Chapter Summaries

Liumu’s test pushed Hechi, Xiaojin, and Matsushita into suspecting and attacking one another over a nonexistent answer. As sunset neared and Liumu prepared to announce the results, a strange scene unfolded on the Training Ground.

• Liumu watched the three Genin accuse one another and test their trust, though he had given none of them an answer.
• Hechi used Water Release: Water Formation Wall and attacked Xiaojin and Matsushita to force the answer from them.
• Matsushita broke through the water wall with Fire Release: Fireball Technique and urged Xiaojin to help him defeat Hechi.
• Hechi and Matsushita then suspected Xiaojin, leaving all three in a standoff as the deadline approached.
• Liumu decided the test had lost its meaning after the rift formed, but a strange scene appeared on the Training Ground before he could announce the results.

Hechi, Xiaojin, and Matsushita realized Liumu’s test had no real answer, reconciled, and learned they had passed. After the three left, Kakashi told Liumu that the Third Hokage had apologized before Hatake Sakumo’s spirit, and asked him to leave the matter behind.

• Hechi apologized for attacking Xiaojin and Matsushita, and Matsushita apologized for doubting him.
• Xiaojin and Matsushita revealed that they had guessed the test’s answer was a trick and punched Hechi for not realizing it sooner.
• Hechi said the test had shown them how dangerous a rift in their team could be, and the three accepted their mistakes.
• Liumu told them they had passed and that Jonin Yuhi Shinku would train them in three days.
• After the team left, Kakashi told Liumu that the Third Hokage had bowed before Hatake Sakumo’s spirit and intended to step down, but two daimyo in the clan had stopped him.
• Kakashi asked Liumu to leave the matter behind, saying Hatake Sakumo would not want his death to bring blame upon others.

Kakashi’s birthday present led Liumu to learn that his friends knew his birthday, and Jiraiya organized an unwanted party that Liumu escaped. He returned home to find Han, Rin, Tsunade, Suiguang, and the others celebrating with him.

• Kakashi gave Liumu a framed class photo for his upcoming sixth birthday, and Han told him she had already prepared a present of her own.
• Liumu learned that Yuhi Shinku had found his birthday in his records and told Jiraiya, who arranged a surprise party at Liumu’s home.
• Jiraiya gathered guests and tried to surprise Liumu with cake, but Liumu dodged it with Light Release and escaped to Hokage Rock.
• Liumu returned home in the evening and found Rin, his classmates, Tsunade, Suiguang, and others waiting to celebrate his birthday.
• Tsunade pulled Liumu into her arms while Jiraiya watched with a bruised face.

Liumu celebrated his birthday with friends while Tsunade tried to persuade Jiraiya to let her take him in. After the party, Liumu opened his gifts with Han and passed off Jiraiya’s risqué book as a Taijutsu manual.

• Liumu celebrated his birthday with his classmates and playfully smeared cake cream on Han’s face.
• Tsunade scolded Jiraiya for inviting women to Liumu’s home and asked him to let her have Liumu as her student, but Jiraiya refused.
• After the guests left, Liumu helped the drunk Tsunade to bed and thanked Han for gathering his old friends for the party.
• Liumu opened his gifts with Han and complained about receiving a Watermelon Rind Set and a large amount of toilet paper.
• Liumu found Jiraiya’s Make-Out Heaven and told Han its unclothed scenes were meant to teach the details of Taijutsu.

At the market, Minato took Liumu to a grassland and challenged him to a spar, where Liumu revealed his abilities and unleashed an enormous Rasengan. Minato then asked Liumu to stay and help with a difficult mission, leaving Liumu wondering what mission could be coming.

• Liumu went shopping to prepare a meal for Han before he departed, and Minato appeared and took him to a grassland using Flying Thunder God.
• Minato attacked Liumu with a Rasengan, and Liumu formed one of his own and matched the strike.
• Minato used a Tri-pronged Kunai and Flying Thunder God to attack, but Liumu's Kizaru Template and Taotie's power let him withstand and absorb the Rasengan.
• Liumu formed an enormous Rasengan and threw it at Minato, demonstrating its destructive power.
• Minato told Liumu that the Third Hokage wanted him to stay, then asked for his help on a difficult mission; Liumu refused at first and wondered what mission Minato meant.

Liumu agreed to help Minato with the mission to the Ancient Kingdom of Roran while insisting on traveling with Jiraiya and Han, and devised a way for Minato to summon one of his clones when needed. As the group set out, Liumu wondered why Konoha was interested in Roran and learned that his clone in the Land of Rain had dispersed, completing the first step of his plan.

• Liumu agreed to assist Minato on the Roran mission but refused to stay in Konoha, then explained that Minato could summon his clone through Mount Myōboku when needed.
• Liumu switched to the Saitama template, created several shadow clones, and sent them in different directions while Han washed the dishes.
• Several days later, Liumu, Jiraiya, and Han left Konoha, while Minato reported Liumu's plan to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who approved the mission and stressed Liumu's exceptional strength.
• During the journey, Liumu recalled Roran's Ryūmyaku and questioned why Konoha had learned about it, while considering how his presence might change the future.
• Liumu learned that the clone he had sent to the Land of Rain had dispersed, marking the completion of the first step in his ambition.

Liumu escaped Mount Myōboku through Minato’s Reverse Summoning Technique, which sent him into a desert near the Ancient City of Rōran. He found Sara and discovered that the city’s apparent citizens were humanoid puppets, while Sara was being presented as its new queen.

• Sage Shima and Fukasaku urged Liumu to eat insects at Mount Myōboku, but Minato’s Reverse Summoning Technique abruptly whisked him away.
• Liumu landed headfirst in a desert, realized Minato was nowhere nearby, and followed a song toward the Ancient City of Rōran.
• Liumu found Sara singing in an abandoned well, but she fled into a stone chamber and sealed its entrance when she noticed him.
• Liumu recalled that Mukade had become Anrokuzan and suspected Anrokuzan was the target of Minato’s mission.
• Liumu watched Sara appear as Rōran’s new queen during a celebration, then noticed that the nearby citizens were humanoid puppets.

After Liumu saved Sara from a collapsing platform, he revealed that the cheering subjects were puppets, leaving her to confront the deception surrounding Rōran. Sara learned that people had been taken in her name and went to investigate, but the Queen’s Main Hall attacked her.

• Liumu rescued Sara from the falling platform, and she slapped him before realizing he had saved her.
• Liumu exposed the people in the square as puppets, and Sara recognized that Rōran’s apparent subjects were not real.
• Sara decided to confront Anrokuzan, whom she suspected of controlling the puppets, and entered the underground passages.
• A group of Rōran residents told Sara that soldiers had taken their family members in her name, and Sara promised to investigate.
• Sara reached the Queen’s Main Hall, where mechanical sounds and flashing weapons struck as Liumu warned her to watch out.

Liumu and Sara faced Anrokuzan, who used the Ryūmyaku to restore his puppets and body. After Minato and Chōza arrived and failed to defeat him, Sara revealed she alone could control the Ryūmyaku’s mechanism, and Liumu was told to take her there.

• Liumu recognized Anrokuzan as Mukade and destroyed his puppets, but the Ryūmyaku restored them.
• Liumu told Sara to escape while he confronted Anrokuzan, but Minato and other Konoha ninja arrived to help.
• Minato’s Rasengan was absorbed by Anrokuzan, and Chōza’s giant attack shattered much of his puppet body.
• The Ryūmyaku rapidly restored Anrokuzan, who declared himself the true king of Rōran.
• Sara explained that she alone could control the Ryūmyaku’s mechanism, and Liumu was ordered to take her there safely.

Sara and Liumu discovered Anrokuzan’s puppet factory beneath Rōran and tried to stop him by sealing the Ryūmyaku. When Anrokuzan’s altered seal foiled Sara and his Mukade Puppet attacked, Sara helped the enslaved people escape, and they joined her in forcing open a concealed door.

• Liumu and Sara found Anrokuzan’s puppet factory, where Rōran’s people were being forced to extract the Ryūmyaku’s energy.
• Sara reached the Ryūmyaku Key and tried to seal it with her blood, but Anrokuzan revealed that he had altered the seal.
• Anrokuzan burst into the factory in his Mukade Puppet as Minato and the others joined Liumu and Sara.
• Minato and Liumu prepared enormous Rasengan while Sara freed the workers and tried to open a concealed door.
• Sara’s people rallied around her and helped push the door mechanism until the first part sank into the wall.

Liumu and Minato combined their Rasengan and used it to badly injure Anrokuzan, but Anrokuzan fused with the Ryūmyaku and transformed into a gigantic, regenerating enemy. After the system tasked Liumu with restoring the Ryūmyaku, Liumu realized he could use Taotie's chakra-devouring ability and told Minato to get the others to safety.

• Liumu broke through the mechanical wall with a shadow clone, and his Rasengan merged with Minato's to form the Super Ball Rasengan.
• Minato disrupted Anrokuzan's puppet while Liumu struck its chest, shattering the puppet and badly wounding Anrokuzan.
• Anrokuzan opened a Ryūmyaku pipe, absorbed its energy, and grew into a towering form that could regenerate from ordinary attacks.
• The system assigned Liumu a mission to restore the Ryūmyaku, and he realized its energy was chakra that Taotie could devour.
• Liumu told Minato to take Choza and the others to safety, but Choza objected to Liumu fighting alone.

Liumu stopped Choza from taking a dangerous pill, then fought Anrokuzan by absorbing the Ryūmyaku and repeatedly destroying his giant form. He dragged Anrokuzan into the Time House, cutting off the Ryūmyaku’s restoration, and vaporized him with a full-power punch.

• Liumu prevented Choza from swallowing a red chili pill and had Minato escort Choza and the Aburame ninja out of the ruined factory.
• Liumu broke through the factory floor and used Taotie's devouring power to absorb the Ryūmyaku alongside Anrokuzan.
• When Anrokuzan attacked, Liumu grabbed his hand and drained Ryūmyaku energy from his body, forcing Anrokuzan to sever his own arm.
• Liumu summoned thousands of clones that repeatedly smashed Anrokuzan apart as the Ryūmyaku restored him.
• Liumu stopped absorbing the Ryūmyaku, seized Anrokuzan, and took him into the Time House, cutting off the source of his regeneration.
• Liumu struck Anrokuzan with a full-power Serious Consecutive Punch and vaporized him.

Sara resealed the Ryūmyaku with Minato’s help, while Liumu absorbed the energy that had escaped into the palace. After learning the truth about her mother’s death, Sara chose to remain in Rōran as its queen and protect the Ryūmyaku.

• Sara sensed the Ryūmyaku’s power boiling and returned to the cavern to close the seal before it endangered Rōran and the desert.
• Liumu left the Time House after defeating Anrokuzan, and Minato carried Sara to the Ryūmyaku’s key so she could use her blood to reactivate it.
• Sara closed the key, and Minato formed a new Sealing Jutsu that sealed the Ryūmyaku completely.
• Liumu absorbed the energy Anrokuzan had drawn out of the Ryūmyaku, while Minato carried the unconscious Sara to safety.
• Sara told Minato she suspected her mother had been killed because of Anrokuzan’s plot, and Minato confirmed it was likely true.
• As the Konoha ninja prepared to leave, Minato asked Liumu why he would not take Sara away, and Liumu explained that she had chosen to stay and protect the Ryūmyaku.

After parting from Sara in Rōran, Liumu rejoined Jiraiya and Han in the Land of Rain and visited the Akatsuki headquarters. There, Konan welcomed them and revealed that Nagato’s rain surveillance had detected Jiraiya but not Liumu.

• Minato gave Sara his Chakra Blade as a parting gift, and Liumu invited her to visit Konoha before he headed south to catch up with Jiraiya and Han.
• Half a month later, Liumu reached the Land of Rain and learned that Jiraiya planned to visit Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.
• Jiraiya’s Liumu Shadow Clone vanished, startling Han, who learned that the Liumu accompanying her had been a clone.
• At the Akatsuki headquarters, Konan greeted Jiraiya, Liumu, and Han, and said Yahiko was attending the Land of Rain’s Ninja Academy opening ceremony.
• Konan explained that Nagato’s rain surveillance had detected Jiraiya’s arrival but not Liumu, and she suspected Liumu’s unusual abilities were responsible.

While Liumu stayed in the Land of Rain, Jiraiya received news of rising tensions between the great nations and told Liumu that he had stopped a recommendation to promote him to Jonin. That night, Liumu asked the system how to protect his summoned beast from Taotie, and the system said he would need to draw a summon strong enough to match it.

• Jiraiya received a scroll from Toad Wu and told Liumu and Han that clashes between the Land of Earth and Konoha had increased, while Kirigakure shinobi had appeared in the Land of Fire.
• Jiraiya told Liumu that Minato, Akimichi Chōza, and Aburame Shimi had recommended him for Jonin, but he had blocked the promotion because Liumu was too young and needed more time to mature.
• Liumu celebrated Jiraiya's decision, then accidentally hurt his shoulder because his strength control had worsened since he absorbed the Ryūmyaku's power.
• After Konan and Han fell asleep beside him, Liumu asked the system how to stop Taotie from devouring his summoned beast.
• The system explained that Taotie ranked as a divine beast and the Heavenly Fox as an immortal beast, and said Liumu would need to draw a summoned beast on Taotie's level.

Liumu received a mission to become a Special Jōnin within three years and worried about the looming war and his friends’ futures. He asked Konan about the plans his clone had proposed, and she reported that the investigation’s results were discouraging.

• Liumu drew a Heluo summoning-beast template, which Taotie could not devour because its bloodline resembled his own.
• Liumu recognized Heluo as a powerful spirit beast whose ten bodies could heal illness and prolong life, and stored its template for future use.
• The system tasked Liumu with advancing to Special Jōnin within three years, rewarding him with ten more Time House uses and an extra Fate Roulette draw.
• Liumu connected the deadline to Obito and Rin’s graduation and the coming Third Shinobi World War, then wondered how Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan would fare after Hanzō’s defeat.
• Liumu asked Konan about the plan his clone had shared; she said Yahiko had accepted the division of public and covert roles, but their investigation had yielded discouraging information.

Liumu reassured Konan that Akatsuki’s future recruits would come in time, then questioned Nagato about his past and learned how war and Yahiko had shaped his goal of peace. Nagato invited Liumu to join the successor Akatsuki plan, leaving Liumu to answer.

• Liumu told Konan there was no need to rush recruiting Akatsuki’s future members and said Yahiko should prepare Nagato’s group to serve the Land of Rain.
• When Konan asked how Liumu knew so many ninja from other villages, he avoided the question and fell asleep in her arms.
• The next day, Liumu visited Nagato in the tower and asked whether he knew the truth of his past.
• Nagato admitted that Konoha’s war had killed his parents and recounted losing his home, meeting Yahiko and Konan, and training under Jiraiya.
• Nagato explained that he and Yahiko wanted to build a peaceful Land of Rain, then invited Liumu to join the plan he had proposed.

Liumu refused to join Nagato and Konan’s future Akatsuki, but gave them codenamed rings and pledged to help the Land of Rain when he could. When Yahiko pressed him about his refusal, Liumu explained that he would not betray Konoha, then drew Yahiko into a prepared genjutsu.

• Liumu declined Nagato’s invitation and gave him the ring marked “Zero,” naming him the Land of Rain’s sharpest dagger.
• Liumu gave Konan the “White” ring, teased her about marriage, and joked with her and Han.
• Liumu left Yahiko as the organization’s public face and planned to fill two future Akatsuki positions with other ninjas.
• Yahiko asked why Liumu would not join the plan, and Liumu said he would not become a rogue ninja or betray Konoha.
• Liumu promised to help Yahiko when the Land of Rain needed him, then activated his Heavenly Fox Eyes and pulled Yahiko into a genjutsu.

Liumu showed Yahiko a vision of the Land of Rain’s future and urged him to focus on Nagato’s eyes, then spent three years traveling with Jiraiya and Han. As Jiraiya prepared to visit Mount Myōboku, he asked Liumu why he had decided to return to the village.

• Liumu showed Yahiko a genjutsu depicting events after Yahiko’s death and explained that Nagato’s eyes were central to the future he had predicted.
• Yahiko questioned Liumu’s identity and motives, but Liumu claimed he could predict the future and left him to consider what he had seen.
• Yahiko returned to normal the next day, and three years passed as Liumu, Han, and Jiraiya traveled together.
• At the Land of Fire’s border, Liumu and Han fought a snowball battle, and Han used Shadow Clones and Senbon to overwhelm him.
• Jiraiya told Liumu and Han to return to the village while he visited Mount Myōboku, then asked Liumu why he wanted to go back.

Liumu returned to Konoha before the Ninja Academy graduation exam, with plans to pursue promotion to Special Jōnin as the Third Shinobi World War approached. After hearing that Liumu might be their examiner, Guy and the others rushed to his home, hoping to see his abilities.

• Liumu returned to Konoha and told Han there was still time for everything as he looked toward the Ninja Academy.
• The graduating students learned that Minato might lead a Genin team and discussed the ordinary chores awaiting new graduates.
• Kurenai Yuhi told the others that her father had heard Liumu might be promoted and made the graduation exam examiner.
• Guy rushed to Liumu's house, and Obito, Rin, Kurenai Yuhi, and their classmates followed to see whether Guy would challenge him.