Recaps

Lin Chuan broke through Iaido’s bottleneck by cutting a kunai, though the effort ruined his Chakra Blade. He considered how to improve his techniques and prepared for the coming school year, with plans to seek new jutsu and a better blade.

• Lin Chuan reasoned that Iaido’s next obstacle was cutting harder materials, then used a chakra-coated draw slash to split a kunai in half and damaged his Chakra Blade.
• Lin Chuan checked his personal panel and saw that Iaido had reached its limit break, then considered acquiring a stronger Body Flicker Technique to complement it.
• Lin Chuan planned to obtain a Chakra Blade through his deal with Kabuto Yakushi and to learn A-rank ninjutsu and Wind Release from Maruboshi Kosuke and a recommended instructor.
• Lin Chuan recalled how Naruto, Sasuke, Rock Lee, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and others had trained and shared meals at his home during summer vacation.
• Lin Chuan thought of Terai, Torune, and Fu in Root and missed them, though he did not want to return there.

One year later, Lin Chuan, Naruto, and Sasuke tested their combat skills, and Naruto and Sasuke pushed Lin Chuan harder than before. After Lin Chuan won, the three shared a meal by the river, where Lin Chuan gave Sasuke a birthday kunai.

• Naruto and Sasuke worked together to escape Lin Chuan’s Water Prison and drove him into the river.
• Naruto used repeated Shadow Clone Jutsu to create dozens of clones, but Lin Chuan scattered them with Water Shock Wave and outmaneuvered Naruto underwater.
• Sasuke used Majestic Destroyer Flame, but Lin Chuan used the steam for cover and held a Chakra Blade to Sasuke’s neck.
• Lin Chuan helped Sasuke and Naruto back to shore, and the three warmed themselves by a fire after eating grilled fish.
• Lin Chuan gave Sasuke a kunai for his birthday and told him and Naruto they were nearly stronger than him.

Lin Chuan celebrated Sasuke’s birthday with Sasuke and Naruto after another training match, then traded his detailed observations of Sasuke for a Chakra Blade from Kabuto Yakushi. He left with the weapon and promised to keep their arrangement secret.

• Lin Chuan explained that his swift slash combined samurai iaido with the Body Flicker Technique, and Sasuke accepted a birthday kunai from him.
• Lin Chuan, Sasuke, and Naruto ate grilled fish together before Sasuke woke Naruto and took him back to Konoha.
• Kabuto Yakushi arrived at Lin Chuan’s camp and exchanged a Chakra Blade for Lin Chuan’s detailed yearlong records of Sasuke.
• Lin Chuan tested the blade’s chakra transmission, then left after Kabuto reminded him to keep their deal secret.

On graduation day, Lin Chuan met Naruto and reviewed how much his skills had grown during two years of training. Naruto had passed the exam, and Lin Chuan was about to join a Jonin-led team, leaving him less time to train.

• Lin Chuan greeted Naruto at the Ninja Academy after the graduation exams, and Naruto showed him his Konoha forehead protector.
• Lin Chuan reviewed his improved talents, Chunin-level strength, Water Release progress, and newly begun Wind Release training.
• Lin Chuan checked his throwing skills and noted that his Shuriken Manipulation Technique had reached the usable stage.
• Lin Chuan assessed his Ninjutsu progress, including his limit-break Shadow Clone and nearly capped Body Flicker Technique.
• Lin Chuan reflected on learning the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique and decided to focus on Wind Release after joining his Jonin team.

Over two years, Chiba Lin Chuan advanced his Water Release techniques, unlocked Chakra Scalpel, and learned to summon his backyard crow. After graduating, he received his genin team assignment and waited to meet his jonin instructor.

• Chiba Lin Chuan reviewed his ninjutsu progress, noting that Water Drop and Heavenly Weeping had reached the limit-breaking stage and several other Water Release techniques had reached chunin level.
• Chiba Lin Chuan found that years of chakra control and blade practice had unlocked Chakra Scalpel, which became his first A-rank ninjutsu to reach chunin level.
• Chiba Lin Chuan signed a Summoning Contract with the crow in his backyard and learned the Summoning Technique.
• Iruka-sensei congratulated the students on becoming genin and explained that they would form teams of three under jonin instructors.
• Iruka-sensei announced Team 7, Team 8, Team 9, and Team 10; Chiba Lin Chuan was assigned to Team 9 with two unnamed teammates.
• Chiba Lin Chuan wondered whether Maruboshi Kosuke had asked Hiruzen Sarutobi to find him a jonin instructor who knew Wind Release, then waited for the instructors to arrive.

Hayama Shirakumo was assigned to lead Lin Chuan’s newly graduated team after the Jonin team leaders reviewed their students’ files. He collected Lin Chuan and his two classmates and began their introductions at a training ground.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Hayama Shirakumo to lead Lin Chuan because Lin Chuan wanted a Wind Release teacher.
• Kakashi, Asuma Sarutobi, and Kurenai Yuhi read Lin Chuan’s file and reacted to his record of dangerous missions and combat achievements.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi dismissed the Jonin team leaders after they finished reviewing their files, and the leaders collected their teams.
• Hayama Shirakumo called Team 9 from the classroom, and Lin Chuan followed him with his two classmates to a training ground.
• Hayama Shirakumo introduced himself as their Jonin team leader and asked each student to introduce themselves.

Lin Chuan faced Hayama Shirakumo’s bell test and used a coordinated series of attacks to make him lose a bell. Lin Chuan ended the chapter holding up a bell, while Hayama Shirakumo had yet to confirm whether it was the one he had lost.

• Nobody A charged Hayama Shirakumo for the bells and was kicked into the woods, while Lin Chuan retreated to plan an attack.
• Lin Chuan used Body Flicker, a Shadow Clone, and a kick to send Hayama Shirakumo into the river.
• Lin Chuan’s Water Clones and wire-trailing kunai kept Hayama Shirakumo occupied until a wire snagged and pulled a bell from his waist.
• Hayama Shirakumo destroyed the Water Clones with Vacuum Sword, but Lin Chuan trapped him in a Water Prison and took out a bell.
• Hayama Shirakumo broke free with another Vacuum Sword and discovered Lin Chuan standing on the bank, holding up a bell.

Lin Chuan passed Hayama Shirakumo’s test and was assigned to join his team on missions, while Hayama realized Lin Chuan had cleverly used a fake bell to pass. Team 7 also finished Kakashi’s test, leaving Sakura to confront the gap between her ability and Naruto and Sasuke’s.

• Lin Chuan took a bell from Hayama Shirakumo, while Extra A and Extra B refused to challenge the Jonin and failed the test.
• Hayama told Lin Chuan he had passed and invited him to join missions, and Lin Chuan decided not to rush toward Chunin promotion.
• Hayama reported the results to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who stamped Lin Chuan’s record as passed and the other two students’ records as failed.
• Hayama discovered that Lin Chuan had kept a fake bell while the real bell had fallen into the river, and he considered how cleverly Lin Chuan had passed.
• Kakashi told Sakura Haruno that she lagged behind Naruto and Sasuke, then assigned Team 7 to meet at the Mission Department the next day.
• Naruto untied Sakura, but she ran after Sasuke without acknowledging him, hurting Naruto’s feelings.

Lin Chuan met Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura Haruno at the Mission Department before leaving with Hayama Shirakumo’s team for an A-rank mission. His departure left Sasuke and Sakura Haruno impressed, while Kakashi warned Naruto that his squad was not ready for such a dangerous assignment.

• Lin Chuan arrived at the Hokage Tower and greeted Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura Haruno while they waited for Kakashi.
• Lin Chuan explained that his two teammates had failed their Jonin leader’s test, leaving him to join Hayama Shirakumo’s squad for missions.
• Hayama Shirakumo arrived with a mission client and a samurai, then prepared to depart with Lin Chuan for an A-rank mission.
• The samurai questioned whether Lin Chuan was fit for the mission, but Hayama Shirakumo defended his choice and the samurai apologized.
• Lin Chuan said goodbye to Naruto and Sasuke and followed Hayama Shirakumo’s team, while Kakashi told Naruto that his squad was not ready for A-rank missions.
• Sasuke clenched his fists after seeing Lin Chuan leave, and Sakura Haruno realized that Lin Chuan was far stronger than she had thought.

Lin Chuan traveled with Hayama Shirakumo, Shukuno, and Tokuma Hyuga to the Land of Hot Water, where they prepared to escort a nobleman and his belongings. On the eve of departure, Lin Chuan improved his Wind Release and the team rested at the client's estate.

• Hayama Shirakumo introduced Tokuma Hyuga to the team, and Tokuma questioned whether Genin Lin Chuan could handle the mission.
• During their first night on the road, Hayama taught Lin Chuan to split and hone his chakra to sharpen his Wind Release, raising his proficiency to beginner level.
• The team crossed into the Land of Hot Water and passed through nearly deserted villages before reaching the nobleman's estate near the capital.
• Hayama Shirakumo met with the nobleman and sealed most of his valuables into a scroll, leaving four supply wagons for the journey.
• Hayama told Lin Chuan and Shukuno that the team would spend the night at the estate and set out the next day.

Lin Chuan trained his Wind Release until it reached Genin level while his team prepared to escort a noble and his daughter to the Land of Iron. A Jashin Cult-linked raid struck the estate overnight, but the samurai repelled it, and the team planned to depart as scheduled.

• Hayama Shirakumo explained that the team would escort the Client and his Daughter to the Land of Iron, with Lin Chuan and Shukuno assigned to protect the Daughter.
• Hayama Shirakumo warned that the Jashin Cult might attack the estate, and Lin Chuan trained his Wind Release alongside a Shadow Clone before reaching Genin level.
• The Jashin Cult's followers and brainwashed wandering samurai attacked the estate at midnight, and Hayama Shirakumo and Tokuma Hyuga went to investigate.
• Hayama Shirakumo reported that the Client's samurai had stopped the attackers and that the Daughter was only frightened, then took watch while Lin Chuan and Shukuno returned to sleep.

Lin Chuan guarded the client's daughter as the convoy traveled from the Land of Hot Water into the Land of Fire, where Hayama Shirakumo ordered strict watch and supervision of everyone traveling with them. Lin Chuan paired with Hayama for the first watch at the Border Outpost.

• Lin Chuan and Shukuno stayed hidden beside the convoy as it set out, keeping watch near the client's daughter's carriage.
• Wandering samurai attacked the convoy, but the Land of Iron Samurai killed attackers and scattered the mob without help from the Konoha Ninja.
• The convoy reached the Land of Fire border, and Hayama Shirakumo spoke with the border guards before guiding everyone into the outpost to rest.
• Hayama Shirakumo told Lin Chuan, Tokuma Hyuga, and Shukuno to monitor the convoy's members, report anyone missing, and kill anyone who ignored warnings to stay.
• Hayama Shirakumo assigned Lin Chuan to the first watch while Tokuma Hyuga and Shukuno went to rest.

Lin Chuan encountered one of the client’s maids during the night and gave her medicine for her injury. The convoy continued its journey the next day, where Lin Chuan tested the Land of Iron samurai and declined the maid’s lunch invitation.

• Lin Chuan dodged a maid who ran into him in a dark corridor, then gave her medicine for her swollen forehead.
• The maid kept the remaining medicine and returned it to Lin Chuan during the convoy’s lunch break the next day.
• Lin Chuan used a Water Clone to test the Land of Iron samurai and concluded they were elite fighters, likely at least as strong as Chunin.
• The maid invited Lin Chuan to eat ramen with her uncle, but he refused because his mission training warned him not to accept food from strangers.

Lin Chuan escorted a reformist fleeing the Land of Hot Water and learned why the Jashin Cult wanted him dead. After realizing the convoy could face a powerful attack, Lin Chuan found out samurai would meet them in the Land of Iron.

• Lin Chuan ignored Kiko and Maki, practiced transforming his wind chakra, and continued guarding the convoy.
• Lin Chuan learned that the client was fleeing to the Land of Iron with his family, while Maki stayed close to Kiko and protected her.
• Hayama Shirakumo assigned Kuno and Tokuma to sleep first, then took Lin Chuan to keep watch over the camp.
• Lin Chuan learned that the client was a reformist who had tried to purge the Jashin Cult from the Land of Hot Water.
• Lin Chuan warned Hayama Shirakumo that powerful enemy ninja might attack the convoy, and Hayama reassured him that samurai would meet them in the Land of Iron.

Lin Chuan learned that the maid traveling with the convoy was the client’s daughter, while Iwagakure prepared to attack the convoy with Cloud ninja in a canyon. As the Konoha team approached the planned ambush site in the Land of Iron, Hayama Shirakumo began assigning battle roles.

• Hayama Shirakumo warned Lin Chuan to stay disciplined, then told him that the talkative maid was the client’s daughter in disguise.
• For half a month, the convoy traveled north through the Land of Fire, and the disguised noblewoman spent more time practicing swordsmanship with the young samurai.
• At the border outpost, an Iwagakure ninja received intelligence that the convoy was entering the Land of Iron and learned that Hayama Shirakumo and a Byakugan user were among its guards.
• The Rock ninja captain abandoned an ambush plan and arranged to coordinate with Cloud ninja for an attack in a canyon.
• The Konoha team predicted the canyon attack and set the Land of Iron Capital as their regrouping point before continuing toward the canyon.
• At lunch, Hayama Shirakumo ordered Kuno to stay with him and use the Transformation Technique to look like Tokuma.

Lin Chuan’s convoy was ambushed, and he used clones and a disguise to escape with the client’s daughter’s group. After losing contact with his clone, he followed the girl and a young samurai toward the Land of Rice Fields, suspecting they were eloping.

• Hayama Shirakumo split the convoy, sending Tokuma Hyuga and Lin Chuan’s group on separate routes to protect the client’s daughter.
• The Rock Ninja sealed the canyon and dropped rocks on the convoy, while Hayama Shirakumo fought off the coordinated attack.
• Lin Chuan’s group fled with the girl as four Land of Iron samurai held off the pursuing Rock and Cloud Ninja.
• Lin Chuan’s Shadow Clone was destroyed by two Rock Ninja after the enemy caught up with the fleeing servants and retainers.
• Lin Chuan followed the girl and the young samurai after they ran toward the Land of Rice Fields, where they stopped at the border after several hours.

Chūsuke’s reinforcements drove the Rock Ninja and Cloud Ninja from the canyon, but the client’s daughter and her protectors were missing. By night, Cloud Ninja found the girl and the young samurai beside a river, where the samurai’s desperate counterattack pierced one of them.

• Chūsuke arrived with samurai reinforcements, forcing the Rock Ninja and Cloud Ninja to retreat from the canyon.
• Hayama Shirakumo and Chūsuke reached the Land of Fire border outpost and learned that the client’s daughter had disappeared during the escape.
• Lin Chuan watched the young samurai and the girl rest beside a river until two Cloud Ninja arrived and tried to capture them.
• The young samurai shielded the girl and fought the Cloud Ninja, who seized her and began using Interrogation Genjutsu.
• The young samurai charged to rescue the girl and, despite being struck by a kunai, stabbed one Cloud Ninja through the chest.

Lin Chuan rescued the client’s daughter and a young samurai from two Cloud Ninja, then brought them to a Konoha border outpost. After reuniting with Hayama Shirakumo, he continued toward the Land of Iron, where he hoped to learn the samurai’s swift sword-drawing technique.

• Lin Chuan killed the second Cloud Ninja, confirmed both enemies were dead, and discovered the young samurai’s wounds had healed almost instantly.
• Lin Chuan summoned two crows to carry the unconscious girl and samurai to a Konoha border outpost, where he explained what had happened to Hayama Shirakumo and Chūsuke.
• Chūsuke took the girl and the suspected Jashin Cult believer into his care, while Hayama Shirakumo asked Lin Chuan about the cult’s immortality and its cost.
• Hayama Shirakumo told Lin Chuan that Senior Tokuma had reached the Land of Iron’s capital and agreed to discuss raising the mission’s rank and finding samurai techniques for him.
• Lin Chuan reached the Land of Iron border outpost with Hayama Shirakumo and immediately fell asleep from exhaustion.

Lin Chuan returned to Konoha with his team, obtained the Land of Iron’s Flash Step technique, and trained until his Wind Release reached chunin level. The chapter left him ready to ask Hayama Shirakumo to teach him Vacuum Sword.

• The party reached the Land of Iron’s capital, where Chūsuke told the client about the dead young samurai and Hayama Shirakumo explained Lin Chuan’s contributions to the team.
• Lin Chuan received the advanced Body Flicker Technique, called Flash Step, before leaving the Land of Iron with his teammates.
• After returning to Konoha, Lin Chuan tried Flash Step and unlocked its beginner-level Taijutsu entry, though the stacked burst left his feet aching.
• Lin Chuan trained Wind Release against a waterfall with Shadow Clones for five days until his Wind Release reached chunin level.
• The next morning, Lin Chuan set out to find Hayama Shirakumo and learn Vacuum Sword.

Lin Chuan learned Vacuum Sword from Hayama Shirakumo, then helped Sasuke awaken his Sharingan using Kakashi’s genjutsu. Sasuke’s eyes reached three tomoe, and the chapter left him still trapped in the illusion of the Uchiha massacre.

• Lin Chuan learned beginner-level Vacuum Sword from Hayama Shirakumo and received six months off missions along with his share of the mission payment.
• Sasuke found Lin Chuan and asked him for help awakening his Sharingan, so Lin Chuan took him to Kakashi.
• Lin Chuan persuaded Kakashi to use the Hell Viewing Technique on Sasuke and tied Sasuke to a tree before the genjutsu began.
• Sasuke relived the Uchiha massacre in the illusion and awakened his One-Tomoe Sharingan, then his Two-Tomoe Sharingan.
• Lin Chuan urged Kakashi to let the genjutsu continue as Sasuke fought Itachi in the illusion and awakened his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Sasuke awakened a three-tomoe Sharingan, and Lin Chuan warned him to conceal it while pointing him toward Konoha’s archives. Eight months later, Lin Chuan had improved his techniques and was approved to enter the upcoming chunin exams alone.

• Kakashi stopped Sasuke’s Sharingan from evolving further, and Lin Chuan carried the exhausted Sasuke home after he awakened three tomoe.
• Sasuke asked Lin Chuan about his eyes, chakra shortage, and the Uchiha massacre, while Lin Chuan urged him to keep his Sharingan secret and investigate the clan’s history.
• Sasuke informed Hiruzen Sarutobi of his awakening, received permission to visit the archives, and studied Uchiha techniques and the Mangekyō legends.
• Over the following eight months, Lin Chuan raised Vacuum Sword to chunin level, improved Flash Step, and broke through the limit of his Body Flicker Technique.
• At a jonin meeting, Hayama Shirakumo recommended Lin Chuan for the chunin exams alone, and Hiruzen Sarutobi approved the recommendation.

Lin Chuan confronted Gaara’s team after Kankuro bullied Konohamaru, then learned the Chunin Exams were about to begin. At the written exam, he intimidated the gathered candidates with a chakra-pressure display, drawing Gaara’s interest and Orochimaru’s attention.

• Kankuro grabbed Konohamaru, but Naruto surrounded him and Temari with shadow clones before Sasuke struck Kankuro with a pebble and challenged the Sand ninja.
• Gaara stopped Kankuro, apologized to Sasuke, and drew Lin Chuan’s attention when Lin Chuan recognized his sleepless appearance and sensed his killing intent.
• Lin Chuan explained that the Chunin Exams were approaching, and Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro left wondering how strong Konoha’s genin were.
• On the day the exams began, Lin Chuan joined Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura in the written-exam classroom, where Kabuto Yakushi warned the Konoha rookies to quiet down.
• Lin Chuan unleashed overwhelming chakra pressure after the other candidates glared at the Konoha group, and Ibiki Morino stopped him before the classroom was destroyed.
• Gaara became more interested in Lin Chuan, while Orochimaru asked Kabuto Yakushi for information about him.

Lin Chuan passed the Chunin Exams’ written stage by sleeping through it, then met the second-stage examiner, Mitaraishi Anko. The chapter ended as the candidates prepared to enter the Forest of Death for a five-day scroll hunt.

• Kabuto Yakushi revealed Lin Chuan’s impressive mission record, alarming the candidates and exciting Orochimaru.
• Lin Chuan handed in a blank paper and slept through the written test, while Naruto followed his example and trusted that they would pass.
• Ibiki Morino declared the remaining candidates successful, then explained the test’s final question as a measure of resolve and trust in teammates.
• Mitaraishi Anko arrived to announce the second exam, teased Lin Chuan, and took him to Ichiraku Ramen because he was Hayama Shirakumo’s student.
• Orochimaru ordered Kabuto Yakushi to help Sasuke pass the exams after placing a Cursed Seal on him and to keep watch on Lin Chuan.
• At the Forest of Death, Anko explained that candidates had five days to survive and obtain both a Heaven Scroll and an Earth Scroll before reaching the tower.

Lin Chuan entered the Forest of Death and hunted examinees for Life Points, using his speed to drive Gaara away before killing the Rain Ninja he had seemingly rescued. He left Hinata, Shino, and Kiba alive and continued after another target.

• Lin Chuan gave Shikamaru his Earth Scroll, then slipped into the Forest of Death ahead of the other examinees.
• Lin Chuan summoned crows to find targets and killed three trapped Rain Ninja, raising his Life total to sixteen.
• Lin Chuan interrupted Gaara as he was about to kill a Rain Ninja leader and slashed Gaara's gourd strap, forcing Gaara and his team to leave.
• Lin Chuan killed the Rain Ninja leader and his two teammates after saving them, raising his Life total to twenty-nine.
• Lin Chuan frightened Hinata, Shino, and Kiba, but deliberately missed them with a Wind Blade before following his crows to another target.

Lin Chuan watched Orochimaru overpower Naruto and Sasuke, then hunted rival teams in the Forest of Death and gathered scrolls for his friends. After Kabuto reported Lin Chuan’s actions to Orochimaru, the third-round preliminaries began with Lin Chuan matched against Kabuto.

• Lin Chuan watched Orochimaru seal Naruto, defeat Sasuke, and mark him with the Cursed Seal of Heaven, then waited as the next day’s events unfolded.
• After the Sound Ninja trio attacked Sakura’s group and Sasuke’s cursed seal erupted, Lin Chuan killed Dosu, Zaku, and Kin and took their scrolls.
• Lin Chuan killed Orochimaru’s teammates Ryouma and Misumi Tsurugi, then hunted Rain Ninja and other teams until his life points reached thirty-seven.
• Lin Chuan gave Naruto and Sasuke scrolls so their team could enter the tower, while Kabuto secretly reported Lin Chuan’s actions to Orochimaru.
• Orochimaru ordered Kabuto to test Lin Chuan during the upcoming fights, and Kabuto agreed.
• At the third-round preliminaries, Gekko Hayate announced the first match between Chiba Lin Chuan and Kabuto Yakushi.