Chapter Summaries

Xia Xi challenged Igarashi to a one-minute peanut-catching contest, but Igarashi’s uncanny technique overcame Xia Xi’s speed and prediction. Igarashi won, leaving Xia Xi to wash dishes with Sanemi, whom Xia Xi threatened to deprive of dinner.

• Xia Xi offered Igarashi the first move, but Igarashi entered a focused state and asked Xia Xi to begin.
• Igarashi picked up a peanut at the same moment as Xia Xi and repeatedly evaded Xia Xi’s attempts to intercept him.
• Xia Xi’s system guidance lines failed to keep up with Igarashi’s rapidly changing movements, and Igarashi took an early lead.
• Xia Xi turned off the guidance lines and relied on instinct, but Igarashi continued catching peanuts and won before the minute was up.
• Sanemi laughed at Xia Xi for losing and having to wash dishes, so Xia Xi threatened that Sanemi would get no dinner the next day.

Xia Xi and the others witnessed Igarashi use a simulated Transparent World to dominate a peanut-picking contest, and Xia Xi speculated that the ability worked like Observation Haki. Igarashi offered to teach everyone Pre-Initiative despite his failing health, and Xia Xi accepted before volunteering Kazami as well.

• Igarashi picked up forty-two peanuts while Xia Xi managed only seventeen, and he described how the world seemed to slow as he read Xia Xi's movements.
• Xia Xi reasoned that the supreme territory heightened brain activity and sensory processing, then compared Igarashi's ability to future sight and Observation Haki.
• Igarashi invited Xia Xi to train with him, but Xia Xi urged him to rest and recover first.
• Igarashi announced that he would teach Pre-Initiative to Xia Xi, the children, Persimmon, and Kazami, explaining that he wanted to pass on what he knew before he died.
• Xia Xi accepted Igarashi's offer, and the others thanked their senior brother before Xia Xi told Kazami to practice with them and thank Igarashi.

After arriving in Yokohama, Kuang Jin, Sanemi, and Yan Zi endured an intense training camp under Xia Xi, Igarashi, Persimmon, and Kazami. The chapter ended with Persimmon and Kazami continuing to spar against Xia Xi, whose overwhelming strength left Kazami struggling to understand how powerful his former student had become.

• Yan Zi collapsed from exhaustion after training, but Xia Xi urged her inside for dinner and reminded her to wear her Breathing Valve until bedtime.
• Igarashi taught the children combat theory, emphasizing that swordsmen needed to anticipate their opponents rather than rely only on speed and strength.
• Igarashi kept Kuang Jin behind to teach him advanced Mist Breathing techniques, correcting him with a Bokken as they practiced.
• Xia Xi invited Persimmon and Kazami to attack him together, then easily avoided and deflected their coordinated strikes while pointing out their mistakes.
• Kazami realized Xia Xi had grown far beyond his ability to comprehend, while Persimmon accepted Xia Xi’s harsh training as his own kind of gentleness and charged him again.

Igarashi, Xia Xi, Persimmon, and Kazami trained the children in sensory awareness, prediction, and Breathing Styles, while Xia Xi discovered his guidance was accelerating their progress. Yan Zi became the first to master Wind Breathing, but Sanemi soon advanced further, leaving her behind again.

• Igarashi taught Xia Xi, Persimmon, and Kazami a sensory-based method for perceiving the world, then trained them to meditate, dodge stones blindfolded, and predict slow sword attacks.
• The adults put Kuang Jin, Sanemi, and Yan Zi through exhausting training while Xia Xi worked on his wooden mechanisms and brush skills.
• Xia Xi realized the children were progressing quickly because skilled Breathing Style instructors had gathered together, possibly triggering hidden training bonuses.
• Yan Zi mastered Wind Breathing at LV.1, and Xia Xi told her she should reach LV.3 before attempting Final Selection.
• Within a week, Sanemi advanced his Wind Breathing to LV.2 and widened the gap between himself and Yan Zi.

Sanemi, Yan Zi, and Kuang Jin continued improving their Breathing Styles while Xia Xi gained the Pre-Initiative skill and assessed Persimmon’s training. Xia Xi advised Persimmon to shift her focus after reaching level six, and their shared magatama necklaces remained a source of awkward amusement.

• Sanemi reached level two in Wind Breathing and pulled ahead of Yan Zi, while Kuang Jin smoothly advanced his Mist Breathing to level three.
• Xia Xi gained Pre-Initiative, which made predicting opponents more instinctive and improved his sparring against Igarashi’s simulated Transparent World.
• Xia Xi told Persimmon to focus on her physique and advanced techniques once her Snow Breathing reached level six, and she reminded him that she was only sixteen.
• Persimmon and Xia Xi wore matching magatama necklaces as chokers, and Sanemi nearly compared Xia Xi’s to a dog collar before Yan Zi and Kuang Jin stopped him.

Xia Xi and Persimmon spent the day shopping in Yokohama, where their easy closeness grew as they talked about the future. A child stole Persimmon’s hair ornament, and Xia Xi recognized him from a strange label as Inadama Kaigaku.

• Xia Xi and Persimmon bought medicinal ingredients, then visited Mitsukoshi, where Xia Xi bought her snacks and hair ornaments.
• Persimmon asked Xia Xi what he would do after the demons were defeated, and he described opening a hot spring estate and traveling.
• Persimmon asked if she could travel with Xia Xi, and he joked that she would have to pay her own expenses.
• A black-haired child collided with Persimmon and ran off with the hair ornament, prompting Xia Xi to grab her hand and chase him.
• Xia Xi saw the child’s name, Inadama Kaigaku, and read remarks identifying him as a Thunder Breathing successor, scumbag senior disciple, and fastest Upper Rank.

Kaigaku tried to steal from Xia Xi and Persimmon, but Xia Xi caught him and confronted him in an alley. The chapter ended with Xia Xi asking the frightened boy if he had heard of Thunder Breathing.

• Kaigaku spotted Xia Xi and Persimmon carrying valuables and decided to steal from them.
• Kaigaku bumped into Persimmon and took a small package, then fled through Yokohama’s alleys as Xia Xi and Persimmon followed at an unhurried pace.
• Xia Xi intercepted Kaigaku and revealed that he had recovered the stolen hair clip.
• Kaigaku tried to excuse himself, but Xia Xi intimidated him and asked whether he had heard of Thunder Breathing.

Xia Xi caught Kaigaku stealing and punished him, then used hypnosis to uncover the boy’s history of cruelty and crime. He refused to take responsibility for reforming Kaigaku and took him somewhere he believed would teach him a lesson.

• Xia Xi confronted Kaigaku over stealing, restrained him, and struck him when he lied and insulted him.
• Kaigaku pretended to repent, then drew a hidden knife; Xia Xi broke it and knocked him down with another punch.
• Xia Xi hypnotized Kaigaku and learned he had committed theft, robbery, assault, fraud, bullying, and betrayal.
• Xia Xi told Persimmon that Kaigaku was not worth saving and that he would never let him join the Demon Slayer Corps.
• Persimmon asked where Xia Xi was taking Kaigaku, and Xia Xi said he was taking him somewhere that ought to teach him.

Xia Xi brought Kaigaku to the police station after catching him stealing and threatening people with a knife, then used his credentials and ties to the Igarashi Family to ensure the authorities acted against him. The chief agreed to send Kaigaku to a juvenile reformatory and then a juvenile prison, where the Igarashi Family would keep watch over him.

• Kaigaku woke up as Xia Xi carried him to the police station, where a patrolman restrained him after hearing Xia Xi accuse him of theft and carrying a knife.
• Xia Xi showed the patrolman credentials identifying him as Matsushita Shousha, a senior operative, and the patrolman escorted him and Shizi inside.
• The chief recognized Xia Xi as a guest of the Igarashi Family and welcomed him after confirming his identity with the family and police headquarters.
• Xia Xi gave the chief the broken knife and recounted Kaigaku's conduct, while officers assembled records that linked Kaigaku to repeated thefts and other incidents.
• Xia Xi told the chief to send Kaigaku to a juvenile reformatory and then a juvenile prison, and the chief agreed that the Igarashi Family would observe him.

Kaigaku was sent to a harsh juvenile detention facility in Kitayama, where his first attempt to fight back ended in tears of regret and pain. Xia Xi returned to the Igarashi Estate, where a Kasugai Crow’s urgent letter from the Sound Hashira called him to come to his aid.

• The chief ordered Kaigaku sent to the juvenile detention facility in Kitayama instead of an ordinary detention center.
• Kaigaku was placed in a room with three older inmates, and the fat boy Kōji mocked him for being sent there for stealing.
• Kaigaku tried to ambush the fat boy with an iron nail, but Kōji pinned him down and warned him that he would not be leaving No. 514.
• Xia Xi and Persimmon returned to the Igarashi Estate, where Yan Zi teased Persimmon about her outing with Xia Xi.
• Arashi Jūgo gave Xia Xi an urgent letter from the Sound Hashira, which asked Xia Xi to come to his aid before breaking into jumbled characters.

Xia Xi used the System to find Tengen Uzui after failing to decipher his shinobi-code letter, then heard why Uzui urgently needed help. Uzui’s wives had been detained by their families, and the Uzui clan was now pressuring them as accomplices of a rogue shinobi.

• Xia Xi failed to decode Uzui’s letter and used the System to locate him near Nara.
• Xia Xi met Uzui at an inn, where Uzui explained that he had written to his younger brother, Uzui Gen'nosuke, hoping to reconcile and discuss the family’s future.
• After Gen'nosuke was away on a mission, Hinatsuru and Uzui’s other wives visited their families and were separately confined there.
• Uzui said the Uzui Family had learned of the wives’ return and was pressuring their families to hand them over as accomplices of a rogue shinobi.

Tengen asked Xia Xi to help rescue Hinatsuru, Makio, and Suma from the Uzui family’s conflict with the ninja village, and Xia Xi agreed. Obanai joined them as an additional ally, leaving the group ready to visit the village.

• Tengen explained that the Uzui family was pressuring the families of Hinatsuru, Makio, and Suma to draw him back to the village, while the three women were being detained at home.
• Tengen admitted he could defeat the village’s fighters but feared he could not protect all three women during the rescue.
• Tengen asked Xia Xi for help, and Xia Xi agreed to join him.
• Xia Xi summoned his Kasugai Crow and sent a message to bring Obanai along.
• Obanai arrived at the inn, greeted Xia Xi and Tengen, and Xia Xi checked his increased Energy Level and Viper Breathing skill.

Xia Xi, Obanai, and Uzui traveled to the remote ninja village to rescue Uzui’s three wives, while Uzui explained the village’s history and his family’s political marriage arrangements. At the village’s edge, Xia Xi announced the start of the “Sound Village Crush Plan” instead of agreeing to Uzui’s careful infiltration plan.

• Xia Xi persuaded Obanai to join the mission, and Obanai agreed despite questioning why he was needed.
• Uzui outlined his plan to infiltrate the village, locate his three wives, create distractions, and escape with them, but Xia Xi suggested fighting their way in.
• The three traveled with Uzui to the isolated ninja village as he explained how several smaller villages had merged and how his wives’ marriages had been arranged to bind the families together.
• From a tree overlooking the village, Xia Xi declared the start of the “Sound Village Crush Plan,” leaving Uzui and Obanai bewildered.

Xia Xi, Tengen Uzui, and Obanai began rescuing Uzui’s wives from the Ninja Village, relying on Xia Xi’s System navigation to locate them. After Xia Xi’s stealth attempt triggered an alarm, he switched to charging through the village and knocking out anyone who approached.

• Xia Xi used the System’s navigation to locate Suma and Uzui’s other two wives, then assigned himself, Tengen Uzui, and Obanai separate rescue targets.
• Xia Xi told the others to retreat toward the western Shrine after rescuing their targets, and they split up to enter the village.
• Tengen Uzui and Obanai infiltrated the village quietly, while Xia Xi tried to sneak along a wall.
• Two patrolling Ninja spotted Xia Xi, sounded the alarm, and attacked him, but he knocked them unconscious with a palm strike and a punch.
• Xia Xi walked into the village along the main road, planning to knock out anyone who stood in his way.

Xia Xi rescued Hinatsuru from the Bird Ninja Family's Ancestral Shrine and secured Chiyo's permission to leave. As alarms rang through the village, he claimed the commotion was part of the plan and led Hinatsuru onward.

• Xia Xi fought into the shrine and smashed through the chained iron door with his Bright Red Nichirin Blade fists, freeing Hinatsuru.
• Hinatsuru recognized Xia Xi as the Dawn Hashira and warned that the village's ninja would soon arrive.
• Tanezaki Chiyo confronted them, then let Xia Xi take Hinatsuru and suggested doing business with him in the future.
• Xia Xi agreed to discuss cooperation with Chiyo and left the shrine with Hinatsuru.
• Hinatsuru heard alarms and feared something had gone wrong with Tengen, but Xia Xi knocked down two approaching ninja and insisted the disturbance was part of their plan.

Tengen Uzui and Obanai rescued Suma and Makio while Xia Xi found Hinatsuru, but the escape was met by formidable enemies. Tengen faced his younger brother Gen'nosuke, Obanai was surrounded by the elite Shadow Corps, and Xia Xi encountered Fūma Ichimei.

• Tengen rescued Suma and Obanai rescued Makio, and both headed toward the rendezvous point.
• At the east gate, Tengen encountered his younger brother Gen'nosuke, who demanded his surrender under their father's orders.
• Tengen defended Suma from Gen'nosuke's attacks and decided to subdue his brother before speaking with him.
• Obanai and Makio were surrounded near the rendezvous point by the village's elite jōnin, the Shadow Corps.
• Xia Xi and Hinatsuru were stopped on the road by the powerful old ninja Fūma Ichimei.

Tengen Uzui tried to persuade his bound younger brother Gen'nosuke to abandon the Uzui family and choose his own life, then proposed becoming the Ninja Village's Kage. Gen'nosuke began to waver, but their father Shusei appeared and challenged him.

• Tengen defeated Gen'nosuke, brought him and Suma to a childhood hideout, and offered his brother a chance to leave the village with him.
• Tengen recalled Gen'nosuke's childhood and argued that the family had turned its children into weapons, while Gen'nosuke insisted they could not escape their fate.
• Tengen slapped Gen'nosuke and urged him to live for himself, telling him that he had already repaid any debt to their father and the village.
• Gen'nosuke questioned how he could escape without becoming a hunted rogue ninja, and Tengen declared he would become the village's Kage so neither brother would be a rogue.
• Gen'nosuke fell silent and began to waver, but Shusei Uzui appeared atop the hideout wall and asked whether he would be swayed by a traitor's words.

Tengen Uzui confronted his father, Uzui Seshū, who rejected his claim to the position of Kage and forced Tengen to accept that his father saw him only as a traitor. Elsewhere, Fūma Ichimei attacked Xia Xi for helping a defector, and the two exchanged blows as Ichimei unleashed a technique that created several identical afterimages.

• Uzui Seshū freed Gen'nosuke from his restraints, but Gen'nosuke sat dispiritedly instead of joining the fight.
• Uzui Seshū rejected Tengen Uzui's claim to the position of Kage and declared that he would eliminate him as a threat to the family.
• Tengen Uzui gave up hope of winning his father's affection and vowed to take the others away by force.
• Fūma Ichimei told Xia Xi and Hinatsuru that he would break their legs and take them to the Uzui Family, then attacked Xia Xi.
• Xia Xi anticipated Ichimei's movements, avoided his attacks, and cut the steel wire attached to a kunai.
• Fūma Ichimei drew his Ninja Sword and surrounded Xia Xi with several identical afterimages.

Xia Xi fought Fūma Ichimei and saw through his Clone Technique before the Ninja summoned White Fang, a giant wolf armed with a short sword. The pair attacked together, but Xia Xi evaded and parried them, leaving their battle ongoing.

• Hinatsuru threw poisoned Kunai at Fūma Ichimei, but they passed through the afterimages created by his Clone Technique.
• Xia Xi explained that Fūma Ichimei was using rapid, irregular footwork, then demonstrated his own speed and asked about the village’s knowledge of Breathing Styles.
• Fūma Ichimei revealed that Breathing Styles originated with Yoriichi Tsugikuni, and Xia Xi’s familiarity with the name made the old Ninja suspect he was not a Demon Slayer Corps swordsman.
• Fūma Ichimei summoned White Fang, a giant Ninja wolf, and Xia Xi admired the wolf and asked if he could pet it.
• Fūma Ichimei and White Fang coordinated an attack, but Xia Xi stroked the wolf, used it to vault out of their encirclement, and parried their renewed strikes with the Gokoku Dojo.

Xia Xi fought Fūma Ichimei as the old ninja unleashed a secret art that boosted his strength, and the battle gave Xia Xi a new idea for mastering the Budget Version Transparent World. After repeatedly failing to turn that idea into action, Xia Xi used hypnosis on himself and finally triggered a breakthrough.

• Nearby ninjas watched Xia Xi and Fūma Ichimei fight, while Xia Xi dodged their attacks and revealed his reinforced haori.
• Fūma Ichimei praised Xia Xi, then used hand seals, hypnosis, and a breathing discipline to strengthen himself and launch a more powerful assault.
• Xia Xi recognized Fūma Ichimei's technique as a possible way to use hypnosis to direct willpower into his brain and awaken the Transparent World.
• While dodging Fūma Ichimei's attacks, Xia Xi tried several times to guide his breathing's effects toward his head but failed.
• Xia Xi activated hypnosis on himself and ordered the Transparent World to awaken, raising Hypnosis from Level 1 to Level 2 as the world changed.