Chapter Summaries

Obito fought Kurotsuchi in the Chunin Exams, overcoming her powerful Earth Style with his Sharingan and Rasengan. After both contestants fell, Ōnoki attacked Obito, but Ye Liang stopped him and Rin Nohara confirmed Kurotsuchi was not in danger.

• Kurotsuchi blocked Obito's Great Fireball Technique with an earthen wall and struck back with Earth Dragon Bullet.
• Obito shattered the earth dragon with his Rasengan, and Kurotsuchi used Super Added-Weight Rock Technique to batter him with stone gauntlets.
• Obito activated his Sharingan, charged Kurotsuchi, and landed another Rasengan when her footwork faltered, leaving both of them unconscious.
• Ōnoki flew at Obito in anger, but Ye Liang blocked his attack with one hand.
• Rin Nohara treated Kurotsuchi and told Ōnoki that her injuries were minor, after which Ōnoki left with newfound regard for Ye Liang.

After Obito recovered, Ye Liang oversaw the final practical exam and worried about Konoha's security and his own safety. He encountered Mizukage Yagura, who secretly planned to attack him for his tailed beast, then found Obito under Kakashi's watch.

• Ye Liang paused the matches, barred competitors over twenty, and learned from Ōtsutsuki Ichiraku and Ōtsutsuki Kaguya that Konoha's Uchiha Military Police had left the village.
• Ye Liang considered leaving Konoha and returned to oversee the jungle pursuit battle, where teams had to steal rival seals and ring the victory gong.
• Mizukage Yagura approached Ye Liang, claimed Mei Terumi had praised him, and hid his intent to test Ye Liang and take his tailed beast.
• Ye Liang sensed the Nine-Tails stir when he was near Yagura, then went to find Obito, who was trying to escape Kakashi's supervision.

Ye Liang discovered that a mysterious attack had unleashed swarms of poisonous insects across the forest during the Chunin Exams. When Yagura appeared as the Animal Path and targeted him, Ye Liang charged to confront him and uncover the truth.

• Obito led Rin Nohara and Kurenai Yūhi through the forest while Kakashi watched over them.
• Ye Liang visited Kakashi, sensed a surge of killing intent, and warned him that something seemed wrong with Kirigakure.
• Ye Liang destroyed an ant that attacked him, triggering a vast swarm of ants, while insects attacked ninja and Kage throughout the forest.
• Ōnoki and the other Kage fought off the swarms but held back to protect their people.
• Yagura appeared atop a giant three-headed hound, covered in black rods, and revealed himself as the Animal Path targeting Ye Liang.
• Ye Liang activated Sage Mode and used Enhanced—Body Flicker Technique to rush toward Yagura.

Ye Liang defeated Yagura, whose Animal Path powers had unleashed insects against the villages, and brought the unconscious Mizukage to Konoha. At a gathering of the village leaders, Ōnoki accused Konoha and questioned Ye Liang’s identity, prompting Ye Liang to suspect him.

• Ye Liang’s Rasengan shattered Yagura’s three Water Dragon Bullets, and Yagura sent multiplying hounds after him.
• Yagura revealed Isobu’s power and attacked, but Ye Liang struck him with Shinra Tensei and a Sage Mode Tailed Beast Bomb, knocking him unconscious.
• The insects retreated after Yagura’s defeat, and Ye Liang carried him back as the Chunin Exams were suspended.
• At the Hokage’s hall, Ōnoki accused Konoha’s Aburame Clan of causing the insect attack and challenged the explanation that Yagura had gone berserk.
• Ōnoki claimed Otogakure did not exist and called Ye Liang’s identity suspicious, and Ye Liang responded with killing intent while Hiruzen Sarutobi grew worried.

Ye Liang exposed Ōnoki as White Zetsu and helped the villages find other infiltrators among the Chunin Exams participants. He then brought Mei Terumi into the examination forest to search for the real Ōnoki and the missing students, where he found another White Zetsu.

• Ye Liang cut down Ōnoki, revealing that he was White Zetsu, and warned the leaders that the real Ōnoki and other people might have been captured.
• Ye Liang gave chakra to Konoha’s sensory ninjas, who detected White Zetsu among the Chunin Exams participants, and the Raikage killed the impostors they identified.
• Ye Liang took Mei Terumi to the examination forest to look for the missing hostages and the real Ōnoki.
• Ye Liang raced ahead of Mei Terumi through the forest and stopped after spotting White Zetsu.

Ye Liang and Mei Terumi tracked the White Zetsu to a cave where they found kidnapped students and a human-experimentation pit. After Mei Terumi shielded the hostages, Ye Liang wiped out the White Zetsu guarding the cave and turned toward the creatures in the pit.

• Ye Liang and Mei Terumi followed White Zetsu carrying students to a cave filled with captured shinobi, including Asuma and Ōnoki.
• Ye Liang recognized the cave as Orochimaru's former laboratory and used his enhanced Shadow Camouflage to infiltrate it.
• Ye Liang discovered giant White Zetsu absorbing liquid in a pit, along with skeletons and students about to be used in experiments.
• Mei Terumi used Lava Release to protect the students while Ye Liang attacked the White Zetsu.
• Ye Liang used Shinra Tensei to hurl the White Zetsu into the cave walls, then faced the giant creatures in the pit.

Ye Liang and Ōnoki fought off the White Zetsu while Mei Terumi led the students out of the cave. After the battle, a masked object fell near Ye Liang, and a sinister voice appeared behind Mei Terumi, who realized Ōnoki was in danger.

• Ye Liang attacked the White Zetsu with a Tailed Beast Bomb, then discovered they could use Wood Release and ordered Mei Terumi to evacuate the students.
• Mei Terumi burned a path for the students while the White Zetsu tried to seize hostages, but Ōnoki intercepted them with Dust Release.
• Ye Liang summoned powerful Shadow Clones, and they wiped out the White Zetsu as a dark-skinned man watched from the cave wall.
• A black, faceless mask fell near Ye Liang as he prepared to leave the cave.
• Mei Terumi led the students toward the village, then heard a sinister voice behind her and realized Ōnoki was there.

Ye Liang defeated a giant White Zetsu and killed a fake Ōnoki, but collapsed after using Night Guy. In a dark mental world, he met the Nine-Tails, which offered help only if he explained the golden sphere above him.

• Fake Ōnoki revealed himself as a White Zetsu and seized Mei Terumi, but Ye Liang's Night Guy blasted apart the mountain and hurled a giant White Zetsu away.
• A small figure in red mist emerged from the giant White Zetsu, which died, and Black Zetsu urged Ōnoki to flee.
• Ye Liang appeared, killed the fake Ōnoki with a Tailed Beast Bomb, then collapsed into Mei Terumi's arms after exhausting his strength.
• Ye Liang awoke in a dark mental world and recalled using Night Guy against the giant White Zetsu, realizing the technique's side effects had left him near death.
• The Nine-Tails offered Ye Liang power in exchange for an explanation of the golden sphere above his head, but Ye Liang said he did not know what it was.

Ye Liang found his system in his mental world and persuaded the Nine-Tails to lend him Chakra by promising it control of his body. After his injuries began to heal, the system expelled the consciousness that had taken over him, and Ye Liang regained control.

• Ye Liang discovered that the metal sphere in his mental world was his incomplete system, which reacted angrily when he mocked it.
• Ye Liang offered the Nine-Tails control of his body in exchange for help, and the Nine-Tails accepted.
• Rin Nohara treated Ye Liang while Anko, Mei Terumi, Kushina, and Naruto waited anxiously beside him.
• Ye Liang’s internal injuries began to heal, and he suddenly opened his eyes with a crimson gaze.
• The system detected an unknown consciousness in Ye Liang’s body and removed it, restoring Ye Liang’s original eye color.

After regaining control of his body, Ye Liang left Konoha following repeated assassination attempts and spent five years growing stronger. At the Assassination Tavern, he accepted a bounty for Hanzō the Salamander and faced an angry Iwagakure Rogue Ninja outside.

• Ye Liang woke up and reunited with Anko, Rin Nohara, Kushina, Naruto, and Mei Terumi.
• After several Konoha Anbu tried to assassinate him, Ye Liang left Konoha.
• Five years later, Ye Liang arrived at the Assassination Tavern and noticed Kakuzu leaving.
• Ye Liang ignored an Iwagakure Rogue Ninja's provocation and took the 100-million bounty for Hanzō the Salamander.
• The Iwagakure Rogue Ninja confronted Ye Liang outside and attacked with Earth Release: Earth Mausoleum Dumpling.

Ye Liang defeated an Iwagakure Rogue Ninja and traveled to Amegakure to seek Hanzō the Salamander. He discovered Hanzō pursuing Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan, and watched as their clash began.

• Ye Liang defeated the Iwagakure Rogue Ninja by burying him beneath a massive Earth Mausoleum Dumpling.
• Ye Liang reached the battlefield in Amegakure and hid in the forest while preparing to find Hanzō the Salamander.
• Hanzō and his Amegakure ninjas cornered three fleeing youths, and Yahiko urged Nagato and Konan to escape without him.
• Yahiko used Underworld Swamp to trap the attackers, but Hanzō ordered Ibuse to spray its poisonous fluid, killing the trapped ninjas.
• Ye Liang recognized the youths as Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.

Ye Liang appeared before Hanzo and the Amegakure ninja, then fought Hanzo atop Ibuse. Hanzo eventually canceled the summon and fled, leaving his subordinates to scatter.

• Ye Liang revealed his identity and announced that he had come to kill Hanzo, while the Amegakure ninja hesitated to approach him.
• Hanzo threatened his subordinates into attacking Ye Liang, but Ye Liang repelled their attacks with Shinra Tensei and let them go.
• Hanzo sent Ibuse to crush Ye Liang, who countered with Great Fire Annihilation and then charged at Hanzo using the Nine-Tails’ chakra.
• Ye Liang and Hanzo fought atop Ibuse, and Ye Liang’s blows weakened Hanzo and made his bones resonate.
• Hanzo canceled Ibuse’s summon and fled, prompting the Amegakure ninja to scatter.

Ye Liang rescued Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan, then investigated Amegakure and uncovered a hidden passage beneath Hanzo’s room. While Hanzo prepared a sacrifice at a secret altar guarded by White Zetsu, Ye Liang and his companions found the concealed chamber.

• Ye Liang stopped pursuing Hanzo after nightfall, and Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan thanked him for saving them.
• Ye Liang shared a meal with the three orphans and studied maps showing his White Zetsu kills and routes through Amegakure.
• Hanzo met with Zetsu, reported preparing one thousand war orphans for a sacrifice, and descended into a hidden cavern.
• Ye Liang attacked and cleared out White Zetsu in Amegakure, then searched Hanzo’s room with Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.
• Ye Liang discovered hollow floorboards that concealed a secret chamber as Hanzo reached the guarded altar and ordered the ritual to begin.

Kurotsuchi, Naruto, and Chojuro’s Kirigakure squad disrupted Hanzo’s plan to sacrifice children, but Hanzo defeated them and prepared to kill them. Just as he threw a broken blade at the children, someone kicked open the sealed wall and confronted him.

• Hanzo and the White Zetsu prepared the altar and its sacrificial technique while unconscious children lay piled at its center.
• Kurotsuchi woke and attacked a White Zetsu, then Naruto struck Hanzo with a Rasengan as Chojuro and his squad attacked the teleportation array.
• Hanzo broke Hiramekarei and defeated Chojuro and the other Kirigakure genin.
• Hanzo revealed that the White Zetsu were meant to sacrifice children to summon their master, then raised a broken blade to kill the children.
• Someone kicked open the sealed wall and angrily confronted Hanzo.

Ye Liang defeated and killed Hanzo, learning that a mysterious white-eyed man had used the promise of God Tree Fruit to make him gather children. After leaving Amegakure, Ye Liang heard Kurotsuchi describe Iwagakure’s eerily silent, machine-like villagers and suspected White Zetsu had infiltrated the village.

• Ye Liang caught Hanzo’s broken blade, trapped him, and beat him into submission while Yahiko and the others protected the children.
• Hanzo said a white-eyed young man had promised him God Tree Fruit in exchange for sacrificing a thousand children, and claimed he had been forced to obey.
• Ye Liang killed Hanzo, took his head to claim the bounty, and the group left Amegakure with Naruto in Chojuro’s care.
• Kurotsuchi asked Ye Liang to save Iwagakure and described villagers whose speech had dwindled and whose movements had become unnaturally uniform.
• Ye Liang suspected White Zetsu had replaced the people of Iwagakure.

Ye Liang agreed to help Kurotsuchi and traveled with her toward Deidara, but the journey led him to an unexpected encounter with Akatsuki members from an era when the organization should not yet exist. After Kisame and Kakuzu recognized Ye Liang’s strength, Sasori was left alone to explain why they had fallen into the abyss.

• Ye Liang agreed to help Kurotsuchi and later met her after collecting the bounty on Hanzō the Salamander.
• Kisame and the others arrived at Deidara’s house to recruit its owner, but Deidara attacked them with explosive clay.
• Kurotsuchi recognized Deidara flying through the valley as her senior brother, while Ye Liang spotted Sasori, Kisame, and Kakuzu and wondered how Akatsuki already existed.
• Ye Liang used Flying Thunder God Technique to appear beside Kisame and Kakuzu, whose Samehada and fear kept them from attacking him.
• Sasori cursed at Kisame and Kakuzu, then tipped them off his back; they fell into the abyss while Sasori climbed ashore, and Ye Liang asked why Sasori had not jumped too.

Ye Liang defeated Sasori and questioned him about Akatsuki, learning that Orochimaru led the group and that Uchiha Itachi had gone to Iwagakure. Ye Liang and the others reached Iwagakure’s center, where he prepared to find Itachi.

• Ye Liang broke Sasori’s Hiruko shell, restrained his puppet body with the Hyuga clan’s Pressure Point Technique, and questioned him about Akatsuki.
• Sasori told Ye Liang that Orochimaru led Akatsuki, Uchiha Itachi often commanded it, and Itachi had gone to Iwagakure while the others recruited ninja.
• Ye Liang released Sasori, who fled down the cliff, and Deidara rejoined Ye Liang with Kurotsuchi and the others.
• Ye Liang demonstrated his Sky-Stepping Shuriken technique, then traveled with the group toward Iwagakure on Deidara’s Explosive Clay.
• Deidara led the group through a mountain-valley crack into Iwagakure’s center, where Ye Liang wondered whether Itachi was there.

Ye Liang and Deidara grew suspicious of Iwagakure’s invitation to Kazahana Koyuki’s troupe, while the dancers discovered the village’s hostile intentions. Kitsuchi tried to force Koyuki’s country to accept Iwagakure’s protection, and the troupe was attacked as they attempted to leave.

• Ye Liang noticed Iwagakure’s residents behaved like machines and flirted with Haruhi, a guard in Kazahana Koyuki’s all-female troupe.
• Deidara told Ye Liang that Iwagakure had never invited foreign performers before, making the troupe’s arrival suspicious.
• During a performance in the Tsuchikage’s courtyard, Kazahana Koyuki and Haruhi agreed that Iwagakure’s people seemed soulless and planned to leave.
• Kitsuchi revealed that he knew Kazahana Koyuki was the Princess of the Land of Snow and pressured her to let Iwagakure establish a presence in her country.
• When Kazahana Koyuki refused, Kitsuchi ordered Iwagakure jonin to attack the troupe, and Haruhi was wounded as the dancers fought back.
• Kazahana Koyuki watched a Shuriken fly toward Haruhi and panicked, unable to stop it.

Ye Liang rescued Haruhi and the other dancers from Kitsuchi’s attack, then fought through White Zetsu with Deidara as Yahiko led the survivors toward safety. The chapter ended with Ye Liang discovering that Kitsuchi had been enhanced to an extraordinary level.

• Ye Liang intercepted the shuriken aimed at Haruhi and used Earth Release to kill the jōnin and spectators before teleporting the dancers to Yahiko’s residence with Flying Thunder God.
• Kitsuchi pursued them on a river of earth, while Kurotsuchi and Deidara realized he had been controlled; White Zetsu then emerged from the ground and attacked everyone.
• Ye Liang burned a path through the White Zetsu, and Yahiko led the surviving dancers away as Ye Liang and Deidara stayed behind to face Kitsuchi.
• Deidara and Ye Liang struck Kitsuchi with an explosive clay dragon and a Tailed Beast Bomb, but Kitsuchi countered with a massive Earth-Style Wall.
• Ye Liang examined Kitsuchi and discovered that his enhanced stats matched Uchiha Madara’s.

Ye Liang rescued Uchiha Itachi from the transformed Kitsuchi and learned why Itachi had joined the Akatsuki. After returning toward Iwagakure with Itachi and Deidara, Ye Liang prepared to confront Kitsuchi again as the White Zetsu tried to restrain him.

• Ye Liang and Deidara tried to flee Kitsuchi, but Itachi appeared with Susanoo to protect them.
• Ye Liang used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport himself and Itachi to Deidara’s cabin outside Iwagakure.
• Itachi told Ye Liang that Danzo had become the Fifth Hokage after a coup, forcing the Uchiha clan to hide in the Land of Snow.
• Itachi explained that he joined the Akatsuki to seek support against the White Zetsu threatening the Land of Snow.
• Ye Liang returned with Itachi and Deidara to Iwagakure, where the transformed Kitsuchi rampaged while White Zetsu tried to stop him.
• Ye Liang told Deidara to fly them toward Kitsuchi so they could intervene.