Chapter Summaries

Xia Yan and Kakashi defeated a group of disguised Sand Ninja and confronted the two survivors. As Xia Yan pressed them to choose who would live, he sensed an enemy attack and disappeared to meet it.

• Xia Yan and Kakashi reunited after defeating their separate groups of attackers, while the wounded Konoha ninja returned to base for treatment.
• Xia Yan offered the two surviving prisoners a choice: one could live and be taken to Konoha for interrogation.
• Kakashi noticed Xia Yan's warning that an enemy was approaching and prepared for an attack.
• Xia Yan identified the prisoners as Sand Ninja and falsely claimed Konoha had tracked their movements from the start.
• When the prisoners failed to choose, Xia Yan said he would decide for them, vanished, and triggered violent tremors nearby.

Xia Yan confronted a hidden Sunagakure Anbu Jonin after recovering much of his chakra, then activated Sage Mode and attacked at full strength. He cut through the ninja’s sand defense and wounded him, but the fight remained unresolved.

• Xia Yan sensed the hidden man was likely a Jonin and stalled while his chakra recovered to about seventy percent.
• Xia Yan decided to use Sage Mode and quickly overwhelm the enemy rather than hold back.
• The Sunagakure Anbu ninja planned to eliminate the Konoha Anbu and advance Sunagakure’s influence in the Land of Birds and the Land of Rivers.
• Xia Yan located the hidden ninja and rushed him with the Body Flicker Technique, surprising him with his strength and speed.
• The Sunagakure Anbu used the Substitution Technique, but Xia Yan’s next strike cut through his sand defense and mask, drawing blood.

Xia Yan fought Yashamaru, a Sunagakure Anbu with Magnet Release, and discovered that Yashamaru had secretly tampered with his Ninja Blade. Yashamaru believed he had killed Xia Yan, but Kakashi saw that Xia Yan had used a Shadow Clone and the Substitution Technique, leaving Xia Yan poised to attack.

• Xia Yan recognized Yashamaru's gold dust as Magnet Release and identified him as Gaara's maternal uncle.
• Yashamaru attacked Xia Yan with floating kunai, but Xia Yan dodged and pressed him with his speed.
• Kakashi arrived after knocking out two Sand Ninja and watched the fight from hiding.
• Xia Yan sensed something unusual about his Ninja Blade but pretended not to notice as Yashamaru continued fighting.
• Yashamaru used Magnet Release to turn Xia Yan's Ninja Blade against him and stab him in the abdomen.
• Kakashi saw that Xia Yan had escaped with a Shadow Clone and the Substitution Technique, and Xia Yan appeared beside Yashamaru to counterattack.

Xia Yan defeated and captured Yashamaru, an Anbu and the Fourth Kazekage’s brother-in-law, but worried that he could destroy himself before they brought him back. As Xia Yan considered how to keep him unconscious, his system detected a basic Wind Release seed in a nearby plant.

• Xia Yan used a surprise attack to knock Yashamaru unconscious, and Kakashi came out of hiding to check on his captain.
• Xia Yan explained that he had anticipated Yashamaru’s Magnetic Shield trick and used a Shadow Clone and Substitution Technique to conceal his real position.
• Xia Yan and Kakashi discussed capturing Yashamaru, but Xia Yan had no poison or Sealing Jutsu ready to prevent the Anbu from destroying himself.
• As Xia Yan sat beside a tree, his system detected a plant with special attributes and identified a basic Wind Release seed.

Xia Yan extracted and stored a Wind Release chakra seed, then returned to Kakashi and found the captured Stone Ninja bound and gagged in an unusual way. The chapter left Xia Yan wondering what Kakashi had done to them.

• Xia Yan ordered Kakashi to restrain Yashamaru, break his fingers, and gag him to prevent him from using jutsu or harming himself.
• Kakashi took Yashamaru away to join the Sand Ninja they had captured earlier.
• Xia Yan drained a nearby tree’s life force and condensed it into a pale green Wind Release chakra seed.
• Xia Yan placed the seed inside his diary and sealed the diary in a scroll.
• Xia Yan found Kakashi had bound the Stone Ninja and gagged them with iron balls tied in place with cloth.

After returning to Konoha with Yashamaru, Xia Yan invited Kakashi to visit the Heroes' Cemetery during their time off. On the way, they sensed chakra signatures tracking them and discovered seals designed to block sensory ninja.

• Xia Yan and Kakashi brought Yashamaru back to Konoha and handed him over to the Anbu.
• Xia Yan asked Kakashi how he planned to spend their two days off, then suggested visiting the Heroes' Cemetery.
• Kakashi agreed to accompany Xia Yan and chose to visit Rin and Obito as an Anbu member.
• As Xia Yan and Kakashi crossed a secluded forest, they sensed several chakra signatures following them.
• Xia Yan detected sealing formulas meant to thwart sensory ninja and wondered whether he had found the people he suspected.

Xia Yan and Kakashi encountered hostile Root ninja near a concealed underground entrance, and an apparent Root leader stopped the confrontation. After Xia Yan identified them as Anbu, the man recognized Kakashi and reflected that the newly recruited Root ninja had acted recklessly.

• Xia Yan assessed Root’s weakened state and recalled Danzo’s political defeat and his own past encounter with Root.
• Armed ninja in Anbu attire emerged and took a hostile stance toward Xia Yan and Kakashi, who prepared to defend themselves.
• A man emerged from a concealed underground entrance, ordered the ninja to stop, and asked whether Xia Yan and Kakashi were Anbu.
• Xia Yan identified himself as Nightingale, captain of Squad Five, and named Kakashi White Fang while asking which division the man belonged to.
• The man recognized Kakashi by his Sharingan and worried that the inexperienced Root ninja had tried to intercept two people they could not safely attack.

Xia Yan defused the confrontation with Danzo’s men and left the forest with Kakashi, while secretly identifying their watcher as Aburame Ryoma. He and Kakashi were no longer followed once they left the area, but Xia Yan suspected the guarded basement was a Root laboratory connected to Orochimaru.

• Xia Yan agreed to keep the encounter and location out of his report, except that he would tell Lord Hokage the truth if asked.
• Kakashi asked who the men were, but Xia Yan told him to follow Anbu confidentiality rules and forget the incident.
• Xia Yan signaled that someone was listening and sensed chakra-bearing insects following them.
• Xia Yan identified the watcher as Aburame Ryoma and suspected the basement was a joint Root and Orochimaru laboratory.
• The insects stopped following Xia Yan and Kakashi after they left the forest.

Danzo learned that Xia Yan and Kakashi had encountered Root, then ordered the matter watched and his subordinates punished. At Rin and Obito’s graves, Kakashi confessed that he felt like a failure, and Xia Yan began to answer him.

• Aburame Ryoma told Danzo that Xia Yan and Kakashi had encountered Root after returning from a mission, and Danzo ordered the matter to end while keeping watch on them.
• Xia Yan and Kakashi went to the Heroes' Cemetery and stood before Rin Nohara’s and Obito Uchiha’s graves.
• Kakashi asked Xia Yan whether he was someone worth envying and admitted he felt responsible for killing Rin and betraying Obito’s trust.
• Xia Yan stopped Kakashi’s self-recrimination and told him that failure was the main theme of life.

Xia Yan helped Kakashi reconsider his guilt over Rin and Obito’s deaths, urging him to face failure and live on carrying their will. Kakashi resolved to protect Konoha and the people he cherished, while Xia Yan left him with a hint to ask the Fourth Hokage about certain people.

• Xia Yan told Kakashi that failure was part of life and that maturity meant facing shortcomings instead of being trapped by past mistakes.
• Kakashi listened as Xia Yan encouraged him to live on in honor of Rin and Obito’s sacrifices.
• Xia Yan told Kakashi he could ask Lord Fourth Hokage about those people, then disappeared into the night.
• Kakashi reflected at Rin and Obito’s gravestones and resolved to carry their will and live bravely.
• Kakashi vowed to protect Konoha and everyone he cherished so that Rin and Obito’s sacrifices would not be wasted.

Xia Yan reflected on his obligations to the Senju Clan and the uncertain futures of both founding clans before heading to a Konoha training ground. There, he recognized a familiar Uchiha girl who was likely his former deskmate, Uchiha Sora.

• Xia Yan slipped a mission report into an elder’s cabin, acknowledging his role as a Senju Clan spy and his debt to the clan.
• Xia Yan considered the Senju Clan’s decline and the Uchiha Clan’s internal divisions, concluding that neither clan would fare well.
• Xia Yan went to a Konoha training ground and judged that none of the early-morning ninja present were suitable sparring partners.
• Xia Yan spotted a Uchiha girl practicing with kunai and suspected she was his former deskmate, Uchiha Sora.

Xia Yan ran into his former deskmate Uchiha Sora at a training ground and caught up with her while concealing his Anbu identity. Sora said she planned to join Konoha’s Medical Department, and Xia Yan encouraged her to keep pursuing it.

• Xia Yan recognized Uchiha Sora at the training ground and accepted her invitation to share it.
• Sora recognized Xia Yan as Fukami Natsuhiko, and he said he was a low-ranking ninja who went on missions.
• Sora told Xia Yan she had served in the Land of Whirlpools, returned after the war with Kirigakure, and hoped to join the Medical Department.
• Xia Yan encouraged Sora’s plan and said he might need her help in the future.
• Xia Yan reflected on the contrast between the gentle Uchiha women and the men of the clan.

Xia Yan trained while Uchiha Sora watched and considered how she might help him. In Konoha, Minato Namikaze reviewed Kakashi and Xia Yan’s mission report about capturing Yashamaru, then reacted with alarm to the next scroll.

• Xia Yan doubted Uchiha Sora could enter the Medical Department but chose not to discourage her ambitions.
• Xia Yan practiced basic training while Uchiha Sora watched and wondered whether his limited access to ninjutsu was holding him back.
• Minato Namikaze read Kakashi’s report about the mission and considered how Konoha could use Yashamaru’s capture without provoking a war.
• Minato Namikaze praised Kakashi and Xia Yan for completing the mission, then opened another scroll from Kakashi.
• Minato Namikaze’s expression changed as he read the second scroll.

Minato Namikaze read Kakashi’s report and suspected that Root and Orochimaru were involved in human experimentation beneath Konoha, resolving to investigate the hidden basement. He recognized how Xia Yan had helped Kakashi and sent him to find his captain, while planning to meet Xia Yan himself.

• Minato Namikaze read Xia Yan’s report and suspected Root’s interest in the hidden basement was connected to Orochimaru’s human experiments.
• Minato Namikaze decided to uncover what was inside the basement and considered thanking Xia Yan for helping Kakashi.
• Minato Namikaze dismissed Kakashi and told him to bring Xia Yan to meet him after their days off.
• Kakashi went to Xia Yan’s home, learned he was training nearby, and hurried to the training ground.
• Kakashi found Xia Yan in the training ground’s innermost section and called out to his captain.

While on leave, Xia Yan encountered Kakashi, who told him that Minato wanted to meet with him. Xia Yan agreed to go in two days, when his leave ended, and considered how his pursuit of the Flying Thunder God had affected his judgment.

• Xia Yan turned to greet Kakashi at the training ground, surprising Uchiha Sora when Kakashi called him captain.
• Xia Yan reflected on Konoha’s system for selecting and training promising young shinobi.
• Kakashi told Xia Yan that Minato wanted to see him.
• Kakashi explained that Minato wanted Xia Yan to come in two days, after his leave ended.
• Xia Yan understood Minato’s timing and reflected that his desire to learn the Flying Thunder God might be clouding his judgment.

Xia Yan invited Kakashi to spar, both to test their abilities and to ease the awkwardness between them. They exchanged kunai at high speed, and Xia Yan pressed his advantage as the spar continued.

• Xia Yan thanked Kakashi for explaining the situation and invited him to spar.
• Kakashi accepted, curious to see how Xia Yan would fight while holding back.
• Uchiha Sora moved aside to watch as Xia Yan and Kakashi began their spar.
• Xia Yan and Kakashi crossed blades, then threw kunai that clashed in midair.
• Xia Yan charged faster and tried to overwhelm Kakashi before he could copy his movements.

Xia Yan and Kakashi escalated their spar, testing their speed, senses, and Earth Release techniques. As Kakashi struck at a chakra eruption beneath the ground, he sensed another eruption elsewhere.

• Xia Yan blocked Kakashi's low kick, swept at him, and dodged the kunai Kakashi threw while retreating.
• Kakashi used Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears, but Xia Yan evaded them and vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.
• Kakashi substituted a wooden log for himself, then charged Xia Yan, and the two fought at high speed with taijutsu.
• Xia Yan summoned an Earth and Stone Dragon, and Kakashi countered with an Earth-Style Wall as nearby ninja watched the clash.
• Kakashi detected chakra erupting underground and stabbed at it, then sensed another chakra eruption on the opposite side.

Kakashi reflected on his defeat by Xia Yan and resolved to follow his advice and live on while carrying Obito and Rin’s wills. Uchiha Sora returned home remembering Xia Yan from their school days and was stunned by how formidable he had become.

• Kakashi returned home sore from sparring with Xia Yan and realized Xia Yan could use both Water Release and Earth Release.
• Kakashi recalled how Xia Yan used clones and misdirection to exploit the Sharingan and defeat him.
• Kakashi remembered Obito, Rin, Might Guy, and Xia Yan, then vowed to carry Obito and Rin’s wills and live bravely.
• Uchiha Sora recalled her school days with Xia Yan, her worry when he went to war, and how she had followed news of him after they parted.
• Uchiha Sora unexpectedly met Xia Yan again at a training ground and saw how formidable he had become.

Xia Yan returned from leave and met with Minato Namikaze, who thanked him for helping Kakashi recover and offered to reward him by supporting his study of Sealing Jutsu. The meeting stayed formal and left Xia Yan wondering about the Anbu’s ties to the Fourth Hokage and the unresolved underground laboratory.

• Xia Yan used his spar with Kakashi to help explain his years of absence and reinforce his cover as Kakashi’s former teammate.
• Xia Yan went to the Hokage Building to meet Minato Namikaze after his leave ended.
• Minato Namikaze thanked Xia Yan for helping Kakashi improve and said Kakashi was his only remaining student.
• Xia Yan confirmed that he wanted to learn Sealing Jutsu, and Minato Namikaze offered him a reward.
• Xia Yan noticed that Minato Namikaze did not ask about the underground laboratory and questioned why the Anbu received so few orders from him.

Xia Yan left his meeting with Minato Namikaze suspecting that Minato was trying to communicate with him beyond the Third Hokage’s watch. He discovered the Flying Thunder God Cursed Seal hidden in Minato’s scroll and decided to contact him first.

• Xia Yan considered the tension between Minato Namikaze and the Third Hokage’s faction, especially over the Uchiha.
• Xia Yan left the Hokage Building with Minato Namikaze’s scroll and hid himself in the shadows.
• Xia Yan reflected on the Sealing Jutsu he believed remained hidden in the abandoned Uzumaki residence and in the Senju Clan’s care.
• Xia Yan sensed a Flying Thunder God Cursed Seal concealed inside Minato Namikaze’s introductory Sealing Jutsu scroll.
• Xia Yan decided to activate the Cursed Seal and contact Minato Namikaze, intending to be candid about knowing Flying Thunder God and his Senju identity.