Chapter Summaries

Zhou Cheng arrived just as Hidan was about to kill Ino and rescued her and Asuma. He exposed the weaknesses in Hidan’s ritual, leaving Hidan stunned by how Zhou Cheng had figured them out.

• Hidan used Ino’s blood to begin his ritual and inflicted a matching wound on her by stabbing himself.
• Zhou Cheng appeared, healed Ino and Asuma, and used genjutsu to stop Hidan.
• Zhou Cheng pulled Hidan out of the ritual circle and washed away its markings before releasing him from the genjutsu.
• Hidan stabbed himself again, but Ino suffered no injury, confirming that Zhou Cheng’s interruption had broken the ritual.
• Zhou Cheng explained that Hidan needed his enemy’s blood, time to swallow it, and a drawn circle to perform the ritual, leaving Hidan to ask how Zhou Cheng knew its secrets.

Zhou Cheng cut Hidan apart and stored his head in his Alternate Dimension before confronting Obito. He exploited Obito’s Phasing with Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, forcing him to use Izanagi and retreat, then returned to Konoha with Asuma and the others.

• Zhou Cheng cut Hidan into pieces and put his head in his Alternate Dimension to keep him from continuing the ritual.
• Obito appeared through a vortex, and Zhou Cheng tested his Phasing by attacking with Rasengan that passed through him.
• Zhou Cheng placed an explosive-tagged kunai inside Obito’s phased body and detonated Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags for ten minutes.
• Obito survived the explosions by using Izanagi, but Zhou Cheng recognized the technique and forced him to retreat.
• Kakuzu vanished, and Zhou Cheng used his own Phasing to take Asuma and the others back to Konoha.

After returning to Konoha, Zhou Cheng dealt with Hidan, reflected on his plans to grow stronger, and went home to rest. In Amegakure, Obito and Nagato made Zhou Cheng the Akatsuki’s top-priority target and decided to hunt him alongside capturing the tailed beasts.

• Asuma, Choji, and Shikamaru left Zhou Cheng, while Ino kissed him before Hinata and Karin chased after him and he escaped into the Alternate Dimension.
• Zhou Cheng buried Hidan’s head beneath the ground in the Alternate Dimension, then returned home and considered his new abilities, the Akatsuki’s threat, and his plans to obtain Wood Release.
• Obito reported to Pain that Zhou Cheng had defeated him and taken Hidan’s head, leaving the Akatsuki with another lost fighter.
• Obito urged Nagato to make Zhou Cheng the Akatsuki’s primary target because he protected several Jinchuriki and threatened the Tailed Beast Capture Plan.
• Nagato decided to launch the Tailed Beast Capture Plan and the Zhou Cheng Hunting Plan at the same time, with Obito and the Six Paths joining the ambush.

Zhou Cheng offered Tsunade the Chakra Cloak blueprints in exchange for ensuring Shinobi knew he had provided them, and she agreed. He accepted high-ranking missions to qualify for promotion to Jonin, while Tsunade and Jiraiya considered whether he might someday come into conflict with Konoha.

• Zhou Cheng showed Tsunade the Chakra Cloak blueprints, and she was astonished by their potential to strengthen Konoha’s Shinobi.
• Zhou Cheng demanded recognition as the cloaks’ donor, and Tsunade agreed after considering his influence and connections in the village.
• Tsunade offered Zhou Cheng five S-Rank and fifteen A-Rank missions as a path to Jonin promotion, and he selected missions while keeping the bounties.
• Jiraiya joined Tsunade and said Zhou Cheng would not rebel unless Konoha wronged him, though conflict could arise if their interests clashed.
• Jiraiya wondered whether Zhou Cheng or Naruto was the Child of Prophecy and worried that the Great Toad Sage’s prophecy might be mistaken.

After Talent Refinement finished, Zhou Cheng used sixty drops of talent original liquid to obtain perfect Wood Release and tested its strongest techniques in the Alternate Dimension. Back in Konoha, he replicated Konohamaru Sarutobi’s top-tier fire release affinity and demonstrated an enormous Great Fireball Technique, startling the Xiaoqiang.

• Zhou Cheng spent more than twenty days taking missions while Talent Refinement ran its course.
• Zhou Cheng fused Earth Release and Water Release with sixty drops of talent original liquid and gained perfect Wood Release.
• Zhou Cheng tested powerful Wood Release techniques, including True Several Thousand Hands and Hotei, and devastated the Alternate Dimension.
• Zhou Cheng recovered in Konoha and chose Konohamaru Sarutobi as his next Replication target.
• Zhou Cheng replicated Konohamaru Sarutobi’s top-tier fire release affinity and demonstrated an enormous Great Fireball Technique before the startled Xiaoqiang.

Zhou Cheng tested his newly mastered Fire Release and planned to continue strengthening his abilities, then spent the day with Mitaraishi Anko and the girls before preparing a group dinner. As evening fell, the young shinobi gathered in his courtyard and the girls joined him in the kitchen.

• Zhou Cheng tested Fire Release in the Alternate Dimension and found that his Sharingan-enhanced techniques were more than twice as powerful, while his hand-seal-less ninjutsu let him fire off techniques in quick succession.
• Zhou Cheng planned to take a mission lasting about ten days before using Replication again to refine Konohamaru's talent and continue pursuing the Sage Eyes.
• Mitaraishi Anko returned from a mission, asked Zhou Cheng to cook for her, and he gave the young shinobi the day off and invited them to dinner.
• Zhou Cheng went shopping for ingredients with Anko and the girls, drawing envious looks from men around Konoha.
• The young shinobi returned at dusk and arranged tables and chairs in the courtyard while the girls went into the kitchen with Zhou Cheng.

Zhou Cheng received sixty Sharingan from Orochimaru and rejected Orochimaru’s request for his blood, though Orochimaru left the Sharingan with him as a gift. In the Alternate Dimension, Zhou Cheng absorbed them and evolved his Sharingan to three tomoe, gaining new abilities and strengthening his existing ones.

• The girls helped Zhou Cheng prepare a meal, and Asuma, Kurenai Yuhi, and Konohamaru thanked him for saving Asuma’s life before leaving.
• Zhou Cheng met Orochimaru at Hokage Rock and received a sealing scroll containing sixty Sharingan.
• Orochimaru offered to improve Zhou Cheng’s Chakra Cloak blueprints in exchange for his blood, but Zhou Cheng refused and threatened to end their deal.
• Orochimaru left the Sharingan with Zhou Cheng as a gift and transformed into a small snake before disappearing.
• Zhou Cheng entered the Alternate Dimension, absorbed all the Sharingan, and evolved his eyes to three tomoe.

Zhou Cheng tested the power of his Three-Stage Susanoo and strengthened Sharingan, then learned that Iwagakure would host the Whole Shinobi World Chunin Exams. When Konoha’s advisors demanded he lead the team without bargaining, he threatened them and declared that they could not stop him from betraying the village.

• Zhou Cheng used his Three-Stage Susanoo to unleash devastating sword strikes and a compressed Rasengan, and found that his Sharingan amplified his ninjutsu fivefold.
• Zhou Cheng decided he was strong enough to face Nagato and Ōnoki, and planned to take the Four-Tails and Five-Tails from Iwagakure.
• Zhou Cheng completed Konohamaru’s Talent Refinement, replicated Sasuke Uchiha, and gained top-tier lightning nature affinity and Lightning Release.
• Tsunade summoned Zhou Cheng and told him that Iwagakure would host the Whole Shinobi World Chunin Exams in half a month, with Zhou Cheng leading Konoha’s team.
• When the advisors ordered Zhou Cheng to obey the village without bargaining, he threatened them, smashed the desk, and declared that they could not stop him from betraying Konoha.

Zhou Cheng agreed to lead Konoha’s delegation to the joint Chunin Exams in Iwagakure after securing authority over the group and an S-Rank mission fee. Tsunade hoped the assignment would test his leadership, while the young shinobi at Zhou Cheng’s home eagerly asked to go along.

• Zhou Cheng threatened Konoha’s Advisors after they tried to pressure Tsunade, then agreed to travel to Iwagakure once she offered an S-Rank mission and he won control of the delegation.
• Tsunade told Jiraiya she wanted Zhou Cheng’s leadership tested so she could hand him the Hokage Position, and she complained about the burdens of the job.
• Zhou Cheng returned home and told the youngsters that the Five Great Shinobi Villages would jointly hold the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• The youngsters clamored to accompany Zhou Cheng, hoping to use the trip as an excuse to slack off.

Zhou Cheng organized his companions for a trip to Iwagakure, urging Naruto to befriend the Nine-Tails while planning to advance toward Six Paths level. The next morning, he gathered his group at the Konoha Gate and waited for the others to arrive.

• Zhou Cheng told the young ninja from the clans to keep their relatives in line during the Chunin Ninja Exams and warned he would punish anyone who disobeyed.
• Zhou Cheng reassured Kurama Yakumo and urged her to visit her clan, while telling Karin, Kimimaro, Naruto, and Haku that they were his family.
• Zhou Cheng asked Naruto about his efforts to befriend the Nine-Tails, encouraged him to keep trying, and sent him home to pack.
• Zhou Cheng considered how to gain the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, obtain Sage Eyes, and grow strong enough to reach Six Paths level.
• Zhou Cheng prepared breakfast for his companions, then led them to the Konoha Gate, where the arriving ninja fell quiet when they saw him.

Zhou Cheng disqualified the Daimyo’s late-arriving son, Yamada Masaaki, before learning that the apparent spoiled brat was acting on his father’s orders. Yamada warned Zhou Cheng of a plot involving Ōnoki and formed an alliance with him to overthrow the Daimyo, leaving them to prepare for the scheme.

• Zhou Cheng ordered the group to depart and declared that anyone who missed the deadline or failed to reach the next watchtower by sunset would be disqualified.
• Zhou Cheng rejected Shikamaru’s warning about the latecomer’s noble status and disqualified the Daimyo’s son in front of the group.
• Yamada Masaaki revealed his combat training and told Zhou Cheng that his father was plotting against him with Ōnoki.
• Yamada asked Zhou Cheng to help overthrow the Daimyo, and Zhou Cheng proposed abolishing the Daimyo position.
• Yamada agreed to the plan on the condition that he first become Daimyo and later become Zhou Cheng’s disciple, then began sharing what he knew.

Zhou Cheng learned that the Daimyo had allied with the Land of Earth against him and ordered Yamada Masaaki to deal with witnesses before leading the young shinobi toward Iwagakure. As Zhou Cheng planned to train a new generation of Konoha elites, Yamada secretly prepared an international plot against him while scheming to seize the Daimyo's position.

• Zhou Cheng learned that Yamada Masaaki had revealed the Daimyo's plans and ordered him to eliminate anyone who could expose what had happened.
• Zhou Cheng forced the shinobi traveling to the Chunin Ninja Exams to march at speed and make camp independently, and he noted Hanabi's talent.
• Zhou Cheng decided to develop a second squad of young elites to succeed the Konoha 15 and strengthen Konoha at every level.
• A black-clad man told Yamada Masaaki that Iwagakure was ready and that Kumogakure and Kirigakure had been asked to help kill Zhou Cheng.
• Yamada Masaaki declared that he would claim the Daimyo's position after killing his father and brothers, then become Zhou Cheng's disciple to protect himself.

Zhou Cheng pushed the group through forced marches toward Iwagakure, dismissing clan heirs who refused to keep up before revealing that the marches had improved everyone’s stamina and Chakra Reserves. The group reached Iwagakure ahead of the other villages and settled in to rest before the Chunin Ninja Exams.

• Zhou Cheng praised Hanabi Hyuga for enduring the first forced march and promised to teach her a powerful Ninjutsu if she kept it up.
• When several clan children refused the next march, Zhou Cheng crossed their names off the exam roster and ordered them back to Konoha, but they later chased after the group.
• After three days of forced marches, the group reached the Land of Fire’s final Watchtower, and Zhou Cheng explained that the travel had trained their Chakra Reserves and stamina.
• At the border, Zhou Cheng greeted Kitsuchi, learned that the other villages would arrive in a few days, and led the group toward Iwagakure.
• After two more days, Zhou Cheng and the group arrived outside Iwagakure, where he told them to set up camp, rest, and avoid trouble until the exams.

Zhou Cheng watched Hanabi defeat an Iwagakure Genin who had challenged the Konoha team, then received an invitation from Ōnoki to visit the Tsuchikage Building. He left Hinata in charge of keeping the Genin under control and headed there with Kitsuchi, wondering if the Four-Tails and Five-Tails Jinchuriki would be present.

• Hinata told Zhou Cheng that Iwa Ninja had come to challenge Konoha's Genin, and he ordered the team to avoid fighting before the exams.
• Zhou Cheng found Hanabi fighting an Iwagakure Genin, and he let the match continue after stopping Hinata from intervening.
• Hanabi activated her Byakugan and defeated her opponent, then admitted she had fought because the Iwa Ninja insulted Zhou Cheng.
• Zhou Cheng let Hanabi off with a warning, and later the Iwagakure Ninja taunted Konoha again without anyone accepting their challenges.
• Kitsuchi invited Zhou Cheng to meet Ōnoki, and Zhou Cheng instructed Hinata to keep the Genin in line before leaving for the Tsuchikage Building.

Zhou Cheng confronted Ōnoki at Iwagakure and demonstrated that his chakra power could overwhelm the Tsuchikage and the gathered shinobi. In Ōnoki’s office, Zhou Cheng warned Iwagakure that the Akatsuki planned to capture all nine tailed beasts and had numerous Kage-level members.

• Zhou Cheng arrived at the Tsuchikage Building and provoked Ōnoki into coming outside.
• Ōnoki tried to make Zhou Cheng sit, but Zhou Cheng formed a chair from water with chakra and no hand seals.
• Zhou Cheng used Byakugan, Pressure to force Ōnoki and the surrounding Iwagakure shinobi to their knees, then agreed to speak inside.
• Ōnoki asked whether the Akatsuki intended to capture the tailed beasts, and Zhou Cheng confirmed they sought all nine.
• Zhou Cheng told Ōnoki and Iwagakure’s senior figures that the Akatsuki had ten Kage-level core members, with two already gone, and warned them not to underestimate the group.

Zhou Cheng left Ōnoki after learning Iwagakure’s jinchūriki were absent, while Ōnoki resolved to kill him during the chunin exams in exchange for Kara’s promise of eternal youth. Back in Konoha’s quarters, Zhou Cheng ordered his shinobi to defeat Iwagakure’s challengers, then launch challenges of their own; Konoha won every match, with Konohamaru crushing Iwagakure’s genin prodigies.

• Zhou Cheng refused Ōnoki’s offer of tea and vanished with his space-time ninjutsu.
• Ōnoki told his subordinates to target Zhou Cheng during the chunin exams, then recalled Kara’s offer to make him young again.
• Zhou Cheng ordered the Konoha 15 to accept Iwagakure’s challenges only when victory was assured, then challenge Iwagakure once the initial wave subsided.
• Iwagakure’s ninja challenged Konoha in droves, but Konoha won every match and eventually began challenging Iwagakure in turn.
• Konohamaru defeated Iwagakure’s genin prodigies and declared that Zhou Cheng was his teacher.

Zhou Cheng rescued Hanabi from an Iwagakure ambush during the Chunin Exams and accused Ōnoki of plotting to kill him. As Ōnoki launched a battle against Konoha, Zhou Cheng ordered his allies to unleash their full power in the forest.

• Fifteen Konoha Chunin defeated their Iwagakure opponents, and the assembled villages learned they had trained under Zhou Cheng.
• During the Forest of Death trial, Zhou Cheng sensed Hanabi was surrounded by sixteen Iwagakure Genin, including four Chunin, and rushed to save her.
• Zhou Cheng healed Hanabi, then confronted Ōnoki and accused him of arranging the ambush to create an excuse to kill him.
• Zhou Cheng activated Wind God Mode and ordered the Konoha Shinobi to gather around him as the Konoha 15 attacked in Chakra Cloaks.
• Ōnoki declared that he would destroy Zhou Cheng and Konoha, then sent Jonin into the woods while Zhou Cheng sensed more forces in reserve.
• Zhou Cheng ordered Kimimaro, Haku, and Sasuke to fight, and their powers devastated the forest as he challenged Ōnoki to account for them.

Zhou Cheng exposed the Daimyo of the Land of Fire’s plot and fought off Ōnoki and the hired ninja sent to kill him. He unleashed a Sage Art: Samadhi Rasenshuriken that stopped Ōnoki’s Dust Release and left the assembled shinobi stunned by his power.

• Zhou Cheng revealed that he sensed the Daimyo of the Land of Fire’s men beneath the Tsuchikage Building, and sixteen hired wandering Jonin emerged.
• Zhou Cheng combined Mount Myōboku’s senjutsu chakra with his Wind Release Chakra Mode and killed three wandering ninja with a single punch.
• Ōnoki attacked Zhou Cheng with Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique, while Zhou Cheng answered with Sage Art: Samadhi Rasenshuriken.
• The clash caused a huge explosion that killed more Iwagakure Jonin, but Zhou Cheng protected the Konoha Genin behind his Chakra Shield.
• The Konoha Genin cheered as Ōnoki and the watching shinobi realized Zhou Cheng’s strength far exceeded their expectations.

Zhou Cheng battled Ōnoki in Iwagakure, unveiling powerful Earth and Yang Release Rasengan techniques that overwhelmed the Tsuchikage. Ōnoki was left badly injured while Zhou Cheng stood unharmed, as Akatsuki and the Raikage’s forces prepared to enter the conflict.

• Obito and Pain discussed a plan to attack Zhou Cheng alongside Ōnoki, the Raikage, and the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, then Pain summoned all Six Paths.
• An old Kara agent finished stealing Iwagakure’s research data on Dust Release clones and prepared to return to the Land of Valleys.
• Zhou Cheng unleashed an amplified Majestic Destroyer Flame, burning Iwagakure’s remaining forest and killing many of its ninja.
• Ōnoki ordered the other ninja to retreat and launched an all-out Dust Release attack against Zhou Cheng.
• Zhou Cheng countered with Earth Style: Saturn and the Golden Radiance Rasengan, creating a massive explosion that destroyed the forest and left Ōnoki badly injured while Zhou Cheng remained unharmed.

Zhou Cheng faced a coordinated attack from Ōnoki, Raikage A, and Killer B, then discovered Obito, Deva Path Pain, and Han had joined the battlefield. When the Konoha 15 refused to abandon him, he used Flying Thunder God to send them away so he could fight without worrying about them.

• Zhou Cheng gave Konohamaru, Hanabi, and the other genin single-use Flying Thunder God Kunai that could teleport them back to Konoha, then continued toward Ōnoki.
• Raikage A and Killer B ambushed Zhou Cheng alongside Ōnoki, but Zhou Cheng opened the Eighth Gate and stopped their attacks with his overwhelming chakra.
• Obito, Deva Path Pain, and Han arrived, while Ōnoki revealed that Roshi had refused to come.
• The Konoha 15 refused Zhou Cheng's order to leave and prepared to fight beside him.
• Zhou Cheng thanked the Konoha 15 for their loyalty and used Flying Thunder God to teleport them away.