Chapter Summaries

The student squads advanced into the Land of Hot Water while Shinji's team raced ahead under the watch of Yamato's Jonin team. Sasuke's squad reached a black market, seized information about a Jonin-level rogue ninja, and prepared to pursue the target as Kakashi watched.

• The student squads traveled toward the Land of Hot Water with elite Jonin teams and a central support unit assigned to protect and monitor them.
• Karin sensed the Jonin team following Shinji, Haku, and Karin, but Shinji told her to ignore them as they raced through the forest.
• Yamato struggled to keep up with Shinji's squad and wondered how its supposedly average teammates were moving so quickly.
• After crossing the border, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura disguised themselves and found the local black market.
• Sasuke used his Sharingan to interrogate people at the black market and obtain information, then insisted that his squad pursue a Jonin-level target before their rivals did.
• Kakashi watched from a tree and judged Sasuke's attack on the black market a decisive move despite its risks.

As rogue ninja fled or went into hiding, Shikamaru’s team allied with Hinata’s to improve their chances of competing against stronger trainee teams. Meanwhile, Yakumo’s team and Sasuke’s team fought over Ganjuro, who escaped the clash only to find someone waiting in his hideout.

• Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino agreed to form an alliance with Hinata, Kiba, and Shino, and the two teams decided to split their points evenly.
• Yakumo’s team captured Kazetō Kojirō, bringing their total to 285 points each, then set out for Star Valley to pursue Ganjuro.
• Ganjuro’s trap buried Star Valley, but Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura escaped without serious injuries as Yakumo’s team arrived.
• Sasuke and Yakumo’s teams fought over who would capture Ganjuro, allowing him to flee while they battled.
• Ganjuro reached a concealed underground cavern and heard a languid voice from its depths.

Shinji, Haku, and Karin lured rogue ninja into their cave trap, where Karin knocked Ganjuro unconscious and Haku tied him up. As the supervising Jonin realized the team had captured nine opponents and earned more than six hundred points, another figure approached the cave.

• Ganjuro tried to escape the cave by charging Karin, but she overwhelmed him with a single punch and knocked him unconscious.
• Haku tied up Ganjuro, and Shinji explained that the rogue ninja consistently chose Karin as the seemingly easy target.
• Ganjuro woke up among seven or eight other captured rogue ninja, several of whom were stronger or more famous than him.
• Yamato and the other supervising Jonin estimated that Shinji's team had captured nine rogue ninja and earned over six hundred points.
• A teammate spotted another furtive figure sneaking into the cave.

Oyakuro En agreed to help Orochimaru arrange bait for a child in the Land of Hot Water, while Sasuke’s team retreated from Yakumo’s Wood Release. Kimimaro then challenged Sasuke, and Shion stepped in to fight Naruto.

• Orochimaru asked Oyakuro En to arrange bait to help him pursue a child in the Land of Hot Water, and Oyakuro En agreed after recalling Shinji’s earlier request.
• Sasuke used Susanoo to protect Naruto and Sakura from Yakumo’s Wood Release, then led his team away when Ganjuro had already disappeared.
• Yakumo opened a path for Sasuke’s team to withdraw, and Sasuke dispelled Susanoo as they left.
• Kimimaro suddenly attacked Sasuke, and Naruto transformed and joined their fight.
• Shion kicked Naruto away and declared that she would be his opponent while Sasuke and Kimimaro fought one-on-one.

Sasuke and Kimimaro’s clash escalated until both were wounded, while Naruto and Shion also fought fiercely. Yakumo treated Sasuke, and Sasuke left with Naruto and Sakura after telling her that Ganjuro was hers.

• Tsunade and Kakashi watched as the teams continued fighting despite their target being gone, and Tsunade noted that Yakumo had wisely stayed back to support her teammates.
• Kimimaro attacked Sasuke with bone bullets and blades, while Shion surprised the observers by holding her own against Naruto in close combat.
• Kimimaro’s bone blade cut through Sasuke’s kunai and slashed his shoulder as Sasuke pierced Kimimaro’s shoulder with Chidori, leaving both injured.
• Sakura examined Sasuke’s serious wound, and Yakumo found that Kimimaro’s injury was not life-threatening and went to treat Sasuke instead.
• Yakumo used the Red Dragon Eye to stop Sasuke’s bleeding and bandaged him, then Sasuke left with Naruto and Sakura after telling Yakumo, “Ganjuro is yours!”

Naruto left the mine to check on a nearby rogue ninja, while Kakashi pursued him and left two teammates guarding Sasuke and Sakura. A mysterious man attacked the injured Sasuke in the mine and quickly overwhelmed him.

• Sakura urged Sasuke to rest, but he insisted that the team pursue a nearby target despite his serious injuries.
• Naruto left to confirm the target's location, and Kakashi followed him while ordering his teammates to protect Sasuke and Sakura and summon support.
• A man wearing glasses approached Kakashi's two teammates and told them they could rest.
• A mysterious man in a black robe entered the mine, and Sasuke recognized him as the attacker from his childhood.
• Sasuke charged the mysterious man, who deflected him, slammed him into a wall, and punched him in the face.

Orochimaru defeated Sasuke in the mine, poisoned him, and marked his neck before escaping. Sakura’s distress flare brought Kakashi and the others to the unconscious Sasuke, while Orochimaru later told Kabuto that Sasuke still fell far short of Itachi.

• Sakura ran from the mine to launch a distress flare as Sasuke realized the intruder had prepared for the proctors’ absence.
• Sasuke summoned Susanoo and crushed Orochimaru, but Orochimaru rose unharmed and revealed that Sasuke had been poisoned.
• Orochimaru compared Sasuke unfavorably to Itachi, bit Sasuke’s neck, and fled, leaving Sasuke unconscious.
• Sakura launched the flare, and Kakashi and the others reached the mine and found Sasuke alive.
• Orochimaru met Kabuto in the forest and explained that Sasuke had been outmaneuvered, but still could not match Itachi.

Orochimaru revealed that he had planted the Heavenly Curse Mark on Sasuke, while Konoha’s team found Sasuke badly injured in the abandoned mine. Sasuke woke and refused to leave the exam, sensing new power in his body as he and Naruto vowed to pursue their attacker.

• Kabuto Yakushi inferred that Orochimaru planned to wait before taking Sasuke’s body, and Orochimaru said he wanted to see how Sasuke handled his gift: the Heavenly Curse Mark.
• Jiraiya’s team searched the area around the abandoned mine but found no sign of the attacker.
• Shizune examined Sasuke and found severe injuries, chakra depletion, possible poisoning, and fresh bite marks on his neck.
• Jiraiya proposed sending Sasuke back to the village, but Sasuke woke and insisted on continuing the exam.
• Sasuke challenged Naruto and Sakura to stay in the exam, and Naruto vowed to find the attacker.

Sasuke's team rejoined the exam but fell behind as other teams captured targets, while the leading teams raced to hunt down Suigetsu. Shikamaru's team and Hinata's team cornered Suigetsu, and Shikamaru realized he was trying to reach the river before Suigetsu stopped pretending to retreat.

• Sakura told Sasuke that his team had 327 points, behind Yakumo's team and Neji's team, while Shinji's unusually high score was still being checked.
• Sasuke's team chose Suigetsu as its next target, and Yakumo's team also set out to capture him.
• Neji's team headed toward Suigetsu, hoping to overtake Yakumo's team, but an explosion led them to discover Shikamaru's and Hinata's teams already fighting him.
• Shikamaru warned Choji and Kiba that Suigetsu was trying to reach the river, blocking his escape route.
• Suigetsu abandoned his feigned retreat and prepared to fight both teams after Shikamaru exposed his plan.

Neji's, Yakumo's, and Sasuke's teams converged on Suigetsu and joined forces to claim his 109 points, leaving him stunned by their powerful techniques. Meanwhile, Shizune and Ebisu counted the rogue ninja Shinji's team had captured and found 73 prisoners, including 12 who were not on the wanted list.

• Neji's team arrived to challenge Suigetsu, followed by Yakumo's team and then Sasuke's team, trapping Suigetsu and Shikamaru's group between them.
• Yakumo and Neji agreed that whoever captured Suigetsu first would claim his 109 points, but Sasuke joined forces with Neji to face Yakumo and Kimimaro.
• Sasuke unleashed Susanoo, Naruto created Tailed Beast Cloaked Shadow Clones, Rock Lee opened three of the Eight Gates, and Yakumo used Wood Release, leaving Suigetsu frozen in shock.
• Shizune and Ebisu checked the rogue ninja Shinji's team had captured and counted 73 prisoners, 12 of whom were not on the wanted list.
• Shizune told Shinji that the command center still had to decide whether his team would receive points for the unlisted prisoners, and Shinji dismissed their potential value as only a few hundred points.

After Shinji's squad captured more than seventy rogue ninja, Danzo ordered Root to eliminate Shinji before he could gain influence in the village. Jiraiya discovered a top-secret report and ordered an emergency rescue, but feared Shinji's squad might already be in danger.

• Shizune escorted the captured rogue ninja to the command center and realized Shinji's squad had likely taken the lead from Yakumo's squad.
• A Root scout reported Shinji Uchiha's squad had captured more than seventy rogue ninja, prompting the squad leader to carry out Danzo's plan to eliminate Shinji.
• A Root ninja disguised as ANBU tricked Yamato into leaving his post by presenting a false emergency order, then Root members surrounded the cave where Shinji's squad was staying.
• Jiraiya received a top-secret report, stopped the exam, and ordered nearby Jonin squads to rescue Shinji's team as he prepared to go himself.

As the Ninja Academy exam’s battles raged, Command suspended it after learning that a powerful group of ninja planned to assassinate Shinji Uchiha. Sasuke, Yakumo, and the others rushed north to help Shinji’s squad while the Jonin prepared to support them.

• Shikamaru and Ino waited out the battle as Jonin squads watched the students fight.
• A communications ninja delivered Jiraiya’s order to Tsunade, announcing that the exam was suspended and the Jonin had to reinforce Shinji Uchiha’s squad.
• Tsunade told the students that a powerful group of ninja planned to assassinate Shinji, and Kakashi confirmed the attackers included several Jonin.
• Sasuke used the Body Flicker Technique to head north, and Naruto, Sakura, Yakumo, Shion, and Kimimaro followed.
• Neji, Rock Lee, and Tenten set out to help Shinji, Haku, and Karin despite Asuma’s instruction to return to Command.

After Team Shinji was attacked, Yakumo, Sasuke, and Neji rushed to help while Tsunade ordered the exam called off and pursued them with reinforcements. Tsunade revealed that Danzo had sent Root to kill Shinji, and the rescuers hurried toward a battle they feared might already have ended disastrously.

• Shikamaru and Kurenai stopped Kiba and Choji from chasing after Yakumo, Sasuke, and Neji, while Tsunade sent Asuma and Kurenai's teams to handle the aftermath and led the others north.
• Asuma struck Suigetsu and ordered his team to take the rogue ninja back to headquarters.
• Kakashi warned Sasuke not to act rashly and revealed that Root was a likely attacker, prompting Sasuke and Naruto to hurry ahead toward Shinji.
• Tsunade told Yakumo that Danzo had sent more than twenty Root ninja, including at least four or five Jonin, to kill Shinji because he was an Uchiha.
• Neji reasoned that the exam's immediate cancellation meant Shinji's situation was dire, and Might Guy could offer him no reassurance.

Sasuke, Yakumo, Neji, and the senior shinobi raced to rescue Shinji after Danzo’s Root lured Yamato away with a genuine order. They reached the cave to find Shinji alive and calmly sitting atop a mound of unconscious attackers.

• Tsunade and Jiraiya joined the rush to Shinji’s location while Tsunade considered how evidence of Danzo’s involvement could force him out of the village leadership.
• Jiraiya discovered that Yamato had been redirected by a genuine temporary support order, leaving Shinji’s squad without its assigned protection.
• Sasuke, Yakumo, Neji, and Yamato hurried back toward Shinji’s location, with Jiraiya leading the rest of the group after them.
• The group smelled blood near the cave and rushed to the battlefield, where they found dozens of black-clad men unconscious in a pile.
• Shinji sat calmly atop the pile, drinking water while a white cat licked its paw on his shoulder.

Shinobi reinforcements arrived and found Shinji sitting unharmed atop a heap of defeated black-clad attackers, leaving them stunned and uncertain whether the men were Root elites. Shinji’s strength impressed the gathered ninja, while Shion remained calm because she knew his secret identity.

• Sasuke, Yakumo, Neji, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi, and the others arrived and saw Shinji, Haku, and Karin unharmed beside a heap of defeated attackers.
• Shinji stood up and asked whether the attack was part of the assessment, and Jiraiya confirmed that he was relieved the team was safe.
• Kakashi recognized signs that the attackers were likely Root shinobi but could not tell whether any were Jonin-level experts.
• Yakumo renewed her determination to defeat Shinji, while Tsunade admitted she could not confirm the attackers’ identities and felt uneasy about Shinji.
• Shion stayed unperturbed because she knew Shinji was the Akatsuki Organization’s leader, “A.”

After Shinji and the other students returned to headquarters, Shinji downplayed the Root attack while the students compared their examination scores. The chapter ended with Shinji claiming his team had perhaps one or two thousand points, stunning everyone.

• Jiraiya and Tsunade decided to treat the injured Konoha attackers while covering up the incident to protect the village's standing.
• Shinji, Haku, Karin, and the other students returned safely to headquarters, where everyone questioned Shinji about the attack.
• Shinji credited his victory to the attackers' weakness while hiding how Haku and Karin had helped defeat the Root shinobi.
• Yakumo said her team had 488 points, Neji said his had 440, and other students shared their teams' scores.
• Shinji estimated that his team had one or two thousand points, leaving the students, Yakumo, Neji, and Sasuke astonished.

Shinji's squad stunned the cadets with its overwhelming assessment score, while Jiraiya and Tsunade learned how the three students had defeated Danzo's Root operatives. After Tsunade and Jiraiya discussed confronting Danzo, he learned his mission had failed and began searching for a suspected traitor within Root.

• Shikamaru asked Shinji how his squad achieved such a high score, leaving Shinji smiling as the cadets looked on in disbelief.
• Jiraiya and Tsunade verified that Root's force of five Jonin and a dozen Chunin had been defeated by Shinji, Karin, and Haku.
• Jiraiya told Tsunade that Haku had held a slight edge over Shinji in a taijutsu spar, and Tsunade concluded that both teammates were formidable.
• Tsunade and Jiraiya agreed to confront Danzo, hoping Utatane Koharu would join them in opposing him.
• Danzo learned the attack had failed and his operatives had been captured, then ordered Root to find the suspected traitor who had leaked the intelligence.

After Danzo’s attempt to assassinate Shinji, the Third stripped him of his Advisor Elder position and disbanded Root, but Koharu and Homura prevented Danzo from being taken into custody. The Third then proposed adding Jiraiya and Tsunade to the Advisor Elder Council, alarming the remaining elders.

• Shinji told Utatane Koharu that Danzo had tried to kill him before and would likely try again, and she promised to get him an answer.
• Jiraiya and Tsunade urged the Third to punish Danzo and disband Root, arguing that the attack threatened the village’s future.
• The Third called an emergency high-level meeting and revealed that Danzo had ordered the assassination of Shinji Uchiha.
• The Third stripped Danzo of his Advisor Elder position and disbanded Root, but Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu blocked Tsunade’s request to have him taken into custody.
• After Danzo left, the Third proposed that Jiraiya and Tsunade join the Advisor Elder Council, and Koharu and Homura exchanged uneasy glances.

The Third secured Tsunade and Jiraiya seats on the Advisor Elder Council, shifting its balance of power. The council then accepted that Shinji Uchiha’s team had earned its overwhelming Ninja Academy exam victory through clever use of the Sharingan and local resources.

• The Third proposed adding Tsunade and Jiraiya to the Advisor Elder Council, and Konoha’s senior officials supported the plan despite Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura’s objections.
• The Third appointed Tsunade and Jiraiya as councilors, leaving Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura displeased at the Council’s altered balance.
• Tsunade questioned Shinji Uchiha’s team’s score of 2,108 points, which far exceeded the other teams’ results.
• Utatane Koharu explained that Shinji used trading companies in the Land of Hot Water to lure rogue ninja into traps, likely compelling merchants with the Sharingan’s genjutsu.
• The jonin praised Shinji’s strategy and his thwarting of Root’s assassination attempt, and Tsunade acknowledged his team had outperformed Yakumo’s.

Utatane Koharu pushed for Shinji Uchiha to become the Ninja Academy's Chief after his assessment victory, and the senior officials approved his appointment. The chapter ended with Iruka announcing Shinji as Chief before the Academy students, who stood and bowed to him.

• Utatane Koharu argued that Shinji Uchiha should become Chief, and the Third, Tsunade, and the other officials approved his appointment.
• The Third assigned Tsunade responsibility for the Root left behind by Danzo and explained that the village could hold another assessment to choose a future Chief.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura agreed they had to support Shinji to preserve their influence in the village.
• Two days later, Iruka announced the final assessment rankings and named Shinji Uchiha the Ninja Academy's Chief.
• Shinji, Haku, and Karin stood onstage as the students, including Yakumo and Sasuke, rose and bowed to Shinji.