Recaps

After gaining Hashirama Senju’s flesh, Xia Yan absorbed Asura’s fragmented power, which greatly strengthened him and awakened Wood Release and Yang Release. He used his new control over life force to heal Sara, then prepared to leave Rōran and return home.

• Xia Yan failed to extract seeds from the earth-nature tree, then absorbed the fragmented power of Asura from Hashirama Senju’s flesh and endured intense pain as his body changed.
• Xia Yan checked his system panel and discovered that his bloodline development had reached intermediate, his chakra reserves were at Kage Level, and a beginner Wood Release fruit had appeared.
• Xia Yan considered seeking the powers of Asura’s and Indra’s reincarnations, then ate a fruit and resolved to keep developing his abilities.
• Two days later, Xia Yan used his beginner Yang Release technique to separate harmful life force and restore Sara’s health.
• Sara thanked Xia Yan and agreed to help him with the Ryūmyaku; Xia Yan told her he planned to leave and return home.

After leaving Rōran, Xia Yan headed toward the Land of Rivers with his chakra restored and Wood Release in hand, then met the Sand Ninja pursuing him. He used powerful Earth Release techniques to break their formation as Chiyo directed reinforcements and prepared to meet him herself.

• Xia Yan traveled through the Land of Wind, reflecting on his newly acquired Wood Release and discovering that he could create chakra-made tree seeds.
• Xia Yan sensed the approaching Sand Ninja and defended himself from their kunai, explosive tags, and Wind Release attacks with Earth Release techniques.
• Chiyo learned that Nightingale had been spotted, ordered the Sand Ninja garrison and Vulture's Anbu unit to move out, and told Viper to protect the Sealing Squad.
• Xia Yan used Sage Art: Earth Release: Earth Shore Return to withstand the Sand Ninja's attacks and create a hurricane of sand that obscured their vision.
• Xia Yan unleashed Sage Art: Earth Release: Earthflow, sending a surge of sand and stone at the Sand Ninja, then rushed toward them as they scattered.

Xia Yan slaughtered the Sand Ninja who had tried to stop him, using his battle to test his newly acquired strength and build prestige for his bid to become Anbu director. As a force of nearly a hundred Sunagakure ninja converged on him, he charged into their ranks and struck down the first attacker.

• Xia Yan killed the Sand Ninja commander and the remaining defenders after cutting down more than half their force.
• Xia Yan decided he could not leave the Land of Wind quietly because he needed greater prestige and credentials to become Anbu director.
• Xia Yan spotted a trained falcon, prepared several lizards with marks, and sensed the enemy's main force approaching.
• Nearly a hundred Sunagakure ninja, including several Anbu, found Xia Yan and charged under orders to capture or kill him.
• Xia Yan advanced through their pressure, then flashed in front of the leading Sand Ninja and cut across his throat.

Xia Yan fought through the Sunagakure force with Sage Mode, then used Earth Flow Spears and Flying Thunder God markers to continue killing them across the stone forest. Chiyo watched from hiding, judged him an overwhelming threat, and resolved to keep him in Sunagakure.

• Xia Yan used his speed and chakra-coated blade to kill Sand Ninja while evading their attacks and the Anbu squads closing in.
• Xia Yan escaped the encirclement and used Sage Art: Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears to turn the battlefield into a forest of stone pillars, impaling many Sand Ninja.
• The surviving Sand Ninja lost confidence as they struggled to understand Xia Yan’s strength, while Chiyo observed and assessed his abilities from hiding.
• Chiyo decided she had to find a way to keep Xia Yan in Sunagakure, despite recognizing how dangerous and difficult he would be to capture.
• Xia Yan marked kunai with Flying Thunder God, teleported between them through the stone forest, and killed Sand Ninja while Chiyo watched.

Murashima Takumi abandoned his search for Ebizo and ordered his Anbu to help Nightingale escape by disrupting Sunagakure’s outer defenses. Meanwhile, Xia Yan fought off Sand Ninja and prepared to end the battle as a much larger force closed in.

• Murashima Takumi’s team noticed Sunagakure had tightened security and mobilized its ninja while they searched for Ebizo.
• Owl urged Murashima Takumi to adapt the mission and focus on supporting Nightingale instead of pursuing Ebizo.
• Murashima Takumi ordered his Anbu to disrupt the village’s outer defense units, cover Nightingale’s departure, and withdraw while drawing pursuers away.
• Xia Yan continued killing Sand Ninja with Flying Thunder God and senjutsu as the Anbu attacked him in formation.
• Xia Yan sensed nearly two hundred more ninja approaching and decided it was time to leave.
• Xia Yan used the Summoning Technique while surrounded by the remaining Sand Ninja.

As the Sand Ninja commander learned that Xia Yan had nearly wiped out a hundred troops and that Sunagakure was under attack, Lizard Maru kept the battlefield occupied while Xia Yan teleported away. Xia Yan reached a town protected by a barrier, drew a masked Sunagakure Anbu squad into the open, and prepared to fight quickly as a signal flare warned that time was short.

• The Sand Ninja commander received a report that Xia Yan had killed nearly a hundred troops, then learned that Sunagakure was under attack and could not be contacted.
• A surge of chakra shook the outpost, and the commander saw the enormous Lizard Maru in the distance.
• Xia Yan told Lizard Maru to hold off the Sand Ninja, left a shadow clone with him, and teleported to a town several kilometers away.
• Xia Yan detected a barrier around the town, sent little lizards inside to investigate, and entered the barrier himself to draw out its defenders.
• A masked Sunagakure Anbu squad confronted Xia Yan, who drew his ninja blade and prepared to end the fight quickly.

Xia Yan used a field of Flying Thunder God marks hidden in Wood Release seeds to kill Viper and the Sunagakure Anbu, then eliminated the Sealing Squad and escaped into the Land of Rivers. Chiyo arrived too late, discovered the slaughter, and set off after him.

• Xia Yan taunted Viper and his squad while secretly preparing a field of Flying Thunder God marks.
• Xia Yan used the marks to kill the Sunagakure Anbu and Viper, then searched Viper and found an unopened letter.
• Xia Yan tracked down and killed the Sealing Squad before crossing into the Land of Rivers.
• Xia Yan reflected on how his Wood Release seeds had let him create a Flying Thunder God field, then sensed someone approaching as he prepared to open the letter.
• Chiyo found the dead Anbu and realized the Sealing Squad had also been wiped out, then raced after Xia Yan.

Xia Yan faced Chiyo after raiding Sunagakure, and the two clashed over their villages’ conduct as Chiyo unleashed her puppets. Elsewhere, Owl’s group escaped pursuit and captured a Sand Ninja messenger hawk carrying a message from the border.

• Xia Yan sensed a powerful pursuer, prepared his Flying Thunder God territory, and identified the approaching opponent as Chiyo.
• Chiyo attacked Xia Yan with poisoned senbon, and he used Flying Thunder God to evade and counter with his Ninja Blade.
• Xia Yan and Chiyo exchanged accusations about hypocrisy before Chiyo summoned many puppets and launched an assault.
• Xia Yan took an antidote pill and prepared to fight through Chiyo’s puppets, wary of her poison.
• Murashima Takumi and Owl noticed that the Sand Ninja had not pursued them, and Owl intercepted a messenger hawk from the Land of Wind’s border.
• Owl gave the hawk’s bamboo message tube to an Anbu member and asked him to try to open and decipher it.

Xia Yan fought Chiyo in the Land of Rivers, using Flying Thunder God and Body Flicker to overcome her puppet defenses. As Chiyo realized his kunai had been a diversion, Xia Yan vanished and attacked the puppets protecting her.

• Chiyo tested Xia Yan's range and concluded that his modified Flying Thunder God worked within an area of roughly forty meters.
• Xia Yan admitted Chiyo's assessment was correct, then hinted that he had another way to use Flying Thunder God and mentioned a puppet user connected to her.
• In the Land of Wind, Murashima Takumi and the others read an unencrypted letter reporting that Nightingale had killed over a hundred enemies and likely escaped the encirclement.
• Xia Yan threw kunai and used rapid Body Flicker to destroy Chiyo's puppets while she countered with ninjutsu and hidden weapons.
• Chiyo realized Xia Yan had not teleported to the kunai, but he suddenly vanished and severed his connections to the four puppets nearest her.

Xia Yan defeated Chiyo and used Konoha’s knowledge of Sunagakure’s secrets to bargain for intelligence and Living Corpse Reincarnation. He left Chiyo shaken by claiming Sunagakure’s defenses could not keep its secrets from Konoha.

• Xia Yan held a kunai to Chiyo’s neck after defeating her, and Chiyo’s poison failed to affect him.
• Xia Yan revealed that he wanted Sunagakure’s Anbu communications decryption key and offered verified intelligence in exchange for Chiyo’s cooperation.
• Xia Yan threatened to expose Sunagakure’s secret dealings with Kirigakure, and Chiyo gave up trying to fight him.
• Xia Yan told Chiyo that Konoha knew she was developing Living Corpse Reincarnation.
• Xia Yan claimed that Sunagakure’s secrets were known to outsiders, leaving Chiyo to consider how deeply Konoha had infiltrated her village.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze reviewed reports of Xia Yan’s devastating success in the Land of Wind and considered what his growing strength meant for Konoha. Hiruzen resolved to manage Xia Yan through rewards, while Minato questioned how little authority he had as Hokage.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Shimura Danzō examined Murashima Takumi’s report that Xia Yan had killed more than a hundred Sand Ninja and likely defeated a powerful opponent near the Land of Rivers.
• Shimura Danzō warned that Xia Yan had become too powerful to control, but Hiruzen Sarutobi said he understood Xia Yan’s ambitions and could keep him aligned by offering him what he wanted.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi rejected Danzo’s demand to take Xia Yan under his control and said that even promising him the Anbu Director or Hokage position could serve Konoha’s interests.
• Minato Namikaze reviewed Kakashi’s fragmented reports that Xia Yan had killed enemies with single strikes and that Xia Yan and Kakashi had captured Pakura.
• Minato Namikaze struggled to decide how to reward Xia Yan, then reflected that Hiruzen Sarutobi and the elders were guiding his decisions and leaving him with little authority as Hokage.

Xia Yan returned to Konoha with Kakashi and the captive Pakura after completing his mission in the Land of Rivers and obtaining intelligence from Chiyo. The chapter ended with Xia Yan heading to report to the Hokage while wondering how to explain his disappearance and what to do about Hashirama Senju’s powerless flesh.

• Xia Yan and Kakashi crossed into the Land of Fire with Pakura bound and her chakra sealed, and Xia Yan reflected on the intelligence and materials he had obtained from Chiyo.
• Xia Yan and Kakashi spent nearly another week traveling before arriving at Konoha with Pakura, who had been unable to escape and dreaded Xia Yan’s stricter surveillance.
• At Konoha’s side gate, Xia Yan ordered Kakashi to take Pakura to the branch headquarters and went directly to the Hokage’s office to report.
• On his way, Xia Yan considered how to explain his long disappearance without revealing his visit to the Ryūmyaku or his transformation using Hashirama Senju’s flesh.
• Xia Yan wondered whether he should return to Shimura Danzō’s laboratory to search for records or other useful discoveries.

Xia Yan reported his escape from Sunagakure, revealed evidence that Rasa had arranged Pakura’s death, and proposed turning her to Konoha’s side. After receiving leave and a substantial reward, he planned to handle his battalion and Pakura’s case, while Danzo learned that Pakura had been captured and considered recruiting her into Root.

• Xia Yan gave Minato Namikaze and Hiruzen Sarutobi a detailed account of his escape, including his destruction of Sunagakure’s Sealing Squad and his encounters with Chiyo.
• Xia Yan handed over a translated letter that exposed Rasa’s scheme involving Pakura, then proposed keeping her imprisoned and trying to turn her against Sunagakure.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze granted Xia Yan leave and a large payment, and Xia Yan planned to visit the Third Battalion and speak with Pakura.
• Xia Yan decided to ask Kakashi to help manage Pakura’s situation and train members of the Third Battalion during his absence.
• Danzo saw a photograph identifying Pakura among those who had entered Konoha and decided that recruiting her into Root would benefit Konoha.

After awakening Wood Release, Xia Yan studied Hashirama Senju’s records and accidentally destroyed his house when he tried the Cutting Sprigs technique. Shōma Senju urged him to leave the Anbu for the clan’s sake, but Xia Yan challenged him to define what the Senju Clan was actually trying to achieve.

• Xia Yan obtained Hashirama Senju’s Wood Release records from Shōma Senju after demonstrating that he could summon seeds.
• Xia Yan studied the records, then used Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs at home and lost control of the chakra output, filling the house with branches and destroying its contents.
• Shōma Senju inspected the wrecked house and was astonished that Xia Yan had learned the technique so quickly.
• Shōma Senju asked Xia Yan to leave the Anbu because he was now the Senju Clan’s only hope.
• Xia Yan questioned Shōma Senju’s goals for the clan, arguing that his focus on hatred for Hiruzen Sarutobi and restoring the Senju’s glory lacked a clear plan or direction.

Xia Yan challenged Shōma Senju to recognize the lack of a clear plan for reviving the Senju, while Shōma urged him to contribute to the clan and continue the Wood Release bloodline. Meanwhile, Ōnoki learned of Xia Yan’s devastating attack on Sunagakure and worried about the danger he posed to Iwagakure.

• Xia Yan reflected that Shōma Senju had pursued the Senju Clan’s revival without a concrete plan, and kept his own intentions and intelligence-gathering role secret.
• Xia Yan warned Shōma that the Third Hokage remained influential, and Shōma acknowledged that Xia Yan had his own goals and plans.
• Shōma told Xia Yan to change residences, offered to arrange help with daily life, and asked him to contribute to the clan by continuing the Wood Release bloodline.
• Reports of Xia Yan’s attack on Sunagakure spread through the Shinobi world as he returned to Konoha.
• Ōnoki assessed the losses Xia Yan had inflicted on Sunagakure and feared that his skills and ability to strike deep behind enemy lines could devastate Iwagakure.

Xia Yan learned that Shōma Senju had arranged for him to live with Senju Renka as his future partner, then an Uchiha clansman led him to meet an elderly Uchiha. Xia Yan quietly ordered nearby Anbu to support him, and they began moving to carry out his assignment as he approached the old man.

• The Fourth Raikage studied Xia Yan’s battle record and felt both wary of Konoha and eager to fight him.
• Xia Yan moved into a better house and discovered that Shōma Senju had arranged for Senju Renka to live with him as his future partner.
• An Uchiha clansman stopped Xia Yan, asked whether he was Fukami Natsuhiko, and led him to a teahouse to meet an elderly Uchiha.
• Xia Yan spotted Anbu nearby and discreetly signaled them before following the Uchiha upstairs.
• The Anbu squad leader recognized Xia Yan as Captain Nightingale and sent for reinforcements to carry out Xia Yan’s assignment quietly.
• Xia Yan approached the elderly Uchiha while the squad leader transformed and headed toward the teahouse.

Xia Yan met with Uchiha Shin, who sought to build a channel between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha’s leadership. Xia Yan ended the meeting after revealing that the teahouse had been surrounded by Anbu and hinting that his position exceeded that of an ordinary Anbu member.

• Xia Yan recognized Uchiha Shin as an elder of the Uchiha Clan, while Shin identified him as Kakashi’s Anbu squad leader.
• Uchiha Shin explained that he had approached Xia Yan because he wanted to reach Kakashi and believed Xia Yan’s words carried greater weight.
• Uchiha Shin said he and other Uchiha favored reconciliation with Konoha and wanted to maintain contact with the Hokage, while more radical voices gained influence in the clan.
• Xia Yan asked whether Shin wanted him to report their conversation to the Third or Fourth Hokage, but Shin did not give a clear preference.
• Xia Yan ended the meeting, and Uchiha Shin realized that the other tea drinkers were Anbu who had surrounded them.
• Xia Yan told Uchiha Shin not to arrange another meeting that way and said he was neither an ordinary shinobi nor an ordinary Anbu.

Xia Yan told Minato Namikaze that Uchiha Shin wanted to build ties between the Uchiha Clan and the Hokage through the Anbu, and Minato granted Xia Yan limited authority to handle the matter. Later, Xia Yan proposed to Hiruzen Sarutobi that they let some Uchiha join the Anbu and encourage the faction favorable to Konoha.

• Xia Yan dismissed his Anbu escort and went to the Third Division headquarters, where Trout reported that Kakashi was training and Pakura remained in custody.
• Xia Yan used a marked kunai to summon Minato Namikaze to Pakura's cell and told him about Kakashi's upcoming mission and Uchiha Shin's approach.
• Xia Yan recounted Uchiha Shin's proposal, and Minato authorized him to meet Shin discreetly and exercise limited authority.
• Xia Yan briefed Hiruzen Sarutobi on the Uchiha matter, and Hiruzen asked him to oppose the proposal by invoking the Uchiha and Senju rivalry.
• Xia Yan instead suggested admitting some Uchiha into the Anbu to strengthen the faction favorable to Konoha, and Hiruzen found the idea interesting.

Xia Yan planned to deepen divisions within the Uchiha Clan by supporting its peace-minded members, then weighed whether to save Minato Namikaze from his expected death. He ended the chapter questioning whether he had the strength to save Minato and sat up as the realization struck him.

• Xia Yan reasoned that backing the Uchiha Clan’s peace-minded faction could prevent a coup and leave the clan weaker, while placing its members under his command in the Anbu.
• Xia Yan considered Shisui Uchiha a possible Anbu recruit but doubted that Uchiha Itachi would be allowed to join.
• Xia Yan returned home, where Senju Renka served him dinner and handled the household chores.
• Xia Yan weighed the benefits of letting Minato Namikaze die against the risks of changing an already uncertain future.
• Xia Yan recalled Hiruzen Sarutobi’s failures over the coming years and concluded that relying on him as a political backer would be dangerous.
• Xia Yan wondered whether he could save Minato Namikaze, then froze and immediately sat up.

Xia Yan reconsidered his strength and concluded that he could save Minato Namikaze from Obito and the Nine-Tails, but he remained unsure how far to go without delaying his bid to become Fifth Hokage. He confronted Senju Renka over orders she had received and demanded that she choose where her loyalty lay.

• Xia Yan realized his knowledge of Obito’s weaknesses, his own abilities, and the help of Lizard Maru and Gamabunta could let him save Minato Namikaze.
• Xia Yan debated whether saving Minato Namikaze could jeopardize his chance to become Fifth Hokage, then spoke with Senju Renka as she served him tea.
• Xia Yan tested Senju Renka’s silence by choking her for over a minute, then threatened to send her corpse to Shōma Senju unless she answered.
• Senju Renka said she had been ordered to manage Xia Yan’s daily life and continue the Wood Release bloodline, and explained that Elder Shōma had chosen her but did not control the entire Senju Clan.
• Xia Yan told Senju Renka he knew the Senju Clan had internal divisions and demanded that she decide what she would do next.

Xia Yan questioned Senju Renka about her ties to Senju Ryōta and learned that Ryōta had pressured her to get close to him. Impressed by her intelligence and advice, Xia Yan spared her and decided to involve himself in a difficult matter while keeping its consequences under control.

• Senju Renka refused Xia Yan’s demand, then explained that Senju Ryōta had taken control of her mother and ordered her to get close to Xia Yan.
• Senju Renka deduced that Xia Yan had considered killing her as a warning to the people behind her, and Xia Yan praised her analysis.
• Xia Yan recognized that Renka was using her intelligence to prove her value, but chose not to kill her.
• Xia Yan asked Renka how to approach a risky matter, and she advised him to get involved if he had the means to control its limits.
• Xia Yan accepted Renka’s advice, told her to call him Xia Yan, and asked her to prepare another room for someone who might arrive in a few days.

Xia Yan told Shōma Senju he would address Senju Ryōta’s overreach personally, as Senju Natsuhiko rather than as an Anbu captain, while warning the clan that its Anbu members’ safety depended on their choices. He then summoned the Senju Anbu members to test their loyalty and prepared Kakashi for a mission involving Pakura.

• Xia Yan told Shōma Senju that he would handle the matter involving Senju Ryōta within the clan, not through the Anbu, and would bring Anbu clan members along to warn others against crossing him.
• Xia Yan revealed that he had already told Sparrowhawk, Red Hawk, Goshawk, and Snow Eagle to obey him in the Anbu, and he planned to test their resolve.
• Shōma Senju recognized Tobirama Senju in Xia Yan’s cold, decisive manner and gave him permission to proceed, hoping for a good outcome.
• Xia Yan reflected on how his growing strength had made him more direct and confident before entering the Anbu branch base.
• Xia Yan asked Trout to bring the four Senju Anbu members to his office, then told Kakashi to prepare for a mission concerning Pakura.
• Kakashi accepted Xia Yan’s scroll and agreed to accompany him to meet Pakura after work.

Xia Yan tried to persuade Pakura to defect from Sunagakure by showing her evidence that Rasa might have intended to sacrifice her as a bargaining chip. After leaving her in Kakashi’s care, Xia Yan set out to find Senju Ryōta, and one of the four Senju ninja revealed that he knew where Ryōta lived.

• Xia Yan restored Pakura’s hearing and told her that her value to Konoha lay in the possibility of persuading her to defect.
• Xia Yan argued that Rasa might have sent Pakura to Kirigakure as a bargaining tool, then showed her intelligence that made her visibly shaken.
• Xia Yan told Kakashi to continue handling Pakura and said Kakashi would take her to Kirigakure in a few days to verify his claims.
• Xia Yan asked the four Senju ninja where Senju Ryōta lived, and one of them reacted as though he knew.

Xia Yan confronted Senju Ryōta at his home after discovering his attempts to control people around him, including Xia Yan’s fiancée and an Anbu subordinate. He forced Ryōta to choose between stepping down and facing threats to his family, leaving Ryōta shaken and cornered.

• Senju Ryōta reflected on his plans to influence Xia Yan through Senju Renka, an Anbu recruit, and their families.
• Xia Yan entered Ryōta’s darkened home and found Ryōta’s wife, children, and servants incapacitated, with four young people beside him.
• When Ryōta charged at Xia Yan, Xia Yan appeared behind him with a kunai at his throat and threatened to target either his wife or children.
• Ryōta realized Xia Yan had acted as a Senju rather than as Konoha’s Nightingale and asked what Xia Yan wanted.
• Xia Yan urged Ryōta to retire and warned that he would deal with anyone who opposed the arrangement, leaving Ryōta trembling.

Xia Yan explained to Shōma Senju that he intended to become Hokage and take control of the Senju Clan, winning Shōma’s partial approval. After arranging the clan’s affairs and meeting Uchiha Shin, Xia Yan agreed to offer the Uchiha one Anbu position under his command, with the decision remaining his.

• Xia Yan left Senju Renka and her mother to reunite and told Shōma Senju that the dispute with Senju Ryōta had been settled.
• Xia Yan revealed that he aimed to become Hokage, rise through the Anbu, and take control of the Senju Clan; Shōma quietly gave him partial approval.
• Xia Yan considered how to remove Murashima Takumi, warned Senju Clan members not to oppose him, and learned that Uesugi Gen would replace Senju Ryōta.
• Uchiha Shin approached Xia Yan with a child and asked to speak privately, so Xia Yan led him to a teahouse.
• Uchiha Shin asked for an Anbu position, and Xia Yan offered the Uchiha one place under his command while asserting that the decision was his.