Chapter Summaries

After the sweep mission, Ye Feng told the Genin about Maruboshi Kosuke, Konoha’s exceptionally skilled eternal Genin. As the teams prepared to return to Konoha, Minato Namikaze sensed something amiss and asked Ye Feng to check the area.

• Minato Namikaze asked Ye Feng how he knew Kakuzu had survived, and Ye Feng explained Kakuzu’s heart-stealing technique and its limits.
• Fujiwara Inomura ended the discussion, and the teams checked a village with a bounty exchange before eliminating Missing-nin and uncooperative Wandering Ninja.
• Yamanaka Keiko asked about powerful ninja with unusual abilities, and Ye Feng introduced Maruboshi Kosuke; Fujiwara Inomura described Kosuke’s history, training, and skills.
• Ye Feng’s teams found the border settlements deserted and prepared to return to Konoha, but Minato Namikaze felt that something was wrong.
• Minato Namikaze asked Ye Feng to sense the area, and Ye Feng activated his divine sense as Fujiwara Inomura felt watched.

Ye Feng and Minato Namikaze uncovered six hidden Sunagakure ninja crossing the Land of Fire and challenged them. As the teams fought, Ye Feng stalled a Sunagakure Puppet Master until he revealed his speed and struck the jonin’s kunai with his fist.

• Ye Feng sensed the hidden ninja, and Minato Namikaze revealed them with a fire dragon attack.
• The Sunagakure jonin claimed his group was traveling on a private mission, but Fujiwara Inomura demanded to inspect them and refused to let them leave.
• Minato and Fujiwara Inomura engaged two Sunagakure jonin while Ye Feng, Uchiha Shinichi, Kakashi Hatake, and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio took on the remaining jonin and chunin.
• Ye Feng pretended to struggle against the jonin’s taijutsu attacks until the Sunagakure ninja summoned a puppet and intensified his assault.
• Ye Feng dropped his act, dodged the puppet, and punched toward the jonin’s kunai as it struck his fist.

Ye Feng feigned defeat to lure a Sunagakure Jonin close, then killed him and helped Konoha turn the battle around. The remaining Sunagakure Jonin were defeated or killed, with the last one taking his own life to prevent Konoha from searching his memories.

• Ye Feng shattered the Sunagakure Jonin’s kunai and arm, then sent Kakashi Hatake to assist the others.
• The Sunagakure Jonin detonated his puppet, and Ye Feng pretended the hidden weapons and poison had incapacitated him.
• The Sunagakure Jonin approached to finish Ye Feng, who stabbed him with a kunai and killed him by bursting it apart with true qi.
• Ye Feng helped the Konoha group defeat a Chunin, while Minato Namikaze and Fujiwara Inomura kept two Sunagakure Jonin from escaping.
• Ye Feng pierced one Jonin’s legs with kunai, allowing Minato Namikaze to behead him.
• The final Sunagakure Jonin killed himself by punching his own head to prevent Konoha from searching his memories.

After the Sunagakure mission, the Third Hokage rewarded the returning Genin and sent Minato Namikaze to Kumogakure with Orochimaru, allowing him to bring Ye Feng and his squad. The Third Kazekage prepared to renew efforts to ally with other villages against Konoha, while Orochimaru continued researching natural energy.

• Fujiwara Inomura brought the Sunagakure bodies and intelligence to Konoha, and the Third Hokage rewarded each Genin with 200,000 after upgrading the mission to S-rank.
• The Third Hokage told Minato Namikaze that Sunagakure planned to attack Konoha and assigned him to accompany Orochimaru on a mission to contact Kumogakure.
• Minato Namikaze persuaded the Third Hokage to let Ye Feng and the other two squad members join the mission, citing their strength and Ye Feng's Jonin-level taijutsu.
• The Third Kazekage ordered Sunagakure to search for its missing envoys and send another delegation to Kumogakure to secure an alliance against Konoha.
• Ye Feng visited Orochimaru and learned that Orochimaru was experimenting with compressing natural energy into a more powerful form.

Ye Feng revealed true qi to Orochimaru and encouraged him to focus on adapting to natural energy, while Orochimaru prepared to travel to Kumogakure for alliance talks. The next day, Ye Feng helped Minato Namikaze rethink the Flying Thunder God mark, and Minato rushed off to pursue the idea.

• Ye Feng demonstrated true qi to Orochimaru and explained how it was refined from natural energy.
• Ye Feng urged Orochimaru to master sensing natural energy before researching higher forms of power, and promised to teach him to condense true qi later.
• Orochimaru told Ye Feng he would leave for Kumogakure to meet the Third Raikage and seek an alliance or prevent a future war.
• Ye Feng returned home to cultivate, then went to the Training Ground and found Minato Namikaze studying the Flying Thunder God.
• Ye Feng suggested redesigning the Flying Thunder God mark so it could hold spiritual power, and Minato Namikaze hurried away, excited by the idea.

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.