Chapter Summaries

Zuo Hao brought Orochimaru into his Kamui Dimension and struck a deal with him to work together against Hiruzen Sarutobi, while demanding Orochimaru leave Sasuke alone. After returning to the Forest of Death, Zuo Hao sensed Sasuke was in danger and rushed toward Team 7 as ANBU tried to take the injured boy away.

• Zuo Hao transported Orochimaru into the Kamui Dimension and proposed working together to kill Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Zuo Hao blamed Hiruzen for the Uchiha Clan Massacre and said he wanted Konoha to witness the Hokage's downfall.
• Orochimaru agreed to cooperate on the condition that Zuo Hao study the Sharingan with him, and Zuo Hao warned him not to touch Sasuke.
• Zuo Hao returned to the Forest of Death, sensed Sasuke moving quickly, and raced toward him after hearing Sakura shout.
• Two ANBU tried to take the injured Sasuke to the village, while Sakura clung to him and Naruto fought back despite Orochimaru's seal blocking his chakra.

Zuo Hao found Root blocking his path and learned that they had taken Sasuke, then agreed to surrender his weapons so Yamanaka Fū would let him see his brother. After Yamanaka Fū insulted the Uchiha brothers, Zuo Hao smiled, leaving his response unresolved.

• Zuo Hao tracked Sasuke's chakra trail until Yamanaka Fū and twenty Root ninja surrounded him.
• Yamanaka Fū said Root had taken Sasuke under the Third Hokage's orders and demanded Zuo Hao cooperate.
• Zuo Hao sensed Torune Aburame hiding nearby and agreed to go with Root after demanding to see Sasuke alive.
• Zuo Hao surrendered his weapons and custom kunai after Yamanaka Fū detected them.
• Yamanaka Fū and the Root ninja mocked the Uchiha clan and insulted Sasuke and Zuo Hao, who responded with a smile.

Zuo Hao retaliated against Yamanaka Fū and the Root ninjas with an enormous Fire Release technique, then revealed that their attacks passed through his body. As other teams watched from hiding, Neji sensed something unusual in Zuo Hao’s chakra.

• Zuo Hao rebuked Yamanaka Fū and unleashed Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame, evaporating the Root ninjas’ Water Formation Wall.
• Zuo Hao curved the flames around a fallen Root ninja and burned Torune Aburame’s concealed position, forcing Torune out of hiding.
• Yamanaka Fū ordered the Root ninjas to attack, but their blades passed harmlessly through Zuo Hao as he claimed to show them the Uchiha Clan’s Kekkei Genkai.
• Teams 8, 3, and 10 and Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro watched the fight from the shadows while Shikamaru stopped Ino from rushing to help Zuo Hao.
• Neji watched Zuo Hao with his Byakugan and sensed that his chakra was unlike ordinary Ninjutsu, possibly involving a Cursed Seal and something else.

Zuo Hao distracted Yamanaka Fū and Root while secretly rescuing Sasuke, then revealed that the figure facing them was also a Shadow Clone. Yamanaka Fū's attacks failed to hit him, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Shikamaru assessed Zuo Hao's Fire Release as Jōnin-level and suspected he was still holding back, while Gaara recognized his unusual power and chose to leave.
• Zuo Hao demanded that Yamanaka Fū hand over his brother or die, and Fū attacked him with the Mind Body Switch Technique as Torune circled behind him.
• Zuo Hao's Sharingan repelled Fū's mental attack, injuring him and making him stagger.
• A Shadow Clone carrying Sasuke appeared after killing the two Root ninja guarding him, revealing that Zuo Hao had used the confrontation to stage a rescue.
• Fū hurled kunai at Zuo Hao, but they passed through him as he revealed that the figure before Fū was also a Shadow Clone.

Sahiro rescued Sasuke from Yamanaka Fū and Root, then carried him toward the Forest of Death's exit as Sasuke recovered. The reunited Team 7 set out for the tower with both scrolls, while Danzo learned that Sahiro had defeated Root's squad and vowed revenge.

• Sahiro defeated Yamanaka Fū, rescued Sasuke, and warned him to tell Danzo that he would visit him himself.
• Sahiro gained a stronger Sharingan and Chidori techniques when Sasuke's Bond Level rose to LV3, then treated Sasuke's wounds and carried him toward the forest exit.
• Sasuke told Sahiro he wanted to become strong enough to stand beside him, and Sahiro agreed to wait for that day.
• Naruto and Sakura found Sahiro and Sasuke, and the four reunited before heading toward the tower.
• Sahiro revealed he had an Earth Scroll, giving Team 7 both required scrolls, but cautioned them not to assume they would become Chunin.
• Yamanaka Fū reported Sahiro's rescue of Sasuke to Danzo, who vowed to kill the Uchiha.

Zuo Hao confronted the Third Hokage over Danzo’s attempt to seize Sasuke during the Forest of Death, forcing Kakashi to intervene. The preliminaries were postponed until the next day, and Zuo Hao later questioned whether Hiruzen would really dare kill him.

• Zuo Hao objected to the preliminaries and accused village authorities of letting someone infiltrate the exam and try to take Sasuke.
• Zuo Hao pressed Hiruzen about whether Danzo had ordered the ANBU to seize Sasuke, demanding to know why they had tried to take his injured brother away.
• Neji was shaken by Zuo Hao’s defiance and wondered whether he too could escape the Caged Bird Seal and his fate.
• Kakashi covered Zuo Hao’s mouth and dismissed his accusations as nonsense, and Hiruzen postponed the preliminaries until the next day.
• At Yakiniku Q, Kakashi warned Zuo Hao that challenging Hiruzen was dangerous, but Zuo Hao questioned whether the Third Hokage would dare kill him.

Zuo Hao explained to Kakashi that he would risk anything to protect Sasuke, and Kakashi affirmed that he stood with them. After Sasuke collapsed from his spreading Cursed Seal and Kakashi rushed him away, Zuo Hao encountered Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari blocking his path.

• Kakashi warned Zuo Hao that challenging the Third Hokage and Danzo had put him at risk, but Zuo Hao insisted that protecting Sasuke mattered more than his own safety.
• Zuo Hao asked Kakashi what he would have done if Obito had been taken by ANBU, and Kakashi admitted that some things could not be measured by reason and said he stood with Zuo Hao and Sasuke.
• Naruto and Sakura brought an unconscious, barely breathing Sasuke to the barbecue restaurant after his Cursed Seal spread down to his collarbone.
• Kakashi checked Sasuke, recognized the danger, and hurried away with him for immediate care.
• Zuo Hao reassured Naruto and Sakura, then walked home alone until Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari blocked his way.

Zuo Hao effortlessly suppressed Gaara and Shukaku with his Sharingan after Gaara challenged him, leaving Temari and Kankuro terrified of his strength. Zuo Hao returned home to train, but Ino called for him late that night.

• Gaara challenged Zuo Hao, who dismissed him as unworthy and provoked him into releasing his chakra and sand.
• Zuo Hao used his Three-Tomoe Sharingan to subdue Gaara and force Shukaku into slumber.
• Temari and Kankuro realized Zuo Hao had suppressed the monster inside Gaara with a single glance.
• Zuo Hao told the siblings to return and wait until the Chunin Ninja Exams arena before challenging him again.
• After Zuo Hao left, Gaara told Temari and Kankuro that his eyes had made the monster inside him fear death.
• Zuo Hao returned home to train, then heard Ino calling for him late at night.

Torune Aburame disguised himself as Ino and ambushed Zuo Hao with chakra-devouring insects on Danzo’s orders, leaving him badly poisoned. Sasuke rushed to defend his brother, but Torune escaped, and three ANBU appeared as Zuo Hao urged Sasuke to find Kakashi.

• Torune Aburame disguised himself as Ino and gave Zuo Hao a bouquet filled with poisonous insects.
• The insects burrowed into Zuo Hao’s meridians, and Torune revealed Danzo had ordered him to stop Zuo Hao from competing and cripple him if possible.
• Zuo Hao realized Torune was tracking his heart, while Sasuke burst out of the house and threatened the attacker.
• Torune escaped using the Body Flicker Technique, and Zuo Hao coughed up blood as Sasuke tried to take him to the hospital.
• Zuo Hao told Sasuke to find Kakashi and stay out of the fight, then three cat-masked ANBU appeared.

After Torune Aburame poisoned Zuo Hao in an ambush, he was hospitalized and told he might die within a month. As Zuo Hao accused Danzo and the Third Hokage of allowing the attack, Neji Hyuga unexpectedly appeared at his hospital room.

• Sasuke questioned the ANBU escort, but Zuo Hao told him to find Kakashi and report the attack.
• The ANBU took Zuo Hao to Konoha Hospital, while Sasuke found Kakashi and told him Torune Aburame had poisoned his brother.
• Kakashi persuaded Sasuke to go home, then visited Zuo Hao, who said the poison had left him unable to move.
• Zuo Hao said the Medical Team expected him to die within a month and accused Danzo of ordering the attack with the Third Hokage's approval.
• Zuo Hao asked Kakashi whether the Uchiha had always been unwanted in Konoha, and Neji Hyuga appeared in the doorway.