Chapter Summaries

Kei denied Mei Terumi’s suspicion that he had been holding back at the Ninja Academy. Mei challenged him to prove himself at the graduation assessment, while Kei remained unaware that her suspicions began with a glance he had given her years earlier.

• Mei Terumi confronted Kei and asked for a fair match, accusing him of holding back in class.
• Kei denied that he had ever gone easy and argued that hiding his ability would serve no purpose.
• Mei told Kei she would see him at the graduation assessment and left with a disquieting smile.
• Kei wondered why Mei had taken an interest in him, not realizing her suspicion came from his first glance at her.

Kei worried that Mei Terumi would force a confrontation during Kirigakure’s graduation exam, then prepared to face the exam as hundreds of students gathered in the forest west of the village. Vice Principal Koshimizu Tsuki began addressing the candidates, leaving Kei and the others to face their first test.

• Kei left the Ninja Academy worried that Mei Terumi might corner him during the graduation exam and decided to prepare in advance.
• Students submitted applications for early graduation, bringing the number of candidates for this year’s exam to 317, many of them young members of powerful clans.
• On January 8, Kei joined the other candidates in the forest west of Kirigakure for the graduation exam.
• A red-haired staff member reported that all 317 candidates were present to Vice Principal Koshimizu Tsuki.
• Koshimizu Tsuki surveyed the candidates with an intimidating gaze, testing whether they could withstand the pressure.

Kei prepared to pass Kirigakure’s graduation exam without drawing attention, while anticipating interference from Mei Terumi. Koshimizu Tsuki began the exam, and Mei entered the forest in the first batch, leaving Kei to face the challenge ahead.

• Kei reflected on Kirigakure’s harsh traditions and decided his immediate priority was passing the graduation exam smoothly.
• Kei and Mei Terumi exchanged wary, teasing glances as they waited for the exam to begin.
• Koshimizu Tsuki warned the students that they could treat one another as enemies or teammates and that only their final results mattered.
• Koshimizu Tsuki sent the first batch of examinees into the forest with instructors, beginning the individual missions.
• Mei Terumi entered the forest with the first batch and gave Kei a meaningful look before leaving.

Kei entered the graduation assessment grounds in the same group as Heiji Kaguya, who immediately attacked him. Kei evaded the first strike and prepared to fight as Heiji threatened him and drove the other candidates away.

• Kei worried that Heiji Kaguya would interfere with his assessment task when they entered the forest together.
• Kei joined Heiji and four other candidates at the designated entrance to the examination grounds.
• Heiji charged Kei as soon as they entered and brought a heavy kick down on him.
• Kei dodged the kick, questioned Heiji, and drew a kunai as Heiji declared he would kill him.
• Heiji threatened the other candidates, who fled into the forest.

Kei and Heiji Kaguya clashed, with Kei using Ice Release to keep the close-combat specialist at a distance and restrict his movements. Heiji broke through Kei’s attacks but ended the chapter pinned in place and wounded by ice needles.

• Heiji drew a bone spike from his body and charged Kei, whose kunai met it in a clash that revealed Heiji’s superior strength and speed.
• Kei froze Heiji’s bone weapon and retreated while Heiji shattered the ice and tried to close in.
• Kei formed six ice pillars around Heiji, but Heiji used Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets to pierce and break them apart.
• Kei bound Heiji’s feet with ice and attacked him with the Flying Swallow Snow Storm Technique.
• Heiji used Dance of the Willow to block most of the ice needles, but several pierced his skin and drew blood.

Kei evaded Heiji Kaguya by using Ice Release to fake his disappearance, then set out to collect the mission items required for his graduation exam task. He avoided unnecessary fights and headed toward the area where he expected to find the first item.

• Kei's ice-needle attack ended, and Heiji discovered that Kei had vanished and pursued a figure he saw fleeing.
• Kei revealed he had stayed nearby, using refracted light and breath suppression to fool Heiji.
• Kei decided to avoid needless battles and prioritize completing his exam task, wary of examinees with clan backgrounds.
• Kei climbed a tall tree, located the likely direction of the first mission item, and sped toward it.

Kei avoided the fights in Kirigakure’s graduation assessment and collected four of his five mission items. He set out for the scarce final item, unaware that another examinee had begun following him.

• Kei avoided other examinees and completed four parts of his mission without getting drawn into battle.
• Kei studied a map during lunch and realized his final item was scarce, with only about two-thirds of examinees assigned the same mission expected to find it.
• Kei chose a route to reach the final item before sunset and hurried into the forest.
• Two furtive figures found Kei’s trail, and one followed him while the other headed back.
• Kei continued toward his target, unaware that he was being tracked.

Kei followed a coded mark toward the final mission item, but encountered the wounded Minazuki Ranne fleeing a pursuer. He chose to help his clanswoman and recognized the pursuer as Kisame Hoshigaki.

• Kei found a coded mark in the forest and used it to determine the direction of the final mission item.
• Kei sensed someone ahead and decided to continue toward the item rather than abandon his search.
• Kei encountered the badly wounded Minazuki Ranne as she fled from a pursuer.
• Kei chose to meet Ranne and help her, despite the danger.
• Kei recognized Ranne's pursuer as Kisame Hoshigaki and realized they were taking the assessment in the same year.

Kei and the wounded Minazuki Ranne faced Kisame Hoshigaki, who demanded their mission item and threatened their clan’s honor. Ranne refused to retreat, and Kisame launched a Water Release attack as the battle began in earnest.

• Kei judged Kisame Hoshigaki to be a formidable opponent and told Ranne to tend to her wounds while he fought.
• Ranne insisted on fighting alongside Kei despite her injuries, and Kei accepted her decision.
• Kisame offered to let them go if they handed over the mission item.
• Ranne refused to surrender the item or let Kisame sully the Minazuki Clan’s honor.
• Kisame used Water Release: Water Ripple Jutsu, and Kei and Ranne leaped aside to evade the surging water.

Kei and Minazuki Ranne fought Kisame Hoshigaki, with Ranne supporting Kei after he blocked Kisame's attack. Kei overwhelmed Kisame with Ice Release and close-range strikes, but Kisame rose and charged back into the fight.

• Minazuki Ranne used Ice Release: Flower Crystal Technique to block and send Kisame Hoshigaki's waves back toward him.
• Kei intercepted Kisame as he charged at the injured Ranne, blocked his sword, and told her to retreat and support him from behind.
• Kisame used Water Release: Water Bullet Technique, but Kei froze and shattered the bullets before attacking from above.
• Kei used Ice Release: Frost Binding Technique to freeze Kisame's sword, then kicked him away and sent him crashing to the ground.
• Kisame sprang up, drew a kunai, and charged at Kei again.

Kei overwhelmed Kisame Hoshigaki in close combat while Minazuki Ranne watched in shock, though Kei continued to restrain his dangerous Ice Release. Cornered and badly injured, Kisame unleashed a massive Water Release attack.

• Minazuki Ranne watched Kei suppress Kisame Hoshigaki and realized Kei was far stronger than she had believed.
• Kei kept his Ice Release power restrained because he could not fully control it, while using taijutsu to dominate Kisame.
• Kei exploited Kisame's lack of skill with short weapons and repeatedly wounded him, leaving him pinned on the defensive.
• Kei broke Kisame's guard with a heavy kick, sending him crashing into a tree and coughing up blood.
• Kisame, fearing he would die if the fight continued, used Water Release: Water Shockwave Jutsu, summoning a massive wave from beneath the ground.

Kei stopped Kisame Hoshigaki’s massive Water Release jutsu with Ice Release, forcing Kisame to retreat. Kei returned to Ranne and asked who Kisame was and how she had become involved with him.

• Kisame Hoshigaki unleashed a huge wave of water that left Ranne shaken by the gap in their strength.
• Kei used Ice Release: Freezing to turn Kisame’s waves into an enormous iceberg.
• Kisame cursed Kei and retreated, while Kei chose not to pursue him.
• Kei dispelled the iceberg and returned to Ranne, who asked whether he had defeated Kisame.
• Kei said Kisame had retreated and asked Ranne who he was and how she had encountered him.

Kei learned that Ranne had been defeated by Kisame Hoshigaki while competing for the same exam item. Unable to continue the exam, Ranne gave Kei the item he needed, and he accepted it.

• Ranne explained that Kisame Hoshigaki had defeated her while they fought over their shared exam assignment.
• Kei acknowledged Kisame's strength and reassured Ranne that he had not come to take her mission item.
• Ranne offered Kei the item, explaining that her injuries meant she could no longer continue the exam.
• Ranne told Kei she planned to train and take the graduation exam again next year.
• Kei accepted the mission item from Ranne.

Kei accepted Ranne’s mission item and escorted her toward the exam exit after saving her from Kisame Hoshigaki. Near the outskirts, a female attacker ambushed them with water bullets, and Kei blocked the attack with an Ice Wall Jutsu.

• Ranne gave Kei the mission item, and he accepted it as repayment for saving her life.
• Kei offered to escort the injured Ranne out of the exam grounds, and she agreed.
• Kei and Ranne traveled toward the exit, with Kei taking a detour to avoid other examinees.
• Near the forest’s outskirts, a female attacker fired a Water Bullet Technique at them.
• Kei formed an Ice Wall Jutsu that blocked the water bullets.

Mei Terumi intercepted Kei during the examination and challenged him to a fair fight, while Kei realized she had tracked him down and reflected on his lack of vigilance. Ranne understood the personal reason behind Mei’s challenge, but Kei missed the hint and prepared to take her words at face value.

• Mei Terumi appeared on a tree branch after blocking Kei’s attack, and Ranne was shocked to see her seeking him out.
• Kei wondered how Mei had found him, unaware that she had recruited academy students to track him.
• Kei asked Mei why she had intercepted him, while reflecting that he no longer intended to avoid every fight.
• Mei said she wanted a fair fight and pointed out that Kei had fought Heiji Kaguya and Kisame Hoshigaki but refused to fight her.
• Ranne understood Mei’s pride and turned a knowing look toward Kei, while Kei focused on how Mei had learned about his other battles.

Kei accepted Mei Terumi’s challenge to fight before graduation, asking her to let the injured Ranne leave first. After Ranne departed, Kei and Mei began battling, and Kei’s ice jutsu froze and shattered Mei’s water attack before his ice cones continued toward her.

• Kei accepted Mei Terumi’s challenge and asked her to let the injured Ranne leave the examination grounds.
• Mei agreed, and Kei reassured Ranne that she would be safe before she left.
• Ranne departed, mistakenly suspecting that Kei and Mei shared a secret relationship.
• Mei Terumi attacked Kei with Water Release: Water Fang Wave Jutsu.
• Kei countered with Ice Release: Swallow Snow Storm Jutsu, freezing and shattering Mei’s waves as his ice cones continued toward her.

Kei changed tactics against Mei Terumi after her Boil Release melted his ice spikes, then used a combination of techniques to disrupt her advance. The chapter ended as Mei noticed nearly invisible threads beside her and tried to retreat.

• Mei Terumi used Boil Release to melt Kei's ice spikes, forcing him to abandon a direct Ice Release clash.
• Kei backed away and fired Water Bullets, but Mei dodged them and advanced with a Water Release technique that sent two waves toward him.
• Kei froze the incoming waves into an ice sculpture, climbed to its peak, and attacked Mei with shuriken and a Wind Release technique.
• Kei's gale scattered the shuriken and dispersed some of Mei's Boil Release mist, while also revealing transparent threads beside her.
• Mei noticed the threads and tried to pull back.

Kei defeated Mei Terumi by using feints and a hidden wire trap, then spared her after she conceded. Mei accepted the loss and was reminded that a moment of carelessness in the shinobi world could cost her life.

• Kei pulled the shuriken threads tight and bound Mei Terumi before she could use a jutsu.
• Kei put a kunai to Mei Terumi’s neck and declared that she had lost.
• Mei Terumi conceded that Kei’s feints had fooled her, and Kei freed her.
• Kei said he had been lucky and that Mei’s slight advantage might decide a rematch, but Mei insisted a win was a win.
• Mei Terumi reflected that Kei could have killed her and resolved not to let her guard down as she entered the shinobi world.

Kei and Mei Terumi discussed his changed attitude and her organized group’s efforts to track his movements during the graduation exam. After they parted, Kei passed the exam and received his Kirigakure forehead protector.

• Mei Terumi asked Kei about his strength and changed attitude, and Kei said he had gained clarity after figuring things out.
• Kei realized Mei Terumi had organized candidates to track him, and she explained that they cooperated to improve everyone's chances of completing the exam.
• Mei Terumi and Kei congratulated each other and agreed to call one another by name as future comrades.
• Kei left the exam grounds, where an examiner confirmed he had collected the required items, declared him a graduate, and handed him a Kirigakure forehead protector.
• Mei Terumi watched Kei leave, then returned to the forest to continue her exam and preparations for the future.

Kei passed the graduation assessment and officially became a Mist ninja, then returned to the Yuki Clan compound to tell Kiko Minazuki the good news. He was greeted by clan members before meeting little Ayumi Minazuki at Kiko’s door.

• Kei accepted Kirigakure’s forehead protector after passing the assessment and was told to return for the graduation ceremony in three days.
• Kei returned to the Yuki Clan compound, where the guards and clan members congratulated him on graduating.
• Kei made his way to Kiko Minazuki’s home to share his success with her.
• Ayumi Minazuki greeted Kei warmly and asked whether he had been busy because he had not visited her for days.