Recaps

Orochimaru defeated the Hidden Cloud, expanded the Northern Lands, and exploited the Uchiha massacre to gather resources while confronting Obito. After helping Itachi and stabilizing Kimimaro, he began training Fū to control Chōmei, then welcomed Tsunade and Shizune to the Northern Lands.

• Orochimaru defeated A while Kisame, Hozuki Mangetsu, and Guren fought Killer B, and he absorbed the Eight-Tails’ Tailed Beast Bomb before the Hidden Cloud retreated.
• News of the Hidden Cloud’s defeat alarmed the major villages, while Orochimaru expanded the Northern Lands and sent teams to recruit Deidara and investigate Mōryō and Jūgo.
• Orochimaru recruited Hidan after defeating him, while Itachi agreed to join Akatsuki in exchange for Obito’s help exterminating the Uchiha clan.
• Orochimaru and Kakuzu looted the Uchiha compound during the massacre, and Orochimaru fought Obito, rescued Izumi, and destroyed the Hokage Residence as a distraction.
• Orochimaru tested Itachi in Kirigakure and gave him a Life Potion to protect his eyesight, then operated on Kimimaro using several clan-based formulas and Toneri’s Byakugan.
• Orochimaru released part of Fū’s seal to train her, fought her and Chōmei until dusk, and ordered the unconscious Fū taken for treatment after defeating her.
• Over the next two years, the Northern Lands advanced in trade, technology, and ninja training, and Orochimaru secretly helped Tsunade win her first casino game.

Orochimaru sealed Mōryō, transformed Tsunade with a Regeneration Potion, and built up the Northern Lands while establishing Hydra and preparing young ninja for the Chunin Exams. The selected genin began a year of training, while Orochimaru continued developing his allies and caring for Miroku and Shion.

• Tsunade won heavily at the Northern Lands casino, then reunited with Anko and spent an evening with Orochimaru before he secretly gave her a tailored Regeneration Potion and left her unconscious for three days.
• Orochimaru freed Yomi at the temple in the Land of Swamps and used the Reaper Death Seal to destroy Mōryō, dying with his clone as the temple collapsed.
• Tsunade awoke transformed, with more than twice her former Chakra, and she and Shizune began a self-drive tour of the Northern Lands.
• Orochimaru brought Miroku and Shion to the Northern Lands, began training young ninja, recruited Fudō, Fūka, and Fu'en, and established Hydra with Pakura as its member 0.
• The Land of Gold opened to trade as Konoha and the other great villages debated the growing Northern Lands, then agreed to take part in the expanded Chunin Exams.
• Northern Land Village developed its infrastructure and exports while its cadres handled attacks, and Orochimaru and Kakuzu arranged the management of food reserves.
• Hozuki Mangetsu and Zabuza selected genin for the Chunin Exams, then oversaw a dangerous Blizzard Plains assessment that qualified five teams for a year of training.
• Orochimaru and the instructors assigned the genin to teams and individualized training, while Orochimaru gave some trainees major enhancements and later visited the exhausted Miroku and Shion.

Orochimaru expanded the Northern Lands’ influence, repelled Akatsuki’s attack, and set the Chunin Exams in motion while pursuing his plans against the major villages. The exams began in Konoha, where Naruto’s team faced Kidomaru’s group and learned that Naruto and Karin were related by blood.

• Orochimaru subdued Hoshikage Village after its ninjas attacked a caravan, then ordered the survivors to join the Northern Lands.
• Orochimaru began experimenting with Uchiha Madara’s remaining hair and cells, while Pain sent Obito and Zetsu to investigate the Northern Lands.
• Orochimaru fought Obito and Zetsu after they infiltrated the Northern Lands, and later warned his officers that Obito might provoke conflict with Kirigakure.
• Orochimaru secured Ōnoki’s agreement to stop pursuing Deidara, rejected Konoha’s demand for Anko, and sent a clone toward the Land of Wind while heading for the Land of Lightning.
• Pakura confronted Rasa over his betrayal, and Orochimaru removed the iron sand protecting him so Pakura’s attack killed him.
• Anko, Haku, and Kimimaro brought Northern Lands teams to Konoha for the Chunin Exams, where Naruto and the other candidates passed the written test and entered the Forest of Death.
• Kidomaru’s team challenged Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura for their scrolls, and Karin revealed that she and Naruto were related by blood.
• Fū kept Naruto on the defensive, Karin defeated Sakura, and Kidomaru overpowered Sasuke before Karin demanded that he surrender his scroll.

Naruto and Sasuke survived Orochimaru’s ambush, and the Chunin Exams narrowed the field before Orochimaru launched an invasion of Konoha and killed Danzo. The fighting spread to Kumogakure, where Orochimaru defeated Killer B and left with a sealed piece of Gyūki.

• Naruto and Sasuke fought Orochimaru together, but he incapacitated them, awakened Sasuke’s Two-Tomoe Sharingan, and injected him with an unknown drug before leaving them alive.
• The Chunin Exams’ preliminary matches selected twelve finalists, with Sasuke defeating Tayuya, Rock Lee defeating Karin, and Naruto defeating Kurotsuchi.
• Jiraiya agreed to train Naruto, while Orochimaru arrived in Konoha disguised as the Fourth Kazekage for the finals.
• During Sasuke and Gaara’s match, Orochimaru revealed himself, trapped Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo inside the Four Red Yang Formation, and began the invasion with Sunagakure’s forces.
• Orochimaru revived Hashirama, Tobirama, and Uchiha Madara, then fought Hiruzen Sarutobi while Sasuke pursued Gaara and Konoha’s shinobi responded to the attack.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi used the Reaper Death Seal, but Danzo survived and continued fighting Orochimaru, who eventually killed him at the Root base.
• Orochimaru confronted Yugito and then fought Killer B, overpowering his Eight-Tails transformation and sealing a wriggling tentacle in a scroll.