Recaps

Ruri defeated the Chunin Exam candidates in the Forest of Death, earning a Jonin promotion and permission to join the front lines. Before his departure, he watched Uchiha Itachi pass his early graduation assessment by outsmarting an Anbu examiner.

• Ruri defeated Gekko Hayate and his two companions, then spent time with Momokusa Harukawa and promised to compete in the Chunin Ninja Exams before heading to the front.
• Ruri entered the exams alone, earned a perfect score on the written test, and collected both required scrolls in the Forest of Death.
• Ruri lured the other candidates together and defeated them, gathering all thirty scrolls and passing the second exam.
• The Third Hokage agreed to send Ruri to the front lines with Captain Kakashi and promoted him to Jonin after Ruri said he wanted to see where his parents had died.
• Ruri celebrated his promotion with Hizashi Hyuga and Mei Ling Hyuga, who urged him to return alive, then met Momokusa Harukawa and went to watch Uchiha Itachi’s early graduation assessment.
• Uchiha Itachi revealed his Two-Tomoe Sharingan and fought the Anbu examiner, while Ruri recognized the examiner’s use of Chakra Threads.
• Uchiha Itachi used shuriken to redirect the examiner’s kunai and trap him in his own concealed wires, passing the assessment as Shimura Danzō watched with concern.

Ruri joined the front lines and overwhelmed the Cloud Ninja, then faced Killer B and the Eight-Tails in a battle that pushed him to the limits of his abilities. He temporarily sealed the beast in ice and collapsed after Kakashi caught him, warning that the seal would not last.

• Uchiha Itachi graduated, and Ruri left for the front lines with Kakashi’s Anbu team after promising Mei Ling Hyuga he would return alive.
• At the Konoha camp, Chōza Akimichi described the Cloud Ninja’s strength and their dangerous fighter using Black Lightning Release.
• Ruri unleashed Wind Release: Rasenshuriken against Ryūsui’s forces, then defeated Ryūsui with Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms.
• Killer B arrived and fought Ruri, who used his fire abilities to freeze the river and trap Killer B in an ice coffin.
• Killer B transformed into the Eight-Tails and fired a Tailed Beast Bomb, but Ruri’s Rasenshuriken diverted it away from the Konoha ninja.
• Ruri froze the Eight-Tails with Fire Mystery: Frozen Romance, then collapsed and told Kakashi the ice would only seal the beast temporarily.

Ruri returned to battle after reaching Kage Level and defeated the Cloud forces with his new Ice Release, driving back Killer B. He returned to Konoha and reunited with Mei Ling, while preparing to face Harukawa after leaving for the front without telling her.

• After recovering from his fight with the Eight-Tails, Ruri reached Kage Level and told the Konoha ninja he would face Killer B in the next battle.
• When the Cloud Ninja attacked, Ruri fought Killer B and used Ice Kingdom to freeze the forest, the Eight-Tails, and the Cloud forces.
• The Eight-Tails broke free and fired a Tailed Beast Bomb, but Ruri stopped it with two Wind Release: Rasenshuriken and sealed the beast in ice.
• Killer B escaped after Ruri exhausted his chakra, and Konoha reported its victory while the Fourth Raikage ordered another attack after B recovered.
• Ruri returned to Konoha, reunited with Mei Ling Hyuga, and told her about the battle while promising to grow stronger and protect everyone.
• Ruri spent time at home with Mei Ling and Neji, then learned that Harukawa had visited and planned to see her the next day.

Ruri spent time with Mei Ling Hyuga and Momokusa Harukawa, then brought his friends and Uzuki Yugao together for an outing. The peaceful picnic turned dangerous when five masked ninja confronted Harukawa and Yugao, and Ruri prepared to fight them.

• Ruri visited Momokusa Harukawa, encouraged her training, and promised to protect her if she faced danger.
• Ruri invited Uzuki Yugao and his friends on an outing, and they gathered at a grove for a picnic and barbecue.
• Uzuki Yugao wondered about her feelings for Ruri, while the group welcomed her as a friend and hoped to become her Anbu teammates.
• After lunch, Ruri, Akagimaru, Uchiha Itachi, and Reika Hyuga went fishing, and Ruri caught a large fish.
• Ruri and his friends rushed to a cry for help and found Momokusa Harukawa and Uzuki Yugao confronted by five masked ninja.
• Ruri challenged the masked ninja and formed a Rasengan in each hand as four of them charged at him.