Chapter Summaries

Hinata and Hyuga Hiashi experimented with mixing Natural Energy into chakra to understand Sage Chakra and test whether Hiashi could learn to sense Natural Energy. After their first attempt exploded, they resumed carefully, leaving Hiashi close to his limit as Hinata investigated how Natural Energy behaved when it outweighed chakra.

• Hinata explained that chakra might absorb Natural Energy and return it to the body, then demonstrated by merging Natural Energy into Hyuga Hiashi's chakra.
• Hyuga Hiashi sensed that the resulting Sage Chakra had greatly increased in power and asked whether Hinata could help him learn to sense Natural Energy.
• Hinata and Hiashi's chakra balls exploded when Hiashi imagined that he might cultivate Sage Mode, and Hinata scolded him for losing focus.
• Hiashi urged Hinata to continue testing whether he could sense Natural Energy, and they cautiously increased its proportion in a small ball of chakra.
• Hinata observed that excess Natural Energy made the chakra unstable, then considered whether Natural Energy was truly violent or could instead begin controlling chakra at a certain ratio.

Hinata and Hyuga Hiashi tested whether Natural Energy could stabilize chakra by taking control of it, and discovered that it could gradually strengthen chakra. They concluded that this feedback could explain human immortality and the purpose of the Three Great Sage Regions.

• Hinata told Hyuga Hiashi to release control of his chakra as she increased the proportion of Natural Energy beyond it.
• The chakra became quiet, and Hyuga Hiashi sensed that Natural Energy wanted to disperse it back into nature.
• Hinata identified three ways chakra and Natural Energy could coexist: dominance by chakra, mutual balance, or dominance by Natural Energy.
• After more than an hour, Hinata and Hyuga Hiashi noticed a subtle change in the quality of the chakra, and Hyuga Hiashi declared that they had unraveled the mystery of human immortality.
• Hinata concluded that Natural Energy could feed back into chakra and that the Three Great Sage Regions gathered it to maintain a relationship in which Natural Energy controlled chakra.

Hinata helped Hyuga Hiashi begin training to sense Natural Energy, but Tsunade soon mobilized Konoha’s ninja in response to Kumogakure gathering forces at the border. As Kakashi’s assistant in the deployment, Hinata questioned what made her abilities so outstanding.

• Hinata trained with Hyuga Hiashi to test whether he could sense Natural Energy and learn Sage Mode.
• Anbu summoned Hinata to the Hokage’s Office, where Tsunade announced that Kumogakure had assembled two thousand ninja near the Land of Fire border.
• Tsunade appointed Kakashi commander, Asuma deputy commander, and Shizune leader of the medical corps, ordering the force to assemble at Konoha Gate.
• Hinata packed her belongings, took Wind God and Thunder God with her, and joined the force at Konoha Gate.
• Kakashi explained to Hinata that war depended on negotiations and told her not to act on her own as his assistant.
• Hinata asked Kakashi what made her abilities so outstanding.

Konoha’s force reached the Land of Fire’s border as tensions with Kumogakure threatened to spark war. In camp, Hinata questioned Kakashi about defending the border and whether he would kill Cloud Ninja to save her, leaving his answer unresolved.

• Kakashi praised Hinata’s qualities as a ninja before admitting that she was pretty.
• Tsunade ordered Kakashi and 2,300 ninja to march to the border after Kumogakure assembled forces there.
• Konoha’s force reached the border, where Kakashi’s troops prepared to defend against possible Cloud Ninja incursions through the Land of Hot Water.
• Hinata asked Kakashi whether Konoha would send ninja into the Land of Hot Water, and Kakashi refused to provoke Kumogakure or risk helping Akatsuki.
• Kakashi showed Hinata two likely invasion routes on the map, and Hinata asked whether he would kill Cloud Ninja to rescue her if they surrounded her.

Hinata discussed the war situation with Kakashi and realized Konoha had sent her to the front lines to deter Kumogakure in high-level battles. She became unhappy after understanding that her presence was meant to draw out a powerful Cloud Ninja, possibly a Jinchuriki.

• Hinata analyzed Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and the other villages’ positions with Kakashi.
• Kakashi explained that their immediate task was to defend the Land of Fire and suggested Kumogakure might send a Jinchuriki to test Hinata.
• Hinata left the tent and reflected on why Konoha had included her in the force.
• Hinata realized Konoha intended to use her as a deterrent and that Kumogakure might send a powerful fighter because she was bait.

Hinata realized Danzo had sent her to the front as bait to provoke a war with Kumogakure, while the Fourth Raikage considered how to respond to her deployment. The Raikage restrained himself from marching to the border but ordered powerful ninjas to target Hinata.

• Hinata concluded that Danzo had arranged her deployment to lure Kumogakure into testing her and potentially make her appear responsible for starting a war.
• The Fourth Raikage learned that Konoha had sent Hinata Hyuga to the border and immediately prepared to go there himself.
• Mabui stopped the Raikage, warning that his arrival would amount to declaring war and would benefit the other villages.
• The Raikage recalled Hinata's defeat of his resurrected father and feared Kumogakure would be vulnerable without knowing her abilities.
• Mabui reasoned that Konoha expected Kumogakure to test Hinata and then back down, while the Raikage ordered Shii, Darui, and Yugito to kill her.

Mabui persuaded the Raikage to stop rushing into war and instead use Kumogakure’s attack to test Hinata Hyuga’s strength and draw Iwagakure into action. The Raikage agreed to stage the confrontation, leaving Kumogakure poised to probe Konoha while the other villages watched.

• The Raikage ordered Mabui to notify Ōnoki and have Iwagakure send troops to attack Konoha alongside Kumogakure.
• Mabui explained that Kirigakure appeared to lean toward Konoha and that the other villages were waiting to see how events unfolded.
• The Raikage realized his deployment of two thousand Cloud Ninja had prompted Konoha to send Hinata and two thousand ninja to the border, while the other villages remained on the sidelines.
• Mabui proposed that Kumogakure stage a confrontation to show that Hinata was not invincible and thereby prompt Ōnoki to decide whether to act.
• The Raikage agreed to Mabui’s plan, despite his wariness of Hinata’s power and the Rinnegan.

While studying Natural Energy, Hinata deduced how Kaguya Otsutsuki could live forever and considered ways to improve her own cultivation. Black Zetsu then urged Hinata to choose whether to encourage conflict among the Five Great Shinobi Villages as Kumogakure plotted against her.

• Hinata gathered Natural Energy in Sage Mode and realized passive exposure could extend life but barely improve strength.
• Hinata concluded that Kaguya Otsutsuki replenished the life force she consumed by converting Natural Energy, and that destroying her required destroying the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and the Nine Tailed Beasts as well.
• Hinata considered creating a better cultivation technique but recognized that controlling Natural Energy remained difficult.
• White Zetsu told Hinata that Kumogakure was plotting a strike-and-retreat scheme against her to mislead the Shinobi World.
• Black Zetsu urged Hinata to choose whether to let the Five Great Shinobi Villages turn against one another, while Hinata struggled with the moral cost.

Hinata accepted Black Zetsu’s argument that the Tailed Beasts belonged to Kaguya Otsutsuki, while insisting she would not start a war and would continue acting as a Konoha shinobi. She left the conversation guilty but convinced that the Five Great Shinobi Villages should return the beasts, and that she would fight Kumogakure and Iwagakure if they started a war.

• Hinata considered Black Zetsu’s claim that war would eventually break out and decided the Five Great Shinobi Villages were not automatically allies or the rightful owners of the Tailed Beasts.
• Hinata told Zetsu she would not initiate a war, but believed their plan to revive Kaguya Otsutsuki was not evil and said her power could make it happen.
• Black Zetsu said they were collaborators rather than superior and subordinate, and Hinata replied that they should let nature take its course.
• After Black Zetsu sank into the ground, Hinata resolved to follow Konoha’s will and try to prevent war, while preparing to fight Kumogakure and Iwagakure if they attacked.
• Hinata felt guilty about her decision but maintained that the Five Great Shinobi Villages were thieves for keeping the Tailed Beasts.

Hinata reflected on the moral compromises behind her actions, then learned from Kakashi that her mission was meant to provoke Kumogakure into testing her strength. She realized Tsunade might also be using the mission to expose Akatsuki, leaving her convinced Black Zetsu had fallen into a trap.

• Hinata set aside her need to see herself as just and accepted that her actions disrupted peace, using the history of the Tailed Beasts to justify her course.
• Kakashi visited Hinata, and she told him she understood the village’s decision while asking about his past and feelings.
• Kakashi explained that his forces would deter Kumogakure while Hinata lured them into testing her strength, potentially affecting Ōnoki’s decision about war.
• Kakashi warned that Konoha’s factions had conflicting aims and that the mission could trigger war if mishandled.
• Hinata realized Tsunade might be using the conflict to draw Akatsuki into action and expose a flaw that would make Kumogakure back down.

Hinata suspected Konoha had placed her near the front lines to counter the Akatsuki, while the villages formed an alliance that pushed Kumogakure and Iwagakure toward compromise. At the chapter’s end, Black Zetsu and Obito planned to provoke conflict by luring the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails toward Konoha, with White Zetsu tasked to draw Hinata out.

• Kakashi discussed Hinata’s suspicion that Konoha had concealed information about the Akatsuki, then left her to continue training.
• Konoha and Kirigakure formed an alliance, prompting Sunagakure to join them and forcing Kumogakure to withdraw its forces from the border.
• Hinata concluded that Konoha might have sent her to the front to deal with the Akatsuki, but she remained conflicted about her duties and the Akatsuki’s fate.
• Black Zetsu urged Obito to use Kumogakure’s Two-Tails and Eight-Tails to provoke a war by drawing the Tailed Beasts toward Konoha.
• Obito warned that Hinata could stop the Tailed Beasts without killing their Jinchuriki, and White Zetsu said he would lure Hinata out of the camp.
• Black Zetsu said Obito could not resist the technique, though he did not fear Obito’s possible betrayal.

Black Zetsu and White Zetsu discussed how Hinata Hyuga’s pursuit of power might eventually sever her ties to Konoha. Obito questioned Black Zetsu’s intentions toward Hinata, then decided to let the plan proceed until its purpose became clear.

• Black Zetsu told White Zetsu that Obito would still pursue the Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan, even if he no longer wanted Madara Uchiha to carry it out.
• Black Zetsu argued that Hinata’s attachment to Konoha was fragile and that her ambitions would eventually leave her isolated.
• Obito appeared near Kumogakure’s camp and considered controlling Yugito and Killer B with Mangekyo Genjutsu.
• Obito wondered why Black Zetsu was trying to force Hinata away from Konoha and how she related to the Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan.
• Obito decided to let Black Zetsu’s plan proceed, believing its purpose would eventually be exposed, and vanished.

Obito captured Killer B with his Mangekyō Sharingan and sent him toward the Konoha camp as part of a plan tied to the tragedy of the Konoha White Fang. Black Zetsu tried to persuade Hinata to leave Konoha, but she refused; after detecting Killer B approaching the camp, she rushed to stop him.

• Obito interrogated a Cloud Ninja, learned where Yugito and Killer B were, and absorbed the man into his dimension.
• Obito used his Mangekyō Sharingan to control Killer B and ordered him to move toward the Land of Fire.
• Black Zetsu urged Hinata to leave Konoha and join Akatsuki, but Hinata insisted she would not abandon her village.
• Black Zetsu said Hinata would eventually leave Konoha and her clan, then sank into the ground.
• Hinata used her Byakugan to spot Killer B approaching the Konoha camp and ran to warn them.

Hinata returned to Konoha's camp and confronted Killer B, who was attacking under a powerful Genjutsu. She held back to avoid killing the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki and provoking war, but Killer B's chakra turned blood-red as the fight intensified.

• Black Zetsu worried that Hinata's Byakugan might evolve into a dōjutsu powerful enough to threaten Kaguya, and wanted to confirm its abilities.
• Hinata warned Konoha's camp that Kumogakure's jinchūriki had attacked, then led Kakashi and the Jonin toward Killer B.
• Kakashi tried to release the Genjutsu controlling Killer B, but the technique nearly injured his Sharingan and he concluded they had to break through the chakra cloak.
• Hinata fought Killer B with Gentle Fist techniques, while deliberately avoiding a killing blow that could trigger war with Kumogakure.
• Killer B's chakra cloak turned blood-red, enveloping him like a miniature Tailed Beast.

Hinata battled Killer B and used Sage Art—Makankosappo to knock his Tailed Beast Bomb into the sky. She discovered that Obito Uchiha was controlling Eight-Tails and found Obito spying on her through chakra hidden inside Killer B.

• Hinata struck Killer B, but his partial Tailed Beast Transformation let him withstand her Gentle Fist attacks and heal with Eight-Tails' chakra.
• Killer B fired a Tailed Beast Bomb, and Hinata deflected it into the sky with Sage Art—Makankosappo.
• Hinata and Killer B exchanged blows as she used her Byakugan to see Gyūki inside him.
• Hinata found that Eight-Tails was under Genjutsu and tried to call him back to his senses.
• Hinata suspected Obito Uchiha had placed a hidden restriction on Eight-Tails and avoided approaching recklessly.
• Obito watched Hinata through chakra concealed inside Killer B, intending to send what he observed back to his main body.

Hinata struggled to free Killer B from Obito’s linked Genjutsu, while Obito’s chakra observed her through the Eight-Tails. Her Shadow Clone failed to dispel the Genjutsu, and Hinata continued searching for a way to break it as she fought Killer B outside.

• Obito’s chakra judged that Hinata relied on overwhelming chakra and techniques rather than the kind of power that could threaten him directly.
• Hinata realized the Genjutsu controlling Killer B was linked to the Eight-Tails and decided to try using dojutsu to release it.
• Hinata summoned a Shadow Clone and sent it to touch the Eight-Tails and use Release, but the Genjutsu remained intact.
• Hinata examined the Eight-Tails with her Byakugan but found no abnormality in its vast mass of chakra.
• Hinata and Killer B continued exchanging blows while Kakashi, Asuma, and the other Jonin could not find a way to help.

Dodai learned that Killer B had gone missing and led Darui, Yugito, and two Anbu squads to stop him from entering the Land of Fire. At the border, Hinata and Killer B continued their exhausting fight, with Hinata using Natural Energy to slow him and then hurling him away.

• Dodai, Darui, and Yugito discussed the Raikage’s order to keep guarding the border despite the lack of fighting.
• Anbu reported that Killer B had disappeared and that his tracks led southwest toward the Land of Fire.
• Dodai ordered Darui and Yugito to join him and two Anbu squads in stopping Killer B before he reached Konoha.
• Hinata drew in Natural Energy to slow Killer B, but the Eight-Tails rapidly healed the wounds she inflicted.
• Hinata caught Killer B’s chakra tail with azure chakra hands, slammed him around, and hurled him into the distance.

Hinata’s Byakugan evolved into the Tenseigan during her battle with Killer B, assimilating the mixed powers within her. After defeating Killer B and absorbing the Eight-Tails’ chakra, she used her dojutsu to locate Obito and strike him from afar, leaving him injured and bewildered.

• Hinata’s eyes absorbed vast amounts of chakra as her Byakugan evolved and the powers within her body assimilated.
• Hinata restrained Killer B with twelve chakra arms and awakened the Tenseigan.
• Hinata drained Killer B’s tailed-beast chakra, causing him to collapse unconscious.
• Hinata used Predict the Future to trace Obito’s chakra and find his hidden location.
• Hinata’s remote attack shattered Obito’s mask and struck his abdomen, leaving him curled on the ground in pain.

Obito recovered from Hinata’s attack and tried to understand her evolved eyes and why she had spared him. Hinata hid her Tenseigan from Kakashi’s group, who blamed Itachi for controlling Killer B, before Kumogakure reinforcements arrived and Hinata greeted them as Konoha’s prisoners.

• Obito healed with Hashirama Cells and wondered whether Black Zetsu knew who had given Hinata her powerful eye technique and why she had not killed him.
• Hinata deactivated the Tenseigan before Kakashi and the jonin reached her, then claimed she had simply remembered how to dispel the Genjutsu.
• Kakashi and Asuma believed Hinata’s explanation, and Kakashi suspected Itachi had controlled Killer B and linked the incident to the Nine-Tails attack.
• Hinata warned the group that Kumogakure’s ninja were approaching, and Kakashi ordered everyone to stay alert.
• Yugito confronted Konoha over Killer B, but Hinata welcomed the arriving Kumogakure ninja as prisoners and ordered them to surrender.

Yugito attacked Hinata after learning Killer B had fallen, but Hinata struck her and injured Matatabi, leaving Yugito unable to draw on the Two-Tails' chakra. Kakashi explained that Killer B had been controlled by genjutsu and subdued, and Dodai asked whether Kumogakure could take him back.

• Yugito charged Hinata with the Two-Tails' chakra, but Hinata's Vacuum Palm sent her flying and injured Matatabi inside her.
• Dodai and Darui learned that Matatabi could not transfer chakra to Yugito, and they realized Hinata had defeated Killer B without being touched.
• Kakashi pushed Hinata behind him and told the Kumogakure shinobi that Konoha meant no harm and that Hinata's prisoner talk was a joke.
• Kakashi explained that genjutsu had controlled Killer B and that Hinata and the others had intercepted him before he reached Konoha's camp.
• Dodai asked Kakashi whether Kumogakure could take Killer B back.