Chapter Summaries

Ruri returned to camp with gathered mushrooms to make broth for his wild boar stew. The chapter described mushroom habitats, varieties, and nutritional uses.

• Ruri brought the mushrooms he had gathered back to camp and planned to make broth.
• The chapter explained that Ruri knew how to identify nonpoisonous mushrooms from what he had learned in school.
• The chapter described forests, woodlands, grasslands, fences, and rotten wood as mushroom habitats.
• The chapter identified Agaricus bisporus as the mushroom commonly meant by the name “mushroom” and noted its cultivation and trade.
• The chapter described Agrocybe praecox and enoki mushrooms, including their habitats, nutrition, and uses.

Ruri gathered shiitake and lion's mane mushrooms, then prepared wild boar ribs and a cooking fire at the campsite. He set the pot over the firewood and was ready to start making soup.

• Ruri found shiitake and lion's mane mushrooms in the darkness and brought them back to the campsite.
• Ruri gathered branches and set up a rack for the pot.
• Ruri cut ribs from the wild boar carcass and washed them carefully in the Small River.
• Ruri placed the pot on the rack and prepared to light the fire and make soup.

Ruri prepared a fire for cooking and struggled to cut the tough wild boar ribs into pieces for soup. He compared the animal’s muscular meat to a kangaroo he had seen in a news story.

• Ruri formed a small fireball with fire-nature chakra and ignited the woodpile.
• Ruri decided to chop the wild boar ribs because he was making soup rather than roasting them whole.
• Ruri picked up his kunai and began cutting the ribs, finding the bones hard and the meat unusually firm.
• Ruri recalled a news story about a kangaroo whose body had become incredibly strong and muscular.

Ruri butchered a muscular wild boar after it foolishly confronted him instead of fleeing. He planned to cook the boar into soup.

• Ruri and the others discussed how the kangaroo had built up its muscles.
• Ruri explained that wild boars developed muscle by finding food and avoiding predators.
• Ruri praised the boar's strength as he cut through its ribs.
• The wild boar had confronted Ruri rather than running away and was killed.
• Ruri butchered the boar and prepared to simmer it into soup.

Ruri wondered why animals had recently been confronting him despite being far weaker, and guessed they might have overestimated their strength. He stopped pondering the question to prepare wild boar soup and saw the well-fed sabertooth tiger resting beneath a tree.

• Ruri recalled that animals had repeatedly challenged him instead of fleeing, despite their weakness.
• Ruri speculated that the animals might mistakenly have believed they could defeat him, then wondered what had caused them to think so.
• Ruri gave up trying to solve the mystery and turned his attention to making soup from the wild boar meat.
• Ruri checked on the sabertooth tiger and found it resting quietly beneath a tree after eating all the carcasses he had given it.
• Ruri smiled and remarked that animals simply rested once they were full.

Ruri prepared wild boar and mushrooms for a stew as dawn approached, reflecting on the group’s good meals and wondering what the second day would bring. He felt energetic despite sleeping only briefly as the sun began to rise.

• Ruri chopped the wild boar ribs and placed them in a pot, then washed the freshly picked mushrooms beside Small River.
• Ruri waited for the meat to cook before adding the mushrooms so they would not turn mushy.
• Ruri watched the fire and thought about how animals with little sense of self-preservation had provided the group with meat for several days.
• Ruri wondered whether enemies would appear to stop the group on their second day of travel.
• Ruri stood, stretched, and remarked that he felt full of energy despite having slept only a little.

Ruri prepared wild boar and mushroom soup before sunrise and added the soy sauce he had brought from Aunt Meiling's house to improve its color. He left the soup covered by the fire as he waited for the others to wake.

• Ruri dismissed his questions about the strange events of the past few days.
• Ruri checked the soup and decided it looked too pale without soy sauce.
• Ruri searched his gear and found a small bottle of soy sauce from Aunt Meiling's house.
• Ruri poured the entire bottle into the pot, changing the broth's color and making it look more appetizing.
• Ruri covered the pot and turned the remaining firewood with a wooden stick.

Ruri gathered firewood to keep the meat soup cooking while thinking about how a contract with the sabertooth tiger could strengthen them both. He revived the dying fire and continued feeding it as he hurried to finish breakfast before the others woke.

• Ruri noticed the fire weakening and went to gather more firewood so the meat soup would keep cooking.
• The sabertooth tiger woke briefly, watched Ruri, and went back to sleep.
• Ruri considered how the sabertooth tiger could improve his fighting strength if they signed a contract.
• Ruri returned with firewood, revived the dying flames, and added more wood to the fire.

Ruri checked the meat he had been cooking, adjusted its seasoning, and waited for it to finish. As dawn approached, he thought about completing his mission and going home to his family.

• Ruri checked the meat in the pot and tasted a piece, finding it a little bland.
• Ruri added salt, tasted the broth again, and decided it was ready for mushrooms once it was nearly done.
• Ruri sat by the pot and waited for it to boil before adding the mushrooms.
• Ruri noticed dawn approaching and thought about finishing his mission and seeing his family, including Aunt Meilin.

Ruri waited beneath a tree and thought about returning home, seeing his friends, and celebrating with Kakashi. He reflected on Aunt Meiling’s hard work and mused that many women in the Hokage world became short-tempered after marriage and children, ending with Hinata Hyuga as a future example.

• Ruri thought about seeing Harukawa and his other friends when he returned home.
• Ruri remembered that he also needed to celebrate with Kakashi and the others.
• Ruri wondered whether Uncle Hizashi had returned from his mission and thought about Aunt Meiling caring for Neji and the household alone.
• Ruri called Aunt Meiling a superwoman and observed that many women in the Hokage world became short-tempered after marriage and having children.
• Ruri predicted that Naruto’s generation would change in the same way and thought that Hinata Hyuga changed the most.

Ruri decided to make a contract with the sabertooth tiger before the others woke up, but he did not know the steps. He turned to Ring Butler Zero for help.

• Ruri noticed the sabertooth tiger had stayed beside him and wondered whether to make a contract with it.
• The sabertooth tiger raised its head and nodded when Ruri spoke to it.
• Ruri decided to make the contract immediately so he would not have to explain it to the others later.
• Ruri sat beside the sabertooth tiger and explained that he had never made a contract before.
• Ruri thought Ring Butler Zero might be able to tell him how to make the contract.

Ruri entered the Ring and asked Ring Butler Zero how to contract a Summoning Beast. After listening to Zero explain the procedure for half an hour, Ruri understood the basics and thanked her.

• Ruri entered the Ring and admired its quiet, familiar surroundings.
• Ring Butler Zero appeared and asked Ruri why he had come.
• Ruri asked Ring Butler Zero how to sign a contract with a Summoning Beast.
• Ring Butler Zero explained the procedure and related details to Ruri for half an hour.
• Ruri thanked Ring Butler Zero for the explanation, and she offered to answer his future questions.

Ruri learned how to contract with a Summoning Beast from Ring Butler Zero and discovered that the beast could stay inside the Ring. He returned to the real world and prepared to make Sabertooth Tiger his partner.

• Ruri asked Ring Butler Zero whether a contracted Summoning Beast could enter the Ring, and Zero explained that it would have to stay there until summoned outside.
• Ring Butler Zero taught Ruri the contract procedure and its requirements.
• Ruri left the Ring and told Sabertooth Tiger that he was ready to sign a contract with him.
• Sabertooth Tiger approached Ruri and nodded as Ruri stroked his forehead and said they would become partners.

Ruri and Sabertooth Tiger completed the complicated steps to sign their contract, becoming partners. Ruri then sent Sabertooth Tiger into the Ring to explore his new home.

• Ruri finished preparing the area and told Sabertooth Tiger about the space he could enter after they signed the contract.
• Ruri and Sabertooth Tiger carefully worked together for half an hour to complete the contract.
• Ruri collapsed from exhaustion after the contract succeeded, and Sabertooth Tiger nudged him.
• Ruri welcomed Sabertooth Tiger as his partner and sent him into the Ring to get familiar with his new home.

After finishing the contract signing, Ruri checked on the meat soup he had left simmering and added mushrooms. He finished cooking it at dawn, then went to wake the others so they would be ready for their missions.

• Ruri remembered the soup he had left cooking and hurried to check that the meat had not overcooked.
• Ruri added mushrooms to the pot and let the soup simmer for ten more minutes as the sun began to rise.
• Ruri tasted the finished soup, found it delicious, and planned to make sure the others ate before their missions.
• Ruri turned down the fire and walked to wake the sleeping group, wondering if anyone was already awake.

Ruri went to wake Kakashi and the others so they could resume their journey on schedule. He found Uzuki Yugao already awake and washing up, while Kakashi was still asleep.

• Uzuki Yugao woke at dawn, enjoyed her comfortable sleep, and went to the Small River to wash her face.
• Ruri approached the large tree and decided to wake the group so they could eat and set off on time.
• Ruri found Uzuki Yugao's sleeping spot empty and concluded that she had gone to the Small River.
• Ruri reached Kakashi, noted that his watch duty explained his late sleep, and gently nudged him awake.

Ruri woke Kakashi and urged the group to get ready for the road. He startled Uchiha Itachi and Ōkawa awake, then scolded them for sleeping in.

• Ruri woke Kakashi and told him breakfast was ready and the group needed to leave soon.
• Kakashi got up and sent Ruri to wake the others.
• Ruri found Uchiha Itachi and Yamato still asleep and shouted to wake them.
• Uchiha Itachi and Ōkawa jolted awake, and Itachi complained that Ruri had scared him.
• Ruri reminded them they were late, while Ōkawa asked him not to wake them so harshly.

Ruri got Uchiha Itachi and Yamato out of bed after they overslept, then urged everyone to get ready so they could leave for the front line. With the group awake and breakfast cooking, Ruri went to check the pot.

• Ruri scolded Uchiha Itachi and Yamato for sleeping late and warned that their delay could endanger their comrades on the front line.
• Uchiha Itachi got up and promised to wash before they left, while Yamato also sat up and agreed to get ready.
• Ruri told them to wash, eat breakfast, and set out as soon as possible.
• Uchiha Itachi hurried toward the riverbank when he heard breakfast was ready, and Yamato went to pack his things and meet the others.
• Ruri jumped down from the tree and went to check that the cooking pot did not boil dry.

Ruri kept breakfast warm over glowing charcoal while waiting for the others to finish washing up. At Small River, Uchiha Itachi, Yamato, and Uzuki Yugao prepared to join him for breakfast.

• Ruri checked the soup, worried the mushrooms would get too soft, and moved the pot over embers to keep it hot without continuing to cook.
• Ruri waited impatiently near the sleeping Kakashi and the others for them to finish getting ready.
• Uchiha Itachi and Yamato found Uzuki Yugao washing up at Small River and asked why she had risen early.
• Uzuki Yugao said she had slept soundly, then learned from Uchiha Itachi that Ruri had prepared breakfast.
• Uchiha Itachi and Uzuki Yugao began washing up so they could go eat.

Kakashi joined Ruri, who had prepared breakfast after dealing with wild boars during the night. They waited together for the rest of the team to arrive.

• Kakashi packed his equipment and headed to meet Ruri for breakfast.
• Ruri welcomed Kakashi and said he had spent nearly two hours preparing food.
• Kakashi asked whether anything unusual had happened overnight, and Ruri said he had dealt with animals, including a wild boar.
• Ruri said the boar soup and remaining carcass would provide food for the next few days.
• Kakashi offered to let Ruri rest, but Ruri said he was not sleepy, and they waited for the others together.