Chapter Summaries

Tsunade secured Hiruzen Sarutobi’s agreement to keep Anbu and Root away from the Senju residence, while Senju Chen secretly resolved to gain more power. Minato Namikaze then took Chen to meet his friend Kushina Uzumaki, who was skilled in Sealing Jutsu.

• Tsunade agreed to let the matter with Danzo go in exchange for keeping Anbu and Root at least a hundred meters from the Senju residence without her permission.
• Tsunade reassured Chen, while he secretly considered how to use the incident as leverage and reflected on his need for greater strength.
• Tsunade kept the Senju residence under heavy protection, and Minato continued visiting Chen.
• Minato invited Chen to meet his friend who was good at Sealing Jutsu and brought dango and red bean soup for her.
• Chen recognized Minato’s friend as Kushina Uzumaki and left with him to meet her.

Senju Chen visited Kushina Uzumaki with Minato Namikaze and used her feelings for Minato to trigger his ability-theft system. He secured a reason to keep meeting Kushina by asking her to teach him sealing jutsu, enabling prolonged contact for the system to analyze her bloodline.

• Minato introduced Senju Chen to Kushina, who welcomed the shy-looking child into her home and fed him snacks.
• Senju Chen asked Kushina whether she liked Minato, triggering the system to offer her abilities and warn that her Uzumaki bloodline required repeated contact to analyze safely.
• Kushina blushed and angrily punched Minato out of the living room after Senju Chen blamed Jiraiya for teaching him how to recognize a crush.
• Kushina learned that Senju Chen was interested in sealing jutsu and offered to teach him whenever he visited.
• Senju Chen accepted Kushina's offer while Minato watched from the yard, unaware that he had helped create a pretext for their continued contact.

Senju Chen used Kushina Uzumaki’s sealing lessons to increase his system’s progress, impressing her with his talent until the system completed its theft plan. It offered him a choice between Kushina’s Uzumaki bloodline and the Nine-Tails’ power, leaving him torn as he looked at her concern.

• Senju Chen studied Sealing Jutsu under Kushina Uzumaki while using their physical contact to advance his system’s infiltration progress.
• Senju Chen mastered several seals quickly and proposed an inventive adjustment that impressed Kushina.
• Over the following month, Senju Chen became known in Konoha as a Sealing Jutsu prodigy and continued training with Kushina and Minato Namikaze.
• Senju Chen successfully raised Kushina’s Four-Sided Barrier, prompting her to celebrate and lift him into the air.
• The system completed its theft plan and offered Senju Chen the choice of Kushina’s Uzumaki bloodline or the Nine-Tails’ power, and he hesitated.

Senju Chen chose the Uzumaki Bloodline, but its integration coincided with Kushina’s Nine-Tails going berserk. He calmed the beast with his Senju life energy, leaving Minato and the Anbu stunned by his power.

• Senju Chen rejected the dangerous Nine-Tails power and chose the Uzumaki Bloodline, which he absorbed while Kushina held him.
• Kushina suddenly suffered in pain as the Nine-Tails erupted from her seal, blasting Minato Namikaze into a courtyard wall.
• Anbu rushed to protect Senju Chen, but he pushed through the violent chakra and approached Kushina instead of retreating.
• Senju Chen pressed his hand to Kushina’s seal and sent his Senju life energy into it, making the Nine-Tails recognize Hashirama Senju’s presence.
• The Nine-Tails stopped its assault and withdrew into the seal, while Kushina lost consciousness and Minato and the Anbu stared at Senju Chen in shock.

After Senju Chen woke in the Hokage’s office, Konoha’s leaders debated how to handle his power to soothe Tailed Beasts. He persuaded them that his actions came from kindness, and Hiruzen declared him a hero and a vital asset to the village.

• Senju Chen woke beside Tsunade in Hiruzen Sarutobi’s office, where Konoha’s senior leaders had gathered after he soothed the Nine-Tails.
• Hiruzen classified the incident as an S-rank secret and warned that Chen’s Wood Release could shift the balance of the Shinobi World.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura proposed intense protection and supervision for Chen, while Tsunade opposed treating her brother like a weapon.
• Chen acted frightened that the elders would imprison him, and Minato Namikaze defended him as someone who had risked himself to protect Kushina.
• Chen claimed he had acted on instinct and wanted to ease Kushina’s pain, and Hiruzen praised him as Konoha’s hero.
• Chen privately celebrated gaining the Uzumaki Bloodline and a powerful standing in Konoha while presenting the leaders with an innocent smile.

News that Senju Chen had soothed the Nine-Tails and displayed Wood Release unsettled Konoha’s clans and shifted its balance of power. As Tsunade examined Chen, she found his chakra and vitality had grown dramatically and concluded his Senju bloodline had awakened.

• Shimura Danzō stopped pursuing Senju Chen after Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tsunade protected him, while Shikaku Nara considered how Chen might affect Konoha’s internal balance.
• Inoichi Yamanaka urged Chōza Akimichi to reassess the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans’ relationship with the rising Senju faction.
• Uchiha Fugaku ordered his clan to use its contacts in the Anbu and Root to investigate what happened during the Nine-Tails rampage and determine Chen’s role.
• Tsunade examined Senju Chen and discovered his chakra and vitality had greatly increased since the incident.
• Tsunade embraced Chen and celebrated the Senju Clan’s resurgence while Chen struggled to breathe in her arms.

After his bloodlines fused, Senju Chen gained immense vitality, rapidly recovering chakra, and awakened the Uzumaki clan’s Adamantine Sealing Chains. As he prepared to start the Ninja Academy, Kushina taught him sealing techniques and shared her memories of school.

• Senju Chen tested his strengthened chakra and Wood Release, then looked forward to the Ninja Academy and its potential classmates.
• Over four months, Senju Chen learned sealing techniques from Kushina while secretly mastering the Adamantine Sealing Chains and advanced formulas.
• Kushina praised Senju Chen’s talent and thanked him for helping during the Nine-Tails’ rampage, while reminding him to keep the monster sealed inside her secret.
• Kushina gave Senju Chen advice about school, friends, and avoiding fights, then recalled meeting Minato at the Academy.

Senju Chen practiced his advanced Wood Release and reflected on the Senju Clan’s disappearance and the tragedies he knew awaited Konoha. He resolved to use his power to change the future and looked ahead to attending the Ninja Academy.

• Senju Chen created and controlled a wooden sparrow, reviewed his Wood Release abilities, and used Transformation Technique to imitate Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Senju Chen recalled Kushina’s advice about school and thought about her future and the fate she would face protecting Konoha and her child.
• Senju Chen remembered asking Tsunade why only the two of them remained in the Senju Clan, and how she evaded his question.
• Senju Chen wondered about the Senju Clan’s disappearance and whether Kushina’s future could be changed, then resolved to act on the power he had gained.
• Senju Chen anticipated attending the Ninja Academy and meeting students from familiar clans.

On his first day at the Ninja Academy, Senju Chen surveyed the future shinobi and drew Uchiha Inabi’s challenge by claiming he could use Wood Release. When Inabi attacked, Chen dodged and secretly tripped him with a wooden root, leaving the crowd stunned.

• Senju Chen arrived at the Ninja Academy and spotted Kakashi Hatake, Might Guy, Obito Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha, Mitaraishi Anko, and Kurenai Yuhi among the students.
• Uchiha Inabi confronted Senju Chen and demanded that he demonstrate Wood Release, while his lackeys accused him of lying.
• Senju Chen embarrassed Inabi by pointing out that using Wood Release at the school could cause damage his clan might have to pay for.
• After Chen walked away, Inabi charged at him and reached for his collar despite a teacher’s warning.
• Senju Chen swiftly dodged and used a wooden root to trip Inabi, who fell face-first onto the ground.
• Senju Chen asked Inabi whether he was all right and why he had suddenly lain down.

Senju Chen used a hidden trick to make Uchiha Inabi fall, then maintained his innocent disguise as Shisui smoothed things over. At the Academy, Kakashi remained suspicious of Chen, who decided to make him his next target.

• Senju Chen made Inabi fall at the school gates and acted innocent while Inabi accused him without evidence.
• Shisui Uchiha made Inabi apologize, then befriended Chen and offered to help him at school.
• Senju Chen watched the Third deliver a speech about the Will of Fire and observed his future classmates during the Academy opening ceremony.
• Kakashi Hatake scrutinized Chen during class, and Chen smiled harmlessly before deciding to target him next.

Orochimaru learned that Senju Chen had awakened Wood Release and became intent on observing him. At the Ninja Academy, Chen defeated Uchiha Inabi by making him lose his balance, while Orochimaru watched and grew more interested in the boy.

• Danzo told Orochimaru that Senju Chen, a five-year-old Senju orphan, had used Wood Release, and Orochimaru became eager to find him.
• At the Ninja Academy, Senju Chen attracted attention from his classmates while Uchiha Inabi continued to resent him.
• Inabi challenged Chen to a taijutsu spar, and Chen evaded his attacks with precise, minimal movements.
• Chen pushed Inabi’s supporting ankle during a powerful kick, sending him crashing to the ground as the class laughed.
• Orochimaru watched the spar from outside the training ground and praised Chen’s control, declaring that he was becoming more interested in him.

Senju Chen defeated Uchiha Inabi with carefully controlled Taijutsu, impressing the class and revealing to Kakashi that the fight had been manipulated. Chen invited Kakashi to practice together, but Kakashi refused and said he preferred to walk alone.

• Senju Chen used a precisely timed push to topple Uchiha Inabi, and the instructor praised his Taijutsu while Inabi reluctantly thanked him for the lesson.
• Kakashi Hatake recognized that Chen had guided Inabi into an opening and concluded that Chen had been controlling the fight from the start.
• After class, Senju Chen approached Kakashi and told him he knew Kakashi had seen through his performance.
• Senju Chen spoke about the value of companions and asked Kakashi to practice with him.
• Kakashi rejected Chen's invitation, saying he was not used to Chen's wide path and that one person was enough for his own.

After Kakashi rejected Senju Chen’s offer of friendship, Chen kept appearing quietly wherever Kakashi trained, gradually drawing his attention. When Kakashi confronted Chen for copying Hatake Style Kenjutsu, Chen revealed an instinctive grasp of its principles, and Kakashi began to reconsider him.

• Kakashi firmly rejected Senju Chen, who left looking hurt, but Kakashi remained unsettled by his departure.
• Over the following days, Chen repeatedly appeared near Kakashi’s training without approaching him, wearing down Kakashi’s patience.
• Chen watched Kakashi practice Hatake Style Kenjutsu and tried the stance himself, prompting Kakashi to accuse him of stealing a family technique.
• Chen explained that he had noticed Kakashi’s power came from his arm and wrist, then demonstrated a stance that drove force from the waist.
• Kakashi recognized the principle his father, Hatake Sakumo, had taught him and realized Chen had an extraordinary instinct for understanding movement.
• Kakashi handed Chen his wooden sword and said he might let him take a look at his path.

Senju Chen became closer to Kakashi Hatake by learning Hatake Style Kenjutsu from him, then befriended Might Guy after defeating him in a spar. He resolved to prevent Hatake Sakumo’s future tragedy as he gathered Kakashi and Guy as companions.

• Kakashi invited Senju Chen to learn his swordsmanship, corrected Chen’s stance, and taught him about grounding his power through his feet.
• Orochimaru watched Kakashi and Senju Chen training together before slipping away into the darkness.
• Senju Chen told Tsunade he had befriended Kakashi Hatake, learned about Hatake Sakumo’s reputation, and resolved to save Sakumo from the tragedy he foresaw.
• At the Ninja Academy, Senju Chen followed Kakashi’s training and repeatedly asked him for instruction until Kakashi grew accustomed to teaching him.
• Might Guy challenged Senju Chen, who dodged Guy’s attacks and toppled him with a precise strike behind the knee.
• Senju Chen praised Guy’s potential and invited him to train with them, and Guy declared them lifelong rivals and companions.

Senju Chen visited Kakashi’s home and met his father, Hatake Sakumo, while carefully assessing the legendary ninja and the White Fang sword. Sakumo noticed Chen’s unusually calculating gaze but was pleased that Kakashi had made a friend.

• Senju Chen went to the Hatake residence, where Hatake Sakumo welcomed him and directed him to Kakashi.
• Senju Chen persuaded Kakashi to let him stay and train by explaining that they had agreed to meet.
• Senju Chen spotted the White Fang sword and concealed his interest when Kakashi warned him not to look around.
• Hatake Sakumo asked Chen to get along with Kakashi, and Chen praised Kakashi until Kakashi hurried them off to train.
• Hatake Sakumo reflected on Chen’s unsettling gaze and felt glad that Kakashi had finally made a friend.

Senju Chen brought Might Guy to Hatake Sakumo’s home, where Sakumo demonstrated his swordsmanship against Guy and Kakashi. Chen avoided Sakumo while studying his movements, then described Sakumo’s power as flowing like water, leaving Sakumo astonished by the child’s insight.

• Senju Chen persuaded Kakashi to bring him and Might Guy to Hatake Sakumo’s home for sword practice.
• Hatake Sakumo defeated Guy with a quick wrist tap and disarmed Kakashi after countering his precise attack.
• Senju Chen dodged Sakumo’s attempts to catch him, using the spar to observe Sakumo’s movements before falling from exhaustion.
• Sakumo asked Chen about his interest in the essence of power, and Chen compared Sakumo’s strength to water and Kakashi’s to a rock.
• Hatake Sakumo realized Chen had intuitively described the core of Hatake Style Kenjutsu and encouraged him to keep practicing.

Hatake Sakumo returned from a failed mission broken by exhaustion and self-doubt as rumors condemned his choice to save his subordinates. Senju Chen used those rumors to provoke Tsunade’s anger, leaving her ready to confront the ninja who had called loyalty to comrades disgraceful.

• Hatake Sakumo received an S-rank mission scroll and left after telling Kakashi to keep practicing and get along with Senju Chen and Might Guy.
• After Sakumo left, Kakashi became distracted and quiet, so Senju Chen and Might Guy visited often to keep him company.
• Half a month later, Sakumo returned looking deeply exhausted and shut himself inside his room.
• Senju Chen overheard ninja spreading rumors that Sakumo had failed his mission by abandoning crucial intelligence to save his subordinates.
• Senju Chen asked Tsunade whether comrades were family or a disgrace to the village, and Tsunade crushed her cup and erupted in fury.

Senju Chen used Tsunade’s anger to intensify the debate over Hatake Sakumo’s mission, but Orochimaru confronted him in his room and offered to help save Sakumo in exchange for Chen’s cooperation. The chapter ended as Orochimaru demanded Chen’s blood.

• Tsunade broke down over the rumors about her brother and lover, while Jiraiya tried to stop her from confronting the Third Hokage.
• Senju Chen comforted Tsunade, then privately judged that her fury could divert pressure from Hatake Sakumo but would not clear his name.
• Orochimaru appeared in Senju Chen’s room and revealed that he had been watching Chen’s actions around the Hatake Clan, Kakashi, Might Guy, and Tsunade.
• Orochimaru offered to help Senju Chen save Hatake Sakumo, then asked for Chen’s blood in return.

Senju Chen proposed that Orochimaru help him fake Hatake Sakumo’s death so they could hide him from Konoha and put Danzo’s ambitions to use. Orochimaru agreed to their cooperation, and he revealed that he knew where to find a suitable body for the deception.

• Senju Chen offered Orochimaru his blood in exchange for help saving and hiding Hatake Sakumo by making him appear dead.
• Senju Chen suggested that Danzo would welcome the chance to weaken the Third Hokage’s faction by arranging Hatake Sakumo’s supposed death.
• Orochimaru was impressed by Senju Chen’s plan and demanded that he become his disciple, but Senju Chen warned that Tsunade would object.
• Orochimaru said the discipleship could be a formality and agreed to cooperate with Senju Chen, who sealed their pact with a pinky promise.
• Orochimaru said their first step was finding a corpse that could pass for Hatake Sakumo and claimed he knew where to find suitable materials.

After rumors condemned Hatake Sakumo for abandoning a mission to save his comrades, Senju Chen defended him at the Ninja Academy and rallied others to question the village’s judgment. Chen’s public stand drew attention, giving him room to continue his secret plan to save Sakumo.

• Rumors spread through Konoha that Hatake Sakumo had sacrificed vital intelligence to rescue two subordinates, who then blamed themselves and deepened the criticism of him.
• Kakashi Hatake faced classmates’ contempt at the Ninja Academy, and Uchiha Inabi mocked him as the son of a disgrace.
• Senju Chen stepped in and declared that Sakumo was a hero for choosing his comrades over the mission.
• Might Guy arrived and passionately supported Chen, prompting onlookers to reconsider whether Sakumo was truly a sinner.
• Chen used the dispute to draw public attention and create room to carry out his plan to save Sakumo.