Chapter Summaries

Menma’s forces captured Gato, and Kakuzu dragged him away to interrogate him about his wealth. Menma then approached the grieving Zabuza and began proposing a deal involving Haku.

• The White Tiger and the other Nine-Headed Beasts trapped Gato as he tried to escape, and Menma refused to spare him despite his offers of money.
• Menma handed Gato over to Kakuzu, who eagerly dragged him away for a financial interrogation.
• Zabuza stood devastated beside Haku’s body, believing the boy was dead and blaming himself for failing him.
• Menma provoked Zabuza by calling Haku a useful tool, and Zabuza tearfully insisted that Haku was not a tool.
• Menma agreed that a ninja could not be a tool and told Zabuza they should make a deal.

Menma offered to save Haku in exchange for Zabuza and Haku joining the Ember Organization, then demonstrated his power by restoring a decapitated corpse. Realizing Haku still had a faint pulse, Zabuza abandoned his despair and begged Menma to save him.

• Menma offered to revive Haku if Zabuza and Haku joined the Ember Organization, but Zabuza angrily accused him of cruelly joking about Haku's death.
• Menma used Crazy Diamond to restore a decapitated thug's body, though he explained that the man could not awaken because the Grim Reaper had taken his soul.
• Menma told Zabuza that Haku's soul remained nearby and that he could save him while he still had a breath left.
• Kakashi witnessed Menma's ability and was shaken by memories of someone he had failed to save.
• Zabuza felt Haku's faint breath and pulse, then bowed in dogeza and begged Menma to save him, offering everything he had.

Menma healed Haku after Zabuza proved he was willing to abandon his past ambitions to save him. Haku returned to life, and Menma departed with Zabuza and Haku while Kakashi’s team remained on the bridge, shaken by what they had witnessed.

• Zabuza told Menma he would become a demon and give up his dreams if that was what it took to save Haku.
• Kakashi feared Menma might silence the witnesses, but resolved to protect Naruto, Sakura, and Satsuki at any cost.
• Menma used Crazy Diamond to repair Haku’s fatal wound, restoring his breathing and stable vital signs.
• Zabuza gathered the unconscious Haku into his arms and wept with relief.
• Menma swept the corpses and blood off the bridge, then teleported away with Zabuza and Haku, leaving Kakashi’s group behind.

After Menma and the others left, Kakashi and Naruto recovered while Tazuna realized Gato’s rule over the Land of Waves was ending. Kakuzu extracted and seized Gato’s fortune, and the people of the Land of Waves killed Gato, leaving the country free of his control.

• Kakashi collapsed from exhaustion after Menma, Zabuza, and Haku vanished, while Sakura and Satsuki checked on Kakashi and Naruto.
• Tazuna escorted the exhausted Team 7 home, then led workers to the Gato Group headquarters, where they heard Kakuzu interrogating Gato.
• Kakuzu forced Gato to reveal his hidden wealth and spent several days collecting and liquidating his assets.
• Menma returned to the Land of Waves and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to transport Gato’s fortune to Ashes’ base in the Land of Hot Water.
• After Kakuzu spared Gato as promised, the enraged people of the Land of Waves seized and killed him.

After Gato’s death, the Land of Waves rebuilt its bridge while Team 7 stayed to recover and finish the escort mission. Kakashi sent intelligence about Menma to Konoha and resolved to become stronger, and the team departed for home after Tazuna bid them farewell.

• The bridge workers returned after Gato’s death, and Satsuki insisted that Naruto rest while Kakashi recovered from his injuries and Chakra exhaustion.
• Sakura helped care for Kakashi and carried out the escort duties as the Land of Waves grew safer and more hopeful.
• Kakashi summoned a ninja hound and sent the Third Hokage intelligence about Menma’s restoration ability, the recruitment of Zabuza and Haku, and Gato’s removal.
• Kakashi reflected on his weakness before Menma and resolved to resume serious training after returning to Konoha.
• The bridge was completed, Tazuna thanked Team 7 and promised to pay the proper mission reward, and the team set out for Konoha.

After returning to Konoha with Team 7, Naruto’s shadow clone learned that Yagura had stepped down and the weakened Hidden Mist was under Elder Genji’s temporary care. Menma welcomed Zabuza and Haku into Ashes, assigned them to its Anbu, and finished dealing with the Land of Waves.

• Menma’s intelligence network reported that Yagura had stepped down, leaving Elder Genji to oversee the Hidden Mist while its Blood Mist policies remained in place.
• Menma concluded that the Hidden Mist was too weakened to pursue conflict and would likely seek to recover Zabuza and Haku, but both had already joined Ashes.
• Zabuza stayed at Haku’s bedside until he woke, then claimed he had joined Ashes to repay Menma for saving his life rather than because Menma had rescued Haku.
• The system awarded Menma a Level 4 Bond with Zabuza and an initial Bond with Haku.
• Menma assigned Zabuza and Haku to Ashes’s Anbu under Shisui Uchiha and used money taken from Gato to prepare to buy Explosive Tags.

Team 7 finished a D-rank mission, and Sakura protested that they were still assigned menial work despite their S-rank record from the Land of Waves. After Naruto left, Kakashi recognized Satsuki's feelings for him and asked whether she liked Naruto.

• Kakashi dismissed Team 7 after their mission, but Sakura complained that they should receive C-rank missions instead of more D-rank tasks.
• Kakashi explained that their S-rank evaluation came from an exceptional situation and said he would ask the Hokage about C-rank work.
• Naruto headed home to care for the Pokemon Egg in his backpack, while Satsuki watched him leave without speaking.
• Sakura went home, and Kakashi noticed that Satsuki remained distracted as she stared after Naruto.
• Kakashi realized Satsuki's feelings for Naruto and asked her directly whether she liked him.

Kakashi confronted Satsuki about her feelings for Naruto, and she admitted she loved him but feared confessing and losing their current closeness. The chapter left Satsuki crying as she revealed that simply staying by Naruto’s side was all she hoped for.

• Kakashi pressed Satsuki until she admitted she liked Naruto.
• Kakashi encouraged Satsuki to tell Naruto how she felt, but she feared he would reject her and their relationship would change.
• Satsuki said she did not want to burden Naruto and believed watching over him from nearby was enough.
• Satsuki broke down in tears and confessed that staying by Naruto’s side would satisfy her.

Kakashi warned Satsuki that Naruto might grow close to someone else and urged her to confess before that happened. When she admitted she feared rejection, Kakashi offered to teach her from his Make-Out Tactics book, and Satsuki reluctantly agreed to listen.

• Kakashi described how Naruto might date Sakura and leave Satsuki excluded from his life, provoking Satsuki's fear and jealousy.
• Kakashi told Satsuki to take the initiative and make Naruto her boyfriend before another girl could claim him.
• Satsuki blushed and said she could not bring herself to confess because she feared Naruto might reject her.
• Kakashi presented his book, Make-Out Tactics, as a guide to relationships and offered to share its secrets.
• Satsuki overcame her doubts and reluctantly agreed to hear Kakashi's advice.

Satsuki brought Naruto a bento she had made for him, but her first attempt at cooking was overwhelmingly salty. Naruto tried to hide how inedible it was, and the chapter ended with Satsuki tasting it herself.

• Satsuki arrived at Naruto's apartment carrying a bento she had prepared, and Naruto realized she had made it for him.
• Naruto pretended he had not eaten lunch and accepted Satsuki's offer to share the bento.
• Naruto tasted Satsuki's tamagoyaki and struggled to swallow its overwhelming saltiness without hurting her feelings.
• Satsuki offered to cook for Naruto after his missions, but Naruto quickly insisted he would handle the cooking himself.
• Satsuki suspected Naruto was pretending to like the food, snatched his chopsticks, and tasted the tamagoyaki herself.

After Satsuki’s disastrous lunch, she tried Kakashi’s advice to give Naruto an intimate nickname, but he mistook her affection for a sign that her family was in danger. The misunderstanding left Satsuki mortified and convinced the tactic had failed.

• Naruto reassured Satsuki about her cooking and walked with her through Konoha to ease her embarrassment.
• Satsuki remembered Kakashi’s advice and called Naruto “Little Sun,” explaining that he was her warm little sun.
• Naruto grew concerned and promised to stay by Satsuki’s side, believing something had happened to Fugaku and Mikoto.
• Satsuki told Naruto that nothing had happened at home, and he admitted her words had sounded unusually mushy.
• Satsuki felt humiliated when Naruto’s response revealed he had misunderstood her affection, and she declared Kakashi’s second tactic a failure.

Naruto became unsettled by Satsuki’s constant exaggerated praise and confronted her, not realizing she was following Kakashi’s advice. After Satsuki fell silent and threw herself into training, Naruto apologized and asked her to stop being angry.

• Satsuki enthusiastically praised Naruto’s every action at the training ground, leaving him confused and uncomfortable.
• Naruto checked Satsuki for signs of genjutsu or outside control, then asked why she was acting strangely.
• Satsuki recalled Kakashi’s advice to praise Naruto directly and wondered why her attempt had failed.
• Naruto offered Satsuki water, then apologized for calling her strange and asked her to forgive him.

Satsuki realized Naruto had already been expressing affection through his cooking, praise, and special nickname, then tried Kakashi’s advice about poetic compliments on him. Her elaborate praise left Naruto uneasy as she waited for his reaction.

• Satsuki recognized that Naruto had long shown her care through cooking, praise, and calling her “Second Pillar.”
• Satsuki remembered Naruto’s heartfelt words about following the rhythm of his heart and decided his poetic expression had already worked on her.
• Satsuki steeled herself to try Kakashi’s final method of using metaphors and poetic praise.
• Satsuki compared Naruto’s golden hair to autumn sunlight, his blue eyes to a lake, and his running to an antelope calf.
• Satsuki finished her compliments with flushed cheeks and waited expectantly for Naruto’s response.

Naruto mistook Satsuki’s affectionate behavior for a serious abnormality and rushed her to Konoha Hospital, where a doctor began assessing her. Humiliated by Naruto’s misunderstanding, Satsuki shouted at him and fled using the Body Flicker Technique.

• Naruto panicked over Satsuki’s declaration and dragged her from the bench, while she believed he was taking her on an elopement.
• Naruto brought Satsuki to Konoha Hospital and described her behavior to a Yamanaka doctor.
• The doctor treated Satsuki as a patient and said he would try to cure her condition.
• Satsuki realized Naruto viewed her affection as a mental problem, then shouted at him and vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.

Satsuki blamed Kakashi’s advice for the embarrassing events that led Naruto to take her to the hospital. Kakashi reassured her that Naruto’s concern showed she was special to him, then advised her to confess her feelings directly.

• Kakashi listened as Satsuki recounted what happened and offered sympathy while defending his advice.
• Satsuki angrily blamed Kakashi and worried she could no longer face Naruto naturally.
• Kakashi argued that Naruto’s concern for Satsuki showed their bond went beyond ordinary friendship.
• Satsuki calmed down but asked how she should explain her strange behavior to Naruto.
• Kakashi advised Satsuki to tell Naruto directly that she liked him and had wanted his attention.

Satsuki trained at the secluded grounds while gathering courage to confess her feelings to Naruto, but her imagined confessions only made her more flustered. When Naruto and Sakura arrived, she hid in the woods using the Transformation Jutsu.

• Satsuki recalled Kakashi's advice to tell Naruto directly that she liked him.
• Satsuki threw kunai to calm herself and rehearsed increasingly embarrassing ways to confess to Naruto.
• Satsuki heard footsteps approaching and transformed into a tree to avoid being seen.
• Naruto and Sakura entered the training ground, and Satsuki recognized them while hiding.

Naruto asked Sakura for advice about how to handle a girl’s strange behavior, concealing that the girl was Satsuki. Satsuki overheard their conversation while hiding in a transformed tree, and Sakura’s advice left her furious.

• Naruto searched the training ground for Satsuki and wondered how to respond to her behavior, then asked Sakura for advice about girls.
• Naruto and Sakura sat on a bench near the tree where Satsuki was hiding with the Transformation Jutsu.
• Naruto described Satsuki’s bento, praise poem, and nickname while pretending the events had happened to a friend.
• Sakura assumed a girl was pursuing Naruto and advised him to tell her to stay away in harsh terms.
• Naruto stared at Sakura in shock as Satsuki fixed a cold glare on her from inside the tree.

Sakura tried to persuade Naruto to reject the girl pursuing him with cruel words, unaware that Satsuki was secretly listening while transformed as a tree. Naruto refused to cut ties with the girl, and Sakura urged him to consider Satsuki’s feelings instead.

• Sakura exaggerated a vicious rejection speech to convince Naruto to drive away the girl he had described.
• Satsuki, disguised as a tree with the Transformation Jutsu, overheard Sakura’s advice and grew furious at what she saw as betrayal.
• Naruto tried to send Sakura home and admitted he would never use her cruel method.
• Sakura insisted that a gentle rejection would only encourage the girl, while Satsuki silently vowed to draw a line with Sakura.
• Naruto said he did not want to cut ties with the girl, and Sakura urged him to respond to Satsuki’s feelings instead.

Naruto realized that Sakura had mistaken his question about Satsuki for a problem with a romantic rival, and that Satsuki had overheard Sakura defending her feelings. He concluded that Satsuki might want their relationship to deepen and prepared to apologize, then detected her hiding nearby.

• Naruto understood that Sakura's harsh advice came from a misunderstanding about a romantic rival.
• Satsuki realized Sakura had been trying to protect her and felt happy that Sakura believed she and Naruto belonged together.
• Naruto reconsidered Satsuki's gestures and suspected she wanted their relationship to become closer.
• Naruto thanked Sakura, persuaded her to leave, and decided to find Satsuki and apologize.
• Naruto used Golden Experience to sense Life Energy and discovered Satsuki was hiding nearby as a tree.

Naruto discovered Satsuki hiding in a tree under a Transformation Jutsu and teased her by gently poking it until she transformed back. Satsuki, overwhelmed with embarrassment, avoided Naruto’s touch and turned away without explaining herself.

• Satsuki panicked when Naruto stopped in front of the tree she had transformed into and decided to keep pretending to be a tree.
• Naruto sensed Satsuki’s nervousness and gently poked the tree with a branch to test her reaction.
• Satsuki trembled and struggled to suppress her response as Naruto continued poking her.
• Satsuki’s Transformation Jutsu failed, and she reappeared flushed, breathless, and teary-eyed.
• Naruto reached to comfort Satsuki, but she hopped away, puffed out her cheeks, and turned her head aside.