Chapter Summaries

Minato traveled with Jiraiya's team, using agricultural Ninjutsu to help farmers and experimenting with channeling Chakra into his young toad, Boli G Lang. In Nuanhe Town, Guangxia gathered local farmers into the Autumn Fruit Organization, and Minato promised to teach them new Ninjutsu.

• Fugaku watched Minato nurture Boli G Lang with Chakra, and the toad learned to use Water Release: Water Bullet.
• Minato returned to Nuanhe Town and learned that Guangxia had gathered more than thirty people to study agricultural Ninjutsu and help with farm work.
• Farmers thanked Minato for making their work easier, while Jiraiya watched proudly and Fugaku reflected on Minato's popularity.
• Minato suggested forming a mutual aid organization, and Guangxia named it the Autumn Fruit Organization.
• Minato announced that his new Summoning Beast would help the organization learn new Ninjutsu.

Minato proposed an Agricultural Summoning Technique that would breed chakra-bearing Ninja Bulls for farm work, and Fugaku used Genjutsu to keep Qiongqi from fleeing. After Minato’s chakra suddenly increased, Jiraiya announced that Minato, Akimichi Jirokuma, and Haneina would take Konoha’s Chunin Exams, while Minato planned how to develop his combat skills.

• Fugaku summoned Qiongqi, a Ninja Bull, and used his Three-Tomoe Genjutsu to stop him from escaping when he learned he was expected to work in the fields.
• Minato explained his plan to breed Qiongqi with ordinary water buffalo and cultivate their descendants into chakra-bearing farm helpers, naming the Agricultural Summoning Technique and receiving 50 chakra units from the system.
• Jiraiya and Yoshimaru discussed Qiongqi’s expected breeding, while Minato felt guilty about Fugaku coercing the bull with Genjutsu.
• Minato’s chakra surged and flattened the surrounding weeds, astonishing Jiraiya with his sudden increase in power.
• Jiraiya said the group would return to Konoha after two weeks and revealed that Minato, Akimichi Jirokuma, and Haneina would enter the Chunin Exams.
• Minato considered his Jonin-level chakra reserves and planned to train the Body Flicker Technique and Rasengan to improve his combat ability.

Minato trained his Body Flicker Technique and developed a rudimentary Rasengan in preparation for the Chunin Exams. When he showed it to Jiraiya for advice, Jiraiya got distracted by his own inappropriate idea of how to study its rotation.

• Minato sparred with Fugaku, whose Three-Tomoe Sharingan struggled to keep up with Minato's speed and reflexes.
• Minato's chakra reserves reached 223 units as he continued training and received system rewards from his work with the livestock Summoning Beasts.
• Minato bought balloons and rubber balls, then spent a week practicing Rasengan formation with help from two Shadow Clones.
• Minato found Jiraiya at a tavern and demonstrated his rudimentary Rasengan, prompting Jiraiya to recognize its concentrated rotational power.
• Jiraiya told Minato to fetch a woman from the tavern so he could study the sphere's rotational feel with her.

Jiraiya submitted Minato Namikaze's team for the Chunin Exams, while Hiruzen Sarutobi prepared to host the joint competition with the Cloud Hidden Village. The Third Lightning Kage arrived with a secret plan to capture and experiment on an Uzumaki Orphan, believing Hiruzen would not retaliate.

• Jiraiya submitted Minato Namikaze's team's application for the Chunin Exams, and Hiruzen Sarutobi approved it.
• Jiraiya told Hiruzen Sarutobi that Tsunade still kept in touch with him and Orochimaru, then left without accepting the examiner role.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi considered the Chunin Exams' importance and went to greet the arriving Third Lightning Kage.
• The Third Lightning Kage told Dodai that the Cloud Hidden Village's real goal was to capture and experiment on an Uzumaki Orphan in Konoha.
• The Third Lightning Kage dismissed the risk of Konoha retaliating, then exchanged greetings with Hiruzen Sarutobi at the village gates.

Kushina joined the Chunin Exams with ANBU agents assigned as her teammates, while Minato considered how to build a power base beyond Hiruzen Sarutobi. Before the exams began, Minato formed an alliance with teams from the Senju and Uchiha clans.

• Kushina asked Biwako and Hiruzen Sarutobi to let her take the Chunin Exams with Minato, and Biwako arranged two ANBU agents as her teammates.
• Minato and Kushina's teams trained together for three days before the Chunin Exams began.
• At the Ninja Academy, Minato assessed the other candidates and resolved to build alliances instead of becoming Hiruzen Sarutobi's subordinate.
• Minato allied his team and Kushina's team with Senju Chihiro's team and Uchiha Mikoto's team.
• Nara Shikaku recognized the Senju and Uchiha alliance as a force that could not be underestimated.

During the Chunin Exams, Kushina recognized Ei Yano Yu as one of the men responsible for the Uzumaki Clan’s extermination, and Minato vowed to avenge her family. Minato’s four-team alliance entered the Death Forest, where a Cloud team used an Uzumaki child’s Adamantine Sealing Chains to lure Kushina into a trap.

• Kushina recognized Ei Yano Yu and told Minato that he had killed members of her family and abducted her younger brother; Minato promised to avenge the Uzumaki Clan.
• Ei Yano Yu planned to exploit the Death Forest’s dangers to kill Kushina or capture her and obtain her tissue cells for Cloud Hidden Village research.
• Minato, Kushina, Senju Chihiro, and Mikoto formed a four-team alliance, and Minato named it the Senju-Uchiha-Uzumaki Super-Reconciliation No-Enemies Squad.
• Minato assigned Uchiha Yashiro to reconnaissance as the allied teams entered the Death Forest to gather the scrolls they needed.
• Ei Yano Yu’s team forced a captured Uzumaki child to unleash Adamantine Sealing Chains, and Kushina rushed toward the chakra chain while Minato realized she was being lured into a trap.

Minato and Kushina discovered that the Cloud Hidden Village had abducted Kushina’s younger brother, Uzumaki Shinmen, and confronted the Cloud squads. The fight escalated as Ei Yano Yu attacked Kushina, and Minato summoned Gamabunta, leaving both sides facing a battle that was rapidly spiraling out of control.

• Minato learned that Ei Yano Yu was an Elite Chunin and suspected the Cloud Hidden Village was behind the use of Adamantine Sealing Chains.
• Kushina recognized her abducted younger brother, Uzumaki Shinmen, by the gourd-shaped birthmark on his face as Toroi and Ei Yano Yu discussed capturing her.
• Ei Yano Yu charged at Kushina, but Minato stopped him; Kushina’s chakra erupted, and Toroi’s Magnet Release killed one of Minato’s ANBU teammates.
• Minato blocked Ei Yano Yu’s lightning-wreathed punch with the Rasengan, then summoned Gamabunta to halt the fight.
• Ei Yano Yu ordered the Cloud ninja to complete their mission and end the battle within three seconds.

Minato rescued Kushina as she began manifesting the Nine-Tails Chakra cloak, while the battle between Konoha and Cloud ninja escalated around them. Ei Yano Yu recognized Kushina as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and moved to capture her, leaving Uchiha Yashiro, Mikoto, and Akimichi Jirokuma to interfere with the Cloud ninja’s sealing plan.

• Toroi summoned a giant black bear, and Gamabunta fought it with his sword and Water Release: Bullet.
• Minato reached Kushina after a Cloud ninja threatened her younger brother, Shinmen, and rescued her from the chaos.
• Kushina’s Nine-Tails Chakra cloak appeared, and Minato went to save Shinmen while Ei Yano Yu charged at her.
• Ei Yano Yu recognized Kushina as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and resolved to capture her for the Cloud Hidden Village.
• Uchiha Yashiro urged the others to stop the Cloud ninja preparing Sealing Techniques, and Mikoto and Akimichi Jirokuma attacked while Kushina fought Ei Yano Yu.

Minato Namikaze defeated the Cloud ninja attacking his team while Kushina Uzumaki fought Ei Yano Yu, leaving the Cloud Hidden Village with heavy losses. In the tower, the Third Lightning Kage accused Jiraiya’s disciple of killing four genin as Jiraiya arrived.

• Ei Yano Yu knocked Akimichi Jirokuma aside and continued overpowering the rampaging Kushina Uzumaki.
• Minato Namikaze rescued Uzumaki Shinmen, then killed Toroi with a Big Ball Rasengan, prompting Ei Yano Yu to flee.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Third Lightning Kage learned that Gamabunta had killed the Cloud ninja’s giant black bear.
• A Hyuga Clan ninja reported that Minato had killed three Cloud ninja and captured another, while Ei Yano Yu had killed two of Kushina’s teammates.
• Jiraiya entered the tower, and the Third Lightning Kage accused Minato of killing four Cloud genin.

After the Cloud ninja’s attack nearly caused Kushina to lose control of the Nine-Tails, Hiruzen ordered her team to be guided safely to the tower while insisting the Chunin Exams continue. Minato’s team arrived after Ei Yano Yu, and the two powerful genin faced off as the spectators wondered how either could be called a genin.

• Jiraiya mocked the Third Lightning Kage over the Cloud genin killed by Minato, until Hiruzen stopped him.
• Hima reported that Kushina had used the Nine-Tails Chakra cloak and Minato had killed the Cloud ninja to prevent her from losing control.
• Hiruzen ordered Kushina monitored and arranged scrolls along Minato’s team’s route so they could reach the tower without further battles.
• Uchiha Yashiro found an Earth Scroll and saw that Mikoto had awakened her Sharingan, while Haneina treated the badly injured Uzumaki Shinmen.
• After waking, Kushina checked on Shinmen, and Minato led the group toward the tower to find medical help.
• Ei Yano Yu reached the tower first, then confronted Minato as the spectators marveled at the pressure radiating from both genin.

Minato tried to keep Kushina from losing control after the Cloud Hidden Village claimed her unconscious brother, Uzumaki Shinmen. With Hiruzen Sarutobi poised to intervene, Minato wagered that a rematch against Ei Yano Yu would decide who kept the boy; Ei Yano Yu accepted.

• Minato stopped Kushina from attacking and sent her with Senju Chihiro to get Uzumaki Shinmen treated.
• Senju Takeoto summoned the Slug of Shikkotsu Forest, which stabilized Uzumaki Shinmen before Takeoto carried him away for further care.
• The Third Lightning Kage blocked Senju Takeoto, seized Uzumaki Shinmen, and insisted the boy was a Cloud Hidden Village genin.
• Kushina rushed to confront the Third Lightning Kage, but Hiruzen Sarutobi restrained her with a Four Symbols Seal.
• Minato challenged Ei Yano Yu to a wagered rematch, staking Uzumaki Shinmen against Minato's acknowledgment that Ei Yano Yu was the strongest of the new generation.
• Jiraiya promised to arrange the match, and Ei Yano Yu accepted the wager.

As Konoha prepared for the Chunin Exams’ third round, Hiruzen arranged special training for Minato to face Ei Yano Yu and ordered ANBU to protect Uzumaki Shinmen. Jiraiya persuaded Orochimaru to teach Minato Wind Release, while Orochimaru became interested in the cells Minato had collected.

• Chihiro explained why Konoha could not legally claim Uzushio’s assets, while Kushina worried that Shinmen might not recognize her.
• Hiruzen announced that the third round would begin in five days, and six Konoha teams, one Cloud ninja, and one Waterfall team had qualified.
• Hiruzen told Jiraiya to prepare Minato to defeat Ei Yano Yu and said ANBU would guard Shinmen.
• Shikaku reported that Minato had defeated Ei Yano Yu swiftly and destroyed the Cloud ninja’s traps with a large Summoning Beast.
• Orochimaru recovered Troy’s body, took tissue samples, and considered obtaining Ei Yano Yu’s cells.
• Jiraiya offered Orochimaru Minato’s samples from Troy in exchange for training Minato, and Orochimaru agreed to teach him Wind Release.

Jiraiya brought Minato to Orochimaru’s laboratory, where Minato requested plant-cultivation knowledge instead of focusing on Wind Release. His Chakra Breeding Technique earned him 50 more units of chakra, leaving him with two days to study before facing Ei Yano Yu.

• Jiraiya warned Minato not to mention Nawaki to Orochimaru and explained how Nawaki’s death had changed Orochimaru and Tsunade.
• At Orochimaru’s laboratory, Minato noticed unusual vines and received three scrolls about the principles of different Wind Release techniques.
• Minato asked Orochimaru to teach him about cultivating plants, explaining that working with plants helped his mood before the coming fight.
• Orochimaru gave Minato a scroll about plant cultivation, and Minato left the laboratory with all four scrolls.
• Three days later, Minato’s Chakra Breeding Technique earned him 50 units of chakra, raising his reserves from 225 to 275.
• Minato realized his increased chakra could give Ei Yano Yu a surprise and hurried to study the Wind Release scrolls.

Minato mastered Wind Release: Wind Cutter before the Chunin Exams finals, where the village matched him against Kushina to eliminate her safely. He began the match by unveiling a powerful Earth Release technique aimed at attracting nobles to Agricultural Ninjutsu.

• Minato demonstrated his Wind Release techniques to Orochimaru, who told him to focus on cutting techniques and take the other scrolls back.
• Minato mastered Wind Release: Wind Cutter and considered seeking nobles' support for the Autumn Fruit Organization's Agricultural Ninjutsu.
• Hatake Sakumo announced that Minato would face Kushina in the first round of the Chunin Exams finals, and Minato realized the village wanted to remove her from the competition safely.
• Minato asked Kushina to wait and watch his performance, then began the match by using Earth Release: Overclocked Seismic Fracturing—One Thousand Acres Tilled Per Day, Second Form.

Minato Namikaze defeated Kushina Uzumaki in the Chunin Exams by turning the arena into a swirling shower of rapeseed petals. Kushina surrendered, and Minato and Kushina left the arena together as the spectators reacted to his romantic technique.

• Minato Namikaze used Earth Release to overturn the arena soil, provoking complaints from villagers who had expected a more spectacular match.
• Minato scattered rapeseeds and used a growth technique, while Kushina Uzumaki watered them until rapeseed blossoms covered the arena.
• Minato used Wind Release and the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique to fill the arena and spectator stands with swirling petals.
• Minato appeared behind Kushina and brushed petals from her hair, and Kushina surrendered to him.
• Hatake Sakumo declared Minato the winner, while Jiraiya praised the technique and Hiruzen Sarutobi worried about Kushina's Chunin qualification.
• Minato and Kushina left the arena together, and the Akimichi Clan compacted the soil and crushed the petals, drawing boos from female villagers.

Minato Namikaze fought Hizashi Hyuga, who revealed that the match was his last chance to live freely before the Hyuga elders imposed the Caged Bird Cursed Seal. By studying Hizashi’s tenketsu strikes, Minato refined his chakra circulation and used the new Breath-Holding Technique to defeat him.

• Hizashi Hyuga told Minato Namikaze that he had fought to make the most of his final day before the Hyuga elders sealed him as a Branch Family member.
• Minato sent Shadow Clones to engage Hizashi while he watched the locations of Hizashi’s tenketsu strikes and studied chakra pathways.
• Minato realized that chakra could be used more efficiently by concentrating it along the Twelve Principal Meridians rather than letting it spill through his muscles.
• Minato used the Breath-Holding Technique to conceal and conserve his chakra, then moved behind Hizashi with the Body Flicker Technique and kicked him away.
• Minato continued probing Hizashi with Shadow Clones and swiftly defeated him, while Orochimaru recognized that Minato had developed the technique on his own.

Minato Namikaze used a gold-leaf-and-kunai setup to drain Ei Yano Yu’s Lightning Release Chakra Mode, then attacked him with a giant Rasengan. The Third Lightning Kage intervened and rescued Ei, while Hatake Sakumo stopped the Kage from striking Minato; the duel ended with Minato demanding compensation for his ruined gold leaf.

• Minato Namikaze and Ei Yano Yu began the finals, and Minato evaded Ei’s rapid attacks while studying his Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
• Minato opened a scroll containing gold leaf, used a Shadow Clone technique to spread it around the arena, and summoned the Great Strength Toad.
• The gold leaf and buried kunai conducted away Ei’s lightning, preventing him from maintaining his chakra cloak.
• Minato launched a giant Rasengan at Ei, but the Third Lightning Kage broke the attack and moved to strike Minato.
• Hatake Sakumo intervened, exchanged blows with the Third Lightning Kage, and helped prevent Minato’s death as the Konoha leaders filled the arena.
• The Third Lightning Kage rescued Ei, Jiraiya accused him of attacking a junior, and Minato demanded payment for the destroyed gold leaf.

Minato Namikaze won the Chunin Exams, secured fifty million ryo in compensation from the Cloud Hidden Village, and became a chunin. The chapter ended with the daimyo urging Senju Takeoto to become Kyoto Advisor, while Konoha's leaders appeared opposed.

• The Third Lightning Kage conceded the match and agreed to pay Minato fifty million ryo for the Gold Leaf Paper, while Jiraiya tried to claim one million ryo from Minato.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ended the Chunin Exams early and named Minato, Hizashi Hyuga, Senju Chihiro, Uchiha Mikoto, Uchiha Yashiro, Kushina Uzumaki, and others as chunin; Ei Yano Yu lost eligibility because his father had intervened.
• Kushina Uzumaki and Minato took Uzumaki Shinmen from the Waterfall Hidden Village jonin and discussed leaving the village with Senju Takeoto to find Tsunade.
• An attendant summoned Minato to meet the Hawk Guard General, where he found the daimyo, Konoha officials, and nobles gathered.
• The daimyo urged Senju Takeoto to become Kyoto Advisor, citing the Senju Clan's long ties to his family and his need for the Slug Healing Technique, while Shimura Danzo appeared displeased.

Minato learned that the Daimyo upheld Senju Takeoto as Kyoto Advisor and confronted the Hawk Guard General over teaching farmers ninjutsu. After recognizing that reform threatened entrenched power, Minato decided to leave the village and negotiated the cost with Jiraiya.

• The Daimyo rejected Hiruzen Sarutobi’s proposal to replace Senju Takeoto, and Hiruzen agreed to send her to Kyoto.
• The Hawk Guard General told Minato that teaching farmers ninjutsu challenged noble authority and that he had previously executed people who spread it.
• Minato acknowledged the General’s warning outwardly but privately considered assassination and decided to wait until he learned the Flying Thunder God.
• Minato asked Jiraiya to let him leave the village, and they agreed on a payment of one million five hundred thousand ryo.

Minato returned the Senju Clan’s gold leaf and learned how to find the Underground Exchange from Senju Takeoto. He traveled with Jiraiya to Nuanhe Town, found an exchange, and prepared to place a bounty on the Hawk Guard General.

• Minato returned the undamaged gold leaf to the Senju Clan and offered Takeoto money, but she refused it and warned him to be careful about her appointment as Konoha’s Kyoto Advisor.
• Takeoto told Minato how to locate the Underground Exchange, and he set out with Jiraiya for Nuanhe Town.
• Minato used a sealing scroll to give Jiraiya money, and Jiraiya went to a tavern while Minato searched the town for the exchange’s marker.
• Minato found a copper coin nailed to a tree, transformed himself into an adult, and entered the Underground Exchange through a door in a public restroom.
• Minato told the exchange’s attendant that he wanted to post a bounty on someone’s head.