Chapter Summaries

Ruri confronted Migratory Bird Ninja Hokushin and Ryu at Toki’s izakaya after they threatened her and blamed the shop for aiding Desert Bandits. He swiftly subdued both men, intending to take them for a public trial.

• Hokushin and Ryu entered the izakaya and demanded coffee from Toki, calling her Princess Toki.
• Toki accused the Migratory Bird Ninja of ruining the shop and killing her father and brother.
• Ryu accused the izakaya of colluding with Desert Bandits and tried to dismiss Ruri as a Takigakure outsider.
• Ruri slammed Hokushin face-first into the counter and took his sword.
• Ruri swept the izakaya with the sword’s wind pressure, then held the blade to Ryu’s neck.
• Hokushin attacked Ruri from behind, but Ruri seized his fist and left his arm powerless.

Sasori captured the Migratory Bird Ninja sent after Toki and learned that Houki was behind their mission. After receiving word of Sasori’s arrival, Houki changed his plans and decided to meet him himself.

• Sasori questioned Hokushin, learned that migratory birds carried intelligence, and watched one fly away with a report.
• Houki received the bird’s message that the mission had failed and Sasori was involved, then worried about what Sasori knew.
• Houki spoke with Minister Chishima, who realized that Houki’s plans involved a greater power.
• Houki told Chishima about the island in the middle of Lake of Birds, showed his skeletal palm, and left to meet Sasori.

Ruri and Toki encountered Desert Bandits robbing a figurine shop in the Land of Birds, and Ruri subdued them with a powerful sword strike. The townspeople recognized Ruri as a Takigakure Ninja and celebrated him, while the bandits’ connection to the Migratory Bird Ninja remained concealed.

• Ruri and Toki headed toward Lake of Birds while Sasori waited at Chishima Izakaya for the Migratory Bird Ninja.
• Desert Bandits rushed out of a figurine shop with stolen collectibles, and Toki explained that they usually disguised themselves as Migratory Bird Ninja in towns.
• The fleeing bandits knocked Toki down, and one drew his sword after her face was exposed.
• Ruri severed the attacker’s right arm with a sword aura, then forced the other bandits to their knees with a sweeping slash.
• Ruri ordered the bandits to return the figurines and surrender, and the townspeople recognized his Takigakure forehead protector and cheered for him.

Ruri reached Minister Chishima at the Lake of Birds and learned that Chishima had commissioned Takigakure to eliminate the Desert Bandits. Hidan Squad arrived to carry out the same mission, and Ruri changed his appearance to Yasuo to explain why he was there.

• Ruri took Toki to the Lake of Birds, where they found Chishima alone in a wooden house.
• Chishima explained that he had commissioned a Takigakure ninja squad to eliminate the Desert Bandits, but Ruri said he had come by following Bailang's soul.
• Hidan burst through the house's door with Momochi Kidomaru, Fuma Sayu, and Uzumaki Karin, expecting to find enemies.
• Hidan Squad discovered Chishima unharmed and encountered Ruri, who changed his appearance to Yasuo and began explaining his presence.

Ruri and Hidan investigated the Migratory Bird Ninja’s suspected ties to Dusk and followed a clue to the Island in the Lake. Beneath the island, they found a strange underground chamber and a gigantic five-legged lizard.

• Hidan accepted Ruri’s account that the Migratory Bird Ninja had abducted citizens and might be connected to Dusk, and he confronted Minister Chishima over the falsified mission.
• Chishima revealed that Houki had told him there was something on the Island in the Lake, while Toki stepped in to defend him and Ruri explained her identity.
• Ruri reasoned that the Migratory Bird Ninja were likely coerced by Dusk and led the group toward the island to investigate.
• Ruri cut open the ground and discovered a hidden chamber with lead walls and water pipes beneath the island.
• The group spotted an enormous five-legged lizard, and squeaking sounds suddenly came from the air.

Ruri’s group fought their way through the Island in the Lake, where Karin and Sayu helped defeat giant bats and Hidan stopped a lizard from injuring Toki. Ruri broke through two powerful barriers and found a strange pot-like object beyond them, leaving its purpose unknown.

• Sayu raised a Wind Barrier against giant bats, and Karin used a Sound-Insulation Barrier so Kidomaru could trap them in spider silk for Sayu to burn.
• A lizard attacked Toki, but Hidan pinned it down with his scythe while Karin treated Minister Chishima’s wound.
• Minister Chishima urged Toki to abandon thoughts of revenge and become an outstanding daimyo, and the group continued toward the island’s central area.
• Ruri split a powerful barrier-protected door with his blade, revealing a lead-lined underground room and stairs leading upward.
• Ruri broke through another barrier at the top of the stairs, and the group found a pot-like object beyond it.

Ruri recognized the island’s nuclear reactor as the source of its mutations and confronted Seimei and the resurrected Bailang. As Kidomaru moved to take the reactor away, Ruri trapped Seimei and Bailang in cutting air currents, steadily overwhelming Bailang without damaging the reactor.

• Ruri identified the protected furnace as a nuclear reactor and connected its radiation to the island’s mutated creatures.
• Seimei ordered Bailang to bring nuclear waste for resurrection work, then sensed that the outer barrier had been destroyed.
• Ruri recognized Seimei as a clone with part of the original’s memories and told Hidan to protect the others.
• Ruri instructed Kidomaru to carry off the nuclear reactor while he engaged Seimei and Bailang.
• Ruri filled the area with cutting air currents, draining Bailang’s chakra and inflicting wounds that let blade energy destroy his meridians.

Ruri used the Shinigami to consume Bailang’s soul and unleashed a vast sword attack that destroyed the sealed chamber’s defenses. Clone Seimei chose to destroy the Island in the Lake and its nuclear reactor, and a massive explosion began.

• Clone Seimei used Spider Sticky Gold to pull Bailang out of the airflow and protect the nuclear reactor.
• Ruri summoned the Shinigami, which pulled in and swallowed Bailang’s soul before he could revive again.
• Ruri unleashed a ring of sword energy that split the Spider Sticky Gold and lead walls and cleared the space above the reactor.
• Clone Seimei decided to destroy the stronghold and the Land of Birds rather than let the unfinished experiment be discovered.
• A massive explosion erupted on the western side of the Island in the Lake.

Ruri fought Clone Seimei while Kidomaru prepared to remove the nuclear reactor from the Island in the Lake. After the reactor was reverse-summoned away and the island began exploding, Ruri prepared to destroy what remained.

• Ruri ordered Hidan to evacuate Toki and Minister Chishima, while Kidomaru used his giant spider to prepare the reactor for Reverse Summoning.
• Seimei attacked Ruri with a compressed Water Gun Technique, but Ruri cut through the attack and struck Clone Seimei hard enough to collapse the ground beneath him.
• Clone Seimei used the Iburi Clan's Smoke Transformation to evade Ruri's attacks, but Ruri and the Shinigami extracted his soul and killed him.
• Explosions spread across the Island in the Lake as Kidomaru reverse-summoned the nuclear reactor and then left on Ruri's orders.
• Ruri considered destroying the island and raised an imaginary blade, unleashing another burst of blade energy.

Ruri destroyed the Island in the Lake, uncovered the Migratory Bird Hidden Village’s connection to Twilight, and rescued Yota. He planned to investigate Twilight’s infiltration while studying Yota’s ability to use natural energy.

• Ruri unleashed a vast blade aura that split the Island in the Lake and expanded the Lake of Birds, then found the nuclear waste and processing liquid before leaving.
• Toki and Minister Chishima exposed the Migratory Bird Ninja and Moso, and Toki became the Shinobi World's second female Daimyo as the village was left to be rebuilt.
• Ruri reflected on Twilight’s influence across ninja villages and decided to draw out its agents and eliminate its infiltration.
• Ruri found Yota alive after his failed hanging and told him to live well.
• Ruri considered studying Yota’s weather-controlling ability and other ways to use natural energy beyond chakra.

Ruri confronted Houki after the Migratory Bird Ninja were captured, then urged Yota to live on as the only survivor. He arranged for the Chunin Exams to be held in Takigakure, using the event and its virtual viewing space to screen for Twilight agents, as Naruto and his team arrived.

• Ruri brought Yota to Houki, who admitted that desire had controlled him and told the child to live on.
• Ruri explained that Yota was innocent and urged him to keep living, while the Migratory Bird Ninja faced death from radiation poisoning.
• Ruri decided to host the Chunin Exams in Takigakure and use the pseudo-Infinite Tsukuyomi to screen spectators for Twilight.
• Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi arrived in Takigakure, where Sasuke reflected on his sealed sword and Kakashi spotted potential research material.
• Naruto charged into Takigakure, declaring that he would win the Chunin Exams.

Kakashi and Naruto arrived in Takigakure for the Chunin Exams, where they met Nagato and learned that several familiar young ninja would compete. As competitors gathered, Kakuzu and Ruri took over the village’s entry station, and Ruri said the exams could draw Dusk into the open.

• Naruto rushed into Takigakure and Nagato stopped him, then greeted Kakashi and explained he was overseeing security for the Chunin Exams.
• Kimimaro, Haku, and Suigetsu met Naruto and told him that Karin, Taki, Lan, and others had also entered the exams.
• Kakashi suspected the exam would be dangerous, while ninja from the great and smaller nations continued arriving in Takigakure.
• Kakuzu offered to relieve an exhausted Takigakure Ninja at the station, and Ruri joined him to handle the entry procedures.
• Kakuzu asked whether the recent Migratory Bird Ninja incident made holding the exams risky, and Ruri said the event could expose Dusk if it acted.

Takigakure opened a spectator-focused Chunin Exams, with examinees from the great villages entering the stadium and giving speeches. Hidan announced that the first event was an obstacle race where any means, including killing competitors, were allowed.

• Hidan stirred up the stadium crowd as Takigakure's examinees, including Kimimaro and Karin, entered first, followed by the Konoha group.
• Hinata calmed down after seeing Naruto enthusiastically wave to the crowd, while Sasuke resolved to prove himself to Itachi and the Uchiha Clan.
• Kimimaro represented Takigakure and Sasuke represented Konoha in speeches by the six great ninja villages.
• Ruri regretted that none of the examinees made a provocative declaration, as he had hoped to heighten the exam's spectacle.
• Hidan announced the obstacle race as the first event and said competitors could use any means, even killing one another.

The Chunin Exam’s first competition began with examinees struggling to pass through a deliberately narrow exit. Several contestants used their abilities to escape the crowd or hinder their rivals, while Haku’s powerful Ice Release froze the passage and left the others scrambling to break free.

• Hidan started the competition, and hundreds of examinees jammed into the narrow exit.
• Taki walked along the wall, Kurotsuchi sank underground, Kiba and Akamaru burrowed forward, and Kidomaru trapped climbers with spider silk.
• Haku unleashed Ice Release—Ice Age and froze the passage, stopping the contestants trying to escape by every route.
• Gaara rode a sand platform out, while Neji, Sasuke, and Choji broke through the ice and raced toward the exit.
• The frozen contestants realized they could break through the ice to get a chance to move ahead.

Haku’s opening Ice Release failed to eliminate as many competitors as he had hoped, and the surviving candidates reached a blockade of miniature Transformers. Sasuke challenged Optimus Prime, was knocked down repeatedly, and rose to attack again after memorizing its movements.

• Haku and Kimimaro discussed the surviving competitors as Gaara flew ahead and Naruto struggled to catch up.
• Naruto used Shadow Clones to throw one another forward, escaping the rear of the race and landing beside Chojuro.
• Naruto and Chojuro reached a group of miniature Transformers that had stopped the other candidates, including Gaara.
• Sasuke taunted Naruto and charged Optimus Prime, dodging some of its blows with his Sharingan before being knocked down.
• Sasuke wiped blood from his mouth, said he had memorized Optimus Prime’s movements, and charged it again.

Sasuke used his sword and Chidori to disable Optimus Prime, then Haku unleashed Ice Release: Frozen World and crossed the exam area while slowing and freezing the Transformers. The others began moving through as well, but Haku’s ice was already starting to thaw.

• Sasuke studied Optimus Prime’s movements, climbed onto its shoulder, and stabbed its joint with his unnamed Zanpakuto.
• Sasuke drove Chidori through the sword and destroyed Optimus Prime’s internal barriers and power-source chakra containers.
• Ruri recognized Sasuke’s Chidori and reflected that Kakashi had grown powerful, while Kakashi stayed focused on recording something.
• Haku used Ice Release: Frozen World to slow and partially freeze the Transformers, then slipped through the area.
• Naruto shouted that Haku had made it through, while Suigetsu sneezed and Shikamaru held back a warning.
• The frozen Transformers began to thaw as the effects of Haku’s Ice Release weakened.

The examinees struggled to cross the frozen course while Transformers attacked, and Gaara and Kaede flew past using sand and chakra defenses. Naruto invented the Spiral Ascension Technique to fly over the obstacles, then landed with badly cut hands as the other examinees followed.

• Haku's ice hindered the examinees, and Gaara used a Sand Platform to fly past the Transformers while defending himself from their Chakra Cannons.
• Kaede unfolded her Seven-Tails chakra wings and copied Gaara's method to cross the course.
• After the ice melted, Naruto used Wind Style - Spiral Sphere and had his Shadow Clones kick him into the air, then flew forward with the Spiral Ascension Technique.
• The spectators and examinees laughed at Naruto's unusual flight, and Naruto landed with cut hands after dispelling his technique.
• The remaining examinees used their own methods to pass the stage as the spectators cheered.

The Akatsuki members found no unusual activity in the major villages and suspected that Twilight would make its move in Takigakure. At the Chunin Exams, Naruto and Neji prepared to fight as the second round began.

• Itachi, Kisame, Deidara, Yahiko, and Konan compared reports and concluded that Takigakure was the likeliest target if Twilight attacked.
• Minato and Rasa discussed whether Naruto or Gaara would win a fight, and Minato predicted Naruto would prevail.
• Hidan announced the second-round matchups, including Naruto versus Neji and Sasuke versus Gaara.
• Choji defeated Karui, and Shikamaru trapped Temari with his Shadow Bind Technique, forcing her to forfeit.
• Naruto and Neji entered the arena as spectators debated the matchup, while Sakura and Hinata cheered for Naruto and Hanabi was told to study Neji's fighting style.

Naruto fought Neji in the tournament, using his enormous chakra reserves and shadow clones to wear down Neji’s Rotation. The chapter left Naruto landing a surprise punch on Neji after disguising himself as a kunai.

• Naruto charged Neji, but Neji used the Byakugan and Gentle Fist to read his movements and target his pressure points.
• Naruto recognized Neji’s fighting style and unleashed the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, surrounding him with hundreds of clones.
• Neji used Rotation to repel Naruto’s clones, but the repeated attacks drained his chakra until he could no longer maintain it.
• Neji struck Naruto with Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, but the target was a shadow clone, while a kunai thrown earlier transformed into Naruto.
• Naruto landed a punch on Neji’s jaw after revealing that he had used the Transformation Jutsu to disguise himself as the kunai.

Naruto defeated Neji through relentless Shadow Clone attacks, and Rock Lee faced Jugo in a fierce taijutsu match. Lee won with the Front Lotus, leaving Jugo unable to continue.

• Naruto wore Neji down with Shadow Clones and won their match, stunning the spectators.
• Rock Lee opened the Fourth Gate while Jugo activated the Third Activation of the Seven Heavens Breathing Method.
• Jugo struck Lee hard enough to break several ribs, but Lee’s speed kept him from being overwhelmed.
• Ruri predicted Rock Lee would win, and Kakuzu secretly wagered thirty-five million ryo on Lee.
• Rock Lee used his bandages and speed to launch Jugo into the Front Lotus, and Jugo collapsed after they hit the ground.