Recaps

Dōmeki and Haku entered the Land of Grass and saw the stark divide between its impoverished outer city and wealthy inner city. Haku intervened when a Grass Ninja tried to seize a girl for unpaid fees, and Dōmeki whisked everyone away before more ninja arrived.

• Kakashi bid Dōmeki and Haku farewell at the Land of Grass's border, lamenting that their travels had emptied his wallet.
• Dōmeki and Haku crossed the desolate Land of Grass and reached its capital, where the poor outer city contrasted with the prosperous inner city.
• Haku heard a Grass Ninja dragging a girl away over unpaid fees and saw the ninja threaten the girl's mother with a kunai.
• Haku froze the Grass Ninja's hand and kunai with his icy power, then looked to Dōmeki in alarm.
• Dōmeki summoned chains to bind the people and made them vanish before other ninja could respond.

Haku struggled with what to do after rescuing a mother and daughter, and Dōmeki sent him to escort them to the Land of Rice Fields as a test. Dōmeki learned that the Grass Ninja held Uzumaki prisoners at the royal palace, where Horii Tarō and the daimyō were abusing an Uzumaki woman and threatening her daughter, Karin.

• Dōmeki urged Haku to use his power to protect people and gave him training instructions, Explosive Tags, and Kunai before sending him with the mother and daughter to the Land of Rice Fields.
• Dōmeki secretly sent a Shadow Clone after Haku to protect him, then questioned the captured Grass Ninja, Jirō, about the Uzumaki prisoners.
• Jirō revealed that the Uzumaki clanspeople were held at the royal palace in the Castle of Grass, and Dōmeki killed him and disposed of his body.
• At a palace banquet, the daimyō complained about his declining stamina, and Horii Tarō claimed an Uzumaki woman’s life energy could restore him.
• Horii Tarō presented a battered Uzumaki woman, then revealed that she had a daughter named Karin as the daimyō and ministers eyed her hungrily.

Dōmeki rescued Karin Uzumaki from a Grass Ninja and entered the palace hall where her mother was being held by Horii Tarō and the nobles. He stood with Karin and her mother as he remarked that a storm was coming.

• A Grass Ninja led Karin Uzumaki from her dungeon, telling her she could see her mother, who was being abused by Grass Ninja and nobles.
• Karin sensed a warm Chakra presence, and Dōmeki appeared, killed the Grass Ninja, and promised to bring her mother home.
• Dōmeki took Karin by the hand and led her toward the palace hall.
• The wind blew open the hall doors, revealing Dōmeki beside Karin and her red-haired mother, covered with a coat.
• Dōmeki looked toward the night sky and said, "Looks like a storm tonight!"

Dōmeki confronted the Land of Grass’s nobles and shinobi after discovering how they had treated Karin and her mother. As hundreds of Grass Ninja attacked, he unleashed a Kirin that obliterated them.

• Dōmeki arrived at the royal palace with Karin and confronted Horii Tarō and the Land of Grass’s nobles.
• Horii Tarō attacked Dōmeki, who crushed his hand and let him summon reinforcements.
• Dōmeki raised a forest of black weapons from the ground, killing the nobles and suspending the daimyo above them.
• Horii Tarō summoned hundreds of Grass Ninja, and Dōmeki sent a Shadow Clone to escort Karin and her mother away.
• Dōmeki rose above the palace and summoned a lightning-clad Kirin that obliterated the incoming ninjutsu and its attackers.

Dōmeki returned to Otogakure with Uzumaki Kana and Karin after destroying the Land of Grass’s palace and rescuing them. At Orochimaru’s laboratory, he reunited with Haku and Kimimaro, and Orochimaru gave him a birthday present.

• Sakamoto told an inn’s guests that a lightning-wielding divine beast had destroyed the Land of Grass’s palace, and he hinted that a red-haired boy had summoned it.
• Dōmeki arrived at the inn with Kana and Karin, and Karin realized the guests were talking about him.
• Dōmeki and his companions rested before continuing their slow journey toward Otogakure.
• Sakata and Katsura welcomed Dōmeki back to the Sound Ninja base, where he learned that Orochimaru was waiting for him.
• Dōmeki reunited with Orochimaru, Kimimaro, and Haku in the laboratory, and Orochimaru presented him with a long box as his birthday gift.

Dōmeki gave Kimimaro’s bloodline disease a possible explanation: an imbalance between Yang and Yin Release. Orochimaru became fascinated by the idea of using Sharingan to treat it, while Dōmeki considered how to pursue his own experiments.

• Orochimaru gave Dōmeki the treasured blade Futsunomitama for his birthday and praised him for finding people with rare bloodlines.
• Haku and Kimimaro reunited with Dōmeki, who saw how danger had hardened Haku while Kimimaro remained solemn and reserved.
• Orochimaru explained that Kimimaro’s unusually pure Shikotsumyaku carried destructive Yang Release Chakra that damaged his body’s cells.
• Dōmeki suggested Kimimaro’s illness came from an imbalance between Yang Release and Yin Release, and Orochimaru excitedly proposed giving him Sharingan.
• Dōmeki considered the Kaguya and Hyuga clans’ distant relation and thought about obtaining Byakugan and asking Kimimaro to help with his experiments.

Kakashi reported major upheavals in the Land of Water to Hiruzen, who assigned him to lead a team of young ninjas. Meanwhile, Dōmeki trained against Haku and Kimimaro until Orochimaru summoned him to the Northern Base.

• Kakashi gave Hiruzen classified intelligence about the Fourth Mizukage, the Kaguya Clan, Zabuza, and the Three-Tails, and Hiruzen ordered the report sealed and recorded the operation as an S-rank mission.
• Hiruzen persuaded Kakashi to become a team leader, and Kakashi accepted after securing the right to fail students.
• Might Guy challenged Kakashi outside the Hokage Building, while Hiruzen received news that the Land of Grass had been destroyed.
• Dōmeki fought Haku and Kimimaro in training and used chains to drain their Chakra, but the chains crumbled before he could hold them.
• Xiaobai delivered Orochimaru's order for Dōmeki to go to the Northern Base.

Dōmeki traveled with Haku and Kimimaro to the Land of Hot Water to capture a wooden monster for Orochimaru’s experiments. After arriving in Yugakure, he spotted a familiar-looking target at a crowded gambling den and decided to make a fortune.

• Orochimaru showed Dōmeki an experiment involving natural energy and asked him to bring back a rampaging humanoid monster made of wood.
• Dōmeki invited Haku and Kimimaro on the mission, while Karin promised to train hard so she could help him in the future.
• The three reached the peaceful Land of Hot Water and noticed the lively tourist trade and lightly dressed young women.
• In Yugakure, Dōmeki led Haku and Kimimaro into a crowded gambling den after spotting a possible extraordinary person.
• Dōmeki saw a large mound of snowy-white fullness at the gambling table and called its owner a fair fat sheep.

Dōmeki Shun challenged Tsunade to gamble, expecting the Legendary Sucker to lose, but she won three million ryō from him. He left the gambling den after giving her his name.

• Dōmeki called Tsunade the Legendary Sucker, angering her and prompting her to smash the gambling table.
• Shizune stopped Tsunade from punching Dōmeki, who caught her fist with ease.
• Dōmeki offered to gamble with Tsunade and had Haku bring out his cash.
• Tsunade won all of Dōmeki’s money, taking three million ryō while Shizune smiled behind her.
• Dōmeki fled the gambling den, and Tsunade asked his name; he called back, “Dōmeki Shun.”

Dōmeki met Tsunade at the hot spring before taking Haku and Kimimaro to an island base to investigate a dangerous forest monster. In the forest, he found an orange-haired child feeding birds and a dog, recognized him as the monster’s true form, and sent Kimimaro to meet him.

• Dōmeki teased Haku after he emerged from the women’s bath, then encountered Tsunade and declined her offer to gamble again because his group had a mission.
• The next day, Dōmeki, Haku, and Kimimaro arrived at the island base and learned that a wood-bodied monster had repeatedly injured the base’s members.
• Dōmeki led Haku and Kimimaro into a forest rich in natural energy and wondered whether the monster was connected to it.
• Dōmeki spotted an orange-haired child feeding birds and playing with a white dog, identified him as the monster’s true form, and told Kimimaro to go meet him.

Kimimaro found Jūgo hiding in a cave and helped him control his berserk transformation, becoming his self-proclaimed cage. Dōmeki diagnosed Jūgo’s condition and sealed him to suppress his uncontrolled absorption of Natural Energy.

• Kimimaro followed the frightened orange-haired boy to a secluded cave and learned that he feared hurting others.
• Kimimaro told the boy he had once been treated as a monster too, then restrained his transformation with a chain made from his vertebrae.
• The boy returned to normal and introduced himself as Jūgo, while Kimimaro promised to be his cage.
• Dōmeki identified Jūgo’s berserk episodes as incomplete Sage Mode caused by excessive Natural Energy and proposed three ways to address it.
• Dōmeki used Magnet Release: Eight Trigrams Sealing to temporarily suppress Jūgo’s absorption of Natural Energy.

Dōmeki followed Jūgo’s origins to a vast forest, where he found a tree bearing Senju and Uzumaki emblems and was transported to a shrine. There he discovered an ancient sword and struggled to lift it, ending as a mysterious voice told him he was using the Sage’s Blade incorrectly.

• Dōmeki searched the forest near Jūgo’s birthplace, following the dense Natural Energy until he found a massive tree radiating Yang Release.
• He recognized Senju and Uzumaki emblems on the tree and pressed his bloodied hand to them, causing the tree to glow and transport him away.
• Dōmeki woke in a shrine and sensed harmonious Natural Energy in a crystal offering table, briefly envisioning the God Tree spanning the Earth.
• He noticed an ancient black sword on a stand and struggled to lift its immense weight.
• Dōmeki activated Super Electromagnetic Release Mode One: Spiral Power as chakra poured from the sword, and a voice warned him that he was using the Sage’s Blade incorrectly.

Dōmeki met Asura’s lingering chakra spirit in the shrine and discussed the state of the Shinobi World and the fate of their clans. Asura judged Dōmeki capable of helping with the world’s crisis and asked what he had come to the shrine for.

• Dōmeki saw Asura emerge from the God Tree design on the crystal altar and claimed him as an ancestor, asking for powerful inheritances.
• Asura explained that his lingering chakra could not give Dōmeki the abilities or artifacts he wanted, then praised Dōmeki’s apparent Buddhist wisdom.
• Dōmeki said he was a materialist and argued that peace could not rest on understanding alone, pointing out that Asura and Indra had failed to understand each other.
• Asura recalled Hashirama Senju awakening Wood Release at the shrine and asked about his descendants; Dōmeki said the Senju and Uzumaki clans were nearly extinct.
• Dōmeki told Asura that Indra and Asura’s reincarnations had even shared their first kisses, leaving Asura distraught.
• Asura said he believed Dōmeki could help with the crisis in the Shinobi World and asked what he had come to the shrine for.

Dōmeki asked Asura about adding Yin and Yang Release traits to his Kekkei Genkai, and Asura warned him against following the path of Wood Release and the God Tree. Before disappearing, Asura gave Dōmeki the Sage’s Blade, which helped him enter a sustained state that could aid his Senjutsu training.

• Dōmeki asked Asura for advice about combining Yin and Yang Release with a self-created Kekkei Genkai, and Asura warned him that the God Tree was a threat to the Shinobi World.
• Dōmeki gave Asura a series of novels, and Asura secretly kept Icha Icha Paradise after criticizing it.
• Asura gave Dōmeki the Sage’s Blade in exchange for the books and taught him to accept its power with a calm mind.
• Dōmeki entered a state in which Natural Energy gathered around him and the Sage’s Blade resonated with an electromagnetic ring on his wrist.
• Asura praised Dōmeki’s clear gaze as he began to fade, then asked him to prevent his reincarnations from having a romantic relationship with his brother.
• Dōmeki promised to try and left the room with the Sage’s Blade.

Dōmeki brought Hozuki Suigetsu to Otogakure, where Suigetsu joined Karin and Jūgo as a future teammate, and four peaceful years passed. In Sunagakure, Fourth Kazekage Rasa agreed to Orochimaru’s plan and ordered Baki to travel to Otogakure.

• Dōmeki rescued Hozuki Suigetsu, who repeatedly tried to kill him while traveling with him toward Otogakure.
• Dōmeki brought Suigetsu to Orochimaru, then stopped Suigetsu and Karin from fighting and told them they were teammates alongside Jūgo.
• Dōmeki’s life remained peaceful for four years.
• Rasa reviewed Sunagakure’s financial decline and growing dependence on Konoha.
• Rasa ordered Baki to go to Otogakure and tell Orochimaru that he agreed to the plan.

Dōmeki trained Suigetsu, Karin, and Jūgo while considering Sage Mode, then intercepted a Root ninja sent by Danzo to deliver a letter to Orochimaru. He accepted the letter after disarming the messenger, who left threatening to report him to Danzo.

• Dōmeki made Suigetsu, Karin, and Jūgo plant rice as training, while Suigetsu complained and repeatedly got knocked into the mud.
• Dōmeki demonstrated his water and Magnet Release techniques, and his Shadow Clone hinted that the team might soon go on a mission.
• In his secret room, Dōmeki recovered from turning to stone as the Sage’s Blade drew out natural energy, then received Orochimaru’s order to welcome a guest.
• Dōmeki met a Konoha Anbu ninja in the forest and learned he was a Root messenger carrying a letter from Danzo for Orochimaru.
• Dōmeki took the ninja’s sword with Magnet Release, forced him to leave the letter, and watched him depart with a threat to report back to Danzo.

Orochimaru and Danzo prepared their plan to attack Konoha during the Chunin Exams, with Dōmeki tasked with helping and testing Sasuke. Baki secured Sunagakure’s participation, then returned to Rasa, who ordered more people to test Gaara.

• Orochimaru read Danzo’s letter and told Dōmeki that the date for their plan had been set.
• Orochimaru explained that he intended to kill his teacher, bring Sasuke back, and use Dōmeki to test Sasuke as a potential vessel.
• Dōmeki escorted Baki to Orochimaru, and Baki confirmed the Fourth Kazekage’s agreement to the plan.
• Baki arranged a meeting between Orochimaru and Rasa in three days to discuss dividing the spoils.
• Baki reported that Gaara still could not control the One-Tail, and Rasa ordered more people to test him.

Dōmeki and Kimimaro joined Orochimaru to meet Fourth Kazekage Rasa in the desert, where Orochimaru and Rasa agreed to attack Konoha during the Chunin Ninja Exams. After Rasa accepted Orochimaru’s request to take some children, Orochimaru revealed his final demand: Rasa’s head.

• Dōmeki and Kimimaro crossed the Land of Wind desert and met a Sunagakure Anbu group at the agreed location.
• Rasa unleashed a towering wave of sand, then appeared above it and demanded Orochimaru show himself.
• Orochimaru emerged from a swarm of snakes and discussed the plan to have Sunagakure and Otogakure attack Konoha during the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Rasa agreed to send Sunagakure’s Jinchūriki against Konoha, while Orochimaru promised to deal with the Third Hokage.
• Orochimaru asked to take some children from Konoha as spoils, then told Rasa that he wanted his head.

Orochimaru attacked Fourth Kazekage Rasa and revealed Dōmeki as a former Sunagakure ninja who had developed Magnet Release on his own. Rasa launched a Gold Dust assault against Dōmeki, who declared that his power was Super-Electromagnetic Release.

• Orochimaru sent snakes at Rasa while Dōmeki and Kimimaro were attacked by Sand ninja, and Kimimaro stayed behind to hold them off.
• Dōmeki flew into the sky, prompting Rasa to recognize his Magnet Release and suspect he was a red-haired son of his.
• Dōmeki joined Orochimaru and revealed that he had been driven out of Sunagakure despite being the child of a deceased Genin.
• Orochimaru provoked Rasa into challenging Dōmeki, then withdrew and left them to fight.
• Rasa unleashed Magnet Release: Gold Dust Wave at Dōmeki, who called his ability Super-Electromagnetic Release.

Dōmeki overpowered Rasa’s Gold Dust attacks and rejected the Fourth Kazekage’s offer to make him Sunagakure’s next Kazekage. Rasa escalated the battle by raising a gigantic Iron Sand Cube and bringing it down on Dōmeki.

• Dōmeki’s sand tsunami overwhelmed Rasa’s Gold Dust wave, and he questioned why Rasa had made Gaara the One-Tail’s Jinchūriki.
• Rasa offered to make Dōmeki his sole disciple and the next Kazekage, but Dōmeki refused.
• Rasa attacked with a barrage of Gold Dust needles, which Dōmeki deflected with his katana.
• Rasa formed steel spears with Magnet Release-Gold Dust World Order, but Dōmeki’s spinning blade cut through them and struck Rasa’s Gold Dust sphere.
• Rasa summoned a gigantic Iron Sand Cube and brought it crashing down toward Dōmeki.

Dōmeki summoned a towering electrified giant that caught Rasa’s falling Iron Sand cube and fought off his Gold Dust spears. Rasa then summoned Shukaku, bringing Sunagakure’s ultimate weapon into the battle.

• Rasa dropped a colossal Iron Sand cube toward Dōmeki while Kimimaro held off the Kazekage’s guards.
• Dōmeki formed the Giant God Soldier from Super Electromagnetic Release and stopped the falling cube.
• Dōmeki’s giant lifted the cube into the air and shaped it into a spear as he challenged Rasa to continue fighting.
• Rasa attacked with Gold Dust spears, but Dōmeki and the giant swept them aside in a clash.
• Rasa summoned Shukaku from a black tea kettle.

Dōmeki fought Rasa’s Chakra clone of Shukaku and defeated it with the Giant God Warrior, exhausting the chakra stored in Sunagakure’s tea kettle. Rasa retrieved the kettle and, resolved not to surrender, prepared to continue the fight.

• Shukaku emerged from Rasa’s tea kettle, and Dōmeki realized the One-Tail was a Chakra clone rather than the real beast.
• Shukaku attacked Dōmeki’s Giant God Warrior with a Drilling Air Bullet, but Dōmeki shattered it with his spinning, lightning-charged spear.
• Dōmeki and Shukaku clashed across the desert as Rasa withdrew and Orochimaru watched from a distant sand mound with Kimimaro.
• Shukaku fired a Tailed Beast Bomb, and Dōmeki pierced it and pinned Shukaku’s head to the desert with his spear.
• Shukaku’s body collapsed into sand and the tea kettle, but Rasa dismissed the Summoning Technique and reclaimed the vessel.
• Rasa resolved to keep fighting rather than surrender.

Dōmeki defeated and sealed Rasa, then stopped Orochimaru from killing him and asked his master to spare the Fourth Kazekage in return for an old favor. Orochimaru agreed, though he noted that losing Rasa’s face would complicate his plans.

• Rasa charged Dōmeki, but Dōmeki overpowered him in a close-range fight and slammed him into the sand.
• Dōmeki sealed Rasa before he could use Gold Dust Burial, leaving the Kazekage unable to move.
• Orochimaru arrived with Kimimaro and revealed that he planned to take the lead in carrying out his scheme as the Fourth Kazekage.
• Orochimaru attempted to kill Rasa with the Kusanagi Sword, but Dōmeki stopped the blade and asked him to spare Rasa to repay an old debt.
• Orochimaru agreed to Dōmeki’s request, and Rasa asked who Dōmeki had once owed a favor.

Dōmeki arrived in Konoha with Haku and Kimimaro for the Chunin Ninja Exams, treating the trip like a sightseeing tour. At Ichiraku Ramen, he ran into Kakashi and persuaded Haku and Kimimaro to thank him for dinner, leaving Kakashi fearing Dōmeki would empty his wallet again.

• Dōmeki, Haku, and Kimimaro reached Konoha late after sightseeing and passed the gate registration handled by Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane.
• Dōmeki announced that he would pay for everything in Konoha and chose Ichiraku Ramen as their first stop.
• Ayame welcomed the three boys and introduced Ichiraku's ramen specialties.
• Dōmeki spotted Kakashi eating ramen and greeted him, then told Haku and Kimimaro that Kakashi was treating them.
• Kakashi objected, but Dōmeki reminded him of their previous agreement, making Kakashi recall the danger of having his wallet controlled.

Dōmeki visited Konoha for the Chunin Ninja Exams with Haku and Kimimaro, drawing Kakashi’s suspicion as he explored the village. He encountered the exam’s young participants, and Temari recognized him as Dōmeki Shun.

• Dōmeki showed Kakashi his Otogakure Genin registration and teased him about taking care of his students during the exams.
• Kakashi followed Dōmeki, Haku, and Kimimaro around Konoha and confronted Dōmeki about Zabuza’s account of the Mizukage’s death.
• Dōmeki offered Kakashi one hundred million for Kubikiribōchō, but Kakashi refused to sell it.
• Dōmeki and Kakashi encountered Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and the Sunagakure trio in the street, where Kakashi introduced Dōmeki’s group.
• Temari recognized Dōmeki, who greeted her after a long time apart.