Chapter Summaries

Akihara Kagura accepted an S-rank mission to dismantle smugglers operating between the Land of Water and the Land of Fire, and discovered their base was in the Land of Waves. As he and Root headed there, Team 7 also set out to escort Tazuna to the Land of Waves, while Orochimaru and Shimura Danzō moved to meet Kagura.

• Akihara Kagura and Kakashi Hatake visited Sakura Haruno's parents and Second Pillar's home before Kakashi led Naruto Uzumaki, Second Pillar, and Sakura Haruno through his test and accepted them as his team.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Akihara Kagura an S-rank mission to investigate smugglers between the Land of Water and the Land of Fire, and Kagura volunteered to lead it himself.
• Akihara Kagura traced the smugglers' base to the Land of Waves, ordered Karin to gather Root, and summoned Orochimaru to meet him there.
• Tazuna requested a C-rank escort mission to the Land of Waves, and Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned it to Kakashi Hatake's Team 7.
• Akihara Kagura told Kakashi Hatake that Root's S-rank mission would involve killing many people, while Naruto Uzumaki boasted and provoked him; Orochimaru and Shimura Danzō headed toward the Land of Waves to meet Kagura.

Akihara Kagura watched Team 7’s escort mission turn into a dangerous assignment, then arranged to split the dead smuggler Gato’s money with Orochimaru and Shimura Danzō. As Kakashi Hatake’s team faced Zabuza Momochi in the Land of Waves, Kagura claimed seventy percent of Gato’s fortune for himself.

• Akihara Kagura watched from nearby as two Mist Ninjas attacked Team 7, then captured and killed one while Karin woke the other for questioning.
• The surviving Mist Ninja revealed that they had been ordered to kill Tazuna, who explained that he had concealed the danger of the mission to get help building a bridge against Gato’s control of the Land of Waves.
• Kakashi Hatake asked Akihara Kagura to authorize continuing the mission, and Kagura allowed Team 7 to deal with the smugglers while Root took a vacation.
• Kakashi Hatake led Team 7 and Tazuna toward the Land of Waves, where Zabuza Momochi blocked their path and began fighting them.
• Akihara Kagura met Orochimaru and Shimura Danzō at Gato’s home, where Gato was already dead, and declared that he would take seventy percent of Gato’s money.

Akihara Kagura, Orochimaru, and Shimura Danzō finalized their Konoha Collapse Plan, with Kagura reshaping the strategy to weaken Konoha before Orochimaru attacked. The chapter left them preparing to provoke Kirigakure and use Team 7 to test Orochimaru against Kagura.

• Akihara Kagura proposed that Shimura Danzō expose the Third Hokage first, then Orochimaru lead Sunagakure's attack while Konoha's ninja were confused.
• Akihara Kagura promised Orochimaru access to Konoha's resources and potential bodies, while Shimura Danzō insisted they wait until the plan succeeded.
• Akihara Kagura suggested staging a smuggling case involving Orochimaru and a Kirigakure ninja to force Kirigakure into conflict with Konoha.
• Shimura Danzō planned to impersonate Elder Genji after killing him, while Orochimaru would help provoke Kirigakure into joining the attack.
• Akihara Kagura arranged for Orochimaru to confront Kakashi Hatake and Team 7, intending to appear as their savior and assess Orochimaru's strength.
• Orochimaru recognized the encounter as a chance to test whether his Edo Tensei users could defeat Akihara Kagura, who ended their discussion by coldly calling them smart.

Akihara Kagura found Zabuza Momochi and Haku in the Land of Waves after Zabuza faked his death, and his account of their past fight embarrassed Zabuza. Karin defeated Haku, and Kagura ordered both captured so they could be interrogated about smuggling.

• Orochimaru and Shimura Danzō discussed their distrust of Akihara Kagura, while Kagura told Karin that the two men would pave the way for them.
• Kagura learned that Kakashi Hatake and Team 7 had defeated Zabuza Momochi, then corrected Karin’s belief that Zabuza had once retreated unscathed from him.
• Kagura found Zabuza and Haku after Haku had faked Zabuza’s death, and Zabuza claimed he had lost to Kagura by only one move.
• Kagura confronted Zabuza and Haku, but Karin trapped Haku with golden chains after he attacked them with Water Style and Ice Style techniques.
• Kagura ordered his subordinates to capture Zabuza and Haku and interrogate them about smuggling involving Kirigakure and the Land of Water.

Akihara Kagura used a fishing bet and a calculated misunderstanding to turn Zabuza Momochi against Haku, then sent Zabuza to kill the smugglers named on a list in exchange for his Kubikiribōchō. He left Haku guarding the sword and promised him a way back to Zabuza, then visited the injured Kakashi and declared the crisis resolved.

• Akihara Kagura separated Zabuza from Haku and let Haku believe he would release them if he caught a fish, without asking Haku for information.
• After catching a fish, Akihara Kagura freed Zabuza and Haku, but Zabuza assumed Haku had handed over the smuggling list and struck him.
• Akihara Kagura offered Zabuza his Kubikiribōchō in exchange for killing everyone on the list before the bridge was completed, and Zabuza accepted.
• Akihara Kagura stopped Haku from following Zabuza and told him to keep the sword safe, promising to help him return to Zabuza if he persuaded Zabuza to leave Kirigakure's affairs alone.
• Akihara Kagura went with Karin and Haku to visit the injured Kakashi, bringing two large fish and telling Team 7 he had resolved the crisis.

After recovering, Kakashi Hatake led Team 7 back to protect Tazuna, where Orochimaru sent the reanimated Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, to attack them. Tobirama resisted Orochimaru's control and offered advice, while Kakashi stalled and hoped Akihara Kagura would arrive; Orochimaru then prepared an even more terrifying reanimated fighter.

• Kakashi Hatake trained Team 7 in chakra control while recovering, then resumed guarding Tazuna after a week.
• A figure in the fog attacked Kakashi Hatake and Team 7 with powerful Water Style jutsu, and Kakashi pulled Naruto Uzumaki and Second Pillar out of the water.
• Kakashi Hatake recognized the attacker as Tobirama Senju, who revealed Orochimaru had revived and controlled him with Impure World Reincarnation.
• Tobirama Senju resisted Orochimaru's control and explained how to defeat and seal him, but Orochimaru took control of his body and forced him to fight Kakashi Hatake.
• Naruto Uzumaki's Nine-Tails chakra cloak made Tobirama Senju hesitate, and Kakashi Hatake placed his students inside a Flying Thunder God Mark while Tobirama suggested using traps against himself.
• Orochimaru concluded that reanimated shinobi's consciousnesses should be erased and prepared another coffin, telling Akihara Kagura to welcome the source of his power.

Kakashi Hatake and Team 7 trapped Tobirama Senju, but Orochimaru arrived with Hashirama Senju and took control of both Hokage to fight Akihara Kagura. Akihara Kagura reached the bridge with Root ninja and ordered them to evacuate Team 7 as he faced Orochimaru and the two controlled Hokage.

• Kakashi Hatake used the Flying Thunder God Mark to force Tobirama Senju into Team 7's trap, where blades pierced him.
• Tobirama Senju's shuriken struck Second Pillar after he shielded Naruto Uzumaki, and Sakura treated his wounds.
• Hashirama Senju emerged using Wood Release, then Orochimaru appeared and revealed that he intended to use the Hokage against Akihara Kagura.
• Orochimaru erased Hashirama Senju's consciousness with a talisman and then turned Tobirama Senju into a controlled puppet.
• Akihara Kagura arrived with Root ninja and ordered them to take Kakashi Hatake and Team 7 away from the bridge.

Akihara Kagura stayed behind to face Orochimaru and the reincarnated Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju, overwhelming them and breaking Orochimaru’s control. He then used the encounter to suggest that Konoha’s leaders had set him up, leaving Tobirama questioning who had forced Danzō to defect and Orochimaru hinting that the Third Hokage had supported him.

• Akihara Kagura sent Kakashi Hatake and Team 7 away, then had Karin and the Root ninjas withdraw to the bridge entrance.
• Akihara Kagura fought Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju, defeating them with taijutsu, powerful water techniques, and flames that destroyed their bodies and talismans.
• Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju regained their senses, but Orochimaru forced them to attack Akihara Kagura again.
• Akihara Kagura blasted the two Hokage away, used the Flying Thunder God Technique and Wood Release to bind them, and told Tobirama Senju that he was the Hokage Assistant under the Third Hokage.
• Akihara Kagura told Tobirama Senju that someone in Konoha had set him up and forced the previous Hokage Assistant, Danzō, to defect.
• Akihara Kagura asked Orochimaru who had secretly supported his research after he defected, and Orochimaru implied that the Third Hokage was responsible.

Akihara Kagura framed Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi by feeding Orochimaru a scandalous account of Konoha’s history, and the reanimated Hashirama and Tobirama urged Kagura to eliminate Hiruzen. As Kagura considered his new orders, Tobirama proposed taking the Hokage brothers to Konoha, while Orochimaru revealed that he had captured Shimura Danzō.

• Orochimaru joined Kagura in implying that Hiruzen had committed dark deeds to preserve his power, and Tobirama asked Kagura to explain what had happened to Konoha.
• Kagura accused Hiruzen of destroying the Uchiha Clan, using their Sharingan in experiments, and framing Danzō; Hashirama condemned the destruction, while Tobirama defended his own past treatment of the Uchiha.
• Kagura claimed the Uchiha had helped Hiruzen arrange the Fourth Hokage’s death, and Orochimaru expanded the accusation into a story in which Hiruzen used an Uchiha with Mangekyō Sharingan to control the Nine-Tails and kill the Fourth Hokage.
• Orochimaru said Hiruzen had used Kagura to destroy the Uchiha and tried to kill Danzō, then urged Kagura to leave Konoha; Hashirama and Tobirama instead told Kagura to remove Hiruzen.
• Hashirama and Tobirama’s new orders directed Kagura to eliminate Hiruzen, and Tobirama suggested killing Orochimaru and taking the reanimated Hokage to Konoha.
• Orochimaru asked Kagura to spare him and revealed that he had captured Danzō, prompting Kagura to accuse him of taking Danzō away.

Akihara Kagura manipulated Orochimaru and Danzō while helping Zabuza choose Haku over the Kubikiribōchō, then returned to Konoha as the Chunin Ninja Exams approached. He recruited Maruboshi Kosuke to guide Karin through the Forest of Death and watch over the young ninja.

• Akihara Kagura released the two Hokage to Orochimaru after pretending to cooperate, then told Karin that his accusations against the Third Hokage were bait to draw out Danzō.
• Zabuza Momochi returned the heads of the smugglers and chose Haku over the Kubikiribōchō, which Akihara Kagura kept and sent toward Orochimaru as a gift for Kirigakure.
• Akihara Kagura returned to Konoha with Team 7, took their mission reward, and learned that the village was focused on the upcoming joint Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Akihara Kagura met Maruboshi Kosuke at the Mission Assembly Hall and asked him to guide Karin through the Forest of Death and watch over the young participants.

Akihara Kagura recommended Genin for the upcoming joint Chunin Exams, then went to a street dispute between Konoha children and Sunagakure ninja. He confronted Gaara as Karin prepared to fight, leaving the conflict on the verge of escalating.

• Maruboshi Kosuke agreed to take the Chunin Exam with Karin, while Akihara Kagura explained that he wanted a teammate who could cook for her.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi set the joint Chunin Exams for July 3rd, and Akihara Kagura recommended Kabuto Yakushi, Karin, and Maruboshi Kosuke.
• Kakashi Hatake, Kurenai Yuhi, and Asuma Sarutobi recommended their teams, while Umino Iruka worried that the young Genin were entering the exam too soon.
• An Anbu reported that Konoha children had clashed with Sunagakure Genin, and Akihara Kagura went to investigate despite Hiruzen Sarutobi's warning not to kill anyone.
• Gaara subdued Second Pillar and faced Naruto Uzumaki before Karin intervened and matched Gaara; Akihara Kagura arrived and taunted Gaara while threatening Rasa.

Akihara Kagura arranged the Chunin Ninja Exams, including Karin’s team and the removal of Kabuto Yakushi’s former teammates, while Genin from several villages gathered in Konoha. Hiruzen Sarutobi appointed Kagura chief examiner and tasked him with ensuring the joint exams concluded successfully.

• Gaara stopped Kankuro from provoking Akihara Kagura and left with Kankuro and Temari, while Karin confirmed that she and the other children were unharmed.
• Hozuki Mangetsu arrived in Konoha with Hozuki Suigetsu, who carried the Kubikiribōchō and openly declared he wanted to challenge Akihara Kagura.
• Root Ninja intercepted Kabuto Yakushi and told him Karin would be his teammate; Kabuto asked them to kill Akado Yoroi and Tsurugi Misumi, and they declared the two spies dead in a mission report.
• Kabuto told Akihara Kagura about his Edo Tensei research, and Kagura gave him an exam registration form and instructed him to visit Dean Nonō before registering with Karin and the others.
• Karin silenced the Genin mocking Maruboshi Kosuke by cracking the ground, then joined him and Kabuto as his teammates for the exams.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi appointed Akihara Kagura chief examiner and ordered everyone else to support him through the joint Chunin Ninja Exams.

Akihara Kagura oversaw the first Chunin Ninja Exams round before Mitaraishi Anko began the Forest of Death exam. Orochimaru infiltrated the forest, attacked Team 7, and injured Anko while warning of Konoha's coming end; Kagura arrived after Orochimaru escaped.

• Akihara Kagura watched the written exam and criticized its questions, while Naruto Uzumaki passed by insisting on continuing despite handing in a blank paper.
• Mitaraishi Anko led the candidates into the Forest of Death, then learned a Kirigakure candidate had been killed and identified Orochimaru as the infiltrator.
• Karin's team settled in to eat, and Maruboshi Kosuke defeated an enemy team alone while Karin sensed the battle.
• Orochimaru attacked Team 7, left a curse mark on Second Pillar, and planned to take Hozuki Suigetsu as a potential vessel.
• Mitaraishi Anko confronted Orochimaru, but he overpowered and injured her before escaping through the forest.
• Akihara Kagura arrived after Orochimaru fled and ordered the examiners to take Mitaraishi Anko to the hospital.

After Orochimaru injured Anko, Akihara Kagura handed the exam over to Iruka while the candidates converged on the Forest of Death’s finish tower. Karin fought Suigetsu and Gaara, subdued Shukaku with her Adamantine Sealing Chains, and left the Konoha Jonin stunned by her strength as Orochimaru remained at large.

• Akihara Kagura ordered the team to report Orochimaru’s attack to the Third Hokage, but an order arrived assigning Umino Iruka to replace Anko as examiner.
• Gaara’s team and Suigetsu’s team reached the finish tower alongside Karin, Kabuto Yakushi, and Maruboshi Kosuke; Suigetsu attacked them and pierced Kosuke with a Water Bullet Technique.
• Karin used her Adamantine Sealing Chains to defeat Suigetsu and his teammates, then confronted Gaara after he asked about her connection to Akihara Kagura.
• Gaara and Shukaku attacked Karin, but she restrained Shukaku with her chains and used the Five Elements Seal, disrupting its chakra connection with Gaara.
• Konoha Jonin stopped the fight and watched Karin’s battle on a monitor, while Akihara Kagura told Kakashi Hatake that Orochimaru had escaped and would not dare appear while he was around.

Akihara Kagura met Orochimaru in Konoha and revealed that he had secretly planned to escape Orochimaru’s experiments and kill him from the day their Hashirama Cell experiment succeeded. They agreed to cooperate for now, while Second Pillar’s cursed seal and the Chunin Exams remained in play.

• Akihara Kagura met Orochimaru atop Hokage Rock and warned him to keep his Sound Village ninja under control during the Chunin Exams.
• Orochimaru asked about his missing spies, and Akihara Kagura admitted he had killed Tsurugi Misumi and Akado Yoroi to make Kabuto Yakushi obey him.
• Akihara Kagura confessed that he had pretended to lose his mind after their experiment succeeded, while secretly seeking a way to escape Orochimaru and avoid becoming his vessel.
• Orochimaru praised Akihara Kagura’s patience, and they agreed to cooperate while warning each other not to become weak or threaten one another’s interests.
• A Root ninja reported that Second Pillar could not move after Orochimaru gave him a cursed seal, and Akihara Kagura ordered Umino Iruka to let Team 7 continue the test.
• Akihara Kagura asked Orochimaru to lend him Manda someday, and Orochimaru agreed, noting that the summon would require a sacrifice.

Akihara Kagura oversaw the Chunin Exam preliminaries, imposed his own rules, and intervened in several matches. After stopping Neji from harming Hinata and vowing to investigate the Hyuga Clan, he disqualified Rock Lee and declared that his word was the rule.

• Akihara Kagura replaced the sick Gekko Hayate with Genma Shiranui to host the preliminaries, and Maruboshi Kosuke and Kabuto Yakushi withdrew.
• Hozuki Suigetsu forfeited his match against Karin, while Second Pillar, Shino Aburame, Kankuro, Shikamaru Nara, and Naruto Uzumaki's opponents won their respective matches.
• Akihara Kagura rescued Tenten from a dangerous fall and said that only he could torment opponents in Konoha.
• Neji Hyuga defeated Hinata Hyuga and tried to continue attacking her, but Akihara Kagura stopped him and said he would investigate the Hyuga Clan's affairs.
• Akihara Kagura disqualified Rock Lee after Lee defended Neji, then declared that his word was the rule.

Akihara Kagura halted the Chunin Ninja Exams to reprimand Rock Lee and threaten the Hyuga Clan over its Main Family and Branch Family conflict. Hyuga Hiashi arrived to explain the Caged Bird Seal, but Kagura accused the clan of gathering strength to rebel, leaving Hiashi trapped in an escalating confrontation.

• Akihara Kagura barred Rock Lee from competing after Lee spoke out, rejected Kakashi Hatake's plea, and warned the Hyuga Clan to end its internal disputes.
• Akihara Kagura resumed the preliminary matches, where Dosu defeated Choji Akimichi and Gaara received a bye, then scheduled the Third Exam's main matches for a month later.
• Hyuga Hiashi arrived with a letter from Hizashi Hyuga and explained that the Caged Bird Seal protected the Byakugan from theft.
• Akihara Kagura demanded that the Main Family accept the seal too and questioned whether its control of the Branch Family was meant to resist the village or stage a coup.
• Hyuga Hiashi denied any intent to rebel and asked to speak privately with Neji Hyuga, but Akihara Kagura insisted the issue was the clan's power and control over its members.

Hyuga Hiashi sought Hiruzen Sarutobi’s support against Akihara Kagura’s proposed clan reforms, while Konoha prepared for the Chunin Exam’s third stage and debated the threat posed by Orochimaru and Shimura Danzō. Hiruzen rejected Kagura’s demand to attack the visiting villages, and Kagura left warning that the Hokage would regret it.

• Hyuga Hiashi rejected Akihara Kagura’s radical reform plan and went to ask Hiruzen Sarutobi for help.
• Hiruzen promised Hiashi that the village would not pressure the Hyuga Clan to reform, then ordered ANBU to stop Kagura from provoking internal conflict.
• Jiraiya returned to Konoha, removed Orochimaru’s Five Elements Seal from Naruto Uzumaki, and began teaching him the Summoning Technique, but Naruto summoned a tadpole.
• At a meeting, Kakashi Hatake warned that Orochimaru and Shimura Danzō threatened Konoha, and Kagura proposed ending the exams and attacking the visiting ninja villages.
• Hiruzen ordered an investigation instead, dismissed Kagura’s claim that several villages were colluding with Orochimaru, and sent Kagura away with the order to carry out his decision.

As Konoha prepared for the Chunin Ninja Exams, Akihara Kagura secretly coordinated with Orochimaru and Shimura Danzō’s plan to attack the village and arranged for Kabuto Yakushi to revive Dan Katō. A month later, the Third Exam began as Hiruzen Sarutobi welcomed Fourth Kazekage Rasa and Kirigakure elder Genji, unaware they had been replaced.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered heightened security and restricted Root’s Dual Bloodline Ninja to their base during the exams.
• Orochimaru and Shimura Danzō met with Akihara Kagura in disguise and finalized their plan to isolate Hiruzen Sarutobi and launch the Konoha Collapse Plan.
• Akihara Kagura gave Kabuto Yakushi a White Zetsu sacrifice and instructed him to use Impure World Reincarnation to revive Dan Katō.
• Akihara Kagura said he would retrieve something from Namen-do, while Kabuto Yakushi continued helping Karin train.
• Naruto Uzumaki summoned Gama Bunta, Neji Hyuga mastered Rotation, and Karin mastered the second stage of her curse mark during the month before the exam.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi welcomed Fourth Kazekage Rasa and Kirigakure elder Genji to the opening of the Third Exam.

The Chunin Exams proceeded under Akihara Kagura’s safeguards, and Karin faced Gaara in a fierce second-round match as Kakashi Hatake arrived with Second Pillar too late to restore his place in the bracket. The chapter ended with Genji asking Hiruzen Sarutobi how Chojuro’s Water Release compared to their teacher’s.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi welcomed Genji and Fourth Kazekage Rasa to the exam, while Akihara Kagura used four Wood Clones to form a Four Crimson Sun Array around the arena.
• Naruto Uzumaki defeated Neji Hyuga, Shino Aburame defeated Chojuro, and Shikamaru Nara surrendered to Temari after demonstrating his skill.
• Genma Shiranui declared Second Pillar and Dosu absent and advanced Gaara and Karin, who began the second-round match against each other.
• Karin broke Gaara’s sand attacks with her fists and Adamantine Sealing Chains, while Gaara trapped her with a second sand claw and expanded the fight across the arena.
• Kakashi Hatake arrived with Second Pillar and asked Akihara Kagura about Sasuke’s curse mark, while Karin revealed her own curse mark’s second state and fought on.
• Genji asked Hiruzen Sarutobi how Chojuro’s Water Release compared to their teacher’s.