Recaps

Shinki answered the difficult Chunin exam questions at extraordinary speed while Sasuke secretly copied him, and Ibiki increased the pressure by eliminating a team for one member’s repeated cheating. When Shinki tried to help Naruto, he spotted Gaara’s sand eyeball spying on answers and slapped it away, leaving Gaara injured and furious.

• Shinki quickly completed all nine questions, drawing the attention of Sakura, Sasuke, and Ibiki Morino.
• Sasuke used his Sharingan to copy Shinki’s answers, while Ibiki learned that Shinki was a war orphan, a member of Kakashi Hatake’s team, and a skilled user of the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Ibiki eliminated examinees 12 and 25 because their teammate, number 36, had been caught cheating five times, making Naruto afraid to risk copying Hinata’s answers.
• Shinki worried about Naruto and considered how he could help him answer the exam questions.
• A sand eyeball appeared near Shinki, and he slapped it apart; Gaara cried out with a bleeding eye and angrily resented Shinki for calling it a mosquito.

During the Chunin Ninja Exams, Shinki learned the Mind Body Switch Technique, used it to fill in Naruto’s answers, and sold answers to other examinees through mental communication. He then urged Naruto not to quit before Ibiki Morino revealed that everyone still in the room had passed the written round.

• Ino Yamanaka used the Mind Body Switch Technique to enter Shinki’s body and copy his answers, and Shinki realized he could learn the technique himself.
• Shinki mastered the technique, entered Naruto’s body, and completed Naruto’s exam paper while Naruto was unconscious.
• Shinki used the Mind Transmission Technique to offer the first nine answers to examinees for one thousand copper coins each, earning tens of thousands of copper coins.
• Ibiki Morino announced that examinees who answered the tenth question incorrectly would be eliminated with their teammates, while those who refused would lose only their own chance to continue.
• Shinki told Naruto through mental communication not to quit, and nearly half the examinees left before the countdown ended.
• Ibiki Morino announced that everyone remaining had passed the first written round of the Chunin Ninja Exams.

Shinki and the other examinees passed the first Chunin exam and received the rules for the Forest of Death scroll battle. After most of the people who owed Shinki for cheating refused to pay, the teams entered Training Ground Forty-Four as the second exam began.

• Ibiki Morino revealed that the final question had determined who passed, then introduced Mitarashi Anko as the second-stage examiner.
• Mitarashi Anko explained that teams had five days to bring both a heaven scroll and an earth scroll to the tower in the Forest of Death.
• Shinki, Sasuke, and Naruto signed the death liability waivers required to take part in the exam.
• Shinki demanded payment from the teams he had helped cheat, but all except one team denied owing him money and refused to pay.
• At two in the afternoon, the teams entered Training Ground Forty-Four, and Mitarashi Anko started the exam.

Shinki exposed an Amegakure impostor, rescued Naruto, and forced the captured team to pay an inflated debt and surrender a scroll. As Shinki continued through the Forest of Death intent on collecting more debts, Otogakure Examinees pursued a mission and Konoha Anbu discovered three corpses outside Training Ground Forty-Four.

• Sasuke and Shinki discussed how to pass the exam, then Shinki and Sasuke realized the Naruto who returned from the bushes was an impostor.
• Shinki used the Flying Thunder God Technique and a Rasengan to expose the Amegakure Ninja impersonating Naruto, then rescued the real Naruto and captured the impostor's two teammates.
• Shinki charged the Amegakure team fifteen thousand copper coins each and took their Earth Scroll, refusing to untie them before leaving with Naruto and Sasuke.
• Three Otogakure Examinees moved through the forest while saying it was time to fulfill their mission.
• Konoha Anbu found three corpses outside Training Ground Forty-Four and alerted the Hokage to a possible attack on the exam students.

Shinki’s team established a secret password and spent the day collecting scrolls and debts in Training Ground 44. As Naruto kept watch that night, a disguised Orochimaru-led group hunted for Sasuke and Shinki.

• Mitarashi Anko learned that a spy had attacked an examinee with a Forbidden Technique, and she ordered the search teams to find him without confronting him alone.
• Shinki proposed the password “odd changes, even stays the same; check the quadrant to determine the sign,” and Sasuke and Naruto agreed to use it.
• Shinki, Sasuke, and Naruto gathered three Heaven Scrolls, five Earth Scrolls, and money by tracking and defeating teams Shinki had marked with Flying Thunder God.
• Shinki and Sasuke went to sleep while Naruto reluctantly took watch by the campfire.
• Three Kusagakure impostors, led by Orochimaru, searched the forest for Sasuke and Shinki, whom Orochimaru coveted for their bodies and abilities.

Shinki, Sasuke, and Naruto encountered Orochimaru, an S-rank wanted criminal, and escaped after Naruto was badly injured. Shinki teleported the team to Rock Lee’s group, where he explained they had fled from a powerful enemy.

• Naruto was struck by a giant snake released by a Grass Ninja and suffered a collapsed chest, while Shinki rescued him and Sasuke with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• The female Grass Ninja revealed herself as Orochimaru, and Shinki recognized him as a former disciple of the Third Hokage and an S-rank wanted criminal.
• Shinki warned Sasuke to run, then teleported himself, Sasuke, and the injured Naruto away from Orochimaru, who expected them to continue toward the center of the training ground.
• Shinki’s team appeared on Rock Lee’s back while he was doing push-ups, waking Rock Lee, Tenten, and Neji.
• Shinki told Neji that they had encountered a powerful enemy and used the Flying Thunder God Formula he had placed on Rock Lee to reach them.

After Shinki reported Orochimaru’s infiltration to Yamato’s Anbu team, he stayed in the exam and resumed collecting scrolls from other squads. On the exam’s fourth day, Shinki’s team headed to the Central Tower to sell their surplus scrolls, while other teams continued to suffer from being robbed.

• Shinki discovered that he had marked Rock Lee’s leg weights with a Flying Thunder God Formula and explained that Orochimaru had forced his squad to flee.
• Shinki tried to teleport to the Hokage’s Office to report Orochimaru, but Yamato and his Anbu team arrived and said the Hokage already knew.
• Yamato told the Anbu that Shinki was strong enough to become an Anbu Captain, surprising the other masked ninjas.
• After two cautious days, Shinki’s squad resumed collecting debts and accumulated seven Heaven Scrolls, eight Earth Scrolls, and coins.
• Shinki explained that the squad could sell its surplus scrolls for a hundred thousand copper coins each and led them toward the Central Tower.
• A Kusagakure team and a Sunagakure team met in the Forest of Death and admitted that they had both been robbed of their scrolls.

Shinki subdued a giant bear, rescued Karin, and then set up a stall selling the scrolls his team had stolen. The chapter left Shinki, Naruto, and Sasuke facing Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro as the Sand team prepared to attack.

• Shinki defeated a giant bear, formed a summoning contract with it, and rescued Karin, who had been separated from her teammates.
• Shinki invited Karin to join his group, but she declined and later reunited with her teammates, who realized Shinki had robbed them and many other teams of their scrolls.
• Shinki, Naruto, and Sasuke set up a stall outside the central tower to sell thirteen Heaven and Earth scrolls.
• Mitarashi Anko told the proctors that Shinki had already proved his strength and loyalty, so they let the stall continue.
• Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro arrived at the stall, and Kankuro urged Gaara and Temari to attack Shinki's group.

Shinki faced Kankuro, Gaara, and their teammate after they tried to take his scrolls, but the confrontation turned into a sale. He sold Gaara’s team a damaged scroll for eighty thousand copper coins and celebrated his first deal.

• Kankuro attacked Naruto with a puppet, but Sasuke pulled Naruto aside and Shinki deflected the puppet’s kunai before using the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique against Kankuro.
• Gaara shielded Kankuro from Shinki’s shuriken with sand, then offered to buy a scroll from Shinki.
• Shinki rejected Gaara’s fifty-thousand-coin offer and demanded forty thousand more, despite Naruto and Sasuke signaling him to stop.
• Gaara agreed to pay eighty thousand copper coins, and Shinki sold his team a scroll that had been dropped and stepped on.
• Naruto calculated how many bowls of Ichiraku Ramen the money could buy, and Sasuke called him illiterate.

Shinki sold scrolls to Gaara’s team and made a deal with Karin’s team to guard his stall in exchange for a scroll. When Dosu, Zaku, and Kin Tsuchi arrived to attack him and Sasuke, Shinki’s kunai was blown off course by Zaku’s high-pressure air.

• Gaara praised Shinki’s immense chakra and called him a formidable opponent, while Orochimaru watched and considered Shinki’s potential as a body.
• Karin’s team asked to buy scrolls but could not afford them, so Shinki offered them a scroll in exchange for acting as his bodyguards.
• As more teams arrived at the Central Tower, Shinki noticed Dosu, Zaku, and Kin Tsuchi approaching and warned Naruto and Sasuke to prepare for a fight.
• Dosu ordered the Sound Ninja trio to attack, and the three Grass Ninja bodyguards charged in, hoping to earn another scroll.
• Dosu used his sound weapon to hurt everyone’s ears, and Shinki threw a kunai at it, but Zaku deflected the kunai with a blast of high-pressure air.

Shinki used Earth Release, Fire Style, and Flying Thunder God to defeat the three Sound Ninja and trap them in a swamp. The Sound Ninja struggled in the mud as Dosu warned them that struggling would make them sink faster.

• Shinki raised an Earth-Style Wall, then used three more walls to knock the Sound Ninja off balance while Naruto threw a Kunai at Dosu’s sound-wave weapon.
• Shinki teleported to Dosu with Flying Thunder God and struck the Sound Ninja with Phoenix Flower Fire, destroying Dosu’s sound-wave emitter.
• Shinki teleported back to Naruto and turned the ground beneath the fallen Sound Ninja into a swamp, trapping all three.
• Naruto, Sasuke, and the Grass Ninja watched in amazement as Shinki subdued the Sound Ninja.
• Dosu told Zaku and Kin to stop struggling in the swamp, while Zaku complained that Shinki knew more than Flying Thunder God.

Shinki defeated the Sound Ninja trio and agreed to save them only if they paid him, while Naruto was persuaded that this showed Konoha’s magnanimity and strength. Shinki then exposed his suspicions that the trio served Orochimaru, leaving Orochimaru shocked that Shinki had sensed him hiding nearby.

• Dosu, Zaku, and Kin realized Shinki had overwhelmed them and asked him to rescue them from the Swamp.
• Shinki demanded a hundred thousand Copper Coins per person, then refused their offer of Ninja Tools when they said they could not pay.
• Shinki persuaded Naruto that refusing to help until the trio paid showed the iron fist of a great nation.
• Orochimaru watched Shinki’s Ninjutsu and considered recruiting him as a potential asset.
• Shinki asked whether the Sound Ninja trio served Orochimaru, and their hesitation confirmed his suspicion.
• Orochimaru realized Shinki had sensed him in the forest and wondered whether Shinki was an Uzumaki with powerful sensory abilities.

Orochimaru attacked Shinki, Sasuke, and Naruto in the Forest of Death, but Shinki burned the giant snake he summoned and the Proctors and Anbu engaged him. Orochimaru used a Mud Clone to distract them, then bit Sasuke and placed curse markings on him before escaping.

• Anko recognized Shinki's warning about Orochimaru, and a giant snake burst from the forest and swallowed the Grass Ninja trio.
• Orochimaru appeared and targeted Sasuke, while Shinki dodged the snake's attack and destroyed it with his Great Dragon Fire Jutsu.
• Anko and the Proctors and Anbu charged Orochimaru, and Shinki cut open the snake's stomach and rescued the three Grass Ninja.
• Naruto and Sasuke watched Orochimaru fight the Anbu until Shinki realized the Orochimaru they were facing was a Mud Clone.
• Orochimaru stretched his neck to attack the group, bit Sasuke's shoulder, and implanted curse markings before withdrawing.

Orochimaru placed the Cursed Seal of Heaven on Sasuke before escaping, leaving Sasuke with only a one-in-ten chance of surviving. Shinki devised and used a Sealing Jutsu to suppress the seal and ease Sasuke’s pain, then gave Anko the formulas behind it.

• Anko attacked Orochimaru after seeing him bite Sasuke, but he melted into the ground and escaped while threatening to destroy Konoha if she canceled the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Anko identified Sasuke’s new mark as the Cursed Seal of Heaven and explained that only one in ten recipients survived its implantation.
• Shinki tested a Sealing Jutsu on himself, then used it on Sasuke to reduce his pain and suppress the Cursed Seal’s effects.
• Anko asked Shinki who had taught him the technique, and Shinki wrote down its formulas for her, saying he had created it himself.

Anko took Shinki’s notes on his unprecedented Sealing Jutsu to the Third Hokage, who concluded that Shinki had developed it himself. In the Forest of Death, Shinki surrendered the scrolls needed to pass and entrusted the rest to Karin to distribute, then left with Sasuke and Naruto for safety.

• Anko told the assistant proctor to protect Shinki, Naruto, and Sasuke, then rushed to show the Third Hokage Shinki’s Sealing Jutsu notes.
• Shinki chose to pass the exam and gave up the chance to sell his extra scrolls so he could take the injured Sasuke and Naruto to safety.
• Shinki placed his spare scrolls on Karin and told her to help the other Konoha teams pass the exam.
• The Third Hokage told Anko that Yamato had not taught Shinki the Sealing Jutsu and concluded Shinki had developed it himself.
• Anko worried Shinki could become another Orochimaru, while the Third Hokage vowed to ensure he stayed an upright person.

Shinki stayed with Sasuke through the Cursed Seal’s critical period, and his Sealing Jutsu successfully kept Sasuke alive until he woke. Shinki and Sasuke reached the Forest of Death just as the exam ended, where seven teams passed and Konoha’s teams thanked Shinki for helping them.

• Anko and Kakashi checked on Sasuke in the hospital, and Kakashi was amazed that Shinki’s Sealing Jutsu had suppressed the Cursed Seal.
• Sasuke woke after safely passing the critical period, and Kakashi told him that Shinki had watched over him all night.
• Shinki used the Flying Thunder God Technique to take Sasuke to the Forest of Death, where Naruto welcomed Sasuke back.
• Seven teams passed the exam, while Shinki learned Karin’s team had been ambushed after Karin gave her scrolls to Konoha’s ninja.
• Ino, Choji, Neji, and Tenten thanked Shinki, and Ino protested when Tenten held his hand.

After the second Chunin Ninja Exam, the Third Hokage announced that the third exam would be held in a month and Gekko Hayate began the preliminary matches. Shinki drew the first match and faced Kankuro, who vowed not to hold back.

• Tenten teased Ino about her feelings for Shinki, while Naruto noticed that Shinki was oblivious to them.
• The Third Hokage announced the third exam would take place in a month, and Gekko Hayate explained that preliminaries would narrow the contestants.
• Kabuto Yakushi withdrew, claiming he lacked Chakra, though Shinki sensed that Kabuto had plenty.
• Gekko Hayate had the remaining examinees draw lots for one-on-one matches, and Shinki drew Heaven One.
• At Konoha Training Ground 22, Shinki entered the first match against Kankuro, who said he would not hold back.

Shinki defeated Kankuro in the preliminaries, and the ten finalists were chosen after the remaining matches. With a month left before the finals, Shinki, Naruto, and Sasuke sought training from Kakashi, who assigned Sasuke to himself and said he had found Naruto a new teacher.

• Shinki saw through Kankuro's disguise as Crow, marked the puppet with a Flying Thunder God Formula, and forced Kankuro to surrender.
• Shino defeated an Amegakure Ninja, while Gaara defeated Rock Lee and crushed his left leg after Lee refused to give up.
• Sasuke defeated a teammate of Kabuto Yakushi, and Naruto beat Kiba Inuzuka after a hard-fought match.
• The ten finalists were revealed as Shinki, Gaara, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Shikamaru Nara, Neji Hyuga, Temari, Shino, Tenten, and an Amegakure Ninja.
• Shinki, Naruto, and Sasuke went to Kakashi for training, and Kakashi said he would train Sasuke and had found a new teacher for Naruto.

Kakashi told Shinki to study Genjutsu on his own and directed him to Kurenai Yuhi for help. Shinki visited Team 8’s training ground to ask Kurenai about Genjutsu, while Kakashi mistakenly believed he was struggling with his studies.

• Kakashi suggested that Shinki study Genjutsu and told him to ask Kurenai Yuhi for guidance.
• Naruto asked Kakashi to let him train with Shinki because he learned well from him and wanted to learn the Rasengan.
• Kakashi told Naruto that Shinki was too busy studying Genjutsu to be disturbed.
• Kiba and Shino sparred at Team 8’s training ground while Hinata practiced using her Byakugan.
• Shinki arrived at the training ground and told Kurenai he wanted to discuss Genjutsu.

Shinki tested a Genjutsu he had devised on Kurenai, whose mind suffered severe trauma and who collapsed. Kurenai woke in the hospital the next day with lingering pain, while Kakashi kept Shinki away as she recovered.

• Shinki told Kurenai he had created a Genjutsu and asked her to assess it.
• Kurenai entered Shinki’s Genjutsu, where demons appeared to torture her, and she lost consciousness after he dispelled it.
• Shinki used the Flying Thunder God Technique to take Kurenai to the hospital, where a doctor said her mind had suffered a severe shock.
• Kakashi and Asuma relieved Shinki at the hospital, and Kakashi sent him home to avoid upsetting Kurenai when she woke.
• Kurenai woke the next day with a headache, and a nurse warned Kakashi and Asuma that she needed rest and should not be upset.

Kakashi and Asuma discussed how Shinki’s powerful new Genjutsu had left Kurenai unconscious, and Kakashi decided he needed to find Shinki a suitable teacher. After Shinki joined Naruto at a hot spring, they caught a white-haired man peeping into the women’s bath, and he revealed himself as the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku.

• Kurenai stabilized but panicked when Shinki entered, so Kakashi sent him out of the hospital room.
• Asuma learned Shinki had studied Genjutsu for less than seventy-two hours and warned Kakashi to teach him properly.
• Shinki met Naruto skipping Ebisu’s training, and they went to a hot spring together.
• Shinki and Naruto spotted a white-haired man spying on the women’s bath, and the man struck Naruto away when he approached.
• The white-haired man summoned a giant toad and introduced himself as the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku.

Naruto attacked Jiraiya for peeping on women at the bathhouse, but his Rasengan broke through the wall and exposed the women bathing. Shinki escaped the bathhouse staff and caught up with Naruto, while Jiraiya became intrigued by the Flying Thunder God Technique and tried to learn the boys’ names.

• Naruto accused Jiraiya of peeping and used Shadow Clones to form a Rasengan, which Jiraiya dodged.
• Naruto’s Rasengan blasted a hole through the wall between the men’s and women’s baths, and Jiraiya took the chance to look before fleeing.
• Naruto chased Jiraiya while Shinki was asked to pay for the damage and wait for the Konoha Guard’s investigation.
• Shinki vanished from the bathhouse and appeared behind Naruto in the woods, then scolded him for causing trouble.
• Jiraiya overheard Naruto mention the Flying Thunder God Technique and asked Naruto and Shinki for their names.

Jiraiya realized Naruto was Minato’s son and questioned Shinki about using the Flying Thunder God Technique. After Naruto and Shinki found Kakashi sparring with Sasuke, Kakashi struck Sasuke with Thousand Years of Death, then greeted Jiraiya and asked when his next book would be finished.

• Naruto introduced himself to Jiraiya, who recognized him as Minato’s son and learned that Shinki could use the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Naruto and Shinki left to train, then followed a noise in the woods with Jiraiya and found Kakashi sparring with Sasuke.
• Sasuke attacked Kakashi with Chidori, but Kakashi dodged and used Konoha Style: Thousand Years of Death on him.
• Kakashi noticed the onlookers, and Sasuke feared they had witnessed his humiliation.
• Jiraiya greeted Kakashi, who excitedly asked about the next volume of Icha Icha Paradise.

Jiraiya decided to take Naruto and Shinki as his students after learning about their needs and Shinki’s abilities. Kakashi introduced them to their new teacher, and both boys agreed to train under him.

• Naruto and Shinki interrupted Jiraiya, and Kakashi scolded them for disturbing his writing.
• Sasuke identified Jiraiya as one of the Konoha Sannin, prompting Naruto to consider him as a potential teacher.
• Jiraiya asked Kakashi about Naruto and Shinki’s training, and Kakashi described Shinki’s many abilities.
• Impressed by Shinki and concerned for Naruto, Jiraiya agreed to teach both boys.
• Kakashi told Naruto and Shinki that Jiraiya would be their teacher, and they accepted.

Shinki mastered Jiraiya’s water-walking exercise and signed a blood contract with the toads of Mount Myōboku. His first summoning coincided with the Great Toad Sage dreaming of a sea of red, and the ancient sage then mysteriously disappeared.

• Jiraiya began Naruto and Shinki’s training with Chakra control, but Shinki showed he could already walk on water and precisely control how deeply his feet sank.
• Jiraiya gave Shinki a Mount Myōboku Summoning Scroll, and Shinki signed his name and handprints in blood.
• Shinki performed the Hand Seals for the Summoning Technique and called on Mount Myōboku.
• The Great Toad Sage awoke from a vague dream of a sea of red and warned Fukasaku and Shima that troubled times were coming.
• Fukasaku and Shima looked up and discovered that the Great Toad Sage had disappeared.