Recaps

Naruto studied the Perception Isolation Barrier so he could train secretly beyond the Third Hokage’s surveillance, then joined Team 7 for a D-Rank weeding mission while searching for a suitable training spot. He ruled out the farmland as too exposed and too close to other people.

• Naruto learned the Perception Isolation Barrier’s formula and planned to use a Shadow Clone at home while he trained elsewhere.
• Naruto spent his two days off studying sealing, practicing taijutsu, and buying Kunai and rune paper with a transformed Shadow Clone.
• Naruto arrived early at Team 7’s meeting place, where Sasuke and Sakura were already waiting, and Kakashi arrived more than an hour late.
• Kakashi assigned Team 7 to weed an old woman’s field on Konoha’s southern outskirts.
• Naruto surveyed the farmland as he worked and crossed it off as a training spot because it was too open and had too many nearby people.

Naruto used three D-rank missions to scout possible secret training locations around Konoha, narrowing his choices to a secluded waterfall and an abandoned trap training ground. After the missions, he noticed three small chakra sources following him and called out their poor disguise, prompting them to reveal themselves.

• Naruto considered the farmland unsuitable for training and, while cleaning a river, found a secluded waterfall pool whose noise and isolation made it a promising candidate.
• Kakashi led Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke on a poodle-walking mission, which Naruto used to scout Konoha’s outskirts and map locations.
• Naruto discovered an abandoned, sealed trap training ground and compared it with the waterfall as a possible training site.
• After returning the poodle and collecting their mission pay, Naruto sensed three small chakra sources tailing him through an alley.
• Naruto criticized the followers’ obvious disguise, and the three figures dispelled their Transformation Technique with a smoke bomb.

Naruto encountered Kankuro and Temari in Konoha and sensed Gaara hiding nearby, realizing the Chunin Ninja Exams were approaching sooner than he expected. When Kankuro grabbed Konohamaru, Naruto intervened and restrained his wrist, drawing the attention of the Sand siblings and Gaara.

• Konohamaru challenged Naruto to a contest over who would become Hokage, but Naruto dismissed him and said he wanted to go home and sleep.
• Konohamaru backed into Kankuro, who grabbed him by the collar and demanded an apology.
• Naruto recognized Kankuro and Temari and sensed Gaara concealed in a nearby tree.
• Naruto realized the Chunin Ninja Exams and their threats were approaching sooner than he had planned for.
• Naruto seized Kankuro's wrist and told him to let Konohamaru go, prompting Temari and Gaara to watch him closely.

Naruto stopped Kankuro from bullying Konohamaru and met Gaara, who recognized a kindred Jinchuriki in him. Gaara left with Kankuro and Temari after challenging Naruto to meet him at the Chunin Ninja Exams.

• Naruto restrained Kankuro when he lifted Konohamaru off the ground.
• Temari stopped Kankuro from reaching for his puppet, and Gaara appeared and ordered him to stop.
• Gaara called Kankuro an embarrassment, then asked Sasuke his name and studied him.
• Gaara asked Naruto whether he had noticed him, and Naruto said they might be the same kind of person.
• Gaara told Naruto he would see him at the Chunin Ninja Exams, then left with Kankuro and Temari.
• Konohamaru praised Naruto for stopping Kankuro.

Naruto warned Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon to stay safe, then faced Sasuke’s questions about his sudden increase in strength. After Moegi was kidnapped, Naruto raced after the cloaked abductor while Sasuke and Konohamaru followed.

• Naruto sent Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon home and warned them not to wander while foreign ninja were in the village.
• Sasuke questioned Naruto about his speed and strength, then walked away, troubled by the gap between them.
• Naruto decided to keep training and not interfere with Sasuke’s coming trials or Orochimaru’s curse mark.
• Naruto and Sasuke heard Moegi scream and rushed toward the sound.
• Naruto saw a cloaked figure carrying Moegi away as Konohamaru fell at the alley entrance, then pursued the kidnapper.

Naruto rescued Moegi from a cloaked kidnapper and discovered the attacker was Iruka, apparently testing him and Sasuke. After bringing Iruka home and tending to him, Naruto waited until Iruka woke.

• Naruto used advanced Chakra control to catch the kidnapper and knock him unconscious, then comforted Moegi.
• Naruto recognized the unconscious kidnapper as Iruka and concluded that the abduction had likely been a test.
• Sasuke arrived, saw Naruto had subdued Iruka quickly, and silently left without speaking.
• Naruto carried Iruka back to his apartment, treated his neck, and waited beside him.
• Iruka woke more than half an hour later and saw Naruto sitting by his desk.

After testing Naruto’s strength, Iruka warned him about the Chunin Ninja Exams and learned how much his student had grown. Iruka took Naruto to Ichiraku Ramen for a meal, where Naruto enjoyed the ramen and the welcome of a place that had always treated him kindly.

• Iruka woke in bed and admitted that Naruto had knocked him out before he could react.
• Naruto warned Iruka not to test him that way again, since a mistake could have led to a much more dangerous outcome.
• Naruto told Iruka about his encounter with Genin from Sunagakure, and Iruka cautioned him that Jōnin Baki’s candidates were strong.
• Iruka revealed that Kakashi had submitted the Chunin Ninja Exams applications for Team 7 and said he had tested Naruto because he worried about his readiness.
• Naruto explained that his experiences in the Land of Waves had changed his view of being a ninja, and Iruka told him he had grown up.
• Iruka took Naruto to Ichiraku Ramen, where they ordered tonkotsu ramen and Naruto tasted it for the first time.

Naruto shared a meal with Iruka, then returned home and discovered two ANBU were secretly watching his apartment. He used a shadow clone and the Transformation Technique to sneak past them, leaving his next move unknown.

• Naruto and Iruka reminisced over ramen, and Iruka wished him luck on the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Naruto returned to his apartment and used his senses to detect two ANBU monitoring it.
• Naruto confirmed the ANBU had not moved from their positions and calculated that the next shift change was still hours away.
• Naruto made a shadow clone to carry out the trash while he transformed himself into an empty shampoo bottle.

Naruto secretly left his apartment under ANBU surveillance and reached a secluded waterfall to train for the upcoming Chunin Ninja Exams. He set up a Perception Isolation Barrier and began studying the Flying Raijin Technique with more than thirty shadow clones.

• Naruto used a shadow clone to fool the watching ANBU while his real body hid in the garbage and escaped unnoticed.
• Naruto chose the waterfall as a remote training site because its distance, noise, and dense forest helped conceal him.
• Naruto found a cave beneath the waterfall and used four shadow clones to form a Perception Isolation Barrier around the area.
• Naruto summoned more than thirty shadow clones and had them study the Flying Raijin Technique from Minato Namikaze’s explanations.

Naruto trained with shadow clones while the Nine-Tails warned him about the risks of absorbing their similar memories. Naruto told Kurama he wanted to become his true friend and partner, leaving Kurama wary but quietly hopeful.

• Naruto prepared to train alongside more than thirty shadow clones as the Nine-Tails commented on the technique’s efficiency.
• The Nine-Tails warned Naruto that releasing so many clones could overload his mind, and Naruto hinted that he was counting on Kurama to help.
• The Nine-Tails offered Naruto the option of using his chakra directly, but Naruto said he wanted Kurama’s trust and chakra willingly, as a friend rather than a tool.
• Naruto’s words reminded the Nine-Tails of the Sage of Six Paths’ promise that someone would someday accept the Tailed Beasts as partners.
• Naruto entered the Sealing Space, where the Nine-Tails watched him with suspicion and a trace of anticipation.

Naruto and Kurama formed an equal partnership by sharing their Chakra and trusting each other. Naruto opened the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style and controlled Kurama’s power, leaving him enveloped in a stable golden Chakra cloak.

• Naruto offered Kurama a fist bump and asked to become his partner.
• Kurama touched Naruto’s fist, and their Chakras flowed into each other, revealing Naruto’s trust and resolve.
• Kurama accepted Naruto and offered him its Chakra.
• Naruto used Minato Namikaze’s Sealing Key hand seals to loosen the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style.
• Naruto used Absolute Control to purify and direct Kurama’s Chakra while the Perception Isolation Barrier concealed the surge.
• Naruto’s Shadow Clones sensed his power rise as golden Chakra flames enveloped him.

Naruto awakened Golden Body Mode after Kurama willingly gave him his Chakra, then tested the form’s speed and Good and Evil Perception without alerting Konoha. Kurama warned him to adapt to the power and learn Tailed Beast techniques, while Naruto returned to his clones, who complained that he had shown off while they studied the Flying Thunder God.

• Naruto transformed into Golden Body Mode and discovered that the form gave him enhanced movement speed and Good and Evil Perception.
• Naruto sensed goodwill throughout Konoha and confirmed that the Perception Isolation Barrier had kept his transformation from being detected.
• Naruto visited Kurama in the Sealing Space and thanked him for giving up his Chakra.
• Kurama told Naruto to adapt to Golden Body Mode, learn Tailed Beast techniques, and control Kurama’s Chakra with his own to prevent it from going berserk.
• Naruto returned to his Shadow Clones and showed off his new appearance, prompting them to complain that he had unlocked the mode while they studied the Flying Thunder God.

Naruto used insights from his Shadow Clone Techniques’ Flying Raijin training to create forty Golden Body Mode clones, then practiced shaping giant Chakra hands. He left the cave far larger, with his clones still training and his Golden Body control improving.

• Naruto organized the memories from thirty Shadow Clone Techniques and gained a clearer direction for improving his spatial perception.
• Naruto created forty Golden Body Mode clones and sent them to train in the Flying Raijin Technique.
• Naruto practiced forming giant Chakra hands, adjusting their Chakra density and control.
• Naruto used the hands to remove boulders from the cave, refining his technique while preserving the mountain’s supporting rock.
• Naruto formed seven or eight Chakra hands and expanded the cave in silence.

Naruto finished excavating and concealing a cavern, destroyed the resulting rock pile, and tested whether he could throw a Rasengan. As dawn arrived, Golden Body Clones reported a breakthrough in sensing spatial fluctuations, and Naruto released them to absorb their training memories.

• Naruto completed a large cavern and sealed it with a Perception Isolation Barrier.
• Naruto used the Rasengan to grind away the excavated rocks, then tested throwing a Rasengan and watched it collapse before reaching the pool.
• Naruto decided to ask Kakashi about Chakra Nature Transformation after the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Naruto continued clearing rocks until Golden Body Clones called out that they could inscribe Chakra into the formula and sense its position, distance, and direction.
• Naruto released more than forty Golden Body Clones and stood still as their Flying Thunder God training memories flooded his mind.

Naruto completed the first stage of Flying Raijin by engraving his own mark and teleporting to it. He established a hidden return point in the cave and left to review his training results.

• Naruto combined his Shadow Clones’ breakthroughs and engraved a five-pointed-star Flying Raijin Mark onto a kunai.
• Naruto threw the kunai across the waterfall pool, sensed its mark, and successfully teleported to it.
• Naruto marked five more kunai and considered improving his technique and acquiring Chakra-Conductive Metal from Tenten’s family shop.
• Naruto concealed a marked kunai in a cave wall as a fixed teleportation point and checked the cave’s Perception Isolation Barriers.
• Naruto dispelled Golden Body Mode and began reviewing the results of his training.

Naruto completed the first stage of the Flying Raijin Technique and unexpectedly mastered Nine-Tails Chakra Mode after the Nine-Tails opened its Chakra to him. He returned to Konoha without alerting the ANBU and waited for Team 7’s meeting, which was about to begin as Sasuke and Sakura approached.

• Naruto completed the Flying Raijin Technique’s first stage and gained Nine-Tails Chakra Mode after the Nine-Tails voluntarily opened its Chakra to him.
• Naruto returned to Konoha by switching places with a Shadow Clone in a secluded restroom, evading the ANBU surveillance.
• Naruto reached the bridge early and used Shadow Clones to make his arrival and training look ordinary.
• Naruto dismissed his clones as eight o’clock approached, and two figures appeared at the far end of the bridge.

Kakashi recommended Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura for the Chunin Ninja Exams and explained that participation was optional. Naruto signed up while Sasuke considered the chance to test his strength, and Naruto began thinking about preparing Flying Raijin Kunai before the exams.

• Naruto arrived early at the bridge, where Sasuke and Sakura joined him while they waited for Kakashi.
• Kakashi arrived an hour late, gave his usual excuse, and handed the three Genin applications for the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Kakashi explained that the dangerous exams were optional and told anyone who joined to report to Room 301 in five days.
• Sasuke considered the exams an opportunity to fight powerful opponents, including Gaara, and grow stronger.
• Naruto signed his application and thought about the coming events and getting Chakra-Conductive Metal for his Flying Raijin Kunai.

Naruto explained that Team 7 had to enter the Chunin Ninja Exams together and proposed that Sasuke train Sakura during the five days remaining before the exams. The chapter ended with Sasuke reacting to Naruto’s suggestion as Naruto tried to persuade him to help.

• Naruto told Sasuke and Sakura that all three members of a team had to register for the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Sakura panicked at the thought that her decision could prevent Sasuke from participating, while Naruto watched her calmly.
• Sasuke told Sakura that she was the weakest of the three and urged her to improve her combat ability before the exams.
• Naruto acknowledged Sakura’s weakness and suggested that Sasuke personally train her for the remaining five days.
• Naruto reminded Sasuke that he also did not want to miss the Chunin Ninja Exams, and Sasuke reacted to the proposal.

Naruto arranged for Sasuke to train Sakura while he searched Konoha’s Ninja District for Tenten’s family ninja tool store. He found Tenten leaving a medicine shop and followed her into a quiet alley.

• Sasuke agreed to teach Sakura so Team 7 could enter the Chunin Ninja Exams, and Sakura eagerly began planning their five days of training.
• Naruto left to work on his own abilities and walked through the Ninja District while using Good and Evil Perception.
• Naruto sensed the villagers’ concealed malice but ignored it as he searched for Tenten’s family store.
• After checking several shops, Naruto spotted Tenten leaving a medicine shop and recognized her by her hair buns and distinctive equipment.
• Tenten turned into a quiet alley, and Naruto realized he had found his target.

Naruto sought out Tenten because he expected other ninja tool shopkeepers to refuse to serve him, and she agreed to show him her family’s shop. At the Ninja Tool Exchange, Naruto asked whether the shop carried weapons made from Chakra-Conductive Metal, revealing what he had been looking for.

• Naruto followed Tenten into an alley and explained that he wanted ninja tools to improve his combat ability before the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Tenten questioned why Naruto had chosen to follow her, and Naruto said she had judged his intentions instead of recoiling from his identity.
• Tenten introduced herself and led Naruto to her family’s Ninja Tool Exchange.
• Naruto examined the shop’s weapons but did not choose any of them.
• Naruto asked Tenten whether her family sold ninja tools made from Chakra-Conductive Metal, and she realized what he wanted.

Naruto ordered two custom kunai made from Chakra-Conductive Metal, designed after the Fourth Hokage’s special kunai. He left Tenten’s shop with the order placed, though the completion date was uncertain.

• Tenten explained that Chakra-Conductive Metal was rare and costly, and estimated that five basic kunai would cost about the reward for two B-Rank Missions.
• Naruto offered all the money in his frog wallet as a deposit and ordered two kunai, promising to pay the remainder after his next mission.
• Naruto specified the Fourth Hokage’s special kunai design, and he and Tenten confirmed its measurements and proportions.
• Tenten gave Naruto an order slip and warned that her father might take a while to make the custom mold.
• Naruto left the shop, and Tenten wrote a reminder for her father about the order.

Naruto used a Flying Thunder God-marked kunai to travel from his apartment to Waterfall Cave without alerting the ANBU watching him. There, he began training with forty Shadow Clones to improve how quickly he could inscribe the Flying Thunder God Formula during combat.

• Two ANBU members entered Tenten's shop and asked what Naruto had bought.
• Naruto bought groceries, cooked dinner at his apartment, and used Shadow Clones to make the ANBU outside think he was training at home.
• Naruto concealed a marked kunai, then teleported from his bathroom to Waterfall Cave while the ANBU watched outside.
• Naruto checked that the cave and its Perception Isolation Barrier were undisturbed, then summoned forty Shadow Clones to train.
• Naruto focused his training on quickly inscribing the Flying Thunder God Formula the moment he touched an enemy.

Naruto trained to improve Flying Thunder God and adapt Golden Body Mode to combat while Hiruzen Sarutobi reviewed reports about him and met with the Chunin Ninja Exams examiners. The chapter ended with Hiruzen confirming who would oversee each exam stage and that he would supervise the final matches.

• Naruto identified stability, concealment, combat integration, and reaching Flying Thunder God’s second stage as areas for improvement.
• Forty Shadow Clones began focused training while Naruto practiced basic movements and coordinated Chakra hands in Golden Body Mode.
• An ANBU member reported Naruto’s movements to Hiruzen, who watched him sleeping and assumed he was preparing for the coming exams.
• Mitaraishi Anko, Gekko Hayate, and Ibiki Morino met Hiruzen to discuss their Chunin Ninja Exams assignments.
• Hiruzen assigned Ibiki the first test, Anko the Forest of Death test, Hayate the third-test preliminaries, and himself the final matches.

Hiruzen Sarutobi reviewed preparations for the Chunin Ninja Exams and intelligence about contact between Sunagakure and Otogakure while Naruto spent five days mastering key Flying Thunder God techniques and improving Golden Body Mode. As the exams approached, Naruto revealed a new appearance and set out with confidence in his growing strength.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi discussed exam procedures, emergency plans, and diplomatic contingencies with three officials, then studied intelligence about the Fourth Kazekage's possible contact with someone.
• Naruto returned from the waterfall cave to his apartment and spent the next five days training at night with forty shadow clones while following his usual routine in the village during the day.
• Naruto mastered continuous midair teleportation with Flying Raijin Second Stage and learned to inscribe a five-pointed star mark during a taijutsu clash.
• Naruto improved his Golden Body Mode, including his ability to summon Chakra arms from eight to ten directions at once.
• Naruto dressed in a black bodysuit and white trench coat, adjusted his forehead protector, and left his apartment with confidence.

Naruto arrived at the Ninja Academy for the Chunin Ninja Exams, and his new appearance drew comparisons to the Fourth Hokage. He reached Classroom 301 with Sasuke and Sakura, where two Genin were blocking the entrance after beating several others.

• Naruto met Sasuke and Sakura at the Ninja Academy gate, and both reacted to his changed appearance.
• Genin in the school corridor noticed Naruto's resemblance to the Fourth Hokage, while Sasuke grew uneasy and Sakura asked Naruto about it.
• Naruto called the resemblance a coincidence, and Sakura accepted his explanation.
• Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura reached the third-floor corridor and found two Genin guarding Classroom 301 as several beaten Genin crawled away.