Chapter Summaries

Ryōken returned to Konoha, where the Hokage and clan heads honored him as the Ninja God, and reunited with his old companions. Meanwhile, the masked man prepared to exploit unrest in Konoha to seize the Nine-Tails and One-Tails, convinced Ryōken would not interfere.

• Sakura and Tenten watched as Konoha's clan heads bowed to Ryōken, and the crowd recognized him as the Ninja God.
• Ryōken entered the Hokage Building and reunited with Tsunade, Kushina, Minato, and Hatake Sakumo, promising to discuss immortality and eternal youth later.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Konoha's leaders gathered with Ryōken, while Hinata was stunned by the respect he commanded.
• White Zetsu told the masked man that Nagato had captured the Eight-Tails and that only the Nine-Tails and One-Tails remained.
• The masked man said the White Zetsu army would use unrest caused by Sunagakure to create chaos in Konoha and capture the remaining tailed beasts.

Hinata and the other two entered the Chunin Exams, where Hinata quickly revealed her speed and strength by stopping an examiner from striking Tenten. The candidates gathered in the exam hall wary of Ryōken’s group, while Yakushi Kabuto drew attention to the Konoha youths’ noisy conversation.

• Tsunade asked Ryōken whether the captured tailed beasts were safe, and Ryōken calmly assured her they were.
• At the Ninja Academy, Hinata stopped an examiner’s slap and persuaded the examiners to dispel their genjutsu.
• Neji and Rock Lee recognized Hinata’s strength as she entered the exam hall with Tenten and the others.
• Sakura identified Hinata’s group as Ryōken’s companions, and Shikamaru recalled his father’s warning about Ryōken’s overwhelming power.
• Yakushi Kabuto cautioned Ino and the others to lower their voices after the candidates around them stared coldly.

Kabuto shared his Ninja Intel Cards with Sakura and the others, then recounted Ryōken’s legendary feats and his title as the Ninja God. The rookies were left awestruck as Morino Ibiki arrived and announced the start of the first exam.

• Kabuto introduced his Ninja Intel Cards and explained that he had little information on Hinata and her two companions, though he judged Hinata to be exceptionally dangerous.
• Naruto asked Kabuto about Ryōken, and Kabuto presented a special card and described Ryōken’s victories in the Second Shinobi World War.
• Kabuto recounted how Ryōken’s appearance during the Third Great Ninja War frightened three great nations into retreat and earned him the title Ninja God.
• Sakura blushed as she thought of Ryōken, while Sasuke and Naruto reacted with determination to his feats.
• Morino Ibiki emerged from a cloud of white mist and announced that the first exam had officially begun.

Orochimaru returned to Konoha as the Chunin Exams began, while Ryōken discovered Black Zetsu’s forces and chose to let the younger ninja face them. In the Forest of Death, Black Zetsu-possessed Obito attacked Sasuke and Naruto, and Itachi intervened as Ryōken watched.

• Orochimaru reunited with Ryōken and Tsunade, and they discussed Jiraiya’s return and the possibility of trouble.
• Ryōken sensed Black Zetsu possessing Obito Uchiha and White Zetsu’s army near Konoha, but decided to let Hinata and the others get training.
• Anko started the Chunin Exams, greeted Orochimaru and Ryōken, and briefly froze after meeting Ryōken’s gaze.
• Ryōken sensed an incident in the Forest of Death and vanished from Anko and Orochimaru.
• Sasuke offered his team’s scroll to Black Zetsu-possessed Obito, while Naruto protected Sakura and restrained himself from attacking.
• Itachi appeared to block Black Zetsu’s attack on Sasuke, and Ryōken watched their confrontation from above.

Itachi Uchiha battled Black Zetsu, who used Kamui and offered to help Itachi and Sasuke awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan. Black Zetsu’s attack threatened to kill Itachi, but a mysterious sigh sounded at the last moment.

• Black Zetsu let Sasuke and the others leave, and Itachi Uchiha attacked him, discovering that his body could turn intangible and that he wielded space-time ninjutsu.
• Black Zetsu revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan and offered to help Itachi and Sasuke awaken theirs, but Itachi stayed wary and continued fighting.
• Black Zetsu caught what he thought was Itachi, but the figure became a water clone while Itachi struck with flames and sealing formulas.
• Itachi deduced that Black Zetsu became tangible when attacking, but Black Zetsu’s immense ocular power let him escape the seal and withstand the flames.
• Black Zetsu unleashed Kamui against Itachi, and as Itachi faced imminent death, a soft, untraceable sigh rang out.

Ryōken appeared during the Chunin Exam and stopped Black Zetsu’s escape with a slash that carved a vast abyss through the Forest of Death. The exam was halted, while Black Zetsu survived in the Kamui space badly injured and began doubting whether Kaguya could challenge Ryōken.

• Black Zetsu tried to escape through Kamui, but Ryōken appeared and suppressed the spatial power.
• Ryōken sliced through the Void, creating an enormous fissure that stunned Itachi, Naruto, Sasuke, and the other exam participants.
• Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Anko witnessed the destruction, and the second stage of the Chunin Exam came to an abrupt halt.
• Konoha decided who would advance to the third exam, and the other villages accepted without protest.
• Black Zetsu crashed into the Kamui space gravely wounded and wondered whether Kaguya Otsutsuki could truly stand against Ryōken.

The examinees crossed the abyss Ryōken had created and gathered at the central tower, where the first match was announced. Hinata faced Sasuke and revealed a powerful stance that stunned Neji and the spectators as Ryōken watched with approval.

• Tsunade complained to Ryōken about the dangerous suspension bridge, while he defended the abyss as an effective test of the examinees’ resolve.
• The examinees crossed the bridge, and Ino and Sakura argued over who had the right to admire Ryōken.
• The match order paired Second Pillar with Hyuga Hinata, and Sasuke entered the arena ready to fight Ryōken’s disciple.
• Hayate Gekko started the match, and Hinata formed a stance that left Neji shaken and made Ryōken praise her comprehension.

Hinata used Ryōken’s Yin-Yang Taiji techniques to defeat Sasuke, leaving the arena astonished by her speed and power. The next match was announced as Aman versus Rock Lee.

• Sasuke asked Hinata about her technique, and she explained that Ryōken taught her Yin-Yang Taiji.
• Hinata deflected Sasuke’s kunai with Rotation Style and wounded him with Nine Yin Style.
• Sasuke conceded, and medical ninja treated his injured arm as the spectators discussed Hinata’s strength.
• Hinata apologized to Ryōken for not defeating Sasuke in one move, and he reassured her.
• Hayate Gekko announced Aman versus Rock Lee, and Might Guy urged Lee to show everyone his ninja way.

Aman defeated Rock Lee after Lee opened the Eight Gates, while Annie instantly froze Gaara and triggered Shukaku’s release. A Wood Release technique restrained Shukaku as Konoha came under a coordinated attack, and Ryōken was nowhere to be found.

• Aman blocked Rock Lee’s Leaf Whirlwind, slammed him into the ground, and fought him after Lee opened the first four Eight Gates.
• Rock Lee unleashed the Hidden Lotus, but Aman survived with shattered armor and won; Might Guy carried the unconscious Lee to Tsunade for treatment.
• Annie froze Gaara and his sand, causing Shukaku to emerge and attempt to escape by smashing through the tower.
• A voice used Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence to bind Shukaku and suppress its chakra.
• Hinata and Aman searched for Ryōken while Annie urged them to protect themselves; Kage-level enemies attacked the Uchiha compound and Hatake Estate as white humanoid creatures struck across Konoha.
• Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju appeared before the tower, while Hiruzen Sarutobi and a group of jonin surrounded them amid the spreading crisis.

Ryōken confronted the Sage of Six Paths while Konoha fought resurrected Kage and Hashirama Senju’s overwhelming Wood Release. After Might Guy’s Night Guy failed to finish Hashirama, Ryōken arrived and crushed True Several Thousand Hands, leaving Hashirama and Tobirama bound and conscious.

• Ryōken faced the Sage of Six Paths in the sky as Konoha’s fighters battled Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju in the Forest of Death.
• Nagato erased the brothers’ consciousness, allowing them to unleash True Several Thousand Hands and devastate Konoha’s forces.
• Might Guy opened the Eighth Gate and struck Hashirama Senju with Night Guy, destroying the Wood Human temporarily before collapsing unconscious.
• Minato left his battle to reach the Forest of Death, while Tsunade and the other Konoha ninjas struggled against the advancing Wood Human.
• Ryōken’s enormous hand crushed True Several Thousand Hands and bound Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju in gray chains, restoring their consciousness.

Ryōken destroyed Hashirama Senju’s True Several Thousand Hands, leaving Konoha and the battlefield in awe of his power. Outside Konoha, Nagato revived Madara Uchiha and gave him the Sage of Six Paths’ chakra, sending him to capture the Nine-Tails.

• Ryōken casually wiped out the True Several Thousand Hands, stunning Tsunade, the Konoha rookies, and both sides of the battle.
• Nagato brought Madara Uchiha back to life with the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique and told him Ryōken had destroyed Hashirama Senju’s technique.
• Nagato gave Madara Uchiha a strand of Yin-Yang chakra from the Sage of Six Paths and explained that they still needed the Nine-Tails’ other half, inside this generation’s Asura.
• Madara Uchiha absorbed the chakra, awakened the Rinnegan, and gained immense power before setting out to capture the Nine-Tails.
• Black Zetsu emerged and declared that the united Ōtsutsuki powers would overcome Ryōken.

Madara Uchiha appeared before the Konoha forces and attacked them, but Minato Namikaze damaged his Susanoo with a space-time technique. Madara then summoned a colossal meteor over Konoha, empowered by a strange force that made him believe he could defeat Ryōken.

• Minato Namikaze arrived after Ryōken defeated Hashirama Senju and urged Hiruzen Sarutobi to return to the village and support its defenders.
• Madara Uchiha appeared and burned several Konoha ninja with Great Fire Annihilation before an earthen wall helped the survivors retreat.
• Madara formed his Susanoo and prepared another attack, but Minato struck its head with a space-time technique developed from the Flying Thunder God.
• Madara’s Susanoo rose into the sky, revealing an enormous meteor poised above Konoha, and he flew away from its path.
• Madara sensed strange power strengthening his Rinnegan and Tengai Shinsei, and he believed he might now defeat Ryōken.

Konoha’s defenders destroyed the first meteorite through a coordinated effort, with Hiruzen Sarutobi sacrificing himself to split it apart and Minato Namikaze redirecting its fragments. Their brief relief ended when Madara Uchiha sent three more meteorites toward the village, declaring his plan to destroy and remake the world.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi, Orochimaru, Itachi Uchiha, Uchiha Fugaku, and Shisui Uchiha combined their techniques to slow and damage the falling meteorite.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi sacrificed himself and his Shadow Clones to unleash a five-element strike that split the meteorite apart.
• Minato Namikaze used Flying Thunder God kunai and Ling Tian’s origin power to create a space-time barrier that redirected the falling fragments beyond Konoha.
• Madara Uchiha revealed three more meteorites descending toward Konoha and declared that he would destroy the world and create a new one.

Ryōken broke free of the Sage of Six Paths’ law seal with a single sword slash, cutting through the Chains of Laws and saving Konoha from the falling meteors. He left the Sage stunned and regretful after revealing his friendship with Sol and his ties to the Ōtsutsuki leader.

• The Sage of Six Paths trapped Ryōken in Chains of Laws and explained his plan to release Kaguya and use the Naruto World’s Life God power to become a God.
• Ryōken mentioned Sol, frightening the Sage, who wondered whether Ryōken was the Dragon King’s disciple and decided to keep him sealed.
• Ryōken summoned Starry Night and slashed through the Chains of Laws, sending a sword wave across the Shinobi World that cut mountain peaks and damaged Kumogakure.
• Ryōken’s sword slash erased the meteors threatening Konoha, and he told the Sage that Sol was his friend and Ōtsutsuki Hagu had invited him as a guest.
• The Sage stood speechless and regretted provoking Ryōken without first learning his strength and reputation.

Ōtsutsuki Hagu and his companions arrived as Kaguya Otsutsuki’s return and the Infinite Tsukuyomi plunged the Naruto World into crisis. Ryōken defeated the threat, later created a universe with Sol, and finally appeared on Blue Star to invite a young woman to play games with him.

• Ōtsutsuki Hagu explained to Momoshiki and Kinshiki that Ryōken had mastered the Sword Dao Law and might have evolved a supreme rule.
• Madara Uchiha cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi, while Black Zetsu weakened the chains binding Genesis Egg Space and Kaguya Otsutsuki began to return.
• Minato Namikaze and Tsunade learned that the God Tree was draining chakra from the unconscious, and they led Konoha’s remaining ninja toward it.
• Kaguya Otsutsuki emerged and prepared to fight Ryōken, but Ōtsutsuki Hagu rebuked her and Ryōken erased the God Tree and Black Zetsu without harming the world.
• Ryōken later created a new universe with Sol, then appeared on Blue Star and asked a young woman to play a game with him.