Chapter Summaries

Neji Hyuga chose to leave Konoha with Hirubu Junichi after being promised that Hyuga Hiashi would not place the Caged Bird on him. Yichen brought Neji to Iwagakure and explained why the Hyuga Clan used the seal, while Uzumaki Riori began to earn Neji’s trust on the journey back.

• Neji Hyuga accepted Hirubu Junichi’s offer to leave, and Hiruzen Sarutobi, Tsunade, and Hyuga Hiashi agreed not to place the Caged Bird on him.
• Hirubu Junichi took Neji to meet Yichen at the border, and Yichen returned to Iwagakure with Neji, Ikura, and the army.
• Yichen showed Neji Tsurugi’s transplanted Byakugan and explained that the Caged Bird protected the Hyuga from those who would steal their eyes.
• Uzumaki Riori learned that Neji was an orphan and brought him food, then chatted with him during the journey.
• Neji heard from Uzumaki Riori about an Iwagakure different from the village he had imagined.

Uzumaki Riori’s cheerful talk helped Neji relax and begin accepting Iwagakure, while Yichen challenged him to reconsider why the Hyuga Branch Family system was unjust. Neji began to see that the Main Family and Konoha’s leaders had never considered whether Branch Family members wanted to keep their Byakugan, leaving him to confront the cost of their control.

• Uzumaki Riori enthusiastically told Neji about Iwagakure, her training, and her Shadow Clone Jutsu, and Neji fell asleep while listening to her.
• The next morning, Yichen asked Neji whether he still hated the Caged Bird, and Neji admitted that he could not accept it despite understanding its protective purpose.
• Yichen explained how the Main Family and Konoha leaders framed the Caged Bird as necessary and made Branch Family members feel guilty for resenting it.
• Yichen told Neji that the system’s fundamental wrong was that its beneficiaries had never considered the Branch Family’s wishes or their freedom to give up the Byakugan.
• Neji realized that some Branch Family members might prefer to destroy their Byakugan and leave the Hyuga Clan rather than remain bound by the Caged Bird.

Yichen persuaded Neji that the Hyuga Main and Branch Family system oppressed the Branch Family, and Neji chose to join Iwagakure. After recovering in the village hospital, Neji decided to live with the Third Tsuchikage’s household and began considering a path beyond the Gentle Fist.

• Yichen explained to Neji that the Main Family’s inherited status and the Caged Bird’s punishment function were sources of the Branch Family’s grievances, and Neji fainted from the shock.
• Uzumaki Riori stayed beside Neji while he recovered from a high fever in an Iwagakure hospital.
• Neji asked Yichen to let him join Iwagakure and said he hoped to change the Hyuga Clan and correct its injustices.
• Yichen offered Neji several living arrangements, and Neji chose the Third Tsuchikage’s home to meet the Uchiha and Yuki clan geniuses.
• Yichen told Neji to recover, grow stronger, and consider developing new Byakugan techniques beyond the Gentle Fist.
• After Yichen left, Uzumaki Riori grabbed Neji by the ear and demanded to know why he had not chosen to live with her.

After learning that the Byakugan had been destroyed and that Iwagakure had gained from the crisis, A ordered Cloud ninja to strengthen their training and investigate senjutsu. Meanwhile, Danzo delayed Konoha’s withdrawal to recruit ninja into Root, then planned to use the border crisis to undermine Tsunade and Hiruzen Sarutobi.

• A learned that the Byakugan taken from Hizashi Hyuga was unusable and that Yichen had likely known the truth, while Han had passed the True Waterfall test.
• A ordered Darui to learn the Lightning Release Stimulation Method, assigned Yugito to train with Killer B, and sent ninja to Mount Myōboku to investigate senjutsu training.
• After the Cloud and Iwa ninja withdrew, Danzo stalled Konoha’s recall order while recruiting several hundred border ninja for Root.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi traveled to the front lines, scolded Danzo, and brought the army back to Konoha.
• Tsunade berated Danzo at a High-Level Meeting, but Hiruzen defended him when Danzo shifted blame toward the Uchiha and Hyuga clans.
• Danzo planned to publicize his role in stopping the Iwa ninja and criticize Tsunade and Hiruzen’s handling of the Cloud crisis to win more support.

Ōnoki left Iwagakure with a young escort squad and his disciples, intending to investigate ancient ruins, beginning in the Land of Snow. While he traveled, Yichen stayed in the village to train his disciples and adapt to his growing abilities, until Uzumaki Riori unexpectedly created a crowd of Shadow Clones.

• Ōnoki told Yichen he wanted to travel the ninja world, and Yichen arranged a four-person escort squad led by Wada Akio.
• Ōnoki departed Iwagakure with his three disciples and the escort squad, choosing the Land of Snow as his first destination instead of going directly to the Land of Whirlpools.
• Ōnoki planned to investigate ruins and clues left by the previous Tsuchikage about ancient figures and the origins of Iwagakure's sealed Ninjutsu.
• Yichen remained in Iwagakure to train his disciples and found that his Water Cutting Technique required far fewer hand seals than before.
• Yichen gave Ishinose Kiyoshi Sasori of the Red Sands' Water Release scroll to study, while Uzumaki Riori's Shadow Clone training produced a mass of clones that began fighting with her.

Uzumaki Riori trained to control the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu while Atsumi Akino studied Space-Time Ninjutsu, until Yichen received a warning of a possible Space-Time intrusion into Iwagakure. Obito infiltrated the Tsuchikage's Office Building and countered Yichen's Porcelain Release Clone with Wood Release, leaving Yichen to face his next move.

• Uzumaki Riori's Shadow Clones beat her up, and Yichen later trained her in chakra control and combat tactics.
• Atsumi Akino continued studying Space-Time Ninjutsu while Ishinose Kiyoshi and Uzumaki Riori trained.
• An Anbu delivered a Barrier Team report about unusual fluctuations suspected to be Space-Time Ninjutsu, so Yichen dispatched Earth Style Clones to guard Han, Roshi, and the Scroll of Seals.
• Obito and a White Zetsu clone infiltrated Iwagakure, found Roshi's former lodging empty, and headed for the Tsuchikage's Office Building.
• White Zetsu discovered metal plates and seals beneath the building, so Obito entered through the wall using Kamui and rushed to Yichen's office.
• Obito destroyed Yichen's Porcelain Release Clone with Wood Release, absorbing its chakra and leaving rubble behind.

Yichen fought Obito in the Tsuchikage's Office Building while the Barrier Team altered its seals to restrict Kamui. Their preparations delayed Obito's space-time technique long enough for Yichen to wound him severely, but Obito escaped Iwagakure with White Zetsu's help.

• Ikura ordered Uzumaki Yumi, Kawazoe Yura, and Atsumi Akino to activate the building's barrier seals as Yichen confronted Obito.
• Yichen used his Mind's Eye to track Obito's changes between material and intangible states, while the Barrier Team studied Kamui and modified the barrier.
• Obito identified the limits of Yichen's Shinra Tensei and Banshō Ten'in and pressed his attacks, but Yichen kept him at bay as the barrier's effects took hold.
• After Ikura sent a warning, Yichen baited Obito into close range and struck when Kamui was delayed and obstructed, allowing Porcelain Rocks to enter Obito's body.
• Obito fled the Tsuchikage's Office Building and escaped Iwagakure with White Zetsu's assistance, leaving Yichen unable to capture him.

After Obito escaped the Tsuchikage's Office badly injured, Atsumi Akino used the data from his Space-Time Ninjutsu to achieve her first teleportation with the Cloud ninja's Heavenly Transfer Technique. Yichen assigned guards to protect her research, while Obito had his wounds surgically treated and Yichen began searching for another opportunity to act.

• Ikura arrived too late to stop Obito, and Yichen learned that Atsumi Akino's barrier had disrupted Obito's intangibility and worsened his injuries.
• Kawazoe Yura explained how Atsumi Akino had analyzed Obito's Space-Time Fluctuations and devised a barrier that restricted his technique.
• Atsumi Akino announced she had figured out teleportation, then successfully sent a steel kunai through the Heavenly Transfer Technique, though it arrived as scrap iron off target.
• Yichen praised Atsumi Akino, assigned Anbu squads to guard her, and recognized that her Space-Time Ninjutsu research was only at an early stage.
• White Zetsu brought Obito to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and Obito used genjutsu to make a surgeon remove Yichen's Porcelain Release Shards.
• Yichen found his disciples occupied with training or research and, seeing no suitable opportunity to exploit, wondered why Konoha had not returned the Seven-Tails.

Yichen advised Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan on how to improve civilian life, then learned that Kazahana Dōtō had seized power in the Land of Snow and began searching for the exiled Kazahana Koyuki. After identifying her in the Land of Earth, Yichen left Iwagakure with Anbu squads to deal with the crisis.

• Yichen joined Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan's discussion and urged them to learn governance from the Land of Earth's policies or entrust it to capable professionals.
• Yichen reassured the three that their efforts to preserve peace mattered and offered to help govern if they established peace across the ninja world.
• Ōnoki informed Yichen that Kazahana Sōsetsu had died, his brother Kazahana Dōtō was suspected of killing him, and Kazahana Koyuki had fled the Land of Snow.
• Yichen ordered an Anbu search for Kazahana Koyuki and her guard, then identified her among three suspicious pairs reported by the Anbu.
• Yichen explained his plan to Ikura and left Iwagakure with more than ten Anbu Squads to confront the situation in the Land of Snow.

Yichen offered to help Kazahana Koyuki reclaim the Land of Snow in exchange for Iwagakure establishing a branch there and later examining its treasure. He led Koyuki and Sandayū Asama back to the country, where Kazahana Dōtō charged at his force and Yichen unleashed a massive mud attack.

• Five-year-old Kazahana Koyuki told Sandayū Asama she wanted to become an actress, but Yichen arrived and offered to help her defeat Kazahana Dōtō and regain the daimyo's position.
• Sandayū Asama agreed to let Iwagakure protect the Land of Snow and allow Yichen to inspect its treasure when Koyuki was older.
• Yichen sent a warning to Ōnoki, then led Koyuki, Sandayū Asama, and a group of Anbu into the Land of Snow, publicly presenting the campaign as support for its legitimate daimyo.
• Kazahana Dōtō left the capital with his subordinates to confront Yichen, confident that his Ice Release made him invincible in the snowy country.
• Yichen warned the Snow ninja that he might spare them if they protected their special armor, then raised an enormous mud barrier and sent it crashing down on them.

Yichen defeated Kazahana Dōtō’s forces and helped Iwagakure and the Land of Snow sign a strategic alliance. At the Rainbow Ice Wall, he discovered its underground energy might be connected to Natural Energy and Kekkei Genkai, while Matsutani Shinya stayed to study it.

• Kazahana Dōtō and his subordinates used Ice Release armor to resist Yichen’s mud tide, but its sealing runes overwhelmed them; Yichen killed Dōtō and several loyal fighters, and the survivors were taken prisoner.
• Kazahana Koyuki and Land of Snow officials agreed to Iwagakure’s protection and signed the Snow-Earth Strategic Alliance, allowing Iwagakure to establish a branch in the country.
• Ōnoki sensed unusual energy beneath the Rainbow Ice Wall, and Matsutani Shinya suspected it was related to Natural Energy and Kekkei Genkai.
• Matsutani Shinya asked to remain and study the underground energy, and Yichen warned him not to train with it recklessly.
• Yichen chose Kajiyamari to serve as Ōnoki’s guard, and Ōnoki agreed to guide him.

Yichen announced Iwagakure’s peace treaty with the Land of Snow and arranged to secure its territory, recruit ninja, and control its mission market. As Iwagakure prepared for possible trouble from Sunagakure, Kirigakure tightened under Obito’s rule and the Fourth Raikage searched for another way to interfere.

• Yichen returned to Iwagakure, announced the treaty, and discussed the Land of Snow’s finances and population with Mei and Saka.
• Yichen assessed how the other villages might react, sent Ikura to inspect the border secretly, and ordered Kawakita to suppress bandits and steer missions toward Iwa ninja.
• Yichen assigned Mei, Saka, Tomoko, and Kitsuchi to keep Iwagakure running while the Third, Ikura, and Kawakita were away.
• Kirigakure dismissed the treaty news while Obito’s injuries and Karatachi Yagura’s outburst worsened divisions around the Mizukage.
• The Fourth Raikage considered intervening in the Land of Snow, then asked an Anbu Captain whether the Daimyo of the Land of the Moon had younger brothers who could rebel.

Rasa decided Sunagakure should investigate Iwagakure’s takeover of the Land of Snow while avoiding an open conflict, and sent Pakura there on a covert mission. Yichen reached the Land of Snow ahead of Pakura and went to find Matsutani Shinya at the Rainbow Ice Wall.

• Cloud’s higher-ups rejected A’s plan, so A increased Darui’s training, while Konoha chose diplomatic condemnation and propaganda rather than war.
• Rasa concluded that Iwagakure’s expansion threatened Sunagakure, but that Konoha, Cloud, and Mist would not intervene and Akatsuki was focused on domestic development.
• Rasa ordered Pakura to investigate Iwagakure’s activities in the Land of Snow and undermine its influence without exposing herself or provoking a direct clash.
• Ikura detected Pakura’s Anbu entering the Land of Demons and alerted Ōnoki and Yichen, then returned to Iwagakure as Yichen flew to the Land of Snow.
• Yichen inspected the branch base, learned that Matsutani Shinya was staying at the Rainbow Ice Wall, and headed there.

Yichen discovered that Matsutani Shinya and Little Flower were absorbing underground Natural Energy while sleeping, and heard Shinya's theory that Sage Chakra could display all five elemental properties without Nature Transformation. Intrigued, Yichen planned to test the theory with Ōnoki and began setting up a Natural Energy Seal near the branch.

• Yichen found Matsutani Shinya and Little Flower sleeping under Anbu protection and sensed them absorbing underground Natural Energy.
• Matsutani Shinya explained that a Natural Energy Barrier stopped the underground energy from dispersing and proposed that it resembled Sage Chakra merged with Yang Release.
• Matsutani Shinya theorized that Sage Chakra already held all five elemental properties, which could explain Yichen's quick progress with Lightning Release.
• Yichen asked how to verify the theory, and Matsutani Shinya suggested testing whether Ōnoki could use an element he had never mastered while in Sage Mode.
• Yichen told Matsutani Shinya that Pakura had arrived in the Land of Snow, then returned to the branch and proposed the test to Ōnoki.
• After Ōnoki approved, Yichen began setting up a Natural Energy Seal in an open area near the branch.

Yichen tested whether Sage Chakra let Ōnoki use Lightning Release, then anticipated Pakura’s scouting mission at the Rainbow Ice Wall. Pakura approached with four Anbu, where Yichen ambushed her group with Porcelain Release: Kunai Rain.

• Yichen helped Ōnoki enter Sage Mode, and Ōnoki successfully used a Lightning Release technique by guiding the Five-Attribute properties of Sage Chakra.
• Yichen learned that Pakura was investigating the Rainbow Ice Wall treasure and prepared to intercept her.
• Pakura led a four-man Anbu squad toward the Rainbow Ice Wall after deciding to investigate it herself.
• Yichen sensed Pakura’s group approaching and attacked them with Porcelain Release: Kunai Rain.
• Pakura’s group recognized the ambush and used earth, wind, sand, and puppet techniques to defend themselves.

Yichen defeated Pakura, captured her alive, and sealed two surviving Sunagakure Anbu before returning to the branch. On the way back, he encountered Ōnoki, who had flown to the battlefield after witnessing Pakura’s powerful attack.

• Yichen’s Wind and Fire Combination Ninjutsu killed two members of In Unit and seriously injured two others.
• Pakura used a sand house to withstand Yichen’s Kunai Rain, then unleashed her S-rank Scorch Release, Blazing Heaven, against his Earth Style Clone.
• Yichen weakened Pakura with blunt Porcelain Kunai and sealed her in mud while leaving her head exposed.
• Yichen sealed the two injured Sunagakure Anbu and carried all three captives back to the branch.
• Ōnoki flew toward the battlefield after witnessing Pakura’s attack and encountered Yichen on his return.

Yichen returned to Iwagakure with Pakura as a prisoner and prepared to negotiate her exchange with Rasa. As the village weighed its demands, Yichen also explored Sage Mode’s potential and the meeting ended with suggestions for using the exchange to improve relations and cooperation with Sunagakure.

• Ōnoki warned Yichen not to leave the village without a Kage-level fighter again, and Yichen returned to Iwagakure with Pakura and two other captives.
• Rasa learned Pakura had disappeared and suspected Iwagakure had captured her after she used Blazing Heaven.
• Yichen took Pakura’s blood for research, sealed her with an S-rank jutsu, and imprisoned her in the Anbu prison.
• Yichen practiced Sage Art Wind Release and realized Sage Mode could gradually raise his Chakra limit.
• Zero told Yichen that Rasa wanted to exchange for Pakura, so Yichen invited the advisors to discuss terms.
• Mei, Saka, Ikura, Tomoko, and Kawakita suggested funding, techniques, a Joint Chunin Exams, or friendly matches to improve cooperation with Sunagakure.

Yichen set harsh terms for preserving Iwagakure and Sunagakure’s alliance, and Rasa accepted them. Meanwhile, Konoha learned that Pakura had been captured and decided to send teams to the Joint Chunin Exams while considering an ambush against Sunagakure.

• Yichen ordered Zero to demand compensation, reconstruction aid, cooperation, and a Joint Chunin Exams from Rasa, while insisting Pakura would be returned after the exams without an exchange.
• Iwagakure began researching Pakura’s Scorch Release and interrogating the captured sand-manipulating shinobi, while Yichen returned to training.
• Zero reported that Rasa had accepted Yichen’s terms, and Sunagakure agreed to participate in the Joint Chunin Exams.
• At Konoha’s high-level meeting, Danzo presented Root intelligence that Iwagakure had captured Pakura, and Shikaku Nara said the report was credible given Yichen’s past actions.
• Tsunade and Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed to send teams to Iwagakure’s exams, and Tsunade ordered Hiruzen and Danzo to take more manpower and attempt to eliminate Sunagakure’s weakened forces.

Danzo secured Tsunade’s agreement to let Root train Konoha’s Anbu while continuing to use intelligence leaked by Yichen for his own aims. A month later, Kakashi and Shikaisen Nara arrived in Iwagakure for the Joint Chunin Exams and saw how confidently the village’s residents regarded their own country.

• Tsunade agreed to send ten Anbu squads to Root for training every half month, and Danzo returned to Root satisfied with the concession.
• Danzo told his subordinates to maintain contact with the Iwa ninja, while Yichen arranged another intelligence exchange with Root for an A-rank Ninjutsu.
• A month later, delegations from Konoha, Sunagakure, River Ninja Village, and other villages arrived in Iwagakure for the Joint Chunin Exams.
• Kakashi led Konoha’s delegation with Shikaisen Nara as his deputy, and the Iwa ninja placed them between the Takigakure and Sunagakure delegations.
• Sunagakure refused Kakashi and Shikaisen Nara’s visit, and Iwa Anbu escorted the Konoha pair through the village while residents showed hostility toward Konoha.
• Shikaisen Nara recognized the residents’ pride in Iwagakure as the same kind of national confidence he had noticed among Konoha’s residents.

Shikaisen Nara and Kakashi read Iwagakure’s newspaper, which praised Yichen and spread accusations about Konoha’s leaders and the Nine-Tails’ attack. After Shikaisen sent intelligence to Konoha, he noticed Iwa and Sunagakure ninja cooperating, while Yichen assigned Atsumi Akino a secret mission; the chapter ended with a mysterious wrapped figure entering the Konoha group’s dining hall.

• Shikaisen Nara and Kakashi bought the Iwa Village Bi-Monthly Report and read articles praising the Fourth Tsuchikage and blaming Konoha officials for Minato’s death.
• Kakashi bought extra copies after seeing an article mention Konoha White Fang, and Shikaisen avoided meeting his eyes.
• Shikaisen sent the newspaper issues and his observations to the Third Lord using Sarutobi Akira’s summoned monkey.
• Iwagakure’s Barrier Team detected Space Ninjutsu, and Yichen ordered Atsumi Akino to undertake a secret mission.
• Shikaisen saw Iwa and Sunagakure ninja leave together, then received Konoha’s instruction to proceed carefully and reported what he had witnessed.
• A wrapped figure entered the Izakaya dining hall and sat near the Konoha group without speaking or ordering food.