Recaps

Naruto and Ino used a Jinchuriki Seal to replace several people in their world with counterparts from another world as part of the Empire’s mission. After warning Kakashi about a dangerous enemy and replacing Rock Lee, Naruto captured Neji and took him from the Hyuga compound.

• Naruto sealed the unconscious Ino inside the other Ino and sent her to Konoha to assume her identity.
• Naruto replaced Shikamaru and Shino with their counterparts, then listened as Kakashi warned that someone in the other world might be strong enough to kill him.
• Naruto reassured Kakashi that the upcoming Chunin Exams would prevent trouble, and he replaced Rock Lee while the boy slept.
• Neji trained at the Hyuga compound, frustrated that he had failed to defeat Rock Lee and doubting his ability to resist the Caged Bird Seal.
• Neji struck Naruto with an Eight Trigrams Palm, but Naruto blocked it with one hand, bound Neji with Uzumaki sealing chains, and took him away using the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Naruto brought a restrained Neji from another world to meet his variant, who discovered the stranger bore a Byakugan and a seal on his forehead. The variant challenged Neji’s identity and watched as he activated a bloodline ability that made bones grow through his body.

• Neji woke while Naruto carried him away in Uzumaki chains and mistook Naruto for a spy seeking his Byakugan.
• Naruto questioned Neji about the Caged Bird Seal and explained that the Empire’s laws protected Kekkei Genkai from being stolen.
• Naruto used the Flying Thunder God Technique to bring Neji to meet his variant, who had been training when Naruto captured him.
• Neji examined the variant’s forehead seal and considered it a way to protect the Byakugan from outsiders.
• The variant questioned Neji’s identity and Byakugan, then Neji began growing bones through his body with Shikotsumyaku: Bloodline Fusion.

Neji fused with his counterpart using the Shikotsumyaku, then discovered that this world's Hyuga Clan had failed to develop its bloodline and had oppressed its Branch House. Enraged, he considered wiping out the clan but agreed to spare them and demonstrate his strength instead.

• Neji fused with his counterpart through the Shikotsumyaku, taking control of their shared body and gaining access to his memories.
• Naruto used the Flying Thunder God Technique to travel with Neji, who learned that this world's Hizashi had died taking the blame for Hiashi.
• Neji discovered that the Hyuga Clan lacked the Tenseigan and Shikotsumyaku and still enforced the Caged Bird Seal.
• Neji became furious at the Hyuga Clan's weakness and oppression, and asked Naruto what punishment he would face for killing them.
• Naruto persuaded Neji to spare the clan, though Neji decided to give them a demonstration of strength.

Neji confronted the Hyuga Clan’s Main House members over the Caged Bird Seal and their mistreatment of the Branch House. After showing the Neji within him memories from another world, he decided to challenge the clan’s hierarchy and threatened to make the Main House feel the pain of being Branch House members.

• Neji denounced the Hyuga Clan’s Caged Bird Seal system, and the Neji within him argued that the clan was among the strongest in the Hidden Leaf Village.
• Neji showed the other Neji memories from his world, but the other Neji dismissed them as Genjutsu.
• As Neji walked through the compound, Main House members mocked him and his Branch House status, bringing up his father.
• Neji confronted the whispering members and accused them of relying on Main House status instead of strength.
• Neji declared that he would make them experience the pain of being a Branch House member.

Neji attacked the Hyuga Main House members who had gathered to demean him, then used the Caged Bird Seal and a strange bone technique to make them suffer as Branch House members. He left them subdued and begging for mercy, convinced that they would obey him.

• Neji struck down the Main House members and declared that he would make them experience the pain of the Branch House.
• Neji placed a Caged Bird Seal on one of the men, and the others mistook it for Genjutsu before realizing it was real.
• Neji used Shikotsumyaku: Bone-Corroding Chains to immobilize the fleeing men and drag them back.
• Neji sealed the Main House members one by one and activated the seals, causing them agony and disrupting their Chakra.
• The Main House members begged Neji for mercy and obedience, while Neji dismissed them as useless trash.

Nagato summoned Akatsuki and ordered the organization to begin capturing the tailed beasts as a powerful new force destabilized the Shinobi World. Obito prepared contingencies, collected samples from the members, and set plans in motion in case Akatsuki was defeated.

• Nagato summoned Akatsuki’s members and ordered them to stop their current missions and begin capturing the One-Tail through the Nine-Tails.
• Konan reported that the Third Hokage had left Konoha, attacks had silenced Akatsuki’s spies, and the situation had slipped beyond their control.
• Obito told Konan that they had at least three chances, then prepared White Zetsu carrying Sharingan as a safeguard and instructed Black Zetsu to infiltrate Rain Village if Akatsuki fell.
• Obito said he would seek cooperation with Orochimaru while White Zetsu collected hair or blood from Akatsuki members, including Itachi, Kisame, Sasori, and Deidara.
• Nagato divided the collected cellular samples into three portions, giving one to Obito and storing the other two separately.

Jiraiya persuaded Tsunade to return to Konoha and assist him during the looming crisis, though she refused to become Hokage. Back at the Hokage Tower, Jiraiya began planning wartime purchases, and Homura Mitokado prepared to reveal part of the village’s hidden truth.

• Jiraiya asked Tsunade to return to Konoha and become Hokage, but she challenged his motives and refused the position.
• After Jiraiya explained the invasion from the Parallel Universe, Tsunade agreed to return and assist him at critical moments.
• Tsunade drank until she passed out, and Jiraiya and Shizune prepared to bring her back to the village.
• Jiraiya reviewed the newly arrived funds and listed the weapons, medical supplies, and other necessities Konoha would need for war.
• Homura Mitokado told Jiraiya that the situation was complicated and began explaining part of the truth about the village.

Jiraiya confronted Homura Mitokado about Konoha’s medical budget and uncovered how the elders and clans diverted funds and Medical Ninjas. As war approached, Jiraiya pressed Homura for information about weapons and asked whether their teacher knew about the corruption.

• Jiraiya learned that only about 2% of the village’s total budget went to medical care, despite the 30% allocation, and demanded to know where the money had gone.
• Homura Mitokado defended the elders and refused to answer, while the Anbu squad leaders avoided Jiraiya’s gaze.
• Jiraiya used the Toad Mouth Binding Technique to seal the room and threatened to uncover the truth through memory-reading techniques if Homura would not tell him.
• Homura admitted that much of the medical funding went to the Tane Clan and that the Tane, Mitokado, and Sarutobi Clans received Medical Ninjas each year.
• Homura said Danzo had managed weapons after the Uchiha Clan’s extermination and had not greatly compromised the village’s weapon supply, though his experiments remained secret.
• Jiraiya asked Homura whether their teacher knew about the corruption.

Homura Mitokado explained to Jiraiya why Konoha’s leaders had favored their clans and compromised under the village system, leaving Jiraiya shaken by the failures he had once dismissed. Jiraiya ordered Homura to repay the village’s depleted war supplies and restricted travel during the Chunin Exams, then reflected on the burden of acting Hokage.

• Homura Mitokado told Jiraiya that Konoha’s elders and the Third Hokage had tolerated clan favoritism because they feared losing influence and believed they had no choice.
• Jiraiya recognized the village’s failing system and recalled that Nagato had warned him about its flaws.
• Jiraiya stopped Homura from leaving and ordered him to make up the shortfall in Konoha’s war supplies.
• Jiraiya ordered the Anbu captains to keep the Tane Clan and Sarutobi Clan shinobi in Konoha and require travel permits for anyone who wanted to leave during the Chunin Exams.
• After everyone departed, Jiraiya collapsed into his chair and wondered whether Minato had felt as helpless as he did.

Rock Lee encountered Gaara during the search for the Hidden Sand shinobi and knocked him unconscious after overpowering his sand defenses. Sasuke arrived and used his Mangekyo Sharingan on Temari, leaving Kankuro terrified as he watched the two Konoha shinobi.

• Naruto, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Rock Lee searched for traces of the Hidden Sand shinobi while avoiding the increased Anbu patrols.
• Rock Lee spotted Gaara on a rooftop and approached him, prompting Gaara to attack with Sand Binding Coffin and Sand Burial.
• Rock Lee evaded Gaara’s sand, opened the Sixth Gate, and knocked him unconscious with Raging Lion.
• Kankuro arrived with a puppet and urged Temari to find Baki, but Sasuke appeared and used his Mangekyo Sharingan to make Temari walk toward them.
• Sasuke praised Rock Lee for defeating Gaara while Kankuro wondered how the pair could consider Gaara weak.

Naruto brought Gaara and Kankuro to the Land of Waves after capturing their duplicates during the night’s mission. As Gaara and Kankuro oversaw the transport of minerals to the Hidden Sand Village, Naruto arrived to replace them and prepared to seal the One-Tail inside Gaara.

• Choji captured Gaara, Sasuke put Temari to sleep with Sharingan Genjutsu, and Naruto took Gaara and Kankuro away using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• At the Land of Waves, Gaara used most of his Chakra to extract undersea minerals while Kankuro summoned trucks and intelligent puppets to deliver them to the Hidden Sand Village.
• Gaara comforted Kankuro about his puppet skills, reminding him that the Empire’s second Vanguard Force had chosen him over Sasori of the Red Sand.
• Naruto arrived at the seaside with Gaara and Kankuro’s duplicates and said replacing them would complete the infiltration mission for now.
• Kankuro chose to refine his duplicate into a Human Puppet, while Naruto prepared to seal the One-Tail from Gaara’s duplicate inside Gaara.

After sealing Shukaku inside Gaara, Naruto and Sasuke returned to Konoha, ate ramen, and visited the other Naruto’s cramped apartment. The chapter ended with Naruto suggesting that he and Sasuke share the only bed, while Sasuke’s anger began to show.

• Kankuro told Gaara that their murderous variant had killed hundreds, and Gaara left the decision to kill him to Kankuro.
• Naruto and Sasuke reunited with Gaara and Kankuro, then returned to Konoha to prepare to contact the villages’ Kage.
• Naruto and Sasuke ate deluxe seafood ramen at Ichiraku, where Naruto stole half of Sasuke’s bowl.
• Sasuke led Naruto to the other Naruto’s apartment, where Naruto found instant noodles and spoiled milk.
• Sasuke decided to stay and keep an eye on Naruto, and Naruto asked whether they should sleep together in the single bed.

Iruka checked on Naruto before the Chunin Exams, while privately questioning the circumstances of Naruto’s Sealing Scroll incident. At the Hyuga compound, the clan head’s decision to abolish the Caged Bird Seal and the Main House–Branch House distinction shocked the clan.

• Iruka visited Naruto and Sasuke, encouraged them to keep preparing for the Chunin Exams, and left snacks behind.
• Iruka privately considered investigating who had arranged Naruto’s Sealing Scroll incident and hoped the exams would go safely.
• Naruto sensed that Iruka had left, and Sasuke teased him for sleeping too soundly.
• Hyuga Main House members debated whether to report Neji, then agreed to approach Clan Head Hiashi in hopes he could remove their Caged Bird Seals.
• Hyuga clan members heard that Neji’s Caged Bird status had been revoked and that Hiashi had abolished the seals and the distinction between the Main House and Branch House, prompting disbelief and anger.

Hiashi Hyuga abolished the Main House–Branch House system and urged the clan to unite, but many Main House members opposed him. When Neji’s targets accused him of branding them with the Caged Bird Seal, Hiashi recalled Neji overpowering him the night before, and Neji appeared ready to attack.

• Hiashi Hyuga faced scorn at the clan meeting after abolishing the Caged Bird Seal and called on the Hyuga Clan to unite.
• Hiashi ended the meeting by setting requirements for Hyuga members participating in the Chunin Exams.
• Several clan members showed Hiashi their Caged Bird Seals and accused Neji of secretly branding them.
• Neji appeared in Hiashi’s room, and the accusers demanded that Hiashi free them from Neji’s control.
• Hiashi remembered Neji resisting his Caged Bird Seal the night before and using Shikotsumyaku: Eight Trigrams Chains and Curse Seal: Caged Bird Seal.

Neji took control of the Hyuga Clan, revealing that Hiashi Hyuga bore the Caged Bird Seal too. In the Land of Wind, Rasa responded by preparing to expand Hidden Sand Village’s power and showing its jonin advanced weapons from Wind Province.

• Neji took the Hyuga Clan’s leadership from Hiashi Hyuga and challenged anyone who opposed him to defeat him.
• Neji activated the Caged Bird Seal, forcing Hiashi Hyuga and several others to collapse and revealing that Hiashi bore the seal.
• Neji sent a message declaring that he had completely taken control of the Hyuga Clan.
• Rasa, alarmed by Neji’s achievement, ordered a meeting, sought more Wind Province prodigies and puppeteers for the Vanguard Force, and resolved to expand his territory.
• Rasa ordered Hidden Sand Village’s jonin to kill the Land of Wind’s Daimyo, threatening dissenters with death and using Magnet Release to force several to their knees.
• Rasa displayed Wind Province weapons and equipment, including the Sand Flame Spear, autonomous puppets, explosive marbles, and self-repairing blades, shocking the Hidden Sand Village jonin.

Rasa won the Sand Village Jonin’s support for a plan to assassinate the Land of Wind’s Daimyo, while the Chunin Exams began in Konoha. The Empire’s agents prepared to use the exams to expand their influence, and Naruto’s team entered the first exam venue.

• Rasa shared an improved Body Refinement Technique and promised land rights to persuade the Jonin to support the Daimyo assassination mission.
• Rasa turned his attention toward Konoha as the Chunin Exams began there.
• In a group message, Ino, Shikamaru, Shino, Neji, and Gaara reported on their clans and the Konoha Crush Plan, while Kakashi ordered them to promote the Empire without damaging Konoha.
• Naruto and Sasuke discussed how their abilities had helped secure invitations for the other countries’ Daimyo to attend the finals.
• Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi entered the packed first exam venue, where Kabuto introduced himself and offered them advice about the other villages’ shinobi.

Naruto and Sasuke attended the Chunin Exams, where Dosu’s attack exposed Kabuto’s apparent weakness before Ibiki Morino began the written test. Naruto found the questions easy and was surprised when Hinata sat beside him, leaving him wondering why he had barely noticed her.

• Kabuto introduced the candidates, and Dosu attacked him, making Naruto think Dosu had struck too quickly for him to see.
• Sasuke told Naruto that Dosu and Kabuto had been acting, and Kabuto fell again while worrying about Orochimaru’s plan.
• Ibiki Morino appeared, announced the rules, and began the first round of the Chunin Exams.
• Naruto skimmed the written questions, solved the parabola and travel problems, and dismissed them as easy.
• Hinata encouraged Naruto from the seat beside him, and Naruto wondered why her presence was so faint.

Ibiki Morino explained the written exam’s rules, which punished cheating and disqualified any team with a zero score, while the genin tried to answer or gather information. Naruto finished quickly, but when Hinata offered to show him her answers, he suspected Neji had devised a trap.

• Ibiki Morino announced the written test’s rules, including point deductions for suspected cheating and disqualification for a team member who scored zero.
• Sakura worried Naruto would fail, while Sasuke realized the exam was testing their ability to gather intelligence and searched for someone who could answer the questions.
• Sasuke spotted knowledgeable Empire genin, and Tenten helped Rock Lee by projecting answers for him to copy.
• Naruto finished the questions and played with his pen while Hinata offered to let him see her answers.
• Naruto wondered whether Hinata’s offer was a trap and blamed the scheme on Neji.

Naruto and the other examinees faced Ibiki Morino’s final rule in the written Chunin Exam, and Naruto’s resolve helped convince the remaining candidates to stay. After Ibiki declared them all passed and explained the test’s purpose, Naruto challenged his views on what makes a shinobi worthy of becoming a Chunin.

• Hinata told Naruto she had shown him her paper because she did not want him to be eliminated, while Naruto suspected Neji had an ulterior motive.
• Ibiki Morino announced that candidates who withdrew would forfeit their teams’ eligibility, while anyone who answered the tenth question incorrectly would never take the Chunin Exams again.
• Many examinees withdrew, but Naruto stood and demanded that Ibiki present the question, encouraging the wavering candidates to remain.
• Ibiki Morino declared everyone still present had passed and explained that the test assessed their ability to gather information and face dangerous missions with resolve.
• Naruto stood and told Ibiki Morino that he disagreed with what he had said.

Naruto challenged Ibiki Morino’s belief that ninja must obey missions even at the cost of their lives, arguing that the village should reduce losses by using more teams and prioritizing survival. Ibiki and the gathered ninjas were stunned by Naruto’s claims, while Sasuke warned him that he would be held responsible if the Empire’s mission failed.

• Naruto told the gathered ninjas to refuse missions they judged likely to kill them, arguing that living ninjas were more valuable to the village than dead ones.
• Ibiki Morino rebuked Naruto, insisting that village orders came before individual lives and that ninjas had to sacrifice themselves to protect the village.
• Naruto questioned whether the Will of Fire justified knowingly sending comrades to their deaths and accused the village leadership of incompetence.
• Naruto argued that the village should send more and stronger ninjas, divide missions among more teams, and exchange time for fewer deaths and a higher chance of success.
• Sasuke warned Naruto in his mind that he would be responsible if the Empire’s mission later failed, while Ibiki admitted Naruto’s argument seemed to make sense.

After Naruto’s speech prompted Ibiki Morino to consider his potential and unsettled the Genin, Anko Mitarashi arrived to announce the second exam. The first exam ended with the candidates dismissed to prepare for the next day.

• Ibiki Morino privately judged Naruto to be a promising but potentially dangerous talent and decided to observe him before recommending him to the Hokage.
• Naruto’s proposed mission system astonished the newly promoted Genin, some of whom considered abandoning the exams to report it to their villages.
• Anko Mitarashi crashed through a window and introduced herself as the chief examiner for the second exam.
• Anko questioned Ibiki about the large number of candidates who had passed, and Ibiki praised their ability.
• Anko warned that she intended to eliminate at least half the candidates in the second exam and dismissed everyone to prepare for tomorrow.

Chiyo visited Sand Mechanics with Sasori and learned about its advanced servers and demanding but well-supported work culture. She entered a virtual space to contribute her ninjutsu to the Empire, where she recorded her techniques and prepared to perform Life Reincarnation Technique.

• Sasori showed Chiyo Sand Mechanics’ server room and explained its private servers, their connection to the Ten-Tails Server, and the threat of war.
• Chiyo observed Sasori’s status at the company and learned about the employees’ overtime pay, limits, and rest requirements.
• Sasori led Chiyo to a sealed room so she could upload the ninjutsu she had learned over her lifetime in exchange for an imperial reward.
• Chiyo entered a virtual white space, created objects and Hidden Sand Village, and recorded her Chikamatsu Puppet Brigade technique.
• Chiyo formed hand seals and performed her Life Reincarnation Technique on a corpse.

On the Moon, Kaguya learned of a powerful new resurrection technique and awarded its contributor a huge amount of Merit Points before inviting Uchiha Senju to study it with her. Meanwhile, Senju approved Orochimaru’s plan to secretly draw energy from a parallel world and discussed accelerating the Empire’s expansion as the dimensional channel neared completion.

• Kaguya obtained the Life Reincarnation Technique from the Ten-Tails’ database, recognized its value, and awarded its contributor one hundred thousand Merit Points.
• Kaguya contacted Uchiha Senju and invited him to the Moon to study the technique with her.
• Uchiha Senju and Orochimaru examined the Sage of Six Paths’ remnant soul, which Orochimaru hoped to use to generate new ninjutsu.
• Senju told Orochimaru he planned a Great Expedition into parallel Shinobi Worlds once their Cross-Dimensional Channel was permanently connected.
• Orochimaru reported that Yakushi Kabuto’s research could extract energy from another world, and Senju approved the plan while ordering it kept secret.
• Senju discussed granting powerful foreign ninja privileges to enter the Empire, and Orochimaru estimated that they could soon open entrances to three to five parallel Shinobi Worlds at once.

Uchiha Senju considered how many invasion teams the Empire could field and spoke with Kaguya about a new resurrection technique. In the Hidden Sand Village, Chiyo discovered her enormous Merit Point balance and offered to transfer it all to Sasori.

• Uchiha Senju concluded that the Empire could assemble far more than three to five invasion teams and agreed to visit Kaguya to inspect her new resurrection technique.
• Sasori discovered that Chiyo had earned 113,569 Merit Points, far surpassing his own balance, and worried that the Ten-Tails Server had malfunctioned.
• Sasori explained the Merit Points system and showed Chiyo the Mall’s purchasable techniques, items, and government positions.
• Sasori recommended that Chiyo spend her Merit Points on a Hidden Sand Village Advisor position, but Chiyo offered to give all her points to him.

Anko Mitarashi explained the Forest of Death exam, in which teams had to gather both scrolls and reach the central tower within five days. As the candidates entered the forest, a scream echoed through the grounds, and Orochimaru reconsidered his strategy after sensing a warning.

• Anko Mitarashi introduced the Forest of Death and warned Naruto that he might die, while Naruto confidently promised to surprise her.
• A strange long-tongued man returned Anko Mitarashi's kunai and disappeared into the crowd.
• Anko Mitarashi described the exam rules: teams had to obtain Heaven and Earth scrolls and bring them all to the central tower within 120 hours.
• Choji Akimichi asked about food, and Anko Mitarashi and Kabuto Yakushi warned candidates to forage while avoiding poisonous plants and insects.
• Orochimaru sensed a warning and changed his strategy before the exam began.
• The candidates entered the Forest of Death after Anko Mitarashi urged them to work together, and a scream rang out from within.