Chapter Summaries

The Chunin Exams’ selection matches ended, with Naruto and Sasuke advancing to the finals and Gaara defeating Rock Lee after their brutal duel. After a month of separate training, the finalists gathered as the third-stage finals officially began.

• Naruto defeated Kiba in the selection match and advanced after humiliating him by teasing Akamaru.
• Gaara and Rock Lee fought a bloody match in which Lee opened the Fifth Gate, but Gaara was declared the winner after Lee collapsed unconscious.
• Naruto invited Sasuke to train with him, but Sasuke refused so they could prepare separately for their expected final showdown.
• After a month of solo training, Naruto and Sasuke arrived for the finals alongside the other competitors.
• Jiraiya and Rasa watched from the ceremonial platform as Hayate Gekko announced the start of the third-stage finals.

Fu reached the next round when Kankuro forfeited their match, leaving her disappointed and Sasuke exasperated by Naruto and Fu. Temari then entered the arena to face Shikamaru, while Rasa hinted to Jiraiya that the Sand Village had a surprise planned for the exams.

• Naruto and Fu teased Sasuke in the competitors' area, where he recalled Kou asking him to look after Fu during the exams.
• Kankuro forfeited his match against Fu, making her the winner and leaving her disappointed that she did not get to fight.
• Naruto cheered Fu up by offering to tell her embarrassing stories about Sasuke's childhood.
• Rasa told Jiraiya that the Sand Village would give everyone a surprise during the exams.
• Temari prepared to fight Shikamaru and told Kankuro she was confident she would win.

Shikamaru surrendered to Temari after explaining that he had run out of chakra, while Rasa privately reaffirmed his plan to destroy Konoha. Naruto then began his match against Neji, as Kou watched the arena and noted that Akatsuki's plan was close to starting.

• Shikamaru surrendered to Temari, and Hayate Gekko declared her the winner.
• Temari returned to Gaara and Kankuro, angry and uneasy about her father's plan, while Gaara eagerly watched Naruto and Sasuke.
• Hayate Gekko announced Naruto's match against Neji, disappointing Naruto when he learned Sasuke was not his opponent.
• Sasuke challenged Naruto not to lose, and Naruto vowed to win before leaping into the arena to face Neji.
• Kou watched Naruto and Neji from the shadows and observed that only one match remained before Akatsuki's plan began.

Naruto faced Neji in the Chunin Exams arena as the Konoha crowd loudly urged Neji to defeat him. Neji attacked Naruto over his supposed mistreatment of Hinata, but Naruto evaded his techniques, and the fight continued with both opponents ready to engage.

• The Konoha crowd booed Naruto and cheered for Neji, while Hiashi and Hizashi worried about how the match would affect Neji.
• Neji accused Naruto of disrespecting him, but Naruto admitted he had been distracted and asked whether they had a grudge.
• Neji attacked Naruto with Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, accusing him of toying with Lady Hinata's feelings.
• Naruto vanished from Neji's strikes and reappeared behind him, surprising Neji with his speed.
• Neji used Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven, but Naruto escaped the chakra barrier with the Body Flicker Technique.
• Minato recognized Neji's technique, while Kushina scolded Naruto for not paying attention when his father had explained it before.

Naruto defeated Neji with the Rasengan, then misunderstood Neji’s attempt to reveal Hinata’s feelings as evidence that the Hyuga Clan was mistreating her. The chapter ended with Sasuke facing Gaara in the announced fourth match.

• Neji’s Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven failed to stop Naruto’s Rasengan, and Naruto defeated him.
• Neji admitted defeat, and Hayate Gekko announced Naruto as the winner of the third match.
• Neji tried to tell Naruto that Hinata liked him, but Hizashi Hyuga knocked him unconscious before he could finish.
• Naruto mistakenly concluded that Hinata was going hungry in the Hyuga Clan and vowed to save her, embarrassing Hinata and angering Hyuga Hiashi.
• Hayate Gekko announced Sasuke’s match against Gaara, and the two faced each other with hostility.

Sasuke dominated his Chunin Exams match against Gaara with lightning and fire techniques, then pierced Gaara with a Chidori Sharp Spear. Naruto warned Sasuke that something was wrong, and Sasuke saw Gaara undergo a strange transformation.

• Rasa anticipated the match between Sasuke and Gaara, while Gaara threatened Sasuke and attacked him with Sand Shower.
• Sasuke used his Sharingan and Chidori Senbon to neutralize the sand bullets, then struck Gaara's sand shield with Great Flame Dance.
• Sasuke used Swift Thunder to get past Gaara's defenses and punch him into a stone wall.
• Gaara unleashed a vast sea of sand, but Sasuke pierced his lower abdomen with a Chidori Sharp Spear before Gaara could attack.
• Naruto warned Sasuke not to lower his guard, and Sasuke saw Gaara undergo a drastic transformation.

Gaara transformed into the One-Tail Shukaku during the Chunin Exam, revealing Sand Village’s attack and prompting Konoha to evacuate the crowd. With Naruto and the others removed from the battlefield, Kou watched as Jiraiya confronted Rasa and the real battle began.

• Gaara changed into Shukaku after Rasa ordered him to unleash the One-Tail’s power, while Jiraiya confronted Rasa about bringing a jinchuriki to Konoha.
• Naruto used the Flying Thunder God Technique to move Sasuke and the other contestants to safety, then sent hundreds of Shadow Clones to evacuate the audience.
• Kou told Naruto to carry out the plan Minato had given him, and Naruto left with Sasuke, Kaede, Shikamaru, and the others after asking Kou to try to save Gaara.
• Jiraiya called on the audience to trust Naruto’s Shadow Clones, and the clones transported the spectators away from the collapsing arena.
• Jiraiya and the Anbu surrounded Rasa and his guards as Kou watched one guard raise his head, signaling that the real confrontation was about to begin.

Rasa revealed that he had contracted Akatsuki, and Pain summoned the organization onto the viewing platform as Jiraiya confronted them. Pain set aside questions about the missing Kou and ordered Akatsuki to capture the rampaging One-Tail.

• Jiraiya told Rasa that Sand Village’s attack had failed and urged him to reconsider, but Rasa insisted that Sand Village had not yet lost.
• Rasa called on Pain to fulfill their contract, and Animal Path revealed his Rinnegan before summoning Akatsuki onto the viewing platform.
• Jiraiya recognized Pain as Nagato, while Deidara and the other Akatsuki members wondered why Kou was absent.
• Pain said Kou might have pursued the Nine-Tails and Seven-Tails jinchuriki, then ordered Akatsuki to capture the One-Tail.

Akatsuki betrayed Rasa and moved to capture Shukaku, but Gaara returned to human form after an unknown Mangekyō power intervened. Pain revealed that Kou had orchestrated the events, and the chapter ended with Akatsuki realizing he had deceived them.

• Hidan mocked Rasa for believing Akatsuki had come only to help the Sand Village, and Raiga Kurosuki restrained him when he tried to fight.
• Pain assigned Itachi to capture Shukaku, but Shukaku abruptly fell silent and displayed a Mangekyō pattern unlike Itachi's.
• Shukaku rapidly shrank back into Gaara, who collapsed unconscious in the ruined arena.
• Pain called out to Kou, who appeared beside Gaara and greeted Akatsuki with a calm smile.
• Deidara questioned whether Kou had controlled Shukaku, and Scorpion accused Kou of hiding his abilities and leaking the operation's details to Konoha.

Jiraiya confronted Nagato and Konan about their plan, but Nagato refused to abandon it and insisted the tailed beasts could bring peace. Kou stayed behind to face Akatsuki, and the chapter ended with him shielding Jiraiya and Gaara from Pain’s pull in his Third Stage Susanoo.

• Jiraiya called Pain by the name Nagato and urged him and Konan to stop before the conflict became a disaster.
• Nagato defended his plan to use the tailed beasts to force the nations of the Ninja World to reject war, despite knowing Uchiha Madara was using Akatsuki.
• Jiraiya warned Nagato that Uchiha Madara was manipulating them, but Nagato said he was using Madara in return.
• Kou told Jiraiya to take the unconscious Gaara and leave while he handled the Akatsuki members.
• Pain used Banshō Ten'in to pull Jiraiya and Gaara toward him, but Kou protected them with his Third Stage Susanoo and challenged Akatsuki to fight.

Kou’s Susanoo devastated the area around the arena with a flaming strike, while Pain protected the Akatsuki and promised to explain his secrets after the mission. Pain acknowledged Kou’s strength and prepared to fight him with his full power as Kou raised the Great Ori Cutter.

• The Akatsuki members recognized Kou’s Susanoo, and Itachi explained that he could use the technique but could not sustain it as effortlessly as Kou.
• Pain ordered the Akatsuki to keep Konoha from taking the One-Tail jinchuriki and promised to answer their questions after the mission.
• Kou sent a sea of flames toward the grandstand, and Pain used Shinra Tensei to repel most of the attack.
• The flames’ lingering wave reduced the grandstand and the surrounding area to scorched ruins, shocking the Akatsuki.
• Pain acknowledged Kou’s strength and prepared to use his full power as the Animal Path joined him.
• Kou’s Susanoo raised the Great Ori Cutter, a flaming divine weapon that could burn all things and command flames.

Kou used Susanoo’s Azure Dragons to destroy Pain’s summoned beasts and four Paths, while Jiraiya took the opening to escape with Gaara and the Konoha Anbu. Pain’s full-power Shinra Tensei shattered the dragons and devastated the arena, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Kou warned Jiraiya that Shinra Tensei had a five-second cooldown and urged him to retreat with Gaara, but the Six Paths of Pain appeared and blocked their routes.
• Nagato summoned enormous beasts to surround Susanoo and sent Yatagarasu to watch Jiraiya’s group as the Akatsuki members assessed the trap.
• Kou transformed Susanoo into nine Azure Dragons, which seized the beasts and four Paths before burning them to ashes.
• Pain unleashed a full-power Shinra Tensei that shattered the dragons and ravaged the arena.
• Jiraiya summoned Gamabunta, who carried Gaara and the Konoha Anbu away from the ruins.

Pain ordered the Akatsuki members to split up, with some pursuing Jiraiya and the jinchuriki while the others held Kou back, but Kou restored Susanoo to full strength and used Eternal World to seal the arena and its surroundings. He trapped the Akatsuki forces inside the Susanoo barrier and vowed that none of his former colleagues would escape.

• Pain exhausted himself using Shinra Tensei to destroy Kou's nine Azure Dragons, and Konan urged him to retreat after Jiraiya took the jinchuriki away.
• Pain identified Kou's altered Susanoo as a Mangekyō Sharingan technique and ordered Konan, Hidan, Scorpion, and Raiga to retrieve the jinchuriki while Deidara, Kakuzu, Itachi, and he held Kou back.
• Kou's Susanoo suddenly regained its Crow Tengu armor and full strength, prompting Scorpion to accuse Itachi of misleading them about Kou's power.
• Pain considered using another power as the Akatsuki members prepared to fight, but Kou transformed Susanoo into a pillar of emerald light.
• Kou used Eternal World to create four Susanoo-patterned pillars and a vast barrier around the arena, trapping the Akatsuki members inside.

Kou was surrounded by Akatsuki after Susanoo became a barrier, but he swiftly killed Hidan and destroyed Scorpion’s hundred puppets. Kakuzu collapsed after losing four hearts, leaving seven Akatsuki members facing Kou.

• Pain challenged Kou’s ability to sustain the barrier while fighting Akatsuki, but the others hesitated to attack.
• Hidan urged Akatsuki to help him draw Kou’s blood so he could use his curse, and Scorpion launched the Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets.
• Kou used Lightning Release: Swift Thunder to appear beside Hidan and kill him with countless lightning-fast cuts.
• Kou destroyed all one hundred of Scorpion’s puppets with crisscrossing lightning strikes.
• Kou told Kakuzu that he had only one heart left, and Kakuzu collapsed after realizing four hearts had been destroyed.
• Kou pointed Inazuma at the remaining Akatsuki members and counted seven opponents.

Kou confronted Akatsuki and rejected Pain’s offer to join forces against Madara, while secretly draining chakra from Nagato through the Inari God. As Pain’s chakra dwindled, Kou activated Sage Mode using natural energy from Ryūchi Cave.

• Scorpion, Deidara, Raiga Kurosuki, and Itachi chose not to fight Kou, while Pain addressed him directly.
• Pain offered to abandon Akatsuki’s mission and ally with Kou against Uchiha Madara in exchange for letting them leave safely.
• Kou rejected Pain’s proposal, declaring that he intended to kill Akatsuki and Madara, and exposed Pain’s secret chakra gathering.
• Kou continued draining Nagato’s chakra from afar through the Inari God while Pain recognized the ability.
• Kou gathered natural energy from around the Susanoo barrier and activated Ryūchi Cave’s Sage Mode.

Kou entered Sage Mode and unleashed powerful attacks against Pain and Konan at the Chunin Ninja Exams arena. After Konan’s paper clone sacrificed itself to protect Pain, Pain used Chibaku Tensei to draw Kou and the arena’s debris into the sky.

• Konan carried Pain into the air as Kou transformed through Sage Mode, and Nagato watched through Pain’s vision from his cave.
• Nagato rejected Konan’s plea to avoid using his final technique and resolved to eliminate Kou, whatever the cost.
• Kou used Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation to attack Pain and Konan with a wind dragon and giant earth snakes, but Pain destroyed them with Shinra Tensei.
• Kou fired Sage Art: Fire Release: Grand Flame Sun Wheel at Pain, and Konan’s paper clone burned away while shielding him.
• Pain formed a black sphere and invoked Chibaku Tensei, pulling Kou, the flames, arena debris, and the Susanoo barrier toward it.

Kou countered Nagato’s Chibaku Tensei with the Seventh Gate and White Dragon, but Pain survived and unleashed Super Shinra Tensei. Kou answered with the Tsuchigumo Clan’s secret art, Rage Hair Heaven, and their attacks collided over the ruined arena.

• Kou opened the Seventh Gate and used White Dragon to destroy the core of Nagato’s Chibaku Tensei.
• Pain survived the explosion with severe burns and unleashed Super Shinra Tensei, erasing everything within the barrier.
• Kou gathered natural energy and activated the Tsuchigumo Clan’s Rage Hair Heaven.
• Kou’s Rage Hair Heaven collided head-on with Pain’s repulsive force, grinding what remained inside the barrier into ashes.

Itachi shielded the Akatsuki members from the clash between Kou and Pain with his Susanoo and Yata Mirror. After the destruction subsided, Pain stood recovered alongside the surviving Naraka Path, while Kou had left Sage Mode and appeared weakened.

• Deidara praised Kou’s attack as art, but Scorpion seized him and led him toward Itachi as Kakuzu followed.
• Itachi used his third-stage Susanoo and Yata Mirror to shield the Akatsuki members from the approaching shockwave, straining himself and shedding blood tears.
• Scorpion watched Itachi weaken and planned to act after the battle, while Kakuzu and Raiga each focused on surviving.
• Itachi poured his remaining ocular power into the defense until the devastation faded and his Susanoo vanished.
• Scorpion declared that Pain had won as Pain and the surviving Naraka Path emerged opposite a weakened Kou.

Kou revealed that the Susanoo Realm had been a cocoon preparing his Susanoo to evolve into its Complete Body form, overwhelming the remaining Akatsuki members. With the battle decided, he raised his blazing Great Ori Cutter to strike them down, as the story turned toward the coming confrontation with Obito.

• Pain restored the Deva Path by hiding the Naraka Path inside the King of Hell, but Kou remained calm and smiled at his opponents.
• Scorpion and Deidara returned to the battlefield, and Scorpion urged Pain to kill Kou while explaining that Itachi, Kakuzu, and Raiga Kurosuki had escaped.
• Kou revealed that he had anticipated the attack and used the Susanoo Realm as a cocoon to prepare his Susanoo’s evolution.
• Kou transformed his Susanoo into its Complete Body form, and Pain accepted that Akatsuki had lost.
• Kou thanked Nagato for damaging his Susanoo and helping it evolve, then raised the Great Ori Cutter to strike the four figures below.

Kou defeated Deva Path Pain and the other Akatsuki fighters, then realized Obito had begun moving in the Mist Village. There, Kou confronted Obito as he tried to reclaim the Three-Tails and Six-Tails, and challenged the truth and feasibility of the Eye of the Moon Plan.

• Kou's Great Ori Cutter destroyed Scorpion and the Naraka Path, incapacitated Deva Path Pain, and left Deidara barely alive.
• Kou sensed that his Shadow Clone in the Mist Village had dispersed and realized Obito had started moving.
• In the Mizukage's office, Kou's Shadow Clone stopped Obito from placing Yagura under control, and the two confronted each other.
• Obito admitted he had long suspected Kou's support for the Eye of the Moon Plan was false but said he had believed Kou might eventually accept it.
• Kou rejected the plan and questioned whether Uchiha Madara's claims about Infinite Tsukuyomi were true or feasible.