Chapter Summaries

Years after Uchiha Yao reshaped Konoha into a prosperous village governed by merit, a new class graduated from the Ninja Academy. Hinata Hyuga ranked first ahead of Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto, and the top thirty prepared to meet their future squad leaders and the Hokage.

• Uchiha Yao dismantled the old power structure, delegated authority to accomplished ninja, and expanded Konoha’s forces, economy, and influence.
• Uchiha Yao accepted refugee clans from Kirigakure, including the Kaguya, Yuki, and Hozuki, and enforced rules against those who threatened their integration.
• Hinata Hyuga topped the graduation rankings, with Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto tied for second after she defeated them in the practical exam.
• The academy teacher announced that the top thirty graduates would visit the Hokage Building for a graduation photo, meet Uchiha Yao, and meet their future squad-leading Jonin.
• At the Hokage Building, Hizashi Hyuga, Namikaze Minato, Hatake Kakashi, and Uchiha Yao watched the graduates through a Crystal Ball and discussed Hinata’s achievement and Naruto’s progress.

Uchiha Yao announced Team 7’s assignments and revealed that Konoha would host a Five Great Nations Joint Chunin Exams the following July. He ordered Konoha’s Genin teams to prepare to dominate the exams and set an age limit of eighteen.

• Uchiha Yao assigned Namikaze Naruto, Second Pillar, and Hozuki Suigetsu to Team 7 under Hatake Kakashi.
• Namikaze Minato explained that he and Lord Naruto chose Kakashi so the children could develop independently of their fathers’ and clans’ reputations, and Kakashi accepted the instructor role.
• Uchiha Yao announced that Konoha would host a super-scale Joint Chunin Exams involving every ninja village, with the schedule finalized in October and the exams held the following July.
• Uchiha Yao ordered Konoha’s Genin teams to cancel long-term external missions and prepare to defeat the other villages’ participants.
• Might Guy challenged Kakashi to a contest between their teams, then discovered Team 7’s assessments rated its members as Kage-level reserves.
• Uchiha Yao set the Joint Chunin Exams’ maximum participant age at eighteen, excluding older Genin.

The newly assigned genin teams met their supervising Jonin, introducing themselves and revealing their ambitions as their first bonds and rivalries began to form. After the teams agreed to share a meal, the chapter ended with the top thirty graduates gathering for a graduation photo, where Kushina decorated Naruto’s face with Uzumaki clan markings.

• Hatake Kakashi met Team 7, where Hozuki Suigetsu introduced himself, Uchiha Sasuke declared his goal of following the Hokage and reforming the ninja world, and Uzumaki Naruto announced his ambitions before he and Sasuke challenged each other.
• Mei Terumī met Team 8, where Karin and Yamanaka Ino shared their goals and Hinata Hyuga announced that she wanted to become Mei’s family.
• Uchiha Itachi met Team 10 and proposed a joint meal for the newly formed teams, while Kakashi persuaded Mei Terumī to pay for it.
• Itachi prompted the genin to thank Mei, and the young ninja eagerly accepted the invitation to eat together.
• At the graduation photo gathering, Kushina chased Naruto and drew the Uzumaki Clan’s red spiral markings on his face, making the onlookers laugh.

Uchiha Yao noticed Hinata Hyuga’s unusual abilities, praised her eyes, and placed her and Hanabi Hyuga on Konoha’s key development list. As Konoha’s shinobi gathered to build unity ahead of the Chunin Exams, Uchiha Yao also received a report about Sarutobi Konohamaru’s suddenly awakened power and chose to wait for its instability to show.

• Uchiha Itachi teased Second Pillar by putting cat-ear clips on him, while Hinata Hyuga let down her hair and stunned everyone during the group photograph.
• Uchiha Yao and Namikaze Minato noticed Hinata’s faint blue eye-glint and exceptional ability to sense their hidden attention; Hinata then gave Uchiha Yao a present, and he praised her eyes.
• Uchiha Yao reviewed Hinata Hyuga’s training and records, classified her file as S-rank top secret, and placed her and Hanabi Hyuga on the key development list.
• An Anbu member reported that Sarutobi Konohamaru’s chakra and ninjutsu talents had surged, possibly after someone forcibly awakened a latent bloodline; Uchiha Yao ordered that they not suppress him or give him excessive attention.
• Shinobi from different villages and generations gathered for a barbecue funded by Mei Terumī, and Uchiha Yao and Namikaze Minato joined them, encouraging unity ahead of the Chunin Exams.

Uchiha Yao considered Hinata Hyuga’s awakened potential while Hyuga Hiashi rallied the main family behind Konoha’s leadership. As the villages reacted to Konoha’s Chunin Exams invitation, Danzō plotted against Yao, but Rasa secretly planned to hand him over to Konoha.

• Uchiha Yao assessed Hinata Hyuga’s exceptional Byakugan potential and considered taking her to the moon when she was older.
• Hyuga Hiashi rebuked the elders for scheming against the branch family and decided to seek Uchiha Yao’s permission for Hinata to study under Mei Terumī.
• Orochimaru’s clones completed a costly limb-regeneration serum, while intelligence linked the use of Impure World Reincarnation to Shimura Danzō and Sarutobi Asuma.
• Uchiha Yao learned that Danzō might use Impure World Reincarnation to cause chaos and target him during the Chunin Exams, and he prepared to respond.
• The Fourth Raikage refused Kumogakure’s invitation, while Ōnoki chose to attend the exams and assess Konoha’s strength.
• Shimura Danzō proposed an alliance with Sunagakure to assassinate Uchiha Yao, but Rasa rejected the plan privately and intended to deliver Danzō to Konoha.

Uchiha Yao met Nagato and Konan at the Valley of the End, where Nagato shared his vision of peace through an ultimate weapon. Yao revealed the masked man’s deception, offered Akatsuki an alliance with Konoha and a serum that could restore Nagato’s legs, and Nagato agreed to the alliance.

• Obito watched Sunagakure’s secret meeting and decided to secretly provide Danzo with intelligence while keeping Akatsuki’s power concealed.
• Nagato told Uchiha Yao how Danzo and Hanzo’s trap had led Yahiko to die, and explained his hope for an ultimate weapon that could preserve peace.
• Uchiha Yao revealed a parallel world and offered Akatsuki its Nine-Tails, then demonstrated his superior bloodline power and told Nagato that the masked man had transplanted his Rinnegan to use him.
• Uchiha Yao invited Akatsuki to join Konoha’s alliance system and gave Nagato a serum that could restore his ability to walk.
• Nagato accepted the alliance with Konoha.

Team 7 defeated Gato’s hired forces during the Land of Waves bridge mission, while a time-displaced Second Pillar watched from the shadows. In Konoha, Uchiha Yao reassured Konan about Nagato’s plans and urged Mei Terumī to return to Kirigakure as its Fifth Mizukage.

• Sasuke unleashed the Nine-Tails’ Chakra and struck Zabuza hard enough to send him crashing across the bridge.
• Gato offered the Rogue Ninjas a higher reward, so Zabuza killed him and then disappeared into the fog; Suigetsu claimed the Kubikiribōchō.
• Team 7 completed its mission, and a version of Second Pillar from another time and space watched his alternate self before dispersing into crows.
• Uchiha Yao assured Konan that Nagato and their allies would succeed, easing her concerns.
• Mei Terumī reflected on Kirigakure’s suffering, and Uchiha Yao revealed that a hidden force had manipulated its leaders and proposed she become the Fifth Mizukage.

Uchiha Yao prepared Konoha for the approaching Chunin Exams and revealed a plan to expose the truth behind Kirigakure’s Blood Mist Policy at the Five Kage Summit. As foreign ninja arrived, Temari confronted Kankuro after he bullied Sarutobi Konohamaru.

• Uchiha Yao and Mei Terumī joined hands as they agreed to pursue a new future for Kirigakure.
• Kakashi advised Naruto, Sasuke, and Suigetsu on their training, while Might Guy, Kurenai, and Mei Terumī pushed their teams to prepare for the Chunin Exams.
• Uchiha Yao announced rewards for successful students and instructors, then ordered Konoha to its highest security level as foreign delegations approached.
• Uchiha Yao told Konoha’s Jonin that Yagura and possibly previous Mizukage had been controlled, and Mei Terumī volunteered to lead forces back to the Land of Water.
• Kankuro grabbed and mocked Sarutobi Konohamaru in an alley, but Temari struck him with her iron fan.

Temari confronted Kankuro after he mistreated Konohamaru, then asked whether Gaara had been well, prompting the hidden Gaara to listen in silence. As the Chunin Exams began under Konoha’s strict security, the assembled teams drew wary attention, and Gaara focused on Kimimaro and Jugo, sensing they were like him but more dangerous.

• Temari stopped Kankuro from bullying Konohamaru, helped the boy up, and led her brother away to speak privately.
• Temari described the freedom and safety she had found in Konoha and asked Kankuro how Gaara had been; Gaara secretly listened from a tree and was moved by her words.
• Konoha’s Police Force warned foreign examinees that fighting inside the village would be punished severely, while Tsunade questioned Uchiha Yao about choosing diplomacy over conquest.
• Tsunade revealed that she had mastered her combat-oriented Normal Sage Mode and promised to handle any trouble at the Five Kage Summit.
• The Chunin Exams opened with teams from Konoha and other nations gathering in the packed venue; Tayuya deterred threats against Haruno Sakura, and Hozuki Suigetsu’s Kubikiribōchō startled the crowd.
• Kankuro warned Gaara to watch Temari, but Gaara ignored him and studied Kimimaro and Jugo, sensing their dangerous, familiar auras.

Yamato’s Wood Release stunned the Chunin Exam participants and spectators as the first written test began under strict cheating rules. Uchiha Yao revealed Konoha’s plans to broadcast the exams and profit from spectators and betting, while Tsunade tried unsuccessfully to get an advance for gambling.

• Yamato used Wood Release to create tables and chairs, and Yakushi Kabuto announced the written test’s rules before the test officially began.
• A giant python seized an examinee who complained, warning the candidates of the consequences of breaking the rules.
• Spectators watched the exam on Konoha’s crystal screen and reacted with alarm when Yamato’s Wood Release was broadcast.
• Tsunade identified Yamato as a pure-blooded Senju and Wood Release user, and Uchiha Yao said Yamato’s power was still far below Hashirama’s.
• Uchiha Yao announced that Konoha would broadcast the exams openly, sell spectator tickets, and run public betting pools to raise resources and prestige.
• Tsunade asked Yao for an advance to gamble, but he refused to misuse village funds, leaving her disappointed.

The candidates completed a written exam designed to test intelligence gathering, judgment, and teamwork, and Yakushi Kabuto announced that everyone had passed. Uzumaki Kushina, Mei Terumī, and Yamato introduced the Forest of Death survival contest, where teams fought over scrolls as spectators watched; Hinata Hyuga’s heavily encoded test paper impressed Kabuto.

• Haruno Sakura and Hinata Hyuga answered quickly, Shikamaru struggled with memorization, Kimimaro skipped difficult questions, Naruto secretly copied, and Sasuke used his Sharingan to copy Hinata’s answers.
• Hinata concealed clues to the correct answers in teasing messages for Sasuke, who recognized the warning and rewrote his answers from memory.
• Yakushi Kabuto explained the exam’s purpose and announced that all candidates had passed.
• Uzumaki Kushina entered with Mei Terumī and Yamato and announced the Forest of Death survival contest.
• A Chunin found more than ten layered cipher codes on Hinata Hyuga’s paper, and Yakushi Kabuto praised her talent.
• Teams fought fiercely for the Heaven and Earth Scrolls in the Forest of Death while spectators watched the contest on a crystal screen.

Hinata Hyuga defeated five rogue Genin and led Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Karin toward the Central Tower, while the tournament’s surviving teams advanced to the Top Ten Arena Tournament. Watching Konoha’s teammates protect one another stirred Kaguya Kimimaro to vow to defend Konoha and follow Lord Uchiha Yao’s ideal of peace.

• Hinata Hyuga used Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms to incapacitate five Genin who tried to ambush her, and frightened off other lurking ninjas.
• Hinata told Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Karin that she had located the Scroll of Heaven, and the three headed toward the Central Tower.
• Tsunade Senju and Shizune praised Hinata’s taijutsu, while the spectators watched Sasuke and Namikaze Naruto fight together, Kaguya Kimimaro conceal his abilities, and Gaara dominate with sand.
• After three days of fighting, ten elite teams reached the Central Tower and qualified for the public Top Ten Arena Tournament, whose matchups included Konoha teammates facing one another.
• Kaguya Kimimaro reflected on the warmth and trust he found among his Konoha companions and vowed to defend Konoha and follow Lord Uchiha Yao’s ideal of peace.

Konoha announced the Chunin Exams’ top ten matchups and invited the other four Kage to a new Five Kage Summit, while its young ninjas prepared for the finals. Jiraiya returned, accepted Minato’s account of Yao’s goal of lasting peace, and began training Naruto in summoning and sage techniques.

• The Chunin Exams announced the top ten matchups and the final battles in half a month, while Konoha invited the other four Kage to a Five Kage Summit.
• Sasuke asked Uchiha Yao for special training, and Yao introduced him to a time-displaced Sasuke as his instructor.
• Jiraiya returned to Konoha, joined Minato, Kushina, and Naruto for dinner, and asked Minato about Yao’s ambitions.
• Minato told Jiraiya that Yao sought to suppress war and support poorer nations to establish lasting peace, and Jiraiya decided to trust him and keep up with the new era.
• Jiraiya saw Naruto demonstrate a prototype Wind Style: Rasenshuriken and began teaching him the Toad Summoning Jutsu, while Minato gave Jiraiya a Sage Chakra Adaptation Reagent for Naruto.

Jiraiya returned to Konoha and confronted Konohamaru about the years of resentment he had endured after the Sarutobi Clan was disgraced. Jiraiya harshly rejected Konohamaru’s hopes of restoring the clan, then left him sobbing, believing that crushing his ambitions was the best way to keep him safe.

• Jiraiya hesitated before knocking on Konohamaru’s apartment door, burdened by guilt over abandoning him after Hiruzen Sarutobi’s death and the Sarutobi Clan’s disgrace.
• Konohamaru greeted Jiraiya coldly and accused him of being absent while the village shunned him and he struggled alone to defend his grandfather and clan.
• After listening to Konohamaru’s anger and determination to restore the Sarutobi Clan, Jiraiya condemned his abilities and called his ambitions the delusions of a powerless weakling.
• Jiraiya urged Konohamaru to abandon revenge and clan revival, then left as Konohamaru collapsed onto his bed and sobbed.
• Jiraiya heard Konohamaru crying from the hallway but continued on, convincing himself that an ordinary, stable life was the safest outcome for him.

Hinata Hyuga exposed a plot by Shimura Danzō to use Impure World Reincarnation and allied infiltrators to attack Konoha during the Chunin Ninja Exams, prompting Uchiha Yao to mobilize the village. At the arena, Yao rebuffed Ōnoki’s criticism, and the Fourth Raikage challenged Konoha’s gathering of powerful clans.

• Mei Terumī reported that Hinata Hyuga’s Byakugan detected unfamiliar souls controlling the bodies of the Fourth Kazekage and Fourth Mizukage.
• Tsunade identified Impure World Reincarnation as the technique involved and named Shimura Danzō as the likely conspirator; Kakashi and Minato confirmed that Sunagakure and Kirigakure forces were gathering near Konoha.
• Uchiha Yao ordered Konoha’s forces to maximum readiness, assigned Itachi, Kakashi, and Shisui to key fronts, and directed the evacuation of civilians and a village lockdown.
• Uchiha Yao praised Hinata, then led Konoha’s leadership to the arena as preparations for the Chunin Ninja Exams continued.
• Ōnoki questioned Yao’s youth and leadership, but Yao countered by criticizing Ōnoki’s long rule and lack of a successor.
• The Fourth Raikage accused Konoha of gathering powerful clans and rare Kekkei Genkai in a way that threatened the balance among the great villages.

Uchiha Yao rebuked Ōnoki and Raikage A over their villages’ failures to retain successors and talented ninjas, then declared Konoha would not yield to threats of war. The tournament finals began: Temari defeated Tayuya in a controlled match, while Hinata battered Gaara’s sand defenses and continued her attack.

• Uchiha Yao questioned Ōnoki’s decades in power and the lack of a capable successor, leaving the Tsuchikage unable to respond.
• Raikage A accused Konoha of monopolizing the Ninja World’s talent, but Uchiha Yao argued that the ninjas had joined willingly and challenged anyone who wanted war.
• Temari and Tayuya fought a controlled exhibition match, and Temari won after Tayuya deliberately exposed an opening.
• Hinata opened her final against Gaara by smashing through his sand wall and striking his sand armor with a barrage of Gentle Fist and super-strength attacks.
• Hinata’s blows cracked Gaara’s protective sand armor, and the damage continued to spread.

Hinata shattered Gaara’s sand armor and withstood his overwhelming attack as Konoha’s enemies launched a coordinated assault at the arena. Danzo revealed his Impure World Reincarnation forces and summoned five legendary fighters, while Tsunade arrived and broke the Four Violet Flames Formation, facing the reanimated Hokage and Madara Uchiha.

• Hinata broke Gaara’s Sand Armor and held firm against Sand Waterfall Imperial Funeral with Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven, while Kakashi declared her strength on par with an elite Jonin.
• Rogue ninja attempted to put the audience under the Temple of Nirvana Technique, but Uchiha Mikoto dispelled the Genjutsu; Rasa and Yagura then seized a clone of Uchiha Yao while Danzo revealed his attack.
• Mabui struck Danzo with Flying Raijin Jutsu, and Konoha’s Naruto guards fought the reanimated Rasa and Yagura as Danzo disclosed that he had killed them and controlled them with Impure World Reincarnation.
• Danzo summoned Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Raikage, and Madara Uchiha, then falsely accused Uchiha Yao of overthrowing Konoha.
• Hashirama recognized Madara and reacted with cheerful interest to Uchiha Yao’s rule, while Madara taunted Tobirama about Senju-Uchiha marriages.
• Tsunade arrived in fury and shattered the Four Violet Flames Formation with a punch, then turned her gaze toward Madara Uchiha.

Tsunade exposed Danzo’s crimes as he used Impure World Reincarnation to seize control of the resurrected Kage and attack Konoha. Uchiha Yao and Tsunade faced Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha, while Tsunade challenged Hashirama’s idea of peace and explained why his system had failed.

• Madara Uchiha and Tobirama Senju questioned Tsunade about her closeness to Uchiha Yao, while Hashirama Senju joked about her marrying an Uchiha and angered Madara.
• Tsunade denounced Danzo for betrayal, human experiments, and defiling past ninja, prompting Danzo to activate Impure World Reincarnation’s control seal.
• Danzo ordered the resurrected figures to attack, while Madara Uchiha secretly resisted and Hashirama Senju struggled against the control.
• Mabui, Samui, Yugito, and Konan confronted the Fourth Raikage, Fourth Kazekage, Fourth Mizukage, and Hiruzen Sarutobi, displaying Kage-level strength.
• Uchiha Yao removed his Hokage Haori and joined Tsunade against Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha as the battle began.
• Hashirama Senju asked about Uchiha Yao’s ambition to unify the Ninja World, and Tsunade argued that Hashirama’s peace had depended on his personal power rather than a lasting system.

Uchiha Yao and Tsunade prepared to fight the reanimated Senju brothers in earnest while battles raged across the arena and Konoha. The chapter left Hashirama astonished to learn that Uchiha Mikoto, who was holding off Tobirama, was Yao’s wife and a Mangekyō wielder.

• Hashirama Senju teased Tsunade about Uchiha Yao and their possible children, prompting Madara Uchiha to insist that any descendants bear the Uchiha name.
• Uchiha Yao and Tsunade ended the banter and prepared to finish their fight, while Ōnoki and the Fourth Raikage held their forces back from acting rashly.
• Hinata struck Gaara with increasingly powerful attacks, forcing him to fully transform into the One-Tail Shukaku; she then knocked the tailed beast backward with a punch.
• Kimimaro and Jugo cornered the injured Shimura Danzō, and Kimimaro cut his arm as Konoha’s forces captured or defeated most of the infiltrators.
• Uchiha Mikoto blocked Tobirama Senju’s Water Style with her Gunbai and attacked him with a giant Rasengan, forcing him to evade and retreat.
• Danzo identified Mikoto as Uchiha Yao’s wife, and Hashirama Senju reacted with surprise that Yao had married a Mangekyō Sharingan wielder.

Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha battled Tsunade and Uchiha Yao before Uchiha Yao used his Eternal Mangekyo Rinne-Sharingan to suppress the battlefield. Danzo broke their control and restored their full strength, and the chapter ended as Hashirama and Madara's Susanoo-Clad Buddha faced a larger Buddha formed by Uchiha Yao and Tsunade.

• Madara Uchiha praised Uchiha Yao and taunted Tobirama Senju, while Hashirama Senju and Madara prepared to fight seriously.
• Tsunade unleashed Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence, and Hashirama Senju met it with his own Wood Release as Ōnoki lost hope of exploiting Konoha's divisions.
• Uchiha Yao and Tsunade countered Hashirama Senju and Madara's Majestic Destroyer Flame, and Uchiha Yao used his Eternal Mangekyo Rinne-Sharingan to stop the flames and suppress the reanimated fighters and Shukaku.
• Kakashi and Konoha Chunin stabilized the platform, while Danzo sacrificed his life force to break Hashirama Senju and Madara's control and restore their peak strength.
• Hashirama Senju and Madara formed a Susanoo-Clad Buddha, and Uchiha Yao and Tsunade summoned a larger armored Buddha with Rasengan in its many hands.