Chapter Summaries

Lin Ze used thirty shadow clones to counter Kakuzu and his Earth Grudge Fear masks, then pierced Kakuzu’s earth heart with a chakra-enhanced kunai. Kakuzu realized Lin Ze knew his secret and turned his full killing intent on him.

• Kakuzu attacked Lin Ze with wind, fire, lightning, and a tentacle monster, but Lin Ze summoned thirty shadow clones to defend himself and counterattack.
• Lin Ze and his clones fought Kakuzu and three mask monsters in a destructive forest battle, while Lin Ze secretly enhanced his Fire Release with the Azure Dragon’s Bolo Breath ability.
• Kakuzu pushed through Lin Ze’s clones with Earth Spear and charged at Lin Ze’s main body.
• Lin Ze pierced Kakuzu’s hardened arm and chest with a wind-enhanced kunai, destroying his earth-attribute heart.
• Kakuzu was horrified that Lin Ze knew about Earth Grudge Fear and resolved to kill him.

Lin Ze fought Kakuzu and destroyed two of his masked hearts, forcing him to retreat. Lin Ze let Kakuzu escape because he wanted him to join Akatsuki and help advance his own plans.

• Kakuzu attacked Lin Ze with his remaining masked monsters, but Lin Ze and his Shadow Clones countered the combined ninjutsu and endured the ensuing battle.
• Kakuzu tried to distract Lin Ze with a lightning-monster attack while preparing a compound ninjutsu, but Lin Ze destroyed the lightning monster and sealed the fire monster.
• Lin Ze struck Kakuzu's hardened chest, damaging his core, while avoiding the wind and fire monsters' counterattack.
• After realizing he had lost three hearts and was at risk of losing the rest, Kakuzu fled with the surviving masked monsters.
• Lin Ze chose not to pursue Kakuzu because he wanted him alive to join Akatsuki and support Lin Ze's plan to obtain the Ten-Tails' power.

Lin Ze infiltrated Kirigakure by using Ryūmyaku chakra to slip through its defensive barrier, then disguised himself as a civilian to observe the village. As he considered how to find the defected ANBU squad leader, he recognized Mei Terumi entering the restaurant.

• Lin Ze accepted a high-paying mission to capture a defected Kirigakure ANBU squad leader hiding near the village.
• Lin Ze studied Kirigakure's barrier and used Ryūmyaku chakra to create a temporary passage through it without setting off an alarm.
• Lin Ze transformed himself into an ordinary-looking civilian boy and walked through Kirigakure, noting its sparse ninja presence and tense atmosphere.
• Lin Ze entered a restaurant to eat while planning how to locate the fugitive.
• Mei Terumi entered the restaurant, and Lin Ze recognized her.

Lin Ze finished a bounty mission and secretly witnessed Yagura, Genji, and Kirigakure’s leaders confront the Third Mizukage over the Bloody Mist policy. The Third Mizukage’s allies had abandoned him, and the village’s crisis left his fate in doubt.

• Lin Ze spoke with Mei Terumi at a restaurant, then left after their brief conversation.
• Three days later, Lin Ze defeated his target in a cave, retrieved a protected ninjutsu scroll, and prepared to collect his bounty.
• Lin Ze sensed Yagura, the Third Mizukage, Genji, and Kirigakure’s elite shinobi gathering near a lake, then concealed himself to observe them.
• Yagura accused the Third Mizukage’s Bloody Mist policy of weakening Kirigakure and causing defections and military defeats.
• Genji sided with Yagura and warned that Kirigakure could not endure further losses after its defeats, internal turmoil, and the disappearance of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen’s blades.

Yagura and Kirigakure’s ANBU killed the Third Mizukage, but Ao spotted Lin Ze observing the battle and the ANBU pursued him. Lin Ze recognized Kisame Hoshigaki among his pursuers and escaped by boosting his speed with partial beastification and wind control.

• Yagura revealed that he had become the Three-Tails’ Jinchūriki and ordered the ANBU to attack the Third Mizukage.
• Yagura and the ANBU overwhelmed the Third Mizukage, and Yagura killed him with his Hook Staff.
• Ao spotted Lin Ze on the mountain, so Genji ordered the ANBU to chase him and prevent him from revealing what happened.
• Lin Ze recognized the persistent pursuer as Kisame Hoshigaki and accelerated with dragon scales and wind to escape.
• Kisame lost sight of Lin Ze and stopped, intrigued by his speed and chakra.

Lin Ze returned from a mission with money and equipment, reflecting on Yagura’s doomed future before heading back to Konoha. Hiruzen assigned him to support Jiraiya on the Iwagakure front, then summoned Enma after Lin Ze left.

• Lin Ze collected a thirty-million-ryō bounty and reflected that Madara’s plan made Yagura’s fate as the Three-Tails’ jinchūriki seem inevitable.
• Lin Ze brought expensive research equipment to Ascension Island, checked on Nonō and Kabuto’s cloning project, and left a new Shadow Clone to manage the base.
• Lin Ze returned to Konoha and reported Kirigakure’s power transition and the Three-Tails’ chakra activity to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Hiruzen said Ōnoki had severely wounded Orochimaru and ordered Lin Ze to support Jiraiya on the Iwagakure front.
• Hiruzen asked about Lin Ze’s dragon-like beastification, and Lin Ze attributed it to his unusual constitution and called it a special kekkei genkai.
• After Lin Ze left the Hokage Office, Hiruzen used the Summoning Technique to summon Enma.

Lin Ze arrived at Konoha’s front line and agreed to help Jiraiya hold off Ōnoki in the coming battle. When Iwagakure attacked, Minato joined the Konoha fighters, and Ōnoki confronted Lin Ze over the capture of his son Kitsuchi.

• Hiruzen asked Enma about Qingtian’s rapid growth and potential as Lin Ze’s Summoning Beast.
• Lin Ze reached the front-line camp, where Jiraiya explained that Ōnoki and Iwagakure were preparing a major attack.
• Lin Ze agreed to face Ōnoki alongside Jiraiya and help contain his Dust Release.
• Iwagakure launched its assault, and Jiraiya assigned Night Owl and Mountain Lord to hold the main force while Minato attacked the enemy’s rear and supply lines.
• Ōnoki taunted Jiraiya and then recognized Lin Ze’s Azure Dragon Mask, accusing him of capturing Kitsuchi.

Lin Ze and Jiraiya battled Ōnoki while Night Owl and Mountain Lord attacked the Iwagakure forces. The fight left the battlefield in ruins, with Night Owl facing Kitsuchi and Lin Ze still clashing with Ōnoki.

• Ōnoki attacked Lin Ze and Jiraiya with Dust Release, but both dodged its disintegrating blast.
• Jiraiya created a swamp to distract Ōnoki, allowing Lin Ze to shatter his stone shield with Thunder Dragon Fist and force him back.
• Lin Ze and Jiraiya kept Ōnoki under pressure as he used flight and Dust Release to defend himself.
• Night Owl summoned Mountain Lord, who grew into a giant tiger and crushed Iwagakure ninja while Night Owl attacked with Wind Release.
• Kitsuchi tried to trap Mountain Lord with Mountain Earth Technique, but the tiger broke one rock hemisphere with Imitation: Bolo Breath.
• Night Owl dismounted Mountain Lord and engaged Kitsuchi in combat.

Minato Namikaze devastated Iwagakure’s rear while Ōnoki trapped Jiraiya and Lin Ze in Dust Release. Lin Ze held the attack back with a fused fire technique and destroyed its weakened remains with his armored fist, though the strike injured him.

• Minato Namikaze used the Flying Thunder God Technique to kill Iwagakure commanders and disrupt their rear lines despite Higashishibito’s Earth Release attacks.
• Ōnoki cast an enlarged Dust Release barrier over Jiraiya and Lin Ze, with the attack also threatening a nearby squad of Konoha ninja.
• Jiraiya escaped the barrier’s main reach and urged Lin Ze to retreat, but Lin Ze chose to shield the Konoha squad.
• Lin Ze unleashed Dragon Breath: Majestic Destroyer Flame, briefly slowing and weakening the Dust Release barrier.
• Lin Ze charged the remaining barrier with Thunder Dragon Fist, suffering damage to his scales and flesh before exhausting the attack and making it vanish.

Lin Ze pretended to be gravely wounded after surviving Ōnoki’s Dust Release, prompting Iwagakure to retreat and Konoha to celebrate. At the medical station, he revealed to Night Owl that his injuries were minor and nearly healed.

• Lin Ze blocked Ōnoki’s Dust Release with his fist, then acted as though his badly injured hand had left him weakened.
• Jiraiya stepped between Lin Ze and Ōnoki, and Ōnoki ordered Iwagakure to retreat after judging the battle too costly to continue.
• Konoha’s ninja cheered Lin Ze as medical ninja escorted him to the camp, where he reflected on his past and the people who had helped him.
• Night Owl visited Lin Ze with Mountain Lord, and Lin Ze privately told her that his injuries were minor and almost healed.

Lin Ze convinced Jiraiya that his injuries required him to return to Konoha, where he planned to pursue secret techniques and wait for Orochimaru to complete Living Corpse Reincarnation. As he traveled back, Lin Ze considered how to kill Orochimaru and take the technique, while recognizing that his Adamantine Sealing Chains might not be enough.

• Night Owl asked Lin Ze why he had taken people and medical ninja away, and he explained that he had wanted to keep the village from using them to pressure him.
• Jiraiya visited Lin Ze, heard his account of his injuries, and agreed to report that he should return to Konoha to recuperate.
• Several days later, Lin Ze traveled toward Konoha with the returning group, admired by the other ninjas for facing Dust Release and protecting his comrades.
• Lin Ze planned to obtain Konoha's secrets and seize Orochimaru's completed Living Corpse Reincarnation technique, but doubted that his Adamantine Sealing Chains could reliably destroy Orochimaru.

Lin Ze decided to postpone confronting Orochimaru until after the Third Shinobi World War, while planning to hasten Orochimaru’s research by spreading damaging information about him. After gaining the gratitude and respect of Konoha shinobi, Lin Ze used a Shadow Clone to remain in Konoha while his real body traveled to the Land of Fire’s capital to spread his final major revelation.

• Lin Ze rejected the Reaper Death Seal and other immediate options for defeating Orochimaru, then decided to wait for a better chance after the war and considered using Uchiha Itachi’s Totsuka Blade later.
• In a Konoha camp, Inuzuka Ten, Akimichi Dōnan, Aburame Shisei, Yamashiro Kenji, and Gekko Yomai thanked Lin Ze for saving them from Ōnoki’s Dust Release.
• Lin Ze realized that his battlefield record and rescue of Konoha shinobi had earned him a strong reputation that could make Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo think twice before moving against him.
• A month later, Lin Ze left a Shadow Clone beneath a tree at Konoha’s orphanage while his real body traveled through the Land of Fire, spreading damaging information about Orochimaru.
• Lin Ze arrived at the capital of the Land of Fire to deliver his biggest revelation yet at the city’s most prominent black-market outpost.

Lin Ze spread fabricated rumors about Orochimaru’s experiments through the black market and sent Chinchilla and Ink Maru to distribute them across several nations. He then infiltrated the Land of Fire daimyo’s residence, observed the daimyo, and left without intervening.

• Lin Ze told an information broker that Orochimaru was seeking Hashirama cells, the Sharingan, and a way to fuse tailed beast chakra with human bodies.
• The information broker hurried off to sell the rumors, while Lin Ze slipped away from the black market.
• Lin Ze summoned Chinchilla and Ink Maru, who reported spreading the rumors across the Land of Fire and the Lands of Earth, Lightning, and Wind.
• Lin Ze paid the ninja cats extra with a ten-thousand-ryō banknote and a large bag of dried fish before they left.
• Lin Ze infiltrated the daimyo’s heavily guarded residence and watched the Land of Fire’s ruler handle reports, then decided he had no interest in changing or joining the political struggle.

Lin Ze visited the Village of Keys to buy information about Orochimaru’s hidden bases near Konoha. After Ari tried to probe his mind and saw the Azure Dragon power within him, Lin Ze warned the villagers and left with the information.

• Lin Ze went to the Land of Keys after failing to find Orochimaru’s important bases through conventional searches.
• The old man and Ari welcomed Lin Ze, and he paid them to reveal possible Orochimaru base locations in the Land of Fire.
• The old man gave Lin Ze a scroll listing more than a dozen sites, including three remote bases with recent signs of activity.
• Ari used a mental probe on Lin Ze, whose Azure Dragon power repelled her and frightened both her and the old man.
• Lin Ze warned them to keep the incident secret, and the old man used chakra to make Ari forget the masked man and the dragon.

Lin Ze located two of Orochimaru’s hidden research bases and sent Shadow Clones to monitor them while he trained in Konoha. A year later, he had mastered the first seven gates and strengthened his body, and he watched for signs that Orochimaru’s Living Corpse Reincarnation was nearing completion.

• Lin Ze discovered Orochimaru’s abandoned base near Kikyo Mountain and sensed a guarded laboratory researching Living Corpse Reincarnation.
• Lin Ze found a second active base in the Forest of Death and sent two Shadow Clones to watch both sites for Orochimaru and other activity.
• Lin Ze trained beside the orphanage stream using the Sixth Gate and Lightning Release Chakra Mode while an ANBU observed him.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Lin Ze’s training and chose to keep him in Konoha, where he could remain under close observation.
• A year later, Lin Ze opened the Seventh Gate and used Daytime Tiger to blast a vast crater into a cliff.
• Lin Ze assessed his improved strength and recovery, then wondered whether Orochimaru’s Living Corpse Reincarnation was nearly complete.

Lin Ze watched the Battle of Kannabi Bridge unfold and saw Obito Uchiha buried beneath a boulder before White Zetsu rescued him. He left without intervening, while Madara Uchiha’s plan to manipulate Obito moved forward.

• Chinchilla told Lin Ze that Minato Namikaze and his team had headed toward Kannabi Bridge, so Lin Ze left Konoha and went to watch the battle.
• Madara Uchiha ordered Tobi to begin the plan after learning Obito had followed Minato to Kannabi Bridge.
• Lin Ze watched Minato, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin fight Iwagakure ninja, and saw Kakashi injured while saving Obito.
• Obito awakened his Two-Tomoe Sharingan to save Rin, then pushed Kakashi out of the way as a boulder fell and trapped him.
• White Zetsu emerged from the ground, pulled the dying Obito from beneath the boulder, and carried him away.
• Lin Ze chose not to intervene and left Kannabi Bridge, reflecting that Madara had also manipulated Yagura.

Lin Ze watched Rin Nohara die, triggering Obito Uchiha’s Mangekyō Sharingan and his slaughter of the Kirigakure pursuers. In the underground cavern, Madara Uchiha died after entrusting Obito with the Eye of the Moon Plan, while Black Zetsu prepared to guide Obito as his next pawn.

• Rin Nohara threw herself onto Kakashi’s Lightning Blade, and Obito Uchiha awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan after witnessing her death.
• Obito slaughtered the Kirigakure ninja while Kakashi held Rin’s body, and Lin Ze watched from above before departing.
• Lin Ze reflected that Madara Uchiha’s impending death would remove a major threat and let him reveal more of his strength.
• Madara Uchiha persuaded Obito to carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan and take his name before dying in the underground cavern.
• Black Zetsu appeared beside Madara’s corpse and resolved to guide Obito as his next pawn.

Lin Ze waited for Orochimaru to leave his underground base for the meeting about the Fourth Hokage, then entered the laboratory to investigate the progress of Living Corpse Reincarnation. He found unconscious staff, grotesque experiments, and scrolls documenting research into souls, bodies, and rejection reactions.

• The Third Shinobi World War ended with Konoha relatively intact while Kumogakure and Iwagakure suffered heavy losses.
• As Hiruzen Sarutobi prepared to resign, Minato Namikaze and Orochimaru emerged as the leading candidates for Fourth Hokage, while rumors about Orochimaru's experiments weakened his prospects.
• Lin Ze waited near Orochimaru's underground base until Orochimaru left to attend the leadership meeting.
• Lin Ze dispelled the cave entrance's concealment and entered the base.
• Lin Ze knocked out the guards and researchers, then examined the grotesque experiments and scrolls about soul energy, bodies, and rejection reactions.

Lin Ze confirmed that Orochimaru had completed Living Corpse Reincarnation, then destroyed one of his laboratories and collected evidence from another. He arranged to spread the evidence and the second base’s location, aiming to force Orochimaru to defect from Konoha and leave him vulnerable.

• Lin Ze woke the laboratory’s lead researcher, removed the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, and learned that Living Corpse Reincarnation had been completed about two weeks earlier.
• Lin Ze killed the researcher and the other laboratory survivors, then destroyed the underground facility with Bolo Breath.
• Lin Ze searched Orochimaru’s second base near the Forest of Death and found peripheral data on Hashirama cell experiments.
• Lin Ze copied the data and the second base’s coordinates, then sent Chinchilla and Ink Maru to spread them discreetly.
• Lin Ze planned to use the evidence to turn Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi against Orochimaru and force him to defect.

Lin Ze was summoned to the Hokage Building as Konoha leaders gathered to discuss the Fourth Hokage candidates. Minato Namikaze won broad clan support, but Shimura Danzō interrupted the meeting and declared his own candidacy.

• Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi came to the Orphanage to take Rei Uesugi on a mission, and Lin Ze wished them well.
• An Anbu ninja summoned Lin Ze to the Hokage Building, where Hiruzen Sarutobi gathered village leaders to hear their views on the next Hokage.
• Shikaku Nara and several clan representatives endorsed Minato Namikaze, while Orochimaru watched their support for Minato grow.
• Shimura Danzō interrupted Hiruzen Sarutobi and announced that he would also run for Fourth Hokage.