Recaps

Danzo revealed that he had used Kotoamatsukami to control Zhou Cheng and ordered him to kill everyone surrounding them. Ino briefly restrained Zhou Cheng while Kakashi and the others attacked Danzo, and Kakashi used Kamui to absorb Danzo’s Wood Release before striking his shoulder.

• Karin, Kimimaro, Kakashi, Uzuki Yugao, Gaara, and the others surrounded Danzo and demanded that he release Zhou Cheng.
• Danzo boasted that he would kill everyone, return to Konoha, and become Hokage, then exposed Baki’s role in plotting against the Third Hokage and the Kazekage.
• Danzo claimed his right eye’s Kotoamatsukami had made Zhou Cheng his loyal slave and ordered Zhou Cheng to kill the crowd.
• Zhou Cheng snapped the branches from his body and turned on his friends, but Ino used her Mind Body Switch Technique to immobilize him temporarily.
• Kakashi, Uzuki Yugao, and Shikamaru prepared to attack Danzo, and Kakashi used Kamui to absorb Danzo’s Wood Release before cutting his shoulder.

Zhou Cheng exposed his deception, had Gaara restrain Baki so Ino could read his memories, and turned on Danzo after the Akatsuki withdrew. Danzo rejected Zhou Cheng’s ideas about protecting others and offered him his right Sharingan before the confrontation could be resolved.

• Zhou Cheng revealed that the fighter Danzo had struck was a clone and explained that he had hoped to make Baki confess his crimes.
• Zhou Cheng called for Gaara to restrain Baki so Ino could use the Yamanaka Clan’s memory-reading technique, and Gaara agreed.
• Zhou Cheng comforted Ino, then activated Wind God Mode and Multiple Shadow Clone to attack Danzo, who had run out of ways to escape.
• Danzo offered Zhou Cheng the Hokage position in exchange for his life, but Zhou Cheng said he did not want it and challenged Danzo’s ideas about protecting the village.
• Danzo rejected Zhou Cheng’s reasoning, thrust a finger into his right eye, and offered Zhou Cheng his Sharingan.

Zhou Cheng killed Danzo, then helped Gaara expose Baki as a traitor and murderer. Uzuki Yugao avenged Gekko Hayate by killing Baki, while Zhou Cheng discovered that Kabuto had escaped Sunagakure.

• Zhou Cheng destroyed Danzo and sealed Shisui's right eye inside the Adamantine Sealing Chains.
• Gaara ordered Baki's memories read, but Baki killed two ANBU and fled toward the outskirts of Sunagakure.
• Zhou Cheng intercepted Baki, and Sunagakure Shinobi and Uzuki Yugao caught up after Baki's escape failed.
• Baki confessed that he had killed Gekko Hayate and other Konoha Ninja, and that Danzo had fueled his ambition to become Kazekage.
• Uzuki Yugao beheaded Baki to avenge Gekko Hayate, and Gaara ordered Baki's remains displayed to intimidate his faction.
• Zhou Cheng sensed that Kabuto had already left Sunagakure.

Zhou Cheng delayed his return from Sunagakure, leaving Tsunade to confront the Three Great Shinobi Villages’ delegations without him. The delegates had to wait for Zhou Cheng, and Tsunade smiled after receiving his message.

• Zhou Cheng helped Sunagakure recover for three days, then chose to walk back to Konoha with Kakashi, Uzuki Yugao, and the children instead of using Flying Thunder God.
• In Konoha, Tsunade challenged the delegates’ accusations and reminded them that their villages had attacked Konoha without provocation and lost.
• Dodai tried to threaten Konoha with renewed war and demanded Zhou Cheng’s presence, but Tsunade ordered the delegates to wait for his return and warned them not to cause trouble.
• Mei Terumi and Chojuro, along with Kitsuchi and his daughter, left the conference room, while C told Dodai they had no grounds to argue as long as Konoha pressed the surprise attack issue.
• Tsunade returned to her office, received a message from Zhou Cheng through a Messenger Toad, and smiled as she listened.

Zhou Cheng returned to Konoha after delaying the village envoys, only to learn that Kumogakure and Iwagakure had used his absence to humiliate Konoha’s shinobi. After Tsunade revealed that two elderly figures had also become involved, Zhou Cheng set out to confront the people responsible.

• Tsunade announced that she was gravely ill and refused to meet anyone, keeping the village envoys waiting while Zhou Cheng traveled back to Konoha.
• Mei Terumi accepted the delay, Iwagakure’s delegation grumbled, and Kumogakure’s delegation protested but had to remain in Konoha.
• Kakashi reminded Zhou Cheng to return, and Zhou Cheng’s group reached Konoha seven days after leaving.
• Zhou Cheng noticed the villagers’ strange reactions and used the Body Flicker Technique to reach Tsunade’s office.
• Tsunade explained that Kumogakure and Iwagakure shinobi had defeated Konoha’s Chunin and spread rumors that Zhou Cheng had fled, while Mei Terumi had restrained Kirigakure’s shinobi.
• Zhou Cheng vowed to teach the envoys a lesson and asked whether two elderly figures had joined in; Tsunade confirmed that they had.

After returning to Konoha, Zhou Cheng considered who should receive Shisui's right eye and chose Uzuki Yugao. As rumors called him afraid of the Three Great Shinobi Villages, he planned to answer them the next day by having the Konoha 15 challenge their shinobi.

• Tsunade celebrated Zhou Cheng's return and thought he could eventually take over as Hokage.
• Zhou Cheng weighed Karin, Kimimaro, and Uzuki Yugao as candidates for Shisui's eye, ruled out the first two, and chose Uzuki Yugao.
• Rumors spread that Zhou Cheng was hiding from the Three Great Shinobi Villages, but he decided to confront them the following day.
• Zhou Cheng turned down the Konoha 15's requests to attack the visiting chunin and genin, telling them to wait until tomorrow.
• Zhou Cheng created two Shadow Clones and sent the three of them to train Konohamaru's trio in powerful ninjutsu.

Zhou Cheng trained Konohamaru, Moegi Kazamatsuri, and Ise Udon in new techniques, then led them and the Konoha 15 to confront the visiting ninja delegations. The chapter ended as supporters cheered him and skeptical civilians questioned his reputation.

• Zhou Cheng showed Konohamaru Wind Release Chakra Mode and promised to teach him the Rasengan, then used shadow clones to speed up his training.
• Zhou Cheng taught Moegi Kazamatsuri advanced Earth and Water Release techniques and Water Release Chakra Mode, while Ise Udon learned Water and Wind Release ninjutsu but failed to master a chakra mode.
• Konohamaru gained a basic grasp of the Rasengan and a limited use of Wind Release Chakra Mode after practicing through the night, while Moegi also made only early progress.
• Zhou Cheng set out with the Konoha 15 and Konohamaru Squad for the Kumogakure Envoy Group's quarters as civilians cheered or mocked him.
• Zhou Cheng noticed that the people criticizing him were unfamiliar faces who had probably recently moved to Konoha.

Zhou Cheng provoked the Kumogakure delegation into a confrontation, destroyed their compound, and killed a shinobi who attacked him. He manipulated Dodai into accepting a humiliating one-on-one contest, and the genin match began with Ise Udon stepping forward.

• Zhou Cheng silenced the arguing Konoha shinobi and confronted the Kumogakure delegation after they refused to welcome him at their compound.
• Zhou Cheng raised an earth mountain that collapsed the Kumogakure compound, ignoring C and Dodai's demands to stop.
• A Kumogakure shinobi attacked Zhou Cheng, who killed him with a kunai and claimed self-defense when Dodai tried to retaliate.
• Zhou Cheng challenged Kumogakure to a no-rules sparring match with humiliating stakes, and Dodai accepted after Zhou Cheng influenced his emotions with genjutsu.
• Zhou Cheng called for one-on-one matches beginning with the genin, and Ise Udon stepped forward as the Kumogakure shinobi laughed at him.

Ise Udon killed a Kumogakure genin with a freezing technique Zhou Cheng had taught him, but a Kumogakure chunin attacked him in revenge. Konohamaru stepped in and revealed Zhou Cheng’s Wind Release Chakra Mode, while Zhou Cheng promised to teach the Konoha 15.

• Ise Udon blocked a Kumogakure genin’s sword with Water Release, froze the water around him, and killed him with ice branches.
• Zhou Cheng explained that Ise Udon had created localized freezing rather than used Ice Release, and Ise Udon credited Zhou Cheng with teaching him.
• A Kumogakure chunin charged at Ise Udon to avenge his younger brother, and Konohamaru intervened to protect his friend.
• Konohamaru activated Zhou Cheng’s Wind Release Chakra Mode and challenged the Kumogakure chunin.
• Ino asked Zhou Cheng to teach her a chakra mode, and Zhou Cheng agreed to teach the Konoha 15 after the confrontation.
• The Kumogakure shinobi accused Konoha of stealing the Raikage’s technique, and Zhou Cheng called it inspiration and taunted them.

Konohamaru defeated a Kumogakure shinobi with the Rasengan, and Kimimaro overwhelmed Karui in a sword fight. The match against Karui remained underway as Konoha’s crowd marveled at Kimimaro’s strength and wondered how Zhou Cheng had subdued him.

• Konohamaru used a Shadow Clone to distract a Kumogakure shinobi, then struck him with a Rasengan and defeated him despite the man’s claim that it felt like a massage.
• Zhou Cheng praised Konohamaru, promised him a ninjutsu reward, and called for the next Kumogakure fighter.
• Karui stepped forward with her short sword, and Zhou Cheng chose Kimimaro to face her.
• Karui attacked with Lightning Release: Thunderclap Slash, but Kimimaro blocked her sword with a Bone Blade and countered with Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Willow.
• Kimimaro wounded Karui repeatedly with taijutsu alone, leaving the Kumogakure shinobi and Konoha crowd stunned by his skill.

After Karui surrendered to Kimimaro, Zhou Cheng provoked the Kumogakure delegation until C, Dodai, and the other shinobi drew their swords. Zhou Cheng activated his Wind God Mode and the Seventh Gate, leaving the delegation and the civilians terrified as he gained the justification he had been seeking to attack them.

• Dodai surrendered on Karui’s behalf, and Karui admitted defeat to Kimimaro.
• Kimimaro told the crowd that Zhou Cheng had defeated him and nearly beaten him to death, silencing those who had claimed Kimimaro was stronger.
• Zhou Cheng insulted the Raikage and demanded that the Kumogakure delegation write and display a humiliating statement about their village.
• C and Dodai objected and drew their swords, joined by more than twenty Kumogakure shinobi.
• Zhou Cheng activated Wind Release Chakra Mode and opened the Seventh Gate, overwhelming the onlookers with his chakra.

Zhou Cheng massacred most of the Kumogakure delegation despite Tsunade’s intervention, then confronted Iwagakure’s shinobi over their behavior in Konoha. The chapter ended with Kitsuchi offering compensation as an Iwagakure messenger reported that Zhou Cheng had slaughtered the Kumogakure shinobi.

• Zhou Cheng rejected C’s plea to negotiate and told the Xiaoqiang to clear civilians from the area.
• Zhou Cheng killed several Kumogakure shinobi, while Dodai silenced those who blamed their leaders for provoking him.
• Tsunade arrived and warned Zhou Cheng that killing the delegation could provoke the Raikage and leave Konoha vulnerable to war.
• Zhou Cheng spared C, Dodai, and Karui, killed the rest of the Kumogakure shinobi, and left the peace talks to Tsunade.
• Zhou Cheng confronted Iwagakure’s delegation, and Kitsuchi apologized and promised additional compensation.
• An Iwagakure messenger announced that Zhou Cheng had slaughtered the Kumogakure shinobi, shocking everyone present.

Zhou Cheng confronted Iwagakure and Kirigakure over their shinobi’s actions, then left the peace talks to begin training the Konoha 15 and others. He taught them the principles of the Rasengan and assigned them a week of practice before he would teach Chakra Mode.

• Kitsuchi admitted that he had sent the Iwagakure shinobi involved in the trouble back to their village, and Zhou Cheng warned that he would visit Iwagakure before leaving.
• Mei Terumi told Zhou Cheng she had killed the two Kirigakure shinobi involved, invited him for tea, and discreetly slipped him something as he departed.
• Zhou Cheng skipped the political peace talks and took the Konoha 15, Konohamaru, and the others to train near the Forest of Death.
• Mitaraishi Anko met the group and allowed them to train near the entrance as long as they stayed out of the Forest of Death.
• Zhou Cheng demonstrated the Rasengan with a water-filled balloon, explained its chakra-control requirements, and told the youngsters to practice daily for a week before learning Chakra Mode.

Zhou Cheng taught Mitaraishi Anko and the young ninjas the Rasengan, then showed them how Shadow Clones could accelerate training. After everyone learned the basic Rasengan and began practicing Chakra Mode, Zhou Cheng demonstrated versions far beyond their own.

• Mitaraishi Anko practiced the Rasengan and asked Zhou Cheng to teach her its upgraded form once she learned it.
• Zhou Cheng challenged Konohamaru to perform the Rasengan with one hand, while Konohamaru explained that Shadow Clones sped up training by returning their memories.
• The ninjas used Shadow Clones to master the basic Rasengan by the fourth day, though Zhou Cheng withheld dangerous nature-enhanced versions.
• Zhou Cheng taught the ninjas Chakra Mode, giving Rock Lee a nature-neutral chakra cloak to strengthen his Taijutsu.
• Zhou Cheng demonstrated wind, water, and earth Chakra Modes, astonishing the Xiaoqiangs with their superior power.

Zhou Cheng explained his Nature Transformation Chakra Modes, then offered Konohamaru the Sexy Jutsu and a Byakugan taken from Ao. After convincing Tsunade to consider the transplant by claiming the Byakugan could evolve beyond the Sharingan, he left Konohamaru eager to gain its power.

• Zhou Cheng explained how each of his Chakra Modes enhanced abilities tied to its nature, and dismissed Xiaoqiang and Mitaraishi Anko after they praised the importance of training and chakra reserves.
• Zhou Cheng showed Konohamaru the Sexy Jutsu, then presented a Byakugan he had taken from a Kirigakure shinobi and proposed transplanting it into him.
• Zhou Cheng reassured Konohamaru that he would protect him from the village and the Hyuga Clan, and said Tsunade could perform the transplant.
• Zhou Cheng brought Konohamaru to Tsunade after Konoha's peace talks ended with the other villages paying for peace and Sunagakure presenting a Permanent Alliance Treaty.
• Tsunade objected to giving Konohamaru the Byakugan because of the Hyuga Clan, but Zhou Cheng claimed it could evolve beyond the Sharingan, shocking her and intensifying Konohamaru's desire for it.

Zhou Cheng secured Tsunade’s agreement to perform a Byakugan transplant for Konohamaru at ANBU headquarters. Meanwhile, Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure considered how to respond to Zhou Cheng as Kirigakure waited to see whether he would come.

• Tsunade agreed to Zhou Cheng’s transplant plan and told him to meet her at ANBU in three days.
• Raikage A condemned the failed Kumogakure mission, then ordered his shinobi to investigate Zhou Cheng and lure him to the Land of Lightning so he could fight him.
• Ōnoki heard Kurotsuchi’s account of the trip to Konoha and ordered Iwagakure to consult Kumogakure and Kirigakure before deciding how to deal with Zhou Cheng.
• Mei Terumi told Genji she had left Zhou Cheng a message inviting him to Kirigakure, and Genji ordered the village to hide its intentions from the other villages.

Zhou Cheng and Tsunade performed a successful Byakugan transplant on Konohamaru, though he needed three days of observation for possible rejection. After using his Yang Release to help Tsunade recover, Zhou Cheng asked about transplanting Shisui Uchiha’s Sharingan into Uzuki Yugao.

• Zhou Cheng decided to accept Mei Terumi’s invitation to Kirigakure, where she claimed to have news about his parents.
• Zhou Cheng brought Konohamaru to ANBU headquarters, where Tsunade and five medical shinobi prepared for the Byakugan transplant.
• Tsunade completed the transplant successfully after more than five hours, and she ordered three days of observation with Konohamaru’s right eye bandaged.
• Zhou Cheng used his Yang Release to restore Tsunade’s strength, and she wondered about the source of his unusually pure power.
• Zhou Cheng asked whether Tsunade could transplant a Sharingan and said he planned to put Shisui Uchiha’s right eye into Uzuki Yugao.

Zhou Cheng convinced Uzuki Yugao to accept Shisui’s Sharingan, then waited with Konoha’s shinobi to see whether Konohamaru’s Byakugan transplant had succeeded. Konohamaru’s new eye worked, and Yugao prepared for her own transplant the next day.

• Zhou Cheng left Tsunade and rushed to Uzuki Yugao’s home to offer her Shisui’s right eye for a transplant.
• Zhou Cheng reassured Uzuki Yugao that she was not alone and told her about Konohamaru’s Byakugan transplant; she agreed to take the chance.
• Three days later, Tsunade removed Konohamaru’s bandages while Zhou Cheng, Uzuki Yugao, Kakashi, and several jonin watched.
• Konohamaru confirmed that he could see normally and demonstrated that his Byakugan let him see chakra and what was behind him.
• Tsunade and the gathered jonin celebrated Konohamaru’s successful transplant, and Zhou Cheng arranged to transplant Uzuki Yugao’s Sharingan the following day.

After Uzuki Yugao and Konohamaru stabilized, Zhou Cheng asked Tsunade to take him to Shikkotsu Forest so he could learn its Sage Mode. The Great Slug Sage accepted him as a student, and Zhou Cheng proved his skill by entering toad Sage Mode instantly.

• Zhou Cheng stayed in Konoha until Uzuki Yugao and Konohamaru had stabilized, then asked Tsunade to help him reach Shikkotsu Forest.
• Tsunade agreed to help after Zhou Cheng promised to lead a month-long special training camp teaching Chakra Mode.
• Zhou Cheng signed Shikkotsu Forest's contract, summoned a huge Katsuyu, and traveled with her to meet the Great Slug Sage.
• The Great Slug Sage recognized the toad senjutsu chakra Zhou Cheng carried and agreed to teach him Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Mode.
• Zhou Cheng entered toad Sage Mode instantly, convincing the Great Slug Sage that he was qualified to learn.

Zhou Cheng learned Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Mode and tried to merge it with Mount Myōboku's, but repeated failures led him to decide he needed to learn Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode first. Back in Konoha, he checked on Konohamaru and Uzuki Yugao, healed Konohamaru's surgical scar, and heard how the Sharingan was helping Yugao.

• The Slug Sage taught Zhou Cheng how to train in Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Mode, which Zhou Cheng learned quickly and found enhanced his recovery.
• Zhou Cheng proposed merging Mount Myōboku's and Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Modes, but the Great Slug Sage could not say whether it would work.
• Zhou Cheng spent five days trying to merge the two kinds of senjutsu chakra, failed, and decided to learn Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode before trying again.
• After returning to Konoha, Zhou Cheng checked on Konohamaru, whose Byakugan was improving his health, and used Yang Release to heal the scar over his right eye.
• Zhou Cheng visited Uzuki Yugao, who said the Sharingan had made her much stronger and thanked him for thinking of her.

Zhou Cheng healed Uzuki Yugao’s eye, then met with Tsunade to prepare another special training camp and learned that the Three Great Shinobi Villages were investigating him. After warning them not to threaten his friends, he announced the camp in Konoha and began planning how to protect its participants.

• Zhou Cheng healed Uzuki Yugao’s surgical wound and restored her eye, then left her home without noticing someone watching him.
• Zhou Cheng visited Tsunade, accepted a list of thirty clan shinobi for the special training camp, and insisted she add thirty civilian shinobi as well.
• Tsunade showed Zhou Cheng a report that ANBU from the Three Great Shinobi Villages had infiltrated Konoha to investigate him and find his weaknesses.
• Zhou Cheng threatened to retaliate if the villages harmed his friends, then teleported home and decided he might need to bring them to the camp.
• Zhou Cheng sent the Konoha 15 to publicize the camp, which drew a surge of applicants eager to train under him.

After completing three stages of special training for the Konoha 15 and other recruits, Zhou Cheng discovered that his gourd had refined the Uzumaki Clan’s talent into thirty-six drops of talent original liquid and could fuse elemental affinities. He chose to combine earth and water to create Wood Release, leaving the result to be revealed.

• Zhou Cheng put one hundred trainees through a week of survival training in the Forest of Death, then gave them a feast before starting fourteen days of Special Forces Training.
• More trainees quit during the grueling physical training, leaving just over eighty to learn ninjutsu and chakra control from Zhou Cheng.
• After the camp ended, Zhou Cheng discovered that the Uzumaki Clan’s talent refinement had produced thirty-six drops of talent original liquid and that the Azure Gourd could fuse elemental affinities into top-tier kekkei genkai without bloodline disease.
• Zhou Cheng excitedly spun Mitaraishi Anko around, then used the Flying Thunder God Technique to leave and report to Lord Hokage.
• Zhou Cheng considered possible combinations of his wind, water, and earth affinities, then commanded the Azure Gourd to fuse earth and water into Wood Release.

Zhou Cheng failed to fuse Earth and Water into Wood Release because he lacked enough talent original liquid, so he planned to save more while preparing to pursue Sage Mode and new talents. He told Haku, Kimimaro, and Kurama Yakumo that he would leave Konoha soon and ordered them to stay safe, refusing to take them along.

• Zhou Cheng discovered that thirty-six drops of talent original liquid were insufficient to fuse Wood Release and decided to save them for later.
• Zhou Cheng reviewed his progress and planned to visit the Land of Grass to find Orochimaru and Sasuke, then travel to Ryūchi Cave for Sage Mode training.
• Zhou Cheng decided to target the Hyuga and Uchiha clans to pursue Sage Eyes and Yin Release.
• Haku, Kimimaro, and Kurama Yakumo returned from celebrating the Special Training Camp, and Zhou Cheng reassured them that he was not angry they had gone without him.
• Zhou Cheng warned the three not to leave Konoha alone while he was away and firmly refused Kurama Yakumo's request to accompany him.

Zhou Cheng reported the Special Training Camp’s success to Tsunade, who tried to make him command the trainees’ new army. After he refused and recommended Kakashi, Tsunade revealed that Kumogakure and Iwagakure were investigating Zhou Cheng’s past to find a way to control him, and Zhou Cheng called for Jiraiya to return to Konoha.

• Zhou Cheng ordered the Konoha 15 and Haku to stay in Konoha, then used the Flying Thunder God Technique to visit Tsunade.
• Zhou Cheng told Tsunade that the Special Training Camp had greatly improved its trainees and taught them all Chakra Mode.
• Tsunade proposed forming the trainees into an army and appointed Zhou Cheng as its commander, but he refused and recommended Kakashi instead.
• Zhou Cheng told Tsunade he would leave the village soon and asked her to keep the trainees from taking missions while he was away.
• Tsunade showed Zhou Cheng ANBU intelligence that Kumogakure and Iwagakure had investigated his family and childhood to find a weakness they could exploit.
• Zhou Cheng realized the villages might target people close to him and told Tsunade to bring Jiraiya back to Konoha.

Zhou Cheng warned his friends to stay in Konoha while he left on a personal trip, then replicated Hinata Hyuga’s talent and obtained the Perfect Byakugan. He returned home and tested his new eyes, seeing chakra pathways and fine details with extraordinary clarity.

• Zhou Cheng told Tsunade he would leave the village for three days but kept his destination secret.
• Zhou Cheng hosted a dinner for his friends and the jonin, then urged everyone—especially the Konoha 15—to remain in the village while he was away.
• Tsunade backed Zhou Cheng’s warning and told the Konoha 15 to stay in the village and train until they reached elite jonin level.
• Hinata, Karin, and Ino each clung to Zhou Cheng before the guests dispersed, and Zhou Cheng escorted the girls home.
• While walking Hinata home, Zhou Cheng used the Purple-Gold Gourd to replicate her talent and obtained the Perfect Byakugan.
• After Hinata entered her home, Zhou Cheng activated his new Byakugan and saw dust, chakra pathways, and chakra beneath his skin in exceptional detail.