Recaps

Pakura rejected the accusation that Sasori had killed the Third Kazekage and set off to prove his innocence. Meanwhile, Sasori pursued Uchiha Shingen’s group until they used the Hiding in Mist Technique to escape his assault, leaving Zabuza to hunt Sasori in the fog.

• A Sunagakure genin argued that Sasori had motive to kill the Third Kazekage, but Pakura refused to believe him and pursued Sasori alone.
• Uchiha Shingen raised three Earth Walls to shield his group from Sasori’s Iron Sand Drizzle.
• Shicang, Zabuza, Kisame, and Mei Terumi used the Hiding in Mist Technique, disrupting Sasori’s senses and forcing him to stop attacking.
• Zabuza declared that the mist favored his Silent Killing Technique and vanished to attack Sasori, despite Uchiha Shingen questioning whether he could handle it.
• Shicang realized Zabuza was the only one who could guide them through the fog and asked Kisame and Mei Terumi why they had not stopped him.

Uchiha Shingen, Mei Terumi, Kisame, and Shicang waited for Zabuza to return, only for Sasori to ambush them with iron sand. Their defenses drove back the attack briefly, and Sasori revealed his puppet-like body as he prepared to fight them.

• Uchiha Shingen suggested waiting for the fog to disperse or for help to arrive while the group recovered their strength.
• Zabuza stumbled back wounded and poisoned, and Mei Terumi warned that he needed immediate treatment.
• Sasori launched an iron-sand attack from the fog, revealing that Zabuza had been used as bait.
• Uchiha Shingen blocked the iron sand briefly with Fire Release, and Kisame countered with a huge Water Release technique.
• Sasori exposed his puppet-like torso and challenged the group to fight.

Shisui reached Nara Shikaku and reported that Sasori had attacked his team and Uchiha Shingen had stayed behind to fight him. As Konoha mobilized to contain the crisis, Kakashi searched for Shingen and confronted Pakura, who struggled to believe Sasori had killed the Third Kazekage.

• Shisui collapsed after telling Nara Shikaku that Sasori had attacked his team and Shingen had lured him away alone.
• Nara Shikaku ordered the Chunin Ninja Exams suspended, the Forest of Death sealed, and reinforcements sent to support Shingen.
• Kakashi searched the forest for Shingen, finding battle sites marked by bloodstained iron sand and broken puppets.
• Kakashi encountered Pakura and demanded that she get out of his way so he could find Shingen.
• Pakura realized Kakashi believed Shingen had fought Sasori and denied that Sasori could have killed the Third Kazekage.

Pakura confronted Sasori and discovered he had turned the Third Kazekage into a human puppet, shattering her hopes that he was acting for Sunagakure. She attacked Sasori in grief and fury, while Kakashi and Uchiha Shingen argued after the battle.

• Kakashi left Pakura behind to follow the iron-sand trail, and Pakura eventually overcame her hesitation and followed him.
• Pakura found Sasori fighting with a human puppet made from the Third Kazekage and realized the truth about Sasori’s betrayal.
• Sasori called the Third Kazekage puppet his eternal art, and Pakura punched him with Scorch Release—Extremely Steaming Murder.
• Pakura cried and launched Water Dragon Bullets at Sasori, while the others paused to watch.
• Uchiha Shingen asked Kakashi about Pakura, and Kakashi explained that she had known Sasori before accusing Shingen of pretending to be helpless.

Sasori revealed that he had poisoned Pakura and could repair his own modified body, then sent his puppets after the remaining fighters. With reinforcements still far away, Uchiha Shingen charged Sasori while Kakashi and Yagura fought to hold back the increasingly dangerous puppets.

• Kakashi said Shisui had gone to seek reinforcements, and Uchiha Shingen teased Kakashi about his past view that comrades could be sacrificed for a mission.
• Sasori revealed that Pakura had been poisoned, and she collapsed as the poison weakened her.
• Sasori repaired his broken limbs with Chakra threads while Kisame and Mei Terumi lay wounded, leaving Uchiha Shingen, Karatachi Yagura, and Kakashi to face him.
• Uchiha Shingen charged toward Sasori as Kakashi blocked nearby puppets and Yagura used Water Iron Cannon—Four Seasons Rain to destroy many of them.
• The remaining puppets grew stronger and more agile, and a burly puppet blocked Uchiha Shingen's path with a massive greatsword.

Uchiha Shingen adapted to Sasori’s puppet attacks, used his sword to evade a lethal assault, and charged Sasori’s true body. Sasori raised an Iron Sand defense, but Shingen unleashed Majestic Destroyer Flame, leaving Kakashi hopeful and Yagura warning that the fight was not over.

• Uchiha Shingen cut down Sasori’s first puppet and grew stronger as he fought, while Sasori realized he was being used as a whetstone.
• Sasori sent three blade-wielding puppets to overwhelm Shingen, but Shingen’s sword let him evade their attacks; he severed their Chakra threads and crushed them.
• Shingen charged Sasori, who suspected the sword cast genjutsu and decided to avoid close combat by surrounding himself with a fast-moving Iron Sand vortex.
• Shingen unleashed Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame into the Iron Sand, creating a vast blaze as Kakashi watched and Yagura warned that Sasori’s response was coming.

Kakashi and Yagura realized Sasori was tightening his Iron Sand storm to protect the vanished Uchiha Shingen, and they rushed to help him despite their injuries and dwindling strength. The chapter ended with Yagura unleashing a massive Water Shockwave at the Iron Sand tornado as Sasori finally showed concern.

• After Uchiha Shingen vanished in the Iron Sand storm, Yagura feared he had died, while Kakashi warned that Sasori intended to turn them into replacement puppets.
• Kakashi and Yagura noticed the Iron Sand storm contracting around the area where Shingen had disappeared and inferred that Sasori was protecting him.
• Kakashi drove lightning through his injured body and charged toward the Iron Sand, determined to bring Shingen back rather than flee.
• Yagura used the water Kisame had left behind to unleash a massive Water Shockwave against the Iron Sand tornado.
• Sasori recognized Yagura's attack and lost his earlier composure.

Uchiha Shingen appeared to kill Sasori by striking the container in his chest, but Sasori revealed another body and revived his puppets. With Kakashi and Yagura exhausted, the fight seemed to reach an absolute dead end.

• Sasori unleashed Iron Sand World Method, forcing Kakashi and Yagura to retreat as iron thorns tore through the battlefield.
• Uchiha Shingen emerged from underground and slashed open the container in Sasori’s chest, and Kakashi believed they had won.
• Sasori’s voice came from another puppet body, which rose from the ruins with a second container bearing his name.
• Sasori’s damaged human puppets reassembled and rose under his Chakra threads, leaving the exhausted Kakashi and Yagura stunned.

Minato arrived in time to save Uchiha Shingen from Sasori’s puppet assault and learned what the puppeteer could do. He attacked Sasori with Flying Thunder God kunai, multiplying them across the battlefield as Sasori prepared to defend himself.

• Uchiha Shingen formed the seals for Izanagi as Sasori sent his human puppets to kill him.
• Minato used his Flying Thunder God marks to appear beside Kakashi and rescue the wounded Uchiha Shingen.
• Uchiha Shingen briefed Minato on Sasori’s puppets and hidden true body.
• Minato charged Sasori and scattered Flying Thunder God kunai across the battlefield.
• Minato used the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique to multiply the kunai into hundreds, forcing Sasori to respond.

Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique to destroy Sasori’s puppets and drive him off, then helped Uchiha Shingen and Kakashi rescue the injured Kirigakure ninja. After Konoha reinforcements took over the wounded, Uchiha Shingen rested and became fixated on learning Minato’s technique.

• Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique and Rasengan to destroy Sasori’s assembled puppets, forcing Sasori to retreat.
• Yagura asked Uchiha Shingen and Minato to find his missing companions, and Minato searched the battlefield ruins.
• Minato found Kisame, Mei Terumi, Zabuza, and Pakura; he reassured Yagura that medical reinforcements could save the critically injured Zabuza and Pakura.
• Uchiha Shingen treated Mei Terumi’s wounds while Yagura tended to the others.
• Nara Shikaku’s Jonin squad arrived and took over treatment, and Uchiha Shingen sat down exhausted while wishing he could learn the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Uchiha Shingen realized Flying Thunder God could let him keep reporting to the Military Police Force even if war sent him elsewhere, while Uchiha Madara subdued the Two-Tails and heard Sasori recount his defeat. The chapter ended with Madara and Sasori discussing Shingen’s potential and why Madara had not taken him away.

• Shingen considered how learning Flying Thunder God could let him return to the Military Police Force to keep earning attribute points, then fell asleep from exhaustion.
• Madara saw through Yugito’s Iron Armor Seal and used his Sharingan to put the Two-Tails to sleep.
• Sasori emerged from underground and told Madara that Minato had destroyed his puppets with a space-time technique.
• Madara recognized Minato’s technique as Tobirama Senju’s Flying Thunder God and said Sasori had not lost unfairly.
• Sasori warned Madara that Shingen was already stronger than most Jonin and could become troublesome if he survived.
• Sasori asked why Madara had not taken Shingen away, despite valuing him so highly.

Madara discussed how he planned to persuade Uchiha Shingen to join him, while Sasori watched Yugito and the Kumogakure team recover and reach the central watchtower, where they were detained after an attack on the exam grounds. After returning to Konoha, Shingen encountered Madara sitting with Setsuna Uchiha, and Madara greeted him as if they were familiar.

• Madara told Sasori that he intended to make Uchiha Shingen witness the cruelty of the ninja world and willingly inherit his will.
• Sasori and Madara left Yugito unconscious, and the Kumogakure team later woke with no memory of what had happened.
• Yugito led Samui and Darui to the central watchtower, where they learned that all examinees had been detained after an infiltrator attacked candidates.
• Nara Shikaku questioned Uchiha Shingen and Kakashi, then allowed them to leave, and Shingen returned to Konoha in time for his daily check-in.
• Shingen found Setsuna Uchiha sitting with a hooded Uchiha Madara, who greeted him with familiarity.

Uchiha Madara visited Setsuna Uchiha and showed interest in Uchiha Shingen, urging Setsuna to read the tablet at Naka Shrine and consider joining his plan for lasting peace. Meanwhile, the Third Hokage praised Shingen’s self-sacrifice during the Chunin Exams and considered him a potential successor, but regretted that he was an Uchiha.

• Setsuna Uchiha told Uchiha Shingen that Madara was an old friend, while Madara revealed embarrassing details about Setsuna’s past.
• Uchiha Shingen left the two alone after realizing Setsuna feared Madara, though he dismissed the possibility that the visitor was Uchiha Madara.
• Setsuna Uchiha challenged Madara’s vision of peace, and Madara directed him to read the hidden stone tablet at Naka Shrine before deciding whether to follow him.
• Madara vanished, leaving Setsuna seated with his thoughts and the rippling tea in his cup.
• Nara Shikaku presented the Chunin Exams investigation report, and the Third Hokage praised Uchiha Shingen’s sacrifice as an embodiment of the Will of Fire.
• The Third Hokage considered Shingen a suitable future successor but regretted that Shingen was an Uchiha.

The Third Hokage tightened security after Sasori of the Red Sands infiltrated the Chunin Exams, while Uchiha Shingen used his unexpected free time to seek a decisive finishing technique. When Uchiha Madara appeared and warned that Shingen’s idea could not work, Shingen found a way around the problem by proposing to transform the Chakra at the moment of impact.

• The Third Hokage ordered the Forest of Death sealed, directed the sensory division to develop a way to detect human puppets, and worried about Sasori, Uchiha Madara, and escalating border conflicts.
• Nara Shikaku led his team to the Forest of Death as Konoha went on alert and the Chunin Exams remained suspended.
• Uchiha Shingen, reflecting on his inability to finish durable opponents, decided to develop a sword technique that concentrated Fire Release Chakra inside a blade.
• Uchiha Shingen tested the idea with kunai, but the accumulated Chakra overheated and destroyed them.
• Uchiha Madara appeared in a white mask, called himself Zetsu, and told Uchiha Shingen that concentrating enough Fire Release Chakra to make the technique work was impossible.
• Uchiha Shingen realized he could perform the Chakra nature transformation at the instant his attack struck an opponent.

Uchiha Shingen developed a powerful sword technique by concentrating fire-transformed Chakra along Kotetsu’s blade, while Madara became convinced Shingen shared Izuna’s talent and could fulfill the Plan of the Moon. As Konoha prepared to begin the third round of the Chunin Exams, Orochimaru investigated another mysterious attack on a border outpost.

• Uchiha Shingen tested his Chakra-coated kunai, destroying a tree, but found the delayed explosion too slow and unfocused for combat.
• After four days of experimenting, Uchiha Shingen kept Chakra in an intermediate state of Fire-nature transformation and triggered a massive blast with Kotetsu, then named the technique Remnant Flame Sword.
• Uchiha Madara watched Uchiha Shingen succeed and decided he had inherited Izuna’s talent and could realize the Plan of the Moon.
• Kakashi told Uchiha Shingen that Nara Shikaku had failed to track Sasori, tensions with other villages were rising, and the third round of the Chunin Exams would begin in two days with Shingen as Konoha’s only healthy contestant.
• Orochimaru rushed to a burning border outpost after hearing explosions and learned from its Chunin captain that the site had suffered three attacks in recent days without casualties.

Orochimaru realized Iwagakure’s border activity might be a diversion for an attack on Konoha and sent a warning to the village. Meanwhile, the third round of the Chunin Ninja Exams began, where Uchiha Shingen drew attention and Mei Terumi watched him with growing affection.

• Orochimaru learned that the Joint Chunin Ninja Exams had been interrupted and suspected Ōnoki planned a decisive attack on Konoha.
• Orochimaru wrote a report about the Iwagakure Explosive Corps and sent it to Konoha, then vowed to drag Iwagakure down if the worst came to pass.
• Uchiha Shingen arrived at the third-round examination venue, where Minato told Yahiko that Shingen had nearly killed Sasori of the Red Sands.
• Mei Terumi sat beside Kisame in the stands and kept her eyes on Uchiha Shingen, while Yagura warned her that they might become enemies when they returned to Kirigakure.

Uchiha Shingen entered the Chunin Exams’ revised third round, where ninety-six contestants were divided into eight group battles. In the first arena match, Copper led eleven other contestants in joining forces against him.

• Yagura worried that Uchiha Shingen would cause him more trouble, then warned him that Yugito had fought him to a near draw.
• Minato announced that the third round would use eight group free-for-alls, with the winners advancing to the final matches.
• Uchiha Shingen and Yagura drew numbers one and eight, respectively, and Shingen went to the arena for the first match.
• Copper led the other eleven contestants in the arena in a formation against Uchiha Shingen.
• Samui, Darui, and Yugito watched the match, while A warned Samui not to underestimate Shingen.

Uchiha Shingen overwhelmed Tong’s group in the first preliminary match, while Yugito answered with a crushing victory of her own. Their mutual challenge intensified, leaving A worried that Yugito’s status as the Two-Tails’ Jinchuriki might be exposed.

• Minato started the first preliminary match, and Uchiha Shingen summoned three Shadow Clones before blasting Tong and the charging genin with a Great Fire Volley.
• Uchiha Shingen knocked Tong into the stands beside Yugito and won the match, then returned to the contestants’ seats while Kotetsu trembled in its sheath.
• Uchiha Shingen noticed Mei Terumi watching him but misunderstood Yagura’s hints about her interest, then read Make-Out Hell as the preliminary matches continued.
• Yugito won the seventh preliminary match by sending tracking blue Fire Mice into her opponents, badly burning several of them.
• Yugito and Uchiha Shingen met each other’s gaze, while A worried their confrontation could reveal that Yugito was the Two-Tails’ Jinchuriki.

After Yugito and Shicang won their preliminary matches, Uchiha Shingen spoke with Setsuna Uchiha about whether permanent illusion could end war. Setsuna resolved his doubts and left Shingen with a warning about the Naka Shrine tablet, while Shingen turned his attention to his upcoming fight with Yugito.

• Yugito's overwhelming power drew attention after her match, while A warned Darui to make the finals and threatened to train him himself if he failed.
• Shicang crushed the eighth group with Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave, making the competition a three-way standoff among the strongest contenders.
• Uchiha Shingen returned to South District 4 and read Jiraiya's Make-Out Hell until Setsuna Uchiha visited him.
• Setsuna asked whether war could be ended through a permanent, beautiful dream, and Shingen argued that no such method existed and asked whether Setsuna would subject a child to eternal illusion.
• Setsuna realized where Madara had gone wrong, told Shingen to visit Naka Shrine after awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, and departed.
• Shingen wondered how the Mangekyō could evolve further, then looked forward to fighting Yugito.

Uchiha Shingen faced Yugito in the first semifinal of the Joint Chunin Ninja Exams, overwhelming her in close combat before she countered with an explosive attack fueled by the Two-Tails’ power. A massive blue fire lotus engulfed the arena, leaving the spectators unsure of Shingen’s condition.

• Minato paired Uchiha Shingen and Yugito in the first semifinal, while A trusted that Yugito could draw on the Two-Tails’ Chakra if needed.
• Uchiha Shingen drew Kotetsu and charged Yugito, whose iron claws failed to stop his strike and whose close-quarters strength proved inferior.
• Yugito circled Shingen with an agile fighting style, but Kotetsu’s genjutsu briefly disrupted her rhythm, allowing Shingen to drop her into a pit with Earth Release.
• Yugito revealed that two Fire Mouse Jades had attached themselves to Shingen’s legs and detonated them, filling the arena with a vast blue blaze.
• Mei Terumi watched the explosion in alarm, while Shicang reassured her that Uchiha Shingen would not be defeated so easily.

Uchiha Shingen overwhelmed Yugito until she released ten percent of Matatabi’s power, transforming into a Jinchūriki state and unleashing blue-flamed attacks across the arena. As Minato confronted A over Kumogakure’s decision to enter Yugito in the exams, A sensed Shingen’s chakra deep underground.

• Yahiko and the stands recognized that the Uchiha Shingen who emerged was the real one, while Madara became excited by Shingen’s battle lust and imagined him as a successor.
• Uchiha Shingen countered Yugito’s Fire Mouse Jades and used her own leg to slam her into the ground, overpowering her in close combat.
• Yugito judged that her ordinary abilities could not defeat Shingen, asked Matatabi for help, and released ten percent of its chakra into a tailed cloak and blue tail.
• Yugito destroyed Shingen’s apparent Shadow Clone, then spread blue-flamed Fire Mice across the arena while searching for his real body.
• Minato demanded an explanation from A for bringing Kumogakure’s Jinchūriki into the exams, and A promised to take responsibility for any consequences.
• A sensed Uchiha Shingen’s chakra deep underground and realized he was still present.

Uchiha Shingen fought Yugito as she drew on the Two-Tails’ Chakra, adapting to her strength and awakening a bloodthirsty power of his own. After Yugito released twenty percent of the Tailed Beast’s Chakra, Shingen’s Remnant Flame Sword pierced her defenses and drove her back, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Yugito spread azure flames across the arena, but Uchiha Shingen struck from beneath her and wounded her chest with Kotetsu.
• Yugito healed with Tailed Beast Chakra and clashed with Shingen, who quickly adapted and began landing repeated cuts.
• A worried that Yugito was being overwhelmed, but she released twenty percent of the Two-Tails’ Chakra and blasted Shingen into the arena wall.
• Shingen emerged from the dust with a blood-red blade and attacked Yugito again, cutting through her Tailed Beast Chakra defenses.
• Yugito retreated as Shingen pressed his advantage with the Remnant Flame Sword, which sliced through rocks and left molten wounds.

Uchiha Shingen wounded Yugito during their Chunin Exams fight, but she lost control and transformed into the Two-Tails, whose eyes had become Sharingan. Minato, A, and Shingen prepared to subdue the beast and seal it outside Konoha, while Shingen eagerly looked forward to fighting it.

• Uchiha Shingen calmed the Remnant Flame Sword and struck Yugito, cutting through her two tails and tearing open her waist.
• A rushed into the arena to protect Yugito, but her wound healed as she released more of the Two-Tails' power and transformed into a giant fireball.
• Matatabi emerged from the fireball with Sharingan in its eyes, leaving A and Uchiha Shingen unsure how the change had happened.
• Minato questioned Uchiha Shingen, then accepted his denial and asked him to help move the Two-Tails outside Konoha.
• A agreed to help Minato subdue the Two-Tails and seal it back inside Yugito, while Uchiha Shingen readied his sword and welcomed the chance to fight a Tailed Beast.

The Two-Tails was summoned back into Konoha after Minato teleported it away, while Iwagakure’s Explosive Corps launched an attack on the village. As Minato, A, and Uchiha Shingen fought the beast, Danzo headed for the Uchiha clan grounds to exploit the crisis, and Madara prepared to go there as well.

• Minato teleported the Two-Tails away, but a summoning technique brought it back to the circular arena, where it rampaged through Konoha.
• Minato, Uchiha Shingen, and A realized the Two-Tails was being summoned back and prepared to subdue it, while Uchiha Shingen spotted a blond figure scattering clay spiders from a giant bird.
• The Third Hokage received word that Iwagakure’s Explosive Corps was targeting Konoha, then left with his Anbu to confront the attack as Danzo stayed behind and celebrated the chance to claim the Hokage position.
• Danzo gathered Root and ordered them to go to the Uchiha clan grounds to witness what he called the Uchiha’s crimes.
• Minato sent the Two-Tails’ Tailed Beast Ball far from Konoha, then A attacked the beast and Uchiha Shingen charged in with his Remnant Flame Sword.
• Madara watched Uchiha Shingen fight, then decided to head to the Uchiha clan grounds and wondered how Setsuna would react to the truth.

Madara returned to Konoha, where Fugaku’s Uchiha clan prepared to respond to the Two-Tails rampage and Iwagakure’s attack. Danzo tried to use the crisis to arrest the Uchiha, but Madara appeared and overwhelmed Root with his presence.

• Madara left the Round Table Arena and went to find Setsuna, intending for him to act under Madara’s identity and guide Madara’s successor.
• At the Uchiha clan grounds, Setsuna warned Fugaku and the clan against seizing power during the crisis, and Fugaku sent them to evacuate civilians and confront the Two-Tails.
• Danzo arrived with Root and accused the Uchiha of plotting a coup, then ordered Fugaku and the clan detained.
• Madara appeared between Root and the Uchiha, and Danzo recognized him as the legendary Uchiha Madara.
• Danzo ordered Root to kill everyone present, but Madara released his Chakra and halted the attackers, then dismissed Danzo as inferior to him.