Chapter Summaries

Naruto continued experimenting with combining chakra natures in Rasengan while Konoha’s advisers debated how to control him and test his loyalty. At the graduation exam, Naruto received his forehead protector without a test, and Mizuki led him toward the archive room as Naruto secretly asked Kurama for help.

• Kurama returned to the seal, and Naruto left with Isobu’s newly acquired techniques and information about the Mirrored World.
• Naruto used groups of Itachi Uchiha clones to train Sasuke harshly until Sasuke’s Sharingan evolved to Three Tomoe.
• Naruto tested Fire Style: Rasengan in the Land of Snow and found that it accepted Wind Release Chakra with less repulsion than Water Style: Rasengan.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura urged the Third Hokage to keep the Jinchuriki under supervision, and he agreed to arrange a test at the graduation exam.
• Naruto received his forehead protector without taking the graduation test, and Mizuki escorted him out while Naruto asked Kurama for a favor.

Naruto discovered that the Mizuki and Iruka he had encountered were Wood Style impostors, while the real Mizuki had been imprisoned after his crimes were exposed. After the impostor urged him to steal the Scroll of Seals, Naruto learned the truth from the Tailed Beasts and returned to report it to the fake Iruka.

• Shikamaru watched Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura take their graduation exams and wondered why Naruto and Sasuke had no forehead protectors.
• Mizuki gave Naruto his Ninja Registration Book, took his photo, and persuaded him to meet that night to steal the Scroll of Seals.
• The Third Hokage told Iruka that the real Mizuki had been condemned for his ties to Orochimaru, while Tenzo used Wood Style to impersonate Mizuki.
• The Tailed Beasts revealed that the Mizuki and Iruka Naruto had met were Tenzo's impostors and that the Scroll of Seals was fake.
• Naruto adjusted his forehead protector, went to the exam classroom, and told the fake Iruka he had something extremely important to report.

Naruto alerted Iruka and the Third Hokage to Mizuki’s plot, leading the Hokage to have Mizuki arrested and approve Naruto’s ninja registration. The Hokage then offered Naruto a reward and showed him the Scroll of Seals.

• Naruto interrupted the graduation exam to tell Iruka he had something important to report about the Hokage, while Tezuka Tsuyoshi complained that Naruto had forgotten him.
• Tenzo learned that Naruto suspected him and had reported him, and the Third Hokage instructed Tenzo to bring Naruto to the Hokage’s Office after the exams.
• Naruto waited with Iruka for more than two hours, and the Third Hokage arrived with Shikaku Nara and said Mizuki had been arrested.
• The Third Hokage approved Naruto’s ninja registration and offered him a reward for detecting Mizuki’s plot.
• Naruto asked to learn the techniques used by Shikamaru and Choji, and the Third Hokage offered to teach him a jutsu from the Scroll of Seals.
• The Third Hokage showed Naruto the Scroll of Seals, and Naruto eagerly agreed to look at it.

Naruto accepted the Third Hokage’s offer of one A-rank ninjutsu, while Shikaku grew wary of Naruto’s caution. After Team Seven’s Jonin instructor Kakashi arrived hours late, Naruto challenged him about the team test and received Kakashi’s praise.

• Naruto asked to see the Scroll of Seals, and the Third Hokage agreed to let him learn one A-rank ninjutsu the following day.
• Jiraiya learned that the Great Toad Sage had sent the Tsuchigumo forbidden technique’s inheritors to another continent because Konoha was unsafe for them.
• Shikaku warned Shikamaru that Naruto was more dangerous than he had imagined and urged him to be careful around his friend.
• Iruka assigned Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to Team Seven, while Asuma and Kurenai collected their respective teams.
• After waiting more than two hours for Kakashi, Naruto threatened to repeat the year, prompting Iruka and the Third Hokage to search for the absent instructor.
• Kakashi finally arrived just before dismissal, and Naruto questioned him about tests and teamwork before Kakashi praised him as a promising subordinate.

Naruto pressured the Third Hokage into making Kakashi take Team Seven seriously, then joined Sasuke and Sakura for their first mission and training. The chapter ended with Kakashi assigning chakra control practice at Training Ground 5.

• The Third Hokage confirmed that Kakashi had accepted Team Seven and ordered him to skip his usual survival exercise after Naruto applied to repeat the year.
• Naruto explained to the Tailed Beasts that he had wanted Kakashi to follow his principles and value his students, then received an A-rank ninjutsu scroll from the Third Hokage.
• Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura met Kakashi at the Mission Hall, where he assigned them to dig sweet potatoes for their first mission.
• Naruto used Shadow Clones to finish most of the farm work while Sasuke and Sakura dug, and Sasuke persuaded Kakashi to teach them the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
• Kakashi told Team Seven to meet him at Training Ground 5 at two for chakra control practice and to buy Chakra Test Paper.

Naruto trained with Team Seven while testing Kakashi’s judgment and concealing his real abilities. After Kakashi noticed the Five Elements Seal interfering with Naruto’s chakra control, he left but chose not to address it, and Kurama told Naruto that Kakashi had decided to pretend he had seen nothing.

• Naruto received only three thousand ryo for the mission because Kakashi had already taken his share, then split the money with Sasuke.
• The Third Hokage and Tenzo discussed Team Seven’s performance, while Naruto and Kurama talked about the Hokage’s plans and Naruto’s wish to see what Kakashi would do about his seal.
• Naruto told Sasuke to openly show his Fire and Lightning Release chakra, then struggled through Kakashi’s tree-climbing training as Sakura advanced quickly.
• Sasuke and Sakura revealed their chakra attributes, and Naruto pretended he had only Lightning Release; Kakashi later decided against teaching Chidori to either boy without the Sharingan.
• A week later, Kakashi noticed the Five Elements Seal outside Naruto’s Eight Trigrams Seal and left for the Hokage Office Building, but turned toward the Mission Hall instead.
• Kurama told Naruto that Kakashi had decided to pretend he had not noticed the seal.

Naruto investigated the Tsuchigumo Clan’s forbidden technique to learn how it used Natural Energy, but found that Jiraiya had already visited Mount Katsuragi and the fortress had been emptied. He concluded that Mount Myōboku knew his plans and was both helping and warning him, leaving him uncertain of its intentions.

• As Naruto practiced walking on water, Sasuke realized Naruto might be waiting for an important event, and Naruto teased him for figuring it out.
• Naruto discussed Senjutsu and the Tsuchigumo Clan’s forbidden technique with Kurama, Isobu, and Kokuō, then decided to travel to Mount Katsuragi that night.
• Naruto searched En no Gyōja’s empty fortress and learned from a tea-stall owner that Jiraiya had visited two months earlier.
• Naruto returned to Konoha and inferred that Mount Myōboku had sent Jiraiya to move the Tsuchigumo Clan before Naruto arrived.
• Naruto considered Mount Myōboku’s past interventions and concluded that it could help him or stop him, though he did not understand its motives.

Naruto investigated Mount Myōboku’s interference, continued training with Team Seven, and learned that the Third Hokage was arranging new connections for him. The chapter ended with Naruto staging a collision with Danzo outside the Hokage’s office to make contact with him.

• Naruto and Kurama discussed Mount Myōboku’s actions and prophecies, while Kurama shared a secret technique for fusing Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
• Kurama asked Isobu and Kokuō what they thought of Naruto, then brought up the Sage of Six Paths’ prophecy.
• Naruto met Sasuke at Ninja Tool Full Point Hall, while the Third Hokage discussed Naruto’s connections and reviewed replies to the Chunin Exams invitations, including Rasa’s attendance and Sound Village’s participation.
• The Third Hokage lifted Danzo’s confinement but did not restore his adviser position, and Naruto decided he needed to contact Danzo.
• After Naruto mastered Water Walking, Kurama alerted him that Danzo was meeting the Third Hokage, so Naruto rushed to the office and pretended to collide with Danzo as he left.

Naruto reached Level Five World Master and exploited the upgrade downtime while manipulating the Third Hokage into summoning Kakashi. At night, he continued experiments in the Land of Snow and checked on the progress of cloned Byakugan.

• Danzo's data brought Naruto to Level Five World Master, and the Tailed Beasts told him they had been forcibly ejected from the Sealed Space during a twenty-four-hour module upgrade.
• Naruto complained to the Third Hokage that Kakashi favored Sasuke and Sakura, then asked for Lightning Style training; the Hokage refused to teach him without Kakashi's approval.
• Naruto explained to Kurama that his complaint was meant to make the Third Hokage believe Kakashi followed the rules, while the Hokage sent Hayate Gekko to summon Kakashi.
• In the Land of Snow, Naruto tested Fire-nature chakra in Wind Style: Rasengan and struggled to add Earth Release Chakra to the Rasengan.
• Naruto visited Professor Oikawa's laboratory and asked how many Byakugan had been cloned and when a mature sample would be ready.

Naruto advised Professor Oikawa to recruit willing test subjects while the cloning research continued. Team Seven then took a mission to collect Matatabi’s Paw Print, which Sasuke believed was meant for him, and Naruto discovered Yugito Nii’s photograph in the Paw Print Compendium.

• Naruto refused to share his earlier research data with Professor Oikawa and suggested openly recruiting test subjects with tempting offers.
• Sasuke arrived at the Mission Hall and learned that Kakashi had assigned Team Seven a mission to retrieve Matatabi’s Paw Print.
• Sasuke insisted on going alone, but Naruto pointed out that the assignment belonged to Team Seven, so Sasuke agreed to go with him and Sakura.
• Naruto told Kurama, Isobu, and Kokuō that Itachi Uchiha might have arranged the mission to check on Sasuke.
• Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura met Cat Grandma, who showed them the Paw Print Compendium and its final target photograph.
• Naruto opened the compendium and saw a photograph of Yugito Nii from the Cloud Village beside the first paw print.

Naruto and the Tailed Beasts sent a warning about the Ten-Tails’ return to Matatabi and Gyuki while Sasuke investigated a suspicious mission arranged through Cat Grandma. Sasuke and Naruto left Konoha together, and a month later Sasuke was training in the Land of Waves with someone wearing Itachi Uchiha’s face.

• Kurama asked Naruto to warn Matatabi and Gyuki that Ōtsutsuki had broken free, and Naruto agreed to send a secret message through Cat Grandma.
• Sasuke and Sakura accepted a cat-collecting mission, but Naruto withdrew; Sasuke went alone, used Sharingan genjutsu on a giant cat, and returned with its paw print.
• Naruto gave Sasuke a black scroll for contacting him and a red scroll to deliver secretly to Yugito Nii, and Sasuke agreed to leave the village with him the next day.
• Naruto and Sasuke departed Cat Grandma’s base, and one month later Sasuke practiced Water Style against a fireball in the Land of Waves.
• A man wearing Itachi Uchiha’s face told Sasuke he would change it only when Sasuke could stop losing, while Sasuke insisted he still did not want to lose.

Naruto returned from the Land of Snow and explored the expanded Mirrored World, where he explained why the Tailed Beasts could not reach another continent. At training, Sasuke and Sakura met Might Guy’s team, and Rock Lee challenged Sasuke’s attention as an Uchiha genius.

• Naruto praised Kijiro’s work on the airship and appointed him chief of the laboratory after they returned.
• Naruto used Flying Thunder God to bring Sasuke back to Konoha, then left him at the Naka River before exploring the Mirrored World.
• Naruto told Kurama, Isobu, and Kokuō that the Mirrored World lacked data for continents Danzo’s spies had never visited.
• Kakashi gave Naruto and Sasuke Lightning Release scrolls and arranged a joint training session with Might Guy’s team.
• Rock Lee confessed his interest in Sakura, who rejected him, then stopped Sasuke and said he was interested in an Uchiha from a clan of genius ninja.

Naruto arranged a decisive fight between Sasuke and Rock Lee, who pushed Sasuke with the Eight Gates after removing his leg weights. Sasuke unleashed black lightning and awakened a Three Tomoe Sharingan, leaving the battle’s outcome unresolved.

• Rock Lee challenged Sasuke, but Sasuke evaded his first punch with the Substitution Technique and joined Naruto and the others for training.
• Naruto chose Rock Lee as his sparring partner, while Sasuke chose Neji Hyuga; the pairs went to separate training areas.
• At the Hokage's Office, Tenzo reported on the training, and the Third Hokage discussed Team Seven’s readiness for the Chunin Exams.
• After training, Rock Lee followed Sasuke, and Naruto brought them together for the fight Lee wanted.
• Rock Lee removed his leg weights, opened the Eight Gates, and overwhelmed Sasuke with the Reverse Lotus.
• Sasuke’s black lightning erupted, and his Sharingan advanced to three tomoe as he declared the fight was not over.

Sasuke sparred with Rock Lee, whose Eight Gates overwhelmed him before Lee collapsed from exhaustion. Naruto treated Lee, revealed that Sasuke’s left Sharingan had evolved to three tomoe, and refused to tell Sasuke the truth about the Uchiha Clan Downfall until both eyes met the condition; Sasuke suspected Naruto was waiting for an event that would happen within five months.

• Rock Lee fought Sasuke using the Eight Gates, forcing Sasuke to activate his Sharingan before Lee stopped at the third gate and collapsed.
• Naruto treated Rock Lee and told Sasuke that Lee could open the Eight Gates as far as the fifth gate.
• Sasuke discovered that his left Sharingan had evolved to three tomoe and demanded the truth about the Uchiha Clan Downfall.
• Naruto said Sasuke did not meet the condition because only one eye had evolved, and promised he would learn the truth within five months.
• Sasuke challenged Naruto to explain what would happen in five months, saying he sensed Naruto was waiting for something inevitable.

Naruto revealed Gamamaru’s prophetic ability to Sasuke, helped Sasuke awaken his left Sharingan, and took him to a laboratory to study and clone his eye. Later, Naruto joined Kakashi’s team on a caravan mission toward Rōran, where he encountered Chiyo while searching for Mukade.

• Naruto told Sasuke that Gamamaru of Mount Myōboku could see the future, and Sasuke used Genjutsu to alter Rock Lee’s memories after Naruto sealed them.
• Naruto brought Sasuke to his laboratory, removed his left eye for study, and gave him a scroll containing a technique for fusing Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan Dōjutsu.
• Naruto explained to Kurama that Sasuke’s Sharingan evolved because he could not tolerate losing, and that he had used Rock Lee as an experiment to trigger another evolution.
• Kakashi assigned Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to escort a merchant caravan toward the Land of Wind, and Naruto decided to search for Mukade near Rōran.
• Naruto flew to the Rōran Ruins at night, found Chiyo instead of Mukade, and provoked her by mentioning Sasori before attacking with a barrage of Kunai.

Naruto killed Chiyo, harvested her soul, and used her memories to train with the Tailed Beasts while seeking her forbidden jutsu. He discussed plans with Kurama to undo his seal and free the Tailed Beasts, then considered whether the Dragon Vein could let him travel back in time to Rōran.

• Naruto defeated Chiyo, learned that Sasori had become a human Puppet in the Land of Snow, and harvested her soul through the Mirrored World.
• Naruto, Kurama, Isobu, and Kokuō repeatedly trained against Chiyo’s Data Puppet, gaining experience but failing to obtain One’s Own Life Reincarnation.
• Kurama admitted that Naruto’s actions had made him believe Naruto could fulfill his promise of freedom, and Naruto described plans to obtain the sealing key and reclaim Kurama’s other half of Chakra.
• Isobu warned Naruto that Danzo had sent Fu Yamanaka and Torune Aburame to deliver Minato’s hair to Orochimaru, and Naruto ordered him to intercept some of it and send it to the Land of Snow.
• Naruto told Kurama he had found a way to undo the Reaper Death Seal, then revealed that he had been considering using the Dragon Vein to travel to the past and find Minato in Rōran.
• Naruto questioned whether Dragon Vein time travel was possible, noting that he had received no messages from a supposed future self and that the Shinobi World’s history had changed since his first intervention in Konoha.

Naruto wondered who had warned Sunagakure about Mukade’s plan, then received Kakashi’s criticism about teamwork and sought help with his training. Kakashi noticed Naruto’s Chakra-control problems were connected to the Five Elements Seal and gave him a scroll for the Mystical Palm Technique.

• Naruto sensed thirty new arrivals at the Land of Wind’s border outpost, including ten Jonin-level ninjas, and suspected Sunagakure had discovered Chiyo was missing.
• Kakashi told Naruto that his Shadow Clones’ patrols weakened his teammates’ vigilance and that he needed to show more teamwork.
• Naruto asked Kakashi for guidance, explaining that Sakura and Sasuke learned techniques faster and that he struggled to control his Chakra.
• Kakashi found that Naruto’s training difficulties involved the Five Elements Seal and wrote him a scroll.
• Naruto read the scroll’s name and asked Kakashi about the Mystical Palm Technique.

Kakashi gave Naruto the Mystical Palm Technique to improve his Chakra control, while Naruto and Kokuō discussed the Five Elements Seal and Sasuke’s hidden Sharingan. After the team returned to Konoha, Naruto revealed a Sharingan-bearing clone to Sasuke and told him to use its One Tomoe Sharingan as a disguise, hinting that Konoha wanted him to reveal his eyes to Kakashi.

• Kakashi gave Naruto the Mystical Palm Technique scroll and explained that practicing it could improve his Chakra control.
• Naruto and Kokuō discussed how the Third Hokage might undo the Five Elements Seal and how Sasuke was hiding his Three Tomoe Sharingan.
• Kakashi met Captain Hayama at the border, where they learned Sunagakure had increased patrols and was capturing wandering ninjas.
• After the team returned to Konoha, Kakashi dismissed them for two days, and Sakura noticed Sasuke seemed increasingly distant from her.
• Naruto showed Sasuke a brainless clone with a One Tomoe Sharingan and told him to replace his eyes with it in two months as a disguise.
• Naruto told Sasuke that Konoha wanted him to reveal his Sharingan to Kakashi and hinted that doing so would bring an unexpected benefit.

Naruto trained Sasuke through a deadly maze while using a failed Medical Ninjutsu assessment and an encounter with Konohamaru to frustrate the Third Hokage’s plans. Shikaku and Shikamaru suspected that Naruto’s apparently misguided choices were deliberate, and Shikamaru wondered whether Secrets of Interpersonal Relationships was a smokescreen.

• Sasuke deduced that Naruto was an Uzumaki survivor seeking revenge, but Naruto confirmed the theory sarcastically and let Sasuke leave a Shadow Clone to observe his laboratory work.
• Naruto used Flying Raijin to meet Kurama, who revealed that Kokuō had obtained the Body Replacement Technique.
• Naruto built a five-level maze for Sasuke, whose Shadow Clone-filled trial used mist, traps, and poison to knock him unconscious.
• Naruto failed a Medical Ninjutsu assessment, then met Konohamaru and used the boy’s challenge to provoke him into calling Naruto a suck-up in public.
• The Third Hokage asked for a copy of Secrets of Interpersonal Relationships after learning how Naruto had handled Konohamaru, and Shikaku discussed Naruto’s behavior with Shikamaru.
• Shikamaru concluded that the book might be a smokescreen, while Shikaku warned him against taking unnecessary actions that could endanger the Nara Clan.

Naruto tested Sasuke’s resolve and sent him into another maze challenge, where Sasuke used the Hiding in Mist Technique but was met with a coordinated explosive trap. Meanwhile, Naruto’s experiment disrupted the Laboratory, and Kurama revealed that Danzo had abandoned plans to approach Naruto after deciding to focus on Sasuke.

• Naruto disguised himself as Fugaku Uchiha and confronted Sasuke with his weakness, then sent Sasuke home while two Shadow Clones continued his training preparations.
• Sasuke dismissed his Shadow Clone at home and discovered Naruto had left him rice balls, then spent the night studying Naruto’s techniques and planning for the maze.
• Sasuke entered the maze in Chakra Armor, flew above its fog, and spent two hours defeating the fifty Shadow Clones on its first floor.
• Sasuke used the Hiding in Mist Technique on the second floor, but Naruto’s Shadow Clones fired explosive stone fragments through the mist and forced him to retreat into the clouds.
• Naruto’s Rasengan experiment filled the Laboratory with light and caused it to shake, so he used Flying Thunder God to move to a glacier with Kurama.
• Kurama told Naruto that Danzo had considered approaching him with Chakra-control training and removing the Five Elements Seal, but had instead decided to focus on Sasuke and potentially control him with Kotoamatsukami.