Chapter Summaries

Menma passed the Ninja Academy graduation exam and received his headband, while considering the missed chance to obtain the Scroll of Seals and his plans to learn the Shadow Clone Technique later. The chapter ended with the graduates celebrating, as Menma and Uchiha Sasuke declined Naruto’s invitation.

• Menma excelled in the practical graduation exam, and Iruka gave him his headband while Mizuki watched.
• Menma reflected on how mastering the Clone Technique had cost him a chance to pursue the Scroll of Seals, and decided he could seek the Shadow Clone Technique from Kakashi or Jiraiya later.
• Mizuki showed a faintly strange expression as Menma left the classroom.
• The other examinees passed the initial graduation exam and received their headbands, though some could still be sent back after later tests by their team leaders.
• Naruto invited his classmates to celebrate, but Menma and Uchiha Sasuke declined.

After Naruto celebrated graduation with his classmates, Menma returned to training and prepared for the coming Chunin Exams. Mizuki then visited Menma with a false offer of a special test, and Menma agreed to steal the Scroll of Seals.

• Naruto took most of his class to a barbecue restaurant to celebrate their graduation while Menma completed his training alone.
• That night, Menma sensed Mizuki approaching his home and let him in.
• Mizuki claimed the Academy had created an extra test for top graduates and promised preferential treatment and access to techniques from the Scroll of Seals.
• Menma acted eager and accepted Mizuki's offer to retrieve the scroll within two hours.
• Mizuki gave Menma a prepared scroll with the mission details and left, pleased that Menma had taken the bait.

Menma took the Scroll of Seals from Sarutobi Hiruzen’s residence while pretending to follow Mizuki’s plan, unaware that Hiruzen had deliberately let him proceed as a test. As Menma headed to meet Mizuki, Hiruzen organized a search operation, and Iruka worried over what had led Menma to steal the scroll.

• Menma read the examination details, prepared his ninja gear, and left for Sarutobi Hiruzen’s residence while Anbu watched without stopping him.
• Menma entered Hiruzen’s estate, found the Scroll of Seals in the Hokage’s study, and carried it away to meet Mizuki.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen watched Menma take the scroll and revealed that he had allowed the theft as compensation and as a test of Menma.
• Hiruzen ordered idle Chunin and Genin, including Iruka, to search for Menma and Mizuki while Direct Anbu continued trailing Menma.
• Iruka joined the search, anxious and confused about why Menma had stolen the Scroll of Seals.

Menma studied the Scroll of Seals but found Sarutobi Hiruzen had sealed off its later contents, so he memorized several available techniques and mastered the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu. He then brought the scroll to Mizuki, who greeted its arrival with barely contained delight.

• Iruka realized he needed to find Menma quickly and stop the situation from escalating.
• Menma found that Sarutobi Hiruzen's sealing measure prevented him from opening the Scroll of Seals beyond its first section.
• Menma memorized the available techniques, including the Rasengan, Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu, and Five Elements Seal, and mastered the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu.
• Menma closed the scroll and hurried to the agreed meeting place with Mizuki.
• Menma set the Scroll of Seals down before Mizuki and asked whether delivering it meant he had completed the mission.

Mizuki revealed that he had used Menma to steal the Scroll of Seals and tried to kill him, while Menma pretended to be shocked and confused. Mizuki exposed Menma’s identity as the Nine-Tails Fox and claimed that Iruka and the whole village hated him, as Sarutobi Hiruzen watched helplessly.

• Mizuki accepted the Scroll of Seals, then attacked Menma with a kunai and said Menma had to die.
• Menma evaded the attack and pretended not to understand why Mizuki had turned on him.
• Mizuki admitted that he had tricked Menma into helping him steal the Scroll of Seals and explained that he intended to take it for himself.
• Menma played along as Mizuki called him a traitor, while Sarutobi Hiruzen monitored their exchange from the Hokage Building.
• Mizuki told Menma that he was the Nine-Tails Fox and claimed Iruka and the whole village despised him.

Menma defeated Mizuki after resisting his attempt to shake him by invoking the Demon Fox. Menma left Mizuki unconscious on the ground.

• Mizuki tried to make Menma believe he was the Demon Fox and charged at him with a kunai.
• Menma blocked Mizuki's strike, then overpowered him and stabbed his arm.
• Menma feinted Mizuki's attempt to counter and kicked him hard in the chest.
• Menma followed up with an elbow to Mizuki's abdomen, knocking him unconscious.

Menma acted confused and suspicious after defeating Mizuki while Sarutobi Hiruzen watched, then faced Iruka and questioned whether he could trust him despite being the Demon Fox. Iruka reassured Menma that he was Uzumaki Menma, not the Demon Fox, and urged him to come back, leaving Menma to confront Iruka’s sincere care.

• Menma feigned anger and confusion under Sarutobi Hiruzen’s surveillance, while ensuring Mizuki stayed alive.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen watched Menma and felt reassured when Iruka arrived as Menma’s guardian.
• Menma acted wary and guilty as Iruka approached, and Iruka gently asked him to explain what had happened.
• Menma asked whether Iruka would still believe in him if he were the Demon Fox who killed Iruka’s parents.
• Iruka told Menma that he was Uzumaki Menma, not the Demon Fox, and reached out to bring him back.

Menma told Iruka the truth about Mizuki and the Scroll of Seals, and Iruka believed him. After the Anbu took Mizuki away, Sarutobi Hiruzen assured Menma that he had done nothing wrong and had even earned merit.

• Menma sensed Iruka's sincerity and told him he believed him.
• Menma recounted how Mizuki had stirred up the incident and admitted he had opened and read the Scroll of Seals.
• Iruka believed Menma and took him and the Scroll of Seals back toward the Hokage Building with Mizuki in tow.
• Two Anbu members took Mizuki into custody as a rogue ninja and told Iruka and Menma that Sarutobi Hiruzen was waiting.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen told Menma he was not at fault and had earned merit.

Sarutobi Hiruzen absolved Menma for reading the Scroll of Seals and affirmed him as a Konoha ninja, while Menma privately remained distrustful of the Hokage and the village. The next morning, Menma graduated from the Ninja Academy, beginning his life as an official ninja after his first real battle.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen told Menma that he recognized him as Uzumaki Menma and treated reading the Scroll of Seals as a reward for defeating Rogue Ninja Mizuki.
• Iruka and Menma left the Hokage's Office, and Iruka warned Menma to act cautiously as a ninja.
• After Iruka departed, Menma watched the Hokage Building and privately vowed that this was only the beginning.
• Menma slept until eight the next morning and attended his Ninja Academy Graduation Ceremony in January, Year 60 of Konoha.
• Menma reflected that his battle with Mizuki had made him begin to adapt to the Shinobi World's violence.

Menma attended the Ninja Academy on the morning of his graduation, enjoying the freedom of walking openly through Konoha after becoming a ninja. He wondered how the class assignments would change because he had a twin brother, then met Kiba, Choji, and Shikamaru before the Graduation Ceremony began.

• Menma walked through the crowded main street wearing his Konoha Ninja headband, and civilians hid their hostility and treated him with apprehension.
• Menma considered how his graduation would affect team assignments, since he was Uzumaki Menma and had a younger twin brother, Namikaze Naruto.
• Menma arrived at the Ninja Academy and reflected on the dangers awaiting graduates in the Shinobi World.
• Kiba Inuzuka greeted Menma and asked why he had arrived late, while his puppy barked beside him.
• Choji Akimichi and Shikamaru Nara joined Menma and Kiba, and Choji remarked on Menma's hard work.

Menma spoke with Kiba and Choji before privately reaffirming his ambition to destroy Konoha and deal with its leaders. At the graduation ceremony, Sarutobi Hiruzen addressed the students, and the class gathered to hear about their team assignments.

• Kiba challenged Menma to surpass him after graduation, and Choji teased Kiba about his poor attendance until Kiba and Akamaru started roughhousing with him.
• Menma dismissed the idea of following a more accepted path and thought that Konoha and its higher-ups had to be destroyed or dealt with.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen delivered an encouraging speech to the graduates at the ceremony.
• After the ceremony, the students returned to their classroom, where Iruka congratulated them and spoke about becoming shinobi.

Iruka announced the Academy graduates’ team assignments, and Menma waited to learn whether he would be placed with Sasuke. Team Seven’s roster surprised the classroom by including Menma, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Namikaze Naruto.

• Iruka explained how the graduates would be assigned to teams and reminded them that experienced ninja would lead them.
• Sasuke hoped to be placed with Menma so he could keep challenging him, while Menma also wanted Sasuke on his team.
• Iruka announced teams for ordinary graduates, who were assigned among their classmates before being placed under Chunin leaders.
• Iruka named Uzumaki Menma, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Namikaze Naruto as Team Seven, stunning Menma and the classroom.

Menma, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were assigned to the unexpected four-person Team Seven, a decision that sparked an uproar among their classmates. After the other teams departed with their instructors, the four remained alone in the classroom, waiting for their teacher.

• Iruka announced that Menma, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura had been assigned to the same four-person team, prompting Sakura to cheer and the class to protest.
• Iruka explained that the Hokage had personally arranged their team assignment and quieted the students.
• Menma considered that Kakashi was the best choice to lead them, while Sasuke snubbed Menma's glance and Naruto welcomed his new teammates.
• Iruka announced the remaining team assignments and left the graduates to wait for their instructors.
• Instructors took the other teams away until only Menma, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura remained in the classroom.

Naruto, Sasuke, Menma, and Sakura were assigned to Team Seven and waited to learn who their Jonin instructor would be. After nearly two hours without the instructor appearing, the others grew impatient while Menma remained calm.

• Sakura felt delighted that she had been assigned to a team with Sasuke, Naruto, and Menma, while Naruto and Sasuke were pleased to be teammates with each other and Menma.
• Naruto said he had asked the Third Hokage who their instructor would be, but the Hokage had kept it secret.
• Sasuke hoped their instructor would be strong enough to guide him toward his goal of avenging his clan.
• Menma expected Kakashi Hatake to lead Team Seven and believed Kakashi was already observing them from hiding.
• Nearly two hours passed without their instructor arriving, and Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke grew impatient while Menma stayed calm.

Kakashi Hatake arrived to lead Team Seven and took Menma, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to the rooftop for introductions. The chapter ended with Menma and Naruto sharing their dreams as Kakashi listened.

• Naruto suggested replacing the late teacher, while Menma urged the others to wait longer.
• Kakashi arrived, introduced himself as Team Seven's captain, and led the group to the rooftop.
• Naruto revealed that he knew Kakashi as one of his father's former subordinates and complained that Kakashi had not told him he would lead the team.
• Kakashi introduced himself and warned the students against disregarding ninja rules.
• Naruto said he wanted to surpass every Hokage, and Menma said he wanted everyone to acknowledge him.

Menma, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke introduced themselves to Kakashi, who assigned them a test mission at the Second Training Ground for five the next morning. Kakashi warned them not to eat breakfast and hinted that the mission might be their last, leaving the team uneasy about what awaited them.

• Menma regarded Kakashi without affection or hostility and decided he would oppose him without hesitation if Kakashi ever stood in his way.
• Sakura introduced herself, revealed her crush on Sasuke, and said she hated Ino when Kakashi asked what she disliked.
• Sasuke said he wanted to restore the Uchiha Clan and kill Itachi, prompting Kakashi and Menma to reflect on Itachi.
• Kakashi told the four students to meet him at the Second Training Ground at five the next morning for a test mission, and Naruto challenged his reputation for being late.
• Kakashi warned them not to eat breakfast, hinted that the mission might be their last, and vanished in a puff of smoke.

After Kakashi assigned Team Seven to meet at the Second Training Ground at five, Menma expected the test to proceed as he remembered it and chose not to join Naruto and Sakura for a meal. The next morning, all four genin gathered at the training ground before the appointed time.

• Sakura and Naruto questioned Kakashi’s unexplained departure, while Menma reminded them to follow their superior’s order and meet at five.
• Naruto invited Sasuke and Menma to celebrate Team Seven’s formation, but both declined and left.
• Naruto and Sakura decided to postpone their meal, then parted ways after Kakashi’s assignment.
• Menma woke at 4:20, ate breakfast, and went to the Second Training Ground, where Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura had already arrived.
• Naruto greeted Menma energetically, Sakura perked up to greet him, and Sasuke responded with a faint nod.

Menma, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura waited for Kakashi at the training ground while he observed them from hiding. Kakashi finally arrived more than five hours late and began the test mission briefing, warning the team that failure would send them back to the Ninja Academy.

• Menma rested while Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura waited for Kakashi, who was hiding nearby and watching them.
• Naruto grew angry about Kakashi's lateness, while Menma remained calm because he had already sensed Kakashi's location.
• Kakashi judged Naruto and Sakura immature and considered how to train the team, especially Menma, whose state of mind the Third Hokage had told him to monitor.
• After the team had waited more than five hours, Kakashi appeared and gave Naruto an implausible excuse for his lateness.
• Kakashi warned the four that the test mission could be their last and that failure would send them back to the Ninja Academy.

Kakashi began Team Seven’s bell-taking assessment, warning that anyone who failed to seize a bell would return to the Ninja Academy. The four scattered to prepare, and Naruto launched the first attack on Kakashi.

• Kakashi told Menma, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke that they had to pass a second assessment or return to the Ninja Academy.
• Kakashi explained that the survival exercise required them to take his bells before noon, but he wore only three for the four students.
• Menma recognized that Kakashi was trying to intimidate Team Seven and expected him to hold back during the test.
• The four students scattered into the surrounding bushes and trees as the assessment began.
• Naruto confronted Kakashi and threw more than ten shuriken at him.

Naruto, Menma, and Sasuke coordinated attacks against Kakashi during their showdown, but Kakashi easily countered them and demonstrated the gap in their abilities. After the team’s combined fire and wind attack appeared to hit Kakashi, he reappeared beside Sakura and buried her with the Headhunter Jutsu.

• Naruto launched a direct attack on Kakashi, who dodged his shuriken and kicked him backward.
• Menma and Sasuke attacked Kakashi from both sides, but he blocked their kunai with ease.
• Menma and Sasuke used a Shadow Clone and Transformation Technique to restrain Kakashi while Sasuke wrapped him in wire.
• Sasuke fired a Great Fireball, and Naruto used a Great Breakthrough to strengthen the flames and engulf Kakashi.
• Sakura rushed from hiding, believing Kakashi had been killed, but Kakashi appeared beside her and buried her up to her head.