Chapter Summaries

Neji, Hinata, and Sasuke failed their first attempt to cultivate Senjutsu on Mount Myoboku, and Sage Fukasaku stopped them before natural energy could turn them into stone. Fukasaku then offered a summoning contract test, telling Sasuke to go first.

• Neji, Hinata, and Sasuke absorbed natural energy through toad oil but developed toad-like features because they could not merge it with their chakra.
• Sage Fukasaku removed the toad oil, ending their attempt and allowing their bodies to return to normal.
• Sasuke and Neji protested their failure, while Jiraiya explained that their age, limited chakra, and strong desire to succeed had made Senjutsu difficult for them.
• Sage Fukasaku refused to let them try again because the accumulated natural energy could harm them or turn them to stone.
• Sage Fukasaku spread out a summoning contract as a new test and told Sasuke to go first.

Sasuke passed Mount Myoboku’s summoning contract test and summoned Gamabunta, but Sage Fukasaku revealed that only one ninja per generation could inherit the toads’ contract. Neji and Hinata were denied their chance, leaving Neji bewildered by Sage Fukasaku’s claim that it was fate.

• Sasuke signed the contract scroll and summoned the enormous toad Gamabunta on his first attempt.
• Gamabunta accepted Sasuke as its summoner and left with him to get acquainted.
• Neji yielded his turn to Hinata, but Sage Fukasaku began rolling up the contract scroll.
• Sage Fukasaku explained that Mount Myoboku accepted only one ninja per generation, and Sasuke had already claimed the place.
• Neji pleaded for a chance because Hyuga Kagami had secured his opportunity, but Sage Fukasaku told him it was fate’s arrangement.

Sasuke signed Mount Myoboku’s summoning contract, leaving Neji and Hinata without a chance, and returned to Konoha with Jiraiya. After hearing what happened, Hyuga Kagami argued that the toads had chosen Sasuke because they foresaw his potential, not because of destiny.

• Fukasaku declared Sasuke Mount Myoboku’s chosen summoner, while Neji lamented his fate and Hinata tried to comfort him.
• Sasuke returned proudly after summoning Gamabunta, and Jiraiya explained that Neji and Hinata could no longer sign the contract because the sacred land had only one summoner per generation.
• Jiraiya brought Sasuke, Neji, and Hinata back to Konoha, then took Sasuke away after leaving Neji and Hinata at the Hyuga Clan Grounds.
• Hiashi, Hizashi, and Hyuga Kagami questioned Neji and Hinata about their trip, and Neji recounted how Sasuke had signed the contract first.
• Hyuga Kagami dismissed destiny and claimed Mount Myoboku’s toads had chosen Sasuke after foreseeing his potential, calling them snobs who dressed up their bets as destiny.

After Sasuke signed a summoning contract with Mount Myoboku, Neji feared that the Great Toad Sage’s choice had already decided their futures. Hyuga Kagami reassured him that prophecy was uncertain, then challenged Neji’s belief that Mount Myoboku and Ryūchi Cave were unbeatable.

• Hiashi lamented the Hyuga Clan’s latest setback against the Uchiha Clan, while Hizashi told the family to stop pursuing Mount Myoboku.
• Neji followed Hyuga Kagami and asked whether the Great Toad Sage could truly foresee the future.
• Hyuga Kagami explained that the Great Toad Sage’s prophecies might be incomplete and that Neji’s connection to him could have obscured Neji’s fate.
• Neji argued that Sasuke’s contract with Mount Myoboku gave him powerful summons and a chance to learn Senjutsu, leaving Neji little hope of surpassing him.
• Neji confessed that Naruto’s and Sasuke’s advantages made his own future seem hopeless, and Hyuga Kagami asked whether Mount Myoboku and Ryūchi Cave were really so strong.

Hyuga Kagami took Neji outside the village and revealed that he had a summoned beast, promising they did not need to beg anyone for one. The chapter ended with Neji staring in shock at the colossal creature Hyuga Kagami summoned.

• Hyuga Kagami told Neji that Mount Myoboku and Ryūchi Cave were only dispensable support.
• Sasuke asked Hyuga Kagami for permission to spar with Naruto outside the village, and Hyuga Kagami approved.
• Neji realized Sasuke had invited him only to watch, leaving him embarrassed and bitter about falling behind his classmates.
• Hyuga Kagami brought Neji outside the village and asked whether he truly wanted a summoned beast.
• Neji said he wanted one but did not want Hyuga Kagami to beg anyone for him, and Hyuga Kagami performed the Summoning Technique.
• A colossal creature appeared in the smoke, leaving Neji staring up at it in shock.

Hyuga Kagami encountered the enormous wild boar he had once experimented on and discovered that it had grown by absorbing the Tenseigan Chakra he had given it years earlier. Neji learned that the boar was Hyuga Kagami’s summon and sensed that its chakra resembled his teacher’s.

• Neji used his Byakugan to identify the enormous creature blocking his path as a scarred wild boar.
• Hyuga Kagami recognized the boar and calmed it after it excitedly bounced around, shaking the ground beneath Neji.
• Hyuga Kagami activated his Tenseigan and drew out the impure Tenseigan Chakra within the boar.
• Hyuga Kagami realized that the chakra came from what he had infused into the boar during toxin experiments years earlier, and that it had helped the boar grow and transform its own chakra.
• Hyuga Kagami confirmed to Neji that the boar was his summoned beast, and Neji sensed that its chakra resembled Hyuga Kagami’s.

Hyuga Kagami helped Neji sign a summoning contract with the giant boar and reminded him to focus on foundational training rather than chasing flashy abilities. Neji headed to the field to face Naruto and Sasuke, while Konoha’s watching Jonin discussed the coming match and Sasuke’s connection to the Great Toad Sage.

• Neji asked about the giant boar’s name, then signed a summoning contract with it after Hyuga Kagami declared that he had passed the test.
• Hyuga Kagami advised Neji to prioritize taijutsu and chakra control, and Neji promised to train harder before going to face Naruto and Sasuke.
• Naruto and Sasuke faced each other on a field outside Konoha as their classmates and several Jonin watched.
• Asuma questioned Sasuke’s decision to challenge Naruto, while Itachi said he would intervene if Sasuke was in danger.
• Tsunade asked Jiraiya whether the Great Toad Sage had acknowledged Sasuke, and Jiraiya solemnly confirmed it.

Jiraiya and Tsunade discussed Hyuga Kagami’s standing and the possibility of making him a village elder advisor, while Naruto and Sasuke prepared to settle who was first among their peers with their giant summons. Neji then entered the clearing and asked to join the spar, just as another summon appeared.

• Tsunade told Jiraiya that Hyuga Kagami had confronted the Hyuga Main Branch and explained that the Third Hokage might make him an elder advisor to balance the clan’s influence.
• Naruto summoned Garaga and challenged Sasuke, who summoned Gamabunta and declared he would reclaim the title of first among their peers.
• Kakashi recognized Gamabunta, and Shisui explained that Sasuke had just returned from Mount Myoboku.
• Hyuga Kagami arrived, and Itachi apologized for what had happened with Mount Myoboku; Hyuga Kagami said the toads had the right to choose their own representative.
• Neji entered the clearing and asked to join the spar, prompting Naruto and Sasuke to warn him about his disadvantage.
• Jiraiya moved to stop Neji, but another surge of white smoke appeared in the clearing.

Neji revealed a colossal wild boar summon during the three-way spar with Naruto and Sasuke, drawing astonishment from the watching ninja and students. After Garaga’s surprise attack failed to harm the boar, the three summoned beasts became trapped in Sasuke and Gamabunta’s sea of fire.

• Jiraiya, Tsunade, Asuma, Guy, Itachi, and the others reacted with surprise to the size of Neji’s wild boar summon.
• Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji sized one another up atop their summons, weighing whom to attack first.
• Garaga recognized Gamabunta, dismissed the wild boar, and knocked it down with a tail strike.
• The wild boar stood up unharmed and charged Garaga, prompting Garaga to spray mud-like matter at it and Gamabunta.
• Gamabunta and Sasuke combined flaming oil with the Great Fireball Technique to engulf the clearing in flames.
• The wild boar released a surge of chakra that dragged Gamabunta downward and slowed Garaga, leaving all three summons trapped in the sea of fire.

A spar among Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji escalated into a dangerous battle between their giant summons, setting the area outside Konoha ablaze. As the Kage and shinobi rushed to respond, Jiraiya asked Shisui to help stop the summons, but Shisui waited for Hyuga Kagami's instructions.

• The Third Hokage and the Kage in the Root base sensed a major battle outside Konoha and headed to investigate.
• Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi, and other Jonin reached the field and saw a vast blaze surrounding the fighting summons.
• Shikamaru, Kiba, Shino, and the other students fled several kilometers from the battle.
• Garaga petrified part of the wild boar with mud, and the boar toppled onto Garaga while Gamabunta blocked its tusks with his Short Blade.
• Jiraiya asked Shisui to help stop the summons, but Shisui looked to Hyuga Kagami for instructions.

Hyuga Kagami stopped a dangerous battle between Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji’s summoning beasts, then made the students confront how little control they had over their power. The Third Hokage and the visiting Kage arrived, while Neji’s wild boar revealed an unusual ability to expel natural energy.

• Shisui waited for Hyuga Kagami’s order, then used Susanoo to restrain Garaga and pull Gamabunta out of the fight.
• Hyuga Kagami ordered the wild boar to stop, and Jiraiya extinguished the burning oil with Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld.
• Hyuga Kagami confronted Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji about their reckless sparring, and the shaken children admitted they were wrong.
• The Third Hokage arrived with Anbu, learned what had caused the battle, and ordered Hyuga Kagami to prevent dangerous sparring matches.
• Jiraiya and the Third Hokage noticed Neji’s wild boar recovering from petrification by driving natural energy out of its body.
• The Third Tsuchikage and the other Kage saw the children with their giant summoning beasts and remarked on Konoha’s abundance of talent.

The Jonin questioned Shisui about obeying Hyuga Kagami, and Shisui and Itachi both said they would carry out Kagami’s orders if necessary. News of the summoned beasts’ battle spread through Konoha, stirring interest and unease within the Hyuga Clan over Neji’s beast and its connection to Kagami.

• Asuma asked Shisui why he had waited for Hyuga Kagami’s instructions before stopping the summoned beasts.
• Shisui said he would carry out Kagami’s orders if Kagami judged them necessary, even when Asuma asked whether that meant acting against the Uchiha Clan.
• Itachi said he would also carry out Kagami’s orders if necessary, shocking the Jonin.
• Hizashi and Hiashi inspected the scorched battlefield, while Fugaku took pride in Sasuke’s role in the destruction.
• Konoha ninja investigated the battlefield, and reports spread that Sasuke had signed with Mount Myoboku and Neji had obtained a powerful summoned beast.
• Hyuga Clan members discussed whether Neji’s summoned beast belonged to Kagami, until an unidentified member interrupted them with a cold snort.

A Main Branch elder punished Hyuga Aoki for criticizing the Main Branch and imprisoned him after he refused to beg for mercy. The elder then urged Hiashi to rein in Hyuga Kagami, warning that Kagami's actions were undermining the Main Branch's authority.

• The Main Branch elder slapped four Branch Family members for criticizing the Main Branch, and Hyuga Aoki objected when the elder insulted his younger brother, Hyuga Aoba.
• The elder activated the Caged Bird Seal, torturing Aoki until Hizashi intervened and asked him to spare the crippled man.
• Aoki refused to apologize or beg for mercy, so the elder ordered him imprisoned for three years as Branch Family members gathered around.
• The elder went to Hiashi and claimed that Hyuga Kagami was challenging the Main Branch's authority, citing Aoki's defiance and Kagami's concealed ninja pig.

Hyuga Aoki reflected on how grief and revenge had shaped his life, then told Hizashi he had accepted his fate and no longer believed anyone could change the Caged Bird Seal. He hinted that he had given the Main Branch a final chance to kill him, leaving Hizashi worried about what Aoki might do next.

• Hyuga Aoki recalled how Kirigakure crippled him and stole a Byakugan, leading the Main Branch to execute his brother, Hyuga Aoba.
• Hyuga Aoki described how he pursued revenge, later uncovered the Caged Bird Seal’s protective origins, and gradually let go of his hatred.
• Hyuga Aoki explained that a Main Branch elder’s rebuke made him realize he could no longer endure humiliation like a watchdog.
• Hizashi visited Hyuga Aoki in prison and offered to ask Hiashi to waive his three-year sentence, but Aoki challenged him about the Main Branch and the Caged Bird Seal.
• Hyuga Aoki said he had accepted his fate and revealed that his refusal to beg under the seal’s curse had been his last chance for the Main Branch to kill him.
• Hizashi grew alarmed and asked what Aoki intended to do, but Aoki dismissed the question by calling himself a cripple.

Hyuga Kagami investigated Mizuki’s refusal to leave the Ninja Academy and began preparing to test his improved Yin Seal on an Earth Release clone. At the Aerial Fortress, he learned that Karin’s transplanted Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan had recovered enough to influence her far sooner than he expected.

• Hyuga Kagami watched the students’ training and noted their progress in basic jutsu, combat, and advanced ninja skills.
• Shisui told Hyuga Kagami that Mizuki had refused his transfer and had secretly met with a Hyuga Main Branch elder, so Hyuga Kagami ordered the pair watched.
• Hyuga Kagami reflected that the Hyuga Main Branch could no longer control him by force and that their schemes might give him grounds to take control of the clan.
• Hyuga Kagami finished organizing his Yin Seal improvements and traveled to the Aerial Fortress to test them on an Earth Release clone rather than risk his Yin Release body.
• Hyuga Kagami asked Karin about her transplanted Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, and she confirmed that the eyes felt as if they were alive and had a will of their own.
• Hyuga Kagami explained that the eyes were rejecting Karin and possessed powerful ocular energy, then realized they had recovered much sooner than he had estimated.

Hyuga Kagami discovered that Karin’s strong Uzumaki constitution had accelerated the recovery of her transplanted Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, prompting him to reconsider his plans for creating the Rinnegan. He chose the slower, traditional fusion method and prepared to transplant another pair of eyes into Karin.

• Hyuga Kagami found that Karin’s Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan had begun recovering less than a month after nearly evolving into Rinnegan.
• Hyuga Kagami concluded that Karin’s constitution was accelerating the eyes’ recovery, though their obsessions could make them difficult for her to control.
• Hyuga Kagami compared absorbing one pair of Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan with the traditional method of fusing both pairs in a chakra-rich host.
• Hyuga Kagami chose the traditional method to avoid unpredictable mutations and told Karin he would perform another eye transplant.
• Hyuga Kagami removed the Fire Clone Technique’s Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and found they were recovering far more slowly than Karin’s eyes.

Hyuga Kagami told Karin that he planned to synthesize the Rinnegan as preparation for a dangerous Bloodline Fusion Ritual that could cost him his life. He asked whether she would use the Rinnegan to revive him if he failed, even though doing so would cost her life, and Karin agreed.

• Hyuga Kagami transplanted the dormant Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan into Karin and placed Danzo's pair in a nutrient tank for examination.
• Hyuga Kagami explained that Karin's eyes were preparation for synthesizing the Rinnegan and that her chakra made her the only suitable vessel among those around him.
• Hyuga Kagami described the four levels of Bloodline Fusion and admitted that his coming attempt might not leave him alive.
• Hyuga Kagami told Karin that he might need her to use the Rinnegan to revive him if he died during the ritual.
• Hyuga Kagami warned that reviving him would cost the caster's life, and Karin said she was willing to die for him.

Hyuga Kagami gave Karin time to decide whether she would use Rinne Tensei to revive him, then set her aside as a possible backup while testing his revised Yin Seal on Earth Release clones. After one clone was ruined by a flaw in the technique, he corrected the manuscript and continued his dangerous experiments with another body.

• Hyuga Kagami refused to accept Karin's impulsive offer to sacrifice herself and told her to think carefully before deciding whether to revive him.
• Hyuga Kagami considered other backup candidates but concluded that Karin was the only suitable choice, while noting that Rinne Tensei might not always kill a sufficiently powerful caster.
• Hyuga Kagami placed Danzo's Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan in an instrument and transferred his spirit into Earth Release Clone No. 1 to test his revised Yin Seal.
• Hyuga Kagami discovered an error in the Yin Seal revision, spat blood, recorded the flaw, and continued testing until Clone No. 1's chakra pathways were ruined.
• Hyuga Kagami corrected about one-third of the manuscript, reflected on the Uzumaki Clan's role in sealing research, and began testing the revision on Earth Release Clone No. 3.

Hyuga Kagami completed testing his improved Yin Seal, confirming that it stored and released chakra reliably. A sudden resonance between his Tenseigan and the Giant Tenseigan on the moon alerted Otsutsuki Toneri, who unsealed the Giant Tenseigan to investigate the ninja world.

• Hyuga Kagami verified the Yin Seal design and cautiously stored chakra in its brain sealing area overnight.
• Over the following week, Hyuga Kagami tested chakra storage repeatedly and found the seal stable, then used the Strength of a Hundred Technique to release the stored chakra successfully.
• Hyuga Kagami sensed a distant resonance, returned to his Yin Release true body, and activated his Tenseigan.
• Otsutsuki Toneri finished an intense training session and discovered the sealed Giant Tenseigan resonating.
• Otsutsuki Toneri lifted the Giant Tenseigan's seal and began looking into the ninja world through it.

A black figure followed an ancient map to a hidden chamber beneath a waterfall and uncovered the Giant Tenseigan, learning that it powered the Hyuga Clan’s Caged Bird Curse Mark. He left the discovery convinced the Hyuga Clan had foolishly sealed away power that could have made it supreme.

• A black figure reached an ancient stone door in a cave and opened it using instructions from his map.
• He found an enormous eyeball sculpture on an altar and noticed hidden writing appear on the map under the chamber’s light.
• The black figure recited the map’s incantation, revealing the Giant Tenseigan inside the sculpture and receiving a flood of information.
• He learned that the Giant Tenseigan was the core that operated and maintained the Hyuga Clan’s Caged Bird Curse Mark.
• The black figure condemned the Hyuga Clan for sealing away the power and marveled that the Giant Tenseigan was the source of the unbreakable curse.