Chapter Summaries

Xia Mu developed Solar Flare and several powerful techniques, then taught Solar Flare to Shino and Tenten while they reviewed intelligence on ninja tools and Summoning Beasts. The chapter ended with Xia Mu urging Tenten to consider Takumi Village’s four-piece ninja tool set, and Tenten worrying that taking it would damage Konoha’s reputation.

• Xia Mu explained his Solar Flare idea to Shino and promised to teach him after testing it.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and his companions used Ninja Kill cards to confront Danzō and pressured him to disband Root; Danzō agreed while secretly planning to retain control of its former members.
• Xia Mu tested Solar Flare and several new techniques in the Special Laboratory State, then decided to focus his future research on Sage Mode.
• Xia Mu taught Solar Flare to Shino and Tenten, who discussed wearing sunglasses and signaling allies before using it.
• Tenten showed Xia Mu and Shino intelligence about ninja tools and Summoning Beasts, and Xia Mu pointed out that Takumi Village’s four-piece set would suit Tenten.

Tenten joined Team Three with Neji Hyuga and Rock Lee under Might Guy, after choosing ninja tools and a summoning beast through secret bounties. She asked Guy to teach her the Eight Gates and planned to introduce Xia Mu, leaving Guy willing to assess whether he could learn them too.

• Tenten chose Kiba and several special ninja tools, while Xia Mu and Tenten decided to obtain a Giant Mountain Eagle through a bounty.
• More than three years later, Tenten graduated from the Ninja Academy and was assigned to Team Three with Neji Hyuga and Rock Lee, led by Might Guy.
• Tenten told Neji, Rock Lee, and Might Guy the story of Might Duy defeating four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and Guy proudly described his father's sacrifice.
• Tenten repeated Xia Mu's high praise of Guy's strength, prompting Rock Lee to resolve to learn the Eight Gates.
• Tenten asked Guy to teach her the Eight Gates and then teach Xia Mu; Guy agreed to train her and said he would assess Xia Mu's suitability first.

Xia Mu’s friends agreed to keep Naruto away from Ninja Kill for a month, using the promise of a Third Hokage card to help him break his addiction. Xia Mu revealed that Hokage cards were coming soon, while Shikamaru examined the Third Hokage card’s powerful ability.

• Naruto declared that he would avoid playing cards for a month to earn the Third Hokage card.
• Xia Mu told his friends that the card would be sold in a month and that Naruto needed time away from the game.
• Shikamaru inspected the card and saw that the Third Hokage could use any of the Five Elemental Ninjutsu with one arbitrary card.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi had approved the card and personally designed its Five Elemental mastery ability.
• Xia Mu’s upcoming card update included other heroic figures, though only the Third Hokage card was approved for sale at first.

Xia Mu taught Naruto tree climbing to improve his Chakra control, while Naruto gave up cards and stayed to practice. Tenten told Xia Mu that Might Guy would teach them the Eight Gates, and later she surprised Neji in a sparring match with concealed techniques, leaving the team to resume their mission.

• Xia Mu demonstrated tree climbing and water walking, and Naruto repeatedly failed at tree climbing while the other children watched.
• Sakura climbed a tree easily, and Xia Mu explained that Naruto's large Chakra reserves made his Chakra harder to control.
• Naruto stayed behind to practice tree climbing, and Sasuke arrived and saw him training.
• Tenten told Xia Mu that Might Guy was her squad leader and had agreed to teach her the Eight Gates and assess Xia Mu for the same training.
• Tenten and Neji sparred, and Tenten used hidden hands, flashlights, and other attacks to gain the upper hand before Might Guy stopped the match so the team could finish its mission.

Xia Mu revealed his hidden abilities by defeating Sasuke, prompting Iruka and Hiruzen Sarutobi to recognize his talent and consider how to train him. Danzo learned about Xia Mu but held back from approaching him, while continuing to hope he would become Hokage.

• Might Guy asked Tenten about her Tempest Kick, and she explained that her boyfriend had created it as one of the Six Styles.
• At the Ninja Academy, Sasuke challenged Xia Mu to fight without holding back, and Xia Mu used one-handed Water Release and Earth Release techniques to defeat him.
• Xia Mu told Sasuke that he had become stronger to protect Tenten and his friends, then explained that precise Chakra control enabled one-handed seals.
• Iruka reported Xia Mu's abilities to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who reviewed his background and decided to find him a good instructor and guard against Danzo recruiting him.
• Danzo learned of Xia Mu's talent but refrained from acting because Xia Mu had strong ties to Konoha's clans and his Ninja Kill cards were popular; he resolved to pursue the Hokage position instead.

Xia Mu met Kabuto Yakushi at the market, then proved his physical strength to Might Guy and earned the Eight Gates scroll. Guy agreed to introduce him to Kakashi so he could pursue Hatake Kenjutsu, and the chapter ended with Neji challenging Xia Mu to a spar.

• Xia Mu recognized Kabuto Yakushi as a spy in Konoha and resolved to stop him if he targeted Xia Mu or threatened Tenten’s family.
• Xia Mu joined Tenten’s training session with Might Guy’s Team, shared food with them, and passed Guy’s physical assessment through a lengthy taijutsu fight.
• Xia Mu explained that he wanted strength to protect Tenten and his friends, and Guy gave him a scroll containing the Eight Gates technique.
• Xia Mu told Guy he also wanted to learn Hatake Kenjutsu, so Guy agreed to introduce him to Kakashi.
• Guy tried to give Xia Mu a green bodysuit, but Tenten objected and Rock Lee accepted it instead.
• Neji asked Xia Mu to spar with him so he could test Xia Mu’s real strength.

Xia Mu defeated Neji in a spar, drawing Hiruzen Sarutobi’s interest and returning to the Ninja Tool Shop with the Eight Gates scroll. He began studying the technique and considered how Tenten could use its safer gates, while planning to improve his own physical strength.

• Xia Mu used the Six Styles and ninjutsu to overcome Neji’s Gentle Fist and Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven, and Neji admitted defeat.
• Xia Mu praised Neji’s abilities, then declined Might Guy’s invitation to train so he could buy vegetables and prepare dinner for Tenten.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi read an Anbu report about Xia Mu’s strength and considered arranging a jonin teacher after Kakashi tested him.
• Xia Mu reassured Tenten’s father about her team and safety, then opened the Eight Gates scroll while dinner cooked.
• Xia Mu studied the gates’ risks and decided to warn Tenten to limit herself to the third gate, while considering Senzu Beans for emergencies.

Xia Mu studied Might Guy’s Eight Gates scroll and trained with Tenten before testing the gates in the Special Laboratory. He opened the Seventh Gate and used Daytime Tiger, then fainted from pain and woke in the hospital with Tenten and Shino beside him.

• Xia Mu studied the Eight Gates techniques and planned to reach the Seventh Gate’s full potential before the Fourth Shinobi World War.
• Tenten told her father about her training, then studied the Eight Gates with Xia Mu at her home.
• Xia Mu entered the Special Laboratory, opened the First through Sixth Gates, and practiced Morning Peacock.
• Xia Mu repeatedly trained opening and closing the gates until he could instantly open the Sixth Gate.
• Xia Mu increased the gravity, opened the Seventh Gate, and performed Daytime Tiger before fainting from pain.
• Tenten and Shino found Xia Mu unconscious the next day and brought him to the hospital, where he woke as Tenten cared for him.

After Xia Mu explained that he had passed out while training the Seventh Gate in a dreamlike place, his friends grew anxious to improve, and he recovered while planning safer training. Tenten’s team received a mission outside the village, while Naruto’s excitement over his new Hokage Card faded when he learned everyone else had already bought the updated cards.

• Xia Mu told Tenten and Shino that he had passed out from the pain of training the Seventh Gate in a special dreamlike place, and he promised not to act recklessly again.
• Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Sakura, Naruto, Hinata, Kiba Inuzuka, and Sasuke visited Xia Mu, and Sasuke left determined to train harder.
• After recovering, Xia Mu planned to develop techniques for extended combat with the Sixth Gate and prepared camping supplies for Tenten’s team.
• Naruto came to Xia Mu for the promised Third Hokage card, then learned at school that the Ninja Tool Shop had already released new character cards.
• Tenten’s team accepted a C-rank mission to leave the village and suppress bandits, and Tenten went home to prepare before heading to the village gate.

Naruto learned that he had missed the new Ninja Kill character cards, while Tenten returned from a mission shaken by her first killing and the villagers’ grief. Xia Mu comforted her, then learned that Might Guy planned to introduce him to Kakashi so he could pursue Hatake Kenjutsu.

• Naruto confronted Xia Mu about not telling him the character cards had been updated, and Xia Mu reminded him that he had been distracted by the Hokage card.
• Tenten’s team traveled through the rain with supplies from her Summoning Jutsu, then discovered bandits holding prisoners and killed all twenty.
• Might Guy summoned the villagers to identify their dead relatives, and Tenten returned home troubled by their grief and by her first time killing someone.
• Xia Mu held Tenten and comforted her as she explained what had happened on the mission.
• Tenten told Xia Mu that Might Guy would introduce him to Kakashi the next day, and Xia Mu recounted Hatake Sakumo’s history and tragic suicide.

Xia Mu met Kakashi and asked to learn Hatake Kenjutsu, presenting him with a deluxe set of Icha Icha Paradise. After testing Xia Mu's swordsmanship and convictions, Kakashi approved of him as a student and agreed to teach him.

• Xia Mu told Tenten how Kakashi had struggled after Hatake Sakumo's death, and Tenten became determined to help inherit Hatake Kenjutsu.
• Xia Mu and Tenten brought Kakashi a deluxe Icha Icha Paradise set at the training ground, where Kakashi arrived after Guy explained his lateness.
• Kakashi tested Xia Mu's swordsmanship, defeated him, and questioned his reasons for seeking strength and whether he wanted to become Hokage.
• Xia Mu explained that he wanted to protect Tenten, his friends, and the village rather than pursue the Hokage position.
• Kakashi approved of Xia Mu and told him that he had passed the test to learn Hatake Kenjutsu.

Xia Mu received Hatake Sakumo’s swordsmanship scroll from Kakashi and began studying its demanding speed-based techniques. As graduation day arrived, Naruto’s Three Basic Jutsu suddenly malfunctioned, and despite Iruka consulting Hiruzen Sarutobi, Naruto was told he had failed and would need to wait a year.

• Kakashi gave Xia Mu Hatake Sakumo’s swordsmanship scroll, and Xia Mu later studied its emphasis on Lightning Release and extreme speed.
• Xia Mu demonstrated Moon Walk for Kakashi at Ichiraku Ramen, allowing Kakashi to copy the technique, then walked home with Tenten.
• At the graduation exam, Xia Mu passed the Clone Technique test, but Naruto produced a failed clone despite forming the hand seals correctly.
• Iruka tested Naruto’s Transformation and Substitution Techniques, found them abnormal too, and went to consult Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Iruka told Naruto that he had not passed and would have to wait until next year, so Naruto ran to the Hokage Building to ask Hiruzen himself.

After graduating, Xia Mu worried about Naruto’s chakra problems, prepared for his team assignment, and watched Naruto and Sasuke accidentally share their first kiss. The chapter ended with Xia Mu and his friends keeping photographs of the embarrassing moment as Naruto and Sasuke demanded that he destroy them.

• At a barbecue, Shino told Xia Mu and Tenten that Naruto had failed the graduation exam because he suddenly could not control his chakra, while Xia Mu urged Shino not to worry.
• Tenten loaded Xia Mu with ninja tools from her family’s shop, and Xia Mu later set most of the supplies aside before heading to the academy for team assignments.
• Naruto told Xia Mu that Iruka had given him a forehead protector after Mizuki betrayed Konoha and Iruka intervened.
• Naruto and Sasuke accidentally kissed when Naruto confronted him in class, and Xia Mu photographed the moment.
• Sakura and the other girls beat Naruto, while Xia Mu shared the photographs with Shino, Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru despite Naruto and Sasuke demanding he destroy them.

Xia Mu formed Team 9 with Tatsuya Yamashiro and Megumi Kato under their Special Jonin leader, Aoba Yamashiro, and took charge of the team. When Aoba tested them, the three coordinated an ambush that caught him off guard and sent him flying.

• Iruka announced Team 9's members and assigned Aoba Yamashiro as their team leader.
• Xia Mu claimed the role of Team 9's leader, and Tatsuya Yamashiro and Megumi Kato agreed before he treated them to ramen.
• Aoba Yamashiro learned that Xia Mu was a talented student and left to collect his team, while Hiruzen Sarutobi urged him to pay special attention to Xia Mu.
• Aoba took Team 9 to a training ground and ordered the students to show their strength.
• Xia Mu coordinated a three-sided attack with Tatsuya Yamashiro and Megumi Kato, using poison-mist and hooked-wire shuriken to restrain Aoba.
• Aoba blew away the poison mist, but Xia Mu struck him with a second fist from behind and sent him flying.

Team 9 sparred with Aoba Yamashiro, who praised their coordination and identified areas they needed to improve. At a barbecue with other teams, Xia Mu revealed that Kakashi had taught him Hatake Kenjutsu, and Aoba planned to take the squad on a mission the next morning.

• Xia Mu, Megumi Kato, and Tatsuya Yamashiro used coordinated attacks and hidden Shadow Clones to pressure Aoba Yamashiro before he ended their spar.
• Aoba Yamashiro praised Team 9’s teamwork, noted Xia Mu had held back, and told Tatsuya to improve his hand-seal speed.
• Xia Mu told his teammates he had designed their special shuriken for his girlfriend, then Aoba invited Team 9 to Q Meat BBQ and scheduled a mission for the next morning.
• At Q Meat BBQ, Xia Mu told Aoba Yamashiro that Kakashi had taught him Hatake Kenjutsu, prompting Aoba to praise Kakashi and urge Tatsuya and Megumi to keep improving.
• Team 9 met Asuma’s and Kurenai Yuhi’s teams at the barbecue, where Xia Mu caught up with Shino.

Xia Mu led Team 9 through a disguise game during their first D-rank mission, earning Aoba Yamashiro’s praise and guidance for his teammates. After Tatsuya Yamashiro and Megumi Kato learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu, Aoba began testing Xia Mu’s combat strength at the training grounds.

• Xia Mu reported his new team assignment to Tenten and spent the night with her before meeting Tatsuya Yamashiro and Megumi Kato the next morning.
• Xia Mu explained how D-rank work could teach the team to disguise themselves, then challenged Aoba Yamashiro to find them in the wheat fields.
• Aoba Yamashiro quickly exposed Tatsuya Yamashiro and Megumi Kato, but Xia Mu used Shadow Clones and a weed disguise to evade him before being found through chakra sensing.
• After the team completed the wheat-harvesting mission, Aoba agreed to teach ninjutsu, and Xia Mu recommended Shadow Clone training and Chakra-control exercises for his teammates.
• Tatsuya Yamashiro and Megumi Kato learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu in one day, and Aoba asked Xia Mu to show the full extent of his fighting skills.
• Xia Mu prepared to test his Six Styles, Eight Gates, and Hatake Kenjutsu against Aoba Yamashiro.

Xia Mu sparred with Aoba Yamashiro, then helped train Megumi Kato and Tatsuya Yamashiro until Team 9 received its first C-rank mission outside the village. As the team prepared to escort a merchant caravan to the Land of Fire, Xia Mu encountered Team 7 on a cat-catching mission, and Naruto asked Kakashi how he knew him.

• Xia Mu used the Six Styles, the Eight Gates, and Hatake Kenjutsu against Aoba Yamashiro, who judged him to be around elite Chunin or Special Jonin level and agreed to keep sparring with him.
• Xia Mu persuaded Megumi Kato to study Medical Ninjutsu and taught her Water Style techniques and two of the Six Styles, while Tatsuya Yamashiro learned techniques from Xia Mu and Aoba Yamashiro.
• After a month of training and D-rank missions, Team 9 received a C-rank mission to escort a merchant caravan to the capital of the Land of Fire.
• Xia Mu passed Team 7 while Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura chased a cat, greeted Kakashi, and hurried toward the village gate.
• Naruto asked Kakashi whether he knew Xia Mu after seeing them speak.

Xia Mu led Team 9 on its first mission outside Konoha, escorting a merchant caravan to the Land of Fire's capital. After a brief encounter with bandits, the uneventful mission ended, and Xia Mu went out to explore the capital while Tatsuya Yamashiro and Megumi Kato left together.

• Kakashi said Xia Mu's team was leaving on a mission, prompting Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to demand one too, but Kakashi told them to wait for the Hokage's arrangements.
• At the village gate, Xia Mu silenced the complaining merchant by suggesting he pay for an S-rank escort, and Aoba Yamashiro put Xia Mu in command of the mission.
• Megumi Kato spotted ten armed bandits ahead, and Tatsuya Yamashiro used his crow summons to defeat them before Aoba Yamashiro learned they were refugees seeking toll money.
• Xia Mu ordered the bandits beaten and left by the road, then led Team 9 onward; they camped overnight and reached the Land of Fire's capital the following evening.
• Aoba Yamashiro let the team explore the capital, Tatsuya Yamashiro and Megumi Kato left together, and Xia Mu headed into the lively streets.

Xia Mu captured an Otogakure ninja who had followed Tatsuya Yamashiro and Megumi Kato, and Aoba Yamashiro learned that Orochimaru was planning an action against Konoha. Hiruzen Sarutobi convened a meeting with Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, excluded Danzo, and then faced his uninvited arrival; Xia Mu returned to Konoha and found Tenten anxious.

• Xia Mu caught an Otogakure ninja following Tatsuya Yamashiro and Megumi Kato, and Aoba Yamashiro read the captive's memories.
• Aoba Yamashiro learned that Orochimaru had founded Otogakure and was preparing an unknown action against Konoha, so he hurried Team 9 back to the village on Xia Mu's Giant Mountain Eagle, Badora.
• Aoba Yamashiro reported the threat to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who sent the captive to the Interrogation Department and called Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu to a meeting.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi accused Danzo of maintaining ties with Orochimaru and temporarily restricted his authority; Danzo argued with him and stormed out.
• Xia Mu returned to the Ninja Tool Shop and found Tenten waiting anxiously.

Xia Mu warned Tenten about Orochimaru and gave her Senzu Beans before Team 9 returned from a bandit-clearing mission. Their reunion with Might Guy’s team led to a spar, where Rock Lee gained the upper hand against Tatsuya Yamashiro.

• Xia Mu gave Tenten gifts, told her about the suspected threat from Orochimaru, and entrusted her with three Senzu Beans.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Team 9 a C-rank mission to eliminate bandits, and Xia Mu, Tatsuya Yamashiro, and Megumi Kato killed people for the first time.
• Xia Mu and Team 9 met Tenten and Might Guy’s team at Ichiraku Ramen, and Aoba Yamashiro agreed to a spar between the teams.
• Rock Lee fought Tatsuya Yamashiro, whose Four Demon Technique failed to keep pace as Rock Lee smashed apart its two extra arms.