Chapter Summaries

As Rikusei, Mao, and Naori studied the Chunin Exam competitors, Kohei arrived with a newly forged sword for Mao. Mao drew Naori into testing the blade, leaving Naori holding Futsu-no-Mitama and deflecting a kunai.

• Rikusei, Mao, and Naori reviewed intelligence on the villages' genin and discussed Kumogakure's Jinchuriki, the Six Paths ninja tools, and Ōnoki's possible Dust Release.
• Kohei visited Rikusei's home and revealed that the Artisan Ninja clan had forged Mao's sword.
• At the Training Ground, Mao summoned Futsu-no-Mitama from its scroll and Kohei said it could rival the Kusanagi Sword.
• Mao threw Futsu-no-Mitama into the air and attacked Naori with a kunai to make her take the sword.
• Naori dodged the first kunai, caught Futsu-no-Mitama, activated her Sharingan, and blocked the next attack.

Naori and Mao tested the Futsu-no-Mitama, while Rikusei and Kohei unveiled a new Basho Fan capable of absorbing and reflecting ninjutsu. After Mao’s wind attack caused the fan to unleash a huge pillar of fire, Rikusei ran with the others deeper into the Uchiha Clan Grounds to avoid drawing attention.

• Naori used the Futsu-no-Mitama to cut Mao’s Shuriken in half and broke her Lightning Chakra-enhanced kunai during a test of the blade.
• Rikusei unfurled the scroll and summoned a brown fan that Kohei had forged as a new Basho Fan.
• Mao used Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, and Rikusei blocked it with the fan, which absorbed the chakra.
• The fan released the absorbed wind as a towering pillar of flame, so Rikusei urged everyone to run and fled deeper into the Uchiha Clan Grounds with Naori and Mao.

Uchiha Kaku and the others tested the Basho Fan, then discussed keeping it secret and preparing for the Chunin Exams. In the Hokage's Office, Tobirama reviewed the exam roster and intelligence about improved Jinchuriki while Hashirama worried about Madara.

• Kaku questioned Kohei about the Basho Fan after its flames drew attention to the Uchiha Clan Grounds.
• Rikusei explained that the fan absorbed Wind Release chakra and returned it as a nature-transformation counterattack.
• Naori urged the group to stop testing the fan, and Kaku began discussing Chunin Exam tactics and threats from Kumogakure.
• Hashirama gave Tobirama parenting notes and showed him the Chunin Exam roster, which included clans from across Konoha and allowed Tailed Beast Balls.
• Tobirama read intelligence about improved Jinchuriki and discussed how they might counter Tailed Beast Balls with Hashirama.

Rikusei reunited with Madara, who revealed his newly awakened Rinnegan and demonstrated his Six Paths powers and Wood Release. They planned to bring the incomplete Ten-Tails to Konoha during the Chunin Exams, with Rikusei proposing a dramatic entrance during the second round’s survival exercise.

• Rikusei found Madara waiting at home, and Madara showed him his Rinnegan and demonstrated Banshō Ten'in.
• Madara took Rikusei outside Konoha and demonstrated several Six Paths abilities and his Wood Release techniques.
• Rikusei asked whether Madara’s Ten-Tails had awakened, and Madara proposed bringing it to Konoha during the Chunin Exams.
• Madara said he could control the incomplete Ten-Tails and intended to use its appearance to display Konoha’s strength.
• Rikusei suggested that Madara arrive riding the Ten-Tails during the second-round survival exercise as tailed beasts fought.

As villages arrived in Konoha for the approaching Chunin Exams, Rikusei assessed the visitors and their potential threats. Soragakure presented its new airships, attracting merchants and leaving Rikusei with another note about the village.

• Rikusei recorded Yukigakure's arrival and concluded that its delegation posed no threat to their secret plan.
• Kumogakure arrived, and Rikusei and Kurama checked its delegation; Kurama sensed a Jinchuriki among Yotsuki Yamanari's peers but detected no Tailed Beast chakra in Yamanari.
• Konoha's envoy escorted the Kumogakure delegation to its accommodations as Rikusei considered the Six Paths Ninja Tools carried by Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
• Soragakure's leader arrived in small airships and announced they could carry passengers and cargo.
• Merchants negotiated with Soragakure's leader until Konoha's guards escorted him away, and Rikusei recorded Soragakure as businessmen.

Rikusei met with Madara to plan the latter’s dramatic entrance at the Chunin Exams, then joined the first written examination as it began. The test left Rikusei answering Tobirama’s questions while Konoha’s crowds gathered outside.

• Rikusei showed Madara the Chunin Exams procedure and described how Tobirama had nearly collapsed after sealing tailed beasts for the small Hidden Villages.
• Rikusei proposed two ways for Chomei to enter the survival-exercise site, and Madara chose to have it approach from the horizon, trampling the earth.
• On the day of the Chunin Exams, Rikusei, Naori, and Mao were assigned to separate rooms as examinees and their families gathered outside.
• Tobirama announced that the examination had begun and warned examinees that every desk bore a Flying Thunder God mark.
• Rikusei sat near Shimura Danzō, Kagami Uchiha, and Aburame Taiichi, then answered the first three questions about chakra pathways, acupoints, and Kekkei Tōta.
• Rikusei answered Tobirama’s final question about countering Fire Release with, “I am Uchiha.”

Rikusei, Naori, and Mao prepared for the survival exercise and joined the other genin before the trial began. As the teams scattered into the forest amid an explosive blast, the village leaders sensed numerous tailed beasts unleashed in the training ground.

• Rikusei and Naori met Mao, and the three discussed how tailed beast chakra affected food and whether the Dragon Vein at Rōran could enhance plants.
• At the gathering point, Rikusei agreed to cooperate with the other Konoha genin, while Kagami Uchiha and Nara Karin warned them about the exercise's rules and risks.
• Naori suggested that teams use red smoke to signal for help, and Chomei carried the genin to the forest after the village leaders arrived.
• Tobirama explained that the genin had to collect the Heaven, Earth, and Human scrolls and reach the Heaven-Piercing Wooden Tower without losing a teammate or peeking at their scrolls.
• The exercise began with a kunai and shuriken clash and an explosive tag blast, after which the genin vanished into the forest.
• Tobirama told the village leaders that the training ground contained many wild tailed beasts, Jinchuriki, and Tailed Beast Balls.

Rikusei and the Konoha teams realized the survival exercise was designed to force cooperation against Tailed Beasts guarding the route to the wooden tower. They called for a gathering and urged the hidden villages to unite, leaving the assembled shinobi to consider their shared identity as members of the Shinobi Alliance.

• Rikusei, Naori, and Mao concluded that the Tailed Beasts occupied fixed territories and used a red smoke signal to gather their allies.
• Tobirama told the village leaders that the exercise was meant to encourage cooperation and that Flying Thunder God marks and Shadow Clone Flying Birds would rescue students from danger.
• Aburame Taiichi's team reached the gathering, and Rikusei, Hyuga Ye, and Nara Karin assessed the Tailed Beast territories blocking the way to the wooden tower.
• Rikusei argued that Konoha needed to unite with the other villages, prompting Danzo to worry that cooperation would reduce promotion slots.
• Lulin traced the answer on Mao's palm, and Mao declared that they were still shinobi of the Shinobi Alliance.

Rikusei’s group agreed to seek an alliance with the other hidden villages while preparing for the possibility that the tailed beasts would unite. They rushed toward the Sunagakure team after a distant explosion, where Shukaku fought Kurama and was joined by Son Goku, Chomei, and other tailed beasts.

• Rikusei proposed joining forces with the other hidden villages, and the group agreed that the tailed beasts might unite as well.
• A powerful explosion sounded near the route taken by the Sunagakure team, so Rikusei ordered the squads to scout and prepare for battle.
• Shukaku and Kurama launched Tailed Beast Bombs at each other, and Shukaku declared himself a jonin Tailed Beast.
• Son Goku struck Shukaku while Chomei and Kurama faced him, then Son Goku warned that Kokuō and Gyuki were on their way.

Chiyo summoned Kurama to aid Shukaku as five Tailed Beasts converged on the Sunagakure defenses, triggering a devastating battle. As Hashirama reassured the watching village leaders, Tobirama suggested Rikusei’s group might exploit the chaos, leaving Reto worried that Sunagakure could be eliminated.

• Son Goku demanded that the Sunagakure shinobi hand over the scroll, and Chiyo summoned Kurama to stand beside Shukaku.
• Kurama and Shukaku argued over their strength before Gyuki and Kokuō arrived, bringing the opposing Tailed Beasts to five.
• Son Goku, Kokuō, and Chomei charged Shukaku as Gyuki and Kurama prepared Tailed Beast Bombs, and Kurama unleashed a continuous barrage that devastated the battlefield.
• Kakuzu and the other village leaders feared the Sunagakure genin had been caught in the explosions, but Reto saw that Chiyo and the others had survived behind their defenses.
• Tobirama suggested Rikusei’s group might be using the chaos to strike, prompting Reto to fear Sunagakure would be eliminated, while Tobirama privately trusted Rikusei not to do so.

Sunagakure, led by Chiyo, chose to fight the tailed beasts rather than retreat and devised a plan to use Shukaku’s chakra reserves. The battle resumed with Kurama and the puppets attacking, while Shukaku prepared to face four tailed beasts with Sunagakure’s support.

• Chiyo and Ebizo weighed retreat after the Tailed Beast Bomb damaged their puppet defenses, but Chiyo declared that Sunagakure would not withdraw.
• Ebizo discovered that defeating Konoha’s tailed beasts might let Sunagakure recruit them, and Gyuki agreed they could choose whether to join if defeated.
• Chiyo ordered Sunagakure’s forces to concentrate their chakra on Shukaku instead of relying on combined ninjutsu.
• Kurama struck the tailed beasts as Chiyo attacked with Chikamatsu’s Ten Puppets, knocking several opponents down.
• Kurama’s shadow clone joined the fight, while Shukaku faced four tailed beasts and drew strength from the Sunagakure shinobi behind him.

Shukaku and the tailed beasts battered each other while the Sand ninja exhausted themselves supporting him, until Mao and the Konoha group intervened. Gyuki warned them about Kurama, who remained focused on devouring his weakened counterpart and dismissed the danger of letting Shukaku claim the Crown of the Tailed Beasts.

• Shukaku fired Tailed Beast Bombs at the opposing tailed beasts while Kurama concentrated on defeating and approaching his weakened self.
• Gyuki coordinated a relay assault, but Shukaku kept fighting as the Sand ninja behind him collapsed from channeling chakra.
• Shukaku cut off the Sand ninja's chakra and raised a sand barrier against Chomei's descending Tailed Beast Bomb.
• Mao split Chomei's Tailed Beast Bomb with Futsu-no-Mitama, while the Uzumaki Clan member bound Chomei with Adamantine Sealing Chains.
• Naori warned Rikusei to watch Kurama, and Gyuki urged Kurama to stop; Kurama insisted that Shukaku gaining the Crown of the Tailed Beasts would be worse.

Konoha and Sunagakure negotiated over the captured tailed beasts after Tobirama stopped the Nine-Tails from attacking. Son Goku and Gyuki agreed to join the alliance, while Chiyo and the Sunagakure shinobi took time to consider Rikusei’s offer to include them too.

• Tobirama arrived by Flying Thunder God and punched the Nine-Tails, stopping its attack, before vanishing back to the Flying Bird Puppet.
• Chiyo reminded Ebizo of the tailed beasts’ agreement, and Konoha released the Seven-Tails from its chains so it could free Son Goku and Kokuō from the ocular technique.
• Chiyo called the Nine-Tails and Shukaku back into their Tailed Beast Balls, while Ebizo and Konoha’s shinobi argued over which side would claim the beasts.
• The tailed beasts gave their choices: the exhausted Nine-Tails could not fight again, Kokuō wanted to stay within the perimeter, Chomei declined to help, and Son Goku and Gyuki agreed to join.
• Rikusei announced that Son Goku and Gyuki would join the alliance and offered to include Sunagakure, prompting Chiyo to lead her shinobi aside to discuss the offer.
• Nara Karin explained that Sunagakure had deliberately provoked the battle because it could ally with another major hidden village if one interfered.

Hoshigaki Kaito’s group encountered Shimogakure and agreed to avoid the Tailed Beast fighting and pursue the wooden tower together. Across the forest, other villages formed or sought alliances, while Ōnoki united the Star, Snow, and Rain groups around reaching the tower.

• Hoshigaki Kaito’s group met Shimogakure, whose ninjas proposed an alliance to avoid advancing into the Tailed Beast battles.
• Ryuto told Hozuki Shoetsu that Sunagakure had fought the Tailed Beasts, and the allied groups set aside their plan to fight for scrolls.
• Yotsuki Yamanari learned Konoha had joined forces with Sunagakure and ordered the Cloud and Yugakure ninjas to unite with other villages and head for the wooden tower.
• Kusagakure and Takigakure ninjas decided to seek Konoha’s protection and follow its group through the forest.
• Ōnoki persuaded the Star, Snow, and Rain groups to unite around reaching the wooden tower.

Rikusei’s Konoha-Sunagakure alliance accepted the Takigakure-Kusagakure forces under strict terms, then saw Kumogakure clash with Tailed Beasts. Rikusei chose to send the group to provide support as explosions shook the forest.

• The leaders observed that Konoha and Sunagakure had gained the support of two Tailed Beasts, while allied Takigakure and Kusagakure forces approached Rikusei’s group.
• Qiaoshan Qing and Bu Chuang asked to join Rikusei’s alliance, and Rikusei allowed them to join until the group reached the Wood Tower.
• Rikusei declared that Konoha held command authority and warned the newcomers not to attack their comrades; Son Goku reassured Bu Chuang.
• Three explosions and a series of Tailed Beast Bombs tore through the distant forest, and Naori and Rikusei suspected Kumogakure was fighting Tailed Beasts.
• When Bu Chuang asked whether they should head for the Wood Tower or provide support, Rikusei chose to support the battle.

Rikusei led the Konoha Allied Forces to the battlefield, where twenty Tailed Beasts were fighting Kumogakure and Yugakure shinobi. He declared his support for an alliance, and the reinforcements joined the battle.

• Naori, Rikusei, and their allies raced toward the forest’s center, where they learned Kumogakure and Yugakure were fighting the Tailed Beasts.
• Chiyo considered how Sunagakure might benefit from the alliance, while the allied forces learned that twenty Tailed Beasts were engaged in battle.
• Rikusei rallied the allied forces with a call of “For the Alliance!” and sent Son Goku and Gyuki into the fray.
• The allied forces launched Tailed Beast Balls and rushed onto the battlefield as reinforcements.

Konoha's allied forces joined the battle against the nine tailed beasts, and Rikusei used the Basho Fan to absorb and counter their attacks. As the tailed beasts faced overwhelming numbers, Kurama proposed gathering every tailed beast in the forest.

• The Cloud Village and Hot Water Village forces withdrew as Konoha's allied forces arrived, and Hyuga Ye warned Rikusei that the tailed beasts had immense chakra reserves.
• Son Goku and Kokuō attacked, but Gyuki stopped Kokuō while Rikusei used the Basho Fan to absorb Shukaku's Drilling Air Bullet and return it as a fire tornado.
• Rikusei's fan absorbed further tailed beast attacks and transformed them into counterattacks, while Tobirama recognized its resemblance to Madara's Gunbai.
• Rikusei's allies overwhelmed the nine tailed beasts, and Chomei warned Kurama that other Hidden Villages were approaching.
• Kurama proposed gathering every tailed beast in the forest to unite against the shinobi.

The Allied Shinobi Forces and the Tailed Beasts clashed again after Kurama summoned reinforcements, while Rikusei used an illusion to disrupt the enemy’s fusion. The battle was interrupted when Kurama sensed the Ten-Tails, leaving Hashirama excitedly looking for it.

• Kurama called the other Tailed Beasts as shinobi from the hidden villages arrived and joined the rescue effort.
• Rikusei and Kurama agreed to face the Tailed Beasts together, and the arriving beasts gathered to link their chakra through fusion.
• Rikusei cast the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, but Kurama broke free when outside chakra disrupted his flow.
• Gyuki, Shukaku, Isobu, and the other beasts exchanged combination ninjutsu and Tailed Beast Bombs across the battlefield.
• The chakra link and the leaders’ view of the battle suddenly cut out as Kurama sensed the Ten-Tails approaching.
• Kurama announced that the Ten-Tails had arrived, and Hashirama eagerly searched for it, unaware that Madara’s return was not confirmed.

Rikusei and the hidden villages suspended their competition after learning that Madara had revived the Ten-Tails. Madara took control of the beast and prepared to face Hashirama.

• Kurama announced that the Ten-Tails' shell had appeared, prompting the Tailed Beasts to call for a ceasefire.
• Rikusei used an illusion on Naori, then urged the hidden villages to wait for the Seven-Tails' report before resuming the competition.
• Chomei reported that Madara was using the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to revive the Ten-Tails, and the Tailed Beasts agreed to merge together.
• Madara revived the Ten-Tails by feeding it the scrolls' contents, then attached himself to it and began controlling its power.
• Madara spotted Hashirama's movements and declared that he would show him his new power.

Hashirama and the gathered shinobi faced Madara atop the Ten-Tails, whose arrival revealed its immense power and strange eyes. As Madara challenged Hashirama to witness the beast’s strength, he tossed his gunbai toward his disciple Rikusei.

• The Ten-Tails approached Hashirama’s group, and Tobirama and Kakuzu identified its unusual eyes and Madara’s Rinnegan.
• Hashirama named the Ten-Tails’ eye the Six-Tomoe Rinne Sharingan, while the village leaders realized Konoha would dominate the Shinobi World.
• Rikusei asked Kurama to explain the Ninjutsu Sect, and Shukaku offered to tell the story instead.
• The Ten-Tails stopped before Hashirama’s group, and Madara challenged Hashirama to witness its power.
• The other Tailed Beasts and their riders arrived, and Madara invited Rikusei onto the Ten-Tails before tossing his gunbai toward him.