Recaps

Mukai’s group reached Konoha, where Pakura treated them to ramen after deciding to bring the orphan Kari back to the Land of Wind. At Ichiraku, Mukai overheard Konoha ninja discussing Sakumo’s suicide, and Sasori and Kakashi both called Sakumo a coward.

• Sasori asked Mukai why he had named the intelligence Komushi, and Mukai explained that the name represented his painful past.
• Pakura took Kari under her care and planned to bring her to the Land of Wind after the Chunin Exam.
• Pakura led Mukai, Sasori, Shisō, and Kari into Konoha and treated them to ramen at Ichiraku.
• Mukai noticed a masked, white-haired young ninja eating nearby and wondered if he was Kakashi Hatake.
• Shinsuke Yamada argued with Kaisō Tanaka about the village’s treatment of Sakumo, and Sasori and Kakashi shouted that Sakumo had been a coward.

Sasori confronted Kakashi in Ichiraku Ramen Shop after learning that Hatake Sakumo had died, and Mukai and Shisō backed him up. Minato Namikaze and Shisui Uchiha stopped the quarrel before it turned into a fight, and Mukai left Sasori questioning Konoha’s leadership and the Shinobi World.

• Kakashi confronted Sasori after hearing him call Hatake Sakumo a coward, while Sasori explained that Sakumo had been the target of his revenge.
• Sasori summoned Crow and prepared to fight Kakashi, as Mukai and Shisō stood beside him in support.
• Mukai criticized Konoha’s leaders for slandering Sakumo, prompting Kakashi to prepare to attack the Sand ninja.
• Minato Namikaze and Shisui Uchiha arrived and stopped both sides from fighting, while Obito and Rin rushed in to help Kakashi.
• After the dispute ended, Mukai paid for Sasori’s ramen and told him not to be bound by hatred as they left the shop.

Mukai reunited with his friends in Konoha while Hiruzen confronted Danzō over an assassination and unauthorized operations in Amegakure. At the orphanage, Yakushi Nonō went to seek food on credit but learned that someone had already paid for a year’s supply.

• Mukai gave Pakura Sasori’s wallet to fund her shopping, then went shopping with Sasori and Shisō.
• Hiruzen received a report linking Konoha’s Anbu to the assassination of Noble Ogawa and summoned Danzō.
• Danzō denied responsibility for the assassination, then admitted he had sent people to investigate Akatsuki in Amegakure without Hiruzen’s permission.
• Hiruzen froze Root’s funding and ordered Anbu to monitor Danzō until the Chunin Ninja Exams ended.
• Yakushi Nonō left the orphanage to seek food on credit, but the rice shop owner told her someone had paid in advance for a year’s supply.

Yakushi Nonō learned that Mukai had paid the orphanage’s debts and arranged a year’s worth of supplies, while Mukai and his teammates prepared their equipment and training for the joint Chunin Ninja Exams. The exams began as Mukai’s team headed into the competition with charged supercapacitors, mechas, and Shisō’s growing strength.

• Yakushi Nonō discovered that Mukai had secretly paid the orphanage’s debts and ordered food and other supplies, identifying him by the doodle on the receipts.
• Mukai and Sasori finished building a hand-cranked generator, and Shisō strained to charge a supercapacitor while Sasori worried about the exams’ approaching start.
• Mukai explained that the team had enough supercapacitors and mechas for the exams, and Sasori decided to reserve the available power for Mukai.
• Mukai continued planning improvements with Sasori while Shisō trained to open the first three gates and reached the ability to open the fourth.
• Mukai’s Chakra began replenishing faster than the special consciousness absorbed it, and he privately fumed over Pakura’s teasing warnings.
• The joint Chunin Ninja Exams finally began.

Mukai and his team entered the joint Chunin Ninja Exams and tackled a difficult written test, where Mukai impressed head examiner Shikaku Nara with his answers. After Mukai proposed five possible locations for unexplained barrier fluctuations in Konoha, Shikaku seized his exam paper and vanished, leaving Mukai baffled.

• Mukai, Sasori, and Shisō encountered Rasa's team before entering the exam room, and Sasori explained that its members were veteran Chunin posing as Genin.
• Shikaku Nara explained the written exam rules, and Mukai quickly answered the questions, including one about barrier power using an analogy to electrical circuits.
• Shikaku noticed Mukai's unusually sophisticated answers and stopped beside him as he worked on a question about Konoha's unexplained barrier fluctuations.
• Mukai mapped the barrier as a network of hexagonal cells and used circuit principles to identify five possible locations for parallel node loops.
• Shikaku snatched Mukai's exam paper and vanished with a Body Flicker Technique, leaving Mukai confused.

Mukai’s exam paper revealed a hidden vulnerability in Konoha’s Great Barrier, prompting Shikaku Nara and Hiruzen Sarutobi to launch an investigation. Shikaku awarded Mukai full marks and appointed Orochimaru to oversee the Forest of Death stage.

• Shikaku Nara took Mukai’s exam paper, while Sasori and Shisō worked together to answer the questions without Mukai’s help.
• Shikaku showed Hiruzen Sarutobi Mukai’s deduction that hidden Chakra seal circuits let someone bypass Konoha’s Great Barrier, and Hiruzen ordered the nodes sealed and investigated.
• An assistant examiner asked about Mukai’s missing paper, and Shikaku instructed him to award Mukai full marks and cancel the final question’s mindset test.
• Shikaku told Hiruzen that Mukai was a ten-year-old Sunagakure team captain with very little Chakra, and Hiruzen suspected he had a secret technique.
• Hiruzen assigned Orochimaru to oversee the Forest of Death stage of the Chunin Ninja Exams.

Mukai earned a perfect score on the first Chunin Exam by solving its difficult barrier-pathway question, and his idea helped Konoha’s Barrier Team repair the village barrier. At Kushina’s apartment, Minato and the young ninja celebrated Obito and Rin passing while discussing Mukai’s unusual lack of chakra and his team.

• The exam results announced Mukai’s perfect score, and his solution helped the Barrier Team eliminate the barrier’s hidden gaps.
• Minato, Obito, Kakashi, and Rin visited Kushina, who scolded Obito for calling her Mrs. Kushina and welcomed everyone inside.
• Minato served food he had bought, while Kushina and the others teased each other about her cooking.
• Kushina explained that the Barrier Team had been unable to find the barrier problem until Shikaku received an ingenious solution from an examinee.
• Obito dismissed Mukai as a boastful enemy ninja and said Sae Hyuga’s Byakugan had revealed his chakra was unusually low.
• Minato explained that Mukai was a Ninjutsu specialist leading a team with the taijutsu specialist Shisō and Sasori, Chiyo’s grandson.

Mukai and his companions celebrated their success in Konoha, where Rasa confronted them and was driven off by their retorts and Anbu intervention. Meanwhile, Danzo ordered Mukai killed in the Forest of Death, setting up a threat ahead of the second-stage exam.

• Kushina celebrated Obito and Rin passing the first stage while urging them and Kakashi to eat.
• Danzo and Orochimaru argued over failed Wood Release experiments, the village barrier, and their ambitions; Orochimaru said he would examine Mukai in the second stage.
• Danzo ordered masked operatives to send someone into the Forest of Death to kill Mukai.
• Mukai told Pakura that the Oasis Workshop could help develop the Land of Wind and let ordinary people prosper without plundering other countries.
• Rasa mocked Pakura's group for spending money on barbecue, but Mukai and Sasori answered him sharply.
• Rasa began to summon his Gold Dust, but two Anbu stopped him, and he left after warning the group not to disgrace the village in the exam.

Mukai learned that Orochimaru had replaced the head examiner for the Forest of Death trial and that someone in Konoha was watching him. He reassured his team, discovered Kari could use the Mystical Palm Technique, and led them into the second stage with a plan to win decisively while showing mercy.

• Rasa secretly gave Mukai a scroll revealing Orochimaru's appointment as head examiner and signs that Konoha was targeting him.
• Pakura, Sasori, and Shisō worried about Orochimaru, while Kari offered to help Mukai and demonstrated the Mystical Palm Technique.
• Mukai told Kari to keep her medical talent secret and explained that the team should avoid killing opponents to promote Sunagakure's strength and mercy.
• Mukai and his team arrived in high spirits at the Forest of Death for the second stage of the joint Chunin Ninja Exams.

Mukai’s team entered the Forest of Death to find an Earth Scroll, while Jiraiya learned Orochimaru’s account of the plot that led to Hatake Sakumo’s suicide and left to investigate the Kamizuru Clan. Mukai’s team was caught in a Takigakure ambush, and the chapter ended as the attackers’ techniques closed in around them.

• Mukai collected a Heaven Scroll and led Sasori and Shisō into the Forest of Death to search for an Earth Scroll.
• Jiraiya confronted Orochimaru about Hatake Sakumo’s suicide, and Orochimaru said their teacher had tacitly approved a scheme to control Sakumo.
• Jiraiya told Orochimaru that the Great Toad Sage’s insect-related prophecy had led him to investigate the Kamizuru Clan in Iwagakure, then left the village.
• Orochimaru followed a small snake toward the forest’s northwest edge, where Mukai’s team had gone.
• Mukai detected a three-person Takigakure team and faced them with Sasori and Shisō; the Takigakure ninja launched a water, pollen, and amber trap against them.

Mukai’s team defeated three Taki ninja, took their Heaven scroll, and let the captured kunoichi go. Mukai then sent Sasori and Shisō to find another scroll and went alone to meet Orochimaru, setting up a clearing and calling for him.

• Mukai used a burst of compressed Wind Release to knock Tobitake Yūma unconscious with an electric arc.
• Sasori turned Crow into a fan to blow Fire Fly’s pollen back at her, then captured her inside Black Ant.
• Shisō dodged Tetsuiwa Kohaku’s amber and knocked him unconscious with a rapid series of punches.
• Mukai found a Heaven scroll, returned it to Sasori, freed Fire Fly, and told Sasori and Shisō to split up and meet him near the tower.
• Sasori and Shisō worried about Mukai’s safety, but he assured them he had enough supercapacitors and promised he had a reason to contact Orochimaru.
• Mukai traveled alone to a clearing, prepared the area with needles and silver fragments, set down the Heaven scroll, and called for Orochimaru.

Mukai used a devastating electrical attack to destroy three Root ninja who had come to kill him, while Orochimaru barely escaped the blast. Impressed by Mukai’s power, Orochimaru asked what he wanted from him.

• Mukai confronted Orochimaru about the altered Heaven Scroll and proposed making a deal.
• Three Root ninja attacked Mukai, and he refused Orochimaru’s offer to deal with them.
• Mukai unleashed a massive lightning attack powered by supercapacitors and Chakra Metal, incinerating the Root ninja and devastating the forest.
• Mukai protected himself from the attack’s heat by donning the Hierarch Mecha.
• Orochimaru survived with his Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique, praised Mukai’s Lightning Release, and asked what he wanted.

Mukai confronted Orochimaru about his fear of loneliness and argued that lasting immortality came from spreading ideas and building civilization rather than changing bodies. The chapter ended with Mukai declaring that he wanted to unite the Shinobi World and overturn its corrupt order.

• Orochimaru asked Mukai what he wanted, but Mukai put away the Hierarch Mecha and asked whether Orochimaru was lonely.
• Mukai argued that Orochimaru feared the loss of individual will and warned that Living Corpse Reincarnation could contaminate his soul.
• Mukai told Orochimaru that ideas and civilization could outlast individuals and proposed spreading Ninjutsu so more people could improve and benefit from it.
• Orochimaru questioned whether Mukai could unite the Shinobi World when even Hashirama Senju had failed.
• Mukai vowed to break the restraints imposed by rulers and vested interests and become a beacon for a new world.

Mukai traded a large quantity of Chakra Metal with Orochimaru for the Spirit Transformation Technique and a chance at the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags. He left with the technique, which he planned to use to help Komushi develop, and searched the scorched ground for scattered metal fragments.

• Mukai told Orochimaru that he believed people could overcome fate and offered to work with him toward a new era.
• Mukai offered Orochimaru successive bundles of Chakra Metal in exchange for the Spirit Transformation Technique and the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags.
• Orochimaru accepted the Chakra Metal and gave Mukai the Spirit Transformation Technique, while postponing the deal for the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags.
• After Orochimaru left, Mukai checked on Komushi, who had awakened as an evolving intelligent agent.
• Mukai gave Komushi the Spirit Transformation Technique to analyze, then collected tiny Chakra Metal fragments from the scorched ground.

Mukai discovered that a dozen Chakra Metal fragments had room-temperature superconducting properties and hurried toward the central tower in a new Hierarch Mecha. At the tower, Sasori and Shisō fought two Konoha teams, and a golden figure burst through Shiza Aburame’s insect barrier as the battle intensified.

• Mukai tested the Chakra Metal fragments with an electromagnet, confirmed their room-temperature superconducting properties, and sealed them away with nearby charred soil.
• Mukai put on a new Hierarch Mecha, maximized its kinetic assistance, and sprinted toward the central tower.
• Aoba Yamashiro’s two Konoha teams confronted Sasori and Shisō beside the tower, and Aoba ordered a coordinated attack.
• Sasori’s puppets disrupted the crows, and Black Ant captured Sumashi after his blade broke against its disguise.
• Shisō used an Iron Mountain Lean-style shoulder strike against Tsume Inuzuka’s spinning attack, while a golden figure smashed through Shiza Aburame’s insect barrier.

Mukai used the Hierarch Mecha to defeat the Konoha squads in the Forest of Death and led Sasori and Shisō into the tower with the required scrolls. Seven squads passed the second trial, and Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared with Danzo, Orochimaru, and Minato Namikaze as the next stage approached.

• Mukai charged through Shiza Aburame’s insect wall, knocked out Aoba Yamashiro, and captured Gekko Hayate, subduing the Konoha squads.
• Mukai and Sasori gave the injured Konoha ninja a spare Heaven Scroll and entered the tower with Shisō.
• The exam proctor checked the Sand Ninja squad’s scrolls and announced that they had passed the Forest of Death examination.
• Seven squads passed the second trial: two Sunagakure squads and five Konoha squads, including teams led by Rin and Ebisu.
• Orochimaru’s Shadow Clone vanished, and Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared with Danzo, Orochimaru, and Minato Namikaze.

Hiruzen Sarutobi delivered a speech about the Will of Fire before announcing the one-on-one preliminary round of the Chunin Exam. Danzo failed to recruit Orochimaru, and Minato Namikaze opened the matches.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi praised the young ninjas and urged them to protect their companions, families, and village through the Will of Fire.
• Mukai and Sasori privately mocked Hiruzen Sarutobi's speech, while Obito Uchiha led the crowd in applause.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi announced that the finalists would compete before the daimyos and nobles, then left Minato Namikaze in charge.
• Danzo tried to persuade Orochimaru to join him, but Orochimaru refused and taunted him about Hiruzen Sarutobi watching him.
• Minato Namikaze appeared in the arena and declared the one-on-one preliminary round officially open.

Shisō faced Might Guy in the Chunin Exam preliminaries, where Guy’s Taijutsu overwhelmed him while memories of past ridicule clouded his focus. Encouraged by Mukai and Sasori, Shisō regained his resolve and activated the Seven Heavens Breathing Method as Guy launched another attack.

• Mukai reassured nervous Shisō before his match against Might Guy and permitted him to enter Fourth Activation and open the Gate of Life.
• Guy and Shisō began a Taijutsu match, and Guy’s Dynamic Entry forced Shisō backward.
• Guy pressed his advantage with Konoha Whirlwind and Konoha Strong Whirlwind while Shisō defended instinctively and recalled being mocked for lacking Ninjutsu.
• Mukai reminded Shisō of his dream, and Shisō found the resolve to fight for the future he had worked toward.
• Guy’s kicks knocked Shisō into the air, and Shisō activated the Seven Heavens Breathing Method’s First Activation.

Shisō overwhelmed Might Guy in their Taijutsu match, even after Guy opened the Gate of Opening and launched Front Lotus. The chapter ended with Shisō countering Guy’s powerful kick with Fierce Tiger Climbs the Mountain.

• Shisō blocked Guy’s flying kick and struck him with a fast straight punch, turning the fight in his favor.
• After Shisō beat back several more attacks, Guy opened the Gate of Opening and dramatically increased his strength and speed.
• Guy charged at Shisō with Front Lotus, intending to finish the match with a series of kicks and a slam.
• Shisō activated the second stage of the Seven Heavens Breathing Method and opened the Gate of Opening himself.
• Shisō blocked Guy’s heavy kick with his elbow and countered with Fierce Tiger Climbs the Mountain.

Shisō defeated Might Guy with Fierce Tiger Climbs the Mountain, then Ibiki Morino unexpectedly defeated Gold Dust Binding with a damage-sharing technique. As the Chunin Ninja Exams continued, Mukai designed a vehicle and watched Obito Uchiha immediately forfeit to Rin Nohara.

• Shisō struck Might Guy into a crater, and Minato Namikaze declared Shisō the winner after Guy passed out.
• Shisō thanked Mukai for teaching him Taijutsu techniques, and Mukai promised to design him stronger moves with help from the one who had awakened.
• Gold Dust Binding trapped Ibiki Morino with gold dust ropes, but Ibiki used a damage-sharing technique to injure them both and win.
• Mukai told Sasori he was designing a vehicle for the Land of Wind while the Chunin Ninja Exams continued.
• Obito Uchiha forfeited as soon as his match against Rin Nohara began.

The preliminary matches ended with ten contestants advancing, while Danzo ordered Root to sabotage the Sand ninja and investigate their Jinchūriki. Mukai met Yakushi Nonō in disguise and learned she could offer Root intelligence about a plan targeting his squad.

• Obito Uchiha surrendered to Rin Nohara, who ran off angrily as he chased her, and the remaining preliminary matches produced ten finalists.
• Mukai led Sasori and Shira to collect Pakura, Kari, and the others before moving to Konoha's accommodations and training ground.
• Danzo condemned Hiruzen for allowing four Sand ninja and two Uchiha to advance, then ordered Root to monitor and harass the Sand delegation and seek the location of Sunagakure's Jinchūriki.
• Mukai met Yakushi Nonō, who said his investment had helped the orphanage take in more children and told him the village had cut off its funding.
• Yakushi Nonō offered to send older orphans to Mukai's base in exchange for Root intelligence about its plan concerning his squad.

Mukai warned Yakushi Nonō to be cautious of Danzo and promised to help the orphanage after the war, earning her trust in his vision for the future. He then turned away Might Guy’s request for Taijutsu lessons and discussed his plans for Shira and a new school with Shisō, before asking about Sasori.

• Mukai gave Yakushi Nonō a stun baton and told her to keep most of the orphanage in Konoha until he could establish a safe base after the war.
• Yakushi Nonō said she believed in Mukai’s promised future and agreed to work with him; Mukai said Konan would coordinate the orphanage’s move and asked Nonō to guide Kari in medical ninjutsu.
• Mukai noticed Shisō and Might Guy approaching, and Nonō left while carrying woven rush items.
• Mukai told Might Guy that village techniques were secrets and suggested he ask the Hokage and Kazekage about an exchange; Guy accepted the answer and left after praising Shisō’s Taijutsu.
• Mukai promised Shisō that Shira would receive proper training and said they would build a different kind of school at the oasis; Shisō reaffirmed his loyalty to Mukai.
• Mukai asked Shisō whether Sasori had mastered the Ten Fingers Technique and what he was doing with his new puppets.

Mukai saw Sasori demonstrate a control core that let him operate a complex puppet with one Chakra Thread, then took a Soul Crystal to develop his own circuit. After Komushi confirmed the circuit simulation passed, Mukai began embedding superconductive Chakra Metal wires into the crystal.

• Mukai returned to the house and found Pakura teaching Kari the Chakra Refinement Technique.
• Mukai visited Sasori, who showed him a control core that let him operate the Crow puppet using one Chakra Thread.
• Sasori gave Mukai a Soul Crystal, and Mukai returned to his room to analyze its Chakra pathway with Komushi.
• Kari brought Mukai food, and he asked her to tell Pakura to prepare more meat or eggs for everyone.
• Komushi reported that Mukai's circuit simulation had passed, and Mukai began embedding superconductive Chakra Metal wires into the Soul Crystal.

Mukai successfully transplanted a processing node into a Soul Stone using the Spirit Transformation Technique, creating a controllable intelligent agent. He planned to use the node to refine the technique, while Komushi asked whether the second Soul Stone was intended for Sasori.

• Mukai charged two Soul Crystals with electricity and confirmed that their superconducting circuits retained the charge.
• Mukai found a warm meal and a teasing note from Teacher Pakura, then ate before returning to his training.
• Mukai reviewed the Spirit Transformation Technique and used its first four Hand Seals to separate a processing node without separating his own soul.
• Mukai guided the processing node into the Soul Stone, which began pulsing with light.
• Komushi confirmed that it could sense and control the node, and asked whether the second Soul Stone was for Sasori rather than Shisō or Jonin Pakura.

Mukai installed an intelligent computing node in Sasori’s Crow puppet, enabling it to act independently and defend itself. Sasori became eager to test its abilities, but their late-night excitement drew a reprimand.

• Mukai finished modifying his Hierarch Mecha and went to Sasori’s room with an imbued soul stone.
• Mukai installed the intelligent computing node in Crow and upgraded its power system with supercapacitors and ducted fans.
• Mukai ordered Crow to hover and patrol, demonstrating that it could move and fight without Chakra Threads.
• Mukai showed Sasori Crow’s defense mode, and Sasori excitedly asked how Mukai had made it.
• Mukai explained that Crow’s intelligent agent could learn and evolve, and Sasori tried to take him to the training ground before someone scolded them for making noise.