Chapter Summaries

Ling purified the corrupted guardian constructs and restored the damaged water vein within the Thousand-Draw Stone, making the ruins safe to survey. As the team prepared to investigate, a masked man calling himself the Sacred Lord arrived and revealed his interest in Ling’s pure water power.

• Ling purified the muddy guardian constructs with Water Release: Pure Flow Assimilation, but sensed that their underground core had retreated rather than vanished.
• Ling touched the Thousand-Draw Stone, received visions of its past, and learned that its damaged water vein and the guardians’ resentment had created the constructs.
• Ling channeled pure water chakra into the stone and purified the water vein, deactivating the guardian mechanism and calming the ruins.
• Dr. Mitsui confirmed that the inscriptions on the Thousand-Draw Stone had become clearer, and Asuma praised Ling.
• The Sacred Lord entered the ruins with a group of powerful black-clad ninja and declared that he wanted Ling’s power of pure water.

The “Sacred Lord” attacked Ling and the Konoha team, seeking to capture Ling for his pure water power. After the Sacred Lord gravely wounded him, Ling prepared an ancient technique that drew on the purified water vein beneath them.

• The “Sacred Lord” ordered his black-clad ninja to capture Ling and kill anyone who resisted, and the attackers overwhelmed Asuma and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
• Ling held off four elite attackers with Water Release, then wounded one with Water Gun and used the opening to get Dr. Mitsui to Asuma.
• The “Sacred Lord” suddenly crossed the distance and broke through Ling’s Mirror Water Guard with corrosive black water, sending him crashing into a ruined pillar.
• Tobirama warned Ling that the enemy’s power was Mutated Water Release contaminated by negative emotions and urged him to counter it with pure water.
• Ling rejected the Sacred Lord’s offer, formed an ancient sequence of hand seals, and drew moisture and power from the purified underground water vein as the Sacred Lord watched in uncertainty.

Ling used the World-Cleansing Torrent to purify the Sacred Lord’s Dark Release and wound him, but the Sacred Lord retaliated by ordering a desperate assault. With Asuma and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio struggling to hold off the guards, Ling and Tobirama launched their strongest attacks, whose collision left the battle’s outcome unknown.

• Ling unleashed the World-Cleansing Torrent, which purified the Sacred Lord’s Bone-Eroding Black Dragon and Black Swamp Shield and wounded him.
• Asuma and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio rallied around Ling as the black-clad guards faltered, while Tobirama warned that the Sacred Lord had not revealed his full strength.
• The Sacred Lord erupted with greater power, ordered his guards to kill Ling at any cost, and threatened to extract Ling’s bloodline essence.
• Asuma and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio fought desperately to protect Ling, suffering injuries as the guards attacked without regard for their lives.
• Ling followed Tobirama’s guidance to form the Soul-Cleansing Arrow from pure water chakra, Thousand-Draw Stone power, and soul power.
• The Sacred Lord fired Dark Release: Star Devourer as Ling launched Water Release: Soul-Cleansing Arrow, and the attacks collided in an eruption of light and darkness.

Ling used the Soul-Cleansing Arrow to purify the Sacred Lord’s power and force him to retreat from the ruins. The team returned to Konoha with vital intelligence, while Ling realized that enemies seeking his Pure Water bloodline would soon pose an even greater threat.

• Ling’s Soul-Cleansing Arrow destroyed the Sacred Lord’s black energy sphere and struck him, purifying his essence and breaking his fox mask.
• The injured Sacred Lord escaped as black mist with some of his guards, warning Ling that the Sacred Venerable would awaken.
• Asuma stopped pursuing the enemy, and Ling collapsed from the attack’s heavy chakra and mental costs before recovering with help from his companions.
• Asuma ordered Dr. Mitsui to report everything about the Thousand-Draw Stone, the Yuki, and the Water Heaven faith to the Hokage.
• Tobirama analyzed the Sacred Lord’s sinister power and escape technique, while Ling resolved to grow stronger against those targeting his Pure Water bloodline.
• The team left the ruins and returned to Konoha several days later with crucial intelligence.

After Sasuke defected from Konoha, Ling watched his battle with Naruto at the Valley of the End and met Orochimaru to complete their deal. He obtained intelligence about Pain and evidence against Danzo, then left as the pursuit squad arrived too late.

• Tsunade heightened Konoha's security after Asuma's squad reported the threat, while Sasuke left the village with the Sound Four.
• Naruto formed a pursuit squad with Shikamaru, Choji, Neji, and Kiba, and Ling hurried ahead to the Valley of the End.
• Ling observed Naruto and Sasuke's fierce battle without intervening, and Sasuke departed with the Sound Four after defeating Naruto.
• Orochimaru met Ling and gave him a scroll containing information about Pain and evidence of Danzo's dealings with Hanzō and support for Orochimaru's experiments.
• Ling left the valley as Naruto's pursuit squad arrived, carrying intelligence that could be used against Danzo.

After Naruto left Konoha with Jiraiya for three years of training, Ling sought permission to learn senjutsu in Shikkotsu Forest. Tsunade approved his request in exchange for his research on the Sacred Lord’s contaminating natural energy, and Sage Katsuyu began evaluating Ling’s potential.

• Jiraiya and Naruto departed Konoha so Naruto could train to control the Nine-Tails and grow strong enough to bring Sasuke back.
• Ling asked Tsunade to let him sign the Shikkotsu Forest Summoning Contract and train in senjutsu, offering his research on the Sacred Lord’s energy and a proposed purification method in exchange.
• Tsunade gave Ling the summoning scroll and warned him that Shikkotsu Forest’s senjutsu training required precise chakra control and could turn him to stone if his natural energy became unbalanced.
• Ling signed the contract and summoned himself to Shikkotsu Forest, where the surrounding natural energy resonated with his pure water chakra.
• Sage Katsuyu recognized Tobirama Senju’s soul fragment within Ling and, after hearing his request, began drawing natural energy toward him to test his potential.

Ling spent a year and a half training in Shikkotsu Forest, mastering Senjutsu Mode and integrating senjutsu chakra into his techniques. After thanking the Katsuyu Sage, he returned to the Hatake Residence, ready to report to the Fifth Hokage and face Konoha’s hidden turmoil.

• Ling learned to perceive natural energy and struggled to balance it with spiritual and physical energy under Tobirama’s guidance.
• Ling successfully formed senjutsu chakra and used it to strengthen his Water Release, Flying Thunder God Technique, taijutsu, and blade techniques.
• Ling spent a year and a half in Shikkotsu Forest, mastering Senjutsu Mode and learning from the Katsuyu Sage.
• Ling demonstrated his enhanced swordsmanship by slicing an enormous rock, then thanked the Katsuyu Sage and left Shikkotsu Forest.
• Ling returned to the Hatake Residence and prepared to report his training results to the Fifth Hokage.

After returning from Senjutsu training, Ling learned that Tsunade had moved against Danzo, whose remaining Root loyalists were holding hostages. Ling joined Tsunade to confront Danzo, and they entered the Root Base while their allies waited outside.

• Ling returned to Konoha, sensed its tense atmosphere, and heard that Danzo was under house arrest while Sasuke had defected and Naruto had left to train.
• Tsunade told Ling that evidence against Danzo had been verified and that he was confined, but core Root loyalists were resisting and holding hostages.
• Danzo demanded a face-to-face confrontation with Tsunade and Ling, threatening to destroy the Root Base and its occupants.
• Ling volunteered to join the operation, and Tsunade ordered Kakashi, Might Guy, and the Anbu to surround the base.
• A Root squad leader allowed only Tsunade and Ling inside, so they entered the Root Base as Kakashi, Might Guy, and the others waited outside.

Ling and Tsunade confronted Danzo in Root’s control room, where Ling overcame his forbidden techniques and survived Danzo’s final sealing attack. Danzo was sealed away, Root’s defeat was complete, and Ling’s strength was poised to draw attention across the shinobi world.

• Danzo attacked Ling with Wind Release and genjutsu, but Ling evaded the assault and countered with a senjutsu-enhanced Water Release that incapacitated several Root loyalists.
• Danzo used Izanagi to escape Ling’s water attack, then tried to strike Tsunade with Wood Release before lunging at Ling with Kotoamatsukami.
• Ling anticipated the Mangekyō’s genjutsu, disrupted it with a Water Lens, and forced Danzo to repeatedly expend Sharingan using Izanagi to survive his attacks.
• After Danzo’s twelfth Sharingan went dark, Ling appeared behind him with Flying Thunder God, but Danzo activated the Reverse Four Symbols Seal in an attempt to take them both down.
• Ling used Sage Art: Hydrification Technique: Merge to escape the seal, which swallowed Danzo and left Tsunade and Ling standing amid the ruined control room.

After Danzo’s death, Ling and Tobirama reflected on his choices and the dangers Ling faced after revealing his strength. Tsunade thanked Ling and took him from Root Base to begin dealing with its remaining forces and secrets.

• Tsunade oversaw the aftermath of Danzo’s self-destruction as Anbu subdued Root’s remaining loyalists and medics treated the hostages.
• Ling recovered from the strain of the battle and discussed Danzo’s strength, downfall, and use of stolen powers with Tobirama.
• Tobirama warned Ling that the battle had made him a target and urged him to master senjutsu and strengthen his techniques.
• Tsunade thanked Ling for providing evidence and stopping Danzo, then asked him to leave Root Base with her.
• Ling followed Tsunade into the sunlight as they prepared for Root’s cleanup and the threats ahead.

Ling led Team 10 on an S-rank mission to the Land of Demons after Priestess Miroku warned that Moryo’s seal was failing and the Yomi Cult was trying to release him. At the shrine, Miroku recognized Ling as an unusual variable, while Shion appeared and Moryo’s terracotta army began to awaken.

• After Konoha recovered from Danzo’s downfall, Ling trained and sparred with Team 10 and Kakashi.
• Shizune delivered Miroku’s urgent warning that Moryo’s soul was restless and the Yomi Cult was seeking to break his seal.
• Tsunade appointed Ling captain of Team 10 and ordered them to protect Shion, reinforce Moryo’s seal, and fight the cult.
• Ling and Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino traveled to the Land of Demons, where Miroku greeted them and sensed that Ling’s fate was unusual.
• Shion appeared at the shrine as Yomi’s black-armored terracotta soldiers awakened in the distance.

Miroku explained that the Yomi Cult was trying to reunite Moryo’s soul and body, and asked Ling’s team to escort Shion to the Land of Swamps to reinforce the seal. After Ling’s team repelled a puppet army attacking the shrine, Moryo stirred underground, and they prepared to leave at once.

• Miroku told Ling and his team about Moryo, the Yomi Cult, and Yomi’s plan to break the seal in the Land of Swamps, then asked them to escort Shion there.
• Shion offered to help with her foresight, but Miroku told her the journey would help her mature, and Ling agreed to lead the mission.
• When the Yomi Cult’s puppet army attacked the shrine, Ling directed Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino to defend it and identified the puppets’ weak points.
• Ling destroyed groups of puppets with precise water senbon and captured a cultist guiding the horde, while Shion watched his strength and resolve.
• Moryo stirred beneath the shrine, but Tobirama’s spiritual presence made it recoil; Ling then urged Miroku to provide the route so the team could depart for the Land of Swamps.

Ling led Shion and the squad toward the temple in the Land of Swamps, repeatedly overcoming the deaths Shion foresaw through his perception and control. After he saved them from Moryo’s underground attack, Shion began using her ability to help the team instead of treating fate as unchangeable.

• Miroku gave Ling a secret route map and a Purification Charm, then entrusted Shion to the squad.
• As the squad traveled, Shion foresaw deaths for its members, but Ling repeatedly prevented them and told her that foresight could help change the future.
• Ling warned the squad of an underground attack, and they escaped the collapsing cave as Moryo’s stone tentacles emerged.
• When Shion foresaw Ling being injured, he used a water technique to break through to an underground river and carry the squad beyond the tentacles.
• After reaching safety, Shion thanked Ling and began trying to use her ability to assist the squad.

Ling and his squad defeated Yougu at Soulbreak Ridge, clearing the pass on their way to the Shrine in the Land of Swamps. After witnessing Ling’s senjutsu counter Moryo’s power, Yomi ordered his followers to capture Ling alive.

• Shion sensed danger ahead at Soulbreak Ridge, where Ling detected an ambush of stone soldiers and a powerful enemy.
• Yougu introduced himself as one of the four great priests of the Yomi Cult and attacked Ling’s squad with dark chakra and stone soldiers.
• Ling purified Yougu’s attacks with a Sage Art water mirror, then defeated him with a senjutsu water dragon.
• With Yougu gone, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, and Shion helped Ling clear the disorganized stone soldiers from the pass.
• Ling crushed the purple crystal from Yougu’s staff, and the squad continued toward the Shrine in the Land of Swamps.
• Yomi watched Yougu’s defeat through a crystal ball and ordered his followers to capture Ling alive for his natural power.

Ling and his squad were trapped outside the Shrine by Yomi’s army, but Shion risked all her priestess power to halt the soldiers long enough for Ling to wound Yomi and destroy the barrier. They entered the Shrine, where Moryo’s sealed body awaited and the final battle began.

• Yomi ambushed Ling, Shion, Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino with a barrier and a vast army of enhanced Stone Terracotta Soldiers.
• Ling’s attacks cleared soldiers, but their numbers and rapid regeneration left the squad overwhelmed.
• Shion used the Purification Tomoe to disrupt the soldiers and barrier, collapsing from the effort.
• Ling used a mark on Yomi’s robe to strike him from behind, sever his connection to Moryo’s power, and destroy the barrier’s core.
• Ling carried Shion into the Shrine as Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino followed, leaving Yomi wounded outside.

Ling and his squad helped Shion reinforce the seal imprisoning Moryo’s body in the Shrine. The seal held, but Moryo’s soul and the Yomi Cult remained threats.

• Moryo’s whispers weakened Shion and the others as his dark energy surged against the failing seal.
• Ling shielded Shion with a senjutsu-powered water barrier while Ino guarded her mind and Shikamaru and Choji fought off dark energy constructs.
• Shion began the sealing ritual with the Purification Tomoe as Moryo concentrated his attack and shattered Ling’s barrier.
• Tobirama released his spiritual pressure to halt Moryo’s torrent, allowing Ling to strike the dark core with a Hard Vortex Water Blade.
• Shion completed the ritual, and chains of light bound Moryo’s body to the altar as the Shrine’s seal stabilized.

Ling and Team 10 returned from the Land of Demons after suppressing Moryo and protecting Shion, and Ling was promoted to Jōnin upon reporting to Tsunade. The threat remained unresolved as a shadowy figure approached the wounded Yomi, while Ling set out to train for the challenges ahead.

• Ling confirmed that Moryo was suppressed but the Shrine’s seal might break within six months, then led the exhausted team back to the Land of Demons.
• Shion reunited with Miroku, and Ling reported the mission’s dangers before accepting the promised payment and the Land of Demons’ offer of support.
• Ling and Team 10 departed for Konoha, while Shion watched them leave from beneath the shrine’s torii.
• A shadowy figure approached the wounded Yomi and proposed an alliance to help him obtain Ling’s power and seek vengeance.
• After Ling reported to Tsunade, she announced his promotion from Special Jōnin to Jōnin and ordered the team to rest.
• Ling left for the Training Ground to refine his senjutsu and develop the Hard Vortex Water Blade.

After receiving an S-rank mission to investigate disappearances in Kirigakure, Ling entered the village undercover and found evidence linked to the Sacred Lord. An encounter with Kirigakure Anbu forced him to flee, but he recorded a rune’s structure and learned the trail pointed toward seas northwest of the Land of Water.

• Tsunade assigned Ling a secret investigation into Kirigakure’s missing and dead clan members and possible ties to the Sacred Lord’s organization.
• Ling researched the Land of Water and the Yuki Clan, then traveled to Kirigakure disguised as a merchant selling medicinal herbs.
• Ling gathered rumors of further disappearances and sensed the Sacred Lord’s chakra at an abandoned clan compound.
• Ling discovered a fading dark-chakra rune and tried to trace it before a Kirigakure Anbu patrol confronted him.
• Ling escaped using Hidden Mist Technique and Sage Art: Water Mirror Phantom Body, while the Anbu leader ordered the site sealed and reported to Lord Mizukage.
• Tobirama told Ling that the recorded rune pointed toward seas northwest of the Land of Water and identified the Anbu leader as a Boil Release user likely serving Mei Terumi.

Ling was taken to a Kirigakure Anbu interrogation facility, where the Boil Release captain questioned him but found no proof that he had visited the abandoned Akizuki compound. After the Anbu placed him under surveillance, Ling used a dangerous-creature alarm as cover to escape by boat toward the northwestern waters.

• Kirigakure Anbu arrested Ling and brought him to a secret interrogation facility for questioning.
• The Boil Release captain challenged Ling about the Akizuki compound, his chakra, and his background, then tested him with a sudden heat attack that he avoided without revealing himself.
• The captain released Ling under house arrest, and Anbu watched him closely as he continued to run his shop.
• Tobirama identified a surveillance gap and overheard reports of missing patrols and strange currents in the northwestern waters.
• When an alarm announced a dangerous creature nearby, Ling packed Konoha-made smoke bombs and signaling devices as supposed herbs and slipped past his watchers.
• Ling took an abandoned speedboat from the harbor and headed toward the northwestern waters as the Anbu pursued him.

Ling escaped Kirigakure's pursuit by faking his death in a whirlpool, then followed a chilling chakra signal to submerged ruins. He discovered a pyramid powered by a sinister crystal and began infiltrating it to find its controller or destroy it.

• Ling used Senjutsu perception to steer through dangerous waters and evade Kirigakure's attacks while Aogiri pursued him.
• A whirlpool engulfed Ling's boat, and Aogiri ordered a search before withdrawing when her ninjas found no body.
• Ling emerged from the sea after Kirigakure left and swam toward the source of the strange chakra fluctuation.
• Ling discovered underwater ruins containing a glowing pyramid, a crystal, and missing Kirigakure ninja transformed into guards.
• Ling and Tobirama identified the site as likely belonging to the Sacred Lord, and Ling used Sage Art: Water Release: Mirage to approach the pyramid unseen.