Chapter Summaries

Sarutobi Toru forced Uchiha Fugaku to the brink of death to awaken and strengthen his Sharingan, then tested his three students’ abilities and teamwork. He ended by promising the squad hellish training to prepare them for the Chunin Exam.

• Sarutobi Toru pulled his hand from Uchiha Fugaku’s chest after Fugaku awakened a one-tomoe Sharingan, then secretly intensified Fugaku’s fear until the Sharingan gained a second tomoe.
• Uchiha Fugaku woke, confirmed his new Sharingan in a mirror, and privately decided that Sarutobi Toru had a terrible personality.
• Sarutobi Toru reviewed Akimichi Choza’s abilities and had Fugaku, Choza, and Hyuga Hiashi attack him together to assess their teamwork.
• Sarutobi Toru identified the squad’s weak coordination and limited ranged attacks, then promised special training to increase their strength three or fourfold before the exam.

In the Land of Iron, Uchiha Hitomi agreed to leave with Black Zetsu for the Land of Rain to observe the fighting ninja, while Black Zetsu secretly hoped to corrupt him. Meanwhile, Sarutobi Toru used a new hormone on Pakura, who woke stronger but found Rasa regarding her with disgust.

• Black Zetsu urged Uchiha Hitomi to leave the Land of Iron before Konoha discovered him, and Hitomi agreed to travel to the Land of Rain.
• Uchiha Hitomi said he wanted to see ninja from the other great nations before Konoha's arrived, and Black Zetsu agreed.
• Sarutobi Toru abducted the sleeping Pakura to the Reincarnation Warehouse and used his newly developed hormone on her.
• Pakura woke feeling healthier and found that her strength, speed, and Chakra had increased, so she went to train with Kinnara.
• Pakura found Rasa at Training Ground No. 9, where Rasa felt disgust toward her and thought she was arrogant and irritating.

Kinnara secretly altered Pakura’s hormones to make others feel disgust toward her, hoping to drive her away from Sunagakure. In Konoha, Sarutobi Toru ended two months of brutal training for Uchiha Fugaku, Hyuga Hiashi, and Akimichi Choza after their abilities had improved dramatically.

• Kinnara noticed Rasa and Pakura had grown more hostile toward each other after his main body modified Pakura’s hormones.
• Pakura invited Kinnara to train, unaware that he planned to make her despair of Sunagakure and eventually defect.
• Sarutobi Toru’s special training left Uchiha Fugaku in agony, Hyuga Hiashi badly injured, and Akimichi Choza unconscious.
• Sarutobi Toru treated Hiashi and Choza with Light Healing Potions and Medical Ninjutsu, then declared the training over.
• Fugaku had awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan, Hiashi had greatly advanced his Gentle Fist with Tai Chi, and Choza had mastered all but his clan’s Butterfly Transformation Secret Technique.

Sarutobi Toru prepared his three disciples for their first real combat mission, taking them to hunt rogue ninja from Iwagakure. Meanwhile, Pakura and Kinnara joined Keiji’s party bound for the Chunin Exam, with Sunagakure secretly planning talks and an alliance with Iwagakure centered on Kinnara’s Wood Release.

• Sarutobi Toru told his disciples their training had improved them and announced that they would kill rogue ninja on a mission.
• Sarutobi Toru led Uchiha Fugaku and the other two disciples out of Konoha to target rogue ninja from Iwagakure.
• Pakura noticed Sunagakure’s people growing distant, while Kinnara remained kind to her and deepened her feelings for him.
• Keiji told Pakura, Kinnara, and their companion that they would travel through the Land of Earth and might face conflict with Iwagakure.
• Kosa arranged for the group to use the Chunin Exam and negotiations to pursue an alliance with Iwagakure, while Chiyo secretly followed to protect Kinnara.

Kinnara, Rasa, and Pakura traveled toward Iwagakure so the Third Kazekage could demonstrate Kinnara’s Wood Release to Ōnoki. Black Zetsu’s agents ambushed them in the Land of Rain, but Kinnara realized the attack was meant to provoke a war, and the team fought back.

• The Third Kazekage sent Kinnara, Rasa, and Pakura to Iwagakure, with Keiji accompanying them, to seek an agreement with Ōnoki.
• At the Land of Rain border, Keiji assigned the watches and warned the team to stay alert; Kinnara mediated between the increasingly hostile Rasa and Pakura.
• Black Zetsu planned to disguise an attack as an Iwagakure ambush and blame Konoha if his agents were exposed.
• Kinnara sensed White Zetsu approaching and woke the others before more than ten apparent Iwagakure shinobi attacked them.
• Kinnara charged into the enemy formation while Rasa used Gold Dust Burial to divide the battlefield and Pakura struck with Scorch Release.
• Pakura learned that Rasa had developed Magnet Release after he used Gold Dust Burial against the attackers.

Kinnara’s group defeated Iwagakure ninjas and reasoned that Ōnoki would blame Konoha rather than risk losing the benefits of Kinnara’s Wood Release. Sarutobi Toru collected four transformed White Zetsu, then watched his three disciples battle a large mercenary group at its headquarters.

• Pakura, Rasa, Captain Keiji, and Kinnara defeated a group of Iwagakure ninjas, but the survivors died after Sharingan appeared in their eyes.
• Kinnara explained that Ōnoki would likely pin the killings on Konoha to preserve the benefits of his Wood Release, and the group hurried toward Iwagakure.
• Chiyo followed the group after inspecting the battlefield, while Sarutobi Toru arrived and turned four corpses into White Zetsu seeds.
• Sarutobi Toru returned to watch Uchiha Fugaku, Hyuga Hiashi, and Akimichi Choza fight dozens of mercenary ninjas at their headquarters.
• Hyuga Hiashi and Uchiha Fugaku killed their opponents while Akimichi Choza kept the mercenaries from surrounding them.

Sarutobi Toru ended his disciples’ brutal two-month training after they held their own against a large group of mercenary ninja, then sold information about Hyuga Hiashi and Uchiha Fugaku at the black market. Meanwhile, Kinnara’s Sunagakure team arrived at Iwagakure to form an alliance and heard about the village’s defenses.

• Sarutobi Toru judged that Hyuga Hiashi, Uchiha Fugaku, and Akimichi Choza had passed their training after they fought dozens of mercenary ninja until he intervened and killed the survivors.
• Sarutobi Toru told his exhausted disciples to continue training on their own and left them in the valley.
• Hyuga Hiashi, Uchiha Fugaku, and Akimichi Choza rested, treated their wounds, and searched the valley for spoils.
• Sarutobi Toru sold black-market intelligence that Hyuga Hiashi belonged to the main family and Uchiha Fugaku had awakened the Three Tomoe.
• Rasa and Pakura asked an Iwagakure guide about the village’s difficult mountain access, while Kinnara considered its defenses overrated.

Kinnara and the Sunagakure team met Two-Scales Ōnoki at Iwagakure, where they discussed the missing Iwagakure squads and demonstrated Kinnara’s Wood Release. Ōnoki was excited by its potential to improve the Land of Stone, but pretended to doubt that the technique was truly Wood Release.

• Two-Scales Ōnoki confronted Captain Keiji and the Sunagakure team at Iwagakure’s gate, while Rōshi revealed that Ōnoki had grown taller with Konoha’s Growth Medicine.
• Ōnoki took the group to Iwagakure’s Anbu Training Ground and questioned them about the missing squads in the Land of Rain.
• Captain Keiji explained that the missing Iwagakure ninjas had Sharingan marks in their eyes, and Ōnoki challenged his account.
• Kinnara used Wood Release: Art of the Blooming Grasses to cover the training ground in tall grass.
• Ōnoki silently welcomed the technique’s potential to improve the Land of Stone, then publicly questioned whether the weak-looking grass was really Wood Release.

Kinnara demonstrated his Wood Release to Ōnoki, prompting Iwagakure to pursue an alliance with Sunagakure and reveal Kinnara’s power at the Chunin Exam. Meanwhile, Sarutobi Toru’s battered disciples returned to Konoha and began to suspect he had arranged the bounty hunters’ attacks.

• Kinnara used Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence to capture Rōshi and a young Iwagakure shinobi before releasing them at Ōnoki’s command.
• Ōnoki accepted that Iwagakure could not keep Kinnara and agreed with Captain Keiji to attend the Chunin Exam alongside Sunagakure.
• Ōnoki planned to travel with the Kazekage to the Land of Iron and use Kinnara’s Wood Release to test Konoha’s reaction.
• Uchiha Fugaku, Hyuga Hiashi, and Akimichi Choza returned to Konoha badly injured after fending off bounty hunters.
• Sarutobi Toru greeted his disciples at the gate, and the trio suspected he had exposed them and arranged the attacks.

Sarutobi Toru gave his three disciples half a month to recover before the Chunin Exam, while the Sunagakure and Iwagakure teams arrived in the cold Land of Iron. Kinnara learned that the exam might include a written test, leaving the teams to prepare for a broader test of their abilities.

• Sarutobi Toru treated his three disciples and told them to rest for half a month before the Chunin Exam.
• Pakura shivered in the Land of Iron, and Kinnara lent her his cloak as Rasa and the others watched their affection.
• Kitsuchi led the Sunagakure and Iwagakure teams to the inn, where ninja from smaller villages had already gathered.
• Kinnara reported that the Chunin Exam might include a written test, and Rasa considered how the exam was changing.

At the Chunin Exam gathering, Kinnara sensed a Frost Shinobi’s unusual Chakra and recognized his soul as Nawaki, though Nawaki seemed to have lost his memories and was being possessed by Black Zetsu. Kinnara provoked and attacked him, and Nawaki left the inn with two White Zetsu companions rather than expose himself further.

• Pakura and Kinnara considered whether the gathered candidates could pass the written test.
• Kinnara sensed a Frost Shinobi and identified his soul as Nawaki, detecting White Zetsu’s Chakra and another hidden presence within him.
• Kinnara confronted Uchiha Hitomi, the identity Nawaki was using, and forced him down after accusing him of staring.
• Black Zetsu warned Nawaki not to attack, while his two White Zetsu companions pulled him away.
• Nawaki angrily abandoned the Chunin Exam and stormed out with his companions.

Kinnara drove off Uchiha Hitomi and Black Zetsu after testing them and secretly marked Hitomi with the Flying Thunder God Technique. As the Chunin Exam approached, more village teams and leaders arrived in the Land of Iron, including Konoha’s delegation and the Third Kazekage and Tsuchikage.

• Uchiha Hitomi and his companions fled the inn, while Black Zetsu reassured Hitomi that Konoha would not pursue them.
• Kinnara told Rasa and the others that the Frost Village ninjas likely had a separate target, and privately reflected that he had marked Hitomi’s scalp with a Flying Thunder God seal.
• Kinnara decided to have his main body investigate Nawaki’s matter and waited at the inn as the Kumogakure and Kirigakure teams arrived.
• Kitsuchi taught Kinnara the Earth Spear and Rock Fist, apparently at Ōnoki’s prompting because Ōnoki coveted Kinnara’s Wood Release.
• Konoha’s ninjas arrived two days before the exam, alongside the Third Kazekage and the Tsuchikage, and Akimichi Choza and Uchiha Fugaku discussed the Land of Iron’s samurai.

Sarutobi Toru warned his students not to underestimate samurai, then encountered the Third Kazekage and Third Tsuchikage at the Chunin Exam. The two Kage discussed their plan to reveal Kinnara’s Wood Release despite the danger posed by Toru.

• Sarutobi Toru told Uchiha Fugaku, Hyuga Hiashi, and their teammate that their abilities gave them advantages over samurai but did not make them invincible.
• Rasa and the Third Kazekage arrived with Two-Scales Ōnoki and Iwagakure ninja, and Sarutobi Toru teased Ōnoki about his supposed secondary development.
• Uchiha Fugaku and Hyuga Hiashi suspected the Kazekage and Tsuchikage were plotting together, but Sarutobi Toru told them to focus on winning the Chunin Exam.
• Two-Scales Ōnoki warned the Third Kazekage that Sarutobi Toru had powerful Nintaijutsu and might know the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• The Third Kazekage agreed with Ōnoki that Sunagakure should reveal Kinnara’s Wood Release rather than keep it hidden.

The Chunin Exam in the Land of Iron advanced to its final round, where Kinnara’s team faced Konoha’s three-man team. Kinnara revealed his Wood Release and trapped Akimichi Choza, leaving the match underway.

• Mifune presided over the Chunin Exam as the written round, preliminaries, and quarterfinals eliminated most competitors.
• Kitsuchi’s Iwagakure team fought Uchiha Fugaku, Hyuga Hiashi, and Akimichi Choza in the semifinals before Kitsuchi surrendered.
• Rasa defeated Kirigakure’s ninja in the other semifinal while Kinnara watched.
• Kinnara’s team and Konoha’s team began the final round as Pakura and Rasa retreated and Kinnara used Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence.
• Kinnara’s trees filled the arena, and branches cocooned Akimichi Choza after Hyuga Hiashi warned him that it was the First Hokage’s Wood Release.

Kinnara’s Wood Release won Sunagakure the match, prompting Sarutobi Toru to challenge the Third Kazekage and Two-Scales Ōnoki. At a mountain battlefield, Sarutobi Toru revealed he could fly using sand and exposed the secret behind Sunagakure’s Sand Manipulation Technique.

• Kinnara’s Wood Release trapped Uchiha Fugaku, Hyuga Hiashi, and Akimichi Choza, and Mifune declared Sunagakure the winner.
• The Third Kazekage and Two-Scales Ōnoki prepared to fight Sarutobi Toru, who challenged them over Kinnara’s Wood Release.
• Mifune led Sarutobi Toru, the Third Kazekage, and Ōnoki outside the city to avoid destroying the arena and endangering spectators.
• Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage attacked Sarutobi Toru and took to the air, but Sarutobi Toru rose on a cloud of yellow sand.
• Sarutobi Toru identified the Sand Manipulation Technique as a tool-control method and explained how Sunagakure refined special sand and Iron Sand.

Sarutobi Toru fought Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage to a draw while Kinnara kept their attention at the Chunin Exam. After the battle, Sarutobi Toru returned to the arena and confronted Kinnara, beginning the final act of their show.

• The Third Kazekage and Ōnoki fought Sarutobi Toru, who used the Sand Manipulation Technique and Sage Mode to keep them at a disadvantage without defeating them.
• Kinnara raised a giant tree in the arena while Uchiha Fugaku and the other contestants remained tied up below him.
• After more than half an hour, Sarutobi Toru ended the battle in an anticlimactic draw and warned the Third Kazekage not to let Kinnara die.
• The Third Kazekage and Ōnoki hurried toward the arena, fearing Sarutobi Toru would attack Kinnara.
• Kinnara's disciples worried about failing the exam and facing their teacher's harsh training, while Kinnara listened without revealing his identity.
• Sarutobi Toru returned in a streak of lightning, broke through Kinnara's Wood Release, and appeared before him.

After Sarutobi Toru ended his staged fight with Kinnara and took Uchiha Fugaku and the others back to Konoha, Kinnara earned worldwide fame and a Jōnin promotion. In Konoha, Danzo questioned Toru about Kinnara’s Wood Release, but Toru explained that it came from scarce White Zetsu bodies already assigned to others.

• Sarutobi Toru stopped pretending to fight, freed Uchiha Fugaku and the others, and vanished with them.
• Kinnara told the Third Kazekage and Ōnoki he had relied on Wood Clones to hold Sarutobi Toru back, and Ōnoki praised his strength.
• The Chunin Exam ended with Kinnara famous across the Shinobi World, and the Third Kazekage promoted him to Jōnin upon his return to Sunagakure.
• Sarutobi Toru returned to Konoha with Uchiha Fugaku and the other two, then answered Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō’s questions about Kinnara’s Wood Release.
• Sarutobi Toru said Wood Release required White Zetsu bodies and told Danzo to ask Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Hiruko for theirs.

Sarutobi Toru defended his decision to keep the Wood Release research secret and assured Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō that Kinnara remained under his control. He revealed a hidden flaw in Kinnara’s Wood Release that could devastate the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth, leaving the two elders shocked by the scale of his scheme.

• Sarutobi Toru told Shimura Danzō that Orochimaru, Hiruko, and Tsunade would never hand over White Zetsu, and Sarutobi Hiruzen defended the young researchers’ work.
• Sarutobi Toru claimed he could strip Kinnara of his Wood Release and life, reassuring Shimura Danzō that the Sunagakure ninja remained under Konoha’s control.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen asked about Sunagakure’s plan to use Wood Release to improve the Land of Wind, and Sarutobi Toru explained that the desert’s lack of water would limit its initial gains.
• Sarutobi Toru revealed that he could destroy Kinnara’s trees across hundreds of miles, draining the soil and leaving land barren for centuries.
• Shimura Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen reacted with alarm as Sarutobi Toru described using the trap to keep the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth from defying Konoha.

Kinnara learned about Rōran’s underground water and Dragon Vein as Sunagakure discussed cooperating with the city. In Konoha, Sarutobi Toru’s plan to use Wood Release to bind the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth to Konoha drew concern, while Tsunade reflected on the cost of war; Toru kept quiet about a boy who might have been Nawaki.

• Kinnara heard Sunagakure’s scholars propose using Wood Release to green the Land of Wind and learned that Rōran held underground currents and a powerful source of Chakra energy.
• The Third Kazekage rejected taking Rōran by force, and the scholars proposed cooperating with it to divert some of its underground river.
• Kinnara decided that Rōran might be a good place to investigate the Dragon Vein.
• Sarutobi Toru left the Hokage’s Office after presenting his plan, while Konoha’s two High Command members stayed behind to discuss it.
• Sarutobi Toru told Tsunade about the plan, and they discussed whether peace built through it was preferable to war.
• Sarutobi Toru chose not to tell Tsunade about the suspicious Frost Village boy who might have been Nawaki.

Uzumaki Kushina and Uzumaki Kanao asked Sarutobi Toru about becoming Chunin, but Kanao revealed that they actually wanted him to be their team leader. The chapter ended with Sarutobi Toru waiting to hear more about their request.

• Sarutobi Toru returned to the Senju Estate, trained, and ate breakfast with Tsunade, Uzumaki Kushina, and Uzumaki Kanao.
• After Tsunade left for Konoha Hospital, Uzumaki Kushina asked Sarutobi Toru when they could become Chunin.
• Sarutobi Toru decided Kushina and Kanao were strong enough for promotion and offered to file a report for them.
• Uzumaki Kanao clarified that she and Kushina wanted Sarutobi Toru to become their team leader.