Recaps

Xue Ge visited Shisui at the Uchiha Clan Compound, where the two spent the morning together before heading to the Naka River. There, Xue Ge demonstrated his newly developed Strangling Line and offered to teach it to Shisui.

• Xue Ge entered the Uchiha Clan Compound and found his way to Shisui's home at 154 Tajima Road.
• Shisui welcomed Xue Ge with tea and pastries, and they spent the morning chatting and sharing lunch with Shisui's family.
• Shisui led Xue Ge to the Naka River and asked whether they should exchange techniques or spar.
• Xue Ge demonstrated how his Chakra Threads controlled and detached his wooden prosthetic arm, then struck the riverbank with the threads.
• Xue Ge explained that he had developed the hand-seal-free Ninjutsu Strangling Line and offered to teach it to Shisui.

Xue Ge taught Shisui the strangling threads, and Shisui’s idea to add chakra nature transformations gave Xue Ge new possibilities for the technique and the Rasengan. Shisui then confided in Xue Ge about the Uchiha Clan’s estrangement from Konoha before they headed back as rain approached.

• Xue Ge taught Shisui the principles and practical use of chakra threads, and Shisui formed threads but struggled to lift gravel with them.
• Shisui suggested adding chakra nature transformations to the strangling threads, prompting Xue Ge to consider applying the idea to the Rasengan and telling Minato.
• After Xue Ge remarked on Shisui being born into a powerful clan, Shisui grew subdued and asked what Xue Ge thought of the Uchiha Clan.
• Shisui explained how the Uchiha Clan’s relationship with Konoha deteriorated after Madara Uchiha defected and the clan faced prejudice, isolation, and distrust.
• Shisui shared his concerns about the Uchiha Clan with Xue Ge, then suggested they head back before the rain and spar another time.

After dinner at Shisui's house, Xue Ge searched for Obito Uchiha and accidentally knocked on the wrong house before finding him nearby. After parting from Shisui, Xue Ge went to Orochimaru's Laboratory to seek advice on his training.

• Shisui escorted Xue Ge through the rainy Uchiha compound as they searched for Obito's home.
• Xue Ge and Shisui reached house 257, where a girl told them they had the wrong house.
• Xue Ge found Obito at house 251, greeted him, and agreed to visit again after Obito invited him.
• Shisui and Xue Ge discussed Obito's wish to become Hokage before Shisui saw Xue Ge off at the compound gate.
• Xue Ge decided to seek Orochimaru's guidance and went to Orochimaru's Laboratory.

Xue Ge agreed to cooperate with Orochimaru’s research in exchange for help developing ninjutsu and training guidance, with a white snake serving as their means of contact. He added a request that Orochimaru take better care of Lin Yi, and Orochimaru accepted the deal.

• Xue Ge told Orochimaru he would cooperate with his research if Orochimaru helped develop his ninjutsu and guide his training.
• Orochimaru offered to contact Xue Ge through a white snake, and Xue Ge asked for time to consider the arrangement.
• Xue Ge left Orochimaru’s office and met Lin Yi, a shy girl who had been brought there by Danzo.
• Xue Ge returned and asked Orochimaru to take better care of Lin Yi.
• Orochimaru clasped Xue Ge’s prosthetic hand and agreed to the deal.

Orochimaru explained the Summoning Technique to Xue Ge and modified its hand seals, but Xue Ge used it without a target and was transported to an unfamiliar cave. There, a powerful middle-aged man mistook him for the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and cornered him, asking whether he wanted to dance.

• Orochimaru explained that the Storage Technique worked with the Summoning Technique and offered to teach Xue Ge the latter.
• Orochimaru revised the Summoning Technique's seals and added notes on one-handed hand seals to Xue Ge's notebook.
• Xue Ge practiced the seals and vanished in a cloud of smoke after completing the Summoning Technique.
• Xue Ge woke in a cave, where a middle-aged man asked if he was the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
• Xue Ge tried to flee, but the man appeared in front of him and asked, "Do you want to dance?"

Xue Ge fought the middle-aged man who had appeared after a summoning, briefly awakening new abilities before being brutally defeated. When he woke, the man identified himself as “Shura,” while privately revealing he was Madara Uchiha and remained puzzled about Xue Ge’s connection to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

• Xue Ge attacked the middle-aged man with his Strangling Line, but the man stopped it, pierced Xue Ge’s prosthetic arm, and overwhelmed him.
• Facing a fatal kunai strike, Xue Ge used the Body Flicker Technique and then his half-mastered Rasengan, but the man knocked him unconscious.
• Madara Uchiha decided not to kill Xue Ge, carried him away from his base, and waited for him to wake.
• Xue Ge woke injured, approached Madara under threat, and asked his name.
• Madara told Xue Ge to call him “Shura.”

Madara Uchiha questioned the badly injured Xue Ge, then treated him with rough indifference while wondering whether the boy was connected to a prophecy. Xue Ge woke beside a river, ate grilled fish, and sat quietly with Madara as the night continued.

• Madara Uchiha questioned Xue Ge about his origins and injuries, and learned that he was a six-year-old student from Konoha who had lost his limbs and eye in the war.
• Madara Uchiha forcibly removed Xue Ge's prosthetic eye and wondered whether the boy's unusual blood and summoning were connected to the Child of Prophecy.
• Madara Uchiha picked up Xue Ge, who spat blood on him and pretended to be unconscious, then dragged him into the river to wash him.
• Xue Ge woke after nightfall, and Madara Uchiha gave him grilled fish after noting he had gone about three days without food.
• Xue Ge ate, then grilled more fish beside Madara Uchiha, who reflected on how quiet and withdrawn the boy was.

Danzo, Orochimaru, and Hiruzen searched for the missing Xue Ge, while a lucrative Black Market notice brought shinobi across the world into the hunt. Xue Ge remained unaware of the search as he grilled fish.

• Danzo confronted Hiruzen and Orochimaru over Xue Ge's disappearance, and Orochimaru said he had contacted Ryūchi Cave and posted a Black Market bounty.
• Danzo refused to alert other villages officially, then secured authority to deploy Root personnel and left to search for Xue Ge.
• Orochimaru posted a notice offering twenty million and an A-Rank Ninjutsu, prompting a masked shinobi to take the notice and set out to find the boy.
• Ōnoki ordered an A-Rank Mission to find Xue Ge, and the other great villages and shinobi across the world joined the search.
• Xue Ge continued grilling his fish, unaware that shinobi everywhere were looking for him.

Madara Uchiha shared grilled fish with Xue Ge and questioned him about peace in the Shinobi World. Xue Ge argued that the absence of war was only a temporary balance of interests, leaving Madara convinced that the boy was connected to the prophecy, though Xue Ge could not say how true peace might be achieved.

• Madara Uchiha praised Xue Ge's cooking, asked about his origins, and offered to teach him Ninjutsu.
• Xue Ge said he had Wind Release and Lightning Release chakra and could not learn Genjutsu because his body was impaired.
• Madara asked Xue Ge what he meant by false peace, and Xue Ge questioned whether the Shinobi World had ever truly been peaceful.
• Xue Ge argued that the Five Great Nations avoided war because the status quo suited them, and Madara enthusiastically agreed.
• Madara became more certain that Xue Ge was connected to the prophecy and asked how true peace could be achieved, but Xue Ge admitted he did not know.

Xue Ge talked through the night with Madara, who offered to help him find a ninja beast and sign a Summoning Contract. As they traveled, Madara learned why Xue Ge wanted to return to Konoha, and the boy’s wish to make his friends happy reminded Madara of Izuna and Hashirama.

• Xue Ge and Madara discussed shinobi history, and Madara explained that Xue Ge had summoned without naming a specific target.
• Madara invited Xue Ge to find a ninja beast and sign a Summoning Contract, then led him through the forest.
• Minato received notice that Xue Ge had gone missing and decided to return to Konoha before searching for him.
• Madara examined Xue Ge’s old injuries and asked whether he planned to return to Konoha or travel with him.
• Xue Ge insisted on returning to Konoha because he wanted to make his friends happy, and Madara saw echoes of Izuna and Hashirama in him.

Madara sent Xue Ge alone into Yamabuki Ridge to contract a wild beast, secretly placing a Binding Talisman on him as a safeguard and a test of loyalty. As Xue Ge searched the mountain, Minato followed their tracks, Kakuzu arrived to survey the ridge, and Madara prepared to confront an approaching stranger.

• Madara explained how Xue Ge could contract a wild beast, gave him a contract scroll, and sent him into Yamabuki Ridge alone.
• Madara revealed that he had placed a Binding Talisman on Xue Ge and planned either to make him a successor or control him later.
• Minato found fresh footprints and followed them after telling Inuzuka Tsume and Yoshino to stay behind.
• Kakuzu confirmed Yamabuki Ridge as the destination for his mapping commission and headed toward the mountain.
• Madara noticed someone approaching at high speed, covered himself with a cloak, and prepared to kill the intruder.

Xue Ge searched the mountains for a Ninja Beast and found a giant eagle that he tried to recruit. Kakuzu attacked him for a twenty-million bounty, and Xue Ge was kicked over a cliff.

• Xue Ge encountered a giant eagle and subdued it with Strangling Line and a Rasengan.
• Xue Ge offered the eagle a contract and fed it a piece of flesh, but he could not understand its cries.
• Kakuzu struck Xue Ge with Wind Release: Pressure Damage and revealed that he wanted to collect the twenty-million bounty on him alive.
• The eagle attacked Kakuzu, and Xue Ge tried to stop Kakuzu from striking it.
• Kakuzu accidentally kicked Xue Ge over the cliff and shouted in dismay about losing his twenty million.

Minato confronted Madara while trying to find and bring back Xue Ge, but Madara overwhelmed him with powerful ninjutsu and genjutsu. Minato devised a new Flying Thunder God tactic with dozens of kunai, drawing Madara’s interest as their fight continued.

• Minato found Madara at the mountain clearing and asked where Xue Ge was, but Madara refused to let him take the child.
• Minato attacked Madara, who countered with a devastating Majestic Destroyer Flame and then repelled Minato’s Rasengan.
• Madara recognized Minato’s Flying Thunder God Technique and attacked him with successive fire techniques and genjutsu, badly burning one of Minato’s arms.
• Madara began destroying Minato’s Flying Thunder God Marks and taunted him, while Minato decided to risk a new tactic.
• Minato threw eight kunai and rapidly used Flying Thunder God between them, filling the area with more kunai as he searched for an opening.
• Madara realized Minato’s mastery of Flying Thunder God surpassed Tobirama’s and challenged him to show everything he could do.

Xue Ge clung to a cliff while Kakuzu and Minato noticed the powerful clash of Fire and Water Release on the mountain and headed toward it. As the branch holding Xue Ge snapped, he completed a summoning contract with the hawk and named it Black Pine, then fell down the mountain.

• Xue Ge caught a branch on the cliff, while Kakuzu searched for him from above and then countered a surge of flames with Water Release: Water Curtain.
• Minato and Madara continued their fight, and Minato decided to head up the mountain after spotting steam from a clash of Fire and Water Release.
• Xue Ge nearly fell when an explosion shook the mountain, but he stayed on the cliff by holding the rock face and tying chakra threads around the branch.
• The wounded hawk landed beside Xue Ge, and he used its blood to complete a summoning contract with it.
• The branch snapped, and Xue Ge fell while writing the name Black Pine on the contract scroll.

Minato found Xue Ge as he escaped the mountain on his new summoning beast, Black Pine, while Madara held Kakuzu back. After Xue Ge left Madara a note calling him a friend, Madara revealed his identity and challenged Kakuzu.

• Kakuzu fought Minato after Minato charged up the mountain with a Rasengan.
• Madara appeared, and Kakuzu realized that both he and Minato were looking for Xue Ge.
• Xue Ge escaped on Black Pine, and Minato joined him in the sky before they headed back toward Konoha.
• Xue Ge sent Madara a note that read, "From now on, you are my friend," and flew out of Kakuzu's reach.
• Madara stopped Kakuzu from pursuing Xue Ge, then summoned Susanoo and revealed himself as Madara Uchiha.

After recovering from his injuries, Xue Ge returned to class, caught up with his friends, and accepted invitations to spar with Kakashi and attend the Hanabi Festival. Danzo then took him to the Forest of Death to meet a dedicated instructor, leaving Xue Ge to find her alone in a bamboo grove.

• After two weeks in the hospital, Xue Ge returned to class on crutches and described his recovery and training to Muzi.
• Obito, Rin, Guy, and Kakashi gathered around Xue Ge, and Kakashi invited him to spar the following night.
• Muzi shared bread with Xue Ge and invited him to the Hanabi Festival on Sunday, and he gave her his address.
• Xue Ge cleaned his house while waiting for Danzo, then changed into ninja attire when Danzo arrived.
• Danzo took Xue Ge to the Forest of Death and explained that he had arranged a dedicated ninja to train him.
• Danzo sent Xue Ge alone toward a bamboo grove to meet his new instructor.

Xue Ge won Iris Moon’s approval as her student after drinking a vat of liquor and learning how chakra could regulate his body. Meanwhile, Hiruzen recognized that the mysterious Shura might be a grave threat and prepared to confront him, leaving Sakumo instructions in case he did not return.

• Xue Ge met the drunken Iris Moon, who tested him by ordering him to drink an entire vat of liquor.
• Iris Moon demonstrated her powerful Water Release, revealed her experience as a former Jonin, and accepted Xue Ge as her student after he finished the liquor.
• Iris Moon taught Xue Ge to use chakra to accelerate his metabolism and help his body withstand alcohol, injuries, and toxins.
• Hiruzen reviewed Minato’s report about Shura and ordered the village to strengthen its defenses and summon Sakumo and Tsunade.
• Hiruzen armed himself for a two-day absence and gave Sakumo a written order to serve as acting Naruto if he failed to return.

Hiruzen investigated Madara Uchiha’s grave at the Valley of the End and found what appeared to be Madara’s remains. After Hiruzen left, Zetsu revealed that he had planted another body in the coffin and began considering Xue Ge as a future pawn in his plan.

• Hiruzen summoned Enma to search the area, then dug up Madara Uchiha’s coffin and found a skeleton in dark red armor.
• Hiruzen collected a bone sample for DNA comparison, resealed the coffin, and hurried back to Konoha to arrange checks and security.
• After Hiruzen left, Zetsu emerged and revealed that he had placed another Uchiha’s remains in the coffin to conceal Madara’s absence.
• Zetsu decided to keep watching Madara while also monitoring Xue Ge, whom he had secretly saved from the cliff fall with Wood Release.
• Zetsu considered Xue Ge a possible successor to Madara’s plan and vanished into the soil as Hiruzen returned to Konoha unaware of the deception.

Iris Moon explained how Xue Ge could begin adapting taijutsu to his unusual chakra flow, then insisted they spend the night drinking. Madara forced Kakuzu into serving him and ordered him to raise an equal sum of money within three months.

• Iris Moon explained that taijutsu could use chakra to enhance the body and advised Xue Ge to combine taijutsu with his chakra flow before developing new ninjutsu.
• Iris Moon promised to plan Xue Ge's taijutsu training, then pressured him into drinking with her by the lakeshore.
• Madara examined Kakuzu's savings and recognized him as a valuable source of money for his planned Secret Base.
• Madara used a Transcription Seal to bind Kakuzu as his subordinate and threatened to kill him if he ran away.
• Madara ordered Kakuzu to bring him another sum equal to his savings within three months, and Kakuzu reluctantly agreed.

Xue Ge visited the Hatake compound, sparred with Kakashi, and learned more about his master, Iris Moon, from Sakumo. After Xue Ge left, Sakumo urged Kakashi to keep training, warning that Xue Ge’s hard work could make him stronger.

• Xue Ge and Kakashi fought for over ten minutes under Sakumo’s watch, and neither gained the upper hand before Sakumo stopped them.
• During dinner, Kakashi praised Xue Ge’s improvement, and Sakumo encouraged the two boys to support each other as rivals and possible future teammates.
• Xue Ge asked Sakumo about Iris Moon, and Sakumo said she was a powerful taijutsu expert brought to Konoha by Danzo three or four years earlier after being badly injured.
• Sakumo explained that Iris Moon served Root and might be held back by a burden in her heart, but he did not know her real name.
• After Xue Ge left, Sakumo told Kakashi to keep working hard because Xue Ge’s determination could help him surpass Kakashi.

Iris Moon explained how Xue Ge could turn his naturally uneven chakra flow into explosive taijutsu power, then began training his control and reflexes. Xue Ge lasted only two seconds against her opening attacks and realized taijutsu was her true specialty.

• Iris Moon summoned Xue Ge to the lakeside and explained how he could conceal and release the imbalance in his chakra flow to power taijutsu and seal-free ninjutsu.
• Xue Ge understood the principle and asked Iris Moon to teach him.
• Iris Moon began training Xue Ge to dodge her attacks without blocking or fighting back, aiming to build his control and reactions.
• Iris Moon struck Xue Ge down twice, and he lasted only one second against her first attack and two seconds against the next.
• Iris Moon told Xue Ge to train his instincts to move before conscious awareness, and he recognized that taijutsu was her true strength.

Xue Ge joined his classmates for Konoha’s Hanabi Festival after Danzo gave him a yukata and permission to take the evening off. Hiruzen opened the festival with a speech, and as the crowd poured into the shopping streets, the village leaders made plans to celebrate in their own ways.

• Danzo gave Xue Ge a black yukata and let him take the evening off to attend the festival.
• Xue Ge met Muzi, Kakashi, Obito, Rin, and Guy, and they headed together to the Naruto Building.
• At the Naruto Building, Xue Ge spotted Shisui and recognized Hiruzen, Danzo, Sakumo, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and other village leaders.
• Hiruzen welcomed the crowd and declared the festival open after Tsunade urged him to keep his speech lively.
• Tsunade invited Jiraiya, Minato, Shizune, and Orochimaru out for a drink, while Hiruzen arranged a gathering with Torifu Akimichi and Sakumo stayed with his son.

Xue Ge spent the festival with Muzi, whose warmth and smile reminded him of a girl from his past who had died. After the fireworks, the two decided to get a late-night snack together before going home.

• Obito invited Kakashi to pay for festival fun, but went exploring with Rin instead.
• Muzi led Xue Ge around the festival, told him about awakening an unknown kekkei genkai, and decorated him with ornaments.
• While sharing dango, Xue Ge told Muzi about a girl from his childhood whose smile resembled hers and who had died after being injured by her father.
• Xue Ge remembered how the girl's death and his own injury had shaped his life, while Muzi watched the fireworks beside him.
• After the festival crowds thinned, Muzi and Xue Ge agreed to get a late-night snack together.

Xue Ge finished his first semester at the Ninja Academy tied with Kakashi for first place, and Danzo rewarded him with the Shadow Clone and Multiple Shadow Clone techniques. Meanwhile, Orochimaru successfully tested transferring Xue Ge’s altered chakra through a cursed seal, though the chapter left the full method unfinished.

• Xue Ge and his classmates followed their training paths through the semester, and he and Kakashi dominated the final exams before tying in their final combat match.
• Danzo praised Xue Ge and gave him scrolls containing the Shadow Clone Technique and the forbidden Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, warning him about the risks of using them.
• Orochimaru successfully grafted some of Xue Ge’s altered chakra onto a living creature, confirming that his cursed seal experiments could work despite their low success rate.
• Orochimaru left the laboratory to find more animals for experiments, while Lin Yi picked up his scattered research notes.

Xue Ge continued his intense training and spoke with Orochimaru about death and the value of life. Meanwhile, Hiruzen set a harsh graduation test for Xue Ge and Kakashi after they applied for early graduation.

• Xue Ge used shadow clones to train and practiced disrupting his chakra flow while submerged in a river.
• Orochimaru encountered Xue Ge and warned him against pushing himself so hard that he neglected sleep and risked his life.
• Hiruzen and Shikaku reviewed early graduation applications from Waterbird River Xue Ge and Kakashi Hatake, both of whom had earned full marks.
• Hiruzen assigned Choza Akimichi to test the applicants, requiring them to withstand him for one minute to qualify as genin.
• Hiruzen ordered the assessment made public as a warning to students seeking early graduation.