Recaps

Kei and his Mist Ninja companions overwhelmed Baki’s group and the Konoha trio, forcing Baki to surrender. The chapter ended with the Sand Ninja accepting the loss and handing over their Forehead Protectors.

• Baki detonated Explosive Tags, but Kei blocked the blast with an ice wall and remained unharmed.
• Baki saw that Kisame was overpowering his two Sand Ninja teammates while Mei Terumi had subdued the Konoha trio.
• Baki offered to surrender and hand over the code scroll, but Kei said he wanted their Forehead Protectors instead.
• Baki gave Kei his Forehead Protector and asked him to stop the fighting, so Kei called Kisame off.
• Mei Terumi had already defeated the Konoha Genin and taken their Forehead Protectors, while Baki persuaded Yura to accept the Sand Ninja’s defeat.

Kei, Mei Terumi, and Kisame completed their mission by taking the required forehead protectors from Baki and Genma Shiranui’s teams. On their way to the central tower, they found three dead Kirigakure Genin and suspected a powerful attacker, with Kei questioning whether the Cloud Ninja were responsible.

• Baki and Yura surrendered their forehead protectors to Kei’s team, and both opposing teams withdrew.
• Kei, Mei Terumi, and Kisame headed for the central tower to report their mission and have it assessed.
• Near a stream, the trio found three dead Kirigakure Genin and confirmed that all three had been killed.
• Mei Terumi judged that the victims had died at least an hour earlier and that their killer had used Lightning Release.
• Kisame suspected an attack by another village, while Kei considered the Cloud Ninja most likely but found no traces of Toroi’s Magnet Release.

After finding their three Mist Ninja comrades dead, Minazuki Kei suspected Shimura Danzō might be engineering a conflict between the Mist and Cloud villages, though he had no evidence. He urged Mei Terumi and Kisame Hoshigaki to leave the examination grounds and report to Ao, but Mei struggled to accept the decision.

• Minazuki Kei considered whether the Cloud Ninja or another village had killed the three Mist Ninja, then privately suspected Shimura Danzō without evidence.
• Kisame Hoshigaki blamed the Cloud Ninja, and Mei Terumi said they could not jump to conclusions while the facts remained unknown.
• Kei urged the team to leave the examination grounds immediately and report to Ao in case the killings were part of a larger scheme.
• Mei Terumi and Kisame Hoshigaki reacted to Kei’s proposal, and Kei reminded Mei that they were Genin and should leave the investigation to their leaders.

Kei, Kisame, and Mei Terumi were surrounded by disguised Root elites, confirming Kei’s suspicion that Shimura Danzō had sent them. Kisame used Water Release and the Hidden Mist Technique to counter their ambush, and Kei attacked one of the Root ninjas as another enemy revealed a strange black mist.

• Kei warned Mei Terumi that their strength and status left them unable to judge or interfere in matters beyond their reach, and she accepted his advice.
• Kei sensed approaching figures, and four or five battle-hardened ninjas wearing Cloud Ninja forehead protectors surrounded the trio.
• Kei recognized the disguised attackers as Root elites sent by Shimura Danzō.
• The Root leader ordered an attack, and Kisame blocked their shuriken and kunai with a Water Formation Wall before covering the area with Hidden Mist.
• Kei moved through the mist and struck a short, stout Root ninja, who blocked his icy sword with a kunai.
• As Kei pressed his attack, another Root ninja appeared and produced a peculiar cloud of black mist.

Kei fought the Root operatives, destroying the Aburame operative despite another Root Jonin's intervention. After killing him, Kei turned to face the short, stout Root operative, who charged at him.

• Kei kicked a Root operative away and used Ice Release: Ice Dragon Jutsu to freeze the Aburame operative's swarm of insects.
• A Root Jonin struck the ice dragon with Lightning Release: False Darkness Jutsu and shattered it, while Kisame intensified his close-quarters assault and gained the upper hand.
• Kei used an ice wall to block the short, stout Root operative, then slashed through the Aburame operative's chest and killed him.
• Kei turned toward the short, stout Root operative, who charged at him instead of retreating.

Kei survived a Root operative’s suicide explosion with minor injuries and realized he had underestimated the enemy. He joined Mei Terumi as they moved to help Kisame, while the surviving Root jonin launched a signal flare and prepared to fight his way out.

• A Root operative attacked Kei at close range, then detonated himself in a suicide attack that wounded Kei and blasted a crater into the ground.
• Kei assessed his injuries, recognized his mistake in underestimating Root, and sensed that Mei Terumi had killed two Root operatives while Kisame had been wounded by the Root jonin.
• Kei called out to Kisame as he and Mei Terumi closed in, and Kisame dispelled the Hidden Mist Technique.
• The Root jonin saw his squad defeated, fired a signal flare into the sky, and charged himself with lightning as he prepared to break through the encirclement.

After a signal flare drew Genin teams toward the area, Kei, Mei Terumi, and Kisame killed the last Root ninja attacking them. They fled the Forest of Death to warn their teacher Ao, while Kakashi and other teams raced toward the flare.

• Genin teams, including Kakashi and his two teammates, spotted the signal flare and headed toward it.
• Kei, Mei Terumi, and Kisame launched a coordinated assault on the Root Jonin.
• Kisame wounded the Root Jonin, and Kei severed his arm before Kisame killed him with a kunai through the heart.
• Kei ordered the team to leave before the approaching teams arrived, and Mei Terumi and Kisame agreed.
• Kei, Mei Terumi, and Kisame raced toward the nearest exit to inform Ao.

After Kei, Mei Terumi, and Kisame Hoshigaki withdrew from the Forest of Death, Anbu concealed the bodies of the Root members they had found. Hiruzen Sarutobi confronted Danzo in his underground base about the dangerous action he had taken, but Danzo denied knowing what he meant.

• Anbu arrived after Kei and his companions had left, collected the Root members' bodies, and erased the scene.
• Kei told the Konoha guards that his team was withdrawing from the examination, and they assigned Kaze to escort the three back to the village.
• Kei, Mei Terumi, and Kisame followed Kaze out of the Forest of Death while keeping their guard up.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi entered Danzo's underground room and confronted him about his actions.
• Danzo claimed he did not know what Hiruzen meant.

Danzo ordered Root to investigate the deaths of its operatives after Hiruzen warned him to stop his schemes. Meanwhile, Ao and the other Kirigakure Jonin learned that their group had been exposed in Konoha and ordered Kei, Mei Terumi, and Kisame to carry the intelligence to Lord Mizukage.

• Hiruzen warned Danzo that the failed mission was his final chance to obey the First and Second's teachings.
• Danzo learned that an entire Root squad had been killed and ordered an operative to identify who was responsible.
• Kei and the other two returned safely to their lodgings with urgent intelligence about the attempt to disguise themselves as Cloud Ninja.
• Ao told Goro and Otokaze that Konoha might take drastic action, and they agreed that sending accurate intelligence to Kirigakure was their priority.
• Ao assigned Kei, Mei Terumi, and Kisame to report everything that had happened in Konoha to Lord Mizukage, while the Jonin prepared to cover them.

Ao prepared to send Kei, Mei Terumi, and Kisame Hoshigaki on the least dangerous mission while he and two other Jonin stayed behind, but Hiruzen Sarutobi unexpectedly arrived to discuss the misunderstandings between their villages. Kei and his teammates waited outside as Ao spoke privately with the Third Hokage, unsure what would happen next.

• Ao assigned Kei, Mei Terumi, and Kisame Hoshigaki to report back while he, Goro, and Otokaze remained behind in grave danger.
• Kei accepted the mission resolutely, and Kisame was moved by the comrades’ willingness to sacrifice themselves.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived at Ao’s room, surprising Kei and the others.
• Hiruzen said he wanted to explain the misunderstandings in person, and Ao invited him inside.
• Ao sent Kei, Mei Terumi, and Kisame outside; Mei asked Kei whether Konoha was plotting against them, and Kei said they would have to wait for Ao’s discussion with Hiruzen.

After meeting with Hiruzen Sarutobi, Ao told Kei, Mei Terumi, and Kisame that Konoha was treating the recent bloodshed as a misunderstanding and wanted them to continue the Chunin Ninja Exams. The team accepted that they would proceed to the third round, though Kisame and Mei remained wary of Konoha.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Ao to report his assurances to the Mizukage and left the inn.
• Kei asked Ao what had been decided, and Ao explained that Hiruzen called the incident a misunderstanding and wanted the team to continue the exams.
• Mei Terumi questioned whether they could ignore the deaths, while Kisame suspected Konoha was setting another trap.
• Ao said the team should continue pursuing its original objective and warned that the Third Hokage would not risk making Konoha face the entire Shinobi World alone.
• Kei asked whether their squad could rejoin after withdrawing, and Ao said Hiruzen had already listed them as having passed the second round and cleared them for the third.
• Kei accepted Ao's explanation and left with Mei Terumi and Kisame.

Kei explained to Mei Terumi and Kisame that the village leaders would handle the incident and urged them to focus on the Chunin Ninja Exams. Hiruzen Sarutobi’s intervention had stopped Danzo’s plan from sparking a wider conflict, and the second round ended with eighteen Genin advancing to the finals.

• Mei Terumi and Kisame questioned Kei about how the deaths and conflict could be brushed aside, and Kei reminded them that they were only Genin and should leave higher-level matters to their leaders.
• Kei, Mei Terumi, and Kisame agreed to rest and prepare for the final round of the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi had stopped Danzo’s Root operation, preventing the incident from escalating into a war between Kirigakure, Kumogakure, and Konoha.
• The second round ended, and the teams led by Kei, Hozuki Shingetsu, Baki, Toroi, Kakashi, and Genma Shiranui advanced, bringing the total to eighteen Genin.

With the third round scheduled for June fifteenth, Kei used the two-week break to prepare for the matches. After informing Ao, he went to Training Ground One and practiced refining his taijutsu, focusing on suppressing opponents while forming hand seals one-handed.

• The third round was scheduled for June fifteenth so the daimyo of the Land of Wind could attend, giving contestants fourteen days to rest or prepare.
• Kei decided to use the break to test a training idea inspired by lessons from his fight against Danzo’s Root operatives.
• After informing Ao, Kei asked a Konoha ninja for a place to practice and went to Training Ground One without being stopped.
• Kei trained his taijutsu by drawing on his previous battles and practicing how to suppress an opponent with one hand.
• During a break, Kei judged the technique too rough and decided he needed to increase the training intensity.

Kei considered expanding his abilities beyond taijutsu and tried using chakra concentration to imitate Tsunade's Monster Strength, but lost control and injured his finger. He then began practicing precise chakra control by sculpting an ice dragon, still working on its details when the chapter ended.

• Kei decided to explore chakra control and consider learning Monster Strength after reflecting on the limits of the Eight Gates.
• Kei concentrated chakra into his index finger, lost control, and drove it into the ground, splitting his fingernail.
• Kei recognized that his chakra control was insufficient for Monster Strength and decided to practice gathering and condensing chakra first.
• Kei formed a block of ice and spent more than half an hour shaping it into a dragon.
• Kei continued carving the ice dragon's scales, whiskers, and horns despite his exhaustion.

Kei practiced carving an ice dragon to improve his chakra control, but it shattered before he could finish. He met Might Duy and young Might Guy at Konoha's training ground, where Duy asked him to spar so his son could learn from him.

• Kei's unfinished ice dragon shattered when his hand trembled, and he reflected on how ice carving could train precise chakra control.
• Kei sensed two people approaching and recognized Might Duy and young Might Guy.
• Might Duy explained that he and his son often trained there, and Kei introduced himself as Minazuki Kei of the Yuki Clan, a Kirigakure Genin attending the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Might Duy learned that Kei had reached the exams' final round and asked him to spar so Might Guy could learn from him.

Kei agreed to spar with Might Duy, who demonstrated his Taijutsu strength against Kei’s Ice Release attacks. The fight remained unresolved as Might Duy stopped Kei’s icy blade with a powerful whirlwind.

• Kei accepted Might Duy’s invitation to spar while Might Guy watched.
• Kei opened with Ice Release: Crystal Flower Jutsu, but Might Duy shattered the ice flowers with his fists and charged forward.
• Might Duy’s descending kick broke Kei’s ice shield and drove him into the ground.
• Kei fired Ice Release: Ice Bullet Jutsu, forcing Might Duy to retreat, then pursued with a blade of icy flame.
• Might Duy countered Kei’s close-range strike with Leaf Great Whirlwind, halting the blade in midair.

Kei tested his close-combat skill against Might Duy and was quickly defeated by Duy’s powerful Taijutsu. Afterward, Kei praised Duy and watched him instruct his son, Might Guy, leaving Guy fired up by the encounter.

• Might Duy shattered Kei’s ice-flame blade with a powerful vortex and struck him with a sweeping attack.
• Might Duy rushed in and placed a knife-hand against Kei’s throat, ending the fight.
• Kei admitted defeat and asked why Duy was still a genin despite his strength.
• Might Duy gave a vague answer, and Kei praised his Taijutsu while holding back from asking about the Eight Gates Released Formation.
• Might Duy asked Might Guy whether he had understood the demonstrated moves, and Guy eagerly fixed his gaze on Kei.

Kei asked Might Duy to teach him Taijutsu, and Duy agreed to give him a detailed lesson alongside his son, Might Guy. By dusk, Kei had gained new insights into his fighting technique and thanked Duy for his guidance.

• Kei asked Might Duy for pointers to improve his close-combat abilities, and Duy invited him to join a lesson with Might Guy.
• Might Duy demonstrated Taijutsu fundamentals, explaining how to use the limbs and generate force throughout the body.
• Kei followed the instruction and identified weaknesses in his Taijutsu, including how he might improve his Monster Strength.
• As dusk fell and Kei's stomach began to protest, he stood and thanked Might Duy for answering his questions.

Kei continued training with Might Duy and Might Guy while the final tournament matchups were announced. Ao gathered the Mist Ninja who had advanced to give them final instructions before the competition.

• Kei thanked Might Duy for sparring, and Might Duy invited him to keep training with him and Might Guy.
• Kei regularly practiced basic Taijutsu with Might Duy and Might Guy and agreed to help train Guy.
• Kakashi's two teammates withdrew, leaving sixteen competitors in the final tournament.
• The first-round brackets paired Kei with Yura, with Toroi likely awaiting him if he won; Kisame was matched against Hozuki Shingetsu.
• Ao gathered Kei, Mei Terumi, Kisame, and the three members of Hozuki Shingetsu's team and showed them the final matchups.

Ao urged the Kirigakure Genin to represent their village well at the high-profile Chunin Ninja Exams, and Kei avoided asking him about Konoha's recent actions. Hozuki Shingetsu later asked Kei what had happened in the second assessment, but Kei kept the incident secret and said everything was normal.

• Ao reminded Kei, Kisame, Mei Terumi, and the other Kirigakure Genin that the exams would be watched by dignitaries and ordered them to show the village's strength.
• Kei left Ao's room without asking about Konoha and went back with his teammates.
• Hozuki Shingetsu stopped Kei and asked to speak with him, while Mei Terumi returned to her room.
• In Kei's room, Hozuki Shingetsu pressed Kei for the truth about the second assessment.
• Kei refused to reveal what had happened in the Forest of Death and told Hozuki Shingetsu that everything was normal.

Kei refused to tell Hozuki Shingetsu more about the Chunin Exams and reminded him that their Genin duties came first. After Shingetsu left, Kisame promised to reveal the information if Shingetsu beat him in the main rounds.

• Hozuki Shingetsu confronted Kei after Kei dismissed his questions about their dead comrades.
• Kei reminded Shingetsu that they were both Genin and should leave the wider situation to Teacher Ao and the others.
• Shingetsu understood Kei's warning and prepared to leave.
• Kisame challenged Shingetsu to beat him in the main rounds to learn the information.
• Shingetsu accepted Kisame's promise and left, while Kei questioned Kisame's decision.

Kei reconsidered his excessive caution after Kisame challenged him to stop overthinking the tournament. As the final sixteen matchups drew public attention and Konohagakure welcomed the last dignitaries, the main tournament began on the morning of June fifteenth.

• Kisame questioned why Kei was so worried about facing Hozuki Shingetsu, prompting Kei to reflect on his indecision and tendency to overthink.
• Kei resolved to sort out his thinking as night passed and the village prepared for the main tournament.
• After the final sixteen matchups were announced, spectators and betting pools focused on Kei, Shingetsu, Toroi, and Kakashi.
• Konohagakure grew busier as merchants, nobles, and political dignitaries arrived for the exams.
• The daimyō of the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind arrived, and the main tournament began on the morning of June fifteenth.

On June 15, crowds filled Konoha’s newly built arena for the Chunin Ninja Exams finals, where sixteen genin from four great ninja villages prepared to compete. Minato Namikaze led the contestants into the arena, and the finals officially began.

• Tens of thousands of spectators and visiting dignitaries gathered at Konoha’s arena to watch the finals.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the crowds and hoped the Shinobi World’s peace would endure.
• The sixteen competitors arrived, and Kei recognized their young chief examiner as Minato Namikaze.
• Minato explained the finals’ rules and schedule, then led the contestants toward the arena.
• The competitors entered to thunderous cheers as the finals began.

The Chunin Exam finals opened in Konoha, where Hiruzen Sarutobi addressed the crowd before naming Kei and Yura as the first contestants. Yura launched a Wind Release attack at Kei, beginning their match.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi welcomed the guests and declared the finals open.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi named Minazuki Kei of Kirigakure and Yura of Sunagakure as the first contestants.
• The other fourteen Genin left for the waiting area while their teammates watched Kei and Yura remain in the arena.
• Minato Namikaze signaled the start of the match.
• Yura attacked Kei with the Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere Technique.

Minazuki Kei defeated Sunagakure Genin Yura with Ice Release, turning the match into a dazzling display for the spectators. After Minato declared Kei the winner, the crowd cheered over the spectacle.

• Yura broke through Kei's Ice Wall Jutsu and charged, but Kei stayed calm and prepared a larger technique.
• Kei spread ice across the arena and trapped Yura inside the Ice Release: Extreme Ice Blooming Jutsu.
• Yura's Wind Release attacks failed to break through the ice, and the technique left him unconscious and covered in ice crystals.
• Konoha's medical-nin carried Yura away after Minato confirmed he was not in danger.
• Minato announced Minazuki Kei as the winner, and the spectators erupted in cheers.