Chapter Summaries

After a farewell barbecue with Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, and Uchiha Homura, Soji settled into life as a Hyuga elder and spent a year developing his Ice Release. He mastered several new techniques and grew much stronger, though he still doubted he could defeat Minato.

• Soji treated Uchiha Homura, Minato Namikaze, and Kushina Uzumaki to barbecue, and the four friends worried their promotions would separate their team.
• Soji secured Hyuga Kumokawa's scrolls and three inherited pairs of Byakugan in a hidden underground chamber, planning to offer one pair to Orochimaru in exchange for research cooperation.
• Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki became mentor teachers, Uchiha Homura joined the Konoha Military Police Force, and Soji adjusted to his duties as a Hyuga elder.
• Over nearly a year, Soji developed Ice Dragon Fang, Ice Spear, Rain Ice Technique, Extreme Cold Thrust, and Ice Crystal Barrier, improving his other abilities as well.
• Soji considered how much stronger he had become and wondered whether Minato had developed the Rasengan, while admitting Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique made him difficult to defeat.

Soji volunteered to join the war despite the elders’ warnings and headed toward the Land of Waves with a new group of Konoha ninja. Along the way, Kurama Hachizo’s Five Senses Manipulation genjutsu trapped him for nearly a minute, leaving Soji wary of underestimating other shinobi.

• Clan Head Hyuga Ryusuke called a meeting about sending Main House members to the war, and Soji volunteered despite concerns for his branch’s future.
• Soji frightened two critical elders with his near-invisible Body Flicker Technique, and five Main House members ultimately joined the war.
• Soji set out for the front lines, choosing the Land of Waves while seeking revenge on Sunagakure for Hyuga Kumokawa’s death.
• Soji traveled under battalion commander Kurama Hachizo and learned about the ongoing war as Konoha faced Kirigakure and Sunagakure.
• Soji asked Kurama Hachizo to test Five Senses Manipulation, escaped the genjutsu by sealing off his senses, and realized its danger.

Soji arrived at Hatake Sakumo’s base in the Land of Rivers, thanked him for saving Hyuga Kumokawa, and reunited with Uchiha Homura. After learning Sunagakure planned to attack that night, Soji discovered Sakumo had secretly arranged reinforcements to lure the enemy into an ambush, and he prepared to join the coming battle.

• Kurama Hachizo led Soji and the forty-man unit to Hatake Sakumo’s base in the Land of Rivers.
• Soji thanked Hatake Sakumo for rescuing Hyuga Kumokawa, and Sakumo expressed regret over Kumokawa’s earlier ordeal.
• Uchiha Homura arrived and reported that Sunagakure planned to attack that night, while Soji learned Sakumo had concealed reinforcements to set an ambush.
• Homura identified the enemy leaders as Chiriku Iki and Chiriku Rokutsuki, Chiyo’s son and daughter-in-law, and Sakumo considered eliminating them to weaken Sunagakure.
• Sakumo gave Soji and Homura time to catch up, and the two exchanged friendly insults before resting for the battle.

Soji’s squadron took position to cut off Sunagakure’s retreat while Hatake Sakumo prepared Konoha’s main force to face the invasion. Sakumo’s traps and psychological warfare drove the two-thousand-strong Sunagakure force into battle, where Uchiha Homura killed a jonin amid the ensuing melee.

• Hatake Sakumo assigned Soji’s squadron to pursue scattered Sunagakure shinobi and sent Uchiha Homura to join the main force; Soji positioned three squads in ambush beside a river.
• Chiriku Iki led more than two thousand Sunagakure shinobi toward Konoha’s camp despite Chiriku Rokutsuki’s uneasy warning.
• Explosive Tag traps killed at least two hundred Sunagakure shinobi and wounded hundreds more before the force reached Konoha’s camp.
• Hatake Sakumo revealed a Konoha force of at least thirteen hundred and used the traps to enrage Sunagakure and push them into attacking rather than retreating.
• Chiriku Iki and Chiriku Rokutsuki sent their puppets into battle as both armies charged, while Hatake Sakumo faced the couple and Uchiha Homura engaged a Sunagakure jonin.
• Uchiha Homura killed his opponent with a kunai, his blood-covered face and Sharingan frightening nearby shinobi.

Uchiha Homura defeated a Sunagakure wind ninja and puppeteer, then awakened his Three-Tomoe Sharingan after Chiriku Iki’s tiger puppet killed the Konoha ninja protecting him. He vowed revenge and faced Chiriku Iki with his newly enhanced strength.

• Uchiha Homura trapped the Sunagakure Wind Release ninja in genjutsu and killed him while the man stood dazed.
• Uchiha Homura severed the puppeteer’s chain and killed him and his puppet with Great Fire Annihilation.
• A tiger-shaped puppet attacked from behind and killed the Konoha ninja gathered around Uchiha Homura.
• Uchiha Homura awakened his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, regained his Chakra, and blocked the puppet’s attack.
• Uchiha Homura vowed to avenge his fallen teammates and glared at Chiriku Iki, the Sunagakure commander controlling the tiger puppet.

Hatake Sakumo and Uchiha Homura fought Chiriku Iki and Chiriku Rokutsuki, who used Ten Puppets Manipulation to control ten puppets. After the Konoha pair began destroying the puppets, Chiriku Iki released poison gas, and Hatake Sakumo struck back, leaving Chiriku Rokutsuki wounded and Chiriku Iki impaled in the shoulder.

• Chiriku Iki and Chiriku Rokutsuki summoned ten puppets and launched a coordinated attack on Hatake Sakumo and Uchiha Homura.
• Uchiha Homura used his Three-Tomoe Sharingan to spot an opening, destroyed one puppet with an Explosive Tag, and forced the couple to redirect a puppet toward him.
• Hatake Sakumo cut apart one puppet and damaged several more as he began to overwhelm the puppets surrounding him.
• Chiriku Iki threw a Poison Gas Bomb into the battlefield, forcing both sides to retreat while Hatake Sakumo and Uchiha Homura remained in the smoke.
• Hatake Sakumo sent a spear toward Chiriku Iki, but Chiriku Rokutsuki took the hit; Hatake Sakumo then emerged from the poison and stabbed Chiriku Iki in the left shoulder.

Hatake Sakumo drove the Sunagakure forces into retreat, and Chiriku Iki leapt from a cliff with his mortally wounded wife, Chiriku Rokutsuki. Hyuga Soji tracked Iki down at the river and watched him die after defeating his final puppet attack.

• Hatake Sakumo wounded Chiriku Iki and Chiriku Rokutsuki, forcing the Sunagakure forces to retreat while he pursued them.
• Chiriku Iki stayed behind to cover the retreat, threw Poison Gas Bombs at Konoha, and jumped from a cliff into the river with Chiriku Rokutsuki.
• Hatake Sakumo assumed the Chiriku couple had died in the river, while Hyuga Soji realized they might be nearby and went to search.
• Soji followed water stains to a rock, where he found Chiriku Iki holding the dead Chiriku Rokutsuki.
• Chiriku Iki attacked Soji with his last tiger puppet, but Soji destroyed it and caught its detached limb.
• Chiriku Iki died after saying farewell to Rokutsuki and entrusting Sasori to his mother.

Soji secretly took Chiriku Iki and Chiriku Rokutsuki’s bodies after Konoha defeated Sunagakure, while the Third Kazekage agreed to pursue peace after Chiyo and Ebizo warned him of the village’s circumstances. Chiyo hid Sasori’s parents’ deaths from him, but Sasori saw through her lie and resolved to discover the truth.

• Soji found Chiriku Iki and Chiriku Rokutsuki’s bodies, sealed them in a scroll, and concealed all traces of his presence.
• Hatake Sakumo announced Konoha’s victory, and Soji reported that he had found nothing downstream.
• The Third Kazekage prepared to go to the front lines, but Chiyo urged him to stop because Sunagakure could no longer afford the war.
• Ebizo revealed that Bunpuku was nearing the end of his life, and the Third Kazekage entrusted Chiyo with negotiating peace with Konoha.
• Chiyo returned home and lied to Sasori that his parents had been sent on another mission.
• Sasori recognized that Chiyo was hiding something and decided to uncover what had happened to his parents.

Konoha ended its war with Sunagakure after Soji and Uchiha Homura's raids pressured the village into peace negotiations. After Kirigakure also made peace, Kumogakure and Iwagakure finally signed an agreement, ending the ten-year Second Great Ninja War.

• Hatake Sakumo authorized Soji and Uchiha Homura to harass the Land of Wind, prompting Sunagakure to submit a peace proposal.
• After prolonged negotiations, Hatake Sakumo signed an agreement under which Sunagakure surrendered mission volume and ninjutsu, then returned to Konoha with the victorious forces.
• Kirigakure signed a peace agreement with Konoha less than a month after Soji's return.
• The Third Raikage agreed to Ōnoki's request for peace after Dodai warned that Kirigakure threatened Kumogakure's border.
• Kumogakure and Iwagakure signed a peace agreement at the beginning of Konoha Year 39, bringing the ten-year war to an end.

After the Second Ninja World War, Konoha’s shinobi gained fame while the Third Hokage reconsidered Hatake Sakumo as a successor because of the Daimyo’s support. In the peaceful days after the New Year, Soji, Minato Namikaze, and Uchiha Homura walked through Konoha, where Homura resolved to challenge Soji and shed his reputation as the team’s weakest member.

• Hanzō, the Legendary Sannin, Minato Namikaze, and Hatake Sakumo earned recognition for their wartime achievements, while Sakumo received half a sleeve from the Hokage’s Robes as a candidate for the next Hokage.
• The Third Hokage grew suspicious of the Daimyo’s support for Hatake Sakumo and privately crossed Sakumo off his list of successors.
• Soji and Uchiha Homura met Minato Namikaze, who explained that Kushina Uzumaki was out shopping with her best friend.
• Soji teased Minato and learned that Homura’s older sister had made him familiar with carrying shopping bags for girls.
• Soji, Minato, and Homura strolled through the peaceful village after the New Year and hoped the calm would last.
• Homura, confident in his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, resolved to challenge Soji and prove he was no longer the weakest member of their team.

Soji and his companions ran into Kushina Uzumaki and her best friend, Mikoto Uchiha, while shopping, discovering that Mikoto was Homura’s older sister. As the group continued their outing, Soji recognized Mikoto’s name from his memories and finally prepared to ask her about it.

• Soji, Minato Namikaze, and Homura went shopping and heard Kushina Uzumaki bargaining at a clothing store.
• Kushina introduced her best friend Mikoto Uchiha, who was astonished to find her younger brother Homura with Kushina’s companions.
• Mikoto scolded Homura for failing to show gratitude to his teammates, while Soji teased him about being put in his place by his sister.
• Soji recognized Mikoto Uchiha as the woman from his memories and privately considered her connection to the future Uchiha family.
• Kushina threatened Soji after he teased her, and Soji paid a thousand ryo for the outfit before the group left the shop.
• Mikoto appreciated Soji’s efforts to keep her comfortable, while Homura continued to suspect Soji had improper intentions toward his sister; Soji then began asking Mikoto a question.

Hyuga Soji joined Kushina Uzumaki, Mikoto Uchiha, Minato Namikaze, and Uchiha Homura on a shopping trip, where they ran into Fugaku Uchiha pursuing Mikoto. The group continued shopping together as Fugaku tried to win over Mikoto and her protective younger brother.

• Hyuga Soji confirmed Mikoto Uchiha was the Uchiha he had heard about and gave a false explanation for asking about her name.
• Kushina Uzumaki and Mikoto Uchiha took Soji, Minato Namikaze, and Uchiha Homura shopping, making the boys carry their purchases and sample snacks.
• Fugaku Uchiha arrived, and Mikoto Uchiha introduced him to her companions while Uchiha Homura stood between the pair protectively.
• Fugaku Uchiha offered to carry Mikoto's bags, and Kushina Uzumaki watched his considerate behavior toward Mikoto and Homura.
• Uchiha Military Police Force members recognized Fugaku and quickly left after realizing they had interrupted his outing with Mikoto, who blushed.

Soji decided to seek research equipment for his plan to awaken the Tenseigan, but the Black Market owner demanded a steep markup. The owner offered instead to tell Soji another way to obtain the prohibited instruments.

• Fugaku Uchiha joined Soji, Minato, Mikoto Uchiha, and Kushina Uzumaki, and they learned how Fugaku had first bonded with Mikoto.
• Soji decided that he needed research equipment for his Tenseigan awakening plan and chose to search the Black Market for leads.
• Soji disguised himself with an Ice Mask and white robes before visiting a Black Market in a southeastern border town of the Land of Fire.
• Soji showed the Black Market owner a list of research instruments and asked him to obtain them.
• The owner quoted a fifty percent markup per instrument, so Soji released a wave of cold Chakra before the owner offered to reveal another source.

Hyuga Soji, using the alias Ember, obtained information about a research institute and killed six rogue ninjas who tried to rob him. Kakuzu arrived at the Black Market exchange to collect a bounty, while Soji headed toward the institute.

• Soji accepted the research institute information from Black Smoke, introduced himself as Ember, and left the Black Market exchange.
• Six rogue ninjas followed Soji and attacked him, but he killed them, took their belongings, and set off for the institute in the eastern coastal region of the Land of Fire.
• Kakuzu found the six corpses and headed to the Black Market exchange, where the local rogues warned a newcomer to keep his head down around him.
• Kakuzu handed Black Smoke a bounty target's corpse and collected ten million ryo, counting every banknote before leaving.

Soji infiltrated Shiratori Hane’s research institute to seize its equipment, but Kakuzu arrived to collect Shiratori’s bounty and killed the researchers before Soji intervened. After Soji killed Shiratori and the remaining staff, Kakuzu confronted him and revealed that he had made Soji his next target.

• Kakuzu learned from Black Smoke that Ember was heading to Shiratori Hane’s institute, then pursued him for the chance to take his heart.
• Soji secretly entered the institute, found evidence of human experimentation, and resolved to take its equipment and kill those responsible.
• Kakuzu stormed the institute and killed its guards, prompting Shiratori Hane to order the researchers to destroy the equipment and flee.
• Soji emerged from hiding, killed Shiratori, and refused to let the researchers escape or destroy the instruments.
• Kakuzu entered and killed the remaining researchers with his black threads, then identified Soji as Ember and declared him a target.

Soji lured Kakuzu away from the laboratory and fought him using Ice Release, revealing a Kekkei Genkai that Kakuzu coveted. Their strongest attacks collided, and the battle left both injured, with Soji spitting blood after Kakuzu struck him.

• Soji led Kakuzu several kilometers from the laboratory, then turned to fight him in a place where their battle would not damage the equipment.
• Soji's Ice Dragon Fang broke through Kakuzu's Fire Release and wounded him, prompting Kakuzu to mistake Soji for a member of Kirigakure's Yuki Clan.
• Soji attacked with Ice Release while Kakuzu countered with Lightning Release, then Soji's eight Ice Spears clashed with Kakuzu's triple-element Earth Grudge Fear: Ultimate Shoot.
• Soji and Kakuzu's defenses and Chakra cannon broke apart in a blast that sent both men crashing into rocks.
• Soji shattered two of Kakuzu's masks with an Ice Spear, but Kakuzu caught the spear, struck Soji with Earth Grudge Fear, and left him bleeding behind his Ice Mask.

Soji and Kakuzu fought to a standstill, then agreed to stop and collect their separate targets at the laboratory. Soji left with the equipment after Kakuzu departed, having tested his strength and avoided a deadly feud.

• Soji used a force-dispersing technique to survive Kakuzu's attack and destroyed two of his masks, costing Kakuzu two hearts.
• Kakuzu boasted that he had fought the First Hokage, and Soji mocked his claim, provoking him to continue the fight.
• Soji and Kakuzu fought with taijutsu and ninja tools until both recognized that neither wanted to keep battling as Konoha forces might arrive.
• Soji proposed they pursue separate goals at the laboratory, and Kakuzu agreed to collect the researchers' corpses while Soji gathered the equipment.
• Kakuzu held back from attacking Soji as he packed the instruments, then left after threatening that he would remember him.

After Soji returned to Konoha, the village’s leaders mistook his Ember disguise for a Yuki Clan Ice Release ninja and argued over how to respond. The Third Hokage ordered an investigation instead of preparing an attack, while other villages also began searching for Ember.

• Soji left the battlefield after Kakuzu departed, relying on a Shadow Clone to finish his escort mission and hiding his connection to the fight.
• Konoha’s Anbu and Danzo’s Root investigated the battlefield, identified Kakuzu and the mysterious Ice Release user Ember, and reported their findings to their leaders.
• The Third Hokage, Danzo, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu debated whether Ember belonged to Kirigakure’s Yuki Clan, and the Third Hokage rejected Danzo’s call to prepare an attack.
• The Third Hokage ordered the Anbu to investigate Ember and Konoha’s spies to look into the Yuki Clan, while Danzo left dissatisfied and grew more resentful of Hiruzen.
• Soji returned home unaware that the fight had caused a rift in Konoha’s leadership, as the other villages also sent spies to uncover Ember’s identity.

Soji planned to awaken the Tenseigan by researching bloodline purity and sought Orochimaru’s expertise in genes and cells. After finally meeting him at a hidden base in the Forest of Death, Soji asked to trade for research materials, and Orochimaru reacted with visible interest.

• Soji finished setting up his research instruments and decided to pursue his plan to awaken the Tenseigan by combining genetic material from the Hyuga Clan.
• Soji chose to wait for a future period of upheaval to collect blood from the Main House, then began searching for Orochimaru’s research materials.
• After Soji repeatedly visited Orochimaru’s home, Orochimaru sent him a map through a summoned snake.
• Soji followed the map into the Forest of Death, where Orochimaru emerged from underground and asked what he wanted.
• Soji said he wanted to trade for research materials on genes and cells, and Orochimaru’s vertical pupils changed at the request.

Soji negotiated with Orochimaru for access to cell and gene research in exchange for a pair of Byakugan and future intelligence from the Hyuga Clan Main Family. The two agreed to cooperate, leaving them with a new partnership and shared connections.

• Orochimaru suspected Soji knew about Konoha's secret research into the First Hokage's cells, but Soji asked instead about cells reverting to their ancestral state.
• Soji offered funding for Orochimaru's research, then declined Orochimaru's offer to work under him because of his obligations as a Hyuga Clan Main Family member.
• Soji offered Orochimaru a pair of Byakugan in exchange for research materials and future findings on cells and genes.
• Soji promised he could also provide intelligence on behalf of the Hyuga Clan Main Family, and Orochimaru accepted the terms.
• Soji handed over the Byakugan, and he and Orochimaru shook hands to seal their cooperation.