Recaps

Neji traveled with Jiraiya and Naruto to find Tsunade, helped her overcome her fear of blood, and persuaded her to return as Hokage. Back in Konoha, he reunited with Hinata and Hanabi, advanced his Byakugan experiment, became Tsunade’s disciple, and gave Tenten his perfected tattoo.

• Itachi and Kisame attacked Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai, then pursued Jiraiya’s group as Naruto, Neji, and Jiraiya left Konoha, and Neji fought Kisame and was badly injured after opening the Sixth Gate.
• Itachi trapped Sasuke in Tsukuyomi, while Jiraiya escaped with Naruto, and Jiraiya later found Neji and took him for treatment as Naruto resolved to train harder.
• Neji showed Jiraiya his Spirit Ball Bomb, and the group reached Tanzaku Town, where Jiraiya asked Tsunade to return as Hokage and Naruto defended his own Hokage dream.
• Tsunade treated Neji but refused to return to Konoha, then went alone to meet Orochimaru, and Neji followed and joined the fight against Orochimaru and Kabuto.
• Neji pretended his injuries and blood loss had returned to help Tsunade overcome her blood phobia, and Tsunade agreed to treat him before joining Jiraiya against Orochimaru.
• Tsunade gave Naruto her necklace and agreed to become the Fifth Hokage, and Neji returned to Konoha, reunited with Hinata and Hanabi, and learned that his eyes would recover soon.
• At the underground facility, Neji fused two cultivated Byakugan into one, then became Tsunade’s disciple and began testing his perfected tattoo on Tenten.

Neji pursued his plans to grow stronger, build a network of allies, and advance his research while helping Tsunade and training Sakura. The arc ended with Danzo judging Neji a threat and deciding he could not be allowed to live.

• Sasuke challenged Neji to test her strength, then left to seek Orochimaru after Neji told her she still fell short of Itachi.
• Neji joined Shikamaru’s pursuit of Sasuke, fought the Sound Four, and helped defeat them before Sasuke left Naruto and departed with Neji’s pendant.
• Neji recruited Kimimaro, established his base in the Land of Waves, and began experiments on his Shikotsumyaku and plans to seize Hoshigakure’s star.
• Neji returned to Konoha, showed Tsunade his recovered Byakugan, and helped her consider changes to the village’s leadership while making peace with Temari.
• Neji gave Hinata and Hanabi tattoos that inscribed Sealing Jutsu, then advanced his research on puppets, the Ten-Tails’ Chakra, and future technology.
• Neji built Tenten powerful impact-and-slash pistols, then tested bone puppets with his allies and sent teams to plant Signal Tower trees.
• Neji sparred with Tsunade, who recognized his strength, before Root escorted him to Danzo, who decided Neji had become too dangerous to keep alive.

Neji exposed Danzo’s crimes, dismantled Root, and spent the following years awakening the Tenseigan and gathering tailed-beast fragments. After Akatsuki captured Gaara, Neji joined Team 3 to support Team Kakashi and confronted Kisame, Hidan, and Kakuzu in the Land of Rivers.

• Neji and Tsunade joined forces with Hiashi to expose Danzo’s attempt to frame Neji, revealing Danzo’s Sharingan-covered arm and bringing about his arrest and Root’s dissolution.
• Over two years, Neji completed his Shikotsumyaku research, awakened the Tenseigan, and tested his new powers before deciding to act against Akatsuki.
• Neji captured Isobu, extracted a fragment, and sealed the Three-Tails inside himself, then decided to pursue Yugito and the Two-Tails.
• Neji returned to Konoha, reunited with Naruto, and gave Temari a necklace containing a marker and protective barrier before she left for Sunagakure.
• Hiashi warned Neji to keep his Tenseigan secret, and Neji gave him an improved Caged Bird Seal that protected the Byakugan without restricting its growth.
• After Akatsuki captured Gaara, Tsunade sent Neji’s Team 3 to support Team Kakashi, and Neji’s team encountered Kisame, Hidan, and Kakuzu in the Land of Rivers.
• Might Guy’s team coordinated attacks against Kisame, while Neji dodged Hidan’s strikes and then redirected Kakuzu’s lightning attack into Hidan.
• Neji countered Kakuzu’s combined elemental attacks with Torrential Thunderclap Palm and destroyed Kakuzu’s clone, but Kakuzu warned that the fight was not over.

Neji defeated Akatsuki’s pursuit, revived Gaara, recruited Sasori, and gathered information and power while arranging a meeting with Orochimaru. At Orochimaru’s base, Naruto and his team found Sasuke, who rejected them and attacked as Neji watched from above.

• Pain completed the extraction of Gaara’s One-Tail, but Team Kakashi and Team Guy broke through the Five Seal Barrier and confronted Deidara and Sasori.
• Naruto chased Deidara while Sakura and Chiyo fought Sasori, and Neji took control of Sasori’s puppets and persuaded him to join the D Organization.
• Chiyo sacrificed her life to revive Gaara, with Naruto helping her continue the technique, and Sasori watched Gaara awaken before agreeing to join Neji.
• Neji tested his armored puppets, recruited Sasori, and later left Izumi at the Land of Waves base while he went to settle old debts in Kumogakure.
• Neji defeated Yugito and took her away, then learned that the One-Tail, Two-Tails, and Three-Tails fragments had merged into a tree-like form.
• At Heaven and Earth Bridge, Neji fought Orochimaru, forced him to offer the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, and let him leave with Kabuto after receiving the scroll.
• Neji met Sasuke at Orochimaru’s base and sparred with him before Naruto, Sakura, Yamato, and Sai arrived to bring Sasuke back to Konoha.
• Sasuke rejected Naruto and Sakura, attacked them with Chidori Stream, and pierced Yamato’s shoulder as Neji watched from above.