Chapter Summaries

Shinji, Haku, and Karin made their way through the Forest of Death while the exam’s interception teams eliminated students. After Kimimaro defeated four Chunin, Sasuke rushed toward the central tower and encountered Night Owl’s disguised team, whose members reacted to the three-tomoe Sharingan in his eyes.

• Shinji reassured Haku and Karin that reaching the central tower was enough, and a group of students fled when they recognized him.
• Shizune, Anko, Asuma, and Iruka discussed the teams being eliminated and the twenty Chunin still working as interception teams.
• Night Owl and three subordinates disguised themselves as an interception team and set out to capture an Uchiha academy student without killing anyone.
• Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura found four defeated Chunin and learned that Kimimaro had beaten them by himself.
• Sasuke continued toward the central tower and confronted Night Owl’s disguised team, who saw his three-tomoe Sharingan.

Sasuke chased Night Owl’s interception squad into the Forest of Death and tried to defeat them with a planned combination of kunai, wire, and a Fire Release technique. Night Owl’s squad outmaneuvered him and surrounded him after wounding his shoulder, leaving Sasuke facing a fight he could not easily win.

• Night Owl recognized Sasuke’s Three-Tomoe Sharingan, but led his squad away after spotting Konoha reinforcements approaching.
• Sasuke ignored Naruto and Sakura and pursued Night Owl’s squad into the depths of the Forest of Death.
• Sasuke trapped what appeared to be Night Owl and his subordinates with wired kunai, but they escaped using the Substitution Technique.
• Night Owl’s squad struck Sasuke from behind, and Sasuke used a Shadow Clone to escape their attacks and reach cover.
• Night Owl found Sasuke behind a tree, pierced his shoulder with a blade, and surrounded him with his three subordinates.

Night Owl and his impostor team captured Sasuke and carried him toward the edge of the Forest of Death, while Naruto overcame his fear and pursued them. Their escape was interrupted when they encountered Shinji, Haku, and Karin.

• Sasuke fought Night Owl's three subordinates while Naruto froze and Sakura fainted.
• Night Owl's team knocked Sasuke unconscious, tied him up, and left with him as Naruto carried Sakura aside and followed.
• Night Owl led his team away from the central tower, avoiding student teams as they headed for the forest's edge.
• Sasuke woke while bound and realized the supposed interception team had abducted him.
• Night Owl's team encountered Shinji, Haku, and Karin, and both Shinji and Night Owl called the meeting interesting.

Shinji encountered Night Owl’s impostor interception team and rescued Sasuke with a swift technique that used an enemy’s hand to form hand seals. Night Owl recognized Shinji as a serious threat and retreated with his injured subordinate, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Shinji recognized Night Owl and his men as impostors after spotting their Red Eyes, while Sasuke tried to warn him that they were dangerous.
• Night Owl ordered two subordinates to attack Shinji, and Haku quickly gained the upper hand against them.
• Shinji used the hand of the man carrying Sasuke to form hand seals, rescued Sasuke, and struck the man with a Great Fireball Technique.
• Night Owl grew wary of Shinji’s skill, picked up his burned subordinate, and ordered his remaining men to retreat into the forest.

Shinji rescued Sasuke from Night Owl’s group, but the Jonin doubted Sasuke’s warning about how strong the impostors were. Shinji secretly followed them in disguise as an Akatsuki member and confronted Night Owl, asking to borrow something.

• Night Owl’s group retreated with their captive Sasuke, and Shinji pursued them before returning and claiming he could not catch up.
• Sasuke warned Haku and Karin that the kidnappers were impostors and powerful, but Shinji returned before Sasuke could join the chase.
• Kakashi and other Jonin arrived, heard what had happened, and dismissed Sasuke’s claims about the enemy’s strength despite Shinji confirming he had rescued him.
• Kakashi cautioned the group against acting recklessly and said search teams were already pursuing the kidnappers.
• Shinji’s Shadow Clone doubled back while his true self, disguised in Akatsuki attire, followed Night Owl and confronted him in the Forest of Death.
• Night Owl said the Akatsuki Organization had ordered the kidnapping, and Shinji asked if he could borrow something.

Shinji ambushed Night Owl and took the Red Eyes from him and one of his subordinates before they fled Konoha. Meanwhile, Kakashi led a pursuit, while Neji and Kimimaro’s teams faced off near the central tower in the Forest of Death.

• Night Owl sensed danger as Shinji attacked, but fled by himself while his subordinates confronted Shinji.
• Shinji used Susanoo and Amaterasu to defeat Night Owl’s subordinates and injure Night Owl, then demanded the Red Eyes.
• Night Owl and one subordinate surrendered their Red Eyes, which Shinji stored before leaving.
• Night Owl treated his wounds and fled toward Konoha’s outskirts with his companions.
• Kakashi, Sasuke, and a group of Jonin arrived at the fight scene and followed the fugitives’ trail.
• Neji and Kimimaro’s teams prepared to fight near the central tower, but three injured members of the interception squad suddenly emerged from the bushes.

Kimimaro and Neji fought Night Owl’s interception team, killing Night Owl and leaving his two subordinates critically injured. Kakashi and Sasuke arrived to find the aftermath, while Shinji watched from a distance and planned to use the incident to cover his movements and investigate the team’s mission.

• Night Owl ordered his interception team to charge through Kimimaro and Neji’s standoff, and Kimimaro and Neji moved to meet them.
• Kimimaro opened the first gate and killed Night Owl with a single slash, while Neji struck Night Owl’s two subordinates at their vital points and knocked them down.
• Tenten, Shion, and the others fired emergency flares, and Neji urged the arriving Kakashi and Sasuke to get medical help for the injured men.
• Sasuke recognized Night Owl and his subordinates as the men who had attacked him earlier, then grew more miserable as the others questioned how they could have hurt him.
• Shinji confirmed the interception team’s fate from a distance and decided to use the incident as cover while Konoha investigated why they had entered the village to kidnap him and Sasuke.

Shinji’s squad reached the Central Tower and learned they had placed first because the other teams had been disqualified after setting off emergency flares. The Jonin then brought in Sasuke’s, Kimimaro’s, and Neji’s squads, and everyone turned to the battered Sasuke.

• Shinji returned to Haku and Karin, and the three continued toward the Central Tower despite the attempted abduction of Sasuke.
• Shinji’s squad encountered Shikamaru’s and Shino’s squads near the tower, and both groups stepped aside to let them pass.
• Iruka told Shinji, Haku, and Karin that their squad had arrived first because the other students in the tower had been disqualified.
• Iruka explained that Naruto, Shion, and Tenten had set off emergency flares, disqualifying Sasuke’s, Kimimaro’s, and Neji’s squads.
• The Jonin arrived with the three disqualified squads, and the students asked the bandaged, bruised Sasuke if he was okay.

The Third Hokage and Kakashi investigated the attackers and suspected that Akatsuki's “A” might be Itachi hiding in the village. At a classmates' gathering, Sasuke tried to explain that he had lost to Jōnin, while Shinji concealed how he had defeated them and received the group's praise.

• Kakashi told the Third Hokage that Night Owl was a Kirigakure missing-nin and that his group had targeted Shinji Uchiha on the Akatsuki's orders.
• The Third Hokage learned that “A” had taken Night Owl's eyes and considered Kakashi's suspicion that “A” was Itachi Uchiha in disguise.
• At Choji's barbecue gathering, Sasuke insisted that the attackers were Jōnin and that this explained his defeat.
• Neji and Kimimaro confirmed that the attackers had unusual Chakra and were already injured when they fought them.
• When Shion asked whether Shinji had fought the attackers after they were injured, Shinji claimed that he and Haku had won by catching them off guard.
• Ino, Shion, and Tenten praised Shinji, while Sasuke sat down frustrated that his explanation had failed to impress them.

After Shinji’s feat at the assessment dinner impressed his classmates and pushed Sasuke to train harder, the village ended its surveillance of Shinji. Shinji slipped into the Forest of Death and began testing whether he could control Night Owl’s Red Eyes through Susanoo.

• Neji asked Shinji about using an enemy’s hand to form seals, and Shinji casually confirmed he had done it.
• Sasuke thanked Shinji for the assessment and vowed to take first place next time, then left to train.
• After a week of surveillance, the village stopped monitoring Shinji but continued watching Sasuke.
• Shinji left a Shadow Clone at home and secretly entered the Forest of Death, avoiding hidden sentries to find a cave.
• Shinji used the Susanoo Lamp to remove Fugaku’s Mangekyo and the Byakugan from Susanoo, then placed Night Owl’s Red Eyes into its empty eye sockets.

Shinji tested how mastering different ocular Kekkei Genkai affected his Dojutsu, then used the Susanoo Lamp to forcibly fuse two pairs of Red Eyes. The fusion succeeded, leaving the Susanoo with one pair of eerily glowing Red Eyes and an empty third pair of sockets.

• Shinji mastered a pair of Red Eyes and found that they increased his Dojutsu more than Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan had.
• Shinji mastered a second pair of Red Eyes and gained another noticeable increase in Dojutsu.
• Shinji examined the Red Eyes' abilities and suspected that their chakra illusion could have untapped potential.
• Shinji used the Susanoo Lamp to forcibly fuse the two pairs of Red Eyes despite strong resistance.
• Shinji completed the fusion, and the Susanoo's second pair of eye sockets glowed with more eerie Red Eyes while the third pair went dark.

Shinji fused two pairs of Red Eyes and found that their Dojutsu power had grown dramatically, though their vision and perception had improved only slightly. Later, Shion confessed that she wanted to prove herself and become a true ninja, leaving Shinji to face her hopes and his confusion over how she sensed his increased strength.

• Shinji fused the two pairs of Red Eyes with the Susanoo Lamp and examined their increased Dojutsu power.
• Shinji found that the fused eyes had only modestly improved vision and perception, and suspected they had an undiscovered ability.
• Shinji assigned the fused Red Eyes and Fugaku's Mangekyo Sharingan as the Susanoo Lamp's additional eye pairs, then returned to his apartment.
• Shinji encountered Shion alone in a park, and she sensed that he had grown stronger.
• Shion told Shinji that she wanted to earn praise through her own abilities and become a true ninja.

Shinji encouraged Shion to pursue her dream of becoming a ninja, then discovered that her heightened senses were connected to Moryo’s destruction. He warned that Moryo could return as long as Shion lived, and Shion suddenly sensed that the demon was back.

• Shion told Shinji she wanted to become a ninja so she could make friends and escape the loneliness of being a shrine maiden, and Shinji said he believed she could become powerful.
• Shinji took Shion to Ichiraku Ramen and learned that her sensory abilities had grown stronger about a month earlier.
• Shinji connected the change to the day Moryo was apparently destroyed during the chaos surrounding the Fourth Raikage’s ambush.
• Shion recalled that she had stopped having nightmares, and Shinji warned that Moryo might resurrect because it was part of a shrine maiden.
• Shion clutched her head in pain and told Shinji that Moryo had returned.

Shinji reassured Shion that Moryo could ultimately be defeated by reuniting with it, then offered to train her so she could grow strong enough to face that danger. At their first training session, he discovered that Kurama Yakumo was seriously ill and sent her away, but she rejected his warning and left in anger.

• Shinji told Shion that sealing Moryo would only delay its return and that she would eventually need to accept it again, though he warned that merging carried risks.
• Shinji offered to train Shion as a ninja, and she eagerly agreed.
• At the training ground, Shion brought Kurama Yakumo along to join their lessons, and Shinji agreed to train them both.
• Shinji noticed Yakumo's coughing and told her that her condition made ninja training dangerous and even ordinary life difficult.
• Yakumo accused Shinji of looking down on her, insisted she would become a ninja, and stormed away.
• Shion scolded Shinji for upsetting Yakumo, but he told her their training was not over.

Shinji recognized the monster Ido within Kurama Yakumo and suspected his newly mastered Red Eye let him perceive it. When Yakumo's Ido awakened and trapped her parents in a deadly genjutsu, a masked figure in a Red Cloud outfit entered the illusion and confronted it.

• Shion muttered about Shinji while training, and Shinji supervised her at the practice grounds.
• Shinji recalled that Yakumo's frailty and the pressure of her clan had created Ido, a monster with the power to interfere with reality through genjutsu.
• Shinji wondered whether his new Red Eye could perceive mental worlds or spirits filled with malice.
• Kurama Murakumo and Kurama Ryō told Yakumo that Tsunade had said her congenital frailty would take a long time to improve, and urged her to leave the Ninja Academy.
• Yakumo's Ido erupted with an evil aura, trapped Kurama Murakumo and Kurama Ryō in a genjutsu, and prepared to kill them.
• A masked figure wearing a Red Cloud outfit appeared inside the illusion, and Ido cried out in alarm when the figure entered its domain.

Shinji entered Ido’s illusion, subdued Kurama Yakumo’s parents, and defeated Ido with his Sharingan genjutsu. After awakening Yakumo and explaining what had happened, he prepared to leave, but she asked him to help her become an ordinary ninja.

• Shinji entered Ido’s illusion and knocked Kurama Murakumo and Kurama Ryō unconscious with genjutsu.
• Ido attacked Shinji with a genjutsu that misled his five senses, but he trapped her in his own Sharingan illusion.
• Shinji sensed Ido’s powerful Yin Release Chakra and awakened Kurama Yakumo inside the illusion.
• Shinji told Yakumo that her parents were safe and said her talent was too good to waste.
• Yakumo asked Shinji to help her become an ordinary ninja, and he said he could only help her become one of the very best ninjas.

Shinji offered to treat Yakumo’s congenital frailty with a White Zetsu cell transplant, but warned that the procedure could overwhelm her without powerful Yin Release Chakra. Yakumo and Ido agreed to work for him, and Shinji proposed first transplanting eyes with Dojutsu close to the Mangekyō Sharingan to improve her chances.

• Shinji examined Yakumo and explained that her underdeveloped organs and meridians caused her frailty, and that ordinary medical treatment would not be enough.
• Shinji pointed out Ido, and Yakumo resolved to destroy her Inner Demon after recalling that Ido had nearly killed her parents.
• Shinji warned Yakumo that destroying Ido would cost her the talent her clan depended on, then offered to help her if she worked for him without harming her comrades or village.
• Yakumo agreed to work for Shinji, and Ido also accepted his offer.
• Shinji explained that White Zetsu cells could restore Yakumo’s body but might devour her unless her Yin Release Chakra could balance their Yang Release Chakra.
• Shinji suggested transplanting eyes with Dojutsu close to the Mangekyō Sharingan before the cell operation.

Shinji recruited Kurama Yakumo and Ido into the Akatsuki Organization, promising to arrange a safe cure for Yakumo. After leaving her with her parents, he began planning how to conceal her gradual recovery from Konoha and Tsunade.

• Shinji considered Yakumo's potential and decided she could become one of his attendants, while Yakumo despaired at needing Mangekyō-level eyes for the surgery.
• Yakumo offered to risk the cell transplant despite the danger, but Shinji reassured her that he would take responsibility and arrange what she needed.
• Shinji gave Yakumo an Akatsuki outfit and mask, marked her Spirit Body, and told her to get along with Ido and keep her involvement with the organization secret from her clan.
• Yakumo made Ido promise not to harm her parents again, and Shinji sealed her parents' memories before leaving her to explain what had happened.
• Back at his apartment, Shinji realized Yakumo's sudden recovery would draw suspicion from Konoha and Tsunade, so he planned to make her improvement appear gradual.

Shinji secretly infused Yakumo with Karin’s Yang Release Chakra, temporarily easing her congenital frailty and preparing an explanation for her apparent recovery. The next morning, Yakumo trained at the Ninja Academy, where Shizune noticed her improved vitality and considered reporting the change to Tsunade.

• Shinji used Magatsu to transfer Yang Release Chakra into Yakumo and warned her that the improvement would only last temporarily.
• Yakumo arrived at the Ninja Academy the next morning and trained, drawing attention from the other students and Iruka.
• Shinji supervised Shion’s late-arriving morning training while Yakumo continued practicing.
• Iruka called Shizune to examine Yakumo, and Shizune found that Yakumo’s physical vitality had increased.
• Shizune asked whether Yakumo had received treatment, then considered reporting her unusual condition to Tsunade.

At Konoha Hospital, Tsunade found that Yakumo’s body had been nourished by traces of the First Hokage’s Yang Release Chakra, but she could not explain how it happened and discovered that the monster inside Yakumo was gone. Shinji’s experiment let “Ido” leave Yakumo and act independently as a Spirit Body, giving him a way to use her even if the village watched Yakumo.

• Tsunade examined Yakumo but could not identify the cause of her recovery, and she arranged a further examination for the next day.
• After Yakumo left, Tsunade told Shizune she had detected lingering traces of the First Hokage’s Chakra in Yakumo’s organs despite finding no unusual Chakra or signs of surgery.
• Tsunade revealed that the monster inside Yakumo was gone, shocking Shizune.
• In an empty hospital room, Shinji learned that his Red Eye experiment had given “Ido” a stable Spirit Body that could leave Yakumo and act independently within a limited range.