Recaps

Sakura defeated Yuki Haku by exploiting the arena boundaries, and Zabuza urged Haku to learn from the loss. Sasuke then fought Hozuki Suigetsu, wounded him with his Sharingan, and provoked his anger.

• Zabuza explained how Sakura used the arena rules and her varied abilities to defeat Haku, then warned Haku against arrogance.
• Sakura thanked Menma for his advice and wished Sasuke luck before he entered the arena.
• Suigetsu summoned the Kubikiribōchō and used its power to send Sasuke flying toward the edge of the field.
• Menma warned Sasuke not to clash with Suigetsu directly, but Sasuke charged and dodged Suigetsu’s strike with his Sharingan.
• Sasuke cut Suigetsu across the waist and insulted his swordsmanship, enraging him by insulting his brother.

Sasuke and Suigetsu fought over the Hidden Mist swords, and Suigetsu won the match by carrying Sasuke outside the arena before collapsing. Sakura treated Suigetsu, the next battle was postponed until tomorrow, and Menma wondered whether medical Ninjutsu hurt as much as Suigetsu’s treatment had.

• Suigetsu used his Water Transformation Secret Technique to freeze his waist wound, then enlarged his arm and legs to charge at Sasuke and smash through Yuki Haku’s ice wall.
• Sasuke dodged Suigetsu’s attacks, struck him with a Great Fireball, and watched the heat thaw Suigetsu’s wound until he collapsed.
• Suigetsu suddenly used the Grand Water Ankle Technique to carry Sasuke beyond the arena boundary, so Zabuza declared the Hidden Mist Village the winner and Kakashi agreed to return Nuibari and Kabutowari.
• Suigetsu told Sasuke that the swords had belonged to his brother, then fainted; Sakura treated his wound while Yuki Haku and Menma held him still.
• Zabuza postponed the next battle until tomorrow, and Menma asked Sakura whether medical Ninjutsu hurt as much as Suigetsu’s treatment had.

After Sakura accepted a Ninjutsu scroll from Zabuza, Menma faced Utakata, whom Zabuza claimed was an eight-year-old Genin. Menma recognized Utakata as a Jinchuriki, and after Kakashi and Zabuza argued over the choice of opponent, Menma reluctantly agreed to fight rather than risk a recorded surrender.

• Kakashi brought Menma and the others back to the battlefield, where Zabuza thanked Sakura and gave her a Water Release: Great Water Arm Technique scroll.
• Menma challenged the Demon Brothers, but Zabuza instead introduced Utakata as his opponent and claimed Utakata was an eight-year-old Genin.
• Menma recognized Utakata as a Jinchuriki, and Kakashi explained that Menma could sense Chakra because his mother had been an Uzumaki and a Jinchuriki.
• Kakashi and Zabuza argued over whether Utakata's disguise was fair, then Kakashi told Menma to fight or surrender.
• Menma considered calling in another Konoha Genin, but after Kakashi warned that surrender would affect his evaluations and promotions, Menma agreed to fight.

Menma fought Utakata in the arena, overwhelming him with shadow clones and coordinated wind attacks until Utakata called on the Six-Tails and struck down nearly all the clones. The fight left Menma battered and unsteady while Utakata stood in a two-tailed cloak.

• Menma asked Sasuke to lend him his Sharingan, but Sasuke refused.
• Menma and Utakata discussed their reasons for fighting, then Menma released his Four Symbols Seal and created hundreds or thousands of shadow clones.
• Menma’s clones used wind techniques to destroy Utakata’s bubbles and pressure him with tornadoes and compressed air bullets.
• Utakata defended himself with water and sticky foam, then called on the Six-Tails as Menma’s attacks began to overwhelm his defense.
• Utakata’s red chakra tentacles wiped out most of the clones and struck Menma three times, leaving Menma struggling to stand as Utakata manifested two tails.

Utakata lost control and entered his Half-Tailed-Beast Transformation, forcing Kakashi and Zabuza to coordinate against him. Kakashi fled with his team, but Menma stopped and insisted they could not leave.

• Utakata attacked Menma with Chakra tentacles, but Kakashi severed one and declared Konoha's concession.
• Utakata's rage triggered his Half-Tailed-Beast Transformation, and the Six-Tails tempted him by turning his thoughts toward his teacher.
• Zabuza, Suigetsu, and Haku joined Kakashi and tried to restrain Utakata with water and ice techniques.
• Kakashi secretly signaled Sasuke and Sakura to evacuate Menma, then escaped with them while Zabuza's group held Utakata back.
• Menma jumped down from Sasuke's back and told Kakashi and the others they could not leave.

Menma and Team 7 returned to stop Utakata after Menma convinced Kakashi that a rampaging Jinchuriki could draw the nations into war. The Six-Tails emerged, but Menma addressed it by name and invoked the Sage of Six Paths, leaving it questioning who he was.

• Menma persuaded Kakashi to return by claiming his seal could help contain a Jinchuriki.
• Utakata broke free of the ice and severely injured Zabuza, Haku, and Suigetsu as they tried to escape his attacks.
• Kakashi and Team 7 arrived in time to deflect Utakata's Tailed-Beast Bomb and protect Zabuza's group.
• Menma's shadow clones and wind attacks created an opening for Sasuke to strike Utakata with lightning, causing the Six-Tails to emerge in its complete form.
• Menma called the beast Saiken and mentioned the Sage of Six Paths, prompting the Six-Tails to ask who Menma was.

Menma used a fist-bump technique to enter Utakata’s mental world and convinced Saiken that he was Ashura’s reincarnation. He warned Saiken that Grandma might emerge from the moon, arranged for Saiken to hide in Utakata, and received some of the Six-Tails’ Chakra.

• Menma and Saiken touched fists, sending Menma into Utakata’s mental world.
• Menma let Saiken sense his Chakra and claimed to be Ashura’s reincarnation, formerly reborn as Hashirama Senju.
• Menma told Saiken that Grandma might be coming out of the moon and invoked Gamamaru’s prophecy about a blond, blue-eyed boy.
• Menma persuaded Saiken to remain hidden in Utakata rather than move into Menma’s body, and promised to return with the other Tailed Beasts when the time was right.
• Saiken gave Menma a portion of his Chakra and agreed not to kill Utakata as Menma returned to his body.

Menma helped end Utakata’s rampage and the group left the Land of Waves, while Kakashi chose to conceal what Menma had done. The chapter ended with the Great Toad Sage waking again amid confusion at Mount Myōboku.

• Menma pretended to seal the Six-Tails, and Saiken returned to Utakata’s body as Zabuza agreed to keep the incident secret.
• Zabuza conceded the final match to Konoha, then led his group back toward the Land of Water while Gato paid the mission fee.
• Kakashi and the others left the Land of Waves, where Inari glared at them after Kaiza died in the tsunami.
• Gato paid Menma an extra one million ryo and claimed he had destroyed the camera footage.
• Kakashi decided not to tell Danzo about Menma’s actions, while Menma worried about explaining the Six-Tails’ Chakra to Kushina.
• At Mount Myōboku, Gamaba explained that the Great Toad Sage had awakened and fallen asleep again, before the Sage finally woke.

The Great Toad Sage prophesied that a golden-clad Child of Destiny would lead the Shinobi World's transformation, then sent the toads to find Jiraiya. Back in Konoha, Menma revealed to Kushina that he had obtained the Six-Tails' Chakra during the Land of Waves mission, leaving her alarmed and asking him to explain what happened.

• The Great Toad Sage told Fukasaku and Shima that the suffering Child of Destiny had awakened and warned that the Shinobi World faced an unprecedented crisis.
• Menma and his companions returned to Konoha, and Kakashi went to report their mission while Menma went home.
• Minato told Menma that Kushina was busy preparing Konoha's barriers and sealing scrolls for the upcoming Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Menma waited for Kushina to return and asked whether she could sense changes in his Chakra.
• Kushina sensed the Six-Tails' Chakra inside Menma, and he told her it had entered his body while he helped Utakata suppress the Six-Tails during the mission.

Kushina explained how Menma’s gentle Six-Tails Chakra could help him build and store vast amounts of Chakra, and Menma devised a plan using the Yin Seal. She then gave him a large collection of introductory Uzumaki Sealing Arts books to study.

• Kushina checked Menma’s Four Symbols Seal and explained that the leaking Tailed Beast Chakra would stimulate his Chakra production while his Uzumaki vitality and the Chakra’s healing ability protected him.
• Kushina described how the Yin Seal stored excess Chakra and contrasted the Uzumaki Clan’s gradual release method with Tsunade’s Strength of a Hundred Technique.
• Menma proposed storing most of the Six-Tails Chakra and his newly refined Chakra in a Yin Seal, and Kushina agreed that the plan seemed feasible if he learned the technique first.
• Kushina brought Menma a tall stack of introductory Uzumaki Sealing Arts books she had gathered and urged him to study them.

Menma gave Kushina the money he had earned on the Land of Waves mission, then learned that his team would enter the upcoming Chunin Ninja Exams and take another A-Rank mission. He went to the Yamanaka Clan to retrieve his exam forms and undergo counseling, and ended the chapter heading to the clan home with Ino.

• Menma unsealed one million ryo and gave it to Kushina for the household, sharing a warm moment with her.
• Kakashi split the mission earnings among the four teammates and told them Konoha would host the Chunin Ninja Exams with the Sand Village and several smaller countries.
• Kakashi said Menma's registration forms were with the Yamanaka Clan and that he needed counseling before collecting them, then assigned the team an A-Rank mission beginning in ten days.
• Menma visited the Yamanaka flower shop, where Ino told him her father, Inoichi, was still at the Intelligence Division and invited him to wait.
• Menma explained Kakashi's counseling request to Ino, helped her tidy the shop, and walked with her to the Yamanaka Clan home.

Menma discussed his violent impulses with Inoichi, who warned him to respect life and control his desire to kill. Back home, Menma learned Jiraiya would visit the next day and was stunned by Kushina’s description of him as a celebrated documentary writer.

• Inoichi invited Menma into the Yamanaka Clan compound and questioned him about his thoughts on killing and Zabuza Momochi.
• Inoichi warned Menma that his instinctive desire to kill was dangerous and urged him to reflect on the value of life.
• After dinner, Ino walked Menma out and encouraged him to stay true to himself; they agreed to call each other by their names.
• Menma returned home, where Kushina told him Jiraiya would visit the next day to discuss taking him as a disciple.
• Kushina described Jiraiya as a powerful, serious Ninja and a renowned documentary writer, leaving Menma shocked.

Jiraiya accepted Menma as his disciple and tested his abilities at the training grounds. After Menma identified his weaknesses and asked to learn the Rasengan, Jiraiya revealed that he had never heard of it.

• Jiraiya explained his rules for taking Menma as a disciple, and Minato and Kushina agreed to the terms.
• Jiraiya accepted Menma and took him to the training grounds to assess his abilities.
• Menma attacked Jiraiya with Multiple Shadow Clones and Wind Release techniques, but Jiraiya defended himself with Needle Jizō.
• Jiraiya asked Menma to assess his strengths and weaknesses, and Menma identified his large Chakra reserves and limited combat skills.
• Menma asked to learn the Rasengan, but Jiraiya asked what it was.

Menma explained his Rasengan idea to Jiraiya, who agreed it seemed feasible but wanted time to study it. Jiraiya then taught Menma the Summoning Technique and demonstrated it by summoning a giant toad.

• Menma described the Rasengan as a hand-seal-free technique that compressed and rotated Chakra, and said the Tailed-Beast Bomb had inspired the idea.
• Jiraiya tried gathering and compressing Chakra but could not keep it from leaking, so he decided to study Menma's idea before teaching him how to develop it.
• Menma asked to learn Jiraiya's hair Ninjutsu, and Jiraiya proposed teaching him the Summoning Technique as well.
• Jiraiya challenged Menma to learn the Summoning Technique within a day and summon a toad larger than himself before he would teach him Needle Jizō.
• Jiraiya explained the blood-contract summoning method and demonstrated it, summoning a gigantic orange-red toad with black flame-like markings.

Menma was accidentally sent to another dimension when he attempted his first Summoning Technique, and Jiraiya failed to bring him back from Mount Myōboku. The Great Toad Sage said Menma was safe and would return in a few days, while Menma found himself on a barren world facing a shattered planet.

• Menma signed the Mount Myōboku contract and tried the Summoning Technique, but vanished instead of summoning a toad.
• Jiraiya returned to Mount Myōboku and asked Fukasaku to use the Reverse Summoning Technique, but it failed to reach Menma.
• Fukasaku said Menma’s contract connection remained intact, and the Great Toad Sage told Jiraiya that Menma was safe and would return in a few days.
• Menma woke in a desolate dimension and saw a massive shattered planet and a nearby moon in the sky.

Menma explored the barren fragment where he had become stranded, found water and fish, and used an Explosive Tag to catch some. His blast drew a Kappa from the pool, and Menma asked the creature where he was and how to leave.

• Menma reasoned that the hidden fragment might contain other people and set off to search for signs of life.
• Menma created three Shadow Clones, and one found a pool with fish while the others found nothing.
• Menma reached the pool, drank its water, and used an Explosive Tag to stun fish after his kunai and shuriken failed.
• A Kappa emerged from the pool, mistook Menma for someone called Mountain Child, and then demanded to know who he was.
• Menma identified the creature as a Kappa and rapidly asked where he was and how to get home, prompting it to tell him to wait.

Menma Namikaze tried to convince a Kappa that he was a human Ninja who had accidentally entered its hidden territory, but the Kappa refused to believe him. After threatening it into fetching the chief, Menma met the gathered inhabitants and asked them how he could return to his world.

• Menma showed the Kappa his kunai to prove he was human, but it remained confused about humans, Ninja, and the Summoning Technique.
• Menma threatened the Kappa with his kunai and told it to inform its chief that war would follow if they did not surrender.
• The Kappa fled to a shrine beneath a torii gate and told the chief and other inhabitants that an outsider had arrived and threatened them.
• The chief and the others argued about whether to confront Menma, then went to meet him.
• Menma introduced himself to the assembled creatures and asked how to return to the planet on the other side, while they tried to interpret his explanation.

Menma spoke with the yokai at their shrine, explained the origins of Ninja and Chakra, and learned how the Great Calamity had shattered their homeland. He concluded that they came from the same planet as him, but the yokai denied knowing Gamamaru until Kappa said he might recognize the name.

• The Great Tengu questioned Menma about his identity and intentions, and Menma apologized for threatening the yokai and hurting Kappa.
• Menma explained that Ninja used Chakra to perform Ninjutsu and described how the Sage of Six Paths had founded the Ninja Sect.
• The Great Tengu told Menma that outsiders had planted a life-draining tree, destroying their homeland during the Great Calamity Period.
• Menma recognized the yokai and said their broken homeland matched the shattered planet above them, suggesting they came from the same world.
• The yokai said they did not know Gamamaru, but Kappa spoke up from behind a pillar and said he might know the name.

Menma questioned the High Plain of Heaven yokai about humans and the ancient enemies, then explained his theory that the Ōtsutsuki Clan had devastated the planet and that Ninja descended from them. He began recounting Kaguya Ōtsutsuki’s betrayal and her sons’ plan to stop her.

• The Kappa told Menma and the yokai that Gamamaru, now leader of Mount Myōboku, had once lived in its pond, and Menma described the three sacred lands.
• Menma asked whether humans remained in High Plain of Heaven, what had happened to humans on the original continent, and how the yokai would respond if the ancient enemies returned.
• Menma warned that the Ōtsutsuki Clan would return within years to harvest the remaining fruit, and the yokai reacted with alarm and anger.
• Menma claimed that some humans on the Ninja Continent descended from the outsiders and that Ninja possessed the continent’s greatest military power.
• The Tengu touched Menma’s chakra and confirmed it was the power that had weakened the yokai, prompting Menma to explain the Ōtsutsuki, the Divine Tree, and the planet’s destruction.
• Menma recounted how Kaguya Ōtsutsuki ate the Divine Tree’s fruit, had Hagoromo and Hamura, and was eventually sealed by her sons after they discovered her plan to harvest humanity.

Menma recounted the history of the Ōtsutsuki and asked the demons whether they would fight a returning enemy alongside humans. He offered to restore their homeland, then pointed to the moon as proof that Chakra could reshape a world.

• Menma explained Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki’s history and asked the demons whether they would fight the returning enemy and ally with humans.
• The demons argued over whether to fight, citing their losses and distrust of humans.
• The Great Tengu asked Menma what would happen if the demons stayed out of the war, and Menma said their fate would depend on whether his side won.
• Menma offered to reunite the shattered half of the planet and let the demons return to their homeland.
• After the bald old man challenged him, Menma led the demons outside and identified the moon as an artificial object created by Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki with Chakra.

Menma convinced Tengu to ally the yokai with humanity against the Ōtsutsuki Clan, arguing that their experience and power system could help counter the threat. After outlining his plans to grow stronger and obtain Kaguya Ōtsutsuki’s Rinnegan, Menma asked the Great Tengu to send him back to the Ninja Continent.

• Menma explained how the Rinnegan’s Planetary Devastation could draw together fragments of a shattered planet and proposed awakening or transplanting Rinnegan to use it.
• Menma told Tengu that Nagato Uzumaki and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki each possessed a pair of Rinnegan, and described a secret technique that could strengthen his body and reduce the life-force cost.
• Tengu agreed on behalf of the Yokai Host to form an alliance with humanity, and he and Menma solemnly clasped hands.
• Wall God · Wallfoot recorded the alliance and the sides’ plans for cooperation, including Monster Arts exchanges, Ninjutsu development, mutual summoning, and joint resistance against the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
• Menma said he needed to improve his strength before uniting the Shinobi World, and claimed he could obtain Kaguya Ōtsutsuki’s Rinnegan within four years and defeat the Ōtsutsuki Clan within twenty.
• Menma asked the Great Tengu to send him back to the Ninja Continent.

Menma and Great Tengu realized neither of them knew how to return from the High Plain of Heaven, but they found a possible way to bring the yokai back through the Summoning Technique. Menma summoned a small toad, which recognized him, leaving him curious about how it knew him.

• Great Tengu and Menma discovered that neither had a way back, but agreed to keep their alliance and look for a solution.
• Menma explained the Summoning Technique, and a yokai compared its blood contract to the onmyoji Shikigami Seal.
• Menma proposed having the yokai give blood to a summoned toad so the toads of Mount Myōboku could make a contract scroll for them.
• Menma summoned a tadpole, then released the Double Four Symbols Seal and summoned an orange-red toad.
• The toad recognized Menma, and he asked how it knew him.

Menma recovered after summoning Gamakichi and arranged for Mount Myōboku to prepare a Summoning Scroll so he could return in three days. He asked Tengu and the other monsters to guide his training, but Tengu warned that their methods and limited potential might make that difficult.

• Menma gave Gamakichi monster blood and asked him to have Mount Myōboku prepare a Summoning Scroll, then collapsed from the strain of summoning him.
• Tengu and Shuten-dōji praised Menma’s ability and hoped he could help them achieve revenge and return home.
• Gamakichi told Sage Shima, Sage Fukasaku, and Jiraiya that Menma was safe and would summon him again in three days; Jiraiya began gathering materials for the scroll.
• Menma recovered, ate a huge meal, and asked Tengu and the monsters to guide his training and resume their own.
• Tengu explained that monster cultivation differed from human training and that the monsters had reached the limits of their strength.

Menma asked the Tengu to train him in close-combat techniques that could harm the Ōtsutsuki Clan, and the Great Tengu began teaching him the monsters’ combat methods. Menma struggled through his first lessons, and the training continued after the Tengu countered his kunai thrust.

• Menma explained that taijutsu could be more effective against the Ōtsutsuki Clan than spells or ninja techniques, and asked the monsters to teach him close combat.
• The Tengu agreed to arrange training and explained that Monster Techniques comprised slash, fist, step, and trickery.
• The Great Tengu introduced unarmed combat and invited Menma to attack him with a sword.
• The Great Tengu disarmed Menma with Arm-Lift Side Elbow, knocked him down, and warned him against using an unfamiliar weapon.
• Menma switched to a kunai and thrust at the Great Tengu, who evaded and struck him in the back with an elbow.

Menma trained in combat with Tengu for three days, enduring repeated defeats as he learned to attack quickly, defend himself, and avoid leaving openings. When his appointment with Gamakichi arrived, Menma performed the Summoning Jutsu, and Gamakichi appeared with the new summoning scroll.

• Tengu repeatedly sparred with Menma, teaching him to conceal his intentions, use his whole body as a weapon, and preserve strength for defense and follow-up attacks.
• Tengu knocked Menma unconscious and told him to keep attacking until an enemy could no longer resist.
• Menma woke beneath the shrine's eaves, complained about Tengu's rough training, and asked him to call him Menma instead of using an honorific.
• Menma continued sparring with Tengu for three days, then prepared for his appointment with Gamakichi.
• Menma performed the Summoning Jutsu, and Gamakichi appeared carrying the new summoning scroll he had requested.