Chapter Summaries

Chiba, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha received a mission to obtain Nekomata’s paw print from his castle. After Cat Granny briefed them, Tahibi and Hina led the trio to the castle and offered them cat-ear headbands to help them sneak in.

• Chiba won the Ichiraku Ramen eating contest and received a permanent half-price voucher from Teuchi.
• Kakashi Hatake gave Chiba, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha a mission involving ninja cats, then vanished after revealing he had been a Shadow Clone.
• Chiba led the team to the Empty District, where Cat Granny explained that they had to obtain Nekomata’s paw print from his castle.
• Cat Granny sent Tahibi and Hina to guide the trio to Nekomata’s Castle.
• Tahibi and Hina offered the team cat-ear headbands to help them sneak into the castle, leaving Chiba conflicted.

Chiba and Sasuke Uchiha infiltrated a castle to obtain Nekomata’s paw print, and Sasuke fought the giant cat alone while Chiba watched. After Naruto Uzumaki helped trap Nekomata, Sasuke took the print and Chiba offered to make Nekomata his summoning beast.

• Chiba made Sasuke Uchiha wear a cat-ear headband and photographed him before the team split up to enter the castle.
• Chiba infiltrated the castle from behind while Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha entered from the front, triggering alarms when Naruto’s headband fell off.
• Chiba found Nekomata in the attic and let Sasuke Uchiha face him alone, then watched as Nekomata’s genjutsu and attacks put Sasuke in danger.
• Naruto Uzumaki arrived and used explosive tags to bring down part of the roof, pinning Nekomata beneath the rubble.
• Sasuke Uchiha took an impression of Nekomata’s paw, and Chiba offered Nekomata the chance to become his summoning beast.

Chiba persuaded Nekomata to sign a Summoning Contract by offering silvervine and promising to help him grow stronger. After the group completed their mission and returned to Konoha, Chiba noticed signs that an important event was approaching.

• Chiba negotiated with Nekomata, who agreed to become his summoning beast in exchange for four sticks of silvervine a week.
• Nekomata explained that his strength was nearing chunin level but that he lacked resources to improve further.
• Chiba told Nekomata he would help him grow stronger, while joking that his main job was to look cute.
• Chiba, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha said goodbye to Nekomata and reported to Cat Granny before returning to Konoha.
• Chiba noticed unfamiliar faces and increased ninja guards in Konoha, and said something important seemed about to happen.

Chiba met Rock Lee during training, then intervened when Kankuro threatened Naruto and Konohamaru. The Third Hokage gathered the team leaders, and Kakashi recommended Team 7 for the Chunin Exams.

• Chiba met Rock Lee while training and introduced himself as a member of Kakashi’s Team 7.
• Chiba headed to report his departure to Kakashi and saw Naruto and Konohamaru get into a confrontation with Kankuro.
• Chiba stepped in, warned Kankuro against provoking a conflict between the villages, and intimidated him with his killing intent.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi gathered the team leaders, and Kakashi recommended Chiba, Naruto, and Sasuke for the Chunin Exams.

Chiba forced Kankuro to apologize and confronted Sasuke and Gaara before turning to preparations for the Chunin Ninja Exams. After Kakashi recommended Team 7 for the exams, Chiba received permission to leave the village and set out to visit Nekomata.

• Chiba demanded that Kankuro apologize to Konohamaru, and Kankuro complied while Gaara and Temari prepared to leave.
• Chiba noticed Sasuke hiding in a tree and revealed Gaara, warning him not to use ninjutsu freely in the village.
• Kakashi arrived late and gave Chiba, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sakura Haruno eligibility certificates for the Chunin Ninja Exams, which would begin in seven days.
• Chiba asked Kakashi for permission to leave the village to visit Nekomata, and Kakashi approved as long as he returned promptly and stayed safe.
• Chiba also asked Kakashi for Chakra Paper because he did not know Nekomata's chakra nature.

Chiba visited Nekomata at Ninja Cat Castle, gave him a ninjutsu scroll, and planned an intensive training program to prepare him for the Chunin Ninja Exams. After leaving the castle, Chiba went to Tenten’s Ninja Tool Shop to collect on the favor she owed him.

• Chiba learned that Nekomata could grow to about twenty meters as his chakra reserves increased, but he knew only one innate genjutsu.
• Chiba gave Nekomata a scroll containing ninjutsu and other techniques, and Nekomata gratefully embraced him.
• After watching Nekomata demonstrate his abilities, Chiba judged his strength comparable to an average chunin and ordered him to learn two ninjutsu techniques and one taijutsu technique within seven days.
• Chiba planned physical conditioning, fighting-spirit training, one-on-one combat practice, and custom weights for Nekomata before the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Chiba left Ninja Cat Castle and went to Tenten’s Ninja Tool Shop to use the favor she owed him.

Chiba asked Tenten for training weights after Rock Lee inspired him to train with them. Tenten lent him the set reserved for Rock Lee’s next training stage, and she was stunned when Chiba lifted the weights, which totaled two thousand jin.

• Tenten grew irritable while thinking about Chiba and tried to hide her feelings when he approached her.
• Chiba told Tenten he had met Rock Lee and wanted training weights, and Tenten revealed that she had supplied Lee’s weights.
• Tenten explained that the remaining set was reserved for Rock Lee but offered to lend it to Chiba.
• Tenten led Chiba to the Ninja Tool shop’s storeroom and showed him the weights, which totaled two thousand jin.
• Chiba eagerly lifted the weights, leaving Tenten stunned.

Chiba showed Tenten that he could bear the thousand-kilogram Weighted Training Gear and revealed that he would take the Chunin Ninja Exams. After three days of adapting to the weights, he summoned Nekomata and learned that the cat had completed its ninjutsu training goals.

• Chiba put on Tenten's Weighted Training Gear, weighing about a thousand kilograms, and said he could barely walk in it.
• Chiba told Tenten that Kakashi-sensei had signed Team 7 up for the Chunin Ninja Exams and showed her his Candidate Certificate.
• Chiba reassured Tenten that he would be there for her, then returned to the residence Jiraiya had arranged and trained with the weights for three days.
• Tenten visited Chiba during his adjustment period, claiming she only wanted to check that her Weighted Training Gear was fine.
• After three days, Chiba had adapted enough to resume his usual training and successfully summoned Nekomata.
• Nekomata told Chiba it had completed its ninjutsu goals, while it was still practicing taijutsu.

As the Chunin Ninja Exams approached, Chiba trained with Naruto Uzumaki and Nekomata while trying to prepare for the costs of their daily life. He left for Ichiraku Ramen after persuading Nekomata to hand over his savings, while Nekomata returned to his castle still unable to learn the Reverse Summoning Technique.

• Chiba trained with Naruto Uzumaki and Nekomata, whose combat practice ended with Nekomata sprawled on the ground and Naruto claiming victory.
• Chiba told Naruto that they needed to recover and get into peak condition for the approaching Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Chiba realized his savings would only last through the exams and asked Nekomata for the money he had stashed away.
• Nekomata handed over his savings, and Chiba went to rinse off and change before heading to Ichiraku Ramen.
• Nekomata returned to his Ninja Cat Castle without having learned the Reverse Summoning Technique and grumbled that someone was plotting against him.

Iruka tried to test Naruto before the Chunin Ninja Exams but was knocked out by his student, then felt reassured by Naruto’s growth. On exam day, Team 7 headed to register, where Rock Lee challenged Naruto to a showdown.

• Iruka kidnapped Moegi to lure Naruto into the woods, but Naruto struck him from above and knocked him unconscious.
• At the Baiwei Dango Shop, Iruka told Chiba that Naruto’s rapid progress reassured him, and Naruto grew more determined to pass the exams.
• On July first, Team 7 gathered on the Great Bridge and Naruto boasted to Sasuke about the special training Chiba had planned for him.
• Team 7 went to the Ninja Academy to register for the Chunin Ninja Exams and encountered Rock Lee.
• After Naruto called him a bowl-cut guy who looked weak, Rock Lee challenged Naruto to a showdown.