Chapter Summaries

In Konoha Year 44, Hyuga Kazuya reflected on Hatake Sakumo’s suicide and the village’s reaction as he headed to his Ninja Academy graduation exam. He arrived with his close classmate Hyuga Momona, while considering how life as a Genin would change his peaceful routine.

• Villagers argued over Hatake Sakumo’s suicide, blaming him for abandoning a mission while others defended his record as a war hero.
• Hyuga Kazuya passed through the crowd and thought that the villagers had helped drive Hatake Sakumo to his death, while Konoha’s clans grew wary after the incident.
• Hyuga Kazuya made his way to the Ninja Academy for his graduation exam, reflecting that graduation would bring dangerous missions and hard work.
• Hyuga Momona greeted Hyuga Kazuya at the academy gates, encouraged him, and entered the school with him hand in hand.
• Hyuga Kazuya considered that the Hyūga clan might arrange marriages for its members and thought that Momona could become his wife someday.

Hyuga Kazuya and Hyuga Momona arrived at the Ninja Academy graduation assessment, where Kazuya worried about Momona’s chances but remained confident in his own. After the Third Hokage’s speech, examiner Kanishi Tokushi began calling students for their tests.

• Hyuga Kazuya and Hyuga Momona checked in and joined their class’s formation at the Main Training Ground.
• Hyuga Kazuya spotted Might Guy among the graduating students and wondered why he was taking the exam at seven years old.
• The Third Hokage addressed the assembled students about the Will of Fire and announced the start of the graduation examination.
• Kanishi Tokushi explained that students would pass if any one of their abilities satisfied him, then called Aburame Tomomi first.

Hyuga Kazuya watched his classmates take the graduation exam and planned to defeat examiner Kanishi Tokushi to impress Konoha’s leaders and earn the Chakra Metal and money promised by Elder Yang. He stepped onto the field as his exam began.

• Hyuga Kazuya’s classmates took their exams, and most passed despite being defeated by Kanishi Tokushi.
• Hyuga Momona warned Hyuga Kazuya that Elder Yang had noticed him grinning, so he focused on the exams.
• Hyuga Kazuya decided to exploit Kanishi Tokushi’s underestimation and try to defeat him in one blow.
• Kanishi Tokushi called Hyuga Kazuya forward and backed away after noticing his Byakugan.
• Kanishi Tokushi announced that the exam had begun.

Hyuga Kazuya dominated his graduation assessment by quickly defeating Teacher Kanishi Tokushi with the Gentle Fist, then passed after apologizing. The Third Hokage praised his humility, while Kazuya returned to his formation expecting his uncle Elder Yang to reward him with Chakra Metal and money.

• Hyuga Kazuya used Wind Spirit to rush Teacher Kanishi Tokushi and seal his chakra pathways with a flurry of Gentle Fist strikes.
• Hyuga Kazuya kicked Teacher Kanishi Tokushi away, then helped him up and apologized; Kanishi Tokushi announced that he had passed.
• Might Guy and Uchiha Obito watched Kazuya's performance, and the Third Hokage praised Kazuya's humility to Elder Yang.
• Elder Yang assured the Third Hokage that the Hyuga Clan would let Kazuya serve the village after graduation, while Kazuya winked at his uncle to remind him of his promised reward.
• Might Guy stood out among the remaining candidates with his Taijutsu, and Hyuga Momona passed her assessment with her Byakugan.

Hyuga Kazuya graduated from the Ninja Academy and left with Hyuga Momona, while recalling the mysterious ability that had helped make him strong. He realized he would need to wait a year before he could Overclock again and chose to accept the ability for now.

• The Third Hokage awarded Hyuga Kazuya his Ninja Headband and praised him, and Elder Yang congratulated him on representing the Hyuga Clan well.
• After the graduation ceremony, Hyuga Kazuya slipped away from the girls gathered around him and left the school with Hyuga Momona.
• Hyuga Momona excitedly praised Hyuga Kazuya's strength, and he told her that training and hard work were the foundation of strength.
• Hyuga Kazuya recalled discovering Overclocking at age five, which let him extract chakra within minutes and improve his chakra control.
• Hyuga Kazuya sensed that his next Overclocking would be available in a year and decided not to dwell on the ability while he lacked the power to resist it.

Hyuga Kazuya reviewed how his four overclocking choices had shaped his abilities and planned to use his fifth to master Revolving Heaven and improve his wind-enhanced arrows. After returning home and reporting his academy success to Elder Yang, he received the Chakra Metal but realized he did not know how to forge arrowheads.

• Hyuga Kazuya recalled that his first overclocking perfected the Chakra Refining Technique, his second raised his Gentle Fist skill, his third copied the Rasengan, and his fourth mastered Wind Release transformations.
• Hyuga Kazuya planned to make Revolving Heaven his fifth overclocking priority and also improve how Wind Release worked with his bow and arrows.
• Hyuga Kazuya returned to the Hyuga Clan compound and went to Elder Yang's residence, where he had been raised after his parents died.
• Elder Yang praised Hyuga Kazuya for standing out at graduation and gave him the Chakra Metal he had requested.
• Hyuga Kazuya estimated the metal could supply arrowheads for years, then realized he did not know how to forge them.

Hyuga Kazuya convinced his uncle to fund Chakra Metal gear for a bow and arrows, while testing how the clan might react to change. His uncle supported him and began planning to secure him a powerful mentor and a last-resort safeguard against the Main Family, while Kazuya remained unaware and prepared for future conflict.

• Hyuga Kazuya persuaded his uncle to arrange a master blacksmith and cover most of the cost of forging Chakra Metal arrowheads, a bow, and arrows.
• Hyuga Kazuya handed over his one hundred thousand ryo savings and left to train in the courtyard.
• After Kazuya left, his uncle admitted he had hoped the boy would live safely as a clan guard, but resolved to find him influential support and prepare a contingency against the Main Family.
• Hyuga Kazuya remained unaware of his uncle’s plans and resolved to grow strong enough to survive the coming war and resist the Main Family.

Hyuga Kazuya attended the Ninja Academy’s team assignments and learned that the Third Hokage would personally choose his team. After questioning Kazuya about the Hokage’s role and the meaning of becoming Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned him to Minato Namikaze’s team.

• Hyuga Momona was assigned to a reconnaissance team with Aburame Tomomi and Inuzuka Hana.
• The teacher told Hyuga Kazuya that Hiruzen Sarutobi would personally arrange his team assignment because of his strength.
• Hyuga Kazuya worried that a more demanding team would prevent him from taking easy missions and building up mental energy for Overclocking.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Hyuga Kazuya what a Hokage was and what becoming Hokage meant, and Kazuya answered that the role involved uniting the village and taking responsibility.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Hyuga Kazuya to Minato Namikaze’s team and told him to meet Minato at the Back Mountain Training Ground the next morning.

Hyuga Kazuya learned that Minato Namikaze would lead his team and considered how the connection might advance his future, though his Branch Family status and Caged Bird seal kept his ambitions in check. He told Hyuga Yang the news, and his uncle began a sparring session with him.

• Hyuga Kazuya's teacher reacted with disbelief and mixed emotions to Kazuya becoming Minato Namikaze's disciple, then left for class.
• Hyuga Kazuya considered the opportunities Minato Namikaze's mentorship might bring and the limits imposed by his Branch Family status and Caged Bird seal.
• Hyuga Kazuya returned home and told Hyuga Yang that Minato Namikaze would be his team leader.
• Hyuga Yang encouraged Kazuya to work hard, then challenged him to spar and told him to attack while he defended.

Hyuga Kazuya sparred with Hyuga Yang, who overwhelmed him with the Main Family’s secret technique, Revolving Heaven, and used the fight to teach him about his shortcomings. Hyuga Yang left after explaining the technique, while Kazuya understood his uncle’s pointed warning about learning it.

• Hyuga Kazuya opened the spar with Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms, but Hyuga Yang blocked every strike and criticized his speed, strength, and chakra.
• Hyuga Kazuya escalated to Eight Trigrams: 128 Palms, briefly sealing some of Hyuga Yang’s acupuncture points.
• Hyuga Yang unleashed Revolving Heaven, sent Kazuya crashing into the backyard rockery, and told him not to grow arrogant after defeating an ordinary Chunin.
• Hyuga Yang explained how Revolving Heaven worked and warned Kazuya not to learn the Main Family’s secret technique secretly.
• Hyuga Yang told Kazuya to reflect on his shortcomings and then left.

Hyuga Kazuya mastered Revolving Heaven and discovered his chakra recovered unusually quickly, while planning to build his strength through Wind Release, weapons, and ninjutsu research. The next morning, he arrived at the Sixth Training Ground to meet his teacher, Minato Namikaze.

• Hyuga Kazuya thanked his uncle for teaching him the Main Family's secret technique, while reaffirming his hostility toward the Main Family.
• Hyuga Kazuya successfully used Revolving Heaven, tested its chakra demands, and continued practicing to improve his control.
• Hyuga Kazuya discovered his chakra recovery was three to five times faster than that of children his age and stopped training before he ruined the backyard.
• Hyuga Kazuya asked a maid to arrange repairs for the backyard craters and left to meet Minato Namikaze at the Sixth Training Ground.
• Minato Namikaze appeared at the training ground just as Hyuga Kazuya was about to begin conditioning.

Minato Namikaze brought Hyuga Kazuya to meet Hatake Kakashi and asked Kazuya to help him cope with his father's death. Kazuya reframed the White Fang Incident as a failure of strength, and Kakashi asked Minato to train him and questioned whether Kazuya could be his companion.

• Minato Namikaze introduced himself as Kazuya's team leader and said he might teach him the Flying Thunder God Technique someday.
• Minato took Hyuga Kazuya to meet Hatake Kakashi and asked him to be mindful of Kakashi's grief over his father.
• Kakashi challenged Minato over whether missions or companions mattered more, and Kazuya argued that both mattered because White Fang's companions and their enemies' relative strength had shaped the tragedy.
• Kakashi regained his resolve, asked Minato to teach him so he could surpass his father, and asked Kazuya how strong he was and whether he could become his companion.

Hyuga Kazuya accepted Kakashi’s challenge to assess whether he was qualified to be Kakashi’s teammate. He overwhelmed Kakashi in their spar and left him unconscious with Eight Trigrams—Sixty-Four Palms.

• Kakashi challenged Hyuga Kazuya to a spar at the Hatake Clan estate, and Minato Namikaze agreed to referee.
• Kakashi drew his short sword, but Hyuga Kazuya moved first, forced the sword back into its sheath, and struck Kakashi in the abdomen.
• Kakashi used Hatake Style Swordsmanship—Iaido and slashed at Hyuga Kazuya, but hit a substitute log instead.
• Hyuga Kazuya appeared behind Kakashi and used Eight Trigrams—Sixty-Four Palms, leaving Kakashi unconscious.

Hyuga Kazuya defeated Kakashi in a sparring match and Minato Namikaze realized Kakashi needed rest. Minato outlined how he planned to train the two future teammates, then left feeling fulfilled by the village’s trust in him.

• Hyuga Kazuya knocked Kakashi unconscious after noticing his unstable chakra and exhaustion, and Minato Namikaze agreed that Kakashi needed rest.
• Minato Namikaze had a Hatake Clan maid put Kakashi to bed and asked her to tell him to meet at Training Ground 6 at noon the next day.
• After leaving the Hatake residence with Hyuga Kazuya, Minato Namikaze explained that Kakashi and Hyuga Kazuya needed Shinobi World knowledge, combat experience, attention to mission details, and teamwork.
• Hyuga Kazuya agreed with Minato Namikaze’s plans and left to train on his own.
• Minato Namikaze reflected on the talents of his two disciples and felt happy that the village trusted him to teach them.

Hiruzen Sarutobi refused Danzo’s demand to take Kakashi into Root, insisting that Minato would train him. Hyuga Kazuya received a powerful bow made from First Hokage-created wood and learned about its rare spider-silk bowstring.

• Danzo confronted Hiruzen over assigning Kakashi to Minato’s team and demanded to train him himself.
• Hiruzen refused to hand Kakashi over, citing Kakashi’s status as the son of a village hero and his belief in the Will of Fire.
• Danzo left angrily, while Hiruzen wondered whether he had been wrong about the White Fang Incident.
• Hyuga Kazuya visited his uncle’s study and found the bow and arrows he had requested.
• Kazuya tested the bow by drawing it without an arrow, and the force of the shot blasted a hole through the window.
• Kazuya’s uncle explained that the bow was made from wood created by the First Hokage and had a bowstring woven from rare giant-spider silk.

Hyuga Kazuya received a bow and arrows and set out to test them in the Forest of Death. On the way, he helped Hyuga Momona and her teammates catch a cat during their mission, then continued toward the forest.

• Hyuga Kazuya examined the bow and tested the difference between its chakra arrows and ordinary arrows.
• Uncle gave Hyuga Kazuya a Storage Scroll, and he sealed away the bow and arrows before leaving for the Forest of Death.
• Hyuga Kazuya encountered Hyuga Momona, Inuzuka Hana, and Aburame Tomomi chasing a cat during their mission.
• Hyuga Kazuya caught the calico cat and Inuzuka Hana's dog, then returned the animals to the girls.
• Hyuga Kazuya said goodbye to Momona and her teammates and continued toward the Forest of Death.

Hyuga Kazuya tested his self-developed Power Buff and bow in the Forest of Death, finding that Chakra Metal arrows infused with Wind Release could pierce several trees at extreme speed. He decided his fifth Overclocking should focus on applying Wind Release to his arrows more effectively.

• Hyuga Kazuya entered the Forest of Death and used his Byakugan to find an isolated place to test his bow.
• Hyuga Kazuya activated Power Buff, drawing the bow more easily and firing an ordinary arrow that buried itself in a tree.
• Hyuga Kazuya infused an arrow with Wind Release Chakra and pierced a thick tree, then tested a Chakra Metal arrow that passed through three trees.
• Hyuga Kazuya concluded that Chakra fluctuations could alert skilled opponents, making the arrow best suited for surprise attacks.
• Hyuga Kazuya reconsidered his fifth Overclocking priorities and chose to focus on improving how he applied Wind Release to his arrows.

Hyuga Kazuya named his new bow the East Wind Bow and its wind-based arrow technique Wind Chasing Arrow after testing their power and accuracy in the Forest of Death. He left with a plan to keep improving his archery and went to Uncle to ask for money to replace damaged arrows and cover his expenses.

• Hyuga Kazuya retrieved his arrows, confirmed that Chakra Metal arrows remained intact, and named his bow the East Wind Bow and his wind-based technique Wind Chasing Arrow.
• Hyuga Kazuya practiced throughout the day, becoming confident he could hit stationary targets within two kilometers and experimenting with Exploding Tags on arrows.
• Hyuga Kazuya considered making fragmentation grenades but abandoned the idea because Exploding Tags were costly and the project could create risks.
• Hyuga Kazuya gathered his damaged arrows and concealed the holes he had made in the trees by stuffing them with stripped branches.
• After eating several bowls of Grilled Meat Bibimbap, Hyuga Kazuya visited Uncle, praised his new bow, and hoped to get money for damaged arrowheads and used Exploding Tags.

Hyuga Kazuya reviewed his strengths and weaknesses before meeting Hatake Kakashi at the Sixth Training Ground to prepare for Minato Namikaze’s assessment. Minato arrived and ordered them to attack him with their full power, leaving the pair ready to begin.

• Hyuga Kazuya collected several tens of thousands of taels from his eldest uncle and promised to repay him someday.
• Hyuga Kazuya assessed his abilities and realized his attack power was Kage-level, but his defense, endurance, and combat experience were serious weaknesses.
• Hatake Kakashi arrived at the Sixth Training Ground and respectfully greeted Hyuga Kazuya.
• Hyuga Kazuya and Kakashi discussed their strengths, agreeing that Kazuya specialized in ranged archery while Kakashi excelled at close combat, speed, and Chakra Blade Technique.
• Minato Namikaze arrived using Flying Thunder God, introduced himself, and told Hyuga Kazuya and Kakashi to attack him with their full power.

Hyuga Kazuya and Kakashi tested their strength against Minato Namikaze, whose Flying Thunder God Technique let him evade their coordinated attacks until Kazuya’s powerful arrow forced him to end the spar. Minato praised them, announced a mission in three days and a team barbecue that night, then left Kazuya to help Kakashi train.

• Kakashi attacked Minato with Hatake Style Swordsmanship, but Minato dodged each strike and widened the distance between them.
• Kazuya and Kakashi coordinated an attack, and Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique to evade them before Kazuya’s arrow pierced two trees.
• Minato stopped the spar, questioned Kazuya about the arrow, and learned that Kazuya had prepared a clone and deliberately avoided aiming at a vital spot.
• Minato praised Kazuya and Kakashi, announced a mission in three days, invited them to barbecue that night, and asked Kazuya to guide Kakashi.
• After Minato left, Kazuya explained his preparations to Kakashi, and the two exchanged Taijutsu insights.