Chapter Summaries

Shin'un tested his newly developed Lightning Release techniques against a Sunagakure Jonin, killing him with Lightning Release: Lightning Snake after the Jonin escaped Lightning Release: Lightning Net. Shin'un then inspected the remains, pleased with the technique’s usefulness but wary of its overwhelming destructive power.

• The Sunagakure Jonin examined the mortally wounded Toshihiko and ended his suffering, while Shin'un prepared another attack.
• Shin'un cast Lightning Release: Lightning Net, but the Jonin used Wind Release: Vacuum Wave to break through and escape.
• Shin'un summoned more than a dozen lightning snakes with Lightning Release: Lightning Snake and controlled them to pursue the Jonin.
• One lightning snake bit the Jonin, and the swarm surrounded him before exploding and leaving his body in pieces.
• Shin'un dispersed the lightning and checked the crater, judging Lightning Release: Lightning Snake practical but devastating against ordinary ninja.

After defeating the Sunagakure pursuers, Shin'un rejoined Shiina Kō and Yūichi and urged the team to resume escorting Yakushi Nonō toward the Land of Fire border. He hid his chakra in the Qi Sea and pretended to collapse from exhaustion so Nonō would report a less alarming account of his power to Konoha.

• Shin'un left the pit after confirming the Sunagakure Jonin was dead and noticed a powerful water blade cut through the forest nearby.
• Shiina Kō emerged carrying a Sunagakure ninja's head and half a Chunin's corpse, while Yūichi arrived with two heads and both stared at the destruction left by Shin'un's Lightning Pillar.
• Shin'un reminded Shiina Kō and Yūichi of their escort mission and told them to signal Yakushi Nonō so they could leave before more pursuers arrived.
• Shin'un transferred most of his remaining chakra into his Qi Sea, collapsed, and let Shiina Kō feed him a Military Rations Pill.
• Yakushi Nonō emerged from hiding, saw Shin'un's apparent exhaustion, and relaxed; Shin'un had staged the collapse so she would report that he had nearly exhausted his chakra.

Shin'un led his team to a Konoha border outpost and waited to rendezvous with Hatake Sakumo. The outpost's Jonin Kōsuke gave them shelter and dinner, which the team tested for poison before eating.

• Shin'un and his teammates traveled for two days toward the Land of Fire without encountering Sunagakure pursuers.
• Shin'un brought his group to the Konoha outpost, explained their situation to the patrol, and refused to reveal Yakushi Nonō's classified identity.
• Jonin Kōsuke recognized Shin'un, allowed the group to stay in an empty dormitory, and left ninja to watch them.
• The team rested in the dormitory, and Jonin Kōsuke sent them stewed wild boar and flatbread for dinner.
• Shiina Kō fed some stew to a white mouse, and the team waited half an hour before eating when it remained active.

After three years on the Land of Rain battlefield, Shin'un returned to Konoha with Hatake Sakumo and reunited with his parents at their flower shop. The next morning, Suzume told him that Lord Hokage wanted to see him.

• Hatake Sakumo arrived at the outpost, and the group rested before continuing to escort Yakushi Nonō toward Konoha.
• After four days of travel, Hatake Sakumo led Shin'un's group through the Konoha Gate and dismissed most of the Anbu.
• Shin'un, Shiina Kō, and Yūichi parted ways to return to their homes.
• Shin'un reunited with his parents, Toyoko Hirakawa and his father, at their flower shop, and they closed the shop to celebrate his return.
• The next morning, Suzume appeared outside Shin'un's window and told him that Lord Hokage wanted to see him.

Shin'un arrived at the Hokage's office and found Tsunade arguing with Hiruzen Sarutobi over Nawaki's graduation and deployment to war. After Tsunade accepted that she could not protect her brother forever, Hiruzen turned his attention to Shin'un.

• Shin'un entered the Hokage's office and was surprised to find Tsunade back from the front.
• Tsunade explained that she had returned to develop an antidote for Ibuse's poison gas after Hanzo's forces drove Konoha, Sunagakure, and the Stone Ninja into retreat.
• Tsunade confronted Hiruzen Sarutobi for secretly allowing Nawaki to graduate from the Ninja Academy and go to the battlefield.
• Hiruzen argued that Nawaki was a ninja who could not be protected forever, and Tsunade fell silent despite her anger.
• Hiruzen reassured Shin'un that, as Orochimaru's student, he belonged to Hiruzen's line of students, then regarded him as a promising future pillar of Konoha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned Shin'un to explain that he was descended from the Senju Clan through his grandmother. Shin'un began reconsidering his unusual chakra growth, while Hiruzen told him to ask his father about the family history.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi discussed Shin'un's Lightning Release: Lightning Pillar, recognizing it as an S-rank technique best suited to enormous targets.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi revealed that Shin'un's grandmother belonged to the Senju Clan, making Shin'un a Senju descendant.
• Tsunade noticed Shin'un's silver-white hair resembled the white hair of her second grandfather and wondered if the trait had skipped generations.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi described Senju traits, including exceptional chakra growth, elemental aptitude, and the occasional powerful physique.
• Shin'un recalled that his chakra had grown unusually quickly, and Hiruzen Sarutobi urged him to ask his father about the Senju Clan.

Tsunade explained that Shin'un’s Senju blood made him eligible for the clan’s secret medicine and began telling him how the Senju Clan dissolved into Konoha. The chapter left her account about to begin after Shin'un recalled that Tobirama Senju had written the school history that minimized Madara Uchiha’s role.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Tsunade to take Shin'un to the Senju compound for secret medicine, and she agreed.
• Tsunade explained how clan medicines were tailored to their bloodlines and said the Senju had warehouses full of their own.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi insisted that Nawaki’s graduation was decided and advised Tsunade to find him a suitable Jonin teacher.
• Tsunade told Shin'un that many Konoha residents carried Senju blood because the clan had disbanded and integrated into the village.
• Tsunade asked Shin'un how Konoha was founded, and he summarized the alliance between Hashirama Senju and the Uchiha Clan.
• Shin'un remembered that Tobirama Senju had written the history textbook, which praised the Uchiha while largely erasing Madara Uchiha.

Tsunade explained that Hashirama Senju dissolved the Senju Clan so its members could integrate into Konoha, while their descendants continued to gather around the clan’s secret medicines. As Shin'un entered the crowded Senju residence, he realized the clan had survived under a different name and wondered how many Konoha ninja carried Senju blood.

• Tsunade told Shin'un that Hashirama Senju had dissolved the Senju Clan with Tobirama Senju's support, scattering its bloodlines throughout Konoha.
• Shin'un followed Tsunade to the Senju residence and found many adult ninja and children entering and leaving to collect secret medicine.
• Tsunade explained that the crowd had gathered because ninja had recently returned from the border and front lines, and that the medicines served purposes beyond helping children grow.
• Tsunade led Shin'un inside as the visitors respectfully made way for her, and she confirmed that they all had Senju blood.
• Shin'un concluded that the Senju had preserved a close-knit clan network without its name, and marveled at how widespread their bloodline might be in Konoha.

Tsunade gave Shin'un Senju Secret Medicine and explained its many uses before taking him to meet the Senju Clan's remaining elders. After learning Shin'un's family history, the elders recognized his father’s name and asked whether he was Shinkaku Hirakawa.

• Tsunade collected a bag of Senju Secret Medicine and handed it to Shin'un, explaining its benefits and uses.
• Shin'un swallowed one pill and felt its effects spread through his body, lifting his spirits.
• Tsunade led Shin'un through the quiet rear of the Senju residence to meet five elderly clan elders.
• Tsunade introduced Shin'un and explained that his grandmother had married out of the Senju Clan.
• Elder Fukuma asked whether Shin'un's father was Shinkaku Hirakawa, and Shin'un confirmed it.

Shin'un learned that his grandmother was Senju Reima, making him and Tsunade distant relatives and peers, while the Senju elders urged him to serve Konoha and obey the Hokage. Tsunade invited him to lunch at the Senju residence and went to fetch her younger brother Nawaki, who was avoiding her.

• Elder Fukuma told Shin'un that his grandmother, Senju Reima, came from the Senju Clan's central branch and that Shin'un and Tsunade shared a great-great-grandfather.
• The head elder confirmed Shin'un had become a Jonin and told him to work for Konoha and respect the Hokage.
• Shin'un realized the Third Hokage had sent him to the Senju elders partly so they would persuade him to be loyal to Konoha.
• Tsunade explained that the Senju elders had always lectured clan members to serve first the clan and then Konoha.
• Tsunade invited Shin'un to stay for lunch and asked the servants to bring Nawaki, but Nawaki said he did not dare come.
• Tsunade left to drag Nawaki over after suspecting he was avoiding her because he had graduated from the Ninja Academy behind her back.

Shin'un visited Tsunade and met her younger brother Nawaki, who wanted to go to war in the Land of Rain despite Tsunade's objections. After Nawaki mistook Shin'un's warnings for encouragement and declared him his role model, Shin'un left and decided to test the Senju Secret Medicine through training.

• Tsunade introduced Shin'un to Nawaki, who had recently graduated as a Genin, and left them to finish lunch together.
• Nawaki told Shin'un that Tsunade wanted him to take safe missions in Konoha, while he wanted to go to the battlefield in the Land of Rain.
• Shin'un tried to make Nawaki reconsider by telling him to judge whether he was strong enough to survive on the battlefield, but Nawaki took it as encouragement.
• Nawaki called Shin'un his big brother and role model, then waved an exuberant goodbye as Shin'un hurried away from the Senju residence.
• Shin'un decided to train and test whether the Senju Secret Medicine was as impressive as Tsunade had claimed.

Shin'un tested the Senju Secret Medicine at a secluded training ground and discovered that it sped up chakra recovery, conserved stamina, and permanently strengthened his body during physical training. He decided to increase his conditioning and ordered custom training weights, prioritizing strength despite concerns about his growth.

• Shin'un went to a secluded training ground and tested the Senju Secret Medicine, finding that his chakra recovered about thirty percent faster.
• Shin'un ran and trained for an hour, discovering that the medicine conserved stamina and awakened strength that permanently strengthened his body.
• Shin'un decided to devote more time to physical training and planned to write a new training schedule at home.
• Shin'un noticed a ninja tool shop while returning to his family's flower shop and decided to order custom training weights despite worrying that they might affect his growth.

After a week of intensive training in Konoha, Shin'un was summoned by Hiruzen Sarutobi and told he would likely return to the increasingly dire battlefield in the Land of Rain. Hiruzen said he would explain the mission once another person arrived.

• Shin'un trained with heavy weights and swallowed another Senju Secret Medicine pill to sustain his workouts.
• Suzume found Shin'un at the training ground and told him Lord Hokage wanted to see him.
• Shin'un went home to change before following Suzume to the Hokage Building.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi cautioned Shin'un about training with weights at his age, then said the worsening front-line situation might require him to return to the Land of Rain.
• Hiruzen told Shin'un to wait until another person arrived before he explained the mission details.

Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Tsunade to mass-produce an unfinished antidote and lead reinforcements to the central Land of Rain, while appointing Shin'un an elite jonin and sending him to aid Nara Shikahito in the south. After they left, Hiruzen defended his choice to the village advisers, questioning whether Koharu and Homura were still strong enough to lead troops.

• Tsunade told Hiruzen Sarutobi that her unfinished antidote could delay Ibuse's poison for at least two hours and could be mass-produced that night.
• Hiruzen ordered Tsunade to produce antidotes and lead reinforcements to Orochimaru and the others in the central Land of Rain.
• Hiruzen assigned Shin'un to lead a thousand ninja south to support Nara Shikahito against the Sand Ninja and promoted him to elite jonin on the spot.
• Tsunade and Shin'un accepted their mission orders and left the Hokage's office.
• Utatane Koharu questioned Hiruzen's decision to entrust the mission to thirteen-year-old Shin'un, and Hiruzen challenged her and Mitokado Homura's fitness to lead troops.

Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Hirakawa Shin'un to lead reinforcements to Nara Shikahito and ordered Shimura Danzō to take Root into the Land of Rain to weaken the Sand Ninja–Stone Ninja alliance. Tsunade then asked Shin'un to take Nawaki to the Sand Ninja front, where she thought the fighting would be safer than the poison-filled Rain Ninja front.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi rejected Shimura Danzō's objections and confirmed that Hirakawa Shin'un would lead over a thousand ninja to Nara Shikahito before handing over command.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Shimura Danzō to lead Root into the Land of Rain and drive a wedge between the Sand Ninja and Stone Ninja; Danzō agreed to leave that night.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi's chakra cracked his pipe after Shimura Danzō and the two advisers left the Hokage's office.
• Tsunade asked Shin'un to take Nawaki with him to the Sand Ninja battlefield because she feared Nawaki would sneak to the front after she left Konoha.
• Tsunade explained that she preferred the Sand Ninja front because Ibuse's poison gas made the Rain Ninja front especially deadly, despite Konoha having an unfinished antidote.

Shin'un agreed to take Nawaki to the Land of Rain and prepared to return to the front lines the next morning. After packing his supplies, he checked the progress and effect of his loading [Diligent Study] skill.

• Shin'un agreed to Tsunade's request to have Nawaki report to him at Konoha's gates the next morning.
• Shin'un returned home, ate lunch, and told his parents he was heading back to the Land of Rain.
• Shin'un packed ten Senju Secret Medicine pills in a pouch and sealed the rest of his medicine chest into a scroll.
• Shin'un organized his ninja tools and equipment for the journey.
• Shin'un tried entering a ridiculous skill into the Skill Editor, but it could not load while [Diligent Study] occupied the progress bar.
• Shin'un saw that [Diligent Study] had reached 6% progress and read its effect, which greatly enhanced learning and research.

Shin'un considered how [Diligent Study] could boost his learning and research while recognizing that it could not replace innate talent. With his departure for the Sand Ninja front in the Land of Rain scheduled for the next morning, he rested and cherished his final quiet hours in Konoha.

• Shin'un reviewed how [Diligent Study] could make him highly capable in several subjects he studied diligently, including Sealing Jutsu, Medical Ninjutsu, and Lightning Release.
• Shin'un acknowledged that learning other chakra natures would remain difficult because he lacked talent for them, and he had no intention of spending a progress bar on another mastery skill.
• Shin'un rejected the idea of writing an all-powerful skill or one that patched the Skill Editor, fearing the long loading times and possible consequences.
• Shin'un reviewed [Extreme Reaction], [Lightning Release Mastery], and [Qi Sea], the three skills he had obtained by age thirteen.
• Shin'un looked out at the bright afternoon, then lay down to rest before leaving for the Land of Rain the next morning, possibly for two years.

Hirakawa Shin'un gathered a thousand ninja at Konoha’s gate to lead them to the Land of Rain, where they would join Nara Shikahito. When the assembled force ignored him, Shin'un used Lightning Release: Thunderclap to get their attention and ordered them to check their equipment before departure.

• Hirakawa Shin'un caught several Konoha ninja gossiping about his age and warned them that their carelessness could cost lives on the battlefield.
• Shin'un met with his eleven jonin command staff and ordered the ten battalion leaders to prepare their units to depart in formation.
• Shin'un learned from Shirai Rei that the troops were noisy because they did not yet respect him.
• Shin'un used Lightning Release: Thunderclap to silence the thousand ninja gathered before him.
• Shin'un used Shirai Rei's megaphone to order the ninja to inspect their equipment and depart in nine minutes.

Shin'un met up with his teammates and Nawaki before their deployment and ordered Nawaki to stay close to him on the battlefield. He examined the necklace Tsunade had given Nawaki, then learned from Shiina Kō that Kushina Uzumaki was grieving the recent death of her only relative in Konoha.

• Shin'un found Nawaki, Yūichi, Shiina Kō, and Kushina Uzumaki among the shinobi preparing to leave for the battlefield.
• Nawaki excitedly welcomed Shin'un and said he planned to charge at the front, but Shin'un told him to stay by his side.
• Nawaki lent Shin'un the necklace Tsunade had given him, and Shin'un sensed a small amount of Hashirama Senju's Wood Release chakra inside it.
• Shin'un noticed Kushina Uzumaki's unusual silence and pulled Shiina Kō aside to ask what was wrong.
• Shiina Kō told Shin'un that Kushina's only relative in Konoha had died a few months earlier.

Shin'un led a force of nearly a thousand Konoha ninja toward the Land of Rain after Kushina Uzumaki's behavior and heavy Anbu surveillance raised questions he chose not to answer for Shiina Kō. Near the border, scouts spotted a small Sunagakure force, and Shin'un ordered his army to advance and crush through it.

• Shiina Kō told Shin'un that Kushina Uzumaki had lost her only relative and was being watched by at least three Anbu squads, but Shin'un kept the Nine-Tails secret and sent her to fetch Yūichi and Nawaki.
• Three days later, Shin'un led nearly a thousand Konoha ninja toward the Land of Rain and ordered Shirai Rei to tell the squads to move stealthily.
• An Inuzuka Clan scout reported three Jonin, thirty-six Chunin, and an unknown number of Genin from Sunagakure ahead.
• Shin'un inferred that Konoha's defensive line was failing and ordered his force to head straight for the Sand Ninja and crush through them.