Chapter Summaries

Danzo confronted Hyuga Soji and tried to use Soji’s past drink with Orochimaru as leverage to recruit him into Root. Soji refused to be drawn into an admission, while Danzo brought the coerced Izakaya Owner to identify him.

• Danzo asked Soji to discuss the matter privately, but Soji insisted they speak in front of the Hyuga Clan members.
• Danzo accused Soji of having shared drinks with Orochimaru at an Izakaya a year earlier, and Soji claimed he could not remember.
• Soji reasoned that Danzo had no evidence tying him to Orochimaru’s defection and was using the old meeting as a pretext to recruit him into Root.
• Danzo revealed that he had brought the Izakaya Owner to identify Soji as the person who had drunk with Orochimaru.
• The Izakaya Owner identified Soji, having agreed to help after Danzo coerced him and promised to forgive his supposed crime.

Soji resisted Danzo’s attempt to take him to Root by exposing Danzo’s past partnership with Orochimaru and rallying the Hyuga Clan around him. The Third Hokage arrived with Hyuga Ryusuke and rebuked Danzo for acting without evidence, leaving Danzo’s plan in jeopardy.

• Danzo ordered Soji to accompany him to Root, but Soji refused and challenged Danzo’s authority by recalling that he had once managed Root alongside Orochimaru.
• Soji urged Danzo to verify that claim with the Hokage and said Danzo should arrest himself before trying to implicate Soji.
• Danzo threatened to enforce the law, prompting Soji to warn him against attacking on Hyuga territory as dozens of Hyuga Clan members surrounded Root’s squads.
• The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, arrived with Hyuga Ryusuke and Hyuga Chizuru after Soji had sent Chizuru to fetch the clan head.
• Hiruzen rebuked Danzo for acting recklessly and reminded him that the investigation into Orochimaru’s spies had to be based on evidence.

The Third Hokage stopped Danzo from targeting Hyuga Soji and punished him for falsely accusing Soji, ending Danzo’s attempt to recruit him into Root. Soji returned to his underground laboratory, still wary of Danzo and curious about Hyuga Ryusuke’s unusual expression.

• The Third Hokage arrived at the Hyuga Clan grounds and apologized to Soji for Danzo’s actions, then ordered Danzo to disband one Root squad and give the Orochimaru investigation to the Anbu.
• Soji accepted the Third Hokage’s decision, and Hyuga Ryusuke let the matter end without pressing for further punishment.
• The Third Hokage took Danzo and Root away, while Danzo left furious that his plan had failed and Root had lost a quarter of its publicly known strength.
• Hyuga Ryusuke warned Soji to be careful, and Soji wondered whether the clan head’s unusual look had reminded him of Hyuga Kumokawa.
• Soji returned to his basement to continue his research and resolved to deal with Danzo if he caused trouble again.

As Konoha prepared for a new year, Minato Namikaze succeeded the Third Hokage as the Fourth Hokage amid a village-wide celebration. Soji kept his role in Rin Nohara’s death secret and considered Neji Hyuga’s future as the story entered a historic year.

• Konoha’s cleanup of Orochimaru’s followers ended as Minato returned from the battlefield, and Kakashi came back after searching unsuccessfully for Rin Nohara’s body.
• Soji concealed that he had taken Rin’s body and reflected on his responsibility for her death while Minato comforted the grieving Kakashi.
• As Konoha Year 48 began, Soji recalled Neji Hyuga’s exceptional talent and decided to wait before making plans for him.
• At the succession ceremony, the Third Hokage handed Minato the Hokage’s straw hat, and Minato became the Fourth Hokage.
• The village, including the Hyuga and Uchiha clans, cheered Minato’s succession as Konoha entered the new year with hopes for peace.

Soji injected Gene Fluid made from his own and the Hyuga Clan’s genes, hoping to improve his Byakugan, but instead awakened the Kaguya Clan’s Shikotsumyaku. After testing the new ability, he left with three Kekkei Genkai and greater strength, though he still did not know how it would perform in battle.

• Soji completed the Hyuga-based Gene Fluid and waited three days to recover before injecting it in his laboratory.
• The Gene Fluid caused Soji’s bones to grow spikes, bringing him intense pain before Shikotsumyaku awakened.
• Soji pulled out a bone spike and tested its hardness by striking and piercing the marble floor.
• Soji practiced extending and retracting the bone spikes, finding that the process caused no lasting injury.
• Soji recognized that he now possessed the Byakugan, Ice Release, and Shikotsumyaku, and planned to test Shikotsumyaku’s combat potential later.

Soji injected Gene Fluid made from the Hyuga Clan’s genetic material and endured hours of agonizing cellular and genetic changes in his underground laboratory. After a blood sphere burst apart, he emerged transformed, with dramatically improved bodily and Chakra control, increased Chakra reserves, and enhanced Byakugan abilities.

• Soji’s Shadow Clone recorded his cells and genetic chains dividing and recombining while Soji endured the spreading pain alone in the laboratory.
• Soji bled for hours as newly divided blood cells were repeatedly forced from his body, and he eventually became trapped inside a massive sphere of blood.
• Soji struggled to stay conscious and maintain his Shadow Clone, but he eventually dispelled it as his condition worsened.
• Soji’s heart began pounding inside the blood sphere, which cracked and then exploded, damaging equipment in the laboratory.
• Soji emerged from the sphere transformed, taller and stronger, with complete control over his body and Chakra, twice his previous Chakra reserves, and a Byakugan range of ten kilometers that could see his cells.

After injecting the Hyuga Clan's Gene Fluid, Soji awakened the Byakugan's mind-reading ability and discovered that his blood had formed powerful Blood Crystals. He left the damaged laboratory with the crystals hidden away and plans to test whether they can give others his abilities.

• Soji found that his Byakugan and Gentle Fist techniques had grown stronger, and he had awakened mind reading instead of the genjutsu ability he wanted.
• Soji worried that reading the Nine-Tails' mind could overwhelm him with its hatred, especially with the Nine-Tails Attack looming in Konoha Year 48.
• Soji dressed and inspected the underground laboratory, finding that Blood Crystals had destroyed much of his equipment; he decided to replace it by buying from Orochimaru.
• Soji examined a Blood Crystal and discovered it contained Ice Release, Yin Release, Shikotsumyaku, and senjutsu energy.
• Soji collected and hid around a thousand Blood Crystals, suspecting they could grant his powers to others, then left the laboratory planning to test them.

Soji visited Minato, the Fourth Hokage, to ask for Anbu help finding someone, and learned that Minato was struggling with postwar diplomacy and opposition from Konoha’s elders. As Minato clashed with the Third Hokage and the Council of Elders over Danzo and Root, Soji resolved to support his friend.

• After surviving the Hyuga Clan's Gene Fluid, Soji decided the dangerous experiment could not be used to strengthen the wider Hyuga Clan.
• Soji went to Minato's Hokage office to ask him to use the Anbu to find someone whose movements made them difficult to track.
• Minato faced pressure to aid Sunagakure while negotiating a broader peace agreement with Kumogakure and managing the aftermath of Orochimaru's defection.
• Minato tried to reduce the Council of Elders' power by opposing Danzo and seeking to abolish Root, but the Third Hokage and the elders resisted him.
• The Third Hokage gave Minato only one seventeen-member Anbu squad, while Minato and the Third Hokage disagreed over whether Konoha should pursue rapid reform or stability.
• Soji decided he would support Minato's choices because they were friends.

Soji listened as Minato explained his struggle to reform Konoha and abolish Danzo's Root, which the Third Hokage and the elders opposed. Soji offered a new way to approach the problem, and Minato realized he could seek support from Konoha's ninja rather than trying to win the Third Hokage's approval.

• Soji asked Minato what was troubling him, and Minato described his difficulties with Kumogakure, Orochimaru, and the Elder Council.
• Minato explained that he wanted to abolish Danzo's Root, but the Third Hokage's opposition left him unable to act.
• Soji considered the Third Hokage's motives and concluded that his good intentions and attachment to Danzo were hindering Minato.
• Soji asked Minato whether Konoha's leadership or the whole village carried greater weight.
• Minato realized he could seek support from Konoha's ninja to reform Root without first persuading the Third Hokage.

Soji advised Minato to use a Jonin Assembly to build support for abolishing Root and taking action against Danzo, and Minato began preparing to rally the village's clans and jonin. When Minato asked about Soji's own affairs, Soji accidentally revealed that he had a fiancée and hurriedly changed the subject.

• Soji urged Minato to convene a Jonin Assembly and gain clan and jonin support for action against Danzo and Root.
• Minato agreed with Soji's plan and said he would privately prepare the village's clans and jonin before the assembly.
• Minato asked Soji what help he needed and teased him about stirring up trouble and being unmarried.
• Soji accidentally told Minato that he had a fiancée, then tried to postpone explaining who she was.
• Minato accepted Soji's evasion and wondered whether Uchiha Homura also had an arranged marriage.

Soji asked Minato to use the Anbu to find Sasori of the Red Sands, whom he wanted to recruit for a task. Minato also sought trustworthy Hyuga recruits for the Anbu, and Soji recommended Hizashi Hyuga and Hyuga Chizuru while suggesting Minato recruit from other clans; Minato remained concerned about fairness for civilian ninja.

• Soji asked Minato to have the Anbu locate Sasori of the Red Sands, and Minato agreed to notify him when they found a lead.
• Minato asked Soji to recommend Hyuga Clan members for new Anbu squads because most of the Anbu remained under the Third Hokage's command.
• Soji recommended Hizashi Hyuga and Hyuga Chizuru as the only Hyuga he completely trusted, while refusing to send Hyuga Kiyoka because he needed her help with his Punishment Elder duties.
• Soji suggested Minato seek recruits from Homura, the Uchiha Clan, and other ninja clans to build support as Hokage.
• Minato considered the advice but worried that clan recruitment would make the Anbu harder for civilian ninja to enter.

Minato prepared to disband Danzo’s Root at a Jonin Conference, drawing support from Soji, Kushina Uzumaki, and Uchiha Homura. The meeting left Danzo facing growing opposition as the Elder Council struggled to defend Root.

• Soji advised Minato to recruit Kakashi’s generation into the Anbu, and Minato agreed to seek Hatake Sakumo’s opinion about Kakashi.
• Soji told the Hyuga Clan’s Jonin that Minato had recommended Hizashi Hyuga and Hyuga Chizuru for the Anbu, and both accepted the opportunity.
• Minato privately organized support from Jonin opposed to Root, then convened the long-delayed Jonin Conference three days later.
• Minato proposed completely disbanding Root, prompting Danzo to object and Soji, Kushina Uzumaki, and Uchiha Homura to support the proposal.
• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu defended Root, but Soji challenged its abuses and Kushina asked what missions the Hokage’s Anbu could not handle.

Minato’s proposal to abolish Danzo’s Root won overwhelming support from Konoha’s jonin, and even the Third Hokage backed it. Root’s fate was sealed, while Danzo left furious and still dreamed of taking the Hokage seat.

• Uchiha Homura and the clan leaders and civilian jonin supported Minato’s proposal to abolish Root, bringing support to roughly four-fifths of Konoha’s jonin.
• Danzo sought help from Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and the Third Hokage, but the two elders stayed silent and Hiruzen supported Minato.
• The jonin cheered as Root’s abolition was settled, while Hiruzen and the elders realized how widely Root was hated.
• Danzo left the meeting to arrange Root’s dissolution and privately cursed Minato, regretting that he had once betrayed Orochimaru.
• Soji, Uchiha Homura, Minato, and Kushina Uzumaki exchanged brief farewells after the assembly and went their separate ways.

The Third Hokage returned two Anbu squads to Minato and asked him to spare Danzo’s life, while Minato stripped Danzo’s former Root of its official authority. Five days later, Minato told Soji that Sasori would likely pass through the Ancient Kingdom of Roran, setting Soji’s plan to confront him in motion.

• The Third Hokage gave Minato two Anbu squads and asked him to spare Danzo’s life, and Minato agreed.
• Minato revoked Root’s official status and took its uniforms and equipment, leaving Danzo with sixty-eight subordinates on private territory.
• Danzo threatened Minato after he left, while Soji remained determined to act against Danzo if he caused trouble again.
• Five days later, Minato told Soji that Sasori would likely pass through the Ancient Kingdom of Roran in three days.
• Soji recognized the location and prepared to find Sasori there.

Soji reached the desert near the Ancient Kingdom of Roran while Sasori fought a Sunagakure squad sent to capture him. After Sasori nearly wiped out the squad, Soji froze the two remaining ninja and confronted him, saying he had been looking for him for years.

• Soji left Konoha, transformed into Mizuki Ember, and flew toward the Ancient Kingdom of Roran.
• Sasori let a Sunagakure squad pursue him for three days, then revealed Hiruko and attacked the squad.
• The Sunagakure ninja discovered that the Sasori they had been fighting was Crow in disguise, while the real Sasori controlled a giant Sand Sea Demon Scorpion from underground.
• Sasori used Hiruko and the Sand Sea Demon Scorpion to massacre the squad, leaving only a few ninja alive.
• Soji descended into the battle, froze the last two Sunagakure ninja, and told Sasori that he had been looking for him for years.

Soji approached Sasori to discuss a trade, but used his Byakugan Mind Reading to discover that Sasori was considering turning him into a human puppet. Soji challenged Sasori to test his strength, and their fight began with Sasori attacking from atop the Giant Scorpion.

• Sasori recognized Soji as Mizuki Ember and questioned why he had come, while secretly considering killing him and making him a human puppet.
• Soji used Byakugan Mind Reading to read Sasori's thoughts, but stopped after ten seconds when the ability consumed a large amount of Chakra.
• Sasori noticed that Soji had done something to him, grew angry when Soji ignored his question, and accepted Soji's challenge to fight.
• Soji flew away from the two Sunagakure shinobi, and Sasori followed with Hiruko, Crow, and the Giant Scorpion.
• Sasori attacked Soji with the Giant Scorpion's hook and secretly prepared the scroll containing the Third Kazekage human puppet.

Soji tested Sasori's strength as Sasori attacked him with Hiruko and the Third Kazekage puppet. After surviving the puppet's Iron Sand and poison-based attacks, Soji discovered it could unleash a Water Release technique from a scroll, confirming Sasori had held back in his original-story battle.

• Soji blocked Hiruko's poisoned needles with an Ice Crystal Barrier and dodged the Sand Sea Demon Scorpion's attacks while provoking Sasori.
• Sasori summoned the Third Kazekage puppet, whose poison smoke failed to affect Soji because he protected himself with Frost Armor.
• Soji shattered the puppet's Iron Sand Triangular Pyramid with Void Strike and countered Iron Sand Drizzle with Rotating Ice Condensation.
• Sasori sent the Third Kazekage puppet into close combat, where it attacked Soji with poisoned cleavers and a concealed water column.
• Soji used his Byakugan to spot a Water Release scroll inside the puppet and concluded that Sasori had pulled his punches against Sakura and Chiyo.

Soji tested Sasori’s strongest techniques, judged his strength, and attempted to end their fight so they could discuss a deal. Instead, he used Impure World Reincarnation on two Sunagakure ninja, revealing that he planned to revive Sasori’s parents.

• Sasori used the Third Kazekage human puppet’s scrolls to attack Soji with Water Release and Fire Release, then reclaimed the iron sand Soji had frozen.
• Sasori unleashed Magnet Release—Iron Sand World Method, and Soji evaded its barrage by moving through the ice created by Ice Tomb.
• After the attack ended, Soji proposed stopping the fight and discussing a deal, but Sasori refused and pursued him as he flew toward two immobilized Sunagakure ninja.
• Soji poured blood onto two scrolls and performed Impure World Reincarnation on the Sunagakure ninja, revealing that he intended to revive Sasori’s parents.

Soji used an enhanced Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu to summon Sasori’s parents, Chiriku Iki and Chiriku Rokutsuki, hoping to secure Sasori’s cooperation. After Sasori reunited with them, he accepted Soji’s terms: if Akatsuki invited him to join, he would provide Soji with intelligence about the organization.

• Soji summoned Chiriku Iki and Chiriku Rokutsuki with his enhanced Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu and temporarily restrained them.
• Sasori arrived, recognized his parents, and reunited with them after ten years apart.
• Soji released the couple from his control, and they embraced Sasori before asking what he wanted from their son.
• Sasori stepped forward and agreed to hear Soji’s terms, assuring his parents he could handle the matter.
• Soji asked Sasori to join Akatsuki if invited and send him intelligence about the organization.

Soji negotiated with Sasori, promising to completely revive Sasori’s parents if Sasori worked for him and supplied intelligence about Akatsuki. Sasori accepted the terms, and Soji also agreed to teach him the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu after three years of service.

• Soji explained that Sasori’s parents had returned as souls in sacrificial bodies and were still dead, but promised to revive them completely once he learned the necessary jutsu.
• Sasori asked Soji to teach him the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, and Soji agreed in exchange for three years of service and intelligence gathering for Akatsuki.
• Soji said Sasori would be bound to work for him for twenty years, unless Akatsuki was destroyed sooner.
• Sasori accepted the terms, completing his deal with Soji.