Recaps

Naruto’s allies confronted the Akatsuki and reanimated enemies while Team 7 took on new missions and Naruto made peace with his family. The stretch ended with Shikamaru defeating Temari in the exams as Naruto protested the prospect of marriage.

• Naruto’s group defeated the ant swarm, declined Ziyang Hua’s Earth Scroll, and escorted Tenten back to Neji and Rock Lee.
• Kushina taught Naruto about Nine Tails Chakra and demonstrated her full Nine Tails Mode, while the Tailed Beasts later entrusted Naruto and Kushina with their Chakra and asked them to prevent the world’s destruction.
• Guy defeated Kisame, and Naruto sealed Kisame’s corpse and Samehada before Tobi staged a false death to conceal his identity.
• Konoha released Gaara and his siblings, Team 7 began a mission protecting an actress, and Naruto suspected their assignment was connected to the movie they watched.
• Naruto and his allies faced Shinno and Zero Tails, and Minato disbanded Team 7 before establishing Kakashi Squad with Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi as equal teammates.
• Naruto and Minato fought Obito, whose transformation into the Ten Tails Jinchuriki followed their combined attack, while Mito warned them about Obito’s controlled Tailed Beast hosts.
• The Allied Forces fought reanimated Kage and shinobi, while Naruto, Kakashi, and their allies confronted enemies including Hidan, Kakuzu, and Sasori.
• Shikamaru trapped Temari with his Shadow Imitation Technique and won their match, prompting Naruto to object when the arena announced Gaara versus Yamanaka Ino.

Naruto’s journeys through a parallel world and several missions brought him closer to his family and friends, while the Kage prepared to confront Akatsuki. The Chunin Exams began with Sasuke facing Rock Lee as Naruto watched.

• Naruto and Itachi defeated Bird Man, while Sakura exposed Snake Man and Itachi attacked him.
• Ren Ming appeared as a fetus in Kushina’s Sealing Space, and Minato and Kushina named their child Naruto.
• The Raikage revealed Akatsuki’s assault on Cloud Village, prompting the Five Kage to discuss a united response.
• Naruto’s team uncovered Mukade’s forced labor operation in the underground factory and fought the Puppets as Sara tried to shut down the Dragon Vein.
• Naruto learned that the Dragon Vein had swapped him with his counterpart from a parallel world, and Minato revealed that he and Kushina were his parents.
• Minato’s forces fought Pain and Akatsuki, while Naruto sent Deidara’s C3 bomb into the Kamui Dimension, where it exploded near Obito.
• The Chunin Exams’ third stage opened, and Sasuke faced Rock Lee, who opened the Third and Fourth Gates and called out the Leaf Lotus.
• Naruto and Kushina trained with their family, visited Kimimaro, and made plans to camp at a lake after the exams.

Naruto helped resolve threats to Hoshigakure, Konoha, and the Land of Snow while training and strengthening his bonds with Hinata, Sasuke, and Sakura. After Obito revived the war dead and a sandstorm endangered the Chunin Exam teams, Kakashi passed all four members of Team 7 and announced their missions would begin the next day.

• Naruto and Kushina fought the Two Tails, and Naruto drove Yugito’s team back with a Void Dog Cannon.
• Team 7 tracked Kakuzu, and Sakura destroyed his last heart while Naruto collected his body.
• Naruto helped Minato dismantle Gennō’s explosive tags, then encouraged Hinata after finding her bullied.
• Naruto followed Sasuke toward the Golden Wheel Mountain Range after Sasuke left Konoha in a curse-marked trance.
• Naruto and Hinata fought in the Chunin Exam preliminaries, and Hayate declared Naruto the winner after Hinata collapsed into his arms.
• Minato and Kushina rescued the Third Hokage from Orochimaru, while Naruto began Sage Mode training at Mount Myoboku.
• Naruto and the allied shinobi fought Obito and the Ten Tails, and Obito revived those killed in the war after learning Black Zetsu had manipulated him over Rin’s death.
• Naruto rescued several groups from a sandstorm, then Kakashi passed Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and himself after their teamwork in the bell test.

Naruto and his allies fought Akatsuki, the Sky Ninja, and other threats while Konoha prepared for war and Naruto’s friends advanced through training. The stretch ended with the Chunin Exam candidates reaching the Demon Desert Surveillance Post after the final thirty examinees were eliminated.

• Nagato combined the other Pains’ power into Deva Path and launched an enhanced Planetary Devastation, but seven combined attacks destroyed its core and Jiraiya forced the weakened Pains to retreat with Konan.
• Minato led a counterattack against the revived Kage, while Naruto and the reinforcements freed Yagura and captured the Xuanyuan Crowd.
• Naruto graduated from the Academy, reunited with his family, and helped uncover Hiruko’s plan to steal Sasuke’s Sharingan as Obito recruited Orochimaru for experiments.
• Deidara attacked Sunagakure, while Naruto and Konoha’s forces battled Shinno and the Sky Ninja, eventually defeating the attackers and tracing their outdated intelligence to Danzo.
• Konoha and the other villages agreed to work together against Akatsuki, but Pain’s forces later demanded the Seven Tails and Nine Tails and attacked Minato, Naruto, and their allies.
• Team 7 infiltrated Amegakure to gather intelligence, but Pain detected them and ordered Black Zetsu to drive them away.
• Naruto and Hinata defeated Toneri’s threat and shared a meteor shower at the Valley of the End, while Naruto remembered the Great Toad Sage’s prophecy.
• Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and the other examinees trained for the Chunin Exams, then reached the Demon Desert Surveillance Post as the final thirty candidates were eliminated.