Chapter Summaries

After Hikari’s blunt assessment of Sasuke’s chances against Itachi, Kakashi explained the limits of Sasuke’s current abilities and urged him to build his foundation. Sasuke asked Kakashi to arrange training with Hikari, and Kakashi agreed to speak to him.

• Sasuke told Kakashi that Hikari had said he needed to surpass Kakashi before considering revenge against Itachi.
• Kakashi explained that Sasuke would need abilities beyond the Three Tomoe Sharingan to defeat Itachi and encouraged him to develop Chidori.
• Kakashi refused to explain the Sharingan’s greater powers and told Sasuke to focus on mastering his current skills.
• Sasuke asked whether Tsunade could guide him, but Kakashi explained that her abilities could not teach him to awaken the Sharingan.
• Sasuke asked Kakashi to put in a word with Hikari so he could train with him, and Kakashi agreed to try.

Kakashi asked Hikari to guide Sasuke, but Hikari challenged him for neglecting Naruto and urged him to care for the boy. Jiraiya brought Naruto to Hikari and tried to leave him in Hikari’s care, ending with Naruto using the Dream Harem Technique as Jiraiya’s “ultimate move.”

• Kakashi woke Hikari and asked him to guide Sasuke, but Hikari criticized Kakashi for neglecting Naruto.
• Kakashi accepted Hikari’s rebuke and promised to take better care of Naruto.
• Kakashi brought Naruto and Jiraiya into Hikari’s bedroom, where Jiraiya explained that Naruto should stay in the Hidden Leaf Village for protection.
• Hikari refused to look after Naruto, and Jiraiya argued that Hikari was more dependable than Kakashi or Tsunade.
• Jiraiya told Naruto to use his ultimate move, and Naruto performed the Sexy Jutsu: Dream Harem Technique.

Hikari agreed to train Naruto and invited Sasuke, Sakura, and the Ino-Shika-Cho team to train with him. Tsunade arrived, reprimanded Jiraiya and Kakashi, and warned Hikari not to be tempted by Mei Terumi into leaving the Hidden Leaf Village.

• Naruto used the Harem Jutsu on Hikari, Jiraiya, and the Third Hokage, and Hikari kicked Jiraiya away when he lunged at him.
• Hikari agreed to train Naruto and told Kakashi to invite Sasuke and Sakura to join the Ino-Shika-Cho team at Training Ground 10.
• Naruto rejected Kakashi's offer to stay at his home and accused Jiraiya of making him dress as a girl for writing inspiration.
• Tsunade arrived and scolded Jiraiya, then docked Kakashi's pay for skipping work.
• Tsunade told Hikari that Mei Terumi wanted him to accompany her and warned him not to leave the Hidden Leaf Village for Kirigakure.

Kakashi spent time with Naruto, who talked about his training with Jiraiya before the two went to Ichiraku for ramen. Later, Hikari reunited with a coworker who had used a Wood Clone to leave work, and they stayed together instead of returning to the office.

• After Jiraiya left, Hikari sent Kakashi and Naruto out while he went to sleep.
• Naruto told Kakashi that he had learned to summon Gamabunta and use the Rasengan, and Kakashi encouraged him to keep training.
• Kakashi teased Naruto about his opinion of him, then promised to buy him three bowls of ramen.
• Naruto dragged Kakashi to Ichiraku, where he ordered three bowls of tonkotsu ramen with eggs and shredded meat.
• A coworker came to Hikari's bed and admitted to using a Wood Clone to stay away from work, but Hikari persuaded them to stay with him.

Naruto and Kakashi ate at Ichiraku Ramen, where Naruto told Ayame about Kamizuki Hikari and accidentally revealed that Hikari had been home resting. Sasuke joined them, and Kakashi told him that he, Naruto, and Sakura could train with Team Ten under Hikari starting the next day.

• Naruto teased Kakashi about reading Jiraiya's novels while Kakashi treated him to ramen at Ichiraku.
• Naruto told Ayame that Kamizuki Hikari had resisted his Harem Jutsu, then exposed Kakashi's nosebleed and revealed that Hikari had been sleeping at home.
• Ayame reacted quietly to Naruto's news and gave him an extra-large serving of meat.
• Sasuke arrived at Ichiraku, joined Naruto and Kakashi for ramen, and ordered a seafood-flavored bowl.
• Kakashi told Sasuke that he, Naruto, and Sakura could train with Team Ten at Training Ground 10 under Hikari starting the next day.
• Naruto claimed his Harem Jutsu had convinced Hikari to let him train, while Sasuke doubted his story.

Naruto and Sasuke bickered over ramen and the money Kakashi left behind, while Naruto learned that Hikari had been paying for his meals. Naruto revealed he wanted to give Sakura something, and Ayame eagerly agreed to help when he brought her to Ichiraku.

• Naruto and Sasuke teased each other over ramen until Kakashi told them to eat properly and left money for the meal.
• Naruto pocketed Kakashi's bills, then asked Ayame why Hikari had been so generous to him.
• Ayame explained that Hikari had also paid for Might Guy and his three teammates to eat at Ichiraku for free.
• Sasuke complained about Naruto's special treatment and demanded another expensive bowl, so Naruto offered to pay for some of his meals.
• Naruto said he wanted to give Sakura something, and Ayame agreed to help when he brought Sakura to eat at Ichiraku.

Hikari gathered Team 7 and Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji at Training Ground 10 to assess their progress, but he refused to train them directly and told them to fight each other instead. Naruto prepared to challenge Hikari after he jumped into a tree.

• Naruto gave Sakura flowers, but she rejected him and turned her attention to Sasuke.
• Ino took Choji's chips and told Shikamaru she no longer cared about Sasuke or Sakura, while Hikari teased her about possible crushes.
• Sasuke asked Hikari to guide Team 7's training, and Hikari proposed testing everyone's baseline.
• Hikari told the groups to fight each other, then jumped into a tree when Naruto protested.
• Naruto cracked his knuckles and prepared to teach Hikari a lesson.

Team Seven fought Team Ten, with Sasuke and Naruto confronting Shikamaru and Choji while Sakura was sidelined after Ino used the Mind Body Switch Technique. The battle continued as Shikamaru countered Naruto’s clones and Sasuke focused on Choji.

• Shikamaru punched Naruto to start the battle, and Sasuke attacked Team Ten with Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu.
• Ino used the Mind Body Switch Technique, causing Sasuke to mistake Sakura for Ino and attack her before ordering her to stay back.
• Sasuke used Chidori to pierce Choji’s palm, while Shikamaru restrained Sasuke with Shadow Binding Technique.
• Naruto created shadow clones transformed into Sasuke, but Choji enlarged himself and forced Sasuke to dodge.
• Shikamaru asked Choji to fight Sasuke and faced Naruto himself, then used Shadow Stitching Technique to disperse Naruto’s clones.

Ino joined Sakura while Hikari watched Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji spar, then Hikari ended the fight and assigned the youngsters a stamina run. As the group set off, Ino complained that Hikari’s basic training would make them start over, while Sasuke suspected she was trying to trick Team 7 into leaving.

• Ino sat beside Sakura and persuaded her that Hikari’s test was only a formality, while Hikari observed the fights from a tree.
• Hikari stopped the sparring between Sasuke and Choji and Naruto and Shikamaru after learning what he needed to know.
• Ino called Sakura her captive and held her around the waist, startling Sakura and the others.
• Hikari ordered Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to run around the Forest of Death with Shikamaru leading, while Choji stayed behind.
• After the group left Hikari’s sight, Ino complained that they had to train from the basics, and Shikamaru called Hikari a bastard.
• Sasuke suspected Ino was trying to trick him into leaving.

Hikari brought Team 7 to see the physical training he had used with Ino-Shika-Cho and explained how chakra-enhanced strikes suited them better than powerful ninjutsu. He recognized Sakura's path as Tsunade's disciple and Naruto and Sasuke's potential, then promised to arrange their next stage of training.

• Naruto, Shikamaru, Choji, Sasuke, and Sakura returned from running, exhausted, and Sasuke asked Hikari why the exercise had drained their chakra and stamina so quickly.
• Hikari told Shikamaru to explain Ino-Shika-Cho's old training, and Shikamaru showed Team 7 the fist marks left on a tree by repeated chakra-protected punches.
• Naruto tested a punch on the tree, then used a Rasengan to blast a crater into it, while Sasuke insisted his Chidori was stronger.
• Shikamaru explained that chakra-enhanced strikes suited his team better, and Hikari said that ninjutsu should match each ninja's abilities rather than be judged only by power.
• Hikari praised Sakura's potential as Tsunade's disciple and Naruto and Sasuke's exceptional promise, then said he would arrange their next training phase.

Hikari brought Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Choji to waterfalls for training in taijutsu and chakra control, while Sakura and Ino were assigned a nearby waterfall. He had the girls prepare food for the group, persuading Sakura by appealing to her feelings for Sasuke and Ino by promising she would lead Team Ten.

• Hikari explained that the waterfalls would help the boys improve their taijutsu and chakra control, then ordered Naruto to set an example.
• Naruto rushed toward the waterfall but was swept into the water, and Hikari pushed the others to begin training.
• Hikari told Sakura and Ino they would train at another waterfall and gave them food to prepare for the group.
• Hikari persuaded Sakura to cook for Sasuke by suggesting she could become the warmth in his lonely life, and Sakura eagerly agreed.
• Hikari promised Ino she would become Team Ten's captain, and Ino agreed to cook for Shikamaru and Choji.

During a meal, Hikari encouraged Naruto and the others to focus on training, then reassigned Team Ten's leadership to Ino. The group continued eating and joking as Shikamaru accepted his new low rank and Sakura worried about Sasuke's opinion of her.

• Naruto grew jealous when Sakura handed Sasuke her handkerchief, and Hikari told him he could find a cute girlfriend while advising the youngsters to prioritize strength.
• Shikamaru questioned Hikari's waterfall training, but Hikari challenged him and explained that they had to learn to balance and meditate under the waterfall's impact.
• Hikari announced that Ino would lead Team Ten, and Ino made Choji her second-in-command while ranking Shikamaru as the team's laborer.
• Shikamaru tried to bargain for a higher position, but Ino dismissed his request and he obediently accepted her command.
• Naruto jokingly introduced himself as Team 7's captain, Sakura punched him, then worried that her violent image would affect Sasuke's impression of her.

Hikari took Naruto aside to discourage his one-sided pursuit of Sakura and explain that his feelings might stem from wanting the recognition she received. He left Naruto with a warning not to demean himself and a reminder of his ambition to become Hokage.

• Sakura imagined becoming strong enough to do whatever she wanted with Sasuke, who sensed her malice and fled when she tried to feed him.
• Hikari interrupted Naruto before he could fawn over Sakura and took him to a clearing for a private talk.
• Naruto asked about his parents and his past, and Hikari described his father as gentle and his mother as having a personality like Sakura's.
• Hikari questioned whether Naruto's devotion could make Sakura love him or win her away from Sasuke, and Naruto admitted he did not think it would make Sakura love Sasuke.
• Hikari suggested Naruto liked the recognition Sakura received rather than Sakura herself, and warned him that love should not require humiliating himself.

Hikari learned that the Three-Tails was showing signs of revival near the coast of the Land of Hot Water, and he feared its emergence would trigger the Akatsuki Organization’s capture plan. He ordered a mission to stop it and left to confront the threat after Tsunade sent him flying from the Hokage Building.

• Kakashi summoned Hikari to the Hokage Building, and Hikari left Shikamaru in charge of the squad’s training.
• Tsunade told Hikari that Mei Terumi’s team had departed and that intercepted intelligence linked Orochimaru’s research to the Three-Tails’ stirred Chakra.
• Hikari learned that the Three-Tails was near the coast of the Land of Hot Water and warned that its revival could prompt the Akatsuki Organization to act.
• Hikari ordered an S-rank mission, called for Jiraiya to protect Naruto, and assigned Kakashi, Might Guy, and himself to handle the threat.
• Hikari told Tsunade to summon Jiraiya by claiming she was getting married, and Tsunade angrily sent him flying out of the Hokage Building.

Hikari arranged to leave with Kakashi and Might Guy for the Land of Hot Water to investigate the Three-Tails, while warning Tsunade to preserve the Hidden Leaf Village’s forces. He privately revealed that he feared the people behind the Three-Tails’ revival and hoped for three years of peace, as Tsunade’s team prepared for possible conflict with Kirigakure and Akatsuki.

• Tsunade offered Hikari two Elite Jonin squads, but he declined and asked her to consolidate the Hidden Leaf Village’s forces while he went on the mission.
• Hikari told Kakashi that he and Might Guy would leave for the Land of Hot Water the next morning to search for the Three-Tails, and ordered Kakashi to follow his command.
• Kakashi asked who would watch Naruto and Sasuke, and Hikari assigned Shikamaru to keep Naruto in the village until Jiraiya returned.
• Yakumo teased Hikari about what had happened in the Tsukuyomi world and claimed that their experiences there might have been real.
• Kakashi reported the mission to Tsunade, who told him to follow Hikari’s lead; she and Shikaku learned that Akatsuki, rather than Kirigakure, was Hikari’s main concern and agreed to remain on standby.

Hikari left the Hidden Leaf Village with Kakashi and Might Guy for a mission concerning the Three-Tails in the Land of Hot Water, while warning his companions about ominous farewells before departure. In Amegakure, Konan and the Deva Path discussed using the Three-Tails’ resurrection to test Madara and potentially provoke a conflict involving the Hidden Leaf Village.

• Hikari stopped Kotetsu Hagane from finishing his news about a pregnancy, then departed the Hidden Leaf Village with Kakashi and Might Guy.
• After they left the village’s defensive perimeter, Hikari explained his belief that talk of marriage, children, or celebrations before a mission brought bad luck.
• Konan and the Deva Path watched Amegakure’s residents enjoy a rare sunny day and discussed the Three-Tails appearing in the Land of Hot Water.
• The Deva Path said Madara, Kirigakure, and Orochimaru had also been sent after the Three-Tails, and that the mission would reveal Madara’s intentions.
• The Deva Path predicted that if the Hidden Leaf Village killed the Three-Tails, conflict with the other shinobi villages could erupt and give the Akatsuki Organization a chance to intervene.

The Akatsuki Organization met with Mei Terumi as Kirigakure prepared to subdue the Three-Tails. Obito warned that Kakashi, Might Guy, and Hikari would oppose Kirigakure, and Mei agreed to wait until they arrived before discussing cooperation.

• Mei Terumi allowed the Akatsuki Organization, including Kisame Hoshigaki, to enter Kirigakure's command post after deciding not to risk a confrontation over Samehada.
• Deidara challenged Tobi's authority, and Obito mocked him while the others waited to meet the Mizukage.
• Obito told Mei that the Akatsuki Organization had come to help Kirigakure and earn money, then warned that Hidden Leaf Village's Kakashi, Might Guy, and Hikari would interfere with the Three-Tails operation.
• Mei doubted Obito's warning, but agreed to let the Akatsuki Organization camp nearby and ask the Leaf ninja about their intentions when they arrived.

Ao and Mei Terumi suspected the Akatsuki Organization was tied to Amegakure and prepared Kirigakure for the Three-Tails’ revival and a possible attack. At the Akatsuki camp, Obito tried to draw information from Itachi and revealed that Kakashi Hatake possessed a powerful Sharingan, then hinted that Kisame might recognize another member of the Hidden Leaf team.

• Ao returned to the command post and told Mei Terumi that the Akatsuki Organization was dangerous, while they discussed why the Hidden Leaf Village wanted the Three-Tails.
• Mei Terumi reasoned that Amegakure could be sheltering the Akatsuki Organization, and she ordered Ao to maintain night watch and have the Intelligence Squad and Sealing Squad monitor the Three-Tails’ Chakra.
• At the Akatsuki camp, Deidara and Sasori teased Tobi, while Hidan threatened him and Itachi Uchiha told them to take any fight outside.
• Kisame Hoshigaki asked whether the Akatsuki had another task, and Obito said he had received no second mission before asking Itachi to describe the Hidden Leaf ninja.
• When Itachi refused to speak, Obito identified Kakashi Hatake’s Uchiha Sharingan as potentially matching Itachi’s eyes and asked Kisame whether another name sounded familiar.

Kakashi, Hikari, and Might Guy arrived in Kirigakure to persuade Mei Terumi to let them disperse the Three-Tails, but she distrusted their motives and confined them to their quarters. Mei believed Kakashi’s explanation that the plan was Hikari’s personal initiative, yet she remained bound to protect Kirigakure’s interests.

• Kakashi led Hikari and Might Guy to Kirigakure’s camp, where Kakashi warned them that the villagers’ hostile attention seemed unusual.
• Mei Terumi confronted the visitors about the Three-Tails, and Hikari said the Hidden Leaf Village would offer compensation for allowing it to be dispersed.
• Hikari struck Ao for interrupting Mei, and Mei retaliated by hitting Hikari to defend her subordinate.
• Kakashi explained that even the Fifth Hokage did not know why Hikari wanted to destroy the Three-Tails, and Mei’s suspicion softened somewhat.
• Mei ordered Ao to escort the three visitors to their quarters and forbade them from leaving, while she reflected that she still had to protect Kirigakure’s interests.

Orochimaru planned to use Genyūmaru’s counterfeit Three-Tails body to gain tailed-beast power and investigate how Tsunade awakened Wood Release. At the Akatsuki base, the members discussed Tobi’s arrival and teased Itachi about his dark circles.

• Orochimaru told Kabuto that Genyūmaru’s body could help him absorb the Three-Tails’ power and become a humanoid Tailed Beast.
• Kabuto reasoned that Tsunade’s Wood Release might have awakened through an unknown Senju bloodline secret, and Orochimaru praised his analysis.
• Orochimaru considered combining the Three-Tails’ power with an Eight-Tails horn and wondered whether the Akatsuki’s Demonic Statue could fuse all nine Tailed Beasts.
• Obito vanished from the Akatsuki base, and Itachi told Kisame that Tobi’s presence was the leader’s concern.
• Deidara complained that Tobi had become captain, while Hidan mocked Deidara and Kisame defended Itachi’s need for rest.
• The Akatsuki members silently mocked Itachi’s dark circles, and Itachi closed his eyes while suppressing the urge to attack them.