Recaps

Naruto trained in Wind Release and Shadow Clone Shuriken while Kurama explained how to perform a Tailed Beast Bomb. After Naruto caught Jiraiya spying on him and drove him out from behind a boulder, Jiraiya introduced himself as the Toad Sage, and Naruto accused him of voyeurism.

• Kurama taught Naruto the Tailed Beast Bomb’s Yin-Yang Chakra ratio, compression, and firing principles.
• Naruto’s Shadow Clones mastered Vacuum Blade and Shadow Clone Shuriken, and Naruto used their memories to perform both techniques.
• Naruto sensed someone hiding nearby and sent a barrage of Shadow Clone Shuriken at the boulder where the person was concealed.
• Jiraiya protected himself with Needle Jizo and emerged from behind the damaged boulder.
• Jiraiya called himself the Toad Sage and defended his spying as research for his novels, while Naruto called him the Peeping Sage and demanded to know what he wanted.

Naruto and Jiraiya tested each other in a fierce clash, with Naruto using Shadow Clones and precise timing to match the Sannin without revealing his strongest techniques. Naruto tricked Jiraiya into turning around and escaped, leaving him calling for a rematch.

• Jiraiya attacked Naruto, who evaded with a Shadow Clone and surrounded him with more than twenty clones.
• Naruto’s clones countered Jiraiya’s Needle Jizo with Shadow Clone Shuriken, while Jiraiya used Fire Release: Flame Bullet to defend himself.
• Naruto and his clones pressed Jiraiya with Wind Release: Vacuum Blade, and both shinobi gauged each other’s normal combat strength without using their strongest techniques.
• Naruto pretended that Hiruzen Sarutobi had arrived and shouted that he wanted to report Jiraiya for peeping.
• Jiraiya turned toward the supposed Hokage, and Naruto used the distraction to retreat to a distant hillside and call that they would fight again.

Jiraiya tracked Naruto down and explained that the Third Hokage had assigned him to train Naruto for a month. After learning how Naruto mastered two Ninjutsu so quickly, Jiraiya warned him about the risks of Shadow Clone training and asked what he wanted to learn.

• Naruto lured Jiraiya to the Kage Rock platform, where Jiraiya caught up with him.
• Jiraiya told Naruto that he would be his temporary teacher for the next month while Kakashi trained Sasuke and the Third Hokage was busy.
• Jiraiya questioned Naruto about mastering Vacuum Blade and Shadow Clone Shuriken in one morning, and Naruto explained that he used Shadow Clones and was familiar with the techniques.
• Jiraiya warned Naruto that repeatedly absorbing the memories of many Shadow Clones could cause irreversible mental damage.
• Jiraiya set aside Naruto's nickname for him and asked what Naruto wanted to learn.

Naruto told Jiraiya he wanted to learn Chakra Nature Transformation and develop the other chakra attributes, aiming eventually to fuse all five basic attributes with yin and yang into Kekkei Mōra. Jiraiya offered the Summoning Technique, but Naruto remained focused on mastering chakra attributes first.

• Naruto asked Jiraiya to teach him Chakra Nature Transformation and help him cultivate chakra with attributes beyond wind.
• Naruto considered how Absolute Control could let him precisely fuse chakra attributes, with Kekkei Mōra as his ultimate goal.
• Jiraiya asked why Naruto wanted to develop other attributes, and Naruto explained that he wanted greater versatility and lacked a powerful Ninjutsu to specialize in.
• Jiraiya offered to teach Naruto the Summoning Technique and explained the strength and lifelong partnership of Mount Myoboku's Toad Clan.
• Naruto argued that summoning was not his priority because it consumed chakra, and Jiraiya recognized that he was determined to learn Chakra Nature Transformation first.

Jiraiya explained Chakra Nature Transformation to Naruto and offered to teach him the Rasengan and Summoning Technique in exchange for becoming his disciple. Naruto accepted, then began practicing Wind-Nature Chakra transformation with fifty Shadow Clones.

• Jiraiya demonstrated the Rasengan and explained that the Fourth Hokage had developed it.
• Naruto asked Jiraiya about his relationship with the Fourth Hokage and the man who taught Naruto in his dreams.
• Jiraiya revealed that the Fourth Hokage had been his disciple and offered to teach Naruto Chakra Nature Transformation, the Rasengan, and the Summoning Technique if Naruto became his disciple.
• Naruto accepted, and Jiraiya taught him the five Chakra attributes and explained how Wind-Nature Chakra gives techniques cutting power.
• After Jiraiya left to catch fish, Naruto summoned fifty Shadow Clones to practice cutting leaves with Wind-Nature Chakra.

Naruto rapidly mastered the first stage of wind-nature Chakra Nature Transformation while training with Shadow Clones. Over a meal with Jiraiya, he explained that he wanted to become Hokage not only for recognition but to change the Shinobi World and prevent children from suffering as he had.

• Naruto used fifty Shadow Clones to repeatedly infuse leaves with Chakra until several clones cut them cleanly in half.
• Jiraiya returned with a fish, cooked it while Naruto trained, and shared the meal with him.
• Naruto showed Jiraiya that he could cut a leaf in half in under three seconds, astonishing Jiraiya with his progress.
• Jiraiya asked Naruto about his dream, and Naruto said he wanted to become the strongest ninja and then Hokage.
• Naruto told Jiraiya he wanted to change the Shinobi World so orphans and children would not be treated as tools or suffer tragedies like Zabuza and Haku.

Naruto trained under Jiraiya and prepared his Flying Thunder God coordinates while pursuing his own plans to protect children and confront the Ōtsutsuki Clan. He sensed a heavily concealed site near Konoha and suspected it was Shimura Danzō’s Root headquarters.

• Naruto told Jiraiya he wanted to change the Shinobi World so other children would not suffer as he had, and Jiraiya urged him to become strong enough to achieve that goal.
• After Jiraiya left, Naruto created Shadow Clones to practice Wind-Nature Chakra Nature Transformation and guard the area.
• Naruto engraved new marks on his Flying Thunder God Special Kunai and placed one in the cave behind the waterfall as a clearer return coordinate.
• Naruto used Good and Evil Perception from Kage Rock to locate a heavily barrier-protected site hidden in the mountains at Konoha’s edge.
• Naruto suspected the concealed site was Root headquarters, controlled by Shimura Danzō.

Naruto investigated Danzo’s hideout and discussed Tailed Beast Bomb theory with Kurama while training his elemental chakra. On the eleventh day, he mastered the Rasengan in less than a morning, and Jiraiya presented him with Mount Myoboku’s summoning contract.

• Naruto identified Danzo as a threat and planned to send him a crippling gift during the Konoha Crush Plan.
• Naruto asked Kurama about the Tailed Beast Bomb’s chakra ratio, compression, and firing time.
• Naruto used Shadow Clones to master Wind Chakra Nature Transformation and learn Fire, Water, Earth, and Lightning ninjutsu.
• Jiraiya taught Naruto the three stages of Rasengan training, but Naruto burst the water balloon almost immediately.
• Jiraiya returned with a rubber ball and found Naruto already wielding a completed Rasengan.
• Jiraiya showed Naruto Mount Myoboku’s Summoning Contract, bearing Minato Namikaze’s signature.

Naruto signed the Mount Myoboku Toad Clan contract and summoned Gamabunta, who recognized him after seeing his enormous Giant Rasengan. With Jiraiya shaken by Naruto’s abilities, Naruto began an intensive training program with two hundred Shadow Clones before the Chunin Ninja Exams.

• Naruto signed the toad contract and learned the hand seals for the Summoning Technique from Jiraiya.
• Naruto summoned Gamabunta, who initially dismissed him as a brat and demanded that he defeat him or pass a test to earn his recognition.
• Naruto formed a ten-meter Giant Rasengan, prompting Gamabunta to recognize him and leave using the Reverse Summoning Technique.
• Jiraiya told Naruto to train on his own for the twenty days before the Chunin Ninja Exams, then hurried down the mountain.
• Naruto received Kurama’s Chakra, created two hundred Shadow Clones, and assigned them training in Flying Raijin, Rasengan, Lightning Release, and sealing techniques.

Naruto spent twenty days training with two hundred Shadow Clones while monitoring Konoha and developing new techniques. With one day left before the Chunin Ninja Exams’ final official B matches, he had mastered a throwable Rasenshuriken and a miniature Rasengan, while his lightning-infused Rasengan experiments remained preliminary.

• Naruto used Nine-Tails Chakra to sustain two hundred training Shadow Clones while monitoring Danzo's Root and the area around Kage Rock.
• Naruto repeatedly formed and dispersed a stable Mini Tailed Beast Bomb, then continued training for twenty days as Jiraiya occasionally visited him.
• Naruto integrated Wind-Nature Chakra into the Rasengan and developed a throwable Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, testing its cutting power in Waterfall Cave.
• Naruto compressed the Rasengan to ping-pong-ball size and learned to throw it while maintaining its form for five seconds.
• Naruto began experimenting with Lightning-Nature Chakra in the Rasengan, hoping to create a technique that vanished after being thrown.
• With one day remaining before the Chunin Ninja Exams' final official B matches, Naruto's lightning-infused Rasengan was still in its early stages.

Naruto reviewed his progress in lightning-nature Chakra, the Flying Thunder God Technique, and sealing before Jiraiya returned and warned him about the Nine-Tails. Jiraiya then left Konoha to investigate an old friend, leaving Naruto to face the Chunin Ninja Exams without him.

• Naruto completed his lightning-nature Chakra development, mastered Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder, and improved his sealing techniques.
• Naruto practiced wind- and lightning-nature Chakra at the same time and planned to research combining them after the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Jiraiya returned, joked with Naruto about nearly being hit by a washboard, and praised Naruto's readiness for the exams.
• Jiraiya told Naruto that intelligence about an old friend required him to leave Konoha, and Naruto recognized that Orochimaru had likely lured him away.
• Jiraiya warned Naruto not to rely recklessly on the Nine-Tails' power, and Naruto concealed that he had already mastered Kurama's Chakra.
• Jiraiya departed Konoha to pursue the intelligence, while Naruto remained behind for the exams.

After ending his month of wilderness training, Naruto returned to Konoha and prepared for the Chunin Ninja Exams’ third round. Hinata asked him not to hate Neji, and Naruto resolved that he would end the Hyuga Main House and Branch House divide once he became Hokage.

• Naruto spotted Sakura and Ino chatting but passed them without stopping, and they decided to cheer him on at the exam the next day.
• Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon greeted Naruto outside his apartment, and he told them to cheer for him from the classroom.
• Hinata visited Naruto to thank him for helping her during the preliminaries, and his affectionate words left her flustered.
• Hinata explained Neji’s pain and asked Naruto not to hate him, and Naruto said he understood.
• Naruto resolved to remove the Caged Bird Seal and end the Hyuga Main House and Branch House divide after he became Hokage.

Naruto prepared for the Chunin Exams’ final matches after a month of training, then entered the crowded arena as villagers began reconsidering their treatment of him. He reunited with the other contestants and faced Neji’s certainty that fate would make Naruto lose.

• Naruto bathed, removed his whiskers, prepared his white coat and forehead protector, and went to sleep before the exam.
• Naruto walked through Konoha, where villagers recalled his kindness and his actions against pirates in the Land of Waves, while outsiders noticed his resemblance to the Fourth Hokage.
• A guide led Naruto into the packed arena, where Hiruzen Sarutobi and the assembled contestants awaited the matches.
• Naruto greeted Shikamaru and Shino, and Shikamaru asked about his training while noting that his opponent was Neji.
• Neji declared that Naruto was destined to lose, but Naruto ignored him and greeted Gaara as Temari and Kankuro watched.

Naruto Uzumaki faced Neji Hyuga in the opening match of the Chunin Ninja Exams, surprising the spectators with a new technique. The chapter ended as Naruto appeared in front of Neji and swung a fist after Neji defended against a barrage of Kunai with Rotation.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi announced that the third round of the Chunin Ninja Exams had begun, and Genma Shiranui named Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuga as the first match.
• Neji activated his Byakugan and prepared to defeat Naruto with the Eight Trigrams Palm.
• Naruto threw three Kunai, then used Shadow Clone Shuriken to multiply them into a dense barrage.
• Neji used Rotation to deflect the Kunai from every direction.
• Naruto suddenly appeared in front of Neji and swung a fist.

Naruto defeated Neji in the arena by breaking through his Rotation with the Rasengan. After the match, Naruto promised to abolish the systems controlling Neji’s life and helped him to the medical team.

• Naruto dodged Neji’s Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms and used Kunai to force him to spend Chakra maintaining Rotation.
• Naruto charged Neji’s Rotation and shattered it with the Rasengan, sending Neji crashing into the arena wall.
• Naruto appeared behind Neji and declared him defeated, and Genma Shiranui announced Naruto as the winner.
• Naruto offered Neji his hand and promised to abolish rules controlling other people’s lives, including the Hyuga system.
• Neji accepted Naruto’s hand, and the two walked together toward the medical team as the crowd applauded.

After Naruto defeated Neji with the Fourth Hokage’s Rasengan, he explained that Konoha would delay Sasuke’s match rather than risk disappointing influential visitors. Sasuke remained absent as the allotted time expired, and the Kazekage persuaded Hiruzen to postpone the match by one round.

• Naruto helped Neji to the infirmary, where Hiashi approached Neji.
• Naruto told Shikamaru that an interesting teacher had trained him for a month and teased him about his future wife.
• Shino warned Naruto that Sasuke had not arrived and could lose his match qualification.
• Naruto explained that Konoha would preserve Sasuke’s qualification because influential visitors had come to watch the Uchiha heir fight.
• Sasuke missed the deadline, but the Kazekage urged Hiruzen to delay his match by one round, and Hiruzen ordered the postponement.

Naruto forced Shikamaru to fight Temari, but Shikamaru surrendered after trapping her with his Shadow Imitation Technique. Sasuke arrived just in time to face Gaara, while Kakashi learned that Naruto had used the Rasengan against Neji.

• Shikamaru tried to forfeit before the match, but Naruto threw him into the arena to face Temari.
• Temari attacked with Wind Release: Great Sickle Weasel, and Shikamaru used the battlefield shadows to trap her with his Shadow Imitation Technique.
• Shikamaru surrendered, explaining that he lacked enough Chakra to defeat Temari before his technique wore off, and Genma Shiranui declared Temari the winner.
• Kakashi brought Sasuke to the arena just before Sasuke's match was to be forfeited, and Sasuke faced Gaara.
• Gaara used his sand to swallow two Chunin who blocked his way to the arena.
• Might Guy told Kakashi about Naruto's battle with Neji, including Naruto's use of the Rasengan to break through Rotation.

Naruto resisted the Temple of Nirvana Technique as the Konoha Crush Plan began, while Sunagakure and Otogakure attacked Konoha. After protecting Hinata and defeating several Otogakure Ninja, Naruto met Kakashi, who told him Sasuke had chased Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari alone.

• Kakashi and Might Guy discussed the thin ANBU deployment as Sasuke fought Gaara and pierced his Sand Sphere with Chidori.
• Feathers from the Temple of Nirvana Technique put the exam grounds to sleep, but Naruto used Absolute Control to resist the genjutsu and hurried to Hinata.
• Kabuto Yakushi retreated as Temari and Kankuro took Gaara away and Sasuke pursued them; Orochimaru trapped Hiruzen Sarutobi inside the Four Violet Flames Formation.
• Sunagakure and Otogakure Ninja revealed themselves, while a Three-Headed Giant Snake smashed through Konoha's outer wall and spread chaos.
• Naruto awakened Hinata, sent her to safety, and silently defeated several Otogakure Ninja before Kakashi arrived with Sakura.
• Kakashi told Naruto that the enemy had launched a joint attack and that Sasuke had chased after Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari alone.

Naruto left the invasion at Konoha’s exam grounds to pursue Sasuke, Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari alone. He cut down nine Otogakure pursuers in Golden Body Mode and arrived as Sasuke and Temari continued fighting.

• Naruto refused to bring Sakura and Shikamaru, then used Good and Evil Perception to track Sasuke and the others toward the forest.
• Konoha came under attack as a Three-Headed Giant Snake breached the village wall and Sunagakure and Otogakure forces battled its defenders.
• Naruto sensed nine Otogakure Ninja pursuing him and activated Golden Body Mode to outrun them.
• Naruto killed all nine pursuers in a single rapid attack and resumed chasing the others.
• Naruto reached Sasuke and Temari as Temari unleashed Wind Style: Great Sickle Weasel and Sasuke charged at her with Chidori.

Naruto incapacitated Sasuke, Temari, and Kankuro, then triggered Gaara’s transformation into Shukaku. When Shukaku mocked Kurama, Naruto charged at him and landed a massive punch.

• Naruto knocked out Sasuke and Temari, then sped through the forest after Kankuro.
• Naruto knocked out Kankuro and found Gaara struggling against Shukaku’s influence.
• Naruto put Gaara to sleep with a precise strike, causing Shukaku to emerge in a giant form.
• Shukaku mocked Kurama for sharing his Chakra with Naruto, and Kurama urged Naruto to attack.
• Naruto raced up Shukaku’s body and punched him in the face with a giant golden Chakra hand.

Naruto overwhelmed Shukaku with a Rasenshuriken and began forming another enormous Tailed Beast Bomb after firing the first into the sky. At Root Base, Danzo learned of the invasion and Naruto’s whereabouts, then mobilized Root forces to repel the attackers and bolster his bid to become Fifth Hokage.

• Shukaku fired volleys of Air Bullets at Naruto, who dodged them while Kurama urged him to attack.
• Naruto struck Shukaku with a Rasenshuriken, tearing open his belly and scattering his sandy body.
• Naruto formed a giant Tailed Beast Bomb in seconds and launched it into the sky, then began forming another.
• A Root operative reported to Danzo that the invasion was underway, the Third Hokage was trapped, and Naruto had pursued Gaara into the northeastern forest.
• Danzo ordered Root’s forces to repel the combined Otogakure and Sunagakure troops, protect foreign guests, and minimize casualties.

Naruto destroyed Danzo’s Root Base with two Tailed Beast Bombs, then accidentally struck Danzo’s escape route with a third. After subduing Shukaku, Naruto sealed him back inside Gaara.

• Three Tailed Beast Bombs devastated Root’s base and killed or injured many Root members.
• Danzo survived the third bomb by using Izanagi and ordered the surviving Root members to investigate the attack.
• Naruto admitted he had aimed the first two bombs at Root but had not intended the third to hit Danzo’s escape route.
• Naruto restrained Shukaku with Chakra hands and used the Four Symbols Seal to return him to Gaara.

Naruto concealed his traces after defeating Shukaku and left the unconscious Gaara, Kankuro, Temari, and Sasuke for Konoha’s forces to find. In Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi sealed away Orochimaru’s hands before dying, while Orochimaru ordered the Sound Four to retreat.

• Naruto checked that Gaara was asleep, sent five Shadow Clones toward Konoha with Flying Raijin-marked Kunai, and erased his own traces while preserving evidence of Shukaku’s rampage.
• Naruto laid Gaara, Kankuro, Temari, and the unconscious Sasuke together, then looked toward Konoha as Hiruzen Sarutobi’s battle with Orochimaru neared its end.
• Jiraiya summoned Gamabunta and Gamahiro, who killed two giant snakes, while Jiraiya burned the third as Konoha’s clans fought back against the invaders.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi realized he could not pull out Orochimaru’s entire soul, so he used the Reaper Death Seal to sever and seal away the souls of Orochimaru’s hands.
• Orochimaru cried out in pain and ordered the Sound Four to drop the Four Violet Flames Formation and retreat.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi recalled his life and the young ninja, including Naruto, before smiling and collapsing as his consciousness faded.

After Konoha defeated the invasion, Naruto explained to the recovering Gaara that Orochimaru had manipulated Sunagakure and urged him to help change the Shinobi World. Gaara accepted Naruto’s marked Kunai, leaving open the possibility that they could work together in the future.

• The Sound Four took Orochimaru away after the barrier fell, and ANBU confirmed that Hiruzen Sarutobi had died defending Konoha.
• Konoha mourned Hiruzen Sarutobi and defeated the invading Otogakure Ninja and Sunagakure Ninja after Orochimaru’s forces lost their leader.
• Gaara woke in the forest and learned that Naruto had reinforced his seal, leaving Shukaku inside him but unable to reach his dreams without permission.
• Naruto told Gaara that Orochimaru had disguised himself as the Fourth Kazekage, likely killed the real Kazekage, and used Sunagakure as cannon fodder.
• Naruto described how resource shortages fueled conflict and asked Gaara to help change the Shinobi World if he someday became a village leader.
• Naruto gave Gaara a Kunai marked with the Flying Thunder God Mark, and Gaara kept it after warning Naruto that his ideas could make him a threat to others.

Naruto returned to Konoha with Sasuke after the war and attended Hiruzen Sarutobi’s funeral as the village began rebuilding. In Sunagakure, Baki discovered Orochimaru had murdered the Fourth Kazekage and entered Konoha to request ceasefire negotiations.

• Naruto gave Gaara a scroll to release his seal and advised him to treat Shukaku as a companion; Gaara then left with Kankuro and Temari.
• Naruto told Sasuke the war was over and promised to explain what had happened after they returned to Konoha.
• At Hiruzen Sarutobi’s funeral, Konohamaru broke down in Naruto’s arms, and Konoha began rebuilding afterward.
• Baki found the Fourth Kazekage’s decaying corpse and realized Orochimaru had killed him before the invasion and impersonated him.
• Baki withdrew Sunagakure’s remaining forces and entered Konoha alone to request ceasefire negotiations, telling the elders Orochimaru had deceived Sunagakure.