Recaps

Senju Chen visited Orochimaru’s laboratory, where Kurama Yakumo was studying mental energy while helping the God Mask Project Team. He asked Orochimaru about Ryūchi Cave and learned how its Sage Mode trials worked, then heard that the White Snake Sage injected snake blood containing senjutsu chakra into prospective trainees.

• Senju Chen observed Kabuto Yakushi teaching Kurama Yakumo about controlling her mental energy as Orochimaru used her data to study a God Mask fragment.
• Senju Chen allowed Yakumo to join the God Mask Project Team for data analysis and theory, but barred her from participating in summoning experiments.
• Senju Chen asked Orochimaru about Earth Dragon Cave’s Sage Mode, and Orochimaru explained that a trainee must contract with a snake and use Reverse Summoning to reach Ryūchi Cave.
• Orochimaru told Senju Chen that the White Snake Sage welcomed trial-takers because failed trainees were devoured, including their bodies, chakra, and souls.
• Orochimaru described meeting the White Snake Sage and receiving a drop of snake blood containing senjutsu chakra from her fangs.

Senju Chen learned the lethal Sage Mode training methods of the Three Great Sage Lands and weighed which path to pursue. He decided he might send one of his permanent clones to each land to obtain their abilities, despite the risk of angering the sages.

• Orochimaru explained that Ryūchi Cave training used the White Snake Sage’s blood to transform the body, and warned that failure meant being eaten.
• Orochimaru gave Senju Chen a special cursed seal that might save his life if the snake blood overwhelmed him.
• Senju Chen considered how Shikkotsu Forest tested vitality, Ryūchi Cave tested mental strength, and Mount Myōboku tested control.
• Senju Chen weighed the risks and benefits of each Sage Land and concluded that their distinct abilities could be valuable to steal through the system.
• Senju Chen planned to send one of his three permanent clones to each Sage Land, accepting that the sages might discover his scheme.

Senju Chen asked Jiraiya to take him to Mount Myōboku, hoping to explore the Sage Lands and meet the Great Toad Sage. Jiraiya wondered whether Chen might be tied to the Toad Sage’s prophecy after hearing how much Chen had changed Konoha, and the chapter left him stunned by the price of a Scientific Ninja Tool.

• Senju Chen assigned Yamato, Shisui, and Itachi new Public Security Department duties before heading to the hot spring street to find Jiraiya.
• Jiraiya was caught peeping into the women's bath, dragged Senju Chen into his escape, and then brushed off Chen’s criticism of his research methods.
• Senju Chen asked Jiraiya to take him to Mount Myōboku so he could look around and meet the Great Toad Sage.
• Jiraiya recalled hearing villagers praise Chen for the Medical Department's ability to restore lost limbs and for developing Scientific Ninja Tools that had frightened Iwagakure's allied forces.
• Jiraiya visited a weapons shop, examined a chakra-amplifying wrist guard, and was left speechless when the shopkeeper said it cost ten thousand ryo.

Jiraiya saw how Senju Chen’s work had transformed Konoha and wondered whether he was the Child of Prophecy. He took Senju Chen to Mount Myōboku, where Gamabunta greeted them.

• Jiraiya visited the Medical Department and heard people praise Senju Chen for restoring injured ninjas to health.
• At a tavern, Jiraiya heard villagers credit Senju Chen with Konoha’s reforms and its strength against Iwagakure.
• Jiraiya connected Senju Chen’s achievements to the Toad Sage’s prophecy and decided to take him to Mount Myōboku.
• Jiraiya used the Reverse Summoning Technique to bring Senju Chen to Mount Myōboku, where Senju Chen noticed his hidden clone had not come with him.
• Gamabunta appeared, greeted Jiraiya, and asked who Senju Chen was.

Senju Chen visited Mount Myōboku with Jiraiya and met the Great Toad Sage, who foresaw many possible futures for him but could not say whether he was the person in the prophecy. Chen left determined to protect those he cared about and began considering how to acquire Mount Myōboku’s senjutsu knowledge.

• Jiraiya introduced Senju Chen to Gamabunta, who directed them to Fukasaku and Shima for an audience with the Great Toad Sage.
• Fukasaku noticed that Chen’s chakra was unusual and guided Chen and Jiraiya to the temple.
• The Great Toad Sage foresaw futures in which Chen ended war, destroyed the Shinobi World, or followed paths obscured from view, and said Chen might or might not be the person in the prophecy.
• Chen told Jiraiya that the future was in their own hands and that he would protect those he cared about.
• Jiraiya took Chen to see more of Mount Myōboku, while Chen considered trying to steal the toads’ senjutsu techniques and natural-energy sensing methods.

Senju Chen discovered that his system could steal abilities from Mount Myōboku toads and set his sights on their strongest skills. He provoked Gamaken into boasting about his swordsmanship and asked him for guidance.

• Jiraiya showed Senju Chen around Mount Myōboku and introduced him to toads with specialized abilities.
• Senju Chen provoked a juvenile toad with a ration pill, triggering the system and stealing its basic underwater-breathing ability.
• Senju Chen learned from Jiraiya that powerful toads cared about their reputations and status.
• Senju Chen approached Gamaken, praised his swordsmanship, and asked him for guidance after Gamaken disparaged human swordsmanship.

Senju Chen sparred with Gamaken and combined several sword styles to defeat him. Gamaken was left stunned, and Senju Chen’s system refreshed the abilities he could steal.

• Gamaken offered Senju Chen three opening moves, but Senju Chen’s third strike showed skill beyond that of a novice.
• Senju Chen used the Hatake Clan’s swordsmanship and forced Gamaken to take the spar seriously.
• Senju Chen adapted to Gamaken’s Mount Myōboku swordsmanship and then countered his strength with Maruboshi Kosuke’s Konoha Style: Willow.
• Senju Chen blended several techniques into a winding strike that placed his wooden sword at Gamaken’s neck.
• Gamaken asked who had taught Senju Chen his swordsmanship, and Senju Chen said he had pieced it together from what he had learned.
• Gamaken’s shaken emotions refreshed Senju Chen’s list of stealable abilities.

Senju Chen stole Combat Intuition from Gamaken and Water Nature Affinity from Gamahiro during his visit to Mount Myōboku. He left after promising to bring Tobirama Senju’s Water Release techniques for Gamahiro to study.

• Senju Chen chose Combat Intuition after defeating Gamaken, then placated him by praising his swordsmanship and agreeing to spar again.
• Jiraiya teased Senju Chen about embarrassing Gamaken and continued showing him around Mount Myōboku.
• Senju Chen provoked Gamahiro by comparing his Water Release to Tobirama Senju’s, triggering the system to offer new abilities.
• Senju Chen stole Water Nature Affinity and promised to bring Tobirama’s Water Release techniques for Gamahiro to examine.
• Gamahiro welcomed Senju Chen warmly and told him to come earlier next time.

Senju Chen learned about Mount Myōboku’s senjutsu training and planned to use a clone to attempt Sage Mode later. He then challenged Gamatatsu to a spar, but Gamatatsu held back, leaving Chen searching for a way to make him fight seriously.

• Senju Chen fused his underwater breathing and water affinity abilities into the Water God Bloodline.
• Senju Chen asked Fukasaku and Shima about Sage Mode and learned that failed training could turn him into a stone toad.
• Senju Chen decided to have a clone train in Sage Mode after returning from Mount Myōboku.
• Senju Chen failed to provoke Fukasaku and Shima, then went out to find Gamatatsu and fill his last empty skill slot.
• Senju Chen asked Gamatatsu to spar, and Gamatatsu agreed while holding back to avoid hurting him.
• Senju Chen grew anxious that Gamatatsu was not taking the spar seriously and began looking for a way to provoke him.

Senju Chen learned Taijutsu Mastery from Gamatatsu and returned to Konoha with his remaining ability slots filled. At the Senju mansion, he fused Taijutsu Mastery with his Thunder God Bloodline, producing a new unnamed ability.

• Senju Chen fought Gamatatsu, chose Taijutsu Mastery (Top-tier) from the abilities he could steal, and used his improved technique to strike Gamatatsu.
• Gamatatsu praised Senju Chen and invited him to spar again, while Sage Fukasaku told him he could visit Mount Myōboku whenever he wished.
• Senju Chen returned to Konoha with Jiraiya, then went to the Senju mansion and reviewed his full ability slots.
• Senju Chen checked compatibility between Taijutsu Mastery and the Thunder God Bloodline, found it was 91%, and chose to fuse them.
• The fusion reshaped Senju Chen’s muscles and joints, then generated a new ability whose name remained blank.

Senju Chen fused Water God Bloodline with Wood God Bloodline, gaining a new ability that let him sense and control water and plants. He named the result Magic God Bloodline and began considering how powerful it might become.

• Senju Chen named his Taijutsu Mastery and Thunder God Bloodline fusion Thunder God Bloodline.
• Senju Chen fused Combat Intuition with Hatake Style Kenjutsu and named the resulting ability Sword God Instinct.
• Senju Chen reviewed his ability slots and chose to fuse Water God Bloodline with Wood God Bloodline.
• Senju Chen endured the intense fusion as water-nature chakra and wood release chakra intertwined and reshaped his body.
• Senju Chen sensed water and plants throughout his surroundings, then formed a droplet of water with a sprout growing from it.
• Senju Chen named the new ability Magic God Bloodline and wondered what it could do on a larger scale.

Senju Chen fused the magic god bloodline and war god body, strengthening his nature perception, physical abilities, and combat instincts. After reviewing his abilities, he began planning his next steps and identified a problem with relying on clones during Reverse Summoning Technique travel.

• Senju Chen reviewed the magic god bloodline’s improvements to his Wood Release, Water Release, vitality, and ability to sense living things.
• Senju Chen fused the thunder god bloodline with sword god instinct, gaining rapid reactions and the ability to anticipate attacks, then named the new ability war god body.
• Senju Chen reviewed his ability panel and decided to combine future ninjutsu-related abilities into the magic god bloodline and combat-related abilities into the war god body.
• Senju Chen considered visiting Shikkotsu Forest and Ryūchi Cave after his successful trip to Mount Myōboku.
• Senju Chen began writing a plan and noted that a clone hidden in his shadow had not traveled with him when the Reverse Summoning Technique transported him.

Senju Chen planned visits to the Three Great Sage Lands, while Obito investigated Kirisame Ryo’s carefully constructed history and suspected he was building a system of control through trade. At Old Port, Obito spotted a disguised woman whose familiar mannerisms stunned him.

• Senju Chen decided to seek training at Mount Myōboku and Shikkotsu Forest before approaching Ryūchi Cave, then set aside his plan for later refinement.
• Obito and Black Zetsu investigated Kirisame Ryo’s past and found that his classmates remembered him as an unremarkable, low-profile student.
• Obito concluded that Kirisame Ryo had deliberately hidden himself and was building an economic system to control the Land of Water without military force.
• At Old Port, Obito saw Mei Terumi return from the Land of Rain with a disguised diplomat in the delegation.
• Obito recognized the diplomat’s distinctive movements and stared after her, overcome by a sudden sense of familiarity.

Obito recognized a faint Tailed Beast chakra in the woman following Mei Terumi and ordered Black Zetsu to investigate her identity and ties to Kirisame Ryo. Back in Kirigakure, Mei Terumi and Rin Nohara reported on their successful negotiations and suspicious activity at Old Port before Senju Chen announced he would leave on a trip for two weeks to a month.

• Obito suspected that the woman following Mei Terumi was the Three-Tails' new Jinchūriki and ordered Black Zetsu to investigate her background and connection to Kirisame Ryo.
• Mei Terumi and Rin Nohara reported that negotiations in the Land of Rain had secured trade-route arrangements, and Senju Chen approved adding two patrol units.
• Mei Terumi described how the Akatsuki's welcome ceremony unsettled several delegations, while Rin Nohara reported that Nagato would soon hold talks with merchant associations.
• Mei Terumi reported suspicious people at Old Port, including a gray-haired merchant who had watched Rin Nohara, and Senju Chen said he would increase dock patrols.
• Senju Chen told Mei Terumi and Rin Nohara that he would leave for two weeks to a month, prompting Mei Terumi to accuse him of running away.

Senju Chen arranged for Mei Terumi and Rin Nohara to manage the Land of Water while he was away, then asked Tsunade to take him to Shikkotsu Forest. Tsunade agreed to accompany him, provided he only looked and did not train.

• Senju Chen assigned Mei Terumi military and security duties and Rin Nohara diplomacy and finances, leaving them encrypted communication scrolls and the Mizukage’s badge.
• Senju Chen warned Rin Nohara and Mei Terumi not to travel alone while he was away, and they agreed.
• At the Senju residence in Konoha, Senju Chen told Tsunade he wanted to visit Shikkotsu Forest.
• Senju Chen explained that he had visited Mount Myōboku and wanted to learn about all Three Great Sage Lands before considering senjutsu training.
• Tsunade agreed to take Senju Chen to Shikkotsu Forest the day after tomorrow, warning him not to train there.

Senju Chen visited Shikkotsu Forest with Tsunade and learned that its senjutsu consumed life force and that all slugs, including Katsuyu, were one being sharing a consciousness. He returned home with a secret marker left in the forest and began considering a way for his clone to train there, while planning to visit Earth Dragon Cave next.

• Tsunade used Reverse Summoning to take Senju Chen to Shikkotsu Forest and warned him to stay close.
• Katsuyu guided Senju Chen and Tsunade through the forest to a pool at its core, where natural energy gathered.
• Senju Chen learned that Shikkotsu Forest's senjutsu consumed life force and that all its slugs were clones of the same being, Katsuyu.
• Senju Chen secretly left a marker in the forest, then told Tsunade he had finished looking and did not plan to train there for now.
• Tsunade returned with Senju Chen to the Senju residence and left for the Hokage's Office as he considered sending a clone to train and visiting Earth Dragon Cave.

Senju Chen obtained Ryūchi Cave’s coordinates and a Summoning Contract with Aoda from Orochimaru, then used Reverse Summoning to enter the cave. He began facing the cave’s deadly inhabitants, leaving the first wave of attacking snakes dead around him.

• Senju Chen told Orochimaru that he had marked Shikkotsu Forest but could not act while his sister was watching, then asked for Ryūchi Cave’s coordinates.
• Orochimaru warned Senju Chen about the cave’s lethal trials, gave him the coordinates, and introduced Aoda as his new summon.
• Senju Chen signed the contract and used Reverse Summoning to travel to Ryūchi Cave, where Aoda left him alone.
• Senju Chen activated his Sharingan and saw the cavern’s remains and the snakes covering its walls.
• When the small snakes surged toward him, Senju Chen used water needles to pierce and kill them before they could reach him.

Senju Chen fought his way through Ryūchi Cave, stealing several abilities from its venomous snakes before challenging Tagorihime, guardian of the first checkpoint. After testing his enhanced War God Body in combat, he struck Tagorihime hard enough to make her see him as the hunter, and the system detected her emotional fluctuations.

• Senju Chen stole beginner toxin resistance from a venomous snake and fused it into his War God Body.
• Senju Chen killed and restrained the snakes that attacked him, then stole venom spray, snake pressure, and scale regeneration.
• Senju Chen reached the stone chamber and met Tagorihime, who challenged him to defeat her to pass the first checkpoint.
• Senju Chen dodged Tagorihime's attacks to test his War God Body, then blocked her tail and struck her abdomen, sending her into the stone wall.
• Tagorihime climbed out of the rubble and regarded Senju Chen as a threat, triggering a system notification about her emotional fluctuations.

Senju Chen passed Tagorihime’s trial, stole and fused her regeneration ability with his war god body, then entered the underground lake to face Ichikishimahime. He countered her Water Release with Wood Release, using the lake to accelerate his roots, as their battle continued.

• Senju Chen stole Tagorihime’s Snake Body Regeneration and fused it with his war god body.
• Tagorihime declared that Senju Chen had passed the first trial and warned him that Ichikishimahime fought differently.
• Senju Chen reached an underground lake and faced Ichikishimahime, who attacked with sealless Water Release.
• Senju Chen blocked Ichikishimahime’s water pillars with Water Formation Wall, though she criticized his control of Water Release.
• Senju Chen used Deep Forest Emergence to grow roots across the lake, then raised a Wood Locking Wall against Ichikishimahime’s Water Fang Bullet.

Senju Chen defeated Ichikishimahime’s Ninjutsu trial but failed to fuse the levitation ability, leaving his powers sealed for 24 hours. He entered Tagitsuhime’s passage for the final, soul-focused trial and realized her mental technique had already taken effect.

• Senju Chen trapped Ichikishimahime’s snake tail and wounded her with a Water Dragon Bullet woven with Wood Release vines.
• Senju Chen stole Ichikishimahime’s Ninjutsu Levitation ability, but its fusion with the magic god bloodline failed and sealed both abilities for 24 hours.
• Ichikishimahime declared that Senju Chen had passed and warned him that Tagitsuhime’s trial would test soul power.
• Senju Chen prepared to rely on his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, soul mutation, and other abilities as he continued into the passage.
• Senju Chen sensed that the passage’s sweet, mind-affecting mist had already drawn him into Tagitsuhime’s technique.

Senju Chen faced Tagitsuhime’s final trial in her mental domain, resisting her relentless soul-level assault and turning his power against her world. Tagitsuhime ended the test and praised him, leaving Senju Chen having passed the trial.

• Senju Chen entered Tagitsuhime’s mental space and used his Sharingan to resist her influence.
• Tagitsuhime set him a trial to endure inside her domain, then transformed the scene from burning Konoha into a sea filled with giant snakes.
• Senju Chen realized his Sharingan could not dispel the self-contained mental domain and raised a shield against Tagitsuhime’s soul invasion.
• Senju Chen shifted from defense to attack, tracing Tagitsuhime’s mental power while her snakes failed to tear apart his condensed mental form.
• Tagitsuhime ended the test, said Senju Chen had passed, and called him the most interesting human she had ever met.

Senju Chen stole Tagitsuhime’s advanced mental domain and fused it with soul mutation to create mental energy, then passed the trials to meet the White Snake Sage. She identified him as a puppet cultivated from a fragment of the Ten-Tails Tree, leaving Senju Chen stunned by her perception.

• Senju Chen chose mental domain from Tagitsuhime’s theft list and fused it with soul mutation, naming the resulting ability mental energy.
• Tagitsuhime confirmed Senju Chen had passed Ryūchi Cave’s three trials and warned him that the White Snake Sage would offer him a choice he must not get wrong.
• Senju Chen entered the golden chamber and met the White Snake Sage, who immediately called him a puppet.
• Senju Chen acknowledged that he had a puppet’s body but claimed he possessed independent thoughts, complete consciousness, and a long-lasting existence.
• The White Snake Sage told Senju Chen that his puppet had been cultivated from a fragment of the Ten-Tails Tree.

Senju Chen agreed to Ryūchi Cave’s terms in exchange for learning Senjutsu, giving the White Snake Sage a drop of his puppet body’s blood and a memory about the Ten-Tails Tree. The contract was established, and the Sage began to examine what he had revealed.

• The White Snake Sage explained that the Ten-Tails Tree could give a puppet the potential to contain natural energy, and Senju Chen asked to train in Ryūchi Cave’s Senjutsu.
• The White Snake Sage set three conditions: a drop of the Ten-Tails Tree’s blood, memories about the tree, and a promise to complete a future task under Ryūchi Cave’s rules.
• Senju Chen accepted after the White Snake Sage promised the task would not violate his bottom line, endanger his life, or harm anyone he cared about.
• Senju Chen gave the Sage the blood and a memory, and she learned that the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was the Ten-Tails Tree’s husk.
• The White Snake Sage recognized how Senju Chen’s puppet body was made and suggested his main body was sensing the encounter, but Senju Chen denied it.

The White Snake Sage marked Senju Chen with her bloodline and taught him Ryūchi Cave’s dangerous, devouring-based Sage Mode training. She explained how his Ten-Tails Tree body could absorb natural energy too quickly, then gave him the basic formula and told him to begin.

• The White Snake Sage bit Senju Chen and planted her bloodline mark, allowing him to draw in Ryūchi Cave’s natural energy.
• The White Snake Sage explained that Ryūchi Cave’s Sage Mode required devouring and suppressing natural energy, with failure turning the practitioner into a snake.
• The White Snake Sage described Orochimaru’s talent and said his greed for immortality had led him astray.
• The White Snake Sage warned Senju Chen that his Ten-Tails Tree body absorbed natural energy unusually quickly and urged him to increase his intake gradually.
• Senju Chen recorded the basic training formula as the White Snake Sage explained the stages of sensing, devouring, and conversion.
• The White Snake Sage finished her instructions and told Senju Chen to begin training.

Senju Chen left the White Snake Sage’s dwelling after securing the chance to learn Ryūchi Cave’s Senjutsu, but postponed training while his magic god bloodline remained sealed for twenty-four hours. He set out to explore the cave’s outer regions, where the snakes followed the rule of the strong preying on the weak.

• Senju Chen accepted the White Snake Sage’s bloodline mark and left her dwelling, deciding to prepare before attempting Senjutsu.
• Senju Chen spoke with Tagitsuhime, who warned him about the dangerous snakes in the outer regions and noted that his mental power had changed qualitatively.
• Senju Chen passed Ichikishimahime at the underground lake and told her he wanted to explore Earth Dragon Cave.
• Senju Chen reached Tagorihime’s chamber, where she questioned his background after noticing his mark and recalling his strength and trial results.
• Senju Chen asked Tagorihime what he should watch out for in the outer regions.