Chapter Summaries

After Ye Chen sent Kisame Hoshigaki flying with one slap, foreign visitors feared the Village Chief of Hidden Jun Village and cautiously followed to watch what happened next. In Kusagakure, Bibiye reported the situation to Lord Kusagakure and proposed concentrating their forces to wear down and kill the Village Chief.

• Foreign visitors judged Ye Chen to be an exceptionally powerful Kage Level fighter and concealed themselves rather than risk provoking him.
• After Ye Chen left, the foreign visitors cautiously emerged and followed, with some hoping to take advantage of Kisame Hoshigaki if he was badly wounded.
• Bibiye entered the Kusagakure official residence and reported the intelligence to Lord Kusagakure.
• Lord Kusagakure rebuked Bibiye when he suggested that Kusagakure sue for peace.
• Bibiye proposed gathering Kusagakure's high-ranking ninja to surround and exhaust the Village Chief of Hidden Jun Village, with Lord Kusagakure overseeing the battle.

Bibiye persuaded the old man from Kusagakure to target Hidden Jun Village's chief, secretly hoping the old man would die and leave him free to act. With Kisame Hoshigaki gone, Hidden Jun Village's vanguard drove back the Grass Ninja experts, who fled as the players gave chase.

• Bibiye convinced the old man from Kusagakure to send him against Hidden Jun Village's forces while the old man fought their chief.
• Bibiye left the official residence planning to seize power if the old man died, then sent messages from the transformed Anbu headquarters.
• After the chief took Kisame Hoshigaki away, Hidden Jun Village's vanguard used coordinated ninjutsu and close combat to overwhelm the remaining Grass Ninja experts.
• The Grass Ninja experts fled, and the Hidden Jun Village players, including Corpse Bearer, Bullfighting Master, Raijin, and One Sword Opens Heaven, split up to pursue them.
• Livestream viewers discussed how Hidden Jun Village's players seemed stronger than native ninja of the same rank.

Ye Chen faced Kisame Hoshigaki and Kusagakure’s assembled force, while the Grass Ninja experts prepared a cooperative ninjutsu. He watched the technique activate so he could learn its method and potentially bring it to the players.

• Online players debated differences between players and native characters, game balance, and whether new players would receive catch-up rewards.
• Ye Chen faced Kisame Hoshigaki at full strength, twenty-three Kusagakure jonin, and a powerful old man hidden in the shadows.
• Kisame Hoshigaki charged Ye Chen and was sent flying away again, silencing the Grass Ninja experts.
• The twenty-three Grass Ninja experts formed a connection and began activating cooperative ninjutsu while Ye Chen observed its conditions and casting process.
• The technique’s chakra surged, talisman markings appeared beneath the formation, and Ye Chen called its execution crude.

Ye Chen observed the flaws in Kusagakure’s combination ninjutsu as twenty-three Grass Ninja experts unleashed Wood Release: Vine-Thorn Wood Dragon. He met the charging Wood Dragon head-on with a lightning-wreathed palm, and the collision’s outcome remained unresolved.

• Ye Chen studied the Grass Ninja formation and noticed that its crude chakra transfer wasted most of the chakra and injured the leader.
• The twenty-three Grass Ninja experts completed their lengthy combination ninjutsu, summoning a spiked Wood Dragon from vines and roots.
• Ye Chen decided to destroy the combination ninjutsu directly when the Wood Dragon charged at him.
• Ye Chen used Fire Release: Flame Burst Technique, igniting the Wood Dragon without slowing its charge.
• Ye Chen struck the Wood Dragon with his lightning-wreathed palm, and the two collided with tremendous force.

Ye Chen destroyed the Grass Ninja experts’ cooperation ninjutsu with a lightning-infused palm strike, killing their leader and leaving the others unable to fight. As Kisame Hoshigaki recovered nearby, he recognized the formation’s chakra-absorption potential and considered how it might suit him.

• Ye Chen used a palm strike combining Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms and Lightning Release: Lightning Blade to halt and cleave the Grass Ninja experts’ Wood Dragon.
• The Wood Dragon’s destruction caused severe backlash among the twenty-three Grass Ninja experts; their leader died, and the rest were incapacitated.
• Ye Chen decided to study the cooperation ninjutsu’s formation and later improve or replace its flawed casting process in Hidden Jun Village.
• Ye Chen turned toward Kisame Hoshigaki, who had climbed from the crater and was recovering from his injuries.
• Kisame Hoshigaki watched the battle and realized that the cooperation ninjutsu’s chakra-absorption method might benefit him because of his fusion with Samehada.

Kisame Hoshigaki launched a combined Water Release attack against Ye Chen, but Ye Chen caught him by the throat and subdued him. Kisame threatened Hidden Jun Village with retaliation from the Akatsuki, and Ye Chen tightened his grip in response.

• Kisame Hoshigaki created four water clones and merged into a shark-shaped projectile to launch a surprise attack through a falling torrent.
• Ye Chen shielded himself with Molten Fire Shield, then used his senses to locate Kisame Hoshigaki through the water and mist.
• Ye Chen caught Kisame Hoshigaki’s descending attack and seized him by the throat before he could escape into the water.
• Kisame Hoshigaki begged Ye Chen to end the fight, but Ye Chen refused and demanded the proper attitude.
• Kisame Hoshigaki threatened Ye Chen and Hidden Jun Village with retaliation from the Akatsuki, and Ye Chen tightened his grip until Kisame could not speak.

Ye Chen confronted Uchiha Itachi after restraining Kisame Hoshigaki, and recognized that Itachi’s failing health came from overusing his Sharingan. He released Kisame and let the Akatsuki partners go, but Itachi ordered Kisame to apologize to the Village Chief.

• Uchiha Itachi appeared behind Ye Chen and told Kisame Hoshigaki to apologize to the Village Chief.
• Ye Chen resisted the pull of Itachi’s Sharingan and asked how much medicine Itachi needed to keep his body going.
• Uchiha Itachi grew suspicious when Ye Chen hinted that he knew about Itachi’s poor health and warned Ye Chen against fighting the Akatsuki.
• Ye Chen released Kisame Hoshigaki and told the partners to leave, declining to demand compensation.
• Uchiha Itachi rebuked Kisame and ordered him to apologize to the Village Chief.

Kisame Hoshigaki apologized to Ye Chen and gave him a crimson jade called the Single Tomoe, which Uchiha Itachi revealed could store almost unlimited chakra and an unknown inheritance. Ye Chen discovered the item was sealed and unusable, while Itachi and Kisame departed on another mission, with Kisame explaining that even he could not access the jade’s contents.

• Kisame Hoshigaki apologized to Ye Chen and handed him the crimson Single Tomoe as compensation.
• Ye Chen examined the jade and learned it could store chakra, insights, and experience, while Uchiha Itachi said its capacity was nearly limitless and hinted at more within it.
• Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki left Ye Chen and headed toward a new mission.
• Ye Chen tried to inspect the Single Tomoe, but a system notification said the Samsara Jade was sealed and he lacked permission to open it.
• Kisame Hoshigaki told Uchiha Itachi he did not regret giving away the treasure because even he could not access its contents.

Players and squad leaders struggled to maintain their duties as the distant battle near Kusagakure drew everyone’s attention. Dai Xiaomei abandoned the Logistics Squad to seek out the action, prompting more than half the squad to follow.

• Players in the melee noticed the distant tremors and speculated that the Village Chief was fighting Kusagakure’s peerless expert, while viewers complained that they could not watch the battle.
• Several players left the battlefield on their own, forcing Corpse Bearer and Bullfighting Master to try to keep the Vanguard Squad together as Kusagakure’s forces counterattacked.
• Falcon's Eye had already gone off alone, leaving the Reconnaissance Squad without its captain to control it.
• Emperor of Sinking urged the Cavalry Squad to keep information channels clear as the Central Army Squad repeatedly demanded reports about the disturbances.
• Dai Xiaomei left the Logistics Squad to find the action, and more than half its members ran after her.

Master of Open Stratagems regrouped the player forces and led them toward the battlefield where the old Kusagakure man's fight was unfolding. Bibiye sent Kusagakure's reserves after them, while the old Kusagakure man remained trapped under a terrifying gaze.

• Master of Open Stratagems brought the Central Army Squad to reinforce the Vanguard Squad and warned Corpse Bearer and Bullfighting Master that Kusagakure would counterattack.
• Kusagakure forces launched a rapid counterattack, and Master of Open Stratagems ordered the players to retreat toward the battlefield where the earlier fluctuations had occurred.
• Bibiye learned that Hidden Jun Village's forces were routing, confirmed the report with Anbu scouts, and dispatched his held-back troops.
• Kusagakure's fresh forces drove the player squads into retreat and pursued them toward the old Kusagakure man's battlefield.
• The old Kusagakure man lost his fighting spirit after Kisame Hoshigaki and Uchiha Itachi left, but he could not flee because a terrifying gaze seemed to see through his disguises.

Ye Chen unleashed his full strength and killed the remaining Grass Ninja experts, then pursued the hidden old man from Kusagakure through his genjutsu. The old man’s illusions grew increasingly realistic, but Ye Chen relied on the system’s lock-on to press toward him.

• Ye Chen used Lightning Release: Lightning Blade to kill all the remaining Grass Ninja experts as the players arrived and recorded the battle.
• The old man from Kusagakure realized Ye Chen’s strength far exceeded his intelligence and tried to flee, but could not escape Ye Chen’s lock-on.
• Ye Chen charged after the old man, passing through illusory obstacles while the players followed.
• The old man’s genjutsu began to include solid objects and lifelike ninja attackers, but the system helped Ye Chen see through the illusions.

Ye Chen charged through a genjutsu that showed him increasingly powerful ninja and rare techniques, studying the illusions before breaking past them. Players recorded his attacks on empty air, and their videos sparked arguments both in and outside the game.

• Ye Chen used the system's target lock to recognize the sensory illusions as genjutsu, but kept his senses open so he could study them.
• The illusions grew stronger and showed Ye Chen rare abilities, including jinchūriki, dojutsu users, and senjutsu users, as he fought through them and gained insights.
• Ye Chen recognized that the illusions reproduced only the outward forms of techniques and might mislead him, so he stopped lingering and charged out at top speed.
• Ye Chen's attacks left the woodland scorched, while nearby players filmed him apparently attacking thin air and debated what he was doing.
• Players and online viewers shared videos and livestreams of the spectacle, then argued over the game's battle effects and the developers' reasons for creating them.

Ye Chen pursued the Kage Level old man from Kusagakure, who tried to escape by using genjutsu and then turned toward the players gathering near the battlefield. Ye Chen recognized the old man's plan and continued after him, relying on the system's guidance to ignore the illusions.

• Players argued online about why Ye Chen had been attacking thin air, while female players praised his looks and bearing.
• Ye Chen used wind- and earth-style ninjutsu alongside the Extreme Speed Chapter of taijutsu to accelerate his pursuit of the old man from Kusagakure.
• Frightened by Ye Chen's increased speed, the old man from Kusagakure spotted the villagers and players near the battlefield and sensed that Kusagakure's reinforcements had arrived.
• The old man from Kusagakure changed course and charged toward the players, intending to use them as obstacles while genjutsu confused Ye Chen.
• Ye Chen recognized the old man's plan, ignored the illusions with the system's guidance, and pressed on toward him.

Ye Chen tried to catch the Kusagakure old man, but the old man used Genjutsu and the players as obstacles. Worried about permanently injuring his villagers, Ye Chen shut off his senses to resist the illusions, allowing the old man to escape the players’ encirclement and flee toward his reinforcements.

• The Kusagakure old man ran toward the players to use them to obstruct Ye Chen, who learned from the system that attacks could cause his villagers permanent harm.
• Ye Chen warned the players to get out of the way, but they charged the old man, eager to earn battle merit.
• Ye Chen closed his eyes and shut off his senses to break the Genjutsu, leaving himself stumbling and unable to track the fight normally.
• The Kusagakure old man slipped past the players and fled toward his reinforcements.

Ye Chen pursued the fleeing Kusagakure elder while adapting to moving with his senses shut off, but the elder’s counterattack trapped him in a seemingly endless darkness. The system lost its target lock, leaving Ye Chen disoriented and suspecting the Genjutsu: Eternal Black Domain.

• Ye Chen quickly adjusted to moving without his senses and chased the Kusagakure elder, using chakra feedback and the system’s positioning to avoid the players.
• The Kusagakure elder reached Bibiye’s forces and called for help, but Bibiye told him to come closer because his troops were fighting.
• With Ye Chen less than ten paces away, the Kusagakure elder formed hand seals while Ye Chen struck with lightning release chakra.
• A muffled grunt sounded, and the darkness around Ye Chen deepened until he could no longer sense the ground or receive the system’s target feedback.
• Ye Chen opened his eyes to find everything still black and wondered if he had been caught in Genjutsu: Eternal Black Domain.

Ye Chen was trapped in the Kusagakure old man's powerful genjutsu, cut off from his system and unable to use his chakra. As repeated visions began to undermine his certainty, he recalled several ways genjutsu could be broken, but remained trapped.

• Ye Chen discovered that the genjutsu had severed his connection to the system and sealed his chakra despite his attempts to break free.
• Ye Chen considered whether the pitch-black domain was Eternal Dark Domain, then dismissed the idea because the Kusagakure old man lacked a kekkei genkai.
• Ye Chen saw a vision of a player being pierced by a Lightning Release hand that looked like his own, and the scene repeated until he began doubting what was real.
• Ye Chen realized that closing his eyes did not stop the vision and concluded that the genjutsu had deeply affected his mind.
• Ye Chen recalled three broad categories of genjutsu and their possible countermeasures, including disrupting his chakra circulation, but did not escape the illusion.

Ye Chen remained trapped by the Kusagakure old man’s Genjutsu, unable to move his chakra, while Granny Qianyin learned of his condition and ordered Azure Bird: Thunderclap to strike him. At the battlefield, Bibiye chose to capture the motionless Ye Chen as the Grass Ninja approached.

• Ye Chen reasoned that the old man’s Genjutsu acted directly on chakra, but he could not yet find a way to disrupt it.
• Granny Qianyin sensed her connection with Ye Chen break, stayed behind to protect Hidden Jun Village, and contacted Azure Bird: Thunderclap.
• Azure Bird: Thunderclap reported that Ye Chen stood motionless among Kusagakure experts and seemed dead, so Granny Qianyin ordered the bird to blast him with chakra.
• The wounded old man from Kusagakure claimed he had immobilized Ye Chen and told Bibiye to capture him before returning to Kusagakure.
• Bibiye sent Anbu members to escort the old man, then ordered Kusagakure members to tie up Ye Chen, and several Grass Ninja moved toward him.

Ye Chen escaped Tsukuyomi after Azure Bird: Thunderclap repeatedly struck him with lightning, restoring movement to his chakra. He thanked Granny Qianyin for her help, then faced the stunned Grass Ninja experts and decided to turn their attempt to exploit his helplessness against them.

• Azure Bird: Thunderclap struck Ye Chen with lightning, startling the approaching Grass Ninja experts and stirring Ye Chen’s chakra inside the illusion.
• Raijin recorded Azure Bird: Thunderclap’s unexplained attacks, worried that the game had malfunctioned, then rejected the idea of selling the footage.
• Ye Chen broke free of the Genjutsu and stopped Azure Bird: Thunderclap’s attack by awakening.
• Granny Qianyin reminded Ye Chen of their agreement before ending their connection, and Ye Chen turned toward the Grass Ninja experts who had approached him.
• Ye Chen decided to turn the Grass Ninja experts’ scheme against them.

Ye Chen let Kusagakure’s Grass Ninja experts capture him so he could be carried off as part of his infiltration plan. The Hidden Jun Village players rallied to rescue their chief, forcing Bibiye to order a retreat while the captors dragged Ye Chen toward Kusagakure.

• The Grass Ninja experts mistook Ye Chen’s motionless, open-eyed state for lingering Genjutsu and, after Bibiye urged them on, bound him with restraining Ninjutsu.
• Master of Open Stratagems rallied the Hidden Jun Village players by declaring that their chief had been captured, and they charged to rescue him.
• The players’ attack threatened Kusagakure’s formation, so Bibiye ordered everyone to withdraw and told the Grass Ninja experts to bring Ye Chen back for a reward.
• The Grass Ninja experts fled toward Kusagakure with Ye Chen in their cage as the players pursued them.

Players and viewers reacted to the Hidden Jun Village Chief’s capture, turning the rescue into a matter of pride for the closed-beta players. As they reached Kusagakure, Master of Open Stratagems stopped them from rushing blindly into the village and warned them to consider its defenses.

• Viewers argued over whether the capture was a scripted event, a hidden quest, or a sign that the players might fail, while mocking the testers’ performance.
• Dai Xiaomei complained that she had been assigned to logistics and could do nothing to help protect the Village Chief.
• Master of Open Stratagems was berated by his real-world superior and ordered to bring the Hidden Jun Village Chief back safely or lose his post.
• Master of Open Stratagems logged back in, and players from both the front lines and logistics headed toward Kusagakure to reclaim their dignity.
• At Kusagakure’s outskirts, Master of Open Stratagems stopped players who wanted to charge in and warned that the village was likely defended.