Recaps

Hyuga Hiashi confronted his clan’s resistance to abolishing the Caged Bird and sought Naruto’s help to change the Hyuga Clan’s future. He secretly removed Neji’s Curse Mark, leaving Neji free but conflicted about his uncle.

• Hyuga Hiashi rejected the elders’ suggestion to replace Neji’s Caged Bird with another secret seal, believing the Daimyō’s decision could not be defied.
• After seeing Hinata and Hanabi, Hyuga Hiashi resolved to challenge the tradition that would force one of his daughters into the branch family.
• Hyuga Hiashi asked Naruto about Neji’s future, then requested help abolishing the Caged Bird and ending the division between the main and branch families.
• Naruto offered to train more Hyuga clansmen in Root and equip them, provided they were free, while Hiashi hesitated over the proposal.
• Hyuga Hiashi secretly reversed Neji’s Curse Mark, apologized for failing Neji and his father, and asked him to keep its removal quiet.
• Neji realized the shackle was gone but remained conflicted, then faintly nodded to Hiashi’s request for secrecy.

Neji left the Hyuga compound after the Caged Bird mark was removed, while Naruto’s command center received word that Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha were approaching Konoha. The chapter ended with Itachi sensing Konoha’s transformed surveillance network as the two Akatsuki members continued toward their target, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.

• Neji accepted that Hiashi’s apology was a political compromise and headed out to practice shooting before bed.
• Zero reported that Cicada Shell’s Curse Mark had been removed, and Naruto ordered that he receive more training materials and difficult assignments.
• Sai returned Naruto’s frog wallet with more money inside and showed Naruto a vivid painting of Ino; Naruto returned the money as operating funds for Sai and Ino.
• A Root intelligence ninja reported that two unidentified men in Akatsuki robes were traveling toward Konoha, and Naruto identified one as Kisame Hoshigaki.
• Kisame questioned Itachi about Naruto’s influence over Zabuza and Haku, while Itachi sensed Konoha’s extensive new surveillance network and warned Kisame not to cause trouble.

Naruto prepared Konoha for Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki’s arrival, evacuating civilians and setting a sniper to watch them. Itachi and Kisame entered the empty village, clashed with Asuma and Kurenai, and faced Kakashi as the confrontation escalated.

• Naruto ordered a Level Two evacuation along routes Three through Seven and instructed Cicada Shell to target Kisame while withholding fire unless civilians were threatened.
• Itachi and Kisame found Konoha’s streets deserted, and Itachi sensed an unseen trap surrounding them.
• Asuma and Kurenai confronted the pair, but Itachi turned Kurenai’s Genjutsu against her and Kisame drained Asuma’s chakra with Samehada.
• Kakashi arrived to protect Asuma and Kurenai, and Itachi and Kisame prepared to face him.

Neji used a specialized rifle to ambush Itachi and Kisame during their fight with Konoha’s shinobi, badly damaging Samehada and wounding both opponents. With Naruto coordinating the attack from Root, the battle shifted in Konoha’s favor, and Kisame stepped in front of Itachi to protect him.

• Kisame overwhelmed Asuma and drained the chakra from his blades with Samehada, but Asuma cut Kisame’s cheek while pressing his attack.
• Kakashi used water and earth techniques to counter Itachi’s attacks, while Itachi prepared to use Tsukuyomi.
• Neji fired from two kilometers away, scorching Samehada and piercing Kisame’s right arm with a second shot.
• Naruto ordered Neji to keep suppressing Samehada and warned Kakashi not to challenge Itachi’s Sharingan.
• Neji struck Itachi’s left shoulder with a third shot, and Kisame moved in front of the wounded Itachi to defend him.

Naruto’s forces drove Itachi and Kisame from Konoha, and Jiraiya agreed to help Naruto build an intelligence network targeting Akatsuki. The chapter ended with Itachi and Kisame discussing Naruto’s influence on Sasuke while Sasuke pushed himself through training.

• Kisame unleashed a massive Water Release to cover his and Itachi’s retreat after Naruto’s attack wounded them.
• Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai recognized that Naruto’s support had helped them survive, and Naruto’s Shadow Clone reported that its mission was complete.
• Naruto analyzed Samehada’s vulnerability and told Jiraiya he wanted to build an Eye of Heaven system to monitor Akatsuki.
• Jiraiya accepted a position as honorary consultant for the External Purification Department and agreed to help Naruto build the system.
• Nagato examined Itachi’s wound, while Kisame questioned Itachi about Naruto and Sasuke; Itachi insisted they focus on countering Naruto’s attack.
• Sasuke trained at Training Ground Seven until his body gave out, lamenting that he was still too weak to kill Itachi.

Naruto showed Sasuke footage of Itachi and Kisame being wounded by an unseen weapon, then offered to train Sasuke to test a Bolter. Sasuke accepted Naruto’s brutal regimen and followed him to the training ground.

• Naruto told Sasuke that Itachi had come to Konoha and warned that Sasuke was nowhere near ready to face him.
• Naruto showed Sasuke a recording of Itachi and Kisame retreating after being struck by an invisible weapon.
• Naruto explained the Long-Range Laser Rifle and promised Sasuke the first test of a Bolter, a weapon suited to his Sharingan.
• Sasuke agreed to Naruto’s training plan after Naruto instructed him to control his Curse Mark and train without stopping.
• Sasuke put on the 200-kilogram weighted gear and followed Naruto to his personal training ground.

Naruto inspected the first Bolter prototype, identified chakra-powered ammunition as the key challenge, and ordered his agents to seek Kirigakure’s famed blade-makers. Jiraiya recruited him to help bring Tsunade back to Konoha as a candidate for Fifth Hokage, and Naruto set out with him.

• Naruto watched Sasuke train, then visited Root’s Arsenal, where Kenta Kobayashi presented the first Bolter prototype.
• Naruto fired the Bolter, judged its destructive power acceptable, and identified stable chakra infusion in ammunition as the main technical challenge.
• Kenta Kobayashi suggested Kirigakure’s swordsmiths might know how to fuse chakra with metal, and Naruto ordered Zero to contact Zabuza and Haku to find them.
• Jiraiya told Naruto that the Third Hokage’s resignation was certain and asked him to accompany him to bring Tsunade back as a candidate for Fifth Hokage.
• Naruto agreed, gave the prototype to Zero to pass to Sasuke, and left with Jiraiya.

Naruto used his keen observation and Root’s network to track Tsunade through her gambling debts. He learned where she was hiding and became her biggest creditor in Tanzaku Town.

• Naruto spotted a gang trying to rob Jiraiya in a tavern and subdued all seven swindlers.
• Naruto interrogated the gang’s leader and learned that Tsunade owed money to lenders across several towns, with Tanzaku Town as her likely location.
• Naruto and Jiraiya traveled to Tanzaku Town, where Naruto summoned a Root ninja and ordered him to buy Tsunade’s debt claims.
• Creditors sold their claims and information about Tsunade, allowing Root to identify the inn where she was hiding.
• A Root ninja gave Naruto Tsunade’s IOUs and her location, making him her biggest creditor in Tanzaku Town.

Jiraiya brought Naruto to meet Tsunade and urged her to return to Konoha as Hokage, but she rejected him. Naruto used Tsunade’s debts to pressure her into a wager: if he learned the Rasengan within a week, she would return to Konoha and serve as Hokage; if he failed, he would cancel her debts.

• Jiraiya and Naruto found Tsunade drunk in a hotel room in Tanzaku Town, with Shizune trying to care for her.
• Tsunade refused Jiraiya’s request to return to Konoha, condemning the village and its elders.
• Naruto presented Tsunade’s carefully organized debt records and declared himself her largest creditor, demanding she return as Hokage to repay them.
• Tsunade smashed the table in anger, then challenged Naruto to learn the Rasengan within one week, offering her First Hokage necklace as the stake.
• Naruto accepted and revised the wager so that Tsunade would return as Hokage and a medical asset if he succeeded, while he would cancel her debts if he failed.

Naruto used mass Shadow Clone training to master the first stage of the Rasengan in less than a day, impressing Jiraiya and Tsunade. Kabuto arrived with Orochimaru’s offer to revive Nawaki and Dan, leaving Tsunade shaken and under pressure to decide whether to accept.

• Naruto deployed more than a hundred Shadow Clones to train, observe failures, and compile data while Jiraiya warned him about the accumulated mental strain.
• After a day of training, Naruto recorded the clones’ results and revised his plan, then burst his water balloon the next morning and completed the Rasengan’s first stage.
• Kabuto appeared and told Tsunade that Orochimaru wanted to meet her and could revive Nawaki and Dan, using an illusion of them to overwhelm her with grief.
• Naruto challenged Orochimaru’s offer as a dangerous fraud and told Tsunade she was unworthy of the Hokage’s responsibilities in her current state.
• Kabuto left after giving Tsunade one week to consider Orochimaru’s proposal, while Tsunade and Shizune learned that Naruto had killed Danzo.

Naruto used Shadow Clones to complete the second stage of the Rasengan and pushed through the third while Tsunade watched. After Jiraiya left to deal with Orochimaru’s scouts, Naruto provoked Tsunade into attacking him, and she struck his cheek hard enough to draw blood.

• Naruto processed his Shadow Clones’ training data and mastered maintaining the Rasengan’s power, then demonstrated the success to Jiraiya.
• Naruto told Tsunade that the final stage would be completed the next day and that she would then have to honor their agreement.
• Naruto’s clones struggled with the third stage, leaving his body trembling under the accumulated mental strain.
• Jiraiya sensed Orochimaru’s scouts nearby and left the training ground to deal with them.
• Tsunade urged Naruto to give up, but he confronted her and challenged her to fight.
• Tsunade attacked Naruto with a powerful punch, and he redirected most of its force but let her hand graze his cheek, drawing blood.

Zabuza and Haku investigated Kirigakure and confirmed that its bloody graduation exam still forced children to kill one another. After locating the Artisan Clan, Zabuza sent a message to Zero in Konoha, concluding that they needed greater chaos before they could act.

• Zabuza paid an information broker for intelligence on the Mizukage and the Elders Council while Haku reported that they had recruited outsiders and built an underground network.
• Haku told Zabuza that Kirigakure's Ninja Academy would hold a special graduation exam on Fish Tooth Island the next morning.
• Zabuza and Haku watched the exam, where children fought to the death, and Haku stopped Zabuza from attacking the examiners.
• Haku reported that they had found the Artisan Clan, a Kaguya branch family guarded by the Mizukage's ANBU.
• Zabuza sent a message to Zero in Konoha describing the exam and the Artisan Clan, and said they needed chaos before they could act.

Naruto forced Tsunade to confront her fear of blood, then used his fight with Kabuto to provoke her into reacting. As Naruto bled from Kabuto’s attacks, Tsunade’s fear began giving way to anger, but she had not yet overcome it.

• Naruto confronted Tsunade with his bleeding wound and restrained her as he demanded that she face her fear of blood.
• Gamabunta and Manda battled amid Tanzaku Town’s ruins while Kabuto appeared at the training ground and targeted Naruto.
• Kabuto attacked Naruto, exploiting his exhaustion and inflicting a series of wounds as Naruto deliberately let himself bleed to reach Tsunade.
• Tsunade trembled at the sight of Naruto’s blood, but began to feel anger at Kabuto and at her own helplessness.
• Naruto warned Tsunade that abandoning treatment would lead to her death as Kabuto continued attacking him.

Naruto deliberately pushed Tsunade to confront her trauma by enduring Kabuto Yakushi’s attacks, and Tsunade finally struck back. Naruto revealed his wounds had been a ploy and unleashed the Nine-Tails’ chakra, trapping Kabuto as he formed a Rasengan.

• Kabuto Yakushi attacked Naruto while Tsunade remained trapped in memories of Nawaki and Dan.
• Naruto calmly urged Tsunade to see how her weakness was harming her companion, and she regained focus.
• Kabuto Yakushi lunged to kill Naruto, but Tsunade smashed the ground and knocked his attack off course.
• Kabuto Yakushi’s Chakra Scalpel pierced Naruto’s shoulder, and Naruto announced that the farce was over.
• Naruto healed his wounds with crimson chakra, revealed a three-tailed cloak, seized Kabuto Yakushi, and formed a Rasengan.

Naruto defeated Kabuto Yakushi and drove him away with Manda, then Tsunade accepted the wager and agreed to become the Fifth Hokage. She gave Naruto the First Hokage’s necklace, while Jiraiya revealed that Naruto was his boss, not his disciple.

• Naruto used a Rasengan to wound Kabuto Yakushi, who escaped his grip with Yin Healing Wound Destruction and summoned Manda.
• Naruto shattered one of Manda’s fangs with another Rasengan, and Kabuto Yakushi retreated underground with the serpent.
• Tsunade asked when Naruto learned the Rasengan, and he said he had learned it an hour earlier.
• Tsunade realized her fear of blood had disappeared, accepted defeat, and agreed to return to Konoha as the Fifth Hokage.
• Tsunade gave Naruto the First Hokage’s necklace and kissed his forehead before joking about having her debts erased.
• Jiraiya told Tsunade that Naruto was his boss, not his disciple.

Jiraiya told Tsunade and Shizune how Naruto had taken control of Root and reshaped Konoha through decisive action. After becoming Fifth Hokage, Tsunade rejected the advisers’ attempt to strip Naruto of power and approved funding for his Bolter project.

• Jiraiya told Tsunade and Shizune that Naruto had organized Shadow Clones during the Konoha Crush, forced the Third Hokage to compromise, and executed Shimura Danzō after exposing his crimes.
• Jiraiya revealed that Naruto had taken over Root, leaving Tsunade unsettled about the village she was returning to.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura urged Tsunade to strip Naruto of his authority and place Root under ANBU control.
• Tsunade condemned the advisers for seeking power while Naruto had protected the village, then approved the Bolter project's development and mass-production budget.
• Tsunade told Shizune to assure Naruto that she would provide any further money or materials he needed.

Naruto learned that a Kirigakure-controlled craft family possessed Chakra Metal Forging techniques, then prepared a mission to the Land of Water to create chaos and make contact with them. After testing Sasuke’s Bolter skills and renaming Root’s orphanage the Schola Progenium, Naruto led his squad out of Konoha.

• Naruto read Zabuza’s message about Kirigakure and its craftsmen’s secret Chakra Metal Forging techniques, then decided to take recruits there to create a distraction.
• Sasuke used a Prototype Bolter to destroy ten moving targets while wearing a weighted suit, but Naruto criticized his unstable chakra control and called him barely usable.
• Naruto renamed Root’s orphanage the Schola Progenium and ordered its training revised to include weapon maintenance and firing formations.
• Tsunade approved Naruto’s S-Rank mission to Kirigakure and wrote him a note telling him to be careful.
• Naruto departed Konoha with Neji, Sasuke, Torune, and five Root Jonin.

Naruto's group reached the Land of Water disguised as merchants, where Sasuke killed underwater pirates and Hozuki Mangetsu confronted them. Mangetsu let them continue into Kirigakure, apparently hoping they would help him confront the village's internal corruption.

• Water ghosts attacked the ship, and Sasuke used his Bolter and Sharingan to kill them underwater.
• Naruto's group reached shore and encountered bandits, whom a Kirigakure squad led by Hozuki Mangetsu swiftly killed.
• Mangetsu questioned and searched the disguised merchants but found no evidence of their weapons or identities.
• Mangetsu stopped his subordinates from detaining the group and warned them not to cause trouble in Kirigakure.
• Naruto told Sasuke that Mangetsu might be hoping they would help cut away the corruption within Kirigakure.

Naruto and his squad entered Kirigakure’s outer port town, where they witnessed the Bloody Mist regime’s brutality before meeting Zabuza and Haku. After hearing about the village’s factions and Yagura’s sudden transformation, Naruto suspected an outside force might be controlling the Fourth Mizukage.

• Naruto and his squad arrived in Kirigakure’s port town and saw ANBU execute a ninja while the townspeople watched without reacting.
• Naruto used a ramen stall to receive a note from Haku, then followed its address and time to meet Zabuza at an abandoned shipyard.
• Zabuza described Kirigakure’s hardliners led by Yagura and Genji, his own revolutionary faction, and Mei Terumi’s reformists.
• Zabuza said Yagura had once been gentle and wanted to change the village, but later became brutal and intensified the Blood Mist Policy.
• Naruto considered whether an external force had altered Yagura and decided the Mizukage needed further investigation.

Naruto concluded that Yagura had been controlled and decided to pressure Genji by threatening his power and attacking Kirigakure’s symbols of the Blood Mist Policy. He sent Neji to strike a guarded gold mine as the first warning, leaving it destroyed in a fiery explosion.

• Naruto questioned Zabuza about Yagura’s last reformist actions and learned that Yagura’s fighting style had changed after his meeting with Zabuza.
• Naruto concluded that someone stronger had taken control of Yagura and identified Genji as the immediate target of their pressure campaign.
• Naruto ordered Zabuza to spread rumors of Iwagakure support and Genji’s imminent assassination, while Haku leaked possible hiding places.
• Naruto chose South Water Fort, a prison for Kekkei Genkai users, as a future target and assigned Neji to attack one of Genji’s guarded gold mines first.
• In a storm, Neji used his Long-Range Laser Rifle to kill three sentries, while Haku and the others planted Explosive Tags in the mine.
• Neji detonated the explosives, destroying the gold mine and setting it ablaze.

Naruto exploited Kirigakure’s growing panic while the Nine-Tails demanded that he free Isobu, the Three-Tails, from Yagura’s control. The Nine-Tails gave Naruto more chakra in exchange, then warned that a Mangekyō Sharingan was likely controlling Yagura.

• An ANBU reported that an unknown attacker had killed three sentries and destroyed Kirigakure’s gold mine, while another ANBU warned that Zabuza had formed a Revolutionary Army and planned to assassinate Genji.
• Genji demanded that Yagura redeploy forces to protect him, but Yagura refused, citing village policy, and Genji stormed out.
• Naruto listened as Zabuza reported the turmoil in Kirigakure and prepared to wait for Genji to make a mistake.
• The Nine-Tails told Naruto that Yagura had Isobu inside him and demanded that Naruto free its brother.
• Naruto agreed in exchange for more chakra, and the Nine-Tails empowered him with enough chakra to form six tails.
• The Nine-Tails warned Naruto that a Mangekyō Sharingan was likely suppressing Isobu and controlling Yagura.

Obito Uchiha learned that Genji’s intelligence pointed to Zabuza and a hidden threat, then chose to let the crisis grow. Naruto’s team began Operation Opening the Coffin to free the prisoners at South Water Fort, where Neji silently eliminated the outer sentries.

• Obito Uchiha read Genji’s intelligence report and decided the unknown person behind Zabuza was the real threat.
• Zabuza reported that Genji had moved nearly half the elite guards from South Water Fort and withdrawn them to his own stronghold.
• Naruto assigned Sasuke, Neji, Torune Aburame, Zabuza, Haku, and the Root Jonin roles in an assault to free the prisoners and destroy the fort.
• Naruto named the mission Operation Opening the Coffin, and the team departed for South Water Fort in the rain.
• Neji used his Byakugan and long-range rifle to kill twelve sentries in six watchtowers without alerting the fort.

Naruto launched the second phase of the assault on South Water Fort, where Zabuza and Haku fought Ringo Ameyuri while Sasuke led Root through the prison’s defenses. Naruto bypassed the fighting and entered D District to assess the prisoners with Kekkei Genkai.

• Zabuza led the Revolutionary Army in blowing open South Water Fort’s main gate and drew the guards’ attacks while declaring his intent to overthrow Genji.
• Ringo Ameyuri confronted Zabuza, defended Kirigakure, and battled him with her Lightning Blade: Kiba as Haku assisted.
• Sasuke used his Sharingan to guide Torune Aburame and the Root squad through a sewage entrance and past the prison’s traps toward the control center.
• Naruto avoided the combat zones and used a compressed Rasengan to break through a weak point in the prison wall.
• Naruto entered D District to evaluate and select the prisoners with Kekkei Genkai.

Naruto and Sasuke unleashed the prisoners of South Water Fort while testing their strength, and Kana revealed the deadly power of her Ketsuryūgan. The siblings returned to their cell after killing the guards, while Zabuza confronted Ringo Ameyuri about sending her younger brother Genji away.

• Naruto entered D District, knocked out its guards, and told the prisoners the cell doors were about to open.
• Zabuza used Haku's Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals to deceive Ringo Ameyuri and knock her down, then challenged her over the graduation exam and Genji.
• Sasuke blasted open the prison control center's final door and pressed the main switch, raising the cell gates throughout South Water Fort.
• The prisoners poured out and overwhelmed the guards as Naruto watched for the strongest and most capable among them.
• Kana used her Ketsuryūgan to make the guards' blood boil until their bodies burst, then she and Nowaki returned to their cell and locked themselves inside.

Naruto subdued the prisoners in D District and approached the Chinoike siblings, whose Ketsuryūgan failed to affect him. He offered Kana and Nowaki protection, revenge, and a new Order in exchange for their power, and the chapter ended with them asking what they had to do.

• Naruto recognized a Kaguya clansman and incapacitated him with precise strikes.
• Naruto summoned over a hundred shadow clones to suppress the rioting prisoners without killing most of them.
• Naruto melted open the siblings’ cell bars, and Kana’s Ketsuryūgan failed to control his blood.
• Nowaki explained that he and Kana had stayed in the cell because the outside world was more dangerous than prison.
• Naruto offered the siblings a role in his cause and promised their clan revenge, safety, and freedom.
• Kana and Nowaki considered Naruto’s offer, and one of them asked what they had to do.