Recaps

Naruto summoned Gamabunta and assessed him as a potential battlefield partner, confronting the giant frog without fear. Gamabunta approved of Naruto, and Naruto released the summoning after saying he would need him during the Chunin Ninja Exams Finals.

• Naruto questioned Gamakichi about his combat capabilities, then decided he needed a more capable summon to evaluate.
• Naruto used stronger chakra to summon Gamabunta, startling Hinata and impressing Jiraiya with the scale of the summon.
• Naruto told Gamabunta that his temper made him an unstable battlefield partner and warned he might replace him.
• Gamabunta became amused by Naruto's confidence and said he approved of him, though he would fight only when he felt like it.
• Naruto said he would take Gamabunta's mood into consideration, named the Chunin Ninja Exams Finals as the time he would need him, and released the summoning.

Naruto summoned the stranded soldier Karsten again and ordered him to survive in the hostile world while Naruto found a way to support him. After ten days of guiding Karsten through dangers and helping him reunite with the 8th Cadian Regiment, Naruto received a battle-ready soldier with secure supplies.

• Naruto summoned Karsten and learned that he was lost in an unknown star system with only seventeen Bolter rounds and almost no supplies.
• Naruto ordered Karsten into extreme survival mode and promised to find a way to provide supplies.
• Over the next ten days, Naruto trained with chainswords by day and guided Karsten through a dangerous alien wilderness at night.
• Karsten reunited with the remnants of the 8th Cadian Regiment, helped eliminate a xenos tribe, and secured ammunition and supplies.
• Karsten reported to Naruto that his regiment was ready to enter battle and asked for orders.

Naruto learned that Danzo was secretly preserving Root’s forces while Orochimaru prepared to infiltrate Konoha, and he marked Danzo as an urgent internal threat. A further report from Zero revealed how Danzo had destroyed a celebrated Konoha hero, though it withheld the hero’s name.

• Naruto told Karsten to keep the Cadia 8th Regiment Storm Troopers ready for a future battle in Naruto’s homeland, then dismissed him through the Summoning Jutsu.
• Naruto received Haku’s report that Sound Ninja had infiltrated Konoha and one had briefly met with a Root member.
• Zero reported that Danzo had kept Root’s elite forces out of the village while ANBU prepared for Orochimaru’s invasion.
• Naruto concluded that Danzo was allowing the invasion to weaken Konoha and raised the priority of eliminating him to the highest level.
• Zero sent a report describing how Danzo had used rumors and political attacks to drive a celebrated Konoha hero to suicide, without naming him.

Naruto investigated records connected to the campaign against Konoha’s White Fang and traced several attackers to a Root division. At the Memorial Stone, Kakashi told Naruto how Hatake Sakumo’s choice to save his comrades led to public condemnation and his death, leaving Naruto with a witness who could expose the past.

• Naruto searched Konoha’s Archives for old shop records and matched seven outspoken critics of the White Fang to ninja later transferred to Root’s “Mole” division.
• Naruto asked the archivist about Hatake Squad’s failed mission, but she claimed its core records were illegible.
• Naruto went to the Memorial Stone and found Kakashi mourning Obito Uchiha.
• Kakashi told Naruto that his father, Hatake Sakumo, abandoned a mission to save his comrades, was blamed for its failure, and eventually gave up on himself.
• Naruto recognized Kakashi as a witness and saw Sakumo’s story as a means to expose those responsible.

After learning that Orochimaru was the only outsider who might know the secrets behind Danzō’s bandaged right arm and eye, Naruto used his Chainsword technique to draw out Orochimaru’s scout. He offered the technique’s core data in exchange for the intelligence, and Kabuto hesitated and asked why Naruto wanted it.

• Naruto left Kakashi in the rain, saying that people should not die for nothing.
• Naruto ordered Zero to investigate Danzō’s right arm and eye, and Zero reported that Orochimaru might know their secrets.
• Naruto decided to use his Chainsword technique as bait to draw Orochimaru’s attention.
• Naruto displayed his refined Chainsword Shadow Clone Jutsu at the Third Training Ground, where Kabuto arrived to observe.
• Naruto offered Orochimaru the technique’s core data in exchange for information about Danzō’s right arm and eye.
• Kabuto called the intelligence too valuable and asked Naruto why he was interested in the leader of Root.

Naruto exposed Kabuto’s history with Root and his hatred of Danzo, then secured his cooperation against their common enemy. He left Kabuto with instructions to arrange a hidden meeting with Danzo so Naruto could test the power of Danzo’s bandaged arm and covered eye.

• Naruto explained that Orochimaru wanted to destroy the Third Hokage’s rule and that Danzo hoped to seize power from the ruins.
• Naruto deduced that Kabuto had been raised by Root, erased by Danzo, and sent to Orochimaru as a disposable spy.
• Kabuto lost his composure when Naruto identified Danzo as the source of his suffering and personal hatred.
• Naruto reframed their arrangement as cooperation to eliminate Danzo, and Kabuto agreed to hear what he needed to do.
• Naruto ordered Kabuto to arrange a meeting with Danzo while keeping Naruto’s existence secret, so Naruto could conduct a firepower test.

Naruto arranged for Kabuto Yakushi to meet Shimura Danzō while Karsten watched from a distant water tower with a sniper rifle. Karsten shot Danzō in the head, leaving Kabuto and the Root operatives stunned as they realized their leader was dead.

• Kabuto agreed to Naruto’s plan to test Danzō and arranged a secret meeting with Root.
• Naruto summoned Karsten to a water tower and ordered him to shoot Danzō in the head while recording the results.
• Kabuto delivered misleading intelligence to Danzō on the abandoned bridge while waiting anxiously for Naruto’s signal.
• When Danzō grew suspicious and a summoned hawk startled him, Karsten fired an almost inaudible energy beam from three kilometers away.
• The shot destroyed Danzō’s head, and the stunned Root operatives cried out that the group was under attack.

Naruto watched Danzo survive a long-range killing shot by using Izanagi, revealing the Sharingan implanted in his arm. Kabuto escaped Danzo’s Root ninja, while Naruto counted the lives Danzo had left.

• Naruto observed Danzo’s apparent death from a water tower, but the body vanished as Izanagi restored him and consumed one Sharingan in his arm.
• Karsten scanned Danzo’s exposed arm and counted nine active Sharingan remaining; Naruto resolved to kill Danzo until they were gone.
• Danzo blamed Orochimaru and ordered his Root ninja to kill Kabuto Yakushi, who taunted him and escaped their first attack with an Earth-Style Wall.
• Kabuto Yakushi used Shadow Clones and smoke bombs to evade the Root ninja and disappear into the forest.

Naruto learned that Danzo had ordered Root into hiding after the unexplained attack, and he prepared to exploit Orochimaru’s coming invasion while strengthening his control over the Nine-Tails’ chakra. On the day of the Chunin Exams finals, Gaara eagerly anticipated fighting Naruto, while Naruto’s first match was announced against Neji Hyuga.

• Danzo ordered Root to suspend its operations and hide until the Chunin Ninja Exams ended after learning that the attack could not be tracked or identified.
• Naruto received Zero’s report that Danzo had gone into hiding and decided to use the coming chaos of Orochimaru’s invasion to pressure him.
• Naruto forcibly drew chakra from the Nine-Tails and formed a stable three-tailed Tailed Beast Cloak.
• Before the finals, Gaara told Temari and Kankuro that he was excited to crush Naruto and taste his blood.
• Genma Shiranui announced Naruto Uzumaki’s first finals match against Neji Hyuga.

Naruto faced Neji in the arena as Neji taunted him with claims about fate and the weakness of a dead last. Naruto calmly evaded Neji’s Gentle Fist attacks and endured his Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, revealing that the strikes could not stop his chakra.

• Neji opened the fight by calling Naruto a dead last and arguing that people could not escape their fate, while Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura expected Naruto to defeat him.
• Neji rushed Naruto with Gentle Fist strikes, but Naruto dodged with a tiny shift and drove his shoulder into Neji’s chest, sending him stumbling backward.
• Neji attacked again, and Naruto dismissed fate as an excuse for weakness while effortlessly slipping through his strikes.
• Neji used Eight Trigrams Palm: Heavenly Rotation, then launched Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms against Naruto.
• Naruto allowed the strikes to land, but his chakra surged through the sealed points; he told Neji that the attack was ineffective and his theory was wrong.

Naruto overwhelmed Neji and challenged the Hyuga Clan’s Caged Bird system, arguing that it oppressed talented branch-family members and weakened Konoha. He left Neji defeated and shaken after threatening to force Hyuga Hiashi to remove the curse mark or face an improved version imposed on the main family.

• Neji’s Gentle Fist failed against Naruto, who countered with efficient strikes and drove him back.
• Naruto told Neji that the Caged Bird restricted his talent and was a cruel, inefficient man-made restraint.
• Naruto explained that the curse mark’s goal of protecting the Byakugan was reasonable but that the main family’s power to control branch members created tyranny.
• Naruto pinned Neji and declared that Hyuga Hiashi must remove the curse mark from every branch-family member or Naruto would place a controllable version on every main-family member.
• Neji lost the will to fight as Naruto told him to live for himself, then Naruto left the arena.

Naruto watched the Chunin Exam matches unfold and anticipated Sunagakure’s attack, then the Konoha Crush Plan began during Sasuke and Gaara’s fight. Unaffected by the sleep genjutsu, Naruto deployed clones to protect civilians and organize an evacuation while he prepared to handle the Hokage’s safety.

• Naruto defeated Neji, whose spirit collapsed, and Genma Shiranui declared Naruto the winner.
• Kankuro forfeited to Shino Aburame, and Shikamaru Nara later forfeited to Temari after outmaneuvering her.
• Sasuke Uchiha broke through Gaara’s defenses with Chidori as Gaara’s killing intent intensified.
• Kabuto Yakushi activated the Temple of Nirvana Technique, putting most spectators and lower-ranked ninja to sleep and beginning the Konoha Crush Plan.
• Naruto resisted the genjutsu, summoned over a hundred shadow clones and chainswords, and ordered them to protect civilians, evacuate the arena, and maintain order.
• Naruto said he and the Karsten Squad would handle the Hokage’s safety, then turned toward the Third Hokage and the disguised Fourth Kazekage.

Naruto’s Shadow Clones organized the defense of Konoha, rescuing civilians and crippling Orochimaru’s summoned snakes. As Sasuke fought Gaara in the forest and became trapped by sand, five of Naruto’s clones arrived to begin an A-rank suppression protocol.

• Naruto’s Shadow Clone squads killed invading Sound and Sand Ninja, protected civilians, and evacuated them from the stands.
• Hinata Hyuga watched Naruto’s clones fight through her Byakugan and resolved to stop holding everyone back.
• A ten-clone squad blinded Orochimaru’s three giant snakes and crippled their tails before Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuhi, and the Jonin arrived.
• Kakashi sent Sasuke, Sakura, and Shikamaru after Gaara, while Temari and Kankuro fled with him through the forest.
• Gaara began transforming as Shukaku’s chakra emerged, and Sasuke attacked him with Chidori until sand trapped his arm.
• Five Naruto Uzumaki Shadow Clones surrounded Gaara and announced that they were initiating an A-rank suppression protocol.

Naruto’s Shadow Clones rescued Sasuke and fought Shukaku after Gaara surrendered control to the One-Tail. As the battle continued, Shino blocked Kankuro’s attempt to kill Sasuke and confronted him.

• Gaara used the Feigning Sleep Technique and let Shukaku take control, transforming into the One-Tail.
• Ten Naruto Shadow Clones surrounded Shukaku, severed one of its sand arms, and defended against its Drilling Air Bullet barrage.
• A second squad freed Sasuke and carried him to safety, where Shikamaru supported him.
• Kankuro prepared to shoot poisoned Senbon at Sasuke as he and Temari tried to retreat.
• Shino blocked Kankuro with a wall of insects and declared that Kankuro had to keep fighting.

Shino captured Kankuro while Naruto’s Shadow Clones fought Shukaku and prepared to counter its Tailed Beast Ball with controlled Nine-Tails Chakra. Sasuke wondered how he could ever defeat Naruto as Orochimaru revealed that the Sand Ninja’s betrayal and Shukaku’s rampage were only the beginning of his plan for the Third Hokage.

• Shino clogged Kankuro’s puppet and chakra threads with Kikaichū, draining Kankuro’s chakra and capturing him.
• Naruto’s three Shadow Clones coordinated attacks against Shukaku’s arm, but Shukaku began charging a Tailed Beast Ball.
• Sasuke watched the gathering attack and asked how he could defeat Naruto.
• Ten Naruto Shadow Clones activated controlled Nine-Tails Chakra and prepared to interrupt Shukaku’s charge and restrict its movement.
• Orochimaru told the Third Hokage that the Sand Ninja’s betrayal and Shukaku’s rampage were only appetizers for the evening’s main event.

Orochimaru summoned the reanimated First and Second Hokage to face Hiruzen, while Naruto’s Shadow Clones attacked Shukaku to stop its Tailed Beast Ball. After severing Shukaku’s sand head and sending the blast away from the forest, the remaining clones charged toward Gaara, the Jinchūriki inside it.

• Orochimaru taunted Hiruzen, who refused to regret choosing Minato and condemned Orochimaru’s ambition.
• Orochimaru used Impure World Reincarnation to summon Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju inside the Four Violet Flames Formation.
• Naruto’s ten Shadow Clones used the Tailed Beast Ball’s shockwave to rush Shukaku as it fired the attack.
• Five Shadow Clones struck Shukaku’s jaw and cut its sand-and-earth head from its body, sending the Tailed Beast Ball into a distant mountain range.
• The remaining five Shadow Clones charged toward Gaara, who was sleeping inside Shukaku’s severed head.

Naruto’s Shadow Clones stopped Gaara’s rampage and captured him, while Naruto arrived at the barrier containing Hiruzen and Orochimaru. He summoned the Karsten Squad and ordered them to attack the four Sound Ninja sustaining the barrier.

• Naruto’s Shadow Clones severed Gaara’s connection to the Feigning Sleep Technique, collapsing Shukaku’s form and freeing Gaara from his rampage.
• A Shadow Clone sealed Gaara’s chakra and declared him a prisoner of war, while Sasuke watched Naruto’s tactics with growing confusion.
• Inside the barrier, Hiruzen prepared to use the Reaper Death Seal and reflected on Naruto’s work protecting the village.
• Naruto arrived outside the Four Violet Flames Formation, analyzed its weak points, and summoned the Karsten Squad.
• Naruto ordered the squad to eliminate the Sound Ninja sustaining the barrier; Karsten stayed beside Naruto while the other four rushed the barrier’s vertices.

Naruto and the Karsten Squad breached Orochimaru’s barrier and entered the arena where Hiruzen Sarutobi faced Orochimaru and the resurrected First and Second Hokage. Naruto rejected Hiruzen’s praise of the Will of Fire and condemned the failures it had allowed, leaving Hiruzen unable to answer.

• The Karsten Squad used oscillation weapons to destabilize the Sound Ninja Four’s positions and weaken the Four Violet Flames Formation.
• Naruto spotted the barrier’s weakest point, and Karsten fired an energy lance that opened a breach for Naruto and his squad.
• Naruto entered the arena with the Karsten Squad protecting him, stopping Hiruzen Sarutobi, Orochimaru, Hashirama Senju, and Tobirama Senju in surprise.
• Hashirama Senju praised the barrier-breaking technology, while Tobirama Senju suggested Naruto himself was extraordinary.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi welcomed Naruto as the inheritor of the Fourth’s Will of Fire, but Naruto challenged that legacy by citing Sakumo Hatake’s suicide and Shimura Danzō’s abuses.
• Naruto called Orochimaru a treacherous disciple, the resurrected Hokage dead summoned, and Hiruzen an incompetent leader, then asked whether this was the fruit of the Will of Fire.

Naruto confronted Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tobirama Senju over Konoha’s failures and the Uchiha clan’s extermination, but Orochimaru used control talismans to turn the First and Second Hokage against him. The Karsten Squad blocked Tobirama’s attack and defended Naruto from Hashirama’s Wood Release, but the growing forest pinned them in place.

• Naruto’s accusations left Hiruzen Sarutobi overwhelmed with shame and doubt about the Will of Fire he had defended.
• Naruto challenged Tobirama Senju over the Uchiha’s policing system, isolation, and extermination, while Hashirama Senju demanded that Hiruzen explain what had happened to the clan.
• Orochimaru placed control talismans on Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju, erasing their remaining awareness and making them attack Naruto.
• Two members of the Karsten Squad intercepted Tobirama Senju’s kunai strike, and two others fired Mortal-pattern Bolters as he evaded the explosive rounds.
• Hashirama Senju unleashed Wood Release: Nativity of a Sea of Trees, and the Karsten Squad used a Chainsword to cut through the vines before their rapid regeneration pinned the squad in place.

Orochimaru’s reanimated Hokage overwhelmed Karsten Squad, and Naruto hesitated over whether to sacrifice his soldiers to protect Konoha. Karsten reminded him of the purpose of their sacrifice, and Naruto declared their mission complete as he prepared to cancel the summoning.

• Tobirama Senju and Hashirama Senju split Karsten Squad’s defenses, with Tobirama evading their fire and Hashirama’s Wood Release steadily overwhelming them.
• Tobirama Senju pierced one soldier’s shoulder with Water Release: Water Severing Wave, but the wounded soldier continued firing.
• Orochimaru mocked Naruto as a Wood Dragon Jutsu pushed Karsten Squad’s formation close to collapse.
• Karsten told Naruto about the Krieg 143rd Regiment’s sacrifice to save Julian, who later became a Space Marine and saved hundreds of millions of people.
• Naruto overcame his hesitation, told Karsten Squad their mission was complete, and raised his hand to cancel the summoning as the soldiers answered, “For the Emperor.”

Naruto summoned Julian, a Space Marine from the Ultramarines 2nd Company, into the Four Violet Flames Formation. Julian stood ready to face Hashirama Senju’s Wood Dragon and asked Naruto whether it required purification.

• Naruto canceled his summoning, allowing Hashirama Senju’s Wood Dragon to smash into the empty rooftop.
• Naruto cut his hand and chanted an invocation that formed a glowing Aquila Emblem and disrupted the barrier, unnerving Orochimaru and destabilizing the reanimated Senju brothers.
• Naruto called down the Emperor’s Wrath, summoning a towering Space Marine in cobalt-blue Power Armor.
• The summoned warrior identified himself as Julian of the Ultramarines 2nd Company and greeted Naruto as the commissar who had summoned him.
• Julian rose, aimed his attention at Hashirama Senju’s Wood Dragon, and asked Naruto whether the creature required purification.

Naruto reunited with Julian, a Primaris Space Marine, and ordered him to disable Orochimaru’s reanimated Hokage. Julian’s plasma gun vaporized Hashirama Senju, but Hashirama regenerated, the weapon overheated, and Tobirama Senju seized the opening.

• Naruto recognized Julian from Krieg’s third moon, and Julian affirmed his loyalty to Naruto and the Emperor.
• Naruto ordered Julian to disable the two Hokage puppets and prioritized stopping their movement.
• Julian fired his plasma gun, vaporizing Hashirama Senju’s Wood Dragon and upper body.
• Hashirama Senju regenerated, and Orochimaru explained that the Impure World bodies persisted while their souls remained bound to the world.
• Julian’s plasma gun overheated and entered forced cooling mode, and Tobirama Senju vanished to exploit the opening.

Naruto explained how to suppress the immortal First and Second Hokage, restoring Hiruzen Sarutobi’s fighting spirit. After Hiruzen summoned Enma, Julian took the transformed Adamantine Staff and prepared to attack Hashirama Senju with both it and his Power Sword.

• Tobirama Senju tried to ambush Julian, but Julian blocked the kunai strike with his Power Sword and knocked him back.
• Naruto told Hiruzen Sarutobi that overwhelming the Impure World Reincarnation bodies could stop them long enough to seal them.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned Enma and asked him to transform into the Adamantine Staff for Julian to wield.
• Julian caught the staff and, at Naruto’s command, struck the ground to interrupt Hashirama Senju’s Wood Release.
• Julian charged Hashirama, attacking with his Power Sword and Adamantine Staff at once.

Julian and Hashirama Senju fought inside the Four Violet Flames Formation while Hiruzen Sarutobi kept Tobirama Senju occupied. Tobirama's Bringer-of-Darkness Technique failed to affect Julian, and Julian turned his attack on Tobirama as he tried to escape.

• Julian destroyed Hashirama Senju's Wood Clones and repeatedly battered his regenerating body with his Power Sword and Adamantine Staff.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi used Fire Release and other ninjutsu to keep Tobirama Senju from supporting Hashirama Senju.
• Tobirama Senju cast the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique over the barrier, plunging everyone into darkness, but Julian continued fighting without hesitation.
• Naruto explained that genjutsu could not affect Julian because Emperor's Warriors had no chakra.
• Orochimaru's surprise caused Tobirama Senju to hesitate, and Julian swung his Adamantine Staff at him as Tobirama tried to activate the Flying Thunder God.

Naruto broke free of Orochimaru’s Genjutsu and wounded Tobirama, while Julian battered Hashirama. Tobirama then shifted to Water Release attacks that damaged Julian’s armor and flooded his power pack, leaving Julian’s systems under strain.

• Naruto predicted Tobirama’s Flying Thunder God arrival and struck him with his chainsword, weakening the Genjutsu.
• Hiruzen’s Genjutsu: Bringer-of-Darkness Technique vanished as Tobirama’s control faltered, and Hiruzen recognized Naruto’s speed and aura.
• Julian used the opening to blast Hashirama apart again with his Power Sword and Adamantine Staff.
• Orochimaru ordered Tobirama to stop ambushing Naruto, and Tobirama’s Water Severing Wave damaged Julian’s left knee armor.
• Tobirama unleashed the Great Waterfall Technique, hindering Julian’s movement and flooding his power pack as its cooling system weakened.