plan by sneaking into the hospital at midnight to target the weaker male nurse first.

• Lin Chuan checked his improved talents and techniques, including his Chunin-level Shadow Clone and Water Release: Heavenly Weeping.
• Lin Chuan decided to kill the male nurse and the Medical Unit Captain, whom he blamed for Karin's mother's death, then defect from Kusagakure.
• Lin Chuan spent a week resting and preparing supplies for his journey back to Konoha.
• Lin Chuan slashed his Grass Ninja Forehead Protector, put on night gear, and slipped into Kusagakure's hospital.
• Lin Chuan found the male nurse asleep at the nurses' station and chose him as his first target.

Lin Chuan assassinated a male nurse and Kusagakure’s medical unit captain, then escaped the village. At Tenchi Bridge, he found the route into the Land of Fire blocked and turned toward the Land of Rain as Kusagakure’s forces began searching for him.

• Lin Chuan poisoned the sleeping male nurse, then disguised himself as the nurse to approach and kill the medical unit captain, gaining two life points.
• Lin Chuan concealed the captain’s body, left the hospital, changed back into his black night gear, and escaped Kusagakure over the wall.
• After running through the night, Lin Chuan reached Tenchi Bridge and saw Grass Ninja guarding the gorge with a portrait of him.
• Lin Chuan hid from the checkpoint and chose to detour toward the Land of Rain rather than risk fighting the Grass Ninja.
• A coworker discovered the bodies, and Kusagakure’s investigation identified Lin Chuan as the killer and sent his portrait to the borders.
• Kusagakure’s ANBU and tracking teams pursued Lin Chuan’s scent trail while the Grass Ninja Jonin ordered a search of the woods.

Lin Chuan crossed into the Land of Rain and used two Water Dragon Bullets to slaughter the Grass Ninja pursuing him. After gaining three life points from the kills, he spent five to raise his Essence talent, restoring his chakra as he heard Ninja Dogs approaching.

• The Grass Ninja tracking squad followed Lin Chuan toward the Land of Rain and sent a warning to the border defenses, while two ANBU trailed behind them.
• Lin Chuan reached the coast, replenished himself with a Soldier Pill, and used the Body Flicker Technique to break through the Grass Ninja defensive line and run across the sea.
• Nagato's Rain Tiger at Will Technique began falling over the area, allowing Nagato to sense Lin Chuan and his pursuers.
• The Grass Ninja caught up and surrounded Lin Chuan, but he used a Shadow Clone and his real body to unleash two Water Dragon Bullets, killing the Jonin and routing the others.
• Lin Chuan finished off the surviving unconscious Grass Ninja and gained three life points, then spent five points to raise his Essence talent and restore his chakra.

Lin Chuan split from his pursuers with a Shadow Clone, which encountered Yahiko and Konan in Amegakure while his real body fled toward the Land of Fire. After Yahiko killed the Grass Ninja tracking squad, Lin Chuan escaped the Rain Tiger at Will Technique’s range and crossed into the Land of Fire with two ANBU still pursuing him.

• Lin Chuan sent his Shadow Clone toward Amegakure and fled south with his real body, while the Grass Ninja tracking squad and ANBU split up to pursue them.
• Nagato warned Konan that the intruder had killed twelve pursuers, and Yahiko and Konan confronted Lin Chuan’s Shadow Clone.
• Lin Chuan dispelled the Shadow Clone as the tracking squad arrived, and Yahiko killed the captain, the other three members, and their ninja dog.
• Yahiko and Konan stopped pursuing the intruder, while Lin Chuan received his Shadow Clone’s memories and headed east toward the Land of Fire.
• Lin Chuan removed his Grass Ninja rogue-ninja forehead protector and outran the two Grass Ninja ANBU across the border into the Land of Fire.

Lin Chuan returned to Konoha after his mission and staged his collapse to escape further ANBU training. Hiruzen Sarutobi learned of his ordeal and promised Maruboshi Kosuke that Lin Chuan would not be sent back to Danzo’s ANBU while he recovered.

• Lin Chuan evaded the Grass Ninja ANBU at the Land of Fire border and hid overnight in a warehouse after reaching a nearby town.
• Lin Chuan disguised himself as an exhausted, injured child and collapsed at Konoha’s gate after handing Izumo Kamizuki an intelligence scroll.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi read Lin Chuan’s intelligence about Hozuki Castle’s Box of Ultimate Bliss and went to see the child at the hospital.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi recognized Lin Chuan and summoned Maruboshi Kosuke, resolving to stop Danzo from training children for the ANBU.
• Maruboshi Kosuke pleaded for Lin Chuan not to return to Danzo’s ANBU, and Hiruzen Sarutobi promised to discuss the matter after Lin Chuan recovered.

Lin Chuan used his new teacher, Maruboshi Kosuke, to leave Root, while Hiruzen Sarutobi challenged Danzo over the boy’s recruitment. Danzo reluctantly let Lin Chuan go but revealed his bloody record to make Hiruzen wary of him.

• Lin Chuan recovered enough to walk and accompanied Maruboshi Kosuke to meet Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo on the Hokage Tower roof.
• Lin Chuan addressed Danzo as “Lord Danzo,” prompting Hiruzen Sarutobi to accuse Danzo of misusing Root and demand that Lin Chuan join the ANBU.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi defended Lin Chuan’s right to study under his teacher, and Lin Chuan demonstrated his mastery of a simplified Water Dragon Bullet.
• Danzo produced an intelligence scroll detailing Lin Chuan’s kills during his undercover mission in Kusagakure and his escape back to Konoha.
• Danzo warned Hiruzen Sarutobi that Lin Chuan was more dangerous than he seemed and hoped the Hokage would distrust him enough for him to return to Root.

After Danzo left, Hiruzen Sarutobi sent Lin Chuan home with his father and entrusted Maruboshi Kosuke with guiding him. Hiruzen abandoned plans to put Lin Chuan in ANBU, hoping he would grow alongside his classmates as a possible future Hokage.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi warned Danzo not to take children for ANBU training again, then asked Lin Chuan about the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
• Lin Chuan told Hiruzen Sarutobi that the Box was inside Hozuki Castle's prison, under Mui's control.
• Lin Chuan's father arrived, embraced him, and took him home after Hiruzen Sarutobi gave permission.
• Maruboshi Kosuke asked Hiruzen Sarutobi whether Lin Chuan was truly strong, and Hiruzen urged him to train and guide the boy as a potential Kage.
• Maruboshi Kosuke went to Lin Chuan's home to supervise his training, while Hiruzen Sarutobi decided against sending him early to ANBU.

Lin Chuan returned home after escaping Root, and Maruboshi Kosuke promised to train him so he could protect himself. They planned to keep him in the Ninja Academy while using the upcoming break for intensive training, then quietly left Konoha together.

• Lin Chuan reunited with his parents, and Maruboshi Kosuke told them he had brought him home and would train him as a Jonin.
• The next morning, Lin Chuan agreed to train with Maruboshi Kosuke while continuing to attend the Ninja Academy.
• Maruboshi Kosuke planned to take Lin Chuan away during the school break for intensive training.
• Lin Chuan packed his belongings and slipped out of Konoha with Maruboshi Kosuke without Danzo learning of their departure.

Lin Chuan trained with Maruboshi Kosuke by the sea, developing a Water Release trap and improving his combat skills. After two months of intense training, they returned to Konoha before the Ninja Academy’s new term.

• Maruboshi Kosuke assessed Lin Chuan’s skills and identified taijutsu, swordsmanship, and combat experience as his main weaknesses.
• Lin Chuan used a Water Clone and the Water Prison Technique to trap Maruboshi Kosuke, demonstrating a defensive technique that could also suffocate an opponent.
• Maruboshi Kosuke analyzed the technique’s strengths and weaknesses, and Lin Chuan proposed having a clone maintain the prison while his real body stayed hidden.
• Maruboshi Kosuke set two months of relentless weapons-based combat training for Lin Chuan and promised to teach him powerful swordsmanship if he could land a hit.
• After two months of training that greatly improved his taijutsu, swordsmanship, and combat skills, Lin Chuan returned to Konoha with Maruboshi Kosuke.

Lin Chuan returned to Konoha after two months of training with Maruboshi Kosuke and reviewed his progress and plans for getting stronger. The next morning, his mother told him that a classmate had come looking for him.

• Maruboshi Kosuke sent Lin Chuan home while he went to report to the Hokage and submit their mission.
• Lin Chuan reunited with his parents, checked on his crows, and told his father about his training with Maruboshi Kosuke.
• Lin Chuan inspected his personal panel and saw that his Iaido had reached Genin level.
• Lin Chuan planned to raise his combat skills and Water Release techniques and aimed to graduate from the Ninja Academy at Special Jonin level.
• The next morning, Lin Chuan's mother told him that a classmate was looking for him.

Lin Chuan reunited with Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji, but a seal prevented him from telling them where he had been. He trained with his friends and Rock Lee, then used chakra threads to catch fish for breakfast, impressing Shikamaru with his skill.

• Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji visited Lin Chuan, and Lin Chuan showed Shikamaru the seal that kept him from revealing where he had been.
• Lin Chuan and his friends trained in the snowy backyard, where Naruto and Shikamaru joined his morning run.
• Rock Lee joined the group and continued running after the others returned to Lin Chuan's backyard.
• Lin Chuan told Shikamaru that hard work could help civilian ninja advance, then changed the subject by offering to catch fish.
• Lin Chuan used chakra threads attached to six kunai to pull six fish from the pond, surprising Shikamaru with his chakra control.

Lin Chuan shared roasted sweet potatoes and grilled fish with Shikamaru, Choji, Naruto, and Rock Lee before inviting Naruto to dinner. The chapter ended with Lin Chuan’s father accepting that his son would associate with Naruto despite the village’s fears about the Nine-Tails.

• Lin Chuan served Rock Lee sweet potatoes and grilled fish after Rock Lee collapsed from training, and called him a friend.
• Lin Chuan shared the remaining food with Shikamaru, Naruto, and Choji while feeding the crows in his backyard.
• After their afternoon training, Shikamaru, Choji, and Rock Lee left with their mothers, and Lin Chuan invited Naruto to dinner.
• Lin Chuan’s mother questioned why he had brought Naruto home, but Lin Chuan’s father reminded her that the Third had given them instructions about the boy.
• Lin Chuan’s father watched the snow and worried privately about Naruto, the Nine-Tails, and his own inability to affect the village’s decisions.

Lin Chuan returned to the Ninja Academy after two years away and resumed classes, where he encountered Kabuto Yakushi. Kabuto proposed a deal involving Sasuke, and Lin Chuan agreed in exchange for a top-quality chakra blade.

• Lin Chuan returned to the Academy, surprised his classmates, and caught up with Naruto during lunch.
• Lin Chuan joined physical education and spotted a child climbing over the wall to skip school.
• Lin Chuan met Kabuto Yakushi in the bathroom and sensed his concealed hostility.
• Kabuto proposed a deal, and Lin Chuan guessed it involved Sasuke and an order from Danzo.
• Lin Chuan agreed to help Kabuto in exchange for a top-quality chakra blade about one meter long.

Lin Chuan agreed to spy on Sasuke Uchiha for Kabuto Yakushi in exchange for a Chakra Blade, then confronted and brutally beat Sasuke to provoke his desire for revenge. Sasuke broke down crying as Lin Chuan described the gulf between him and his powerful older brother.

• Kabuto Yakushi offered Lin Chuan a Chakra Blade in exchange for six-month reports on Sasuke Uchiha, and Lin Chuan accepted.
• After Kabuto Yakushi left, Lin Chuan went after Sasuke Uchiha to begin observing him.
• Lin Chuan provoked Sasuke by the river, then used a Water Clone and the Body Flicker Technique to ambush and repeatedly overpower him.
• Lin Chuan taunted Sasuke about being too weak to avenge his family, causing Sasuke to break down in tears.
• Lin Chuan described Sasuke's older brother as a genius Jonin and told Sasuke he would never be able to take revenge.

After defeating Sasuke, Lin Chuan befriended him over ramen and planned to help him develop his talent. The next morning, Sasuke greeted Lin Chuan at the Ninja Academy, and Iruka began class with all his students back in attendance.

• Lin Chuan taunted Sasuke into promising to grow stronger and take revenge, then offered him a hand up.
• Lin Chuan treated Sasuke to ramen at Ichiraku, and Sasuke enjoyed the meal and admitted to himself that having a friend felt good.
• Lin Chuan considered Sasuke's potential and wondered whether he would remain in Konoha or join Orochimaru after the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• The next morning, Sasuke greeted Lin Chuan in class, surprising their classmates, and Lin Chuan joked that Sasuke was a customer who had asked him to bring lunch.
• Iruka welcomed the class back, took attendance, and began the lesson with the new textbooks.

Lin Chuan trained with Sasuke and showed him the records of his years of relentless practice, inspiring Sasuke to commit himself to becoming strong enough to defeat Itachi. Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji also left class to train, and the chapter ended with Naruto joining Lin Chuan and Sasuke for a run.

• Lin Chuan skipped PE to practice throwing water drops at a moving target, while Sasuke trained beside him and Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji followed them away from class.
• Naruto joined the training, and Shikamaru and Choji eventually skipped class as well to train at the grounds.
• Lin Chuan showed Sasuke his Training Logbook, which documented his rigorous training since he was six.
• Lin Chuan told Sasuke that hard work had made him stronger, and Sasuke resolved to train harder so he could defeat Itachi and avenge his family.
• Lin Chuan invited Naruto to train with them, and Naruto chose to join Lin Chuan and Sasuke on their weighted run.

Over six months, Lin Chuan continued training Naruto and Sasuke, defeating them in a spar while advising Naruto on learning ninjutsu. After the boys left, Lin Chuan sensed someone with killing intent watching him in the woods and called them out.

• Lin Chuan sparred with Naruto and Sasuke, using steel wires and three Chakra Blades to defeat Sasuke while Naruto remained trapped in a Water Prison.
• Lin Chuan explained that his Water Dragon Bullet consumed too much chakra and advised Naruto to improve his chakra control or try Hand Seal-less Ninjutsu.
• Naruto eagerly went to find someone who could teach him a Hand Seal-less Ninjutsu, while Sasuke returned to train and Lin Chuan headed home.
• Lin Chuan sensed killing intent in the woods and called for the hidden watcher to come out, noting that the ANBU had left.

Lin Chuan traded half a year's observations of Sasuke to Kabuto Yakushi and reviewed the gains from his training. As he entered his fifth year at the Ninja Academy, most of his skills had advanced, but his Iaido training had stalled just short of a breakthrough.

• Kabuto Yakushi met Lin Chuan and praised his sharp senses after observing him for half a year.
• Lin Chuan gave Kabuto Yakushi half a year's logs about Sasuke and agreed to trade the fifth-year records for a Chakra Blade.
• Lin Chuan checked his panel and found his talent had risen to forty, his strength had reached Chunin level, and his water-nature transformation had improved.
• Lin Chuan reviewed his growing proficiency in throwing, ninjutsu, and water-release techniques, while noting that Iaido had stalled at 19,999 points.