Chapter Summaries

Mei Terumi’s Mist team drew Iwagakure’s Earth Two team, and Ringo Ameyuri faced Karito in the first match. After Karito countered her opening strike and mocked her, Ringo launched a six-direction lightning sword attack that forced him to defend with explosive punches.

• Mei Terumi encouraged Ringo Ameyuri after Mist drew Earth Two, while Karito agreed to lead Iwagakure’s team against Water One.
• Ringo Ameyuri opened the match with Lightning Release: Flash Thrust, but Karito met her sword with Explosion Release: Landmine Fist and split her hand.
• Karito charged at Ringo with Heaven-Shattering Thunder Fist, but she evaded and attacked him with six lightning sword strikes.
• Karito used Earth-Splitting Fist to blast the ground and discovered that Ringo’s six figures were afterimages while her sword lights were real.
• Karito countered the incoming sword lights with Explosion Release: Vulcan Cannon as the fight continued.

Ringo Ameyuri defeated Karito with a lightning attack that concealed her approach, then faced Hanaka in the next match. Hanaka entered the arena after he and Shito argued over who should fight, and their battle began.

• Karito used Explosion Release: Vulcan Cannon, prompting Araki and Sasori to discuss capturing an Explosion Release jonin to study.
• Ringo Ameyuri combined lightning sword lights, Lightning Needles, and Transformation Techniques to paralyze Karito and stab him from behind.
• Araki praised Ringo's tactics and reflected on her inability to learn his space-time technique, the Lightning Stiletto.
• Hanaka and Shito argued backstage about who should face Ringo, then settled the question with rock-paper-scissors.
• Hanaka stepped into the arena and traded taunts with Ringo before Dodai started their match.

Ringo Ameyuri fought Hanaka in the second match, while Hanaka tried to exploit Earth Release and drain her chakra. Ringo outmaneuvered him and defeated him, then called for the next opponent.

• Ringo Ameyuri dodged Hanaka’s lightning slash with Earth Release: Floating Stone Dash and countered his earth attacks with her sword.
• Hanaka chose to target Ringo while she was airborne, setting a swamp beneath her and dropping sticky clay from above.
• Ringo cut apart the falling clay, then used a Water Clone to launch herself clear of Hanaka’s Falling Lid technique.
• Ringo used Lightning Release: Wild Flash to appear behind Hanaka and slash his neck, leaving him defeated but alive.
• Ringo sheathed her sword and called for the next fighter.

Katsuchi explained that Ringo Ameyuri had defeated Hanaka by baiting him into misreading her plan. Ringo then faced Shito, whose Lava Release fist clashed with her lightning blade, and Shito unleashed another technique as her sword pushed forward.

• Da Yan mourned Hanaka’s narrow loss, but Katsuchi argued that Ringo had deliberately deceived him into predicting the wrong move.
• Katsuchi explained that Ringo had hidden a clone in advance, making Hanaka’s planned counter useless and allowing her to win.
• Shito stepped forward to fight Ringo, charging her with a lava-coated fist.
• Ringo met Shito’s Lava Release: Rock Fist with Lightning Release: Lightning Cutter, and her blade began cutting through his magma gauntlet.
• Shito opened his lava-covered fist and used Lava Release: Great Eruption.

Ringo Ameyuri defeated Shito and his Iwagakure teammates in the first-round match, combining lightning swordsmanship with Kirigakure's Silent Killing Technique to overcome Shito's lava attacks. After seeing Ringo receive praise and healing, Samui bristled at Shi's reassurance and vowed that she could also defeat three opponents alone.

• Shito unleashed a barrage of lava bullets, but Ringo Ameyuri spun through them with her lightning sword and attacked him with elusive Silent Killing Technique movements.
• Shito disrupted the ground with Volcanic Eruption and tried to catch Ringo with a lava ball followed by a concealed Rock Fist, but she narrowly evaded the strike.
• Ringo compressed and released her body in a powerful sword attack that sent Shito flying into the tower wall and knocked him unconscious.
• Dodai declared the Land of Water's First Team the winner, and Araki healed Ringo's wounds as he praised her.
• Shi tried to reassure Samui that her team would not face Ringo early, but Samui challenged the implication that she was weaker and declared she could defeat three opponents too.

Karatachi Yagura learned that the Third Mizukage planned to travel to the Land of Lightning and was left in charge of Kirigakure, while the other Kage also prepared to attend the Joint Chunin Exams. In Konoha, Orochimaru and the advisors considered sending a team to assassinate the Third Mizukage at sea.

• The Third Mizukage warned Karatachi Yagura that Konoha would not let the war settle and ordered him to oversee Kirigakure while he traveled to the Land of Lightning.
• Ōnoki set out for the Land of Lightning with Wenya after telling Kitsuchi to remain in Iwagakure and manage the village.
• The Third Kazekage left Sunagakure in Chiyo and Rasa's hands and departed with his Shadow Guard.
• Orochimaru, Danzo, Tsunade, and Sarutobi Hiruzen discussed assassinating the Third Mizukage during his sea journey.
• Danzo proposed Namikaze Minato, Aburame Shibi, and a Hyuga Branch House shinobi for the mission, and Orochimaru considered the team.

Araki welcomed the Third Mizukage to Kumogakure after the Mizukage said Konoha shinobi had attacked him and killed his Shadow Guard. The two vowed revenge as the Mizukage arrived alone, bearing bloodstained robes and a strange, divided aura.

• Samui defeated her third opponent, helping Land of Lightning Team One win, and the preliminary matches produced twenty-six finalists for the battle in one week.
• Araki practiced extending his Mind's Eye by synchronizing his spirit with nature while waiting outside Kumogakure.
• Araki sensed a strange aura and greeted the approaching Third Mizukage, who wore bloodstained robes.
• The Third Mizukage said he had dealt with Konoha shinobi on the way and that Kiryu and the rest of his Shadow Guard had died protecting him.
• Araki and the Third Mizukage condemned Konoha and vowed to repay the blood debt.

Araki realized that the Third Mizukage who entered Kumogakure was an impostor, likely Zetsu, and decided to ask Sasori for help eliminating him discreetly. The chapter ended with Sasori hurrying to meet Araki while the Third Kazekage teased Pakura about being too old for Sasori.

• Three black-clad ninja arrived too late to stop the Third Mizukage from entering Kumogakure, and their blond captain ordered a retreat.
• Araki searched himself with the Mind's Eye and confirmed that no foreign chakra had been planted on him.
• Araki concluded that the Third Mizukage was an impostor and decided the threat to Kirigakure had to be removed without exposing him as a traitor.
• Araki went to the Sunagakure lodgings to consult Sasori about using poison against Zetsu's regenerative body.
• Sasori eagerly left the Third Kazekage and Pakura to meet Araki, and the Kazekage teased Pakura that Sasori might consider her too old.

Araki asked Sasori to develop a poison that could erode Yang Release chakra so they could secretly incapacitate the Third Mizukage, whom Araki believed White Zetsu had possessed. Sasori accepted the challenge, hoping the mission would lead to a Wood Release Human Puppet.

• Sasori told Araki that the Third Kazekage still refused to act against Konoha and expressed contempt for his caution.
• Araki asked Sasori whether he wanted a body like the Konoha ninja on Turtle Island who could use Wood Release, and Sasori eagerly agreed.
• Sasori explained that a Wood Release Human Puppet could create and repair puppets, helping him avoid running out of usable puppets in battle.
• Araki asked whether Sunagakure had a poison that could erode Yang Release chakra, and Sasori said it did not.
• Araki explained that ordinary poison would likely fail against the Third Mizukage and tasked Sasori with developing a poison that could hinder the target's healing.
• Sasori agreed to produce the poison within three days, before they left Kumogakure.

The Third Hoshikage barged into the Raikage's meeting and claimed a place among the Five Kage. The Third Raikage knocked him unconscious with a lightning-powered strike, leaving his claim in ruins.

• The Third Raikage, Third Mizukage, Kazekage, and Tsuchikage silently clashed their auras in the Raikage's office while their attendants watched.
• The Third Hoshikage insisted he should join the Kage meeting and transformed into his formal robes, declaring himself the fifth Kage.
• The Third Hoshikage burst into the office, where the four Kage redirected their combined aura pressure toward him.
• The Third Hoshikage used the Mysterious Peacock Method to repel the pressure and asked whether he had earned the right to join them.
• The Third Raikage activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode and struck the Third Hoshikage with a lightning-charged palm blade.
• The Third Hoshikage's Peacock Feather Dragon collapsed, and the Third Raikage sent him crashing into a wall before asking what Kage he had claimed to be.

The Third Raikage tried to claim the unconscious Third Hoshikage, but the other Kage insisted on investigating Hoshigakure and its Mysterious Peacock Method. After learning the technique’s severe risks and limited usefulness, they dismissed the matter and headed to the arena as the Joint Chunin Exams’ final battle began.

• The Third Raikage knocked out the Third Hoshikage and ordered Kumogakure ninjas to take him away, but Ōnoki objected to Kumogakure claiming him.
• The Third Mizukage, secretly controlled by White Zetsu, deflected Ōnoki’s question to the Third Kazekage without revealing his ignorance of Hoshigakure.
• The Third Kazekage proposed questioning the Third Hoshikage, and Dodai brought in Kumogakure’s Interrogation Unit to examine his memories.
• The Kage learned that the Mysterious Peacock Method relied on a radioactive meteorite, had a low success rate, and had few practitioners, so they lost interest in Hoshigakure.
• Dodai told the interrogators to claim the Third Hoshikage had fallen on the road and send him to the hospital.
• The four Kage took their seats in the Grand Arena, and the final decisive battle of the Joint Chunin Exams began.

After a week trapped on Bluefish Island, Konoha received Tsunade and her reinforcements, and Jiraiya prepared to lead a counterattack against Mist Village. Tsunade revealed that she had awakened Wood Release and could heal the island’s wounded, leaving Konoha ready to attack.

• Kisame Hoshigaki led Mist Village ninja in another Water Release assault, but Jiraiya and Konoha’s Earth Release users blocked it with a massive wall.
• Jiraiya asked Nara Shikaku and Yamanaka Inoichi whether the village had replied, worried that the trapped Konoha ninja’s morale would falter after seven days.
• Tsunade arrived and told Jiraiya that two thousand reinforcements were on their way, while she had infiltrated the island ahead of them.
• Tsunade revealed her awakened Wood Release and healed the severely wounded Konoha ninja, restoring their combat strength.
• Jiraiya rallied the Konoha forces and ordered the whole army to attack Mist Village.

At the Kage summit in Kumogakure, the four leaders weighed the war against Konoha and negotiated routes and guarantees for joining it. The Third Tsuchikage demanded Kirigakure share captured Byakugan, leaving Araki worried about how White Zetsu would answer.

• The Third Raikage asked the Third Mizukage how Kirigakure’s war against Konoha was going, and White Zetsu replied that Kirigakure could still hold them off with the sea as support.
• The Third Kazekage learned that Jiraiya alone commanded Konoha’s forces in the Land of Water, while the Third Raikage urged the other villages to commit to the war.
• The Third Raikage proposed separate invasion routes for Iwagakure and Sunagakure, but Ōnoki resisted and the Third Kazekage demanded guarantees against Iwagakure attacking Sunagakure.
• After Baki defeated Toroi, the Third Kazekage agreed to send troops if Iwagakure stayed out of the Land of Rain and did not attack Sunagakure during the war.
• Ōnoki agreed to consider those terms but asked the Third Mizukage to share Kirigakure’s captured Byakugan, shifting the Kage’s attention to him.
• Araki feared White Zetsu would mishandle the demand and dig Kirigakure into a deeper hole.

Araki watched the Third Mizukage bargain with the other Kage and decided Kirigakure had to keep the Mizukage’s supposed death secret. During the break, he encouraged Sasori to join the fighting in the Land of Water, angering the Third Kazekage and leaving Araki unaware that the Kazekage was blaming him.

• Araki concluded that Kirigakure needed to conceal the Third Mizukage’s death and arrange a quiet transfer of power rather than risk the village’s stability.
• The Third Mizukage offered two Byakugan to the first two allied forces to enter the Land of Fire, spurring the other Kage to compete in attacking Konoha.
• Araki told the Third Mizukage that Sasori wanted to travel to the Land of Water and fight Konoha’s shinobi, and the Mizukage approved.
• Sasori told the Third Kazekage he intended to visit the Land of Water, and the Kazekage erupted in anger when Sasori insisted the decision was his own.
• The Third Kazekage restrained himself from confronting Sasori and blamed Araki, who sneezed after leaving the Mizukage and wondered who had been talking about him.

Araki faced the Third Kazekage’s unexpected demand that he travel to Sunagakure in exchange for Sasori, while the Third Mizukage’s controller considered accepting. Meanwhile, Tsunade and Konoha’s forces fought Mist Village on a battlefield transformed by her Wood Release, and Tsunade remained locked in combat with the Kaguya Clan.

• The Third Kazekage proposed that Araki go to Sunagakure as the exchange for Sasori visiting Kirigakure, leaving Araki scrambling to prevent White Zetsu from agreeing.
• White Zetsu considered the exchange acceptable because he believed neither Araki nor Sasori could affect the larger picture.
• Tsunade’s Wood Release blocked Mist Village’s underwater attacks and gave Konoha’s forces a secure foothold, while slugs healed wounded Konoha ninja.
• Yanliu saved Suilian from a dying Konoha ninja and warned her to behead enemies before they could counterattack.
• Tsunade fought Kaguya Steel Bone and five Kaguya Clan jonin, sending them flying with her punches before Steel Bone and the others stood back in her path.

Tsunade and Jiraiya fought Kirigakure forces while Araki used the Mizukage’s past assassination to deflect the Third Kazekage’s invitation and deepen other villages’ resentment of Konoha. At a meeting to plan the Anti-Konoha Alliance, the Kage disputed how to divide the spoils, and Ōnoki put Araki on the spot about Sarutobi Hiruzen’s value as a former Kage.

• Tsunade struggled to break through Kaguya Steel Bone and five Kaguya jonin, whose Shikotsumyaku let them endure her attacks and keep restraining her.
• Jiraiya’s Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon devastated Kirigakure’s ranks, and he clashed with Hozuki Sengetsu’s Hiramekarei before Sengetsu called for Xiu Bing and Juzo.
• Araki refused the Third Kazekage’s invitation by saying he had to protect the Third Mizukage, who Konoha ninjas had previously tried to assassinate.
• Araki’s account prompted the Third Kazekage and Ōnoki to condemn Konoha, while the final individual match of the Chunin Exams concluded.
• The Third Raikage, Ōnoki, and the Third Kazekage outlined their troop contributions and argued over how to divide the benefits of the war against Konoha.
• Ōnoki asked how former Kage should count toward the proposed score and then asked Araki to judge Sarutobi Hiruzen’s worth.

Araki confirmed to the Kage that he had severed Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō’s arms, leaving the other villages impressed and wary of Kirigakure’s young fighter. On his final night in Kumogakure, he met Sasori, who showed him a life-energy mixture designed to incapacitate its target.

• Araki realized the Kage were testing whether he had injured Sarutobi Hiruzen and decided to reveal the truth.
• Araki said Sarutobi Hiruzen deserved only twenty points and admitted that he had personally chopped off Sarutobi Hiruzen’s and Shimura Danzō’s arms.
• The Third Kazekage, Third Tsuchikage, and Third Raikage reacted with shock, then praised Araki and the Third Mizukage.
• On his last night in Kumogakure, Araki asked Sasori whether he had developed the substance they discussed.
• Sasori showed Araki a green liquid that caused excessive life energy to make a person sluggish before they blissfully fainted.

Araki and Sasori tricked the disguised Third Mizukage into drinking Sasori’s life-energy medicine, leaving him helpless for Sasori to handle. In Konoha, Orochimaru responded to Kumogakure’s declaration of war by assigning Namikaze Minato and the Uchiha Clan to defend the northern border.

• Araki dismissed the ship’s crew, then told Sasori that the Third Mizukage was an impostor and proposed giving him the medicine directly.
• Araki convinced the Third Mizukage that Sasori’s medicine was a healing remedy, then force-fed him the entire bottle.
• The medicine left the Third Mizukage limp and dazed, and Araki told Sasori to do as he wished with him.
• Orochimaru informed Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō that Kumogakure had declared war after accusing Konoha of attacking the Land of Lightning with Wood Release.
• Orochimaru ordered Namikaze Minato to lead three thousand ninja, backed by the Uchiha Clan, to the northern border, then went to consult the Second Hokage’s notes.

Araki and Sasori staged the Third Mizukage’s death in a fabricated attack, then brought Karatachi Yagura to witness it. Yagura blamed Konoha and returned to Mist Village with the body, while Araki remained confident he would face no consequences.

• Sasori extracted the Third Mizukage’s chakra and began preparing to turn him into a Human Puppet, but Araki told him to preserve the body until they reached Mist Village.
• Araki returned to Mist Village ahead of the ship and persuaded Karatachi Yagura to come with him to investigate an urgent matter at sea.
• Sasori and Araki staged an attack on the ship, and Sasori told the others that the Third Mizukage had been injured while fighting four mysterious assailants.
• A wooden spike impaled the Third Mizukage in front of Karatachi Yagura, who blamed Konoha and ordered the body taken back to Mist Village.
• Araki urged Zabuza, Mei Terumi, and the others to keep the Mizukage’s death secret, then explained to Sasori that Yagura would not hold him responsible.

After Araki revealed the Third Mizukage’s death and White Zetsu’s involvement, Karatachi Yagura planned to inherit the Three-Tails to secure his succession. As Yagura met with his grandfather, Elder Qingquan gathered allies and plotted to stop him, naming Suikazan Fuguki as a weapon against Araki.

• Araki explained to Karatachi Yagura that the Third Mizukage had been killed by White Zetsu and disclosed his deal with Sasori, prompting Yagura to approve his actions and entrust Sasori’s supervision to him.
• Araki urged Yagura to take the Mizukage’s position, but Yagura explained that elders could obstruct his succession and decided to gain the Three-Tails’ power instead.
• White Zetsu reported losing contact with the one in the Land of Water, while Uchiha Madara told him to focus on preparing Obito to inherit his plans.
• Yagura visited his grandfather, the current Three-Tails Jinchuriki, and asked Araki to guard the house while they spoke alone.
• Elder Qingquan inferred that the Third Mizukage had died and persuaded Elders Shuiya and Zhuoliu to oppose Yagura’s succession before he gained the Three-Tails.
• Qingquan proposed using Suikazan Fuguki against Araki, whom the elders viewed as Yagura’s powerful ally.