Recaps

After Orochimaru marked Sasuke Uchiha with the Heavenly Cursed Seal, Anko warned Neji Hyuga and ordered Sasuke to stop the exam. Sasuke collapsed from the seal’s pain, and Sakura Haruno sheltered him and Naruto while remaining wary of Neji.

• Anko questioned Neji Hyuga about Orochimaru, warned him to avoid the S-rank missing-nin, and discovered the Heavenly Cursed Seal on Sasuke Uchiha.
• Anko told Sasuke the Chunin Exams were over for him, but Sasuke insisted he could endure the pain and continue.
• Anko left to notify Kakashi Hatake and the Hokage, and Sasuke lost consciousness as soon as she was gone.
• Neji examined Sasuke’s cursed seal, while Sakura carried Sasuke to a tree hollow and watched Neji with suspicion.
• After Neji vanished, Sakura brought the unconscious Naruto into the hollow and set traps around it.

Neji Hyuga and Tenten waited while Rock Lee checked on Team 7, where Kakashi Hatake sealed Sasuke Uchiha’s curse mark and reported Neji’s encounter with Orochimaru to Hiruzen Sarutobi. Neji, Tenten, and Rock Lee reached the Central Tower and passed the second exam despite other teams lying in wait.

• Tenten told Neji Hyuga she had defeated a Hidden Sound team despite their sound-based attack, and Neji advised her to stay alert for unfamiliar techniques.
• After Team 3 collected both scrolls, Rock Lee returned to check on Team 7 while Neji Hyuga and Tenten waited; he found Anbu guarding Sakura Haruno and then rejoined them.
• Kakashi Hatake arrived, sealed Sasuke Uchiha’s Heavenly Cursed Seal, and heard Sakura Haruno recount Neji Hyuga’s conversation with Orochimaru.
• Kakashi Hatake sent Pakkun with Sakura’s account for Hiruzen Sarutobi, then asked Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha whether they still wanted to take the exams; Sasuke agreed.
• Naruto woke up as Neji Hyuga, Tenten, and Rock Lee headed for the Central Tower, where Rock Lee dealt with one ambushing team and the others, including Temari and Kankuro’s team, held back.
• Neji Hyuga, Tenten, and Rock Lee reached the Central Tower and passed the second exam.

Hiruzen Sarutobi learned that Orochimaru had infiltrated the Chunin Exams and that Neji Hyuga intended to become Hokage, so he ordered the exams to continue while planning to deal with Neji afterward. He left Anko Mitarashi monitoring the second round and summoned Hiashi Hyuga to help eliminate Neji after the exams.

• Anko Mitarashi reported Orochimaru's presence, but Hiruzen Sarutobi refused to suspend the Chunin Exams and ordered Anko to stay focused.
• Pakkun delivered Kakashi Hatake's scroll, which reported that Sasuke Uchiha's Heavenly Cursed Seal had been sealed and relayed Sakura Haruno's account of Neji Hyuga's ambition to become Hokage.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Anko Mitarashi to continue monitoring the second round while Anbu searched for Orochimaru in the Death Forest.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned Hiashi Hyuga and told him that they would deal with Neji Hyuga after the Chunin Exams.

Neji Hyuga, Tenten, and Rock Lee passed the second exam, then competed in the third exam preliminaries after Hiruzen Sarutobi explained their role as a display of national strength. The finalists were set for the official exam one month later, with Neji Hyuga matched against Gaara.

• Neji Hyuga, Tenten, and Rock Lee waited in the Central Tower as other teams arrived, while Hiruzen Sarutobi praised Neji and called him a possible successor.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told the twenty-one second-stage survivors that the Chunin Exams served as a miniature war and that the preliminaries would determine who advanced.
• Kabuto Yakushi withdrew, while Sasuke Uchiha stayed in the competition and defeated Yoroi Akado, killing him.
• Tenten defeated Temari with a Monster Strength kunai and said Neji Hyuga had developed the technique, surprising Orochimaru.
• Neji Hyuga knocked out his Amegakure opponent, and Rock Lee defeated Hinata Hyuga to advance.
• The preliminaries ended, and Neji Hyuga drew Gaara as his opponent for the official third-stage exam one month later.

Hiruzen Sarutobi urged Jiraiya to stay in Konoha and become Hokage, warning him that Neji Hyuga’s talent and ambitions threatened the village’s peace. Jiraiya learned that Hiruzen planned to remove Neji after the Chunin Selection Exam and left rather than agree to his teacher’s judgment.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered vigilance against Orochimaru and told Jiraiya that Konoha needed him to stay.
• Hiruzen told Jiraiya that Neji Hyuga had broken the Caged Bird Seal and that the Hyuga Clan was beginning to split.
• Hiruzen described Neji’s inventions and abilities, including Flesh-Repair Pills, a taijutsu system, Flying Thunder God, and a version of Monster Strength for Tenten.
• Jiraiya realized Hiruzen had judged Neji as a threat and suspected his teacher intended to destroy another rising star.
• Hiruzen asked Jiraiya to become Hokage and prevent an ambitious leader from starting wars, but Jiraiya made an excuse and escaped through the window.

Neji Hyuga met Konan in Amegakure and explained that the grassroots administrators educated through their long-running partnership were meant for his own future rule, not Akatsuki’s. He left Konan shocked by declaring that Akatsuki lacked the knowledge and strength to achieve its ideals.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi planned with Hiashi Hyuga to accuse Neji Hyuga of treason and arrange for his death after the Chūnin Exams, but Neji and Tenten had already disappeared from Konoha.
• Neji Hyuga arrived in Amegakure, where he met Konan after six years of cooperation through funding and education for orphans.
• Konan asked whether Neji had come to take away the grassroots administrators trained using his books, and Neji asked how they had performed in their internships.
• Neji explained that the administrators were prepared to stabilize and govern the Shinobi World after he unified it.
• Neji told Konan that he had never trained the administrators for Akatsuki and claimed that Akatsuki could not fulfill its ideals because its knowledge and strength were inferior to his.

Konan invited Neji Hyuga to join Akatsuki, but Neji insisted that they submit to his rule. Nagato decided to make Neji witness the Rinnegan’s power, and Obito appeared at Neji’s inn.

• Neji Hyuga and Konan watched a class where a Branch Family member without a Caged Bird Seal taught management to students.
• Konan invited Neji Hyuga to join Akatsuki, but he said he would lead them if they submitted to his rule.
• Konan told Nagato about Neji Hyuga’s ambitions and his plans for governing the Shinobi World.
• Nagato decided to make Neji Hyuga witness the power of God so he would join Akatsuki, while Konan asked him not to hurt Neji.
• The Heavenly Path flew toward Neji Hyuga’s inn, and Obito appeared outside Neji’s window and asked if he was the leader of the white-eyed people.

Neji Hyuga confronted Obito Uchiha and revealed how much he knew about the Eye of the Moon Plan and Madara Uchiha’s history. After Obito dragged Neji and Tenten into Kamui space, he decided they could not be allowed to live and attacked them with a massive fireball.

• Neji Hyuga identified Tobi as Obito Uchiha and teased him about the Eye of the Moon Plan and his wish to reunite with Rin Nohara.
• Obito Uchiha tried to pull Neji into Kamui, but Tenten followed them into the dimension using Flying Thunder God.
• Obito Uchiha asked how much Neji knew, and Neji recounted Black Zetsu’s deception, Madara Uchiha’s history, and Obito’s role as Madara’s successor.
• Obito Uchiha decided to kill Neji and Tenten, then attacked them with a five-story-high Fireball Jutsu.

Tenten fought Uchiha Obito on the platform, using her weapons, Flying Thunder God, and quick analysis to counter his Wood Release and Kamui. She wounded him with a spear strike from a Flying Thunder God mark, but Obito entered Hollowfication before the attack could finish him.

• Neji Hyuga watched as Tenten destroyed Obito’s fireball with Wind Release and countered his Wood Release with a barrage of weapons and explosive tags.
• Obito attacked Tenten from underground, but she used Flying Thunder God to evade him and identified the limits of his remaining Kamui eye.
• Obito unleashed Wood Release: Hell's Rampage, while Tenten used Flying Thunder God Clone to create evasive afterimages across the platform.
• Tenten concealed a Flying Thunder God mark in Obito’s clothes and stabbed him from it with a spear charged with Monster Strength.
• Obito entered Hollowfication in time to survive the strike, but the explosion tore away part of his robe and left a bloody wound.

Tenten used the Flying Thunder God and Monster Strength to pressure Uchiha Obito, but his immense Chakra overwhelmed her sealing scrolls. Neji Hyuga survived Obito’s powerful fire attack with Iron Body and emerged ready to face him.

• Tenten repeatedly struck Uchiha Obito with Flying Thunder God attacks, but his wounds healed and his vast Chakra let him endure her assaults.
• Uchiha Obito unleashed Fire Release: Exploding Flame Dance at Neji Hyuga, using Kamui to intensify the attack.
• Tenten sent more than ten Sealing Technique: Sealing scrolls to absorb the flames, but they filled and burst before the attack was fully contained.
• Neji Hyuga used Iron Body to withstand the flames, then swept them away with a powerful blast of air.
• Neji Hyuga stood unharmed and told Tenten he would need another kimono, leaving Uchiha Obito shocked and asking who he was.

Neji Hyuga faced Obito Uchiha, surviving his powerful fire attack and overpowering him with a physical assault. After Obito used Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs Jutsu against him, Neji turned the attack back on Obito with Rustification.

• Obito Uchiha's Fire Release: Exploding Flame Dance burned away Neji Hyuga's clothes, but Neji emerged unharmed.
• Tenten teleported to Neji Hyuga and gave him fresh clothes while Obito questioned his identity and knowledge.
• Neji stepped in front of Tenten and struck Obito with a clap that tore apart his mask, but Obito escaped capture through Kamui Hollowfication.
• Obito emerged from Hollowfication and used Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs Jutsu through contact with Neji's hand.
• Neji reverse-corroded the invading Wood Release Chakra and used Rustification to make Obito's hand rust.

Neji Hyuga defeated Uchiha Obito with Rustification, Hair Needle Rain, and a devastating punch, then took the barely living Obito with him and Tenten back to the inn. Pain arrived above the inn and confronted the Akatsuki for trying to claim their gains.

• Neji Hyuga's Rustification corroded Obito's Hashirama Senju and White Zetsu cells, forcing Obito to sever his rusting right arm.
• Neji Hyuga's Hair Needle Rain pierced Obito's Wood Release defenses, and Obito hid within a forest created by Nativity of a World of Trees.
• Neji Hyuga sensed Obito through the forest and blasted him into a crater, leaving him badly injured and unable to move.
• Neji Hyuga grabbed Obito and warned Tenten that he might still have a way to turn things around.
• Tenten used Flying Thunder God to take Neji Hyuga and Obito back to the inn, where Pain confronted the Akatsuki over their attempt to claim the fruits of their labor.

Neji Hyuga confronted Pain after Akatsuki tried to seize the orphans and results of his work in Amegakure. He killed Uchiha Obito through the Rustification recorded by Izanagi, then overwhelmed Pain and demanded that all Six Paths fight him together.

• Neji Hyuga accused Pain of breaking Akatsuki's promises and tossed Uchiha Obito to him.
• Uchiha Obito used Izanagi to escape into the Kamui dimension, but the recorded Rustification spread across his body and killed him.
• Black Zetsu sensed that Uchiha Obito had vanished and wondered whether he had died or broken free of Madara Uchiha's curse seal.
• Pain claimed Neji Hyuga could not protect the orphans and intended to subdue him, while Neji protested that he had paid over 1.5 billion ryō each year to support them.
• Neji Hyuga sent Tenten away, announced that Amegakure would become one of his bases, and challenged Pain to bring out all Six Paths.
• Neji Hyuga struck Pain before he could use Almighty Push, shattered the Chakra receivers in his body, and slammed him through an inn.

Neji Hyuga defeated Pain and faced the five remaining Paths of Pain, quickly destroying the Human Path and sending the Preta Path flying. Nagato struggled to control the surviving Paths as the battle ravaged Amegakure.

• Nagato realized Neji Hyuga had destroyed Pain’s receivers, while Konan began to doubt their decision to seize Neji’s possessions.
• Nagato sent the other five Paths of Pain toward Neji Hyuga to reclaim Yahiko’s corpse, and Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki watched the confrontation from a rooftop.
• The Animal Path summoned a massive army of beasts, while the Asura Path attacked Neji with missiles and lasers; Neji killed the Human Path with a single palm strike.
• Neji transformed stones into steel and used them to intercept the Asura Path’s missiles, then knocked the Preta Path into the summoned beasts before Nagato lost control of it.

Neji Hyuga defeated the remaining Six Paths of Pain and destroyed the corpse of Pain's Heavenly Path, enraging Nagato. As Nagato summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, Konan rushed to stop Neji and end the battle.

• Neji Hyuga transformed the ground across much of Amegakure into steel and impaled the Animal Path and Asura Path with Iron Thorns.
• The Naraka Path tried to flee with Pain's Heavenly Path corpse, but Neji Hyuga's Iron Thorns pierced them both.
• Kisame Hoshigaki was stunned by the scale of Neji Hyuga's Steel Release, while Itachi Uchiha wondered whether Neji would transform the Hyuga Clan and the Shinobi World.
• Nagato summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path after seeing Pain's Heavenly Path corpse destroyed, despite Konan's warning.
• Konan ran toward Neji Hyuga and urged him to stop fighting, offering to fulfill their mission and retrieve Pain's Heavenly Path corpse.

Neji Hyuga entered Sage Mode while studying the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and his metallization spread across Amegakure as he developed an idea for detecting universes’ underlying logic with adaptable World Tree seeds. His Steel Colossus then seized the Ten-Tails’ husk, intending to prevent it from becoming a threat to Neji’s plans.

• Neji Hyuga entered Sage Mode and unintentionally spread metallization across Amegakure, turning villagers and ninja who could not escape into metal statues.
• Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki fled the village as Konan watched the devastation and Nagato attacked Neji with a Chakra dragon.
• Neji Hyuga formed a thousand-meter Steel Colossus while thinking through his plan to use adaptable World Tree seeds to detect each universe’s underlying logic.
• The Steel Colossus flicked aside Nagato’s Chakra dragon, seized the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and squeezed its body until it cracked.

Konan activated her six hundred billion Exploding Tags after the Steel Colossus threatened to kill Nagato, but the Steel Colossus emerged from the blast completely unharmed. It left Konan and the onlookers facing the seemingly unstoppable giant.

• Konan covered the Steel Colossus and the outskirts of Amegakure with Exploding Tags and warned Neji Hyuga to release Nagato and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
• The Steel Colossus threw the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path into a mountain, leaving Nagato unconscious, then stopped Konan from reaching him.
• The Steel Colossus threatened to kill Nagato with its Sky-Piercing Spear unless Konan activated her six hundred billion Exploding Tags.
• Konan used the Paper Person of God Technique to detonate the Exploding Tags while the Steel Colossus shielded Neji Hyuga beneath its feet.
• After more than ten minutes of explosions engulfed Amegakure, the Steel Colossus swept away the smoke and revealed itself completely unscathed.

Neji Hyuga restored Amegakure’s people after defeating Akatsuki with the Steel Colossus, and the survivors saw his command of Nature Energy as proof of extraordinary mastery. He declared Amegakure under his rule and asked if anyone objected.

• The six hundred billion Exploding Tags failed to damage the Steel Colossus or Amegakure’s metalized buildings, astonishing Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha.
• Konan found Nagato alive but near death, then accepted Neji Hyuga’s victory and his prospects for bringing peace.
• Neji Hyuga used Metal Rebirth to restore Amegakure’s metalized people and animals, while the villagers gaped at the Steel Colossus and some prayed to it.
• Black Zetsu was horrified by Neji Hyuga’s ability to control Nature Energy and restore those it had metalized, then hid underground.
• Neji Hyuga stood in the Steel Colossus’s palm and declared Amegakure under his rule, asking whether anyone objected.

Neji Hyuga took control of Amegakure, assigned the Steel Colossus to defend it, and summoned Akatsuki and the village’s leaders to hear his plans. The chapter ended with Neji declaring that he would plan Amegakure’s future.

• Neji Hyuga left the Steel Colossus to guard Amegakure while Tenten brought the Hyuga Branch Family and administrators into the village.
• Konan and Nagato submitted to Neji Hyuga, and Nagato summoned Akatsuki’s members to return to Amegakure.
• Neji Hyuga used Shadow Clones to draw up a plan for Amegakure and ordered Nagato to stop the Rain Tiger at Will Technique.
• Deidara, Sasori, Kakuzu, Hidan, Kisame Hoshigaki, Itachi Uchiha, and Black Zetsu arrived at Amegakure and gathered beneath the Steel Colossus.
• Konan brought Nagato to the assembly, and Hyuga Branch Family members and village administrators gathered as guards and attendees.
• Neji Hyuga entered with Tenten, received the Hyuga Branch Family’s greeting, and announced that he would plan Amegakure’s future.

Neji Hyuga appointed Tenten Queen of the Land of Rain and demanded that Amegakure and Akatsuki obey her orders as he planned to rule the Shinobi World. After a Hyuga Branch Family member easily defeated and sealed Hidan, Neji invited the others to demonstrate their abilities and wisdom on a vast platform held by the Steel Colossus.

• Neji Hyuga appointed Tenten Queen of the Land of Rain and warned the gathered leaders to follow her orders.
• Hidan challenged Neji's authority, so Neji chose a Hyuga Branch Family member to fight him.
• The Hyuga Branch Family member shattered Hidan's body with the Primordial Magnetic Field Fist Style and sealed him until he surrendered.
• Kakuzu, Deidara, and Sasori realized that the Hyuga Branch Family member's strength rivaled or surpassed theirs.
• Deidara asked to demonstrate his art, and Neji had the Steel Colossus expand the assembly hall into a huge platform.
• Neji invited everyone to display their strength, skill, and wisdom as qualifications for future positions.

Neji Hyuga defeated the Akatsuki and Amegakure shinobi, then appointed Tenten ruler of the Land of Rain as he began preparing to unify the Shinobi World. He ordered Akatsuki to kill the Land of Rain’s Daimyo and nobles, marking the start of a new government.

• Deidara, Sasori, Kakuzu, Kisame Hoshigaki, and Amegakure Jonin tested themselves against the Hyuga Branch Family members and were defeated or overwhelmed.
• Neji Hyuga told Tenten that he planned to become Hokage and lead Konoha in conquering and unifying the Shinobi World, with Tenten governing the Land of Rain.
• Neji Hyuga appointed Tenten ruler of the Land of Rain, placed Konan as her aide, and made Akatsuki the country’s special forces under Nagato and deputy leader Itachi Uchiha.
• Neji Hyuga ordered Nagato and Itachi Uchiha to kill the Daimyo and every noble in the Land of Rain, and named Amegakure the new capital.
• Neji Hyuga announced that Tenten and the administrators would implement his plans for the Land of Rain and declared that a new era had begun.

Tenten successfully governed the Land of Rain until Neji Hyuga challenged her to consider how the entire Shinobi World could share resources and prosper. She broadened her vision, and the chapter ended with her advisers proposing ways to address the Land of Sand’s desertification while Neji encouraged them.

• Tenten administered the Land of Rain, punished fraud, and planned to develop crops suited to its damp climate.
• Neji Hyuga visited Amegakure’s offices and asked Tenten how a unified Shinobi World could solve the Land of Sand’s water shortage and food-production problems.
• Tenten realized she had focused too narrowly on the Land of Rain and canceled policies that did not fit a world-spanning, long-term approach.
• Tenten told the advisers, Konan, and Neji Hyuga that their task was to govern the entire Shinobi World for humanity’s future.
• The advisers proposed using greenery from the Land of Fire and transporting excess water from the Land of Rain to address the Land of Sand’s desertification, and Neji Hyuga urged them to speak freely.

Neji Hyuga learned that the Hyuga Main Family planned to kill him after the Chunin Exams, while Tenten briefly returned to Konoha to defeat Kankuro before hurrying back to govern the Land of Rain. The chapter left Hiruzen Sarutobi resolved to kill Neji as he watched Tenten leave.

• Neji Hyuga strolled through Konoha's lantern festival, joined Naruto, Ino-Shika-Cho, and Sakura for the festivities, then left before the fireworks.
• A Hyuga Branch Family member told Neji that the Hyuga Main Family had allied with Hiruzen Sarutobi and planned to deal with him after the Chunin Exams; Neji said he would handle the clan after becoming Hokage.
• Neji used Tenten's Flying Thunder God mark to remind her that her Chunin Exam match was about to begin, and Tenten arrived moments before forfeiting.
• Tenten overwhelmed Kankuro with a pursuing rain of ninja tools, prompting him to surrender and earning her the victory.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru watched Tenten's technique, and Hiruzen resolved to eliminate Neji; Tenten then used the Flying Thunder God to return to work.

Gaara’s sudden transformation into the One-Tail Shukaku triggered Orochimaru’s attack on Konoha, while Neji’s Steel Colossus fought Shukaku. Hiruzen Sarutobi died fighting Orochimaru, and after the invasion and funeral, Neji walked into the meeting to select the next Hokage.

• Neji Hyuga knocked Gaara unconscious, causing the One-Tail Shukaku to emerge as Kabuto Yakushi’s Temple of Nirvana Technique put spectators to sleep.
• Orochimaru revealed himself in the VIP seats, took Hiruzen Sarutobi hostage, and trapped them inside the Four Violet Flames Battle Formation as Sand and Sound Ninja attacked Konoha.
• Neji Hyuga summoned a fifty-meter Steel Colossus that struck Shukaku and stayed behind to fight it while Neji went to watch Hiruzen’s battle.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi sealed the First Hokage and Second Hokage, then tried to cripple Orochimaru, but Orochimaru used an Advanced Flesh-Repair Pill to recover and killed Hiruzen.
• Orochimaru escaped as Konoha’s clan ninjas fought the invaders, and after Hiruzen’s funeral Neji Hyuga entered the meeting to select the next Hokage.

After Hiruzen Sarutobi's death left Konoha exposed to threats, the advisors backed Jiraiya for Fifth Hokage, but Neji Hyuga demanded a place in the election. Jiraiya withdrew and proposed Tsunade instead, and Neji accepted the challenge to compete for the votes.

• Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado urged Jiraiya to become Fifth Hokage while Danzo Shimura silently acknowledged Neji Hyuga's strength.
• Neji Hyuga entered the Hokage's Office and announced that he wanted to become Hokage.
• Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado argued that Neji was unqualified, while Homura explained that the Jonin would ultimately choose the Hokage.
• Danzo Shimura nominated Neji for the Hokage election, citing his strength and his role in resolving the tailed beast crisis.
• Jiraiya declined to run and said he would bring Tsunade back as a more suitable candidate.
• Neji Hyuga told Jiraiya to let Tsunade compete with him for the votes.