Chapter Summaries

Naruto went to Ichiraku Ramen to help Kushina make a meeting with Uchiha Asuka less awkward, while the Nine-Tails watched and mocked them from inside his seal. Naruto tried to start a conversation, but Asuka’s peculiar instant-noodle preferences immediately derailed it.

• Naruto woke early, remembered Kushina’s invitation, and headed to Ichiraku Ramen while the Nine-Tails grumbled about Kushina, the villagers, and the Uchiha.
• Naruto found Kushina waiting outside the crowded shop and asked whether the person who liked her had come.
• Kushina told Naruto that Uchiha Asuka was waiting inside, and Naruto promised to keep their meeting from becoming awkward.
• Kushina led Naruto inside and seated him across from Asuka as Naruto reviewed his plan to disrupt the pursuit without upsetting either of them.
• Naruto asked Asuka what noodles he liked, and Asuka described cooking instant noodles with leftovers and cat food, leaving Naruto baffled.

Naruto asked Uchiha Asuka about the Chunin Exams and his feelings for Kushina, then explained that he planned to respect Sakura’s wishes despite loving her. Asuka argued that Naruto should not give up on someone he loved, leaving Naruto and the Ramen Shop diners questioning their own past choices.

• Naruto asked Uchiha Asuka how many candidates would become Chunin, and Asuka told him that he and his teammates would not pass.
• Naruto asked Asuka whether he liked Kushina, and Asuka praised her while Kushina eyed him suspiciously.
• Naruto said that he loved Sakura but would respect her feelings and not insist on being with her.
• Asuka slammed the table and told Naruto that he should respect his own will instead of giving up on someone he loved.
• Asuka argued that Naruto could not know whether Sakura’s chosen partner would treat her well, and Naruto reconsidered his decision as the diners reflected on their own past choices.

At Teuchi’s ramen shop, Uchiha Asuka tried to teach Naruto how to pursue Sakura, but Kushina struck him after he kissed her to demonstrate. Naruto was knocked unconscious amid the chaos and woke inside a vast sewer, where the Nine-Tails explained that Asuka had controlled his body to kiss Sakura.

• A diner told Teuchi and Naruto about his youthful regrets, leaving Naruto wondering how to keep his future self from bullying his younger self.
• Sakura invited Naruto to join her and Sasuke, but Naruto declined so they could spend time together; Asuka urged Naruto to pursue Sakura instead of backing away.
• Asuka kissed Kushina to show Naruto how to leave a lasting impression, then apologized, but Kushina punched him through the ramen shop wall.
• An earth-style attack sent Naruto flying, and he caught Sakura as she was hurled back into the shop; Asuka urged Naruto to kiss her, but Naruto passed out before acting.
• Naruto woke in a vast sewer, where the Nine-Tails told him that Asuka had used the Sharingan to control his body and make him kiss Sakura.

Danzo reviewed reports of strangers approaching Naruto, the Second Pillar, and the Fourth Kazekage, then planned how to respond to Sunagakure and pursue Orochimaru’s revival scheme. Meanwhile, an unidentified man revealed that he wanted to perfect ninjutsu and surpass everyone.

• A Root ninja delivered Danzo a scroll listing unusual events around Konoha, including strangers approaching Naruto, the Second Pillar, and the Fourth Kazekage.
• Danzo ordered the Root ninja to summon Jiraiya by claiming Sarutobi had lung fungus, and to inform Sarutobi that someone had approached the Nine-Tails.
• Danzo ordered his subordinate to leak Konoha’s Anbu identities and barrier map to Sunagakure, and said he would meet someone with a few Root ninja.
• Danzo reread Orochimaru’s plan to revive the First and Second Hokage and decided to travel to Rice Field Country, hoping the scheme would help him become Hokage and unite the Ninja World.
• A middle-aged man in a bamboo hat said Danzo’s return would settle Konoha’s next Hokage candidate and revealed his ambition to master ninjutsu and become stronger than anyone else.

Sasuke reflected on the confidence sudden wealth had given him before meeting Uchiha Asuka for training. Asuka urged him to value a healthy, happy life beyond revenge, but Sasuke remained determined to defeat Uchiha Itachi and rebuild the Uchiha Clan.

• Sasuke remembered how he and his companions struggled to spend the two million ryo Asuka had given him, and realized that wealth had made him feel more confident.
• Sasuke met the bruised, limping Asuka above Konoha and heard him explain that an ordinary Mangekyō Sharingan could not match Uchiha Madara's strength.
• Asuka denied pursuing his companion, explaining that he had accidentally kissed her and been attacked, then advised Sasuke to marry Hyuga Hanabi.
• Asuka began a relaxing jog with Sasuke and said that revenge was only one stage of life, while maintaining a healthy body and mind mattered too.
• Sasuke followed Asuka and resolved to avenge himself on Uchiha Itachi, then live happily and rebuild the Uchiha Clan.

Uchiha Asuka interrupted Might Guy and Rock Lee’s training to tease them about romance and tell Guy that Kakashi might be dating Ichiraku’s daughter. Asuka then warned Sasuke that Guy was so powerful he would be guaranteed to die fighting him, even with Izanagi, which only let him return from death.

• Villagers watched Sasuke and Uchiha Asuka jog through Konoha before Might Guy and Rock Lee appeared, training and talking about youth.
• Guy gave Rock Lee fifty extra laps for asking whether Guy feared betrayal and avoided marriage.
• Uchiha Asuka urged Guy to pursue romance and claimed Kakashi was getting involved with Ichiraku’s daughter, leaving Guy stunned and reconsidering his views on dating.
• Guy told Rock Lee that Kakashi had a civilian girl as a student and that Kakashi’s two male students had kissed, while Rock Lee decided Sasuke was another strong rival for the exam.
• Asuka explained to Sasuke that Guy could kill him in a fight and that Izanagi would only revive him after death, leaving Sasuke shocked.

Asuka brought Sasuke to meet Tenten’s grandfather, an elderly former Medical Department Vice-Minister who lent them heavy training weights. After Asuka explained his plans to train Sasuke and asked the old man for money, Sasuke began carrying a log through Konoha, breaking his leg and having it healed before continuing.

• Asuka led Sasuke to the old Uchiha compound area and introduced him to the elderly man he called Vice-Minister.
• The old man explained why his family kept their ancestral home, where the Senju and Uchiha had made peace and Hashirama and Madara had discussed founding Konoha.
• Asuka asked to borrow training weights, and the old man carried out several massive iron lumps for him.
• Asuka told Sasuke that he would build his foundation, teach him ninjutsu, and let his Sharingan develop naturally; he also revealed that he came from another world.
• After learning Asuka had been his close friend in that other world, the old man agreed to help, and Asuka asked him to lend money.
• Sasuke carried a log through the village, broke his leg, and had the old man heal it before continuing on.

Uchiha Asuka trained Sasuke through brutal weight exercises and assigned him to repair an elderly villager’s house, framing the work as a way to build strength and public goodwill. When the house collapsed, the old man told passersby that Sasuke had intended to build him a new one, leaving the crowd impressed by Sasuke’s kindness.

• Villagers praised the old Vice Minister for treating Sasuke’s broken bones, while Asuka watched from a rooftop and considered how to train Sasuke.
• Asuka repaired Sasuke’s repeatedly broken leg as he carried a heavy log, then explained that the weights had once been used to lure villagers into the Medical Department for checkups.
• After Sasuke finished carrying the log, Asuka asked whether he still wanted to become Hokage and assigned him to repair an elderly man’s dilapidated house to improve his strength and reputation.
• Asuka claimed that Sasuke could match his running speed once he was strong enough to stand on the old house’s roof without collapsing it.
• As Sasuke worked on the house, it collapsed, and he crawled out of the rubble while the old man told onlookers that Sasuke had wanted to build him an entirely new house.

Asuka continued Sasuke’s exhausting training and warned that his time in this world was limited. When Kankuro and the other Sunagakure genin mocked Sasuke, Asuka trapped them in a genjutsu and revealed that one of them was a Jinchuriki, leaving Sasuke determined to keep training.

• Sasuke finished rebuilding a house with Asuka but complained that the weighted training had drained him without improving his strength.
• Asuka told Sasuke he might leave soon and described how he had trained as a young shinobi, renewing Sasuke’s confidence in the routine.
• Sasuke encountered Kankuro and two other Sunagakure genin, and Kankuro mocked him as a weak Uchiha.
• Asuka identified Kankuro and used a genjutsu to make all three Sunagakure genin believe he was a ghost.
• Asuka told Sasuke that one of the genin was a Jinchuriki and urged him to grow stronger as they resumed training.

Uchiha Asuka taught Sasuke about earning money and the Will of Fire while training him outside Konoha. As they stopped for lunch, Asuka described Uchiha Madara’s dream of giving people peaceful, happy lives, leaving Sasuke doubtful about Madara’s betrayal.

• After a morning of intense training, Asuka gave Sasuke Make-Out Paradise and explained that he should learn to earn money without relying on missions to rebuild the Uchiha clan.
• Asuka compared Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya’s finances, then told Sasuke that Jiraiya made money through his writing and had put the Will of Fire into his book.
• Asuka watched Konoha and criticized the Third Hokage for not forcing Jiraiya or Tsunade to take the Hokage position, while Hiruzen reviewed intelligence about Sasuke, Naruto, Danzo, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and the Fourth Kazekage.
• Asuka advised Sasuke to use the Will of Fire in arguments, then called a lunch break and told him their next training would be sleeping.
• Asuka told Sasuke that Madara’s dream had changed from protecting his younger brother to creating peace and happiness for everyone, and Sasuke questioned him about Madara’s later betrayal.

On the morning of the Chunin Exams, Konoha’s villagers admired the unusually clean streets and donkeys while Asuka headed toward the Ninja Academy. Kushina gave Asuka a gift to thank him for helping Naruto, but still held his unwanted kiss over him and ordered him to bring cold drinks to the academy.

• Konoha’s villagers found the streets and roadside donkeys scrubbed clean, and one donkey had “Konoha Will Win” carved into its back.
• Asuka recalled Might Duy repeatedly failing the Chunin Exam written test because he refused to cheat, even when Asuka had offered him answers.
• Kushina confronted Asuka about the incident with Naruto and explained that she was grateful for his help, despite still being angry about his forcing a kiss on her.
• Kushina gave Asuka a gift box and told him to bring cold drinks to the Ninja Academy while she waited to celebrate Naruto passing the written test.
• Asuka left, and Kushina decided she could hold the kiss over him for the rest of her life.

Asuka and Kushina waited outside the Chunin Exams while discussing their search for a way back to their original world. After the written test, Jiraiya confronted Asuka over his interest in Sasuke, and Asuka revealed his Sharingan.

• Kushina asked Asuka whether he had found a way home, and he said they would seek help from Konoha after the exams.
• Sasuke emerged from the written test, and Asuka teased him about cheating and the Uchiha’s history of copying answers.
• Asuka spotted Naruto approaching Kushina and abruptly vanished, leaving Sasuke to wonder whether Naruto belonged to the Whirlpool Clan.
• Jiraiya met Asuka nearby and asked why he was approaching Sasuke, while Asuka warned him to run and asked about the Child of Destiny.
• Asuka identified himself as an Uchiha and revealed his Sharingan, shocking Jiraiya.

Uchiha Asuka revealed his identity to Jiraiya, who agreed not to attack him as long as he did not betray Konoha. Asuka led Jiraiya to meet someone, where Kushina ambushed him with a cooking pot over his treatment of Naruto.

• Jiraiya recognized Asuka's Three-Tomoe Sharingan and realized he was an Uchiha.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen saw Asuka through the Crystal Ball and reconsidered how to handle the situation during the Chunin Exams.
• Jiraiya promised not to move against Asuka unless he betrayed Konoha, and Asuka invited him to meet someone.
• Asuka led Jiraiya to a quiet alley, where Kushina greeted him and struck him with a large cooking pot.
• Asuka joked that Jiraiya could have avoided the beating by sharing his manuscript royalties with Naruto or giving him a toad.

After the Chunin Exams, Asuka brought Jiraiya to meet Kushina, who forced him to vouch for her and Asuka while they hid their identities and stayed near Naruto and Sasuke. Jiraiya agreed to monitor them and lend Asuka a toad, then Naruto came home and found the battered Toad Sage on his sofa.

• Asuka overheard Kushina beating Jiraiya in an alley and joined them when she called him over.
• Kushina made Jiraiya promise to vouch for her and Asuka, let her stay at Naruto's home, and send them back to their own world.
• Jiraiya explained that the village was wary of Kushina and Asuka because Naruto and Sasuke were important, and said he had secured permission to watch them.
• Jiraiya offered Asuka a toad to monitor him, prompting them to discuss the toads' human transformations and Jiraiya's past attempt to use one as inspiration.
• Naruto returned home, asked who Jiraiya was, and learned he was the Toad Sage.

Uchiha Asuka revealed his clan identity to Naruto, who joined him, Kushina in disguise as Uzumaki Aika, and Jiraiya for dinner. Jiraiya agreed to train Naruto for the upcoming Chunin Exams, while Asuka and Kushina watched him leave and reflected on whom they could trust with his care.

• Asuka told Naruto that he was an Uchiha and asked him to keep the secret, while the Nine-Tails warned Naruto to distrust both the Uchiha and the woman cooking for him.
• Kushina served dinner and, after Jiraiya accidentally called her Kushina, Asuka introduced her as Uzumaki Aika.
• Naruto encouraged Asuka to pursue Aika, and Jiraiya surprised them by supporting the match.
• Naruto asked Jiraiya to train him, and Jiraiya agreed after Kushina broke plates in the kitchen in response to his protests.
• Naruto dragged Jiraiya away to train, while Asuka and Kushina discussed trusting Jiraiya to look after him.

Naruto woke to Kushina preparing breakfast and felt the warmth of having a home, while Sasuke found Asuka had hired someone to cook before the second round of the Chunin Exams. Asuka warned Sasuke about the dangers of cooking, leaving him relieved that the breakfast had not been made by Asuka himself.

• Naruto woke to the smell of Kushina cooking and delighted in the feeling of a warm, lived-in home.
• Kushina told Naruto to wash up, use proper shower products, and do his best in the second round of the Chunin Exams.
• Naruto hesitated to ask Kushina who she was, then joked about inviting Sasuke over for breakfast.
• Sasuke discovered that Asuka had hired a cook to prepare breakfast before they went to the Death Forest.
• Asuka claimed cooking could cause poisoning and described poisoning himself and the Second Elder while preparing pufferfish, leaving Sasuke relieved he had not cooked breakfast.

Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura gathered for the second Chunin Exam in the Death Forest, where Uchiha Asuka intervened in their quarrel and pushed them into the exam. Asuka then showed Mitarashi Anko Jiraiya’s letter of guarantee, and she brought him into the forest under her supervision.

• Sasuke surveyed the gathered genin and sensed something unsettling about a red-haired girl from Kusagakure.
• Naruto argued with Sasuke, then endured Sakura twisting his ear as she threatened to withdraw from the exam and disband Team 7.
• Uchiha Asuka kicked Naruto into the Death Forest and told Sakura she should not pursue Sasuke unless she accepted becoming his eighth wife.
• Asuka kicked Sakura into the Death Forest after she questioned his plans for Sasuke.
• Mitarashi Anko examined Jiraiya’s letter of guarantee and took Asuka into the Death Forest so she could keep watch over him.

Asuka accompanied Anko through the Death Forest during the second stage of the Chunin Exams, while Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto began navigating its dangers as a team. Anko caught Orochimaru’s scent and, after Asuka urged her to confront her lingering regrets, prepared to face him.

• Anko warned Asuka not to interfere with the exam and kept him close, while he and the toad exchanged jokes at her expense.
• Sasuke heard a scream in the Death Forest, stopped Sakura and Naruto from bickering, and explained that his weights made him better suited to ambushes than pursuit.
• Anko and Asuka ran through the forest, and Anko detected Orochimaru’s scent mixed with a woman’s perfume.
• Anko realized the scent came from the direction of the exam’s finish line and admitted she regretted what happened with Orochimaru.
• Asuka encouraged Anko to confront her fear and promised he had experience handling the matter.

Mitarashi Anko sensed Orochimaru in the Death Forest and headed toward him, while Uchiha Asuka followed, misunderstanding why she wanted him there. Meanwhile, Orochimaru attacked Sasuke's team for their scroll, and Anko drew near as Sasuke escaped with Sakura.

• Two Konoha ninja discussed the violence in the Death Forest and said Anko had entered to check on the examinees.
• Anko recognized Orochimaru's presence through her Cursed Seal and ordered Asuka to leave, but he insisted on accompanying her to protect an imagined child caught in their dispute.
• Anko agreed to leave the examinees' safety to Asuka, and they set off toward Orochimaru while misunderstanding each other's intentions.
• Sasuke decided to hold his team's scroll, but Orochimaru's wind attack sent Naruto crashing into a tree and left Sakura and Sasuke vulnerable.
• Orochimaru trapped Sasuke and Sakura in an illusion, but Sasuke used pain to overcome his fear and escaped with Sakura.
• Orochimaru sensed Anko approaching and continued after Sasuke, saying she had come to Konoha partly because of the Uchiha.

Sasuke faced Orochimaru and her giant summoned snake in the Death Forest, while Naruto tried to intervene and was struck away. Sasuke overcame Orochimaru’s fear-inducing presence and attacked to draw the fight away from his teammates, but Orochimaru prepared to test his Sharingan.

• Sasuke dodged Orochimaru’s giant snake and defeated it with shuriken, then offered Orochimaru his Heaven Scroll to avoid a fight.
• Naruto took the scroll from the air and struck Sasuke, but Orochimaru summoned another massive snake and sent Naruto crashing through trees with its tail.
• Orochimaru taunted Sasuke about Uchiha Itachi, and Sasuke awakened his two-tomoe Sharingan as he resolved to survive and defeat his brother.
• Sasuke attacked Orochimaru and tried to draw her away from Naruto and Sakura, landing a kick before Orochimaru returned unharmed.
• Orochimaru assessed Sasuke’s strength and began circling him at high speed to test his Sharingan.