Recaps

Kirigakure killed the Feudal Lord of the Land of Water, seized one of his descendants, and crushed the rogue ninja surrounding the village. Alarmed by the news, the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire sought advice from Jiriku and sent letters to the other great nations, while considering a costly plan to protect himself.

• Two Kirigakure ninja returned to the Castle Tower to retrieve the Feudal Lord's descendant, then found wooden stakes blocking its gates and reinforced them with Earth Release.
• Kirigakure dispatched nearly all its ninja to attack the rogue ninja outside the village and pursued the fleeing survivors, leaving very few alive.
• Mei Terumi made no attempt to hide that Kirigakure had taken a descendant of the Feudal Lord, and spies reported the deaths in the Castle Tower to the Great Shinobi Villages.
• The Feudal Lords of the great nations learned that the Feudal Lord of the Land of Water and his line had been killed, leaving one boy, and feared their own Shinobi Villages might follow suit.
• The Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire met Jiriku at the Temple of Fire, then sent letters to the other three great nations to urge them to unite against the Great Shinobi Villages.

Hinata developed a safer third-generation Mutation Potion and used it to transform three more Hidden Leaf Anbu ninja. As the transformed ninja kept their abilities secret, Itachi grew puzzled by Shisui’s changes.

• Hinata learned from Nagato that the Land of Water’s daimyo had been assassinated, while Nagato controlled events there and Minato had secretly encouraged the daimyo to oppose Kirigakure.
• Hinata completed the third-generation Mutation Potion, which was more stable and required less protection during injections.
• Hinata decided to continue researching the potion herself rather than entrust it to Orochimaru, and she monitored the first two batches for personality changes.
• Hinata injected three Hidden Leaf Anbu ninja with the third-generation potion, and they changed their life forms more easily than earlier subjects had.
• The newly transformed ninja, Shisui, and the others avoided interacting with one another to protect the village’s secret, leaving Itachi increasingly puzzled by Shisui.

Keita Otake refused the villagers’ urging to become a samurai after suspecting the daimyo’s recruitment drive meant war was approaching. At the shrine, he replaced the villagers’ crude statue of his teacher Red Kite with a lifelike carving and began confiding his troubles to it.

• Two samurai visited the village and announced that the daimyo was recruiting people with skills to become samurai.
• The villagers urged Keita Otake to enlist, but he suspected the recruitment was connected to an impending war and refused to leave the village.
• Keita Otake reassured the villagers that he would stay, and the village chief also failed to persuade him to become a samurai.
• Keita Otake went to the shrine, smashed the ugly statue of Red Kite, and carved a lifelike replacement.
• Keita Otake began visiting the new statue to tell his teacher about whatever troubled him.

Hinata learned that the Land of Fire’s Feudal Lord was recruiting soldiers and suspected they were meant to oppose the Hidden Leaf Village. As other feudal lords recruited across their own and smaller nations, the Shinobi Villages investigated their rulers and prepared to target them if war began.

• Hinata heard Keita Otake’s voice through the faith held in a statue of her and learned that the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire was recruiting soldiers.
• A ninja traveled by ship from the Land of Earth toward the Land of Snow on a mission ordered by the Feudal Lord of the Land of Earth.
• The feudal lords of the other major nations began recruiting soldiers, and the Shinobi Villages suspected that the recruits would be used against them.
• The major nations extended recruitment into smaller countries, prompting those countries to recruit their own people while some potential fighters left for the major nations.
• The Shinobi Villages’ intelligence networks investigated the rulers in their countries, and the Shadows received reports identifying those rulers as potential assassination targets if war began.

Sasuke completed the main development of his Lightning Release: Kirin and told Uchiha Fugaku that he planned to challenge Neji. Fugaku warned him about the unknown abilities of the Hyuga’s evolved eyes, but Sasuke remained determined to fight.

• Sasuke used his own method to draw lightning from the heavens and named his new technique Lightning Release: Kirin.
• Sasuke returned home, where Uchiha Mikoto told him to wash off the mud from his training.
• Uchiha Fugaku asked Sasuke whether he had finished developing his ninjutsu and learned that Sasuke intended to challenge Neji.
• Uchiha Fugaku warned Sasuke that the Uchiha knew more about Mangekyō Sharingan abilities than they knew about the Tenseigan or Jōgan.
• Sasuke insisted that he would not lose, and Uchiha Fugaku praised his fighting spirit.

After completing Lightning Release: Kirin, Sasuke prepared to challenge Neji and also invited Naruto to join the fight. Hinata moved the duel to the Chunin examination arena so the village could watch, leaving Sasuke, Naruto, and Neji ready to compete before the gathered crowd.

• Sasuke completed his development of Lightning Release: Kirin and sent Neji a challenge to spar outside the village.
• Neji accepted Sasuke's challenge after receiving the note from Hiashi.
• Sasuke also challenged Naruto, planning to turn the match into a three-way fight.
• Hinata changed the duel's location to the Chunin examination arena and arranged for the village shinobi and civilians to attend.
• Jiraiya explained that the event would relieve the village's tense mood and showcase its younger generation, and Sasuke, Naruto, and Neji vowed not to lose.

Hinata paired Naruto and Sasuke together before a ghost attacked the students, forcing them to flee from the crawling corpses in the classroom. The group escaped the room, and Hinata took a shortcut by smashing through a window and heading for the field.

• Hinata told Naruto to team up with Sasuke, and after they protested, she declared the pairing settled.
• The ghost breached the upperclassmen's barrier, and many students disappeared as the survivors gathered around Neji for help spotting its attacks.
• Rotten arms emerged throughout the classroom and began dragging students underground, while Hinata sealed Kiba Inuzuka and his dog's sense of smell to protect them from the stench.
• Sasuke used Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique to clear a path to the classroom door, and the students ran out.
• Hinata smashed through a window and ran toward the field while the others took the corridor to the main entrance.

The narrator took leave for the first time and said they would try to make it up tomorrow. They also vowed to expose America over its slander of Xinjiang.

• The narrator said this was their first time taking leave.
• The narrator said they would see whether they could make it up tomorrow.
• The narrator vowed to tear away America's fig leaf over its slander of Xinjiang.

Neji, Sasuke, and Naruto continued their battle, revealing powerful defenses and abilities as the spectators watched from behind a barrier. Naruto's Tailed Beast Bomb devastated the training ground, and the chapter ended with the fighters' condition obscured by the aftermath.

• Neji's Spear of the Earth shattered stone pillars, damaged Sasuke's Susanoo, and destroyed more than a hundred of Naruto's shadow clones.
• Sasuke questioned Neji about the technique, and Neji said Hokage-sama had taught it to him along with two or three other powerful techniques.
• Naruto attacked Neji with a Great Ball Rasengan, while Sasuke tried to trap Neji in Mangekyō Sharingan genjutsu, but Neji's Jōgan thwarted it.
• Neji discovered that the barrier around the spectators used spatial manipulation after Naruto's Rasengan struck it without breaking through.
• Naruto formed and launched a Tailed Beast Bomb, while Sasuke used Susanoo and Neji used Rotation to defend themselves.
• The barrier contained the explosion, and the blast obliterated the dust and sank the training ground more than ten meters, leaving the spectators unable to see the fighters until the shock waves passed.

Neji unleashed his Sage Art: Fire Release: Meteor Shower against Naruto and Sasuke’s gigantic forms. The attack left the training ground covered in lava, with the battle’s outcome still undecided.

• Sasuke manifested his Perfect Susanoo, while Naruto transformed alongside Kurama into a golden Nine-Tails.
• Neji formed hand seals and used Sage Art: Earth Release: Spear of the Earth to raise stone pillars, lifting Kurama into the air.
• Neji continued forming seals behind a spatial barrier as Sasuke and Naruto watched, and Sasuke prepared to interrupt him.
• Neji unleashed Sage Art: Fire Release: Meteor Shower, sending thousands of enormous fireballs into the sky.
• Sasuke sliced the fireballs aimed at his Susanoo, while Kurama shielded Naruto with stone pillars as the falling fireballs exploded.
• The fireballs engulfed the arena in heat and left the ground covered in lava.

Neji summoned Fire Hill, a powerful creature from the magma, to help him fight Naruto and Sasuke. Fire Hill and Neji seized the initiative with a mental roar and coordinated attacks, but Sasuke recovered and trapped Fire Hill with Susanoo.

• Neji summoned Fire Hill from the magma, and the creature approached the spectator stands until Hinata stopped him.
• Fire Hill agreed to fight Sasuke while Neji attacked Naruto, and his roar disoriented both opponents.
• Neji kicked Naruto into the barrier as Fire Hill struck Sasuke’s Susanoo, forcing Naruto and Sasuke onto the defensive.
• Sasuke recovered and used Susanoo’s extra arms to seize Fire Hill, then wondered whether the creature belonged to Hinata.

Neji and Naruto fought Sasuke while Fire Hill restrained Susanoo and dragged it into the lava. Sasuke escaped and renewed his attack, but Neji and Naruto survived, leaving Sasuke weakened after Naruto's Tailed Beast Bomb barrage.

• Fire Hill overpowered Sasuke's restraints and pulled Susanoo into the lava, with the impact sending Neji and the Nine-Tails beneath the surface.
• The Nine-Tails emerged from the lava, and Neji appeared standing in midair; Sasuke then struck Fire Hill with Kirin and freed Susanoo.
• Neji noticed Fire Hill healing by absorbing energy from the lava as Sasuke launched another lightning attack at Neji and Naruto.
• Neji blocked the lightning with Rotation, while the Nine-Tails protected Naruto; Hanabi Hyuga and Hyuga Hiashi, along with Itachi Uchiha and Uchiha Fugaku, questioned Rotation's strength.
• Naruto created two Shadow Clones that bombarded Sasuke with Tailed Beast Bombs, damaging Susanoo and leaving Sasuke panting and low on chakra.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji continued their battle after Fire Hill’s attack destroyed Sasuke’s Susanoo and the Nine-Tails withdrew from Naruto. Sasuke blocked Naruto’s Rasengan with Chidori, but the clash badly injured his right hand.

• Fire Hill fired a beam through Sasuke’s Susanoo before returning to his volcano, and Sasuke’s Susanoo crumbled.
• The Nine-Tails returned to Naruto’s body, leaving Naruto exposed to attacks from Sasuke and Neji.
• Sasuke conserved his chakra and used Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi to wrap his sword in black flames as he fought Neji.
• Naruto summoned three shadow clones, and Neji kicked Sasuke toward them.
• A Naruto shadow clone attacked Sasuke with Rasengan, and Sasuke countered with Chidori, badly injuring his right hand.

Neji used his Jōgan’s space-time ability to help Naruto eliminate Sasuke from the match. As Sakura treated Sasuke’s injuries, his family noticed how close the two of them were, leaving Sakura embarrassed.

• Sasuke used Amaterasu against Neji, who vanished with his Jōgan’s ability and reappeared above and behind him.
• Neji struck Sasuke toward Naruto, and Naruto and his Shadow Clones joined Neji to defeat Sasuke.
• Hinata pulled Sasuke from the barrier, and Sakura began treating his injuries.
• Sasuke’s family checked on him, and Uchiha Mikoto discreetly commented to Uchiha Fugaku after noticing Sakura beside Sasuke.
• Sakura blushed when she realized she was holding Sasuke close as she healed him.

Sakura treated Sasuke while they lingered in an intimate embrace, and Tsunade interrupted them before Sakura helped him watch Naruto and Neji’s duel. Neji eventually defeated Naruto, and the chapter left the three injured fighters recovering in the Hidden Leaf Hospital as Naruto realized Neji had used taijutsu Hinata taught him.

• Sasuke and Sakura stayed frozen together until Tsunade noticed them and awkwardly left them alone.
• Sakura supported Sasuke as they watched the duel, drawing jealous looks from Naruto, Neji, and Ino.
• Neji changed his fighting style and defeated Naruto, who suspected Hinata had taught Neji the taijutsu he used at the end.
• Tsunade brought Sasuke, Naruto, and Neji to the Hidden Leaf Hospital to recover and escape the crowd of admirers.
• In the hospital, Naruto jumped up on his bed and accused Neji of using taijutsu he had learned from Hinata.

Neji told Naruto and Sasuke about his Jōgan’s space-manipulating abilities and explained that Hinata had recently taught him new techniques she planned to introduce at the Ninja Academy. At a Hokage meeting, Hinata’s staff outlined tougher graduation requirements and new training facilities, while raising standards for the Chunin Exams and jonin assessments.

• Neji admitted to Sasuke that his eyes could see and manipulate space, though doing so consumed a great deal of dojutsu power.
• Naruto asked whether Hinata had taught Neji his final Taijutsu, and Neji explained that Hinata had recently developed it and his duel’s ninjutsu for the Ninja Academy students.
• At the Hokage Building, Jiraiya questioned whether requiring students to cast B-rank ninjutsu and last five minutes against a Taijutsu examiner was too harsh.
• The Nara Clan Leader explained that the Body Strengthening Potion gave village children unusually strong physiques and chakra reserves, and outlined plans for practice areas and medical facilities at the expanded Academy.
• Hinata planned to teach students Neji’s Taijutsu and a progression of ninjutsu, while the village also raised standards for graduation, Chunin Exams, and jonin assessments.

A mysterious man exploited the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire’s fears about Kirigakure to offer his organization’s help and deepen distrust between the lord and the Hidden Leaf Village. He then reported that his plan was underway from the chamber where the restrained Ten-Tails lay, while admitting he feared the woman with the Tenseigan.

• The Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire worried that the Hidden Leaf Village might rebel and struggled to recruit wandering samurai.
• A man in a black cloak appeared before the feudal lord and condemned Kirigakure for attacking its feudal lord.
• The man offered his organization’s help recruiting troops and warned that the Hidden Leaf Village might betray the Land of Fire.
• The feudal lord rejected the offer, and the man disappeared after widening the existing rift between the lord and the Hidden Leaf Village.
• The man visited the restrained Ten-Tails and reflected that his subordinates were carrying out the plan in the Lands of Fire, Earth, Wind, and Lightning.
• The man worried that the woman with the Tenseigan had grown too strong for him to confront directly.

After the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire ordered the Hidden Leaf Village to attack Kirigakure and kill Mei Terumi, Hinata convened the major clan leaders to discuss what to do. The Nara Clan Leader warned that an attack could trigger another Shinobi World War, leaving the village’s decision unresolved.

• The mysterious man’s warning deepened the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire’s fear that the Hidden Leaf Village would rebel, and he decided to consult the other great nations’ feudal lords.
• Jiraiya brought Hinata a direct order from the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire commanding the Hidden Leaf Village to attack Kirigakure and kill Mei Terumi.
• Hinata summoned the leaders of the major clans to discuss whether the village should obey the order.
• The clan leaders read the scroll and reacted with shock, while some considered the possible gains of war.
• The Nara Clan Leader warned that Kirigakure’s island location disadvantaged the Hidden Leaf Village and that an attack could ignite another Shinobi World War.

As the village prepared for a possible campaign against Kirigakure, Naruto and Sasuke headed to watch Neji teach and noticed ninja expanding the academy. In the Land of Snow, Yamato continued researching why ninjutsu-grown crops were nutritionally poor, content to work as a farmer.

• The village leaders considered the daimyo’s order to attack Kirigakure, whose island location and Water Release skills made the campaign difficult, and looked to Uchiha Fugaku for the Uchiha clan’s role.
• Naruto persuaded Sasuke to go see Neji teach at the Ninja Academy, and they passed ninja using ninjutsu to build an expansion.
• Yamato examined the soil and questioned whether chakra caused accelerated crops to lose nutritional value, while noting that he had been researching the problem himself.
• Yamato’s farming techniques had helped the Land of Snow stockpile grain and taught its ninja Hinata’s farming ninjutsu, but he remained there because he enjoyed farming and kept studying the crops.

Naruto and Sasuke visited Neji at the Ninja Academy and learned the complete version of his taijutsu. Sasuke practiced with Shisui, whose demonstration left Fugaku and Itachi wondering how the technique worked, while Fugaku revealed that war might be imminent.

• Yamato continued farming because he believed it improved his Wood Release.
• Naruto and Sasuke found Neji teaching the ninja teachers and asked him to teach them his techniques.
• Neji gave Naruto and Sasuke a scroll and taught them the complete taijutsu rather than the basic version the teachers were learning.
• Fugaku told Itachi that the Daimyo had ordered them to prepare for a possible war.
• Shisui sparred with Sasuke, then sent him flying into a wall without injuring him by transferring the force into it.
• The wall collapsed, and Fugaku and Itachi could not explain how Shisui had performed the technique.

Sasuke learned that war was about to begin and struggled to understand why the village would start one. He went to Hinata for answers and demanded to know whether the decision could be refused.

• Shisui demonstrated a powerful taijutsu to Sasuke, while Fugaku grew concerned about Shisui's strange presence and suspected the village had changed him.
• Fugaku announced at a clan meeting that war was about to begin, and Itachi told Sasuke that they could not refuse it.
• Sasuke left the clan compound in a daze and spent the day on Hokage Rock before resolving to ask Hinata what she thought.
• Fugaku asked whether Sasuke had accepted the situation, and Sasuke said he would not back down if war broke out.
• Sasuke found Hinata at the Hokage Building and demanded to know why they had to start a war, while Mami Mizuta rebuked his rude tone.

Hinata explained to Sasuke that ninja techniques could serve purposes beyond killing and revealed her plan to end war by uniting all countries and ninja villages under one will. After Sasuke left inspired by her vision, Hinata investigated the Land of Fire Daimyo’s unexpected order to prepare for war.

• Hinata sent Mami Mizuta out and told Sasuke that the Daimyo’s orders meant little to her.
• Hinata showed Sasuke the rapidly built Academy buildings and explained that ninjutsu could be used for construction instead of killing.
• Hinata told Sasuke that she intended to end war by uniting every country and ninja village under a single will, and Sasuke left excited to take part.
• Sasuke irritated Mami Mizuta outside the office, and she returned to help Hinata with paperwork.
• Hinata recalled that Nagato’s people knew nothing about the Daimyo’s order and sent a ninja who had completed his mutation to investigate the Daimyo.

Hinata and the other villages learned that Kumogakure was sending a large force toward Kirigakure, while Iwagakure and Sunagakure sent only small squads. In Otogakure, Orochimaru studied a captive whose crimson mark altered his body and wondered how a mysterious Crystal containing a similar mark had appeared in his storeroom.

• Hinata learned that Kumogakure had dispatched several hundred shinobi toward the Land of Water and suspected the Land of Lightning had received the same order to attack Kirigakure as the Hidden Leaf Village.
• Ōnoki of Both Scales suspected the Daimyo had coordinated the attack orders among several nations and decided to send only a few squads to Kirigakure.
• Sunagakure also sent only a few small squads to the Land of Water while its leaders watched how the conflict developed.
• Orochimaru studied a young man whose crimson mark was changing his constitution and used what he learned to improve his Cursed Seals.
• Orochimaru recalled finding a Crystal in his storeroom that contained a crimson, Tailed Beast-shaped mark, but could not remember how it got there.

Orochimaru identified the substance in a crystal as matching the mark on his captive and decided to use it, unaware that the Stigmata could alter its holder’s soul. As conflict gathered around Kirigakure, a mysterious merchant offered the Land of Fire’s Daimyo a modified human weapon, and the Daimyo focused on its promised loyalty.

• Orochimaru concluded that the crystal’s substance was a treasure and resolved to use it, not realizing the Stigmata could change his soul.
• Kumogakure’s force regrouped on a deserted island near Kirigakure while Kirigakure discovered that war seemed imminent.
• Iwagakure and Sunagakure secretly sent elite squads to the Land of Water to exploit the coming conflict.
• The Land of Fire’s Daimyo grew distressed when the Hidden Leaf Village ignored his orders to attack Kirigakure.
• A mysterious man immobilized the Daimyo’s attendants and presented a vacant-eyed person as a powerful, fearless, and loyal weapon.

The mysterious man convinced the Daimyo to buy Modified Humans by demonstrating their absolute obedience, and the Daimyo ordered eight plus another batch. Hinata learned of the deal through a shadow clone and reflected on the White Zetsu and the Ten-Tails, which still wanted to become a God Tree and escape its confinement.

• The mysterious man ordered a Modified Human to die, and it twisted its own head around before falling dead.
• The Daimyo agreed to purchase the eight Modified Humans on display and ordered another batch.
• A shadow that had been observing the Daimyo slipped away and reported the deal to Hinata.
• Hinata considered how White Zetsu had aided the Hidden Leaf Village Laboratory and recalled that the Ten-Tails wanted to become a God Tree.
• The Ten-Tails remained confined in Hinata's Alternate Dimension, longing to go outside despite the danger of spatial turbulence.