Recaps

Araki uncovered Dan Katō’s plan to kill Nawaki and become Hokage, then killed him and concealed the body. He continued building his skills and standing in Konoha, but his experiments with poison were interrupted by a huge black bear.

• Araki returned home with blank tags from Kushina and made Explosive Tags in front of Kushina and Uchiha Mikoto, who had exchanged his earlier tags through the ninja tool shop.
• Araki sensed a pursuer during training and discovered that it was Dan Katō, who admitted he planned to kill Nawaki, murder Araki, and court Tsunade so he could become Hokage.
• Araki trapped Dan Katō with Wood Release and poison, but Dan Katō pursued him with the Spirit Transformation Technique and attacked him inside a mental space.
• The green chakra absorbed Dan Katō’s soul and restored Araki, who stabbed Dan Katō through the heart, learned the Spirit Transformation Technique, and destroyed the body.
• Araki hid Dan Katō’s remains, then told Uchiha Mikoto that he had overheard her investigation into Sora Hyuga and persuaded her that he had not killed him.
• Araki resolved to grow stronger within Konoha, studying medicine with Tsunade, making poisons and Explosive Tags, and learning sealing techniques from Kushina’s scrolls.
• Uchiha Nanagen'u questioned Araki while he trained in a grove, but let him leave after checking his scrolls and hearing his explanation.
• Araki prepared Purple Blood poison with crude equipment and went into the woods to test it, where a huge black bear confronted him.

Araki tested his poison, cared for Nawaki, and spent an evening playing truth or dare with Kushina and Mikoto while his Wood Clones killed a Kumogakure squad. The resulting fire and planted forehead protectors stirred Konoha’s suspicions, but the village had no grounds to confront Kumogakure, while Araki resumed his medical training.

• Araki tested Purple Blood on a black bear, confirmed the poison worked, and declined Kushina and Mikoto’s shopping invitation to study Medical Ninjutsu with Tsunade-sensei.
• Araki stayed with Nawaki at Tsunade’s request, taught him medical theory, and teased him by saying he liked Tsunade.
• Araki joined Kushina and Mikoto’s truth-or-dare game, while his Wood Clones lured four Kumogakure ninja into the forest, bound them, and burned them with Explosive Tags.
• Konoha investigators found four burned bodies and Kumogakure forehead protectors, while Fugaku suspected the victims were locals and the evidence had been planted.
• Araki continued the game with Kushina and Mikoto, agreed to visit Uzushiogakure with Kushina, and carried both girls to bed after they got drunk.
• Uchiha Nanagen'u reported that investigators had captured twelve Kumogakure intruders but had not identified the killers, and Konoha’s leaders declined to risk a confrontation without evidence.
• Araki left for Tsunade’s house to continue his medical training, while Kushina and Mikoto woke with hangovers and planned to spend time together again.

Araki completed his first major operation under Tsunade’s guidance and then drew attention at the Ninja Academy by defeating Boji and fighting Minato to a draw. Rumors about his skills spread, while Maemoto Takashi and his father tried to make amends with him.

• Mikoto returned to the Uchiha Compound and argued to Fugaku and Ueki that Araki was unlikely to have killed Sora Hyuga or caused the bombing, but Fugaku remained suspicious and vowed to confront him.
• Araki completed his apprenticeship with Tsunade and successfully operated on Might Duy, impressing Konoha Hospital’s senior staff with his Medical Ninjutsu.
• Araki refused Utatane Koharu’s offer to teach him a new Medical Ninjutsu, then returned to the Ninja Academy and continued teaching Nawaki while training and making Explosive Tags.
• When Boji challenged Araki on behalf of the Pale Yellow School, Araki accepted and knocked him unconscious with a single kick.
• Araki faced Minato Namikaze in a mock battle, countered Minato’s Flying Thunder God kunai by destroying their formulas, and ended the match by calling Minato the winner before they agreed to a draw.
• After the assessment, Maemoto Takashi apologized and invited Araki to dinner, but Araki declined, and Maemoto Ichiro later invited him to the family home to apologize in person, which Araki also declined.
• News of Araki’s surgery and battle spread through the Ninja Academy and Konoha Hospital, while Sarutobi Karen Kaede wondered whether he was connected to Dan Katō’s disappearance.

Araki learned the Maemoto Clan’s forging techniques, secretly became Orochimaru’s disciple, and graduated from the Ninja Academy. When Hashirama cells reacted with his green chakra, Araki gained Wood Release and turned against Orochimaru, who remained trapped as their fight continued.

• Maemoto Ichiro apologized for Takashi’s insults, taught Araki the basics of forging, and invited him to study the clan’s chakra-enhancing techniques.
• Orochimaru captured Araki and persuaded him to become a secret disciple, while Araki continued his studies and training for a year and a half.
• Araki formed a Yin Seal with chakra from the First Hokage’s Necklace and told Nawaki that the necklace had shown him a future in which Nawaki could become the shinobi world’s savior.
• Araki passed the graduation exams with full marks and went to Orochimaru’s laboratory, where Orochimaru revealed his experiments with Hashirama cells on Senju volunteers.
• Araki’s green chakra drew him to the Hashirama cell test tubes, and the cells merged with his chakra, giving him increased strength and chakra as well as Wood Release.
• When Orochimaru tried to restrain him for examination, Araki used Wood Release to bind him and discovered another underground laboratory filled with failed transplant subjects.
• Araki absorbed more Hashirama cells from the failed subjects and resolved to kill or incapacitate Orochimaru before escaping his threat.
• Araki trapped Orochimaru among his vines and attacked with increasingly powerful Wood Release, while Orochimaru cut through the branches and admitted he could neither continue fighting nor break free.