Chapter Summaries

The Third Hokage ordered Anko Mitarashi, Kotetsu Hagane, and Izumo Kamizuki to conserve their strength and prepare for a decisive response to the threat surrounding the Chunin Exams. After they left, Jiraiya returned and demanded to know whether Chiba was still alive.

• The Third Hokage warned Anko Mitarashi not to use much Chakra after her curse mark was suppressed, and Anko, Kotetsu Hagane, and Izumo Kamizuki agreed to prepare for a possible battle.
• The Third Hokage reassigned Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki to the Intelligence Department to support its operations.
• The Third Hokage sent the three away, then called out to someone near the window.
• Jiraiya revealed himself and returned to speak with the Third Hokage about a new discovery.
• Jiraiya solemnly asked the Third Hokage whether Chiba was still alive.

Jiraiya questioned the Third Hokage about whether Taki Chiba was still alive, and the Hokage’s response convinced him that Chiba had survived. Jiraiya connected Chiba to the mysterious person who had rescued him during his investigation in the Land of Grass, leaving him stunned by his teacher’s implied confirmation.

• Jiraiya asked the Third Hokage whether he had received news, and Sarutobi’s response implied that Chiba was still alive.
• Jiraiya recalled infiltrating the Land of Grass to investigate a reported sighting of Uchiha Nobuhiko.
• Kusagakure surrounded the village where Jiraiya was investigating, threatening to expose him and provoke an international crisis.
• Jiraiya received an anonymous letter revealing that the Uchiha Nobuhiko lead was false, and the encirclement shifted long enough for him to escape.
• Jiraiya connected the letter and his rescue to Chiba after hearing about Hada Ichiba, a powerful Kusagakure ninja who resembled Chiba.

The Third Hokage confirmed to Jiraiya that Taki Chiba was alive and explained why Konoha had kept his survival secret. As the third stage of the Chunin Exams approached, Jiraiya agreed to handle the wood style user and his opponent.

• The Third Hokage confirmed that Chiba had faked his death to investigate Uchiha Nobuhiko and deter Konoha's enemies.
• The Third Hokage recalled choosing not to bring Chiba back, compromising with Kumogakure while Chiba secretly defeated its forces and attacked its headquarters.
• The Third Hokage explained that he had kept Chiba's survival from Jiraiya to protect the secret from reaching other villages.
• Jiraiya agreed to handle the wood style user and his opponent, then left the room.
• The Third Hokage remembered his other request for Jiraiya and went out as the third stage of the Chunin Exams neared.

At the Chunin Exams’ First Indoor Training Ground, Hada Ichiba and his Kusagakure teammates drew everyone’s attention. Akado Yoroi and Kusuke Kiri asked Kabuto Yakushi for information on Ichiba, then reacted with shock when they saw his assessment card.

• Hada Ryuhiko blamed Hada Ichiba for making their team conspicuous, and Hada Ichiba teased him for drawing attention himself by throwing the Earth Scroll in public.
• Hada Anna sighed at the two arguing teammates while the gathered ninjas continued watching them.
• Akado Yoroi noticed that only one Kusagakure team had passed the second stage and asked Kabuto Yakushi for information on Hada Ichiba.
• Kabuto Yakushi handed Akado Yoroi Ichiba’s assessment card, and Akado Yoroi and Kusuke Kiri exclaimed in disbelief at its ratings.

Akado Yoroi and Kusuke Kiri saw Hada Ichiba’s partial assessment and realized his base score already put him far above the Chunin Exam’s level. Kabuto Yakushi revealed that Ichiba’s full score was 69, placing him at S-Rank, and left the two examiners shaken by the gap in strength.

• Akado Yoroi and Kusuke Kiri questioned whether Hada Ichiba’s assessment card was a mistake after seeing his base score of 44.
• They calculated that even average ninjutsu, genjutsu, and hand seals would bring Ichiba near Elite Jonin level, making him overwhelmingly stronger than the exam participants.
• Kabuto Yakushi warned them that seeing the figures might make it difficult to continue the exam.
• Kabuto explained that Ichiba had maximum scores in ninjutsu and hand seals, with at least five points in genjutsu.
• Kabuto concluded that Ichiba’s total score was 69 and identified him as an S-Rank Ninja comparable in numerical strength to Konoha’s Sannin.

As the candidates waited tensely for the next Chunin Exam stage, Choji nervously ate potato chips while Ino and Shikamaru tried to keep their team unnoticed. Shikamaru suspected that Hada Ichiba might actually be the supposedly dead Taki Chiba, leaving the identity and motive of the feared contestant unresolved.

• Ino and Shikamaru complained that Choji's conspicuous potato-chip eating could draw attention to Team 10.
• Choji admitted he could not stop eating because he was nervous, and Shikamaru decided to wait and see what the next exam involved.
• Ino wondered whether Hada Ichiba was truly as strong as the other candidates feared.
• Shikamaru watched Hada and suspected he was Taki Chiba in a changed body, but could not understand why he was representing Kusagakure.
• Choji said he hoped not to encounter Hada, drawing his teammates' attention again.

Uzumaki Naruto tried to greet Hada Ichiba and apologize for suspecting him, but Sasuke warned that drawing attention would put Team 7 at a disadvantage. Naruto chose to stay with his teammates, while Hada Ichiba suddenly remembered something and scanned the room.

• Uzumaki Naruto moved to greet Hada Ichiba, and Haruno Sakura stopped him.
• Sasuke called Naruto an idiot and warned that Hada Ichiba had become everyone's target.
• Naruto considered how attracting attention could endanger Sasuke and Sakura, then fell silent.
• Sasuke encouraged Naruto, and Haruno Sakura proposed that Team 7 pass the Chunin Exams together.
• Hada Ichiba suddenly seemed to remember something and swept his gaze across the room.

Hada Ichiba searched the teams gathered after the second examination for the Konoha team that had impressed him, but they were nowhere to be seen. As the training ground entrance closed, he noticed something on the second floor that left him horrified.

• Hada Ryuhiko accused Hada Ichiba of putting on another act, while Hada Anna asked what was wrong.
• Hada Ichiba searched the assembled teams and wondered whether the impressive Konoha team had been eliminated.
• Hada Ichiba recalled the Konoha team’s sharp judgment and decisive retreat, concluding they were among the strongest teams in the Chunin Exams.
• Hada Ichiba considered whether Orochimaru or the Hidden Rain ninja in the conical hat might be involved.
• Hada Ichiba abruptly looked toward the second floor and froze in horror.

Hada Ichiba noticed that both the Sound Village Jonin instructor and the Hidden Rain man in the conical hat carried Orochimaru’s aura, leaving him unable to tell which one was Orochimaru. As the Sound instructor watched for Ichiba’s reaction, the Third Hokage arrived, signaling the start of the final Chunin Exam test.

• Hada Ryuhiko noticed Hada Ichiba watching the Sound instructor and the Hidden Rain man, then quietly kept all three under observation.
• Hada Ichiba recognized Orochimaru’s aura in both men and reasoned that one had to be a substitute rather than a clone.
• Hada Ichiba decided that either man could serve his purposes, while the Sound instructor watched to see whether he would reveal his true nature.
• The Third Hokage entered the indoor training ground, signaling that the final Chunin Exam test was about to begin.

The Third Chunin Exam was about to begin as Hada Ichiba noticed that Hidden Rain had no supervising Jonin and considered the oddity without settling on a conclusion. Anko reflected on how Hada’s actions had eased the second exam, while Might Guy tried and failed to provoke Kakashi.

• Hada Ichiba noticed that Hidden Rain was the only team without a supervising Jonin and wondered whether the absence was suspicious.
• Anko Mitarashi congratulated the twenty-seven survivors and reflected that Hada Ichiba’s tactics had changed the second exam and made it easier for some teams.
• Might Guy praised Team 7, then boasted that his team would excel in the next round and addressed his rival Kakashi.
• Kakashi failed to notice Guy’s provocation, leaving Guy frozen and privately frustrated.

Kakashi and Might Guy watched Hada Ichiba and recalled how closely he resembled Chiba, though they saw none of Chiba’s warmth in his eyes. The Third Hokage began explaining that the Chunin Exams’ true purpose was not friendship but a reflection of combat between allied nations.

• Kakashi told Might Guy that Hada Ichiba looked exactly like Chiba, and Guy agreed.
• Kakashi recalled Chiba leaving Konoha after the Nine-Tails' Rampage and reflected on why he had continued protecting others despite his wounds.
• Kakashi and Might Guy agreed that Hada Ichiba was not Chiba, noting the unsettling indifference in Hada Ichiba's eyes.
• The Third Hokage considered the many exam participants and the attention Hada Ichiba had attracted.
• Anko Mitarashi handed the floor to the Third Hokage, who told the Genin that the Chunin Exams were a microcosm of combat between allied nations, not an exercise in friendly coexistence.

The Third Hokage explained that the Chunin Exams were a contest of national prestige and a life-or-death struggle, prompting Konoha’s newcomers to question the fighting. Gekko Hayate then announced a preliminary round to reduce the large number of candidates for the third exam, leaving Hada Ichiba wondering whom he needed to target.

• The Third Hokage explained the exams’ diplomatic purpose and told the newcomers that the battles could cost lives.
• Uzumaki Naruto, Kiba Inuzuka, and Tenten questioned why the exams involved deadly combat despite claims of friendship.
• A red-haired Sunagakure youth impatiently asked about the third exam, and the Third Hokage handed the explanation to Gekko Hayate.
• Gekko Hayate announced that candidates had to complete a preliminary round before the third exam because too many had passed the second.
• Shikamaru Nara and Haruno Sakura questioned the extra round while Hada Ichiba considered which enemy he needed to target.

Gekko Hayate announced that the Chunin Exam preliminaries would begin immediately as individual battles, prompting Hada Anna and Akimichi Choji to protest about lunch while Hada Ichiba realized something about Sasuke and the Sound instructor. As Sakura urged Sasuke to withdraw because Orochimaru’s curse mark was causing him increasing pain, Anko and the Third Hokage concluded that he should leave the exams and be protected by the Anbu.

• Gekko Hayate announced an immediate preliminary round with time limits and invited the exhausted examinees to withdraw.
• Akimichi Choji and Hada Anna protested that it was lunchtime, while Hada Ichiba noticed Sasuke clutching his left shoulder and connected his condition to Orochimaru and the Sound instructor.
• Gekko Hayate explained that the preliminaries would be individual battles, and the examinees reconsidered their chances because Hada Ichiba was rested and overwhelmingly strong.
• Haruno Sakura told Sasuke that Orochimaru’s mark was still hurting him and pleaded with him to withdraw, while Naruto listened in shock.
• Anko Mitarashi concluded that Sasuke should withdraw immediately and said the Anbu should protect and isolate him.

Anko urged the Third Hokage to stop Second Pillar from continuing the exam because his curse mark could kill him, while Second Pillar resisted Haruno Sakura's attempts to reveal his condition. Kabuto Yakushi withdrew from the third stage, becoming the first and only contestant to do so.

• Anko explained that Second Pillar's curse mark was eroding his body and urged the Third Hokage to prevent him from taking part in the next stage.
• Haruno Sakura tried to persuade Second Pillar to stop fighting, but he angrily told her to be quiet and hide his condition.
• Haruno Sakura threatened to tell Teacher about Second Pillar's curse mark, while Uzumaki Naruto noticed something nearby.
• Kabuto Yakushi announced that he was withdrawing from the individual matches, and Gekko Hayate confirmed that he could leave.
• Kabuto Yakushi walked out of the training ground as the first and only person to withdraw from the third stage.

Kabuto Yakushi withdrew from the preliminaries, prompting the Third Hokage to question his history and background. After the other contestants stayed, Gekko Hayate began the individual matches.

• Hada Anna noticed that Second Pillar seemed to be enduring an injury, though she could not identify its location.
• The Third Hokage asked Anko Mitarashi about Kabuto Yakushi, who reported his repeated exam failures and modest mission record.
• Anko explained that Kabuto had been among the Sunagakure children brought back after the Mount Kibitsu Battle and adopted by a medical Jonin.
• The Third Hokage considered whether Kabuto had withdrawn because of a hidden injury sustained during Sound Village's surprise attack.
• Second Pillar encouraged Uzumaki Naruto and stopped Haruno Sakura as Team 7 chose to continue, and Gekko Hayate announced the start of the preliminaries.

Gekko Hayate announced the one-on-one preliminaries and explained that he could stop fights to prevent needless deaths, prompting Hada Ryuhiko to accuse Konoha of favoritism. The first match paired Second Pillar with Akado Yoroi, and Second Pillar stepped forward despite his Cursed Seal troubling him.

• Gekko Hayate announced that the thirteen preliminary matches would end in death, a fall, or surrender, but that he could intervene to prevent needless deaths.
• Hada Ryuhiko objected that Gekko Hayate’s discretion favored Konoha, while Hada Ichiba argued that intervention protected Konoha’s credibility and helped prevent political fallout and war.
• Gekko Hayate revealed an electronic board and announced that it would randomly select the contestants for each match.
• The board named Second Pillar and Akado Yoroi as the first opponents, and both stepped forward as Haruno Sakura watched anxiously.

Second Pillar prepared to fight Akado Yoroi while trying to avoid triggering his Cursed Seal, and Kakashi warned that he would stop him if it went berserk. The Sound Village Jonin instructor suspected Hada Ichiba was Taki Chiba and, after planning to test him, discovered he had disappeared.

• Gekko Hayate began the first match and directed everyone except the combatants to the second floor.
• Kakashi warned Second Pillar not to use the Sharingan and said he would stop him if the Cursed Seal went berserk.
• Second Pillar felt pain from the seal and realized that gathering Chakra could put his life at risk during the match against Akado Yoroi.
• The Sound Village Jonin instructor suspected Hada Ichiba was Taki Chiba and devised a plan to test whether he would recognize two versions of the instructor.
• The Sound Village Jonin instructor searched for Hada Ichiba and found that he had disappeared.

Hada Ichiba confronted the Sound Village Jonin instructor and revealed that he knew the man was Orochimaru. He then stopped the mutual testing and identified himself as Taki Chiba.

• The Sound Village Jonin instructor searched for Hada Ichiba, then heard him speak from behind.
• Hada Ichiba appeared beside the instructor and addressed him as Teacher Orochimaru.
• The instructor denied that he was Orochimaru, fearing the consequences of revealing his identity.
• Hada Ichiba said the instructor would never admit the truth aloud and cut off his attempt to respond.
• Hada Ichiba declared, "Taki Chiba!"

Hada Ichiba admitted to Orochimaru that he was Taki Chiba, but Orochimaru hesitated to believe him. Hada Ichiba walked away toward Hada Ryuhiko and Hada Anna, and Orochimaru called after him to stop him.

• Hada Ichiba told Orochimaru that he was Taki Chiba.
• Orochimaru recalled his long investigation into Taki Chiba and struggled to understand why Hada Ichiba had confessed so readily.
• Hada Ichiba accused Orochimaru of using a substitute to hide whether he had gone to Konoha and intended to harm it.
• Orochimaru denied knowing Hada Ichiba and suggested he had mistaken him for someone else.
• Hada Ichiba turned away without answering and headed toward Hada Ryuhiko and Hada Anna.
• Orochimaru called out to stop Hada Ichiba as he was about to leave.

Hada Ichiba explained that Orochimaru’s true identity had been revealed to him by Sasuke’s pain after the second test, which he recognized as the effect of Orochimaru’s Cursed Seal. Orochimaru began to consider that Hada Ichiba might truly be Taki Chiba, but remained unconvinced and challenged whether knowing about the seal proved his identity.

• Orochimaru called Hada Ichiba back and asked how he had discovered that he was Orochimaru’s true body.
• Hada Ichiba pointed to Sasuke and explained that he had noticed the boy was injured after the second test.
• Hada Ichiba said Sasuke’s pain suggested that Orochimaru had placed a Cursed Seal on him.
• When Orochimaru questioned how he knew the injury came from a seal, Hada Ichiba replied that he knew because he was Taki Chiba.
• Orochimaru considered that Hada Ichiba’s knowledge supported his claim but still doubted him.
• Orochimaru asked whether knowing about the Cursed Seal had anything to do with identifying Hada Ichiba.