Chapter Summaries

As Konoha and Kumogakure continued to dispute compensation and other demands, Xue Ge celebrated New Year by preparing a lavish meal at Danzo’s home. Danzo told Xue Ge that Hiruzen wanted him to join the Hokage Guard Platoon, but Xue Ge chose to stay in Root.

• Konoha and Kumogakure continued arguing over compensation, mission assignments, and handing over Xue Ge while their cooperation agreement remained in place.
• Asuma, Guy, and Muzi graduated early and were assigned to Kushina Uzumaki’s squad.
• Xue Ge decorated Danzo’s home and cooked a New Year’s feast with his mission pay.
• Danzo told Xue Ge that Hiruzen wanted him to leave Root and join the Hokage Guard Platoon as a reserve member.
• Xue Ge asked whether Danzo wanted him to leave, then bluntly refused to go when Danzo said he did not.

Xue Ge refused Danzo’s offer to leave Root and spent New Year’s Eve delivering homemade desserts and gifts to people across Konoha. He reached Iris Moon at the lake with the final scroll and tried to wake her after hearing her murmur in her sleep.

• Xue Ge told Danzo he would stay in Root because he cared about its children and felt grateful to Danzo for saving and training him.
• Xue Ge delivered homemade desserts to Kakashi, Ryosuke, Minato, Kushina, and other people he knew around Konoha.
• Xue Ge gave Obito a second gift to pass along to Rin because he did not know where she lived.
• Xue Ge ran to the Forest of Death and placed his last gift beside the sleeping Iris Moon.
• Xue Ge heard Iris Moon murmur in her sleep and shook her, telling her to wake up.

A girl relived the abandonment and loss that shaped her life before confronting a reflection of herself that exposed her loneliness and fear. As she sank into darkness and cold water, a soft voice told her to wake up.

• The girl remembered being imprisoned and treated as a weapon by her clan, then leaving after rejecting their demands and the man who claimed to be her father.
• She visited her mother's grave and later agreed to flee the clan with a man who promised to stay with her.
• The girl became trapped beneath rubble as the man burned to ash, while a long-haired man in red armor passed by and she saw his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
• In a dark world, the girl confronted a version of herself that accused her of hiding her grief, loneliness, and fear behind strength and drinking.
• The girl admitted she hated being alone and was afraid of many things before the phantoms vanished and a voice urged her to wake up.

Iris Moon confronted Xue Ge after he revealed that he had heard her call for help in her sleep, and he told her about the losses that shaped his desire to protect their bonds. She demanded that he promise not to die before her, and Xue Ge agreed.

• Xue Ge delivered Iris Moon a New Year's gift and stayed with her by the lake.
• Xue Ge told Iris Moon that his Ninja Way was to protect the people he knew, including her, but she rejected his concern.
• Xue Ge revealed that he had heard Iris Moon calling for help in her sleep and insisted that she was lonely and afraid.
• Xue Ge described the deaths of the people he had loved and told Iris Moon that their bond as master and student mattered to him.
• Iris Moon challenged Xue Ge to promise he would not die before her, and he agreed.

As the joint Konoha–Sunagakure Chunin Ninja Exams approached, Xue Ge studied Danzo’s intelligence on the visiting villages and their strongest genin. He focused on the dangerous candidates he might face and prepared to take the exams seriously.

• Team Minato completed another S-rank mission without serious danger as Xue Ge continued his routine of missions and training.
• Sunagakure’s delegation mediated the Konoha–Kumogakure dispute, and the villages agreed to resume talks after the exams.
• Delegations from the Five Great Shinobi Villages and smaller villages arrived in Konoha for the jointly hosted Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Xue Ge read Danzo’s profiles of the delegation leaders and learned that some villages had entered experienced chunin as genin.
• Xue Ge reviewed the notable candidates Ameyuri Ringo, Gari, Killer B, and Baki, then resolved not to underestimate the exams scheduled in ten days.

With the Chunin Ninja Exams ten days away, Xue Ge studied by day and trained at night. At Hokage Rock, he saved Karura, a Sunagakure Genin, from an explosion and let her continue practicing nearby, leaving them acquainted.

• Xue Ge found Karura attempting to develop a Kekkei Genkai at Hokage Rock and pulled her away when her experiment exploded.
• Karura told Xue Ge she was trying to create Scorch Release by combining wind and fire chakra, hoping to become like Pakura.
• Karura explained that she trained alone because she was frail growing up and struggled to make friends.
• Xue Ge introduced himself and told Karura that they knew each other, so she could keep training there.
• Xue Ge created shadow clones to train and planned to have one watch Karura in case another experiment exploded.

Before the Chunin Ninja Exams, Karura gave Xue Ge a bracelet that Jangu Muzi had helped her choose, and Danzo showed Xue Ge the exam procedures. Danzo demanded that Xue Ge defeat every opponent and finish first in the tournament.

• Karura arrived late to meet Xue Ge and gave him a green bracelet as a blessing of life.
• Karura explained that Jangu Muzi had helped her choose the gift and shown her around Konoha, and Xue Ge recognized Muzi from her appearance.
• Xue Ge accepted the bracelet and wondered whether he should give Karura a gift in return.
• Danzo showed Xue Ge the four-stage Chunin Ninja Exams procedures and answered his questions about injuries, safety, and promotion.
• Danzo told Xue Ge he expected him to defeat every opponent in the elimination tournament and finish at the top.

As the Chunin Exams approached, teams from Kirigakure, Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure arrived in Konoha, while Xue Ge, Kakashi, and Shisui headed to the Ninja Academy. The squad suspected the exams would force candidates to work together and might allow them to kill one another.

• Ameyuri Ringo and Kisame judged the arriving Kirigakure candidates unlikely to survive the exams and set out for the Ninja Academy.
• Baki warned Ameno that candidates could die in the exams, while another Sunagakure ninja promised to stay with her in the Forest of Death.
• Killer B rapped through Konoha as Motoi reassured a teammate that B was strong despite his antics.
• Gari examined blast damage near Konoha and warned Han not to dismiss the possibility that the village had abilities like Explosion Release.
• Xue Ge, Kakashi, and Shisui ran toward the Ninja Academy and reasoned that the exams could involve squadwork and candidates killing each other.

At the Ninja Academy, Ameyuri Ringo and Baki fought until Xue Ge intervened and stopped them. The gathered Genin then met Minato Namikaze, who announced that the Chunin Exams’ first stage would be a written test.

• Minato Namikaze and other Konoha ninja watched the gathered Genin and chose to observe when Ameyuri Ringo and Baki began fighting.
• Ameyuri and Baki exchanged attacks as Genin from several villages assessed their abilities.
• Just as the fight turned serious, Xue Ge stepped between them and redirected their weapons and momentum.
• Ameyuri dropped the quarrel after meeting Xue Ge, then told Kisame that she found him cute.
• Minato appeared before the crowd and introduced himself as the examiner for the written first stage of the Chunin Ninja Exams.

Minato warned the ninja against fighting during the exam, then gave them a coded card test that Xue Ge, Kakashi, and Shisui solved. The candidates learned that every correct solution led to exam room one, where Minato began the written exam and explained the lesson behind the trick.

• Minato forbade private fights, denied Ameyuri Ringo’s request to duel Baki, and read out the exam rules.
• Kakashi and Shisui pointed out that Ameyuri kept watching Xue Ge, but Xue Ge suspected she might target them in the next stage.
• Minato gave each team a coded card and ten minutes to find its exam room; Xue Ge, Kakashi, and Shisui decoded theirs as number one.
• Minato revealed that exam room one was the only written exam room and that the other room assignments had been a deception to test the candidates.
• Minato explained that Chunin needed to stay alert and question appearances, then officially began the written exam.

Minato began the written exam with strict rules that punished teams for disruptions and cheating, while Xue Ge struggled with the bizarre questions and realized the test was about gathering answers. Just as he was unsure how to cheat safely, a filled-out paper appeared in his vision and supplied an answer to the first question.

• Minato announced that teams would be eliminated together if their combined score was too low or a member was caught cheating, and he disqualified a Kusagakure Genin and his teammates after the Genin protested.
• Xue Ge began the exam and found the questions on ciphers, physics, probability, and trap-making baffling.
• Xue Ge reasoned that the exam tested intelligence-gathering and began searching for examinees who might have answers.
• Minato caught another Genin cheating three times and expelled that Genin's team.
• Xue Ge considered how to obtain answers without being caught and saw a completed exam paper that revealed the first answer: Ninja Way.

Xue Ge and the other examinees completed the first exam after Muzi used her kekkei genkai to share answers. When a black-clad figure appeared to kill Minato and threaten the room, the examinees prepared to fight, but Minato suddenly stood up and announced that the exam was over.

• Muzi confirmed through her Six-Mind Eye that three people in the room were planted Chunin and shared the answers with Xue Ge and the other examinees.
• Minato eliminated cheaters and failing teams, then announced that the remaining examinees had passed.
• A black-clad figure stabbed Minato and raised his blade toward the examinees, prompting some to flee and others to prepare for a fight.
• Ameyuri attacked the figure, Xue Ge tried to strike him with his Prosthetic Limbs, and Killer B, Han, Gari, Baki, Kakashi, and Shisui readied themselves.
• Minato suddenly rose from the floor and announced that the exam was over.

Minato revealed that the staged attack was the first exam’s final test and explained how it assessed intelligence gathering and composure. Hatake Sakumo led the candidates who passed toward the Forest of Death for the second exam, while Minato stayed behind and noticed an exception among the answer sheets.

• Minato revealed the fake blood and knife, disqualified candidates who had fled, and announced that the remaining Genin had passed the first exam.
• Minato explained the exam’s tests of codebreaking, cheating to gather information, and responding to danger, then warned Ameyuri for acting recklessly.
• Hatake Sakumo introduced himself as the examiner for the Forest of Death survival assessment and led the candidates to its venue.
• After the candidates left, Minato examined their papers and noticed that Jangu Muzi was the one exception among the Konoha Genin.

Sakumo explained the second exam rules in the Forest of Death, including a two-day limit that could randomly eliminate candidates if more than sixteen remained. The Genin prepared to sign liability waivers and be led blindfolded into the forest.

• Sakumo warned the Genin about the Forest of Death and demonstrated the danger of its venomous snakes.
• Sakumo announced that candidates would be separated, given signal flares, and required to avoid deliberately killing one another.
• Sakumo revealed that the exam would last two days and that excess candidates still present at the deadline would be eliminated at random.
• Xue Ge realized the time limit would pressure candidates to attack one another and make even alliances uncertain.
• Sakumo presented liability waivers, signal flares, and black cloth, then told the Genin to sign before being blindfolded and escorted into the forest.

Xue Ge collapsed in the Forest of Death, releasing purple chakra, while a snake in Orochimaru's laboratory broke free and grew into a giant. The creature's rampage shook the Naruto Building as Hiruzen met with village representatives and Princess Lilan.

• Xue Ge chose to find Kakashi and Shisui, but he lost consciousness and spread purple chakra through the Forest of Death.
• Sakumo dismissed most of the ANBU and waited outside the forest, worrying about Kakashi.
• Orochimaru found that the experimental snake had broken out of its reinforced incubation chamber despite being heavily anesthetized.
• The cursed seal on the snake melted away, purple chakra emerged, and the snake expanded dramatically inside the laboratory.
• Hiruzen shared the first-exam results with the village representatives as Princess Lilan arrived, and a giant snake's rampage shook the Naruto Building.

Xue Ge spoke with the purple dragon in a dream, which revealed that its power had leaked into other beings and that they were now close to meeting. In the Forest of Death, a giant snake attacked several Genin, forcing rival teams to cooperate to survive.

• Xue Ge asked the purple dragon why it had appeared, and it said it wanted to reclaim its leaked power and that they would meet soon.
• A giant snake ambushed a Kusagakure ninja by a stream and crushed him before he could fire a signal flare.
• Gari and Han agreed to work together and discussed which Genin they considered dangerous.
• The giant snake attacked Gari and Han, who struck it with Explosion Release and Water Release techniques without harming it.
• Kisame and Asuma attacked the snake with Ninjutsu, but Guy rescued them from its tail while Ameno treated their scrapes.
• Kisame, Asuma, Guy, and Ameno agreed to scatter as the snake attacked again.

Xue Ge discovered that Dragon Vein energy leaking from him might be connected to giant snakes attacking the Forest of Death. As the survival test spiraled out of control, Hiruzen and Orochimaru learned that powerful snakes were rampaging through the exam grounds.

• Xue Ge woke after losing half a day, then dodged a giant snake and wounded its eye with Imitation Water Release: Righteous Piercing.
• Xue Ge recognized Dragon Vein energy in the snake’s slime and headed off to find Shisui and Kakashi.
• Sakumo ordered ANBU to count casualties, summon Minato, and request reinforcements, then went out to hunt the snakes himself.
• Manda killed a giant snake for Orochimaru, demanded double sacrifices, and fled when Hiruzen approached.
• Hiruzen confronted Orochimaru, then learned from an ANBU that giant snakes were overwhelming the Forest of Death; Orochimaru agreed to lead a team there.

Shisui and Killer B fought a giant snake, while Kakashi, Aoba Yamashiro, and Muzi drove another one away. Karura was left alone in the path of a charging snake, but an unknown figure struck it with a Rasengan.

• Shisui and Killer B worked together against a giant snake, but Shisui's Sharingan genjutsu failed when purple chakra erupted from its body.
• Aoba Yamashiro and Kakashi used Muzi's warnings to coordinate attacks on another giant snake until it fled, and Muzi said its mind had seemed consumed by pain and killing.
• Karura and another Sunagakure Genin fled a giant snake, and Karura discovered that its eyes were a weak point after her wind release struck one by chance.
• The other Genin abandoned Karura, leaving her frozen as the giant snake lunged to bite her.
• A figure in tattered black clothes appeared atop the snake's head after blasting it into the ground with a Rasengan.

Xue Ge rescued Karura from a giant snake and drove it off, then stopped her from withdrawing from the exam. He encouraged her by sharing his hardships and giving her his prosthetic eye, leaving Karura with renewed support to continue.

• Xue Ge saved Karura from the giant snake, then used Overload and Righteous Piercing to injure its eye and force it to flee.
• Karura told Xue Ge that her teammate had abandoned her, and she decided to withdraw from the exam because she feared holding him back.
• Xue Ge stopped Karura from setting off her signal flare and told her that strength also meant resolve, perseverance, and knowing when to retreat.
• Xue Ge shared that he had lost an eye, an arm, and a leg as a child, then gave Karura his prosthetic eye with the character for “heart” carved into it.
• Xue Ge reminded Karura that she had trained tirelessly and faced danger without shame, urging her to be proud of herself.

Xue Ge and Karura joined Ameyuri’s fight against two giant snakes in the Forest of Death, helping drive them off. Sakumo arrived with Konoha’s Snake Suppression Squad and rescued the badly injured Motoi, leaving the exam’s danger apparent to some contestants but unknown to Ameyuri.

• Xue Ge and Karura rode Black Pine to the battle, where Aburame Ryoma, Baki, and Motoi struggled to restrain a giant snake.
• The giant snake struck Motoi and shattered many of his bones before Sakumo appeared, cut off its head, and carried Motoi away as Konoha’s Snake Suppression Squad arrived.
• Ameyuri fought one giant snake with her twin blades and lightning techniques, then found herself facing a second one.
• Xue Ge paralyzed the second snake and smashed its eye, while Karura’s fire techniques helped drive the first snake away.
• Ameyuri challenged Xue Ge to a fight, but he asked whether she was all right and then tried to leave.