Chapter Summaries

Shisui took Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata on a C-rank escort mission to the Land of Waves, protecting the bridge builder Tazuna. After the Demon Brothers ambushed and apparently tore Shisui apart, Naruto told Sasuke to take one opponent while Hinata stayed back.

• Yan asked Hatake Ziyan to protect him, and Hatake Ziyan brought him to the Hatake Compound.
• Hatake Ziyan gave Hinata a scroll containing a technique for the Hyuga Clan before leaving the compound.
• Months later, Shisui accepted a C-rank escort mission to the Land of Waves with Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata.
• Shisui's team met Tazuna at the village entrance and set out from Konoha.
• The Demon Brothers attacked Shisui from puddles on the road and appeared to tear him in half.
• Naruto told Sasuke to take one of the Demon Brothers and ordered Hinata to stay back.

Sasuke and Naruto easily killed the Demon Brothers, while Shisui revealed that his apparent death had been a substitution trick. After hearing Tazuna's explanation, the team chose to continue the mission and headed toward the Land of Waves, with Naruto hoping for more fights.

• Sasuke pinned the Demon Brothers' chain to a tree with a kunai, then killed one with Chidori as Naruto defeated the other with Rasengan.
• Tazuna panicked at the deaths, but Hinata reassured him that Shisui was alive, and Shisui appeared after his corpse vanished in a puff of smoke.
• Shisui confronted Tazuna for hiding the danger of the mission and threatened to cancel it, but Hinata persuaded the team to continue after Tazuna explained his troubles.
• The four traveled for several days toward the Land of Waves, and Naruto asked Shisui whether they would encounter stronger enemies.
• Shisui complained about Naruto and Sasuke wanting more fights and hoped to finish the mission and return to the village soon.

Shisui’s team encountered Demon Zabuza in the Land of Waves, where Zabuza used the Hidden Mist Technique and attacked Naruto. Naruto sensed Zabuza through the Nine-Tails’ Malice Perception and hurled him away with a golden hand, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Hinata sensed an enemy ahead, and Shisui deflected Zabuza’s thrown sword before identifying him as a missing-nin from Kirigakure.
• Hinata explained Zabuza’s history as one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, while Shisui described Kirigakure’s brutal graduation system.
• Zabuza grew angry at Naruto’s comments and used the Hidden Mist Technique to conceal himself and prepare an attack.
• Hinata spotted Zabuza behind Naruto with her Byakugan and warned him, but Naruto did not dodge.
• Naruto used the Nine-Tails’ Malice Perception to sense Zabuza and flung him away with a massive golden hand.

Hinata easily defeated Zabuza, while two powerful masked strangers appeared and challenged Naruto, Sasuke, and Shisui. Naruto and Sasuke fought back, and the chapter ended as their S-rank techniques collided with the strangers' attacks.

• Shisui watched as Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata faced Zabuza, whom he considered outmatched by the Kage Level team.
• Zabuza used the Hidden Mist Technique and formed a Water Dragon Bullet, but Hinata struck him with an Air Palm and knocked him into the river.
• Zabuza sank without trying to escape as two masked strangers emerged and asked whether the group were the Konoha 12 trained by Hatake Ziyan.
• Shisui ordered Hinata and Sasuke to take Dazna away, but Sasuke ignored him and attacked the strangers alongside Naruto.
• Naruto's Rasenshuriken collided with one stranger's Crystal Release technique as the other fighters unleashed their own ninjutsu.

Shisui and the others fought two masked ninjas with Crystal Release and Storm Release who claimed their leader had sent them to trouble Hatake Ziyan’s companions. Naruto and Sasuke defeated the Storm Release ninja, while Shisui and the Crystal Release ninja remained locked in battle.

• Shisui confronted the masked ninjas and learned that their leader had sent them after the group because Hatake Ziyan had offended him.
• Shisui engaged the Crystal Release ninja in a sword fight as the Storm Release ninja attacked Naruto and Sasuke with thunderclouds.
• Naruto protected Sasuke with Nine-Tails Mode, and Sasuke covered Kurama with Armored Susanoo before they clashed with the Storm Release ninja’s lightning dragon.
• After the battered Kurama vanished, Sasuke’s purple Susanoo shot the Storm Release ninja with an energy arrow, killing him.
• Shisui shattered the Crystal Release ninja’s crystal labyrinth with Susanoo, then both fighters took cover after a bright flash.

Shisui outmaneuvered the Crystal Release Ninja but let him escape, then reunited with Naruto and Sasuke and hurried to find Hinata. As they traveled, Naruto wondered how Shisui’s opponent had gotten away.

• The Crystal Release Ninja trapped Shisui in a crystal cage and pierced him with a beam, but Shisui’s crystallized body proved to be a genjutsu illusion.
• Shisui caught the Crystal Release Ninja in a genjutsu, cut through his crystal sword, and wounded him before the enemy escaped.
• Shisui reunited with Naruto and Sasuke, who argued over which of them had killed their defeated opponent.
• Shisui scolded Sasuke for his arrogance and explained that he had allowed his own opponent to escape to protect the team.
• Shisui, Naruto, and Sasuke headed to find Hinata, and Naruto asked how the Crystal Release Ninja had escaped.

Shisui’s team escorted Hinata and Tazuna safely to Tazuna’s home, while an injured Zabuza decided to attack the bridge again under pressure from Gato. The chapter ended the next morning as thick fog covered the bridge.

• Shisui told Naruto and Sasuke that he had deliberately let the enemy escape so he could learn who they were and where they hid.
• Hinata escorted Dazna onward as the distant battle’s light and tremors passed, unaware that Zabuza briefly crawled out of the river nearby.
• Hatake Ziyan watched Shisui’s group leave and reflected on Shisui’s use of Kotoamatsukami and Zabuza’s misfortunes.
• Shisui caught up with Hinata and Tazuna, and the group reached Tazuna’s home without further trouble as construction on the bridge began.
• Gato confronted the injured Zabuza and threatened to report him to the Black Market, so Zabuza ordered Guren to help destroy the bridge the next morning.
• A thick fog covered the river and obscured the middle of the bridge early the next morning.

Naruto and Sasuke fought Zabuza and Guren as they attacked the bridge. Naruto confronted Zabuza while Sasuke blasted Guren away, then returned to the bridge after Shisui ordered him back.

• Hinata spotted Zabuza approaching through the mist and relayed his arrival to Shisui, who told Naruto to handle him and Hinata to watch for other enemies.
• Naruto used Nine-Tails Mode to absorb the mist, break Zabuza’s giant wave, and rush toward him.
• Hinata spotted Guren approaching the bridge, and Sasuke attacked her with Chidori Sharp Spear.
• Guren launched crystal shuriken and an arrow of light, but Sasuke deflected the shuriken and used Susanoo to protect himself.
• Sasuke’s purple arrows pierced Guren and blasted her crystal defense, sending her flying toward the horizon.
• Shisui ordered Sasuke back, and Sasuke turned away from pursuing Guren and headed for the bridge.

Naruto and Sasuke defeated Zabuza, and Shisui killed Gato and his men after Zabuza defended Guren. Zabuza died by his own hand, while Hatake Ziyan took all the money from Gato’s vault.

• Naruto outmaneuvered Zabuza underwater, struck him onto the bridge, and left him near death.
• Zabuza asked whether Guren was alive, and Sasuke said she had survived when he last saw her.
• Gato arrived with his men, threatened Zabuza and Guren, and Shisui killed the entire group.
• Zabuza picked up his broken Kubikiribōchō, killed himself, and fell to the bridge.
• Hatake Ziyan located Gato’s vault and took all the money inside.

After returning to Konoha, Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata signed up for the upcoming Chunin Ninja Exams. Their walk through the village ended in a tense encounter with Gaara and his siblings.

• Shisui helped Naruto and the others bury Zabuza, and Dazna named the completed bridge the Peace Bridge.
• A masked figure found the unconscious Guren and carried her away.
• Shisui returned Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata to Konoha, where they later gathered after their missions.
• Hinata told Naruto that Konoha would host the Joint Chunin Ninja Exams, and Shisui gave the three forms to enter.
• Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata encountered Gaara, who threatened to kill them, but Sasuke dismissed him and started to leave.

Gaara attacked Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata, but Sasuke’s genjutsu triggered Gaara’s unstable jinchūriki transformation. As Shukaku began to emerge, Hatake Ziyan arrived and forced the transformation to stop, leaving Shukaku terrified to see him.

• Gaara attacked Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata with sand, but Hinata deflected it with Rotation.
• Sasuke trapped Gaara in the Hell Viewing Technique, but Gaara’s unstable seal let the One-Tail’s power take over.
• Hinata recognized Gaara as a jinchūriki and warned that he could endanger nearby civilians, so Naruto activated Nine-Tails Mode.
• Naruto struck Gaara’s sand sphere with a Rasengan, and Sasuke pierced it with Chidori Sharp Spear, but Gaara began transforming after seeing his own blood.
• The Nine-Tails warned Naruto that Gaara was about to fully transform, and Hatake Ziyan appeared above him and ordered Shukaku to get back inside.
• Shukaku’s transformation stopped, and Shukaku shouted in fear when he saw Hatake Ziyan.

Hatake Ziyan stopped Shukaku’s attack, but Minato Namikaze’s reprimand left Naruto furious and estranged from him. Five days later, Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, and the rest of the Konoha 12 entered the first Chunin Ninja Exam test.

• Hatake Ziyan ordered Shukaku to retreat, and Temari and Kankuro carried Gaara away before Ziyan left.
• An Anbu ninja brought Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata to Minato Namikaze, who reprimanded them for fighting in the village.
• Naruto argued with Minato, ran out, and went to Back Mountain to vent his anger; Hinata and Sasuke admitted they should have handled the incident better.
• Kabuto Yakushi approached Naruto and asked whether the medicine had worked, but Naruto denied knowing what he meant and left.
• Five days later, the Konoha 12 arrived at the Chunin Ninja Exams, and Shikamaru exposed the genjutsu disguising the entrance guards’ instructions before leading them inside.

The Konoha 12 entered the first Chunin Ninja Exam and impressed the other candidates with their reputation and effortless answers. Ibiki disqualified teams for cheating, then introduced a final question that could permanently bar candidates who answered incorrectly.

• The Konoha 12 entered the exam room, and Kabuto identified them as Jonin-level graduates while also describing Gaara and his siblings as strong contenders.
• Gaara glared at Sasuke and his companions until Ibiki arrived and announced strict rules against cheating.
• The candidates received the written exam, and the Konoha 12 quickly answered questions they found easy.
• Ibiki caught a Hidden Stone candidate copying Hinata's answers and disqualified his team, then removed more than a dozen teams for cheating.
• Ibiki announced that answering the final question incorrectly would ban candidates from taking the Chunin Ninja Exams for life, and the Konoha 12 remained unconcerned.

The Konoha 12 quickly passed the Forest of Death exam and reached the Central Tower, while seven other teams arrived by the deadline. Gekko Hayate ended the second exam and began arranging the third exam’s first-round matches.

• Ibiki announced that anyone still in the room after ten minutes would accept the final question, and the remaining teams passed the first exam.
• Mitaraishi Anko took charge of the second exam and instructed each three-person team to collect Heaven and Earth scrolls and reach the Central Tower within three days.
• Shikamaru led the Konoha 12 into the Forest of Death, and they reached the Central Tower with both scrolls in only ten minutes.
• Gaara’s team arrived the next morning, and six more teams reached the tower by the afternoon of the third day.
• Gekko Hayate gathered the eight successful teams, declared the second exam over, and announced the one-on-one matches for the third exam.

Rock Lee and Gaara fought in the arena, with Gaara trapping and burying Lee beneath massive quantities of sand. Lee unleashed the Eight Gates and Daytime Tiger to break free and charge back toward Gaara.

• Kiba Inuzuka forfeited his match against Naruto Uzumaki, and Naruto was declared the winner.
• Several Konoha contestants defeated their opponents with single moves.
• Rock Lee dodged Gaara's sand attacks, shattered his sand wall, and kicked Gaara into the arena wall.
• Gaara trapped Rock Lee in sand and used Sand Burial and Sand Waterfall Funeral to crush him.
• Rock Lee opened the Gate of View and the Gate of Wonder, but Gaara buried him deep underground with Prison Sand Burial.
• Rock Lee unleashed Daytime Tiger, escaped the collapsing sand, and charged at Gaara.

Rock Lee defeated Gaara after Hatake Ziyan intervened to stop Lee’s final attack. Hinata and Neji began their Chunin Exam match, and their first exchange ended with both Hyuga cousins fighting inside a cloud of dust.

• Rock Lee shattered Gaara’s Shield of Shukaku with a Bajiquan-Iron Mountain Lean, but Hatake Ziyan stopped his strike and Gekko Hayate declared Lee the winner.
• Hatake Ziyan advised Gaara to improve his hand seal speed before vanishing, and Rock Lee encouraged Gaara before leaving the arena.
• Hinata asked Neji to fight her seriously, and Neji entered the arena to prove himself despite his resentment toward the Hyuga Main Family.
• Hiashi stopped Hizashi from interrupting the match, explaining that Neji’s Caged Bird Seal had been removed and urging him to watch the cousins spar.
• Hinata and Neji activated their Byakugan and struck each other with Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, then charged into the dust cloud and continued fighting.

Hinata and Neji ended their match after Hatake Ziyan stopped their dangerous final attacks and disqualified them. A month later, as the exams resumed, suspicious missions and a request for aid convinced Hatake Ziyan that someone planned trouble for Konoha, while Rasa appeared uneasy when Hatake Ziyan suddenly greeted him.

• Hinata and Neji unleashed matching Divine Sky Strikes, but Hatake Ziyan caught both attacks and disqualified them for endangering the spectators.
• Gekko Hayate announced the first stage had ended and told the victors to return in a month for the second stage.
• Minato Namikaze noticed suspiciously safe, high-paying missions, and Hatake Ziyan concluded that someone would cause trouble during the final stage after receiving a request for aid.
• Gekko Hayate began the second stage at the Forest of Death tower with Minato Namikaze and Rasa watching from the stands.
• Hatake Ziyan appeared between Minato Namikaze and Rasa, patted Rasa on the shoulder, and vanished, leaving Rasa frightened.

Naruto defeated Choji with the power of the Nine-Tails, and Shikamaru took control of his match against Temari by suppressing her wind techniques. The battle ended with Shikamaru explaining that he controlled space and time in the arena as goose feathers began falling over the spectators.

• Naruto Uzumaki used a golden energy hand to slam the enlarged Choji Akimichi into the ground and won their match.
• Rasa realized Naruto was a perfect Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and Minato Namikaze confirmed it with pride.
• Temari attacked Shikamaru Nara with Wind Release: Sickle Weasel, but he stopped the wind and sent a Wind Blade back at her.
• Temari’s further ninjutsu failed, and Shikamaru told her he controlled space and time throughout the arena.
• Temari suspected she was caught in a genjutsu and nearly stabbed herself before Shikamaru stopped her; then goose feathers began drifting down over the stands.

Naruto stabbed Minato Namikaze and took him away while claiming he wanted to settle matters with his father. Rasa revealed a prepared seal that trapped most of the others, leaving Sasuke outside to seek help finding Naruto and Minato.

• Rasa told Minato Namikaze to worry about himself, and Naruto stabbed Minato before accusing him of mistreating Naruto and Kushina.
• Naruto threatened the assembled Konoha shinobi with Minato’s life and forced them to let him pass with the Kazekage left behind.
• Naruto vanished with Minato, and Rasa activated a Reverse Four Symbols Seal that trapped Shikamaru and the others.
• Shikamaru used Golden Casket Disorder on Rasa and pushed Sasuke out of the sealing barrier before it closed.
• Sasuke found that Rasa’s corpse had changed appearance, stored it in a Sealing Scroll, and asked Hyuga Hiashi to use his Byakugan to locate Naruto and Minato.

Naruto took Minato to the Back Mountain and confronted him while Konoha came under attack from Rasa and his forces. Kakashi rescued Kushina from Rasa and fought him, leaving Rasa badly wounded as Kushina headed for the Back Mountain.

• Hiashi and Sasuke left to search for Naruto and Minato, while Hatake Ziyan told Gekko Hayate to help the injured and then follow them.
• Naruto confronted the badly wounded Minato on the Back Mountain and demanded that he recognize the place.
• Rasa led attacks on poorly defended locations throughout Konoha and taunted Kushina about Minato's apparent peril.
• Rasa trapped Kushina after she was distracted, but Kakashi arrived, wounded Rasa, and freed her.
• Kushina left for the Back Mountain at Hatake Ziyan's request, while Kakashi used lightning-enhanced speed to wound Rasa repeatedly.