Recaps

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.

Akashi defeated Suikazan Fuguki with a concealed Lightning Style Shadow Clone, then summoned Vermilion Bird Tanuki Treasure to recover his depleted Chakra during his next match against Rock Flow. As Akashi won over the spectators, Danzo grew more convinced that the Uchiha was dangerous, while Akashi finished recovering and the fight with Rock Flow remained unresolved.

• Karatachi Xuancang rescued Suikazan Fuguki from Akashi’s Great Dragon Fire Technique, and Hatake declared Fuguki eliminated after Akashi had already paralyzed and knocked him out with a Lightning Style Shadow Clone.
• Akashi explained that he had anticipated Fuguki’s Blowfish Bullet and used the explosion to conceal his Lightning Style Shadow Clone.
• Karatachi sent Rock Flow to fight Akashi, who admitted his Chakra was nearly depleted and summoned Vermilion Bird Tanuki Treasure instead of attacking.
• Akashi rode Tanuki Treasure around the spectator stands to recover Chakra, and the audience cheered his display while Danzo called him evil and dangerous.
• After two circuits, Akashi had nearly restored his Chakra, while Rock Flow’s match against him was still underway.

Akaseki defeated Rock Flow and faced Yakushi Nonō, who used Chakra Scalpel and an implanted healing curse seal to keep fighting despite severe injuries. He subdued her without killing her, while the arena’s officials and spectators recognized that her refusal to surrender was part of a dangerous scheme.

• Akaseki overpowered Rock Flow with taijutsu and a Great Fireball Technique, forcing him to forfeit.
• Akaseki chose Yakushi Nonō as his next opponent, and she attacked with Chakra Scalpel while he fought using Mirror Clones.
• Akaseki struck Nonō with the Roar of the Thunderfire Dragon, but she survived because a curse seal consumed her life force to heal her wounds.
• Tsunade identified the curse seal, while Minato’s concern that Nonō was being driven to die in the arena became clear.
• Akaseki’s Mirror Clones repeatedly struck and restrained Nonō, but she continued refusing to surrender, and Akaseki avoided killing her to prevent falling into a trap.

Akaseki exposed Yakushi Nonō’s apparent suicide curse mark, then tried to turn their match into a public lesson about the Will of Fire. Nonō instead struck him from behind, leaving Konoha’s spectators shocked; Akaseki survived with less serious injuries than expected and pretended to be unconscious when Tsunade arrived.

• Akaseki claimed that Yakushi Nonō’s curse mark would kill her if he used Genjutsu, prompting spectators to suspect she was an Anbu operative and leaving Hiruzen and Danzō under scrutiny.
• Akaseki proposed settling the match with a contest of words and began reciting the Will of Fire while Yakushi Nonō stood behind him.
• Yakushi Nonō attacked Akaseki with a Chakra Scalpel, and Ranwu rushed to treat him as Minato moved between the fighters.
• Hatake declared Akashi Uchiha eliminated and carried him away for treatment while the shocked audience struggled to process the attack.
• Ranwu discovered that Akashi’s injuries were less severe than expected, and he explained that he had defended himself by concentrating chakra at the point of impact.
• Tsunade entered to check on Akaseki, but Ranwu insisted she could treat him, and Tsunade promised to make the old man answer for what happened.

Akaseki recovered from his injuries and learned that Root’s missions had been suspended, while its newly selected recruits were transferred to the Anbu. He proposed moving Root’s existing suicide soldiers under Kagami’s command, then received a Jonin-level allowance and a nominal, paid post in the Konoha Military Police Force.

• Akaseki heard that Shibi Aburame won the fourth arena after Yakushi Nonō surrendered, while Akaseki and Suikazan Fuguki took the losers’ bracket spots.
• Ranwu told Akaseki that Root’s missions were temporarily frozen, its newly selected recruits had been transferred to the Anbu, and Jiraiya would lead their team on a mission in three days.
• Akaseki visited Jiancheng and Lanyu, who wanted the Third Hokage to explain Shimura Danzō’s actions and have Root’s suicide soldiers executed.
• Akaseki persuaded Jiancheng and Lanyu to support transferring the suicide soldiers into the Anbu under Kagami’s command.
• Jiancheng and Lanyu raised Akaseki’s allowance to the Jonin level and gave him a nominal paid position in the Konoha Military Police Force.

Akaseki used an “Immersion” scenario and sleep products while preparing for Team 7’s mission to the Land of Iron. Hiruzen Sarutobi revealed the mission involved a chakra metal transaction near a possible invasion by Hanzo’s forces, and Orochimaru arrived as team leader with Yakushi Nonō, prompting Team 7’s distrust.

• Akaseki found that a quilt from [Wonderful Old Ma] had raised his Wind Release chakra awakening to 8%, then began another “Immersion” scenario about Hong Yan and forgotten surgical gauze.
• Akaseki experienced Hong Yan’s painful surgery and repeated attempts to have his wound examined while Shen Qiushui dismissed his concerns and prioritized Ling Xiao.
• Akaseki, Minato, and Ranwu assembled with Jiraiya on August 6, and Jiraiya led them to meet Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Team 7 to escort a chakra metal transaction in the Land of Iron, where Hanzo and Rain ninja might be fighting.
• Orochimaru arrived to lead the mission and explained that Yakushi Nonō would join as a medical ninja, prompting Akaseki and Ranwu to object because she was from Root.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi revealed that Orochimaru was overseeing Root’s reorganization, which he hoped would keep Shimura Danzō under control.

Orochimaru led Jiraiya, Akaseki, Ranwu, Minato, and Yakushi Nonō on a mission to the Land of Iron to trade grain for chakra metal. After forcing a formal reconciliation between Akaseki and Nonō, Orochimaru explained how a recently coup-struck hidden village might be using Hanzo and Amegakure to attack the Land of Iron and open a route toward the Land of Fire.

• Orochimaru’s team left Konoha with the mission supplies stored in his sealing scrolls.
• Orochimaru stopped the group to address Team 7’s exclusion of Yakushi Nonō from their traveling formation.
• Nonō delivered a scripted apology and bowed until Akaseki told her to stand; Akaseki, Ranwu, and Minato then shook her hand despite doubting her sincerity.
• Jiraiya asked whether Orochimaru had removed Nonō’s cursed seal, and Orochimaru assured him that he had.
• Orochimaru prepared a meal and questioned the group about the Land of Iron’s geography, samurai, neutrality, and chakra metal trade.
• Orochimaru outlined how an unnamed hidden village might be encouraging Hanzo to attack the Land of Iron in exchange for territorial gains and a route to invade the Land of Fire.

Orochimaru explained how Konoha would use supply transports to support the Land of Iron’s samurai while avoiding direct intervention in the war. During the journey’s preparations, Akaseki and Ranwu struggled to eat Orochimaru’s egg dishes, while Minato and Yakushi Nonō ate theirs without complaint.

• Orochimaru showed Akaseki, Jiraiya, and the others a route that would take Konoha’s supply squad through the Land of Iron’s combat zone, letting them hinder the Land of Rain’s offensive under the guise of trade.
• Orochimaru’s real body revealed that he had been cooking while his shadow clone explained the mission, and he served the group his egg dishes.
• Akaseki pretended to enjoy the food and used his Sharingan to cast genjutsu on himself, while Ranwu claimed that the Senju descendants disliked eggs and gave Akaseki her portion.
• Orochimaru prepared additional food for Ranwu and Jiraiya, and Akaseki learned that his hastily made non-egg stew tasted delicious.
• Orochimaru declared that he had changed Akaseki’s opinion of egg dishes and said they would be the only ones enjoying them from then on.

Akaseki discovered the rare Stillness emotion during an immersion dream, then traveled with Orochimaru and Jiraiya to the Land of Iron. The group found a village massacred by Rain Ninja poison and rescued four children who had survived in a sealed well.

• Akaseki experienced a dream in which Shen Qiushui had eighteen hours left to discover gauze, producing Stillness before the immersion ended.
• Orochimaru noticed Akaseki's emotional turmoil while he slept, and Akaseki stopped immersing himself for the rest of the night.
• After three days of travel, Akaseki's group crossed the Cold Screen Mountains from the Land of Rice Fields into the Land of Iron.
• Orochimaru and Jiraiya sensed trouble near a village, and Minato used the Thousand Worlds Awareness Technique to detect survivors.
• The group entered the village and found corpses and lingering poison gas, which Orochimaru dispersed before ordering a search.
• Minato rescued four children from a sealed well, and Ranwu and Yakushi Nonō treated their poisoning while Akaseki examined the village houses.

Akaseki investigated a village where poisonous mist had killed nearly everyone, and Jiraiya explained how Hanzō’s poison-based tactics had transformed Amegakure into a major military threat. The chapter ended with Jiraiya reassured by Akaseki’s reaction to the history of Hashirama and Madara.

• Akaseki found that poisonous mist had killed the villagers while the attackers searched their homes for food, and he helped confirm that four surviving children had recovered.
• Jiraiya and Orochimaru explained that the Academy’s information about Amegakure was outdated and described how Hanzō gained salamander poison and reshaped Rain ninja combat around poison mist.
• Jiraiya described Hanzō’s poison techniques as war-grade ninjutsu because they could shape battlefield tactics and change the course of a war.
• Akaseki explained that the Senju clan had once built its battles around Hashirama’s Wood Release, while Ranwu said she wished she could use it and Akaseki wished he were stronger than Madara Uchiha.
• Jiraiya felt relieved that Akaseki showed frustration about the Uchiha bloodline’s defeat rather than resentment toward Madara as an individual.

Orochimaru’s team investigated an Amegakure raid and concluded the enemy had not yet advanced to the village. After the Land of Iron samurai mistook them for looters, Akaseki used his Sharingan to prove their sincerity, and the samurai led them to another supply point.

• Orochimaru explained that the Amegakure ninja had seized food in haste and left, suggesting the village was still behind enemy lines.
• Minato and Orochimaru inferred that the enemy had retreated quickly, and the team decided to continue to the next supply point.
• Four samurai arrived and suspected Orochimaru’s team of looting the village despite Jiraiya and Ranwu’s explanations.
• Akaseki used his Sharingan to subdue the samurai, who recognized him as Uchiha and agreed to lead the team to another supply point.
• The samurai carried the four rescued children, and the villagers at the next mountain village received the Konoha group.