Chapter Summaries

Uchiha Toko brought Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji to Iwagakure for the Joint Chunin Exams, where he and Ōnoki traded polite words and cautious threats. Their arrival was disrupted by Deidara, whose roadside explosion drew an angry response from Ōnoki.

• Naruto mastered his footwork and defeated Sasuke in a sparring match, while the selected genin and Uchiha trainees trained for the exams.
• Three weeks later, Uchiha Toko led his delegation to Iwagakure, presenting Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji as disciples and young clan heads.
• Ōnoki welcomed Uchiha Toko at the gates, and the two exchanged diplomatic compliments while privately sizing each other up.
• Naruto asked why Ōnoki kept flying and whether he wanted to look as tall as Uchiha Toko, prompting Uchiha Toko to send him back to the carriage with Sasuke and Neji.
• Uchiha Toko warned Ōnoki against letting Iwagakure's old grudges endanger Naruto, and Ōnoki promised to protect their guests.
• A roadside explosion blocked the way into Iwagakure, and Ōnoki shouted for Deidara, who emerged from the smoke and asked whether his performance had been explosive enough.

Uchiha Toko teased Ōnoki’s young disciple Deidara about art before attending a banquet in Iwagakure, while Ōnoki kept Han hidden from the visiting Hokage. After Kokuō sensed the Nine-Tails in the village, Han warned Ōnoki, who realized Naruto was the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki and panicked over why Uchiha Toko had brought him there.

• Ōnoki scolded Deidara for causing an explosion, but Uchiha Toko praised the boy’s artistic ambition and teased him with a definition of art.
• Uchiha Toko and Ōnoki traded barbs about their disciples’ hobbies before proceeding to the banquet.
• Ōnoki kept Han, the Five-Tails’ jinchūriki, away from Uchiha Toko, while Kokuō sensed the Nine-Tails inside Iwagakure.
• Han went to Ōnoki’s office and reported Kokuō’s warning.
• Ōnoki deduced that Naruto was Minato Namikaze’s son and the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki, then feared Uchiha Toko’s intentions.

Ōnoki learned that the Nine-Tails was too powerful for Iwagakure’s beasts to challenge, but ordered Han to watch Naruto while the young jinchūriki stayed in the village. Naruto secretly went out, met Deidara, and helped him turn an attack on Ōnoki’s Rock into a fireworks display; the two were arrested, and Uchiha Toko was summoned to Ōnoki’s office.

• Han told Ōnoki that Kokuō and Son Gokū together could not defeat the Nine-Tails, so Ōnoki ordered Han to watch Naruto and leave without being seen.
• Naruto sneaked out of the inn while Uchiha Toko watched, and Deidara escaped the room where Ōnoki had confined him.
• Deidara met Naruto on Iwagakure’s commercial street and persuaded him to help create art beneath Tsuchikage Rock.
• Naruto ground metal powder for Deidara, who launched an explosive clay bird that burst into colorful fireworks above Ōnoki’s statue.
• Iwagakure Anbu arrested Naruto and Deidara, and Deidara insisted that he alone was responsible.
• Ōnoki confronted the two blondes in his office, and an Anbu brought Uchiha Toko there as well.

Uchiha Toko took Naruto away after Naruto caused trouble in Iwagakure, then oversaw Konoha’s genin surviving the exams and advancing their Sharingan. At the final matches, the Daimyo of the Land of Grass demanded a bow, and Uchiha Toko refused, citing the Land of Fire’s superior status.

• Uchiha Toko took Naruto away from Ōnoki, and Naruto apologized before they left the Tsuchikage’s building.
• During the survival test, Konoha’s teams were besieged by Iwagakure genin, but commoner ninja protected the Uchiha members, helping Uchiha Shingetsu and Uchiha Masato awaken their Sharingan and defeat their attackers.
• Uchiha Toko rewarded the commoner ninja and scolded Shingetsu and Masato, reminding them that their teammates had risked their lives to help them.
• At the final matches, the Daimyo of the Land of Grass demanded that Uchiha Toko bow to him.
• Uchiha Toko called the Daimyo an idiot and refused, saying a minister of a superior state did not bow to the ruler of an inferior state.

Uchiha Toko and Ōnoki arranged an opening spar between their disciples before the competition, and Naruto was chosen to face Deidara. The two friends stood ready in the arena as the crowd watched.

• Uchiha Toko, Uesugi Hideyoshi, and Ōnoki mocked the Daimyo of the Land of Grass over Kusagakure's absence from the competition.
• Uchiha Toko proposed an opening spar, and Ōnoki summoned Deidara.
• Naruto and Deidara reunited at the venue and introduced each other to Kurotsuchi, Sasuke, and Neji.
• Ōnoki told Deidara to spar with one of Uchiha Toko's disciples, but Deidara initially dismissed the younger contestants.
• Uchiha Toko promised to explain ultimate art if Deidara lost, then chose Naruto to fight him.
• Naruto and Deidara formed the Seal of Confrontation and took their places at opposite ends of the arena.

Naruto used his Shadow Clones and battle instincts to get close to Deidara despite being unable to reach him in the air. The two fell from the clay bird, and Uchiha Toko caught them after Ōnoki reduced their weight.

• Ōnoki and Uchiha Toko wagered twenty percent of the excess mission quota from the Land of Grass on their disciples' match.
• Naruto created more than thirty Shadow Clones, while Deidara flew above the arena on a clay bird and attacked with Exploding Tags.
• Naruto's clones adapted to Deidara's explosions, but his straightforward Shuriken throws failed to hit him.
• Naruto used transforming Shadow Clones and Kunai to repeatedly close the distance to Deidara in midair.
• Naruto's real body grabbed Deidara, and they fell together from the clay bird despite Deidara's pleas to let go.
• Ōnoki used the Light-Weight Rock Technique to reduce their weight, and Uchiha Toko caught both boys.

Uchiha Toko and Ōnoki agreed to an alliance between Konoha and Iwagakure, signing the Fire–Earth Two-Nation Nonaggression Treaty after Uchiha Shingetsu won the Joint Chunin Exams. As Toko's group started home, Deidara gave Naruto explosive clay dolls, and Toko handed Naruto suspicious paper when the boy rushed off with a stomachache.

• Uchiha Toko and Ōnoki split Kusagakure's remaining B-rank and higher missions between Konoha and Iwagakure.
• Uchiha Shingetsu defeated his opponent with Genjutsu and won the Joint Chunin Exams championship for Konoha.
• Uchiha Toko and Ōnoki discussed the coming upheaval and agreed their villages should form an alliance.
• Uchiha Toko and Ōnoki signed the Fire–Earth Two-Nation Nonaggression Treaty after the celebratory banquet.
• Deidara gave Naruto two chakra-triggered explosive clay dolls as they said farewell at the village entrance.
• Naruto complained of a stomachache during the journey home, and Uchiha Toko gave him paper before Sasuke questioned what it was.

After Uchiha Toko dismissed the value of the treaty with Ōnoki, news of it alarmed the leaders of small nations, and Takigakure chose to seek Konoha’s protection. Back in Konoha, Toko reviewed village affairs with Kakashi and accepted Gato’s gifts and report on a new ninja tool factory.

• Uchiha Toko explained to Sasuke and Neji that treaties could not restrain the great nations’ greed, while Naruto unknowingly used the treaty to wipe himself.
• News of the Fire–Earth Nonaggression Treaty spread, and Nagato suspected that Uchiha Toko and Ōnoki planned to divide the small countries between them.
• Iwata Sawaki chose to approach the Land of Fire, reasoning that Ōnoki’s age made Konoha the likelier victor.
• Uchiha Toko and Kakashi discussed official work and agreed that the four genin selected by the Military Police Force should eventually receive chunin rank and benefits.
• Gato presented Snowfield Rock Tea to Uchiha Toko and a collector’s edition of Make-Out Paradise to Kakashi, then reported that a ninja tool factory was ready to begin production once materials arrived.
• Gato invited Uchiha Toko and Kakashi to a banquet at his new Konoha restaurant, and they accepted.

Uchiha Toko responded to a threat against Gato's ninja tool factory by funding its security and promising Gato a role in Konoha's new city development. He then arranged to infiltrate Kirigakure's rebels and used Black Zetsu's contacts to reach Akatsuki, ending as his disguised clone posted a five-hundred-million bounty mission.

• Uchiha Toko learned that Calvin had warned Gato against entering the ninja tool market and ordered Uchiha Elite Jonin to guard the factory.
• Uchiha Toko took five hundred million from Gato and promised him a share in Konoha's new city expansion project.
• Black Zetsu reported that Kirigakure's clans and commoner ninja were in conflict and that a rebel group was gathering against Karatachi Yagura.
• Uchiha Toko asked Black Zetsu to help him infiltrate the rebels and learned that Black Zetsu could contact Akatsuki.
• Black Zetsu and A Fei disguised Uchiha Toko's Shadow Clone and took it to an Underground Exchange in the Land of Hot Water.
• Uchiha Toko's clone entered the exchange and offered a five-hundred-million bounty for a mission.

Uchiha Toko secretly hired Kakuzu through the Underground Exchange to destroy Calvin’s ninja tool factory, then publicly condemned the attack on Konoha’s behalf. As Takigakure leader Iwata Sawaki arrived in Konoha, the factory’s destruction remained unclaimed and Gato’s replacement factory began production.

• Uchiha Toko paid five hundred million ryō and commissioned the strongest bounty ninja at the exchange to destroy Calvin’s factory within a week.
• Iwata Sawaki set out for Konoha, and the Calvin Group factory was destroyed in an explosion after working hours.
• Uchiha Toko, Ōnoki, and Fourth Kazekage Rasa condemned the attack, while Fourth Raikage A suspected Konoha and ordered C to investigate the red-cloud robes.
• Konan confronted Kakuzu about his teammate’s death and took the thirteen million ryō he had earned from selling him.
• Konan told Nagato that Kakuzu had carried out the factory attack for one hundred million ryō, and Nagato ordered their people to keep a low profile and recall those tracking Orochimaru.
• Seven days later, Gato’s factory began production, and Iwata Sawaki and his group arrived in Konoha.

Uchiha Toko showcased Konoha’s strength and prosperity to Iwata Sawaki while delaying their meeting, making the Takigakure leader eager to discuss cooperation. Ōnoki learned of Sawaki’s visit and ordered Kitsuchi to monitor Takigakure, while the chapter ended with Sawaki noticing a map labeled “Konoha Covenant Plan” in Uchiha Toko’s office.

• Uchiha Toko and Sarutobi Hiruzen welcomed Iwata Sawaki and the Takigakure delegation with a lavish reception.
• Kakashi showed Iwata Konoha’s factories and Military Police Force, whose discipline and generous meals impressed him and strengthened his resolve to cooperate with Konoha.
• Kakashi told Iwata that Uchiha Toko was too busy to meet, and Uchiha Toko chose to make him wait two more days.
• Ōnoki learned that Iwata was visiting Konoha, worried Takigakure would side with Konoha, and ordered Kitsuchi to monitor the village.
• Uchiha Toko summoned Iwata for talks, and Iwata noticed a map labeled “Konoha Covenant Plan” in the Hokage Office.

Uchiha Toko proposed a regional covenant to Iwata Sawaki and offered Konoha’s help with Takigakure’s Jinchuriki training. Sawaki was interested but said he needed the Feudal Lord’s approval before agreeing to expanded trade cooperation.

• Uchiha Toko showed Iwata Sawaki a map of the proposed Konoha Covenant Plan, which would unite neighboring nations for mutual support and economic development.
• Iwata Sawaki said Takigakure faced pressure from the Land of Earth and Iwagakure, and revealed that his village could not currently use its tailed beast effectively.
• Uchiha Toko inferred that Takigakure’s Jinchuriki had not matured and offered Konoha’s new Jinchuriki training program, developed through research into Uzumaki Clan Sealing Techniques.
• Uchiha Toko proposed that Takigakure strengthen trade with the Land of Fire in exchange for Konoha’s assistance, and Iwata Sawaki said he needed the Feudal Lord’s approval.

Uchiha Toko negotiated a military pact with Takigakure while secretly pursuing alliances with other small countries. He then entered Mei Terumi’s growing Kirigakure rebellion under a false identity, intending to guide her movement from within.

• Uchiha Toko offered Takigakure troops to guard its borders and promised to help with its Jinchuriki problem, while asking it to place its ninja forces under Konoha’s command.
• Iwata Sawaki left to consult Takigakure’s Feudal Lord, and Uchiha Toko told Kakashi to send Fugaku and Miura Kazuo to approach the Feudal Lords of the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Hot Water.
• A Fei informed Uchiha Toko that Mei Terumi’s rebellion had rapidly gained followers, including Zabuza Momochi and Kisame Hoshigaki, by promoting a new Water Will and supporting commoners and surviving clans.
• Uchiha Toko decided to infiltrate Mei Terumi’s movement as Satake Masato, a supposedly deceased Kirigakure commoner jonin who had become a rebellion battalion commander.
• Uchiha Toko’s Shadow Clone entered the rebellion’s base in disguise, aware that its Byakugan-wielding informant was currently away.

Uchiha Toko infiltrated Mei Terumi’s Rebellion Army stronghold and found that she was studying his actions while misunderstanding the political tactics that could strengthen her movement. He left determined to let Kirigakure’s unrest escalate, using Mei and the rebellion to keep the Land of Water divided.

• Uchiha Toko used A Fei’s guidance and a disguise as Satake Masato to enter the Rebellion Army stronghold and meet Mei Terumi.
• Mei Terumi described her plans to gather supporters and return openly to Kirigakure, while Uchiha Toko privately recognized that she had overlooked the need to legitimize the rebellion.
• Uchiha Toko encouraged Mei Terumi and praised her leadership without revealing that he wanted the Land of Water to remain chaotic.
• After leaving the stronghold, Uchiha Toko told Black Zetsu to increase pressure from Karatachi Yagura’s side so more people would join the Rebellion Army.
• Uchiha Toko explained that he wanted the rebellion to grow because its members would fuel an eventual explosion that would keep Kirigakure unstable.

Uchiha Toko appointed Aburame Shibi and Inuzuka Gaku to command Konoha garrisons in the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Hot Water, while announcing plans to reform the village’s mission system. A of Kumogakure considered countering Konoha’s deployment in the Land of Frost, but C persuaded him that Kumogakure could not risk war.

• Miura Kazuo and Fugaku returned from diplomatic visits after the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Hot Water signed alliance agreements with the Land of Fire and Konoha.
• Uchiha Toko summoned Aburame Shibi and Inuzuka Gaku and appointed them commanders of Konoha’s garrisons in the two allied countries, each leading roughly two thousand ninja.
• Uchiha Toko told Aburame Shibi and Inuzuka Gaku that the allied countries would cover the troops’ expenses and that he planned to reduce missions as the first step in reforming the ninja system.
• Aburame Shibi and Inuzuka Gaku departed for their respective garrisons, where the Feudal Lords welcomed them and accepted the cost of Konoha’s protection.
• A planned to move Kumogakure’s forces to the Land of Frost in response, but C warned that Kumogakure could not afford a prolonged war with Konoha, so A abandoned the plan.

The Feudal Lord of the Land of Waterfall signed Konoha’s alliance agreement, recognizing that Takigakure could not withstand Iwagakure alone. After Ōnoki threatened military action, Iwata Sawaki hurried to Konoha while Uchiha Toko faced Ōnoki in a video call.

• The Feudal Lord of the Land of Waterfall concluded that Takigakure needed Konoha’s protection, despite fearing the agreement would make the country economically dependent on the Land of Fire.
• The Feudal Lord signed the agreement and ordered Iwata Sawaki to bring Konoha’s garrison to the border.
• An Iwagakure envoy threatened military action if Takigakure joined Konoha’s covenant, prompting the Feudal Lord to order Iwata Sawaki to finalize the alliance urgently.
• Iwata Sawaki used a Water Clone Technique to mislead observers and traveled through the night toward Konoha.
• Uchiha Toko connected with Ōnoki, who warned that Iwagakure would not allow Konoha to station ninja along the Land of Earth’s border.

Uchiha Toko maneuvered Ōnoki into ordering an attack on the Land of Waterfall while preparing to receive its leader in Konoha. At Kakashi’s home, Toko began Naruto’s early training for the Rasengan and planned for Jiraiya to teach him the final stage and Sage Mode.

• Ōnoki learned that Iwata Sawaki was heading to Konoha and ordered Iwagakure’s troops to attack the Land of Waterfall within half an hour, calling it a special military operation.
• Uchiha Toko arranged to delay Iwata Sawaki’s meeting and left the Hokage Building, believing Ōnoki had taken his bait.
• Naruto ate his green peppers to get Kakashi to return his treasured ramen, then heard Kakashi and Toko explain that Sasuke’s Chidori made him the stronger fighter for now.
• Uchiha Toko gave Naruto water balloons to begin practicing the Rasengan and told Kakashi he would later ask Jiraiya to teach Naruto the final step and Mount Myoboku’s Sage Mode.

Uchiha Toko and Kakashi taught Naruto the Rasengan, while Naruto briefly clashed with the Nine-Tails over the lesson. At the Hokage Building, news of Iwagakure’s attack on the Land of Waterfall led Uchiha Toko to promise Konoha’s support and order a public condemnation.

• Uchiha Toko and Kakashi discussed Naruto’s future and decided that Mount Myoboku’s training and companions could benefit him.
• Kakashi explained the Rasengan and demonstrated the water-balloon exercise; Naruto used two Shadow Clones to burst a balloon before Uchiha Toko told him to practice without them.
• Naruto said the Nine-Tails wanted him to become its disciple, and Uchiha Toko dismissed the fox’s advice, disrupting Naruto’s Chakra.
• Iwata Sawaki waited to meet Uchiha Toko while Uchiha Fugaku explained that the Hokage was occupied with the Jinchuriki’s seal.
• An Anbu ninja reported that Iwagakure had attacked the Land of Waterfall’s border, and Iwata begged Konoha to help Takigakure.
• Uchiha Toko promised that Konoha would not ignore the attack and ordered Uchiha Fugaku to issue a statement strongly condemning Iwagakure.

Uchiha Toko arranged supplies, a loan, and a combined Lightning Style technique to help Takigakure resist Iwagakure without violating Konoha’s non-aggression pact. He sent Iwata Sawaki back with Kakashi to retrieve Takigakure’s Jinchuriki, while Black Zetsu watched in disbelief at how easily Toko had secured the Seven-Tails.

• Uchiha Toko refused to send Konoha troops into the war but offered Takigakure discounted supplies, a combined Lightning Style technique, and a loan backed by mineral resources.
• Uchiha Toko proposed hiring Akatsuki to help counter Iwagakure’s strongest fighters, and Iwata Sawaki accepted the aid terms and signed the contracts.
• Iwata Sawaki agreed to send Takigakure’s thirteen-year-old Jinchuriki to Konoha for protection and training.
• Shiranui Genma and the others used the Flying Thunder God Formation to send Kakashi and Iwata Sawaki to the border, where they hurried toward Takigakure as its forces retreated.
• After Iwata Sawaki left, Black Zetsu and A Fei emerged in Uchiha Toko’s office, and Black Zetsu marveled that Toko had obtained a tailed beast through his arrangements.

Uchiha Toko arranged Akatsuki’s involvement in the war between Iwagakure and Takigakure, then worked with Gato to profit from Takigakure’s urgent supply needs. After Kaede arrived in Konoha as Chomei’s jinchūriki, Chomei privately asked Toko not to rush her training because he wanted to keep her out of the war.

• Uchiha Toko told Black Zetsu to hire Akatsuki to tie down Iwagakure’s powerful fighters and charge Takigakure enough to exhaust its loans.
• Gato reviewed Takigakure’s supply contracts and confirmed that the loans were secured by the Land of Waterfall’s mineral resources.
• Uchiha Toko assured Gato that Takigakure could hold out for two or three years with Konoha’s aid, and Gato spent the night setting prices for the goods.
• Shiranui Genma and the others returned with Kakashi and Kaede, who challenged Uchiha Toko’s claim that he could protect her.
• Uchiha Toko entered Kaede’s Sealing Space, met Chomei, and offered to teach Kaede to control the tailed beast’s power.
• Chomei asked Uchiha Toko not to rush Kaede’s training because he did not want her drawn into the war.