Recaps

Ye Feng tested how True Qi affected Flying Thunder God and discovered that shadow clones could persist by cultivating True Qi after their Chakra ran out. As Ye Feng began an experiment based on that discovery, Kakashi Hatake sought Maruboshi Kosuke’s swordsmanship guidance and reconsidered why he wanted to become strong.

• Ye Feng used True Qi to sense and activate a distant Flying Thunder God Mark, traveling several kilometers while spending far less True Qi than before.
• Ye Feng tested whether a shadow clone could cultivate True Qi after its Chakra ran out and found that the True Qi kept the clone from disappearing.
• After dispelling the clone and receiving its memories, Ye Feng hurried home, created six shadow clones, and had them cultivate True Qi while he replenished his Chakra.
• Kakashi Hatake visited Maruboshi Kosuke after Hatake Sakumo praised Kosuke’s swordsmanship and advised Kakashi to build a strong foundation before developing his own style.
• Maruboshi Kosuke asked Kakashi why he wanted to study swordsmanship, and Kakashi said he sought strength to protect Konoha and its villagers.

Kakashi Hatake began learning swordsmanship from Maruboshi Kosuke, while Ye Feng discovered that shadow clones could greatly accelerate his true qi cultivation. Minato Namikaze told Ye Feng to prepare for a trip to Kumogakure and gave him a special Flying Thunder God Kunai, leaving Ye Feng to cultivate and consider how to expand his teleportation options.

• Maruboshi Kosuke agreed to teach Kakashi Hatake swordsmanship and assigned him ten thousand sword draws after demonstrating a powerful cut.
• Ye Feng absorbed the true qi left behind when his shadow clone disappeared and realized shadow clones could speed up his cultivation.
• Ye Feng created twelve shadow clones, depleted much of his chakra, and considered becoming a jinchūriki to accelerate his cultivation further.
• Minato Namikaze told Ye Feng that the team would leave for Kumogakure on a mission the next day and gave him a special Flying Thunder God Kunai.
• Ye Feng inscribed a Flying Thunder God Mark shaped like the characters for Huaxia on the kunai and sent his shadow clones to cultivate true qi.

Ye Feng’s team traveled through the Land of Hot Water on their way to Kumogakure and stopped at a hot spring inn. There, Ye Feng and Uchiha Shinichi teamed up to pull off Kakashi Hatake’s mask, leaving Kakashi to reclaim it and leave the spring.

• Ye Feng joined Orochimaru’s team as they set out from Konoha on a mission to Kumogakure.
• Orochimaru led the group through the Land of Hot Water and stopped in a prosperous city so they could rest at a hot spring inn.
• Ye Feng, Kakashi Hatake, and Uchiha Shinichi shared a room and relaxed in its private hot spring.
• Ye Feng persuaded Uchiha Shinichi to help him remove Kakashi Hatake’s mask, and the two briefly overpowered Kakashi.
• Uchiha Shinichi pulled off Kakashi Hatake’s mask, revealing his face, before Kakashi took the mask back and left the spring.

Ye Feng taught Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shinichi Chidori and suggested the Rasengan as an alternative for Shinichi. After finding them still training recklessly late into the night, Ye Feng disguised himself and attacked them to teach them a lesson.

• Ye Feng promised Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shinichi an A-rank Ninjutsu and demonstrated Chidori, impressing them with its destructive power.
• Kakashi Hatake began practicing Chidori, while Ye Feng warned that it could injure their bodies if used more than five times a day.
• Uchiha Shinichi worried that his Lightning Release affinity was too weak, so Ye Feng advised him to master the Rasengan and develop his Sharingan.
• Ye Feng returned to the training ground that night and found Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shinichi still practicing, with Kakashi Hatake's palm bleeding.
• Ye Feng transformed into a disguised adult, attacked Uchiha Shinichi with Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu, and knocked Kakashi Hatake unconscious with a knife-hand strike.

Ye Feng staged a kidnapping and fake execution to teach Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shinichi to stay alert, accidentally prompting Shinichi to awaken the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. After revealing the ruse, Ye Feng warned them to keep the awakening secret and left them wondering why.

• Ye Feng knocked out Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shinichi, tied them up, and used shadow clones to make them overhear a fabricated plan to lure and kill Uchiha Yefeng.
• Ye Feng staged a second scene in which a transformed clone presented a fake corpse, and Shinichi awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his anguish.
• Ye Feng pretended to reach for Shinichi's eyes, then revealed himself as the clones vanished and explained that he had been testing them.
• Ye Feng reprimanded Kakashi Hatake and Shinichi for letting their guard down, and they apologized.
• Ye Feng told Shinichi to hide his new Sharingan and avoid activating it except in critical moments, especially in Konoha.

Ye Feng warned Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shinichi that Konoha might target unusually talented ninja, then led his group to Kumogakure for their mission. While exploring the village, he met Killer B and greeted him as a friend.

• Ye Feng revealed his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and warned Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shinichi about Konoha's treatment of powerful ninja.
• Ye Feng predicted that Kakashi Hatake's father would die within two or three years and proposed a bet with Kakashi.
• Ye Feng's group traveled to Kumogakure, where the Third Raikage received them and Dodai arranged their lodging and guides.
• Ye Feng explored Kumogakure with Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shinichi and recognized the approaching Killer B as the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.
• Ye Feng introduced himself to Killer B and bumped fists with him.

Ye Feng befriended Killer B in Kumogakure and explained the tailed beasts and Jinchūriki to Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shinichi. As Konoha and Kumogakure prepared to settle their alliance terms through a three-match contest, Sunagakure arrived hoping to stop their alliance, but the Third Raikage had already largely agreed to it.

• Ye Feng asked Killer B to guide him around Kumogakure, and Killer B eagerly showed him the village before demanding to become his rap apprentice.
• After returning to the inn, Ye Feng told Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shinichi about the tailed beasts, the Jinchūriki, and Kushina Uzumaki's secret.
• Orochimaru met with Kumogakure's leaders while Killer B spent two more days touring the village with Ye Feng.
• Konoha and Kumogakure largely settled their alliance, then agreed to decide their remaining disputes with Jonin, Chunin, and Genin matches.
• Sunagakure's delegation arrived, learned of the contest, and urgently asked the Third Raikage to reconsider his alliance with Konoha.

The Third Raikage let Sunagakure join the match, planning for Kumogakure to profit regardless of the outcome, while Orochimaru chose Konoha's competitors. The Jonin match began at a packed Kumogakure Arena, with Sunagakure's Yura targeting Minato Namikaze first.

• Sunagakure offered supplies to join the match, and the Third Raikage accepted while planning to take supplies from both villages and preserve Kumogakure's alliance with Konoha.
• Orochimaru confronted the Third Raikage, then returned to the inn and selected Uchiha Yefeng for the Genin match, Sarutobi Muze for the Chunin match, and Minato Namikaze for the Jonin match.
• Ye Feng told Orochimaru that Minato Namikaze would not lose and might even defeat Orochimaru, reassuring him about the matches.
• The three villages gathered at the packed Kumogakure Arena, where host Ouya introduced Minato Namikaze, Yura, and Toroi for the first match.
• When Ouya started the match, Yura looked toward Minato Namikaze, intending to fight him before facing Toroi.

Minato Namikaze defeated Yura with the Rasengan and then faced Toroi, whose Magnet Release turned his shuriken into relentless homing weapons. Minato used Flying Thunder God to get behind Toroi and knock him unconscious.

• Minato Namikaze overcame Yura’s taijutsu and struck him with a hand-seal-free Rasengan, leaving him unconscious against the arena wall.
• Toroi challenged Minato Namikaze and attacked with volleys of square shuriken while boasting that Minato could not win.
• Toroi’s Magnet Release drew the shuriken toward Minato, forcing him to dodge and deflect the growing barrage.
• Minato Namikaze threw a kunai at Toroi, then used Flying Thunder God to appear behind him and hit him with a Rasengan.
• Toroi lost consciousness, and the shuriken fell to the arena floor.

Minato Namikaze won the Jonin match by using the Flying Thunder God Technique, and Sasori of Sunagakure began the Chunin match by attacking Sarutobi Muze with poisoned puppets. Orochimaru saved Muze, Sasori defeated Kelui, and Ye Feng warned Orochimaru about Sasori’s hatred of Konoha and the danger Kakashi Hatake could face.

• Minato Namikaze used the Flying Thunder God Technique to defeat Toroi, prompting the Third Raikage to order an investigation into Minato.
• Ouye announced the Chunin match between Sarutobi Muze, Sasori, and Kelui.
• Sasori attacked Sarutobi Muze with three puppets and poisoned blades, then tried to kill him when Muze attempted to retreat.
• Orochimaru rescued Sarutobi Muze with Earth Release Barrier: Earth Prison Dome, and Sasori argued that the match had no rule against killing.
• Kelui surrendered after exchanging a few attacks with Sasori, who let him go.
• Ye Feng told Orochimaru that Sasori was Chiyo’s grandson, and Orochimaru warned that Kakashi Hatake should be kept out of Sasori’s reach.

Orochimaru and Kumogakure’s medical team tried to save Sarutobi Muze from Sasori’s spreading poison while the Combat Arena matches continued. In the genin match, Yugito Nii eliminated Baki, then Ye Feng countered her Fire Rat Ball, leaving their fight unresolved.

• Orochimaru examined Sarutobi Muze, found the poison beyond his ability to treat quickly, and asked the Third Raikage for help.
• The Third Raikage ordered Kumogakure’s medical team to treat Sarutobi Muze as the genin match began.
• Ye Feng, Baki, and Yugito Nii entered the arena, and Yugito Nii attacked both opponents while Ye Feng kept his distance.
• Baki used poisonous smoke and wind blades against Yugito Nii, but she endured his attacks and eliminated him with her Fire Rat Ball.
• Yugito Nii turned her Fire Rat Ball on Ye Feng, who engulfed it with Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, causing the two attacks to cancel each other out.

Ye Feng defeated Yugito Nii with one blow, stunning the spectators and ending the contest in Konoha’s favor. Orochimaru secured the alliance treaty with Kumogakure, but learned that Sarutobi Muze’s poisoning remained unresolved.

• Yugito Nii used the Two-Tails’ chakra to attack Ye Feng, who opened three gates and struck her down before she could react.
• Spectators and the Third Raikage reacted to Ye Feng’s overwhelming victory, and the Third Raikage ended the contest.
• Orochimaru went to the Third Raikage’s office, where the Third Raikage signed the Alliance Treaty between Kumogakure and Konohagakure.
• Orochimaru visited the hospital and learned that Sarutobi Muze’s toxins had merged with his flesh and blood, leaving the doctors unable to find a cure so far.

Ye Feng used true qi to cure Sarutobi Muze of Sasori’s poison in Kumogakure, and Orochimaru’s team set out for Konoha with their mission nearly complete. As they crossed the Land of Hot Water, Orochimaru stopped the team to investigate their surroundings, and Ye Feng sensed that they might be watched.

• Orochimaru brought Ye Feng to the hospital, where Ye Feng examined the toxin in Sarutobi Muze’s body and devised a way to expel it.
• Ye Feng drove the hospital staff out and spent over an hour using true qi to purge the poison, then left to replenish his strength.
• Orochimaru carried the recovered Sarutobi Muze from the hospital, astonishing the Kumogakure staff and drawing attention from the Third Raikage and Sunagakure’s Jonin leader.
• Orochimaru told the Konoha team their mission was essentially complete, and the group left Kumogakure the next morning with the Contract Scroll.
• After crossing the Land of the Moon, Orochimaru halted the team and sent small snakes underground to investigate; Ye Feng extended his divine sense and detected signs that they were being watched.

Ye Feng discovered that Sunagakure and Iwagakure had joined forces to surround Orochimaru’s Konoha team, so he arranged for Minato Namikaze to use the Flying Thunder God Technique to get everyone past the blockade. The group escaped toward the Land of Fire, while Kari led the pursuing enemy ninja after them.

• Ye Feng sensed Sunagakure ninja behind the team and more than twenty unidentified ninja waiting ahead, then warned Orochimaru that they were surrounded.
• Ye Feng planned for Minato Namikaze to teleport the team ten kilometers to a Flying Thunder God mark while Ye Feng secretly went ahead to prepare a trap.
• Orochimaru gave Ye Feng the team’s Explosive Tags, and Ye Feng used an Invisibility Spirit Talisman to leave with the tags and Minato’s Flying Thunder God Kunai.
• Orochimaru’s team met Kari’s Iwagakure and Sunagakure forces, and Baki noticed that Uchiha Yefeng was missing.
• After Baki’s warning, Orochimaru ordered everyone to grab Minato Namikaze, who teleported them to Ye Feng’s location.
• Ye Feng told the team the trap was ready, and Orochimaru led them toward the Land of Fire as Kari ordered the enemy ninja to pursue.

Ye Feng used Orochimaru’s Fire Release and his own true qi to create Kirin and strike Kari’s pursuing force. Kari survived the devastating attack, but his forces were nearly wiped out, and he led the survivors out of the Land of Hot Water.

• Kari’s pursuit group triggered an Explosive Tag, killing one Iwagakure Jonin and crippling another before continuing after Ye Feng’s group.
• Orochimaru ordered two Jonin to take the others ahead while he, Ye Feng, and Minato Namikaze stayed behind to delay Kari.
• Ye Feng had Orochimaru create dark clouds with Fire Release and strengthened the lightning within them using his true qi.
• As Kari’s group attacked, Ye Feng summoned a lightning kirin from the clouds, and Kari ordered his ninja to flee from its widespread strike.
• Minato Namikaze used the Flying Thunder God Technique to take Ye Feng and Orochimaru away, and Ye Feng asked them to keep Kirin secret.
• Kari survived the blast, but a search found only one other living Jonin, who was crippled, so Kari abandoned the pursuit and led the remaining ninja out of the Land of Hot Water.

Ye Feng's group escaped their pursuers, returned to Konoha, and received a warm welcome for their service. Orochimaru reported to the Third Hokage, confirming Minato Namikaze's mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique and describing the lightning kirin as an accidental feat.

• Ye Feng's group reached the Konoha border camp safely, rested, and let Orochimaru take credit for the lightning kirin by naming it Kirin.
• Orochimaru's group set out for Konoha the next morning, while Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shinichi ran hard to overcome their frustration at being unable to help during the mission.
• The Third Hokage and several clan heads, including Uchiha Tianchang, welcomed the returning ninja at Konoha's gates and granted the team extended leave.
• Orochimaru joined the Third Hokage and the advisors at the Hokage Office, where Shimura Danzō was waiting, and reported on the mission.
• Orochimaru confirmed that Minato Namikaze had mastered a modified Flying Thunder God Technique capable of transporting all nine members of the group.

Orochimaru reported to the Third Hokage about Ye Feng’s escape and the devastating lightning Kirin, while Shimura Danzō questioned his account. After returning to the village, Ye Feng met with Uchiha Tianchang and Uchiha Shinichi, and they discussed the Uchiha Clan’s covert organization and plans for the future.

• Orochimaru told the Third Hokage that Ye Feng had escaped through speed and concealment, and described the lightning Kirin as an attack triggered by a coincidence.
• The Third Hokage showed Orochimaru the battlefield report, and Orochimaru realized the Kirin had killed or wounded many Jonin; he promised to research deliberate use of the technique.
• Shimura Danzō doubted Orochimaru’s account, but the Third Hokage defended his student, classified the mission as high-tier S-rank, and awarded the team S-rank rewards.
• Uchiha Tianchang invited Ye Feng and Uchiha Shinichi to a meal, then told Ye Feng that the clan’s Anbu had established an organization beyond the Land of Fire’s border.
• Ye Feng advised Uchiha Tianchang to conceal the organization’s strength and develop intelligence and local support, then said they should wait before moving against Shimura Danzō.

Uchiha Shinichi learned that Uchiha Tianchang planned to target Shimura Danzō to protect the clan, not to rebel against Konoha, and grew disillusioned after confirming Ye Feng’s suspicions about the village’s missing elite ninja. Ye Feng returned home and discovered that absorbing three shadow clones at once wasted too much true qi, so he adjusted to absorbing two at a time.

• Ye Feng asked Uchiha Tianchang for advanced genjutsu scrolls for himself and Uchiha Shinichi, and Uchiha Tianchang realized both had Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
• Uchiha Tianchang warned Uchiha Shinichi to keep his eyes secret, then quickly obtained the scrolls for Ye Feng.
• Uchiha Shinichi asked whether the Uchiha Clan planned a rebellion, and Uchiha Tianchang explained that the clan meant to eliminate hostile advisors such as Shimura Danzō rather than fight the Third Hokage.
• Uchiha Shinichi asked about the deaths and disappearances of Konoha’s top ninja, and Uchiha Tianchang agreed the pattern was suspicious and suggested Ye Feng might know the reason.
• Uchiha Shinichi left Uchiha Tianchang’s residence disappointed in Konoha, while Uchiha Tianchang reflected that Shinichi still lagged behind Ye Feng in maturity.
• Ye Feng returned home and absorbed three shadow clones, but lost about twenty percent of their true qi, so he switched to absorbing two clones at a time.

Ye Feng used his vision of a peaceful Konoha and a war-free shinobi world to win Uchiha Shinichi’s allegiance and urge him to train. Meanwhile, Kakashi practiced swordsmanship in a resentful state of mind.

• Ye Feng absorbed twelve shadow clones’ cultivation, created thirteen more, and studied advanced genjutsu from Uchiha Tianchang’s scroll.
• Uchiha Shinichi visited Ye Feng, distressed by what he had learned about Konoha, and Ye Feng urged him to help change the village.
• Ye Feng described his ideal Konoha and his ambition to end war across the shinobi world, prompting Uchiha Shinichi to pledge his support.
• Ye Feng told Uchiha Shinichi to train and study genjutsu; Shinichi went to Uchiha Tianchang to request help from a genjutsu expert.
• Kakashi Hatake practiced with his short blade at Maruboshi Kosuke’s courtyard, while Kosuke noticed his resentment was undermining his sword practice.

Kakashi Hatake reflected on his failures during the mission and resolved to improve, while tensions between the hidden villages eased after the mission ended. Ye Feng learned that his team would train separately until March and had been entered in the Chunin Ninja Exams, while Danzō continued plotting against him.

• Maruboshi Kosuke advised Kakashi Hatake to stay composed and use his shortcomings as motivation, and Kakashi Hatake steadied his sword practice.
• The Third Kazekage learned Ōnoki had canceled their agreement and ordered spies to investigate Ye Feng’s Lightning Release technique, while Iwagakure also kept watch on Ye Feng.
• Sunagakure and Iwagakure withdrew their border troops after Ye Feng’s team completed its mission, easing the threat of war.
• Shimura Danzō ordered Gray Fox to monitor the mission desk, the Hokage Office, and the Konoha Gate for news of Ye Feng leaving the village.
• Ye Feng sensed Minato Namikaze’s Flying Thunder God Technique activating and began considering how to develop his ability to detect spatial fluctuations.
• Minato Namikaze told Ye Feng that the team would train separately until next March and that he had signed them up for the Chunin Ninja Exams.

Over half a year, Ye Feng advanced his natural energy training with Orochimaru, improved his genjutsu, and cultivated his true qi. After liquefying his true qi, he unleashed a devastating strike near Hokage Rock and left Konoha's leaders searching for the person responsible.

• Ye Feng visited Orochimaru as he learned to sense and absorb natural energy, while continuing to train with Might Duy and practice genjutsu against Minato Namikaze.
• Ye Feng filled his dantian with true qi, compressed it into liquid, and discovered that his natural energy absorption and divine sense had become stronger.
• Ye Feng tested his new power near Hokage Rock and cut a massive trench with a true qi sword before teleporting home.
• The Third Hokage, Hatake Sakumo, and Konoha's forces investigated the trench, but found no chakra traces or explanation for the strike.
• The Third Hokage ordered the Military Police Force, Anbu, and Shimura Danzō's Root to search Konoha, while Orochimaru recognized Ye Feng as the likely culprit.

Ye Feng reassured Orochimaru about the long road of cultivation, then sought Minato Namikaze to learn the Sealing Jutsu behind the Flying Thunder God Marks. Minato caught Ye Feng lying about causing the trench and agreed to teach him only if Ye Feng bought him lunch.

• Orochimaru visited Ye Feng, learned that Ye Feng had reached at least Kage Level, and left encouraged to keep cultivating.
• Ye Feng decided to learn how Minato Namikaze made Flying Thunder God Marks and went to Minato's home, where he used a mark to summon him.
• Minato Namikaze confronted Ye Feng about the trench near the Training Ground, and Ye Feng eventually admitted that a spirit talisman had caused it.
• Minato Namikaze demanded that Ye Feng pay for lunch before he would teach him the Sealing Jutsu, and Ye Feng reluctantly agreed.

Ye Feng learned the Flying Thunder God sealing jutsu from Minato Namikaze, then was surprised by a large weekend lunch gathering that Minato had arranged. The next day, Minato announced that Kumogakure and Konoha would jointly host the Chunin Ninja Exams in five days and prepared to test Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shinichi.

• Minato Namikaze taught Ye Feng the sealing jutsu for the Flying Thunder God Technique before leaving him to study it.
• Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, Might Duy, and seven children arrived at Ye Feng’s door with ingredients, and Ye Feng helped cook lunch for everyone.
• Ye Feng reunited with Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shinichi at the Training Ground and noticed how much they had changed during their six months apart.
• Minato Namikaze told Ye Feng, Kakashi Hatake, and Uchiha Shinichi that the Chunin Ninja Exams would be jointly hosted by Kumogakure and Konoha in five days.
• Minato Namikaze asked Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shinichi to fight him so he could assess their growth, while Ye Feng watched from the edge of the Training Ground.

Minato Namikaze sparred with Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shinichi, whose improved teamwork and skills forced him to take the fight seriously. He ended the match by trapping Uchiha Shinichi with a Flying Thunder God Kunai after concealing it inside a Water Dragon Bullet.

• Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shinichi attacked Minato Namikaze with a coordinated strike, prompting him to evade with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shinichi fled into the forest, where Kakashi used a genjutsu-assisted attack and Shinichi followed with a Rasengan.
• Kakashi Hatake charged Minato Namikaze with Chidori, then anticipated Minato's Flying Thunder God attack and forced him to teleport away.
• Uchiha Shinichi tore off the sleeve bearing Minato's Flying Thunder God Mark and attacked with a segmented Giant Shuriken, making Minato teleport to evade.
• Minato Namikaze unleashed Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique and concealed a Flying Thunder God Kunai in the water dragon, then held a kunai to Uchiha Shinichi's neck.

Minato Namikaze defeated Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shinichi in training, then he and his companions welcomed Kumogakure’s delegation ahead of the Chunin Ninja Exams. Ye Feng reunited with Killer B and Yugito Nii, and the group shared a meal before touring Konoha.

• Minato Namikaze used a Flying Thunder God Kunai and a punch to defeat Kakashi Hatake, then Ye Feng explained that Minato’s strength was close to Kage level.
• Minato Namikaze and the others trained for two days before the Third Hokage ordered them to welcome Kumogakure’s arriving ninja.
• Dodai, A, Killer B, Toroi, Yugito Nii, and nearly forty other ninja arrived at Konoha, and Killer B greeted Ye Feng with rap.
• Minato Namikaze and his companions escorted the delegation to an inn, slipped away, and then learned that Kumogakure had requested Ye Feng as a guide.
• Ye Feng brought Yugito Nii to join Minato Namikaze, Kakashi Hatake, Uchiha Shinichi, and Killer B for barbecue, where the group got along better.
• Minato Namikaze and the others showed Killer B and Yugito Nii around Konoha, and Yugito Nii admired the village’s scenery.