Chapter Summaries

Senju Chen was exposed for using a Shadow Clone to attend school, provoking Tsunade’s fear and anger before his knowledge convinced her he was a genius. The chapter ended when a Hokage guard summoned them both to the Hokage’s Office.

• Senju Chen sensed that his Shadow Clone had been exposed and hurried home, fearing Tsunade’s reaction.
• An Anbu told Tsunade that Senju Chen had disappeared, and she rushed to the Ninja Academy in panic.
• Tsunade learned that only Chen’s Shadow Clone had been exposed and confronted him at home for skipping school.
• Chen explained that he wanted to train so he could protect Tsunade, then demonstrated advanced knowledge when she tested him.
• Tsunade embraced Chen proudly after recognizing his talent, but a Hokage guard arrived with orders for them to report to the Hokage’s Office.

Senju Chen proved his exceptional knowledge by acing a graduating-class theory exam, but Hiruzen Sarutobi still demanded that he demonstrate his strength in a special combat assessment. Chen accepted the challenge to face an active-duty Jonin, despite Tsunade's objections.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi questioned Senju Chen about using a Shadow Clone to skip school, and Chen said the lessons were too easy for him.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Chen to take a graduating-class theory exam, which Chen completed in under fifteen minutes with every answer correct and a flaw in a bonus question identified.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi rejected Chen's theory results as insufficient proof of combat ability and proposed a special assessment against an experienced, active-duty Jonin.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi offered to overlook Chen's truancy and grant him Genin rank if he lasted ten minutes without losing or earned the Jonin's recognition; otherwise, Chen would have to apologize and return to school.
• Tsunade protested the challenge, but Senju Chen accepted it and reassured her that he could succeed.

Senju Chen faced elite jonin Sarutobi Ryōnosuke in a public test, using the punishing taijutsu assault to sharpen his reactions and adapt. After breaking out of the attack, Chen drew his wooden sword and revealed a warrior’s presence, leaving Ryōnosuke wary as the fight continued.

• Konoha’s senior officials, clan leaders, Academy students, and teachers gathered to watch Senju Chen’s test against Sarutobi Ryōnosuke.
• Sarutobi Ryōnosuke attacked Chen with relentless taijutsu, while Chen narrowly dodged each blow and used the pressure to adapt.
• Chen spotted a brief pause in Ryōnosuke’s attack rhythm and used his momentum to break free, opening ten meters between them.
• Chen drew his wooden sword, transforming his demeanor and making Ryōnosuke sense danger in the five-year-old.

Senju Chen revealed his lethal swordsmanship while fighting Sarutobi Ryōnosuke, then unleashed Wood Release to bind the elite jonin and shock Konoha’s leaders. He calmly looked to the Third Hokage, awaiting approval to graduate.

• Senju Chen used Hatake-style kenjutsu to evade and counter Sarutobi Ryōnosuke, forcing the jonin to treat him as a serious opponent.
• Sarutobi Ryōnosuke intensified his nintaijutsu and broke Chen’s wooden sword with a powerful punch.
• Chen used Wood Release: Kakuan Entering Society with Bliss-Bringing Hands to grow trees that restrained Sarutobi Ryōnosuke and suppressed his chakra.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, Uchiha Fugaku, Hyuga Hiashi, and the crowd reacted with shock as Chen’s Wood Release became clear.
• Tsunade cried with pride as Chen turned toward the Third Hokage, silently asking whether he had earned the right to graduate.

Senju Chen defeated elite Jonin Sarutobi Ryōnosuke with Wood Release, passed his graduation assessment, and became Konoha’s youngest Genin. He considered the protection his public display had won him and began planning his next step: choosing a Jonin instructor.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi declared Senju Chen the winner and awarded him Genin rank after he bound Sarutobi Ryōnosuke with Wood Release.
• Obito Uchiha, Rin Nohara, and Kakashi Hatake watched Senju Chen’s victory, while Kakashi felt jealousy for the first time.
• Senju Chen accepted his Konoha Forehead Protector and saw it as a key to leaving the Academy, accessing records, and taking missions.
• Tsunade celebrated Senju Chen’s achievement and promised him a special present.
• Senju Chen reviewed how demonstrating Wood Release had secured political protection and decided to discuss his choice of Jonin instructor with Tsunade.

After Senju Chen demonstrated Wood Release and became a Genin at age five, news of his power spread through Konoha and drew the attention of the Uchiha clan, Shimura Danzō, and Jiraiya. The chapter ended with Jiraiya deciding to return to Konoha and ensure Chen became his disciple.

• News of Senju Chen's Wood Release spread through Konoha, where villagers celebrated his potential and powerful figures considered what his rise meant.
• Uchiha elders argued over whether Chen was a threat or someone the clan could recruit, and Uchiha Fugaku ordered Shisui to deepen his friendship with Chen and assess him.
• Shimura Danzō recalled Chen's precise Wood Release and ordered Root to launch the "New Sprout" plan, gather information on Chen, and find a chance for a personal meeting.
• Jiraiya received an intelligence report about Chen's age, Wood Release, and victory over Sarutobi Ryōnosuke, then reconsidered who might be the Child of Prophecy.
• Jiraiya decided to return to Konoha and make sure no one else gained Chen as a disciple.

Tsunade discussed Senju Chen’s potential mentors and warned that choosing one would also tie him to a faction. Senju Chen rejected the candidates and asked to be apprenticed to Orochimaru, leaving Tsunade stunned and asking whether he had met him.

• Tsunade brought Senju Chen a stack of mentor candidates’ files and explained that many wanted to use his Senju heritage and Wood Release for their own interests.
• Tsunade recommended Jiraiya and pointed out several other promising candidates, including Sarutobi Yamakuma, Iyama Kaju, and Minato.
• Senju Chen reviewed the files but told Tsunade he did not want any of those people as his mentor.
• Senju Chen asked to choose Orochimaru, surprising Tsunade.
• Tsunade questioned Senju Chen about whether he had met Orochimaru.

Senju Chen persuaded Tsunade to recommend Orochimaru as his mentor, hoping to gain freedom, access to research, and a useful connection. Hiruzen Sarutobi approved the appointment, and Orochimaru received the news with eager curiosity about his new disciple.

• Senju Chen told Tsunade he admired Orochimaru’s research and wanted him to help develop his Wood Release.
• Senju Chen privately chose Orochimaru for the freedom, laboratory resources, and strategic connections he expected to gain.
• Tsunade agreed to recommend Orochimaru, and Hiruzen Sarutobi approved the mentor request over Danzo’s unspoken interest in recruiting Senju Chen for Root.
• An Anbu ninja delivered the appointment scroll to Orochimaru, who reacted with excitement and warned that becoming his disciple would not be easy.

Senju Chen became Orochimaru’s disciple and received research notes and a private training ground, but Orochimaru’s first lesson left him alone to take D-rank missions. Senju Chen ended the chapter looking over the mission requests at the Mission Center.

• Orochimaru asked Senju Chen why he had chosen him, and Senju Chen said Orochimaru’s work on ninjutsu and life made him the right teacher.
• Orochimaru accepted Senju Chen as his disciple and gave him research notes and the key to Training Ground 7.
• Orochimaru took Senju Chen to the Mission Center and had him register as a Genin.
• Orochimaru told Senju Chen to complete ten D-rank missions, then vanished and left him at the Mission Center.
• Senju Chen suppressed his complaints and examined the D-rank mission requests.

Senju Chen took a mission to find the notorious cat Tora and used Wood Release to capture him quickly. He returned Tora to Shijimi, completed his first D-rank mission, and left eager to choose another.

• Senju Chen accepted the mission to find Tora despite the mission dispatcher’s warning that several Genin teams had failed.
• At Shijimi’s home, Senju Chen reassured her and learned that Tora often visited the fish market and liked secluded rooftops.
• Senju Chen used his plant-based chakra perception to locate Tora on a roof in Konoha’s eastern district.
• Senju Chen lured Tora toward a flower and trapped him in a cage of Wood Release vines.
• Senju Chen returned Tora to Shijimi, collected his payment, and counted the mission as his first D-rank assignment.

Tsunade gave Senju Chen the Second Hokage’s Thunder God Sword as a graduation present, and Chen vowed to protect her with it. After hearing about Chen’s mission and Wood Release, Danzo decided to meet him in person.

• Senju Chen returned home and reassured Tsunade that Orochimaru had treated him well and guided him through his first mission.
• Tsunade presented Chen with the Thunder God Sword, saying she had obtained it as his graduation gift.
• Chen accepted the sword and promised to use it well and protect Tsunade.
• A Root ninja reported Chen’s successful D-rank mission and use of Wood Release to Danzo.
• Danzo judged Chen to be a valuable weapon and ordered arrangements for a personal meeting.

Senju Chen resisted a Root ninja’s attempt to take him to Shimura Danzō and fought back with the Thunder God Sword until Danzō intervened. Danzō invited Chen to join Root by promising him leadership, while Chen concealed his distrust and considered how to respond.

• After finishing a D-rank mission, Senju Chen sensed a Root ninja following him through Konoha.
• The Root ninja told Chen that Shimura Danzō wanted to see him and tried to seize him, but Chen refused and attempted to leave.
• When the Root ninja blocked his path, Chen drew the Thunder God Sword and clashed with him in the street.
• Shimura Danzō appeared, stopped Chen’s sword with two fingers, and rebuked the confrontation.
• Danzō praised Chen’s talent and urged him to join Root, claiming Chen could inherit its leadership and his father’s legacy.
• Chen hid his revulsion and distrust behind an expression of conflict and longing.

Senju Chen persuaded Danzo to leave by suggesting he could join Root once Danzo became Hokage, while privately vowing to thwart his ambitions. Over the following month, Chen trained through D-rank missions and advanced study, then continued experimenting with adding wind nature to his Rasengan.

• Senju Chen praised Danzo and said he could not join Root without his sister's and teachers' approval, then suggested that Danzo becoming Hokage would resolve the problem.
• Danzo accepted Chen's apparent admiration and left with the Root ninja without recruiting him.
• Senju Chen privately rejected Danzo's ambitions and resolved to keep him from becoming Hokage.
• For a month, Chen completed D-rank missions around Konoha while secretly practicing chakra control, Wood Release, and swordsmanship.
• Chen studied Orochimaru's medical and ninjutsu materials and experimented with adding wind-attribute chakra to his Rasengan, healing and analyzing his injuries after each failure.

Uchiha Fugaku decided to launch the Rising Star plan by arranging Shisui Uchiha’s early graduation and assigning him to become Senju Chen’s close teammate. Hiruzen Sarutobi approved the plan, leaving Shisui poised to approach Senju Chen as a friend.

• Uchiha elders argued over Senju Chen’s growing popularity, and Fugaku decided the clan had to act.
• Fugaku asked Shisui to take responsibility for the Rising Star plan, and Shisui agreed.
• Fugaku arranged for Shisui’s early graduation and planned to have him placed under Orochimaru with Senju Chen as his teammate.
• Fugaku explained that Shisui should become Senju Chen’s trusted friend and help bridge the divide between the Uchiha and Senju clans.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi weighed the risks of the plan against the possibility of uniting the clans, then stamped his approval on Shisui’s early graduation application.

Orochimaru introduced Shisui Uchiha as Senju Chen’s new teammate and assigned them a week of nighttime patrols with the Konoha Military Police Force. Senju Chen reluctantly set off with Shisui, frustrated that their first team mission was another D-rank assignment.

• Orochimaru summoned Senju Chen to Training Ground 7 and introduced Shisui Uchiha as his new teammate.
• Senju Chen suspected the Uchiha had arranged for Shisui to join his team to monitor and recruit him, but welcomed the chance to work with Shisui.
• Orochimaru assigned the pair a D-rank mission assisting the Konoha Military Police Force with nighttime patrols for one week.
• Orochimaru told Senju Chen and Shisui to report to police headquarters that evening and cooperate as a team.
• After Orochimaru disappeared, Shisui asked whether they should report to the police force, and Senju Chen agreed while inwardly lamenting another D-rank mission.

Senju Chen and Shisui began their night patrol in Konoha’s third district, where Chen sensed three thieves breaking into a warehouse. After Shisui prepared to apprehend them, Chen stepped into the open and began singing a ghost-story nursery rhyme.

• Uchiha Tekka assigned Senju Chen and Shisui to patrol the third district from eleven p.m. to five a.m.
• Shisui and Senju Chen met at the district entrance and began patrolling together.
• Senju Chen secretly sensed several suspicious chakra signatures in an alley and alerted Shisui.
• Shisui and Senju Chen found three thieves trying to break into the back door of a warehouse.
• Senju Chen stopped Shisui from rushing in, then approached the thieves while singing a nursery rhyme.

Senju Chen used Wood Release and psychological warfare to make three thieves confess, then completed a successful week of patrols with Shisui Uchiha. After celebrating their mission, Senju Chen noticed someone following him on his way home and ordered them to come out.

• Senju Chen bound three thieves with vines and frightened them into admitting they had tried to steal Boss Takahashi's offerings.
• Shisui Uchiha emerged from hiding and helped Senju Chen take the thieves to the Konoha Military Police Force Unit.
• Senju Chen and Shisui worked smoothly together throughout the rest of their patrol week, catching thieves, breaking up fights, and rescuing kittens.
• Uchiha Tekka praised Senju Chen and Shisui for earning excellent evaluations and reducing crime in their district by fifty percent.
• Senju Chen and Shisui celebrated their completed mission with tri-colored dango, and Shisui asked about Senju Chen's Wood Release.
• Senju Chen noticed someone following him along a deserted path and called on them to come out.

Senju Chen met Maruboshi Kosuke in an alley and won the veteran’s devoted loyalty by revealing his Senju heritage and comforting him about his regrets toward Tobirama. Kosuke escorted Chen home, and Chen began forming a plan involving his new, highly capable ally.

• Maruboshi Kosuke revealed himself after following Senju Chen through the night, and Chen recognized the legendary Eternal Genin.
• Chen introduced himself as a member of the Senju Clan, prompting Kosuke to kneel and pay respects to Tobirama’s descendant.
• Kosuke recalled how Tobirama had saved him and taught him ninjutsu, and Chen urged him to honor Tobirama by continuing to serve the village.
• Kosuke escorted Chen home and explained that he carried his cooking pot so he could make meals for comrades on missions.
• Kosuke refused Chen’s invitation to come inside, and Chen watched him leave as a bold idea took shape.

Senju Chen planned to recruit Maruboshi Kosuke as an experienced teammate and considered stealing the Flying Thunder God Technique and Sharingan for his combat skills. After Chen raised the idea with Tsunade, she agreed to discuss Kosuke’s possible assignment with the Hokage.

• Senju Chen identified Maruboshi Kosuke as an ideal teammate and mentor for his and Shisui’s two-person team.
• Senju Chen planned to provoke Minato Namikaze into revealing the Flying Thunder God Technique and targeted Shisui Uchiha’s Sharingan as another ability to steal.
• Senju Chen told Tsunade that his missions with Shisui had gone well but that their team could use another member for safety and experience.
• Tsunade became angry when Chen suggested Orochimaru had left him to handle missions alone, but Chen calmed her and defended his teacher.
• Senju Chen suggested that Maruboshi Kosuke join their team, and Tsunade agreed to discuss it with the Hokage, subject to Kosuke’s wishes.

Senju Chen used ideas he attributed to Tobirama Senju to persuade Shisui to make the Konoha Military Police Force Unit serve and earn the trust of villagers. Shisui embraced the ideas, while Chen’s system offered him the chance to steal a one-tomoe Sharingan, which he chose.

• Senju Chen bluntly told Shisui Uchiha that the Uchiha Clan seemed insular, then reassured him that they would remain best friends.
• Shisui explained that his clan wanted to get along with villagers but faced prejudice, and Senju Chen began sharing advice he claimed came from Tobirama Senju’s notes.
• Senju Chen urged Shisui to serve the people, learn their needs, and enforce strict rules against taking anything from villagers.
• Shisui was deeply shaken by Chen’s advice and recognized that his clansmen’s entitled behavior damaged the Military Police Force’s reputation.
• The system offered Senju Chen a choice of abilities, including Uchiha bloodline (one-tomoe Sharingan), and he chose option C.