IMPORTANT

*** The first chapter of Silver Lining's sequel ''Where the Wind Blows'' is up!***

Warning: The sequel will contain SasuNaru.

If you need your memory refreshed but don't feel like re-reading Silver Lining, here is a summary in roughly-chronological order:

1. Minato moved to Uzushio as a young adult to learn about sealing. He met Kushina and together they had Naruto. Kushina is still the container of the Kyuubi. Karin is Naruto's older cousin and the two are very close.

2. Naruto, now seven years old, goes on a school trip with his class to Konoha. There, Naruto's group meets Sasuke's group and their respective teachers organize a friendly spar between their top students. Surprise surprise: it's Naruto vs Sasuke. Despite his flaws, Naruto's extreme talent with Fuinjutsu gives him the advantage. Budding friendship ensues.

3. Some time later, Sasuke's clan is killed by Itachi, like in canon.

4. Soon after, Minato and Kushina are sent to Suna to fix Gaara's unstable seal. They bring Naruto along. Naruto befriends Gaara. Kushina fixes Gaara's seal. That and his newfound friendship and slowly-restoring relationship with his sister allows Gaara a second chance at life, now no longer under the evil influence of Shukaku.

5. While the Uzumaki family is in Suna, Deidara and Sasori try to capture the Ichibi. However, they had not expected Kushina and Minato to be there (two extremely powerful ninjas) and their attempt fails. Sasori is captured by the Kazekage.

6. The Kazekage is jealous of Kushina's power as Jinchuuriki and is disappointed in his failed experiment with his son. His shinobi village is on the brink of bankruptcy and desperation drives him to make a deal with the Akatsuki through Sasori.

7. Because of the Akatsuki's unexpected attack, Konoha and Uzushio send reinforcements to escort the Uzumaki family as precaution. Uzumaki Risa (Naruto's Academy teacher) and Hyuuga Tokuma meet for the first time and fall in love.

8. The whole group goes back to Konoha. Naruto and Sasuke interact again. Sasuke is broken and angry because of his clan's extermination, but his interactions with Naruto help him a little. He still wants to kill his brother, but he is more open to the idea of forming bonds with others and he deeply respects Naruto.

9. A year or two later, Sasuke visits Naruto in Uzushio. He further deepens his friendship with him and is given another perspective on life through the Uzushio's strange customs and way of life.

10. The Akatsuki plots their attack on Uzushio and they form an alliance with Iwa, Suna and Oto. Nagato is the leader. He is an Uzumaki himself and as such has great mastery of Fuinjutsu. He went MIA during the second shinobi war, so everyone in Uzushio (including Minato and Kushina) thinks he's dead.
The goals:
- The Akatsuki wants to destroy Uzushio as they pose the greatest threat to their plan of gathering the Bijuus due to their expertise on sealing. They also want to steal a powerful mask from the Uzumaki clan and also capture the Nine-Tails.
- Orochimaru wants to test his super-soldiers (Oto-nins) and also take that opportunity to take over the Kazekage's body without anybody noticing.
- Iwa and Suna want to take revenge over the last war AND destroy the economic threat that Uzushio represents for their villages.

11. The attack takes place. Iwa, Suna and Oto ninjas hide their identity through disguise. The whole village is destroyed in one night. The Akatsuki takes a hold on the mask, but they fail to capture the Kyuubi. Several Akatsuki members die. Tobi loses an arm because of Minato. Kushina dies, which causes Naruto to awaken his chakra chains and helps Minato seal the Kyuubi into him. Minato teleports away with Naruto. Orochimaru takes over the Kazekage's body as planned. Orochimaru captures Karin due to her incredible healing powers that he witnesses on site.
Akatsuki survivors: Nagato, Tobi, Konan, Itachi and Kisame.
Uzushio survivors: Naruto, Minato, Karin (Minato and Naruto think she is dead) and Uzumaki Risa's unborn daughter, Juki, later saved by Konoha's Search & Rescue team.

12. Minato and Naruto now live in Konoha. Naruto joins the Academy for his last year and graduates. He befriends Shikamaru & co. Shikamaru's insight leads Naruto to believe the leader of the attack on his village must have been an Uzumaki. Naruto tells his father and the Hokage. The Kyuubi also confirms having recognized the presence of an Uzumaki from his memories when he was in Kushina's body.

13. Minato researches this avenue and looks up the MIA list. He suspects Nagato due to the circumstances of his disappearance.

14. Jiraiya investigates Uzushio's destruction and, thanks to his spy network, he discovers the identity of the villages who participated in the attack.

15. Naruto visits baby Juki at the Hyuuga compound. He learns that Juki will likely not bear the name Uzumaki and that she is in danger of later receiving the Caged Bird seal because she is the daughter of a branch member. Neji tells Naruto that there's nothing he can do about it and that it is Juki's parents' mistake. Naruto gets angry and the two get in a fight, but Minato stops them before there is a winner.

16. The Chunin exam approaches. Several foreign ninjas arrive for the occasion, including ninjas from Oto, Suna and Iwa. This makes Naruto extremely anxious and he fears there will be an attack on Konoha, but there is no proof. He also meets with Gaara and his siblings. Temari and Kankuro are happy to see him, but Gaara acts cold and clearly doesn't remember Naruto. Naruto suspects someone messed with Gaara's seal, and that makes him even more convinced that there will be another attack.

17. After a talk with his father, Naruto's anxiety lifts up and he feels ready to face whatever the Chunin exams will bring. Minato tells Naruto that Konoha is on its guard and that they are prepared for an invasion.

Important reminder: Sasuke hasn't awakened his Sharingan yet.