Chapter Summaries

Naruto learned to question the source and content of advice instead of letting others decide for him, while Iruka and Che watched Mizuki’s attempts to steer the students. The chapter ended as the group began an outdoor movement exercise, with Naruto holding on to his own written judgment and Mizuki waiting with fresh training sheets.

• Naruto added “check the source of other people's advice first” to the back of his training sheet.
• Iruka had the students identify the sources of their notes, and Naruto wrote that even reliable sources required checking the content of their advice.
• Mizuki suggested Naruto expand his notes, but Naruto kept the sheet and said he would check the content himself.
• Iruka warned Naruto, Sasuke, and Che not to leave the group during the outdoor exercise, and Sasuke said he would watch for anyone trying to separate them.
• At the training field, Naruto checked that his written reminder was still on his sheet while Che noticed Mizuki inspecting the backs of the fresh training sheets.

During a training exercise, Naruto learned to examine the reasons behind Mizuki’s suggestions instead of reacting to them, while Sasuke and Kiyo also recognized Mizuki’s attempts to influence the group. The class preserved their observations in a signed logbook, leaving Naruto with a reminder to review his judgment the next day.

• Iruka gave the students a training exercise focused on stopping, observing, and reassessing, and Naruto identified the toolbox’s condition without assuming Mizuki was waiting for him.
• Naruto recorded Mizuki putting chalk back, and Sasuke refused Mizuki’s request to guide Naruto, questioning why Mizuki wanted to change the route.
• Iruka ended the training, and Naruto told Che that he had stopped Mizuki once; later, Naruto wrote, “First, look at why he's saying it.”
• Kiyo added that Mizuki had been watching for someone to be swayed, and Iruka recorded the students’ sheets in a logbook signed by Teacher Mizuno.
• Naruto kept his practice sheet with his reminder visible and resolved to look at it again tomorrow.

Naruto and the others saw Mizuki’s access to student records suspended, and Iruka established rules to prevent private or unsupervised dealings with students. Mizuki requested a public explanation of his suggestions and the Gray Booklet for the next afternoon, leaving Naruto and Che wary of whom he might blame.

• The Academic Affairs Director suspended Mizuki’s access to student records and set four safeguards for records, empty classrooms, suggestions, and impromptu activities.
• Naruto handed over the suggestion paper Mizuki had given him, and Iruka told him he no longer had to face the matter alone.
• Mizuki requested a public explanation about his suggestions and the Gray Booklet, and the Academic Affairs Director scheduled it for the next afternoon.
• Iruka said the ledger, Interlayer Paper, and Empty Classroom Borrowing Form would be presented at the explanation, while Kiyo agreed to attend.
• Mizuki left after quietly telling Naruto, “See you tomorrow,” and Naruto chose not to answer; Sasuke warned Naruto not to blurt things out the next day.
• Che worried that Mizuki might shift blame onto Naruto, Sasuke, or Che during the public explanation.

Iruka led a public explanation session where Mizuki defended his advice, records, and use of the vacant classroom, while Naruto challenged the way Mizuki had secretly recorded and influenced him. The Academic Affairs Director revealed that Mizuki had misrepresented the classroom booking, and the session turned to the hidden material in the records.

• Iruka opened the session by limiting it to Mizuki’s advice, the Gray Booklet, and the vacant classroom booking form.
• Mizuki admitted writing advice urging Naruto to consider how others saw him and said he had privately observed students.
• Naruto challenged Mizuki for recording that he was susceptible to affirmation without telling him, and Mizuki admitted the order was wrong.
• Mizuki said he had booked the vacant classroom for individual observation, but the Academic Affairs Director revealed that the form said only “brief instruction” and used a temporary activity stamp.
• Iruka directed Mizuki to explain the material hidden between the record pages as the Recorder prepared to take notes.

The Academic Affairs Director and Iruka questioned Mizuki about the Interlayer Paper, his private meeting with Naruto, and his unregistered use of a records stamp. Naruto withdrew his earlier thanks, and the classroom prepared to investigate the source of the Gray Booklet.

• The Academic Affairs Director read the Interlayer Paper aloud, and Sasuke, Che, and Naruto challenged Mizuki’s methods and the conclusions he had written about them.
• The Academic Affairs Director found indentations reading “Response” and “Alone,” and Mizuki admitted he had prepared questions and observed students alone without completing the registration.
• Iruka and the Academic Affairs Director confronted Mizuki about borrowing a records stamp without a record, and Mizuki accepted responsibility for his choices.
• Mizuki admitted he had written advice for Naruto because he believed a teacher could judge what Naruto needed, and Iruka told him teachers could guide students but not decide for them.
• Naruto took back his earlier thanks, and Mizuki acknowledged that his judgment had been mixed into his help.
• The Academic Affairs Director opened the next item, the source of the Gray Booklet, as the classroom prepared to examine it.

The Academic Affairs Director examined the Gray Booklet and found evidence that someone had altered Mizuki’s records and used them to arrange student activities. The investigation widened beyond Mizuki, ending with the director asking who had last handled the booklet.

• The Academic Affairs Director questioned Mizuki about the booklet’s original observations and later additions, while Sasuke challenged Mizuki’s decision to choose which records would help the children.
• Naruto acknowledged that his page described both a problem and a potential strength, but said Mizuki had never told him about the observations.
• The Academic Affairs Director revealed an attached sheet tracking dates, locations, and student rosters, which Mizuki denied creating and suspected someone had inserted.
• Mizuki admitted he had known someone was using his observations but had not reported it promptly, and said a training-session entry had also been altered.
• Naruto asked why Mizuki had not told him about the tampering, and Mizuki said he wanted to see whether Naruto would notice on his own.
• The Academic Affairs Director moved on to the temporary activity stamp and asked who had last handled the booklet.

A review of the school records revealed that someone had used Mizuki’s position and procedures to alter activity records and assessments. The Academic Affairs Assistant admitted she had recopied an assessment list, and the investigation continued into who had directed the changes.

• The Academic Affairs Director found irregular stamp impressions, and Mizuki admitted he had borrowed the stamps and delayed reporting what he knew.
• Iruka and the Academic Affairs Director found signs that someone had restamped the Empty Classroom Borrowing Form, leading Naruto to realize another person had used Mizuki’s name and methods.
• Mizuki admitted that putting procedures before people had allowed someone else to misuse them, while the Academic Affairs Director ordered a full review of stamp access and borrowing records.
• The Academic Affairs Director identified the matter as a school administration security issue and requested the individual observation register and additional assessment list.
• The Academic Affairs Assistant admitted she had recopied the assessment list in the order given by the Records Clerk, who had told her Mizuki had confirmed it.

Naruto and the others discovered that the Records Clerk had altered the makeup test list to move Naruto up for easier observation, using Mizuki and the Academic Affairs Assistant as cover. The Director gathered the list, Naruto’s suggestion slip, and a stamp sheet as the group prepared to investigate the records room.

• Naruto noticed a check mark beside his name, and Mizuki admitted he had failed to correct the altered makeup test order.
• Iruka questioned Mizuki about the extra test in the empty classroom, and Mizuki acknowledged that someone had exploited the arrangements he had made.
• The Academic Affairs Assistant revealed that the Records Clerk had told her to move Naruto’s turn up and falsely claimed Mizuki wanted it.
• Naruto realized he had been deliberately steered, and Iruka said the altered list and Naruto’s suggestion slip might lead to the same person.
• The Academic Affairs Director sealed the list, suggestion slip, and temporary stamp sheet together, and the group prepared to confront the Records Clerk in the records room.

Naruto, Iruka, Che, and Sasuke discovered that the Records Clerk had been burning and hiding student records used to track and manipulate students, including Naruto, Sasuke, and Che. The Clerk escaped, but the archive was documented and sealed while Che noticed a suspicious bundle of seating charts that could hold further evidence.

• Iruka opened the archive room door and found the Records Clerk beside a basin of burning papers, while Che retrieved a page listing student evaluations and Naruto, Sasuke, and Che.
• Che doused the basin with water, and Sasuke tripped the Records Clerk as he tried to flee with an envelope of group reassignment forms, but the Clerk escaped through the storeroom.
• Naruto and the others found records assessing how several students could be influenced, and Iruka explained that the paperwork documented who could be moved around.
• The Academic Affairs Director had the room and evidence documented and sealed, while Che noticed a tightly bound bundle of seating charts that the Records Clerk had paused to check.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Che uncovered forged group reassignment sheets that had been used to arrange their placement for secret observation. The Records Clerk revealed how anonymous notes directed the changes, and the Academic Affairs Director ordered a review while Che realized the people behind the scheme could still reach beyond the archives.

• Naruto and Sasuke moved a bookshelf and found mock-up group reassignment sheets, including a faint stamp marked “temporary observation.”
• Teachers caught the Records Clerk behind the equipment yard, and he admitted he had altered records based on anonymous notes targeting Naruto, Sasuke, and Uchiha Che.
• Naruto restrained his anger while the Academic Affairs Director sealed the sheets and required three-party approval for tests, assignments, seating changes, and vacant classrooms.
• The Records Clerk said the notes appeared in different places and described seeing a shadow with light, hard-soled footsteps in the corridor.
• Che concluded that someone was making the school appear responsible for the changes, and Naruto agreed not to go anywhere alone after Iruka warned him.

After altered academy records were discovered, Iruka and the Academic Affairs Director introduced public confirmation rules and a transparent temporary observation class. Naruto and Che confirmed the roster, and the story left them preparing to question unclear records during the next day’s session.

• Iruka told the class that retest rosters, seating changes, classroom bookings, and temporary group assignments had been altered without public confirmation.
• The Academic Affairs Director announced that future changes required confirmation from the instructor, the academic affairs Recorder, and the students, and posted guidelines for the temporary observation class.
• Naruto asked to see his records and pressed his fingerprint beside his name on the roster, while Sasuke and Che confirmed theirs in writing.
• Iruka told Naruto that pointing out a specific error counted as requesting a review, not being disruptive.
• The Academic Affairs Director said students could raise unclear records during the next day’s observation class, and Che noticed the Recorder tighten his grip on his pen.

Iruka held a public observation class where Naruto, Sasuke, and Che completed exercises testing control, reactions, and the ability to identify mistakes. Che’s records revealed his keen observation and quick adjustment, leaving him aware that he would need to learn how to be noticed without revealing everything.

• Iruka posted a verified roster and had the students complete a body-control course while their performances were recorded publicly.
• Naruto learned to inspect his footprints after ringing a bell, Sasuke completed the course with steady movements, and Che avoided the bells by adjusting his pace after observing others.
• During a sound-identification exercise, Che identified the true source of a misleading knock by listening to the hollow resonance of a bucket.
• Iruka paired students to observe and explain each other's mistakes; Naruto learned to give a specific correction, and Che pointed out Sasuke's unnecessary half step.
• The Recorder added notes praising Che's observation and adjustment, while Iruka announced that tomorrow's hand-seal groups would also be assigned publicly.