Recaps

Danzo tried to undermine Minato Namikaze’s candidacy and recruit Lin Ze, then ordered Root to abduct Asuma, Kurenai Yuhi, and Rei Uesugi to use Lin Ze’s bonds against him. The choice of Fourth Hokage remained unresolved, and Danzo prepared to seize power through coercion.

• Danzo argued that Konoha needed a tougher leader than Minato, while Homura accused Orochimaru of forbidden experiments on Konoha ninja.
• Orochimaru left the meeting after Hiruzen confronted him, leaving Minato and Danzo as the remaining Hokage candidates.
• Danzo offered Lin Ze the position of Root’s deputy leader in exchange for his support, but Lin Ze refused and walked away.
• At Root’s base, Danzo ordered Yamato to capture Asuma, Kurenai Yuhi, and Rei Uesugi alive during their mission in the Land of Hot Water.
• Danzo decided to use the people Lin Ze cared about to force him to support Danzo’s bid for Hokage.

Hiruzen Sarutobi confronted Orochimaru over his human experiments, but Orochimaru escaped after their battle. Lin Ze then cornered Orochimaru in a sealed valley and demanded Living Corpse Reincarnation, preparing to show the power that let him survive the Land of Lightning incident.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi found evidence of Orochimaru's experiments on living subjects and went to confront him at a hidden base.
• Orochimaru rejected Hiruzen Sarutobi's demand to surrender his research, and the two fought until Orochimaru escaped as snakes.
• Orochimaru reached a barren valley and blamed his informants for exposing his laboratories before Lin Ze crashed down to face him.
• Lin Ze's shadow clones raised a Four Violet Flames Formation around the valley, and he demanded Living Corpse Reincarnation as compensation for Orochimaru's leak in the Land of Lightning.
• Lin Ze activated several power states and summoned golden sealing chains after Orochimaru claimed he could not be killed.

Lin Ze forced Orochimaru to surrender the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique, then attacked him and used Adamantine Sealing Chains to stop his escape. Lin Ze crushed Orochimaru’s head, but doubted that he had killed him for good.

• Orochimaru recognized Lin Ze’s Adamantine Sealing Chains and handed over a scroll containing Living Corpse Reincarnation in exchange for being allowed to leave.
• After confirming the technique was complete, Lin Ze attacked Orochimaru and said he was repaying him for what happened in the Land of Lightning.
• Lin Ze overwhelmed Orochimaru’s snake, wind, earth, lightning, and water techniques with his own powerful abilities.
• Orochimaru attempted Living Corpse Reincarnation, but Lin Ze’s Adamantine Sealing Chains bound his body and soul and dragged his soul back.
• Lin Ze stomped on Orochimaru’s head, then wondered whether the notoriously hard-to-kill Sannin had truly died.

Lin Ze studied Living Corpse Reincarnation while waiting for Kurenai Yuhi's team to return, as Danzo maneuvered to gain support in the Fourth Hokage selection. Tagitsuhime revealed that Kurenai Yuhi, Asuma Sarutobi, and Rei Uesugi had been captured in the Land of Hot Water.

• Asuma fought six masked ninja who ambushed him and knocked Kurenai Yuhi and Rei Uesugi unconscious.
• Lin Ze studied Living Corpse Reincarnation and planned to leave Konoha after Kurenai returned.
• At the Fourth Hokage selection meeting, Danzo proposed giving Lin Ze a day to decide whether to state his preference.
• Lin Ze returned to the orphanage and waited, but Kurenai Yuhi's team missed its expected return time.
• Tagitsuhime told Lin Ze that Kurenai Yuhi, Asuma Sarutobi, and Rei Uesugi had been captured in the Land of Hot Water.

Lin Ze learned that Danzo’s Root had captured Kurenai, Rei Uesugi, and Asuma and gone to rescue them at the Valley of the End. Danzo demanded Lin Ze support him for Hokage, but Lin Ze mocked him as their confrontation began.

• Tagitsuhime told Lin Ze that Root had captured Kurenai, Rei Uesugi, and Asuma and taken them toward the Valley of the End.
• Lin Ze visited Yuhi Aoi and Yuhi Shinku, claimed Kurenai’s mission might be delayed, and promised to bring her home safely.
• Yuhi Shinku realized Lin Ze was hiding the truth and hurried to the Hokage Building, hoping Hiruzen Sarutobi could help because Asuma was also missing.
• Danzo ordered Root to summon Lin Ze alone, then learned that Lin Ze had already reached the valley and went out to meet him.
• Danzo offered to release the captives if Lin Ze publicly supported him for Fourth Hokage, and Lin Ze mocked Danzo’s tactics.

Lin Ze refused Danzo’s recruitment until Danzo used Kurenai Yuhi and Rei Uesugi as hostages, forcing Lin Ze to promise support for Danzo’s bid to become Fourth Hokage. Orochimaru then proposed implanting a cursed seal to ensure Lin Ze kept his word.

• Danzo offered Lin Ze a place in his new era, but Lin Ze rejected him and condemned his experiments and coercion.
• Danzo brought out the bound Kurenai Yuhi and Rei Uesugi, and Lin Ze realized he could not rescue them before the Root members could hurt them.
• Orochimaru and Kakuzu appeared to aid Danzo, leaving Lin Ze facing a much more dangerous rescue.
• After a Root member cut Kurenai’s neck, Lin Ze agreed to support Danzo becoming Fourth Hokage at the next day’s meeting.
• Orochimaru proposed implanting his Heart-Devouring Soul-Locking Seal in Lin Ze to prevent him from breaking the agreement.

Lin Ze prepared to accept Orochimaru’s Heart-Devouring Soul-Locking Seal to save Kurenai Yuhi and Rei Uesugi, but Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived with a large Konoha party and interrupted Danzo’s coercion. Danzo then defended his actions by presenting an old case that implicated Lin Ze.

• Danzo demanded that Lin Ze accept the cursed seal in exchange for Kurenai Yuhi and Rei Uesugi’s lives, and Lin Ze reluctantly agreed.
• After Yuhi Shinku reported the squad’s disappearance and Lin Ze’s movements, Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Konoha’s clans to search for them.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi led more than twenty shinobi to the Valley of the End, where Orochimaru and Kakuzu withdrew as the Konoha party arrived.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi confronted Danzo over holding Kurenai Yuhi and Rei Uesugi captive and coercing Lin Ze.
• Danzo claimed he was investigating an old threat to the village and presented a report about a mysterious ninja who had attacked Root three years earlier.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi read the report and recognized that Danzo was publicly raising the case he and Lin Ze had previously agreed to leave alone.

Danzo publicly accused Lin Ze of attacking Root and pressured him to answer while holding Kurenai Yuhi and Rei Uesugi hostage. Rei cut her own throat to keep Lin Ze from being forced to compromise, and the chapter ended with Might Duy and Might Guy intervening as Lin Ze tried to save her.

• Danzo accused Lin Ze of being the mysterious attacker who targeted Root, prompting Uchiha Fugaku and Yuhi Shinku to challenge Danzo's conduct.
• Danzo threatened Lin Ze through his hostages, and Rei Uesugi blamed herself for becoming leverage against him.
• Rei Uesugi used a distracted moment to slash her throat with a kunai, and Minato Namikaze arrived with Asuma, who demanded that Hiruzen Sarutobi arrest Danzo.
• Might Duy opened the Seventh Gate and attacked Danzo with Daytime Tiger while Might Guy opened the Sixth Gate and rescued Kurenai Yuhi and Rei Uesugi.
• Lin Ze took the barely breathing Rei from Might Guy and poured his life-force chakra into her, but he could only sustain her final breath as she apologized to him.

After Rei Uesugi died, Lin Ze faced Danzo’s forces alone when Konoha’s leaders chose not to intervene. He revealed his true Azure Dragon form, transforming the Valley of the End into his domain as he prepared to take revenge.

• Rei Uesugi died in Asuma’s arms, and Lin Ze laid her body down before promising to make her killers pay.
• Danzo summoned Baku while Kakuzu and Orochimaru, transformed into the Eight-Headed Serpent, joined his side; Hiruzen Sarutobi tacitly allowed Danzo to proceed.
• Kurenai Yuhi begged Yuhi Shinku to help Lin Ze, but he refused to intervene, while Might Duy and Might Guy offered their support.
• Danzo’s barrier prevented Lin Ze from summoning Qingtian, so Lin Ze summoned Mountain Lord, who grew enormous and attacked Baku.
• Lin Ze transformed into an Azure Dragon over a thousand meters long, summoning dark clouds, violent winds, and lightning over the Valley of the End.

Lin Ze revealed his true form as an immense Azure Dragon, terrifying Konoha’s forces and awakening Tagitsuhime’s dormant bloodline. As Danzo, Kakuzu, and Orochimaru prepared to escape, Lin Ze’s Shadow Clones sealed the valley in an enhanced Four Violet Flames Formation, trapping them with him.

• Lin Ze transformed into a colossal Azure Dragon, stunning the Konoha shinobi and leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze shaken.
• Tagitsuhime’s bloodline evolved under Lin Ze’s dragon might, and she destroyed her Summoning Scroll and chose to follow him.
• Kakuzu and Orochimaru recognized Lin Ze’s overwhelming power and tried to escape.
• Twenty of Lin Ze’s Shadow Clones raised an enhanced Four Violet Flames Formation around the valley, trapping Lin Ze, Danzo, Kakuzu, Orochimaru, and the remaining Root members.
• Lin Ze declared that everyone trapped inside the barrier would die.

Lin Ze overwhelmed Danzo, Kakuzu, and the Eight-Headed Serpent with his Azure Dragon form, leaving them gravely injured after his lightning attack. Mountain Lord defeated Baku and joined the fight, but the Eight-Headed Serpent continued regenerating its severed heads.

• Danzo, Kakuzu, Orochimaru, and the Root Elites attacked Lin Ze, but their ninjutsu barely scratched his scales before he regenerated.
• Lin Ze struck Danzo, Kakuzu, and the Eight-Headed Serpent with his claws and tail, crushing Root ninja and smashing apart two of the serpent's heads.
• Lin Ze unleashed a storm of lightning that shattered Kakuzu's defenses, destroyed three of his mask creatures, and left Danzo and Kakuzu gravely wounded.
• Mountain Lord defeated Baku by crushing its neck and tearing its body apart.
• Mountain Lord attacked the Eight-Headed Serpent and burst apart its two newly regrown heads, while the serpent continued regenerating.

Lin Ze killed Kakuzu and Danzo, then used lightning and Adamantine Sealing Chains to destroy the Eight-Headed Serpent and severely damage Orochimaru’s soul. With the powerful enemies defeated, he mourned Rei Uesugi’s death as Konoha’s ninja watched in stunned silence.

• Lin Ze killed Kakuzu with a Lightning Spear, shattering his remaining hearts.
• Danzo pleaded that he had acted for Konoha, but Lin Ze annihilated him with a powerful Bolo Breath.
• Lin Ze ordered Mountain Lord to retreat, then trapped the Eight-Headed Serpent in a devastating lightning barrage.
• Orochimaru tried to abandon the serpent body through Living Corpse Reincarnation, but Lin Ze ensnared his soul with Adamantine Sealing Chains.
• The Eight-Headed Serpent disappeared, leaving Orochimaru severely damaged, and Lin Ze roared mournfully as Mountain Lord and Tagitsuhime joined him while Konoha’s ninja watched.

After killing Danzo and surviving the destruction at the Valley of the End, Lin Ze left Konoha with Kurenai Yuhi and Rei Uesugi’s body, determined to find a way to bring Rei back. He publicly renounced Konoha by discarding his forehead protectors as he departed for the Konoha-Kirigakure Frontline Camp.

• The Konoha party saw the ruined valley and braced themselves as Lin Ze, Mountain Lord, and Tagitsuhime confronted them.
• Lin Ze asked Kurenai Yuhi to leave with him, and Yuhi Shinku gave his daughter permission to go.
• Kurenai joined Lin Ze atop his dragon form, and Lin Ze lifted Rei Uesugi’s remains after telling Asuma he would try to bring her back.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi urged Lin Ze to return and promised Konoha would support him, but Lin Ze ignored him and set off to find Uchiha Onibi.
• As Lin Ze departed with Kurenai and Rei, he dropped three slashed Konoha forehead protectors, declaring his break with the village.

Lin Ze brought Rei Uesugi’s body to Uchiha Onibi and learned that Onibi’s Mangekyō could not revive her. Lin Ze rejected the idea of exploiting Onibi and Ryota to obtain the Rinnegan, but resolved to seek other Uchiha as candidates and left the camp after revealing he had killed Danzo and Orochimaru and defected from Konoha.

• Lin Ze arrived at the frontline camp with Mountain Lord and Tagitsuhime, alarming the Uchiha gathered there, and asked Uchiha Onibi to revive Rei Uesugi.
• Uchiha Onibi used his Mangekyō to examine Rei and explained that his ability could not affect the dead or reach their departed souls.
• Lin Ze considered using Onibi and Ryota Uchiha to obtain the Rinnegan, but decided he would not exploit them and instead resolved to find other Uchiha candidates.
• Lin Ze told Onibi that he had killed Danzo and Orochimaru and left Konoha, shocking the Uchiha who overheard him.
• Lin Ze departed with Rei’s remains, determined to pursue the Rinnegan and revive her at any cost.

Lin Ze brought Rei Uesugi’s body to Ascension Island and vowed to revive her after explaining how she died and how he defected from Konoha. In Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi concealed the truth, named Minato Namikaze as his successor, and ordered the village to take no public action against Lin Ze.

• Lin Ze returned to the underground laboratory on Ascension Island with Kurenai Yuhi, Tagitsuhime, Mountain Lord, and Rei Uesugi’s body.
• Lin Ze recounted Danzo’s ambush at the Valley of the End, Rei Uesugi’s death, his killing of his enemies, and his defection from Konoha.
• Nonō promised to preserve Rei Uesugi’s body, and Lin Ze vowed to bring her back; he told Kurenai Yuhi that Ascension Island would be their home and sent Mountain Lord back to Konoha.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Konoha’s leaders agreed that Minato Namikaze would become the Fourth Hokage.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered the Valley of the End incident classified as top secret and directed Konoha to take no public action against Lin Ze.
• Night Owl left the Hokage Building remembering the comrade she had fought beside for six years.

Lin Ze planned how to awaken a Rinnegan and bring Rei Uesugi back to life, then assigned Kabuto to master Impure World Reincarnation. After Nonō warned that Hashirama Cells were too dangerous to cultivate further, Lin Ze ordered the laboratory to preserve their current supply.

• Lin Ze considered seeking Mangekyō Sharingan to combine with his Uzumaki constitution and Hashirama Cells, while ruling out Ghost Fire and Ryōta as targets.
• Lin Ze gave Kabuto the Impure World Reincarnation scroll and explained he needed the technique to secure Rei Uesugi's soul before attempting to resurrect her.
• Lin Ze handed Kabuto scrolls containing the bodies of more than a dozen Jōnin for preliminary tests and promised to bring back more test subjects.
• Nonō reported that the Hashirama Cells were highly invasive and could break through their containers if cultivated further.
• Lin Ze told Nonō to maintain the cells' activity but stop cultivating them for now.

Lin Ze successfully transferred his soul into a wind release clone and sent shadow clones to scout the Uchiha for potential Mangekyō candidates. The scouts began searching both the Uchiha forces at the frontline and the Uchiha Clan Compound in Konoha.

• Lin Ze sent ten shadow clones to investigate the Uchiha and find isolated members with traits that might lead to Mangekyō awakening.
• Lin Ze used Living Corpse Reincarnation to transfer his soul into his wind release clone while Nonō watched.
• The wind release clone awakened, and Lin Ze planned to train it before attempting to integrate the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release bloodline.
• Two shadow clones infiltrated the frontline camp, observed ordinary Uchiha ninja, and withdrew after noting several possible targets.
• Four shadow clones used natural energy to slip through Konoha's barrier and headed toward the Uchiha Clan Compound.

Lin Ze reviewed information gathered by his Shadow Clones and identified two Uchiha sibling pairs as possible Mangekyō cultivation targets. He favored Enta Uchiha and his sister Yami, whose situation seemed easier and less risky to manipulate than the pair at the Kirigakure front.

• A Shadow Clone watched Enta Uchiha train and heard him blame Lin Ze, the clan, and Konoha High Command for his failures.
• The clone followed Enta home and saw him share a close, caring relationship with his younger sister.
• Lin Ze received and sorted the memories from his ten Shadow Clones on Ascension Island.
• Lin Ze compared Enta and Yami with two Uchiha brothers at the front, judging the brothers stronger but harder and riskier to approach.
• Lin Ze considered Enta an easier target because of his resentment and his estrangement from the Uchiha Clan.

Lin Ze transferred his soul into the Wind Release clone he named White Tiger and sealed the Ryūmyaku into it to overcome its limited chakra reserves. As White Tiger set out to hunt Enta Uchiha, Obito decided to seek Lin Ze out and recruit him for the Eye of the Moon Plan.

• Lin Ze chose isolated Uchiha Enta as his next target and told Nonō that his original body would enter dormancy.
• Lin Ze moved his soul into the Wind Release clone, named it White Tiger, and left his original body in a life-support apparatus.
• Lin Ze sealed the Ryūmyaku into White Tiger, giving the clone vast chakra reserves, then donned a tiger-marked mask and departed Ascension Island.
• Black Zetsu reported that Lin Ze had annihilated Danzō, Kakuzu, and the suspected Orochimaru at the Valley of the End and displayed overwhelming power.
• Obito rejected Black Zetsu’s suggestion to eliminate Lin Ze and ordered him to locate Lin Ze so Obito could try to recruit him.

The White Snake Sage ordered a search for Tagitsuhime and Lin Ze after sensing Lin Ze’s immense power, while the Great Toad Sage dreamed of an enormous azure dragon that Jiraiya suspected was Lin Ze. In Konoha, Uchiha Fugaku persuaded the clan elders to postpone a coup, but he continued weighing the Uchiha’s place in the changing balance of power.

• The White Snake Sage sent Tagorihime and Ichikishimahime to lead Ryūchi Cave’s snakes in finding Tagitsuhime and Lin Ze within half a month.
• The Great Toad Sage described a vision of an enormous azure dragon, and Jiraiya suspected it referred to Lin Ze and hurried back to Konoha.
• Hawk Faction elders urged Uchiha Fugaku to launch a coup, citing the clan’s exclusion from Konoha’s power and the village’s weakened state.
• Uchiha Fugaku argued that the clan should wait for Minato Namikaze to take office now that Danzo was dead, and the elders agreed to give Konoha another chance.
• After the meeting, Uchiha Fugaku privately considered Lin Ze’s defection and the shifting balance of power as he weighed the Uchiha Clan’s future.

Lin Ze approached Enta Uchiha at the training ground, offering him a partnership with Akatsuki and promising a path to the Mangekyō Sharingan. Enta agreed to meet him for a test the next day, while Lin Ze secretly planned to use an illusion involving Enta and Yami to push them toward awakening the forbidden eyes.

• Lin Ze watched Enta Uchiha train and appear frustrated by his inability to surpass Uchiha Onibi.
• Lin Ze introduced himself as an outer member of Akatsuki and tempted Enta with the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Lin Ze demonstrated Wind Release and Magnet Release, convincing Enta that he had formidable strength.
• Enta agreed to work with Lin Ze for now and arranged to test him the next day, twenty li south of the village.
• Enta told Yami he was leaving on a long-term mission, and Lin Ze watched them before planning an illusion to affect them both.

Lin Ze fought Enta Uchiha to test his White Tiger clone, then recruited him into Akatsuki by promising training and a chance to awaken his Mangekyō. Enta followed Lin Ze toward Kirigakure, where Lin Ze said an opportunity for him to transform awaited.

• Enta Uchiha met Lin Ze and challenged his claim that Akatsuki could help him awaken his Mangekyō.
• Lin Ze countered Enta Uchiha’s fire techniques and shuriken with Wind Release and Magnet Release, steadily gaining the advantage.
• Lin Ze trapped Enta Uchiha with iron sand and knocked him unconscious by cutting off his chakra flow.
• Enta Uchiha asked why Lin Ze had chosen him, and Lin Ze said he valued his potential to awaken the Mangekyō.
• Enta Uchiha agreed to follow Lin Ze to Kirigakure in pursuit of greater power.

Lin Ze took Enta Uchiha to fight a Kirigakure ANBU squad, hoping the danger would awaken Enta’s Mangekyō Sharingan. Enta survived but did not awaken it, so Lin Ze concluded his plan would need to involve Yami Uchiha.

• Lin Ze sealed another rogue ninja’s corpse after a week of bounty hunts, while Enta questioned whether the fights could awaken his Mangekyō.
• Lin Ze and Enta encountered three Kirigakure ANBU near an abandoned port and fought them in the Hidden Mist.
• The ANBU wounded Enta and nearly killed him, but his Sharingan remained three-tomoe.
• Lin Ze used Iron Sand to bind and kill all three ANBU, then sealed their corpses.
• Lin Ze left Enta to follow and decided that awakening the Mangekyō would require a plan centered on Yami Uchiha.

While training Kurenai Yuhi, Tagitsuhime sensed Ichikishimahime approaching Ascension Island and confronted her without informing Lin Ze. After defeating Ichikishimahime’s first attack, Tagitsuhime transformed into a powerful flood dragon to face Ryūchi Cave’s three summoned battle snakes.

• Tagitsuhime broke Kurenai Yuhi’s genjutsu and sensed snakes probing Ascension Island, including Ichikishimahime’s approaching presence.
• Tagitsuhime left Nonō and Kurenai Yuhi underground and went to confront Ichikishimahime outside the island’s barrier.
• Ichikishimahime invited Tagitsuhime and Lin Ze to Ryūchi Cave, but Tagitsuhime rejected the summons and insulted the White Snake Sage.
• Ichikishimahime attacked with Sage Art: White Rage Technique, but Tagitsuhime dispersed it with a powerful shock wave.
• Ichikishimahime summoned Manda, Aoda, and Garaga to seize Tagitsuhime, who transformed into a nearly hundred-meter-long flood dragon.

Tagitsuhime used her new flood dragon power to drive Ichikishimahime and the other snakes from Ascension Island. After hearing Ichikishimahime’s report, the White Snake Sage ordered Ryūchi Cave’s forces to gather and prepared to seize Lin Ze and punish Tagitsuhime.

• Tagitsuhime transformed into a flood dragon, overpowered Ichikishimahime, Manda, Aoda, and Garaga, and warned them to keep the White Snake Sage away from Ascension Island.
• Ichikishimahime fled to Ryūchi Cave and told the White Snake Sage that Tagitsuhime had betrayed her and gained pure Dragon Might.
• The White Snake Sage realized Lin Ze’s bloodline had enabled Tagitsuhime’s evolution and grew furious and jealous.
• The White Snake Sage ordered Tagorihime to recall Ryūchi Cave’s elite snakes and assemble its fighting forces.
• The White Snake Sage announced she would visit Ascension Island to take Lin Ze’s bloodline and secrets, and ordered Tagitsuhime to be captured and tortured.