Chapter Summaries

Hagoromo and Shikaku arranged a Jonin test designed to showcase Hagoromo’s strength, despite concerns about the clan testers and Hiruzen’s approval. Hiruzen accepted the plan and ordered Shikaku to investigate the adviser’s party and remove risks before the test in two days.

• Shikaku told Hagoromo that Uchiha Fugaku had been approached and that Hiashi was distracted by an issue at a meeting.
• Hagoromo proposed using large-scale Ninjutsu to impress the civil official adviser and his companions, and Shikaku agreed to try the plan.
• Shikaku admitted to Hiruzen Sarutobi that he had approached Hagoromo on his own, and Hiruzen warned him to act within the rules and protection.
• Hiruzen recalled Hagoromo’s words that the king he protected was answering his will, and resolved to support Hagoromo’s plan.
• Hiruzen ordered Shikaku to investigate the Land of Fire adviser's party and eliminate potential risks before the test two days later.

Kakashi escorted the Land of Fire Daimyo's adviser into Konoha while the village quietly restricted the visiting party and its newly hired Jonin. Hagoromo and Shikaku discussed the adviser’s entourage and the rogue ninja’s past as preparations continued.

• Kakashi welcomed the adviser at Konoha’s gates on Hiruzen’s behalf, and the adviser complained that the Hokage had not appeared.
• A ninja whispered to the adviser about Kakashi’s reputation, changing the adviser’s attitude toward him.
• Kakashi led the party into Konoha and pointed out the Anbu watching from nearby rooftops, while the rogue Jonin recognized that they were being contained and resolved to escape.
• Shikaku visited Hagoromo, who asked about Shikamaru’s training and the adviser’s entourage.
• Shikaku explained that the newly hired Jonin had fled during a mission after ordering his subordinates to hold off the enemy, then became a rogue ninja to avoid punishment.

Hiruzen Sarutobi urged Hagoromo to make a strong impression during his Jonin promotion test, then revealed he intended to train him to become Konoha’s Fifth Hokage. Hagoromo accepted the challenge but fled to the arena after teasing Hiruzen about wanting to slack off.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Hagoromo that his promotion test would draw attention and urged him to make his reputation powerful enough to crush his enemies.
• Hagoromo said he would not back down as Hiruzen’s disciple and asked why his master had come to speak with him.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi announced that he would train Hagoromo to become Konoha’s Fifth Hokage, citing his potential and the qualities Konoha would need in the future.
• Hiruzen warned Hagoromo that he lacked experience and would face years of doubts, challenges, and attacks on the path to becoming Hokage.
• Hagoromo joked that Hiruzen might just want to drop everything and slack off, then ran to the arena as Hiruzen wondered when he had learned Jiraiya’s style of joking.

At the Chunin finals arena, Hiruzen Sarutobi gathered Konoha Jonin to watch Hagoromo’s promotion test against Kakashi, an Uchiha Jonin, and a Hyuga Jonin. Hagoromo impressed the spectators with his strength and ninjutsu, and the chapter ended as he blocked the Hyuga Jonin’s Vacuum Palm.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi made the Land of Fire adviser sit down to watch the test, while Anbu kept him under close guard.
• Uchiha Fugaku announced the start, and Kakashi, the Uchiha Jonin, and the Hyuga Jonin surrounded Hagoromo.
• Hagoromo dispersed the Uchiha Jonin’s Great Dragon Fire Technique with a chakra-coated punch and dodged the Hyuga Jonin’s attack.
• After Hagoromo provoked them, the three Jonin agreed to work together, and Kakashi amplified the Uchiha Jonin’s Majestic Destroyer Flame with Wind Release.
• Hagoromo countered the firestorm with Exploding Water Colliding Wave, then blocked the Hyuga Jonin’s Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm with Bong Sau of Inch Power Eight Gates.

Sawada Hagoromo overwhelmed the Konoha Jonin with his powerful Fire Style during his test in the Chunin exam arena. As his flames threatened to engulf the arena, Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Anbu to contain the battle.

• The daimyo's adviser asked the Kusagakure "Jonin" if he could use Ninjutsu as powerful as Hagoromo's, and the Jonin admitted he could not.
• The Hyuga Jonin retreated with his right arm damaged, while Hagoromo invited the watching seniors to assess his Fire Style.
• Kakashi used Chidori and charged Hagoromo as the Uchiha and Hyuga Jonin pursued him.
• Hagoromo used First Form: Wood Breaker and Bong Sau to evade the Hyuga Jonin and throw Kakashi away.
• Hagoromo unleashed Great Fire Annihilation, forcing Kakashi to raise an Earth Formation Wall and the Hyuga Jonin to use Rotation.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi sent Anbu to surround the arena and form the Four Violet Flames Formation.

Sawada Hagoromo used Sage Mode to summon Lightning Release: Kirin and devastate the examination grounds. Hiruzen Sarutobi declared that Hagoromo had passed the Jonin promotion examination with overwhelming strength.

• Sawada Hagoromo's Great Fire Annihilation left the Uchiha Jonin scorched, and Hiruzen Sarutobi praised his student's power.
• Kakashi noticed that Hagoromo's Fire Style had caused storm clouds to gather, and Hagoromo entered Hazy Moon Sage Mode.
• Hagoromo warned Hiruzen Sarutobi that his next technique was dangerous, and Kakashi and the other Jonin left through a passage in the Four Violet Flames Formation.
• Hagoromo formed Chidori in his hand, rose toward the storm clouds, and summoned a giant lightning beast with Lightning Release: Kirin.
• Kirin shattered and vaporized the examination grounds, and the adviser watched in terror as the storm clouds dispersed.
• Hagoromo ended Sage Mode and reported that his test was complete, and Hiruzen Sarutobi announced that he had passed the Jonin promotion examination.

Naruto and Sasuke learned that Hagoromo had used Lightning Release: Kirin during his Jonin promotion test, and Sasuke asked to learn about the technique. Cat San San traded a recording of Hagoromo’s fight for Choji’s snacks, leaving Hagoromo to discover the bead could replay it as an immersive yokai recording.

• Naruto asked Shikamaru about the thunder from the previous day, and Shikamaru explained it had been Ninjutsu used during Hagoromo’s Jonin promotion test.
• Hagoromo confirmed to Naruto and Sasuke that he had used Lightning Release: Kirin and said his right hand was still recovering.
• Ino told Hagoromo that Hinata had missed training because the Hyuga Clan was holding an internal competition.
• Sasuke asked Hagoromo to explain Kirin, and Cat San San offered a recording of the fight from his sacred land.
• Cat San San gave Choji a recording bead in exchange for his backpack of snacks, and Hagoromo realized the bead could replay the battle immersively.

Hagoromo used the Mirage Vapor Pearl to replay his battle for Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke, and Shikamaru, then questioned them about his techniques. The students identified how Hagoromo weakened Kirin and explained why the technique could not be copied with the Sharingan.

• Hinata arrived after sparring, and Hagoromo used the pearl to show the group a replay of his battle from different viewpoints.
• Shikamaru noticed that Hagoromo had reduced the lightning stored in the cumulonimbus cloud by dispersing some of it with Natural Energy.
• Sasuke reasoned that the Sharingan could help predict Kirin's impact point, and Hagoromo agreed.
• Shikamaru and Sasuke explained that Kirin relied on atmospheric lightning guided by Hagoromo's Lightning Release rather than lightning created from his own Chakra.
• Hagoromo confirmed their explanation and said the technique had to be performed through the steps he had used.

Hagoromo advised Sasuke to focus on improving his speed, then helped Naruto think through a close-combat technique combining the Rasengan with Inch Power's breathing method. The chapter ended with Naruto planning to practice the breathing method during his everyday training until it became natural.

• Hagoromo told Sasuke that the Cell Activation Seal was excessive for a short, straight-line burst and advised him to train his speed instead.
• Naruto proposed combining the Rasengan with Inch Power's breathing method to build power through continuous rotation.
• Hagoromo recognized that Naruto's idea could create a close-combat version of the Rasenshuriken without the same backlash to his hand.
• Hagoromo explained that Naruto would need to make the breathing method habitual to manage it alongside the Rasengan.
• Naruto accepted Hagoromo's advice to incorporate the breathing method into his usual training without forcing it.

Hagoromo received orders from Hiruzen to lead a covert squad to Yugakure and investigate a cult whose followers reportedly had immortal bodies. He left to prepare with his assigned squad members, while Hiruzen joked that he should get used to taking charge before becoming Hokage.

• Hagoromo warned Hiruzen that Konoha should find alternatives to relying on financial support from the Land of Fire.
• Hiruzen gave Hagoromo a request for help from a Yugakure elder describing the rise of an ancient cult and its followers' supposed immortal bodies.
• Hiruzen decided Konoha should intervene to protect its interests and prevent dangerous research from reaching another ninja village.
• Hiruzen assigned Hagoromo to lead a provisional A-rank covert mission and gave him the files for Yamanaka Kokone, Aburame Muta, and Yutoshi.
• Hagoromo joked that the squad could conquer Yugakure, and Hiruzen teased him about becoming its Yukage before he hurried off to prepare.

Sawada Hagoromo assembled his team for a covert mission to the Land of Hot Water, where they were to contact Yugakure's elders and investigate a tense situation without provoking a diplomatic conflict. Near the border, the team changed into inconspicuous clothes and prepared to enter as tourists.

• Sawada Hagoromo met his teammates Yamanaka Kokone, Special Jōnin Mishu, and Aburame Muta at the meeting point.
• Hagoromo explained the mission's objectives and asked the team to share their abilities and specialties.
• Hagoromo decided the team would change clothes at the border and enter the Land of Hot Water as tourists.
• Mishu sealed Aburame Muta's large jar in a scroll so he could travel inconspicuously.
• Hagoromo and his teammates changed into casual clothes, and he suggested they use each other's names from then on.

Hagoromo and his team investigated a hot spring in Yugakure, where they found strange mental traces and Kikaichū behaving as if they were infected. The chapter ended with Aburame Muta warning that something at the site had corrosive, hallucinogenic, and infectious effects.

• Hagoromo noticed Yugakure seemed unnaturally peaceful and sealed the inn room with a barrier before his teammates reported their findings.
• Yamanaka Kokone said the hot spring was back in operation but still held unusually strong imprints of pain and fear.
• Hagoromo asked Aburame Muta and Yutoshi what they had found, and Muta revealed Kikaichū crawling from his palms.
• Yutoshi showed that the apparently dead Kikaichū could turn themselves over and attack Muta's insects frenziedly.
• Aburame Muta concluded that something left at the scene was corrosive, hallucinogenic, and infectious.

Hagoromo and his companions investigated the strange Chakra near Yugakure, finding that infected Kikaichū dissolved into empty shells. With Cat San San’s help, Hagoromo revealed a blood-red Chakra array in the clearing, whose aura seemed more revolting than that of an evil great yōkai.

• Hagoromo used Yang Release Chakra to stop the frenzied Kikaichū, and Aburame Muta explained that a residual substance had dissolved their insides.
• Hagoromo led Aburame Muta and the others to search the area near Yugakure’s most luxurious hot spring.
• Hagoromo summoned Cat San San, then hid with him when a Yugakure patrol arrived and searched the clearing.
• Hagoromo learned from the patrol that Elder Izumi had been missing for days, even from his own village.
• Cat San San sensed a nearly vanished mass of strange Chakra and told Hagoromo to use the Symbiosis Technique to see it.
• Hagoromo revealed a circle-and-triangle array of blood-red Chakra, and Cat San San approached its revolting aura.

Hagoromo and his team followed markings left by the Yugakure elder into a foggy area crawling with powerful humanoid monsters. They fought through the creatures and reached the elder just as she was about to be attacked.

• Hagoromo and Cat San San rejoined Aburame Muta’s team, who had found a hurriedly carved mark reading “Izumi.”
• Hagoromo recognized the mark as a message from the Yugakure elder and sent Aburame Muta’s Kikaichū ahead to search for more clues.
• Hagoromo arranged the team’s formation and ordered them to prepare for danger as they entered the dense fog.
• Hagoromo and Cat San San fought off humanoid monsters whose blood was corrosive and hallucinogenic while Yutoshi prepared an antidote.
• Hagoromo used Chidori to kill the monsters charging at the hidden Yugakure elder near the abandoned hot springs.

Hagoromo’s squad rescued Izumi and learned that Yugakure’s Orthodox Cult was creating Blood Beasts in an attempt to achieve immortality. After hearing that the cult planned a mass blood sacrifice during the Hot Spring Festival, Hagoromo’s teammates chose to stay, and he changed their mission to stopping the sacrifice.

• Hagoromo’s squad found Izumi and carried her to a hidden cave while Blood Beasts searched for them.
• Hagoromo questioned Izumi, who explained that the Blood Beasts were failed immortality experiments performed by an ancient cult.
• Izumi revealed that Takase led the Orthodox Cult and planned a large-scale blood sacrifice during Yugakure’s Hot Spring Festival.
• Hagoromo proposed sending his teammates back while he sought reinforcements, but Aburame Muta, Yamanaka Kokone, and Yutoshi refused to leave.
• Hagoromo changed the mission objective to stopping the cult’s sacrifice in Yugakure and keeping its effects from reaching the Land of Fire’s border.

Takase completed his immortal-body experiment on Hidan and prepared to sacrifice him, while Hagoromo and Izumi infiltrated Blood Boiling Valley to destroy the altar. The chapter ended with Muta, Kokone, and Yutoshi battling the retreating believers and Blood Beasts outside the valley.

• Takase celebrated completing his immortal-body experiment on Hidan, then carried him to the altar as a sacrifice to Lord Jashin.
• Hagoromo and Izumi entered Blood Boiling Valley to destroy its altar, and Cat San San stopped Izumi from giving away their position when they found a pile of sacrificed remains.
• Takase sensed intruders, stitched Hidan's wound, placed him in the blood pool, and formed Hand Seals beside the altar.
• The senior believers and Blood Beasts pursuing Muta, Kokone, and Yutoshi abruptly retreated, but the three shinobi attacked them with giant Shuriken, Kikaichū, and the Mind Body Disturbance Technique.
• Muta exploited Kokone's control of a believer to defeat an enemy, while Yutoshi charged into the fight with his sword.

Hagoromo confronted Takase at the altar, but Hidan emerged from the blood pool and killed Takase in a ritual. Hagoromo trapped Hidan in a swamp, then faced him as blood chains launched Hidan into an attack that Hagoromo stopped with a kick.

• Hagoromo reached the altar as it rose, and Takase attacked him with corrosive blood whips.
• Hidan emerged from the blood pool and impaled Takase with the Triple-Bladed Scythe, then swung him around before dropping him into the pool.
• Hagoromo refused Hidan’s demand for another sacrifice and used Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld to trap his feet.
• Hidan invoked Lord Jashin as blood chains surged from the altar and carried him toward Hagoromo.
• Hagoromo kicked the shaft of Hidan’s Triple-Bladed Scythe and stopped its blades just short of his eyes.

Hagoromo fought Hidan as the blood pool’s influence strengthened, then used Hazy Moon Sage Mode to defeat and decapitate him. He sealed Hidan into a scroll, ending the threat for the moment.

• Hagoromo used the Body Flicker Technique and Chidori to attack Hidan, then took the Bloody Triple-Bladed Scythe.
• Hidan recovered from the wound and used a blood chain to stitch his chest closed as he charged at Hagoromo.
• Hagoromo activated Hazy Moon Sage Mode and overwhelmed Hidan with Natural Energy-enhanced strikes.
• Hagoromo cut off Hidan’s head and pinned his body with the Bloody Triple-Bladed Scythe.
• Hagoromo placed Hidan’s head on a scroll and sealed him inside with the Ninja Art: Sealing Wedge Seal.

Hagoromo sealed Hidan, drained the blood pool with Cat San San, and escaped as the altar collapsed. Back in Konoha, his Yugakure mission was recognized as S-rank, and Hiruzen Sarutobi let him rest after confirming the sect’s texts were destroyed and receiving an alliance agreement.

• Cat San San pointed out that Takase was suspended over the blood pool as its chains retreated after Hagoromo sealed Hidan.
• Hagoromo ordered Cat San San to consume the blood pool, which caused the altar to crack and collapse.
• Hagoromo led his team and Yugakure Elder Izumi away from the collapsing altar.
• Hagoromo reported the mission to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who reclassified it from A-rank to S-rank.
• Hagoromo told Hiruzen Sarutobi that he had destroyed Takase’s ancient texts and confirmed no copies remained in Yugakure.
• Hagoromo gave Hiruzen Sarutobi Yugakure’s alliance agreement, and Hiruzen told him to rest without taking new missions.

Hagoromo returned from an S-rank mission and told his students about a dangerous cult and the Shinobi World’s complexity. When Naruto asked to learn Sage Mode, Hagoromo said he was not ready yet, then promised to take everyone for barbecue if they finished training early.

• Naruto and Sasuke tested combining the Activated Mark with Inch Force, and Sasuke said the results were promising despite the difficulty.
• Hagoromo returned to the training ground and explained that his nearly half-month mission had been S-rank.
• Hagoromo told Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, and the others about Takase Hagoromo, an immortal body, and a religious sect; Naruto condemned the abuse, while Sasuke considered how to face such an enemy.
• Shikamaru reflected on the cult and recalled a genius he had encountered through the Mirage Vapor Pearl, then stopped himself from dwelling on it.
• Naruto asked to learn Sage Mode, but Hagoromo explained that the students were not ready to use Senjutsu Chakra.
• Hagoromo offered to take the students to a barbecue restaurant if they finished training early, and Naruto and Choji hurried Sasuke and Shikamaru back to practice.