Recaps

Naruto reflected on the exhaustion behind his cheerful persona while sitting alone by the Naka River. Ino’s gift of a bellflower gave him an unexpected moment of genuine warmth, and he left wondering whether the Shinobi World might not be so bad after all.

• After training, Naruto sat by the Naka River and reflected on how his constant smile had become a tiring performance.
• Ino found Naruto by the river while gathering wildflowers and explained that she had come to admire the daisies.
• Naruto asked whether Inoichi had liked the flower seeds, and Ino said her father had called them a rare variety.
• Ino gave Naruto a pale purple bellflower and hurried away after comparing its resilience to his.
• Naruto held the flower, felt genuine warmth at receiving his first gift of flowers, and wondered if the Shinobi World might not be so bad.

Naruto tended the bellflower Ino had given him, reflected on his lonely childhood with Kurama, and organized the knowledge gained from studying Sealing Jutsu. The next morning, he assigned his shadow clones to separate training tasks so he could make progress more efficiently.

• Naruto used his Wood Release chakra to revive the bellflower Ino had given him and told Kurama that receiving flowers made him emotional.
• Naruto said he did not blame Kurama and planned to kill Obito, then dismissed his four shadow clones and absorbed their Sealing Jutsu memories.
• Naruto reviewed the sealing scroll, understood more of its fundamentals, but remained unable to grasp its advanced formulas.
• The next morning, Naruto cooked breakfast and lunch, then created four shadow clones with separate assignments for Sealing Jutsu, chakra nature transformation, and Wood Release.

Naruto met Kiba’s new puppy, Akamaru, and reflected on how friendship and his improving Wood Release helped him feel truly at home in the world. When Kiba provoked Sasuke by boasting about Naruto’s fighting moves, Naruto stepped in to prevent a fight.

• Naruto met the tiny Akamaru, and Kiba proudly talked about the puppy’s food and care.
• Naruto declined Kiba’s suggestion to charge more for Akamaru’s food, explaining that he cooked for his friends because he wanted to share meals with them.
• Kiba asked Naruto to teach him the move that had pinned Sasuke, then loudly taunted Sasuke about losing to Naruto.
• Sasuke stood up in anger, but Shikamaru and Naruto tried to stop Kiba from provoking him further.
• Naruto apologized to Sasuke for Kiba, and Sasuke sat back down without starting a fight.
• Naruto warned Kiba that Sasuke was currently stronger, and Kiba admitted he had only dared to tease him because Naruto was there.

Naruto practiced shuriken manipulation and considered using explosive tags to compensate for its lack of power. After discovering Hinata secretly watching his shadow clone train, he made a playful alliance with Hanabi and surprised Hinata by speaking to her from behind.

• Naruto trained with shuriken manipulation, but the weapons lacked the force to pierce their targets.
• Naruto considered attaching explosive tags to kunai and timing their detonation with his chakra threads.
• Hinata secretly watched Naruto train while feeling inadequate beside his apparent skill.
• Hanabi followed Hinata and discovered her watching Naruto.
• Naruto revealed that his real body had hidden nearby while a shadow clone performed, then signaled Hanabi to keep their secret.
• Naruto spoke from behind Hinata and teased her about watching him train.

Naruto invited Hinata to train with him after Hanabi revealed that Hinata had been watching his practice, but Hinata’s embarrassment made their sparring awkward. Naruto stopped the match and told Hinata to rest while Hanabi took her turn.

• Hanabi told Naruto that Hinata had been coming to watch him train every day, and Naruto invited Hinata to spar with him.
• Hanabi offered to spar with Naruto, but Hinata gathered the courage to take her sister’s place.
• Naruto and Hinata began a slow, awkward match as Hinata blushed and struggled to focus.
• Naruto blocked Hinata’s flailing arm and told her to rest, saying he would let Hanabi have a turn.

Naruto sparred with Hanabi, then invited her and Hinata to his home and began cooking them dinner. As the sisters waited, Hinata’s difficult upbringing and lack of food were revealed, and the chapter ended with the enticing aroma of Naruto’s cooking filling the apartment.

• Hanabi used her Byakugan and Gentle Fist against Naruto, but he stopped her strike and caught her when she grew exhausted.
• Hinata watched the spar and reflected on the pressure from Hiashi, her struggles with confidence, and how the Hyuga Clan’s strict etiquette left her underfed.
• Naruto praised Hanabi, invited both sisters to eat at his home, and dispelled his remaining Shadow Clones.
• Hinata and Hanabi followed Naruto to his apartment, where he offered them milk and steamed buns before preparing dinner.
• The sisters waited on the couch as the aroma of Naruto’s cooking drifted from the kitchen and made them eager to eat.

Naruto cooked dinner for Hinata and Hanabi, who ate at his apartment while Hyuga Hiashi waited for them at home. Hiashi tracked them to Naruto’s apartment and found them there, leaving Naruto and Hinata facing his disapproval.

• Naruto served Hinata and Hanabi a variety of dishes, and the three began eating together.
• Hiashi learned that both of his daughters were missing at dinnertime and went out to find them.
• Hiashi suspected the girls were at Naruto’s apartment and went there to check.
• Hinata opened the door to Hiashi, while Hanabi called from the couch and Naruto appeared from the kitchen.
• Hiashi activated his Byakugan, surveyed the apartment, and apologized to Naruto for the trouble his daughters had caused.

Naruto confronted Hiashi about Hinata’s lack of food and the pressure she faced as the Hyuga heir, prompting Hiashi to apologize and listen to his advice. The conversation ended with Hiashi recognizing that the Caged Bird Seal was behind his harsh treatment of Hinata.

• Hiashi questioned Naruto about his strength and asked whether Hinata or Hanabi was more talented.
• Naruto praised Hinata but said she lacked enough food, then showed Hiashi the enormous bowls and eight buns the three children had eaten.
• Hiashi apologized to Naruto for neglecting his daughters’ needs.
• Naruto told Hiashi that Hinata needed encouragement and relief from the clan’s expectations as well as enough food.
• Hanabi overheard her father describe Hinata’s burden and squeezed her sister’s hand as she realized how much pressure Hinata endured.
• Naruto compared pressure to a bow drawn too tightly, and Hiashi reflected that the Caged Bird Seal had driven his harshness toward Hinata.

Hiashi revealed that he had deliberately kept Hinata from excelling to protect Hanabi from the Caged Bird Seal, and he resolved to reconsider how he raised Hinata. After the Hyuga family left, Naruto decided to grow stronger and began developing a taijutsu technique for the coming Ōtsutsuki threat.

• Hiashi reflected that he had shaped Hinata to seem less capable so he could argue that Hanabi should remain outside the Branch Family and avoid the Caged Bird Seal.
• Hiashi thanked Naruto for giving him reason to reconsider how he taught Hinata and considered how the Caged Bird Seal had changed from bloodline protection into a tool of control.
• Hiashi called Hinata and Hanabi home, and the girls thanked Naruto and said goodbye.
• After the Hyuga family left, Naruto resolved to become stronger rather than dwell on the shinobi world's tragedies.
• Naruto recalled the Gentle Fist techniques he had watched and began working toward a simplified Divine Vacuum Attack to prepare for the Ōtsutsuki Clan.

Naruto tried to create a Rasengan but lost control of it, and the chakra gale left his room in disarray. Feeling trapped in Konoha, he resolved to endure and build his strength, while planning to seek the Flying Thunder God Technique through future opportunities.

• Naruto attempted to form a Rasengan, but its chakra balance collapsed and scattered through the room.
• Naruto caught the falling balloon flowers before they hit the floor and reflected on the limits of his ninjutsu talent.
• Naruto thought of Konoha as a cage and resolved to lie low while strengthening his Wood Release.
• Naruto considered Might Guy’s Eight Gates a future threat and concluded he would need Space-Time Ninjutsu to escape Guy’s ultimate attack.
• Naruto identified the Mizuki incident and the Konoha Crush Plan as opportunities to obtain the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Naruto visited the Yamanaka Flower Shop to buy a birthday bouquet for the Third Hokage and gave Ino a separate bouquet of bellflowers he created with Wood Release. Ino offered to arrange the Hokage’s flowers for free, but Naruto insisted on paying because her gift to him and his gift to the Hokage were separate.

• Naruto prepared to buy flowers for the Third Hokage’s birthday and wondered how he might earn money by writing novels.
• Naruto teased Ino by saying the flowers were for her, then explained that they were actually for the Third Hokage.
• Naruto used Wood Release to create a bouquet of pale purple bellflowers for Ino, who accepted it happily.
• Ino offered to arrange the Hokage’s bouquet and waive the charge, but Naruto refused to confuse her gift with the flowers he was buying for the Third Hokage.

Rino Yamanaka quietly approved of Ino’s interest in Naruto despite his status as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. At a lake outside Konoha, Sasuke overcame his shame over losing to Naruto and his doubts about his strength, awakening a stable two-tomoe Sharingan as he unleashed a powerful Fire Release technique.

• Rino overheard Ino and Naruto’s conversation, noticed Ino hiding her bellflowers, and decided to support her feelings for Naruto.
• Sasuke practiced the Great Fireball Technique at the lake and remembered his father’s disappointment, Itachi’s talent, and his loss to Naruto.
• Sasuke recalled Fugaku praising him after he had finally mastered the Great Fireball Technique and resolved to keep growing stronger to kill Itachi.
• Sasuke’s Sharingan developed into a stable two-tomoe Sharingan in both eyes as he used Majestic Destroyer Flame to engulf nearly half the lake.

Sasuke challenged Naruto to another fight after school, and Naruto accepted while leaving the location and spectator arrangements to Sasuke. Hinata, Sakura, and Ino became involved as the classmates gathered around the impending match, while Sasuke remained unsure he could win.

• Sasuke returned to the Academy and challenged Naruto to fight after school, and Naruto agreed on the condition that Sasuke find a place.
• Naruto explained to Kiba why Sasuke made a suitable opponent, while Kiba insisted he would not fight Naruto seriously.
• Hinata asked to sit beside Naruto, and Naruto welcomed her despite Kiba's initial objection.
• Sakura asked Naruto whether she and Ino could watch the fight, and Naruto left the decision to Sasuke.
• Sakura and Ino asked Sasuke for permission to watch, and Sasuke answered, "Whatever," while privately doubting his chances of winning.

Naruto and Sasuke met at a secluded training ground on Konoha’s eastern outskirts for their promised fight, while their classmates decided to come watch. Sasuke opened the battle with his newly developed two-tomoe Sharingan, but Naruto’s superior strength let him meet Sasuke’s attack head-on.

• Kiba, Shino, Choji, Shikamaru, Hinata, Ino, and Sakura agreed to watch Naruto’s match, and Naruto let Hinata bring Hanabi.
• Sasuke found Naruto at lunchtime and told him where their afternoon match would take place.
• After class, Naruto and Sasuke hurried off separately, and Shikamaru told the others to head to the training ground after warning their families they would miss dinner.
• Naruto reached the eastern outskirts training ground first, and Sasuke arrived soon after.
• Sasuke revealed his two-tomoe Sharingan and attacked Naruto with a Great Fireball Technique followed by a kunai strike.
• Naruto dodged the fireball and blocked Sasuke’s kunai, while Sasuke realized Naruto’s strength was far greater than that of an ordinary Academy student.

Naruto sealed Sasuke’s Majestic Destroyer Flame with a Flame Seal, saving himself and the spectators from the powerful fire technique. Sasuke collapsed from chakra exhaustion, and Naruto calmed his angry friends and said he would handle the matter.

• Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Shino, Ino, and Sakura arrived at the training ground while Naruto and Sasuke were already fighting, and Hanabi cheered Naruto on.
• Sasuke used his remaining chakra to unleash Majestic Destroyer Flame, while Naruto prepared his Fire Sealing Method: Flame Seal.
• Naruto’s seal stopped the flames and absorbed them, leaving him unharmed as the onlookers watched in shock.
• Sasuke collapsed unconscious, and Kiba tried to attack him until Shikamaru and Choji held him back.
• Sakura carried Sasuke toward the hospital, while Naruto reassured Ino, Hinata, Hanabi, and Kiba that he would handle Sasuke.
• Shino withdrew his kikaichū from Sasuke after Naruto asked his friends to leave the matter to him.

Naruto hosted his friends for dinner, and Ino discovered that the others had been sharing his cooking for months. That night, Shikamaru suspected Naruto’s parentage, but Shikaku warned him never to say the possibility aloud.

• Naruto transformed his appearance to buy chairs, then cooked dinner for his friends at home.
• Choji suggested eating at his family’s barbecue restaurant, but Shikamaru said Naruto’s cooking was better and kept the gathering at Naruto’s apartment.
• Ino learned that Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Shino, Hinata, and Hanabi had regularly pooled money to buy ingredients for Naruto’s lunches.
• At the Nara Residence, Shikamaru asked Shikaku why the Third Hokage had acted as he did regarding Naruto.
• Shikamaru said Naruto’s blond hair, blue eyes, and Uzumaki surname pointed to one possible parentage, but Shikaku stopped him and warned him not to say it aloud.

Shikamaru rejected the idea that his family name should decide how he saw Naruto and asked Shikaku to teach him the Nara Clan’s secret techniques. Shikaku agreed to begin teaching him the Shadow Imitation Technique the next day, while warning him about the difficult training ahead.

• Shikaku explained that Danzo and Root might spy on the Nara Clan even though the Third Hokage would not, and reminded Shikamaru that Naruto’s character mattered more than the villagers’ beliefs about him.
• Shikaku recalled that Naruto had helped Shikamaru and Choji, but Shikamaru insisted that their identities did not prevent him from choosing his own path or judging Naruto for himself.
• Shikaku considered Naruto’s unusual mix of abilities and wondered whether he could reach Minato’s level.
• Shikamaru asked Shikaku to teach him the Nara Clan’s secret techniques so Naruto would not leave him behind, and Shikaku agreed to start teaching him the Shadow Imitation Technique after school each day.
• Shikaku explained the demands of Yin-Yang Release training, and Shikamaru confirmed that he was ready to become stronger.

Inoichi and Rino realized that Ino might have fallen for Naruto, and Inoichi worried about her growing friendship with the jinchūriki. Meanwhile, Naruto successfully created and dissolved a Wood Release prison, leaving the Nine-Tails astonished by his talent at not even eight years old.

• Ino told Inoichi that she and several classmates had gone to Naruto's house for dinner, easing some of her father's concern.
• Inoichi and Rino discussed Ino's apparent feelings for Naruto, and Inoichi warned that he would not let Naruto mistreat her.
• Naruto used Wood Release to form a wooden prison and then retracted it without damaging the floor.
• The Nine-Tails recognized the life force in Naruto's Wood Release and marveled at his skill and age.

Naruto visited Sasuke in the hospital and offered to train with him after he recovered. Hoping to earn money, Naruto wrote a novel and secured a publishing deal under the pen name Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng.

• Naruto joked with Sasuke in the hospital, then offered to train with him after he was discharged.
• Sasuke agreed to consider training with Naruto but refused the idea of wearing a green bodysuit or following Might Guy's methods.
• Naruto returned from his Shadow Clone's visit and decided to write a novel despite never having read the genre he chose.
• Naruto skipped training, used the Transformation Technique to buy manuscript paper, and wrote a story about Shimura and Chiyo.
• An editor praised Naruto's manuscript and offered him a sixty-forty royalty split, which Naruto accepted under the pen name Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng.

Danzo confronted Hiruzen over The Lustful Ninja Chronicles of Shimura, which he believed insulted him and risked causing trouble with Sunagakure, while Hiruzen dismissed his concerns and enjoyed the book. Kakashi became absorbed in the novel and put off sparring with Guy as he praised its author and wondered what would happen next.

• Danzo stormed into Hiruzen's office and accused foreign spies of spreading the book to slander his reputation.
• Hiruzen argued that the fictional Shimura and Chiyo were unrelated to Danzo and Sunagakure, then praised the novel's romantic scene.
• Guy found Kakashi exhausted from reading The Lustful Ninja Chronicles of Shimura and tried to revive him with a sparring match.
• Kakashi asked Guy to wait until he finished the book and recalled discovering it while searching a mission target's residence.
• Kakashi admired the novel's characters and Shimura's pursuit of his ambitions, then praised Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng and focused on the story's continuation.

Five years after Naruto’s life improved through his novel’s royalties, he approached the Ninja Academy graduation exam despite still failing the Clone Technique. After school, Mizuki began drawing him into a plan to steal the Scroll of Seals, and Naruto decided to play along after warning the Third Hokage.

• Naruto failed the Clone Technique in class, while his classmates stayed quiet after Akamaru had frightened students who mocked him in the past.
• Iruka reflected on Naruto’s growth, friendships, and popularity, while Naruto noticed Mizuki watching through the classroom door.
• Naruto decided to let Mizuki’s plan unfold so he could gain access to the Scroll of Seals, but planned to warn the Third Hokage first.
• Mizuki stopped Naruto and his friends after school and asked to speak with him alone.
• Naruto sent his friends ahead to the training grounds, and Mizuki remarked on the respect Naruto commanded from his classmates.

Naruto pretended to fall for Mizuki’s plan to steal the Scroll of Seals, then reported him to Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hiruzen turned the incident into a test and sent Naruto into the forest with the real scroll while secretly arranging to observe the village clans’ reactions and consider potential matches for him.

• Mizuki manipulated Naruto by claiming the Scroll of Seals could help him become a ninja, while Naruto secretly planned to use the opportunity to learn more ninjutsu.
• Naruto asked to seek the Third Hokage’s permission, so Mizuki panicked and persuaded him to take the scroll first.
• Naruto told Hiruzen Sarutobi that Mizuki had urged him to steal the Scroll of Seals, and Hiruzen praised his loyalty to Konoha.
• Hiruzen gave Naruto the real Scroll of Seals and sent him toward the forest as part of a test.
• Hiruzen ordered Inoichi Yamanaka and Hyuga Hiashi to be told that Naruto had run off with the scroll, intending to observe the major clans and assess potential matches for Naruto.

After Naruto stole the Scroll of Seals, Inoichi and Hiashi received orders to capture him, while Ino and Hanabi struggled to believe he had gone rogue. Naruto studied the forbidden techniques in the forest, unaware that Inoichi was closing in to confront him.

• Ino overheard the ANBU order Inoichi to pursue Naruto and insisted Mizuki must have tricked him.
• Inoichi told Ino to alert Shikaku while he went to find Naruto and explain the deception.
• Hiashi accepted the Third Hokage’s order to track Naruto, and Hanabi hurried to tell Hinata what she had heard.
• Naruto read the Scroll of Seals and began memorizing its forbidden techniques.
• Inoichi sensed Naruto’s chakra and approached, planning to control him and give him a beating before questioning him.

Shikaku reassured Ino that Naruto had not deserted the village, while Hinata and Hanabi sneaked out to find him. Naruto used Mizuki’s attempt to steal the Scroll of Seals to memorize its jutsu with Kurama, but Hiashi and Inoichi intervened and attacked Naruto before Hinata and Hanabi stepped between them.

• Shikaku told Ino that Naruto was likely using the Scroll of Seals as bait and teased her about her feelings for him.
• Hinata activated her Byakugan, then led Hanabi over the Hyuga compound wall to search for Naruto.
• Naruto read the Scroll of Seals with Kurama until Kurama had memorized its contents, then offered it to Mizuki.
• Hiashi struck Mizuki with Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, and Inoichi emerged with him from the forest.
• Hiashi and Inoichi attacked Naruto, but Hinata and Hanabi rushed out and stood in front of him.

Naruto took Mizuki and the Scroll of Seals to the Hokage Building after Hiashi and Inoichi’s confrontation revealed that the Third had been testing him and the clans. The Third approved Naruto’s actions without mentioning his look at the scroll, and Naruto left knowing the Konoha Crush Plan and the Third’s death were drawing near.

• Hinata and Hanabi shielded Naruto from Hiashi, and Naruto explained that he had been ordered to capture Mizuki.
• Inoichi and Hiashi realized the Third’s test had also observed their clans’ attitudes toward Naruto, while Shikaku defused the confrontation and escorted Naruto to the Hokage Building.
• Shikaku told Naruto that Naruto had inspired Shikamaru to ask to learn the Nara clan’s Secret Techniques, and Naruto reflected on their friendship.
• The Third praised Naruto’s performance, declared him qualified to become a Genin, and told him to await his team assignment.
• The Third and the others tacitly approved Naruto’s look at the Scroll of Seals, and Naruto left anticipating the Konoha Crush Plan and the Third’s coming death.