Recaps

Shengu Xuan unleashed the Pig Talisman's power through his eyes, vaporizing Haku’s ice attacks and destroying the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals formation. Sasuke and Zabuza were left stunned as Haku fell burned at the edge of a crater and Zabuza faced despair.

• Haku poured his remaining chakra into thousands of absolute-zero ice senbon and sent them toward Shengu Xuan and Sasuke.
• Shengu Xuan fired dark red laser beams from his eyes, vaporizing Haku’s senbon and sweeping through the ice mirrors.
• The heat destroyed the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals formation and burned Haku, who fell onto the bridge as his mask split apart.
• Shengu Xuan stopped his attack, leaving a vast crater across the bridge while Sasuke struggled to comprehend what he had seen.
• Zabuza stopped fighting Kakashi and stared at Haku and the ruined ice formation, overwhelmed by despair.

Haku admitted defeat after Shengu Xuan effortlessly destroyed his ice techniques, while Zabuza surrendered to Kakashi after seeing Haku fall. Gato arrived with hundreds of armed thugs to attack the exhausted fighters, and Shengu Xuan reacted with laughter before threatening them as a god.

• Haku begged Shengu Xuan to kill him, but Shengu Xuan refused and told him to watch Zabuza face despair.
• Zabuza was distracted by Haku's defeat, allowing Kakashi's Ninken to pin him down as Kakashi prepared a Lightning Blade strike.
• Zabuza accepted his defeat and closed his eyes, while Haku cried out as Kakashi charged.
• Gato arrived with two or three hundred armed thugs, taunted Zabuza, and ordered his men to attack the ninjas and bridge builder.
• Kakashi hesitated when Shengu Xuan began laughing, then Shengu Xuan called the attackers trash for speaking before a god.

Shengu Xuan summoned ten giant Troll Shadow Ninjas to face Gato’s armed gangsters on the bridge. As the gangsters panicked, Shengu Xuan ordered the trolls to crush them and leave none alive, beginning the slaughter.

• Gato rallied hundreds of armed gangsters to attack Shengu Xuan, while Kakashi prepared to help him.
• Shengu Xuan spread darkness across the bridge and summoned ten towering Troll Shadow Ninjas.
• The gangsters panicked at the sight of the monsters, and Gato fell down and wet himself in terror.
• Shengu Xuan ordered the Troll Squad to crush the gangsters and leave none alive.
• The Troll Shadow Ninjas charged into the crowd, and the slaughter began.

Shengu Xuan's Troll Corps slaughtered Gato's gang on the bridge, and Shengu Xuan had Gato crushed after rejecting his offer of money. With the trolls gone and the battlefield cleared, Shengu Xuan asked Kakashi to discuss the mission payment just as hurried footsteps and shouts came from the far end of the bridge.

• A Troll Shadow Ninja killed a gang leader, and the terrified gangsters broke formation and tried to flee.
• Shengu Xuan ordered the ten Troll Shadow Ninjas to trap the gangsters, whose guns could not harm them, and the trolls slaughtered the crowd.
• Kakashi, Sasuke, Zabuza, and Haku watched the massacre in horror as Gato crawled to Shengu Xuan and begged for his life.
• Shengu Xuan rejected Gato's offer of wealth and ordered a giant demon to crush him.
• Shengu Xuan dismissed the trolls into his shadow, asked Kakashi to discuss the mission payment, and heard hurried footsteps and shouts from the other end of the bridge.

Naruto and the villagers arrived after Shengu Xuan had defeated Gato’s men, and they hailed him as the Land of Waves’ savior. Shengu Xuan left Zabuza and Haku to Kakashi, then sensed a new power stirring within him as he headed back to the village.

• Naruto and the villagers rushed onto the bridge and froze at the sight of the carnage left by the battle.
• Kakashi told Naruto that Gato and his men were dead, and Sasuke described how Shengu Xuan had destroyed them and defeated the masked Kirigakure ninja.
• Tazuna and the villagers knelt before Shengu Xuan in gratitude, but he rejected their worship and demanded the remaining payment for his work.
• Tazuna offered to name the bridge Kamiya Bridge, but Shengu Xuan dismissed the idea and told him to call it whatever he liked.
• Shengu Xuan left Zabuza and Haku’s fate to Kakashi and headed back to the village to rest.
• On the way, Shengu Xuan felt a new mysterious energy stir within him and anticipated another surprise.

After returning from the Land of Waves, Shengu Xuan intimidated the Third Hokage with a display of his power and warned him to keep Danzo away. As Shengu Xuan left the office, his desire to bestow power resonated with a wooden armor-display dummy, triggering a new ability.

• Kakashi reported Team 7's Land of Waves mission and Shengu Xuan's extraordinary abilities to the Third Hokage.
• The Third Hokage summoned Shengu Xuan in secret and questioned him about his powers and loyalty to Konoha.
• Shengu Xuan mocked the Third Hokage's appeal to the Will of Fire and revealed that he knew about Danzo and Root.
• Shengu Xuan fired a laser past the Third Hokage, warned him not to let Danzo interfere, and threatened to destroy Konoha if provoked.
• Shengu Xuan noticed a wooden dummy outside a ninja tool shop, and a system message announced that the conditions for activating a new ability had been met.

Shengu Xuan unlocked the Rat Talisman and brought a wooden training post to life, then used the Wooden Dummy to defeat Sasuke. A message revealed that the Chunin Ninja Exams were about to begin and ninja from other villages had arrived in Konoha.

• Shengu Xuan tested the Rat Talisman at an abandoned training ground and animated a wooden post into a conscious Wooden Dummy.
• Shengu Xuan ordered the Wooden Dummy to punch him and found that it had the strength of an ordinary Genin, could not feel pain, and would endure as long as his magic remained active.
• Sasuke challenged Shengu Xuan, claiming he had begun to grasp the control Shengu Xuan had described.
• Shengu Xuan sent the Wooden Dummy to fight Sasuke, and it resisted Sasuke's Great Fireball Technique before knocking him down in their close combat.
• Shengu Xuan received an Anbu paper-bird message that the Chunin Ninja Exams were near and ninja from other villages had entered Konoha.

Kankuro bullied Konohamaru and clashed with Naruto and Sasuke until Gaara intervened. Shengu Xuan arrived, and his presence terrified Shukaku inside Gaara, leaving Gaara shaken as Shengu Xuan offered to calm the beast.

• Kankuro grabbed Konohamaru and mocked him, prompting Naruto to intervene, but Kankuro tripped Naruto with Chakra Threads.
• Sasuke struck Kankuro's wrist with a pebble, freeing Konohamaru, and challenged the Sand ninja.
• Gaara appeared, stopped Kankuro from fighting, and confronted Sasuke, who introduced himself as Sasuke Uchiha.
• Shengu Xuan arrived while eating dumplings, and Gaara became distressed when Shukaku reacted to him with terror.
• Shengu Xuan stepped toward Gaara and offered to calm the frightened Shukaku inside him.

Shengu Xuan’s presence drove Gaara into a terrified retreat, and Sasuke challenged him before the Chunin Ninja Exams began. During the first exam, Shengu Xuan dismissed the questions and prepared to help Naruto with his blank paper.

• Shengu Xuan offered to calm Shukaku, causing Gaara to seize up in pain as the tailed beast panicked.
• Gaara saw something terrifying in Shengu Xuan’s eyes and fled with Kankuro and Temari.
• Sasuke accused Shengu Xuan of using tricks and vowed to prove the Uchiha Clan’s strength at the exams, but Shengu Xuan brushed him aside.
• Two days later, Ibiki Morino began the first round of the Chunin Ninja Exams in Classroom 301.
• Shengu Xuan dismissed the exam questions, noticed Naruto struggling, and called on his little ones to help.

Shengu Xuan used miniature shadows to steal the answer key and secretly help Naruto cheat during the first Chunin Exam. Naruto then refused to give up on Ibiki’s tenth-question test, passing everyone who stayed, before Mitaraishi Anko arrived to lead the second exam.

• Shengu Xuan sent a miniature shadow into Ibiki Morino’s answer file, copied the answers, and used another shadow to show Naruto the answers.
• Ibiki suspected Shengu Xuan but could not catch him cheating, while examiners eliminated other examinees for getting caught repeatedly.
• Ibiki announced that examinees who refused the tenth question would eliminate their whole teams, while those who answered incorrectly would lose their chance to take the exams forever.
• Naruto declared that he would never give up, inspiring the wavering examinees to stay, and Ibiki announced that everyone who remained had passed the first exam.
• Mitaraishi Anko smashed through the classroom window, introduced herself as the second exam’s chief examiner, and ordered the examinees to follow her.

Mitaraishi Anko tested Shengu Xuan before the second Chunin Exam began, but he trapped her with his shadow and melted her Kunai. Team 7 entered the Forest of Death with the Heaven Scroll, where Naruto and Sasuke fought Rain Ninja while Shengu Xuan sensed someone watching Sasuke.

• Mitaraishi Anko introduced the Forest of Death exam, explaining that teams had five days to obtain the opposing scroll and reach the central tower.
• Anko threw a Kunai at Shengu Xuan, who dodged it and then bound her with his shadow after she taunted him.
• Shengu Xuan warned Anko not to threaten him again and melted her Kunai without hand seals or visible Chakra fluctuations.
• Team 7 received the Heaven Scroll and entered the forest, with Naruto carrying the scroll and Sasuke watching for danger.
• Three Rain Ninja ambushed Team 7, and Naruto and Sasuke fought them while Shengu Xuan stood aside.
• Shengu Xuan sensed a hidden watcher whose attention was fixed on Sasuke.

Naruto and Sasuke secured the Rain Ninja’s Earth Scroll, but Orochimaru ambushed them, trapping Naruto and overwhelming Sasuke with killing intent. Shengu Xuan remained unfazed and stopped Orochimaru’s Great Breakthrough with one finger, leaving Orochimaru shocked.

• Naruto took the Earth Scroll from the defeated Rain Ninja, completing the pair of scrolls, while Sasuke boasted to Shengu Xuan about the Uchiha’s strength.
• Orochimaru, disguised as a Grass Ninja, emerged from the forest and declared that Sasuke would become his vessel.
• Orochimaru sent snakes after Naruto and Sasuke; Sasuke burned some with his Great Fireball Technique, but snakes captured Naruto.
• Orochimaru’s killing intent plunged Sasuke into an illusion of corpses and blood, and Orochimaru prepared to bite his neck and place the Cursed Seal of Heaven.
• Shengu Xuan mocked Orochimaru, who attacked him with Great Breakthrough, but Shengu Xuan stopped the tornado with one finger.

Shengu Xuan confronted Orochimaru after stopping his attack with one finger, then nearly killed him with a laser beam. Orochimaru overwhelmed Sasuke and Naruto and moved to place a Cursed Seal on Sasuke, but Shengu Xuan stepped in and began unleashing a terrifying power.

• Shengu Xuan blocked Orochimaru's Wind Release: Great Breakthrough with one finger and struck him with laser beams from his eyes.
• Orochimaru escaped the lasers using Ninja Art: Shedding, while Sasuke broke free of genjutsu and attacked him with Dragon Fire Technique.
• Orochimaru scattered Sasuke's flames, kicked him through three trees, and knocked Naruto unconscious when he charged in.
• Orochimaru prepared to bite Sasuke and give him a Cursed Seal, but Shengu Xuan interrupted him.
• Shengu Xuan challenged Orochimaru and unleashed a surge of magical power that turned the sky dark and left Orochimaru deathly pale.

Shengu Xuan overwhelmed Orochimaru with a devastating dark red attack, leaving him badly injured but alive. After Orochimaru regenerated and summoned a vast swarm of snakes, Shengu Xuan began summoning his own legion.

• Shengu Xuan unleashed a dark red beam that pierced Orochimaru’s defenses and blasted a huge crater into the Forest of Death.
• Orochimaru emerged from underground with severe injuries and a missing arm, then learned Shengu Xuan called the attack a basic strike.
• Orochimaru regenerated his arm and summoned countless venomous snakes to surround Shengu Xuan.
• Shengu Xuan dismissed the snakes as a primitive tactic and began calling forth his servants from the boiling shadow beneath him.

Shengu Xuan summoned an apparently endless Shadowkhan legion that slaughtered Orochimaru’s venomous snakes and overwhelmed his forces. Orochimaru called forth Manda, and Shengu Xuan gathered a devastating mass of dark-red demonic fire to face the giant serpent.

• Shengu Xuan spread a vast shadow swamp and summoned over a hundred Shadow Ninjas to protect him.
• Orochimaru commanded his venomous snakes to attack, but their physical strikes passed through the Shadowkhan as the warriors slaughtered them.
• Shengu Xuan summoned hundreds more Shadow Ninjas, surrounding and crushing the dwindling sea of snakes.
• Orochimaru summoned Manda, who appeared and lunged at Shengu Xuan despite sensing that something was wrong.
• Shengu Xuan raised his hand and gathered dark-red demonic fire, preparing to burn Manda and Orochimaru to nothingness.

Shengu Xuan incinerated Manda and Orochimaru’s summoned snakes, leaving Orochimaru defeated and terrified. He then tore off Orochimaru’s arm and began demonstrating the Rat Talisman’s power, promising to show him true immortality.

• Shengu Xuan unleashed a dark-red fire dragon that caught Manda and burned through his body.
• Orochimaru tried to release the summoning, but Shengu Xuan’s flames destroyed Manda and forced the remaining snakes to vanish.
• Orochimaru collapsed in despair as Shengu Xuan taunted him and offered him a chance to explore the secret of immortality.
• Shengu Xuan tore off Orochimaru’s right arm and revealed the Rat Talisman’s power to animate the inanimate.

Shengu Xuan demonstrated his ability to revive dead matter and regrow his severed arm, leaving Orochimaru convinced he had found a true immortal. Orochimaru begged to study him, but Shengu Xuan demanded that he prove his worth and attacked as Orochimaru drew the Kusanagi Sword.

• Shengu Xuan animated Orochimaru's severed arm into a living monster, then crushed it as Orochimaru recoiled in terror.
• Shengu Xuan pinned Orochimaru down, cut off his own arm, and regrew it in seconds with the Horse Talisman's Healing Divine Authority.
• Orochimaru recognized Shengu Xuan as an immortal and begged to study his body, offering to serve him.
• Shengu Xuan told Orochimaru to prove his worth, then appeared behind him and kicked toward his back.
• Orochimaru spat out the Kusanagi Sword and thrust it at Shengu Xuan's kick as a golden dog-character totem flashed in Shengu Xuan's eyes.

Shengu Xuan used the Dog Talisman's power to withstand Orochimaru's Kusanagi Sword and drive him to apparent surrender. Orochimaru escaped after placing the Cursed Seal of Heaven on Sasuke, leaving Shengu Xuan intrigued by what Sasuke would become.

• Shengu Xuan's lower leg repelled the Kusanagi Sword, and his kick sent Orochimaru crashing into the rocks.
• Orochimaru realized Shengu Xuan's body was indestructible and pretended to submit so he could find a chance to escape.
• Orochimaru lunged at the unconscious Sasuke Uchiha and inflicted the Cursed Seal of Heaven on his neck.
• Orochimaru used Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique to escape underground, vowing to return for Shengu Xuan's eternal life.
• Shengu Xuan watched Sasuke suffer from the spreading seal and looked forward to seeing what he would become.

After Shengu Xuan drove Orochimaru away, Sasuke endured the Cursed Seal of Heaven and embraced its power as a means of gaining revenge on Itachi, alarming Naruto. As the group prepared to leave the devastated forest, Shengu Xuan's Sheep Talisman unlocked, and a voice asked him about the new power.

• Sasuke screamed as Orochimaru's Cursed Seal of Heaven spread across his body, and Shengu Xuan watched its effects without helping him.
• Naruto woke, saw the crater and Sasuke's agony, and angrily accused Shengu Xuan of letting Sasuke get hurt.
• The cursed seal's markings contracted into three tomoe, and Sasuke rose with new power and a stronger resolve to kill Itachi.
• Sasuke rejected Naruto's concern and insisted he needed power, even if it came from a demon.
• Shengu Xuan urged Naruto and Sasuke to leave the blood-soaked forest, then sensed the Sheep Talisman unlock and heard a voice ask about the new power.

Shengu Xuan unlocked the Sheep Talisman’s Soul Projection and used it to scout the Forest of Death, discovering that Orochimaru’s Sound Ninja planned to test Sasuke and kill him. When he returned to his body, Naruto found that both exam scrolls had burned to ashes, and Shengu Xuan proposed sending his servants to get replacements.

• Shengu Xuan awakened the Sheep Talisman’s Soul Projection and learned to leave his body, see chakra, and pass through physical barriers.
• Shengu Xuan used his soul form to prank Naruto, then scouted the Forest of Death and observed Gaara, Shino Aburame’s team, and other genin.
• Shengu Xuan overheard Dosu, Zaku, and Kin discussing Orochimaru’s order to push Sasuke to his limits and kill Shengu Xuan if he interfered.
• Shengu Xuan returned to his body and asked Naruto for the team’s scrolls, only for Naruto to discover that the Heaven Scroll and Earth Scroll had burned to ashes.
• Shengu Xuan told Naruto and Sasuke that his servants would bring them replacement scrolls.

Shengu Xuan sent his Shadow Ninjas to plunder scrolls from teams across the Forest of Death, allowing Team 7 to reach the tower and pass the second exam. In the arena, Gekko Hayate announced that preliminary matches would begin immediately.

• Shengu Xuan summoned ten Shadow Ninjas and ordered them to take scrolls from nearby teams without killing anyone who resisted.
• The Shadow Ninjas defeated teams throughout the forest and returned with more than twenty Heaven and Earth Scrolls.
• Shengu Xuan gave Naruto a matching pair of scrolls, and Team 7 reached the tower safely.
• Naruto and Sasuke opened the scrolls, and Iruka appeared to congratulate them on passing the second exam.
• Iruka led Team 7 to the arena, where they joined other successful teams and saw Hiruzen Sarutobi, Anko, and Gekko Hayate.
• Gekko Hayate announced that the preliminary exam would begin because more teams passed than expected.

Shengu Xuan’s preliminary match against Dosu Kinata began after Sasuke Uchiha won his own fight and was taken away to have his Cursed Seal suppressed. Dosu unleashed a high-frequency sound attack at Shengu Xuan, whose response remained unknown.

• Gekko Hayate announced the one-on-one preliminary matches, and Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Mitaraishi Anko about Shengu Xuan’s abilities.
• Sasuke Uchiha defeated Akado Yoroi despite his Cursed Seal, but the seal erupted afterward, so Kakashi took him away to suppress it.
• After several other matches, the screen paired Shengu Xuan against Dosu Kinata, the leader of the Sound Ninja trio.
• Dosu mocked Shengu Xuan and threatened him with his sound weapon, while Shengu Xuan dismissed him and urged him to attack.
• Dosu charged and fired his Resounding Sound Drill at Shengu Xuan from close range.

Shengu Xuan survived Dosu’s sound attack without injury, then defeated him with a single punch powered by the Ox Talisman. Gekko Hayate declared Shengu Xuan the winner, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi wondering where the boy came from.

• Dosu unleashed a high-frequency sound attack that shattered the arena floor, but Shengu Xuan emerged unharmed because of the Dog Talisman.
• Dosu panicked at Shengu Xuan’s defense and attacked again with Resounding Sound Drill: Maximum Output.
• Shengu Xuan used the Ox Talisman’s strength and punched through Dosu’s sound waves, launching Dosu through stone walls and into a pillar.
• Gekko Hayate declared Shengu Xuan the winner while Hiruzen Sarutobi marveled at his destructive power and questioned his origins.

Shengu Xuan defeated Dosu with a single punch, then swiftly crushed Zaku’s arm and knocked Kin unconscious after Zaku ambushed him. The next match began with Rock Lee facing Gaara, as Shengu Xuan watched with interest.

• Gekko Hayate declared Shengu Xuan the winner, leaving the spectators stunned by his strength and Neji unable to detect any chakra in his body.
• Zaku attacked Shengu Xuan from behind with Air Cutter Extreme Wave, but Shengu used the Rabbit Talisman’s speed to evade and appear beside him.
• Shengu crushed Zaku’s right arm and slapped Kin unconscious when she tried to intervene, completing the Sound Ninja team’s defeat.
• The match screen paired Rock Lee with Gaara, and both fighters entered the arena as Shengu predicted their clash would be more entertaining.
• Gekko Hayate started the match, and Rock Lee charged at Gaara with Konoha Whirlwind.

Rock Lee removed his training weights and opened the first five Eight Gates to fight Gaara, but Gaara survived the Reverse Lotus and won the match. After the Third Hokage announced the official exam would take place in a month, Shengu Xuan and Naruto left together and ran into a white-haired stranger.

• Lee’s attacks failed to penetrate Gaara’s automatic sand defense, so Might Guy gave Lee permission to remove his leg weights.
• Lee’s speed overwhelmed Gaara’s defenses, but Gaara’s Sand Armor kept him from taking fatal damage.
• Gaara unleashed a sandstorm, and Lee opened five gates before striking him with the Reverse Lotus.
• Gaara cushioned the impact with sand, then broke Lee’s arm and leg with Sand Burial before Guy stopped him; Gaara won the match.
• The Third Hokage announced the official exam would be held in a month, and Shengu Xuan invited Naruto to Yakiniku Q.
• A white-haired man carrying binoculars ran into Shengu Xuan near Yakiniku Q, and Shengu Xuan mocked him for smelling like a toad.