Chapter Summaries

After the preliminaries, Akaseki and Ranwu privately told Tsunade that the old man they encountered had briefly displayed a Three-Tomoe Sharingan before revealing his Rinnegan. Akaseki then identified the stranger’s Mangekyō Sharingan as resembling Madara Uchiha’s, leaving Tsunade to investigate while the group kept the revelation tightly guarded.

• Jiraiya praised Team 7 for passing the preliminaries and urged Akaseki and Ranwu to balance their clan training before the final round.
• Tsunade arrived as Jiraiya and Minato used Reverse Summoning to leave, then confirmed that no one was spying on Akaseki and Ranwu.
• Akaseki told Tsunade that the Rinnegan-wielding attacker had briefly shown a Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and Ranwu clarified that he had used no Sharingan abilities.
• Akaseki explained that Kensho Uchiha and Clan Elder Ranyu knew about the attacker’s eyes and that the clan suspected he was a hidden Uchiha from the Warring States era.
• Akaseki told Tsunade and Ranwu that the attacker’s Mangekyō Sharingan resembled Madara Uchiha’s.

Akaseki told Tsunade that Madara Uchiha was still alive and explained why he feared the truth could divide the Uchiha clan. Tsunade agreed to keep the revelation secret, while suspecting Tobirama had also known something about Madara’s apparent death.

• Akaseki explained that he trusted Tsunade and feared the Uchiha clan’s growing reverence for Madara Uchiha could cause trouble.
• Tsunade discussed how the clan had forgotten Madara’s abandonment of his fellow Uchiha at the Battle of the Naka River and turned him into a symbol.
• Akaseki said Madara’s right eye had been blind during their fight, suggesting a costly ocular technique might explain his survival.
• Tsunade promised not to tell anyone until they had a lead and reassured Akaseki and Ranwu that Madara appeared weak, though she privately feared he might act soon.
• Ranwu asked whether Tsunade would inform the Third Hokage, and Tsunade refused, reasoning that Tobirama may have discovered the truth about Madara’s corpse and kept it secret too.

Kagami began special training for Akaseki and demonstrated the Mirror Clone secret art, which split into more clones when attacked but consumed unrecoverable Chakra and Dojutsu Power. After explaining that past students had struggled to learn it, Kagami started Akaseki on the first step.

• Kagami took Akaseki to a training field and said he would teach him a secret technique during the next half month.
• Kagami demonstrated Mirror Clone, showing that an attacked clone split into two instead of disappearing, and explained its costs and limits.
• Akaseki learned that Mirror had taught the secret art to seven clan members, but none had mastered it.
• Kagami explained that Mirror Clone strengthened the Shadow Clone Technique with Yin Style to let clones split and reshape.
• Kagami showed Akaseki a half-cross hand seal and told him to try the Shadow Clone Technique using only the Yin seal.

Akaseki struggled to learn the first step of Kagami’s Mirror Clone training, but Chizuru suggested he begin with a Fire Release Shadow Clone. Kagami and Jiancheng doubted he could master the technique in time, while Akaseki remained determined to keep trying.

• Kagami left Akaseki to practice using Yin Release for the Shadow Clone Technique, and Akaseki secretly rested his eyes with the Wangjie Eye Protector between failed attempts.
• Chizuru watched Akaseki practice and suggested he try a Fire Release Shadow Clone; Akaseki thanked her and changed his training approach.
• Kagami returned, guided Akaseki through the Fire Release Shadow Clone, and later told Jiancheng that Akaseki’s progress toward Mirror Clone was too slow to succeed within the remaining half-month.
• The next day, Kagami proposed changing Akaseki’s training, but Akaseki insisted on using the two remaining days to keep trying the first step.

Akaseki learned to create Yin Style Shadow Clones and began the second step of Mirror Clone training, which required a Yang Style Shadow Clone. After awakening his Yang Style Chakra transformation, he mastered the clone quickly, impressing Chizuru and leaving Mirror stunned.

• Akaseki demonstrated his Yin-leaning Shadow Clone, and Mirror explained that the next step required a Shadow Clone heavy in Yang and light in Yin.
• Mirror warned that Uchiha rarely had Yang Style transformation talent and gave Akaseki three days to make progress, but Akaseki insisted on trying.
• Akaseki used foot-soaking medicine ten times and awakened his Yang Style Chakra transformation to 100%.
• Chizuru visited Akaseki, watched him attempt the Yang Style Shadow Clone, and saw him produce a stable, identical clone after ten tries.
• Chizuru offered to teach Akaseki the third step if Mirror did not return in time, and Mirror was dumbfounded by Akaseki's rapid progress when he came back.

Akaseki continued practicing Mirror Clone at the Uchiha Clan training grounds and, despite repeatedly exhausting his Dojutsu Power, finally created a complete mirror-image clone. Mirror recognized his success and told him to focus on stabilizing it.

• Jiancheng visited the training grounds and saw Akaseki attempting the final step of Mirror Clone with two clones.
• Akaseki's first attempt produced a weak mirror-image clone that vanished almost immediately, and he collapsed from using too much Dojutsu Power.
• Jiancheng praised Akaseki and told him to rest, while Akaseki recovered and resumed practicing with Mirror.
• After several more attempts, Akaseki felt his Dojutsu Power being drawn away and successfully formed a complete Mirror Clone.
• Mirror praised the result and advised Akaseki to stabilize the clone.

After mastering the Mirror Clone, Akaseki received an imitation Uchiha Gunbai and sought Taijutsu practice before the final round. He met Hizashi training alone and promised to help him undo the Caged Bird curse mark someday.

• Akaseki completed the Mirror Clone training in ten days, and Mirror sent him to see the clan head for further instructions.
• Jiancheng gave Akaseki one of the Uchiha clan’s remaining imitation Uchiha Gunbai.
• Akaseki went to train with Might Duy, then stopped when he saw Hizashi practicing alone.
• Akaseki offered to spar with Hizashi and learned that the Hyuga Clan had focused extra training on Hiashi after Hizashi advanced to the final round.
• Akaseki promised Hizashi he would teach him sealing techniques and help undo the Caged Bird, then encouraged him to become the first to break the curse.

Akaseki trained taijutsu with Hizashi and Might Duy while learning more about the Hyuga clan system and the Uchiha Gunbai. After preparing a combination ninjutsu in Immersion, he arrived at the Konoha Arena for the final round.

• Akaseki and Hizashi sparred with their activated eyes and compared their clans’ combat strengths and inheritance customs.
• Hizashi told Akaseki that the First had made the Uchiha Gunbai, prompting Akaseki to reconsider what he knew about the fans and Madara.
• Might Duy volunteered for another training bout, and Akaseki sparred with him before treating him and Hizashi to ramen.
• Hizashi explained that the Hyuga branch family had Clan Elders who had once proposed crippling him after he advanced past Hiashi.
• Akaseki continued taijutsu training for three days and copied a combination ninjutsu in Immersion before the final round.
• On August 1, Akaseki joined the other twenty-three contestants in the Konoha Arena waiting room.

Akaseki, Minato, Ranwu, and the other finalists gathered for the Chunin Exam’s final round as the three Kage discussed village politics and the contestants. Karatachi Yagura was introduced as the first title holder, and Shinnosuke stepped forward to challenge him.

• Akaseki arrived at the arena waiting room and teased Minato and Ranwu about their changed appearances before showing off his chunin flak jacket and Uchiha Gunbai.
• The stands filled with spectators and dignitaries as Hiruzen, Tora, and Ōnoki met with their guards and discussed the gathering of three Kage.
• Tora questioned Hiruzen about the earlier attack and the Uchiha’s growing strength, while Hiruzen gave an evasive answer and defended the clan.
• Hatake Sakumo introduced Karatachi Yagura as the first title holder, and Karatachi Xuancang confirmed that Yagura was his son and carried the Coral Staff.
• When Hatake invited challengers to step forward, Shinnosuke volunteered before Minato could act.

Shinnosuke Sarutobi challenged Karatachi Yagura, whose coral insects and Water Style overwhelmed the Konoha contender despite Shinnosuke summoning Ape Gold to fight. The match ended with coral growths locking Shinnosuke's joints and leaving him unable to move.

• Shinnosuke Sarutobi challenged Karatachi Yagura and opened with a barrage of shuriken, which Karatachi blocked with rapidly formed coral.
• Shibi Aburame explained that microscopic Tide-Eating Coral Insects produced the coral and lived in symbiosis with the Three-Tails; Hizashi confirmed the insects were nearly too small for the Sharingan to see.
• Karatachi suppressed Shinnosuke with coral defenses and powerful Water Style, then created a Water Mirror clone that copied Shinnosuke's fighting style.
• Shinnosuke summoned Ape Gold, which transformed into enormous nunchaku and smashed the Water Mirror clone while battering Karatachi's coral defenses.
• Karatachi revealed that coral buds had grown around Shinnosuke's joints, restricting his movement and leaving him trapped.

Minato Namikaze challenged Karatachi Yagura after Shinnosuke Sarutobi’s defeat and used clever partial Summoning Techniques to gain the advantage. Karatachi’s coral insects failed to take hold, and the battle paused with a little green frog on Minato’s shoulder saying it had not eaten its fill.

• Karatachi Yagura defeated Shinnosuke Sarutobi, and Minato Namikaze stepped forward to challenge him.
• Minato used a Body Flicker Technique and a formula-based partial Summoning Technique to strike Karatachi through his coral defense.
• Minato evaded Karatachi’s Water Style attack, countered with Wind Style techniques, and used another summoned frog hand to catch Karatachi off guard.
• Tsunade and Jiraiya discussed Minato’s talent for variant Summoning Techniques and his possible aptitude for a space-time technique Tobirama Senju had left behind.
• Minato struck Karatachi with a summoned frog hand and revealed that a little green frog had eaten the coral insects on his body.

Minato Namikaze won the first arena after Karatachi Yagura withdrew, and Hizashi entered the second arena to face Kitsuchi. Hizashi countered Kitsuchi’s unusual Earth Style with a rotating defense and broke free of his Mountain Earth Technique, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Minato Namikaze defeated Karatachi Yagura by forcing him to surrender, then became the champion of Arena One when no one else challenged him.
• Karatachi Yagura stopped Rock Flow and Ling from arguing, while Akaseki noticed that Karatachi had gained influence over Kirigakure’s other Genin teams.
• Kitsuchi entered Arena Two, and Hizashi challenged him despite Shinnosuke’s warning that Kitsuchi’s Earth Style countered the Hyuga fighting style.
• Kitsuchi’s oscillating Earth Style blocked Hizashi’s Gentle Fist strikes, but Hizashi used rotation to disperse his attacks while barely moving from his position.
• Kitsuchi secretly formed the Mountain Earth Technique and trapped Hizashi between enormous stone hemispheres.
• Hizashi spun inside a sphere of chakra and burst out of the Mountain Earth Technique, prompting cheers from the audience.

Hizashi used a defensive form of Rotation against Kitsuchi, but froze after seeing Hiashi and lost the match. Ranwu then defeated Kitsuchi with Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave and a sticky water-based trap, becoming champion before choosing Taiseki as her next opponent.

• Hiashi recognized that Hizashi's Rotation was a distinct defensive technique and rebuked the Clan Elders for accusing Hizashi of stealing it.
• Kitsuchi's Earth Style vibrations overwhelmed Hizashi, who froze after spotting Hiashi and was eliminated by Kitsuchi.
• Kitsuchi chose to face Ranwu, who opened with Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave and flooded the arena as Konoha's chunin and Roshi contained the water.
• Ranwu trapped Kitsuchi underwater and coated the surface with a sticky substance, then struck him with Hard Vortex Water Blade and became champion.
• Fugaku reminded Akaseki that contestants had to dispel all Chakra constructs after each battle, and Ranwu chose Taiseki as her next opponent.

Ranwu defended her arena position against Wenya before yielding to Kizashi Haruno, who advanced without a fight. The Kage selected Ranwu and Kitsuchi for promotion, and the chapter ended as Fugaku chose Juzo Biwa as his first challenger.

• Ranwu defeated the exhausted Wenya after a prolonged fight, then relinquished her position to Kizashi Haruno, who became defending champion without facing a challenger.
• Minato explained that Genin avoided challenging Kizashi because a costly win could hurt their chances of advancing, and Hatake confirmed Kizashi's promotion to Chunin.
• Ōnoki argued for Kitsuchi and Wenya, but Sarutobi, Tora, Karatachi, and Orochimaru supported Ranwu; the Kage selected Ranwu and Kitsuchi to advance.
• Fugaku entered the third arena, followed by Yakushi Nonō and Juzo Biwa, while Dong Shiren and Sumashi held back.
• After Uchiha spectators mocked Yakushi Nonō, Fugaku selected Juzo Biwa as his opponent.

Fugaku defeated Juzo Biwa after using a lightning barrier to counter the Hidden Mist Technique, but his injuries left him unable to defeat Dong Shiren. The next round began with the remaining Kirigakure and Konoha genin entering the arena, while Akaseki and Yakushi Nonō stayed below.

• Juzo Biwa used an enhanced Hidden Mist Technique against Fugaku, and Hiruzen Sarutobi projected the fight for the spectators with Clear Mirror, Still Water and the Distant Mirror Technique.
• Hizashi used his Byakugan to track the fight and reported that Fugaku was wounded in several exchanges before trapping Juzo Biwa inside a triangular Lightning Bind barrier.
• Fugaku defeated Juzo Biwa, but his injuries prevented him from defeating Dong Shiren, who won their ensuing match.
• After Fugaku left for treatment, five Kirigakure genin and four Konoha genin entered the arena, while Akaseki and Yakushi Nonō remained below.

Shikaku Nara outmaneuvered Dong Shiren and later chose to surrender against Water Lily, but his performance earned him one of the advancement spots. Yoshino Matsumoto defended the third arena, and the focus shifted to Akaseki’s final arena, where he vowed to hold the champion’s position.

• Shikaku used an Earth Style: Rift Palm to extend his shadow through a crack and force Dong Shiren to surrender.
• Shikaku chose Water Lily as his next opponent, but surrendered after Akaseki’s crude joke unsettled them both.
• Water Lily chose Yoshino Matsumoto, who defeated her and successfully defended the third arena.
• The Three Kage awarded the other advancement spots to Uchiha Fugaku and Shikaku Nara, leaving Konoha with seven of the nine slots.
• Akaseki told Inuzuka Tsume and Shibi Aburame that he would keep the final arena’s champion spot until the end.

Akashi Uchiha defeated the Hidden Mist challenger Ling with a Mirror Clone and emerged unharmed, establishing himself as a formidable arena champion. As the other villages hesitated to challenge him, Yakushi Nonō stepped onto the stage again.

• Akashi Uchiha entered the arena, and Konoha Genin Inuzuka Tsume and Shibi Aburame joined Yakushi Nonō to make her challenge seem less unusual.
• Akashi chose to face the Hidden Mist Village's Ling, who tried to unsettle him by pointing out that the previous champions had all lost their first matches.
• Akashi and Ling used the Hidden Mist and Subterranean Voyage techniques, and Akashi combined shared vision with his Mirror Clone to locate Ling through the ground.
• Ling's Water Clone vanished when struck, but Akashi's Shadow Clone distracted him long enough for two Mirror Clones to strike from opposite sides and knock him unconscious.
• Akashi defended the ring without injury, while Iwagakure and the Hidden Mist Village hesitated to send another fighter; Yakushi Nonō stepped onto the stage again.

Akaseki fought Inuzuka Tsume while using an Earth Prison Dome of Nothingness to recover his Chakra, and his Mirror Clones kept her at bay. He defeated Tsume and Kuromaru, ending the match with his Chakra fully restored.

• Minato urged Inuzuka Tsume to enter the arena, and Akaseki chose her as his opponent.
• Akaseki sealed himself inside an Earth Prison Dome of Nothingness while a Mirror Clone fought Tsume in her two-headed wolf form.
• Hizashi realized Akaseki was recovering Chakra at an extraordinary speed inside the dome.
• Tsume destroyed Akaseki’s first clone with Fang Over Fang, but it split into two more clones that counterattacked.
• Akaseki’s later clones struck Tsume and Kuromaru until they were unconscious, while Akaseki finished restoring his Chakra.

Akaseki outsmarted Momochi Senzan’s attempt to drain his Chakra, then trapped Sumashi inside the Earth Prison Dome of Nothingness. He continued repairing the barrier while Sumashi struggled to escape, leaving the battle ongoing.

• Karatachi explained the Mirror Clone’s apparent ability to multiply when shattered, and Kirigakure planned to wear Akaseki down by draining his Chakra.
• Momochi Senzan surrendered as soon as Akaseki enclosed himself in the Earth Prison Dome of Nothingness, hoping to halve Akaseki’s Chakra.
• Akaseki revealed that the figure outside had been a Shadow Clone disguised as a Mirror Clone, so recalling it restored its Chakra and foiled Momochi’s plan.
• Akaseki chose to face Sumashi and used the Earth Prison Dome of Nothingness while Sumashi burrowed underground to attack his real body.
• Akaseki emerged from the barrier, trapped Sumashi inside by sealing the ground, and continuously supplied Chakra to keep the barrier intact as Sumashi tried to break free.

Akaseki faced Suikazan Fuguki in the Chunin Exam arena, where Suikazan flooded the battlefield and used his pufferfish abilities to challenge him. Akaseki trapped Suikazan in a Lightning Style Shadow Clone’s attack and launched a Great Dragon Fire Technique, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Hatake eliminated Sumashi after Akaseki knocked him unconscious, and Akaseki remained in the arena to face Suikazan Fuguki.
• Suikazan flooded the arena with an enhanced Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave, but Akaseki reached the surface and prepared to fight in the water.
• Suikazan used his inflated pufferfish body and water techniques to withstand Akaseki’s attacks and maneuver around him.
• Akaseki used Mirror Clones and a Lightning Style Shadow Clone to catch Suikazan as he attacked in midair.
• Akaseki struck Suikazan away from the water, and another Akaseki launched a Great Dragon Fire Technique at him.