Recaps

Fang Yan woke in the body of Menma Namikaze in a parallel Naruto world where Minato and Kushina were alive, and began planning how to stay safe and build strength. At the Ninja Academy, he met a domineering Hinata and a gloomy Kiba, then watched Shino fail his shuriken practice as Mizuki called Menma up next.

• Mizuki woke Menma, mistook his confusion for misbehavior, and sent him to stand in the corridor.
• Menma absorbed the body's memories, realized he had transmigrated into a parallel Naruto world, and resolved to hide his identity, grow stronger, gather information, and prioritize survival.
• Mizuki told Menma to attend a make-up lesson after school, and Menma recognized him as the villain from the original Naruto story.
• Hinata stole tempura from Menma's bento and complained that her father embarrassed her, while Kiba revealed he had been sitting behind them unnoticed.
• During shuriken practice, Shino performed unnecessary poses before throwing, missed half his targets, and was ordered by Mizuki to run five laps.
• Mizuki called Menma to take his turn at the target.

Menma watched the Academy students’ strange personalities emerge during shuriken practice, then faced Sakura in a sparring match that revealed both their unusual skills. After Sakura exposed his feigned genjutsu defeat, Menma considered how to lose narrowly and keep the village invested in him, then spotted Sasuke and formed a plan.

• Menma earned high marks for accuracy, power, and technique, while Shikamaru forgot his shuriken and was assigned laps with Shino.
• Shino challenged Sasuke, but Sasuke swiftly tripped and struck him, winning the match despite Shino’s protests.
• Sakura threw kunai with fake explosive tags at Menma, then caught him off guard with a kick when he dodged them.
• Menma used ordinary clones to bluff Sakura, but she identified the real Menma and trapped him with a genjutsu.
• Menma broke Sakura’s genjutsu and kept his method secret; as they resumed their tense spar, he decided he needed to lose narrowly and noticed Sasuke in the crowd.

Menma finished his Academy assessment and was summoned to Mizuki-sensei’s office, where he discovered that Danzo was the Third Hokage in this world. After Mizuki-sensei took Menma, Shikamaru, and an exhausted Shino to Ichiraku Ramen, he sent Menma and Shikamaru home while carrying Shino back to his clan compound.

• Menma used the Reverse Harem Technique against Sakura, but she calmly beat him until he spat water at her, and Mizuki-sensei ended their match in a draw.
• Mizuki-sensei dismissed the class, assigned Shino and Shikamaru five laps, and kept Menma in the office for a lecture.
• Danzo arrived wearing the Hokage robes, and Menma realized Danzo was the Third Hokage in this world.
• Mizuki-sensei agreed to escort Menma home, but first took Menma, Shikamaru, and Shino to Ichiraku Ramen after finding Shikamaru dragging an exhausted Shino.
• Mizuki-sensei paid for the ramen, carried Shino toward the Aburame Clan compound, and sent Menma and Shikamaru home on their own.

Menma returned home and learned more about this world from Minato and Kushina, including its unusual version of Danzo, while concealing his doubts about his identity. After his parents promised to teach him techniques once he became a Genin, Menma decided to focus on strengthening his foundation before the Graduation Exam.

• Menma came home to Kushina and Minato, who teased each other about their rank and argued over Mizuki's teaching ability.
• Menma asked about Danzo's bandages, and Minato and Kushina explained that sealing wraps suppressed the transplanted Wood Release cells and Sharingan Danzo had received after losing an arm and eye in the First Shinobi World War.
• Menma worried in bed about the world's unfamiliar people and circumstances, then resolved to act like Menma Namikaze and grow stronger.
• Menma asked Minato and Kushina to teach him powerful techniques before the Graduation Exam, but they told him to master his fundamentals first and promised lessons after he became a Genin.
• After Menma left for school, Minato and Kushina admitted they had exaggerated Danzo's feats and debated how difficult Kushina's Object Sealing Method would be for Menma to learn.
• Menma planned to refine his Chakra control and practice tree climbing and water walking in preparation for the exam.

Menma passed the Graduation Exam, received his Ninja forehead protector, and learned that Kakashi would be considered as the Jonin leader for his team. As he planned how to learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and other Ninjutsu, his future team remained conditional on passing Kakashi’s test.

• Menma completed his Chakra training, and Minato and Kushina learned that his time in the bathroom had been spent practicing water walking rather than the activity they had suspected.
• Menma greeted Sakura before the exam, then passed the Clone Technique test and received his Ninja forehead protector.
• Menma celebrated becoming a Ninja with Minato and Kushina, while Sakura returned to a quiet dinner at home.
• Danzo told Kakashi that Sakura, Menma, and Sasuke were to be his Genin team, and Kakashi agreed to lead them if they passed his test.
• Menma lay awake wondering how to learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and resolve to pursue it, along with the Rasengan and training under Jiraiya.

Menma graduated from the Ninja Academy and joined Team 7 with Sakura and Sasuke under Kakashi, whose entry test was set for three days later. After Menma arranged a team strategy meeting, Minato and Kushina told him about Sasuke’s missing brother Itachi and Kakashi’s past.

• Menma wore his new outfit for graduation, took class and ninja ID photos, and learned that Hinata, Shino, and Kiba were assigned to Kurenai’s team while Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji were assigned to Yamashiro Aoba.
• Kakashi called Menma, Sakura, and Sasuke to the rooftop, where they introduced themselves and Menma declared he would become a source of light for Konoha if no one else stepped forward.
• Kakashi announced that Team 7 would take his entry test at Training Ground Two in three days, and Menma, Sakura, and Sasuke agreed to meet there early to plan together.
• Menma asked Minato and Kushina about Sasuke’s wish to kill a man, and Minato explained that Sasuke’s older brother Itachi had defected from Konoha five years earlier.
• Minato and Kushina described Kakashi’s history, including his father Sakumo’s death, Kakashi’s rescue of Rin and Obito at Kannabi Bridge, and the Sharingan he received from the Uchiha Clan.

Minato began special training Menma for Kakashi’s team-entry test, teaching him Wind Release: Great Breakthrough. Menma mastered the technique on his first attempt, while Minato revealed his unusual, supposedly impractical version of the Flying Raijin Technique.

• Menma learned from Minato that Kakashi’s test would require strength, and Minato promised to train him for three days.
• Kakashi told Danzo that Menma’s dream showed promise, and Danzo entrusted the children’s training to Kakashi.
• Minato took Menma to a forest clearing and demonstrated Wind Release: Great Breakthrough before explaining how to use it.
• Menma performed Great Breakthrough on his first try, striking a tree with enough force to startle Minato into using Flying Raijin to dodge.
• Minato claimed his Flying Raijin Technique had little combat value because he could not control his posture or direction after teleporting.

Minato and Kushina discovered that Menma’s chakra reserves and ninjutsu power were extraordinary, making them fear other villages would target him. They decided to conceal his abilities, and Menma began training in taijutsu while Kushina worked on a chakra-sealing technique.

• Minato left Menma practicing ninjutsu, then secretly summoned Kushina home and told her how powerfully Menma had performed a C-Rank technique.
• Kushina and Minato returned to the woods, destroyed the evidence of Menma’s training, and learned that he had used less than five percent of his chakra.
• Minato and Kushina explained that Menma’s chakra already surpassed that of most Chunin and could grow to an exceptional level, so he agreed to hide his talent.
• Menma asked to improve his chakra control, and Kushina proposed developing a seal to restrict his chakra while Minato added an emergency release safeguard.
• Over the next two days, Menma sparred with Minato and rapidly developed taijutsu skills that impressed his father.

Menma, Sasuke, and Sakura began Kakashi's team-entry test, where Kakashi set his Shadow Clone against them and threatened to send one back to the Ninja Academy. After they endured Kakashi's killing intent and forced him to intervene in a dangerous maneuver, Menma called for a new attack plan, and the test continued with the three Genin challenging Kakashi together.

• Menma, Sasuke, and Sakura compared their abilities and planned how to work together for Kakashi's test.
• Kakashi announced that only two of the three could pass and ordered them to defeat his Chunin-strength Shadow Clone.
• Sasuke refused to sacrifice a teammate, and Menma proposed that all three join forces against Kakashi; Sakura and Sasuke agreed.
• Kakashi unleashed his killing intent, but Menma used Sakura's genjutsu and Sasuke awakened a one-tomoe Sharingan under the pressure.
• Menma charged Kakashi as Sasuke threw an Explosive Tag tied to a kunai; Kakashi kicked Menma away and diverted the tag before it detonated.
• Menma revealed that they had gambled Kakashi would protect them, then changed the plan and charged Kakashi while ordering Sakura and Sasuke to attack him.

Menma, Sasuke, and Sakura fought Kakashi in a test that revealed their growing teamwork and tactical skill. After Menma offered to fail alone so his teammates could pass, Kakashi declared that all three had passed and officially established Team 7.

• Kakashi countered the trio’s attacks while recognizing Sasuke and Sakura’s coordinated shuriken tactics and Menma’s quick use of the Substitution Technique.
• Menma, Sasuke, and Sakura launched a coordinated ambush using fire techniques, genjutsu, and an underground attack, but Kakashi revealed he had replaced himself with a Shadow Clone.
• Kakashi told the three that they had failed and offered to let two pass if they chose one teammate to return to the Ninja Academy.
• Sakura and Sasuke each offered to be the one eliminated, but Menma insisted that both should pass and volunteered to return to the academy alone.
• Kakashi announced that all three had passed, explaining that trust and self-sacrifice mattered more than ability, and officially established Konoha Genin Team 7.

Team 7 celebrated its formation at Konoha Barbecue Restaurant, where Menma lifted the other new Genin’s spirits with a speech about their responsibilities. Kakashi and the other Jonin discussed Menma’s potential and considered sending their teams to next year’s Chunin Exams.

• Kakashi treated Menma, Sakura, and Sasuke to barbecue after Team 7 completed its registration, and Kurenai Yuhi and Yamashiro Aoba joined them with their Genin teams.
• Choji Akimichi asked Menma how Team 7 had passed Kakashi’s assessment, and Menma suggested that the children’s prominent family identities might have helped them qualify.
• Hinata and the others grew discouraged at the thought that they had passed because of their status, so Menma rallied them by urging them to accept the responsibilities that came with their advantages.
• Kakashi, Kurenai Yuhi, and Yamashiro Aoba discussed Menma’s strength, his possible inherited talent for space-time Ninjutsu, and Kakashi’s plan to raise his skills before approaching the Hokage about the Flying Raijin Technique.
• Yamashiro Aoba proposed that the new Genin teams take part in next year’s Chunin Ninja Exams, and Kakashi agreed that they could grow strong enough while Kurenai Yuhi worried they were being sent into danger too soon.

Kakashi took Team Seven on its first combat mission: driving a giant wild boar away from a village. After Sasuke’s attack enraged the beast, Menma saved him from its charge, and the boar became stuck in a tree.

• Kakashi met Chunin Iruka at the mission hall and accepted a mission for Team Seven to drive wild boars away from farmland.
• Kakashi summoned Pakkun to help Menma, Sasuke, and Sakura find the boar, giving them half an hour to bring it back.
• Pakkun led the three to a gigantic boar, and Sasuke attacked it with a shuriken and his Great Fireball Technique.
• The fire barely harmed the boar, which charged at Sasuke, but Menma pulled him aside just before it crashed into a tree.
• Sasuke and Menma argued briefly, then the team saw that the boar had buried its tusks in the tree and could not get free.

Menma, Sasuke, and Sakura completed their mission by killing an enormous boar, but the gruesome result left the team shaken. At the village bonfire, Kakashi had them review their mistakes and lessons from the mission.

• Menma, Sasuke, and Sakura debated how to kill the trapped boar, and Pakkun warned them not to torture a helpless enemy.
• Menma sent Sasuke and Sakura away, then used their Explosive Tags to kill the boar; its remains horrified them when they returned.
• Menma sent Pakkun to fetch Kakashi, who brought back a boar foreleg and explained that he would make grilled meat for the team.
• Kakashi arranged for villagers to buy the boar meat, and the village held a bonfire party to celebrate the mission and its new income.
• Kakashi asked the team to review the mission, and Menma, Sasuke, and Sakura discussed poor intelligence gathering, lack of suitable tactics, and Sasuke's reckless charge.

Kakashi reprimanded Menma, Sasuke, and Sakura for their failures to work as a team, then promised to teach them ninjutsu after they returned to Konoha. During chakra nature testing, he discovered Menma had an exceptionally refined Wind nature and warned the team to keep their chakra natures secret.

• Kakashi criticized Sasuke for rushing into danger, Menma for excluding his teammates, and Sakura for failing to take responsibility or lead.
• Menma told Kakashi he still believed children should not face the Shinobi World's bloodshed, and vowed to seek an answer that could make the world better.
• The team returned to Konoha, turned in their mission, and each Genin received ten thousand ryo.
• Kakashi tested the Genin's chakra natures: Sakura showed Earth and Water, Sasuke showed Lightning and Fire, and Menma's paper was cut into uniform fragments.
• Kakashi used his Sharingan to identify Menma's chakra as Extreme Wind Nature and explained its strengths and limits.
• Kakashi ordered the three Genin to keep their chakra natures secret, especially Menma's, and they agreed.

Kakashi assigned Ninjutsu training plans to Sasuke and Sakura, then explained that Menma needed a specialist to develop his exceptional Wind nature talent. Menma left with three possible mentors to discuss with his parents before training began the next day.

• Kakashi taught Sasuke about Chidori and required him to promise not to use it in combat unless his Sharingan was active.
• Sakura asked to study medical Ninjutsu, so Kakashi offered to recommend her to the director of Konoha Hospital.
• Kakashi warned Menma that ordinary Wind Release training would waste part of his potential and urged him not to lower his ambitions.
• Kakashi named the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Jiraiya as possible mentors for Menma, noting that Jiraiya was away from Konoha.
• Kakashi told Menma to discuss the choices with his parents and dismissed the team until their training began the next day.

After Team 7 celebrated their first mission, Menma figured out why Sakura had chosen medical Ninjutsu and teased Sasuke about her hidden abilities. Danzo heard about Menma’s exceptional wind-nature talent, arranged training guidance for him, and ordered Kakashi to summon Jiraiya.

• Team 7 went to Ichiraku Ramen to celebrate completing their first mission and discussed Kakashi’s training suggestions.
• Menma deduced that Sakura had already learned or mastered the Ninjutsu Kakashi offered, while Sakura kept her reasons for choosing medical Ninjutsu to herself.
• Menma argued that skilled medical Ninja could be formidable fighters and joked that Bandage Technique was for restraining teammates and enemies.
• Kakashi reported Team 7’s performance and Menma’s exceptional wind-nature talent to Danzo.
• Danzo promised to prepare a scroll of wind-release training advice for Menma and ordered Kakashi to use a contact frog to summon Jiraiya from Mount Myōboku.
• After Kakashi left, Danzo struggled to find an auspicious poem about wind and settled on one about a golden-scaled creature becoming a dragon.

After a month of training, Team 7 received a B-rank mission from Danzo to escort the merchant Gato back to the Land of Waves and stop a bridge from being built. Menma realized the mission had reversed the familiar roles, and Danzo ordered the team to proceed while assuring them Konoha would back them.

• Menma trained in Wind Release and sealing, while Sasuke studied Lightning Release and Sakura studied medical Ninjutsu.
• Kakashi brought Team 7 to Danzo, who judged them ready for a B-rank mission after they completed thirteen D-rank and two C-rank missions.
• Yamanaka Fū introduced Gato, the mission client, who wanted Team 7 to escort him and prevent construction of a bridge in the Land of Waves.
• Menma objected to the mission's risks to Konoha's diplomacy, and Kakashi apologized to Danzo for his question.
• Danzo praised Menma's foresight, explained that Konoha would protect its interests, and told Team 7 to carry out the mission without fear.

Danzo sent Kakashi and Team 7 to the Land of Waves with instructions to investigate its resources, cultivate an alliance, and protect one another. After Hiruzen challenged the mission, he secretly ordered Owl to contact Orochimaru, while Danzo launched an investigation into who was leaking classified information.

• Gato questioned whether the young ninja assigned to protect him were strong enough, and Kakashi threatened him before Danzo explained their credentials.
• Danzo laid out Kakashi's additional mission objectives and told him to prioritize bringing Team 7 home safely; Kakashi set their departure preparations for the next morning.
• Hiruzen confronted Danzo over the Land of Waves mission and Team 7's safety, but Danzo dismissed his objections and insisted that he was the Hokage.
• Hiruzen left the Hokage Building determined to take Danzo's position, while Danzo ordered Torune Aburame to find the clans meddling behind the scenes.
• At Root headquarters, Hiruzen instructed Owl to find Orochimaru and warn him to follow orders if he wanted the children to remain safe.

Team 7 set out from the Hidden Leaf Village with Kado, who explained his opposition to the Land of Waves bridge project. The convoy was stopped by the Demon Brothers, and Sasuke and Menma began fighting them under Kakashi’s supervision.

• Kado invited Kakashi and Team 7 into his carriage, and Menma ended up carrying everyone’s luggage in his Item-Sealing Scroll.
• Kado told Kakashi that he opposed the bridge because he believed prosperity would make the Land of Waves vulnerable to war.
• The convoy stopped when two Hidden Mist shinobi blocked the road, and Kakashi identified them as the Demon Brothers.
• Kakashi arranged for the Demon Brothers to fight his three Genin, and Sasuke opened with the Great Fireball Technique.
• The Demon Brothers blocked Menma and Sasuke’s kunai attacks, then trapped both with their Water Whip technique.

Menma and his team defeated the Demon Brothers, then traveled with Gato to the Land of Waves, where they encountered Zabuza Momochi at the bridge construction site. Kakashi recognized Zabuza as the Saint of the Hidden Mist Village.

• Sakura, Menma, and Sasuke defeated the Demon Brothers, and Kakashi bound them before the convoy continued.
• Kakashi explained to Menma why they spared the Demon Brothers, citing their mission, the risk of a diplomatic incident, and the brothers’ restraint.
• Menma and his team reached the Land of Waves by ship and saw the bridge Tazuna’s workers were building.
• Gato learned that Hidden Mist Ninja had injured Oda and attacked his workers, then took Kakashi and the others to confront them.
• Zabuza Momochi stepped forward to face Gato’s group, and Kakashi recognized him.

Kakashi recounted how Zabuza earned the name “Saint” by refusing to kill his classmates and changing the Hidden Mist Village’s graduation exam. Zabuza and Kakashi agreed to negotiate the dispute over the Land of Waves, leaving the conflict poised as a contest between the Land of Water and the Land of Fire.

• Kakashi explained that Zabuza had stopped his classmates from killing one another during their graduation exam and endured severe punishment rather than attack them.
• The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, abolished the exam and took Zabuza as his disciple after the students’ parents pressured the village leaders.
• Zabuza told Kakashi that the Land of Water had allied with the Land of Waves and that Dazna had been elected its new leader.
• Kado revealed that he had obtained a handwritten decree from the Land of Fire’s daimyo recognizing him as the Land of Waves’ daimyo, while Dazna produced a decree from the Land of Water recognizing him.
• Kado asked Kakashi to kill Dazna for an increased payment, but Kakashi refused, citing the rule against harming daimyos and the powerful guard protecting Dazna.
• Zabuza and Kakashi agreed to negotiate at the docks that night, with each side also discussing the leadership dispute between Dazna and Kado.

Kado confronted Dazna over his agreement to open the Land of Waves’ trade ports and let the Land of Water establish a police station at the docks. After Kado explained how the deal could provoke war and ruin the country, Dazna regretted his actions, but the letter containing the agreement was gone, leaving Kado to involve the Konoha ninja.

• Kado and Dazna argued over the workers’ poverty and why Dazna had turned against him.
• Dazna revealed that he had agreed to open the trade ports and allow the Land of Water to establish a police station at the docks.
• Kado warned Dazna that the deal could drain the Land of Waves’ wealth and make it a target in a conflict between the Land of Water and the Land of Fire.
• Dazna realized the danger and admitted that the Land of Water Jonin had taken the letter containing the agreement.
• Dazna offered to do anything to save the Land of Waves, and Kado decided to notify the Konoha ninja for help.

Kakashi and Zabuza discussed their pasts and negotiated over the Land of Waves, rejecting an initial set of harsh demands in favor of a more balanced agreement. Kakashi agreed to send the second agreement to the Hokage for a decision, leaving formal negotiations between Konoha and the Hidden Mist Village pending.

• Zabuza recounted how he first saw blood during the Third Shinobi World War and explained why he trusted Kakashi more than other Konoha shinobi.
• Kakashi and Zabuza discussed their duties, the costs of war, and the possibility of working together despite serving different villages.
• Zabuza presented the Hidden Mist Village's initial demands for the Land of Waves, including its governance, Kado's surrender, a bridge, trading rights, and 180 million ryo.
• Kakashi rejected the demands and warned that Konoha could still fight back, while Zabuza argued that Konoha could not afford a war.
• Zabuza gave Kakashi a second, more balanced agreement concerning cooperation and the division of the Land of Waves.
• Kakashi said he would send the agreement to the Hokage, who would decide whether to send an envoy to the Hidden Mist Village.

Kakashi and Zabuza failed to settle four clauses in negotiations between Konoha and the Hidden Mist Village, so they agreed to decide the dispute through battle. After Menma identified their opponents and the teams planned their matchups, Menma asked Kakashi to help him train.

• Konoha accepted most of the Land of Water's cooperation terms but refused to allow the Hidden Mist Village to station an organized military force in the Land of Waves.
• Kakashi and Zabuza argued over mission commissions, the return of two swords, prisoner exchanges, and who would govern the Land of Waves, then agreed to settle the dispute through combat.
• Kakashi told Menma, Sasuke, and Sakura that they would fight Zabuza and his three subordinates in three days.
• Menma shared information about Haku and Hozuki Suigetsu, and Sakura identified the Demon Brothers as the remaining opponents.
• Sasuke chose to fight Suigetsu, Sakura chose Haku, and the group planned their battle before returning to train.
• Menma asked Kakashi to help him with his training.

Konoha’s Sakura Haruno fought Mist Village’s Yuki Haku in the first duel, which would determine the distribution of Land of Waves missions. Sakura used a clone to evade Haku’s finishing attack, and Kakashi declared Sakura the winner.

• Kakashi and Zabuza brought their teams to the arena, explained the rules, and began the match between Sakura Haruno and Yuki Haku.
• Sakura prepared explosive-tagged kunai while Haku waited, then the two exchanged attacks as Sakura dodged and deflected Haku’s ice senbon.
• Sakura detonated her kunai and used Earth and Water Release, while Haku blocked her attacks and froze the arena’s water.
• Haku used Ice Body Flicker and Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals to trap Sakura, then launched Thousand Flying Water Needles.
• Haku’s senbon struck an Earth Clone, which melted into mud, and Kakashi appeared to declare Sakura the winner.
• Haku protested the result and demanded to know how she had lost.