Chapter Summaries

Neji summoned Fire Hill, a powerful creature from the magma, to help him fight Naruto and Sasuke. Fire Hill and Neji seized the initiative with a mental roar and coordinated attacks, but Sasuke recovered and trapped Fire Hill with Susanoo.

• Neji summoned Fire Hill from the magma, and the creature approached the spectator stands until Hinata stopped him.
• Fire Hill agreed to fight Sasuke while Neji attacked Naruto, and his roar disoriented both opponents.
• Neji kicked Naruto into the barrier as Fire Hill struck Sasuke’s Susanoo, forcing Naruto and Sasuke onto the defensive.
• Sasuke recovered and used Susanoo’s extra arms to seize Fire Hill, then wondered whether the creature belonged to Hinata.

Neji and Naruto fought Sasuke while Fire Hill restrained Susanoo and dragged it into the lava. Sasuke escaped and renewed his attack, but Neji and Naruto survived, leaving Sasuke weakened after Naruto's Tailed Beast Bomb barrage.

• Fire Hill overpowered Sasuke's restraints and pulled Susanoo into the lava, with the impact sending Neji and the Nine-Tails beneath the surface.
• The Nine-Tails emerged from the lava, and Neji appeared standing in midair; Sasuke then struck Fire Hill with Kirin and freed Susanoo.
• Neji noticed Fire Hill healing by absorbing energy from the lava as Sasuke launched another lightning attack at Neji and Naruto.
• Neji blocked the lightning with Rotation, while the Nine-Tails protected Naruto; Hanabi Hyuga and Hyuga Hiashi, along with Itachi Uchiha and Uchiha Fugaku, questioned Rotation's strength.
• Naruto created two Shadow Clones that bombarded Sasuke with Tailed Beast Bombs, damaging Susanoo and leaving Sasuke panting and low on chakra.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji continued their battle after Fire Hill’s attack destroyed Sasuke’s Susanoo and the Nine-Tails withdrew from Naruto. Sasuke blocked Naruto’s Rasengan with Chidori, but the clash badly injured his right hand.

• Fire Hill fired a beam through Sasuke’s Susanoo before returning to his volcano, and Sasuke’s Susanoo crumbled.
• The Nine-Tails returned to Naruto’s body, leaving Naruto exposed to attacks from Sasuke and Neji.
• Sasuke conserved his chakra and used Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi to wrap his sword in black flames as he fought Neji.
• Naruto summoned three shadow clones, and Neji kicked Sasuke toward them.
• A Naruto shadow clone attacked Sasuke with Rasengan, and Sasuke countered with Chidori, badly injuring his right hand.

Neji used his Jōgan’s space-time ability to help Naruto eliminate Sasuke from the match. As Sakura treated Sasuke’s injuries, his family noticed how close the two of them were, leaving Sakura embarrassed.

• Sasuke used Amaterasu against Neji, who vanished with his Jōgan’s ability and reappeared above and behind him.
• Neji struck Sasuke toward Naruto, and Naruto and his Shadow Clones joined Neji to defeat Sasuke.
• Hinata pulled Sasuke from the barrier, and Sakura began treating his injuries.
• Sasuke’s family checked on him, and Uchiha Mikoto discreetly commented to Uchiha Fugaku after noticing Sakura beside Sasuke.
• Sakura blushed when she realized she was holding Sasuke close as she healed him.

Sakura treated Sasuke while they lingered in an intimate embrace, and Tsunade interrupted them before Sakura helped him watch Naruto and Neji’s duel. Neji eventually defeated Naruto, and the chapter left the three injured fighters recovering in the Hidden Leaf Hospital as Naruto realized Neji had used taijutsu Hinata taught him.

• Sasuke and Sakura stayed frozen together until Tsunade noticed them and awkwardly left them alone.
• Sakura supported Sasuke as they watched the duel, drawing jealous looks from Naruto, Neji, and Ino.
• Neji changed his fighting style and defeated Naruto, who suspected Hinata had taught Neji the taijutsu he used at the end.
• Tsunade brought Sasuke, Naruto, and Neji to the Hidden Leaf Hospital to recover and escape the crowd of admirers.
• In the hospital, Naruto jumped up on his bed and accused Neji of using taijutsu he had learned from Hinata.

Neji told Naruto and Sasuke about his Jōgan’s space-manipulating abilities and explained that Hinata had recently taught him new techniques she planned to introduce at the Ninja Academy. At a Hokage meeting, Hinata’s staff outlined tougher graduation requirements and new training facilities, while raising standards for the Chunin Exams and jonin assessments.

• Neji admitted to Sasuke that his eyes could see and manipulate space, though doing so consumed a great deal of dojutsu power.
• Naruto asked whether Hinata had taught Neji his final Taijutsu, and Neji explained that Hinata had recently developed it and his duel’s ninjutsu for the Ninja Academy students.
• At the Hokage Building, Jiraiya questioned whether requiring students to cast B-rank ninjutsu and last five minutes against a Taijutsu examiner was too harsh.
• The Nara Clan Leader explained that the Body Strengthening Potion gave village children unusually strong physiques and chakra reserves, and outlined plans for practice areas and medical facilities at the expanded Academy.
• Hinata planned to teach students Neji’s Taijutsu and a progression of ninjutsu, while the village also raised standards for graduation, Chunin Exams, and jonin assessments.

A mysterious man exploited the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire’s fears about Kirigakure to offer his organization’s help and deepen distrust between the lord and the Hidden Leaf Village. He then reported that his plan was underway from the chamber where the restrained Ten-Tails lay, while admitting he feared the woman with the Tenseigan.

• The Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire worried that the Hidden Leaf Village might rebel and struggled to recruit wandering samurai.
• A man in a black cloak appeared before the feudal lord and condemned Kirigakure for attacking its feudal lord.
• The man offered his organization’s help recruiting troops and warned that the Hidden Leaf Village might betray the Land of Fire.
• The feudal lord rejected the offer, and the man disappeared after widening the existing rift between the lord and the Hidden Leaf Village.
• The man visited the restrained Ten-Tails and reflected that his subordinates were carrying out the plan in the Lands of Fire, Earth, Wind, and Lightning.
• The man worried that the woman with the Tenseigan had grown too strong for him to confront directly.

After the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire ordered the Hidden Leaf Village to attack Kirigakure and kill Mei Terumi, Hinata convened the major clan leaders to discuss what to do. The Nara Clan Leader warned that an attack could trigger another Shinobi World War, leaving the village’s decision unresolved.

• The mysterious man’s warning deepened the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire’s fear that the Hidden Leaf Village would rebel, and he decided to consult the other great nations’ feudal lords.
• Jiraiya brought Hinata a direct order from the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire commanding the Hidden Leaf Village to attack Kirigakure and kill Mei Terumi.
• Hinata summoned the leaders of the major clans to discuss whether the village should obey the order.
• The clan leaders read the scroll and reacted with shock, while some considered the possible gains of war.
• The Nara Clan Leader warned that Kirigakure’s island location disadvantaged the Hidden Leaf Village and that an attack could ignite another Shinobi World War.

As the village prepared for a possible campaign against Kirigakure, Naruto and Sasuke headed to watch Neji teach and noticed ninja expanding the academy. In the Land of Snow, Yamato continued researching why ninjutsu-grown crops were nutritionally poor, content to work as a farmer.

• The village leaders considered the daimyo’s order to attack Kirigakure, whose island location and Water Release skills made the campaign difficult, and looked to Uchiha Fugaku for the Uchiha clan’s role.
• Naruto persuaded Sasuke to go see Neji teach at the Ninja Academy, and they passed ninja using ninjutsu to build an expansion.
• Yamato examined the soil and questioned whether chakra caused accelerated crops to lose nutritional value, while noting that he had been researching the problem himself.
• Yamato’s farming techniques had helped the Land of Snow stockpile grain and taught its ninja Hinata’s farming ninjutsu, but he remained there because he enjoyed farming and kept studying the crops.

Naruto and Sasuke visited Neji at the Ninja Academy and learned the complete version of his taijutsu. Sasuke practiced with Shisui, whose demonstration left Fugaku and Itachi wondering how the technique worked, while Fugaku revealed that war might be imminent.

• Yamato continued farming because he believed it improved his Wood Release.
• Naruto and Sasuke found Neji teaching the ninja teachers and asked him to teach them his techniques.
• Neji gave Naruto and Sasuke a scroll and taught them the complete taijutsu rather than the basic version the teachers were learning.
• Fugaku told Itachi that the Daimyo had ordered them to prepare for a possible war.
• Shisui sparred with Sasuke, then sent him flying into a wall without injuring him by transferring the force into it.
• The wall collapsed, and Fugaku and Itachi could not explain how Shisui had performed the technique.

Sasuke learned that war was about to begin and struggled to understand why the village would start one. He went to Hinata for answers and demanded to know whether the decision could be refused.

• Shisui demonstrated a powerful taijutsu to Sasuke, while Fugaku grew concerned about Shisui's strange presence and suspected the village had changed him.
• Fugaku announced at a clan meeting that war was about to begin, and Itachi told Sasuke that they could not refuse it.
• Sasuke left the clan compound in a daze and spent the day on Hokage Rock before resolving to ask Hinata what she thought.
• Fugaku asked whether Sasuke had accepted the situation, and Sasuke said he would not back down if war broke out.
• Sasuke found Hinata at the Hokage Building and demanded to know why they had to start a war, while Mami Mizuta rebuked his rude tone.

Hinata explained to Sasuke that ninja techniques could serve purposes beyond killing and revealed her plan to end war by uniting all countries and ninja villages under one will. After Sasuke left inspired by her vision, Hinata investigated the Land of Fire Daimyo’s unexpected order to prepare for war.

• Hinata sent Mami Mizuta out and told Sasuke that the Daimyo’s orders meant little to her.
• Hinata showed Sasuke the rapidly built Academy buildings and explained that ninjutsu could be used for construction instead of killing.
• Hinata told Sasuke that she intended to end war by uniting every country and ninja village under a single will, and Sasuke left excited to take part.
• Sasuke irritated Mami Mizuta outside the office, and she returned to help Hinata with paperwork.
• Hinata recalled that Nagato’s people knew nothing about the Daimyo’s order and sent a ninja who had completed his mutation to investigate the Daimyo.

Hinata and the other villages learned that Kumogakure was sending a large force toward Kirigakure, while Iwagakure and Sunagakure sent only small squads. In Otogakure, Orochimaru studied a captive whose crimson mark altered his body and wondered how a mysterious Crystal containing a similar mark had appeared in his storeroom.

• Hinata learned that Kumogakure had dispatched several hundred shinobi toward the Land of Water and suspected the Land of Lightning had received the same order to attack Kirigakure as the Hidden Leaf Village.
• Ōnoki of Both Scales suspected the Daimyo had coordinated the attack orders among several nations and decided to send only a few squads to Kirigakure.
• Sunagakure also sent only a few small squads to the Land of Water while its leaders watched how the conflict developed.
• Orochimaru studied a young man whose crimson mark was changing his constitution and used what he learned to improve his Cursed Seals.
• Orochimaru recalled finding a Crystal in his storeroom that contained a crimson, Tailed Beast-shaped mark, but could not remember how it got there.

Orochimaru identified the substance in a crystal as matching the mark on his captive and decided to use it, unaware that the Stigmata could alter its holder’s soul. As conflict gathered around Kirigakure, a mysterious merchant offered the Land of Fire’s Daimyo a modified human weapon, and the Daimyo focused on its promised loyalty.

• Orochimaru concluded that the crystal’s substance was a treasure and resolved to use it, not realizing the Stigmata could change his soul.
• Kumogakure’s force regrouped on a deserted island near Kirigakure while Kirigakure discovered that war seemed imminent.
• Iwagakure and Sunagakure secretly sent elite squads to the Land of Water to exploit the coming conflict.
• The Land of Fire’s Daimyo grew distressed when the Hidden Leaf Village ignored his orders to attack Kirigakure.
• A mysterious man immobilized the Daimyo’s attendants and presented a vacant-eyed person as a powerful, fearless, and loyal weapon.

The mysterious man convinced the Daimyo to buy Modified Humans by demonstrating their absolute obedience, and the Daimyo ordered eight plus another batch. Hinata learned of the deal through a shadow clone and reflected on the White Zetsu and the Ten-Tails, which still wanted to become a God Tree and escape its confinement.

• The mysterious man ordered a Modified Human to die, and it twisted its own head around before falling dead.
• The Daimyo agreed to purchase the eight Modified Humans on display and ordered another batch.
• A shadow that had been observing the Daimyo slipped away and reported the deal to Hinata.
• Hinata considered how White Zetsu had aided the Hidden Leaf Village Laboratory and recalled that the Ten-Tails wanted to become a God Tree.
• The Ten-Tails remained confined in Hinata's Alternate Dimension, longing to go outside despite the danger of spatial turbulence.

Hinata investigated a mysterious cyborg organization and focused on preparing for an approaching threat from beyond the stars, while Tsunade bet on Kumogakure to defeat Kirigakure. Kirigakure’s surprise attack inflicted heavy losses but captured one of Kumogakure’s Oni Persons, and Tsunade argued that the exchange still favored Kumogakure.

• Hinata considered the mysterious organization’s mature cyborg technology, then set aside the question and prioritized developing her Mutation Potion against an unknown presence approaching through the stars.
• Tsunade secretly bet a million ryo on Kumogakure winning the coming war, while Shizune tried to dissuade her and sensed that Kumogakure might lose.
• Kirigakure launched a nighttime surprise attack on Kumogakure’s advance force before it could finish building defenses.
• Kumogakure revealed five Oni Persons among its troops, and Kirigakure suffered heavy losses before two of its own Oni Persons captured one and retreated.
• Tsunade told Shizune that Kirigakure had sacrificed too much by shortening its Oni Persons’ lifespans to capture a weapon it could not immediately use.

Kirigakure drove Kumogakure's advance force from its island base, then destroyed nearby islands to leave the retreating ninja without a place to regroup. The Kumogakure commander realized they needed to create a foothold before reinforcements arrived, and the four Oni Persons proposed using Puppet Corpses as temporary ground.

• Tsunade dismissed concerns about Kirigakure's attack, while Shizune let her go gambling.
• Kirigakure attacked Kumogakure's advance force with a thousand ninja and six Oni Persons, forcing the commander to order a retreat.
• Kirigakure sank the deserted island and began destroying other islands, leaving the Kumogakure ninja without safe places to rest.
• The Kumogakure commander stopped his men from charging into battle and considered how to prepare for their reinforcements.
• The four Oni Persons said Puppet Corpses could serve as temporary footholds despite the force's low chakra.

Kirigakure used a tactic devised by Nagato’s New Organization to destroy the island, while Hinata considered the war unimportant and continued her mutation experiments. In her laboratory, white Zetsu cells caused the potion to multiply into a growing black mass, and Hinata chose to observe the result rather than reverse time.

• Kirigakure’s opponents used Puppet Corpses to reach the submerged island and began rebuilding its unstable ground.
• Tsunade wondered whether Kumogakure could lose and tried to identify who had devised Kirigakure’s underhanded island-sinking tactic.
• Hinata learned that a spy from Nagato’s New Organization had suggested the tactic, but decided there was little reason to send Leaf ninja into the war.
• Hinata continued studying her mutated subjects and worked on the Third-Generation Mutation Potion, using Isshiki’s eyes to speed up its production.
• Hinata added white Zetsu cells to the potion, which rapidly grew into a black, slime-like mass, and she let the accident continue so she could study it.

Hinata tested the Black Slime and built a prototype Repulsion Control Device to contain it and other dangerous experiments. As she continued perfecting the Mutation Potion, the war between Kirigakure and Kumogakure escalated toward the New Year.

• Hinata watched the Black Slime grow, corrode and absorb nearby objects, then tested its ability to regenerate after she cut it in half.
• Hinata realized the Black Slime could absorb chakra and might become extremely dangerous, so she kept it suspended with repulsion rather than killing it.
• Hinata used a Rinnegan to create a prototype Repulsion Control Device and considered using Rinnegan-based repulsion barriers to secure her laboratory.
• Hinata continued working on the Mutation Potion as a month passed and the New Year approached.
• Kirigakure and Kumogakure escalated their fighting into a war involving thousands, while both villages kept half their Oni Persons in reserve.

Konoha traced the disappearance of villagers to the Daimyo’s deal with the Mysterious Organization and located one of its hidden bases. As Hinata prepared to act, Keita Otake confronted a black-robed stranger and six samurai in a remote village.

• Kumogakure and Kirigakure continued fighting while Iwagakure and Sunagakure watched the conflict and questioned Konoha’s apparent lack of concern.
• Konoha sent Hyuga Jonin to watch a village, where they saw samurai lure residents away under genjutsu and deliver them to a hidden base.
• Hinata guided Konoha toward the Daimyo, whose deal with the Mysterious Organization allowed him to supply ordinary people for conversion into Modified Humans.
• Konoha’s High Command condemned the Daimyo, and Hinata prepared to send a team to raid the base before a voice reached her.
• Keita Otake sensed malice near his village, intercepted six samurai and a black-robed stranger, and demanded to know who the stranger was.
• The stranger ordered the samurai to kill Keita, who recognized the men’s bloodied swords and remembered their lack of hesitation.