Chapter Summaries

Rock Lee and Sasuke fought at tremendous speed during the graduation exam, with Sasuke using Lightning Release to boost his physical abilities. Neji watched from a medical bed as Rock Lee’s strength shattered his sense of superiority, while the fight remained unresolved.

• Rock Lee surprised Sasuke with his speed and struck him with Leaf Whirlwind, but Sasuke blocked the attack with his arms.
• Sasuke activated his Three Tomoe Sharingan and acknowledged Rock Lee’s speed before challenging him to a faster fight.
• Sasuke used Lightning Release chakra to enhance his physical abilities and clashed with Rock Lee across the training field.
• The students, Naruto, and Neji watched in shock as Sasuke and Rock Lee moved too quickly for most of them to follow.
• Neji questioned why everyone had become so strong as his sense of superiority began to crumble.

Sasuke and Rock Lee fought at high speed until Sasuke used Chidori and Rock Lee opened the Eight Inner Gates. The spectators were stunned by Lee’s strength, and Sasuke struggled to understand how Lee had learned such a powerful technique.

• Sasuke’s Lightning Release Stimulation Method let him match Rock Lee briefly, but the strain forced him to stop and catch his breath.
• Sasuke, embarrassed in front of his family, declared the fight would end and formed Chidori in his right hand.
• With Guy’s encouragement, Rock Lee opened the first three gates of the Eight Inner Gates, shocking the spectators and Kakashi.
• Fugaku and Mikoto questioned how the Ninja Academy’s dead last could master the Eight Inner Gates, while Itachi remained confident in Sasuke.
• Rock Lee opened the fourth gate, sending sand and debris across the arena as Sasuke shielded himself and wondered how Lee had learned the technique.

Rock Lee and Sasuke pushed their abilities to the limit in a fierce match, with Lee opening the fourth gate and gaining the advantage. Sasuke turned the fight around with a hidden tactic, stopping Lee’s final punch just short of his face and declaring that he had to win.

• Rock Lee opened the fourth gate and charged Sasuke, who met him with his Sharingan and Lightning Release Stimulation Method.
• Lee and Sasuke exchanged blows at speeds that even the Academy instructors struggled to follow, while Sasuke fell behind Lee.
• Sasuke stopped dismissing Lee as a weak opponent and devised a tactic as Lee circled him looking for an opening.
• Sasuke let Lee strike and dislocate his left arm, then Lee suddenly froze with his next punch just two centimeters from Sasuke’s nose.
• Sasuke closed his Three Tomoe Sharingan and said he had to win the match.

Sasuke defeated Rock Lee by catching him in Sharingan genjutsu, and the class tournament continued through its first and second rounds. By the end of the day, Naruto, Sasuke, Yakumo, and Tenten remained as the final four.

• Sasuke used genjutsu to stop Rock Lee's Fourth Gate assault and won their match, while Neji warned Naruto to avoid Sasuke's gaze.
• Sasuke apologized to Rock Lee after releasing him from the genjutsu, and Rock Lee praised the power of the Sharingan.
• Shion defeated Sakura through superior stamina, and Yakumo defeated Ino with genjutsu.
• The first round ended by noon, and Naruto defeated Kiba while Sasuke defeated Shino in the second round.
• Naruto, Sasuke, Yakumo, and Tenten advanced as the final four after Yakumo overwhelmed opponents with genjutsu and Tenten relied on her abundant ninja tools.

Naruto and Sasuke began their match for the title of best of their class, with Sasuke determined to win quickly before his chakra ran out. Sasuke countered Naruto’s Shadow Clones with a carefully arranged web of steel wire and unleashed Chidori.

• Sasuke judged Naruto to be his greatest threat and resolved to defeat him quickly despite his depleted chakra.
• Hyuga Kagami announced Naruto versus Sasuke, while Fugaku and Itachi anxiously watched because Sasuke’s Mangekyō Sharingan awakening depended on the match.
• Naruto and Sasuke formed the Opposing Seal and entered the fight without speaking.
• Sasuke activated his Three Tomoe Sharingan, and Naruto created more than a hundred Shadow Clones to hide his real body.
• Sasuke threw Shuriken attached to Steel Wire in an orderly pattern across the field, destroying some clones and forming a steel-wire net.
• Sasuke called out Chidori.

Sasuke used a Steel Wire net to spread Chidori across the training ground, destroying most of Naruto’s Shadow Clones and then identifying the real Naruto among the seven survivors. Sasuke put Naruto under genjutsu, but Naruto suddenly opened his eyes again, leaving the match’s outcome unresolved.

• Sasuke channeled Chidori through a Steel Wire net, filling the training ground with lightning and destroying many of Naruto’s Shadow Clones.
• Sasuke used his Three Tomoe Sharingan to locate Naruto’s real body among the seven remaining Narutos.
• Sasuke noticed Naruto avoid his gaze, rushed him before he could finish forming the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique seals, and cast genjutsu with his Sharingan.
• Naruto collapsed and the remaining Shadow Clones disappeared, but Naruto suddenly opened his eyes again.

Sasuke defeated Naruto in the tournament after using the Sharingan to overwhelm his clones and trap him in genjutsu. Naruto briefly escaped with the Nine-Tails’ help, but Sasuke kicked him out of bounds, leaving both boys shaken and Sasuke determined to win more decisively next time.

• Sasuke cleared Naruto’s Shadow Clones, identified Naruto’s real body, and trapped him in genjutsu.
• Naruto opened his eyes after the Nine-Tails pulled him free, but he stared in shock instead of counterattacking.
• Sasuke kicked Naruto out of the arena, and Hyuga Kagami declared Sasuke the winner.
• Hyuga Kagami realized the Nine-Tails had revealed itself to Naruto and helped him escape the genjutsu.
• Sasuke watched Naruto receive medical attention and vowed to defeat him cleanly in their next match.

After Sasuke defeated Naruto, he won his final match against Tenten and became the top student in the graduation exam. The chapter ended with Sasuke kicking Tenten out of the arena, while Hyuga Kagami continued looking for a way to provoke Sasuke into awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan.

• Hyuga Kagami reflected on how Naruto might become a perfect Jinchuriki after the Nine-Tails showed signs of opening its heart to him.
• Tenten shut her eyes and unleashed a barrage of ninja tools, but Yakumo conceded by stepping out of the arena when her genjutsu failed.
• Kakashi proposed a dinner break so Sasuke could recover before the final match, and Hyuga Kagami agreed.
• After two or three hours of rest, Sasuke and Tenten began their ninja tool duel under the field lights.
• Sasuke used his Sharingan to slip through Tenten's barrage and kicked her out of the arena when she shut her eyes.

Sasuke defeated Tenten and was celebrated as the class’s First Among Peers, while the Hyuga family reflected on Hinata and Neji’s losses. Hyuga Kagami praised the graduating class and said he would carefully plan their teams, though choosing jonin instructors for fifteen rookies remained a challenge.

• Sasuke defeated Tenten, then accepted congratulations from Sakura, Ino, and his family.
• Hiashi and Hizashi lamented the Hyuga Clan’s losses as Hinata comforted Naruto and Neji stood lost in thought.
• The Third Hokage praised Hyuga Kagami for the Ninja Academy’s successful graduation examination.
• Utatane Koharu asked Hyuga Kagami how he would assign the graduates to teams, and he said he would consider it carefully.
• Hyuga Kagami planned to follow the original team arrangements where possible, group Shion, Yakumo, and Sai together, and worried about assigning jonin instructors to the fifteen rookies.

After the graduation ceremony, Hyuga Kagami welcomed his discouraged disciple Neji and helped him question what it meant to be a Hyuga genius. The chapter left Neji considering Hyuga Kagami’s advice to explore skills beyond Gentle Fist, as the conversation turned to Naruto and Sasuke’s unusual strengths.

• Hyuga Kagami considered Jonin instructors for the graduating students, favoring Shizune for Shion, Yakumo, and Sai’s group.
• Hyuga Kagami personally handed out Konoha forehead protectors, including to Naruto and Neji, who avoided meeting his eyes.
• The Advisory Elder Council sent Naruto to the Sealing Team to investigate the Nine-Tails’ seal, and Hyuga Kagami returned home alone.
• Neji visited Hyuga Kagami and admitted he felt confused and inferior after losing to Naruto and seeing Sasuke claim the top-student title.
• Hyuga Kagami encouraged Neji to learn skills beyond Gentle Fist and not let the Hyuga Clan’s strength become a restriction.

Hyuga Kagami explained to Neji that Naruto and Sasuke had exceptional potential and would become nearly impossible to catch, but Neji resolved to keep trying. Hyuga Kagami assigned Neji to train with Rock Lee under Might Guy so he could learn the Eight Inner Gates.

• Hyuga Kagami told Neji that Naruto and Sasuke's potential surpassed ordinary shinobi and that Neji was unlikely to catch them.
• Neji asked whether his Byakugan and hard work could let him surpass Naruto and Sasuke, but Hyuga Kagami shook his head.
• Neji resolved to keep pursuing them despite the gap, drawing inspiration from Hyuga Kagami's setbacks and success.
• Hyuga Kagami arranged for Neji to join Rock Lee's class under Might Guy and encouraged him to train in the Eight Inner Gates.

Hyuga Kagami guided Neji’s training before Obito secretly approached him, hoping to recruit the Hokage to help capture the Jinchuriki. The chapter ended with Obito believing Hyuga Kagami was an uninformed puppet and Hyuga Kagami pretending to accept the offer.

• Hyuga Kagami told Neji to seek Guy’s guidance on the Eight Inner Gates and train with ninja tools and blades.
• Hyuga Kagami sensed an intruder and sent Neji away before Obito appeared from the shadows.
• Obito offered to remove Hyuga Kagami’s Caged Bird Seal if he cooperated, and tested whether he knew Hyuga Aoki was dead.
• Hyuga Kagami pretended to believe Obito’s claim that Hyuga Aoki was alive and asked how the seal could be broken.
• Obito asked Hyuga Kagami to help with an operation targeting the Jinchuriki, and Hyuga Kagami feigned agreement.
• Obito left believing Hyuga Kagami was a puppet who knew nothing about Hyuga Aoki’s death.

Hyuga Kagami realized that his attempt to intimidate Akatsuki may have pushed Nagato to strike sooner, so he considered accelerating his plans by holding a joint Chunin Exam. Obito headed to the Uchiha Compound, where he saw Shisui and Shinichi and dismissed them as useless fools.

• Hyuga Kagami suspected that his portrayal of the God Organization as Ōtsutsuki had pressured Nagato into planning an early attack.
• Hyuga Kagami read Ōnoki's proposal for a joint Chunin Exam and decided the event could help him train his Lightning Release Clone, Naruto, and Sasuke.
• Obito left Hyuga Kagami's home and hurried toward the Uchiha Compound, pitying the Hokage for not knowing about Hyuga Aoki's death.
• Shinichi questioned Shisui about Sasuke placing first, and Shisui explained that the result was part of Hyuga Kagami's plan to test him.
• Obito emerged from the shadows after Shisui and Shinichi passed and called them useless fools.

Obito approached Itachi and tried to recruit him into Akatsuki by offering to help recover Fugaku’s Mangekyō Sharingan. He revealed the secret of the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan and suggested that the Flame Demon who took Fugaku’s eyes might be a close blood relative of Itachi’s.

• Obito reflected on how two God Organization Flame Demons had defeated Fugaku, Shisui, and Shinichi during the Uchiha rebellion.
• Itachi and Izumi discussed Sasuke’s graduation exam and his possible class assignment at the Uchiha clan head’s residence.
• After Izumi left, Itachi confronted Obito, who had entered the estate in a state of Intangibility.
• Obito urged Itachi to cooperate with Akatsuki and offered to help him reclaim Fugaku’s Mangekyō Sharingan from God Organization.
• Obito told Itachi that the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan required fusing two blood-related pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan, then claimed the Flame Demon who took Fugaku’s eyes might be Itachi’s close relative.

Obito tried to identify the God Organization’s male Flame Demon by linking his red Susanoo to Fugaku’s, but Itachi insisted no living or dead Uchiha relative fit. Obito urged Itachi to find the Flame Demon and recruit Shisui and Shinichi before Akatsuki’s planned decisive battle against the God Organization in one or two months.

• Obito explained that Mangekyō Sharingan abilities reflected chakra nature and suggested the male Flame Demon might be related to Fugaku because their Susanoo were similar.
• Itachi denied knowing anyone who fit Obito’s theory and offered to show him the Uchiha clan genealogy; he also said the bodies of relatives killed in the war had all been recovered.
• Obito wondered if Fugaku had an illegitimate child and considered whether a branch of the Uchiha might live on the moon.
• Obito urged Itachi to identify the Flame Demon and recruit Shisui and Shinichi, promising that Shinichi’s past betrayal would be forgiven.
• Itachi agreed to try, and Obito warned him to finish within one or two months because Akatsuki planned to launch a decisive battle against the God Organization.

The graduating students received their team assignments as supervising instructors collected them from the classroom. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were left waiting together, with their instructor still unknown.

• Asuma took Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino, while Sakura celebrated being separated from Ino.
• Kurenai took Hinata, Kiba, and Shino, and Neji noticed that some teams had Jonin instructors.
• Shizune took Shion, Yakumo, and Sai and offered them paid extra ninjutsu training.
• Guy took Rock Lee, Neji, and Tenten as his team, delighting Lee and satisfying Tenten.
• The other students departed until only Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura remained in the classroom.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were assigned to Team Kakashi, while the village leaders discussed a proposed joint Chunin Exam and decided Konoha would take part. Hyuga Kagami named five teams as possible participants, leaving the exam plan ready to move forward.

• Sakura fawned over Sasuke and scolded Naruto, while Sasuke warned both of them not to hold him back.
• Kakashi arrived to lead the trio, and Naruto and Sasuke showed disappointment that he—not Hyuga Kagami or Itachi—was their instructor.
• Hyuga Kagami reviewed Kumogakure's and Sunagakure's support for Iwagakure's proposal to jointly hold the Chunin Exams.
• The Third Hokage, Utatane Koharu, Tsunade, and Jiraiya discussed the other villages' motives and Konoha's confidence in its Genin.
• Hyuga Kagami agreed to the joint exams and suggested Team Kakashi, Team Asuma, Team Guy, Team Kurenai, and Team Shizune participate.

Kakashi tested Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura with a two-bell exercise, warning that they had to earn his approval before noon. As the team tried to take the bells, Kakashi used Sakura as bait and Sasuke fell into a trap, ending with a dirt-covered Naruto suddenly grabbing him.

• Kakashi announced that only two bells were available and warned that anyone without one would fail the test.
• Sakura hid in the grass while Naruto and Sasuke prepared to attack Kakashi directly.
• Sasuke used the Lightning Release Stimulation Method and Body Flicker Technique to stab Kakashi, but his target was a substituted log.
• Sakura screamed from the grass, and Naruto rushed in after her while Sasuke recognized Kakashi's trap.
• Naruto emerged without Sakura, and Sasuke blocked Kakashi's attack before discovering that the attacker was a Lightning Clone Technique.
• As Sasuke reeled from the lightning, the dirt-covered Naruto beside him laughed coldly and grabbed him around the neck.

Kakashi tested Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura with the bell-grabbing exercise, then told them they had been recommended for the upcoming Chunin Exams. That night, Naruto told Hyuga Kagami that he and Sasuke had passed by giving up their bells for Sakura, and Kagami asked whether Naruto had been hit by Thousand Years of Death.

• Kakashi used disguises and a Lightning Clone Technique to defeat Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, then praised their concern for their teammates and passed them.
• Hyuga Kagami arrived and told Kakashi that the village had recommended his team for the Five Great Shinobi Villages' Chunin Exams.
• Sasuke grew eager to face Otogakure's participants, hoping to fight Kimimaro.
• Naruto told Hyuga Kagami that he and Sasuke had each grabbed a bell, then gave them up so Sakura could pass.
• Hyuga Kagami asked Naruto whether Kakashi had used Thousand Years of Death on him, and Naruto asked what it was.

Hyuga Kagami entered Naruto’s mental world to discuss Akatsuki’s coming attempt to capture him with the Nine-Tails. He offered to improve the Nine-Tails’ treatment and revealed his power, leaving the beast shocked by his identity.

• After dinner, Hyuga Kagami asked Naruto whether he was confident about the Chunin Exams and decided to strengthen him quickly because Akatsuki might soon target him.
• Hyuga Kagami entered Naruto’s mental world and followed the Nine-Tails’ chakra to its prison cell.
• Hyuga Kagami warned the Nine-Tails that Akatsuki had captured several Tailed Beasts and would target Naruto and the Nine-Tails next.
• Hyuga Kagami told the Nine-Tails that Naruto was innocent and promised to improve its treatment.
• Hyuga Kagami surrounded himself with blue chakra and revealed eight Truth-Seeking Orbs, shocking the Nine-Tails.