Chapter Summaries

Naoki Senju defeated Kimimaro while demonstrating his Three-Tails chakra, then discussed Kimimaro’s bloodline disease with Orochimaru. The chapter left Kimimaro loyal to Orochimaru and set to receive the stage-two Cursed Seal, while Orochimaru considered keeping him as a potential vessel for his plans.

• Kimimaro attacked Naoki Senju with Shikotsumyaku techniques, but Naoki countered his assaults and avoided his bone whip.
• Naoki used the Three-Tails’ chakra cloak to seize Kimimaro and throw him before Orochimaru, criticizing Kimimaro’s strength.
• Orochimaru acknowledged Kimimaro’s bloodline disease, and Naoki offered to have Tsunade examine it without promising a cure.
• Naoki and Orochimaru exchanged understanding glances as they maintained their wary alliance and discussed the Konoha Crush Plan.
• After Naoki left, Orochimaru spared Kimimaro and ordered him to recover before receiving the stage-two Cursed Seal.
• Kabuto Yakushi watched Kimimaro display his loyalty to Orochimaru and curled his lips in disdain.

Naoki Senju returned to Konoha and learned that clashes with Kumogakure had put the village on war readiness. Meanwhile, Mei Terumi prepared to lead Kirigakure to Konoha and invited Kumogakure and Iwagakure to join her in an attack.

• Naoki Senju returned to the Senju Clan Compound through Orochimaru's secret passage after finding thirty million in cash among bandits in the Land of Rivers.
• Naoki Senju found medical-nin treating casualties and asked Tsunade whether war had broken out.
• Tsunade told Naoki Senju that Konoha had clashed with Kumogakure scout teams and was on war readiness, and that she had kept his unexplained absence from being treated as treason.
• Mei Terumi prepared Kirigakure's mission to Konoha, intending to use a victory to restore her village's fighting spirit.
• Mei Terumi told Ao to notify Kumogakure and Iwagakure that they could join her in Konoha, with the last village to arrive losing its share.

Hiruzen Sarutobi led Konoha in mourning the forty-three ninja killed in a clash with Kumogakure, using the ceremony to reinforce the village’s unity. The chapter ended with Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure preparing for a much larger war, while Kirigakure planned to infiltrate Konoha during the joint Chunin Ninja Exams.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi recounted how forty-seven Konoha ninja had faced Kumogakure’s scouting force and forty-three had died protecting the Land of Fire’s borders.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and the gathered Konoha ninja bowed, observed three minutes of silence, and laid white calla lilies at the Konoha Memorial Stone.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi rallied the mourners with the Will of Fire, and the crowd answered with cries of “Konoha.”
• Naoki Senju remained unmoved by the memorial’s patriotic fervor.
• The main forces of Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure began assembling as war approached.
• Mei Terumi planned to use the joint Chunin Ninja Exams to infiltrate Konoha and destroy its command center.

Might Guy secured Team 3’s place in the Chunin Ninja Exams, while Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō learned that several major villages were recalling their Jonin in preparation for a possible war. Hiruzen kept the exams in place and ordered a covert mobilization of Konoha’s forces.

• Might Guy recommended Rock Lee, Neji Hyuga, Tenten, and Naoki Senju for the Chunin Ninja Exams, and the Third Hokage approved Team 3’s participation.
• The Third Hokage selected Teams 1, 3, 5, 6, and 9 for the exams and warned Might Guy to keep his students near Naoki Senju.
• Shimura Danzō brought Hiruzen Sarutobi intelligence that Kumogakure, Kirigakure, and Iwagakure were recalling their Jonin.
• Hiruzen and Danzō recognized the recalls as preparations for a possible large-scale war against Konoha.
• Hiruzen refused to cancel the exams and ordered a secret recall of Konoha Jonin and some Chunin, along with an envoy to contact Ōnoki.

Might Guy prepared Team 3 for the Chunin Ninja Exams with a month of intense training, while Naoki Senju learned Naruto Uzumaki had been skipping training after getting into trouble. Naoki urged Naruto to prove himself by defeating Sasuke, and Naruto left Ichiraku determined to attend training the next day.

• Might Guy announced that Team 3 would stop taking D-rank missions and train intensely for the exams, while Neji's new responsibilities and access to Rotation showed his growing standing.
• Kakashi's concern about Naruto's trouble reached Naoki Senju, who agreed to handle the matter.
• Naoki found Naruto at Ichiraku Ramen Shop, where Naruto admitted he had beaten classmates who mocked him and asked how to make others like him.
• Naoki supported Naruto standing up for himself and told him to defeat Sasuke if he wanted to change how others saw him.
• Naruto regained his fighting spirit and decided he would not miss Team 3's training the next day.

Mei Terumi arrived in Konoha as the great shinobi villages prepared for war, while Naoki Senju and Danzo pursued their own plans. In the Land of Wind, Orochimaru confronted Rasa and summoned the Third Kazekage with Impure World Reincarnation, leaving Rasa enraged and ready to fight.

• Konoha quietly prepared for war as the Third Hokage and Tsunade welcomed Mei Terumi, Ao, and Chōjūrō to the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Mei Terumi and Naoki Senju exchanged hostile looks, while Naoki resolved to kill Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi through the Konoha Crush Plan.
• Orochimaru intercepted Rasa's party in the Land of Wind and provoked Rasa by claiming he had brought an old acquaintance.
• Rasa attacked Orochimaru with Magnet Release: Gold Dust Spear, but Orochimaru escaped using a snake-like substitution technique.
• Orochimaru used Impure World Reincarnation to summon the Third Kazekage, and Rasa vowed to kill him.

Orochimaru used the Third Kazekage and Kimimaro to kill Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, then fled with Kimimaro after collecting samples from the body. As tensions grew among the hidden villages, Orochimaru continued toward Konoha disguised as Rasa.

• Rasa attacked Orochimaru and the Third Kazekage with Gold Dust, but the Third Kazekage overpowered his Magnet Release and seized control of the dust.
• Rasa briefly regained control and sliced Orochimaru and the Third Kazekage in half, then unleashed Gold Dust Imperial Funeral to finish them.
• The Third Kazekage survived and overwhelmed Rasa with iron sand, while Orochimaru remained hidden and Rasa’s guards were trapped.
• Kimimaro stabbed Rasa from behind with a bone blade, killing the Fourth Kazekage.
• Orochimaru praised Kimimaro’s Cursed Seal State Two, collected samples from Rasa’s body, and escaped with him.
• Orochimaru continued toward Konoha disguised as Rasa while Mei Terumi was already there and Ōnoki and the Raikage remained in their villages.

Ōnoki and the Fourth Raikage weighed how to respond to the threat of war as Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure maneuvered against Konoha. The Chunin Ninja Exams began in Konoha, where the candidates were stopped at the entrance and told they had to answer a question to participate.

• Ōnoki considered whether Iwagakure should guard against Kumogakure or launch a preemptive strike, then chose to gather intelligence first.
• Mabui led Kumogakure's leaders to agree to leave shinobi behind to defend the village while the Fourth Raikage used Killer B's disappearance as an excuse to leave their meeting.
• The Fourth Kazekage arrived in Konoha, and the Chunin Ninja Exams began with teams from several villages, including Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro representing Sunagakure.
• Naoki Senju learned from Tsunade about the approaching war and joined Tenten, Rock Lee, Might Guy, and Neji on their way to the exam venue.
• Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki stopped the candidates at the entrance and announced that they had to answer correctly or fail the exams.

The examinees faced a truth-and-lie question at the Chunin Ninja Exams entrance, where both doors were illusions inside a large-scale Genjutsu. Naoki Senju worked out a question that revealed the correct door, and Neji prepared to use the same loophole to help Rock Lee.

• Kotetsu Hagane announced that examinees had ten minutes to identify the real door by asking one question of either him or Izumo Kamizuki, with one examiner telling the truth and the other lying.
• Oboro of Amegakure and Kifu of Sunagakure each chose the wrong door and were eliminated after discovering that both apparent doors were illusions.
• Kotetsu Hagane explained that the examinees were already inside a large-scale Genjutsu and that the truth-teller and liar could change each time.
• Naoki Senju asked Izumo Kamizuki whether Kotetsu Hagane would say the left door was correct, then opened the left door successfully.
• Tenten used Naoki Senju's method to identify the right door and entered the examination hall.
• Neji figured out the flaw in the test and told Rock Lee to ask him which door to choose.

Ibiki Morino began the first written test of the Chunin Ninja Exams, using impossible questions and strict team rules to test the candidates’ willingness to cheat. Neji and Tenten found ways to obtain answers, while Naoki Senju chose to wait for the final question and sleep.

• Temari recognized the loophole in the door test and saw the Konoha ninja who solved it as a future threat, but doubted Gaara would cooperate with her.
• Ibiki Morino began the written test for the eighty-one remaining candidates, and the proctors warned them against cheating.
• Ibiki Morino explained the team-scoring rules, causing a protesting candidate to be removed and four shorthanded teams to withdraw.
• Ibiki Morino announced that caught cheating cost two points, and candidates suspected that cheating was part of the test’s real challenge.
• Neji used his Byakugan to identify disguised chunin and copied answers, while Tenten used mirrors to find answers and signal Rock Lee.
• Naoki Senju concluded that the final question would test courage and decided to sleep instead of answering the earlier questions.

Naoki Senju used a Water Mirror Jutsu to cheat through the first exam while Ibiki Morino tightened the pressure with a risky tenth question. After many teams withdrew, the remaining candidates passed and learned the second round would take place in the Forest of Death the next morning.

• Naoki Senju woke from a nap, then used Water Release, Water Mirror Jutsu to copy answers from a candidate by the window.
• Ibiki Morino signaled the proctors to ease up, though several more teams were eliminated for clumsy cheating.
• Ibiki Morino announced that answering the tenth question incorrectly would permanently bar a team from future exams, while withdrawing would eliminate the whole team.
• Candidates withdrew during the countdown until only ten teams remained, including four from Konoha, two from Sunagakure, three from Kirigakure, and one from Amegakure.
• Ibiki Morino revealed that the first nine questions tested candidates' ability to protect intelligence and explained that the tenth tested courage under uncertainty.
• Ibiki Morino congratulated the remaining candidates and announced that the second round would begin in the Forest of Death at ten the next morning.

Kakashi Hatake explained the second exam’s scroll rules, then Naoki Senju’s team entered the Forest of Death and was ambushed by Amegakure and Kirigakure genin. Neji used Rotation to block a senbon attack, while Kirigakure’s Hidden Mist Technique began to cover the battlefield.

• Kakashi Hatake arrived an hour late, introduced himself as head examiner, and explained that teams had to collect a Heaven Scroll and an Earth Scroll and reach the central tower within five days.
• Naoki Senju’s team received a Heaven Scroll, while Kakashi watched Gaara and the Sunagakure contingent closely.
• Naoki Senju led Tenten, Rock Lee, and Neji into the Forest of Death and recognized that enemy teams had already surrounded them.
• Amegakure genin attacked with Rain Shower Senbon, and Neji used Gentle Fist: Rotation to shred most of the incoming senbon.
• Kirigakure genin followed with the Hidden Mist Technique, setting up an attack through the mist.

Team 3 defeated Kirigakure’s ambush, collected both required scrolls, and qualified for the third round of the Chunin Ninja Exams. Meanwhile, Kakashi stopped Gaara’s killing spree, and the growing military tension at the Land of Fire’s border led Ōnoki and the Hokage to exchange letters for the first time.

• Neji Hyuga spotted the Kirigakure and Amegakure teams through the mist, and Rock Lee and Tenten attacked the Kirigakure genin.
• Naoki Senju revealed that he had taken an Earth Scroll from the Amegakure team, giving Team 3 both required scrolls.
• Gaara killed two examinees and injured a third before Kakashi intervened and gave Temari a Heaven Scroll.
• Seven teams, including Team 3 and Gaara’s team, advanced to the third round, which was scheduled for a month later.
• Reconnaissance ninja from other villages gathered along the Land of Fire’s border, and Ōnoki received a letter from the Hokage.

Ōnoki and Kitsuchi decided to keep Iwagakure poised to profit from either Konoha’s or Kumogakure’s defeat as Hiruzen Sarutobi prepared Konoha’s defenses on multiple fronts. A month later, the Chunin Ninja Exams began, and Orochimaru launched the Konoha Crush Plan.

• Ōnoki asked Kitsuchi whether Iwagakure should accept Hiruzen Sarutobi’s offer to secretly attack Kumogakure, and Kitsuchi advised delaying a decision while moving troops toward the Land of Lightning.
• Ōnoki put Kitsuchi in overall command of Iwagakure’s operation.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi sent Jiraiya to the Land of Earth border and planned to lure Kumogakure’s forces deeper into the Land of Fire before cutting their supply lines.
• The third round of the Chunin Ninja Exams began, and Kankuro conceded to Neji after a brief exchange.
• The Fourth Kazekage praised Konoha’s candidates while Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Sunagakure warily and Orochimaru prepared to act.
• Orochimaru began the Konoha Crush Plan.

Orochimaru launched his attack on Hiruzen Sarutobi during the Chunin Ninja Exams, while Mei Terumi tried to use the chaos to seize the opportunity to attack Konoha. Orochimaru trapped Mei inside a barrier and began fighting his former teacher, leaving the master-disciple battle underway.

• Orochimaru sent venomous snakes into the stands, causing chaos and drawing Konoha's forces away from Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Mei Terumi ordered Chōjūrō and Ao to begin Kirigakure's plan to attack Konoha with Water Release.
• Orochimaru revealed that he had replaced the Fourth Kazekage and rejected Mei Terumi's offer to work together.
• The Sound Four raised the Four Violet Flames Formation around Mei Terumi, trapping her on the battlefield.
• Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi fought inside the barrier, and Orochimaru struck Hiruzen in the neck with Hidden Shadow Snake Hands.

Orochimaru summoned the First Hokage and Second Hokage with the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu after Mei Terumi joined the fight against him and Hiruzen Sarutobi. The two revived Hokage prepared to fight Hiruzen, leaving him facing an overwhelming threat.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi countered Orochimaru’s sneak attack with Earth Release and Fire Style, while Mei Terumi intervened with Water Release to extinguish Orochimaru’s flames.
• Orochimaru summoned a snake to attack Mei Terumi, but she drove it back with Lava Release after her Boil Release forced Orochimaru to evade.
• Orochimaru used the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu to raise three coffins, but Hiruzen Sarutobi interrupted the coffin marked Fourth.
• Orochimaru released the First Hokage and Second Hokage, who recognized the forbidden technique and realized they would have to fight Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Orochimaru completed the Impure World Reincarnation of Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju, who overwhelmed Hiruzen Sarutobi inside the barrier. As Hiruzen was brutally beaten, Mei Terumi looked for a way out, while Naoki Senju observed that Orochimaru had used an outdated, weakened version of the jutsu.

• Orochimaru completed the Impure World Reincarnation and took control of Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju.
• Tobirama Senju and Hashirama Senju attacked Hiruzen Sarutobi, whose blows could not overcome their immortal bodies.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi tried to strike Orochimaru, but Tobirama Senju's clone countered his Fire Style with Water Release.
• Hashirama Senju closed in and battered Hiruzen Sarutobi with powerful punches, leaving him dazed and badly injured.
• Mei Terumi abandoned her attack and tried to find a way out of the barrier.
• Naoki Senju noted that Orochimaru had used an outdated version of the Impure World Reincarnation.

Tsunade led Konoha's defense against the invading Sound, Sand, and Mist ninja while Hiruzen Sarutobi fought Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju inside the barrier. As Hiruzen broke free of Hashirama's Wood Release, Naoki Senju decided the time had come to remove him and summoned a Wood Golem.

• Tsunade organized Konoha's shinobi to defend the village, evacuate its people, and fight the invading ninja.
• Kakashi and Tsunade fought Kirigakure Ninja, with Tsunade killing an Anbu attacker using the Silent Killing Technique.
• Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju pressed Hiruzen Sarutobi with Wood Release and Water Release attacks until Hiruzen broke free using his Adamantine Staff.
• Orochimaru asked Hiruzen Sarutobi why life existed and whether it could be reborn as Hashirama's branches caught him.
• Naoki Senju decided Hiruzen Sarutobi had served his purpose and used Wood Release: Wood Golem Technique.

Naoki Senju broke the Four Violet Flames Formation and trapped Hiruzen Sarutobi, who chose to use the Reaper Death Seal as his Anbu fought to buy him time. The Shinigami seized Hiruzen’s soul, while Orochimaru watched with excitement and wondered whether he could master the power himself.

• Naoki Senju used the Wood Human Technique to tear apart the Four Violet Flames Formation and seize Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Orochimaru stopped the First and Second and marveled at Naoki’s Wood Release, while Hiruzen despaired over his approaching death and ruined reputation.
• Hiruzen sent Enma back to the Summoning World, then created shadow clones as Naoki’s wooden human attacked and the Anbu tried to intervene.
• The wooden human crushed one of Hiruzen’s shadow clones, and its branches killed Anbu who climbed it to reach Naoki.
• Hiruzen cast the Reaper Death Seal, and the Shinigami seized his soul as Orochimaru became excited by the unfamiliar power.

Naoki Senju and Orochimaru outmaneuvered Hiruzen Sarutobi, who died after the Shinigami tore away his soul. Naoki then ordered the Four Violet Flames Formation to shrink around the Shinigami, beginning a new battle.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi tried to seal Orochimaru with the Reaper Death Seal, but Orochimaru and Naoki Senju revealed that they had used Shadow Clones to evade him.
• The Sound Four returned unharmed and raised the Four Violet Flames Formation to trap the Shinigami inside the barrier with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Naoki Senju challenged Hiruzen Sarutobi over the deaths of the Uchiha and Senju clans, and Hiruzen admitted that Konoha had wronged the Senju.
• Naoki Senju demanded Danzo's head, and Hiruzen Sarutobi revealed that the Konoha High Command had signed a resolution to dissolve Root, blaming its actions on Danzo.
• The Shinigami took Hiruzen Sarutobi's final wisp of soul, and Naoki Senju ordered the barrier to shrink so the Shinigami could not escape.