Chapter Summaries

Might Guy’s team fought Team 11 in a punishing Chunin Exam match, where Team 11’s coordinated traps and weapons overwhelmed Ebisu and Washi. Guy eventually knocked Tsubame unconscious, leaving his team poised to win.

• Ebisu identified Team 11’s strengths and assigned Guy, Washi, and himself separate opponents before the match began.
• Tsubame used the Catback Technique while Tegukashika prepared needle-launching weapons, and Ebisu and Washi tried to disrupt them with Fire and Earth Release.
• Guy accidentally struck Tsubame while she helped Tegukashika escape the sand, and Tegukashika retaliated with volleys of needles as Dajikichi set up steel wires.
• Dajikichi and Tegukashika trapped Ebisu and Washi in a barrage of needles, but Dieyewasi used Earth Release to protect them and help them counterattack.
• Ebisu and Raiton dragged Dajikichi and Tegukashika down and pinned them, while Guy defeated Tsubame with a fierce series of roundhouse kicks.

After Team Ten won the second round, Shiranui Genma fought Kaihara Rei in the final match between Team Two and Team Six. Genma broke through Rei’s water-wrapped spear technique and ended the chapter holding one of Rei’s short spears as he launched another attack.

• Team Ten won the second round, and Noma stopped Might Guy from approaching the injured Ebisu and Washi before promising the team a barbecue.
• The referee began the final round between Team Two and Team Six, whose members charged at each other.
• Shiranui Genma used close-range swordsmanship to suppress Kaihara Rei’s long spear and forced Rei to switch to two short spears from a Summoning Scroll.
• Kaihara Rei wrapped his short spears in spiraling water and drove Genma onto the defensive, eventually striking him in the chest through his armor.
• Genma used a compressed Spiral Drill to disrupt the water around a short spear, caught the weapon, and rushed at Kaihara Rei with his blade.

Genma’s team defeated Kaihara Rei’s team by countering their ninjutsu and exploiting the flooded arena, then prepared to celebrate with Kamise Yushi. Their victory was interrupted when a stern, red-eyed man ordered Kurenai to come home with him.

• Genma countered Kaihara Rei’s attacks, and Rei’s explosive substitution blast scattered the fighters across the arena.
• The orange-haired youth and Kaihara Rei used Water Release to limit their opponents’ movement, while the Uchiha girl electrified the flooded ground with Lightning Release.
• Genma’s Earth Dragon Bullet and Raiton’s substitution let them evade the enemy’s large-scale water attacks, and they advanced as their opponents ran low on Chakra.
• Raiton and Genma subdued the orange-haired youth and Kaihara Rei after the red-eyed girl had already eliminated the Uchiha girl, and the referee declared their team victorious.
• Kamise Yushi praised the team and invited them to a big meal, but a stern, red-eyed man confronted them and ordered Kurenai to come home immediately.

Kurenai Yuhi came to take Kurenai home, and Genma stood up to him so he could stay by her side. At Kurenai’s home, Yuhi tried to intimidate Genma but grew frustrated when Kurenai kept showing him kindness.

• Kurenai Yuhi arrived and said he had come to take Kurenai home, refusing Kamise Yushi’s request to let the children celebrate first.
• Genma blocked Kurenai Yuhi’s path and insisted on going with Kurenai, even as Yuhi threatened to teach him a lesson.
• Kurenai Yuhi relented after seeing Kurenai’s pleading gaze and told Genma to come along because he had things to discuss with him.
• Genma thanked Kamise Yushi and left with Kurenai, while Yushi reflected on how strictly Yuhi controlled what his daughter learned.
• Kamise Yushi took Namiashi Raidō to eat hot pot, while Kurenai Yuhi brought Genma home and repeatedly snatched away the tea Kurenai served him.
• Kurenai kept giving Genma more tea, leaving Kurenai Yuhi exasperated that his daughter seemed determined to favor him.

Kurenai Yuhi confronted Genma about teaching Kurenai swordsmanship, but Genma defended the choice by arguing it could make her safer. His discussion of Genjutsu’s potential unexpectedly revived Kurenai Yuhi’s interest in researching it, leaving him eager for Genma to challenge him further.

• Kurenai Yuhi tried to send Kurenai upstairs, but she refused and defended Genma while serving her father tea.
• Kurenai Yuhi asked Genma whether he had taught Kurenai swordsmanship and why he had done so despite knowing his objections.
• Genma explained that swordsmanship tied to Genjutsu could give Kurenai another way to protect herself.
• Genma described how combining sensory methods could create many forms of Genjutsu, surprising Kurenai Yuhi and reviving his interest in the subject.
• Kurenai Yuhi argued that Genjutsu could have limitless potential, and Genma readily agreed, leaving him oddly eager for Genma to criticize it.

Kurenai Yuhi tried to separate Genma and Kurenai by setting a ten-year delay and challenging Genma to become a Chunin. Genma accepted both terms, leaving Kurenai worried that her father had maneuvered them into an agreement.

• Kurenai Yuhi reflected on his fears that Kurenai would sacrifice herself for Genma during the coming war and resolved to keep them apart.
• Kurenai Yuhi told Genma he could not be with Kurenai for ten years and demanded that he become a Chunin in the current exams.
• Genma weighed his abilities and the consequences of promotion, then accepted the ten-year agreement and the challenge.
• Kurenai worried that she could not openly oppose her father after Genma had already agreed.
• Kurenai Yuhi and Genma's stomachs growled at the same time as they sat across from each other.

Genma stayed for dinner at Kurenai’s home after Kurenai Yuhi reluctantly invited him, and he tried to make a good impression while her father questioned his abilities. The chapter ended with Genma happily sharing a meal with Kurenai and her father.

• Kurenai persuaded Kurenai Yuhi to let Genma stay for dinner, and Genma accepted.
• Genma looked into Kurenai’s flower room, but Kurenai Yuhi caught him and sent him back to the living room.
• Kurenai Yuhi questioned Genma about his team assignment, grades, chakra affinities, and ninjutsu, and Genma described his strengths and admitted he could not use Genjutsu.
• Kurenai brought dinner to the table and gently encouraged Genma to bear with her father’s questioning.
• Genma thanked Kurenai for the meal and happily began eating with her and Kurenai Yuhi.

Genma visited Kamise Yushi’s dormitory to ask for swordsmanship training, but Baiyun Noma offered to teach him Crescent Moon Dance instead. At the training ground, Noma easily disarmed Genma’s defense and held a wooden sword to his throat.

• Genma went to Kamise Yushi’s dormitory, where Baiyun Noma told him Yushi had gone to a training ground with Raiton.
• Noma offered to teach Genma swordsmanship, explaining that his other students were injured or could train independently.
• Genma accepted Noma’s offer to learn Crescent Moon Dance, and Noma brought him two wooden swords and led him to a training ground.
• Noma challenged Genma to exchange moves and claimed he was stronger than Yushi in combat.
• Noma blocked Genma’s slash, twisted his wooden sword into a thrust, and stopped its tip at Genma’s throat.

Noma showed Genma Sword Momentum and offered to teach it, explaining how it differed from killing intent. Genma agreed to study it while reconsidering his request to learn Crescent Moon Dance, and the chapter left him thinking about how concentration and personal expression could shape swordsmanship.

• Noma demonstrated Sword Momentum by locking Genma in place with the aura of his sword, then offered to teach him.
• Genma asked whether Noma’s technique was killing intent, and Noma explained that Sword Momentum could be cultivated and was tempered through combat.
• Genma asked to learn Crescent Moon Dance, but Noma explained that the A-rank technique required more than the Clone Technique.
• Noma advised Genma to improve his practical swordsmanship and become familiar with Sword Momentum, which he said required intense concentration and could not simply be explained.
• Genma considered whether the personal expression he had experienced through singing could help him understand Sword Momentum.

Genma asked Noma how he had developed his Sword Momentum, and Noma told him how a sacrifice by their teacher had pushed him to break through in battle. Genma was left thinking about the Will of Fire and the people who might give their lives to protect Konohagakure's future.

• Genma asked Noma how he had locked his Sword Momentum onto him, and Noma said his precise control over his sword let him determine the direction, force, and effect of each strike.
• Genma asked how Noma had cultivated his Sword Momentum, and Noma explained that he had broken through his limits during a crisis.
• Noma told Genma that their teacher had sacrificed himself to hold back enemies while Noma and Yushi escaped, only for them to encounter another enemy force.
• Noma described how his fear of death vanished as he fought to survive and carry forward their teacher's swordsmanship, awakening his Sword Momentum.
• Genma worried about the approaching war, but Noma reassured him that jonin would fight at the front to protect Konohagakure's future.
• Genma reflected on how the Will of Fire had begun to influence him as others prepared to sacrifice themselves to pass it on.

Genma endured seven days of intense swordsmanship and Taijutsu training with Noma and Guy, making substantial progress before the Chunin Exams. As the three rested by a campfire, Noma tried to explain the importance of girls to Guy and asked whether his father had ever told him where he came from.

• Genma committed to Noma's demanding seven-day training, while Guy joined them at the training grounds and sparred with Genma.
• Genma trained in Taijutsu with Guy and swordsmanship with Noma, gradually improving until he could exchange dozens of moves with Noma and fight Guy more evenly.
• Genma taught Guy Taiji, which helped him keep up with Guy during their Taijutsu matches.
• On the night before the Chunin Exams, Noma told Genma and Guy to rest and clean up because many people, including girls, would be watching.
• When Noma asked whether Guy's father had told him about girls, Guy wondered aloud why boys and girls needed to be together and whether boys could simply play alone.
• Noma asked Guy whether he was curious where he came from and whether his father had ever explained it.

Might Guy shared a little about his childhood with Noma and Genma before an emergency summons interrupted their quiet evening. At the Hokage’s Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi told Kurenai Yuhi that war was imminent and offered a way for his daughter to stay with her team for now.

• Might Guy said his aunt raised him when he was young, then he joined Noma and Genma in finishing their sweet potatoes by the fire.
• An Anbu ninja summoned Baiyun Yano to an emergency Jonin meeting.
• Kurenai Yuhi asked Hiruzen Sarutobi to transfer Kurenai off her current team, but learned the meeting would address the coming Third Shinobi World War.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi explained that the other four nations were building up forces and supplies along their borders.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi proposed that Kurenai stay with her team until her Chunin-level strength could be confirmed, then receive a Chunin evaluation.
• Kurenai Yuhi accepted the proposal and left to attend the emergency Jonin meeting as Hiruzen Sarutobi prepared to join it.

Konoha reassigned its ninja as the Third Great Ninja War approached, and Jiraiya and Orochimaru prepared to leave for their war zones while Tsunade stayed to reorganize the medical units. The next morning, Noma served breakfast to Genma and Might Guy before telling them to go home and clean up.

• At an emergency jonin meeting, Shikaku Nara organized personnel transfers while the newly promoted genin were assigned as reserve support forces and kept in their original squads.
• After the meeting, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade exchanged farewells, and Orochimaru told Jiraiya not to die before vanishing in a puff of smoke.
• The next morning, Jiraiya and Orochimaru headed to their respective war zones while Tsunade remained behind to reorganize Konoha's medical units.
• Noma greeted Genma and Might Guy with breakfast and told them to go home and clean themselves up.

Genma learned that Tony had earned the clan fifteen million, then endured a disastrous haircut that left him with a Watermelon Head like Might Emperor's. As Genma arrived at the Chunin Exams finals venue with his parents, Kurenai Yuhi approached and said he had come to find him.

• Hidekichi told Genma that Tony had made fifteen million for the clan in just a few months.
• Hidekichi accidentally cut off a large clump of Genma's hair, and Riya took over the haircut.
• Riya gave Genma a Watermelon Head hairstyle, which he recognized as resembling Might Emperor's.
• Genma left for the Chunin Exams finals with Hidekichi and Riya, who watched the match and kept touching his hair.
• Kurenai Yuhi approached Genma's family outside the venue and said he had come to find Genma.

Hideyoshi welcomed Kurenai’s father and helped him meet Genma, while Riya approached Kurenai. Kurenai’s father asked Genma to look after her for ten years, and Genma agreed.

• Hideyoshi mistook Kurenai’s father for his in-law and enthusiastically brought him inside to speak with Genma.
• Genma spotted Kurenai waiting in the venue, and Riya went to meet her as her future daughter-in-law.
• Kurenai’s father asked Genma to find a quiet place to discuss Kurenai, and Genma agreed.
• Kurenai’s father questioned Genma about whether he had kissed Kurenai, then reminded him to respect their boundaries and their ten-year agreement.
• Genma agreed to look after Kurenai and called Kurenai’s father “Father-in-law.”

Genma joined the Chunin finals after Kurenai's father asked him to protect her, then learned the matchups had placed Kurenai against Hyuga Hashiri and himself against Dieyewasi. The chapter ended with Raiton teasing Genma about having the same haircut as Might Guy until Genma drew his blade.

• Hidekichi interrupted Kurenai Yuhi and Genma's conversation and urged Genma to compete, while Kurenai Yuhi reflected on entrusting Genma with his daughter's safety.
• Genma teased Kurenai about her father entrusting her to him, and Kurenai stomped on his foot before walking away.
• The contestants learned the Chunin finals format, which used one-on-one matches and a three-person contest determined by drawing lots.
• Genma saw that Kurenai would face Hyuga Hashiri and that his own opponent would be Dieyewasi.
• Raiton mocked Genma for sharing Might Guy's haircut, and Genma drew his blade to threaten him.

Genma noticed that many teams’ supervising jonin, including Yushi, were missing, while his parents sat with Kurenai’s father and appeared to be discussing the young couple’s future. In the arena, Senpu defeated his opponent, then Guy knocked Obito out in one kick despite Obito’s newly awakened Sharingan.

• Genma realized that Yushi and Noma were absent and saw that most teams had no supervising jonin present.
• Kurenai pointed out that her father was sitting with Genma’s parents, and Genma teased her about their families discussing marriage and children.
• Senpu used Lightning Style to numb his opponent’s arm, then appeared behind him with a kunai and won the match.
• Obito challenged Guy, boasting that he had awakened the Sharingan, and Rin cheered him on.
• Guy struck Obito with a spinning kick before he could activate his Sharingan, winning the match.
• Minato helped the tearful Obito up and encouraged him to train for future Chunin Exams.

Kurenai faced Hyuga Hashiri in the Chunin Exams, using shuriken and a sword attack to test his defenses. Hashiri countered with the Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms, leaving Kurenai battered as the match reached a crisis.

• Raiton, Genma, Rin, Obito, and Might Guy’s group cheered Kurenai on as she entered the arena.
• Kurenai studied Hashiri and planned to probe his defenses before exploiting the Hyuga Branch Family’s Byakugan blind spot.
• Kurenai and Hashiri exchanged close-range attacks, and she used repeated shuriken volleys to seize the initiative.
• Kurenai rushed in with Secret Sword: Obscure Moon Night, but Hashiri deflected her blade and struck her with the Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms.

Kurenai defeated Hyuga Hashiri with Genma’s tactical advice, while the tournament continued to eliminate several contestants. Genma then fought Washi, whose Earth Release and Earth Style Armor gave him the advantage, and the match ended with Genma determined to win so they could become best bros.

• Kurenai tricked Hyuga Hashiri into striking a wooden stake and won their match, prompting Hyuga clan members to suspect she knew a Branch Family secret.
• Ebisu narrowly lost, Kakashi decisively won, and Rin was eliminated from the tournament.
• Genma and Washi began their match, and Washi’s Earth Style Armor stopped Genma’s sword before a heavy punch sent him flying.
• Washi used Flying Gravel with Exploding Tags and Earth Flow to trap Genma, but Genma escaped with a substitution and struck Washi from behind.
• Washi revealed that Genma would have to break through his Earth Style Armor to defeat him, and Genma asked him to teach him Earth Release techniques.
• Washi agreed to teach Genma if Genma beat him, and Genma eagerly declared they would become the best bros.

Shiranui Genma defeated Dieyewasi by using Shadow Clones to ambush him after wearing down his stamina. Afterward, Guy praised Genma’s taste and tried to give him a green Youth Training outfit.

• Genma used Shadow Clones hidden in a pit to launch a surprise aerial attack on Dieyewasi.
• Dieyewasi surrendered, and the referee declared Genma the winner.
• Genma helped Dieyewasi from the arena and agreed to teach him Earth Release.
• Guy grabbed Genma and offered him a green Youth Training outfit, but Genma said he might accept it in another color.