Chapter Summaries

Kakashi began tree-climbing training to improve Team 7’s chakra control, but Shengu Xuan outdid everyone with an absurd shadow-clone relay. He deliberately injured himself to unlock the Horse Talisman, whose healing power instantly repaired and strengthened him, leaving Sasuke questioning what he had witnessed.

• Kakashi warned Team 7 that Zabuza and the masked boy would return together, then started emergency training in chakra control through tree climbing.
• Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura practiced climbing while Shengu Xuan used twenty shadow clones to leapfrog each other to the treetop instead of sticking to the trunk.
• Shengu Xuan asked the system how to unlock the next talisman and learned he needed to experience injury and healing.
• Shengu Xuan deliberately flooded his feet with chaotic chakra, blasted a hole in the tree, and suffered minor damage to his chakra pathways.
• The system unlocked the Horse Talisman, whose healing energy repaired Shengu Xuan’s damage and strengthened his chakra pathways.
• Sasuke saw Shengu Xuan’s aura grow stronger after the healing and asked what ability he had used.

Shengu Xuan pretended that his healing came from profound control over life, and Sasuke mistook the explanation for a higher path of training. After Shengu Xuan demonstrated finer control over the Dragon Talisman and Shadowkhan, the others began training, while a strange resonance in his eyes triggered a new ability.

• Sasuke, Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura questioned how Shengu Xuan had instantly healed himself, and Shengu Xuan claimed it came from controlling life and restoring bodily harmony.
• Sasuke interpreted Shengu Xuan's explanation as direct control over the body and mind, then declared he would train until he could sense his own cells.
• Shengu Xuan used the Dragon Talisman's power to vaporize a precise area of river water and transformed one Shadow Ninja into several different forms.
• Naruto resumed tree-climbing training after Kakashi encouraged him, while Shengu Xuan was pleased that Sasuke and Naruto were motivated to improve.
• Shengu Xuan felt a burning throb in his eyes, and his system announced that a new ability had activated through a resonance between the Dragon Talisman and his vision.

Shengu Xuan unlocked the Pig Talisman and used its lightning beams to split a distant reef, terrifying Kakashi and Naruto. When Gato’s men took Inari and Haku and Zabuza appeared at the bridge, Shengu Xuan prepared to face them.

• Shengu Xuan activated the Pig Talisman, endured the burning pain as his eyes changed, and gained the ability to see energy throughout the world.
• Shengu Xuan fired silent crimson beams from his eyes and split a massive reef several thousand meters away.
• Kakashi asked Shengu Xuan to remain on their side until Tazuna was safe, and Shengu Xuan agreed because ending the game early would be boring.
• A villager reported that Gato’s men had stormed the bridge and taken Inari, while Zabuza and Haku were waiting at the bridge entrance.
• Shengu Xuan looked toward the bridge and announced that the warm-up was over.

Kakashi’s team reached the bridge and found the workers slaughtered, where Zabuza and Haku confronted them again. Sasuke fought Haku but was trapped inside the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals, while Kakashi prepared to face Zabuza and Shengu Xuan watched from the sidelines.

• Naruto rushed to Tazuna’s house to rescue Inari and Tsunami while Kakashi led the others toward the bridge.
• The group found more than a dozen bridge workers dead, and Zabuza and Haku emerged from the fog to challenge them.
• Zabuza claimed he had discovered how to counter Shengu Xuan’s fire and shadow abilities, but Shengu Xuan dismissed him and assigned Haku to Sasuke.
• Sasuke attacked Haku, using his improved chakra control to dodge ice senbon and knock Haku back with a kick.
• Sasuke’s Great Fireball failed to melt Haku’s ice mirrors, and Haku trapped him in the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals.

Haku trapped Sasuke in the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals and overwhelmed him with ice senbon until Shengu Xuan appeared to save him. Shengu Xuan healed Sasuke completely and prepared to destroy the ice mirrors.

• Haku used the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals to attack Sasuke from every direction, evading his fire and leaving him badly wounded.
• Haku launched three ice senbon at Sasuke's vital points while Kakashi was held back by Zabuza.
• Shengu Xuan appeared in front of Sasuke and stopped Haku's senbon with a snap of his fingers, then shattered them.
• Shengu Xuan activated the Horse Talisman's Healing Divine Authority, removing Sasuke's injuries and restoring his chakra and stamina.
• Shengu Xuan turned toward the ice mirrors and said he would clear them away.

Shengu Xuan unleashed the Pig Talisman's power through his eyes, vaporizing Haku’s ice attacks and destroying the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals formation. Sasuke and Zabuza were left stunned as Haku fell burned at the edge of a crater and Zabuza faced despair.

• Haku poured his remaining chakra into thousands of absolute-zero ice senbon and sent them toward Shengu Xuan and Sasuke.
• Shengu Xuan fired dark red laser beams from his eyes, vaporizing Haku’s senbon and sweeping through the ice mirrors.
• The heat destroyed the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals formation and burned Haku, who fell onto the bridge as his mask split apart.
• Shengu Xuan stopped his attack, leaving a vast crater across the bridge while Sasuke struggled to comprehend what he had seen.
• Zabuza stopped fighting Kakashi and stared at Haku and the ruined ice formation, overwhelmed by despair.

Haku admitted defeat after Shengu Xuan effortlessly destroyed his ice techniques, while Zabuza surrendered to Kakashi after seeing Haku fall. Gato arrived with hundreds of armed thugs to attack the exhausted fighters, and Shengu Xuan reacted with laughter before threatening them as a god.

• Haku begged Shengu Xuan to kill him, but Shengu Xuan refused and told him to watch Zabuza face despair.
• Zabuza was distracted by Haku's defeat, allowing Kakashi's Ninken to pin him down as Kakashi prepared a Lightning Blade strike.
• Zabuza accepted his defeat and closed his eyes, while Haku cried out as Kakashi charged.
• Gato arrived with two or three hundred armed thugs, taunted Zabuza, and ordered his men to attack the ninjas and bridge builder.
• Kakashi hesitated when Shengu Xuan began laughing, then Shengu Xuan called the attackers trash for speaking before a god.

Shengu Xuan summoned ten giant Troll Shadow Ninjas to face Gato’s armed gangsters on the bridge. As the gangsters panicked, Shengu Xuan ordered the trolls to crush them and leave none alive, beginning the slaughter.

• Gato rallied hundreds of armed gangsters to attack Shengu Xuan, while Kakashi prepared to help him.
• Shengu Xuan spread darkness across the bridge and summoned ten towering Troll Shadow Ninjas.
• The gangsters panicked at the sight of the monsters, and Gato fell down and wet himself in terror.
• Shengu Xuan ordered the Troll Squad to crush the gangsters and leave none alive.
• The Troll Shadow Ninjas charged into the crowd, and the slaughter began.

Shengu Xuan's Troll Corps slaughtered Gato's gang on the bridge, and Shengu Xuan had Gato crushed after rejecting his offer of money. With the trolls gone and the battlefield cleared, Shengu Xuan asked Kakashi to discuss the mission payment just as hurried footsteps and shouts came from the far end of the bridge.

• A Troll Shadow Ninja killed a gang leader, and the terrified gangsters broke formation and tried to flee.
• Shengu Xuan ordered the ten Troll Shadow Ninjas to trap the gangsters, whose guns could not harm them, and the trolls slaughtered the crowd.
• Kakashi, Sasuke, Zabuza, and Haku watched the massacre in horror as Gato crawled to Shengu Xuan and begged for his life.
• Shengu Xuan rejected Gato's offer of wealth and ordered a giant demon to crush him.
• Shengu Xuan dismissed the trolls into his shadow, asked Kakashi to discuss the mission payment, and heard hurried footsteps and shouts from the other end of the bridge.

Naruto and the villagers arrived after Shengu Xuan had defeated Gato’s men, and they hailed him as the Land of Waves’ savior. Shengu Xuan left Zabuza and Haku to Kakashi, then sensed a new power stirring within him as he headed back to the village.

• Naruto and the villagers rushed onto the bridge and froze at the sight of the carnage left by the battle.
• Kakashi told Naruto that Gato and his men were dead, and Sasuke described how Shengu Xuan had destroyed them and defeated the masked Kirigakure ninja.
• Tazuna and the villagers knelt before Shengu Xuan in gratitude, but he rejected their worship and demanded the remaining payment for his work.
• Tazuna offered to name the bridge Kamiya Bridge, but Shengu Xuan dismissed the idea and told him to call it whatever he liked.
• Shengu Xuan left Zabuza and Haku’s fate to Kakashi and headed back to the village to rest.
• On the way, Shengu Xuan felt a new mysterious energy stir within him and anticipated another surprise.

After returning from the Land of Waves, Shengu Xuan intimidated the Third Hokage with a display of his power and warned him to keep Danzo away. As Shengu Xuan left the office, his desire to bestow power resonated with a wooden armor-display dummy, triggering a new ability.

• Kakashi reported Team 7's Land of Waves mission and Shengu Xuan's extraordinary abilities to the Third Hokage.
• The Third Hokage summoned Shengu Xuan in secret and questioned him about his powers and loyalty to Konoha.
• Shengu Xuan mocked the Third Hokage's appeal to the Will of Fire and revealed that he knew about Danzo and Root.
• Shengu Xuan fired a laser past the Third Hokage, warned him not to let Danzo interfere, and threatened to destroy Konoha if provoked.
• Shengu Xuan noticed a wooden dummy outside a ninja tool shop, and a system message announced that the conditions for activating a new ability had been met.

Shengu Xuan unlocked the Rat Talisman and brought a wooden training post to life, then used the Wooden Dummy to defeat Sasuke. A message revealed that the Chunin Ninja Exams were about to begin and ninja from other villages had arrived in Konoha.

• Shengu Xuan tested the Rat Talisman at an abandoned training ground and animated a wooden post into a conscious Wooden Dummy.
• Shengu Xuan ordered the Wooden Dummy to punch him and found that it had the strength of an ordinary Genin, could not feel pain, and would endure as long as his magic remained active.
• Sasuke challenged Shengu Xuan, claiming he had begun to grasp the control Shengu Xuan had described.
• Shengu Xuan sent the Wooden Dummy to fight Sasuke, and it resisted Sasuke's Great Fireball Technique before knocking him down in their close combat.
• Shengu Xuan received an Anbu paper-bird message that the Chunin Ninja Exams were near and ninja from other villages had entered Konoha.

Kankuro bullied Konohamaru and clashed with Naruto and Sasuke until Gaara intervened. Shengu Xuan arrived, and his presence terrified Shukaku inside Gaara, leaving Gaara shaken as Shengu Xuan offered to calm the beast.

• Kankuro grabbed Konohamaru and mocked him, prompting Naruto to intervene, but Kankuro tripped Naruto with Chakra Threads.
• Sasuke struck Kankuro's wrist with a pebble, freeing Konohamaru, and challenged the Sand ninja.
• Gaara appeared, stopped Kankuro from fighting, and confronted Sasuke, who introduced himself as Sasuke Uchiha.
• Shengu Xuan arrived while eating dumplings, and Gaara became distressed when Shukaku reacted to him with terror.
• Shengu Xuan stepped toward Gaara and offered to calm the frightened Shukaku inside him.

Shengu Xuan’s presence drove Gaara into a terrified retreat, and Sasuke challenged him before the Chunin Ninja Exams began. During the first exam, Shengu Xuan dismissed the questions and prepared to help Naruto with his blank paper.

• Shengu Xuan offered to calm Shukaku, causing Gaara to seize up in pain as the tailed beast panicked.
• Gaara saw something terrifying in Shengu Xuan’s eyes and fled with Kankuro and Temari.
• Sasuke accused Shengu Xuan of using tricks and vowed to prove the Uchiha Clan’s strength at the exams, but Shengu Xuan brushed him aside.
• Two days later, Ibiki Morino began the first round of the Chunin Ninja Exams in Classroom 301.
• Shengu Xuan dismissed the exam questions, noticed Naruto struggling, and called on his little ones to help.

Shengu Xuan used miniature shadows to steal the answer key and secretly help Naruto cheat during the first Chunin Exam. Naruto then refused to give up on Ibiki’s tenth-question test, passing everyone who stayed, before Mitaraishi Anko arrived to lead the second exam.

• Shengu Xuan sent a miniature shadow into Ibiki Morino’s answer file, copied the answers, and used another shadow to show Naruto the answers.
• Ibiki suspected Shengu Xuan but could not catch him cheating, while examiners eliminated other examinees for getting caught repeatedly.
• Ibiki announced that examinees who refused the tenth question would eliminate their whole teams, while those who answered incorrectly would lose their chance to take the exams forever.
• Naruto declared that he would never give up, inspiring the wavering examinees to stay, and Ibiki announced that everyone who remained had passed the first exam.
• Mitaraishi Anko smashed through the classroom window, introduced herself as the second exam’s chief examiner, and ordered the examinees to follow her.

Mitaraishi Anko tested Shengu Xuan before the second Chunin Exam began, but he trapped her with his shadow and melted her Kunai. Team 7 entered the Forest of Death with the Heaven Scroll, where Naruto and Sasuke fought Rain Ninja while Shengu Xuan sensed someone watching Sasuke.

• Mitaraishi Anko introduced the Forest of Death exam, explaining that teams had five days to obtain the opposing scroll and reach the central tower.
• Anko threw a Kunai at Shengu Xuan, who dodged it and then bound her with his shadow after she taunted him.
• Shengu Xuan warned Anko not to threaten him again and melted her Kunai without hand seals or visible Chakra fluctuations.
• Team 7 received the Heaven Scroll and entered the forest, with Naruto carrying the scroll and Sasuke watching for danger.
• Three Rain Ninja ambushed Team 7, and Naruto and Sasuke fought them while Shengu Xuan stood aside.
• Shengu Xuan sensed a hidden watcher whose attention was fixed on Sasuke.

Naruto and Sasuke secured the Rain Ninja’s Earth Scroll, but Orochimaru ambushed them, trapping Naruto and overwhelming Sasuke with killing intent. Shengu Xuan remained unfazed and stopped Orochimaru’s Great Breakthrough with one finger, leaving Orochimaru shocked.

• Naruto took the Earth Scroll from the defeated Rain Ninja, completing the pair of scrolls, while Sasuke boasted to Shengu Xuan about the Uchiha’s strength.
• Orochimaru, disguised as a Grass Ninja, emerged from the forest and declared that Sasuke would become his vessel.
• Orochimaru sent snakes after Naruto and Sasuke; Sasuke burned some with his Great Fireball Technique, but snakes captured Naruto.
• Orochimaru’s killing intent plunged Sasuke into an illusion of corpses and blood, and Orochimaru prepared to bite his neck and place the Cursed Seal of Heaven.
• Shengu Xuan mocked Orochimaru, who attacked him with Great Breakthrough, but Shengu Xuan stopped the tornado with one finger.

Shengu Xuan confronted Orochimaru after stopping his attack with one finger, then nearly killed him with a laser beam. Orochimaru overwhelmed Sasuke and Naruto and moved to place a Cursed Seal on Sasuke, but Shengu Xuan stepped in and began unleashing a terrifying power.

• Shengu Xuan blocked Orochimaru's Wind Release: Great Breakthrough with one finger and struck him with laser beams from his eyes.
• Orochimaru escaped the lasers using Ninja Art: Shedding, while Sasuke broke free of genjutsu and attacked him with Dragon Fire Technique.
• Orochimaru scattered Sasuke's flames, kicked him through three trees, and knocked Naruto unconscious when he charged in.
• Orochimaru prepared to bite Sasuke and give him a Cursed Seal, but Shengu Xuan interrupted him.
• Shengu Xuan challenged Orochimaru and unleashed a surge of magical power that turned the sky dark and left Orochimaru deathly pale.

Shengu Xuan overwhelmed Orochimaru with a devastating dark red attack, leaving him badly injured but alive. After Orochimaru regenerated and summoned a vast swarm of snakes, Shengu Xuan began summoning his own legion.

• Shengu Xuan unleashed a dark red beam that pierced Orochimaru’s defenses and blasted a huge crater into the Forest of Death.
• Orochimaru emerged from underground with severe injuries and a missing arm, then learned Shengu Xuan called the attack a basic strike.
• Orochimaru regenerated his arm and summoned countless venomous snakes to surround Shengu Xuan.
• Shengu Xuan dismissed the snakes as a primitive tactic and began calling forth his servants from the boiling shadow beneath him.

Shengu Xuan summoned an apparently endless Shadowkhan legion that slaughtered Orochimaru’s venomous snakes and overwhelmed his forces. Orochimaru called forth Manda, and Shengu Xuan gathered a devastating mass of dark-red demonic fire to face the giant serpent.

• Shengu Xuan spread a vast shadow swamp and summoned over a hundred Shadow Ninjas to protect him.
• Orochimaru commanded his venomous snakes to attack, but their physical strikes passed through the Shadowkhan as the warriors slaughtered them.
• Shengu Xuan summoned hundreds more Shadow Ninjas, surrounding and crushing the dwindling sea of snakes.
• Orochimaru summoned Manda, who appeared and lunged at Shengu Xuan despite sensing that something was wrong.
• Shengu Xuan raised his hand and gathered dark-red demonic fire, preparing to burn Manda and Orochimaru to nothingness.