Recaps

Xia Yan became captain of the Third Battalion, then traveled to Sunagakure with Kakashi and turned the escort mission into a pursuit of his own goals. He captured Ryūmyaku chakra at Rōran and discovered that the system identified Hashirama Senju’s flesh as fragmented Asura power.

• Xia Yan impressed Minato Namikaze in a Sage Mode spar, earned his support, and was appointed captain of the Third Battalion after a confrontation at Anbu headquarters.
• Xia Yan rebuilt his unit, recruited Kakashi, and secured a mission to escort Yashamaru to Sunagakure.
• Xia Yan secretly ordered four Senju recruits to obey him, then traveled with Kakashi and Yashamaru toward Sunagakure.
• Pakura attacked Xia Yan and Kakashi, and Xia Yan defeated her and sent Kakashi back to Konoha with her captive.
• Xia Yan reached an oasis near Sunagakure, where Ebizo’s forces tried to arrest him, and he killed several Anbu before escaping toward Rōran.
• Xia Yan weakened the Ryūmyaku seal and negotiated with Queen Sara, promising payment and help for Rōran in exchange for her cooperation.
• After failed experiments to treat Sara, Xia Yan used Intermediate Sage Mode and the Four Symbols Seal to capture the escaping Ryūmyaku chakra.
• Xia Yan returned to his oasis and learned that the system identified Hashirama Senju’s flesh as containing fragmented Asura power.

Xia Yan survived his escape through the Land of Wind, defeated Chiyo, and returned to Konoha with intelligence and Pakura. Back home, he used his growing influence to settle a Senju power struggle and began negotiating with the Uchiha over Anbu recruitment while pursuing his own ambitions.

• Xia Yan endured the transformation brought on by Asura’s power, developed Wood Release, and used Yang Release to restore Sara’s health before leaving the Ryūmyaku.
• Xia Yan fought through Sunagakure’s forces, killed the Sealing Squad, and defeated Chiyo, then secured her cooperation and Sunagakure’s decryption key in exchange for intelligence.
• Xia Yan returned to Konoha with Kakashi and Pakura, reported Rasa’s scheme to Minato Namikaze and Hiruzen Sarutobi, and received leave and a large payment.
• Xia Yan studied Hashirama Senju’s Wood Release records, questioned Shōma Senju’s plans for the clan, and drew the attention of other villages after his attack on Sunagakure.
• Uchiha Shin approached Xia Yan about reconciliation with Konoha, and Xia Yan proposed bringing some Uchiha into the Anbu to strengthen the clan’s peace-minded faction.
• Xia Yan confronted Senju Ryōta over his attempt to manipulate him through Renka, forced him to retire, and revealed to Shōma that he intended to become Hokage and take control of the Senju Clan.
• Uchiha Shin asked Xia Yan for an Anbu position, and Xia Yan offered the Uchiha one place under his command while insisting that the decision was his.

Xia Yan investigated the Jashin Cult, protected Pakura from Root, and guided Uchiha Shin as Konoha’s political tensions grew. During the Nine-Tails attack, he fought Obito, helped save Minato Namikaze, and took control of the Anbu as Senju Natsuhiko.

• Xia Yan captured Jingu Hiroshi and Hidan in the Land of Hot Water, while Pakura survived an assassination attempt and joined Xia Yan’s Anbu unit.
• Xia Yan killed Root ninja who tried to seize Pakura, then received orders to join Minato Namikaze’s bodyguard squad for Kushina’s childbirth.
• Xia Yan advised Uchiha Shin on reforming the clan and Military Police Force as Obito Uchiha prepared to attack Konoha.
• Obito abducted Kushina and released the Nine-Tails in Konoha, while Xia Yan stopped Owl from delivering the Anbu mobilization order and killed Murashima Takumi to take command.
• Xia Yan revealed his Wood Release, restrained the Nine-Tails, and fought Obito while Minato Namikaze used the Reaper Death Seal and prepared to seal the beast.
• Jingu Hiroshi released Minato’s soul from the Reaper Death Seal, and Xia Yan restored Minato’s life before he reunited with Kushina and Naruto.
• Minato appointed Senju Natsuhiko Anbu Director, and Senju Natsuhiko secured the Anbu’s obedience, expelled and killed Zhu Wu, and ordered Kakashi to rebuild the Second Division.
• Senju Natsuhiko found Fire Release and Lightning Release seeds in the ruins, then extracted an intermediate sealing-type seed and received a Beginner Nine-Tails Chakra Seed.

Xia Yan expanded the Anbu while using the Nine-Tails’ chakra to pursue his own goals and pressure Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo. After confronting Akatsuki, rescuing Uzumaki descendants, and raiding Orochimaru’s laboratory, he set a new trap involving all three men.

• Xia Yan cultivated the Nine-Tails seed into a juvenile fox, gained its cooperation, and received Hiruzen Sarutobi’s approval to expand the Anbu.
• Xia Yan joined Hiruzen’s journey to the Land of Fire Capital, exposed Danzo’s ambush, and captured Root ninja including Yamato before securing increased funding from the Daimyō.
• Xia Yan took the real Nine-Tails chakra from Kazuma, then brought Little Nine-Tails to Rōran to absorb the Ryūmyaku’s vast chakra.
• Xia Yan fought Konan, Kakuzu, and Sasori in Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and unleashed a Tailed Beast Bomb, then gave Sara money and introduced himself as Sakata Gintoki.
• Xia Yan clashed with Jiraiya in Kusagakure, brought Kusai Uzumaki and Karin Uzumaki to Konoha, and helped prompt Hiruzen to strip Danzo of his positions.
• Xia Yan recruited Renka and Uchiha Shin to support Anbu reforms, while Renka began assessing Sora for the organization.
• Xia Yan raided Orochimaru’s laboratory for Hashirama Senju’s cells and research, escaped the collapsing facility, and returned disguised as Senju Natsuhiko.
• Xia Yan ordered the Anbu to leak selected information about its investigation into Orochimaru, aiming to pressure Danzo and draw scrutiny toward Hiruzen.