Recaps

Uchiha Mai and Jiraiya spent two hours competing to improve Mai’s idea for sealing painted designs onto his body, then Jiraiya offered to help find an artist and a sealing expert. He led Mai to a suspicious establishment in Konoha, where Mai learned the Hokage was a regular visitor.

• Uchiha Mai and Jiraiya traded increasingly elaborate suggestions for using prepared paintings in battle until Mai proposed sealing special blood-reactive designs onto the body with Sealing Jutsu.
• Jiraiya praised Mai’s idea and offered to find him a master artist and a Sealing Jutsu ninja.
• Jiraiya led Uchiha Mai through Konoha to a dark alley and pointed out Sawamura Kabuki-cho as a clue to the artist.
• Uchiha Mai threatened to report the establishment to the Hokage, but Jiraiya said his teacher was a regular there.

Uchiha Mai accompanied Jiraiya to Kabukicho, where Jiraiya spent Mai’s money while claiming he was looking for a tattoo artist. After Mai spotted the tattoo style he wanted, Jiraiya admitted he had used the supposed clue to get Mai to pay for the night, and Mai punched him.

• Jiraiya dragged Uchiha Mai to Kabukicho and made him pay for the drinks and hostesses.
• Uchiha Mai secretly recorded Jiraiya as Jiraiya ordered drinks and bragged to the hostesses.
• Jiraiya told Uchiha Mai to wait for the nightly performance, then pointed out a dancer whose tattoo matched Mai’s desired style.
• Jiraiya admitted that he knew the tattoo artist and had tricked Mai into paying for the evening.
• Uchiha Mai punched Jiraiya in the eye socket.

Jiraiya brought Uchiha Mai to meet painter Kurama Murakumo, the Kurama Clan head, to commission a complex animal design for Mai’s new technique. Murakumo accepted the job for up to 400,000 yen, and Mai agreed.

• Jiraiya led Uchiha Mai to Kurama Murakumo’s home and warned him to be respectful.
• Jiraiya introduced Uchiha Mai and explained that he needed dozens of species and hundreds of animals combined into a body painting for a new technique.
• Uchiha Mai learned that Kurama Murakumo was the Kurama Clan head, and Murakumo admitted he secretly painted tattoos in Kabukicho to support his struggling clan.
• Kurama Murakumo agreed to create the design, quoting 200,000 to 400,000 yen with sketches in three days and revisions for half a month.
• Uchiha Mai accepted the price without hesitation.

Uchiha Mai commissioned Kurama Murakumo to design a body-covering artwork of hundreds of animals, and Jiraiya sealed the finished patterns into Mai’s skin as a cursed seal. The Omen Flower’s effects remained to be tested.

• Uchiha Mai spent hours describing his detailed designs for animals across his body to Kurama Murakumo.
• Kurama Murakumo completed a draft called Omen Flower, featuring 666 beasts and eight dragons instead of the requested nine.
• Uchiha Mai approved the design, and Kurama Murakumo painted it across his body.
• Jiraiya used Sealing Jutsu, Mai’s blood, and special liquid to seal the artwork into Mai’s skin so its patterns would not fade.
• Uchiha Mai activated his chakra and saw the patterns surface as Jiraiya explained the seal; they prepared to test its effects.

Uchiha Mai tested the concealment and combat effects of the beasts created by Super Beast Imitating Drawing. He explained how his mutated flames could restore the blood and vitality the technique consumed, and Jiraiya concluded that Mai needed a real battle to test his abilities.

• Uchiha Mai manifested concealed cobras from his arm and attacked Jiraiya, who swatted them away before throwing Mai across the room.
• Uchiha Mai found that the snakes stayed concealed for only two or three seconds, and Jiraiya judged that brief concealment could still disrupt enemies.
• Uchiha Mai explained that he used his own blood as the medium for his manifested beasts, preventing the body’s patterns from being consumed but risking blood loss and leaving his blood vulnerable to enemies.
• Uchiha Mai demonstrated dark blue flames that drained Jiraiya’s vitality and explained that the flames could absorb and restore the blood his manifested animals lost.
• Jiraiya said Mai’s abilities made him more versatile, but that a real battle was needed to test him.

Uchiha Mai used his newly enhanced Super Beast Imitating Drawing to summon Kakashi and Might Guy for a fight, while explaining its scouting and messaging capabilities to Jiraiya. Kakashi received Mai’s message and headed to the lakeside, eager to test his improved swordsmanship against his rival.

• Jiraiya urged Uchiha Mai to challenge Kakashi and Might Guy, and Mai agreed after saying he did not want his sudden strength increase to discourage his teammates.
• Uchiha Mai created a macaw and a hummingbird to deliver messages, then explained to Jiraiya how his manifested animals could scout and transmit information over different distances.
• Uchiha Mai sent the macaw to Might Guy and the hummingbird to Kakashi, then set off for the lakeside.
• At the Hatake Residence, Kakashi was practicing swordsmanship under Hatake Sakumo when the hummingbird delivered Mai’s urgent invitation.
• Kakashi guessed that Mai wanted to test a new technique in a fight and went to meet him, determined to prove himself the stronger genius.

Kakashi and Might Guy met Uchiha Mai at the lake, where Mai demonstrated his new summoned-bird technique and challenged them to fight him together. After Jiraiya explained that Mai would defeat Kakashi in a one-on-one battle, Kakashi reluctantly agreed to team up with Might Guy.

• Kakashi reached the lake and found Might Guy with a macaw drawn by Uchiha Mai, which pointed them toward a giant roc overhead.
• Uchiha Mai and Jiraiya landed from the roc, and Mai explained that he had been testing his new technique and the bird's carrying capacity.
• Uchiha Mai challenged Kakashi and Might Guy to fight him together, but Kakashi initially demanded a one-on-one match.
• Uchiha Mai introduced Jiraiya as a leading Konoha figure, and Jiraiya warned Kakashi that Mai would beat him within three minutes in a head-on fight.
• Kakashi reluctantly agreed to fight Uchiha Mai alongside Might Guy.

Jiraiya set up a pursuit contest in which Uchiha Mai had to find and defeat Kakashi and Guy within an hour. Mai tracked them across Konoha with his Ginyu Force ninja hounds and summoned creatures, found them in a residence, and began the confrontation.

• Jiraiya made Kakashi and Guy act as fleeing enemy ninja while Mai pursued them, and Kakashi led Guy to the shopping district to mask their scent.
• Mai materialized five ninja hounds named Ginyu, Recoome, Jeice, Burter, and Guldo, then sent them after the pair.
• Mai released insects and fledglings across Konoha, used their reports to trace Kakashi and Guy toward the western residential area, and surrounded it with scouts.
• Kakashi spotted a drawn insect on a snack and realized Mai might have found their location, but Mai soon located them from the air on a Black-Gold Roc.
• Kakashi challenged Mai to move the fight elsewhere, and Mai sent the Mountain-Descending Tiger lunging at Guy.

Uchiha Mai fought Kakashi and Might Guy with invisible animal imitations and blue-flame attacks, eventually defeating Guy and stealing some of his life force. Mai then turned his attention to Kakashi.

• Might Guy blocked the tiger’s first strike, but Kakashi cut off its tail and Guy quickly beat it down.
• Uchiha Mai attacked Kakashi with blue flames and snakes that restrained his sword arm, grazing him and draining some life force and spiritual energy.
• Kakashi realized Mai had improved and noticed patterned skin beneath his torn clothing, but he still could not explain how Mai made his imitation beasts invisible.
• Mai summoned two black dragons that struck Kakashi and Might Guy, then used horned antelopes to distract them and kicked Guy through a wall.
• Mai hit the fallen Might Guy with Dark Thrust, drained part of his life force, and declared that Kakashi was next.

Uchiha Mai used his improved Super Beast Imitating Drawing and ghostly blue flames to overcome Kakashi despite his limited chakra. He defeated Kakashi in two minutes and reflected on the limits of his current strength.

• Kakashi guessed that Mai’s summoned beasts had consumed much of his chakra and planned to outlast him, but Mai revealed that his flames drained chakra on contact.
• Mai burned the flesh from a summoned snake to create a flaming bone whip and used it to lash Kakashi, draining some of his chakra.
• Kakashi adapted to the whip and dodged Mai’s Black Dragon and Dark Thrust attacks, but Mai caught him with Kotsuki Yin.
• A Black Dragon trapped Kakashi’s sword arm while Mai slammed him down with ghostly flames, then the dragon battered him against the ground.
• Mai defeated Kakashi in two minutes and concluded that he could only fight a Jonin briefly before his weak body and limited chakra became a problem.

After Uchiha Mai defeated Kakashi and Might Guy, Kakashi returned home and told Hatake Sakumo how badly the loss had shaken his confidence. Sakumo urged him to keep striving, and Kakashi regained his fighting spirit.

• Kakashi woke in Konoha Hospital, learned that Might Guy had already discharged himself, and left the hospital despite his bandages.
• Kakashi returned home and joined Hatake Sakumo for hot pot.
• Kakashi told Sakumo that Uchiha Mai had found and defeated him and Guy in half an hour, then beaten them in two minutes.
• Kakashi admitted he felt like a fraud because Mai had improved so quickly while he felt he had barely changed.
• Sakumo encouraged Kakashi to keep fighting, focus on surpassing himself, and never give up, restoring Kakashi's determination.

Uchiha Mai spent a peaceful winter in Konoha and heard about a New Year’s Village Gala, while Tsunade reminisced about the village’s past. Obito asked Mai to help Rin Nohara perform with Kakashi, revealing that he wanted Rin to be happy even if she partnered with Kakashi.

• Mai practiced his techniques, sparred with Might Guy and Kakashi, and later joined Tsunade for cards as the year drew to a close.
• Tsunade recalled how her granduncle had organized year-end events, and Mai told her that Konoha merchants were preparing a Village Gala for New Year’s Day.
• Mai declined Tsunade’s suggestion that he perform because he planned to travel to the Land of Wind for the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Obito arrived with Rin Nohara and begged Mai to help after Kakashi refused Rin’s invitation to perform a romantic duet.
• Obito explained that making Rin happy would make him happy, so helping her was the same as helping him.

Uchiha Mai agreed to create a gala performance for Rin Nohara, Obito, and Kakashi, drawing on the love triangle and snowy setting that reminded him of White Album 2. He planned a song called “Unreachable Love,” with Rin singing live and Obito and Kakashi accompanying her through recordings.

• Obito pleaded with Uchiha Mai to devise a performance that would let him, Rin Nohara, and Kakashi take part together.
• Uchiha Mai recognized the trio’s complicated feelings and the winter gala as resembling White Album 2.
• Uchiha Mai proposed a female-led song called “Unreachable Love,” with Obito and Kakashi miming guitar and keyboard accompaniment.
• Obito worried about lip-syncing, but Uchiha Mai argued that it was the practical choice with only a week before the gala.
• Rin Nohara agreed to sing live, and she and Obito left with Uchiha Mai’s address to buy tape recorders.
• Tsunade asked why Uchiha Mai was helping after he had said he would not perform, and he explained that he was only acting as a producer.

Uchiha Mai helped Rin Nohara, Obito, and Kakashi prepare a band performance for Konoha’s Spring Festival Gala. Their song, “Unreachable Love,” ended the year amid cheers and laughter.

• Uchiha Mai finished writing a song for Rin Nohara, and he suggested asking Hatake Sakumo to arrange Kakashi’s participation in the gala.
• Hatake Sakumo helped secure Kakashi’s place in the performance, and the village spread news of the upcoming act.
• Uchiha Mai watched the gala from the front row as Fugaku bragged about the Uchiha Clan’s Fire Style performance.
• Rin Nohara, Kakashi, and Obito performed their original song “Unreachable Love” as the White Album band.
• Hatake Sakumo cheered loudly for Kakashi, who felt embarrassed onstage before joining the crowd’s laughter and cheers as the year ended.

After the village performance awards, Fugaku assembled Uchiha Mai with two cousins to represent the Uchiha in the Chunin Ninja Exams. He named Mai their captain after boasting of his accomplishments, leaving Tekka and Shangfeng uncertain whether to object.

• Sarutobi Sachima won the Best Village Evening Performance Award, while the Uchiha Fire Style performance and the White Album Trio placed second and third.
• Fugaku told Mai that Kirigakure planned to send young Kaguya and Yuki clan members to the Chunin Ninja Exams, so Konoha wanted the Uchiha to challenge them.
• Fugaku introduced Uchiha Tekka, a thirteen-year-old with Three Tomoe Sharingan and strong genjutsu, and Uchiha Shangfeng, an eleven-year-old skilled in Fire Style and ninja tools.
• Fugaku recounted Mai's past missions to emphasize his achievements to Tekka and Shangfeng.
• Fugaku appointed Mai captain of their exam team, and Tekka and Shangfeng hesitated to object.

Uchiha Tekka challenged Uchiha Mai’s appointment as captain, so Mai proposed a short explosive-power match to prove himself. The match began in Fugaku’s living room, with Tekka ready to fight and Mai still seated with his tea.

• Uchiha Tekka rejected Fugaku’s explanation and demanded that Mai prove he deserved to be captain.
• Tekka proposed a contest in a skill of Mai’s choosing, but Mai jokingly suggested comparing their looks before agreeing to a combat test.
• Uchiha Mai proposed that each fighter try to knock the other out of the room within ten seconds, with a draw leading to another contest.
• Tekka accepted the explosive-power match and promised to look after Mai in the Land of Wind regardless of the result.
• Tekka activated his Three Tomoe Sharingan and prepared to fight while Mai stayed seated; Fugaku started the match.

Uchiha Mai defeated Uchiha Tekka in a brief, destructive spar by unleashing chakra beasts and combining them with his chakra flames. Tekka accepted Mai as his captain and promised to support him in the Chunin Ninja Exams.

• Uchiha Mai closed his eyes to avoid Uchiha Tekka's Three Tomoe Sharingan and unleashed several chakra beasts against him.
• Uchiha Tekka used genjutsu to turn the Black Dragons against each other, but Mai's antelopes disrupted his Great Fireball and let the Roc attack.
• Uchiha Mai set the living room ablaze with chakra flames, and the Roc transformed into a skeletal whale that launched Tekka through the roof.
• Uchiha Tekka landed back in the room burned and depleted, conceded defeat, and agreed to support Mai as captain during the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Fugaku applauded Mai's strength and praised the Uchiha brothers' prospects in the Chunin Ninja Exams.

Konoha’s Chunin Ninja Exam participants gathered before departing for the Land of Wind, while Sarutobi Hiruzen entrusted their safety to Jiraiya. Uchiha Mai arrived in a flamboyant outfit, drew attention and gained Style Points, then summoned his former classmate Sarutobi Asuma, who nervously asked him not to start a fight.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen asked Jiraiya to bring as many of Konoha’s young exam participants back safely as possible.
• Sarutobi Asuma showed off his green hair, bragged about becoming a gangster superstar, and tried to avoid Uchiha Mai.
• Uchiha Mai arrived with Uchiha Tekka and Shangfeng in a striking custom outfit, and his Style Points began increasing.
• Uchiha Mai called out Asuma, who approached and quietly asked him to spare his face and avoid fighting.

Uchiha Mai took two bottles of Asuma’s permanent hair dye before Sarutobi Hiruzen and Jiraiya sent the Genin off to the Chunin Exams in the Land of Wind. The large group left Konoha under Jiraiya’s command.

• Uchiha Mai teased Asuma about his green hair, then chose bright red and black hair dye from his collection.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen addressed the assembled Genin, encouraged them to become Konoha’s future leaders, and gave them advice for the exams.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen handed the speech over to Jiraiya, who ordered the group to depart.
• The Genin assembled and raced out of Konoha toward the Land of Wind with Jiraiya leading them.

Konoha’s delegation arrived at Sunagakure for the Chunin Ninja Exams, where Elder Chiyo challenged Jiraiya’s authority to represent Konoha. Uchiha Mai answered with a pointed reminder of Hatake Sakumo’s past attack, and Jiraiya decided to stand firm.

• Uchiha Mai dyed his hair red and told Uchiha Shangfeng and Uchiha Tekka to claim it had changed because of his chakra and Sharingan.
• Jiraiya, Uchiha Mai, and Konoha’s main force reached Sunagakure and were greeted by Elder Chiyo and Rasa.
• Jiraiya exchanged pleasantries with Rasa and asked after the Third Kazekage, but Chiyo interrupted to question why Jiraiya was leading Konoha’s delegation.
• Uchiha Mai pointed out that a more senior Konoha representative might have repeated Hatake Sakumo’s infamous attack on Sunagakure.
• Uchiha Mai reminded Jiraiya that he represented Konoha’s dignity, and Jiraiya straightened up and refused to give Chiyo leeway.

Jiraiya and Chiyo clashed over Sunagakure’s reception of Konoha’s delegation before Rasa defused the tension and escorted the teams. After settling into their new residence, Uchiha Mai warned Asuma to investigate where Kirigakure was staying in case Sunagakure’s treatment of the teams stirred up trouble.

• Jiraiya challenged Chiyo for receiving Konoha’s delegation, and Rasa mediated the dispute by emphasizing the standing of both representatives.
• Jiraiya agreed to meet with Sunagakure’s leaders to discuss peaceful coexistence, while Rasa took responsibility for arranging accommodations for Konoha’s candidates.
• Rasa led the Konoha group to a newly built courtyard designed in Konoha’s style and then left them to settle in.
• Uchiha Tekka dismissed Rasa as unimpressive, but Uchiha Mai called him a smiling tiger and reflected on his ruthlessness and strength.
• Uchiha Mai sent Asuma to find Kirigakure’s lodging and check whether its delegation had received treatment similar to Konoha’s.

Uchiha Mai’s suspicions about Sunagakure’s lodgings eased, while Rasa secretly tasked Yashamaru with provoking Kirigakure and Konoha before the exams. The chapter ended when an injured Konoha Genin reported that Asuma had been beaten.

• Asuma checked Kirigakure’s quarters and told Uchiha Mai they were much like Konoha’s, while Sunagakure had even built them a pond.
• Rasa told Yashamaru to use small differences between the villages’ courtyards to provoke Kaguya Chengze into fighting Konoha’s ninja.
• Rasa explained that he needed Sunagakure’s candidates to stand out at the exams without damaging relations with either village.
• Yashamaru agreed to carry out Rasa’s plan discreetly.
• At dusk, an injured Konoha Genin rushed into the courtyard and announced that Asuma had been beaten.

Uchiha Mai rushed to rescue Asuma and the other Konoha Genin after they were attacked by three Kaguya Clan boys in Sunagakure. With the fight interrupted and Asuma safe, Mai confronted the Kaguya clansman who had started it.

• A Konoha Genin reported that Asuma and several others were fighting in the streets, so Uchiha Mai tracked their scent with five ninja dogs and led a group to help.
• Uchiha Mai and Uchiha Shangfeng attacked the Kaguya Clan boys, separating them from the Konoha Genin and rescuing Asuma.
• Uchiha Mai knocked one Kaguya clansman down with an iron wok as the Konoha group surrounded the three attackers.
• Asuma told Uchiha Mai that the Kaguya leader had attacked him after asking for a girl and an outer robe, then accusing him of dyeing his hair green.
• Uchiha Mai approached the Kaguya leader and asked his name.

Uchiha Mai and his allies fought Kaguya Chengze and two Kaguya clansmen after Chengze attacked Asuma. Mai wounded Chengze, but Shikotsumyaku injured Mai in return before Mai summoned Diting to stomp Chengze into the ground.

• Kaguya Chengze mocked Uchiha Mai and claimed he had attacked Asuma because Konoha's courtyard had more rooms and trees than Kirigakure's.
• Asuma defended Konoha's prestige, so Kaguya Chengze fired finger bones at him with Shikotsumyaku.
• Uchiha Mai restrained Kaguya Chengze with Hidden Shadow Snake Hand and struck his abdomen, while Tekka and Shangfeng held off the other Kaguya clansmen.
• Kaguya Chengze unleashed bone spikes that pierced Mai's arm and wounded his torso, then used Shikotsumyaku to block Mai's summoned antelopes.
• Uchiha Mai summoned Diting, a noseless elephant, which appeared on Kaguya Chengze's back and stomped him into the ground.

Uchiha Mai battered Kaguya Chengze with Diting and Yomi Stroke, then broke his bone blades before Mei Terumi, Kisame Hoshigaki, and a Yuki Clan kunoichi arrived. Mei and her teammates subdued Chengze after he insulted her, leaving Mai and Uchiha Tekka facing a more capable Kirigakure team.

• Diting stomped Kaguya Chengze, and Uchiha Mai followed with Yomi Stroke, draining his chakra and healing his arm.
• Uchiha Mai snapped Chengze's bone blades and mocked the limits of his Shikotsumyaku, but Chengze insisted on continuing the fight.
• Mei Terumi arrived with Kisame Hoshigaki and a Yuki Clan kunoichi, and warned Chengze to stop fighting the Uchiha before the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Chengze rejected Mei Terumi's warning and insulted her, so she blasted him with Water Release: Water Turbulence while the Yuki Clan kunoichi froze him with snowflakes.
• Kisame Hoshigaki carried off the frozen Chengze, and Uchiha Tekka warned Uchiha Mai that Mei Terumi's team was more dangerous than the Kaguya Clan members.