Recaps

Ye Chen defeated Kusagakure’s forces but was trapped in a genjutsu and deliberately allowed himself to be captured so he could study its caster. While Hidden Jun Village’s players launched a rescue attack, Ye Chen subdued Kusagakure’s leader, leaving Bibiye to pursue control of the village.

• Ye Chen crushed the Grass Ninja experts’ Wood Dragon, defeated Kisame Hoshigaki, and accepted the sealed Single Tomoe after Uchiha Itachi made Kisame apologize.
• Ye Chen pursued Kusagakure’s old man through illusions, but the old man trapped him in a genjutsu that severed his connection to the system and left him unable to move.
• Granny Qianyin sent Azure Bird: Thunderclap to strike Ye Chen, whose awakened chakra broke the genjutsu and let him turn the capture attempt against Kusagakure’s forces.
• The Grass Ninja bound Ye Chen and carried him toward Kusagakure as Master of Open Stratagems organized the players to scout the village and plan a rescue.
• Master of Open Stratagems activated the Cowhide War Drum’s faction buffs and sent an elite team to infiltrate Kusagakure while other players attacked from outside.
• Ye Chen stayed captured to study Lü Shijian’s genjutsu, then secretly attacked Kusagakure’s leader and seized him by the throat.
• As the players fought Kusagakure’s guards for contribution points, Bibiye began a plan to take control of the village.

Ye Chen and the players captured Kusagakure, then Ye Chen upgraded Hidden Jun Village and considered the dangers posed by Konoha and other great villages. The arc ended with several nations receiving reports about Hidden Jun Village as Konoha debated how to deal with it.

• Ye Chen exposed Kusagakure Lüshijian’s deception, while Bibiye seized power and the players began attacking Kusagakure.
• Ye Chen defeated Bibiye and offered Kusagakure’s fighters a choice to flee, join Hidden Jun Village, or challenge him, while the players overwhelmed the remaining defenders.
• The system declared Kusagakure occupied and rewarded the players, while Master of Open Stratagems and other players revealed their settlement rewards.
• Ye Chen learned the game affected the other world, so he imposed an eight-hour play limit and reduced simulation fidelity, prompting mixed reactions from players.
• Ye Chen merged Kusagakure into Hidden Jun Village and upgraded the village, then declined Yamato’s invitation to send six Chunin to Konoha’s tournament.
• Ye Chen connected the newly unlocked Land of Rain and Kisame Hoshigaki’s appearance to the Akatsuki, and worried that Hidden Jun Village could draw the great villages’ attention.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Konoha’s leaders debated attacking Hidden Jun Village, while Shimura Danzō proposed using the Chunin Tournament in the Land of Grass to investigate and destroy it.
• Leaders in Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure received a confidential report about the situation and considered what it meant for their villages.

Ye Chen prepared Hidden Jun Village for the coming conflict by negotiating a role in Konoha’s Chunin Tournament, which became a chance to train his people and test their strength. As the tournament’s forest battles unfolded, players clashed with young Konoha prodigies and Raijin learned that the game’s movements might affect players in real life.

• Ye Chen recruited 144 new players, including the elderly Yu Zhongqing, and prepared Hidden Jun Village for war by building defenses and gathering intelligence on Amegakure.
• After Konoha’s forces approached under Tsunade, Ye Chen agreed to join the Chunin Tournament on conditions, and Tsunade accepted his offer to have Hidden Jun Village provide trial administrators and reconnaissance support.
• Ye Chen announced that players could enter the tournament for battle merit, while Tsunade explained the five-day Forest of Death test and its Heaven and Earth scrolls.
• Emperor of Sinking ambushed Tenten, Rock Lee, and Neji Hyuga, but their teamwork and powerful techniques overcame his defenses and forced him to flee before he killed himself and returned to Hidden Jun Village.
• Kakashi Hatake and Asuma Sarutobi treated the injured young ninjas, while Tsunade questioned Ye Chen about their Rasengan training and Ye Chen claimed a family connection to the Fourth Hokage.
• Dai Xiaomei’s team fought Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino, but she became exhausted after using a Wood Thorn Dragon and being bound by Shikamaru’s Shadow Possession.
• Corpse Bearer told Raijin that the game’s realistic movements could affect players’ bodies in real life, and Raijin agreed to keep the discovery secret.

Dai Xiaomei and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio fought to exhaustion before the tournament’s battles in the Forest of Death drew Hidden Jun Village into Orochimaru’s attack on Konoha. Orochimaru marked Sasuke and Naruto with Cursed Seals, while Ye Chen and Tsunade confronted him as the battlefield erupted around them.

• Dai Xiaomei fought Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino until their coordinated attacks defeated her, leaving the trio exhausted and unable to move.
• Ye Chen left the tournament with Tsunade to search for Orochimaru, who began his operation in the Forest of Death after they departed.
• Shino fought Kankuro while Hidden Jun Village’s Jonin observed, and Falcon's Eye’s livestream drew players toward a chaotic battle involving Gaara, Naruto, and Sasuke.
• Sasuke defeated Qian Feng, but Orochimaru’s disguised group entered the battlefield and Raijin recognized them.
• Orochimaru marked Qian Feng, then attacked Sasuke before Kakashi and other Konoha fighters intervened, and Orochimaru later implanted a Cursed Seal on Sasuke and disrupted Naruto’s connection to the Nine-Tails.
• Master of Open Stratagems led Hidden Jun players into the battle, where they repeatedly revived and charged the giant beasts as Raijin and the other Jonin joined the fighting.
• Tsunade confronted Orochimaru, and Ye Chen accused him of harming innocent people for his ambitions while stalling for time.
• Orochimaru escaped Kakashi’s attacks, Manda struck Kakashi with his tail, and Tsunade attacked Manda before pursuing Orochimaru with Ye Chen’s guidance.