Recaps

Akaseki identified Stillness as the final emotion driving the five basic chakra natures and watched his Yang Style progress slow as he approached awakening it. Team 7 ambushed three Grass Ninja at a rendezvous point and captured them alive, while Akaseki prepared to bring out the Uchiha Happy Chair.

• Akaseki checked his chakra and found that lightning’s Heavenly Pull had passed 10% and fire’s Ashes transformation had awakened at 0.61%.
• Akaseki named the emotion Stillness and saw that his Yang Release Chakra had reached 81.8% after sixty soaks.
• Ranwu confronted Akaseki about his blissful expression, but Minato alerted Team 7 that Grass Ninja were approaching their rendezvous point.
• The three Grass Ninja discussed reusing a sealed safe house, and Mui began checking its seal.
• Team 7 attacked with Hell’s Gate and Ranwu’s Starch Syrup Capturing Field, while Minato subdued Mui with Gale Palm.
• Ranwu cocooned the other two Grass Ninja, and Akaseki announced that he had brought the Uchiha Happy Chair in a sealing scroll.

Akaseki, Ranwu, and Minato subdued a Grass Ninja team and demanded their exam codes, uncovering tensions between Kusagakure's factions. After Akaseki faked Mui's execution to frighten the others, Minato kept the two remaining Grass Ninja and their scroll in the Valley of the End to help gather points.

• Akaseki prepared the Uchiha Happy Chair to torture the captured Grass Ninja, while Ranwu questioned whether it worked.
• Minato restrained Mui and used a shadow clone to search him, but found only an ordinary sealing scroll.
• Mui offered two codes in exchange for the scroll, while the fat Grass Ninja blamed him and revealed friction between Grass Fruit and Grass Flower ninja.
• Minato said the two codes were insufficient, and Akaseki summoned Tanuki Treasure to stage Mui's beheading.
• Minato told the remaining Grass Ninja he would keep their scroll and make them stay in the Valley of the End to help collect points.

Akaseki and Ranwu split from Minato, traveled toward their next mission, and sheltered in a tree protected by Tanuki Treasure’s sealing formulas. During Immersion, Akaseki witnessed Princess Ruoxi publicly humiliate the Hong Family, then discovered his Fire Style chakra had improved after its overall value crossed 10%; the chapter ended as three Hoshigakure Genin arrived beneath their hiding place.

• Minato stayed in the Valley of the End while Ranwu and Akaseki left together, and Akaseki copied the Grass Ninja’s two codes onto Team 7’s scroll, reducing the Grass Ninja’s delivery score to minus one.
• An Anbu Ninja proctor took away the immobilized Mui, disqualifying him from the exam.
• Akaseki summoned Tanuki Treasure to place warning and concealment seals around a tree where he and Ranwu could rest safely.
• During Immersion, Akaseki watched Princess Ruoxi’s wedding procession and her confrontation with Hong Yan’s younger sister, then felt anger at the capital’s insults toward the Hong Family.
• Akaseki found that his Fire Style chakra had improved across the board after its overall value passed 10%, then noticed the warning seal activate as three Genin arrived beneath the tree.

Akaseki and Ranwu ambushed three young Hoshigakure ninja beneath a tree to learn their rendezvous password. Their fight revealed the power of Hoshigakure’s Mysterious Peacock Method, and Akaseki’s fire technique left the three badly shaken as the chapter ended.

• Akaseki and Ranwu identified the three visitors as Hoshigakure ninja and planned to capture them for their password.
• Akaseki trapped Aka, Natsuhi, and Fire Fly in a Sharingan Genjutsu, but none of them knew the password he sought.
• Fire Fly broke free of the Genjutsu and intercepted Ranwu’s attack with the Mysterious Peacock Method, whose Chakra Cloak deflected her Starch Syrup Capturing Field.
• Aka and Natsuhi joined Fire Fly, and the three used their Chakra Cloaks to push Ranwu back and break her Water Flow Whip.
• Akaseki unleashed three fire dragons with his Great Dragon Fire Technique, forcing the Star Ninja to scramble and cry out that they surrendered.

Akaseki and Ranwu tricked the Star Ninja into surrendering their codes, then continued to Tanzaku Town for a new receiving mission. They arrived and worried that the conspicuous casino rendezvous could expose them to rival teams and the town’s defenders.

• Akaseki demanded the Star Ninja’s codes before learning they were his matched teammates, and Fire Fly handed over the two codes they had.
• Akaseki used the rendezvous details to collect the Star Ninja’s receiving code, and the group parted after Natsuhi thanked him.
• Akaseki explained to Ranwu that his Sharingan genjutsu had failed because the Star Ninja could disrupt their chakra and his illusion lacked convincing details.
• Akaseki and Ranwu reached Tanzaku Town, where their new mission required a conspicuous sequence of dice bets at the Oiri Casino.
• Ranwu suggested using the Shadow Clone Technique for the rendezvous because rival teams might follow them and the town’s defenders could surround them.

Akaseki tried to intercept another team’s code exchange in Tanzaku Town, but was misled by a decoy while Hizashi Hyuga exposed and disrupted the real rendezvous. That afternoon, Akaseki’s own courier arrived, and he used a series of bets to signal her before leaving.

• Akaseki and Ranwu followed a cloaked man who bought a necklace, but discovered he was a decoy rather than a Genin carrying a code.
• Ao and Kitsuchi exchanged their code, then learned that both teams had lost a point because Hizashi Hyuga had watched and recorded their meeting from afar.
• Akaseki mistakenly assumed Ao had completed his exchange after his shadow clone found the unlucky gambler gone from the gambling house.
• Akaseki recognized his disguised courier when she repeatedly bet on three, then placed bets on sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen three times as a signal before leaving.

Akaseki completed another code exchange with Inuzuka Tsume, then headed with Ranwu toward a new receiving mission in Shukuba Town while disrupting other teams’ exchanges along the way. As Akaseki watched the immersive drama’s tragic wedding climax, three River Hidden Village ninja encountered a strange old fisherman by a lake.

• Akaseki verified Inuzuka Tsume’s identity with jokes, received her code, and entered it into Team 7’s scroll with Ranwu.
• Hyuga Hiashi watched the exchange through his Byakugan but could see only Akaseki’s sealing technique, while he recalled that he and Hizashi had stolen codes during seven earlier exchanges.
• Akaseki and Ranwu drew a receiving mission in Shukuba Town, rested until morning, and intercepted another team’s code using a shadow clone and Sharingan Genjutsu.
• Akaseki watched the immersive drama reveal the princess’s betrayals and end with Hong Yan’s coffin arriving during her wedding procession, where the princess insulted the funeral party and demanded the coffin be opened.
• Three River Hidden Village ninja stopped by a lake and met an old fisherman who demanded a thousand jin for two blackfish and spoke cryptically about death.

Akaseki experienced a bizarre drama in which Hong Yan's death abruptly changed the princess's wedding and the public's loyalties, then received a temporary Chakra-refinement boost from a sponsor's reward. While traveling with Ranwu toward Shukuba Town, he was ambushed by three River Hidden Village ninjas with strange ringed eyes and mechanical body parts, and the encounter left him on guard for a serious fight.

• At Hong Yan's funeral, Hong Yao revealed that his brother had divorced the princess, who canceled her wedding to Su Jingyun and held a funeral instead.
• Akaseki questioned the sudden reversals in the drama, then used the sponsor's Kidney Treasure reward and bought five more doses before leaving Tanzaku Town with Ranwu.
• On the road to Shukuba Town, Akaseki sensed danger and confronted three stiff-moving River Hidden Village ninjas whose eyes had concentric-ring patterns.
• Akaseki dodged the burly ninja's attack and countered with an Earth Style rock fist, but the opponent evaded it with uncanny precision.
• A segmented metal tail struck Akaseki and sent him flying, and he landed with his hand seals already formed.

Akaseki and Ranwu fought three modified River Shinobi during the exam while Madara Uchiha revealed his plans for the Rinnegan and a potential Uchiha successor. The battle remained unresolved, with Akaseki, Ranwu, and Tanuki Treasure struggling against their opponents.

• Akaseki attacked the River Shinobi with a powerful Great Fireball Technique, but the gaunt one absorbed it while the female River Shinobi summoned a strange hound.
• Ranwu intercepted the burly River Shinobi, and Akaseki and Ranwu repositioned to fight the burly and gaunt opponents separately as Tanuki Treasure battled the hound.
• Madara Uchiha stood over six dead Anbu and discussed his newly awakened Rinnegan, plans to transplant Izuna's eyes, and search for a successor to revive him.
• Madara rejected Black Zetsu's warning to wait until his other eye awakened before dividing his power, explaining that he had begun assessing a gifted Uchiha as a potential successor.
• Akaseki struggled against the burly River Shinobi's unpredictable mechanical body, Ranwu found that Strength of a Hundred hurt the chakra-absorbing opponent most, and several hounds chased Tanuki Treasure.

Akaseki, Ranwu, and Tanuki Treasure defeated three River Shinobi by exploiting their weaknesses, then prepared to head north toward Konoha. Before they could leave, a decrepit old man appeared and struck Tanuki Treasure with iron rods.

• Ranwu drowned the chakra-absorbing River Shinobi with a lake wave, while Akaseki dodged the burly River Shinobi’s exploding chain blade and switched places with her.
• Akaseki multiplied his Phoenix Gentian Linked Flowers with Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique, overwhelming the gaunt River Shinobi, while Ranwu’s poisoned water dragon corroded the burly River Shinobi and left him unable to walk.
• Tanuki Treasure sealed the Ninja Dogs and struck their summoner, while Akaseki’s attack left the gaunt River Shinobi collapsed; the team recognized their opponents’ weaknesses and decided to finish them and head north.
• The modified River Shinobi and the female River Shinobi abruptly stopped moving, but an old man emerged and pierced Tanuki Treasure with iron rods, causing it to vanish.
• Akaseki ordered the old man to leave the Chunin Ninja Exams, despite the pressure he sensed from him.

Madara tested Akaseki’s intelligence and potential, revealing his Rinnegan and using its powers to read Akaseki’s memories. He leaves Akaseki and Ranwu injured after striking Ranwu with a kunai, and Akaseki awakens a second tomoe in his right eye before charging at Madara.

• Madara revealed his Rinnegan, and Akaseki mistook him for Uchiha Mu.
• Madara pulled Akaseki close and read some of his memories, judging him to be unusually sensitive and a candidate for his plan.
• Ranwu attacked Madara with a Water Style technique, but he absorbed the water and drained her Chakra.
• Madara hurled Akaseki’s kunai through Ranwu’s left waist, leaving her bleeding on the ground.
• Akaseki awakened a second tomoe in his right eye and charged at Madara.

Madara Uchiha attacked Akaseki and Ranwu, then withdrew when Konoha ninja approached. Akaseki used his mysterious healing ability to help Ranwu survive, and Shinnosuke and the Hyuga brothers arrived to aid them before Hatake Sakumo and masked figures appeared.

• Akaseki awakened his two-tomoe Sharingan and attacked Madara, but Madara repelled him, drained his chakra, and judged his eyes and body unsuitable for his plans.
• After learning Konoha ninja had found the bodies, Madara withdrew with Black Zetsu and said he would create a guardian himself.
• Akaseki crawled to Ranwu and urged her to keep healing, while his Imperial Kidney Treasure replenished her damaged kidney.
• Shinnosuke, Hiashi, and Hizashi found the wounded pair, treated them, and prepared to leave with them and the River Shinobi bodies.
• Hatake Sakumo and several masked figures suddenly appeared as the group was about to depart.

After Madara Uchiha attacked the Chunin Exams, Hatake Sakumo questioned Akaseki and Ranwu about the mysterious old man with the Rinnegan. The two chose to continue the exam with Team 3’s protection, while Ranwu urged Akaseki to conceal that the attacker had also displayed the Sharingan.

• Hatake Sakumo arrived after six Anbu and the River Hidden Village genin had been killed, and Madara Uchiha withdrew when he learned a team was approaching.
• Akaseki and Ranwu told Hatake that an old man had controlled the River Shinobi with the Rinnegan and had used extraordinary abilities against them.
• Ranwu and Akaseki decided to continue the Chunin Exams despite their injuries, and Hatake warned that Konoha would provide no direct help against other examinees.
• Shinnosuke offered Team 3’s protection for one point per day, and Akaseki arranged for them to escort the pair for three days toward Shukuba Town.
• Ranwu told Akaseki not to disclose that the old man had displayed the Sharingan, fearing that the revelation could worsen tensions between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha.

Akaseki recovered from the attack while puzzling over the old man's knowledge of the Sharingan, and Ranwu treated their injuries. As the team prepared to leave for Shukuba Town, Hiashi and Shinnosuke chased a group of genin and failed to return, forcing the others to consider going after them.

• Akaseki recalled the old man's comments about the Sharingan and suspected there was a hidden eye state beyond the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
• Akaseki used the Massage Device to keep himself in good condition, while Ranwu restored her kidney function and then treated her injuries.
• The Hyuga brothers and Shinnosuke searched for targets between Tanzaku Town and Shukuba Town as Akaseki and Ranwu recovered.
• Two days later, Hiashi and Shinnosuke pursued a group of genin and did not return after an hour.
• Ranwu proposed that she and Hizashi go after them, while Hizashi insisted on following his mission and Akaseki condemned the Ninja Code.

Akaseki, Hizashi, and Ranwu followed the trail of Hiashi and Shinnosuke, only to find signs they had been lured into a trap. Two Iwagakure ninja ambushed them, and Akaseki faced Mahiru as the fight escalated.

• Hizashi detected traces of Chakra at a damaged battlefield and realized Hiashi and Shinnosuke had likely been drawn away by a trap.
• Hizashi exposed two Iwagakure ninja using the Camouflage Concealment Technique, and Akaseki and Hizashi attacked them.
• Dong Shiren claimed that Minato had been defeated and that Hiashi and Shinnosuke were in danger, but Akaseki dismissed his boasts.
• Dong Shiren engaged Hizashi while Mahiru charged Akaseki and used the Shadow Clone Technique.
• Akaseki unleashed Phoenix Gentian Linked Flowers, but Mahiru’s six armed Shadow Clones blocked the attack without being destroyed.

Akaseki and Hizashi fought Mahiru and Dong Shiren while Ranwu used the Hidden Mist Technique, and Akaseki gained the advantage by destroying Mahiru’s Shadow Clones. When Minato arrived with Shinnosuke Sarutobi and Hyuga Hiashi, he revealed that Konoha and Iwa had agreed to a temporary truce, leaving the match’s outcome to the final round.

• Ranwu spread dense mist as Akaseki and Hizashi engaged Mahiru and Dong Shiren.
• Akaseki used an Earth Clone and a detonating tag to destroy two of Mahiru’s Shadow Clones, then trapped his remaining clones with a ring of shuriken.
• Mahiru used Earth Flow River to trap the injured Ranwu and set up attacks from five directions, but Akaseki’s shuriken technique destroyed four more Shadow Clones and wounded Mahiru’s original body.
• Hizashi warned Akaseki that someone was approaching, and the fighters withdrew as Ranwu was pulled clear.
• Minato arrived with Shinnosuke Sarutobi and Hyuga Hiashi and told the Iwa ninja that the sides had agreed to a temporary truce, with the outcome to be decided in the final round.

Minato rescued Shinnosuke and Hiashi from Iwa ninja, then joined Team 7 as they completed the coded-signal trial. The preliminaries ended with only fifteen teams advancing, and Team 7 placed fourth while many examinees, including Hiashi, were eliminated.

• Minato found Kitsuchi holding Shinnosuke and Hiashi, forced the Iwa ninja to withdraw, and escorted the injured teams to Shukuba Town.
• Akaseki gave Shinnosuke two coded signals, and Shinnosuke agreed to treat Team 7 to grilled meat; Minato had also brought twenty-two intercepted signals.
• Team 7 spent the remaining eight days receiving and delivering signals, while battles intensified and fewer teams completed their missions.
• The examinees returned to Konoha, where Santoku announced that surviving teams with more than 1 point had passed; only fifteen teams qualified.
• The scoreboard placed Karatachi Yagura's team first, Kitsuchi's team second, an Uchiha team third, and Team 7 fourth with 1,856 points.
• Akaseki learned that Hiashi had been eliminated and recognized the trial's lesson that coded signals should be abandoned rather than captured by enemies.

After the preliminary round, Hatake Sakumo announced the joint Chunin Exam’s arena challenge format and named Akashi, Fugaku, Kitsuchi, and Karatachi Yagura as arena holders. Akashi invited the Konoha genin to a barbecue, where Fugaku revealed that Yakushi Nonō might have entered through Root rather than the Ninja Academy.

• Hatake Sakumo announced that the final round would take place on August 1, with four arena holders facing challengers and the three Kage selecting eight additional promotions.
• Hatake Sakumo named Akashi Uchiha, Fugaku Uchiha, Kitsuchi, and Karatachi Yagura as the four arena holders, while the Konoha Military Police Force loudly celebrated that two were Uchiha.
• Akashi invited Fugaku and the other Konoha genin to barbecue, and he met Yakushi Nonō, who declined and warned them not to bring shame on Konoha.
• Fugaku explained that some genin might have been submitted through Root without Ninja Academy records, leading the group to suspect that Yakushi Nonō was one of them.
• Akashi, Fugaku, and the others went to a barbecue restaurant with Hiashi and Kurama Murakumo, where Kurama joked that he would eat the Uchiha Clan into bankruptcy and Shinnosuke clarified that he was paying.

Akaseki learned that the Sharingan could evolve into the Mangekyō Sharingan after he told Clan Head Jiancheng and Clan Elder Lanyu that the attacker who nearly killed Ranwu had changed from a Three-Tomoe Sharingan to a Rinnegan. Jiancheng explained the Mangekyō’s power, its devastating costs, and the belief that it could only be awakened by killing someone dearly loved, leaving Akaseki to consider the clan’s painful history with the forbidden eye.

• After Akaseki and Fugaku returned to the Uchiha compound, Jiancheng and Lanyu praised them for winning the arena preliminaries and assigned them special training.
• Jiancheng asked Akaseki about the secret technique he had used on Ranwu, then questioned him about the attack.
• Akaseki revealed that the attacker had first shown a Three-Tomoe Sharingan, then a strange Mangekyō pattern, and finally the Rinnegan.
• Jiancheng demonstrated his own Mangekyō Sharingan and explained that each Mangekyō had a unique pattern and abilities, but its use damaged the eyes and body.
• Jiancheng told Akaseki that the Mangekyō was said to awaken when its user killed the person they loved most, and that the clan kept this knowledge secret because of its tragic consequences.
• Jiancheng and Lanyu revealed that they had awakened their Mangekyō during the Uchiha civil war, while Kagami had awakened his after both his parents died.

Akaseki investigated an old one-eyed Uchiha by comparing his Mangekyō pattern with the clan records and learning the history of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. He concluded that the man who attacked Ranwu was Madara Uchiha.

• Jiancheng showed Akaseki the Uchiha records, where Akaseki found a similar Mangekyō pattern from more than three hundred years earlier.
• Jiancheng explained that the records were incomplete because Naka Shrine and the clan’s history had been lost, and he revealed that a blood relative’s Mangekyō eyes could create the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Jiancheng told Akaseki that Madara Uchiha’s altered eyes came after Izuna Uchiha was wounded by Tobirama Senju at the Battle of the Naka River.
• After returning to his room, Akaseki realized he had recognized the old man’s eye pattern as Madara Uchiha’s Eternal Mangekyō pattern.
• Akaseki researched the Battle of the Naka River and matched Madara’s history and eye pattern to the man who had attacked Ranwu.

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.