Chapter Summaries

Sosuke entered the Forest of Death while considering how Danzo’s Shadow Casting Project would use him to build support among Konoha’s clans. Elsewhere in the forest, two attackers began killing Chunin Ninja Exam participants, and Ukokui hinted that he would eventually turn on his partner Chigui.

• Might Duy entered through Gate C, Tsunade entered through Gate A, and Sosuke wished her safety before she went inside.
• Sosuke entered the forest through Gate C and reflected on Danzo’s plan to use his growing reputation to win over the younger generation of Konoha’s clans.
• Sosuke recognized that Danzo intended to control both Root’s negotiations with the clans and Sosuke’s future, but he believed he could shape the plan to his advantage.
• Two attackers ambushed Grass Ninja participants, and Ukokui killed one of them by turning the rain into sharp needles.
• Chigui urged Ukokui to resume their mission to kill every exam participant before Konoha’s ninja noticed, and Ukokui watched him leave while vowing to get a taste of him someday.

After two intruders killed an examiner and began hunting examinees in the Forest of Death, Konoha’s leaders mobilized to protect the students and investigate. Root focused its attention on the Uchiha Clan as the intruders prepared to attack a golden-blonde girl approaching their position.

• Anbu found a dead Chunin Ninja Exams examiner and concluded that two intruders, likely at least as strong as jonin, had entered the Forest of Death.
• Mitarashi Juma and Hiruzen Sarutobi received the news, and Hiruzen ordered Anbu to prioritize the examinees’ safety and identify the intruders.
• Utatane Koharu urged Hiruzen and Mitokado Homura to watch and punish the Uchiha Clan, while Hiruzen privately thought of Kagami, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Sosuke.
• Danzo ordered Root to contact Hannya and the Hyuga Clan, mobilize all members, and surveil the Uchiha Clan; Shimura Kazumi gathered Root squads at the clan compound.
• Ukokui and Chigui killed another ninja in the Forest of Death and turned their attention toward a golden-blonde girl who approached the scene through the rain.

Tsunade and Might Duy encountered a killer in the Forest of Death, while Uchiha Sakuya was nearly killed by a giant bear. Sosuke saved Sakuya and faced the bear as she fled to safety.

• Tsunade and Might Duy recognized each other after clashing, then Duy warned her that someone had brutally killed several people in the forest.
• Tsunade and Might Duy dodged a volley of Senbon, and Ukokui emerged and announced he intended to kill them.
• Uchiha Sakuya defeated a Grass Ninja, took his number tag, and stowed him in a tree hollow before a brown bear attacked her.
• A giant bear overwhelmed Uchiha Sakuya, but Sosuke arrived and stopped its paw with one hand.
• Sosuke told Uchiha Sakuya to leave the area, and she staggered away while he held back the giant bear.

Sosuke defeated the giant bear but spared it and its cub, then sensed a huge surge of chakra nearby. Elsewhere, Might Duy unleashed a powerful attack on Ukokui while Tsunade watched, but the battle’s outcome remained unclear.

• After Uchiha Sakuya reached safety, Sosuke used Tsuzuri Raiden to bring down the giant bear.
• Sosuke prepared to finish the bear with Red Fire Cannon, but stopped when he saw its cub tending to it and let the bears return to the forest.
• Sosuke checked that Uchiha Sakuya was unharmed, then sensed a tremendous surge of chakra and wondered who Might Duy was fighting.
• Might Duy battered Ukokui while Tsunade rested, then struck him with Ten Thousand Rock Fist and smashed him into a huge crater.
• Tsunade hoped the attack had defeated Ukokui as dust obscured the clearing, while the prolonged fight drew attention from nearby.

Hatake Sakumo, Inuzuka O, and Hyuga Minato converged on a battle in the Forest of Death, where Tsunade and the badly wounded Might Duy faced the enemy ninjas Chigui and Ukokui. Ukokui unleashed a rain of Senbon against them as Chigui demanded that he finish the fight quickly.

• Hatake Sakumo collected a numbered tag from an unconscious ninja, then headed toward the sounds of battle.
• Inuzuka O and his Ninja Dog Jialong set off toward the fight despite the rain disrupting Jialong's ability to track scents.
• Hyuga Minato found gruesomely slain bodies, suspected someone was sabotaging the exams, and activated his Byakugan to inspect the battle.
• Might Duy warned Tsunade to flee and seek Sosuke, but Tsunade stayed to protect him from Chigui.
• Ukokui returned unharmed after revealing that Duy had defeated only his Water Clone, while Chigui told him to hurry and kill Tsunade and Duy.
• Ukokui used Water Release: Thorny Tiger Slaughter Technique, turning the raindrops around Tsunade and Duy into Senbon and sending them flying at the pair.

Tsunade and Dai faced death under Ukokui and Chigui’s rain of water Senbon until Jiraiya rescued them with Needle Jizo Gate. The others joined the fight, and Uchiha Tokino trapped Ukokui and attacked him with Dragon Flame Jutsu.

• Tsunade and Dai were surrounded by water Senbon as Uchiha Tokino, Hatake Sakumo, and Inuzuka O watched from hiding.
• Jiraiya shielded Tsunade and Dai with Needle Jizo Gate and warned them that their attackers were not exam candidates.
• Uchiha Tokino and Inuzuka O with Jialong attacked Ukokui while Hatake Sakumo charged Chigui.
• Ukokui evaded Inuzuka O and Jialong, then impaled them with spears of rainwater.
• Uchiha Tokino used his Sharingan to bind Ukokui with steel wires and struck him with Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu.

Ukokui and Chigui overwhelmed the Konoha shinobi, leaving Tsunade in mortal danger. Sosuke arrived in the rain, severed Ukokui’s arm, and faced him while holding Tsunade.

• Ukokui stabbed Uchiha Tokino and knocked him unconscious before turning to fight Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Dai.
• Tsunade shattered the ground, and Jiraiya trapped Ukokui in an oil-filled ravine and ignited it, but Ukokui survived with burns.
• Chigui repeatedly wounded Hatake Sakumo with invisible attacks, then sent him flying toward Jiraiya and Tsunade.
• Chigui injured Jiraiya while Ukokui seized the exhausted Tsunade by the throat and lifted her into the air.
• Sosuke arrived, severed Ukokui’s arm, and held the barely breathing Tsunade as he confronted him.

Sosuke protected the wounded Tsunade and confronted Chigui and Ukokui, who were targeting the Chunin Ninja Exams. After revealing Kyoka Suigetsu and countering their attacks, he appeared beside Ukokui as the battle continued.

• Tsunade regained consciousness, warned Sosuke about the two enemy shinobi, and he told her to rest while he faced them.
• Sosuke asked Chigui and Ukokui which village they served and who else was involved, but Ukokui reattached his severed arm and refused to answer.
• Sosuke released Kyoka Suigetsu, and Ukokui launched a huge swarm of senbon at him.
• Uchiha Sakuya arrived and treated Uchiha Tokino, telling him she had followed Sosuke and believed in him.
• Sosuke blocked the senbon with Bakudo #39: Enkosen and blasted through Ukokui's giant water spear with Hadō #31: Red Fire Cannon.
• Sosuke appeared beside Ukokui and spoke as the enemy searched for him.

Sosuke survived Ukokui’s attacks and revealed that he had deceived the enemy, then defeated both Ukokui and Chigui. He left Chigui pinned beneath his foot and demanded to know which ninja village the pair belonged to.

• Ukokui and Chigui attacked Sosuke with blood manipulation and a devastating needle technique, while the Konoha shinobi believed Sosuke had been killed.
• Sosuke appeared behind Ukokui and immobilized him with Bakudō #61: Six Rods of Light Prison.
• Sosuke killed Ukokui with Kyoka Suigetsu, then interrupted Chigui’s hand seals and knocked him through the trees.
• Sosuke battered Chigui into a crater and pinned him down as the nearby Konoha shinobi watched in disbelief.
• Sosuke asked Chigui which ninja village he and Ukokui came from.

Shimura Kazumi watched the Uchiha compound while Uchiha Shinya urged his clan to wait for Lord Kagami to negotiate with the village. In the Forest of Death, Sosuke questioned the defeated Chigui, then ordered Hyuga Minato to help treat the injured as he continued dealing with the prisoner.

• Shimura Kazumi ordered Root to monitor the Uchiha Clan after learning that no one had left its compound.
• Uchiha Shinya told the clan leaders to wait quietly because Lord Kagami had gone to speak with the village.
• Mitarashi Juma’s team detected a powerful chakra fluctuation in the Forest of Death and headed toward it.
• Sosuke broke Chigui’s bones while demanding to know which village had sent him, but Chigui refused to answer.
• Hyuga Minato arrived, recognized Sosuke as Captain Aizen, and drew Sosuke’s killing intent before Sosuke calmed down.
• Sosuke sent Hyuga Minato to help Uchiha Sakuya treat the injured while he kept Chigui in his custody.

Sosuke crippled Chigui after reflecting on the danger of being seen as a monster, while Tsunade and the others reacted to the day's battles. The Konoha examiners arrived to find the devastated area, and Sosuke presented Chigui to chief examiner Mitarashi Juma.

• Sosuke broke all four of Chigui's limbs and resolved to pursue his plan to become the Shadow, regardless of how others saw him.
• Inuzuka O was shocked by Sosuke's decisiveness, while Tsunade felt grateful to her companions and imagined passing on the Will of Fire.
• Hyuga Minato admitted that it was his first time bandaging someone, and Jiraiya spat blood in alarm.
• Uchiha Tokino feared that Sosuke had not even shown his full strength, while Uchiha Sakuya blushed as she remembered Sosuke saving her.
• Mitarashi Juma and the other Konoha examiners arrived, saw the destruction, and heard Sosuke identify Chigui as the shinobi responsible.

Sosuke helped capture two enemy ninja and warned Konoha that Chigui had a strange ability. Hyuga Minato joined Sosuke’s team as its third member, while Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered an intelligence extraction and a search for any remaining hidden ninja.

• Mitarashi Juma arrived and was shocked to find that the young ninja had defeated Ukokui and captured Chigui, and Sosuke knocked Chigui unconscious as a precaution.
• Sakumo woke and heard Dai explain what had happened, then looked at Sosuke with admiration.
• Hyuga Minato asked to become Sosuke’s subordinate, and Sosuke invited him to join his team as a companion.
• Konoha ninja took Ukokui and Chigui to separate facilities for intelligence gathering.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi heard the mission report and ordered intelligence extraction, a meeting with Elder Kagami, and an investigation for other hidden ninja.

Hiruzen, Danzo, and Shimura Kazumi reconsidered the Uchiha Clan’s role in the attack after Kagami demonstrated his loyalty to Konoha. In the Forest of Death, Sosuke explained the captured enemy’s abilities to the young shinobi, impressing Mitarashi Juma with his knowledge and leadership.

• Hiruzen questioned whether the Uchiha Clan was connected to the attack, while Utatane Koharu worried that confirming another village’s involvement could destroy the peace.
• Shimura Kazumi ordered Root to end its surveillance of the Uchiha Clan after Kagami’s appearance proved the clan’s loyalty to Konoha.
• Danzo concluded that the Uchiha Clan was not behind the attack and feared another hidden village was targeting Konoha’s young generation despite the peace treaty.
• Sosuke reassured Dai and explained that Ukokui likely had a kekkei genkai that let him merge with liquids, making Sealing Jutsu an effective counter.
• Mitarashi Juma watched Sosuke teach the others and recognized his combat ability, knowledge, clear thinking, and leadership.

After an attack by Amegakure shinobi, Konoha decided to continue the Chunin Ninja Exams rather than risk restarting a war. Orochimaru and Dan Katō reached the tower as the others prepared to move on, while Hiruzen Sarutobi accepted the political cost of letting Amegakure’s actions go unanswered.

• Orochimaru headed toward the tower seeking eternal life, where he met Dan Katō, and the two wondered why the others had not arrived.
• Sosuke and the other survivors waited for Anbu, and Mitarashi Juma told them the exams would continue and that everyone present had passed the second exam.
• An Interrogation Department shinobi reported to Hiruzen Sarutobi that Ukokui and Chigui were linked to Amegakure and that Chigui had killed himself during the investigation.
• Utatane Koharu urged Hiruzen to retaliate, while Mitokado Homura warned that war would destroy the peace in Konoha.
• Hiruzen ordered the bodies disposed of and the exams continued, choosing to avoid war with Amegakure.

Danzo opposed Sarutobi’s decision, while Sarutobi assigned the Uchiha Clan responsibility for security at the Chunin Exams after moving the third round to Konoha. At the Forest of Death tower, Yuhi Ma learned that Sosuke had helped defeat the attackers, and Jiraiya was left behind as the others went inside.

• Danzo reacted angrily to Sarutobi’s decision and set off to object.
• Kagami Uchiha confronted Sarutobi over the village’s actions, and Sarutobi asked the Uchiha Clan to secure the exams at their new Konoha venue.
• Sarutobi issued orders to change the exam venue despite objections from Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura.
• Mitarashi Shion told Yuhi Ma that two attackers had killed more than twenty examinees before Sosuke encountered them.
• Tsunade led Sosuke, Dai, Orochimaru, and Dan into the tower while Jiraiya boasted about his fight with the attackers and was mocked by the others.

Danzo challenged Hiruzen’s decision to let the attack on Konoha go unanswered, but the village leaders kept their plan to change the Chunin Exams’ third-stage venue. An Anbu delivered the order to the Forest of Death tower, where Juma prepared to return the examinees to the village.

• Danzo urged Hiruzen to respond to the captured attackers, but Hiruzen insisted that preserving peace mattered more.
• Kagami reminded Danzo that Root owed the Uchiha Clan an explanation, while Homura announced that the third stage would be held inside Konoha with the Feudal Lord invited.
• Danzo connected the venue change to the Shadow Casting Project and considered how Sosuke might gain attention from the Feudal Lord and villagers.
• An Anbu arrived at the tower and told Mitarashi Juma that the Hokage had ordered the third-stage venue moved into Konoha.
• Juma verified the order and said he would organize the examinees’ return to the village.

Shijimi Nobuo traveled to Konoha with the Feudal Lords for the Chunin Ninja Exam, while a mysterious young woman arrived eager to surprise Aizen. Sosuke tested his increased power, and Inuzuka O wrestled with his discouragement as the exam approached.

• Shijimi Nobuo worried that the Third Hokage might know about past events and considered an alliance with the Mitai Clan.
• A young woman traveling in the rear carriage looked at a scroll and declared that she was coming to Konoha to surprise Aizen.
• Sosuke dismissed Kyoka Suigetsu after she teased him, then realized the Hogyoku had helped him unlock the fourth Gate of Pain and planned to try a new technique.
• The Third Hokage postponed the Chunin Ninja Exam until the Feudal Lords arrived, giving the injured examinees time to recover and train.
• Inuzuka O told Aburame Shino he could never catch up to the powerful figure from the Forest of Death, and Shino challenged him not to give up even the chance.

Uchiha Tokino pushed his Sharingan further while training, determined to surpass Sosuke and keep Sakuya away from him. Jiraiya leaped from a cliff to begin dangerous training, while Might Duy opened the Fourth Gate and demolished part of a cliff.

• Uchiha Tokino used ricocheting kunai to hit a hidden target and awakened a third tomoe in one eye, leaving him exhausted.
• Sakuya scolded Tokino for strenuous exercise after his recovery, and Tokino vowed to surpass Sosuke and protect her from him.
• Sakuya called little Fugaku out from beside a building, and he ran over to her and Tokino.
• Jiraiya doubted Gamabunta's assurances about the cliff-jumping training, then remembered Tsunade and Sosuke and leaped into the valley.
• Might Duy opened the first three gates while recalling his failures and his wish to protect his comrades and catch up with Sosuke.
• Might Duy opened the Fourth Gate and used Leaf Style: Crumbling Rock Rise to shatter a large section of the cliff.

Konoha’s villagers flocked to the arena for the Chunin Ninja Exams, eager to support Sosuke and Dai. As the candidates assembled, Shingo Gekko began announcing the rules for the third round.

• Villagers closed stalls and headed to the arena, excited to watch Sosuke and Dai compete.
• Sosuke and Dai walked to the arena with Shimura Kazumi as villagers greeted and encouraged Sosuke.
• The Feudal Lords, the Third Hokage, and Konoha’s leaders watched from the viewing platform while the arena filled with spectators.
• The Hyuga Clan head observed Sosuke, while Kagami Uchiha told Uchiha Maya to discreetly make contact with him.
• Shingo Gekko introduced himself as chief examiner and referee and began announcing the third-round rules.

Sosuke drew Uchiha Tokino as his first opponent in the Chunin Exam and faced him in the arena. Tokino attacked with his Sharingan and Fire Style, but Sosuke struck him down in a single blow.

• Shingo Gekko explained the number-tag draw, and Sosuke drew number one.
• Sosuke entered the arena and was paired with Uchiha Tokino, prompting alarm among the spectators and candidates.
• Tokino warned Sosuke to stay away from his sister, Sakuya, and accused him of being dangerous.
• Sosuke mocked Tokino’s confidence in his bloodline ability, enraging him.
• Tokino activated his Sharingan and attacked with Fire Style: Great Flame Technique.
• Sosuke appeared beside Tokino and knocked him into the arena floor, cracking it on impact.