Recaps

Naruto’s team fought through the guards outside the cave and used the ice and a thread to open a path to its entrance. Inside, Koyuki led them toward a seven-colored light, where an armored figure welcomed the key and waited facing deeper into the cave.

• Naruto and Sasuke examined the sealed opening where Akihiko Rōga had fallen, then followed tracks uphill to an ice cave guarded by armored men.
• Koyuki showed the guards her key and said she knew the cave, while Kiyoshi and Sakura circled the ice wall and subdued two attackers.
• Kiyoshi used spikes and a thread to manipulate the light and seal a gap in the guards’ sightlines as half the guards went down toward the bridge.
• Sasuke used fire to melt the snow beneath an armored guard, Naruto knocked him off the path, and Kiyoshi announced that ice could defeat the guards.
• Kiyoshi pulled the thread taut to clear the cave entrance, and Naruto and Sasuke charged inside as the remaining guards backed away.
• Koyuki entered the cave’s seven-colored light first, followed by Kiyoshi, and an armored figure said they had brought the key.

Naruto used the cave’s converging rainbow light to break Tōsetsu’s armor, and the man disappeared into a closing fissure. Koyuki claimed the Land of Snow, the Warmhouse Machine began melting the ice, and the squad departed by ship, leaving a green streak across the ice fields.

• Naruto followed Kiyoshi’s direction onto the patch of light and used a rainbow-colored sphere to break Tōsetsu’s armor, sending him into a fissure that closed behind him.
• Koyuki declared that the Land of Snow was hers, inserted the Hexagon into the gate, and started the Warmhouse Machine.
• Kiyoshi found a crate containing cases that recorded his finishing motions, while Kakashi remained seated at the camp entrance.
• The scattered armor was gathered for the New Government’s weapons ledger, and the inventory clerk recorded the fallen man as Akihiko Rōga.
• Koyuki gave Kiyoshi an Insignia for the premiere, and Sakura tucked it into her backpack.
• The squad boarded the ship and departed as Naruto watched a green streak stretching across the ice fields.

Kiyoshi returned from the Land of Snow with Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, handed the mission report to Iruka, and went home. At the village noticeboard, he read the registration dates and requirements, memorized the dates, and confirmed to Nakajima that he would sign up.

• Kiyoshi and the others sailed back, and Naruto repeatedly recounted the cave’s light, naming it “Rainbow Color.”
• The group disembarked and parted from Tazuna and the Film Crew before traveling by cart to the village.
• Villagers crowded around Kiyoshi at the gate with questions about the Land of Snow, while Iruka watched without approaching.
• Kiyoshi’s group submitted their report to Iruka, who removed a separate sheet and added a note that a cross-border coordination document had been filed separately.
• Kiyoshi returned home, wrote in the Transcription Notebook, and went to the village noticeboard to study the registration dates and requirements.
• Nakajima asked whether Kiyoshi was signing up, and Kiyoshi said yes.

Kiyoshi confirmed that he had completed enough assignments to register, then obtained Kakashi’s signatures on four registration sheets. After registering, he used his saved slips to draw several items, including the Thunderclap Blade, and ended the chapter by writing himself instructions in his notebook.

• Kiyoshi counted his completed assignments and found that the Land of Waves and Land of Snow jobs gave him enough to qualify for registration.
• Kiyoshi brought four registration sheets to Kakashi, who signed each one and told him not to lose any of the four names.
• Kiyoshi submitted his record book at the registration office, where Iruka noted that the last two assignments had been approved by the higher-ups.
• Kiyoshi used his saved slips to obtain items, fill the Substitution Technique slot, and receive the guaranteed Thunderclap Blade.
• Kiyoshi found that Izumi had written July 7 and drawn a circle in his notebook, then added the instructions “Do not use the eyes” and “let the drawer sleep.”

Kiyoshi trained with his peers, demonstrated his developing skills to the man on the slope, and learned that Sunagakure’s candidates were coming for the exam. He ended the chapter by meeting three unusual green-clad newcomers, glimpses of the people waiting beyond the exam hall.

• Kiyoshi used the Substitution Technique to evade Kiba and Akamaru, then kept his other abilities secret.
• At the academy, Iruka told Kiyoshi’s team that the exam would test what kind of team they were.
• Kiyoshi showed the man on the slope his practice, including a blade sequence and a self-invented fire technique, and agreed to an inspection after the exam.
• Kiyoshi heard that Sunagakure had submitted its roster and wrote its name in his notebook.
• Kiyoshi encountered three green-clad newcomers on the road; the first declared there were no shortcuts to youth, and the largest called a worthy rival nourishment for youth.

Kiyoshi watched the villages gather for the exam and tracked the candidates, security, and registration details around the entrance. As he entered the grounds, he marked Gaara as a greater concern than Kabuto Yakushi.

• Kiyoshi counted the flags, candidates, and routes while Naruto shouted to the crowd and received no answer.
• Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara arrived from Sunagakure, and Gaara fixed his gaze on Kiyoshi and his team.
• Temari questioned Kiyoshi about the Land of Waves and the bridge, while Kankuro adjusted the heavy bundle on his back.
• Kiyoshi noticed Kabuto Yakushi's name on a separate register with its village affiliation blank, and he recorded the name privately without reporting it.
• Kiyoshi observed masked watchers on the rooftops and heard Iruka warn that checks were strict this year.
• After the flags came down, Gaara looked back at the spot where Konoha's flag had stood, and Kiyoshi circled his name before entering the grounds.

Kiyoshi passed the document check and prepared for the written exam while rumors about a final question spread among the candidates. After watching someone review papers inside the closed examination grounds with Kakashi, he kept the last box of his plan empty and followed Kakashi away.

• Soldiers rejected a three-person team's Dossiers for a missing village registration page, then verified Kiyoshi's documents and confirmed his birth date.
• Kakashi spoke quietly with three Forehead Protectors before telling Kiyoshi to answer normally at the exam.
• Kiyoshi drafted a ten-box exam plan, erased the line predicting Naruto would fail to answer, and left the final box blank.
• Temari asked Kiyoshi whether he could cheat on the written exam, and he replied that people said he could.
• Candidates circulated rumors about an unknown final question, while Sasuke dismissed the concern and returned to his room.
• Kiyoshi watched a figure review a paper inside the examination grounds with Kakashi, then chose to keep his final box empty and followed him away.

Kiyoshi entered the written exam, where Ibiki announced rules that allowed copying but punished candidates caught doing it. Faced with questions beyond his lessons, Kiyoshi answered what he knew while watching the room’s strict proctors, and the chapter left the remaining candidates writing under heightened pressure.

• Kiyoshi took his assigned seat as Ibiki announced that candidates could copy answers but would lose points if caught, and teams would be dismissed when their score reached zero.
• Kiyoshi found that most questions exceeded what he had learned and counted only three he felt sure he could answer; Naruto asked whether he understood any of them, and Kiyoshi said he understood one.
• As candidates made subtle movements to help teammates, Kiyoshi answered a question without using his eye and then moved on to another he knew.
• A proctor caught a team in the third row on the left, and the three candidates left the hall as Ibiki crossed their line out of the register.
• Kiyoshi returned to his paper and continued writing while the remaining candidates resumed their work more quietly and uniformly.

During the written exam, Kiyoshi observed how candidates used covert methods to obtain answers and realized the test was really about catching them. He told Sasuke that the paper was a decoy, and the chapter ended with Ibiki announcing that fifteen minutes remained.

• Candidates were called out of the exam room one by one as Ibiki marked their departures on the blackboard.
• Kiyoshi watched the candidates’ different methods, including Gaara’s floating grain of sand and Temari’s brief glances beneath her fan.
• Sakura blocked a suspicious gaze from reaching Kiyoshi’s desk while he continued writing without looking up.
• Ibiki scrutinized each row, and Kiyoshi followed the rule not to use his eyes while the proctor watched.
• Kiyoshi told Sasuke that the paper was a decoy and the exam was about seeing who got caught; Sasuke agreed.
• Ibiki checked his watch and announced that fifteen minutes remained.

During the first exam, many candidates withdrew while Kiyoshi, Naruto, and Sasuke stayed and finished the questions they could answer. As the remaining candidates waited, Ibiki announced that the final question was beginning.

• Several teams turned in their papers and left the exam room, choosing to preserve their eligibility for another year.
• Ibiki erased marks for those who had withdrawn and updated the roster, leaving Kiyoshi’s row unmarked.
• Naruto quietly asked Kiyoshi if he was scared, and Kiyoshi answered that he was.
• Kiyoshi set down his pen, leaving the line reserved for the final question blank, while Naruto and Sasuke continued waiting at their desks.
• Ibiki took a sealed envelope from beneath the lectern, and the room fell silent as he announced, “The final question begins now.”

Ibiki laid out the first test’s rules, warning that a wrong answer would keep candidates Genin for life and that one person’s withdrawal would eliminate their whole team. Several groups left, and the chapter ended with no one else raising a hand to withdraw.

• Ibiki told the candidates they could leave before the question was revealed, but a wrong answer would leave them Genin for life and any withdrawal would eliminate the whole team.
• Sasuke asked Kiyoshi if he was leaving, and Kiyoshi told him to ask himself.
• Kiyoshi left his final answer blank while Naruto held his pen without writing.
• Several groups stood and left the room as Ibiki marked names off the roster.
• Ibiki asked whether anyone else wanted to leave, and no one raised a hand.

During Ibiki’s test, candidates left the room one by one, while those who remained endured the pressure without turning in their papers. When Ibiki called time, no team raised a hand, and Kiyoshi’s test paper remained facedown.

• Candidates raised their hands and left in groups as Ibiki marked their names off the roster.
• Sakura stopped writing, Sasuke gripped his pen, and the remaining candidates continued their tests under mounting tension.
• Naruto quietly asked Kiyoshi what he would do, and Kiyoshi answered, “Same as you.”
• A candidate threw his pen at Ibiki’s lectern and stormed out; Ibiki retrieved the pen and marked the roster without speaking.
• The last candidates left the corridor, and Ibiki announced that time was up.
• No team raised a hand, and Kiyoshi stayed still beside his untouched, facedown test paper.

As the examiners gave the room its last chance to leave, Kiyoshi and Naruto kept their papers blank while many candidates chose to depart. Ibiki announced that ten seconds remained, leaving the room waiting in darkness.

• Kiyoshi turned his paper faceup and left it blank, while Naruto's paper remained blank too.
• Ibiki repeated the choice to leave or stay, and Kabuto Yakushi rose, put his desk in order, and left with two others.
• More candidates quietly left, while Kiyoshi watched them go and kept his own paper blank.
• Naruto asked Kiyoshi whether he had written anything, and Kiyoshi said he had left his paper blank.
• Ibiki raised his wrist and announced that ten seconds remained as the candidates sat motionless.

Naruto stood up to demand the tenth question, and Ibiki declared that everyone who remained in the room had passed the first exam. Kiyoshi’s blank paper was collected and placed atop the stack, leaving Ibiki’s attention fixed on it.

• As Ibiki counted down, Naruto stood and declared that he would become Hokage his own way, then demanded the tenth question.
• Ibiki stopped the countdown and announced that the first exam was over and the remaining candidates had passed.
• Ibiki explained that choosing to stay had answered the tenth question, and that gathering information without getting caught was the exam’s measure.
• Kiyoshi noticed that Gaara had left his paper untouched, then told Sasuke that he had left his own paper blank.
• The collector gathered the papers and placed Kiyoshi’s blank sheet on top of the stack, where Ibiki studied it.

After passing the first stage, Kiyoshi and the other candidates learned that the second stage would take place in the dangerous Forest of Death. The next morning, they gathered at the entrance to Training Ground Forty-Four as Anko welcomed them with a warning to return alive.

• Kiyoshi watched the candidates celebrate passing before Anko arrived and announced that the second stage would be held in the Forest of Death.
• Anko explained that teams had five days to collect a Heaven Scroll and an Earth Scroll and bring them to the Central Tower without opening the scrolls.
• Kakashi waited outside, briefly acknowledged that they had all passed, and signaled for Kiyoshi to go home and rest.
• Kiyoshi recorded that he had passed the first stage, prepared supplies for the next morning, and chose not to mention the blade.
• Kiyoshi joined the candidates gathered at the gate marked Forty-Four, where Anko appeared and told them to come back alive.

Kiyoshi’s team entered the Training Ground with an Earth scroll and quietly navigated the forest, conserving water and avoiding the crowded routes. After camping through their first night, they heard a scream cut off deep in the forest, and Kiyoshi memorized the direction it came from.

• Kiyoshi’s team received an Earth scroll, and Anko sent the teams through the gates for the five-day test.
• Sasuke took the rear as the team turned toward thicker trees and followed the water away from the crowds.
• The team avoided fresh tracks, checked its waterskins, and rested at a sheltered spot while Kiyoshi planned how to divide the five days.
• At a stream, Kiyoshi’s team spotted a complete shed snakeskin on a stone and skirted around it without touching it.
• The four camped without a fire, took turns keeping watch, and secured the scroll for the night.
• A scream sounded and abruptly stopped in the forest; Kiyoshi stayed still and aligned its direction with the stars.

Kiyoshi and his team followed fresh tracks upstream and were ambushed by a group trying to drive them along the path. They escaped without injuries or taking a scroll and continued north, leaving the attackers behind.

• Kiyoshi examined fresh footprints and signs of a recent camp, then led the team upstream after the tracks.
• Attackers launched kunai volleys that blocked the path ahead and behind, forcing the team to take cover as figures closed in from both sides.
• Kiyoshi used a Substitution Technique and a Joint Lock to pin one attacker, while Sasuke and Naruto’s shadow clones cornered the others without seriously injuring them.
• When Sasuke asked whether they were taking the scroll, Kiyoshi said they were moving on, and the attackers withdrew into the woods.
• Kiyoshi found a broken Forehead Protector and discarded kunai but no blood or injuries, then warned the team, “No greed,” before they continued along the stream.

Kiyoshi led the group away from the stream and camped on a ridge, where a strange sound approached from the north during the night. When the forest fell into unnatural silence before dawn, he ordered everyone to break camp and change course, leaving the silence behind.

• Kiyoshi directed Sasuke and Naruto away from the stream and onto a ridge, where the group found no fresh tracks or signs of people.
• The group made a cautious camp, rationed their food and water, and assigned Naruto the first watch and Kiyoshi the second.
• During Kiyoshi's watch, a tremulous sound came closer from the north before fading into the darkness.
• Naruto briefly joined Kiyoshi at the watch post, then returned to sleep while Kiyoshi monitored the forest.
• Before dawn, the insects, wind, birds, and other forest sounds stopped, and Sasuke shifted his shoulders without speaking.
• Kiyoshi ordered the group to break camp and take a new route northwest, away from the stream and old trail.

Kiyoshi’s group was ambushed by Zaku, Dosu, and Kin in the valley, and Naruto took the first blast while protecting someone. When the enemies aimed another attack at Naruto, Kiyoshi drew his sword and stopped Zaku with a lightning-charged slash, but the enemy ring remained closed.

• The group’s silent trek through the valley ended when a blast scattered them and Naruto shoved someone out of its path, taking the hit himself.
• Zaku, Dosu, and Kin closed off both ends of the valley and attacked the surrounded group.
• Sasuke attacked Zaku but faltered when Dosu struck him with a burst of sound.
• Sakura threw herself in front of the injured Naruto as Zaku charged his tubes for another blast.
• Kiyoshi drew his sword and used the Thunderclap Blade to split the incoming force and disable Zaku’s forearm.
• Dosu, Kin, and Zaku tightened their positions around the group while Kiyoshi held his stance and the valley fell quiet.

Kin, Dosu, and the others attacked Kiyoshi’s group in a ravine, but a silent presence from the woods forced the attackers to retreat. After tending Naruto’s injury, the group traveled through the night, and Sasuke recognized that the lingering chill on his sword had not come from their enemies.

• Kin used her bells to disorient the group while Dosu probed their defenses, and Kiyoshi and Sasuke held them off.
• A shadow passed over the ravine, silencing its sounds and revealing a vertical pupil reflected on the iron around Dosu’s wrist.
• Kin, Dosu, and the half-kneeling attacker retreated into the darkness as the pressure in the ravine lifted.
• Sakura bandaged Naruto while Kiyoshi glimpsed a white mask near the ravine mouth and kept the sight to himself.
• The group walked through the night, and Sasuke said the chill remaining on his sword had not come from their attackers.

Kiyoshi led his team through a fog-filled ravine while steering them away from a mysterious glint, then encountered a courteous stranger whose terrifying presence tested their resolve. After the stranger disappeared into the mist, the team continued onward and heard a branch snap ahead.

• Kiyoshi guided Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke around the area where they had seen a glint, choosing firm ground and avoiding slippery rocks.
• A friendly man wearing a scratched grass-woven Forehead Protector approached with two followers, offered water, and asked the team questions about their route and supplies.
• Kiyoshi refused to accept the man's route paper at close range and grew suspicious when the man asked where the team would replenish its supplies.
• The man peeled a damp layer from his face, revealing a bloodlessly white face, and overwhelmed the team with a crushing force before reminding them that no one could die in the forest.
• The man and his followers vanished into the fog, and Sasuke moved closer to Kiyoshi as the team resumed walking.
• A snapped branch landed ahead of the team.

A cloaked man ambushed Kiyoshi, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura in the mist, overwhelming Naruto and Sasuke before Anko drove him away. Kiyoshi carried the unconscious, marked Sasuke toward the valley mouth with medicine from a leaf-clad stranger, while the markings on Sasuke’s neck began to stir.

• The cloaked man drained Naruto’s strength with a hand on his head, then turned his attention to Sasuke as Sakura and Kiyoshi were held back.
• Sasuke’s fire attack missed, and Kiyoshi’s Thunderclap Blade was stopped between the man’s fingers.
• The man appeared behind Sasuke and felled him, leaving a red dot and spreading black markings on his neck.
• Anko confronted the man and ordered him to leave; he departed with his two lackeys as a masked figure vanished from the slope.
• A leaf-clad stranger gave Kiyoshi medicine and warned Sakura not to move Sasuke’s neck.
• Kiyoshi checked Sasuke’s pulse, carried him toward the valley mouth with Sakura and the others, and saw the markings stir as they left.

Kiyoshi’s team reached the Tower with Sasuke still feverish, and the scrolls revealed that passing the forest required teamwork. After Iruka registered the surviving teams and announced a preliminary round before the finals in a month, Kiyoshi watched Kabuto’s group leave, still puzzled by their help.

• Kiyoshi’s team followed the suspiciously precise directions of Kabuto’s group through the forest and reached the Tower before dark.
• Anko inspected claw marks on the Tower wall as the team arrived, while Sakura counted their scrolls and discovered an extra one had been slipped into their supplies.
• Sakura opened the Heaven and Earth scrolls, summoning Iruka, who explained that the test required teamwork and announced a preliminary round before the finals in a month.
• Iruka registered Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kiyoshi, then confirmed that their team and the other present teams had passed.
• Kabuto and his companions left the Tower, and Kiyoshi remained uncertain why they had guided his team through the forest.

The candidates drew lots for the preliminary matches, and Hayate announced the pairings as the field prepared for the village exam. Sasuke remained unconscious as Zaku answered the call to their match and entered the light alone.

• Hayate explained the rules for the preliminary matches and began drawing lots after the Hokage ordered him to start.
• Choji Akimichi drew a blank lot and received a bye, while the other candidates were paired, including Sakura with Ino, Naruto with Kiba, and Rock Lee with Gaara.
• Dosu was paired with Kiyoshi, but Dosu withdrew after saying he was still thinking about Kiyoshi's golden move.
• Kakashi arrived as Hayate finished the final pairings, and Anko spoke with him quietly by a pillar.
• Hayate called Sasuke and Zaku for their match, but Sasuke remained unconscious while Zaku answered and entered the light alone.

Sasuke defeated Zaku, experiencing a brief surge of strength and markings that vanished after the fight. Sakura and Ino drew, while Shikamaru and Temari won their matches; Kakashi noticed Sasuke’s covered hand and neck as the crowd began to leave.

• Sasuke overcame Zaku in three exchanges, briefly developing burning markings on his right hand before they disappeared.
• Sakura and Ino exchanged blows and fell together, so Hayate declared that both advanced.
• Shikamaru immobilized Kin with his shadow, then Temari swept Tenten and her weapons out of the arena.
• Kiyoshi watched the matches and told Naruto to save his questions for later.
• Kakashi noticed Sasuke’s sleeve and the back of his neck before passing Kiyoshi without speaking.
• The spectators began moving toward the exit, leaving Sasuke beside a pillar at the edge of the light.