Chapter Summaries

Lin Ze killed four fleeing Iwagakure Jōnin and defeated Kitsuchi in the valley. He spared the unconscious Tsuchikage's son and carried him toward Konoha's frontline camp.

• Lin Ze used Lightning Release Chakra Mode, his Shadow Clones, and Bolo Breath to kill the four fleeing Iwagakure Jōnin.
• Kitsuchi attacked Lin Ze with Earth Release techniques, but Lin Ze evaded or shattered each assault.
• Kitsuchi used Earth Release: Mountain Earth Technique: Twin Stars to trap Lin Ze between two massive rocks.
• Lin Ze opened the Third Gate, rushed through the closing rocks, and struck Kitsuchi into a wall.
• Lin Ze knocked Kitsuchi unconscious, chose not to kill him, and carried him toward Konoha's frontline camp.

Lin Ze returned to Konoha’s frontline camp with Kitsuchi captured alive, giving Konoha a powerful bargaining chip against Iwagakure. Three days later, Jiraiya discussed negotiations with Lin Ze and hoped they could end the fighting, while Lin Ze remained cautious about that prospect.

• Jiraiya suspected Iwagakure had planted false traces of Kitsuchi and wondered whether Lin Ze might be the Child of Prophecy.
• Lin Ze returned to camp carrying an unconscious Kitsuchi, astonishing Jiraiya and the gathered Konoha ninja.
• Jiraiya ordered Kitsuchi placed under strict guard and praised Lin Ze for capturing the Tsuchikage’s son alive.
• Jiraiya told Lin Ze he would report the capture and hoped to use Kitsuchi and other prisoners to force Iwagakure out of the war.
• Three days later, Jiraiya visited Lin Ze and said he hoped negotiations would ease the pressure on Konoha and save lives.

Lin Ze learned that Hiruzen favored cautious peace negotiations while fighting continued along the border. He witnessed Night Owl and White Tiger rout an Iwagakure squad and decided the giant tiger was ready to receive the name Mountain Lord.

• Jiraiya told Lin Ze that Hiruzen wanted to exchange Kitsuchi and prisoners for compensation and a temporary non-aggression promise, despite ongoing clashes.
• A Konoha squad struggled against a larger, better-coordinated Iwagakure squad in the border hills.
• Night Owl arrived riding the enormous White Tiger, whose growth and roar overwhelmed the battlefield.
• Night Owl and White Tiger defeated the Iwagakure squad, rescuing the Konoha ninja and sending the survivors fleeing.
• Lin Ze admired Night Owl and White Tiger's growth and decided to name the tiger Mountain Lord.

Lin Ze learned that Kumogakure’s assault on Iwagakure had helped Konoha secure favorable peace terms, while Madara Uchiha realized Lin Ze’s actions had disrupted his plans and decided to stop Kitsuchi’s return. Madara awakened his Sharingan and prepared to act against the threat to his scheme.

• Jiraiya told Lin Ze that Iwagakure had agreed to end the war, respect the border for five years, and pay most of Konoha’s requested reparations.
• Jiraiya explained that Lin Ze’s actions against Kumogakure had forced it to commit most of its forces against Iwagakure, leaving Iwagakure under heavy pressure.
• Madara Uchiha learned that Iwagakure had signed a ceasefire and condemned Ōnoki and Kitsuchi for allowing the conflict to end.
• Madara Uchiha identified Lin Ze, known as Azure Dragon, as the person disrupting his plans and decided Kitsuchi must not be returned through negotiations.
• Madara Uchiha rose from his seat, directed his killing intent toward Lin Ze, and activated his Sharingan.

Madara Uchiha infiltrated Konoha’s prison stronghold, destroyed it with his Perfect Susanoo, and abducted Kitsuchi. Lin Ze later reviewed Chinchilla’s recordings, gauged Madara’s strength and condition, and paid the cat for the footage.

• Madara Uchiha used White Zetsu’s Mayfly Technique to enter the valley stronghold and overwhelmed the Konoha guards with his Perfect Susanoo.
• Madara’s Susanoo cut through the defenders and laid waste to the stronghold, killing more than thirty Konoha ninja in a single strike.
• Madara removed Kitsuchi from his cell and flew away, leaving the surviving Konoha ninja amid the ruins.
• Chinchilla collected the miniature recording devices scattered around the devastated valley and delivered them to Lin Ze.
• Lin Ze watched the footage, assessed Madara’s power and declining condition, and paid Chinchilla one thousand ryō.

After Madara Uchiha rescued Kitsuchi, Iwagakure abandoned its planned ceasefire with Konoha and prepared to resume hostilities. Jiraiya told Lin Ze that Konoha’s leaders suspected the Uchiha Clan, then asked him to remain on the front line as Iwagakure’s counterattack loomed.

• Lin Ze reflected on the deaths caused by Madara Uchiha’s attack and on how his own actions had changed the battlefield.
• News that a mysterious attacker had rescued Kitsuchi spread, and Iwagakure withdrew its concessions and shelved the ceasefire agreement.
• Jiraiya told Lin Ze that a lone attacker wielding Susanoo had breached the outpost, and that Konoha’s leaders suspected the Uchiha Clan.
• Lin Ze asked about Danzo and learned that Danzo had stayed quiet while recovering from losses among Root’s operatives.
• Jiraiya warned that Iwagakure might retaliate and asked Lin Ze to remain on the front line; Lin Ze agreed.

Ōnoki led Iwagakure’s renewed assault on Konoha, clashing with Jiraiya as the battle erupted. Lin Ze avoided confronting Ōnoki and instead attacked Kitsuchi, leaving him struggling to defend himself.

• Kitsuchi’s return rallied Iwagakure, and Ōnoki arrived at the front after Iwagakure was left barely holding on against Kumogakure.
• Jiraiya warned the Konoha captains about Ōnoki’s Dust Release and ordered them to hold their positions.
• Ōnoki taunted Jiraiya over Hiruzen Sarutobi’s absence, then ordered Iwagakure to attack and used Mountain Earth Technique against Konoha’s position.
• Jiraiya slowed one rock hemisphere with Wild Lion’s Mane Technique and destroyed the other with Great Flame Bullet as the battle began in earnest.
• Lin Ze spotted Kitsuchi and chose to engage him rather than Ōnoki, while noting Orochimaru’s hidden presence in the Konoha camp.
• Kitsuchi attacked Lin Ze with Rock Fist Technique, but Lin Ze shattered the rock fist and pressed him with a relentless close-range assault.

Ōnoki used Dust Release to threaten Jiraiya and erase Konoha ninja, forcing Orochimaru to join the battle. The two Sannin narrowly saved the troops from another attack, while Ōnoki remained a lethal threat.

• Ōnoki attacked Jiraiya with Dust Release, which erased a massive rock and the ground behind it as Jiraiya narrowly dodged.
• Ōnoki fired again and erased several Konoha ninja; Jiraiya mourned his subordinates and judged Lin Ze’s fight with Kitsuchi unlikely to end soon.
• Jiraiya called Orochimaru out of hiding, and Orochimaru joined the battlefield despite his reluctance.
• Ōnoki aimed Dust Release at the Konoha troops behind Jiraiya, whose Earth-Style Wall failed to stop the beam.
• Orochimaru used a powerful gale to disrupt the beam’s path, causing it to miss the troops and erase a nearby hilltop instead.

Jiraiya and Orochimaru forced Ōnoki to withdraw, while Lin Ze concealed his true strength against Kitsuchi. At the command meeting, Lin Ze requested a return to Konoha, but Night Owl arrived with reinforcements, giving Jiraiya a new Kage-level fighter for the front line.

• Jiraiya and Orochimaru coordinated attacks that kept Ōnoki from using Dust Release effectively until he ordered Iwagakure to withdraw.
• Lin Ze deliberately let Kitsuchi drive him back, allowing Kitsuchi to retreat while Orochimaru noticed Lin Ze had held back.
• Jiraiya convened a meeting and Lin Ze requested permission to return to Konoha to study in the ANBU Ninjutsu Library.
• Night Owl arrived with her squad as reinforcements, and Jiraiya welcomed the added strength of her giant summoning beast.

Lin Ze left the front for Konoha but encountered Tagitsuhime, who tracked him down to renew Ryūchi Cave’s offer of knowledge and assistance in exchange for a closer connection to his True Dragon power. He declined to change his summoning beast and learned that Ryūchi Cave had severed Orochimaru’s contract.

• Jiraiya approved Lin Ze’s request to return to Konoha, and Orochimaru watched him leave, relieved that he could pursue his experiments more freely.
• While traveling through the Land of Fire, Lin Ze sensed a presence approaching and recognized it as connected to Tagitsuhime.
• Tagitsuhime found Lin Ze and explained that Ryūchi Cave wanted a close relationship with him, offering its senjutsu knowledge and secret techniques to help him control natural energy.
• Lin Ze declined Ryūchi Cave’s offer to change his summoning beast, keeping control of any future dealings.
• Tagitsuhime told Lin Ze that the White Snake Sage had terminated Orochimaru’s summoning contract and that Orochimaru no longer had ties to Ryūchi Cave.

Lin Ze agreed to let Tagitsuhime accompany him to Konoha, where Hiruzen Sarutobi permitted her to stay and granted Lin Ze access to the ANBU Ninjutsu Library. On his way there, Lin Ze reunited with Kurenai Yuhi, Asuma, and Rei Uesugi, whose greeting remained hesitant.

• Lin Ze agreed to let Tagitsuhime travel beside him so he could observe Ryūchi Cave and its representative more closely.
• At Konoha's gate, Lin Ze identified Tagitsuhime to the guards and continued with her to the Hokage Building.
• Lin Ze asked to study at the ANBU Ninjutsu Library to improve his limited ninjutsu, and Hiruzen Sarutobi approved his request.
• Tagitsuhime told Hiruzen Sarutobi she had come to discuss power with Lin Ze, and Hiruzen allowed her to stay as long as she followed Konoha's rules.
• Lin Ze met Asuma, Kurenai Yuhi, and Rei Uesugi on his way to the ANBU base, and Rei Uesugi lowered her head without managing to greet him.

Asuma asked Lin Ze about Qingtian and resolved to return to the Enma Clan to seek a Summoning Beast of his own. After dinner, Kurenai asked Lin Ze to go somewhere with her, leaving their conversation to begin.

• Asuma and Kurenai were surprised to learn Tagitsuhime came from Ryūchi Cave.
• At Ichiraku, Asuma confirmed Qingtian had transformed into the weapon Lin Ze used against the Third Raikage, then vowed to seek a Summoning Beast from the Enma Clan.
• Rei silently wrestled with guilt over staying in Konoha instead of leaving with Nonō and the others.
• After dinner, Asuma walked Rei toward the Orphanage while Tagitsuhime left with Lin Ze's Shadow Clone.
• Kurenai asked Lin Ze to go somewhere with her.

Lin Ze and Kurenai Yuhi reunited beneath the stars, where they shared memories and discussed the dangers of the war and Lin Ze’s future beyond the Shinobi World. Kurenai promised to go with him someday, and they sealed the promise with a pinky swear.

• Kurenai Yuhi met Lin Ze at the tree where they first met and asked whether he was safe on the front lines.
• Lin Ze and Kurenai Yuhi reminisced about their childhood meeting and grew closer as they talked beneath the stars.
• Kurenai Yuhi asked Lin Ze to protect himself, and he reassured her while joking about being strong enough to fight five Lord Hokages.
• Lin Ze asked whether Kurenai Yuhi would leave Konoha with him someday, and she admitted she did not know because her family and friends were there.
• Lin Ze told Kurenai Yuhi that he intended to travel beyond the Shinobi World to a greater world among the stars.
• Kurenai Yuhi asked Lin Ze to take her with him someday, and they sealed their promise with a pinky swear.

Lin Ze reflected on the vast world and powerful beings beyond the Shinobi World, then took the sleeping Kurenai Yuhi home before redeeming a large number of ninjutsu scrolls. He returned to the orphanage in the morning, where Tagitsuhime was waiting and insisted on serving him.

• Lin Ze carried the sleeping Kurenai Yuhi to her home, where Yuhi Aoi teased him about watching the stars with her daughter.
• Lin Ze visited Konoha's underground Ninjutsu Library and redeemed a large stack of scrolls using his ANBU Merit Points.
• Lin Ze returned to the orphanage in the morning and found Tagitsuhime waiting to act as his maid.
• Lin Ze let Tagitsuhime call him master despite his objections and decided to ignore her behavior as long as it did not interfere with his plans.

Lin Ze visited Might Duy and Might Guy at the frontline camp and discussed techniques tied to the Eight Gates Released Formation. He proposed ideas for the Seventh and Eighth Gates, leaving the father and son inspired to pursue them.

• Lin Ze told Tagitsuhime to keep her distance before approaching Might Duy and Might Guy as they finished sparring.
• Lin Ze asked Might Duy about techniques that accompanied the Eight Gates, and Duy described the Sixth Gate's Morning Peacock and his unfinished concept for the Seventh Gate's Daytime Tiger.
• Might Duy explained that the Eighth Gate burned away the user's life and that its techniques remained only vague legends.
• Lin Ze suggested shaping the Seventh Gate's compressed-air attack like a tiger and proposed the Eighth Gate techniques Evening Elephant and Night Guy.
• Might Duy and Might Guy praised Lin Ze's ideas and vowed to work toward realizing them.

Might Duy used Lin Ze’s advice to unleash a more powerful Daytime Tiger, then explained how to safely open the Seventh Gate. Lin Ze successfully opened the Gate of Wonder, leaving his body engulfed in blue steam.

• Lin Ze cautioned Might Duy and Guy to test his ideas carefully, especially those involving the Eighth Gate.
• Might Duy opened the Seventh Gate and used Lin Ze’s approach to fire a Daytime Tiger that blasted a huge crater into the reinforced cliff.
• Might Duy celebrated the technique’s increased power, while Guy watched eagerly and Lin Ze congratulated them.
• Lin Ze asked Might Duy about opening the Seventh Gate, surprising Guy and encouraging him to keep training.
• Might Duy explained that opening the Gate of Wonder required striking a dangerous chakra point and immediately controlling the resulting chakra surge.
• Lin Ze opened the first six gates, then successfully opened the Seventh Gate as blue steam erupted around him.

Lin Ze mastered the Seventh Gate’s Morning Peacock and Daytime Tiger with Might Duy, alarming the Konoha camp with his power. The next morning, he joined Might Guy’s squad on the way to the Kirigakure front and learned that Ryota Uchiha’s older brother had earned the title “Body Flicker Technique Enma.”

• Lin Ze opened the Seventh Gate and learned Morning Peacock and Daytime Tiger from Might Duy, producing attacks more destructive than Duy’s but less focused.
• Konoha ninja rushed to the training ground after hearing Lin Ze’s attacks and were stunned by the craters and his power.
• Might Guy, Ryota Uchiha, and Genma Shiranui told Lin Ze they were heading east to reinforce the Kirigakure front, and he offered to travel with them.
• As the group set out, Lin Ze asked Ryota about his older brother, who had earned the title “Body Flicker Technique Enma” through battlefield missions.

Lin Ze arrived at the Konoha front against Kirigakure and spoke with Uchiha Onibi about his failing vision, the mysterious Uchiha, and the clan’s growing conflict with village leadership. Onibi asked Lin Ze to protect Ryota if anything happened to him, and Lin Ze agreed before Onibi left for another mission.

• Ryota Uchiha told Lin Ze that Uchiha Onibi had begun rubbing his eyes, and Lin Ze suspected his vision was deteriorating from using the Mangekyō.
• Lin Ze and Ryota Uchiha reached the eastern coast front, where Uchiha Onibi questioned Lin Ze about the mysterious Uchiha who had abducted Kitsuchi.
• Uchiha Onibi revealed that he could summon Susanoo but suffered burning eyes and blurred vision after using it, and he wondered how the mysterious Uchiha had obtained such power.
• Uchiha Onibi complained that Konoha’s leadership seemed to assign Uchiha shinobi the most dangerous missions, while Lin Ze kept his thoughts about the clan’s future to himself.
• Uchiha Onibi asked Lin Ze to look after Ryota if he could no longer protect him, and Lin Ze promised he would.
• Uchiha Onibi said he would repay Lin Ze twofold and left to carry out a new mission.

Lin Ze returned to Ascension Island and learned that Nonō and Kabuto had stabilized their clone cultivation process. He gave them the Third Kazekage Human Puppet and tasked them with extracting viable cells to create his first Wind Release Clone.

• Tagitsuhime was left with Lin Ze’s silent Shadow Clone and considered targeting people close to him to learn more.
• Lin Ze speculated that Uchiha Onibi’s Mangekyō abilities involved space-time speed and extreme healing, and then continued toward Ascension Island.
• Lin Ze reunited with Nonō, Kabuto, Yumi, Ayumi, and Miyamoto Ichirō at the underground laboratory.
• Kabuto and Nonō showed Lin Ze the developing clone embryos and said they expected to cultivate controlled clones within six months.
• Lin Ze presented the Third Kazekage Human Puppet and instructed Nonō and Kabuto to extract viable cells for a Wind Release Clone.
• Nonō and Kabuto agreed to study the puppet’s mechanisms and safely bypass its self-destruction safeguards.

Lin Ze returned to his base, arranged for Nonō and Kabuto to study the Third Kazekage Human Puppet, and then resumed bounty work under his Suzaku alias. After a bounty hunter named Kakuzu targeted him for a 35-million-ryō reward, the two began a fierce clash in the Land of Water.

• Lin Ze left the Third Kazekage Human Puppet in Nonō and Kabuto’s care, checked on the base, and told his companions to keep the Konoha medical ninja detained until they could be quietly returned.
• Lin Ze created a Shadow Clone to remain at the base, then left Ascension Island and collected payment for missions at a Bounty Station in the Land of Water.
• Lin Ze took two new bounty assignments and noticed that other bounty hunters were discussing his increasingly successful Suzaku identity.
• Kakuzu found a 35-million-ryō bounty on Suzaku and decided to claim it.
• Lin Ze anticipated that someone might pursue him, and Kakuzu caught up with him in the forest and attacked with Wind Release: Pressure Damage.
• Lin Ze countered Kakuzu’s wind attack with Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame, and their attacks collided.