Recaps

Xuan Zhe and Hidden Mystery Village’s Shinobi broke off their confrontation with Konoha’s grand elder, then fought Konoha’s forces in a bloody battle outside the village. Xuan Zhe survived and, after killing the last survivor behind him, used Earth Release to advance toward Konoha’s Shinobi.

• The grand elder confronted Hidden Mystery Village’s Shinobi, who declared they would fight Konoha to the death.
• Xuan Zhe called for a retreat after sensing danger, and Hidden Mystery Village’s Shinobi rushed toward Konoha with the grand elder and his people following.
• Hidden Mystery Village’s Shinobi and Konoha’s forces clashed near the village entrance, then the grand elder ordered his side to withdraw into the open wilderness.
• Xuan Zhe led an attack against Konoha’s Shinobi while avoiding Lightning Release because his allies were nearby.
• The battle left more than half of Konoha’s Shinobi dead, and Xuan Zhe killed the last survivor behind him.
• Xuan Zhe charged toward Konoha’s remaining Shinobi using Earth Release and abruptly stopped after advancing some distance.

Xuan Zhe led a brutal assault on Hidden Mystery Village’s forces, but Konoha’s fighters withdrew under rocket fire and regrouped at the battlefield’s edge. After arranging for Konoha’s troops to rest, Xuan Zhe returned to headquarters, where Xuan Lang saw that the Hidden Mystery Village Shinobi were still eager to fight.

• Xuan Zhe used Earth Release to reach the main battlefield, raised an Earth Wall, and charged into Hidden Mystery Village’s forces.
• Xuan Zhe killed many Hidden Mystery Village fighters as the forces of Konoha and Hidden Ninja Village clashed, throwing the battlefield into chaos.
• Konoha’s Jonin ordered a rocket barrage that drove Hidden Mystery Village’s pursuers back while Konoha withdrew toward the border.
• Konoha’s forces stopped to rest after suffering heavy casualties, and Xuan Zhe led elite troops against the Konoha Shinobi holding the battlefield’s perimeter.
• Xuan Zhe arranged for the Konoha Shinobi to recover, returned to headquarters, and summoned his companions to discuss the situation.
• Xuan Lang surveyed the Hidden Mystery Village Shinobi and realized they remained eager for battle.

Xuan Lang rallied his exhausted troops and ordered them to keep attacking Konoha despite heavy fighting on both sides. His forces broke through Konoha's defensive line and began pushing its formation back, leaving the battle in their favor.

• Xuan Lang rallied his troops, urged them to hold the battlefield, and ordered them to stop Konoha's main force even at the cost of their lives.
• Xuan Lang's troops attacked Konoha's defenses repeatedly, forcing his men back toward their camp before he ordered them to rest for an hour and resume the assault.
• Xuan Lang ordered his captain to break through Konoha's position within fifteen minutes, and the captain led a charge that tore open the defensive line.
• Xuan Lang and the captain sent wave after wave of troops against Konoha, disrupting its combat rhythm and opening cracks in its formation.
• Xuan Lang's men pressed through the gaps as Konoha's Shinobi fell back, and the battle increasingly favored Xuan Lang's forces.

Xuan Lang and Hei Lang fought off Konoha Ninja, with Hei Lang using black mist and swift attacks to overwhelm his opponents while Xuan Lang crushed a force of elite Jonin. Xuan Lang declared Konoha defeated and ordered its Ninja to leave.

• Xuan Zhe led Konoha Ninja in attacking Xuan Lang's team, whose fighters initially avoided serious injuries.
• Hei Lang spread black mist across the clearing, then killed and injured Konoha Ninja with rapid attacks and powerful blows.
• Fifty Advanced Jonin surrounded Xuan Lang, but he killed one with his silver blade and incapacitated another with a kick.
• Xuan Lang blasted a Jonin with lightning, terrifying the remaining Konoha Ninja into silence.
• Xuan Lang declared Konoha disbanded and ordered the Konoha Ninja to return to their village.

Xuan Lang slaughtered Konoha Ninja in their camp and defied the old patriarch, while Xuan Zhe learned that Tsunade had found the Konoha Shinobi she believed was her boyfriend. Xuan Zhe concealed his fury and decided to test Tsunade, leaving her uneasy about how much he had changed.

• Xuan Lang killed seventeen Konoha Ninja and dismissed the old patriarch's warning before the patriarch attacked him.
• Xuan Zhe returned to camp and met Tsunade, who told him she had found and captured her Konoha Shinobi boyfriend.
• Xuan Zhe realized Tsunade's boyfriend was the enemy who had killed someone close to him, and he feared losing his chance to protect his family.
• Xuan Zhe decided to test whether Tsunade would tell him the truth and resolved to kill her if she hid anything from him.
• Xuan Zhe told Tsunade that she belonged to him and had to return to him, while Tsunade felt frightened by his changed behavior.

Xuan Zhe and Tsunade questioned Shan Zhi, who claimed an unknown powerful Konoha figure had brought him into the village. His story alarmed Konoha’s shinobi, who mobilized to intercept him and surrounded the village overnight.

• Xuan Zhe and Tsunade went to meet Shan Zhi after noticing that a Konoha soldier was acting strangely.
• Tsunade identified Shan Zhi as an undercover agent from the Hidden Mystery Village, but Shan Zhi denied attempting an assassination and said an unnamed Konoha figure had brought him in.
• Shan Zhi concealed the figure’s identity and told Xuan Zhe that the man was exceptionally powerful and had defeated the Second Hokage quickly.
• Konoha’s shinobi grew concerned that the unknown figure might disrupt the village’s cooperation with the Akatsuki and sent warnings to their superiors.
• Konoha’s shinobi sent people to intercept Shan Zhi and surrounded the village within a night.

Xuan Zhe and Sanji tried to evade the Akatsuki and arrange for Sanji’s father to send reinforcements, but a hostile Shinobi group ambushed them. Xuan Zhe was knocked unconscious and Sanji was captured as the attackers took his ninja blade and fled the valley.

• Xuan Zhe and Sanji hid beneath Konoha’s east gate, then traveled east to seek Sanji’s companions and contact his father for reinforcements.
• By a stream west of Konoha, Sanji and Xuan Zhe discussed whether their pursuer was Sanji’s master and agreed they needed help quickly.
• A group of black-robed Shinobi confronted Sanji and Xuan Zhe and threatened to kill them if they tried to report to the Hokage.
• Xuan Zhe told Sanji to withdraw with four Shinobi while he kept watch, but a Shinobi struck Xuan Zhe in the neck and knocked him unconscious.
• The attackers captured Sanji, took his ninja blade, and retreated with both him and Xuan Zhe toward the valley’s edge.

A Shinobi group planned to recapture Xuan Zhe and secure Yamaguchi Village while a man in black prepared to seal off the mountain. The lead Shinobi entered the village disguised as Xuan Zhe’s messenger and demanded the villagers capture traitors and provide their Clan Head for experiments, leaving them wary of his orders.

• The lead Shinobi sent his subordinates toward camp to rescue Sanji and Xuan Zhe, while a man in black watched and ordered his own men to seal off the mountain.
• The lead Shinobi’s group reached Yamaguchi Village but found its walls too strong to breach, so they arranged to guard the gates and seek reinforcements.
• The lead Shinobi entered the stockade with subordinates and told the night-watch villagers he was a messenger sent by Lord Xuan Zhe.
• The lead Shinobi demanded that the villagers capture three traitors, hand over three people, and provide their Clan Head’s blood for experiments.
• The villagers questioned the Shinobi’s demands, and one man refused to commit without the Clan Head’s approval.

Xuan Zhe escaped from Hidden Mystery Village and returned to Konoha, where he told Tsunade he had found ingredients that could cure her gu poison. After warning her about the dangers of collecting Blood Lotus, he and Tsunade changed identities and prepared to enter the swamp.

• Xuan Zhe took advantage of the lead Shinobi's sudden collapse to escape and returned to Konoha.
• Xuan Zhe reassured Tsunade, gave her food, and told her he had found medicinal ingredients to cure her gu poison.
• Xuan Zhe told Tsunade that Blood Lotus grew beside swamps and explained that he planned to collect it despite the dangers there.
• Xuan Zhe warned Tsunade about Shinobi who used Yin-Yang techniques and gave her the VIP Guest Card to keep safe.
• A few days later, Xuan Zhe and Tsunade changed their identities and began planning how to dig up the Blood Lotus plants.

Xuan Zhe and Tsunade searched the swamp for blood lotus grass, then followed traffickers to a waterfall cave where the grass could be found. Xuan Zhe went to confront Hidden Mystery Village alone, claiming to be a Kage Level expert, when a powerful voice approached.

• Xuan Zhe told Tsunade how Yamaguchi Village had captured him, and they discussed rescuing the Konoha Shinobi and growing stronger.
• Xuan Zhe and Tsunade searched the swamp for weeks before he spotted traffickers transporting blood lotus grass and led his group after them.
• At a waterfall, Xuan Zhe revealed that the cave behind it held blood lotus grass and warned that a Demon Emperor-level figure lurked inside.
• Xuan Zhe left Tsunade behind and entered Hidden Mystery Village, defeating its guards and a crowd of bandits with ease.
• Xuan Zhe identified himself as a Kage Level expert, and a roaring voice announced that it would punish the villagers.

Xuan Zhe and Tsunade left Hidden Mystery Village after Xuan Zhe defeated a crowd of Shinobi, but another squad ambushed them at the Xuan Family’s forbidden grounds. Xuan Zhe overwhelmed the attackers and forced their leader to stay, learning that they claimed to be the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki.

• Xuan Zhe defeated the burly man’s force of more than five hundred Hidden Mystery Village Shinobi, killing several and shocking Tsunade.
• Tsunade headed back with Xuan Zhe while privately wondering how much stronger he could become and considering sharing some of her credit with him.
• A squad of Shinobi surrounded Xuan Zhe and Tsunade outside the Xuan Family’s forbidden grounds and accused them of trespassing.
• Xuan Zhe killed one attacker with a punch, evaded the others, then sent five giant snakes after them, whose venom reduced several Shinobi to bones.
• The remaining Shinobi fled, but Xuan Zhe warned their leader not to leave; the leader claimed they were the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki.

Xuan Zhe defeated the Shinobi who tried to stop him and continued seeking Lady Xuan Yue, while Hidden Mystery Village’s Clan Head and his wife arrived and prepared to retaliate for her injuries. The chapter left the Clan Head asking his wife how they should handle the attack.

• Xuan Zhe demanded that the Shinobi direct him to Lady Xuan Yue, then wounded one and defeated the others who attacked him.
• Xuan Zhe recognized that his strength had been exposed and worried about threats to his estate as he continued toward Hidden Mystery Village.
• The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki ordered the Nine-Tails Demon Fox to capture Xuan Zhe and keep him from escaping.
• Hidden Mystery Village’s Clan Head, his wife, and several injured elders met Xuan Zhe, who reported defeating five opponents in a short fight.
• The Clan Head praised Xuan Zhe and entrusted Lady Xuan Yue’s protection to him, then vowed to make her attackers pay and asked his wife what they should do.

The Hidden Mystery Village Clan Head and Madam Nine-Tails planned to protect Lady Xuan Yue while moving against their opponents, as Xuan Zhe arranged a new Konoha expedition against Hidden Mystery Village. Xuan Zhe led the force toward the village and sought intelligence to make sure no defenders escaped.

• Madam Nine-Tails and the Hidden Mystery Village Clan Head agreed that Lady Xuan Yue's safety had to be ensured, and the Clan Head said he would have her brought back safely.
• Xuan Zhe grew suspicious of the Clan Head's words, then went to Konoha and secured approval to lead another attack on Hidden Mystery Village.
• Konoha officials prepared for the expedition, and Xuan Zhe set out with a force while other shinobi followed, confident of victory.
• Xuan Zhe questioned the administrator at the ninjutsu hall about Hidden Mystery Village's remaining guards, then headed for its Ninjutsu Research Institute to search for anyone in hiding.

Xuan Zhe waited silently outside the Research Institute as Konoha Shinobi arrived seeking Hidden Mystery Village’s ninjutsu manuals and technology. The Konoha forces stormed the institute, but its veteran researchers and defenders held them back with powerful, coordinated techniques.

• Xuan Zhe watched Konoha Shinobi gather at the Research Institute and remained silent for a day.
• Konoha Shinobi argued about Hidden Mystery Village’s strength and revealed they had come to seize its manuals and experimental technology.
• Konoha Shinobi entered the Research Institute and attacked, while Hidden Mystery Village’s Shinobi charged in to defend it.
• The two sides clashed inside and outside the institute as Hidden Mystery Village’s improved techniques repeatedly checked Konoha’s advance.
• Veteran researchers coordinated their attacks and kept Konoha from breaking through the defensive line quickly.

Konoha’s assault on Hidden Mystery Village’s Research Base was devastated by concealed weapons, but Xuan Zhe emerged inside the base and confronted its researchers. A Dark Forces researcher defeated Xuan Zhe, then clashed with the institute director over his experiment and plans.

• Konoha’s Shinobi entered the Research Institute and were struck by hidden artillery that shattered their Protective Barrier and forced them back.
• Xuan Zhe appeared at the Research Base’s main entrance and declared that he had found its weakness and would destroy the laboratory.
• A researcher from the Dark Forces challenged Xuan Zhe, enveloped himself in black mist, and defeated him with a single attack.
• The director confronted the researcher, struck him into a wall, and warned that he would be captured if he ruined the experiment.
• The researcher dismissed the director’s threat and argued that any failure would be the director’s responsibility.

Xuan Zhe intervened in a dispute at the research institute and learned that Lin Yuxin was its key researcher on a classified project. After the director examined and hosted him, Xuan Zhe went to Lin Yuxin’s ward when she woke up.

• Xuan Zhe stepped in to stop the director from attacking a researcher and offered to mediate the dispute.
• The director examined Xuan Zhe, warned him about his lack of combat experience, and explained the institute’s secret research project.
• Xuan Zhe recognized the unconscious project lead as Lin Yuxin and asked to see her, while agreeing to wait for her to wake.
• The director arranged food and a place for Xuan Zhe to stay, and Xuan Zhe went upstairs to Lin Yuxin’s ward.
• Lin Yuxin invited Xuan Zhe inside after he knocked.

Xuan Zhe pressed Lin Yuxin for news about the research project, then met her and his assistants to discuss Doctor Lin’s failing condition and the project’s next steps. He returned to Hidden Mystery Village, where he recounted his escape from Ninshu and said the mysterious Qingye had saved him.

• Xuan Zhe visited Lin Yuxin and learned that her research team needed several more days to complete its project.
• Lin Yuxin later warned Xuan Zhe that Doctor Lin’s mental and physical condition was worsening, while saying the team expected to finish the design drawings that night.
• Xuan Zhe left the hospital and met Lin Yuxin and his assistants at a restaurant to discuss Doctor Lin and the project plans.
• Xuan Zhe explained that he had fled Ninshu’s forces with his subordinates, then secretly returned to Hidden Mystery Village after they stopped pursuing him.
• At a village meeting, Xuan Zhe told the elders that Qingye had rescued him and taught him, prompting them to question her origins.

Xuan Zhe returned to Hidden Mystery Village with food and pills as the clan prepared for the Clan Assembly, where Qingye’s strength and mysterious backing drew attention. After the clan head arranged for Qingye to stay, Qinglin and the others settled into a new residence, which was soon surrounded by armed men demanding they come out.

• The clan head praised Xuan Zhe for bringing supplies and assigned him to handle such deliveries in the future.
• Xuan Zhe said Hidden Mystery Village’s formation could withstand Qingye, and he expected to win the Clan Assembly.
• Xuan Zhe asked why the clan head wanted him to marry Qingye, but the clan head postponed explaining his reasons.
• The clan head lamented that Hidden Mystery Village might have been stronger if he had not fled with its people in the past.
• Qinglin and the others moved into a newly built residence, where armed men arrived and challenged them to come out and die.

Xuan Zhe confronted Jiraiya, who accused the Hidden Mystery Village of abducting Liu Yan'er and challenged its people to fight. Their battle escalated from fists to summoned creatures, and Jiraiya ended the chapter injured after Xuan Zhe’s giant lizard struck his chest.

• A young man attacked the men guarding the Hidden Mystery Village and knocked their leader down with a punch.
• Xuan Zhe arrived and learned that the young man was Jiraiya, who accused the village of hiding the missing Liu Yan'er.
• Jiraiya insulted the Hidden Mystery Village and challenged Xuan Zhe, and the two exchanged powerful punches.
• Jiraiya summoned Gamabunta while Xuan Zhe summoned a giant black-scaled lizard.
• Xuan Zhe summoned another giant lizard, which struck Jiraiya in the chest and made him spit blood.

Xuan Zhe pursued Jiraiya toward Konoha, but Gamabunta’s disguise and repeated ambushes kept turning the chase against him. Jiraiya escaped again and tried to strike back with poison mist, which was closing in as the chapter ended.

• Jiraiya fled on his mount while Xuan Zhe and the lizards pursued him, burning villages and killing a carriage passenger along the way.
• Near Konoha, Gamabunta revealed himself as the giant lizard and swallowed Xuan Zhe, who restored his health with a medicinal pill and resumed the chase.
• Jiraiya reached Konoha, where Shinobi surrounded him, but he escaped while Xuan Zhe was trapped in ice again.
• Jiraiya absorbed chakra as he fled, then sensed poison mist rushing toward him and struck back at it.

Jiraiya brutally overpowered Xuan Zhe and his Shinobi, but Xuan Zhe trapped Jiraiya in a white-mist net and continued fighting him. By the end, Jiraiya had begun injuring Xuan Zhe while still bound, and their battle remained unresolved.

• Jiraiya lost his left hand and leg to Xuan Zhe's black mist, then used Hohō to catch and beat him.
• Xuan Zhe called on his Shinobi to attack Jiraiya, but Jiraiya's black mist swallowed them and melted their blades.
• Jiraiya repeatedly struck Xuan Zhe, who kept getting back up despite his severe injuries.
• Xuan Zhe released white mist that formed a net and tightly bound Jiraiya.
• Jiraiya attacked Xuan Zhe while trapped, breaking a tree and inflicting several wounds on him.

Xuan Zhe escaped Jiraiya’s attack and fought him again, using his strength and chakra to injure him despite Jiraiya’s resilience. Their battle escalated into a high-speed clash with weapons, and poison began seeping into Jiraiya’s body.

• Xuan Zhe escaped to his room, where he told Jiraiya that Jiraiya would not be able to activate ninjutsu.
• Jiraiya demanded to know how Xuan Zhe had grown so strong, and Xuan Zhe said he had gained opportunities that made him stronger.
• Xuan Zhe blocked Jiraiya’s punch, and the impact sent a surge of chakra through Jiraiya, badly injuring his arm.
• Xuan Zhe and Jiraiya exchanged another powerful punch and continued fighting at high speed, trading more than a hundred attacks.
• Jiraiya took a blade from a shinobi, while Xuan Zhe brought out a blood-red spear, and poison from Jiraiya’s weapon began seeping into his body.

Xuan Zhe revealed that jealousy had driven him to poison the drinks and arrange the Fire Temple explosion, then tried to kill Jiraiya himself. Jiraiya revived enough to fight him, wounded him, and left the confrontation unresolved as Xuan Zhe continued to taunt him.

• Xuan Zhe poisoned Jiraiya and believed the poison had killed him, then told him he should take care of the girl they both desired.
• Xuan Zhe confessed that he had spied on Jiraiya and the two women, poisoned their drinks, and arranged the attack on the Fire Temple out of jealousy.
• Xuan Zhe drew the Hyuga Clan's treasured blade and prepared to stab Jiraiya, but Jiraiya suddenly spoke and attacked him.
• Jiraiya and Xuan Zhe exchanged blows in the cave, and Jiraiya drove his weapon into Xuan Zhe's shoulder, knocking him down.
• Jiraiya declared Xuan Zhe defeated, but Xuan Zhe stood back up and claimed he could still kill him.

Xuan Zhe survived Jiraiya’s attack and agreed to go with the Anbu Ninja to Konoha Headquarters, where he sought information about the local intelligence network. While investigating the documents, he was confronted by the Konoha youth he had previously defeated, who threatened him with the backing of his father, a Konoha Elder.

• Jiraiya secretly cut Xuan Zhe’s neck, but Xuan Zhe struck back and wounded him, forcing Jiraiya to flee.
• Anbu Ninja arrived to arrest Xuan Zhe, and he agreed to go with them to Konoha Headquarters.
• At headquarters, Xuan Zhe asked the Anbu Ninja to obtain intelligence and reveal Konoha’s local network, then entered a room to inspect documents.
• Xuan Zhe found a newspaper about a man and a woman and inferred that the man was his romantic rival and the father of Uchiha Itachi.
• A youth Xuan Zhe had previously beaten confronted him and boasted that his father was a Konoha Elder and that he was Konoha’s Second.

Xuan Zhe rejected Sasuke Uchiha’s offer to join Konoha and fought him after Sasuke tried to force the position of grand marshal on him. After Xuan Zhe threw Sasuke from the airship and beat him again, Sasuke’s Elder Brother appeared, and the two men began fighting.

• Xuan Zhe learned that Konoha’s Shinobi force had grown to a little over thirty thousand.
• Sasuke Uchiha offered Xuan Zhe power and the grand marshal position if he submitted to Konoha, but Xuan Zhe refused.
• Sasuke insulted Xuan Zhe and attacked him, so Xuan Zhe caught his punch, broke his arm, and threw him from the airship.
• Sasuke returned to the cabin, where Xuan Zhe kicked him and told him to leave Konoha.
• Sasuke’s Elder Brother appeared, and Xuan Zhe told Sasuke their debt was settled and urged him to leave.
• Sasuke charged at Xuan Zhe in a rage, and Xuan Zhe fought back.