Chapter Summaries

Lin Guang and his teammates infiltrated the bandit hideout and confronted the bandit leader. Hyūga Jō was forced outside by the leader’s Water Release, and the battle continued as Satō Maji’s sword broke the leader’s kunai.

• Lin Guang and his teammates killed three guards, hid their bodies, and disguised themselves as the guards.
• Lin Guang and Hyūga Jō killed another guard, then Hyūga Jō entered the leader’s room to attack him alone.
• The bandit leader countered Hyūga Jō’s Gentle Fist with Water Release: Water Wave Surge, sending him crashing outside.
• Lin Guang and the bandit leader exchanged threats as Satō Maji joined the fight with his sword.
• Satō Maji used Konoha Style Swordsmanship: Flowing Light, and his strike snapped the kunai the bandit leader used to block it.

Lin Guang and his teammates fought twenty bandits after the leader called for reinforcements. Lin Guang killed the leader with his Wind Release, and Satō Maji and Hyūga Jō defeated the rest, though a few bandits escaped.

• The bandit leader whistled for reinforcements, bringing the group surrounding Lin Guang, Satō Maji, and Hyūga Jō to twenty men.
• Lin Guang used Water Release to knock back five bandits, then attacked the leader with shuriken and Wind Release.
• The bandit leader tried to defend himself with Water Release, but Lin Guang's Vacuum Wave badly wounded him and then stripped his flesh from his body.
• Lin Guang ordered his teammates to spare no one, and Satō Maji and Hyūga Jō killed the remaining bandits.
• Hyūga Jō spotted that a few bandits had escaped.

After Lin Guang and his companions killed the fleeing bandits, a powerful ninja destroyed Xiaojing Village with a massive water-release technique. As Lin Guang, Satō Maji, and Hyūga Jō fled, Genma Shiranui intervened, but the masked ninja confronted him and blocked their way.

• Lin Guang split up with Satō Maji and Hyūga Jō to hunt down the bandits, then warned the villagers to evacuate.
• The trio killed the remaining bandits and left for Konoha as Lin Guang's sense of danger intensified.
• A powerful water technique engulfed Xiaojing Village, killing villagers and bandits, while Hyūga Jō spotted the ninja holding the bandit leader's body.
• A Konoha ninja named Genma Shiranui intercepted Lin Guang and his companions as they fled from the masked pursuer.
• The Monkey Masked Man confronted Genma Shiranui, and their powerful auras left Satō Maji and Hyūga Jō barely able to move while Lin Guang resisted the pressure.

Genma Shiranui defeated the Monkey Masked Man before he could complete his Water Release, then sent Lin Guang and his teammates back to Konoha. The Monkey Masked Man reflected on the Land of Rivers’ helpless position between the great nations.

• Genma Shiranui ordered Lin Guang, Satō Maji, and Hyūga Jō to leave while he faced the Monkey Masked Man.
• Genma Shiranui used Secret Technique: Thousand Senbon Stream to pierce the Monkey Masked Man’s chakra points and stop his ninjutsu.
• Genma Shiranui warned the Monkey Masked Man to tell the Land of Rivers’ daimyo not to provoke the Land of Fire, and argued that the strong preyed on the weak.
• Genma Shiranui caught up with Lin Guang and his teammates, told them to conceal their identities, and vanished again.
• Lin Guang and his teammates hurried toward Konoha as the Monkey Masked Man realized the Land of Rivers could not resist the great nations.

Lin Guang’s squad completed its first ANBU mission, and he shared the generous payment evenly with Satō Maji and Hyūga Jō before granting them three days off. Hiruzen Sarutobi planned to send the squad back to the Land of Rivers, while Lin Guang suspected the mission’s circumstances concealed a deeper purpose.

• Lin Guang returned to the ANBU with Satō Maji and Hyūga Jō, received their mission payment, and split the Soldier Pills and Explosive Tags equally despite his teammates’ objections.
• Lin Guang gave Satō Maji and Hyūga Jō three days off while reminding them to keep training, then went alone to Ichiraku Ramen when Naruto had not returned home.
• Genma Shiranui reported to Hiruzen Sarutobi that the guards protecting the Land of Rivers daimyo’s son had worn no village insignia.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Genma Shiranui he had high hopes for Lin Guang’s squad and planned to assign them to the continuing trouble in the Land of Rivers.
• After returning home, Lin Guang questioned why an easy mission had gone to his rookie squad and suspected the Land of Rivers daimyo had deliberately allowed his illegitimate son to leave the country.

Lin Guang settled into his ANBU missions and spoke with Naruto, who revealed that Kakashi had taught him the Thousand Years of Death. Naruto learned the hand seals for Lin Guang’s Wind Release: Vacuum Wave, then left to prepare for his mission to the Land of Waves, while Lin Guang planned to keep working in the ANBU until the Chunin Ninja Exams.

• Lin Guang realized Hiruzen Sarutobi had assigned him missions in the Land of Rivers to build his strategic experience, and he decided to make the most of his time in the ANBU.
• Naruto visited Lin Guang and said he was on Team 7 with Sakura and Sasuke, then demonstrated the Thousand Years of Death.
• Lin Guang declined to learn Naruto’s secret technique and taught him the hand seals for Wind Release: Vacuum Wave, warning him not to practice it alone.
• Naruto told Lin Guang that Kakashi had beaten Team 7 in training and used the Thousand Years of Death on him.
• Naruto left to sleep before Team 7’s mission to the Land of Waves, and Lin Guang decided to work hard on missions until the Chunin Ninja Exams.

Lin Guang told Hiruzen Sarutobi that the bandit mission had revealed a plot by the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers, then asked to learn more Ninjutsu. Meanwhile, Orochimaru confronted the daimyo and revealed that his operation in Sunagakure had succeeded, setting up a plan involving Konoha’s Chunin Ninja Exams.

• Lin Guang told Hiruzen Sarutobi that the bandit leader was the son of the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers and reasoned that the raid had been a probe against the great nations.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi praised Lin Guang’s deduction and agreed to teach him Ninjutsu that afternoon.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi considered sending Lin Guang’s squad to the Land of Wind to investigate its response to the Land of Rivers’ schemes.
• Orochimaru subdued the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers’ guards and dismissed the daimyo’s threats, claiming their arrangements in the Land of Wind had succeeded.
• Orochimaru asked Kabuto Yakushi whether his forged identity would pass inspection for Konoha’s Chunin Ninja Exams, and Kabuto promised to investigate Konoha.
• Orochimaru revealed that he had killed the Kazekage and looked toward Konoha, anticipating a confrontation with his former teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Lin Guang and his squad traveled to the Land of Wind to investigate the site where the Fourth Kazekage’s guards had been killed. Hyūga Jō discovered buried gold dust, forehead protectors, and dead snakes, and Lin Guang used a wind technique to uncover them, leaving Satō Maji buried in sand.

• Lin Guang received a mission to investigate the site of an attack on the Fourth Kazekage and led Satō Maji and Hyūga Jō toward the Land of Wind.
• The squad crossed the dangerous Land of Rivers, then entered the Land of Wind with help from Konoha-connected ninja.
• Lin Guang assigned Hyūga Jō to search the sandy site with his Byakugan and sent Satō Maji to keep watch from a dune.
• Hyūga Jō found gold dust six meters underground, along with several ninja forehead protectors and dead snakes.
• Lin Guang used Wind Release: Cyclone to strip away the sand, nearly burying Satō Maji.

Lin Guang and Hyūga Jō recovered a musical-note forehead protector, chakra-infused snake corpses, and gold dust from the sand, then found Satō Maji buried nearby. The three returned to the Land of Fire after three days and nights, relieved to be closer to Konoha.

• Lin Guang and Hyūga Jō dug up the unusual forehead protector, snake corpses, and gold dust, discovering that the latter two carried powerful chakra.
• Lin Guang realized they had forgotten Satō Maji, and Hyūga Jō used his Byakugan to locate him buried in the sand.
• Lin Guang pulled Satō Maji out and teased him for being caught in the sandstorm, which Lin Guang had caused.
• Lin Guang, Hyūga Jō, and Satō Maji traveled cautiously through the borderlands and reached the Land of Fire after three days and nights.

Lin Guang turned in the squad’s mission findings to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who suspected Orochimaru and the Fourth Kazekage had clashed and warned that peace might soon end. After the squad split its reward, Lin Guang asked whether Hyūga Jō and Satō Maji would take the upcoming Chunin Ninja Exams.

• Lin Guang presented chakra-bearing gold dust, a dead summoning snake, and a Small Shinobi Village forehead protector to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi recognized signs that the Fourth Kazekage and Orochimaru had fought, then urged Lin Guang to study ninjutsu with him before the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi sensed natural energy on the snake’s corpse and suspected Orochimaru was still pursuing senjutsu.
• Lin Guang divided the squad’s ten thousand ryo reward, taking four thousand while Hyūga Jō and Satō Maji each took three thousand.
• Hyūga Jō said he planned to take the Chunin Ninja Exams, while Satō Maji worried that leaving ANBU missions would hurt his poor family.

After months of dangerous missions, Lin Guang was summoned by Hiruzen Sarutobi and given an S-rank mission to investigate Kirigakure. He realized the assignment concealed a deeper purpose tied to unrest in the Land of Water and people with Kekkei Genkai.

• Lin Guang, Satō Maji, and Hyūga Jō gained fame after completing dangerous missions, and their close teamwork helped them survive repeated attacks.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned Lin Guang and assigned him an S-rank mission involving Kirigakure in the Land of Water.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi explained that a Kirigakure ninja wanted to cooperate with Konoha, raising the original intelligence-gathering mission to S-rank.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi warned Lin Guang about unrest in the Land of Water and hinted that he could help people with Kekkei Genkai.
• Lin Guang left the Hokage Building suspecting that the mission's real purpose involved the unrest, which he would address only if it benefited Konoha and the Land of Fire.

Lin Guang prepared for an S-rank mission to Kirigakure, where he suspected he was meant to help a Kekkei Genkai user become the Fifth Mizukage. He and his teammates arrived after a grueling journey and checked into an expensive inn.

• Lin Guang told Satō Maji and Hyūga Jō about their S-rank mission to Kirigakure and urged them to prepare carefully.
• Lin Guang researched Kirigakure and learned that Kekkei Genkai users had been persecuted, rebellions were common, and the Fourth Mizukage was dead.
• Lin Guang concluded that Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted him to help a Kekkei Genkai user rise to become the Fifth Mizukage.
• Lin Guang, Satō Maji, and Hyūga Jō set out with supplies and reached Kirigakure after four days of exhausting travel.
• Lin Guang paid for three luxurious rooms at an inn, and the innkeeper led the team to their rooms.

Lin Guang learned from a television broadcast that Kirigakure was hunting Mei Terumi, whose escape route passed through his squad’s village. He decided to find her and help her become the Fifth Mizukage, leaving the squad waiting in ambush behind a mountain.

• Lin Guang warned Hyūga Jō and Satō Maji that Kirigakure’s ninja might target them because they were outsiders.
• Lin Guang turned on the room’s television and heard that Mei Terumi had fled her ANBU squad and was being hunted.
• Satō Maji noticed that Mei Terumi’s escape route included their village, and Lin Guang decided to help her become the Fifth Mizukage.
• Lin Guang told Hyūga Jō and Satō Maji to wear ANBU uniforms and wait at an intersection where Mei Terumi might pass.
• The three took turns lying in wait behind a mountain and defeated several groups of troublemakers.

Lin Guang and his two companions ambushed the Kirigakure ANBU pursuing Mei Terumi and killed them, then offered to help her change Kirigakure. Mei Terumi tested their strength with her Lava Release, and Lin Guang blocked the corrosive attack with layers of ice mirrors.

• Satō Maji complained that Mei Terumi had not appeared, and Hyūga Jō spotted her fleeing toward their junction with three Kirigakure ANBU close behind.
• Lin Guang ordered his team to ambush the pursuers, and the three of them killed the ANBU in a single exchange.
• Lin Guang told Mei Terumi that the Third Hokage had sent them to help her, but she doubted their strength and demanded proof.
• Mei Terumi attacked the group with Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique, and Lin Guang stopped the acid with repeated Ice Release mirrors.

Lin Guang and his companions hid Mei Terumi in an inn while they considered how to help her challenge Sword of the ANBU for control of Kirigakure. Lin Guang proposed drawing kekkei genkai users to them, though they still needed a way to reach them.

• Hyūga Jō showed Mei Terumi his Byakugan, confirming the group’s identities.
• Lin Guang had Mei Terumi use the Transformation Technique to disguise herself and join the others at an inn.
• Lin Guang and his companions learned that ANBU surveillance covered the surrounding villages, leaving Mei Terumi unable to travel openly.
• Mei Terumi asked whether Konoha had sent reinforcements, and Lin Guang said the three of them had come alone.
• Lin Guang proposed winning over Kirigakure’s kekkei genkai clans, noting that many hated Sword of the ANBU for killing their kin.
• Mei Terumi pointed out that they could not leave the Fifth Village to find the clans, and Lin Guang said they could draw the clans to them instead.

Lin Guang helped Mei Terumi draw Kekkei Genkai clans to her side by spreading word that she would protect them and develop Kirigakure. Five clans arrived at the Fifth Village, where they drove out the ANBU, while Lin Guang advised Mei Terumi to wait for clan representatives before negotiating.

• Lin Guang created disguised shadow clones to spread rumors about Mei Terumi’s plans and ANBU Jian’s threat to Kekkei Genkai users.
• After the rumors spread through the Fifth Village, several Kekkei Genkai clans debated whether to support Mei Terumi and decided she would not suppress them because she possessed two Kekkei Genkai herself.
• Five Kekkei Genkai clans arrived at the Fifth Village, and their members drove out or killed the ANBU forces there.
• ANBU Jian raged at losing control of the Fifth Village while Mei Terumi grew impatient.
• Lin Guang advised Mei Terumi to wait for the clans’ representatives so she could negotiate from a stronger position.

Mei Terumi emerged into Kirigakure’s streets and found the people eager to support her and hear her plans for the village. After selecting representatives to meet her, she brought them to Lin Guang’s inn, where they questioned whether they could trust the Konoha ninja.

• Lin Guang predicted that people with Kekkei Genkai were already searching for Mei Terumi, and Mei Terumi went out into the street after recovering her strength.
• Kirigakure residents crowded around Mei Terumi, and she promised to open up and develop the village if she became Mizukage.
• The residents chose Ao, Chōjūrō, and Xuan Yi as representatives to question Mei Terumi.
• Mei Terumi brought the representatives to Lin Guang’s inn, where Ao challenged the Konoha ninja’s trustworthiness and usefulness.
• Mei Terumi explained that Lin Guang and his companions had helped her evade capture, and Xuan Yi sensed that Lin Guang also possessed a Kekkei Genkai.

Lin Guang advised Mei Terumi to march directly on Kirigakure's Anbu Headquarters, and she led a growing force against ANBU Jian. The Land of Water Daimyō refused to reinforce Jian, leaving him isolated as Mei Terumi's army approached.

• Lin Guang proposed that Mei Terumi's allies attack Kirigakure's Anbu Headquarters directly, and Mei Terumi ordered Ao, Chōjūrō, and Xuan Yi to rally the ninja.
• ANBU Jian asked the Land of Water Daimyō for reinforcements, but the Daimyō condemned his failure to govern Kirigakure and chose not to intervene.
• Mei Terumi led hundreds of ninja toward Anbu Headquarters, while more people joined her force along the way.
• Satō Maji rebuked Ao for claiming Lin Guang's prediction had been obvious, and the group continued its unobstructed advance.
• ANBU Jian watched Mei Terumi's growing force gather outside Kirigakure and despaired when the Daimyō sent no troops.

Mei Terumi led her forces into Kirigakure and surrounded ANBU Headquarters, where she challenged ANBU Jian to a duel. She defeated him with Boil Release, dissolving him in corrosive mist.

• Lin Guang warned Mei Terumi's ninja to enter Kirigakure carefully and avoid endangering civilians.
• Mei Terumi surrounded ANBU Headquarters and told ANBU Jian she would spare those who had not participated in the Village of the Bloody Mist incidents.
• ANBU Jian challenged Mei Terumi to a duel, and she accepted to demonstrate her strength as a potential Mizukage.
• Mei Terumi and ANBU Jian fought with water techniques as Hyūga Jō used his Byakugan to watch and describe the duel.
• Mei Terumi used Boil Release to corrode ANBU Jian's water swords and trap him in corrosive mist.
• Mei Terumi contracted the mist, and ANBU Jian dissolved into a puddle of putrid liquid.

Mei Terumi killed ANBU Jian and his ten followers, then took temporary command of Kirigakure. Lin Guang left with Hyūga Jō and Satō Maji so their presence would not complicate her path to becoming Mizukage, and the team headed back to Konoha anticipating a large reward.

• Mei Terumi dissolved ANBU Jian with her Boil Release mist, and Lin Guang dispersed the remaining mist so the gathered ninja could see the bloody sludge.
• Mei Terumi dissolved ANBU Jian's ten bound followers with another cloud of corrosive mist, convincing the gathered ninja that Jian was dead.
• The Kirigakure ninja accepted Mei Terumi as their temporary leader, and she ordered Ao, Chōjūrō, and Xuan Yi to reassure villagers, report to the Daimyō, and restore order.
• Lin Guang left Kirigakure with Hyūga Jō and Satō Maji, explaining that their presence as Konoha ninja could make the Land of Water Daimyō wary of Mei Terumi.
• Lin Guang told his teammates their S-rank mission reward would be at least a million ryo, and Satō Maji urged them to hurry back to Konoha.