Chapter Summaries

Might Guy arrived at the Ninja Academy as a temporary Combat Training Class teacher, surprising Naruto, who knew how powerful Guy truly was. Guy replaced the morning’s academic lessons with practical combat at Training Ground Three, and the students set off to watch.

• Umino Iruka introduced Might Guy as the jonin who would teach Combat Training Class for the next month.
• Naruto recognized Guy’s immense strength while his classmates doubted that Guy’s Taijutsu was impressive.
• Might Guy spotted Naruto and decided to demonstrate the results of his training through practical combat.
• Might Guy moved the class to Training Ground Three for combat practice, with Umino Iruka agreeing to the change.
• Kiba Inuzuka and the other students welcomed the change, while Shikamaru Nara reluctantly agreed to go after Choji reminded him that Guy was Naruto’s teacher.

Might Guy paired Naruto with Sasuke for a sparring match, and Naruto revealed how much stronger his Taijutsu was once Guy told him to stop holding back. The fight continued with Naruto easily defending against Sasuke’s furious attacks.

• Might Guy learned Sasuke had the best Combat Training Class grades and chose him to fight Naruto first.
• Naruto and Sasuke formed the Seal of Confrontation and began exchanging Taijutsu attacks as their classmates watched.
• Might Guy told Naruto to give the match everything he had, prompting Naruto to attack at full speed.
• Naruto struck Sasuke down with a Konoha Whirlwind, shocking Sasuke and the watching students.
• Sasuke sprang up and charged again, but Naruto calmly evaded and blocked his attacks with ease.

Naruto defeated Sasuke with a powerful throw, but Sasuke awakened a mismatched Sharingan and launched a fireball attack. The fight continued as Sasuke used his new visual abilities to block Naruto’s kick and regain his confidence.

• Naruto caught Sasuke’s punch, threw him to the ground, and offered to help him up, but Sasuke knocked his hand away.
• Sasuke’s eyes turned scarlet with one tomoe in one eye and two in the other, and he refused to admit defeat.
• Might Guy warned Naruto about Sasuke’s unstable chakra, but Sasuke used Great Fireball Technique and Naruto dodged it.
• Naruto’s Shadow Clone Technique failed, and he evaded Sasuke’s next punch before striking with Konoha Whirlwind.
• Sasuke used his Sharingan to block Naruto’s kick and became confident that he could read and defeat Naruto’s attacks.

Naruto defeated Sasuke in a Taijutsu match, and Might Guy praised both students before continuing his Combat Training Class. Third Hiruzen Sarutobi reviewed reports on the match and Guy’s teaching, valuing Naruto’s restraint and approving Guy’s practical instruction.

• Naruto followed up his blocked Konoha Whirlwind with a faster attack, pinned Sasuke to the ground, and won the match.
• The students reacted to Sasuke’s defeat, while Hinata and Ino admired Naruto; Sasuke refused Naruto’s offered hand before they made the Seal of Reconciliation under Might Guy’s direction.
• Might Guy praised Naruto and Sasuke’s Taijutsu and fighting spirit, noted Naruto’s ninjutsu needed work, and explained the value of Taijutsu in his class.
• Third Hiruzen Sarutobi read the ANBU report, recognized Sasuke’s Sharingan as impressive, and valued Naruto’s efforts to avoid seriously hurting his comrade.
• Third Hiruzen reviewed a report on Might Guy’s class and judged his practical combat instruction effective despite his limited theoretical teaching and exuberant shouting.

Naruto shared his homemade lunches with Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, and Shino on the rooftop, where Might Guy told him he would teach for only a month and planned to delay Kakashi’s team assignment until Naruto’s class graduated. Sasuke arrived seeking a quiet place, but left after finding Naruto and the others eating together.

• Naruto served lunch to Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, and Shino, giving Choji an especially large portion because he had paid more.
• Kiba paid Naruto in advance for food for his future ninja dog and declared he would surpass Naruto with the Inuzuka Clan’s techniques.
• Might Guy arrived, declined Naruto’s lunch, and said he would teach at the academy for one more month while trying to hold Kakashi back from becoming a team leader until Naruto’s class graduated.
• Naruto agreed that Guy could lead a team with Kakashi after their class became Genin.
• Sasuke entered the rooftop looking for solitude, saw Naruto and the others sharing lunch, and left without speaking.

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.