Recaps

Liumu Squad began the second Chunin Exam in Thunder Warrior Valley, where teams had to collect both Heaven and Earth scrolls. Liumu confronted an Iwagakure team and asked whether they had an Earth Scroll.

• The examiners explained that teams needed both scrolls to qualify and had seven days to reach the next stop.
• Suiguang proposed hiding and waiting for other teams to fight, but Liumu argued they should head for the finish and steal a scroll there.
• Suiguang sensed a nearby team, and Liumu went ahead to approach them while Kakashi and Suiguang followed.
• Liumu found three Iwagakure ninja and asked to borrow their Earth Scroll.
• An Iwagakure kunoichi recognized Liumu from the Written Exam, and Liumu insulted her appearance.
• An Iwagakure man demanded to know whether Liumu was from Konoha, and Liumu confirmed it before asking which scroll they had.

Liumu, Kakashi, and Suiguang fought three Iwagakure shinobi over a stolen scroll, and the Iwagakure team unleashed a giant stone statue that trapped their opponents. Kakashi outmaneuvered them with a Water Clone and threatened the yellow-haired woman, but the Iwagakure shinobi answered with faint sneers.

• An Iwagakure shinobi trapped Liumu in a swamp, but Kakashi and Suiguang arrived and attacked the three shinobi.
• The Iwagakure shinobi broke through Suiguang's walls with a massive stone giant, forcing Kakashi to defend against its attacks while Suiguang tried to free Liumu.
• The yellow-haired Iwagakure woman surrounded Kakashi with deadly scorpion venom as the burly shinobi declared victory.
• Kakashi appeared behind the yellow-haired woman with a shuriken at her throat, revealing that the Kakashi trapped in the venom had been a Water Clone.
• Kakashi demanded that the Iwagakure shinobi release his teammates and return the scroll, but they only sneered.

Liumu escaped the swamp, rescued Kakashi, and defeated the Stone ninja with a single punch that blasted a passage through the mountains at Thunder Warrior Valley. The explosion stunned the village teams gathered at the Raikage's Office, who wondered which Chunin had caused the destruction.

• Suiguang cried that the team’s Chunin Exams run was over, so Liumu absorbed the chakra sustaining the swamp and walked out.
• Liumu rescued Kakashi from the Stone ninja and asked him to wash his muddy clothes with Water Release.
• Liumu endured the Stone Giant’s attack and shattered it with a Normal Punch, knocking out the three Stone ninja and blasting a passage through the mountains.
• Kakashi could not find the Stone team’s scroll, and Suiguang gave one of the unconscious Stone ninja an outer garment before Liumu urged her to remove another.
• The village Jonin gathered at the Raikage’s Office and wondered whether one of the Chunin had caused the destruction at Thunder Warrior Valley.

Liumu stopped Kakashi and Suiguang from intervening in a battle between Konoha and Kirigakure, explaining that the Chunin Exams tested whether candidates could survive without protection. Meanwhile, the Third Raikage learned that the person who clashed with Gyuki in its four-tailed form was supposedly a child and set out to question him.

• Liumu, Suiguang, and Kakashi found Aburame Clan insects before hearing an explosion and rushing toward a battle between Konoha and Kirigakure ninja.
• Liumu stopped Kakashi and Suiguang from joining the fight, explaining that the exam needed to reveal whether candidates were strong enough to survive as chunin.
• Liumu noticed that a white-haired Kirigakure girl had not fought and predicted that the Konoha team would lose.
• Kumogakure's investigation found no confirmed deaths or enemy invasion in Thunder Warrior Valley, but two teams had abandoned the exam after a powerful explosion.
• The Third Raikage heard that the person who had clashed with Gyuki in its four-tailed form was a child, activated his lightning armor, and went to confront him.

During the Chunin Exams, Liumu confronted a Mist team whose white-haired member used Ice Release and persuaded her to free three frozen Konoha ninja. After warming the rescued ninja, Liumu, Kakashi, and Suiguang continued searching for an Earth Scroll and waited in ambush near the finish.

• Liumu recognized the white-haired Mist ninja's Ice Release and stopped her team from leaving with three Konoha ninja trapped in ice.
• The white-haired girl released the frozen Konoha ninja, and Liumu let the Mist team pass.
• Liumu, Kakashi, and Suiguang warmed the rescued ninja with a fire and joked about Jiraiya's books.
• After nearly three days without finding an Earth Scroll, Liumu's team hid near the finish and discussed the Ice Release team.
• Suiguang sensed an approaching team, and Liumu told Kakashi and Suiguang to rob the rich and help the poor.

Liumu's team reached the exam rendezvous point first after coercing the Iwa ninja into giving them an Earth Scroll. The Iwa team arrived third, while Konoha's Jonin praised Kakashi's team for completing the second exam so quickly.

• Liumu's trio encountered the Iwa ninja again, and Liumu threatened to strip them in public unless they handed over an Earth Scroll.
• The big Iwa ninja gave Liumu the scroll, and Liumu's team left for the rendezvous point.
• Kakashi submitted both scrolls to the Kumogakure examiner, completing his team's second exam as Konoha's first team to arrive.
• Konoha Jonin congratulated Kakashi's team, while Kakashi kept quiet about what he had witnessed earlier.
• Liumu joked with Suiguang about Jiraiya and his moves while they waited.
• The Iwa ninja arrived third and submitted the scrolls they had obtained anew.

Liumu recognized Yugito Nii as Kumogakure’s Two-Tails jinchūriki and warned his teammates to be cautious of the Land of Crafts’ ninja tools. The third exam began with Kakashi fighting an Iwagakure kunoichi whose earth-hardened skin and explosive clone put him under pressure.

• Liumu saw Yugito Nii arrive with Kumogakure’s squad and realized she was the Two-Tails jinchūriki.
• Eighteen ninja qualified for the third exam, including a squad from the Land of Crafts, whose weapons concerned Liumu.
• The Kumogakure jonin explained the one-on-one combat rules and began the matches.
• Kakashi faced the blonde-haired Iwagakure kunoichi and dodged her Earth Dragon Bullet before attacking with an explosive-tagged shuriken.
• The kunoichi’s earth-hardened skin withstood the explosion, and her exploding clone blasted Kakashi into the air.
• The kunoichi fired another Earth Dragon Bullet at Kakashi, but he substituted a section of dead wood.

Kakashi, Han, and Cheng won the first three matches of the Chunin Exams through strategy, Ice Release, and a lightning-absorbing sword. Liumu then stepped onto the stage for his match against Hashimoto Asuka.

• Kakashi defeated Xing by using a clone and explosive tags, winning the first match.
• Han froze Lantu and his Stone Giant with her Ice Release kekkei genkai, winning the second match.
• Cheng absorbed Zoromu's lightning with a blunt sword and used it against him to win the fourth match.
• Liumu entered the arena for his match and complained that his opponent, Hashimoto Asuka, was a guy with a girl's name.

Liumu defeated Hashimoto Asuka after accidentally discovering she was a girl and dodging her lethal Senbon attack. Asuka warned Han that Liumu was hiding his true strength.

• Liumu evaded Asuka’s opening attacks and accidentally fell against her, realizing she was a girl.
• Asuka attacked Liumu with Hidden Mist and Senbon, but he escaped the needles by clinging to the ceiling.
• Liumu restrained Asuka with a submission hold, and the referee declared him the winner after she failed to break free before the countdown ended.
• Suiguang checked on Liumu, while Asuka told Han that Liumu had dodged her Senbon technique and was stronger than he appeared.

Yugito Nii defeated Shinrō’s armor strategy by attacking him with Matatabi’s Claws, forcing him to surrender before his armor was destroyed. Suiguang then faced Aburame Kō and was poisoned by Kō’s insects, leaving her badly injured as the match continued.

• Shinrō used Lion-Headed Armor to absorb Yugito Nii’s Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder.
• Yugito Nii formed Matatabi’s Claws and overwhelmed Shinrō in close combat, cracking his armor until he surrendered.
• Suiguang learned that her opponent, Aburame Kō, was a prodigy recruited into Root by Danzo after graduating from the Ninja Academy.
• Suiguang rushed Kō with hardened fists, but the apparent target turned out to be an Insect Clone.
• Kō’s poisonous kikaichū blackened Suiguang’s arm, and Suiguang plunged a kunai into it as her vision blurred.

Suiguang and Guang knocked each other unconscious in a match that ended in a draw, leaving Suiguang critically injured by Guang’s kikaichū. Liumu convinced Yuhi Shinku to let him try an unusual treatment, and prepared to treat Suiguang alone.

• Suiguang charged Guang and used an explosive tag to destroy her kikaichū, then detonated a second tag on Guang’s back.
• The Kumogakure jonin declared the match a draw, and medical ninja carried both unconscious fighters away for treatment.
• Kumogakure’s medical ninja found that Guang’s kikaichū inside Suiguang resisted poison and lightning release chakra while draining her chakra and carrying poison.
• Yuhi Shinku agreed to accompany Suiguang to the treatment room, and Liumu said he might be able to remove the kikaichū.
• Liumu asked to treat Suiguang alone with his unusual method, and Yuhi Shinku agreed after Liumu promised he would not risk his teammate’s life carelessly.

Liumu used the Samadhi Divine Fire and the Template System’s detoxification program to save Suiguang from the poison spreading through her body. After Kakashi defeated a Land of Crafts ninja in the arena, Tsunade appeared in the Medical Room disguised as a young Sound Ninja and took over Suiguang’s care, leaving Liumu to return to the exam grounds.

• Liumu sent the Samadhi Divine Fire through Suiguang’s chakra pathways to find the Kikaichū and contain their poison.
• The Template System detected toxins and, after Liumu activated its Detoxification Program, cleared the poison from Suiguang’s body.
• Kakashi defeated the Land of Crafts ninja by using close combat, the Substitution Technique, and the Clone Technique.
• A yellow-haired girl in the shadows said she would investigate the Land of Crafts’ Ninja Tools and went to check on the injured children.
• Tsunade arrived at the Medical Room disguised as a young Sound Ninja, examined Suiguang, and summoned Katsuyu to care for her.
• Tsunade told Liumu to return to the exam grounds and warned him that the disguised Konoha Ninja’s mission was more serious than it appeared.

Liumu defeated Cheng of the Land of Crafts with a single blow, then watched Han of Kirigakure and Yugito Nii battle with ice and fire techniques. The chapter ended with Yugito’s guided fireballs exploding around Han, leaving her hidden in smoke.

• Liumu explained Suiguang’s situation to Kakashi before learning that his next opponent was Cheng of the Land of Crafts.
• Liumu dodged Cheng’s blunt sword, pinned it under his foot, and knocked Cheng unconscious with a single palm strike.
• Han and Yugito Nii began their match, and Han used the Hidden Mist Technique before unleashing a frost dragon and raising an ice wall.
• Yugito dispersed the mist with a fireball, then used chakra threads to steer dozens of fireballs around Han’s ice wall.
• Yugito’s fireballs exploded around Han, and Liumu compared the technique to a fireball version of the Spirit Ball.

Yugito Nii conceded her match against Han rather than use the Two-Tails’ power, and Liumu began his bout with Kui. After Kui’s lightning attack burned off Liumu’s wig, an enraged Liumu struck back, but Minato appeared and whisked Kui away before the blow landed.

• Han’s ice techniques forced Yugito Nii into a precarious position, and the referee stopped her as she began to draw on the Two-Tails’ chakra.
• Yugito Nii honored her agreement with Kumogakure’s leaders and conceded the match to Han.
• The next match paired Liumu with Kui, while Kakashi received a bye.
• Kui’s Lightning Release destroyed his stone walls and set Liumu’s wig on fire, exposing his bald head.
• Liumu dodged Kui’s stronger lightning attack and punched toward him, but Minato flashed in and carried Kui away.

Liumu defeated Han in the Chunin Exam final but jumped out of the ring with her to force a draw, then received his mission rewards. At Konoha’s lodgings in Kumogakure, he drew a character card for Borsalino, whose recorded voice announced he would help someone become King of the Pirates.

• Kakashi surrendered to Han, setting up the final between Han and Liumu.
• Liumu drained Han’s chakra, knocked her unconscious, and jumped out of the ring with her, making the match a draw.
• Liumu received one Fate Roulette use and five Time House opportunities as his Chunin Exams mission rewards.
• Liumu considered learning forbidden ninjutsu and went with Kakashi to hear their team leader’s announcement at the lodgings.
• Liumu used the Fate Roulette and drew a card for Borsalino, whose voice played a declaration about helping someone become King of the Pirates.

Liumu activated Kizaru’s template, gained Light Release abilities, and noticed his hair beginning to grow back. He met Minato, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Yuhi Shinku at Biliang Bridge, where Tsunade told him the rescued girl had recovered and revealed that she knew he had saved her.

• Liumu used the Kizaru template and found that his attributes and available skills had changed.
• He reasoned that Kizaru’s abilities could serve as a kekkei genkai and named it Light Release.
• Kakashi noticed that hair was growing on Liumu’s head, and Liumu worried it might become curly like Kizaru’s.
• A shuriken carrying a note summoned Liumu to Biliang Bridge at midnight, signed by his senior fellow disciple.
• Liumu arrived and found Minato, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Yuhi Shinku waiting there.
• Tsunade told Liumu that the rescued girl had awakened and that she had told her he was her rescuer.

Liumu joined Orochimaru, Tsunade, Minato, and Shinku Yuhi on an S-rank mission to investigate the Three-Tails in Kirigakure. After learning that Isobu was being hunted by a black-robed ninja, the group reached Kirigakure and prepared to sneak inside.

• Orochimaru and Tsunade explained that Jiraiya had recommended Liumu for the mission, and Tsunade and Minato congratulated him on passing the Chunin examination.
• During the three-month sea journey, Liumu tested seawater on himself and found that it did not weaken him.
• Tsunade told the group that Isobu had appeared in Kirigakure and gone into hiding after a black-robed ninja pursued him; Liumu wondered if the ninja was Madara.
• Shinku Yuhi described Kirigakure's cruel treatment of children, while Liumu considered how Konoha's own leaders had contributed to the Uchiha's decline.
• After disguising themselves as Kirigakure ninja, the group reached the village in winter, and Orochimaru revealed a caterpillar that could breach its protective barrier.

Liumu and Orochimaru infiltrated Kirigakure to search for Isobu, while Tsunade, Minato, and Yuhi Shinku kept watch outside. Liumu discovered a Kirigakure ninja taking a baby from his mother and freezing her to death, leaving the child's fate unclear.

• Liumu recommended that scouts locate Isobu first, and Minato offered his marked kunai to provide support or an escape route.
• Liumu revealed his light-based kekkei genkai and joined Orochimaru in infiltrating Kirigakure.
• Tsunade, Minato, and Yuhi Shinku guarded the village perimeter while Liumu and Orochimaru searched inside.
• Liumu identified bodies of water as likely hiding places for Isobu and began investigating the northern part of the village.
• A Kirigakure ninja took a baby from its mother, trapped her in a Water Prison, and froze her to death.

Liumu secretly investigated Kirigakure’s lakes while Minato warned Tsunade that Kirigakure’s returning Chunin Exams team knew him. After Liumu and Orochimaru reported their findings, the group learned Kirigakure trained Kekkei Genkai children through deadly combat, leaving Tsunade furious and Liumu quietly offering her comfort.

• Liumu hid from Kushimaru Kuriarare while he searched a lake with an infant, then memorized the location and continued investigating Isobu’s possible hiding places.
• Minato saw Han and Kirigakure’s Chunin Exams team return, realized they could recognize Liumu, and told Tsunade about the risk.
• Tsunade and Minato discussed the failed prediction that the Land of Wind would ambush Konoha’s team and agreed to wait for Hatake’s information.
• Liumu and Orochimaru returned to the rendezvous point and shared three possible Isobu hiding places and evidence of Kirigakure’s Kekkei Genkai training ground.
• Orochimaru explained that Kirigakure made children with and without Kekkei Genkai kill one another to develop combat skills, enraging Tsunade.
• Liumu sat beside the grieving Tsunade beneath the moonlight and quietly offered her tissues.

Liumu comforted Tsunade as she mourned Nawaki, then encountered Kumogakure and learned Iwagakure ninja had gathered in Kirigakure to seek the Three-Tails. Konoha prepared to search and seize it, while Orochimaru planned to investigate the underground prison and Liumu settled in to sleep beside Tsunade.

• Liumu listened as Tsunade recalled Nawaki and comforted her by promising to hold up her patch of sky when he grew taller.
• Liumu met A, Killer B, Yugito Nii, and other Kumogakure ninja, and they recognized each other from their earlier encounter.
• A reported that Iwagakure ninja were nearby, and Liumu returned to Konoha's base to tell the group that both villages had arrived.
• Orochimaru said the other villages' searches could help locate the Three-Tails and declared that Konoha would take it if it was found.
• Orochimaru set out to inspect the underground prison, while Minato and the others took turns resting in the cave.
• Tsunade caught Liumu trying to crawl under her covers, but eventually let him sleep beside her.

While investigating Kirigakure, Liumu discovered a bloodstained chamber connected to the village’s training of Kekkei Genkai users and learned that Han had been raised as a test subject. He brought Han into the Time House and concluded that Kirigakure planned to eliminate her because she had lost to him in the Chunin Exams.

• After more than half a month of searching Kirigakure, Liumu found a bloodstained underground chamber and suspected the village was breeding Kekkei Genkai users.
• Liumu overheard a woman order Han to test a new batch of children and slap Han when she asked about her origins.
• Liumu followed the distraught Han to her home, then brought her into the Time House after she attacked his hiding place with an ice senbon.
• Liumu told Han that he had guessed she had been raised in darkness as a Kekkei Genkai test subject and forced to fight other children.
• Han said Kirigakure considered her defective because she had lost to Liumu, even though their match had ended in a draw.

Liumu offered Han a chance to escape Kirigakure and its threat to her family, while the Konoha team decided to end its fruitless search for the Three-Tails. After witnessing Liumu stand up for her, Han chose to leave with him, though she began to add a condition.

• Liumu told Han he could not explain why he had appeared, but offered to take her away if she wanted to live.
• Orochimaru, Minato, and Tsunade agreed to return to Konoha after nearly two months of searching Kirigakure for the Three-Tails without success.
• Liumu asked the team for three days to deal with Han, and Tsunade agreed to wait for him despite Orochimaru and Minato's objections.
• Liumu brought Han out of the Time House and offered her the choice of returning to Kirigakure or going with him to Konoha.
• Han turned away from Kirigakure and told Liumu she would go with him, but began to state a condition.

Liumu vowed to uncover Han’s origins and entered Kirigakure to confront the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. He drew six of them into a battle, where his light-based attacks left them struggling to harm him.

• Liumu accepted the challenge of investigating Han’s origins and received a hidden mission to find the Sealed Family Letter within three days.
• Liumu sent Han back through the Time House and learned that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist handled bloodline investigations for Kirigakure’s leader.
• Liumu disguised himself, destroyed Kirigakure’s gates with Yasakani no Magatama, and demanded that Kushimaru Kuriarare provide information about Han.
• Kushimaru Kuriarare returned an hour later with five other swordsmen instead of information, while Juzo Biwa was absent.
• Kushimaru Kuriarare’s Nuibari severed Liumu’s ankles into light, but Liumu remained unharmed and blocked Jinin Akebino’s Kabutowari with Ame no Murakumo.
• Jinin Akebino found that Kabutowari could not break Liumu’s sword as Munashi Jinpachi attacked him from behind with the explosive-tag-covered Shibuki.

Liumu defeated the Six Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and learned that Juzo Biwa knew the most about Han. After hearing why Juzo was imprisoned, Liumu confronted the Third Mizukage, who agreed to take him to Juzo.

• Liumu survived Shibuki’s Explosive Tags, evaded the other swordsmen’s attacks, and knocked out Suikazan Fuguki and Kushimaru Kuriarare with his speed and Yata Mirror.
• Liumu questioned Kushimaru Kuriarare about Han, and Kushimaru said Juzo Biwa knew the most about her and was imprisoned beneath the Third’s office.
• Kushimaru explained that Juzo had secretly helped a child with a Kekkei Genkai escape Kirigakure, angering the Third Mizukage, while ANBU pursued the child.
• Liumu knocked Kushimaru unconscious and went to the Mizukage’s office, where he said he wanted to question Juzo about Han’s origins.
• The Third Mizukage agreed to take Liumu to Juzo and said he would go with him.

Liumu learned that Han came from an isolated Ice City and retrieved the stone box her parents had left behind. After Han mourned her ruined homeland, Liumu returned to the boat alone, carrying her with him inside his mind.

• Mist Shadow freed Juzo Biwa and let him keep Kubikiribōchō, while Juzo explained that he feared Han would lose her kind heart.
• Juzo told Liumu that Han was an orphan from a declining Ice City and that her parents had left her a stone box buried beneath an ancient tree.
• Liumu and Juzo dug up the stone box, which Liumu stored away without opening, then Liumu hinted that a bowl-cut man would turn against his clansmen.
• Liumu stayed with Han as she sobbed over the snow-covered remains of her homeland.
• Liumu returned to Minato and the others at the boat, selected a summoning beast reward, and revealed that Han was inside his mind.