Chapter Summaries

Kushina watched Naruto fail the Ninja Academy graduation exam while Mingren insisted that Naruto’s apparent weakness hid exceptional talent. That night, Mizuki manipulated Naruto into stealing the Scroll of Seals, while Hiruzen allowed the theft in hopes Naruto would learn the Multi Shadow Clone Technique.

• Kushina woke relieved that nothing had happened overnight, but feared the cost of their deal would come later; Mingren said he would not kill Naruto, though he might break one of his arms.
• At Naruto’s graduation exam, his Clone Technique failed, and Mingren told Kushina that Naruto had unmatched talent and that the Academy’s teachers were failing to teach him properly.
• After Naruto failed the exam, he sat alone on a swing while Mingren explained that most students who passed would eventually be eliminated from the path to becoming Genin.
• Mizuki persuaded Naruto to steal the Scroll of Seals by promising it would let him graduate, and Naruto left to sneak into the Hokage’s House.
• Naruto used Sexy Jutsu to knock out Hiruzen and took the scroll; Hiruzen then revealed he had allowed the theft, hoping Naruto would learn the Multi Shadow Clone Technique through his bloodline.

Naruto graduated after Iruka helped him overcome his loneliness, and Kushina gained hope in her son's potential. At the Academy, however, Naruto began bullying Sasuke, leaving Kushina worried about his character.

• Hiruzen arranged for Naruto to steal the Scroll of Seals so he could learn the Multi Shadow Clone Technique and receive Iruka's understanding.
• Iruka told Naruto that people in the village cared about him, and Naruto used a thousand Shadow Clones to defeat Mizuki.
• Naruto graduated, and Kushina gained hope after realizing the Eight Trigrams Seal had converted the Nine-Tails' Chakra into power for him.
• At the graduation orientation, Naruto approached Sasuke to provoke him, but Mingren's thrown stone made Naruto stumble before he could kiss him.
• Kushina objected when Mingren pointed out that Naruto was bullying Sasuke, then worried about Naruto's conduct when the two boys were assigned to the same class.
• At noon, Naruto launched a sneak attack on Sasuke while Sasuke was eating a rice ball.

Team 7 passed Kakashi’s test and later traveled to the Land of Waves, where Naruto overcame his initial fear and helped rescue Kakashi from Zabuza. Mingren brought Kushina to the country, and after Haku appeared to claim Zabuza, Kakashi believed the masked ninja was not an enemy.

• Kakashi tested Team 7, judged their teamwork sufficient, and officially made them Genin, while Kushina worried about the adult book he carried.
• Team 7 took routine D-rank missions, then set out for the Land of Waves to escort Tazuna.
• Mingren returned to Kushina, told her Naruto had reached the Land of Waves, and took her there under Dark Chakra.
• The Demon Brothers ambushed Team 7, Naruto froze, Sakura protected Tazuna, and Sasuke fought back before Kakashi stopped the attackers.
• Zabuza trapped Kakashi in a Water Prison, but Naruto devised a plan with Sasuke to free him, and Kakashi defeated Zabuza.
• Haku appeared disguised as a Mist Anbu, claimed the kill, and convinced Kakashi that he was not an enemy.

Kushina watched Naruto and Sasuke grow closer while Mingren warned her of Konoha’s corruption, then Naruto’s fight with Haku was interrupted by Mingren’s overwhelming attack. The battle ended with Naruto and Haku terrified and unable to move.

• Kakashi collapsed after using too much Chakra, and Naruto and the others carried him back to Tazuna’s home.
• Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura trained in tree climbing, and Naruto and Sasuke became friends.
• Mingren suggested that Konoha’s leadership was responsible for the Uchiha Clan Massacre and declared that Konoha should be destroyed, leaving Kushina fearful for Naruto.
• Zabuza returned to the bridge with Haku, and Naruto charged into Haku’s Demonic Mirror Ice Crystals.
• Sasuke took a seemingly fatal attack for Naruto, causing Naruto’s Nine-Tails’ Chakra to erupt as he attacked Haku.
• Mingren’s black beam and killing intent blew Naruto and Haku away, stopped Naruto’s rampage, and left both trembling and unable to move.

Amakawa Mingren appeared on the bridge and challenged Kakashi’s ideas about what a ninja should do, pointing out that killing Zabuza would not protect the Tazuna family from Gato. When Gato arrived with his thugs, Mingren killed him and more than thirty men with one punch, then prepared to attack the rest.

• Kakashi used the Eight Ninja Hounds to locate Zabuza in the fog and readied his Lightning Cutter, while Zabuza defended his ideals.
• Mingren descended between Kakashi and Zabuza and argued that killing Zabuza would not end Gato’s threat to the Tazuna family or the Land of Waves.
• Gato arrived with more than a hundred thugs, but froze in terror when he recognized Mingren.
• Mingren killed Gato and more than thirty of his men with a single punch.
• Mingren raised his fist against the surviving thugs and told them to stay behind.

Mingren killed Gato and his forces, then recruited Zabuza and Haku and assigned them roles in Amegakure and the Gato Corporation. After Mingren left the Land of Waves with Kushina, Kakashi took his team back toward Konoha and prepared to report what had happened.

• Mingren killed Gato and more than seventy of his men, then offered Zabuza and Haku protection if they joined his village.
• Haku accepted Mingren's offer, and Zabuza agreed to go with him to Amegakure for new assignments.
• Mingren ordered Haku to gather intelligence for Ying and Zabuza to take control of the Gato Corporation's shipping empire.
• Mingren criticized Konoha, vanished, and later left the Land of Waves with Kushina.
• Kakashi led Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura back toward Konoha to report Mingren's return, while Sakura asked Kakashi who he was.

Sakura learned that Amegakure’s leader, Amakawa Mingren, was as powerful as Hanzo, while Kakashi lamented Konoha’s suppression of history. In Konoha, Mingren watched Asuma pursue Kurenai, whose grief and secrets kept her from accepting him, until she discovered a dark figure in her living room.

• Kakashi told Sakura that Amakawa Mingren was Amegakure’s actual leader and no weaker than Hanzo, but Sakura did not know who Hanzo was.
• Sakura decided to ask her parents about Konoha’s hidden history and fell asleep at camp.
• Mingren returned Kushina to Konoha and watched Asuma try to persuade Kurenai to have a meal with him.
• Kurenai rejected Asuma and went home, while Mingren knew she could not be with him because she had become his Dark Weapon.
• Kurenai shut Asuma out, then sank down behind the door in anguish and noticed a dark figure standing in her living room.

Amakawa Mingren confronted Kurenai Yuhi, restrained her, and told her his version of the events behind her father's death and the Hyuga clan's sacrifice. Kushina found a note saying Mingren was visiting Kurenai and hurried to Kurenai Shinku's home, fearing for her safety.

• Kurenai Yuhi attacked Mingren when he appeared in her home, but he quickly overpowered and pinned her against the wall.
• Mingren told Kurenai that her father had become a despicable man during a diplomatic mission and urged her to confirm the account with Shikaku Nara.
• Mingren recounted how Hizashi Hyuga had become a substitute sacrifice after Hiashi Hyuga was sent to die, then told Kurenai to verify the details with Shikaku and Hiashi.
• Mingren struck Kurenai, and she was left dazed.
• Kushina read Mingren's note that he was going to see Kurenai Yuhi and feared he intended to kill her.
• Kushina put on her Restraint Tool and rushed to Kurenai Shinku's former home.

Kushina witnessed Amakawa Mingren overpower Kurenai Yuhi, then woke from a nightmare about suffering the same fate. After Kushina admitted her disobedience by kneeling and eating the lunch he gave her, several months passed and Naruto and Sasuke continued working hard.

• Kushina entered Kurenai Yuhi’s home and watched Amakawa Mingren defeat her with overwhelming taijutsu.
• Kushina returned to the inn and dreamed that Amakawa Mingren was beating her instead of Kurenai Yuhi.
• Kushina woke in the afternoon, washed, and thought about Minato and the power that kept her looking young.
• Amakawa Mingren told Kushina that Naruto had returned and confronted her for sneaking out.
• Kushina knelt before Amakawa Mingren and forced herself to finish the lunch he had given her.
• Several months after the Land of Waves mission, Naruto and Sasuke worked hard in silence.

As Konoha prepared for the Chunin Exam, Mingren’s plans advanced in the Land of Rain while Amegakure’s teams traveled to Konoha. The exam began with Genin from several villages gathered at the Ninja Academy, including participants brought in by changes to the original course of events.

• Sakura gathered information about Mingren, Kakashi resumed training, and Hiruzen promoted more ninja after confirming Mingren was alive in the Land of Waves.
• Kurenai’s growing hatred and Dark Chakra Jutsu strengthened her, while Asuma continued pursuing her and Kushina struggled with nightmares about Mingren.
• Zabuza took control of Gato Corporation and turned it into a Rain-registered shipping company, while Ying, Ajisai, Haku, and other Amegakure residents prepared for the Chunin Exam and an assassination plan.
• Mingren surveyed Konoha from Hokage Rock and saw Genin from other villages arrive for the exam.
• Ying, Ajisai, and Haku entered Konoha, where crowds recognized Ying as the singer from the Princess Fuun movie; Hiruzen then ordered the village’s Jonin to select its Genin teams.
• Genin from Konoha and several other villages assembled at the Ninja Academy for the Chunin Exam, whose participants included teams from Amegakure, Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure.

At the Chunin Exam, Ying impressed the examiners by answering the written test perfectly, then challenged Ibiki Morino’s authority when he announced the coercive rules for the tenth question. She accused Konoha of invading the Land of Rain and questioned whether the punishment was real, leaving the examination hall tense.

• Mingren watched the assembled foreign teams near the Ninja Academy and trusted that Ying could handle the competition.
• Ying completed all nine written questions correctly and handed in her paper in under ten minutes.
• Darui, Shi, and Mabui observed the exam while pursuing intelligence about Amegakure and Hanzo of the Salamander.
• Ibiki Morino announced that refusing the tenth question would disqualify an entire team and answering incorrectly would permanently bar a candidate from the Chunin Exam.
• Ying challenged Ibiki Morino’s claim that the strong made the rules, saying she would take control if she proved stronger and accusing Konoha of invading the Land of Rain.
• Ying questioned whether Ibiki Morino could truly permanently ban candidates for answering the tenth question incorrectly.

Ying forced Ibiki Morino to pass the unusually large group of examinees, and the second stage began at the Forest of Death. Meanwhile, Pakura arrived at Konoha’s guest reception room as an Amegakure shinobi, where Maki and the other village representatives saw her again.

• Ying threatened to expose the identities of important heirs, so Ibiki Morino passed all the first-stage examinees.
• Ibiki Morino told Hiruzen Sarutobi that the Amegakure Genin might target Naruto Uzumaki, but Hiruzen expected Konoha’s teams to protect him.
• Anko Mitarashi introduced the Forest of Death, but Ying, Kidomaru, and Kin demanded that she start the exam instead of talking.
• Haku warned Anko that Ying was formidable, and Naruto recognized Haku as the person he had met in the Land of Waves.
• Pakura entered Konoha’s guest reception room, where Maki saw that she now wore an Amegakure forehead protector, and Kitsuchi greeted her.

Pakura and the other village representatives gathered ahead of the Chunin Exam’s decisive assessment, while Ying, Ajisai, and Haku entered the Forest of Death. After Orosuke Hime attacked Sasuke and Anko tracked her down, Anko discovered that her former teacher now appeared as a woman.

• Pakura met with Kimimaro, Dodai, and Ao, and planned to complete Amakawa Mingren’s task before Rasa arrived for the assessment.
• Ying, Ajisai, and Haku entered the Forest of Death, where Ying prepared to blast a path through it with the Earth Spider Clan’s secret technique.
• Orosuke Hime attacked Team 7 and left Sasuke with a Cursed Seal, prompting Anko to pursue her into the forest.
• Anko’s Cursed Seal began aching as she followed Orosuke Hime’s trail, and she realized Orochimaru was nearby.
• Orosuke Hime revealed herself to Anko as a woman and claimed that Anko should recognize her former teacher.

Mingren confronted Orosuke Hime after she defeated Anko, and she summoned Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and the Third Kazekage with the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu. Mingren asked Orosuke Hime about Rasa, but she claimed she knew nothing about him.

• Orosuke Hime defeated Anko and revealed that she had given a child a Cursed Seal like Anko’s.
• Mingren arrived, and Orosuke Hime summoned Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and the Third Kazekage.
• Hashirama Senju reprimanded Tobirama Senju for creating the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, while Mingren warned Hashirama Senju to mind his words.
• Mingren asked Orosuke Hime where Rasa was, and she laughed and denied knowing anything about him.

Orosuke Hime summoned Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and the Third Kazekage to fight Mingren, but Mingren easily destroyed Tobirama and killed Hashirama. The Third Kazekage stood ready to join the fight after Orosuke Hime warned that Mingren planned to destroy Sunagakure.

• Orosuke Hime introduced herself to the three resurrected Kage as Orochimaru and explained that Tsunade had left Konoha after losing Nawaki and her lover.
• Mingren declared himself ruler of the Amegakure Alliance and future Emperor of the Ninja World, while Tobirama Senju dismissed him as a minor village leader.
• Mingren blasted Tobirama Senju apart with a punch, and Tobirama's body regenerated through Impure World Reincarnation.
• Orosuke Hime warned the Third Kazekage that Mingren planned to assassinate Rasa and destroy Sunagakure, prompting the Third Kazekage to prepare iron sand.
• After Mingren called Tobirama Senju trash and said he meant to shame him in history, Hashirama Senju tried to question him, but Mingren killed Hashirama with one punch.

Amakawa Mingren overwhelmed the resurrected Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Third Kazekage, while Orosuke Hime’s control over the dead proved vulnerable. The Third Kazekage freed himself and returned to the underworld, leaving Mingren to confront Orosuke Hime and prepare to harvest her Negative Emotions.

• Amakawa Mingren repeatedly punched Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju apart as their Impure World bodies regenerated.
• Amakawa Mingren shattered the Third Kazekage’s Iron Sand defense and body, then challenged him to remain a puppet despite his title and dignity.
• The Third Kazekage broke free of Orosuke Hime’s Impure World Reincarnation through his will and ascended to the underworld.
• Amakawa Mingren struck the still-regenerating Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju again, then turned his attention to Orosuke Hime.
• Orosuke Hime realized that the dead could break free of her technique, while Amakawa Mingren planned to harvest her Negative Emotions.

Mingren used Orosuke Hime’s extracted Negative Emotions to complete a corporeal Dark Shadow that could fight independently and contain those emotions. He overwhelmed her and left her helpless as his attack continued.

• Mingren extracted Negative Emotions from Orosuke Hime, weakening her and preventing her escape.
• Mingren formed a humanoid Dark Shadow that could shift between his body and a physical form and serve as a vessel for Negative Emotions.
• The Dark Shadow struck Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju, reducing their regenerating Reanimated Bodies to particles.
• Mingren seized Orosuke Hime’s wrist, punched her in the abdomen, and slammed her facedown onto the ground.
• Mingren’s Dark Taijutsu struck the weakened Orosuke Hime with enough force to nearly tear her body apart.

Mingren beat Orosuke Hime in the Forest of Death and forced her to reveal the Impure World Reincarnation release seals. After Dark Shadow destroyed the two Hokage’s sacrificial bodies, Mingren prepared to take Orosuke Hime away for further interrogation.

• Mingren repeatedly beat Orosuke Hime and demanded information about Rasa’s plans.
• Mingren noticed Anko Mitarashi was close to waking and warned Orosuke Hime that she and the recovering Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju might see her.
• Orosuke Hime formed the hand seals and released the Impure World Reincarnation.
• Dark Shadow turned Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju’s sacrificial bodies to dust.

Mingren abducted Orosuke Hime for interrogation while Ying unleashed a devastating Natural Energy attack in the Forest of Death. Ying’s team reached the Tower in under half an hour, and Mingren had three days to question Orosuke Hime before the Chunin Exam’s second stage ended.

• Mingren carried Orosuke Hime away, and Anko later woke to find the area deserted as Konoha ANBU reinforcements arrived.
• Ying fired a massive Natural Energy beam that tore a ten-kilometer path through the forest and drew the attention of examiners and Genin teams.
• Ying explained that she had drawn on the surrounding Natural Energy, while Ajisai and Haku marveled at her power.
• Ying, Haku, and Ajisai reached the Tower in under half an hour, breaking the records set by Minato Namikaze and Itachi Uchiha.
• Mingren returned to his Konoha inn with Orosuke Hime and prepared to interrogate her during the three-day second stage.

Mingren interrogated Orosuke Hime and enlisted Kushina to seal her mind inside her current body, preventing her from using Living Corpse Reincarnation. The Eight Trigrams Seal activated successfully, though its effect on Orosuke Hime had not yet been confirmed.

• Mingren brought the captive Orosuke Hime to his inn and began interrogating her with an array of restraint tools while Kushina watched from hiding.
• After hours of torture weakened Orosuke Hime, Mingren asked Kushina to use the Eight Trigrams Seal to lock her mind inside her body.
• Mingren explained Orosuke Hime's body-seizing technique, and Kushina agreed to attempt the seal.
• Kushina performed the Eight Trigrams Seal with Mingren's Chakra supporting the technique, and a flash of white light extinguished the altar candles.