Chapter Summaries

Kaze revealed that he and Orochimaru planned to revive Minato Namikaze and extract the Yin Nine-Tails so Kaze could become its jinchuriki. Orochimaru began the Reaper Death Seal with the Shinigami Mask, and the Death God appeared as the ritual started.

• Kaze found the Shinigami Mask in the Uzumaki Clan's Mask Storage Hall and handed it to Orochimaru.
• Kaze told Kiyoshi, Setsuna, and the two women that the plan was to revive Minato Namikaze and take the Nine-Tails sealed inside him.
• Kaze explained that he intended to seal the Yin Nine-Tails into himself, despite Kiyoshi's concerns about the risks.
• Kiyoshi accepted Kaze's decision and silently vowed to protect him, while Orochimaru prepared to undo the Reaper Death Seal.
• Orochimaru put on the Shinigami Mask, performed the hand seals, and summoned the Death God.

Orochimaru undid the Reaper Death Seal and transferred his soul into Moon White, then prepared to use Impure World Reincarnation to revive Minato Namikaze. Kaze and the others stood by as Orochimaru began the revival ritual.

• Orochimaru cut open his abdomen, causing the Death God's stomach to split and release the imprisoned souls.
• Kiyoshi shielded Kaze when some souls surged toward them, but the souls fled toward the Storage Hall ceiling.
• Orochimaru removed the Shinigami Mask and used Living Corpse Reincarnation to take over Moon White's body.
• Two Women collected the fallen mask, and Orochimaru altered his new body's appearance to resemble himself.
• Orochimaru prepared the Impure World Reincarnation ritual and told everyone he was about to revive Minato Namikaze.
• Kaze told Orochimaru to begin the revival.

Orochimaru used Impure World Reincarnation to bring Minato Namikaze back, and Minato learned that the Reaper Death Seal had been undone. When Minato mistook Kaze for the Third Hokage, Kaze revealed that he was the Hokage Orochimaru meant.

• Orochimaru performed Impure World Reincarnation, using a death row prisoner as the sacrifice to resurrect Minato Namikaze.
• Minato regained consciousness and recognized Orochimaru, then asked where he was and why he had returned.
• Orochimaru explained that Minato was in the ruins of the Land of Whirlpools and that the Reaper Death Seal had been undone before the resurrection.
• Minato praised Orochimaru, but Orochimaru credited Lord Hokage with enabling them to undo the seal.
• Minato searched for Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Kaze turned around to show the Hokage words on his haori and identify himself as the Hokage.

Kaze explained the twelve years since Minato’s death, including Konoha’s prosperity and Naruto’s growth, to the resurrected Fourth Hokage. Minato questioned why Kaze had revived him, and Kaze revealed he wanted the Nine-Tails sealed inside Minato and intended to become Konoha’s Jinchuriki.

• Kaze introduced himself as Uchiha Kazekage, Konoha’s Fifth Hokage, and Kiyoshi recounted the twelve years since Minato’s death.
• Kiyoshi described Kaze’s achievements in ending conflicts, reforming Konoha, and improving the village’s prosperity and security.
• Minato asked about Naruto, and Kaze explained Naruto’s strength, his progress at the Ninja Academy, and that Naruto knew Minato was his father.
• Minato examined his cracked Impure World Reincarnation body and asked Kaze why he had revived him despite the jutsu being forbidden.
• Kaze told Minato that he wanted the Nine-Tails inside Minato’s stomach and planned to become Konoha’s Jinchuriki.

Kaze explained why he wanted Minato Namikaze’s Nine-Tails power, citing Akatsuki’s plans and the danger to Konoha and Naruto. Minato remained wary of Kaze’s claims, so Kaze invited him to return to the village and judge for himself.

• Kaze told Minato Namikaze that he wanted the Nine-Tails’ power to protect Konoha and that Akatsuki planned to gather the Tailed Beasts.
• Minato named Madara Uchiha as the Masked Man who had attacked Kushina, shocking Kiyoshi, Setsuna, and the two women.
• Kaze revealed that the Masked Man had formed Akatsuki and that Itachi Uchiha was among its S-rank rogue ninja.
• Kaze warned that Naruto was an Akatsuki target, and Minato recalled the Masked Man’s plan to gather the Tailed Beasts.
• Minato doubted Kaze’s unproven intelligence, so Kaze invited him to return to Konoha and judge the truth for himself.

Kaze offered to return Minato Namikaze to Konoha and promised to find a way to truly revive him and Kushina Uzumaki. Orochimaru inferred that Kaze had planned to use Lineage Factors for the resurrection, leaving Kaze surprised by the idea.

• Kaze explained that Impure World Reincarnation only bound Minato Namikaze's soul to a vessel, then demonstrated the body's rapid restoration by destroying and restoring Minato's arm.
• Kaze told Minato Namikaze he might eventually revive him and Kushina Uzumaki, but asked Minato to conceal his identity if he returned to Konoha.
• Kaze proposed that Minato become Naruto's Jonin instructor and remain in hiding for up to three years while Kaze sought a way to truly revive him.
• Orochimaru connected Kaze's discovery of Lineage Factors to the plan, reasoning that they could turn those revived by Impure World Reincarnation into living people.
• Minato Namikaze and the others were astonished by Orochimaru's explanation, and Kaze was surprised that Orochimaru had made the connection.

Kaze arranged for Minato Namikaze to return to Konoha under a fabricated identity, then showed him a Den Den Mushi and promised the shinobi world would not suffer tragedies like those of the past again. Minato accepted Kaze’s plan and began to believe he could change the future.

• Minato Namikaze agreed to work with Kaze, hoping to reunite with his family and watch Naruto grow.
• Kaze disguised Minato Namikaze, gave him the codename Zero, and fabricated an identity for him as an Elite Jonin and former Root spy.
• Kaze arranged for Minato Namikaze to live in a newly completed house at the Uchiha Compound with help from the two women.
• Kaze showed Minato Namikaze how to use a Den Den Mushi, and Minato was amazed by its communication abilities.
• Kaze promised Minato Namikaze that the shinobi world would not suffer tragedies like those of the past again, and Minato nodded in agreement.

Kaze finalized the graduating students’ teams, assigning Karin rather than Sakura to Team 7 alongside Naruto and Sasuke, with Minato Namikaze as their instructor. Minato reviewed the roster and learned more about Sasuke’s Sharingan and lingering obsession with Itachi.

• Kaze chose Karin for Team 7 because of her Tailed Beast and medical abilities, while planning other futures for Sakura.
• Kaze assigned Sakura to a team with Uchiha Kō and Uchiha Hyōro, who had mastered several Six Powers techniques.
• Kaze finished assigning the graduating students and gave the Jonin instructors their team information.
• Kakashi Hatake brought the disguised Minato Namikaze to Kaze’s office, where Minato appreciated that Kaze had helped Kakashi leave the Anbu and find purpose as his assistant.
• Kaze showed Minato the Team 7 roster, and Minato saw that Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha would be his students.
• Kaze told Minato that Sasuke had awakened his Sharingan after learning Itachi had defected, had reached the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and still remained obsessed with Itachi.

Kaze explained Karin’s Uzumaki heritage, abilities, and status as the village’s Eight-Tails Jinchuriki to Minato Namikaze, who agreed to lead Team 7. Kaze then took Minato to the Ninja Academy, where Minato saw how Konoha had changed under Kaze’s leadership.

• Kaze told Minato Namikaze that Karin was a surviving member of the Uzumaki Clan, the village’s Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, and a gifted sensor with healing abilities.
• Minato Namikaze agreed to lead Team 7 and accepted Kaze’s invitation to visit the Ninja Academy and meet its graduating students.
• Kaze explained how he had modernized the Ninja Academy with new courses and physical training based on the Six Powers.
• As Kaze and Minato walked through Konoha, villagers thanked Kaze and offered him gifts, which he declined.
• Minato saw Konoha’s improved roads, drainage, tactile paving, and public slogans, and felt that Kaze was an even more outstanding Hokage than he had been.

Minato Namikaze toured Konoha with Kaze and learned how the village had changed under Kaze’s leadership, including reforms to the Uchiha, the Police Department, and the Ninja Academy. At the Academy, students gathered around Kaze, while Minato watched Naruto and the others admire him.

• Minato Namikaze learned that Kaze had become the Fifth Hokage at fifteen and had transformed Konoha in six years, resolving the rift between the Uchiha Clan and the village leadership.
• Kaze explained that the Police Department was open to anyone who passed its twice-yearly Unified Recruitment exam and that the village supported his ideal of equality for all.
• Minato Namikaze visited the expanded Ninja Academy, where Kaze described its rubber tracks, basketball courts, and revised rules for young ninja.
• Iruka dismissed his physical education class when Kaze arrived, but the students followed him and gathered around the Hokage.
• Ino and Sakura Haruno admired Kaze’s appearance, while Naruto and Sasuke praised him; Minato noticed Hinata and Karin shyly lowering their heads.
• Iruka nervously asked Kaze why he had come to the Academy.

Kaze toured Minato Namikaze around Konoha, and Minato considered making Kaze the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki after Naruto's graduation assessment. At the exam, Sasuke and Karin each stunned the examiners with powerful techniques.

• After Kaze's speech, Minato Namikaze resolved to help raise Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin, then toured Konoha and considered entrusting the Nine-Tails to Kaze.
• Minato Namikaze decided to focus first on Naruto's graduation assessment and planned to help Kaze become the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki after Naruto became a Genin.
• Iruka, Mizuki, and Uchiha Izumi began the Clone Technique graduation exam, with Iruka warning the waiting candidates to follow the rules.
• Sasuke created two Lightning Release clones without hand seals and passed, leaving Iruka and Mizuki shocked.
• Karin cast Shadow Clone Jutsu and produced nine physical clones, stunning Iruka and Mizuki.

Karin passed the Ninja Academy graduation exam by using the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and Naruto stunned the examiners with the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu. The three prodigies left the teachers wondering what other surprises Kaze’s students might hold.

• Karin revealed that she could create nine Shadow Clones and passed the exam, while Mizuki and Iruka questioned how an unremarkable student had mastered the technique.
• Mizuki warned Naruto that he only needed to perform the ordinary Clone Technique, but Naruto used the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu and filled the classroom with clones.
• The students and teachers crowded around the doorway to see Naruto’s clones, while Sasuke remarked that Naruto had ignored their agreement not to reveal their abilities.
• Naruto dismissed his clones, took a forehead protector, and received Iruka’s approval to graduate.
• Iruka speculated that Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin might become Konoha’s new Legendary Sannin, and Mizuki lamented that Kaze had taught Naruto a Forbidden Jutsu.

After Naruto and Sasuke’s graduation performances made Kaze famous as a teacher, the students gathered to receive their team assignments. Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin were the only ones left in the classroom, and Sasuke suspected Kaze had arranged for them to be teammates.

• Konoha residents discussed Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin’s graduation performances and praised Kaze’s teaching.
• Naruto and Sasuke arrived early on the Ninja Academy’s last day and speculated about their future teams.
• Sasuke reflected on his Sharingan, Lightning Release training, and confidence that he surpassed his peers.
• Asuma Sarutobi and other Jonin took their assigned students from the classroom.
• Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin remained, prompting Sasuke to suspect Kaze had deliberately grouped them together.

Sasuke reasoned that Kaze had deliberately formed a team of Naruto, Karin, and him, expecting them to become a new generation of elite ninja. Their instructor, the masked Minato Namikaze calling himself Zero, introduced himself and listened as the three students shared their goals.

• Sasuke explained the Legendary Sannin to Naruto and guessed that Kaze had assembled their team to make them the Sannin of a new era.
• Minato Namikaze arrived after the other instructors had left, introduced himself as Zero, and said his dream was world peace.
• Sasuke invited Karin to sit with the team before introducing himself and saying he wanted to leave the village and bring someone back.
• Karin said she wanted to become an outstanding ninja and earn someone's recognition.
• Naruto declared that he would become a Hokage greater than all the previous ones and surpass Kaze, prompting Sasuke to mock him and privately vow to surpass Kaze himself.

Kaze used Clairvoyance Jutsu and his Mind Net to watch Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin begin their bell test under Minato Namikaze, while Kakashi reflected on his own past bell test. The chapter left the new Team 7 preparing to challenge their masked instructor, Zero.

• Kaze learned Clairvoyance Jutsu and used it with his Mind Net to watch Minato Namikaze meet Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin.
• Kakashi asked who would lead Naruto and Sasuke’s team, and Kaze named Zero, a former subordinate of Danzo whom he trusted.
• Kaze and Kakashi discussed whether the team could take the bells from Zero, and Kakashi hoped the three students would cooperate.
• Minato Namikaze brought the team to the northern outskirts and explained that they had to take a bell from him to become Genin.
• Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a knowing glance, and Sasuke whispered that he might find a way to replace their unreliable teacher.

Sasuke decided to prove his strength by taking the bells from his assigned instructor, Minato Namikaze, and earn a place in the Anbu. He surprised Minato with his Soru, but Minato evaded him and appeared behind him, leaving Sasuke stunned.

• Sasuke told Naruto he intended to defeat the instructor Kaze had assigned and use the test to join the Anbu.
• Sasuke concluded that the two bells meant the test measured individual strength, then told Naruto and Karin to stand back.
• Minato Namikaze agreed to face Sasuke alone and tied the bells to his belt.
• Sasuke used Soru to rush behind Minato and reach for the bells.
• Minato vanished before Sasuke could take the bells and spoke to him from behind.

Sasuke used Soru to nearly take Minato Namikaze’s bell, but Minato caught and pinned him. Sasuke then revealed the Lightning Release Chakra Mode Kaze had taught him, shocking Minato and Kakashi as the test continued.

• Sasuke used Soru to attack Minato Namikaze, who appeared behind him with the Body Flicker Technique and pinned him to the ground.
• Minato Namikaze warned Sasuke not to be impulsive and marveled at how Kaze’s training had made him so fast.
• Sasuke declared that he had not used his true abilities and activated the Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
• Naruto and Karin recognized Sasuke’s technique as resembling Kaze’s, while Minato Namikaze compared it to A’s technique and realized Kaze had taught it to Sasuke.
• Kakashi watched the scene with Kaze through the Crystal Ball and questioned whether teaching Sasuke the technique was reckless, but Kaze said it made things more interesting.

Kaze told Kakashi that Sasuke had learned the first stage of Lightning Release Chakra Mode in three years, and Kakashi worried that Sasuke could defeat Minato Namikaze during the bell test. Sasuke attacked Minato directly to prove himself to Kaze, but Minato vanished just as Sasuke’s strike was about to land.

• Kaze praised Sasuke’s talent and revealed that he had learned the first stage of Lightning Release Chakra Mode in three years, leaving Kakashi stunned.
• Kakashi worried that Sasuke’s strength made the bell test dangerous for Minato Namikaze.
• Sasuke activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode and charged at Minato, hoping to earn Kaze’s approval and join the Anbu.
• Minato retreated and threw ordinary Kunai while Sasuke read their trajectories with his Sharingan and announced an attack on Minato’s left shoulder.
• Minato vanished from within Sasuke’s range, then spoke from behind him and warned him not to be impulsive.

Minato Namikaze used the Flying Thunder God Technique and Rasengan to defeat Sasuke, shocking Naruto, Karin, and Kakashi. Kaze explained that Zero had inherited Minato’s techniques and turned his attention to Naruto’s coming fight.

• Minato Namikaze teleported behind Sasuke and struck his Lightning Release Chakra Mode with a carefully controlled Rasengan.
• Sasuke tried to use Tekkai but was driven into the ground by Minato Namikaze’s attack.
• Naruto and Karin watched in disbelief as Minato Namikaze defeated Sasuke almost instantly.
• Kakashi recognized Zero’s techniques as Minato Namikaze’s and asked Kaze how Zero could use them.
• Kaze told Kakashi that Zero was another Minato Namikaze and wondered how Naruto would fare against him.

Naruto and Sasuke fought Minato Namikaze in a test, but Minato used Flying Thunder God to evade Naruto’s Shadow Clone assault and make the clones strike one another. Naruto remained conscious despite taking the shared damage, while Minato recognized how powerful his attacks and endurance had become.

• Minato Namikaze defeated Sasuke with a Rasengan that left him numb and unable to get up easily.
• Naruto created more than a dozen Shadow Clones and sent them to surround Minato Namikaze with coordinated attacks.
• Minato Namikaze used Flying Thunder God to escape the assault, causing Naruto’s clones to collide and disappear.
• The clones’ shared injuries sent Naruto flying, but he remained conscious and questioned how Minato had vanished.
• Minato Namikaze observed the destruction caused by Naruto’s attacks and admired the strength and endurance Kaze had helped him develop.