Recaps

Sasuke asked Kabuto Yakushi about Uchiha Itachi and Shin Uchiha, but Kabuto refused to reveal classified information about Shin and redirected the group to intelligence about the ninja villages. After an Otogakure shinobi beat Kabuto, Ibiki Morino arrived and announced the first stage of the chunin exams, while Shin watched the scene and joked with Tsunade.

• Sasuke asked Kabuto Yakushi for information on Uchiha Itachi and Shin Uchiha, drawing the attention of Naruto and the others.
• Kabuto denied having information on Shin, then hinted that Hinata Hyuga knew him best, making her blush.
• Neji Hyuga argued that Kabuto was either incompetent or had ulterior motives, and Tenten agreed that they should keep their distance.
• Kabuto discussed the ninja villages, but an indignant Otogakure shinobi stepped forward and beat him up.
• Ibiki Morino arrived, reprimanded the Otogakure shinobi and others, and announced the first stage of the chunin exams.
• Shin Uchiha watched the scene and asked Tsunade if she had put Ibiki in charge to turn the exam room into an interrogation room.

Shin asked Tsunade about the absent village leaders, and she explained that the Third Hokage was representing her at the exams. Asuma then proudly announced that he had invited the Land of Fire's Daimyo to watch the final round, believing he had protected Konoha's funding.

• Tsunade said Ibiki's interrogation training tested the stress tolerance Chunin needed to lead Genin on missions.
• Shin asked why Tsunade was not accompanying Kazekage Rasa and Mizukage Mei Terumi, and Tsunade said she had sent the Third Hokage in her place.
• Asuma approached Tsunade to report that he had invited the Daimyo to the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Asuma explained that the Daimyo had agreed to attend the final round and boasted that he would ensure Konoha received proper funding.
• Asuma noticed Kurenai looking tenderly at Shin, but he kept his irritation to himself and continued praising his own accomplishment.

Kakashi explained that Konoha had become financially independent from the Daimyo's Palace, leaving Asuma stunned after he had proposed an alliance with them. As Nawaki declared his determination to become Hokage even if he remained a genin, Tsunade asked Shizune to tell him she might return his necklace if he performed well in the Chunin Ninja Exams.

• Shin Uchiha asked Kakashi to explain Konoha's relationship with the Daimyo's Palace to Asuma.
• Kakashi told Asuma that Konoha's businesses now covered its expenses and that the Daimyo's Palace was secretly targeting them.
• Kurenai Yuhi mocked Asuma for acting without understanding the situation, and Tsunade told him to host the arriving daimyo and seek help from his clan.
• Shizune noticed Nawaki standing in the crystal ball, and Nawaki declared that he would become a Hokage everyone admired even if he remained a genin forever.
• Tsunade recalled Nawaki's wish to follow their Grandfather and Second Grandfather and asked Shizune to offer him the return of his necklace if he performed well in the exams.

Tsunade assigned Kojiro Shimamura to help Anko oversee the Chunin Exams' Forest of Death round and criticized Kakashi for neglecting his potential. She encouraged Kakashi to resume Hatake Swordsmanship and told the gathered mentors they could visit the exam site at the forest's center, where Guy planned to explain the next round's rules.

• Shizune left to retrieve Tsunade's cherished necklace for Nawaki, who had asked for it since his resurrection.
• Tsunade ordered Kojiro Shimamura to assist Mitaraishi Anko in the Forest of Death and gave him authority to take over if Anko neglected her duties.
• Shin Uchiha told Tsunade that Kojiro had reached mid-Kage level and explained that Kakashi could become even stronger now that his Sharingan was fully integrated.
• Tsunade rebuked Kakashi for wasting his talent, urged him to take up Hatake Swordsmanship, and told him to read fewer of Jiraiya's dirty novels.
• Tsunade allowed the mentors to visit only the examination site at the Forest of Death's center, and Guy said he had arranged to reach the contestants through the Heaven and Earth Scrolls' Summoning Technique.

Tsunade asked Shin Uchiha to watch over Nawaki in the Forest of Death in case Orochimaru targeted him. Before reaching the forest, Shin found Orochimaru’s victims, and Mitaraishi Anko confirmed Orochimaru had infiltrated the Chunin Ninja Exams and urged that the exams be suspended.

• Tsunade asked Shin Uchiha to protect Nawaki from Orochimaru in the Forest of Death, and Shin agreed.
• Shin invited Kurenai Yuhi to lunch, then found several faceless corpses and summoned Mitaraishi Anko and her team.
• Anko recognized Orochimaru’s Face Copying Technique and reacted with anger toward her former teacher.
• Anko confirmed the victims were Chunin Ninja Exam participants killed by Orochimaru and proposed suspending the exams to screen everyone.

Shin Uchiha reassured Mitaraishi Anko about the missing-nin threat, sent her report to the Fifth Hokage, and distracted her with dango before the second exam. At the Forest of Death entrance, Nawaki met Naruto Uzumaki and introduced himself as Senju Nawaki.

• Shin Uchiha refused to cancel the second exam and told Mitaraishi Anko to report the situation to the Fifth Hokage before overseeing it.
• Shin used Space-Time Ninjutsu to send Anko's report to the Hokage Office.
• Shin shared three-color dango with Anko, who hurried to the Forest of Death after realizing the exam was about to begin.
• At the Forest of Death entrance, Naruto Uzumaki approached Nawaki, who introduced himself as Senju Nawaki.

Naruto and Nawaki bonded over their shared dream of becoming Hokage, and Nawaki revealed that he was Tsunade’s brother and Shin Uchiha’s brother-in-law. Orochimaru arrived for the second exam, recognized Nawaki as someone he had seen die, and wondered whether Danzo had made a clone of him.

• Naruto asked Nawaki why he had never seen him before, and Nawaki explained that he had been recovering from injuries before recently returning to pursue his dream of becoming Hokage.
• Naruto and Nawaki declared themselves rivals, while Sasuke reminded Karin that Senju was the surname of the First and Second Hokage.
• Naruto introduced Karin and Sasuke to Nawaki, who revealed that Shin Uchiha was his brother-in-law and that his sister was Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage.
• Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin were shocked by Nawaki’s revelation, and Sasuke realized Tsunade might explain why Shin still served in Konoha despite the Uchiha Clan’s departure.
• Orochimaru arrived and recognized Nawaki as the boy he remembered dying on the battlefield, then suspected that Shimura Danzō’s laboratory might have created a clone from Nawaki’s cells.

Orochimaru recognized Nawaki in the Chunin Exams and suspected that the resurrected shinobi could help him perfect his immortality technique. He followed Nawaki into the Forest of Death, unaware that Shin Uchiha was monitoring him.

• Orochimaru judged Nawaki to be the same person he had once taught and decided to capture him to study his apparent resurrection.
• Orochimaru hid when Mitaraishi Anko arrived at the Forest of Death and began organizing the exam teams.
• Mitaraishi Anko explained the rules, and the teams signed waivers, collected their scrolls, and entered the forest.
• Orochimaru suppressed his presence and planned to seize Nawaki inside the forest, away from Konoha's immediate notice.
• Shin Uchiha appeared at the Forest of Death Tower, sensed Orochimaru near Anko, and monitored the forest while criticizing her for not detecting him.

Nawaki met his former teacher Orochimaru in the Forest of Death and urged him to return to Konoha, unaware that Orochimaru had been following him after discovering his identity. The chapter left Orochimaru considering Nawaki’s earnest offer.

• Shin Uchiha realized Orochimaru had abandoned his pursuit of Sasuke to follow Nawaki, then headed toward Nawaki after finishing his dango.
• Nawaki entered the Forest of Death alone and planned to ambush other teams near the tower to collect their scrolls.
• Nawaki stopped at a river to drink, where Orochimaru appeared and greeted him.
• Nawaki happily reunited with Orochimaru and explained that his sister and brother-in-law had healed him after his long sleep.
• Orochimaru admitted he had defected from Konoha by choice, and Nawaki offered to ask his sister, the Fifth Hokage, to revoke Orochimaru’s missing-nin status.

Orochimaru tried to persuade Nawaki to join an experiment that could awaken Wood Release, but Nawaki refused because he felt responsible for preserving the Senju Clan. He concluded that revitalizing the clan depended on safely growing its numbers, not gaining a single powerful ability.

• Orochimaru invited Nawaki to visit his bases and offered to help him awaken Wood Release through an experiment.
• Nawaki was tempted by the offer after Orochimaru said he had refined the experiment and reduced its mortality rate.
• Nawaki refused to leave Konoha, explaining that he and Tsunade were the last members of the Senju Clan's direct bloodline.
• Nawaki kept Shin Uchiha's training plan and the family's secrets from Orochimaru.
• Nawaki told Orochimaru that the Senju Clan's survival depended on increasing its members, and that his priority was to grow up, marry, and have children.

Nawaki explained his plan to rebuild the Senju Clan through a growing family, but Orochimaru attacked him to use him for a forbidden technique. Nawaki escaped with the Flying Thunder God Technique, and a mysterious attacker’s explosive bamboo skewer forced Orochimaru to halt.

• Nawaki told Orochimaru that having many children and descendants could restore the Senju Clan within decades.
• Orochimaru rejected Nawaki’s plan and charged at him, intending to capture him for his forbidden technique.
• Nawaki used the Flying Thunder God Technique to evade Orochimaru and admitted he had only recently learned it.
• Nawaki declared that he would fight Orochimaru rather than be captured for an experiment.
• Orochimaru lunged again but stopped to evade a glowing blue bamboo skewer that exploded and left a large crater.

Shin Uchiha confronted Orochimaru in the Forest of Death and offered him a place in Konoha, but Orochimaru refused and escaped. Nawaki chose to continue the Chunin Exams, while Shin returned to the Hokage Office and told Tsunade what had happened.

• Shin Uchiha offered Orochimaru a laboratory funded by Konoha and the Uchiha Clan in exchange for sharing his research, but Orochimaru declined.
• Orochimaru escaped using a mud substitute, and Shin explained to Nawaki that he had not intended to force Orochimaru to join him.
• Shin asked Nawaki whether he would leave the Forest of Death, and Nawaki chose to keep competing in the Chunin Exams.
• Shin returned to the Hokage Office and told Tsunade that he had encountered Orochimaru and sent him away from Nawaki.

Shin Uchiha told Tsunade he had driven Orochimaru out of the Forest of Death and then reassured Anko that Konoha was prepared. He took over Anko’s patrol while she rested, heading toward Hinata’s match.

• Tsunade asked Shin Uchiha why he had let Orochimaru go, and Shin said the world would be dull without the scientific genius.
• Tsunade reminded Shin that he had promised Hinata he would watch her match, so he returned to the Forest of Death.
• Anko told Shin that Orochimaru had entered the Forest of Death and asked him to help find and drive the rogue ninja out.
• Shin revealed that he had already driven Orochimaru away, easing Anko’s concern.
• Shin gave Anko three-color dango and offered to patrol in her place while she rested.

Sasuke, Naruto, and Karin secured the scrolls and discussed the shinobi they had defeated before setting off toward the center of the exam grounds. When Naruto heard a distant cry that might have come from Sakura, Sasuke agreed to go help her and asked Karin to locate her chakra.

• Sasuke took the defeated shinobi's Heaven Scroll and explained that they had to face consequences for attacking Karin.
• Karin checked the injured shinobi, and the trio hung them in the trees to protect them from wild animals.
• Karin comforted Naruto about the defeated team, and Naruto said he wanted to become kind and strong like his father, Minato Namikaze.
• Sasuke, Naruto, and Karin headed toward the center after collecting both scrolls.
• Naruto heard a distant cry that might have been Sakura's, and Sasuke led the group toward it while asking Karin to use the Mind's Eye of the Kagura to find her.

Sasuke, Naruto, and Karin rushed toward Sakura after Karin sensed that she and her teammates were in danger. Rock Lee arrived just in time to save Sakura from Kinto, but Zaku Abumi attacked as Lee prepared to defend her.

• Karin used the Mind's Eye of the Kagura and sensed Sakura, her injured teammates, and three enemies ahead.
• Sasuke sped ahead with Lightning Release Armor while Naruto and Karin followed.
• Sakura surrendered her team's Earth Scroll to Zaku Abumi, but Dosu Kinata ordered Kinto to kill her and her teammates.
• Kinto approached Sakura with a needle, but Rock Lee struck him away and shielded her.
• Rock Lee told Sakura to flee with her injured teammates, but Zaku Abumi charged and unleashed Sound Release-Air Cutter Extreme Wave.

Sasuke rescued Sakura and Rock Lee from the Otogakure team, forcing the attackers to injure their own arms and leave the Forest of Death. Sakura thanked Sasuke through tears, then rushed to check on Rock Lee.

• Rock Lee dodged Zaku Abumi’s attack but was disoriented by Dosu Kinata’s sound-based technique and beaten by the Otogakure team.
• Sakura charged at the attackers, but Kinto knocked her down, grabbed her hair, and prepared to kill her.
• Sasuke arrived and used Lightning Release Armor to send Zaku crashing through several trees.
• Dosu Kinata surrendered the team’s Heaven and Earth Scrolls, and Sasuke ordered him and Kinto to break their own arms and leave the Forest of Death.
• After the Otogakure team departed, Sakura cried to Sasuke and then hurried over to Rock Lee.

Sasuke arranged for Karin to treat Rock Lee and persuaded Sakura to withdraw from the exam with her injured teammates. Elsewhere in the Forest of Death, Gaara killed a group of opponents, then spotted Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata, and their teammate after Akamaru ran off.

• Neji Hyuga asked Sasuke to hand over Rock Lee, and Sasuke offered to have Karin treat him.
• Karin treated Rock Lee with the Mystical Palm Technique while Sakura thanked Sasuke for helping her.
• Sasuke urged Sakura to withdraw because her teammates were too injured to continue, and Sakura agreed to stay and care for them.
• Gaara used Sand Burial to crush the opponents who demanded his scroll, easing his agitation.
• Akamaru darted out of Kiba Inuzuka's arms, exposing Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata, and their teammate to Gaara.

Shin Uchiha interrupted Gaara as he prepared to attack Hinata, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame, then confronted Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro about bringing a jinchūriki into Konoha. He let the three Sunagakure siblings go to the central stone tower, but stopped them as they were leaving.

• Gaara’s bloodlust stirred, and Hinata stood between him and her teammates while Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame refused to abandon her.
• Gaara raised his hand to use Sand Burial, but Shin Uchiha dropped between them and stopped the attack.
• Shin Uchiha challenged Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro over the Fourth Kazekage sending Gaara, a jinchūriki, to Konoha without warning.
• Shin Uchiha told the siblings to go to the central stone tower, and Gaara prepared to leave with Temari.
• Shin Uchiha called out “Wait” as the three were about to leave.

Shin Uchiha invited Gaara to find him after the competition, then teleported Hinata’s teammates away and flew with her to the stone tower. He kissed a flustered Hinata upon their arrival.

• Shin Uchiha told Gaara he admired him and invited him to visit the Hokage Building after the competition if he wanted to join him.
• Shin Uchiha checked that Hinata was unhurt, then teleported Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame to the stone tower.
• Shin Uchiha invited Hinata to fly with him, and she accepted his hand.
• Shin Uchiha flew with Hinata toward the center of the Forest of Death and pointed out places around Konoha.
• Shin Uchiha kissed Hinata above the stone tower, leaving her dazed and blushing.

Shin Uchiha returned Hinata to her teammates, then went to find Neji Hyuga, Tenten, and the injured Rock Lee in the Forest of Death. Neji deduced how the Otogakure Shinobi had injured Rock Lee, but his scouting revealed a familiar figure with overwhelmingly powerful chakra.

• Shin Uchiha left Hinata with Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame, then returned to the stone tower and vanished from its rooftop.
• Tenten reassured the injured Rock Lee and teased him about helping a pink-haired girl.
• Rock Lee described his fight with the Otogakure Shinobi, and Neji Hyuga recognized that their attacks likely used sound waves.
• Neji told Tenten to stay with Rock Lee while he scouted the area, then activated his Byakugan.
• Neji spotted a familiar figure whose immense chakra made his heart tremble.

Neji Hyuga accepted Shin Uchiha’s offer after learning he had been recruited partly for Hinata’s sake. Shin removed Neji’s Caged Bird Seal, and Neji opened his eyes to find his mind clear.

• Neji Hyuga approached Shin Uchiha and asked why he had chosen to recruit him.
• Shin Uchiha explained that Hinata thought of Neji as an older brother and that recruiting him would ease her worries about the branch family.
• Neji Hyuga accepted Shin Uchiha’s offer, and Shin promised to remove the Caged Bird Seal and give him a brighter future.
• Shin Uchiha pressed a purple-gold flame to Neji’s forehead, causing him intense pain as the seal was removed.
• Neji Hyuga’s pain subsided, and Shin Uchiha asked how he felt while showing him his reflection in a curtain of water.

Shin Uchiha removed Neji Hyuga’s Caged Bird Seal and offered him freedom after ten years of service, while Neji agreed to join him after the Chunin Ninja Exams. Shin then returned to the tower, where Kurenai Yuhi playfully confronted him.

• Shin Uchiha removed Neji Hyuga’s Caged Bird Seal, and Neji saw that the mark on his forehead was gone.
• Neji Hyuga swore to serve Shin Uchiha, but Shin offered him freedom after ten years and said he could decide whether to follow him after the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Neji Hyuga agreed to leave with Shin after the exams and planned to disguise his forehead so the Hyuga Clan’s Main Family would not notice the seal was gone.
• Shin Uchiha returned to the stone tower, caught Kurenai Yuhi sneaking up behind him, and teased her about her scent.
• Kurenai Yuhi said she had developed a natural fragrance after giving birth to Shin’s child and admitted she had not suppressed it because he liked it.

Shin Uchiha and Kurenai Yuhi spent time together on the tower rooftop until Mitaraishi Anko summoned them for the individual matches. At the arena, Mei Terumi glared at Shin, and Kurenai admired Uzuki Yugao’s formidable strength.

• Kurenai Yuhi found Shin Uchiha on the rooftop, embraced him, and stayed with him as they admired the view.
• Mitaraishi Anko interrupted them and reminded them that the examinees had arrived and the individual matches were about to begin.
• Shin Uchiha noticed that Hiruzen Sarutobi and Mei Terumi were present, then learned from Anko that Sunagakure's Kazekage had sent Baki in his place.
• Mei Terumi glared at Shin Uchiha after seeing him with Kurenai Yuhi and Mitaraishi Anko, and Anko teased him about the misunderstanding.
• Uzuki Yugao entered the arena with a longsword, and Kurenai Yuhi said Yugao seemed to have reached peak Kage level.

While Konoha’s Chunin Exams continued, Obito Uchiha brooded in an underground cavern until White Zetsu brought him news about Konoha and Sunagakure. White Zetsu revealed that Orochimaru was behind the matter, but the chapter ended before he explained further.

• Shin Uchiha reassured Kurenai Yuhi that Uzuki Yugao had advanced through her devotion to swordsmanship.
• Uzuki Yugao announced another round of matches, with only its winners qualifying for the final assessment one month later.
• Obito Uchiha sat in the cavern, worried that Shin Uchiha had disrupted his plans and asking when the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path would awaken.
• White Zetsu offered information that could help Obito recover the Mangekyō Sharingan Kakashi had.
• White Zetsu said his information concerned Konoha and Sunagakure, then revealed that Orochimaru was behind it.

Obito Uchiha planned to use the chaos of the Konoha Crush to retrieve his Mangekyō Sharingan from Kakashi. At the Chunin Exams, Naruto Uzumaki prepared to face Kiba Inuzuka while Sasuke and Karin discussed the match.

• White Zetsu told Obito Uchiha that the Konoha Crush could give him a chance to sneak into Konoha and retrieve his Sharingan from Kakashi.
• Obito Uchiha agreed to go with White Zetsu and vanished into a spatial vortex after murmuring, “For Rin.”
• Uhi Yugao announced Naruto Uzumaki versus Kiba Inuzuka, and Naruto jumped into the arena after Sasuke provoked him.
• Sasuke told Karin he had provoked Naruto to bring out his potential and warned that Kiba could still make the match difficult.
• Karin said Naruto was as strong as Sasuke and that Kiba was a level below them.