Chapter Summaries

Minato investigated the unknown ninja who had appeared during the mission and suspected the man knew Shinichi’s Byakugan. In the laboratory, Orochimaru and Danzo argued over the failed operation and the risk of Konoha discovering their experiments.

• Shibi Aburame reported that an unknown, powerful ninja had fled after Shinichi arrived at the trafficking ring’s dungeon.
• Minato suspected the ninja withdrew to avoid having his identity exposed by Shinichi’s Byakugan and resolved to investigate Konoha’s hidden factions.
• Orochimaru dissected a mutated boy while a voice warned him that Shibi had returned and been questioned by Minato.
• Danzo confronted Orochimaru for letting Shibi survive, and Orochimaru explained that Might Guy and Shinichi had made the fight too risky.
• Danzo told Orochimaru to pause the operation, find new specimens, and eliminate any loose ends involving the Aburame and Hyuga Clans.
• Orochimaru threatened Danzo before leaving the laboratory, and Danzo angrily called him disobedient.

Shinichi Hyuga trained with Might Guy to improve his combat instincts and learned to use the Eight Inner Gates. He opened the Gate of Opening but agreed not to risk opening higher gates at his age.

• Shinichi Hyuga sparred with Might Guy, using the Flying Thunder God Technique to evade his powerful attacks.
• Shisui Uchiha and Shibi Aburame watched and discussed Shinichi’s stamina and hard work.
• Shinichi activated the Gate of Opening and fought Guy at increased speed and strength.
• Guy helped Shinichi learn the Eight Inner Gates, but warned him against opening the Gate of Healing or higher because it could drain his potential.

Shinichi trained with Might Guy using the Eight Inner Gates, pushing both of them to exhaustion. After recovering, Shinichi told Shisui he wanted to test an idea for a powerful new technique.

• Shinichi activated the Gate of Opening and fought Might Guy in a fast-paced taijutsu battle while Shibi Aburame and Shisui Uchiha watched.
• After half an hour, Shinichi collapsed from exhaustion, though the Byakugan showed that his muscles and meridians had not been damaged.
• Guy and Shinichi recovered with water from Shibi and Shisui, and Guy praised their training as youthful.
• Shisui offered to teach Shinichi Fire Release, but Shinichi said he wanted to test an idea for a new technique.
• Shinichi planned to build on Kaiten by combining chakra shape transformation with Fire and Lightning nature transformations.

Shinichi tested the power of the Hyuga Clan’s Gentle Step Twin Lion Fist while developing a new technique, and Shisui advised him to combine Chakra nature transformation with its shape transformation. Shinichi accepted the suggestion and began considering another idea.

• Shisui noticed that Shinichi’s developing technique resembled the Fourth Hokage’s Rasengan and suggested Shinichi learn it.
• Shinichi explained that the Rasengan did not meet his needs and demonstrated the Gentle Step Twin Lion Fist by striking the ground and creating a large crater.
• Shinichi described how the Gentle Step Twin Lion Fist could destroy and seal the Chakra pathways of enemies it hit.
• Shisui advised Shinichi to add Chakra nature transformation to the technique’s shape transformation before developing new ninjutsu.
• Shinichi agreed to try Shisui’s approach and said he had another new idea.

Shinichi Hyuga and Shisui Uchiha trained in Chakra nature transformation while Konoha gradually recovered from war and Minato faced pressure over the Jinchuriki. Shinichi's training was interrupted when he learned that eight Hyuga had died in battle and saw their coffins at the ancestral hall.

• Shinichi Hyuga and Shisui Uchiha trained to infuse Chakra nature into weapons, using special Kunai Shinichi obtained through Hiashi.
• Minato Namikaze allowed Shinichi's team to focus on training, and Shinichi completed only one mission outside the village after becoming a Special Jonin.
• Konoha recovered from the Nine-Tails Attack as Minato and Jiraiya deterred hostile villages, while the Cloud Ninja pursued peace negotiations with Konoha.
• Danzo allied with Orochimaru and tried to pressure Minato and Hizashi into moving the Jinchuriki to a designated area, but they rejected the demand.
• Keisuke Hyuga interrupted Shinichi's training to summon him to the clan compound, where Shinichi saw eight coffins prepared for Hyuga killed in battle.

At a Hyuga Clan funeral, Shinichi looked after Neji while meeting clan members and reflecting on the Branch Family’s sacrifices. Orochimaru’s arrival unsettled Shinichi, who realized the dangerous man might soon become an unavoidable risk.

• Shinichi attended the funeral and greeted Branch Family members who respected his strength as well as his Main Family status.
• Neji arrived and stayed with Shinichi while Hizashi helped Hiashi with funeral duties.
• Orochimaru passed Shinichi with his disciple Anko and later went to see the bereaved families.
• Keisuke identified Orochimaru as a Legendary Sannin, commander of the Mist Ninja Front, and Yūta’s superior.
• Shinichi recognized Orochimaru as an unpredictable risk he wanted to avoid, but suspected the danger had come looking for him.

Orochimaru visited the Hyuga Clan to mourn fallen ninja and privately sought Hiashi’s support for himself and Danzo, offering battlefield protection in return. Shinichi learned of the bargain through lip-reading and suspected Orochimaru’s confidence came from his position as Frontline Commander and his strength.

• Orochimaru and Anko entered the Hyuga compound, where Hiashi received them and Orochimaru apologized to the bereaved families for failing to protect his subordinates.
• Orochimaru and Anko paid their respects to the dead, while Hiashi and Hizashi thanked him for coming.
• Orochimaru privately asked Hiashi and Hizashi to have the Hyuga support him and Danzo, promising protection for Hyuga Ninja on the battlefield.
• Shinichi lip-read the meeting and considered whether Orochimaru was bargaining with or coercing the Hyuga by invoking their battlefield losses.
• Shinichi concluded that Orochimaru felt secure because few people could replace him as Frontline Commander.

At the Hyuga Clan Members' funeral, Shinichi suspected Orochimaru might be connected to the clan's many recent deaths, while Hiashi struggled to conceal his anger after being threatened. Back home, Shinichi watched Neji and reunited with Hinata, whose loud tantrum made him wonder whether his family had spoiled her.

• Shinichi noticed Hiashi's grim distraction after Orochimaru's visit and wondered whether Orochimaru was involved in the Hyuga Clan Members' deaths.
• Neji questioned Hiashi's condition, but Shinichi dismissed his concern and kept the boy company through the funeral.
• After the funeral, Shinichi took Neji home and told him he would check his training that afternoon.
• Shinichi brought Neji to see Hana and Hinata, who had been learning to write and eagerly asked to train with her big brother.
• When Shinichi refused, Hinata threw a tantrum, leaving him to wonder why she was becoming so unlike the gentle girl he expected.

Neji watched Shinichi train and sparred with him, discovering firsthand how much stronger his older cousin was. After seeing Shinichi fight Keisuke seriously, Neji left the dojo admiring him and wanting to reach his level.

• After lunch, Neji went with Keisuke to the dojo, where he found Shinichi had exhausted Mio and Kazutaka in sparring.
• Shinichi tested Neji's skills, letting him attack freely while blocking every strike and guiding him through the match.
• Hinata secretly watched Shinichi and Neji spar from the corridor.
• Shinichi explained Neji's weaknesses and continued training by sparring seriously with Keisuke.
• Neji watched Shinichi's overwhelming fight with Keisuke and resolved to pursue the strength to stand beside him.

Shinichi spent the day training Neji and enjoying a quiet evening with his family before Hiashi summoned him to the study. Hiashi told Shinichi that he was going to the battlefield and entrusted the family to him while he was away.

• Shinichi finished training and left the training ground with Neji.
• Shinichi spent time with Neji and Hinata while Hana talked with him and knitted.
• Hiashi consulted Shin and Hizashi about Orochimaru’s proposal, and they reached a difficult conclusion.
• Hiashi summoned Shinichi to the study and told him he was going to the battlefield.
• Hiashi instructed Shinichi to obey Shin, study and train hard, and take care of the family.

Hyuga Hiashi told Shinichi that he would go to the Front Line as a Supervisor to investigate Orochimaru, whom the Hyuga Clan suspected of causing their unusually heavy casualties. Shinichi worried that his changes to the future had helped bring about this dangerous turn of events as Hiashi prepared to leave.

• Hiashi announced that he was going to the battlefield and told Shinichi to heed his Great-Grandfather's teachings while he was away.
• Shinichi admitted that he had overheard Orochimaru's conversation with Hiashi, and Shin Hyuga explained that nearly two hundred Hyuga Ninja had died in recent years.
• Shin Hyuga said the clan suspected Orochimaru was targeting the Hyuga and planned to send Hiashi to the Front Line as a Supervisor to monitor him.
• Hiashi reassured Shinichi that elite guards would protect him and that the conflict would not last much longer.
• Shinichi connected the shifting situation to his changes to the future and worried that Hiashi's assurances sounded like a death flag.

Hyuga Hiashi accepted an appointment as a Front Line Supervisor to strengthen the Hyuga Clan’s position and support Minato, leaving Shinichi to guard the clan. Hiashi departed with an elite guard, while news of the Hyuga deployment stirred rival villages’ interest in the Byakugan.

• Shinichi tried to persuade Hiashi to reconsider going to the battlefield, but Hiashi explained that strength was the source of Orochimaru’s leverage and urged Shinichi to become the Hyuga Clan’s future.
• Minato accepted Hiashi’s appointment to the Front Line, seeing the Hyuga Clan’s move as support against Orochimaru and Danzo.
• Hiashi appointed Shin Hyuga to oversee the clan, selected fifty Branch Family elites as his guard, and left Hizashi behind with Shinichi and other trusted members.
• Hiashi spent the day before his departure training and talking with Shinichi, then embraced him at Konoha’s gates and led his guard toward the Front Line.
• News of the Hyuga Main Family’s deployment reached the Mist, Cloud, Stone, and Sand villages, stirring interest in the Byakugan.

Shinichi Hyuga fought off a Mist Ninja who infiltrated the Hyuga Clan Compound and killed him with a powerful Chakra attack. The explosion drew the clan members’ attention, while Shimura Danzō recognized that the Hyuga were more difficult to handle than he had expected.

• Shinichi noticed a Mist Ninja emerge from a puddle in the Hyuga Clan Compound and activated his Byakugan.
• The Mist Ninja attacked Shinichi with Senbon, but Shinichi deflected them with an Air Palm and exposed the attacker’s Water Clone.
• The Mist Ninja used Smoke Bombs and tried to escape over the courtyard wall, but Shinichi struck him with a Chakra attack shaped like a lion’s head.
• The attack blasted through the wall and exploded beside the fleeing Mist Ninja, waking villagers and drawing Hyuga clan members toward the Main Family.
• Shimura Danzō heard the explosion and concluded that the Hyuga were more difficult to deal with than he had imagined.

After a Mist Ninja assassination attempt against the Hyuga Clan, Shinichi and the clan’s defenders secured the compound and barred Konoha’s forces from entering. Minato headed to investigate, while the Anbu were left waiting for the Hyuga Clan to explain what happened to the Hokage.

• Kushina sensed Shinichi’s Chakra at the Hyuga Clan, and Minato confirmed that Shinichi was safe before setting out to investigate.
• Minato told Kushina to stay home with Naruto, and she warned him that the attack might be a diversion.
• Shinichi explained the Mist Ninja attack to Shin Hyuga, who sent Branch Family elites to cordon off the compound and stop outsiders from approaching.
• Hyuga Clan members blocked a three-man Anbu squad and refused to let them investigate, saying the Main Family had ordered them to keep everyone away.
• Kakashi tried to mediate, but the Hyuga Clan said the assassin had been eliminated and that they would report to Minato the next day.

Root squads tried to force their way into the Hyuga Clan Compound, but the Hyuga captured them after a brief battle. Shinichi Hyuga suspected Danzo had orchestrated the Mist Ninja’s infiltration to demonstrate his strength, while Shin Hyuga struggled to believe Danzo would target the clan.

• Three Root Anbu tried to enter the Hyuga Clan Compound, and the Hyuga Branch Family moved to stop them.
• The Root ninja fought the Hyuga, but the Hyuga captured all three within minutes.
• Kakashi and other Anbu arrived and watched the Root-Hyuga clash without intervening.
• Shin Hyuga received reports that five Root squads had tried to enter the compound and been captured.
• Shinichi Hyuga told Shin Hyuga that Danzo had likely sent the Mist Ninja to test the Hyuga’s defenses, but Shin Hyuga doubted the accusation.

After the attack on the Hyuga Clan, Shinichi concealed his strength and left Shin Hyuga to cover up what happened, while Minato accepted the clan’s false account and ordered an Anbu search. The next morning, Danzo visited Minato and urged him to send Anbu to guard the Hyuga Clan.

• Shinichi failed to convince Shin Hyuga that Danzo might be behind the attack, asked him to hide the truth, and returned to rest.
• Shinichi reflected that his Mini Tailed Beast Bomb paired well with the Byakugan and that the Hyuga Clan’s defenders had deterred the Root ninja.
• Minato arrived at the Hyuga Clan, waited outside until Shin Hyuga admitted him, and accepted the claim that Branch Family ninja had killed a Mist infiltrator with Explosive Tags.
• Minato dismissed the Konoha ninja who had come to help and ordered the Anbu to search the village for clues about the attack.
• News of the Hyuga Clan’s attack spread through Konoha the next day, and Danzo urged Minato to assign Anbu to protect the clan.

Danzo urged Minato to place Anbu or Root guards around the Hyuga Clan after its attack, but Minato refused to act without consulting the Main Family and rejected Root’s involvement. Danzo left frustrated, convinced that Minato was too weak to be Hokage and that only he could protect Konoha.

• Danzo visited Minato and recommended protecting the Hyuga Clan after the attack.
• Minato used a tea ceremony to take control of the conversation while weighing Danzo’s motives.
• Danzo argued that the Hyuga Clan’s Byakugan made protection essential and offered a Root squad.
• Minato said he would consult the Hyuga Main Family and refused to assign Root to a protection mission.
• Danzo left after Minato dismissed him, thinking Minato was unfit to be Hokage and that only he could protect Konoha.

Minato arranged for Shisui Uchiha and Kakashi to protect Shinichi Hyuga while Hiashi was away, and Shin Hyuga accepted the village’s help as an A-rank mission. Shisui and Kakashi moved into the Hyuga residence, where they became Shinichi’s training partners and companions.

• Minato chose Shisui Uchiha and Kakashi to help the Branch Family guards protect Shinichi until Hiashi returned.
• Shin Hyuga accepted Minato’s offer and commissioned the protection as an A-rank mission.
• Kakashi and Shisui moved into the Hyuga Clan residence and met Shinichi at the training ground.
• Shinichi asked Shisui to teach him shuriken techniques, and Kakashi watched Shisui demonstrate his skill.
• The three began living, studying, and training together, growing rapidly as time passed.

Konoha celebrated the Cloud Ninja peace treaty while the Hyuga Clan held a birthday banquet for Hinata, and Shinichi secretly prepared for a threat he anticipated. The chapter ended as he sensed powerful chakra signatures approaching the compound.

• Orochimaru’s victories against the Mist Ninja raised his prestige, while Hiashi’s letters kept Shinichi informed of the front and the Hyuga Clan’s affairs.
• On December 27, Konoha welcomed the Cloud Ninja Envoy Yagura Gō to sign a peace treaty.
• The Hyuga Clan celebrated Hinata’s third birthday, postponing her Caged Bird Seal ceremony because Hiashi was away.
• Shinichi asked Shin Hyuga to strengthen the compound’s defenses, then joined the birthday banquet.
• Late that night, Shinichi sensed several powerful chakra signatures approaching the Hyuga Clan Compound.

Shinichi Hyuga waited for the expected attackers, but the Hyuga guards detected the infiltration and raised the alarm before the invaders reached the Main Family compound. Four masked men eventually breached the courtyard and targeted Shinichi, where Shin Hyuga arrived to confront them.

• Shinichi Hyuga sensed unfamiliar Chakra signatures approaching and considered how the Branch Family’s resentment toward the Main Family had changed under his influence.
• Hyuga guards sounded an alert, and Kakashi Hatake and Shisui Uchiha joined Shinichi in the corridor as an enemy-attack whistle and an explosion sounded.
• Shinichi used his Byakugan to see injured Branch Family guards and a group of fifteen invaders rushing toward the Main Family compound.
• Branch Family guards intercepted most of the attackers, but four masked men vaulted into the courtyard and moved toward Shinichi.
• Shisui Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake stood between Shinichi and the intruders before Shin Hyuga descended and activated his Byakugan.