✴️ NARUTO ナルト ✴️ Arc 2: "Chūnin Exams" ⚔️

:memo::ninja: Welcome to the NARUTO ナルト Arc 2 Discussion :ninja::crossed_swords:

Return to the Home ThreadGo to Arc 1Go to Arc 3

The “Chūnin Exams” Arc covers Volume 4 through Volume 13.

Natively Rating: Level 25 (JLPT N3) Furigana: Yes

Check out BookWalker’s free reading sample of Volume 1 here!

Physical Purchase: AmazonJP | CD Japan | KinokuniyaJP
Digital Purchase: BookWalker | AmazonJP | eBook Japan

:fish_cake: Chūnin Exams Arc

No. Volume Name
4 The Hero’s Bridge!! (英雄の橋!!) Ch. 34 start
5 The Challengers!! (挑戦者たち!!)
6 Sakura’s Decision!! (サクラの決意!!)
7 The Path That Should Be Followed…!! (進むべき道…!!)
8 Life and Death Battles!! (命懸けの戦い!!)
9 Neji and Hinata (ネジとヒナタ)
10 A Splendid Ninja…!! (立派な忍者…!!)
11 Desiring Apprenticeship?! (弟子入り志願!?)
12 The Great Flight!! (大いなる飛翔!!)
13 The Chūnin Exams, Concluded…!! (中忍試験、終了…!!)

This arc ends after Chapter 115, midway through Volume 13. For comments or questions regarding Chapter 116 onward, please move on to the discussion for Arc 3.

:fish_cake: General Discussion Rules

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Despite NARUTO’s widely recognizable orange main character, there are many of us who have neither read nor watched any part of this series. Avoid giving accidental spoilers by using Blur [spoiler] [/spoiler] or Hide Details [details="Summary"] [/details] for predictions, comments containing specific plot points, or any story-revealing panel images.

If you ARE familiar with this series, it is also a good practice to hide decades-old memes or jokes that come to mind, as they too can contain accidental spoilers. :sweat_smile:

When asking language-related questions, please include the chapter number, page number if available, and/or general context surrounding the sentence. This will make it much easier to answer questions without confusion.

:fish_cake: What Should I Post in a Manga Discussion?

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Great book club discussions include more than just grammar questions! If you want to join the discussion but aren’t sure how, try adding these:

  • Interesting panels you saw
  • Moments that made you laugh
  • Moments that made you cringe :grimacing:
  • Predictions about where the story could go
  • Clues or foreshadowing that stood out to you
  • Questions about characters or settings
  • Comparisons to the anime (though this can tiptoe a spoiler-y line, please be careful!)

I hope that you will join in on the discussion, or poke it when it needs some new energy. Fostering an enjoyable reading atmosphere is my ninja way, believe it!

:fish_cake: Casual Speech

Some of the characters speak with casual contracted grammar. I suspect this is to emphasize 1) that there is a distinct hierarchy in the world of ninja, and 2) that Naruto doesn’t abide by it!

Check out this guide on contracted forms, just in case any stump you during reading: What are the chau, cha verb endings?

:fish_cake: Vocabulary Sheet

Vocab sheets are a community project, meaning that we can all work together to add new/unknown vocabulary for fellow readers to reference. Please read the guidelines on the first tab to ensure the sheet can remain clean and easy to read.

:fish_cake: Polls

Polls are anonymous and your answers can be changed at any time

:open_book: Readers: How far are you in the story?
  • I’m not yet at Arc 2, but I hope to be soon!
  • I’m taking the First Exam
  • I’m fighting in the Second Exam
  • I’m hoping to survive the Third Exam
0 voters

Want to rejoin the discussion when future readers have questions or comments? Set the thread status to Watching below!

1 Like

I wanted to have the vocab sheet’s “important characters” tab finished before posting it to this thread, but there are sooo many important characters in this arc that I won’t be able to add them all until I am actively reading along. And now I’m impatient to finish the Land of Waves to get to the second arc :unamused:

Anyway, when you notice that tab mostly empty, please know that I am working on it I promise!! :innocent:

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me right now (possible spoiler)

Screen Shot 2023-11-09 at 10.03.02 PM

overthinking everyone like “does he count as important character or just recurring”

Screen Shot 2023-11-09 at 10.02.35 PM

“DOES HE COUNT AS IMPORTANT IN THIS ARC ???”

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i dunno why i clicked on this, but now i feel sad that i don’t read naruto because it’s clear you put a lot of time and energy into this! would love to discuss naruto with you!

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omg this is the best compliment ever!! :sob: i love this series so much, so I’m just very excited to post about it haha

and maybe someone in the future will read it, too, and want a place to discuss the crazy ups and downs of the plot :innocent: so even if I’m the only one using these discussion threads for now, i hope you at least enjoy my ramblings ahaha!! if you ever decide to read along, even if you just skim it for fun, i’d love to discuss it with you! :3

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[shamefully finally follows through on this promise after nearly a year] :face_with_peeking_eye:

anyway what if we :two_men_holding_hands: were reading together :books: but i had this posture :point_down: :flushed:

haha jk! …unless…

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Me last night: Whew, I finished the arc, I’ll take a break for a while.

Me this morning seeing this update:

Ahhhhh I need to catch up!! :running_man: :running_man:

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chapter 34

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omigod i’m dying they’re still so awkward

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is he… fantasizing about protecting sasuke i’m dying

Alright I’ve read ch 34 and started ch 35, there are so many fun new characters being introduced :eyes:
Also loved Iruka being like Noooooo they’re too inexperienced to take the exams when I just read the finale for the last arc. Like, bro, sasuke already died

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ch 34

AHAHA i also saved those panels i was dying. they’re just too pathetic :sob::sob:


me with my bro – who I’ve already kissed btw!! – acting awkward with because we experienced shared concern for the other during a frightful event

lmfao stopppp :sob: iruka’s like i don’t care about sasuke!! but my weak little demon NARUTO is not ready :angel:

ch 35

WHY WAS HE DRAWN SO SOFTLY HERE he’s acting extra cool in front of the new guys smh

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35

I was also dying at this because he said he was going to go practice ninja arts by himself :angry::angry::angry: no naruto or sakura allowed :rage: but then he was actually just posing in a tree waiting for the perfect moment to make an entrance

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I’ve started on the characters tab of the vocab sheet and added the new characters from Vol. 4 – it’ll be easy to continue this through the end of the arc just as long as I can remember to take screenshots lol

ch 36

the comedic timing of this walk-up with his pose had me wheezinggg bro skull2

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Finished volume 4!

ch 36

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Lmao sasuke sadly sitting on the podium in naruto’s imagination

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