Recaps

Hanzo of the Salamander held off the Konoha Ninja while his poison-paralyzed body kept him from escaping, buying time for Amegakure’s survivors. As Hanzo attacked and challenged Konoha’s motives, Hiroki rejected his appeal, and three Rain Ninja rushed to kill him.

• Hanzo called Seijou and Seisei to his side and asked Hiroki to reveal his name, but Jiraiya warned Hiroki not to give away information.
• Hanzo unleashed a Great Waterfall Technique and followed it with an Exploding Flame Formation, while Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and the other Konoha Ninja defended against his attacks.
• Tsunade recognized that Hanzo was paralyzed by the toxin from his damaged poison sac, and a Konoha jōnin realized he was buying time for the Rain Ninja to retreat.
• Hanzo denounced Konoha for invading the Land of Rain and urged its ninja to share their land with the poor, but Hiroki replied, “Keep dreaming!”
• Three Rain Ninja emerged from beneath the water and charged at Hiroki on Hanzo’s signal.

Hiroki used Kakuzu’s Earth Grudge Fear and hand-seal-free Wind Style to overwhelm Hanzo’s forces, while Jiraiya’s group helped capture Hanzo. After challenging Hanzo’s claim that he could bring peace, Hiroki touched his forehead to connect to Hanzo’s mind and investigate how he resisted the Brain Overload Attack.

• Hiroki shielded himself from three Rain Ninja elite jonin with Earth Grudge Fear, then killed them with vacuum bullets and attacks that tore out their hearts.
• Hanzo recognized Kakuzu’s forbidden technique in Hiroki’s hands and ordered the Rain Ninja to scatter and retreat.
• Hanzo unleashed a poisonous swamp, but Jiraiya buried it with an Earth-Style Wall while Nara Ruzan bound Hanzo’s shadow.
• Hanzo argued that only he could bring peace, and Hiroki challenged his ambitions by comparing him to Madara Uchiha, Senju Hashirama, and the Five Kage.
• Hiroki approached the restrained Hanzo and established a temporary Chakra Communication Protocol connection to examine how Hanzo resisted the Brain Overload Attack.

Hiroki failed to access Hanzo's thoughts and memories because Hanzo's system required administrator permissions, while Orochimaru sealed Hanzo's chakra. After the Leaf ninjas captured Hanzo alive, their discussion of taking him to Konoha prompted him to try to kill himself by stopping his own heart.

• Hiroki tried to open Hanzo's thought files and copy his ninjutsu, but access restrictions blocked him.
• Orochimaru used the Five Elements Seal to weaken Hanzo's chakra control after Jiraiya warned the group not to risk him breaking free.
• The Leaf ninjas debated what to do with their captive, and Tsunade proposed taking Hanzo to Konoha for interrogation.
• Hanzo convulsed and declared he would rather die than be taken to Konoha, so Tsunade cut his tendons and tried to stop his self-inflicted injuries.
• Orochimaru urged Hanzo to negotiate, but Hanzo continued trying to stop his heart and insisted he would never submit.

Sarutobi Hiruzen forced Ōnoki to retreat after an urgent report revealed that Konoha had captured Hanzo alive in the Land of Rain. The news shocked Sunagakure and Madara Uchiha, who learned that a ten-year-old child had led the capture and sealed Kakuzu; Madara postponed his search in the Land of Rain and ordered White Zetsu to investigate Uzushio Village.

• Ōnoki received an urgent report during his duel with Sarutobi Hiruzen and conceded the fight, allowing Hiruzen to return to the command post.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen read a report confirming that Konoha forces had captured Hanzo of the Salamander alive.
• Chiyo and Ebizo learned of Hanzo’s capture and reacted with shock at the news from the Land of Rain.
• White Zetsu told Madara Uchiha that Konoha had captured Hanzo and that a ten-year-old child had led the operation and sealed Kakuzu.
• Madara Uchiha paused his search for a Rinnegan host in the Land of Rain and told White Zetsu to investigate Uzushio Village.

After the Third ordered Konoha to hold Hanzo in the Land of Rain and reshape Amegakure’s leadership, Hiroki began copying Hanzo’s knowledge while Jiraiya and Orochimaru debated how to control the village. The chapter ended with Yahiko and Konan arriving at the outpost, while Nagato was nowhere to be seen.

• Orochimaru relayed the Third’s orders to keep Hanzo in a temporary prison, interrogate him, negotiate with Amegakure, and install a pro-Konoha acting leader.
• The Third ordered Jiraiya to oversee Amegakure’s transition and Hatake Sakumo to escort Hiroki back to Konoha once the interrogation team arrived.
• Hiroki accessed Hanzo’s memories and began copying his techniques, secrets, and intelligence to his own memory disk.
• Jiraiya objected to Orochimaru’s suggestion to eliminate opposition, arguing that it would inflame resistance in the Land of Rain.
• Jiraiya ordered guards to bring two hungry war orphans inside and give them food and water.
• Hiroki recognized the children as Yahiko and Konan and wondered where Nagato was.

Madara abandoned Uzushio as a source of Rinnegan candidates and decided to travel to the Land of Rain to recruit a candidate and prepare an army in the Land of Water. At the prison outpost, Hiroki finished copying Hanzo’s knowledge and tried using the System Space’s delete function on Hanzo’s combat techniques.

• Madara ordered Zetsu to take him to the Land of Rain so he could personally bring his chosen candidate to the Land of Water.
• Madara vowed to erase Sawada Hiroki, whom he suspected might be Tobirama reincarnated or otherwise a threat to his plan.
• Hiroki completed copying Hanzo’s knowledge after several days of interruptions, while Konoha’s Torture and Interrogation Force arrived at the outpost.
• Amegakure demanded Hanzo’s release and threatened to give Iwagakure strategic maps and defectors if Konoha refused.
• Hiroki pressed his hand to Hanzo’s forehead and selected the [Combat Ninjutsu] directory in Hanzo’s System Space, preparing to delete it.

Hanzo awoke after Konoha released him, only to discover he could no longer use his learned techniques or handle his weapon. Meanwhile, Mito brought Kushina into the world inside the seal to face the Nine-Tails, and Kushina drew courage from her promise to Hiroki.

• Hanzo woke in Konoha custody and learned that his subordinates had pressured Konoha into releasing him.
• Hanzo took his kusarigama and tried to form hand seals, but he could not control his chakra or remember how to fight.
• Mito brought Kushina into the world inside the seal, where she encountered the bound Nine-Tails.
• The Nine-Tails threatened Kushina, but she overcame her paralysis by thinking of Hiroki and defied the beast.

Hiroki used Deletion to strip Hanzo of his ninjutsu and combat instincts, forcing Hanzo to concede defeat and hand over information about surviving Amegakure ninja. Danzo stopped the Konoha forces from pursuing Hanzo, recognized the extent of Hiroki’s ability, and urged him to return to the village for a new mission.

• Hiroki’s Deletion left Hanzo unable to use ninjutsu or fight as before, and the Rain Ninja demanded to know what he had done.
• Hanzo accepted his defeat, ordered his subordinates to stand down, and gave the Konoha Ninja a scroll listing surviving Amegakure ninja and their approximate locations.
• Hanzo warned that he could no longer control the survivors, then left with his subordinates.
• Danzo appeared and ordered Root to stop Hanzo, but noticed that Hanzo had lost his combat instincts and called off the pursuit.
• Danzo asked Hiroki to return to the village and told him a new mission would be waiting.

Sarutobi Hiruzen assigned Hiroki a mission tied to the weakening seal of the Nine-Tails and Konoha’s plans for the Chunin Exams. Hiroki was told to become a Chunin to gain access to Uzumaki Fuinjutsu, and the chapter ended with Sarutobi offering him a forbidden technique and access to the Second Teacher’s secret laboratory.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen told Hiroki that Uzumaki Mito’s seal was weakening and that Konoha needed a new Nine-Tails vessel and stronger Fuinjutsu.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen directed Hiroki to take the Chunin Exams and become a Chunin before receiving Lady Mito’s instruction.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen explained that Hiroki’s mission at the joint exams with Iwagakure and Sunagakure was to erase the ninjutsu of non-Konoha Genin.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen opened a protected chamber, let Hiroki choose a forbidden technique from the Scroll of Seals, and offered to take him to the Second Teacher’s secret laboratory.

Hiroki chose three forbidden techniques from the Scroll of Seals before Sarutobi Hiruzen took him to Senju Tobirama’s secret laboratory. There, Hiroki discovered Senju Hashirama’s living cells and received a prompt to connect to them as a computer.

• Hiroki studied the Scroll of Seals and selected Bringer-of-Darkness, Flying Thunder God, and Eight Inner Gates.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen warned Hiroki about the dangers of forbidden techniques and promised to deliver their training scrolls to his home.
• Hiroki followed Sarutobi Hiruzen through guarded underground passages to Senju Tobirama’s secret laboratory.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen showed Hiroki a specimen of Senju Hashirama’s living cells preserved in a glass container.
• Hiroki approached the container, and his system announced a temporary connection to Senju Hashirama_Flesh276.

Hiroki examined Senju Hashirama’s cells and warned Sarutobi Hiruzen that attempts to reproduce Hashirama’s Wood Release would fail or produce only limited power. Hiruzen entrusted Hiroki with the laboratory and assigned him to the Konoha Archives, while Sunagakure prepared for a dangerous Chunin Ninja Exams.

• Hiroki connected to Senju Hashirama’s cells and discovered they contained Wood Release techniques, chakra-generation data, and the ability to absorb Natural Energy.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen questioned Hiroki about Hashirama and the prospects of Wood Release experiments, and Hiroki described their likely failures and weak results.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen left the Hashirama Cells laboratory in Hiroki’s care and appointed him librarian at the Konoha Archives until the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• The Third Kazekage learned that Konoha had taken control of Amegakure and planned to use the Chunin Ninja Exams to test its opponents.
• Chiyo proposed sending Sasori, Ebizo recommended Pakura, and the Third Kazekage appointed Rasa to lead their team while ordering an inquiry into Bunpuku.

Hiroki used his new chakra-connection ability to knock out Uchiha Yoshihiro after the young Uchiha demanded that he fetch Fire Release records and challenged him to fight. Yoshihiro fled to seek help from his father, Uchiha Togashi, but Hiroki realized Togashi was already someone he had drained of jutsu and thought Yoshihiro might be punished instead.

• Uchiha Yoshihiro ordered Hiroki to fetch Fire Release records, but Hiroki calmly pointed him to the correct shelves and refused to run errands.
• Uchiha Yoshihiro challenged Hiroki to fight, and Hiroki established a chakra connection that overloaded Yoshihiro's brain and knocked him unconscious.
• Hiroki realized he could connect to people without touching them and potentially read their memories and copy their jutsu.
• Uchiha Yoshihiro woke up confused and humiliated, then fled the archives to tell his father, Uchiha Togashi.
• Hiroki recognized Togashi as the jonin whose jutsu he had previously copied and wondered whether Togashi would beat Yoshihiro instead.

Uchiha Togashi dragged Yoshihiro to the archives, but after recognizing Hiroki, he made his son apologize and left when an Anbu arrived. Hiroki received the final Chunin Exam roster and realized the lineup, including Roshi, might conceal a threat to Konoha; unable to explain what he knew, he decided to prepare for the worst.

• Uchiha Togashi brought Yoshihiro to confront Hiroki, then recognized him and slapped Yoshihiro before forcing him to kneel and apologize.
• An Anbu arrived at the archives, dismissed Togashi and Yoshihiro, and delivered the final exam roster to Hiroki on Sarutobi Hiruzen’s orders.
• Hiroki read that Minato would represent Konoha, while Rasa, Pakura, and Sasori would represent Sunagakure, and Roshi would be associated with Iwagakure.
• Hiroki suspected Roshi was the Four-Tails Jinchuriki and worried that the exam might be a trap or an attack on Konoha.
• Hiroki decided he could not warn Sarutobi Hiruzen about what he knew and resolved to prepare for the worst.

Uchiha Togashi forced Yoshihiro to apologize to the librarian and warned him about the Uchiha clan’s precarious position and the danger of provoking powerful people. Yoshihiro apologized to Pakura when she taunted him, while Hiroki learned that the Hokage had postponed a secret mission and was stopped as he tried to leave.

• Togashi took Yoshihiro home, made him kneel, and explained that the Uchiha were vulnerable to any mistake and that the librarian was also a ten-year-old who had defeated him easily.
• Yoshihiro headed toward the library to apologize again, but encountered Rasa’s Sunagakure team arriving for the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Pakura provoked Yoshihiro by insulting the Uchiha, but he remembered Togashi’s warning and bowed to her instead of retaliating.
• Fugaku arrived and asked what had happened as Rasa explained that his student had acted without proper etiquette.
• Hiroki contacted an Anbu operative through the Chakra Communication Protocol and learned that the Hokage had said not to begin the mission yet.
• Hiroki tried to leave by another route, but someone called out, “Stop.”

Hiroki was confronted by Rasa after his remote telepathy triggered a faint chakra fluctuation, and he avoided revealing his ability by presenting himself as a Chunin Exam candidate. Rasa left without escalating the confrontation, but remained wary of Hiroki as the Sunagakure team reached its lodgings and met Roshi.

• Rasa stopped Hiroki and questioned him about the jutsu he had just used.
• Hiroki said he was a Chunin Exam candidate, while Rasa suspected he had detected an unusual chakra fluctuation.
• Pakura taunted Yoshihiro and Hiroki, and Uchiha Fugaku stepped between the groups and told them to follow Konoha's rules.
• Rasa ended the confrontation and left with his team, while Yoshihiro apologized to Hiroki and Hiroki departed.
• Tessa asked Rasa why he had singled out Hiroki, and Rasa explained that he had sensed a faint chakra fluctuation.
• Rasa's team arrived at their lodgings, where Roshi was waiting for them.

At the joint Chunin exams, Hiroki surveyed the candidates and the hidden security before Pakura swiftly killed her Kusagakure opponent with Scorch Release. The first round continued with Namikaze Minato and Sasori announced as the next opponents.

• Umino Ikkaku announced that the written exam had been skipped and explained the rules for the individual knockout matches.
• Hiroki used his system to scan the arena, spotting numerous sensory shinobi and Root operatives, then watched Pakura and the other village teams.
• The first match paired Pakura with Nakajima Shota, and Pakura killed him in under ten seconds with Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Kazekage, and Ōnoki argued over Pakura's strength and the ages of the candidates.
• Umino Ikkaku announced the next match between Namikaze Minato and Sasori.

Namikaze Minato defeated Sasori’s puppets, but Sasori forfeited to preserve his remaining ones. Sawada Hiroki then appeared to knock out Taiseki without moving, and an Iwagakure teammate who rushed to confront him also collapsed.

• Namikaze Minato charged Sasori at high speed, cut through two puppets with a chakra-coated kunai, and evaded poison senbon with a substitution technique.
• Sasori forfeited before Minato could strike him, apparently choosing to protect his remaining puppets.
• Sawada Hiroki faced Iwagakure’s Taiseki, who fell unconscious as soon as the match began, though no one saw Hiroki move or sensed chakra.
• An Iwagakure teammate rushed into the arena and accused Hiroki, but he also collapsed moments after Umino Ikkaku ordered him to stand down.

Sawada Hiroki defeated two Iwagakure contestants with an unexplained technique, leaving the spectators and Kage unable to understand what had happened. After Umino Ikkaku named him the winner, Hiroki used Kakuzu’s strange arm to capture the fallen shinobi, shocking Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage.

• Sawada Hiroki made Taiseki and his teammate collapse instantly, leaving the arena and the watching Kage baffled.
• Ōnoki questioned Sarutobi Hiruzen about Hiroki’s technique, while Hiruzen pretended not to know how it worked.
• Namikaze Minato wondered how Hiroki had used his Insignia-less Ninjutsu, while Hiroki copied his opponents’ techniques and looked toward Pakura and Sasori.
• Umino Ikkaku declared Sawada Hiroki the winner after the Iwagakure contestants could not continue fighting.
• Hiroki threw Kakuzu’s arm onto the ground, and its tendrils wrapped around the unconscious shinobi, prompting Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage to recognize Earth Grudge Fear.

Hiroki’s victory with Kakuzu’s arm shocked the Kage and kept other contestants from challenging him. As he considered how his forced-connection technique worked, the first round ended and the Chunin promotion exam’s second round began.

• The Third Kazekage and Ōnoki recognized Kakuzu’s arm, and Sarutobi Hiruzen said Konoha had sealed Kakuzu after he attacked Orochimaru, with Hiroki taking part.
• Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage grew wary of Konoha, while no contestants dared challenge Hiroki.
• The arena’s other matches continued, eliminating shinobi from minor villages as Hiroki sat apart and thought about his techniques.
• Hiroki reasoned that he could imitate an opponent’s chakra frequency to force a connection, then use genjutsu as a channel for attacks that overloaded the brain or altered bodily functions.
• Umino Ikkaku announced the start of the second round, which would test teamwork and combat skills while allowing outstanding candidates to be promoted regardless of victory.

Rasa and Roshi secretly agreed to coordinate the Konoha Crush Plan during a meeting in the venue's restroom. As the second-round team battle approached, Sawada Hiroki anticipated the start of his elimination mission and wondered where the two Kage representatives had gone.

• Roshi and Rasa met in a public restroom and traded insults about their villages' Genin before discussing their shared opposition to Konoha's control of the Land of Rain.
• Rasa proposed attacking when Sawada Hiroki fought the other Genin, with Rasa targeting Hiroki and Roshi creating chaos to draw Konoha's forces away.
• Roshi accepted Rasa's plan after Rasa warned that Konoha might target Iwagakure or Sunagakure next, and the two sealed their alliance with threats.
• Umino Ikkaku announced that the second round would be a three-person free-for-all, with victory going to the team that eliminated its opponents or had the most members left when time ran out.
• Minato reassured a nervous teammate, while Pakura assigned Sasori to perimeter security and planned to leave Sawada Hiroki alone for the moment.
• Sawada Hiroki watched the Konoha High Command and the three Kage, anticipated his mission to eliminate outside Chunin, and wondered where Rasa and Roshi had gone.

Sawada Hiroki ended the Chunin Ninja Exams by incapacitating every foreign Genin, prompting Rasa, Roshi, and Ōnoki to launch their planned attack on Konoha. Sarutobi Hiruzen repelled Roshi’s assault and entered the battle as the village descended into chaos.

• Umino Ikkaku began the second round, and Sawada Hiroki’s jutsu caused the foreign Genin to lose consciousness and collapse.
• Rasa and Roshi realized their plan had to begin immediately and launched their attack while the arena was still stunned.
• Rasa unleashed Gold Dust toward Sawada Hiroki as Roshi transformed into the Four-Tails and charged at Sarutobi Hiruzen.
• Konoha’s Anbu and emergency teams responded as Sarutobi Hiruzen struck Roshi with his staff, interrupting Ōnoki’s Dust Release and the Third Kazekage’s Iron Sand attack.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen revealed the armor beneath his Hokage robes and joined the battle.

Hiroki fought Rasa’s Gold Dust assault, using Genjutsu and a network-based mental attack before discovering Rasa had blocked his access. As Hiroki tried to counter with ninjutsu, his body and chakra slowed into a fatal lag, leaving him stuck above the Gold Dust wave.

• Rasa flooded the area with Gold Dust, blocking Hiroki’s vision and sound-based attacks.
• Hiroki infiltrated Rasa’s sensory network and launched mental scripts, but an access-denied error stopped them.
• Hiroki used Fire and Wind Release to melt the Gold Dust and break through, while Rasa revealed a sand-made eyeball and protected himself with Magnet Release chakra.
• Hiroki realized that witnesses would spread information about his abilities and that opponents would develop counters.
• Hiroki prepared a Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere, but his body and chakra slowed until he could barely move.

Hiroki optimized his system’s overloaded threads during his duel with Rasa, then used a Shadow Clone and combined Fire and Wind Release to break through Rasa’s Gold Dust defense. With his chakra nearly depleted and few options left, Hiroki heard a system notification indicating a download had finished.

• Hiroki canceled most ninjutsu-copy tasks, keeping Pakura’s Scorch Release and Sasori’s Human Puppet technique, which restored his system’s performance.
• Hiroki summoned a Shadow Clone to manage remaining tasks and help organize the ninjutsu files while he faced Rasa.
• Hiroki combined Flame Bullet with Great Breakthrough, scattering and melting part of Rasa’s giant Gold Dust hand.
• Hiroki escaped the Gold Dust blockade and reached the top of Rasa’s sphere, but realized he had little chakra and could use at most two more techniques.
• A system notification sounded in Hiroki’s mind, apparently announcing that a download had completed.

Hiroki copied Pakura’s Scorch Release and used it alongside scripts that crippled Rasa during their battle. Rasa died after the Scorch Release attack struck him.

• Hiroki’s Shadow Clone examined the copied Scorch Release files and realized he could use the technique by combining Fire and Wind chakra.
• Hiroki formed hand seals and summoned a Scorch Release fireball while Rasa watched warily from behind his Gold Dust.
• Rasa recognized the technique and spotted that Pakura’s hair had lost its orange-red tint, then dispelled his Gold Dust to defend himself.
• Rasa’s shock let Hiroki’s Brain Overload and Muscle Overgrowth scripts take effect, leaving Rasa convulsing and unable to defend himself.
• Hiroki’s Scorch Release fireball struck Rasa, rapidly drying his body and killing him.

Hiroki killed Rasa as Hiruzen and Danzo fought the Third Kazekage and Ōnoki, but the battle’s aftermath brought the Four-Tails’ Tailed Beast Bomb toward Konoha. Uzumaki Mito released Kurama to stop the attack, then sealed the Nine-Tails again as the Four-Tails retreated.

• Hiruzen and Danzo attacked the Third Kazekage while Ōnoki interfered, and the Third Kazekage was trapped and killed by Hiruzen’s attacks.
• Ōnoki escaped Konoha with three Iwa Ninja, while Hiruzen and Danzo stayed behind and noticed the Four-Tails approaching.
• Hiruzen summoned Triple Rashomon as the Four-Tails launched a Tailed Beast Bomb toward Konoha.
• Uzumaki Mito told Kushina to face her feelings for Hiroki, then released Kurama to defend the village.
• Kurama countered the Four-Tails’ attack with a Tailed Beast Bomb of its own, forcing the Four-Tails to retreat before Mito’s sealing chains pulled Kurama back into the seal.