Recaps

The Third Hokage explained why Team 6 had to be disbanded and assigned Uchiha Matsuri to Team 5 while Kushina Uzumaki chose to assist Tsunade. Three days later, the assessment results revealed that Team 6 had been excluded, prompting speculation about the Hokage’s decision and a tense exchange between Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

• The Third Hokage told Dan Katō, Kushina Uzumaki, and Uchiha Matsuri that Dan’s injury, the lack of available Jonin, and the need to retain only three teams meant Team 6 would be disbanded.
• The Third Hokage assigned Uchiha Matsuri to Team 5, and Kushina Uzumaki chose to become Lady Tsunade’s assistant rather than join the next graduating class.
• Three days later, Akimichi Chōza, Yamanaka Inoichi, Shikaku Nara, and Sarutobi Yoshihiko noticed that Team 6 had been eliminated despite its top score and concluded that the Hokage had deliberately broken it up.
• At the posted results, E Inuzuka mocked Team 6 while Minato Namikaze defended it, and Jiraiya lamented that his teammates did not get along as well.
• Orochimaru approached Jiraiya and remarked that his team seemed to have trouble getting along, and Jiraiya asked why Orochimaru was checking the results.

Uchiha Matsuri joined Team 5 after Team 6 was disbanded and began training with Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze, and Kiba Inuzuka. On his first team mission, Jiraiya questioned why an escort job had been classified as A-rank.

• Orochimaru told Jiraiya that Team 6 was still officially called Team Orochimaru, then walked away.
• Uchiha Matsuri told Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze, and Kiba Inuzuka that the Hokage had transferred him to Team 5, and Jiraiya welcomed him as a student.
• Matsuri continued his rigorous daily training and helped Jiraiya prepare dinner at home.
• Jiraiya led Team 5 to the mission assignment office and requested an A-rank mission.
• A Chunin offered Team 5 a merchant caravan escort, and Jiraiya challenged its A-rank classification.

Jiraiya led Minato Namikaze, Kiba Inuzuka, and Uchiha Matsuri on their first A-Rank Mission, escorting a daimyo relative’s caravan through the war-torn Land of Grass. Before the mission began, Jiraiya questioned Matsuri about Orochimaru and the meaning of becoming Hokage; the team then traveled to Kyoto, where Jiraiya proposed visiting the hot springs.

• Jiraiya explained the A-Rank escort mission, and Kiba Inuzuka celebrated while Minato Namikaze warned that it would be dangerous.
• Jiraiya briefed the team on safety and gave them an hour to prepare; Matsuri showed that he had already packed his ninja tools.
• Matsuri asked Jiraiya what he thought of Orochimaru, then explained that he viewed the Hokage’s role as dangerous, respected, and devoted to protecting others.
• Minato Namikaze and Kiba Inuzuka returned, and Jiraiya led the team toward Kyoto for the mission.
• Two days later, the team arrived in prosperous Kyoto, where Jiraiya suggested they visit the hot springs.

Team 5 escorted a caravan for the Fujino Company while Jiraiya struggled to keep his squabbling students in line. As dusk fell, Kiba Inuzuka detected more than a hundred ordinary bandits lying in ambush ahead.

• Jiraiya sneaked toward the women's hot spring until Minato Namikaze, Uchiha Matsuri, and Kiba Inuzuka dragged him away.
• Jiraiya introduced Team 5 to Koji Moriya of the Fujino Company, and the four shinobi set out with the caravan.
• During two uneventful days on the road, Kiba Inuzuka and Uchiha Matsuri argued, while Jiraiya urged them to focus on protecting the goods.
• Kiba Inuzuka smelled more than a hundred people hiding beside the road and, with Ono's agreement, warned Jiraiya of the ambush.
• Jiraiya asked whether the ambushers were bandits or shinobi, and Kiba identified them as likely ordinary bandits with no chakra.

Uchiha Matsuri and Kiba Inuzuka fought off a mountain bandit ambush, and Matsuri revealed overwhelming strength by killing the bandits with one lightning technique. The caravan resumed its journey, while Minato Namikaze resolved to train harder to keep up with Matsuri.

• More than a hundred mountain bandits ambushed the caravan, and Koji Moriya ordered Jiraiya and the others to protect the goods.
• Jiraiya assigned Minato Namikaze to guard Koji Moriya and sent Kiba Inuzuka and Uchiha Matsuri to fight the bandits.
• Kiba Inuzuka used Fang Over Fang to kill more than twenty bandits, then watched as Uchiha Matsuri's Thunderstorm Birth killed the rest and their chief.
• Jiraiya judged that Uchiha Matsuri had surpassed Chunin level, and Minato Namikaze resolved to train harder.
• Koji Moriya urged the group to move on, and Jiraiya led the caravan onward.

Team 5 traveled toward the Land of Grass and discovered that an unseen chakra had trapped them in a genjutsu. Uchiha Matsuri used his Two-Tomoe Sharingan to dispel the illusion and reveal a red-haired man in a white cloak watching from a tree.

• The caravan stopped beneath a tree in the summer heat, and Jiraiya said they would reach the forest near the Land of Grass the next day.
• Kiba Inuzuka sensed a chakra approaching the caravan, so Jiraiya told Team 5 to stay alert while they continued traveling.
• Kiba detected the chakra drawing close, and Uchiha Matsuri realized that the surrounding scene was a genjutsu.
• Uchiha Matsuri activated his Sharingan and saw a rundown cabin, a cliff, and a red-haired man in a white cloak perched on a tree.
• The red-haired man was surprised by Uchiha Matsuri's Two-Tomoe Sharingan, while Jiraiya dispelled the genjutsu by increasing his chakra.

Uchiha Matsuri awakened his Two-Tomoe Sharingan, escaped a genjutsu, and killed the enemy who had trapped the group. The caravan then entered a forest near the Land of Grass border, where Jiraiya assigned the team their positions as danger loomed.

• Jiraiya freed Minato Namikaze and Kiba Inuzuka from the genjutsu, and they realized Uchiha Matsuri had awakened the Sharingan.
• The genjutsu specialist trapped Kiba again, but Matsuri resisted with his Sharingan and defeated the man with Lightning Release: Earth Crawl.
• Minato and Jiraiya noticed the coldness in Matsuri's gaze and worried about what his ruthlessness might become.
• The caravan entered a forest near the Land of Grass border, and Jiraiya assigned Minato, Kiba, and Matsuri to guard different positions.
• Jiraiya told Koji Moriya to stay inside the carriage, and Moriya warned him to protect the cargo above the lives of the team.

Jiraiya and Team 5 escorted a valuable caravan across the border while hostile ninja waited to attack. After Jiraiya defeated the first group, six powerful rogue ninja appeared, and he warned the team to be careful.

• Jiraiya sent out toads to scout the area and learned that enemy ninja were hiding nearby.
• Six rogue ninja from Kirigakure argued over whether to attack Jiraiya, then agreed on a plan to take on him and Team 5.
• More than a dozen kunai flew at the caravan, and Jiraiya defeated the four Cloud Ninja who attacked.
• The other groups in the forest held back after seeing Jiraiya's strength, while the caravan continued without another attack for half an hour.
• Six powerful rogue ninja appeared on the road, and Jiraiya recognized them as the Six Rogue Ninjas.

Uchiha Matsuri fought Yoru Mizuzuki of the Six Rogue Ninjas while Jiraiya faced the group's three giant-sword wielders. Matsuri exposed his Two-Tomoe Sharingan to find Yoru, but she remained confident she could defeat him.

• Jiraiya explained that the Six Rogue Ninjas included three former Seven Ninja Swordsmen and three Kirigakure rogues as the group rushed the merchant caravan.
• The three giant-sword wielders engaged Jiraiya while Yoru Mizuzuki challenged Uchiha Matsuri and mocked him into fighting.
• Yoru created a lake with Water Release and blocked Matsuri's fire techniques with a Great Waterfall Technique.
• Matsuri used a clone to strike Yoru from behind, but she escaped his follow-up attack with the Substitution Technique and hid in a tree.
• Matsuri activated his Two-Tomoe Sharingan, sensed Yoru's hidden Water Release chakra, and forced her out of the burning tree.
• Yoru recognized Matsuri's Sharingan but declared that it still would not let him defeat her.

Yoru Mizuzuki realized Uchiha Matsuri had trapped her in a genjutsu, then overwhelmed him with her Water Dragon Bullet Technique. She left Matsuri wounded and rushed to aid Narishige Sawa, where she launched the same attack at Minato Namikaze.

• Yoru Mizuzuki bound Uchiha Matsuri with Water Whip and, in the genjutsu, beat and disfigured him after he refused to join her.
• Yoru Mizuzuki recognized that Uchiha Matsuri had placed her under genjutsu and stabbed herself to break the illusion.
• Uchiha Matsuri attacked Yoru Mizuzuki, but she drove him back and their Water Torrential Rain and Earth Dragon Bullet techniques canceled each other out.
• Yoru Mizuzuki used Water Dragon Bullet Technique to smash through Uchiha Matsuri's Earth Flow City Wall and send him flying, leaving him injured.
• Yoru Mizuzuki saw Narishige Sawa losing to Minato Namikaze and went to help him.
• Yoru Mizuzuki launched Water Dragon Bullet Technique at Minato Namikaze and believed the attack was about to hit him.

Minato Namikaze struggled to hold off Yoru Mizuzuki and Narishige Sawa as his chakra ran low. Meanwhile, an injured Uchiha Matsuri was hunted by a kunoichi and a white-bearded old man, and used his Sharingan to trap the old man in a genjutsu.

• Yoru Mizuzuki and Narishige Sawa attacked Minato Namikaze together, planning to wear down his chakra.
• Uchiha Matsuri treated his wounds while a kunoichi and a white-bearded old man watched and decided to kill him before he recovered.
• Uchiha Matsuri escaped their first ambush, then planted Explosive Tags as a trap while fleeing through the forest.
• The kunoichi and the old man caught up with Uchiha Matsuri, but he revealed his Sharingan and caught the old man in a genjutsu.
• The kunoichi warned the old man not to look at the Sharingan, then challenged Uchiha Matsuri by suggesting its use would drain his chakra.

Uchiha Matsuri used Thunderstorm Birth to drive off Showa Yoko and Mu Liuye, but the technique exhausted his chakra and left him helpless on the battlefield. Jiraiya and his allies repelled the other rogue ninja, while Minato Namikaze and Kiba Inuzuka were left badly exhausted.

• After Uchiha Matsuri's Sharingan ran low on chakra, Showa Yoko and Mu Liuye attacked and badly injured him.
• Uchiha Matsuri used Thunderstorm Birth, and the resulting explosion wounded all three; Mu Liuye lost his right leg, and he and Showa Yoko withdrew.
• With all his chakra spent, Uchiha Matsuri collapsed and gradually lost consciousness.
• Jiraiya killed one of the former Seven Ninja Swordsmen in Sage Mode, and the remaining rogues fled after Fukasaku and Shima used Toad Duet.
• Koji Moriya praised Jiraiya, who checked on Minato Namikaze and Kiba Inuzuka as they recovered from their injuries and exhaustion.

Jiraiya found the unconscious Uchiha Matsuri and refused to leave him behind, forcing the caravan steward to agree to a two-day delay. Matsuri awoke in the inn the following evening, with Minato at his side.

• Jiraiya found Uchiha Matsuri unconscious in the woods and carried him back to the caravan, explaining that Matsuri had exhausted his chakra and might have fought another group.
• E accused Matsuri of fleeing and getting injured, but Minato objected to judging him while he was unconscious.
• Jiraiya asked Koji Moriya to delay the caravan, but Moriya refused and said Matsuri should be left behind if he did not wake.
• Jiraiya threatened to end the escort mission rather than abandon his teammate, and Moriya reluctantly agreed to stay in town for two days.
• The following evening, Matsuri woke in the inn and asked Minato how long he had been unconscious.

After recovering from his fight with the Six Rogue Ninjas, Uchiha Matsuri learned that two of his opponents were former Leaf Village ninja connected to his older brother, Fugaku Uchiha. Jiraiya’s assessment of the battle and Kiba Inuzuka’s own defeat left Kiba humbled.

• Uchiha Matsuri told Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze, and Kiba Inuzuka how he fought Yoru Mizuzuki, Showa Yoko, and Mu Liuye.
• Jiraiya recognized Showa Yoko and Mu Liuye as former Leaf Village ninja who had defected.
• Jiraiya revealed that Uchiha Matsuri had an older brother, Fugaku Uchiha, a deputy captain of the Konoha Military Police Force who had known both rogue ninja.
• Jiraiya said Showa Yoko and Mu Liuye were ordinary Chunin individually but could fight at Jonin level together, prompting Kiba to reconsider Matsuri’s strength.
• Jiraiya revealed that the rogue ninja who had defeated Kiba was only an ordinary Chunin, leaving Kiba humiliated.

Uchiha Matsuri, Minato Namikaze, and E escorted the caravan safely to Iwagakure, then explored the village after completing their mission. Their outing ended when they found a hungry elderly beggar whom a noodle shop owner had thrown outside.

• Uchiha Matsuri and the others reached the Land of Earth after driving off several attacks, then traveled five more days to Iwagakure.
• Jiraiya stayed outside the village, claiming he would attract attention, but secretly went to a bathhouse to peep and was chased by an old woman with a broom.
• Uchiha Matsuri, Minato Namikaze, and E finished escorting the caravan and toured Iwagakure before deciding the village had little to see.
• E helped an elderly beggar after a burly noodle shop owner threw her outside, and the group learned she had gone days without food after losing her family in the Second Shinobi World War.

Kiba Inuzuka attacked a noodle-shop owner in Iwagakure after hearing how he had mistreated an elderly woman, and Uchiha Matsuri and Minato Namikaze stayed to deal with the fallout. Kitsuchi surrounded the three Konoha shinobi and accused them of attacking an Iwagakure Anbu communications outpost, demanding to know where their supposed fourth teammate was.

• Kiba Inuzuka rushed to confront the noodle-shop owner, and Uchiha Matsuri tried to stop him from causing trouble in the Land of Earth.
• Kiba kicked his way into the shop, attacked an employee, and used Fang Over Fang with Ono against the burly owner.
• Uchiha Matsuri and Minato Namikaze stayed with Kiba as the noodle shop collapsed, and Kiba apologized for dragging them into trouble.
• Several dozen Iwa-nin surrounded the three Konoha shinobi, and Kitsuchi questioned them about wrecking the shop.
• Kitsuchi dismissed their explanation, accused them of attacking an Iwagakure Anbu communications outpost, and demanded to know where their fourth teammate was.

Uchiha Matsuri, Minato Namikaze, and E fought Kitsuchi after he refused to cooperate. Matsuri released the Yin Seal and reached his peak, leaving the battle poised for a renewed clash.

• Kitsuchi smashed through Uchiha Matsuri’s Earth wall and struck him, forcing Matsuri to pause and heal while Minato Namikaze and E attacked.
• Kitsuchi overwhelmed E and Ono’s Fang Over Fang, but E and Ono used their new Fang Severing Fang to break his Earth barrier and make him stagger.
• Kitsuchi recognized E’s exhaustion and attacked Minato Namikaze with Earth Rising Spear, striking him and charging in with Rock Fist.
• Uchiha Matsuri fired lightning at Kitsuchi, giving Minato Namikaze time to teleport away, then returned to the fight after healing.
• Uchiha Matsuri released his Yin Seal, surging with chakra and prompting Kitsuchi, Minato Namikaze, and E to react in amazement.

Uchiha Matsuri, Minato Namikaze, and Kiba Inuzuka used a plan to keep Kitsuchi occupied while they tried to escape Iwagakure. Their decoys fooled an Iwagakure Anbu, who struck down clones instead of the real Matsuri and Kiba.

• Uchiha Matsuri's Thunderstorm Birth clashed with Kitsuchi's Earth Dragon Bullet, leveling nearby buildings, but Kitsuchi survived the blast.
• Matsuri regrouped with Minato Namikaze and Kiba Inuzuka, then explained a plan that relied on Minato keeping Kitsuchi busy.
• Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique to evade Kitsuchi's attacks for ten minutes while Matsuri and Kiba waited nearby.
• Kitsuchi ordered a newly arrived Iwagakure Anbu to attack Matsuri and Kiba, hoping to make Minato leave the fight to rescue them.
• The Anbu stabbed Matsuri and Kiba, only for them to vanish in a puff of smoke, revealing they had been Clone Technique decoys.

Uchiha Matsuri, Minato, and Kiba escaped Iwagakure using clones, but Jiraiya was caught up in a fight with Iwa-nin while waiting for them. Ōnoki learned of the deception and sent a messenger to Konoha, while Matsuri and his companions watched Jiraiya’s battle from hiding.

• Kitsuchi learned that the Konoha shinobi he had fought were clones and ordered Anbu to pursue Matsuri, Minato, and Kiba.
• Matsuri, Minato, and Kiba escaped Iwagakure and decided to find Jiraiya, who was still waiting outside the village.
• Four Iwagakure Anbu found Jiraiya in a nearby town and attacked him, mistaking him for the leader of the Konoha mission.
• Jiraiya destroyed the stone pillars with a fire technique and defeated two of the Anbu while fighting the other two.
• Kitsuchi reported the incident to Ōnoki, who ordered a messenger sent to Konoha instead of dispatching more Anbu.
• Matsuri, Minato, and Kiba hid nearby and watched Jiraiya fight, but Matsuri said they did not need to help.

Jiraiya defeated a group of Iwa-nin and then fought a middle-aged attacker, only to discover the man was Uchiha Matsuri in disguise. After Minato Namikaze and Kiba Inuzuka revealed their prank and recounted their mission, Jiraiya released Matsuri and told the three they had gone too far.

• Jiraiya killed the remaining Iwa-nin and headed toward Iwagakure, worried that the children might be in trouble.
• Jiraiya dodged an attack from a middle-aged man and defeated him with Needle Jizo after his Earth Release defenses failed.
• Minato Namikaze and Kiba Inuzuka emerged from the bushes and revealed that the three attackers were them and Uchiha Matsuri using Transformation Technique.
• Jiraiya questioned Minato and Kiba about escorting Mr. Moriya and the caravan, while leaving Matsuri bound in his hair.
• Jiraiya released Uchiha Matsuri and told all three students they had gone too far.

After Team 5 returned to Konoha, the Third Hokage questioned Jiraiya and his subordinates about their fight in Iwagakure and fined them by confiscating their mission reward. Jiraiya stayed behind with the Hokage while the others headed out and ran into Sarutobi Yoshihiko and his team.

• Three days after the incident in Iwagakure, Jiraiya led Team 5 back to Konoha, where an Anbu summoned all four of them to the Hokage Office.
• The Third Hokage praised Team 5 for completing their mission, then asked Jiraiya whether they had infiltrated Iwagakure and attacked its people.
• Jiraiya admitted what had happened, explained the circumstances, and accepted responsibility; Kiba Inuzuka also offered to take the blame.
• The Third Hokage said he would explain the situation to Iwagakure but confiscated the mission reward as punishment.
• The Third Hokage told Jiraiya to stay while Uchiha Matsuri, Minato Namikaze, and Kiba Inuzuka left and complained about losing 950,000 ryō.
• Uchiha Matsuri, Minato Namikaze, and Kiba Inuzuka greeted Sarutobi Yoshihiko and his team, and Sarutobi Yoshihiko asked where Jiraiya was.

The Third Hokage questioned Jiraiya about Minato Namikaze and Uchiha Matsuri as possible future Hokage, while Team 5 headed to the Training Ground for a spar. Kiba Inuzuka sensed unfamiliar chakra and the smell of blood nearby, leaving the team alert to a possible threat.

• The Third Hokage asked Jiraiya to assess Minato Namikaze and Uchiha Matsuri's character, abilities, and suitability to become Hokage.
• Jiraiya judged Minato kind and patient but less powerful, while Matsuri was stronger and more unpredictable; he could not choose between them as a successor.
• Uchiha Matsuri challenged Minato Namikaze to spar, and Minato accepted while Kiba Inuzuka eagerly offered to watch.
• As Team 5 approached the Training Ground, Kiba Inuzuka sensed four unfamiliar chakra scents and a strong stench of blood.

Uchiha Matsuri and Minato Namikaze pursued the Cloud Ninja who had kidnapped Kushina Uzumaki, but lost their best tracker when Minato sent Kiba Inuzuka to alert the Hokage. Matsuri remembered Kushina’s red hair could mark the trail, and Minato raced ahead while Kushina’s captors continued toward the Land of Fire’s border.

• Minato Namikaze and Uchiha Matsuri found dead Anbu at a remote house, and Kiba Inuzuka identified Kushina Uzumaki’s scent leading northeast with four unfamiliar chakra signatures.
• Uchiha Matsuri urged Minato Namikaze and Kiba Inuzuka to rescue Kushina, but Kiba warned that the four Cloud Ninja had already killed Anbu and argued they should alert the Hokage.
• Uchiha Matsuri ran after the kidnappers, and Minato Namikaze followed while sending Kiba Inuzuka to notify the Hokage.
• After Minato Namikaze revealed that Kiba Inuzuka had left, Uchiha Matsuri realized Kushina’s red hair could mark the route and resumed the pursuit with Minato racing ahead.
• Kushina Uzumaki secretly dropped a strand of her red hair on the road as the four Cloud Ninja carried her northeast through the Land of Fire.
• As evening fell, one Cloud Ninja told his captain that they had run for more than seven hours and that any Konoha pursuers should be far behind.

Minato Namikaze caught up with the Cloud Ninja who had abducted Kushina Uzumaki, but three of them blocked his attempt to pursue their captain. Uchiha Matsuri arrived and helped Minato break through, then fought the remaining Cloud Ninja as Minato continued after Kushina.

• Minato Namikaze used the Flying Thunder God Technique to wound Luo, but the Cloud Ninja captain fled toward the border with Kushina Uzumaki while the other three blocked Minato.
• Minato dodged the Cloud Ninja’s Lightning Release attack but could not break through their three-person blockade.
• Uchiha Matsuri arrived, disrupted the Cloud Ninja’s formation, and let Minato use the Flying Thunder God Technique to head northeast after Kushina.
• Uchiha Matsuri trapped the short Cloud Ninja in a genjutsu and killed him with a Shuriken.
• The dark-complexioned Cloud Ninja charged Uchiha Matsuri with lightning gathering around his arm.

Uchiha Matsuri was trapped by two Cloud Ninja while buying time for Minato Namikaze to rescue Kushina Uzumaki, but reinforcements forced the enemy to retreat. Back in Konoha, Matsuri learned that Kushina had become the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki after Mito Uzumaki’s death and was being kept under secret Anbu surveillance.

• Uchiha Matsuri fought Luo and the big Cloud Ninja, but their teamwork overcame his genjutsu and attacks, and they trapped him with the Four-Pillar Binding Technique.
• Luo sensed Konoha reinforcements approaching and ordered the two Cloud Ninja to retreat, allowing the binding technique to fade.
• Jiraiya and Dan Katō arrived with reinforcements, and Matsuri urged them to support Minato Namikaze’s rescue of Kushina Uzumaki.
• After receiving treatment, Matsuri reunited with Minato and Kushina, who had fallen asleep from exhaustion.
• The Third Hokage scolded Matsuri and Minato for pursuing the kidnappers without Jonin support.
• Kushina told Matsuri that Mito Uzumaki had died a month earlier and that the Third Hokage had transferred the Nine-Tails to her, leading to secret Anbu surveillance and her relocation to a deserted house.