Chapter Summaries

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.