Chapter Summaries

Takenaka Kaguya used Conqueror's Haki to stop Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō from claiming Might Duy for Root, then visited Mito Uzumaki. He met Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya, leaving the trio nervous as he recognized them as her companions.

• Takenaka praised Might Duy's hard work and asked Hiruzen to let him become Duy's master.
• Shimura Danzō objected, saying he planned to recruit Duy into Root, and Takenaka's Conqueror's Haki nearly forced Danzō to his knees.
• Hiruzen defended Danzō's claim, but Takenaka's Haki overwhelmed him too before Takenaka allowed the matter to drop and continued on.
• After Takenaka left, Hiruzen and Danzō separately coughed up blood, while Hiruzen warned Danzō not to provoke Takenaka.
• Takenaka told Mito Uzumaki that Konoha's leaders were inferior to Hashirama and Tobirama, and Mito defended Hiruzen's leadership.
• Tsunade arrived with Orochimaru and Jiraiya, and Takenaka recognized them as her companions.

Takenaka Kaguya visited Mito Uzumaki, agreed to provide Konoha with a pure-blooded Uzumaki to become the next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and assigned Mingyue Takenaka to oversee their delegation at the Chunin Exams. Hyuga Toko then visited with his sons and thanked Takenaka for helping Hizashi avoid the Caged Bird seal.

• Takenaka Kaguya reunited with Mito Uzumaki and praised Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya during lunch.
• Takenaka Kaguya visited Hashirama Senju's grave, and Mito told him her health was failing and asked him to accept Sarutobi's proposal for a new Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
• Takenaka Kaguya agreed to send a pure-blooded Uzumaki to Konoha in six years.
• Takenaka Kaguya ordered Mingyue Takenaka to supervise the Chunin Exams and ensure every member of their delegation returned alive.
• Hyuga Toko arrived with Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga and thanked Takenaka because Hizashi had been spared the Caged Bird seal through Takenaka's influence.

Hyuga Toko visited Takenaka Kaguya, discussed the Hyuga Clan’s Main and Branch Family system, and sought to place his sons under Kaguya’s tutelage. Kaguya declined but encouraged Toko to give Might Duy the Rokushiki training methods, and the chapter ended with Mingyue Takenaka proposing to eliminate the people responsible for the clan’s problems.

• Hyuga Toko told Takenaka Kaguya that he had kept Hizashi from receiving the Caged Bird Seal but could not easily reform the Hyuga Clan’s long-standing system.
• Hyuga Toko invited Takenaka Kaguya to visit the clan, but Kaguya refused and recognized that Toko had brought Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga to seek his guidance for them.
• Takenaka Kaguya declined to take the brothers as disciples and explained that he had noticed Might Duy’s exceptional taijutsu talent despite his lack of ninjutsu talent.
• Hyuga Toko offered to help Might Duy, and Takenaka Kaguya suggested that Toko provide him with the Rokushiki training methods and resources.
• Hyuga Toko left with his sons after giving Takenaka Kaguya the Hyuga Clan’s gifts, which Mingyue Takenaka estimated were worth about one hundred million ryo.
• Takenaka Kaguya asked Mingyue Takenaka how she would address the Hyuga Clan’s problems, and she answered that she would solve the people who created them.

Takenaka Kaguya warned Hiruzen Sarutobi not to pry into Uzushiogakure or let Danzo threaten him, and Hiruzen hurried to confront Danzo. The Chunin Exams began, with the first written test underway when Hiruzen arrived at Root Headquarters to demand answers.

• Mingyue Takenaka and Takenaka Kaguya discussed the Hyuga Clan’s main-family and branch-family system, and Takenaka Kaguya recalled why he had left Kirigakure rather than overthrow it.
• The Chunin Joint Exams began, and Fangge Takenaka and Muge Takenaka quickly completed their written tests by gathering answers from other examinees.
• Takenaka Kaguya used his Observation Haki to expose Hiruzen Sarutobi’s attempt to learn about him and warned that Konoha could not withstand his strength.
• Takenaka Kaguya warned Hiruzen Sarutobi that he would hold him responsible if Danzo went too far, and Hiruzen promised to deal with Danzo himself.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi led Anbu to Root Headquarters, where Shimura Danzō asked what had brought him there.

Hiruzen Sarutobi confronted Shimura Danzō at Root Headquarters over his plans for Uzushiogakure, and Danzō revealed that he intended to abduct Uzumaki Clan members during the Chunin Exams. The chapter ended with Hiruzen angrily asserting his authority as Hokage after Danzō accused him of secretly undermining Uzushiogakure as well.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi challenged Shimura Danzō at Root Headquarters, and their Anbu and Root forces prepared to fight until Danzō ordered his Root Ninja to stand down.
• Hiruzen demanded to know why Danzō was targeting Uzushiogakure and warned him about the consequences of provoking Takenaka Kaguya.
• Shimura Danzō revealed that he planned to secretly keep several Uzumaki Clan members during the Chunin Exams to protect the Nine-Tails if Lady Mito could no longer serve as its Jinchuriki.
• Hiruzen opposed the plan and warned that Konoha could not stop Takenaka Kaguya, but Danzō dismissed the threat and accused Hiruzen of secretly spreading information about the Uzumaki Clan.
• Hiruzen shouted for Danzō to stop, and Danzō accused him of hypocrisy before Hiruzen asserted that he, not Danzō, held the Hokage's seat.

Hiruzen Sarutobi imprisoned Shimura Danzō and Root after discovering Danzō’s plot against Uzushiogakure, but Black Zetsu appeared afterward and demanded Hiruzen cooperate in a plan against Takenaka Kaguya. The chapter ended with Black Zetsu threatening to kill Hiruzen if he refused.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Shimura Danzō and the Root members detained, their Chakra sealed, and Danzō held in Konoha Prison until the Chunin Exams ended.
• Shimura Danzō warned Hiruzen Sarutobi that his plan against the Uzushiogakure Genin was already underway, and Hiruzen ordered the Anbu to keep their conversation secret.
• After the Anbu left, Black Zetsu emerged from the ground and mocked Hiruzen Sarutobi for secretly spreading information about an ally.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi attacked Black Zetsu, but Black Zetsu caught his fist and bound him with Wood Style Ninjutsu.
• Black Zetsu introduced himself as the incarnation of Madara Uchiha’s will and demanded Hiruzen Sarutobi cooperate against Takenaka Kaguya, threatening to kill him if he refused.

Black Zetsu forced Hiruzen Sarutobi to cooperate in obtaining the Impure World Reincarnation technique and Uchiha geniuses, while agreeing to help him attack Uzushiogakure. Later, Takenaka Kaguya took Mingyue Takenaka to Naka Shrine to inspect the stone tablet beneath it.

• Black Zetsu drained Hiruzen Sarutobi's Chakra, planted Spores in his body, and demanded the Impure World Reincarnation technique and talented Uchiha Clan members.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed to cooperate and warned Black Zetsu that Takenaka Kaguya's Observation Haki could read people's thoughts.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Black Zetsu to help him move against Uzushiogakure, and Black Zetsu agreed in exchange for Uchiha geniuses.
• An Anbu ninja reported that all thirty Genin from Uzushiogakure had passed the first stage of the Chunin Exams.
• Mingyue Takenaka told Takenaka Kaguya about the exam results, and he said Uzushiogakure's own selection system mattered more than Konoha's rankings.
• Takenaka Kaguya led Mingyue Takenaka to Naka Shrine at night to examine the stone tablet in its hidden chamber.

Takenaka Kaguya and Mingyue Takenaka entered the Uchiha Clan’s hidden shrine chamber to inspect the Sage of Six Paths’ stone tablet, where they discovered forbidden techniques and discussed the history of ninja. After Mingyue collected the scrolls, Takenaka Kaguya examined the tablet but could not decipher it without the Sharingan.

• Mingyue Takenaka knocked out two Uchiha Clan guards, and she and Takenaka Kaguya entered the underground chamber beneath Naka Shrine.
• Mingyue Takenaka found scrolls of Izanagi and Izanami among the Uchiha Clan’s stored techniques, and Takenaka Kaguya explained their dangers and how he had faced them in battle against Madara Uchiha.
• Takenaka Kaguya explained how the Uchiha Clan created Izanami to counter the overuse of Izanagi, then told Mingyue Takenaka to preserve both techniques for her and her brothers to study.
• Takenaka Kaguya told Mingyue Takenaka that the Senju, Uchiha, Hyuga, Uzumaki, and Kaguya clans descended from the Sage of Six Paths, then described the Three Great Sage Regions and their sages.
• Mingyue Takenaka stored the ninjutsu scrolls in a Sealing Scroll, and Takenaka Kaguya examined the stone tablet but could not read its secrets without the Sharingan.

Takenaka Kaguya confronted Hagoromo Otsutsuki in the spiritual space within the stone tablet, where the Sage of Six Paths tried to make him stop disrupting the Shinobi World. The system granted Takenaka Kaguya the Soru Soru no Mi, and after eating it he broke free of Hagoromo’s restraint and began fighting him.

• Takenaka Kaguya used Observation Haki on the stone tablet and entered a spiritual space, where he met Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths.
• Hagoromo demanded that Takenaka Kaguya stop interfering in the Shinobi World and bound him when he refused to promise unconditionally.
• The system offered Takenaka Kaguya the Soru Soru no Mi as an advance reward for accepting a mission to challenge Hagoromo.
• Takenaka Kaguya accepted the challenge, ate the Soru Soru no Mi, and unleashed an aura that broke Hagoromo’s restraint.
• Hagoromo summoned nine water dragons, and Takenaka Kaguya attacked with Shusui using One Sword Style: Advanced Conqueror's Haki Infusion: Azure Dragon Roar.

Takenaka Kaguya fought the Sage of Six Paths in a soul space, where he froze five summoned shinobi and challenged the Sage’s defenses. The Sage sent him back to the real world, while a giant hand took the five souls and nearly seized the Sage himself.

• Takenaka Kaguya used the Azure Dragon sword attack against the Sage of Six Paths, then mocked him for asking about the strange fruit.
• The Sage of Six Paths summoned Hashirama Senju, Madara Uchiha, Tobirama Senju, Yuki Haku, and Hozuki Gengetsu from the Pure Land, but Takenaka Kaguya froze them all with Absolute Zero.
• Takenaka Kaguya attacked the Sage of Six Paths with Haki-infused strikes, but the Sage blocked his attacks with Truth-Seeking Orbs.
• As Takenaka Kaguya charged with a powerful punch, the Sage of Six Paths sent him back to the real world, where Mingyue Takenaka urged him to leave after sensing his aura.
• After Takenaka Kaguya and Mingyue Takenaka left, a giant hand took the five summoned souls and nearly grabbed the Sage of Six Paths, who identified it as the Shinigami.

The Uchiha Clan discovered that someone had stolen the ninjutsu scrolls from Naka Shrine and brought the matter to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who feared confronting Takenaka Kaguya. Black Zetsu offered to replace the scrolls, while the Uchiha Clan Head planned to watch the next Chunin Exam round and Takenaka Kaguya tested his newly animated cup.

• The Uchiha Clan Head learned that all the scrolls in Naka Shrine's underground chamber had been stolen and withheld the suspected Takenaka Kaguya's identity from public view.
• The Uchiha Jonin delivered the evidence to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who promised an answer within five days despite fearing a direct encounter with Takenaka Kaguya.
• Black Zetsu advised Hiruzen Sarutobi to delay action until the Chunin Exams ended, then offered to rewrite the stolen scrolls for the Uchiha Clan.
• The Uchiha Clan Head learned that Fangge Takenaka and Muge Takenaka were among the Uzushiogakure Genin and decided to watch the second exam round.
• Takenaka Kaguya watched the cup he had animated with the Soru Soru no Mi bounce across the table.

Takenaka Kaguya tested the Soru Soru no Mi and learned that it could steal the lives of those weaker than him and resurrect them as loyal warriors. During the second stage of the Chunin Exams, Changge Takenaka’s team encountered Tsunade’s team, and a fight began when Changge blocked Tsunade’s punch and Muge intercepted Orochimaru’s attack.

• Takenaka Kaguya learned that his Soru Soru no Mi could take the lives of weaker people and resurrect them as loyal warriors.
• Takenaka Kaguya attended the second stage of the Chunin Exams while Hiruzen Sarutobi stayed away and Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura oversaw the examination.
• Takenaka Kaguya recognized the examiner, Kurama Kozan, and recalled that he had nearly trapped him in genjutsu before Konoha was founded.
• Tsunade’s team confronted Changge Takenaka’s team and demanded their scrolls, but Changge provoked Tsunade by calling her his niece.
• Changge blocked Tsunade’s Strength of a Hundred punch, and Muge cut down Orochimaru’s snakes and challenged him to fight.

Changge Takenaka and Muge Takenaka fought Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya during the Forest of Death exam, impressing the people watching the battle. Takenaka Kaguya explained that both sides were holding back, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Muge Takenaka cut down Orochimaru's Hidden Shadow Snake Hands and challenged him to keep fighting.
• Orochimaru drew his Kusanagi Sword and assigned Tsunade to fight Changge Takenaka and Jiraiya to fight the remaining Uzushiogakure Ninja.
• Changge Takenaka and Tsunade traded taijutsu blows, while Muge Takenaka and Orochimaru clashed with swords and ninjutsu.
• Jiraiya struggled to land a hit on his opponent, who repeatedly evaded him and appeared strong enough to have injured him.
• Takenaka Kaguya told Mingyue Takenaka that the fighters were holding back and that Changge Takenaka and Muge Takenaka had not used their full strength.

Hatake Sakumo and Dan Katō noticed the battle between Tsunade’s group and Changge Takenaka’s squad, but only Sakumo went to investigate. Changge used Observation Haki to evade Tsunade’s powerful attacks and taunted her, leaving their fight ongoing.

• Hatake Sakumo heard the battle and led his teammates toward it, intending to intervene if needed.
• Dan Katō learned through a Hyuga teammate that Tsunade’s group was fighting Lord Takenaka’s sons and chose not to approach.
• Tsunade smashed a massive tree with her Strength of a Hundred Fist, while Changge dodged and judged that he could not withstand the blow head-on.
• Changge used Observation Haki to predict and evade Tsunade’s successive punches.
• Tsunade used Heavenly Foot of Pain, but Changge foresaw the attack and escaped with Soru.
• Changge told Tsunade that her attacks were useless if she could not hit him and asked what she would do next.

Changge Takenaka’s team withdrew from Tsunade’s group and later let Hatake Sakumo’s team leave, intending to face Konoha’s strongest Genin in the third round. While the exam footage played, Takenaka Kaguya rebuffed the Uchiha Clan Head’s attempt to ingratiate himself, then reacted when Dan Katō prepared to kill a defeated Uzushiogakure team.

• Tsunade ordered Orochimaru and Jiraiya to retreat, and Changge Takenaka let them go, expecting to face them in the third round.
• Muge Takenaka attacked a nearby bush with shuriken, revealing Hatake Sakumo and his two teammates, whom Changge Takenaka allowed to leave.
• Changge Takenaka’s team set out to collect the Heaven and Earth Scrolls while saving Hatake Sakumo as a future opponent.
• The Uchiha Clan Head praised Takenaka Kaguya’s sons and tried to establish a connection, but Takenaka Kaguya warned him not to reopen old hostilities and made clear he wanted no ties with the Uchiha.
• The footage showed Dan Katō defeating an Uzushiogakure Genin team and taking their scrolls; when he prepared to kill them, Takenaka Kaguya called to Mingyue, who said she understood.

Mingyue Takenaka stopped Dan Katō from killing the Uzushiogakure Genin and demanded that Konoha explain why he had been controlled. Black Zetsu used the incident to persuade Hiruzen Sarutobi that Konoha’s alliance with Uzushiogakure was unequal, leaving Hiruzen to summon advisers Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura and the Uchiha Clan Head.

• Dan Katō, controlled by an unknown force, broke free of his teammates’ restraints and moved to kill the unconscious Uzushiogakure Genin.
• Mingyue Takenaka arrived in time to deflect Dan Katō’s kunai, and Dan explained that he had been unable to control his body.
• The Konoha examiner vouched for Dan Katō, but Mingyue demanded an explanation and warned that Konoha’s failure to provide one would threaten the alliance.
• Mingyue Takenaka used Shadow Clones to carry away the Uzushiogakure Genin while Konoha’s Anbu shielded Dan Katō.
• Black Zetsu told Hiruzen Sarutobi that Konoha could not stand against Takenaka Kaguya, and Hiruzen admitted that the alliance was not equal.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and the Uchiha Clan Head.

Hiruzen Sarutobi persuaded Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura to make Root Headquarters take the blame for Dan Katō’s attack on Uzushiogakure, hoping to appease Takenaka Kaguya and weaken Shimura Danzō. He then discussed the stolen Uchiha Ninjutsu scrolls with the Uchiha Clan Head and hinted that the clan’s future mattered more than the scrolls, leaving the elder suspicious of a threat.

• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura urged Hiruzen Sarutobi not to hand Dan Katō over to Uzushiogakure, and Hiruzen agreed.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi proposed blaming Root Headquarters for the incident, and both advisers agreed to present the plan to Takenaka Kaguya.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned the Uchiha Clan Head and admitted that Takenaka Kaguya and Mingyue Takenaka had taken the clan’s Ninjutsu scrolls.
• The Uchiha Clan Head challenged Hiruzen Sarutobi to act as Hokage, while Hiruzen said the Uchiha Clan’s future mattered more than the scrolls.
• The Uchiha Clan Head suspected Hiruzen Sarutobi was threatening him, and Hiruzen denied it and began to explain.

Hiruzen Sarutobi negotiated with the Uchiha Clan Head over the clan’s status and Konoha’s treatment of them, while Takenaka Kaguya confronted Konoha over an attempt to make Dan Katō attack Uzushiogakure’s Genin. After Konoha offered the heads of three Root Headquarters Jonin as its explanation, Mito Uzumaki arrived to intervene.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi promised the Uchiha Clan Head that Konoha would not force the clan to follow the Senju of the Forest’s example, offered two Anbu slots, and raised the possibility of an Uchiha becoming Hokage.
• Takenaka Kaguya and Mingyue Takenaka discussed Dan Katō’s control and whether Konoha or an infiltrator had tried to drive a wedge between their villages.
• After the second stage of the Chunin Exams, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura presented Takenaka Kaguya with the heads of three Root Headquarters Jonin, saying they had controlled Dan Katō under orders.
• Takenaka Kaguya rejected the heads as an inadequate explanation and demanded to know why Hiruzen Sarutobi had not come himself.
• Mito Uzumaki entered and asked Takenaka Kaguya what had angered him.

Takenaka Kaguya resolved the dispute with Mito Uzumaki, while Black Zetsu persuaded Hiruzen Sarutobi to pursue Hashirama Cell research and Hiruzen released Shimura Danzo. Konoha suspended the Chunin Exams amid escalating conflict with Amegakure, and Takenaka Kaguya’s group left for home after visiting the Valley of the End, where they discovered his statue standing alongside Hashirama Senju’s and Madara Uchiha’s.

• Mito Uzumaki apologized to Takenaka Kaguya, who accepted but warned her that he would not tolerate repeated trouble.
• Black Zetsu gave Hiruzen Sarutobi records on Hashirama Cell experiments and encouraged him to seek strength through the research.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi decided to release Shimura Danzo, and Konoha suspended the Chunin Exams after a squad was wiped out at the Amegakure border.
• Takenaka Kaguya learned that Shimura Danzo and Root had been released, then prepared to return to Uzushiogakure as Konoha faced a possible war.
• Takenaka Kaguya led his group out of Konoha, and they detoured to the Valley of the End, where they saw a third statue depicting him beside Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.

Takenaka Kaguya’s group left the Valley of the End for Uzushiogakure while Konoha’s leaders agreed to let Shimura Danzō oversee the Hashirama Cell Cultivation Project to create a shinobi capable of opposing him. Before leaving the Land of Fire, Takenaka Kaguya received troubling intelligence, and Mingyue Takenaka asked him about Amegakure’s leader, Hanzo of the Salamander.

• Takenaka Kaguya and Mingyue Takenaka visited the Valley of the End, where Mingyue resented Madara Uchiha’s statue, before their group headed toward Uzushiogakure.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Shimura Danzō, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura that Konoha needed to cultivate someone strong enough to challenge Takenaka Kaguya.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi presented the Hashirama Cell Cultivation Project, and Shimura Danzō agreed to take charge and bear responsibility if it was exposed.
• Takenaka Kaguya received intelligence from Uzushiogakure’s agents and burned the scroll after reading it, hinting that people had developed ulterior motives.
• Mingyue Takenaka questioned Konoha’s claim that Amegakure might start a war and asked Takenaka Kaguya whether he had met Hanzo of the Salamander.