Chapter Summaries

After leaving Stone Village, Deidara encountered Menma and the Ember Organization’s forces on the border of the Land of Earth. He demanded proof of Menma’s identity and insisted on witnessing and learning the explosive ninjutsu he had used near Konoha before agreeing to join.

• Deidara traveled toward the Land of Fire while shaping clay and thinking about joining the Ember Organization.
• Menma’s Nine-Headed Beasts and other followers surrounded Deidara, and Menma appeared to invite him into the organization.
• Deidara recognized Menma as the Ember Organization’s leader and eagerly declared that he wanted to pursue the art he called Ashes.
• Deidara detonated a clay spider at Menma, but Menma vanished from the blast and reappeared unharmed behind him.
• Deidara explained that the explosion was a test of Menma’s identity, then demanded to see and learn the legendary ninjutsu he had used over Konoha.

Menma demonstrated the Great Rasenshuriken to Deidara in the Land of Wind desert, destroying a vast stretch of dunes. Overwhelmed by the display, Deidara thanked Menma, and Naruto gained a Level 2 Bond with him.

• Menma used the Flying Thunder God Technique to bring Deidara to an empty desert in the Land of Wind.
• Menma gathered most of his Chakra to form the Great Rasenshuriken while Deidara watched eagerly.
• Menma released the Great Rasenshuriken, which exploded and vaporized dunes across the desert.
• Deidara watched the destruction in bliss and thanked Menma for showing him the ultimate art.
• Naruto gained a Level 2 Bond with Deidara and received 300 points.

Menma recruited Deidara into the Ember Organization and arranged for him to train in a secluded facility. Back in Konoha, Team 7 was assigned a C-rank escort mission, and their drunken client arrived as the Land of Waves mission began.

• Menma brought Deidara to the Ember Organization’s base and introduced him to Hizashi as its third core combatant.
• Menma arranged a remote training ground where Deidara could develop his Explosion Release art and explained basic principles of Rasenshuriken’s energy compression and shape stabilization.
• Team 7 tracked down Hachimi, the Feudal Lord’s wife’s runaway cat, and returned it after completing their D-rank mission.
• The Third Hokage praised Team 7’s performance and assigned them a C-rank escort mission, reassuring Iruka that Kakashi would supervise them.
• Naruto recognized the mission as the start of the Land of Waves assignment and considered recruiting two people there into the Ember Organization.
• The old, drunken client entered the Third Hokage’s office carrying a bottle of sake.

Team 7 accepted Tazuna’s escort mission to the Land of Waves after Kakashi and Hiruzen vouched for the young shinobi. As Satsuki prepared to leave, she packed her Naruto body pillow and secretly asked her mother not to open a drawer containing photos of Naruto.

• Tazuna doubted Team 7 could protect him, but Kakashi and Hiruzen assured him the young shinobi were capable, and he agreed to the mission.
• Kakashi told Naruto, Satsuki, and Sakura to pack and meet at the village gate in half an hour.
• Satsuki agonized over bringing her Naruto body pillow and packed it with supplies for herself and Naruto.
• Fugaku questioned Satsuki’s oversized luggage, and she sealed it all into a storage scroll Naruto had given her.
• Mikoto saw Satsuki off, and Satsuki asked her not to open the locked desk drawer containing her secret photos of Naruto.

Team 7 encountered the Demon Brothers on the road to the Land of Waves, and Naruto and Satsuki quickly subdued them. Kakashi confronted Tazuna about concealing the mission’s real danger, while Satsuki’s Sharingan awakened and she turned her fury on the client for endangering Naruto.

• Kakashi explained that the C-rank escort was expected to involve no enemy ninja, while Tazuna showed signs of guilt.
• Naruto and Satsuki anticipated the ambush and swiftly captured the Demon Brothers when they attacked Kakashi.
• Kakashi identified the attackers as Mist Village Chunin and warned Tazuna that the mission might exceed its agreed rank.
• Kakashi told Team 7 they could end the mission and return to Konoha if Tazuna had deliberately hidden crucial information.
• Satsuki awakened her Sharingan, realized Tazuna had lied about the danger, and fixed him with murderous anger for putting Naruto at risk.

After Tazuna’s lie about the mission rank was exposed, Naruto stopped Satsuki from attacking him, and Team 7 chose to continue the mission after Tazuna apologized and promised proper payment. They reached the Land of Waves, where Tazuna explained that Gato was trying to control the nation’s shipping and that the sea bridge threatened his monopoly.

• Satsuki drew a kunai on Tazuna, but Naruto grasped her wrist and calmed her before she could attack.
• Kakashi told Tazuna that Team 7 would return to Konoha, but Tazuna apologized and promised to explain the deception to the Hokage and pay the proper mission fee.
• Naruto chose to continue the mission for the training and payment, and Satsuki and Sakura agreed to follow his decision.
• Team 7 traveled to a port, crossed the sea by boat, and arrived in the misty Land of Waves.
• Tazuna told Kakashi that Gato had blockaded the country’s shipping routes and that his planned bridge was meant to break Gato’s monopoly.

Naruto and Kakashi confronted Momochi Zabuza on the way to Tazuna’s home, where Zabuza used the Hidden Mist Jutsu to conceal himself. Naruto countered by spreading water across the ground so Kakashi could electrify it, striking Zabuza through the fog.

• Satsuki silently blamed Tazuna for the danger his lie had brought and vowed to kill him if Naruto was hurt.
• Zabuza ambushed the group with shuriken, then appeared and demanded that Kakashi hand over Tazuna.
• Naruto stepped forward to help Kakashi fight, and Kakashi warned him not to use his dangerous unknown power.
• Kakashi ordered Satsuki and Sakura to protect Tazuna, then revealed his Sharingan as Zabuza spread the Hidden Mist Jutsu.
• Naruto used Water Style: Water Colliding Wave to flood the ground, and Kakashi sent lightning through it, making Zabuza groan from within the mist.

Naruto and Kakashi fought Momochi Zabuza through a series of Water Clone feints, with Naruto repeatedly disrupting Zabuza’s attacks. Kakashi seized an opening to stab toward Zabuza’s heart, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Naruto struck Zabuza’s Water Clone with a lightning technique, then followed with Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu after sensing the real Zabuza nearby.
• Kakashi intercepted Zabuza’s attack on Naruto, but both Zabuza and Kakashi turned out to be Water Clones.
• Kakashi confronted another Water Clone, only for the real Zabuza to attack him from behind.
• Naruto rushed in and blocked Zabuza’s strike against Kakashi with a kunai.
• Zabuza tried to retreat into the mist, but Naruto’s shurikenjutsu distracted him and Kakashi lunged at his heart with a kunai.

Kakashi, Naruto, and Satsuki fought Momochi Zabuza, with Satsuki trapping him and nearly striking him with a Fire Release technique before a mysterious Mist Anbu rescued him. The team reached Tazuna’s home safely, while Naruto considered how to recruit Zabuza and Haku as Menma.

• Kakashi wounded Zabuza, and Satsuki used Chakra-threaded shuriken to bind him to a tree.
• Satsuki overcame her fear of Zabuza and attacked him with Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique, but an unseen attacker severed her threads with senbon.
• Kakashi launched a Great Fireball at Zabuza, but a masked Mist Village Anbu used Ice Release to shield him and escape with him into the mist.
• Kakashi praised his students and explained that Zabuza was the notorious rogue Jonin known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist.
• The group arrived safely at Tazuna’s home, while Naruto considered how to recruit Zabuza and Haku as Menma.

Kakashi trained Team 7 to prepare for Zabuza and his Ice Release ally while Naruto planned a new combined attack with Satsuki and Sakura improved her Chakra control. After a quiet day of bridge construction and training, they returned to Tazuna’s house and encountered a deeply troubled child.

• Tsunami welcomed Team 7, and they spent the night at Tazuna’s house.
• Kakashi took Team 7 to a forest clearing, taught Sakura tree climbing, and left Naruto and Satsuki to train independently.
• Naruto planned a Wind and Fire Release shuriken attack with Satsuki and decided to postpone studying forbidden techniques.
• Sakura mastered tree climbing, then began taijutsu training with new weighted gear Satsuki had bought for her.
• After a peaceful day at the bridge construction site, Team 7 returned to Tazuna’s house and met a depressed child.

After Inari’s outburst at dinner, Tazuna explained how Gato’s men had publicly executed Inari’s stepfather, Kaiza, destroying the boy’s faith in resistance. Naruto trained through the night after sending a disguised Shadow Clone to the Ember Organization’s base, then woke at dawn to find the gentle-looking Haku beside him.

• Inari shouted that Naruto, Satsuki, and Sakura could never defeat Gato’s men, then ran to his room in tears.
• Tazuna explained that Kaiza had tried to organize resistance against Gato, but Gato’s men captured and publicly executed him.
• Naruto reflected on Gato’s weak forces and imagined Kakuzu discussing money with him after his coming death.
• After dinner, Naruto sent a Shadow Clone disguised as Menma and wearing a Fox Mask to the Ember Organization’s base in the Land of Hot Water.
• Naruto trained alone with sealing formulas and the Adamantine Sealing Chains until he exhausted himself and fell asleep in the clearing.
• At dawn, Haku woke Naruto and warned him that he would catch a cold sleeping outside.

Naruto met Haku while he gathered medicinal herbs for Zabuza, and secretly used the encounter to leave Haku before rejoining Satsuki. As the bridge neared completion and Team 7 kept watch, a small boat approached through the sea fog.

• Naruto helped Haku gather herbs and secretly placed a golden figure before him as he left.
• Haku told Satsuki where Naruto was, and she hurried to find him while Haku realized they might meet as enemies.
• Bridge workers returned as construction progressed, and Sakura grew more hopeful about the bridge's purpose.
• Naruto, Satsuki, and Sakura guarded the bridge while Kakashi read Make-Out Paradise and Naruto left a Shadow Clone at Tazuna's house.
• A small wooden boat silently approached beneath the bridge through the morning sea fog.

Kakashi's team faced Zabuza's renewed attack in the bridge's dense fog, while Naruto and Satsuki fought Haku. Satsuki shattered Haku's ice mirror and appeared behind him, but Haku began a counterattack with his Secret Technique: Thousand Killing Water Flight.

• Kakashi recognized the unnatural fog as a sign that Zabuza had returned and ordered the team to protect Tazuna.
• Naruto and Satsuki destroyed Zabuza's Water Clones, and Satsuki intercepted senbon aimed at Sakura and Tazuna.
• Zabuza appeared with Haku, and Naruto volunteered to fight the masked youth.
• Haku exchanged attacks with Naruto while Satsuki used Chakra-threaded shuriken and Lightning Style to break Haku's ice mirror.
• Satsuki appeared behind Haku with her kunai as he completed the hand seals for Secret Technique: Thousand Killing Water Flight.

Naruto and Satsuki forced Haku to escalate by combining wind and fire techniques, but Haku trapped them inside his Demonic Mirror Ice Crystals. As Zabuza declared victory, Kakashi insisted that Naruto was the strongest fighter on Team 7.

• Haku reversed the shattered ice mirror fragments into a barrage of needles, but Naruto pulled Satsuki clear with Adamantine Sealing Chains and kicked Haku away.
• Naruto and Satsuki combined Wind Style: Great Breakthrough and Fire Style: Fire Phoenix Flower Skill into a flaming tornado that dispersed the fog and melted Haku’s ice walls.
• Haku avoided the combined attack with a Water Clone and trapped Naruto and Satsuki inside his Demonic Mirror Ice Crystals.
• Zabuza turned to Kakashi and claimed Haku was his perfect tool and would defeat them.
• Kakashi told Zabuza that Naruto, not Kakashi, was Team 7’s strongest fighting force.

Naruto protected Satsuki from Haku’s speed and countered his ice-senbon barrage, then unleashed Kurama’s chakra to end the fight quickly. He left Satsuki alarmed by pretending the form might overwhelm his body, unaware of how deeply their bond had shaped her resolve.

• Haku used the ice mirrors to move too quickly for Satsuki to react, but Naruto intercepted his senbon attack.
• Haku retreated into the mirrors and launched ice senbon from every direction, while Naruto shielded himself and Satsuki with Wind Release: Air Cyclone.
• Naruto drew on Kurama’s chakra and formed a one-tailed cloak to finish the battle faster.
• Naruto told Satsuki that his new form might strain his body and that she would need to take over if he failed, prompting her to worry about him.
• Naruto reflected that Satsuki might leave only if he became a rogue ninja or died, without realizing how strongly their bond influenced her.

Naruto unleashed Kurama's Chakra and overwhelmed Haku, while Kakashi moved to end his fight with Zabuza quickly. The chapter ended as Naruto's punch struck Haku's mask.

• Kakashi revealed his Sharingan and began copying Zabuza's hand seals as Naruto's scarlet Chakra erupted from Haku's ice prison.
• Naruto shattered Haku's ice mirrors with his fists and melted the senbon with his Chakra cloak.
• Haku sent two Water Clones and his true body to attack Naruto at close range, but Naruto's Chakra shockwave blasted them back and destroyed the clones.
• Naruto appeared above the helpless Haku and struck his mask with a Chakra-wrapped fist.

Naruto defeated Haku but stopped him from killing himself, prompting Haku to race to Zabuza’s battlefield. Haku arrived just as Kakashi attacked Zabuza and took the Lightning Cutter through his chest in Zabuza’s place.

• Naruto defeated Haku, and the ice mirrors vanished as Haku collapsed on the bridge.
• Haku asked Naruto to kill him, but Naruto stopped him when he tried to take his own life.
• Haku formed an ice mirror and rushed to Zabuza’s battlefield.
• Kakashi trapped Zabuza with his ninja hounds and charged at him with Lightning Cutter.
• Haku appeared in front of Zabuza and took Kakashi’s Lightning Cutter through his chest.

Haku took Kakashi’s Lightning Cutter to save Zabuza, but Naruto’s hidden safeguard kept Haku alive as Zabuza faltered in grief and lost the fight. Gato arrived with a crowd of thugs and announced that he intended to kill both sides, leaving Naruto to face the absurdity of Gato’s plan.

• Haku restrained Kakashi after taking the Lightning Cutter, and Kakashi dragged Haku clear of Zabuza’s strike instead of breaking free.
• Naruto’s life-energy butterflies entered Haku’s wound and stabilized him at the boundary between life and death.
• Kakashi exploited Zabuza’s hesitation, struck his sword arm with a kunai, and told him that he had already lost.
• Gato arrived with armed thugs and revealed that he planned to kill Zabuza and the Konoha ninja to avoid paying them.
• Naruto reached the battlefield with Satsuki and wondered how an idiot like Gato had become one of the richest men in the world.

Naruto pushed Zabuza to confront his feelings for Haku, and Zabuza broke down in grief before resolving to avenge him. As Gato ordered his men to attack, Menma and Kakuzu arrived on the bridge and threatened Gato.

• Kakashi lowered his kunai as Zabuza called for their fight to end and said he no longer needed to kill the old man.
• Gato kicked Haku’s motionless body, and Naruto urged Zabuza to acknowledge how deeply Haku had cared for him.
• Zabuza broke down in tears, admitted Haku had been a good person, and realized that ninjas were people who could feel pain and grief.
• Gato ordered his men to kill everyone, and Zabuza prepared to charge at him for Haku’s sake.
• A sudden gale announced the arrival of Menma and Kakuzu, and Menma told Gato that he would not let Zabuza and Haku die and that Gato deserved to die.

Menma revealed himself as the leader of Ashes and slaughtered Gato’s thugs with invisible wind blades. Gato was left alive and trembling, while Kakashi shielded his students from the carnage.

• Gato recognized Menma as the one behind his ruined plans and hid behind his armed thugs.
• Kakashi recognized Menma as the feared leader of Ashes and warned Naruto, Satsuki, and Sakura not to fight him.
• Menma refused Kakuzu’s offer to handle Gato’s men and instead told him to prepare for an interrogation.
• Gato ordered his thugs to attack Menma, who decapitated every one of them at once while sparing Gato.
• Naruto covered Satsuki’s eyes, and Kakashi covered Sakura’s as Gato stared at the massacre in terror.