Chapter Summaries

Sasuke rescued Eri and captured Hanabi Hyuga, then brought Hanabi to Kimimaro’s home to question her about Eri’s kidnapping and Neji. Kimimaro initially mistook Sasuke’s actions for something improper, but Sasuke began interrogating Hanabi once the misunderstanding was cleared up.

• Sasuke evaded Hanabi’s surprise attack, used his Sharingan technique to capture her, and carried her away with Eri.
• Hanabi removed Sasuke’s mask, while Eri fell in love with him at first sight; Sasuke then tied up Hanabi and left Eri behind.
• Sasuke took Hanabi to Kimimaro’s home and asked to borrow the place, prompting Kimimaro to suspect he planned to harm her.
• Kimimaro tried to stop Sasuke, but Sasuke insisted he had to act to prevent someone from dying and placed Hanabi on the bed.
• Sasuke asked Hanabi why she had kidnapped Eri and what had happened with Neji, and Kimimaro realized he had misunderstood the situation.

Sasuke questioned Hanabi Hyuga after capturing her, and she revealed how Neji’s return had unsettled the Hyuga Clan. Her memories ended with Neji being summoned by Hyuga Hiashi and punished by the Caged Bird Cursed Seal on May 16.

• Sasuke demanded to know whether Neji was alive and why he was hiding, and Hanabi confirmed he was alive before asking why Sasuke had captured her.
• Sasuke admitted he had taken Hanabi as leverage for negotiations with Hyuga Hiashi and declared that he would stand as Neji’s father; Hanabi conceded that her father had treated Neji unfairly.
• Hanabi recalled how Neji’s punishment by the Caged Bird Cursed Seal first taught her about the Main and Branch Families, and how she later defeated Hinata and became the clan’s chosen heir.
• Hanabi overheard Hyuga Hiashi and Hyuga Seyo discussing Neji’s Sniper Heavy Crossbow and his growing power, and Hiashi ordered Neji kept within the clan grounds.
• Hanabi recalled that Hiashi summoned Neji to his study the next morning, after which Neji fell to his knees in pain as Hiashi activated the Caged Bird Cursed Seal.

Neji Hyuga endured the Caged Bird Cursed Seal’s punishment while Hyuga Hiashi and Hyuga Seyo explained the clan’s plan to control him and mislead Sasuke. Hanabi learned the scheme’s details, then overheard her father suggest killing Eri to cover its flaws.

• Hyuga Hiashi stopped Neji Hyuga’s punishment, ordered Tokuma to take him away, and warned Neji to reconsider his choices.
• Hanabi Hyuga asked Hyuga Hiashi about Neji, but her father redirected her toward training and left without answering.
• Hyuga Seyo told Hyuga Hiashi that Sasuke had visited the clan and cut off Hyuga Kamekichi’s arm, while Hanabi secretly listened from behind a screen.
• Hyuga Hiashi allowed Hyuga Seyo to explain that Neji was confined and that Hyuga Hikari was impersonating him to weaken his ties with Sasuke and Tenten.
• Hyuga Seyo revealed that Hikari had been pursuing Eri to make the impersonation seem convincing, and Hanabi questioned how the timing conflict could be resolved.
• After Hanabi left the hall, she overheard Hyuga Hiashi say they could only kill Eri.

Hanabi Hyuga defied her father’s order to protect Neji and secretly investigated the mission against him, but Sasuke challenged her belief that the Hyuga clan system was fate. The next morning, birds reported seeing Neji, and Sasuke set out to find him after deciding to invite someone else first.

• Hanabi overheard Hyuga Hiashi and the elder discussing the price of clan politics, then hid and confronted Hyuga Hikari, persuading him to tell her about his dealings with Nurse Eri while disguised as Neji.
• Hanabi took Eri hostage to question her, then later told Sasuke that she had only been resolving a timing gap and that the conflict was internal clan turmoil.
• Sasuke challenged Hanabi’s defense of the Caged Bird system, calling it a tool of privilege and arguing that Neji had chosen to walk his own path; Hanabi privately recognized that she, too, felt trapped.
• Sasuke and Kimimaro agreed that Sasuke would negotiate with the Hyuga Estate while Kimimaro watched Hanabi, but Grey Starlings arrived the next morning with reports that Neji had appeared.
• Hanabi said she did not know why Neji had been released, and Sasuke left to investigate, telling the birds he first needed to invite someone else.

Second Pillar and Kiba Inuzuka exposed Hyuga Hikari, who had disguised himself as Neji Hyuga and was serving Orochimaru. Second Pillar killed him in an alley, leaving Kiba shocked by the sudden execution.

• Second Pillar questioned Neji Hyuga about his plans as they walked beside the Konoha River, while Neji claimed he was looking for Eri.
• Tenten confronted Neji, and Second Pillar urged him to hug her so she could confirm his feelings; after the embrace, Tenten said she would stop pestering him.
• Neji left for Eri’s residence, but Second Pillar ambushed him in an alley and asked whether he served Orochimaru or Konoha.
• Hyuga Hikari admitted he served Orochimaru, and Kiba Inuzuka revealed that he had disguised himself as Tenten and identified the fake Neji by his scent.
• Second Pillar stabbed Hyuga Hikari, killing him as Kiba watched in shock.

Second Pillar killed the disguised Hyuga Hikari and pressured Kiba Inuzuka into supporting his account of the encounter. He then confronted Hyuga Hiashi over Hanabi’s disappearance, but the meeting ended with Second Pillar accusing Hiashi of poisoning his tea.

• Second Pillar killed Hyuga Hikari after Kiba Inuzuka helped expose him, then persuaded Kiba to take the corpse to the Hokage Building and repeat his account.
• Hyuga Hiashi threatened Hyuga Xia over Hanabi’s disappearance, but let Second Pillar into the estate after receiving Hanabi’s pink hair clip.
• Second Pillar and Hyuga Hiashi exchanged insults about their clans and their respective roles in Konoha.
• Second Pillar threw his tea at Hyuga Hiashi and shouted that Hiashi had poisoned it.

Sasuke attacked the Hyuga Clan estate, defeated its defenders, and destroyed its hall and the clan head’s throne while condemning the clan’s stagnation. As he faced Hyuga Hiashi for a talk, Haha Xiao arrived on Gamachu and asked whether he had come too early.

• Sasuke used Chidori Current to defeat Hyuga Iroha, then used Susanoo to seize Hyuga Tie and knock him unconscious.
• Sasuke denounced the Hyuga Clan’s complacency and smashed its furnishings and roof while warning that those who refused to reform would fall behind.
• Hyuga Tokuma and Hyuga Huomen rescued their unconscious comrades as the estate collapsed around them.
• Hyuga Hiashi used Eight Trigrams Palms Rotation to protect himself, while Sasuke destroyed the clan head’s throne and pointed his sword at him.
• Haha Xiao arrived on Gamachu and asked Sasuke if he had come too early.

Jiraiya confronted Hyuga Hiashi over Hyuga Hikari’s death and Second Pillar’s accusations, while Hiashi denied responsibility and challenged the evidence. Kiba Inuzuka and his mother Tsume testified against him, leaving Hiashi startled as the Inuzuka Clan openly backed the Hokage.

• Jiraiya pretended to believe Second Pillar had been poisoned, then revealed Hyuga Hikari’s corpse and accused Hiashi of knowing why he had died.
• Hiashi denied assigning Hikari a mission and argued that the Hokage could not condemn him based on unproven claims.
• Jiraiya summoned Kiba Inuzuka, who described Hikari disguising himself as Neji and attacking Second Pillar.
• Hiashi accused Jiraiya of setting a trap and dismissed Kiba’s testimony as unreliable.
• Inuzuka Tsume arrived with her ninja hound Black Maru and declared that she and Kiba had witnessed the incident.
• Three hours earlier, Kiba had admitted to Jiraiya that he agreed to lie because he wanted fairness among Konoha’s major clans, and Tsume had agreed to support the Hokage.

Hyuga Hiashi tried to contain the scandal by admitting the clan’s negligence while denying prior knowledge of Hyuga Hikari’s attack, but Sasuke demanded answers about Neji. The chapter ended with Sasuke drawing his sword and slashing at Hiashi.

• Hyuga Hiashi had Tokuma search the ruins for the teacup fragments and offered them to Jiraiya as evidence for testing.
• Hiashi denied that he or the Hyuga Clan knew of Hyuga Hikari’s attack, accepted responsibility for lax discipline, and asked Jiraiya for a fair chance.
• Jiraiya agreed to investigate before assigning responsibility and said the resolution depended on whether Sasuke forgave the Hyuga Clan.
• Sasuke asked how Neji’s situation would be resolved, and Hiashi admitted that the clan had hidden Neji’s illness and sent Hikari to impersonate him.
• Sasuke grew furious at Hiashi’s explanation, drew the Kusanagi Sword Shadow, and slashed at Hiashi’s face.

Sasuke confronted the Hyuga elders over Neji’s treatment, but Hyuga Seyo refused to promise Neji’s safety or reveal a way to remove the Caged Bird seal. Seyo then threw himself onto Sasuke’s sword, leaving the conflict—and Neji’s future—unresolved.

• Jiraiya stopped Sasuke from attacking Hiashi, and Hiashi explained that Neji had violated clan rules by secretly practicing long-range ninjutsu.
• Seyo arrived, interrupted Hiashi, and brought Neji before Sasuke; Neji reunited with Sasuke and rejected Seyo’s offer to become a Hyuga elder.
• Seyo offered to let Neji leave the clan on the condition that he never return, but Hiashi admitted the method for removing the Caged Bird seal had been lost.
• Sasuke demanded that Neji’s safety be guaranteed and warned the Hyuga Clan he would hold them responsible if Neji came to harm.
• Seyo argued that the clan’s security outweighed individual freedom, then lunged onto Sasuke’s sword and died.

After Neji Hyuga was expelled from his clan, Jiraiya arranged to protect him in Konoha while Sasuke prepared to return Hanabi Hyuga to her family. Hanabi fainted as she tried to leave, and Sasuke demanded to know whether Kimimaro had hit her.

• Jiraiya accepted Neji Hyuga's place in Konoha, promised to vouch for him, and invited him to stay at his residence.
• Jiraiya told Sasuke to care for Hanabi Hyuga and return her safely, while Sasuke revealed that Kimimaro was guarding her.
• Neji Hyuga broke down over having no home, and Sasuke comforted him by saying he could choose a new family.
• Sasuke and Neji reached Kimimaro's house, where Sasuke untied Hanabi Hyuga and learned that she had already eaten.
• Hanabi asked whether Neji had escaped the Hyuga Clan's fate, then agreed to return home with Sasuke.
• Hanabi became dizzy and fainted into Sasuke's arms, and Sasuke shouted for Kimimaro and asked if he had hit her.

Second Pillar and Kimimaro discovered that Hanabi Hyuga had fainted after going without food, and Second Pillar took her to Konoha Hospital. There, Naruto was discharged and reunited with Sasuke and Sakura, but their reunion was interrupted by Hanabi appearing in the corridor.

• Kimimaro explained that Hanabi Hyuga likely fainted from low blood sugar after Sasuke said she could leave, and Second Pillar carried her to Konoha Hospital.
• Neji Hyuga rushed to Nindō Hall to find Tenten after Second Pillar reminded him she was worried about him, while Kimimaro stayed behind.
• Sakura helped Naruto finish his discharge procedures, and Nurse Eri asked Naruto to deliver her love letter to Sasuke.
• Sasuke arrived at Konoha Hospital with Hanabi, and Naruto and Sakura invited him to celebrate Naruto's recovery with ramen.
• Hanabi appeared at the end of the corridor and quietly called Sasuke.

Sasuke cared for Hanabi in the hospital, where Naruto, Sakura, and Eri’s unexpected visit sparked an awkward confrontation. After everyone else left, Hanabi revealed that she had kidnapped Eri to save Neji, and Sasuke challenged her naive view of the Hyuga Clan.

• Hanabi left the hospital waiting area to find Sasuke, who supported her in front of Naruto, Sakura, and Eri.
• Naruto learned Hanabi was Hinata’s younger sister, while Sakura accused Sasuke of mistreating her and Eri offered him a love letter.
• Sasuke ushered Naruto, Sakura, and Eri out of Hanabi’s room, then rested beside her as she recovered.
• Hanabi admitted she had kidnapped Eri to save Neji, and Sasuke questioned her idealized understanding of the Hyuga Clan.

Second Pillar comforted Hanabi Hyuga and encouraged her to reject the destiny others had arranged for her. As rain fell across the shinobi world, events unfolded for their companions and enemies, and Sasuke ended the volume contemplating fate and the many possible futures ahead.

• Second Pillar saw Hanabi Hyuga was on the verge of tears, and she asked whether she could walk her own path like Neji.
• Second Pillar told Hanabi that she could begin shaping her destiny by learning to reject what others chose for her, then called a nurse when her IV was nearly empty.
• As rain fell across Konoha, Naruto slept, Neji reunited with Tenten, Shikamaru studied, and Mei Terumi brooded over a map of the ninja world in Tanzaku Town.
• Orochimaru learned that Isobu, the Three-Tails, had been reborn in the Land of Water and added creating its Jinchuriki to his plans.
• Hozuki Suigetsu defeated Raiga Kurosuki but was badly injured, so Karin ordered him to stop fighting while Gaara and Deidara shared a prank in the Rain Hidden Village.
• Second Pillar returned to his seat beside the sleeping Hanabi and considered fate and the futures he could choose.

After Hanabi Hyuga was discharged, Sasuke spent the day showing her around Konoha, where she enjoyed ordinary pleasures and spoke about being kept from the Ninja Academy. As dusk fell, Hanabi returned to the Hyuga Clan estate and resumed her reserved demeanor, while Sasuke received a C-Rank Scroll for completing Jiraiya’s suggestion.

• Hanabi Hyuga asked Sasuke to let her stay out instead of going home, and he reluctantly agreed to spend the day with her.
• Hanabi led Sasuke around Konoha, visited a dango shop, and persuaded him to try Three-Colored Dango despite his dislike of sweets.
• At the Ninja Academy, Hanabi admitted that the Hyuga Clan had never intended to let her attend, and Sasuke understood that her family prioritized her Main Family education.
• Hanabi took Sasuke to a snack shop, where she detected medicine in the chicken soup because the chef had fed the chicken invigorating ointment.
• As evening approached, Hanabi returned to the Hyuga Clan estate and put on her composed heir’s demeanor, while Sasuke left without seeing her reluctant glance back.
• Sasuke received a C-Rank Scroll for completing the suggestion to kidnap Hanabi Hyuga and make a one-for-one exchange with the Hyuga Clan.

Uchiha Sasuke received 30,000,000 ryo from the system and returned home, where Naruto and Jiraiya teased him about Hanabi Hyuga. He then discussed Neji’s state of mind and the Hyuga Clan’s fragile situation with Jiraiya, who urged him to keep watch over his friend.

• Sasuke opened a C-Rank Scroll and received a bankbook containing 30,000,000 ryo.
• Naruto and Jiraiya joked that Sasuke might have fallen for Hanabi, then argued with Naruto about who would become Hokage.
• Jiraiya called Sasuke into the study to discuss arrangements following the Hyuga Clan incident.
• Sasuke told Jiraiya that Neji had gone to find Tenten and did not seem to be planning anything against the Hyuga Clan for now.
• Jiraiya warned that Neji’s instability remained the greatest danger and asked Sasuke to keep in close contact with him.

Jiraiya challenged Second Pillar’s belief that human lives could be ranked by their usefulness, while Kakuzu and Hidan argued over whether money or faith gave life its measure. Jiraiya then revealed that Nara Shikaku had left him eight words connected to the Hyuga Clan, but the chapter ended before he shared them.

• Jiraiya reminded Second Pillar that Nara Shikaku’s death had bolstered Konoha’s morale and asked whether human lives could be ranked by their value.
• Second Pillar answered that lives could be ranked, prompting Jiraiya to defend Shikaku’s choice to risk his life for peace.
• Kakuzu and Hidan argued about whether money or faith measured the value of life, and Kakuzu finally resumed carrying their corpses toward the Exchange Office outpost.
• Jiraiya explained that Shikaku had chosen to go himself and called that choice worthy of respect, while Second Pillar questioned using the Will of Fire to demand sacrifices from others.
• Jiraiya said Shikaku had taught him eight words connected to the Hyuga Clan and expressed regret that he could no longer discuss them with him.

Jiraiya explained to Sasuke that Konoha needed to expand its military before its strategy toward other villages could succeed, and guided him through plans for training more civilian ninjas and sharing techniques. The chapter ended with Sasuke recognizing that the Six Great Clans’ interests stood in the way and asking Jiraiya what he planned to do.

• Jiraiya told Sasuke that Konoha’s eight-word strategy depended on military expansion, which had been neglected and was now urgent.
• Jiraiya identified the Six Great Clans led by the Hyuga Clan as obstacles to expansion and asked Sasuke to consider how the village could recruit and train more troops.
• Sasuke proposed expanding Ninja Academy enrollment, creating adult academies, revising curricula, and making more ninjutsu available to students.
• Jiraiya cautioned that advanced techniques could not be made completely public, and Sasuke proposed sharing them among qualified, trusted groups of ninjas.
• Jiraiya explained that the Six Great Clans would lose their advantage from controlling access to ninjutsu, and Sasuke asked what Jiraiya planned to do about them.

Jiraiya outlined how to reassure the Six Great Clans while expanding Konoha’s forces by sharing non-core clan techniques, and proposed pressuring the Hyuga Clan to share Eight Trigrams Palm Revolving Heaven. Second Pillar then demonstrated a sword-based technique that stunned Jiraiya and Naruto.

• Jiraiya proposed preserving the Six Great Clans’ opportunities and strengthening their ties to the Hokage’s faction while opening selected clan abilities to civilian ninjas.
• Jiraiya identified the Hyuga Clan’s Eight Trigrams Palm Revolving Heaven as a technique Konoha could seek to share, and rejected using Neji Hyuga to pressure the clan.
• Second Pillar invited Jiraiya to the backyard and took out his Kusanagi Sword Shadow while Naruto came to watch.
• Second Pillar demonstrated Eight Trigrams Sword Heaven, a sword technique surrounded by azure Chakra, leaving Jiraiya and Naruto stunned.

Sasuke revealed that he had learned Eight Trigrams Palm Revolving Heaven, prompting Jiraiya to plan teaching it to Konoha’s Medical Ninja. Naruto complained that he was still a Genin, and Jiraiya stopped Sasuke as he tried to leave, saying they still had one more matter to discuss.

• Jiraiya and Naruto recognized Sasuke’s Revolving Heaven, and Sasuke let them assume Neji had taught it to him.
• Jiraiya planned to have Medical Ninjas learn Revolving Heaven, while Naruto protested that Jiraiya had promised to teach him.
• Sasuke explained how Revolving Heaven could help protect Medical Ninjas, and Jiraiya recalled Tsunade’s proposal to assign one to every mission squad.
• Jiraiya blamed the Hyuga Clan’s isolationism for his past with Tsunade, while Sasuke suggested Naruto could try learning Revolving Heaven and other techniques.
• Naruto complained that Lee had been promoted despite the canceled Chunin Exams, and he and Jiraiya resumed arguing.
• Jiraiya stopped Sasuke as he headed back to his room and reminded him that they had one more matter to discuss.