Recaps

Xue Ge awoke as a badly wounded child on a battlefield in the Land of Rain during the Second Shinobi World War. After the ninja carrying him was killed and Xue Ge lost an arm and a leg, he tried to escape but was caught in a wave of fire.

• Xue Ge regained consciousness in the arms of an Amegakure ninja fleeing through a reed marsh and learned that Sandagakure and Konoha had destroyed his village.
• A bright streak decapitated the Amegakure ninja, and Xue Ge was thrown to the ground, where he discovered that an arm and a leg had been severed.
• Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade fought Hanzō across a lake as Hanzō summoned Ibuse and vowed to end the war in the Land of Rain.
• Xue Ge dragged himself away from the fighting and searched among the corpses for help while bleeding heavily.
• A ninja's Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu rushed toward Xue Ge, leaving him unable to escape.

After surviving the battlefield by cauterizing his wounds, Xue Ge was found by Danzo, who decided to take him in as a potential Root recruit. Danzo gave him the name Waterbird River Xue Ge.

• Danzo defeated Chiyo after their fight, while Konoha’s forces captured prisoners and drove the Rain Ninja and Sand ninja away.
• Xue Ge cauterized his shoulder and hip wounds in a fire, then collapsed from pain and blood loss.
• Danzo discovered Xue Ge crawling beside a headless corpse and questioned him about his injuries, village, and name.
• Xue Ge asked Danzo to save him and nodded when Danzo asked whether he wanted to live.
• Danzo decided Xue Ge could become a trusted Root recruit, carried him away, and named him Waterbird River Xue Ge.

Xue Ge learned that Danzo had arranged an extreme four-year training regimen for him and was preparing medicine and prosthetics to support his recovery. Danzo’s private plans revealed that he intended to use Xue Ge as a disposable test subject and political placeholder while pursuing experiments with transplanted bloodlines.

• Xue Ge struggled to control his puppet prosthetics as En gave him a punishing training schedule that allowed only two hours of sleep and would eventually end in a live fight against En.
• En told Xue Ge that Danzo had commissioned his prosthetics from a captured Puppet Master and had arranged special medicine and Soldier Pills with Orochimaru.
• Danzo delivered a second batch of coffins to Orochimaru, who warned that the modified Hero Water would cause accumulating injuries and likely kill Xue Ge before age twenty.
• Danzo accepted the risks of the medicine and asked Orochimaru to test the compatibility of the First's cells with Xue Ge's cells.
• Danzo privately decided that Xue Ge could serve as an heir, loyal subordinate, and test subject for dangerous bloodline-transplant experiments.

Xue Ge began an exhausting training regimen under En and ANBU operatives, then endured a painful treatment in Orochimaru’s Growth Chamber. The next morning, he resumed training while fearing he would have to undergo the treatment again that night.

• An ANBU operative woke Xue Ge at two in the morning and made him practice controlling a jagged stone.
• En gave Xue Ge a Soldier Pill, ran him around Konoha for five hours, and put him through a trap-filled tactical course.
• En sent Xue Ge to practice throwing Shuriken, Kunai, and Senbon with a white-haired ANBU operative.
• En took Xue Ge to Orochimaru, who sealed him in a Growth Chamber filled with a blue liquid that caused him intense pain.
• Orochimaru kept Xue Ge in the chamber and drew blood for research while En left.
• At two the next morning, an ANBU operative woke Xue Ge for chakra training, and Xue Ge realized he would have to return to the chamber that evening.

After four years of brutal training under Yan and Orochimaru, six-year-old Xue Ge fought Yan with a cane sword before entering the Ninja Academy as a disabled war orphan. In Kakashi Hatake’s class, Xue Ge introduced himself to his new classmates.

• Xue Ge trained in chakra techniques, weapons, taijutsu, and physical conditioning while enduring Orochimaru’s painful experiments for four years.
• Yan challenged Xue Ge to a sword fight, and Xue Ge met his tachi with the blade hidden in his cane.
• Kakashi Hatake found the Ninja Academy’s lessons and students disappointing while Obito talked beside him.
• Jōgiku Ryūsuke announced that a war orphan was joining the class, and an Anbu pushed Xue Ge inside in a wheelchair.
• Xue Ge stood, walked to the front with his cane, and introduced himself as Waterbird River Xue Ge.

Xue Ge attended his first day at the Ninja Academy, where his unusual injuries and abilities drew the attention of his classmates. During lunch, he ran laps at remarkable speed and met Might Guy, who joined him in an enthusiastic display of youthful determination.

• Ryosuke assigned Xue Ge a seat, and Jangu Muzi greeted him before learning that his left eye was blind.
• Obito Uchiha introduced himself to Xue Ge, while Rin and Kakashi wondered about his injuries and mysterious transfer.
• Xue Ge drank nutrient solution for lunch, then left his crutches and sprinted around the track.
• Kakashi, Obito, Asuma Sarutobi, and Rin watched Xue Ge run and marveled at his speed.
• Muzi asked Ryosuke about Xue Ge, and Ryosuke explained that he was a war orphan and urged her to be kind to him.
• Might Guy joined Xue Ge on the track, introduced himself, and vowed to do ten thousand frog jumps if he failed to finish fifty laps.

Xue Ge left the Ninja Academy and encountered Danzo waiting to pick him up, while Kakashi redirected Might Guy’s challenge toward him. With Danzo’s approval, Xue Ge agreed to fight Guy and took up a flawless stance, leaving the duel about to begin.

• Xue Ge noticed Kakashi and Sakumo together outside the academy, and Sakumo told Kakashi that Xue Ge was strong.
• Xue Ge spotted Danzo watching him and hurried over, puzzled that Danzo had come to meet him.
• Might Guy challenged Kakashi to another duel, and Kakashi pointed him toward Xue Ge instead.
• Guy rushed up to challenge Xue Ge, who glanced at Danzo and received his nod.
• Xue Ge set down his crutch and assumed a fighting stance as Guy prepared to attack.

Xue Ge sparred with Might Guy and revealed that his Taijutsu was far beyond what the spectators expected. He defeated Guy with a feint and a series of decisive strikes, stopping just short of his throat.

• Might Guy charged Xue Ge, who evaded his first attacks before Guy threw him to the ground.
• Xue Ge used a wooden leg against Guy and slammed him down, surprising the spectators with his skill.
• Might Guy attacked again, but Xue Ge blocked every punch and then overpowered him in a direct exchange.
• Xue Ge feigned a sudden halt, caught Guy off balance, and struck him with a knee, a punch, and a shoulder throw.
• Xue Ge stopped a knife-hand an inch from Guy's throat and declared the spar over.

Xue Ge defeated Guy in a Taijutsu match, impressing Kakashi, Sakumo, and Minato. Danzo then set Xue Ge the goal of graduating early from the Ninja Academy within one year.

• Xue Ge defeated Guy, and the onlookers discussed his skill while Kakashi learned that Xue Ge specialized in swordsmanship and had trained under Sakumo.
• Guy accepted his defeat eagerly and vowed to train before challenging Xue Ge again, while Minato told Kushina he hoped to speak with the boy and might take students the following year.
• Danzo praised Xue Ge's Taijutsu but asked about his limited progress in Ninjutsu and Wind Release.
• Xue Ge admitted that his first day at the Ninja Academy had been boring, and Danzo criticized Hiruzen's reforms.
• Danzo ordered Xue Ge to graduate early from the Ninja Academy within one year.

Xue Ge moved into Danzo’s home and planned how to balance Ninja Academy attendance with intensive training so he could graduate early. He finished his schedule and furniture list and brought both to Danzo.

• Danzo told Xue Ge he would live at his home and could have Orochimaru install training equipment there.
• Danzo showed Xue Ge his room and reminded him to study for the Ninja Academy’s academic examinations.
• Xue Ge found the textbooks easy because he remembered his studies from his previous life as a teacher.
• Xue Ge planned a demanding daily schedule combining academy classes, chakra training, physical conditioning, ninjutsu practice, and possible sparring.
• Xue Ge wrote down the furniture he needed and took the list and his training plan upstairs to Danzo.

Xue Ge continued his training at school while learning that practical lessons would begin the following week. Their teacher announced a graded class assessment, and the chapter ended as the strength test was about to begin.

• Xue Ge ran laps at noon, and Guy joined him before sprinting ahead and challenging himself to finish ten laps first.
• Xue Ge practiced chakra control with a pen, and Muzi suggested he might have a talent for it because her mother was a medical ninja.
• Ryosuke announced that the class would take strength, stamina, ninja tool throwing, and sparring tests that would count toward their final exam.
• The students gathered at the rear field, where Lan Uchiha and Wenyi Hyuga confronted each other as Kakashi watched Xue Ge.
• Ryosuke called Lan Uchiha up first for the strength test and explained that students could lift the barbells with both hands.

Kakashi Hatake and Waterbird River Xue Ge dominated their class’s physical, endurance, and ninja tool tests, then advanced to the final sparring match. Xue Ge drew a sword from his cane and faced Kakashi as their duel began.

• Kakashi lifted the 350-jin barbell, and Xue Ge matched him, surprising the class and Ryosuke.
• Kakashi and Xue Ge ran thirty laps together, and both earned perfect scores on the ninja tools test.
• The sparring matches began with Obito losing to Gekko Hayate, while Uchiha Lan eventually lost to Wenyi Hyuga after a lengthy fight.
• Kakashi and Xue Ge stepped forward for the final match, with Kakashi asking Xue Ge to draw his sword.
• Xue Ge drew a slender blade from his cane and pointed it at Kakashi’s throat as they prepared to begin.

Xue Ge and Kakashi fought fiercely, matching each other with their unusual swordsmanship and ninjutsu. Ryosuke stopped them just as their blades cut into each other’s clothes.

• Might Guy broke the tension, and Kakashi asked Xue Ge to fight at full strength.
• Xue Ge and Kakashi traded rapid sword strikes, with Xue Ge using a detachable prosthetic and a hidden blade.
• Kakashi used the Substitution Technique and Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, but Xue Ge dodged the attack and wounded his arm.
• Kakashi used Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere, but Xue Ge cut through it and closed in for another strike.
• Ryosuke seized Xue Ge’s wrist and stopped Kakashi’s sword before either fighter could land a decisive blow.

After Xue Ge and Kakashi tied in a fierce school test, Danzo and Hiruzen met Xue Ge and discussed his talent and outlook. Hiruzen arranged for Xue Ge to spend the weekend helping someone in Konoha, with Danzo insisting he return home at night.

• Xue Ge and Kakashi tied in their test, both earned full marks, and received treatment for their injuries.
• Muzi announced that the afternoon tests were over, and Kakashi questioned Xue Ge about not knowing ninjutsu before suspecting he wanted to graduate early.
• Xue Ge encountered Danzo and Hiruzen, who told him they had arranged the test fight to see how he compared with Kakashi.
• Xue Ge told Hiruzen that school was easy and boring, and that he could not relate to classmates raised in loving families.
• Hiruzen arranged for Xue Ge to help someone over the weekend, and Danzo reluctantly agreed on the condition that Xue Ge return at night.

Xue Ge continued researching how to adapt ninjutsu to his disabled body and met Minato Namikaze for the first time. The chapter left them heading to Xue Ge’s first mission, which turned out to be finding a cat.

• Xue Ge studied chakra flow and adjusted the Substitution Technique’s hand seals to suit his body’s imbalance.
• After making some progress, Xue Ge took his scroll and went to meet Hiruzen’s contact at the ninja academy.
• Minato Namikaze introduced himself to Xue Ge and invited him to help with two D-rank missions.
• Minato told Xue Ge that he had arranged for him to perform a mission as an academy student, and revealed that the task was finding a cat.

Minato treated Xue Ge to dinner and discussed his work developing a seal-less Ninjutsu. Xue Ge suggested using rotation to create a fast, damaging technique, and Minato recognized that Xue Ge’s approach of adapting Ninjutsu to his own chakra flow could open a new path; they paused their discussion to eat.

• Minato took Xue Ge to a restaurant after they completed five D-rank missions and explained why he had spent the day accompanying him.
• Minato showed Xue Ge his concept for a seal-less Ninjutsu that would manipulate chakra outside the body to attack people quickly.
• Xue Ge suggested rotating the chakra to tear flesh and damage bones, and Minato thought the idea could work.
• Xue Ge explained that he had experience modifying techniques because of his physical disability, and Minato offered to ask Lord Third to help him.
• Minato said Xue Ge’s idea of adapting Ninjutsu to his chakra flow could make techniques highly suited to him, and they put away their notes when dinner arrived.

Xue Ge explored ways to adapt ninjutsu to his abnormal chakra flow while Danzo offered to teach him, and Minato developed a prototype of a hand-seal-free technique. After Minato demonstrated the technique to Xue Ge, they settled on the name Rasengan.

• Xue Ge considered creating pseudo-ninjutsu by shaping and transforming chakra outside his body, but Danzo interrupted him and offered to explain Wind Release: Great Breakthrough and help simplify its hand seals.
• Xue Ge asked Danzo why he had adopted him, and Danzo said he believed they would get along before beginning to teach him.
• Minato spent the night experimenting with water balloons and chakra, gradually stabilizing the spinning water inside them.
• Minato showed Xue Ge a prototype chakra sphere that shattered a rock, explaining how its rotation and compression damaged a target before the sphere expanded.
• Xue Ge suggested the name Rasengan, and Minato agreed to use it for the technique.

Minato taught Xue Ge the Rasengan and spent two days completing D-rank missions with him, then promised to become his Guiding Jonin after he graduated. After Minato left, Xue Ge reflected on Konoha’s Will of Fire and saw mist and a huge rainbow above the village.

• Minato taught Xue Ge how to train the Rasengan, and Xue Ge learned to keep a water balloon from bursting.
• Minato stopped Xue Ge from eating a Soldier Pill and took him to eat ramen.
• Minato and Xue Ge completed twelve D-rank missions over two days, then shared a meal on the snack street.
• Minato explained the Will of Fire and promised to be Xue Ge’s Guiding Jonin after his graduation; Xue Ge agreed.
• After Minato disappeared, Xue Ge looked toward the Hokage Rock and saw mist and a huge rainbow above Konoha.

Minato praised Xue Ge to Hiruzen and asked to become his guiding jonin, then shared Xue Ge’s notes on modifying the Three Body Technique. Hiruzen agreed to handle both matters and spent the night revising the technique to suit Xue Ge’s chakra circulation.

• Minato told Hiruzen that Xue Ge was talented and needed guidance, and asked to become his guiding jonin after Xue Ge graduated.
• Hiruzen approved Minato’s request and said he would arrange it.
• Minato showed Hiruzen Xue Ge’s notes on changing the Three Body Technique’s hand seals and explained his ideas about developing ninjutsu.
• Hiruzen agreed to speak with Danzo about the notes and told Minato to focus on training with Jiraiya.
• After Minato left, Hiruzen revised the Three Body Technique through the night to accommodate how Xue Ge circulated his chakra.

Xue Ge studied Hiruzen’s guidance on the modified Three Body Technique and told Kakashi he planned to graduate from the Ninja Academy within a year. Kakashi declared that he would graduate no later than Xue Ge and proposed that they train together.

• Ryosuke delivered Hiruzen’s annotated scroll to Xue Ge, who spent the morning studying its guidance on modifying Ninjutsu.
• Muzi left a lunch box for Xue Ge, who ate it during his break and then returned to physical training.
• Kakashi joined Xue Ge for a conversation while Obito and Rin napped, asking whether he intended to graduate early.
• Xue Ge said he planned to graduate within a year, and Kakashi warned that the strict exam could involve fighting a Chunin or Jonin.
• Kakashi said he also planned to graduate early, set a goal of graduating no later than Xue Ge, and suggested they learn from each other.
• Xue Ge agreed not to hold back in future fights, then resumed running around the Playground.

Xue Ge practiced the Three Body Technique and received a scroll of combat ninjutsu from Danzo before heading to the Back Mountain to train his Rasengan. There he clashed with Shisui Uchiha, a gifted Ninja Academy student planning to graduate early, and the two discovered they both came to practice ninjutsu.

• Xue Ge successfully performed the Three Body Technique, and Danzo gave him a scroll of Wind Release techniques.
• Xue Ge decided to study Hiruzen's notes and planned to practice the Rasengan at the Back Mountain waterfall.
• A hidden attacker ambushed Xue Ge, knocked him down, and stopped when he heard Xue Ge groan.
• The attacker recognized Xue Ge as the student who had fought Kakashi and introduced himself as Shisui Uchiha.
• Shisui told Xue Ge he was the strongest Ninja Academy student and planned to apply for early graduation.
• Xue Ge and Shisui learned that they had both come to the waterfall to practice ninjutsu.

Shisui taught Xue Ge the basics of the Body Flicker Technique, then saw Xue Ge use the Rasengan and learned that he had helped develop it. Shisui was left shocked by Xue Ge’s talent.

• Xue Ge questioned how Shisui used the Body Flicker Technique without pausing, and Shisui explained that his body adapted naturally to it.
• Xue Ge agreed to learn the Body Flicker Technique, and Shisui spent two hours teaching him its seals, chakra control, and applications.
• Shisui asked Xue Ge to demonstrate the ninjutsu he had come to practice, and Xue Ge formed a Rasengan and destroyed a nearby tree with it.
• Shisui asked Xue Ge to teach him the Rasengan, but Xue Ge said he had developed it with someone else and would ask that person.
• Shisui realized Xue Ge had helped develop the Rasengan and stared at him in shock.

Uchiha Lan gave Xue Ge an invitation to the Uchiha Clan Compound, and Obito explained how it could be used and invited Xue Ge to visit him as well. At home, Xue Ge began compiling techniques into a personal ninjutsu scroll and asked Danzo to teach him the Storage Technique.

• Uchiha Lan handed Xue Ge an invitation, and Obito explained that it granted access to the Uchiha Clan Compound.
• Obito gave Xue Ge his address and invited him to visit, while Xue Ge discovered the invitation was from Shisui Uchiha.
• Xue Ge began recording and analyzing the techniques he knew, starting his long-term project, Xue Ge's Ninja Scroll.
• Danzo returned home with several ANBU, and Xue Ge asked him to teach the Storage Technique.
• Danzo agreed to teach Xue Ge the Storage Technique.

Danzo brought Lin Yi to Orochimaru’s laboratory as an assistant and messenger, then questioned Orochimaru about experiments using Xue Ge’s cells. The experiments had all failed, but Orochimaru saw possible promise in transplanting an ocular Kekkei Genkai; Danzo left while Orochimaru privately planned to approach Xue Ge again.

• Danzo brought Lin Yi to Orochimaru’s laboratory and told Orochimaru she would serve as his assistant and messenger.
• Orochimaru led Danzo into his office and reported that experiments combining Xue Ge’s cells with Hashirama cells, Transparent Release chakra, Kurama Clan cells, and the Sharingan had failed.
• Orochimaru suggested Xue Ge might be mentally compatible with the Sharingan and could have better prospects for receiving an ocular Kekkei Genkai through transplantation.
• Danzo agreed to provide more Sharingan and outside-village Kekkei Genkai, and said the next batch of experimental subjects would mostly be children.
• Danzo refused Orochimaru’s request to meet Xue Ge and left the laboratory.
• Orochimaru privately considered testing his new chakra-transferring Cursed Seal on Xue Ge and planned to approach him despite Danzo’s objections.

Xue Ge met Orochimaru, who asked for more body tissue samples and regular access to study his unusual soul. Orochimaru offered to teach him ninjutsu and advise his training in exchange, and Xue Ge was left considering the deal.

• Xue Ge practiced Wind Release: Great Breakthrough in the forest until Orochimaru appeared after knocking out the ANBU watching him.
• Orochimaru took Xue Ge to Hokage Rock and asked for more body tissue samples for his experiments.
• Orochimaru proposed that Xue Ge visit his laboratory periodically so he could study Xue Ge’s unusual soul.
• Xue Ge worried Orochimaru might discover the truth about his soul but recognized he had little power to refuse.
• Orochimaru offered exclusive ninjutsu and training advice as compensation, and Xue Ge said he needed time to think.