Recaps

Sasuke challenged Naruto in the Academy’s sparring match after three years of intensive training, and the two began a fierce battle that showcased Sasuke’s three-tomoe Sharingan and Naruto’s Wood Release. As Naruto recognized Sasuke’s growth and prepared to fight more seriously, their match continued.

• Sasuke and Naruto faced off for their school sparring match, while Sasuke recalled that Naruto had beaten him with Wood Release during their previous challenge three years earlier.
• Sasuke drew a chakra-metal sword, set its blade alight, and attacked Naruto with swift, precise strikes as the students watched.
• Naruto blocked Sasuke’s attacks with a wooden greatsword, and Sasuke followed with Fire Release: Dragon Flame Song.
• Naruto emerged from the explosion and launched Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs at Sasuke, who revealed his three-tomoe Sharingan and cut through the wooden rods.
• Kushina reacted with surprise to Sasuke’s Sharingan as Naruto leaped back into the fight.

Naruto and Sasuke fought at full strength, with Sasuke pushing his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and lightning-enhanced speed to its limits. Naruto won after Sasuke cut down his Wood Golem, and Iruka scolded them for fighting so recklessly.

• Sasuke charged Naruto with his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and lightning-enhanced sword, forcing Naruto to abandon his wooden sword and evade the strike.
• Minato warned Naruto that Sasuke could briefly fight at a level comparable to an ordinary jonin, while Sasuke continued attacking at full speed.
• Naruto used Wood Release to raise a four-meter Wood Golem and stood on its head as the students watched.
• Sasuke overcame his hesitation, dodged the Wood Golem's blow, and cut through its legs, but collapsed from exhaustion.
• Naruto caught Sasuke, helped him recover, and supported him back to the tree as Sasuke accepted his defeat.
• Iruka scolded Naruto and Sasuke for their injuries and reckless fight, and Naruto apologized.

Tobirama connected with Hashirama through his crow television and caught him playing a ninja-themed card game instead of pursuing his duties. After scolding him, Tobirama briefed him on Konoha’s situation and described plans to explore other frequencies and possibly use them for travel between worlds.

• Tobirama tuned the crow television to connect with Hashirama and saw him playing cards with Kushina and Kurama.
• Hashirama boasted about winning with Madara, then tried to escape when Tobirama appeared on the screen and confronted him.
• Tobirama scolded Hashirama until he promised not to let games sap his ambition, then explained that Konoha faced no major threats from other villages but still had not found Madara’s impersonator.
• Tobirama told Hashirama that Tsunade and Jiraiya were traveling, Orochimaru had joined the Akatsuki, and Itachi and he could handle matters while Hashirama taught Naruto.
• Hashirama explained that a video of Yu-Gi-Oh! had inspired them to create a ninja card game, and Tobirama urged him to play in moderation.
• Tobirama planned to search other frequencies and investigate using them as spatial coordinates, then ended the call before Hashirama could ask about his lessons for Itachi.

Obito completed Ryūchi Cave Sage Mode after three years of training and thanked the White Snake Sage before leaving. She broke the Sealing Technique on his heart, and Obito departed with Tagitsuhime to rejoin Tobi.

• Obito finished mastering Ryūchi Cave Sage Mode as Tobi annoyed Tagitsuhime with questions about pooping.
• Obito stopped Tagitsuhime from attacking Tobi, thanked her for her help, and said he would leave Ryūchi Cave.
• Obito met the White Snake Sage and asked her to break the Sealing Technique on his heart.
• The White Snake Sage bit Obito's chest and broke the seal, after which his wounds healed.
• Obito left with Tagitsuhime and refused to explain the seal when she asked about it.

After seeing Naruto and Sasuke’s strength, Neji questioned whether hard work and his own talent were enough, and Rock Lee invited him to train with Might Guy. Neji accepted and invited Tenten to come too, while Naruto remained unaware of the childhood nightmare awaiting him that evening.

• Neji watched Naruto and Sasuke spar and doubted his own status as a genius.
• Neji defeated Rock Lee in a spar, and Lee declared that hard work could overcome natural talent.
• Neji asked Lee why he wanted to beat him, and Lee insisted he would keep training until he won.
• Lee invited Neji to train with Might Guy, and Neji agreed to go that night.
• Neji invited Tenten along, and she accepted so she could keep Lee from turning Neji into a youth-obsessed green kappa.
• Naruto whispered with Hinata in class while Kushina noted that their lessons no longer helped them, and Kiba envied them.

Hinata and Naruto decided to secretly follow Neji after learning he planned to train with Tenten and another classmate. As Neji set off with his companions, Naruto and Hinata began tailing them from the academy gates.

• Naruto asked Hinata why Neji had not come to see her, and Neji soon appeared to say he would be home late because he was training with classmates.
• Hinata teased Neji about whether any girls would be there, and Neji confirmed that Tenten was coming while glaring at Naruto.
• Naruto proposed spying on Neji, and Hinata agreed after admitting she was curious about his plans.
• At dismissal, Naruto told Sasuke he would walk Hinata home, while Sasuke left with Karin.
• Naruto and Hinata hid by the academy gates, spotted Neji leaving with Tenten and a Green Kappa, and started following them.

Neji and Tenten joined Rock Lee and Guy for training, while Naruto and Hinata were caught secretly following them. Guy challenged Naruto to a spar, and Naruto agreed as Hinata worriedly watched.

• Rock Lee led Neji and Tenten to Guy at the Training Ground, where Guy enthusiastically welcomed them to train.
• Guy spotted Naruto and Hinata hiding behind a trash can and carried them over to the group.
• Neji glared at Naruto for bringing Hinata along, while Guy offered Naruto a spar to demonstrate his strength.
• Naruto reluctantly accepted the spar and reassured Hinata that he would make it out safely.

Naruto sparred with Guy while using Kurama’s golden chakra, and Guy opened four of the Eight Gates to match him. As Guy gained the advantage, Hashirama offered to take over the fight.

• Naruto connected with Kurama and enveloped himself in golden chakra before facing Guy.
• Guy opened the first two Eight Gates, and Naruto launched a surprise attack that Guy dodged.
• Guy countered Naruto’s chakra hand, then Naruto formed a Golden Rasengan and chased him across the arena.
• Guy opened the next two gates, increasing his speed and power, and forced Naruto onto the defensive.
• Hinata worried about Naruto as Hashirama offered to take over the sparring match.

Naruto, possessed by Hashirama, turned his spar with Might Guy into a clash of Wood Release and the Eight Gates. Sarutobi stopped the fight and took Naruto away, leaving Guy and his students behind.

• Naruto yielded control to Hashirama, who eagerly resumed the fight with Guy.
• Hashirama and Guy traded punches as Neji, Hinata, Tenten, and Lee watched.
• Guy opened the Fifth Gate and attacked with Morning Peacock.
• Hashirama summoned a towering Wood Human protected by a Wood Dragon, blocking Guy's fiery attack.
• Sarutobi intervened, told Guy the spar had gone too far, and took Naruto away.

After Sarutobi stopped Naruto and Might Guy’s escalating spar, Naruto went home with Hinata. At the Training Ground, Neji and Tenten asked Might Guy to train them, and he put them through grueling exercises before Neji carried an exhausted Tenten home.

• Sarutobi halted Naruto and Might Guy’s spar and asked Hashirama to keep future training under control.
• Naruto took Hinata home to the Hyuga Clan Compound, then returned to his own home.
• Neji asked Might Guy to teach him how to get stronger, and Might Guy began training him with frog jumps and laps.
• Tenten joined Neji’s training and struggled through the exercises while Might Guy praised their determination.
• After training ended, Neji offered to take Tenten home and carried her on his back.

Tobirama searched for another channel and watched its picture gradually come into focus, while Sasuke suffered a leg cramp and Karin helped him recover. The emerging image left Tobirama eager to identify the person on the other side and prepare to assert his dominance.

• Tobirama continued adjusting the channel frequency while wondering which shinobi might appear next.
• Sasuke's leg cramped during his walk with Karin, and he tried to hide the pain by biting his hand and pretending to admire the sunset.
• Karin recognized Sasuke's cramp, offered him her arm to bite, and used the prospect of Naruto finding out to persuade him to accept her help walking back.
• Izuna mocked Sasuke's lack of emotional intelligence, while Sasuke insisted he would focus on swordsmanship and defeat Naruto.
• The picture on Tobirama's screen began to clear, and he considered using channel-targeted Flying Thunder God to attack whoever was on the other side.

Tobirama encountered Izuna on the screen and deduced that Izuna had returned inside Sasuke. He summoned Itachi and explained his theory, then began planning what to do next.

• Tobirama recognized Izuna on the screen, and the two tried to attack each other across it before trading taunts.
• Izuna's remarks led Tobirama to infer that Izuna was inside Sasuke, while Izuna failed to learn where Tobirama was.
• After Izuna passed gas at the screen, Tobirama changed the channel and summoned Itachi to the Sealing Space.
• Tobirama told Itachi that Izuna was likely inside Sasuke and explained how he had reached that conclusion.
• Itachi asked what he should do, and Tobirama began giving him instructions.

Itachi sent Tenzo to bring Sasuke to Root, giving him a Mangekyō pass to convince Fugaku and Mikoto. Fugaku mistook the masked visitor for Itachi, but froze when Tenzo asked whether he was Itachi’s father.

• Itachi woke Tenzo and ordered him to bring Sasuke to Root, saying it was a family matter.
• Itachi briefly showed his Mangekyō to Tenzo so he could use it to prove his identity to Fugaku and Mikoto.
• Tenzo dressed in Root clothing and traveled to the Uchiha Clan Compound to fetch Sasuke.
• Fugaku expected Itachi at the door and prepared for a private father-and-son conversation.
• Tenzo asked Fugaku whether he was Itachi’s father, surprising him.

Tenzo brought Sasuke to Itachi after Fugaku knocked the boy unconscious with genjutsu. Itachi explained that he suspected Sasuke of harboring a tailed-beast-like entity, then asked Tenzo to restrain and interrogate him, leaving Tenzo to handle the work.

• Fugaku agreed to let Tenzo take Sasuke and knocked Sasuke unconscious with genjutsu before handing him over.
• Tenzo carried Sasuke to Itachi and admitted that Fugaku, not him, had cast the genjutsu.
• Itachi told Tenzo that he suspected someone in the village had sealed a tailed-beast-like entity inside Sasuke.
• Tenzo fashioned a chakra-suppressing wooden chair to restrain Sasuke at Itachi's request.
• Itachi asked Tenzo to interrogate Sasuke the next day because he did not want to appear before his brother, and Tenzo complained that he was being left with all the work.

Sasuke woke bound in an interrogation room and realized he had been kidnapped, while Izuna suspected Tobirama and the Senju were behind it. When Tenzo entered and questioned Sasuke about the presence inside him, Izuna prepared to take control of Sasuke's body.

• Sasuke woke restrained to a chair and found that neither his strength nor chakra could free him.
• Sasuke contacted Izuna, who suspected the Senju and Tobirama had arranged the kidnapping.
• Tenzo entered in a black robe and questioned Sasuke about the presence inside his belly.
• Sasuke recognized Tenzo's outfit and assumed he had been sent by Itachi, while Tenzo denied knowing Itachi.
• Tenzo used Wood Release to approach Sasuke, and Izuna told Sasuke to relax his consciousness and surrender control of his body.

Izuna took control of Sasuke and fought Tenzo, trapping him in the Mangekyō genjutsu Moonbinding until Itachi's Mangekyō helped him resist. Itachi arrived and recognized Izuna, leaving the two brothers alone in the room.

• Izuna took over Sasuke's body and cut through Tenzo's wooden attacks with his Mangekyō technique.
• Izuna trapped Tenzo in Moonbinding, where a giant moon pursued him through a starry expanse.
• Itachi's Mangekyō briefly shielded Tenzo from the moon, and Izuna asked how Tenzo had obtained a Mangekyō.
• Tenzo called for Itachi, who appeared beside him and recognized Izuna as Senior Izuna.
• Tenzo left the room at Itachi's signal, leaving Itachi and Izuna alone.

Itachi reunited with Izuna and Tobirama after appearing to protect Sasuke, while the two old rivals resumed their insults. Their exchange recalled the past, when Hashirama nearly sacrificed himself to reconcile with Madara, but Madara stopped him.

• Izuna recognized the Flying Thunder God Technique in Itachi's sword and realized Tobirama was inside Itachi's body.
• Sasuke called Itachi his older brother, and Itachi confirmed his identity to Izuna.
• Tobirama appeared beside Itachi, and he and Izuna traded insults while Sasuke remained trapped in the Sealing Space.
• Tobirama remembered how he and Izuna had once opposed their brothers' plan to found a village and reflected on the grudges between their clans.
• Tobirama recalled Madara demanding that Hashirama kill his younger brother or himself, and Hashirama prepared to stab himself before Madara caught his hand.

Tobirama took control of Itachi's body and confronted Izuna, who was controlling Sasuke, but the two declined to fight and sat down to talk. Tobirama deduced that Izuna's mission involved helping Sasuke grow and might bring back Madara, while Izuna questioned Tobirama's own mission and reward.

• Tobirama took control of Itachi's body and tested the Mangekyō's power as Izuna, controlling Sasuke, refused to fight him.
• Tobirama led Izuna out and asked whether he had accepted a mission; Izuna evaded the question while eating Izumi's chili-flavored dango and yelping at its heat.
• Tobirama deduced that Izuna's mission was to help Sasuke grow and that its reward might include reviving Izuna and Madara.
• Izuna asked whether Tobirama's mission was to make Itachi stronger and whether his reward was resurrection; Tobirama answered by telling him to guess.

Naruto went with Hinata to the Hyuga compound, then returned home to find his friends and family waiting with a surprise birthday party. After celebrating and opening presents, Naruto joined the others for cake.

• Iruka ended class early, and Hinata asked Naruto to come home with her so she could tell her father about visiting his house.
• Hiashi gave Naruto permission to take Hinata home but warned him not to hold her hand.
• Naruto and Hinata arrived at his dark house, where a surprise party began and Hinata wished him a happy birthday.
• Karin, Kiba, Sasuke, Choji, Shikamaru, Akamaru, Sakura, Ino, Grandpa Third, and Yugao joined the celebration and wished Naruto well.
• Minato stopped Kurama and Hashirama from setting off a Tailed Beast Bomb as a birthday firework.
• Hinata gave Naruto the fluffy gloves she had knitted, and everyone gathered to eat cake.

Tobirama confronted Izuna while using Itachi’s body, then let Izuna return home with Sasuke after warning him to teach Sasuke properly. Sasuke resumed control at home, where Fugaku hurried him out to cover up his lie about the missing packed lunch.

• Tobirama teased Izuna, revealed that he had placed Flying Thunder God Marks on him, and told him not to lead Sasuke astray.
• Tobirama sent Tenzo to escort Izuna, who was controlling Sasuke, out of Root and then began planning how to meet Sasuke again.
• Izuna returned home with Tenzo, criticized him for being weak, and Sasuke regained control and thanked Tenzo.
• Mikoto wondered why Sasuke had come home during the school day, while Fugaku tried to conceal that he had eaten Sasuke’s steak and failed to prepare his lunch.
• Fugaku took Sasuke to a barbecue restaurant, leaving Mikoto suspicious about Sasuke’s disheveled clothes.

Sasuke missed school, so Naruto and Hinata planned to visit him that evening while their classmates wondered why he was absent. The chapter ended with Fugaku asking Sasuke at a barbecue restaurant what Itachi had wanted with him.

• Karin noticed Sasuke was absent, and Naruto admitted he did not know why; Hinata suggested visiting Sasuke that night, and Naruto agreed.
• Naruto played cards during class while Minato watched, and Kushina played Ninja Duel with Hashirama as Kurama helped her game.
• At lunch, Naruto told Ino that he and Hinata planned to check on Sasuke, while Karin argued with Ino over sitting in Sasuke's seat.
• Shikamaru suggested that Karin take Sasuke's seat after Ino left, and he shared his steak with Choji.
• Fugaku brought Sasuke to a barbecue restaurant and asked what Itachi had wanted with him.

Sasuke avoided telling Fugaku about the strange events involving Itachi, then skipped school and trained with his father. Fugaku covered up his failure to retrieve Sasuke’s school bag, while Sasuke agreed to go along with the lie.

• Sasuke hesitated to tell Fugaku about the ancestor who resembled him and the white-haired man inside Itachi, and Fugaku assumed it was a Root secret.
• Fugaku admitted he had not asked the school for Sasuke’s leave, so Sasuke decided to stay home that afternoon and train.
• Fugaku pushed Sasuke through an intense sword spar, while Mikoto watched and reminded them that Sasuke needed to keep getting along with his classmates.
• Mikoto asked Fugaku to retrieve Sasuke’s school bag, and Fugaku secretly substituted a steak into the empty bag he had hidden at home.
• Fugaku returned home pretending he had fetched the bag, and Sasuke agreed to explain his absence to the school the next day.

Sasuke invited Naruto to dinner after asking him to cover for his absence from school, and Mikoto warmly welcomed him. Meanwhile, Tobi joined the Akatsuki as an intern and was assigned to Deidara.

• Izuna praised Sasuke’s talent and sent him to dinner after their training.
• Naruto came to check on Sasuke, and Sasuke asked him to tell Mikoto he had attended school that morning.
• Sasuke invited Naruto to dinner, where Mikoto shared stories about Naruto’s parents and Fugaku quietly celebrated his plan for a third child.
• Kushina remembered the masked man responsible for the Nine-Tails’ Attack, and Minato promised they would catch him when Naruto grew up.
• Konan introduced Tobi to the Akatsuki as an intern, and Pain assigned Deidara to look after him.

Kurama explained the rules for the five-person racing competition and introduced the standardized chakra-powered mounts. After the racers chose their assigned units, Kurama transformed his mount with golden chakra and prepared to race.

• Kurama presented the new mounts and explained that racers could use ninjutsu to accelerate but could not use space-time ninjutsu to go directly to the finish.
• Kurama recalled exposing Hashirama's unfair track design and Minato's hidden Flying Thunder God mark, then scolding both of them.
• Hashirama, Minato, Kushina, Naruto, and Kurama boarded their assigned mounts, each decorated or equipped with special features.
• Kurama leaped onto Unit One, spread golden chakra across it, and declared himself the coolest and fastest racer.

Kurama, Kushina, and Hashirama raced their custom units, using increasingly extravagant powers to overtake one another. After Kurama and Hashirama damaged their mounts in a beam clash, Kushina took the lead.

• Kurama jumped the starting signal and sped ahead on Unit One, while Kushina pursued him with chains from Unit Three.
• Kushina lashed at Kurama as Naruto followed with Minato and Hashirama, relying on his riding skills.
• Hashirama transformed Unit Two into a wooden Sky Dragon and flew ahead, charging a Thunderforce blast.
• Kurama answered with a Tailed Beast Bomb, and the attacks collided in a massive explosion that damaged Unit One and tore off one of the Sky Dragon's wings.
• With Kurama and Hashirama slowed by their damaged mounts, Kushina surged into the lead.