Chapter Summaries

Hyuga Kagami intimidated the Nine-Tails into agreeing to cooperate with Naruto, promising to remove its seal and restore its other half. After sealing the agreement with a high-five, Hyuga Kagami left Naruto’s mental world and wondered what Minato Namikaze might think of his son’s lonely childhood.

• The Nine-Tails recognized Hyuga Kagami as Yama after seeing his Tenseigan Chakra Mode and Truth-Seeking Orbs.
• Hyuga Kagami pressured the Nine-Tails to work with Naruto and promised to free it from the seal and recover its other half.
• The Nine-Tails agreed to let go of its grudge and cooperate with Naruto, and it sealed the pact with Hyuga Kagami through the bars.
• Hyuga Kagami found that Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki had not revealed themselves, preserving their final chance to meet Naruto.
• As Hyuga Kagami left Naruto’s mental world, he wondered whether Minato Namikaze regretted sacrificing himself while Naruto grew up rejected and isolated.

Hyuga Kagami arranged for Naruto to work with the Nine-Tails so he could learn controlled Tailed Beast transformation before the Akatsuki attack. Meanwhile, Orochimaru prepared to send Kimimaro to Konoha for the Chunin Exams, where he planned to investigate Sasuke’s Sharingan.

• Hyuga Kagami recovered after leaving Naruto’s mindscape and decided not to tell Naruto about his agreement with the Nine-Tails.
• Hyuga Kagami reasoned that controlled Tailed Beast transformation could strengthen Naruto and help him avoid a dangerous rampage.
• Orochimaru examined six powerful experimental clones and reflected on his efforts to create a perfect body infused with Senjutsu chakra.
• Yamato brought Orochimaru a message from Konoha about the Chunin Exams, and Orochimaru ordered Kimimaro to lead a team there.
• After Yamato left, Orochimaru discussed testing Sasuke’s talent and using his Three Tomoe Sharingan for experiments.

Hyuga Kagami and Konoha’s leaders reviewed the participant lists for the joint Chunin Exams and found that several villages had entered famous or adult ninja as Genin. The lists heightened their concerns about the competition, especially after they recognized Kimimaro as a powerful contender.

• Hyuga Kagami discovered that Iwagakure had entered Deidara, a renowned fourteen-year-old who was still officially a Genin.
• The leaders reviewed Kumogakure’s list, which included Darui, Shi, and Samui, and discussed how little they knew about Darui’s rank and abilities.
• Hyuga Kagami examined the other lists and noted Sunagakure’s participants, Takigakure’s adult Genin, and two teams sent by Orochimaru’s Otogakure.
• Hyuga Kagami explained that Kirigakure’s delayed list was tied to Karatachi Yagura’s disappearance, concealing that he had altered its delivery.
• The Third Hokage recognized Kimimaro as the boy who had defeated Sasuke and recalled that he had already shown strength comparable to a Special Jonin.

Konoha’s leaders reconsider their Chunin Exams strategy after learning that powerful fighters such as Kimimaro will compete. Orochimaru sends Kimimaro to kill Sasuke and continues investigating the Shikotsumyaku blood disease as the Otogakure team departs for Konoha.

• Hyuga Kagami told Konoha’s leaders that Deidara could not sweep through the Chunin Exams, while they discussed how to counter the other villages’ powerful contestants.
• Orochimaru ordered Kimimaro to kill Sasuke during the Chunin Exams, and Kimimaro agreed despite suffering from worsening coughing fits.
• Orochimaru concluded that Kimimaro’s illness originated in his bone marrow and might affect the entire Kaguya Clan, and he hoped curing it would reveal the Shikotsumyaku’s full potential.
• Orochimaru considered Wind Chime’s ability to cut through Susanoo and wondered how Wind Chime had overcome the Shikotsumyaku blood disease.
• Kimimaro left for Konoha with Jugo and Haku, while Kidomaru, Tayuya, Sakon, and Ukon remained behind.

Hyuga Kagami arranged for Itachi to impersonate him while he left Konoha to join the Chunin Exams with Karin, though he refused to bring Gaara. At the former site of the Land of Whirlpools, Hozuki Suigetsu met two Kirigakure shinobi, and the one carrying Samehada introduced himself as Kirin, his mission captain.

• At Iwagakure's gates, Ōnoki warned Kurotsuchi and Deidara to stay alert and defeat the other villages' contestants at the Chunin Exams.
• Hyuga Kagami gave Itachi the gourd artifact and instructed him to impersonate the Hokage while he left the village.
• Hyuga Kagami told Itachi that Sasuke might awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan and urged him and his parents to push Sasuke to aim for first place.
• Hyuga Kagami invited Karin to join him at the Chunin Exams but refused Gaara because his Tailed Beast chakra and sand abilities could expose him.
• At the former site of the Land of Whirlpools, Hozuki Suigetsu met two masked Kirigakure shinobi, and the one carrying Samehada identified himself as Kirin, the mission captain.

Hyuga Kagami took Karin and Suigetsu to Konoha disguised as a Kirigakure team for the Chunin Exams. They passed the village checkpoint without revealing their identities, while Shisui filled out their registration forms.

• Suigetsu asked Hyuga Kagami to lend him Samehada, but backed down when Hyuga Kagami challenged him to win it in a fight.
• Hyuga Kagami, Karin, and Suigetsu traveled to Konoha, where Suigetsu and Karin admired the busy streets.
• Hyuga Kagami spotted Kimimaro, Jugo, Haku, and the Otogakure team, whose members recognized Samehada and warned one another to be careful.
• Karin worried that the checkpoint would expose her Rinnegan, but Hyuga Kagami led the team straight through while the guards stood dazed and Shisui completed their registration forms.

Obito suspected the joint Chunin Exams were a God Organization trap, while Itachi, disguised as Hyuga Kagami, denied it. As the exam participants and their allies prepared and gathered intelligence, Hyuga Kagami and Suigetsu arrived at a gambling house displaying contestants’ odds.

• Obito questioned Itachi, who was impersonating Hyuga Kagami, about whether the Chunin Exams were a trap, then left convinced they were a God Organization conspiracy.
• Sasuke promised his family he would defeat Deidara, whom he suspected of belonging to the God Organization, and planned to use the exam to investigate his father’s stolen Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Jugo used birds to track Second Pillar, while Haku discovered and disabled a Sunagakure puppet spying on the Oto shinobi.
• Kankuro told Temari that shinobi from Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Otogakure had detected his puppet, but Kirigakure’s room had been empty.
• Hyuga Kagami and Suigetsu stopped outside a gambling house, where Suigetsu asked why they had come.

Hyuga Kagami bet Samehada, Kirigakure’s famed sword, on himself to win the Chunin Exams after finding the casino’s odds attractive. He returned to the inn confident that the wager would help fund his remaining research.

• Hyuga Kagami studied the posted odds and entered the casino with Suigetsu and Karin.
• Hyuga Kagami placed a fifty-million bet on himself but offered Samehada as his stake because he had no cash.
• The casino appraised Samehada, accepted it, and added Kirigakure to the odds board.
• Suigetsu worried that Kirigakure might lose Samehada, but Hyuga Kagami confidently dismissed the possibility.
• Hyuga Kagami reflected that the betting pool could cover the funding he needed for the Yang Clone Technique.

As the Chunin Exams prepared to begin, Hyuga Kagami used the gathering to identify potential targets and noticed a Grass Ninja who gave him a chilling smile. Nearby, Kakashi and the other Jonin instructors grew suspicious of Kirigakure’s three masked participants and planned to investigate them.

• Konoha assembled the participating ninjas and announced that accidental injuries were allowed during the Chunin Exams, but malicious killing was forbidden.
• Hyuga Kagami told Karin to memorize Darui’s and Sasuke’s chakra, then watched the other contestants and singled out Darui as a target for learning about Storm Release.
• Hyuga Kagami sensed killing intent from Kimimaro toward Sasuke and recognized a Grass Ninja who stared back at him with a chilling smile.
• Kurenai, Asuma, Might Guy, Shizune, and Kakashi discussed Kirigakure’s unusually small team and its masked members.
• Kakashi noticed that Kirin’s registered photograph resembled Kagami and decided to have the Anbu test Kirigakure’s three ninjas.

Hyuga Kagami suspected Orochimaru was posing as a Grass Ninja and targeting Sasuke, then an inspection by two Konoha Anbu turned into a fight outside the Ninja Academy. The chapter ended with Hyuga Kagami striking both Anbu down in an instant.

• Hyuga Kagami recognized the Grass Ninja as Orochimaru and concluded that he was still pursuing the Sharingan and had used Kimimaro to test Sasuke.
• Hyuga Kagami considered how Orochimaru could draw on Yakushi Kabuto's body and spirit, making him an unusually dangerous opponent.
• Two Konoha Anbu demanded that Hyuga Kagami and Karin remove their masks for a supposed temporary inspection, which Hyuga Kagami recognized as a test of his team.
• Hyuga Kagami challenged the Anbu to beat him before inspecting him, while Kurotsuchi, Deidara, Kankuro, Temari, Kimimaro, Sasuke, and the Jonin instructors watched.
• Hyuga Kagami vanished and struck both Anbu from behind, sending them flying as Suigetsu remarked that they had picked the wrong person to provoke.

Hyuga Kagami revealed his exceptional Lightning Release speed by defeating two Konoha Anbu, drawing the attention of Kakashi, Sasuke, Darui, and the other exam participants. When Sasuke challenged him, Hyuga Kagami swiftly kicked him away, leaving the fight poised to continue.

• Hyuga Kagami used a Full-Body Lightning Release Stimulation Method to defeat two Konoha Anbu, astonishing the onlookers.
• Kakashi recognized the technique as Lightning Release Stimulation Method, while Sasuke and Darui realized it was an advanced Full-Body Stimulation Method.
• Naruto rushed forward to challenge Hyuga Kagami, but Sasuke stepped in and declared that he would fight instead.
• Hyuga Kagami taunted Sasuke, who used the Body Flicker Technique and Lightning Release Stimulation Method to attack him from behind.
• Hyuga Kagami slipped behind Sasuke and kicked him flying, though Sasuke managed to block the blow with his arms.

Naruto and several Konoha Genin attacked Hyuga Kagami, but he easily countered them and left with Karin and Suigetsu. The clash made him a target for the Chunin Exams, while Mei Terumi questioned the Fourth Mizukage about the identity of Kirin.

• Naruto created more than a hundred Shadow Clones and sent them at Hyuga Kagami with Rasengan.
• Hyuga Kagami used a seal-less Lightning Release net and whips to dispel many of Naruto's clones.
• Sasuke, Shikamaru, Rock Lee, and Neji attacked Hyuga Kagami, but he evaded or repelled them until Shisui stopped the fight.
• Hyuga Kagami mocked Konoha's Genin and left with Karin and Suigetsu, prompting Naruto, Sasuke, and Darui to mark him as a rival.
• Itachi, disguised as Hyuga Kagami, dismissed the dispute as a misunderstanding, and Mei Terumi asked Karatachi Yagura who Kirin was.

Hyuga Kagami deliberately provoked Konoha’s ninja to make the Chunin Exams more hostile, and his actions sparked clashes among the villages. As the first written exam began, he reassured Karin that he would handle the test.

• Hyuga Kagami explained to Suigetsu that he had provoked Konoha to make the Chunin Exams more intense, while Karin reported that Otogakure and Kusagakure ninja had begun fighting.
• Kakashi warned Sasuke that the Kirigakure Genin called Kirin was dangerous, but Sasuke vowed to defeat Kirin, Deidara, and Kimimaro.
• Over the next two days, Hyuga Kagami’s provocation fueled clashes between villages, including a brawl between Otogakure and Kusagakure and a wagered duel between Iwagakure and Kumogakure.
• Hyuga Kagami, Suigetsu, and Karin went to the Ninja Academy for the first written exam, where Hyuga Kagami told Karin not to worry because he was there.

Hyuga Kagami struggled with the written Chunin Exams, then used his Byakugan to copy answers while distinguishing a planted examinee’s false responses. He finished his paper, Karin answered most of hers, and Suigetsu remained anxious about failing Kirin’s team.

• Hyuga Kagami found the exam’s obscure questions difficult and decided to cheat rather than solve them.
• Hyuga Kagami used his Byakugan to locate the planted examinees and began copying their answers.
• Hyuga Kagami noticed that one planted examinee was deliberately giving false answers and carefully chose which responses to copy.
• Outside the examination room, Asuma told Kakashi that Shikamaru had suggested planting false answers and that proctors were watching Deidara, Darui, and Kirin closely.
• Hyuga Kagami completed his paper, Karin answered most of the questions, and Suigetsu worried that he might get Kirin’s team eliminated.

During the Chunin Exams’ written test, Karin silently sent Suigetsu the answers while examiners caught cheating teams across the halls. The test continued to eliminate ordinary candidates, leaving mostly elites and covert operatives such as Hyuga Kagami and Orochimaru.

• Karin used her fused sensory and ocular abilities to transmit answers to Suigetsu without alerting the examiners.
• In Examination Hall Four, Hinata and Sakura showed Naruto their answers, but he hesitated after examiners caught a Grass Ninja and eliminated his whole team.
• Candidates across the examination halls were caught cheating and removed, while Naruto worried that he would get Hinata and Sakura eliminated with him.
• Hyuga Kagami observed that Hall One had lost half its candidates and concluded that the written test was screening out ordinary Genin rather than the strongest competitors.
• Hyuga Kagami noticed that Orochimaru, disguised as a Grass Ninja, remained calm as the test continued.

Naruto left his test paper blank, but Ibiki gave the remaining candidates a last-minute question that let everyone pass the first test. As the candidates prepared for the second test, Sasuke rejected a plan to work together, and Asuma announced that they would have to sign life-and-death waivers.

• Naruto refused to cheat because he feared Sasuke and Sakura would be eliminated with him, and Ibiki noticed his blank paper.
• Ibiki added an extra question at the last minute and passed all the candidates who remained in the room.
• The survivors gathered in a classroom, where Hyuga Kagami observed that seventy-two candidates had passed the first test.
• Shikamaru proposed that Konoha's classmates unite against the stronger candidates, but Sasuke rejected the plan and declared that he would hunt his rivals alone.
• Asuma announced the second test and had examiners distribute life-and-death waivers to the candidates.

Asuma explained the Forest of Death exam rules, and the examinees entered the forest after drawing their scrolls. Hyuga Kagami headed toward Darui to test his Lightning Release Clone, while Sasuke charged toward Deidara’s likely location.

• Asuma explained that teams needed matching Heaven and Earth Scrolls and had to reach the central watchtower, while forbidding meaningless killing and protecting anyone who forfeited at a medical station.
• The village leaders watched the forest’s surveillance feeds as Kakashi, Shisui, and other Jonin entered ahead of the examinees to supervise the exam.
• The twenty-four teams drew scrolls and entered the Forest of Death through separate entrances after signal flares marked the start.
• Hyuga Kagami asked Karin where Darui was, then rushed toward him to develop his Lightning Release Clone’s Storm Release bloodline limit.
• Sakura told Sasuke that Deidara’s team was likely to their left, and Sasuke charged in that direction.

Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji headed to reunite with their classmates before helping Sasuke, but a distant explosion drew their attention. Elsewhere, Hyuga Kagami’s Lightning Clone and Darui fought to a standstill, while Samui and Shi attacked Karin and Suigetsu; as Karin faced Samui alone, a voice spoke in her mind.

• Shikamaru told Ino and Choji they needed to regroup with the other teams before going to help Sasuke, and an explosion shook the forest.
• Suigetsu, Shi, and Samui watched Hyuga Kagami’s Lightning Clone battle Darui, whose Storm Release and Lightning Release attacks devastated the battlefield.
• Samui and Shi decided to attack Karin and Suigetsu while Darui kept fighting Hyuga Kagami’s Lightning Clone.
• Samui attacked Karin while Shi pursued Suigetsu through the forest.
• As Samui confronted Karin, a voice entered Karin’s mind.

Gaara took control of Karin’s armored body and shocked Samui with a punch that sent a giant tree flying, while Hyuga Kagami and Darui’s battle devastated the Forest of Death. The fighting drew the attention of the Five Kage, the proctors, and Deidara, who flew toward the clash.

• Gaara took control of Karin’s Type-Three Biological Armor and struck at Samui, sending a massive tree crashing through the forest with one punch.
• The Five Kage watched the battle between Hyuga Kagami and Darui on failing surveillance screens, and Tsunade mocked the fighters for being called Genin.
• Kakashi, Shizune, Asuma, and Hizashi sensed the enormous chakra and destruction from within the Forest of Death and realized the combatants far surpassed ordinary Genin.
• Kurotsuchi, Akatsuchi, and Deidara observed the forest from a Clay Bird, and Deidara used a monocular visual aid to watch the battle.
• After sensing the powerful Lightning Release chakra, Deidara directed the Clay Bird toward the fight, eager for the action.

Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura raced through the Forest of Death to find Deidara, but Oto ninja ambushed them and targeted Sasuke. As the battle split the team apart, Orochimaru watched from a nearby tree.

• Kurotsuchi hesitated to approach the distant lightning battle, but Deidara insisted on going, dismissing the idea of fighting Sasuke because he lacked the Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura hurried through the Forest of Death toward Deidara, while a distant clash made them stop and take notice.
• Sasuke sensed an ambush, and Sakon and Ukon, Kidomaru, and Tayuya appeared and revealed that Sasuke was their target.
• Sakon and Ukon and Kidomaru attacked Sasuke while Tayuya engaged Naruto and Sakura, splitting the team apart as Sasuke was drawn away.
• Orochimaru, disguised as a Grass Ninja, watched the fight from a nearby tree.