Chapter Summaries

Jiraiya told Sasuke to lead a new Team 7 with Konohamaru and Hanabi Hyuga, then arranged for him to teach Konoha’s Medical Ninjas the Hyuga secret technique Eight Trigrams Palm Revolving Heaven. After training began, Shizune revealed that she was pregnant, and Ino asked Sasuke for help with her technique.

• Jiraiya told Sasuke to become the acting instructor for a new Team 7 that included Konohamaru and Hanabi Hyuga, and said Hanabi would attend the Ninja Academy.
• Sasuke gathered Konoha’s Medical Ninjas and announced that Hanabi would teach him Eight Trigrams Palm Revolving Heaven so he could pass it on to them.
• Sasuke demonstrated the technique and guided the Medical Ninjas as they began practicing in the hospital courtyard.
• Shizune told Sasuke she was pregnant and said she had not yet shared the news with the others.
• Ino Yamanaka called Sasuke over to review her attempt at the technique, and he went to help her.

Sakura confessed her love to Sasuke after mistaking his actions for attempts to provoke her jealousy, but Sasuke rejected her and clarified that he saw her only as a companion. Sakura misunderstood his response and ended the chapter smiling happily.

• Ino demonstrated her flower-based Revolving Heaven technique, and Sasuke advised her on improving its speed and Chakra coverage.
• Sakura performed her own rotation, stumbled while trying to fall into Sasuke's arms, and angrily accused him and Ino of provoking her.
• Sakura confessed that she loved Sasuke and wanted to marry him, then threw herself into his arms.
• Sasuke pushed Sakura away and explained that he had never felt anything for her beyond friendship.
• Sakura heard Sasuke's rejection as a garbled declaration of her importance and smiled happily.

Sasuke rejected Sakura’s confession, leaving her devastated, while Ino escorted her home. At dinner, Jiraiya reported progress in negotiations with Hiashi, and Naruto struggled with a chakra-control textbook before storming off in frustration.

• Sasuke insisted he had never had romantic feelings for Sakura, and Sakura left the courtyard in shock as Ino followed her.
• Sasuke returned home, relieved that he had finally explained himself to Sakura, and went to change his clothes.
• Jiraiya told Sasuke that Hanabi would join Team 7 after graduation and that he had made progress toward closer cooperation with the Hyuga Clan.
• Naruto realized that Jiraiya and Sasuke had been discussing village affairs rather than a novel, then returned to studying chakra control.
• Jiraiya urged Naruto to rely on the Nine-Tails’ power, but Naruto insisted he would become the strongest through his own strength and soon angrily abandoned the textbook.

Second Pillar reviewed eight Ninja Academy candidates for New Team 7 and became interested in Shimizu Ichigaku's suspected Kekkei Genkai, then asked the Collective Wisdom System for advice. Meanwhile, the Fourth Raikage discussed Orochimaru's evasive replies with Mabui and called a meeting after Orochimaru's latest response arrived.

• Jiraiya gave Second Pillar résumés for eight candidates and urged him to choose New Team 7's third member and visit the Ninja Academy.
• Second Pillar focused on Shimizu Ichigaku's suspected Kekkei Genkai and decided to visit the Academy to learn more.
• Second Pillar posted the candidates' details on the Collective Wisdom System and asked for advice before falling asleep.
• Mabui explained to the Fourth Raikage why Orochimaru needed time to consolidate his rule over the Land of Water, despite Kumogakure gaining little from their alliance.
• The Fourth Raikage summoned three men to a meeting, kept Mabui present, and handed them Orochimaru's reply.

The Fourth Raikage weighed Orochimaru’s offer of cursed seals and lucrative missions against the possibility of attacking Kirigakure, while Shi persuaded him to inspect the seals before deciding. In Konoha, Sasuke reviewed forum replies about choosing a New Team 7 member and finally told a longtime reader that he had killed Sasori.

• The Fourth Raikage proposed invading the Land of Water and seizing Kirigakure, but Darui read Orochimaru’s offer of cursed seals, maritime commissions, and a promised alliance against Konoha.
• Darui supported following the Raikage’s orders, while Dodai urged consideration of the offer and Shi suggested testing the cursed seals before making a decision.
• The Fourth Raikage’s anger eased as Shi argued that Kumogakure should strengthen its forces before deciding whether to attack the Land of Water.
• Sasuke woke with no scheduled duties, considered visiting the Ninja Academy, and opened his forum post asking which candidate to choose for New Team 7.
• Sasuke read the forum users’ banter and resolved to report back to them after taking their advice.
• When Only Love Scorpion Lord asked whether Sasuke had defeated Sasori, Sasuke replied, “Killed him.”

Uchiha Sasuke read the veteran netizens’ arguments about his battle, the Fourth Scroll, and candidates for New Team 7, while the system delivered suggestions to investigate the Small Wood Amulet and recruit several children. He noted possible leads among Moegi, Shimizu Ichigaku, Ryuji Aburame, and Jin Dafeng, but had not yet chosen anyone.

• Sasuke described his battle and the Fourth Scroll on the forum, where netizens argued over Sasori and his reputation.
• Netizens urged Sasuke to investigate the Small Wood Amulet, and the system offered him a Rank F Scroll for visiting Sunagakure and Granny Chiyo.
• Netizens recommended Kazematsuri Moegi and Shimizu Ichigaku for New Team 7, citing Moegi’s Wood Release and Ichigaku’s suspected Kekkei Genkai.
• Other netizens recommended Inuzuka Akita and Ryuji Aburame, and Sasuke vowed to eliminate Shimura Danzō sooner or later.
• A forum user angrily championed top student Jin Dafeng, prompting several netizens to support his selection and the system to offer Sasuke a Rank E Scroll for recruiting him.

Second Pillar visited the Ninja Academy to learn about Shimizu Ichigaku, a child suspected of possessing Ice Release, but his questions were interrupted when Hanabi Hyuga arrived. Hanabi confessed that she had come to see Sasuke and hinted at her feelings before leaving him unsettled.

• Second Pillar reviewed village reports, then met Iruka at the Ninja Academy and asked about Shimizu Ichigaku’s background and suspected Kekkei Genkai.
• Iruka explained that a Kirigakure ninja claimed Ichigaku had killed a Sound Chunin with Ice Release, though no one at the Academy had seen him use it.
• Hanabi Hyuga arrived and falsely told Iruka that Konohamaru and Ichigaku were about to fight, drawing Iruka away so she could speak with Sasuke.
• Hanabi told Sasuke she had come especially to see him and thanked him for helping her attend the Academy.
• Hanabi said she expected to join Sasuke’s team after graduation, asked whether he liked her, and described love as finding warmth amid danger.
• Hanabi ran back to class, leaving Sasuke alone and melancholy.

Second Pillar watched the Ninja Academy students spar to assess candidates for New Team 7, noticing Shimizu Ichigaku’s buried battlefield instincts and the students’ different abilities. Konohamaru narrowly defeated Jin Dafeng, while Second Pillar left without revealing whom he would choose.

• Iruka explained that Hanabi struggled to read her classmates and arranged sparring matches so Second Pillar could evaluate the students.
• Udon defeated Shimizu Ichigaku, and Second Pillar noticed Ichigaku almost draw a kunai with killing intent before the instructor’s whistle stopped him.
• Inuzuka Akita defeated Kazematsuri Moegi, Ryuji Aburame easily beat Yamanaka Kohan, and Hanabi Hyuga defeated Akimichi Makarō without using clan techniques.
• Jin Dafeng countered Konohamaru’s clones and attacks with shuriken, a spinning kick, and substitution and clone techniques before the two fought to a close finish.
• Konohamaru pinned Jin Dafeng and won the match, after which the boys reconciled; Jin Dafeng left alone while Konohamaru celebrated with his friends.
• Iruka asked Second Pillar to choose the third member of New Team 7, but Second Pillar only thanked him for arranging the matches.

Sasuke confronted Jin Dafeng for deliberately losing to Konohamaru, learned about the commoner boy’s fears and ambitions, and chose him as the third member of New Team 7. Jiraiya accepted the choice but warned Sasuke that children from commoner families with living parents were often too cautious to make good ninja.

• Sasuke stopped Jin Dafeng in an alley and asked why he had held back against Konohamaru.
• Shimizu Ichigaku delivered letters from his dead Kirigakure companions, who had admired Sasuke as a hero and hoped he was alive.
• Jin Dafeng apologized for his behavior and admitted he had yielded to Konohamaru to avoid trouble for his family and gain future opportunities.
• Sasuke praised Jin Dafeng’s willingness to seize opportunities and told him he would give him one.
• At the Hokage Residence, Sasuke handed Jiraiya Jin Dafeng’s résumé and confirmed he had chosen him for New Team 7.
• Jiraiya said commoner children with living parents valued their lives too much to make good ninja.

Second Pillar chose Jin Dafeng for the graduating class and helped arrange for Kimimaro and Neji Hyuga to serve as squad-leading Jonin. After reading letters from children caught in the war, Sasuke investigated Mist Hidden Village and Konoha’s preparations before graduation day arrived, with Hanabi Hyuga waiting to see him again.

• Second Pillar rejected Jiraiya’s arguments for Shimizu Ichigaku and chose Jin Dafeng, then proposed Kimimaro and Neji Hyuga as squad-leading Jonin.
• Second Pillar opened the children’s letters and was overwhelmed by their fear, requests, and final prayers.
• Sasuke visited Tanzaku Town, confirmed Shimizu Ichigaku’s Kekkei Genkai, and learned that Chojuro had died in battle against Kidomaru.
• Jiraiya secured cooperation from the Hyuga Clan and other Konoha clans, while Neji persuaded a reluctant Kimimaro to accept the squad-leading Jonin role.
• At graduation briefing, Iruka addressed the new Genin as Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon, and Hanabi waited to learn their team assignments.

The Academy assigned Jin Dafeng, Konohamaru, and Hanabi Hyuga to Team 7, leaving Konohamaru angry about his teammates and the team balance. Sasuke arrived as their Jonin instructor, startling Jin and Konohamaru, then led the new team out of the classroom.

• Iruka assigned Jin Dafeng, Konohamaru, and Hanabi Hyuga to Team 7, while Ryuji Aburame joined Moegi and Udon on Team 6.
• Konohamaru objected to the assignments and challenged Ryuji after Iruka compared their graduation rankings.
• Jin Dafeng tried to reassure Hanabi on the rooftop, but she dismissed his concern and left him watching Konohamaru argue with Moegi and Udon.
• Second Pillar received the system's Block permission, then went to the Academy as Sasuke to meet Team 7.
• Jin Dafeng and Konohamaru recognized Sasuke and reacted with shock, while Hanabi laughed at their awkward welcome.
• Sasuke told Jin Dafeng, Konohamaru, and Hanabi to follow him.

Second Pillar led Konohamaru, Hanabi Hyuga, and Jin Dafeng through introductions, then explained their Genin selection test. The chapter ended as he began a bell-stealing exercise and promised the team breakfast afterward.

• Konohamaru, Hanabi Hyuga, and Jin Dafeng introduced themselves and shared their dreams, and Second Pillar defended Jin Dafeng when Konohamaru laughed at his goal of buying his family a bigger house.
• Second Pillar introduced himself and declared his dream of sweeping away injustice and ending war, inspiring Jin Dafeng to pledge his support.
• Second Pillar told his students that only twenty-one of the thirty-nine graduates would be recognized as Genin and instructed them to meet at the training grounds the next morning without breakfast.
• Konohamaru explained to Jin Dafeng that the selection test would likely be a familiar teamwork exercise, while Hanabi revealed she had brought rice balls in case she got hungry.
• Second Pillar arrived at the training grounds, announced a bell-stealing test, and promised to take the students back to the Hokage Residence for breakfast afterward.

Second Pillar explained Team 7’s bell-stealing exercise and made the single bell a test for choosing an acting captain. Hanabi Hyuga, Konohamaru, and Jin Dafeng began their attack, but Second Pillar easily countered them and exposed Konohamaru’s last-ditch Sexy Technique.

• Second Pillar explained that Team 7 would compete for one bell, with the exercise also determining who would act as captain when he was away.
• Hanabi Hyuga insisted she would be captain, but Second Pillar ended the discussion before she could share a plan, and she hid while Konohamaru whispered tactics to Jin Dafeng.
• Konohamaru charged Second Pillar, who blocked his attacks and pinned him to a tree; Jin Dafeng followed with a failed ambush and showed solid battlefield instincts.
• Second Pillar used Toad Oil Bullet to make Jin Dafeng and Konohamaru slip, then declared them defeated after throwing kunai at them.
• Konohamaru used Sexy Technique as Second Pillar reached to help him, but Second Pillar kicked through the transformation and sent Konohamaru rolling into the bushes.

Second Pillar tested New Team 7 with a bell-stealing exercise, then hosted the team for breakfast at the Hokage Residence. He began announcing his choice for acting captain, but the chapter ended before he revealed the name.

• Hanabi Hyuga lunged for Second Pillar's bell with the Gentle Fist but missed, then gave up along with Konohamaru and Jin Dafeng.
• Second Pillar led New Team 7 to the Hokage Residence and served them a lavish breakfast.
• Konohamaru asked who Second Pillar had chosen as captain, and he and Hanabi Hyuga each argued that their actions during the exercise deserved consideration.
• Konohamaru and Hanabi Hyuga exposed one another's attempts to bring food into the exercise and to eat beforehand, while Jin Dafeng nervously stayed out of their dispute.
• Second Pillar asked whether anyone else had anything to add, then began announcing his choice for acting captain, but the chapter ended before he named the winner.

Second Pillar chose Jin Dafeng as Team 7’s acting captain after criticizing Konohamaru and Hanabi Hyuga’s teamwork, then welcomed all three as his disciples. He assigned Jin six D-rank missions to organize and complete over three weeks, promising training guidance afterward.

• Second Pillar praised Konohamaru’s feint tactics but criticized his unwillingness to protect Jin Dafeng, and commended Hanabi Hyuga’s Transformation Technique while faulting her for failing to cooperate with her teammates.
• Second Pillar selected Jin Dafeng as acting captain for seeking teamwork, adapting when his plan failed, and caring about Team 7; Jin resisted until Second Pillar reminded him he was now one of his disciples.
• That afternoon, Second Pillar gave Jin six D-rank mission requests and tasked Team 7 with completing them within three weeks, allowing Jin to take Second Pillar’s share of the rewards.
• Jin asked what to do if Konohamaru and Hanabi Hyuga demanded that Second Pillar lead them, and Second Pillar told him to send them to speak with him directly.
• Second Pillar promised to provide Jin with training guidance after the team completed its missions, and Jin eagerly accepted the assignment.

Jin Dafeng persuaded Sasuke to let him take a sweet-potato mission alone and keep the reward, while Jiraiya assigned Sasuke a Fire Temple security mission to build ties with the temple. Sasuke grew interested in the monks’ Sage Clan Talent, Naruto’s secret training trip to Mount Myōboku remained concealed, and Kakuzu left Konan’s office after learning the Akatsuki needed still more money.

• Jin Dafeng asked Sasuke to let him handle the sweet-potato mission alone and keep its reward, and Sasuke agreed on the condition that he keep it quiet.
• Jiraiya gave Sasuke a C-rank mission to provide security at Fire Temple’s Ullambana Festival and explained that it could strengthen ties with the temple.
• Sasuke asked where Naruto had gone, and Jiraiya concealed Naruto’s trip to Mount Myōboku while steering Sasuke toward the Fire Temple mission.
• Jiraiya told Sasuke about the monks’ Sage Clan Talent, sparking Sasuke’s interest before he prepared to leave for Fire Temple.
• Konan told Kakuzu that the Akatsuki’s 1.782 billion ryo was not enough, and Kakuzu left to face Hidan’s questions about their next target.

Uchiha Sasuke took his new Team 7 on a relaxed camping trip during their first mission, then learned from the system forum that the Fire Temple might be attacked and its head priest, Chiriku, could die. The chapter ended with Sasuke recalling what he knew about Kakuzu as he considered the warning and the Akatsuki threat.

• Kakuzu showed Hidan a bounty target, and Hidan eagerly anticipated killing the infidel.
• Sasuke led Hanabi, Konohamaru, and Jin Dafeng out of Konoha, where they treated their first mission as a picnic.
• Dafeng unpacked cooking supplies, and the team gathered food before camping for the night.
• Sasuke asked the system forum for advice about the Fire Temple and learned that Chiriku might be killed and the temple destroyed.
• A forum user urged Sasuke to warn Chiriku to flee, and the system offered him a D-rank scroll if he succeeded.
• Sasuke read forum comments about the Akatsuki's Immortal Duo and recalled the limited information he had about Kakuzu.

Uchiha Sasuke learned the Immortal Duo’s abilities from the forum and prepared to face them at Fire Temple with their weaknesses in mind. The seniors then suggested he investigate whether an apprentice Ninja Monk named Sora existed, giving Sasuke a new side quest.

• Uchiha Sasuke decided that protecting Chiriku at Fire Temple could give him a chance to eliminate the hostile Immortal Duo.
• As forum members debated Sasuke’s chances and considered withholding information, Sasuke Uchiha's Mom Fan explained Kakuzu’s five hearts and Earth Grudge Fear.
• Sasuke Uchiha's Mom Fan described Hidan’s immortal body and blood-based curse technique, and Uchiha Sasuke recognized that he would need a Flawless Victory.
• Uchiha Sasuke thanked Sasuke Uchiha's Mom Fan for the intelligence and reflected that the seniors still considered him weak.
• Old John Pancake suggested that Uchiha Sasuke look for the apprentice Ninja Monk Sora at Fire Temple, and the system offered him a Rank F Scroll for confirming Sora’s existence.

Second Pillar decided to continue the escort mission to Fire Temple despite suspecting danger, then warned Chiriku that the Akatsuki’s Immortal Duo might kill him. Chiriku dismissed the others so he and Sasuke could discuss the warning privately.

• Second Pillar chose to take Team 7 to Fire Temple for the Ullambana Festival and let the three young ninja return afterward, unaware that Kakuzu and his partner’s hunt for Chiriku had been moved forward.
• Hanabi Hyuga sat beside Second Pillar by the campfire, and he told her to prioritize protecting herself if danger arose during the mission.
• Second Pillar and Team 7 arrived at Fire Temple, where a welcoming monk opened the sealed gates and introduced them to the temple’s defenses.
• Chiriku welcomed the group, but Second Pillar bluntly told him he was about to die and asked whether he had clashed with the Akatsuki’s Immortal Duo.
• Chiriku sent Jian Ming away and asked whether the Hokage had sent the team to warn him rather than simply protect the Ullambana Festival.

Second Pillar failed to persuade Chiriku to suspend Fire Temple’s Ullambana Festival despite warning him that Akatsuki might attack. In Konoha, Shikamaru read Sunagakure’s secret proposal for Sasuke to marry Temari and become Kazekage, and Jiraiya pressed him to admit how he felt about it.

• Second Pillar confirmed that Akatsuki intended to hunt Chiriku, but said the threat’s timing was unknown.
• Second Pillar urged Chiriku to cancel the Ullambana Festival to protect its civilian attendees, but Chiriku refused because the ceremony and its obligations were important to Fire Temple.
• Chiriku arranged for Second Pillar and his disciples to rest at the temple, while privately deciding to proceed with the festival despite the danger.
• Jiraiya gave Shikamaru a secret letter from Sunagakure, and Shikamaru read its proposal for Sasuke to join Sunagakure, marry Temari, and become the Fifth Kazekage.
• Shikamaru called the proposal beneficial to the Wind Fire Alliance, and Jiraiya laughed before asking whether it mattered to Shikamaru personally, leaving him blushing and flustered.