Chapter Summaries

Neji Hyuga went to see Teacher Bunta Yamano, leaving Tenten in the classroom, where arguments over whether Neji or Uchiha Bingwei was stronger escalated into a challenge. Tenten accepted Bingwei’s offer of a final battle, and the two stood ready to fight.

• Ninomiya Kaido told Neji Hyuga that Teacher Bunta Yamano wanted to see him, and Neji headed to the faculty office while Tenten stayed behind.
• After Neji left, the boys and girls argued over whether Neji Hyuga or Uchiha Bingwei was stronger, with the boys claiming Neji could hold Bingwei back with one hand.
• Uchiha Bingwei insulted Neji, and Tenten smashed a desk and demanded that Bingwei apologize.
• Bingwei challenged Tenten to a final battle, and Tenten accepted, calling him a short Uchiha.

Bunta Yamano checked on Neji Hyuga because he thought the boy was being neglected, but Neji explained that his gaunt appearance came from training. Neji learned that Tenten had challenged Uchiha Bingwei and found her after the duel, injured and on the verge of tears.

• Bunta Yamano asked Neji Hyuga whether he was getting enough to eat, and Neji said his thin appearance came from training in a secret technique.
• Bunta Yamano offered to help Neji if he ever had trouble and gave him two pieces of candy.
• Neji returned to class and learned from Inori Kobayashi that Tenten had gone behind the school building to challenge Uchiha Bingwei.
• Neji hurried to the grounds behind the school, where he found Tenten alone with a bloody nose and tears welling in her eyes.

Neji Hyuga comforted Tenten after she exhausted herself fighting Uchiha Bingwei, then secretly tracked Bingwei down as he headed home. The chapter left Neji intercepting Bingwei in an alley outside the Uchiha Compound.

• Neji Hyuga found Tenten weak after her duel with Uchiha Bingwei and helped her recover.
• Neji Hyuga gave Tenten candy, promised to teach her combat techniques, and cleaned the dirt from her face and clothes.
• Neji Hyuga and Tenten left the Ninja Academy, where Tenten's Father took her home after she claimed she had gotten dirty during training.
• After saying goodbye to Tenten, Neji Hyuga used his Byakugan and enhanced sense of smell to track Uchiha Bingwei.
• Neji Hyuga intercepted Uchiha Bingwei in an alley outside the Uchiha Compound.

After defeating Tenten in a fight that left him badly bruised, Uchiha Bingwei confronted Neji Hyuga on his way home and challenged him. Neji’s killing intent froze Bingwei in terror until an Uchiha Ninja appeared and intervened.

• Uchiha Bingwei recalled how he outlasted Tenten and proudly declared himself the winner, though she had beaten him badly.
• Neji Hyuga intercepted Uchiha Bingwei in an alley, but Bingwei accused him of trying to avenge Tenten and challenged him to fight.
• Uchiha Bingwei assumed a combat stance and claimed he could easily defeat Neji despite his depleted Chakra.
• Neji Hyuga unleashed terrifying killing intent, leaving Uchiha Bingwei pale, rigid, and unable to move.
• An Uchiha Ninja appeared behind Uchiha Bingwei and ordered Neji Hyuga to put away his killing intent.

Itachi Uchiha intervened when Neji Hyuga used killing intent to frighten Uchiha Bingwei, but Neji’s presence nearly drove Itachi to awaken his Mangekyō Sharingan. The chapter ended with Uchiha Bingwei terrified and Itachi condemning Neji’s treatment of him, while Neji insisted he had only wanted to be left alone.

• Itachi Uchiha appeared behind Uchiha Bingwei and blocked Neji Hyuga’s killing intent.
• Itachi’s Sharingan nearly transformed into the Mangekyō Sharingan when he sensed the darkness in Neji’s killing intent.
• Neji Hyuga identified himself and said he had only wanted Uchiha Bingwei to stop bothering him.
• Itachi recalled Hizashi Hyuga’s sacrifice and wondered whether Neji had fallen into darkness after his father’s death.
• Neji walked toward them, terrifying Uchiha Bingwei until he collapsed and screamed in panic.
• Itachi told Neji he had gone too far, while Neji said the scare might awaken Uchiha Bingwei’s Sharingan.

Itachi Uchiha condemned Neji Hyuga for failing to honor Hizashi Hyuga’s sacrifice, then attacked him with Tsukuyomi. Neji was trapped in Itachi’s illusionary world, bound to a cross above a sea of blood.

• Neji Hyuga explained that Uchiha Bingwei might grow stronger if he overcame his fear, though his ordinary talent limited his chances of awakening the Sharingan.
• Itachi Uchiha thought of Shisui Uchiha’s death and grew anguished that Neji Hyuga did not cherish the peace Hizashi Hyuga had purchased with his life.
• Itachi Uchiha cast a genjutsu on Neji Hyuga, who dismissed him as beyond saving and believed a three-tomoe illusion could not control him.
• Itachi Uchiha activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and used Tsukuyomi, catching Neji Hyuga off guard.
• Neji Hyuga found himself bound to a cross above a sea of blood as black crows filled the sky and merged into Itachi Uchiha.

Neji Hyuga resisted Itachi Uchiha’s Tsukuyomi by shifting its control onto other parts of his divided consciousness, then identified the limits of Itachi’s control. Itachi attacked with Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu, but Neji dismissed his use of Tsukuyomi as wasteful.

• Itachi Uchiha trapped Neji Hyuga on a cross within his Tsukuyomi world.
• Neji Hyuga redirected the effects of Itachi’s control onto the four-year-old Neji Hyuga thought pattern and freed himself from the cross.
• Itachi tried to bind Neji again, but Neji used the One Piece clone consciousness to break free and disperse the liquid cross.
• Neji realized Itachi could only control him once at a time and criticized his shallow use of Tsukuyomi.
• Itachi Uchiha launched Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu at Neji Hyuga, who called the attack a waste of the Tsukuyomi world.

Neji Hyuga resisted Itachi Uchiha's Tsukuyomi and criticized his limited control of the mental world. Neji left the alley after forcing Itachi out of the Tsukuyomi and suggested that Itachi give him his eye in a year or two.

• Neji Hyuga tore through Itachi Uchiha's Fireball Jutsu inside the Tsukuyomi and criticized his use of the mental world.
• Itachi Uchiha attacked Neji with volleys of kunai and shuriken, but Neji dodged every weapon and explained how Itachi could control the Tsukuyomi.
• Itachi froze the air, time, and space around Neji, but Neji resumed moving and suggested more advanced ways to restrain him.
• Itachi could not perform Neji's suggested techniques, and Neji told him to give him his eye in a year or two if he was interested.
• Neji Hyuga forcibly broke out of the Tsukuyomi, walked past Itachi Uchiha, and left the alley.

Tenten endured her classmates calling her “Boss Lady” and worried when Bunta Yamano warned that students involved in private duels could be expelled. After classes, she and Neji Hyuga planned to build their windmill power tower, but they encountered Might Guy training Rock Lee.

• Tenten’s classmates admired her for challenging Uchiha Bingwei and called her “Boss Lady,” while she asked them to stop.
• Tenten and Neji Hyuga agreed to build their windmill power tower after school, and Neji promised to teach her chakra control and combat techniques.
• Bunta Yamano warned the class that duelists and students who watched private duels could be expelled, then told them not to duel privately.
• The students studied Konoha history and ninja theory, and Tenten wondered why Uchiha Bingwei was absent.
• Neji Hyuga told Tenten to keep extracting chakra using the method he had taught her.
• After school, Neji Hyuga and Tenten met Might Guy, who was training Rock Lee on the training ground.

Might Guy asked Neji Hyuga to guide Rock Lee while Guy went on an S-rank mission, and Neji agreed on the condition that Lee help with the windmill tower. Lee was accepted into the Ninja Academy and left under Neji’s temporary care.

• Might Guy praised Neji Hyuga and Tenten, then asked Neji to help train Rock Lee while he was away on a mission.
• Might Guy explained that he had secured Rock Lee’s admission to the Ninja Academy after seeing his determination.
• Rock Lee broke down in tears after realizing Might Guy had believed in him and arranged for his training.
• Might Guy pleaded with Neji to teach Rock Lee while he earned money for Lesser Flesh-Repair Pills on an S-rank mission.
• Neji agreed to give Rock Lee occasional pointers in exchange for helping him and Tenten work on the windmill tower.

Neji Hyuga trained Tenten in Chakra control and Rock Lee in Chakra-enhanced physical conditioning, promising that their diligent practice could greatly improve their abilities. After dismissing them for the evening, Neji noticed someone waiting in his courtyard and asked what they needed.

• Neji Hyuga taught Tenten tree-climbing practice and said that precise Chakra control might eventually let her walk through the air.
• Neji Hyuga instructed Rock Lee to put his will into every punch and explained that his modified Chakra training would strengthen his body.
• Tenten worried that Rock Lee was pushing himself too hard, but Neji Hyuga said they had trained enough for the day and would begin new training tomorrow.
• Tenten planned to make Strawberry Mapo Tofu, then she and Rock Lee said goodbye and returned to the village.
• Neji Hyuga finished carving windmill blades, went into his courtyard living room, and asked an unseen visitor what they needed.

Takashi Hyuga visited Neji Hyuga to invite him back to the Hyuga Clan estate, but Neji refused and confirmed that he could remove the Caged Bird Seal. Moved by Neji’s promise to free the Branch Family, Takashi pledged his allegiance, and Neji accepted him as a subordinate and agreed to train him.

• Takashi Hyuga delivered Hiashi Hyuga’s invitation for Neji to return to the Hyuga Clan estate, explaining that Bunta Yamano had reported concerns about Neji to the Hokage.
• Neji refused to return and told Hiashi that he could activate the Caged Bird Seal if he was dissatisfied.
• Takashi asked whether Neji could remove the Caged Bird Seal, and Neji confirmed that he could.
• Neji told Takashi he intended to free everyone in the Hyuga Branch Family without requiring their allegiance.
• Takashi submitted to Neji and offered to gather information and clear obstacles for him.
• Neji accepted Takashi as a subordinate and told him to come for training the following night.

In the Land of Rice Fields, Might Guy arrived too late to prevent an intelligence ninja from killing two Chunin and critically wounding Fushimi Kentaro. After giving Fushimi a repair pill, Guy opened the Eight Gates and launched a relentless attack on the transformed spy.

• Fushimi Kentaro and two Chunin pursued a defected intelligence ninja toward the Land of Rice Fields as he laid explosive traps.
• The spy transformed, blasted through the squad’s attacks, critically wounded Fushimi, and killed both Chunin.
• Might Guy arrived after defeating another spy, healed Fushimi with a Basic Qi-Blood Repair Pill, and confronted the surviving intelligence ninja.
• Might Guy opened the Eight Gates and battered the intelligence ninja with a continuous series of attacks.

Might Guy defeated the intelligence ninja but failed to capture him or obtain information. He used Neji Hyuga’s Basic Flesh-Repair Pill to keep Fushimi Kentaro alive and brought him to Konoha Hospital, then went to report to the Hokage.

• Might Guy opened six of the Eight Gates and defeated the intelligence ninja with a Morning Peacock strike, causing him to explode.
• Might Guy found Fushimi Kentaro alive after the Basic Flesh-Repair Pill had temporarily sustained him and carried him to the border garrison.
• A medical ninja stabilized Fushimi Kentaro and said he needed immediate treatment at Konoha Hospital.
• The border garrison's second-in-command arranged a carriage, and Might Guy escorted Fushimi Kentaro safely back to Konoha.
• Might Guy delivered Fushimi Kentaro to Konoha Hospital and then hurried to the Hokage Building to report the mission.

Hiruzen Sarutobi rejected Danzo Shimura’s proposal to draw elite members of other clans into Root to weaken the clans and target the Uchiha Clan. He remained concerned about keeping Konoha’s clans in check without making them lose faith in the village.

• Danzo Shimura came to Hiruzen Sarutobi seeking support for expanding Root, but Hiruzen refused before he could make his case.
• Danzo argued that Konoha’s clans, including the Uchiha Clan and Hyuga Clan, would keep seeking more power and resources unless they were restrained.
• Danzo proposed using elite members from other clans in Root to weaken those clans and prepare to deal with the Uchiha Clan.
• Hiruzen considered the risks of the Hyuga Clan’s power and the need to maintain balance between clan and civilian ninja.
• Hiruzen told Danzo that every clan was part of Konoha and that they could not be made to lose heart.

Hiruzen Sarutobi reprimanded Danzo Shimura over Root’s failure to detect enemy spies, rejecting Danzo’s attempt to use the lapse to recruit more clan ninja. Danzo backed down as Hiruzen threatened to reduce Root’s authority and audit its funding, and Might Guy arrived with a foul-smelling report.

• Danzo Shimura interpreted Hiruzen Sarutobi’s comments about keeping the clans from losing heart as permission to pressure them into supplying Root with elite members.
• Danzo Shimura recalled how his brief hesitation had cost him the chance to become Hokage, while Hiruzen Sarutobi rose to the position.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi confronted Danzo Shimura with a report about enemy spies who had obtained information about Root, and Danzo feared his connection to Orochimaru had been discovered.
• Danzo Shimura admitted Root’s oversight but used it to argue that the organization needed more ninja from other clans.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi threatened to reduce Root’s authority and audit its funding, prompting Danzo Shimura to lower his head and promise to pay attention.
• Might Guy entered the Hokage’s office to report on his mission, bringing a foul stench with him.

Might Guy reported the failed attempt to identify enemy spies after rescuing the gravely injured Fushimi Kentaro and bringing him back to Konoha. Hiruzen Sarutobi praised Guy, while Danzo Shimura questioned how Kentaro had survived long enough to reach the hospital.

• Might Guy arrived at the Hokage's office without washing after days of pursuit, and his stench drove Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura to hold their breath.
• Might Guy reported that he had killed the intelligence operatives before learning their identities and had used a Lesser Flesh-Repair Pill to keep Fushimi Kentaro alive.
• Might Guy recounted the mission in detail, including the contact's suicide, the fight at the border, and Kentaro's severe injuries.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi praised Guy for stopping the operatives and saving Kentaro, while Danzo Shimura suggested the enemies were from Rock Village or Kumogakure.
• Danzo Shimura asked Might Guy how he had kept Kentaro alive despite the lack of medical ninjas at the border.

Might Guy told Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura that Neji Hyuga’s Lesser Flesh-Repair Pill had kept Fushimi Kentaro alive despite his severe injuries. Convinced the pill might be a strategic life-saving medicine, Hiruzen and Danzo decided to verify its effects and began considering how to bring it under Konoha’s control.

• Danzo Shimura questioned Might Guy about how he had kept Fushimi Kentaro alive long enough to reach Konoha Hospital.
• Might Guy explained that Neji Hyuga’s Lesser Flesh-Repair Pill had stabilized Fushimi Kentaro and described its effects and price.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura recognized the pill’s potential importance and agreed that Neji should be closely monitored.
• Might Guy left the Hokage’s Office after recommending that Hiruzen buy the pills from Neji.
• Danzo argued that a child from the Hyuga Clan could not safeguard the medicine, and Hiruzen ordered an Anbu to summon Koharu Utatane with Fushimi Kentaro’s injury report.

Koharu Utatane reported that Fushimi Kentaro had survived severe injuries after Might Guy gave him a pill made by Neji Hyuga. Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others recognized the pill’s military value and decided to conceal its effects and seek control of its supply through the Hyuga Main Family.

• Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado arrived at the Hokage's Office, where Koharu presented Fushimi Kentaro's medical file.
• Koharu explained that Might Guy had given Fushimi Kentaro a life-preserving pill, allowing him to survive until medical ninja could stabilize him and return him to Konoha Hospital.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi, Homura Mitokado, and Danzo Shimura examined the medical file and were astonished by Fushimi Kentaro's rapid recovery.
• Danzo Shimura urged Konoha to obtain the pill-making method from the Hyuga Clan, while Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado agreed that the pill must be controlled.
• Hiruzen ordered Koharu to seal and destroy the medical file, and Danzo said he would keep Neji Hyuga under surveillance.
• Hiruzen proposed negotiating with the Hyuga Main Family so it would provide the pills to Konoha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and his advisors debated how to obtain the Hyuga Clan’s Lesser Flesh-Repair Pill formula without provoking the clan. Hiruzen stopped Danzo Shimura from targeting Neji Hyuga, and Danzo left the Hokage’s Office furious.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Danzo Shimura, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado how Konoha could obtain the Hyuga Clan’s pills and formula.
• Homura Mitokado suggested granting the Hyuga Clan a department, but Danzo Shimura rejected the idea and Hiruzen Sarutobi opposed it too.
• Koharu Utatane proposed first finding out how difficult the pills were to produce, while Danzo Shimura considered isolating the Hyuga Clan to force them to surrender the formula.
• Danzo Shimura said he would learn the pills’ origin from Neji Hyuga, prompting Hiruzen Sarutobi to forbid him from interfering.
• Danzo Shimura warned Hiruzen Sarutobi that he would regret it, then stormed out of the Hokage’s Office.