Recaps

Lin Ze pushed himself through extra Eight Gates Released Formation training as the ANBU assessment approached, but struggled to open the Fourth Gate because of the strain on his young body. Three days before the assessment, he finally opened the Gate of Pain, only to be overwhelmed by severe pain and physical damage.

• Lin Ze attended ANBU training and practiced the Eight Gates Released Formation after hours to prepare for the assessment.
• Instructor Leopard warned Lin Ze not to overtrain, while Lin Ze kept pushing himself and ate increasingly large meals to sustain his training.
• Lin Ze repeatedly failed to open the Fourth Gate and suspected his seven-year-old body could not withstand the strain.
• With only three days left before the assessment, Lin Ze made one final attempt and drew on his resolve to become stronger.
• Lin Ze opened the Fourth Gate, the Gate of Pain, but immediately suffered excruciating pain, difficulty breathing, and blood seeping through his skin.

Lin Ze discovered that opening the Fourth Gate strained his seven-year-old body so badly that he could only use it as a last resort, though he viewed it as a new trump card for the ANBU assessment. After the first group completed its assessment in the Forest of Death, Lin Ze’s group entered the forest to begin its own test.

• Lin Ze concluded that his body could not safely sustain the Fourth Gate for long and needed time to adapt to it.
• Over the next three days, Lin Ze forced open the Gate of Pain twice more, and the instructors reported his progress to Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, who ordered them to leave him be.
• Instructor Ying explained that candidates had to collect and decipher three types of scrolls, reach the central Tower, and place among the first ten, while killing was forbidden.
• The first group returned from the Forest of Death after nearly five hours, with five candidates passing and fifteen others held behind as the course was reset.
• Instructor Ying sent Lin Ze’s second group into the Forest of Death to begin the assessment.

Lin Ze searched the Forest of Death, found and deciphered several scrolls, and realized the ANBU assessment rewarded distinct strengths as well as collecting a complete set. Since combat was his advantage, he decided to head toward the finish tower and ambush candidates carrying scrolls.

• Lin Ze found two scrolls, identified one as counterfeit and the other as a key scroll, and avoided a confrontation with two candidates.
• Lin Ze found two more counterfeit scrolls and worried that he would not collect the required set before time ran out.
• Lin Ze reasoned that the assessment tested several abilities and that candidates who excelled in one area could still attract ANBU attention.
• Lin Ze chose to rely on his Taijutsu and combat strength, planning to wait near the tower and seize scrolls from candidates on their way there.

Lin Ze hid near the tower to ambush candidates carrying scrolls, but No. 369 spotted him and provoked him into a confrontation. The ANBU instructors watched, waiting to see how Lin Ze would respond.

• Lin Ze reached the tower and concealed himself in a tree to watch for candidates with scrolls.
• After waiting for hours, Lin Ze saw No. 369 approach with all three required scrolls and decided to let him pass.
• No. 369 detected Lin Ze in the tree, and Lin Ze climbed down and said he would not stop him from entering the tower.
• No. 369 insulted Lin Ze, accusing him of relying on connections and lacking the strength to join the ANBU.
• The instructors explained that No. 369 was conceited and might be trying to force Lin Ze into a fight, then watched to see how Lin Ze would respond.

Lin Ze faced Number 369, an Uchiha ANBU candidate who provoked him to avenge the clan’s reputation, and fought back after discovering his opponent was a skilled Special Jōnin. Lin Ze opened the Gate of Life and gained the upper hand, but Number 369’s planned combination tactics wounded his arm, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Lin Ze agreed to fight Number 369 after refusing to be intimidated, while Number 369 revealed his hidden motive: avenging the Uchiha Clan’s reputation after Lin Ze defeated Ryota Uchiha.
• Number 369 used Fire Release, Wind Release, shuriken, and an Earth-Style Wall to trap Lin Ze, but Lin Ze evaded the attacks with precise movement and quick judgment.
• Lin Ze opened the Third Gate, Gate of Life, and used his enhanced speed and strength to drive Number 369 backward with taijutsu.
• Number 369’s Phoenix Flower Jutsu and ordinary weapons failed to stop Lin Ze, who showed resistance to the flames from his Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon.
• Number 369 redirected previously evaded shuriken with Gale Palm, and one sliced Lin Ze’s arm as Lin Ze recognized the attack as a planned combination tactic.

Lin Ze defeated No. 369 in the examination after outlasting his ninjutsu and opening the Fourth Gate. No. 369 was revealed as Uchiha En before Lin Ze knocked him unconscious.

• Lin Ze disarmed No. 369 in close combat and countered his Great Dragon Fire Technique with a low-chakra Great Fireball.
• Lin Ze exploited No. 369's chakra exhaustion to take control of the fight, while Instructor Leopard and Instructor Fukurou praised his stamina and taijutsu.
• No. 369 unleashed his Fire-Style Wind-Style Uzumaki combination ninjutsu, but Lin Ze opened the Fourth Gate and narrowly dodged the fire vortex.
• Lin Ze moved behind No. 369 and struck, but No. 369 revealed his Sharingan and used the Hell Viewing Technique.
• Lin Ze's Dragon Might overwhelmed No. 369's genjutsu, and Lin Ze's punch broke No. 369's bones and knocked him unconscious.
• No. 369 identified himself as Uchiha En before losing consciousness.

Lin Ze passed the ANBU assessment after defeating Uchiha En and delivering the required scrolls to the Tower. The ten successful candidates were told to report to headquarters the morning after tomorrow, while thirty others were assigned jōnin instructors for further training.

• The instructors praised Lin Ze’s tactical skill and noted that he had resisted Uchiha En’s Sharingan Genjutsu, while agreeing not to pry into his secrets.
• Lin Ze collected the three scrolls from the unconscious Uchiha En, entered the Tower, and passed after the clerk verified their cipher and combination.
• No. 233 and No. 388 arrived after Lin Ze, then three more candidates fought over the final two places in the group.
• Instructor Ying ended the assessment and confirmed that ten candidates, including Lin Ze, had passed; Uchiha En was carried away unconscious by ANBU medical personnel.
• Instructor Ying ordered the ten successful candidates to report to headquarters the morning after tomorrow and assigned jōnin instructors to thirty candidates who had not passed.

Lin Ze passed the ANBU assessment and returned to the Orphanage after three months of training. In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Nara Luhong reviewed his victory over Uchiha En and decided not to investigate his Uzumaki heritage.

• Lin Ze realized that the ten who passed the assessment and the thirty selected Candidates would form squads under ten supervising Jōnin.
• Instructor Ying dismissed the trainees, and Lin Ze left the Forest of Death to visit the Orphanage.
• Lin Ze recalled that his fight with No. 369 had followed the assessment rules and arrived at the Orphanage, where Yumi, Ayumi, Miyamoto Ichirō, and Rei Uesugi welcomed him.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Nara Luhong reviewed the report stating that Lin Ze had opened the Fourth Gate and defeated Uchiha En, a Special Jōnin.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi rejected Nara Luhong's suggestion to examine Lin Ze, believing the boy had inherited the Will of Fire and was not worth investigating unless he revealed a new Kekkei Genkai.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Nara Luhong discussed Lin Ze’s loyalty to Konoha, and Hatake Sakumo reassured them that Lin Ze would protect the people he cared about. Back at the orphanage, Lin Ze resumed developing his Azure Dragon abilities and managed to form scales over part of his back, advancing his partial beastification.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi worried that Lin Ze’s limited time in Konoha left him without enough attachment to the village, while Nara Luhong pointed to the bonds he had formed there.
• Hatake Sakumo joined the discussion and said Lin Ze had extraordinary talent and would protect the people he cared about, who were all in Konoha.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others understood that Lin Ze’s chakra flow after opening four gates explained how he had broken Uchiha Yan’s Genjutsu.
• Lin Ze returned to his room at Nonō’s House and found that three months of ANBU training had made it easier to control his Azure Dragon powers.
• Lin Ze patiently guided his power into his back until dragon scales formed over his spine and shoulder blades.
• Lin Ze resolved to master beastification of his waist and head before attempting complete Azure Dragon Form.

Lin Ze reflected on his growing affection for the orphanage before reporting to ANBU and meeting its commander, Hatake Sakumo. After becoming a full member, Lin Ze was assigned to the Third Division, C-5, under a squad leader named Fox, and hoped for an early mission outside the village.

• Lin Ze thought about the bonds he had formed with the other orphans and the old director at the orphanage.
• Lin Ze arrived at ANBU headquarters with the nine other candidates who had passed the assessment.
• Hatake Sakumo addressed the recruits, announced that they were now full ANBU members, and stressed obedience and the importance of their missions.
• Hatake Sakumo assigned Lin Ze to Third Division, C-5, whose squad leader was code-named Fox.
• After the assembly, Lin Ze followed No. 233 toward the Third Division while hoping to receive an outside mission soon.

Lin Ze joined Squad B-5, where he reunited with the ANBU captain who had brought him to Konoha and met his teammates. After choosing a green snake mask and the codename Aoda, he officially began his career as an ANBU member.

• Lin Ze reported to Squad B-5 and recognized Captain Fox as the ANBU who had brought him to Konoha two years earlier.
• Fox introduced Gray Wolf and Night Owl as Lin Ze's teammates and explained the squad's rules.
• Fox took Lin Ze to the Logistics Department to choose his ANBU equipment, codename, and mask.
• Lin Ze chose a green snake mask, and Fox named his codename Aoda.
• The clerk recorded Aoda as Lin Ze's codename and No. 567 as his former number.

After three months of ANBU missions, Lin Ze received an urgent solo assignment to enter the Land of Grass and escort a spy carrying important intelligence back to the Land of Fire. He prepared for the journey and left Konoha, heading toward the rendezvous point.

• Lin Ze completed several missions with Squad B-5, earned Gray Wolf and Night Owl’s recognition, and continued training his Beastification ability.
• An ANBU clerk named Wildcat gave Lin Ze an urgent B-Rank solo mission to meet the spy Dandelion in the Land of Grass and escort them and their intelligence to a border outpost.
• Wildcat explained that Fox was on a classified mission and Gray Wolf and Night Owl were recovering from injuries, leaving Lin Ze as the only available member of Squad B-5.
• Lin Ze collected equipment and a map, changed into his ANBU uniform, and prepared extra smoke bombs before departing.
• Lin Ze passed through Konoha’s gate and set off through the forest toward the Land of Grass.

Lin Ze traveled alone into the Land of Grass to retrieve a spy called Dandelion, suspecting the mission might be a trap. After cautiously reaching the rendezvous, he accepted Dandelion’s intelligence and immediately sensed danger.

• Lin Ze questioned whether the solo mission had been arranged as a test by Hiruzen Sarutobi or Danzo, but continued toward the rendezvous point.
• Lin Ze reached a remote valley, searched for signs of an ambush, and cautiously entered to meet Dandelion beneath Eagle Beak Rock.
• Lin Ze and Dandelion exchanged the recognition phrase, and Dandelion claimed to have intelligence about Iwagakure’s troop movements.
• Dandelion handed Lin Ze a metal tube, and Lin Ze noticed a tremor and subtle chakra fluctuation before leaping backward.

Lin Ze used his Azure Dragon abilities to kill Dandelion and then Black Panther while three Root ninja tried to capture him alive. With two enemies dead, he remained surrounded by Wild Boar and Tanuki.

• Lin Ze burst past Dandelion’s defenses and crushed his heart, killing him instantly.
• Tanuki, Wild Boar, and Black Panther attacked Lin Ze together, but he leapt clear of their coordinated assault.
• Lin Ze targeted Black Panther, crushed his Vacuum Great Sphere with his dragon claw, and endured the Earth Dragon Bullets with his scales.
• Lin Ze used the blast’s momentum to reach Black Panther and pierce his throat, killing him as Wild Boar’s attack arrived too late.

Lin Ze survived Dandelion’s surprise genjutsu and faced a coordinated ambush by four Root members. After opening the Fourth Gate, he pressed his attack on Dandelion and began drawing on the Azure Dragon’s power to strengthen his legs.

• Dandelion used Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death, but Lin Ze dispelled it with his dragon might.
• Dandelion signaled three Root members in Panther, Wild Boar, and Tanuki masks to surround Lin Ze.
• The four Root members attacked together, forcing Lin Ze to open the Fourth Gate of the Eight Gates Released Formation.
• Lin Ze dodged their attacks, suffered cuts from Black Panther’s blades, then struck Black Panther and charged at Dandelion.
• Lin Ze evaded Dandelion’s Wind Release: Vacuum Wave and used the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon to empower his legs.

Lin Ze defeated Boar and the other Root ninja, but Tanuki summoned a Baku and dragged him toward its trunk with powerful suction. Exhausted from the fight, Lin Ze faced the Baku’s attack as the chapter ended.

• Lin Ze realized Tanuki was observing him and holding back while Boar attacked under orders to capture him alive.
• Lin Ze dodged Tanuki’s Lightning Release: Earth Flow and used dragon breath to melt Boar’s Earth Spear armor.
• Lin Ze seized the opening and killed Boar by piercing and crushing his heart with his dragon claws.
• Tanuki summoned a Baku, whose powerful suction pulled Lin Ze toward its trunk.

Lin Ze escaped Baku’s suction by burning its trunk with Dragon Breath, but realized he could not defeat Tanuki and planned to flee. An Iwagakure squad arrived and, after spotting Lin Ze’s unusual abilities, its jōnin ordered his chunin to capture him alive.

• Lin Ze burned Baku’s trunk with Dragon Breath and escaped its suction.
• Lin Ze concluded he could not defeat Tanuki and decided he had to flee rather than risk capture by Root.
• Four Iwagakure ninja arrived, and Lin Ze realized they were pursuing the real Dandelion.
• The Iwagakure jōnin assessed Lin Ze’s abilities and ordered three chunin to capture him alive.

Lin Ze pretended to be trapped by an Iwagakure genjutsu and let the Iwa ninja bind him while he secretly ate Soldier Pills to recover. As the Iwagakure jōnin and chunin battled Tanuki and Baku, Lin Ze waited for both sides to weaken each other.

• An Iwagakure jōnin attacked Baku and Tanuki with Earth Release while three Iwagakure chunin closed in on Lin Ze.
• An Iwagakure chunin cast False Surroundings Technique, and Lin Ze pretended to be disoriented rather than break the genjutsu.
• Lin Ze swallowed Soldier Pills as one chunin tied his hands and left him behind a rock to join the fight.
• The Iwagakure jōnin and chunin harassed Tanuki and Baku with Earth Release, and a tall, thin chunin briefly trapped Baku with Earth Prison Dome.
• The jōnin used Mountain Earth Technique to squeeze Baku between two boulders while Lin Ze secretly recovered and waited for an opening.

Lin Ze recovered while the Iwagakure ninja defeated Baku and fatally wounded Tanuki. When the survivors turned their attention to him, Lin Ze broke free and killed the tall, thin Chunin in an instant, leaving the Iwagakure Jōnin to defend himself behind an Earth-Style Wall.

• Lin Ze used the Soldier Pills and his Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon, to recover as the Iwagakure Jōnin and tall, thin Chunin fought Baku and Tanuki.
• The Iwagakure Jōnin trapped Baku in a swamp and crushed its skull with an Added-Weight Rock Technique, killing it.
• Tanuki suffered backlash from Baku's death, and the Iwagakure Jōnin seized the opening to fatally strike him.
• As the Iwagakure ninja relaxed and approached Lin Ze, Lin Ze broke his bindings, rushed the tall, thin Chunin, and tore out his heart.
• The Iwagakure Jōnin retreated behind an Earth-Style Wall as Lin Ze prepared to finish the fight quickly.

Lin Ze combined Dragon Transformation with the Fourth Gate of the Eight Gates Released Formation and fought an Iwagakure jōnin, revealing his immense speed, strength, and ability to fly. He evaded the jōnin’s Earth Release attacks and closed in on him again.

• Lin Ze opened the Fourth Gate while transformed into a dragon, finding that his enhanced body endured the strain more easily and gave him greater strength.
• Lin Ze raced around the Earth-Style Wall and attacked the Iwagakure jōnin, who saw his dragon features and responded with Earth Flow Spears and Rock Armor.
• Lin Ze dodged the spears and shattered the jōnin’s stone-armored arm with a powerful punch enhanced by wind and lightning.
• The Iwagakure jōnin used Added-Weight Rock Technique to slow Lin Ze, then fired an Earth Dragon Bullet barrage at close range.
• Lin Ze instinctively gathered wind beneath his feet, rose into the air, evaded the barrage, and flew toward the stunned jōnin.

Lin Ze defeated an Iwagakure jōnin who tried to kill them both with a body full of explosive tags, then turned toward the sole surviving Iwagakure chunin. With his powers and abilities exposed, Lin Ze decided that no witnesses could be allowed to leave the valley alive.

• Lin Ze struck the Iwagakure jōnin with Lightning Claw, breaking his stone armor and leaving him incapacitated.
• The jōnin activated Reverse Four Symbols Detonation Tags and charged at Lin Ze, who retreated and threw smoke bombs to obscure their sight.
• Lin Ze sensed the jōnin through the smoke, scattered explosive tags in his path, and detonated them, triggering the tags inside the jōnin's body.
• The resulting blast obliterated the jōnin and injured Lin Ze, but Lin Ze's Azure Dragon regeneration began healing him quickly.
• Lin Ze saw the terrified Iwagakure chunin as the valley's only survivor and resolved to kill every witness.

After killing the last surviving Iwagakure chunin, Lin Ze suppressed his revulsion and fabricated a battlefield to conceal his abilities and Root’s role in the fight. He set off toward Konoha pretending to have fled in panic, leaving behind a story that an Iwagakure ninja had escaped with the intelligence.

• Lin Ze killed the last surviving Iwagakure chunin and realized the Azure Dragon fruit was affecting his instincts.
• Lin Ze decided to return to Konoha and devised a cover story in which he had escaped while Root and Iwagakure ninja fought.
• Lin Ze altered Black Panther’s corpse, planted tracks and scraps of Iwagakure cloth, and staged the apparent retreat of a surviving Iwagakure chunin.
• Lin Ze burned the Root members’ bodies with Dragon Breath and sealed the four Iwagakure bodies in a scroll.
• Lin Ze opened the Fourth Gate again and ran toward Konoha, deliberately making his escape look hurried and unsteady.

Lin Ze returned to Konoha badly exhausted after escaping an ambush involving Dandelion, masked ninja, and Iwagakure ninja, then reported the mission’s failure to Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hiruzen suspected Danzo had targeted Lin Ze, leaving him angry but conflicted about the boy’s potential.

• Lin Ze hurried toward Konoha after scattering the ashes of the four Iwagakure ninja, struggling with the effects of repeatedly opening the Gate of Pain.
• Near Konoha, Lin Ze cut and burned himself to make his healed body look wounded, then staggered to the gate and identified himself as Aoda of ANBU Squad B-5.
• Lin Ze told Hiruzen Sarutobi that Dandelion had ambushed him with genjutsu and that three masked ninja had tried to capture him.
• Lin Ze said he fought the masked ninja, then escaped when Iwagakure ninja arrived and clashed with them; he apologized for failing the mission and returning without intelligence.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi suspected Danzo had arranged the attack and silently condemned his methods, while recognizing that he too had concerns about Lin Ze’s potential.

Hiruzen Sarutobi accepted Lin Ze’s account of the attack without investigating further, choosing to warn Danzo while keeping the village’s factions in balance. Lin Ze left for the Orphanage with time to recover, aware that he would need to grow stronger before he could stop either man from controlling him.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi praised Lin Ze’s escape, promised to deal with the attack, and granted him half a month to recover.
• Lin Ze pretended to trust Hiruzen Sarutobi while recognizing that the Hokage intended to warn Danzo rather than break with him.
• Lin Ze decided to repay his personal debt to Hiruzen Sarutobi by saving Asuma instead of Hiruzen Sarutobi during the Konoha Crush.
• Lin Ze headed toward the Orphanage, counting on Hiruzen Sarutobi’s suppression of Danzo to give him time to master the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon and advance his Eight Gates Released Formation.

Hiruzen Sarutobi investigated the mission that had endangered Lin Ze and suspected Danzo, while Danzo moved to erase evidence and protect Root. A week later, Hiruzen blamed the incident on Tanuki and foreign ninja, and Lin Ze played along as he resolved to grow strong enough to decide Konoha’s future himself.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi investigated Tanuki’s records, ordered ANBU to monitor him, and sent a concealed squad to examine the valley in the Land of Grass.
• Danzo learned that Lin Ze had returned alive, ordered Root to erase evidence before ANBU arrived, and warned Tanuki that he was likely exposed.
• After a week of recovery, Lin Ze met Hiruzen Sarutobi, who said Tanuki had confessed to colluding with other villages and was awaiting trial.
• Lin Ze concealed his skepticism and thanked Hiruzen Sarutobi, who declared the matter closed and reassured him that Konoha would protect him.
• Lin Ze left the Hokage Building determined to master the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon and advance the Eight Gates Released Formation until he could decide how Konoha treated him.