Chapter Summaries

After Minato and Kushina's deaths, Bai Yue watched the young mourners grieve for Kakashi, then took the drunken Anko and Kurenai home. The village remained unsettled, with the Uchiha facing blame and meetings underway to choose the Fifth Hokage.

• Anko slapped Kakashi and poured liquor down his throat, prompting the grieving youths to drink together by the Memorial Stone.
• Bai Yue wondered why Minato had used the Reaper Death Seal and then arranged an inn for the drunken men while carrying Anko and Kurenai home.
• Anko woke in Bai Yue's bed, attacked him, and learned that she had clung to him while drunk the previous night.
• Kurenai told Bai Yue that the village was condemning the Uchiha Clan and that meetings to select the Fifth Hokage had postponed village missions.

After the Third Hokage returned to office, Danzō tried to strengthen Root and recruit Hyuga children, but Hiashi refused. Danzō then turned his attention to Bai Yue, while Guy warned Bai Yue that Danzō might be targeting him.

• Danzō learned that the Third Hokage had transferred Kakashi and decided to stop Hiruzen from grooming him as Hokage.
• Danzō asked Hyuga Hiashi to provide children as Root auxiliaries, but Hiashi refused and Danzō left.
• Bai Yue learned that Danzō had visited the Hyuga Clan and wondered what he wanted.
• Danzō rejected Guy's plea to join Root, deciding that Guy was unsuited to it.
• Hyuga Branch Family members suspected Danzō was targeting Bai Yue, and Guy warned Bai Yue of the danger.

Baiyue sparred with Guy and broke through to a new level of taijutsu, combining force and chakra techniques into one style. After injuring Guy, Baiyue checked his Panel and realized his new ability made him exceptionally dangerous in close combat.

• Baiyue challenged Guy to a spar, and their fierce battle drew Hyuga Clan ninja to watch.
• As the fight intensified, Baiyue’s taijutsu evolved until he could freely combine hard force, soft force, and chakra emission.
• Baiyue struck Guy’s arm and lungs, then rushed to check on him; Guy insisted he was fine while Hyuga Hanako examined him.
• Baiyue checked his Panel and saw that his separate taijutsu styles had merged into Taijutsu: Force lv6.
• Baiyue recognized that his new close-combat ability could overwhelm opponents and considered obtaining powerful ranged weapons.

Bai Yue visited Naruto with the Third Hokage and found the infant silent and cared for by an ordinary caregiver, prompting him to suspect Naruto was being neglected. He left furious at the Third Hokage’s evasive assurances but determined to ensure Naruto received better treatment, confident he could force the issue if necessary.

• Bai Yue went to the Hokage's office, and the Third Hokage agreed to take him to see Naruto after he disguised himself.
• Bai Yue saw Naruto sitting silently after the caregiver withdrew and questioned whether Naruto was being properly cared for.
• Bai Yue asked the Third Hokage to replace Naruto's caregiver, but the Third Hokage gave an ambiguous response.
• The Nine-Tails told Bai Yue that the caregiver harbored ill intent toward him, leading Bai Yue to fear she might mistreat Naruto.
• Bai Yue rejected the Third Hokage's reassuring promise and left determined to protect Naruto, believing his strength would let him challenge the Hokage if needed.

Bai Yue discovered that Naruto’s caregiver, Etsu Ogawa, had been abusing him and challenged Hiruzen Sarutobi over Naruto’s safety. After Hiruzen refused to let Bai Yue take Naruto to the Hyuga Clan’s land, Root members intercepted Bai Yue and said their leader wanted to see him.

• Bai Yue returned to Naruto after the Nine-Tails revealed that his caregiver was hurting him, and found bruises on the child’s body.
• Inoichi Yamanaka read Etsu Ogawa’s memories and discovered that jealousy over her own disabled child had led her to abuse Naruto.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Moyu to take Etsu away and declared the incident a Konoha secret.
• Bai Yue offered to arrange Naruto’s care himself, but Hiruzen refused to let him take Naruto to the Hyuga Clan’s land.
• After leaving in anger, Bai Yue was stopped by two Root members who said their leader requested his presence.

Bai Yue met with Danzo and traded Naruto’s location for Danzo’s promise to obtain fresh Kaguya Clan cells. Afterward, Danzo began considering how to use Bai Yue to undermine Hiruzen’s plans, while Bai Yue thought about Root’s forbidden techniques.

• Bai Yue followed a Root ninja to Danzo’s underground base and refused Danzo’s offer to join Root.
• Danzo asked Bai Yue to identify the new Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and Bai Yue agreed to trade the information for fresh cells from a Kaguya Clan member who had awakened Shikotsumyaku.
• Danzo promised to obtain the cells, and Bai Yue revealed that Naruto was living in the fourth house of Alley Seven on Wind Creek Street.
• Danzo considered using Bai Yue to weaken Kakashi and counter Hiruzen’s influence.
• Bai Yue decided Root’s forbidden techniques might help him study jutsu theories, though he still needed to learn conventional Ninjutsu elsewhere.

After leaving Root, Bai Yue obtained two secret techniques from Hiruzen Sarutobi and studied the Spirit Transformation Technique at home. Aunt Hanako then relayed gossip about Hiruzen and Danzo arguing over a child, leaving Bai Yue stunned by the rumors about Naruto.

• Bai Yue left Root and decided to visit Hiruzen Sarutobi to choose some jutsu.
• Hiruzen let Bai Yue pick techniques from a catalog, and Bai Yue took the Mutual Multiplication Paper Bomb and Spirit Transformation Technique.
• After Bai Yue left, Danzo took people to seize Naruto, prompting Hiruzen to leave the Hokage Building in a hurry.
• Bai Yue studied the Spirit Transformation Technique at home until Aunt Hanako called him to eat.
• Aunt Hanako told Bai Yue that Hiruzen and Danzo had argued over a child and that Danzo had called the child an illegitimate son.

Bai Yue visited the Hyuga Clan’s Secret Scroll Building and selected ninjutsu to study while reflecting on how the Caged Bird restricted the clan. The chapter ended with Hizashi considering making Bai Yue the person Neji would serve instead of Hiashi’s children.

• Hanako explained that she learned the gossip about Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi through kindergarten lip-reading.
• Bai Yue visited the Hyuga Clan’s Secret Scroll Building, where Hizashi offered to help him find ninjutsu.
• Bai Yue selected several Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind Release techniques, but chose none from the Lightning Release scrolls.
• Bai Yue left the building after finding no other techniques that interested him and reflected on the limits the Caged Bird placed on the Hyuga Clan.
• Hizashi considered transferring Neji’s future allegiance from Hiashi’s children to Bai Yue.

Bai Yue examined how the Panel tracked his chakra transformations and decided to pursue Yin-Yang Release to strengthen himself and possibly create Truth-Seeking Orbs. After Kurama offered to teach him about Yin-Yang Release, Bai Yue entered the Sealing Space, where the two began fighting.

• Bai Yue noticed the Panel had recorded Shape Transformation and Nature Transformation but not his individual Ninjutsu, and he wondered how its recording criteria worked.
• Bai Yue considered ways to learn Yin and Yang Release, including Konoha’s archives, the Ino-Shika-Cho clans’ secrets, and asking Danzo.
• Bai Yue asked Kurama whether he knew Yin-Yang Release, and Kurama said he did not know it but could teach Bai Yue about it.
• Bai Yue entered the Sealing Space to learn, but Kurama lunged at him, and they began a fist-to-fist fight.

Bai Yue defeated Nine-Tails in the Sealing Space, then absorbed his Chakra to enter Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. With Nine-Tails’s help, he sealed a tiny Tailed Beast Ball to study Yin-Yang Release, leaving Nine-Tails exasperated by Bai Yue’s questions and chatter.

• Bai Yue beat Nine-Tails and taunted him, while Nine-Tails realized he could not escape or defeat him in the Sealing Space.
• Bai Yue asked about studying Yin-Yang Release, and Nine-Tails explained that a Tailed Beast Ball used Yin-Yang Release.
• Bai Yue absorbed Nine-Tails’s Chakra and transformed into Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, admiring himself in a mirror.
• Nine-Tails reluctantly called Bai Yue handsome and helped him condense a tiny Tailed Beast Ball, which Bai Yue sealed away.
• Bai Yue questioned why Nine-Tails could use Yin-Yang Release without understanding it, then lectured him until Nine-Tails covered his ears.

Bai Yue persuaded Kurama to consider studying Yin-Yang Release, then learned that the Kaguya Clan cells he wanted were ready for collection. On his way to Root, Bai Yue ran into Might Guy and raced him to Training Ground 7.

• Bai Yue appealed to Kurama's pride and offered to study Yin-Yang Release together, but Kurama told him to return after he had figured it out.
• Danzō Shimura ordered a Root subordinate to have a maid contact Bai Yue, while questioning why the Hyuga boy wanted Kaguya Cells.
• Aunt Hanako told Bai Yue that an Anbu had said the cells were ready, and Bai Yue hurried toward Root's base.
• Bai Yue encountered Might Guy, whose injuries had not fully healed, and agreed to race him to Training Ground 7.
• Bai Yue and Might Guy arrived at the training ground, where the few Genin present moved aside to watch them.

Bai Yue gave Lang Ping a chance, obtained a Fire Release scroll from Danzo, and renamed the orphan Tang Niu. He hurried home to work on his plan involving Kaguya Clan cells, after asking Kurama to block his outward perception for two minutes.

• Lang Ping knelt before Bai Yue and asked to become his subordinate, requesting a B-rank Fire Release Ninjutsu when offered an opportunity.
• Bai Yue went to Root, where Danzo provided him with a Fire Dragon Bullet scroll, then sent a Root ninja to follow him.
• Kurama warned Bai Yue that a Root ninja was tailing him, but Bai Yue ignored the follower and thanked Kurama for watching out for him.
• Bai Yue returned to Training Ground 7, gave Lang Ping the scroll, learned that he was an orphan, and renamed him Tang Niu.
• Bai Yue hurried home to pursue his plan involving Kaguya Clan cells and asked Kurama to block his outward perception for two minutes.

After gaining strength from the Kaguya Clan cells, Bai Yue met Hizashi Hyuga, who asked him to place Neji’s Caged Bird mark. Bai Yue agreed, leaving him with a promise tied to the fate of Neji and the Branch Family.

• Bai Yue implanted the Kaguya Clan cells, and Perfect Blood increased his Byakugan and Taijutsu levels.
• Bai Yue celebrated his newfound strength and wondered whether he could obtain Otsutsuki blood from the moon.
• Hizashi Hyuga found Bai Yue and led him to the Secret Scroll Building while carrying his infant son, Neji.
• Hizashi showed his anguish over the Caged Bird seal as he looked at Neji.
• Hizashi asked Bai Yue to place Neji’s Caged Bird mark, and Bai Yue agreed.

Bai Yue learned that Hinata had been born and went with Hyuga Jinren to congratulate Hiashi and meet her. He left determined to pursue Hinata, while promising to look after Neji and continuing to study ways to become strong enough to protect the people around him.

• Aunt Hanako interrupted Bai Yue's research to tell him that Hiashi's child had been born, so he set off for the Clan Head's residence.
• Bai Yue met Hyuga Jinren, who scolded him for studying Yin-Yang Release, then agreed to ask Tokuma about relevant scrolls.
• Jinren told Bai Yue to treat Neji well, and Bai Yue promised to look after him and protect him.
• Bai Yue and Jinren reached Hiashi, who announced that his daughter was named Hinata Hyuga.
• Bai Yue decided he would pursue Hinata and resolved to dye his hair blond.

Bai Yue experimented with fusing ants into his body and tried to advance his Yin-Yang Release research with Kurama. After their insults escalated into a fight in the Sealing Space, Bai Yue left to meet Lord Hao Long.

• Bai Yue caught ants and implanted one in his arm to test whether Perfect Blood could fuse with them.
• Bai Yue asked Kurama to help with Yin-Yang Release research and mocked him by comparing him unfavorably to One-Tail Sand Shukaku.
• Bai Yue struggled to make progress with Yin Release while Kurama laughed at him during their cold war.
• Bai Yue entered the Sealing Space, beat Kurama after Kurama attacked, and left him humiliated.
• Aunt Hanako announced that Lord Hao Long had requested an audience, and Bai Yue went out to meet him.

Bai Yue studied the Yin-Yang Release scrolls and successfully added both transformations to his Panel. After eating, he searched for Might Guy and ran into Anko at a dumpling shop, where he teased her about gaining weight.

• Hyuga Goruryu delivered the Yin-Yang Release scrolls, and Bai Yue began researching their Nature and Shape Transformations in the Research Lab.
• Bai Yue mastered the beginnings of both transformations and emerged from the lab to eat, reassuring Aunt Hanako.
• Aunt Hanako told Bai Yue she had contacted Lord Yuhi but could not reach Lord Mitarai or Lord Kappa, so Bai Yue used his Byakugan to look for Might Guy.
• Bai Yue spotted Might Guy training beneath a waterfall and set out to find him.
• Bai Yue encountered Anko at a dumpling shop, mocked her about turning into a sweet potato, and caught and ate the dumplings she threw at him.

Bai Yue tracked down Anko and Might Guy to invite them to the opening of their Hot Pot Restaurant, where they would be partners. He recruited Guy for a special role in promoting the restaurant and planned to name it the Youth Hot Pot Restaurant.

• Bai Yue led the furious Anko to the Waterfall, restrained her, and calmed her with a compliment before explaining that he had come to find her and Might Guy.
• Bai Yue told Anko that their Hot Pot Restaurant was nearly ready to open and that she and the others had shares and responsibilities as partners.
• Might Guy appeared at the Waterfall, repeatedly failed to climb it, and agreed to return to the village with Bai Yue after hearing about the restaurant.
• Might Guy refused to invest money but accepted Bai Yue's promise that he had a unique and important role in the business.
• Bai Yue decided to name the business the Youth Hot Pot Restaurant and have Might Guy promote it by training in branded clothes around the village.

Bai Yue received the Hokage’s approval to study Medical Ninjutsu and began researching Yang Release at Konoha Hospital. There, he unexpectedly encountered his classmate Suki, who approached him and asked why he was there.

• Bai Yue enjoyed the success of his hotpot restaurant, then retreated to study Fire Release Chakra Shape Transformation scrolls.
• Kakashi gave Bai Yue the Hokage’s approval to study Medical Ninjutsu and relayed the Third Hokage’s request that he focus more on Sealing Jutsu.
• Bai Yue shared a hotpot meal with Kakashi, Might Guy, Kurenai, and Anko, then took the drunk women home.
• Kurenai encouraged Anko to work harder, while Bai Yue spent the next morning studying Yang Release materials at Konoha Hospital.
• Suki spotted Bai Yue at the hospital, introduced her Medical Ninjutsu studies, and asked him what he was doing there.

Bai Yue released and resealed Anko’s Curse Mark of Heaven, then conceived a plan to create a soul-nourishing curse mark. He studied anatomy to prepare for researching the brain, but realized he needed practical guidance and wondered how to contact Orochimaru.

• Suki left the hospital archives after Teacher Shin'nosuke Nohara called for her.
• Anko interrupted Bai Yue’s studies and asked him to undo her Curse Mark of Heaven.
• Bai Yue examined the curse mark, noticed Snake Aunt’s Soul Fragment and Jugo’s Sage Cells were thriving, and gained inspiration for a soul-nourishing seal.
• Bai Yue released and resealed Anko’s curse mark, making her excited about gaining strength and getting revenge.
• Bai Yue returned to studying anatomy, then worried that he lacked a safe way to practice researching the brain and considered contacting Orochimaru.

Bai Yue left Konoha to seek people outside the village for medical experiments, hoping to avoid causing trouble at home. He encountered Kirigakure ninja pursuing an unfamiliar village’s ninja and watched as the two groups began fighting.

• Bai Yue decided to leave Konoha and look for suitable people to use in his anatomical practice.
• Bai Yue informed Aunt Hanako, left Konoha with the Flying Thunder God Technique, and placed marked kunai along his route.
• Bai Yue spotted a nearby bandit hideout but continued farther, then turned back after finding no other promising targets.
• Bai Yue discovered several unfamiliar ninja being pursued and identified their pursuers as Kirigakure ninja.
• Bai Yue arrived as the Kirigakure squad caught up with the other village’s ninja and began fighting, and he watched from the sidelines.