Recaps

The Third gave Naruto Uzumaki an Uzumaki clan training scroll and the Fourth Hokage’s jutsu notes, prompting Naruto to devote himself to learning Flying Thunder God. When Sakura and Sasuke came to collect him for a mission, they found his home in disarray and learned he had finally gained a basic grasp of the technique.

• The Third apologized for mistakenly giving Naruto the Complete Sealing Jutsu Compendium and handed him the Uzumaki Secret Method: Copy, which contained training methods for Adamantine Sealing Chains and Mind's Eye of the Kagura.
• The Third left Naruto a scroll containing the Fourth Hokage's jutsu and handwritten notes, including Flying Thunder God and Rasengan.
• Naruto decided to study Flying Thunder God and believed he could master inscribing its marks within four days.
• Sakura and Sasuke came to Naruto's home for another mission, found the untidy house, and discovered Naruto exhausted but excited over a jutsu scroll.
• Naruto explained that he had used Shadow Clones to train while another clone completed missions, and that he had gained a basic grasp of Flying Thunder God.

After Naruto exhausted himself studying the Flying Thunder God Technique, Sakura and Sasuke let him rest while Kakashi handled their mission. When Naruto recovered and joined them, they learned their escort client refused to travel to the Land of Snow, and Sakura recognized the actress they were assigned to escort.

• Sakura and Sasuke carried the exhausted Naruto to bed, while Sasuke went with Kakashi to meet the mission client.
• Sakura tidied Naruto's apartment and left him sleeping before going out to buy groceries.
• Naruto woke, regretted pushing himself too hard to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique, and ate the lunch Sakura had prepared.
• Naruto and Sakura joined Kakashi and Sasuke, who explained that their escort client refused to go where the client had requested.
• Asama Sandayu explained that he had hired the Konoha ninja to escort his actress, Yukie Fujikaze, to the Land of Snow for filming.
• Sakura excitedly recognized Yukie Fujikaze as the star of the Princess Gale film series.

Kakashi’s team took the unconscious Yukie Fujikaze aboard a ship bound for the Land of Snow, where she woke and angrily confronted her forced departure. As the crew prepared to film, Naruto began practicing the Inner Eye Heart Sight Technique and sensed everything within five meters.

• Kakashi used Sharingan Genjutsu to knock Yukie unconscious, and the team left for the Land of Snow with her.
• Yukie woke aboard the ship, realized she had been taken to sea, and rushed onto the deck in anger.
• Kakashi and the director watched Yukie, while Sakura brought her a blanket as the ship sailed north.
• Naruto explained his enlarged-storage ninja tool pouch to Sasuke, who declined an offer to get one.
• Naruto practiced the Inner Eye Heart Sight Technique and sensed the ship and its surroundings within five meters.

Naruto and Kakashi escorted Yukie Fujikaze and the film crew into the Land of Snow, where a sudden iceberg concealed an attack by Snow Ninja. Naruto killed one attacker, and the remaining Snow Ninja moved against Yukie as Kakashi and the others took action.

• Naruto used the Mind's Eye of the Kagura while traveling by ship, and Kakashi agreed to keep watch overnight.
• The crew found their route blocked by a towering iceberg, and the director ordered them to land and film there.
• Kakashi assigned Naruto to scout and told Sakura and Sasuke to protect Yukie and the crew.
• Naruto sensed an enemy hidden beneath the snow and killed him with a wind-coated Wooden Sword.
• Fuyukuma Kōssetsu and Fubuki Kakuyoku charged toward Yukie, while Naruto blocked Fubuki and Kakashi engaged Fuyukuma.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi defeated the three Snow ninja, then returned to the ship as the crew celebrated. Kakashi grew suspicious of Yukie Fujikaze and Asama Sandayu, while the director invited him to discuss making a movie and Kakashi summoned the others to join them.

• Naruto severed Fubuki Kakuyoku's arm, and Sasuke trapped her with Sharingan genjutsu so Naruto could kill her.
• Naruto and Sasuke joined Kakashi against Fuyukuma Kōssetsu, and Naruto used a transformed Fūma Shuriken as a distraction to cut his throat.
• The director excitedly praised the ninja battle as the crew cheered when Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi returned to the ship.
• Kakashi suspected Yukie Fujikaze was Kazahana Koyuki and wondered whether Asama Sandayu had ties to the Land of Snow's daimyo.
• The director offered Kakashi a movie role, and Kakashi asked Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to bring Yukie and Sandayu to the cabin.

Kakashi revealed that Yukie was Princess Kazahana Koyuki and learned from Asama Sandayu about the coup that drove her from the Land of Snow. Sandayu sought Konoha’s help against Kazahana Dōtō, while Koyuki resisted returning to the conflict and Kakashi reaffirmed his team’s duty to protect her.

• Kakashi identified Yukie as Kazahana Koyuki, the daughter of the former daimyo, and questioned Sandayu about his loyalties.
• Sandayu recounted how Kazahana Dōtō overthrew Lord Sōsetsu ten years earlier and said he had searched for Koyuki ever since.
• Koyuki reacted to the story with despair, while Sandayu urged her to reclaim the Land of Snow with Konoha’s help.
• Naruto pointed out that defeating Dōtō would require a separate, highly paid mission, and Sandayu promised to raise the necessary funds.
• The director offered to help pay and proposed continuing the film, but Koyuki objected that Dōtō’s forces were too powerful.
• Kakashi told Koyuki that his team would protect her regardless of whether she accepted a new mission, and said Nadare Rōga had been Dōtō’s strongest subordinate.

Naruto found Kazahana Koyuki after she fled the convoy and helped her confront painful memories of her father and homeland. Koyuki formally commissioned Naruto to kill Kazahana Dōtō, leaving the mission against the usurper underway.

• Kazahana Koyuki left the convoy, and Naruto set aside his heavy training weights before going after her.
• Kakashi examined Naruto's weights and realized how strong Naruto had become through his training.
• Kazahana Koyuki fell in the snowy forest and remembered her father and the safety of her childhood.
• Naruto found Kazahana Koyuki, lifted her, and told her Konoha could help defeat Kazahana Dōtō for a sufficient payment.
• Kazahana Koyuki formally commissioned Naruto to slay Kazahana Dōtō as the rightful heir to the Land of Snow.

Naruto protected Kazahana Koyuki from Kazahana Dōtō’s train by reshaping the tunnel entrance into a rock wall, but Dōtō broke through and confronted her. The chapter ended with Dōtō standing atop the wrecked locomotive and addressing Koyuki as his niece.

• Naruto accepted the mission and declared Koyuki his client as they entered the tunnel.
• Naruto sensed Dōtō’s train approaching and sealed the tunnel entrance with a massive rock wall.
• Dōtō’s train crashed into the wall and stopped, while Koyuki watched Naruto’s power in shock.
• Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke caught up, and Naruto entrusted Koyuki to Sakura.
• Dōtō blasted through Naruto’s wall, and Kakashi shielded the group from the flying rubble.
• Dōtō emerged atop the wrecked locomotive in Chakra Armor and greeted Koyuki as his niece.

Kakashi and Naruto confronted Kazahana Dōtō after Koyuki hired them to kill him, while Sakura and Sasuke moved to protect Koyuki and the film crew. Naruto destroyed Dōtō’s pseudo-Ice Release attack and exposed how it worked, and Kakashi prepared to fight him with the Kubikiribōchō.

• Kakashi ordered Sakura to take Koyuki to safety and sent Sasuke to protect the film crew, then faced Dōtō with Naruto.
• Dōtō mocked Kakashi for fleeing the Land of Snow ten years earlier, and Kakashi explained that retreat had fulfilled his mission to save Koyuki.
• Dōtō unleashed Ice Release: Black Dragon Blizzard, but Naruto’s Blazing Flame Charge melted and scattered the attack.
• Naruto told Kakashi that Dōtō’s Ice Release was amplified Wind Release using snow and Chakra Armor, not true Ice Release.
• Kakashi summoned the Kubikiribōchō and prepared to attack Dōtō with the sword.

Kakashi and Naruto defeated Kazahana Dōtō and his elite Snow Ninja, removing the main military obstacle to Princess Kazahana Koyuki reclaiming the Land of Snow. Meanwhile, Sakura and Sasuke met Sandayu’s rebel force, and the film crew headed toward the battle to capture footage.

• Kazahana Dōtō ordered his elite guards to attack Kakashi and Naruto, and Kakashi assigned Naruto to handle the Snow Ninja while he faced Kazahana Dōtō.
• Sakura and Sasuke joined Sandayu and learned that his rebel army consisted of about fifty largely untrained middle-aged men.
• Kazahana Koyuki worried that Sandayu’s rebels would be slaughtered if they challenged Kazahana Dōtō without Konoha’s help.
• The director of Princess Gale led the film crew toward the tunnel, hoping to record the battle despite Sakura’s objections.
• Kakashi pierced Kazahana Dōtō’s Chakra Armor with the Kubikiribōchō and killed him.
• Naruto defeated Kazahana Dōtō’s Snow Ninja reinforcements, leaving no major military force in the Land of Snow to oppose Kazahana Koyuki.

Kazahana Koyuki and the Land of Snow celebrated Kazahana Dōtō’s defeat, while Naruto helped her discover the geothermal device her father had left behind. The device began warming the country, giving Koyuki a way to rebuild and change its future.

• Asama Sandayu cried out for Kazahana Dōtō’s death and struck his corpse in vengeance for the people of the Land of Snow.
• Kazahana Koyuki formally thanked Naruto for ending the nightmare and bringing hope to her country.
• After Koyuki’s inauguration, Naruto and his companions searched the Land of Snow for the remaining Snow Ninja.
• Naruto told Koyuki he had found a place her father left behind and led her to a shrine surrounded by towering pillars.
• Koyuki placed her pendant into the shrine, activating a geothermal device that began melting the snow across the Land of Snow.

Kazahana Koyuki activated the Geothermal Device, bringing spring back to the Land of Snow and revealing a vision of her father, Kazahana Sōsetsu, encouraging her to pursue her dreams. As Koyuki smiled through her tears and Naruto’s companions and the film crew admired the scene, the mission ended happily.

• The Geothermal Device melted the Land of Snow’s ice and snow, bringing streams, flowers, and spring across the country.
• Kazahana Koyuki heard Kazahana Sōsetsu’s voice and watched a vision of her childhood self talking with her father about her dreams of becoming a princess and an actress.
• Kazahana Sōsetsu placed the Hexagonal Crystal Pendant around little Kazahana Koyuki’s neck and called her a beautiful princess.
• Kazahana Koyuki wept as she saw her father, then smiled when her childhood declaration that she wanted to be an actress made him laugh.
• Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi, the director, and his assistant admired the revived land as the mission and filming came to a happy end.

Naruto and his teammates finished filming in the Land of Snow and departed for home with their mission payment and acting fees. On the voyage, Naruto began studying Ice Release, confident he could develop it but unsure how to approach Yin-Yang Release.

• Kakashi agreed to join the film as a main cast member, and Naruto's makeup-free appearance reminded Kakashi of Minato Namikaze.
• Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi filmed their roles while Kakashi removed scenes that risked exposing their identities as ninja.
• Naruto used shadow clones to help complete the work, keep watch for Snow Ninja, and practice chakra nature transformation during ten days of filming.
• Kakashi and his team finished the mission and left the Land of Snow, turning down requests from the locals and the director to stay or work together again.
• Naruto studied Ice Release aboard the ship, drawing on his knowledge of chakra natures and Wood Release while finding no way to begin training in Yin-Yang Release.

Hanabi arranged for Naruto and Hinata to watch a movie together, hoping to bring them closer, while Neji received a ticket from Might Guy and recalled Guy's praise of Naruto's taijutsu. The chapter left Neji reflecting on how far Naruto had surpassed him.

• Hanabi visited Naruto and invited him to watch Princess Gale: The Final Battle, and Naruto agreed to go after lunch.
• Hanabi invited Hinata to the movie and teased her about spending time with Naruto, making Hinata blush.
• Hanabi revealed to herself that she had planned the outing to match Naruto and Hinata while Ino was away on a mission.
• Neji returned home with a movie ticket from Might Guy and remembered Guy saying Naruto was far ahead of him in taijutsu.

Naruto and his friends watched the movie’s climax and epilogue, which showed Yōya reuniting with Princess Gale after she became daimyō and standing beside her beneath a rainbow. Might Guy mistook their on-screen farewell for a tragic romance until Kakashi reminded him that it was only a movie.

• Neji and Tenten restrained Rock Lee when he nearly shouted during the movie, while Kakashi likewise stopped Might Guy from cheering.
• Kakashi explained that Naruto’s filmed hand seals concealed the details of the technique he had used to alter the tunnel’s terrain.
• The movie showed Yōya defeating Kazahana Dōtō, Princess Gale becoming daimyō, and Yōya returning to tell her he had found something left by the previous daimyō.
• The epilogue ended with Yōya, Princess Gale, and his teammates standing together on a green grassland beneath a rainbow.
• Might Guy cried over what he believed was Yōya and Princess Gale’s doomed romance, and Kakashi reminded him that Naruto and Kazahana Koyuki were only acting.

After meeting Might Guy, Kakashi, and Team Guy outside the theater, Naruto agreed to spar with Neji at a nearby training ground. Neji’s resentment over the Hyuga Main and Branch Families simmered as the two prepared to fight.

• Naruto told Hinata and Hanabi he had not fallen for Princess Gale, then left the theater with them.
• Naruto met Might Guy, Kakashi, Rock Lee, Tenten, and Neji, and introduced them to Hinata and Hanabi.
• Neji greeted Hanabi while inwardly resenting the Hyuga family system and the Caged Bird Seal placed on his father.
• Guy suggested that Naruto spar with Neji, and the group went to a nearby training ground.
• Kakashi said he trusted Naruto’s strength as Naruto and Neji took their positions and formed the Seal of Confrontation.
• Hanabi, Hinata, and Lee cheered for Naruto and Neji as the spar was about to begin.

Naruto defeated Neji in a Taijutsu match, then healed his injuries and invited Hanabi and Hinata to learn his technique. The group headed back to Naruto's house, with Hinata shyly accepting his invitation.

• Neji activated his Byakugan and saw the immense chakra flowing through Naruto as Naruto charged with Divine Vacuum Attack: Fierce Lightning Flash.
• Neji tried to evade and strike Naruto, but Naruto knocked his arm aside and kicked him across the ground, holding back to avoid a fatal injury.
• Neji praised Naruto's strength, and Naruto used the Mystical Palm Technique to heal Neji's chest.
• Naruto explained that he had learned a few basic medical techniques from Hana Inuzuka, and Neji stood on his own after Rock Lee and Tenten let go of him.
• Hanabi asked Naruto to teach her his move, and he invited Hinata to learn with her; Hinata accepted shyly.

Neji worried over a cryptic conversation with Hyuga Hiashi, then he and Team Guy spotted Kakashi walking and laughing with an unfamiliar green-haired woman. They suspected Kakashi was on a date and secretly watched the pair, leaving Guy eager to find out whether Kakashi had a girlfriend.

• Neji recalled Hiashi telling him that he would arrange an important mission and urging him not to hesitate when action was needed.
• Tenten spotted Kakashi walking through the village with an unfamiliar green-haired woman, and Team Guy hid behind a tree to watch them.
• Neji reasoned that Kakashi and the woman were unlikely to be on a mission because Naruto and his teammates were absent.
• Tenten concluded that Kakashi and the woman were on a date, while Guy told her they should first confirm whether Kakashi was dating her.

Kakashi escorted Hanare through Konoha while covertly monitoring her as a spy, and she noticed Team Guy following them. After Asuma’s team spotted Kakashi walking with Hanare, both groups joined forces to secretly follow the pair.

• Hanare noticed Team Guy tailing her and Kakashi, and Kakashi casually identified them as his friend and students.
• Kakashi continued watching Hanare, a spy from Lockfront Village, as they walked through Konoha.
• Asuma’s team returned from a C-rank mission, and Choji suggested they celebrate with barbecue at Yakiniku Q.
• Ino saw Kakashi walking with an unfamiliar woman and led her teammates behind a billboard to watch them.
• Asuma’s team discovered Team Guy was also following Kakashi, and the two groups silently joined forces.

Ino arrived at Naruto’s apartment and found Hinata and Hanabi staying there after Hiashi had renovated the place, while Naruto spent the afternoon drinking tea with Hiashi. Hiashi gave Naruto a sword and asked him to protect his daughters if he died, leaving Naruto to suspect he planned to assassinate the Hokage.

• Ino brought groceries to Naruto’s apartment and learned that Hinata and Hanabi had moved in after a dispute within the Hyuga Clan.
• Hanabi showed Ino the newly renovated apartment, where Hinata was preparing dinner for Naruto.
• At the Hyuga residence, Naruto asked Hiashi to leave for dinner after spending the afternoon drinking tea with him.
• Hiashi gave Naruto the Eighty Calamity Cutter and asked him to protect Hinata and Hanabi if he died.
• Naruto asked whether Hiashi planned to assassinate the Hokage and become the Fifth, making Hiashi choke on his tea.

Hiashi told Naruto that he planned to travel to Kirigakure to answer a supposed plea for help from surviving members of the Kaguya Clan. Naruto suspected the invitation was a trap, and Hiashi hinted that his sword’s scabbard held something important before Naruto left.

• Hiashi denied Naruto’s suggestion that he was planning to assassinate the Hokage and explained that he had been invited to visit the Kaguya Clan’s former home.
• Hiashi said the Third Elder had given him a letter from a surviving Kaguya clan leader asking for aid, and that the Third Hokage had approved his journey to Kirigakure.
• Naruto questioned why Hiashi had to go himself and warned that the invitation could be a trap.
• Hiashi insisted that his duty as clan head required him to honor the Hyuga Clan’s ancient alliance in person.
• Hiashi told Naruto to inspect his sword’s scabbard carefully, hinting that the letter was forged and that he had hidden something there.
• Naruto understood the warning, agreed to go home, and left with Yasohinokami.

Naruto returned to a newly renovated home where Hinata, Ino, and Hanabi welcomed him, making him feel that he had finally come home. After dinner, Hanabi recognized the sword Naruto carried as Hiashi’s Yasohinokami, and Naruto realized Hiashi was preparing for a serious clash with the Hyuga elders.

• Naruto found his old key would not open the replaced front door, and Hanabi let him into the renovated home.
• Hinata and Ino welcomed Naruto and invited him to dinner, and he felt surrounded by the warmth of home.
• Ino told Naruto that Kakashi had kissed Hanare after Choji fell onto them while they were watching from a tree.
• Hanabi unwrapped Naruto’s sword and recognized it as her father Hiashi’s Yasohinokami.
• Hinata confirmed the sword’s history, and Naruto connected it to Hiashi’s plans against the Hyuga elders.

Kakashi told Hanare that she would either be taken by the Analysis Division or Interrogation Squad or stay with him under surveillance. Meanwhile, Inoichi brought Naruto to dinner and arranged for him to stay at his house, while nearby diners speculated about the two of them.

• Hanare asked where she would stay, and Kakashi said she would come home with him only if the Analysis Division or Interrogation Squad did not take her.
• Inoichi entered Yakiniku Q with Naruto and told him to stay at his house while Hanabi and Hinata stayed there too.
• Choji and Shikamaru wondered why Inoichi was having dinner with Naruto instead of Ino, while Asuma and Might Guy eagerly followed the unfolding gossip.
• Hanare asked Kakashi whether Naruto was Inoichi's son, and Kakashi refused to explain their relationship.

Kakashi led Team 7 to exchange Hanare for the captured Konoha jonin Li Yi, but the exchange was a trap and Hanare escaped. Kakashi pursued her to a cliff and confronted her about using her eye technique to steal information about Konoha.

• Hiruzen told Kakashi that Lockfront Village would trade Li Yi for Hanare and assigned Kakashi to lead the exchange with Team 7.
• On the way to the border, Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke gossiped about Hanare’s apparent interest in Kakashi and their accidental kiss.
• At the bridge, Kakashi exchanged Hanare for Li Yi, but explosive tags destroyed the bridge as Hanare escaped across the river.
• Naruto defeated three Lockfront Village ninja, while Sasuke and Sakura followed Kakashi after he pursued Hanare.
• At a cliff, Kakashi accused Hanare of deliberately getting captured to enter Konoha and use her eye technique to obtain its secrets.

Kakashi let Hanare leave after she abandoned her mission, but Naruto appeared with marriage forms and challenged Kakashi’s loyalty to Konoha. Hiruzen revealed that he had approved the forms to recruit Hanare for her rare intelligence skills, while ordering Naruto to kill her if she refused to stay.

• Kakashi decided not to kill Hanare and told her she could go.
• Naruto confronted Kakashi, accused him of betraying Konoha, and produced marriage registration forms for Kakashi and Hanare.
• Hiruzen told Inoichi Yamanaka and Ibiki Morino that Hanare’s unusual ability to extract intelligence made her valuable to Konoha.
• Ibiki and Inoichi agreed that recruiting Hanare would benefit Konoha, and Ibiki joked that Kakashi would not lose out because she was pretty.
• Hiruzen said Hanare could choose whether to stay with Kakashi, but Naruto had orders to kill her if she refused to remain in Konoha.