Chapter Summaries

Naruto used the Flying Thunder God and a barrage of Rasengans against Orochimaru, who survived by escaping inside a snake. After seeing Naruto’s controlled Nine-Tails Chakra, Orochimaru decided to withdraw, leaving Naruto in the Forest of Death.

• Naruto appeared behind Orochimaru with the Flying Thunder God and struck him with a Rasengan, tearing apart his lower body.
• Naruto sensed Orochimaru’s Chakra rising and unleashed more than twenty Rasengans at his remains and the crater.
• Orochimaru emerged from a snake in his original form and praised Naruto’s abilities, including his Flying Thunder God and Rasengan.
• Naruto told Orochimaru to leave, then revealed four tails of controlled Nine-Tails Chakra.
• Kakashi refused Asuma’s suggestion to enter the forest, saying he trusted Naruto.
• Orochimaru judged that continuing the fight would draw Konoha’s forces and escaped underground inside the giant snake.

After hiding the evidence of his Rasengan fight with Orochimaru, Naruto followed a bloodline resonance and rescued Karin Uzumaki from a bear. As night fell, Karin told him her teammates had abandoned her, and Naruto asked what she planned to do next.

• Naruto retrieved his Kunai and used Shadow Clones to conceal the damage his Rasengan had caused before tracking Sasuke and Sakura.
• Naruto sensed a Chakra resonance linked to Kushina and found Karin clinging to a tree while a giant black bear attacked her.
• Naruto defeated the bear with a Rasengan, and Karin climbed down and recovered her glasses.
• Naruto shared roasted bear meat with Karin, who explained that her teammates had used her as bait and then abandoned her.
• Naruto introduced himself as Naruto Uzumaki, and Karin said she had never met another Uzumaki besides her mother.
• Naruto asked what Karin planned to do, and she said she would go back and find her teammates.

Karin told Naruto how Kusagakure had exploited her and her mother’s healing ability, and Naruto offered her a chance to leave for Konoha after the Chunin Ninja Exams. Elsewhere in the Forest of Death, Orochimaru gave Sasuke the Heaven’s Cursed Seal, and Sasuke rose to fight after Sakura, Rock Lee, and Chōji were attacked by Otogakure ninja.

• Karin showed Naruto the bite scars on her arm and explained how Kusagakure had used her mother and then her as a source of healing.
• Naruto invited Karin to come to Konoha after the exams and gave her a Flying Thunder God-marked kunai so he could find her.
• Orochimaru caught up with Sasuke and Sakura by a stream and bit Sasuke, giving him the Heaven’s Cursed Seal.
• Sakura dragged the collapsed Sasuke from the stream, made shelter, and guarded him through the night.
• Dosu, Zaku, and other Otogakure ninja found Sasuke and Sakura at dawn and attacked them, but Rock Lee and Chōji intervened.
• Sasuke stood up with cursed seal markings covering his left arm and half his face, his Chakra surging as the fight continued.

Naruto and Sasuke regrouped with Sakura after Sasuke defeated three Otogakure Ninja and obtained the Earth Scroll. Naruto explained Orochimaru's identity as the team raced toward the Central Tower, where Kabuto spotted them and decided to watch Naruto closely.

• Sasuke defeated Dosu, Zaku, and their teammate, took the Earth Scroll, and gave Rock Lee topical medicine.
• Naruto returned to find Sakura collapsed from exhaustion; Sasuke's Cursed Seal flared, but Naruto's warning helped him regain control.
• Naruto thanked Neji and Rock Lee, then set off with Sasuke, who carried Sakura, toward the Central Tower with both scrolls.
• Sasuke asked about Orochimaru, and Naruto said they had fought without either of them gaining the upper hand.
• Kabuto saw Naruto and Sasuke approach the Central Tower sooner than expected and resolved to observe Naruto carefully.

Naruto and Sasuke delivered the Heaven and Earth Scrolls to Iruka in the Central Tower, where Sakura recovered while the team rested. After the second exam ended, Naruto reunited with his classmates and met the Third Hokage, whose impression of Naruto’s composure reminded him of Minato.

• Naruto and Sasuke opened the Heaven and Earth Scrolls, summoning Iruka, who guided them and the unconscious Sakura to the tower’s rest area.
• Sasuke suppressed his curse mark while Naruto checked Sakura and rested beside her.
• Anko announced the end of the second exam as the remaining teams gathered in the Central Tower.
• Naruto greeted Hinata and spoke with Shikamaru, Chōji, and Kiba about their experiences in the forest.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi entered with the Jōnin instructors and remarked that Naruto was growing more like Minato.

The Chunin preliminaries began, and Sasuke overcame Yoroi despite the lingering effects of his Cursed Seal. The first three matches ended, and Sakura Haruno was paired against Ino Yamanaka.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi explained the significance of the Joint Chunin Exams, and Gekko Hayate announced the preliminary rules.
• Kabuto Yakushi withdrew from the exam before the random matchups began.
• Sasuke Uchiha defeated Yoroi Akadō by adapting Rock Lee's taijutsu, and Kakashi took him away after noticing the Cursed Seal spreading.
• Shino Aburame defeated Zaku, and Kankuro defeated Tsurugi Misumi.
• The display board paired Sakura Haruno against Ino Yamanaka.

Sakura and Ino knocked each other out, Temari defeated Tenten, and Shikamaru defeated Kin Tsuchi as the Chunin Exams matches continued. Naruto and Kiba began their match, which ended the chapter with Kiba activating the Four Legs Technique.

• Sakura forced Ino's consciousness out of her body, and both fell before Hayate disqualified them from the third stage.
• Temari blew away Tenten's weapons with her iron fan and returned to the resting area.
• Shikamaru caught Kin Tsuchi with the Shadow Imitation Technique and knocked her unconscious against the wall.
• The display board matched Naruto against Kiba, drawing the attention of Hinata, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Gaara, and the others.
• Hayate started Naruto and Kiba's match, and Kiba transformed into his four-legged stance using the Four Legs Technique.

Naruto defeated Kiba in the Chūnin Exams match by overwhelming him with speed, a precise punch, and a calculated Shadow Clone maneuver. Kiba accepted the loss and promised to train for a rematch.

• Naruto appeared behind Kiba with extraordinary speed and struck his shoulder, knocking him down and disrupting the Four Legs Technique.
• Kiba recovered and teamed up with Akamaru to attack Naruto with Fang Over Fang.
• Naruto used Shadow Clones to slip through Fang Over Fang’s blind spots and position himself behind Kiba.
• Naruto held a Kunai to Kiba’s neck, forcing him to admit defeat.
• Naruto helped Kiba up, and Kiba promised to learn new moves and challenge him again.

Naruto defeated Kiba, impressing the spectators with his skill and composure, then encouraged Hinata before her match against Neji. Hinata kept fighting despite Neji’s superior Gentle Fist and the injuries he inflicted.

• Gekko Hayate declared Naruto the winner after his match with Kiba, and Hiruzen admired Naruto’s skill and regard for his opponent.
• Naruto reunited with his friends, deflected their questions about his strength, and promised to treat them to a meal after the exams.
• The notice board named Hinata and Neji as the next opponents, and Naruto told Hinata he would keep watching her.
• Neji urged Hinata to give up, but Hinata asked him to fight seriously and began battling him with Gentle Fist.
• Neji repeatedly struck Hinata’s Chakra points, leaving her bruised and bleeding, but Hinata continued to rise and fight while Naruto watched.

Naruto caught Hinata after Neji defeated her, challenged Neji’s belief in fate, and stayed beside Hinata while Rock Lee was brought in badly injured. After the preliminary matches ended, Hiruzen announced the final exam would take place in a month, and Naruto drew match number 1.

• Naruto caught Hinata as she fell, then told Neji that training had let him overcome being labeled a failure and challenged Neji’s claims about fate.
• Might Guy stopped Neji from attacking Naruto, and Naruto hurried to the medical room to stay with the unconscious Hinata.
• Rock Lee was brought into the medical room with severe injuries after his fight with Gaara, and Hinata soon woke and spoke with Naruto.
• Naruto reassured Hinata that her courage meant she had not truly lost, while word arrived that Chōji had lost to an Otogakure Ninja and the ten finalists were set.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi announced that the final examination would be held in one month, and Naruto drew the number 1 from the match lottery.

After the preliminary matches were set, Naruto visited the recovering Sakura and told her he would train for the next month. Kakashi chose to focus on Sasuke’s Cursed Seal and preparation for Gaara, leaving Naruto to train on his own before the exams.

• The match chart paired Naruto Uzumaki with Hyuga Neji, Sasuke Uchiha with Gaara, Kankuro with Shino Aburame, and Shikamaru with Temari, while Dosu received a bye.
• Naruto found Hinata gone and visited Sakura, telling her that she and Sasuke had passed the preliminaries and that Sasuke’s Cursed Seal was stable.
• Sakura thanked Naruto for protecting her and Sasuke in the Forest of Death and acknowledged that she had treated him harshly; Naruto replied that they were teammates.
• Kakashi told Naruto he could not accompany him for the next month because Sasuke needed intensive sealing work and specialized training for his match against Gaara.
• Naruto and Sasuke agreed to meet again at the Chunin Ninja Exams in a month, while Kakashi began discussing Sasuke’s special training with Sakura.

Naruto watched Konoha from Kage Rock and spoke with Hiruzen Sarutobi, who gave him a lesson about the Will of Fire and questioned him about his special kunai. The chapter left Hiruzen silently considering Naruto’s explanation for commissioning them.

• Naruto leaped onto Kage Rock, looked out over Konoha, and said he would someday have his face carved there too.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived and asked Naruto how becoming a ninja had changed his view of the world.
• Naruto explained that the Land of Waves mission had shown him how weak he was and declared that he would become Hokage.
• Hiruzen spoke to Naruto about the Will of Fire, then handed him the two Chakra-Conductive Metal kunai he had commissioned.
• Hiruzen asked why Naruto had commissioned the kunai, and Naruto explained that he wanted to improve his attacks and protect his teammates.

Naruto told Hiruzen Sarutobi that a blond, blue-eyed man had taught him Chakra control in his dreams, and Hiruzen concluded that Minato’s Chakra was responsible for Naruto’s growth. Naruto asked for Ninjutsu scrolls and received Hiruzen’s promise to send them, while Hiruzen ordered ANBU to maintain Naruto’s guard detail.

• Naruto described the dream mentor who had taught him Chakra control and explained that the man had disappeared after completing his mission.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi said the mentor sounded like the Fourth Hokage and asked Naruto whether he resented the villagers.
• Naruto declared that he would earn the village’s recognition as Hokage and surpass the past rather than hate it.
• Naruto asked Hiruzen for Ninjutsu scrolls while Kakashi trained Sasuke, and told him about the Chakra ball technique he had failed to master.
• Hiruzen recognized Naruto’s description as the Rasengan and agreed to have Ninjutsu scrolls delivered to Naruto’s home.
• After Naruto left, Hiruzen ordered a masked ANBU to continue Naruto’s existing guard detail without changes.

Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Jiraiya to train Naruto, then sent Naruto two Ninjutsu scrolls. Naruto received them and began reading, finding that the second contained the A-rank Shadow Clone Shuriken.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Jiraiya what he thought of Naruto and decided to have him train the boy.
• Jiraiya agreed to visit Naruto but refused to take the Hokage position.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered an ANBU to deliver two Ninjutsu scrolls to Naruto that night.
• Naruto returned home, trained his Chakra for about an hour, and accepted the scroll case from the ANBU.
• Naruto read the B-rank Wind Release: Vacuum Blade scroll and judged it a useful transitional technique.
• Naruto opened the second scroll and found the A-rank Shadow Clone Shuriken.

Naruto studied the Vacuum Blade and Shadow Clone Shuriken scrolls, then went to a secluded woodland to train with fifty Shadow Clones. On the way, he caught Jiraiya peeping into a women's bathhouse and exposed him, while Jiraiya recognized Naruto and became interested in him.

• Naruto read and memorized the training methods for Vacuum Blade and Shadow Clone Shuriken before going to sleep.
• Naruto spotted Jiraiya peeping into a women's bathhouse and shouted to alert the people inside.
• Jiraiya was chased through three streets by the women, escaped by disguising himself as a trash can, and searched for Naruto.
• Naruto reached the woodland behind Kage Rock, checked that it was safe, and summoned fifty Shadow Clones.
• Naruto's clones split into groups to practice Vacuum Blade and Shadow Clone Shuriken.
• As Naruto was about to join the Vacuum Blade practice, a deep voice spoke in his consciousness.

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.