Chapter Summaries

Neji and Yugito completed their supply escort to Kusagakure and settled into an inn, where Yugito revealed that the Raikage had assigned her a mission involving Neji. Neji refused to go along with it and gave Yugito a bloodstained piece of bedsheet as proof that the mission was complete.

• Neji and Yugito reached the Land of Grass and discussed how its leaders’ shifting alliances had made it a battlefield between great nations.
• The escort delivered the supplies safely to Kusagakure, and Neji and Yugito declined Takayama Tokugawa’s invitation after collecting their pay.
• At their inn, Yugito explained that the Raikage had ordered her to carry out a mission involving Neji.
• Neji questioned Yugito’s obedience to the order, cut his finger, and handed her a bloodstained piece of bedsheet as evidence that she had completed the mission.

Neji refused to force Yugito into a mission-related relationship, and they agreed to share a room without sharing a bed. The next morning, Yugito revealed their secret mission to steal Kusagakure’s Box of Paradise, and the pair prepared to scout their targets before a midnight operation.

• Neji told Yugito he liked her but rejected the idea of treating their relationship as a deal, and Yugito agreed to let it go for now.
• Yugito woke Neji early and explained that their C-Rank mission had been a cover for a private assignment from the Raikage.
• Yugito told Neji that Kumogakure believed Kusagakure possessed the legendary Box of Paradise and ordered him to investigate one of two faction headquarters in the northern region.
• Yugito planned to search the southern region while they scouted separately, then move at midnight and leave Kusagakure immediately afterward.
• Neji suggested returning to their inn and leaving openly the next morning, and Yugito agreed to use it as their retreat.

Hyuga Neji infiltrated Kusagakure to find the Box of Paradise, killing guards and using the Tenseigan’s Curse Seal of the Mind to read and control one of them. After Kusagakure shinobi ambushed him, Neji realized his arrogance and overreliance on the Byakugan had exposed him, but he chose to confront them.

• Neji killed four Kusagakure shinobi in a cabin and used the Curse Seal of the Mind on the middle-aged shinobi to order him to keep watch.
• Neji set out to control a high-ranking Kusagakure shinobi and search their memories for the Box of Paradise.
• A Kusagakure shinobi ambushed Neji with the Headhunter Jutsu, but Neji crushed his head.
• Dozens of Kusagakure shinobi surrounded Neji, and their elite jonin revealed that he had been expected.
• Neji recognized that his Byakugan’s chakra reaction had exposed his surveillance, then taunted the Kusagakure shinobi after the elite jonin identified his Byakugan.

Neji infiltrated Kusagakure to find something on the Hokage's orders, prompting its ninja to ambush him. He fought off their forces with Gentle Fist, Rotation, and Chidori, then evaded a Wind Scythe Jutsu as the battle continued.

• The Kusakagure jōnin recognized Neji's Byakugan, questioned his mission, and suspected Konoha wanted the Box of Paradise.
• Neji took a Gentle Fist stance and used God Vacuum Attack to repel the Grass Ninja, gravely wounding a Special Jonin and killing more than ten Chunin.
• The Grass Ninja attacked with Fire and Wind Release, but Neji protected himself with Rotation and disappeared beneath the battlefield.
• Neji burst from the ground and killed a Special Jonin with Chidori, then fought Hayashi while studying Kusagakure's Flesh-Breaking Palm.
• Neji struck Hayashi with lightning from his palm, dodged a Wind Scythe Jutsu, and activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

Neji defeated the Kusagakure ninjas, controlled their elite jonin with the Curse Seal of the Mind, and learned that the Box of Paradise was already at Hozuki Castle. He then headed to see a mother and daughter, while Yugito searched Kusagakure’s southern headquarters for secret techniques.

• Neji used Lightning Release Chakra Mode and Black Lightning to kill the injured Special Jonin and four other Kusagakure ninjas.
• Neji defeated the Kusagakure elite jonin with Chidori Current and controlled him using the Curse Seal of the Mind.
• Neji read Katsushiro’s memories, learned that Mui had taken the Box of Paradise to Hozuki Castle three years earlier, and ordered Katsushiro to take him to a mother and daughter.
• Yugito infiltrated the southern Kusagakure administrative building in disguise and opened a locked cabinet containing scrolls on Uchiha Style Swordsmanship, Sand Village Basic Puppet Technique, and Explosion Release.

Yugito discovered records about the Dragon Life Reincarnation technique and the Box of Paradise while infiltrating Kusagakure, then realized the village’s commotion had been caused by Neji. Neji rescued Karin and her mother from an abusive Kusagakure shinobi and promised to protect them both.

• Yugito photographed the Dragon Life Reincarnation Secret Technique scroll and read Kusagakure's research on the Box of Paradise.
• When Kusagakure shinobi raised an alarm, Yugito escaped as a black cat and realized they were pursuing Neji in the northern district.
• Katsushiro attacked Karin and her mother, but Karin bravely charged at him to defend her mother.
• Neji struck Katsushiro with Lightning Release: Chidori Sharp Spear and urged Karin and her mother to leave Kusagakure with him.
• Karin's mother agreed to go if Neji would protect Karin, and Neji promised to protect them both.

Neji used a Lightning Release Clone and underground escape to rescue Karin and her mother from Kusagakure, while Yugito intervened to help him evade the pursuing shinobi. The chapter left Kusagakure’s forces regrouping in the mist around the dango shop after Ryurin dispersed it.

• Neji escaped the wooden house with a Lightning Release Clone while hiding his real body underground, then ambushed and killed the Kusagakure shinobi left inside.
• Neji asked Karin’s mother to carry Karin and hold on as he fled with them from the house.
• Ryurin and Kusagakure reinforcements cornered Neji’s clone at a dango shop and raised a barrier to stop his escape.
• Yugito reached the shop, transformed back into her true form, and attacked the surrounding Kusagakure shinobi with Fire Style: Great Fire Destruction.
• Ryurin countered Yugito’s flames with the Great Waterfall Technique, filling the area with mist, then cleared it with Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.

Neji rescued Uzumaki Kana and her daughter Karin from Kusagakure and proposed that they join the Hyuga clan, then clarified that he was a Kumogakure shinobi. After Yugito learned they belonged to the Uzumaki clan, she approved of bringing them along.

• After failing to find Neji in the dango shop, Yugito left Kusagakure disguised as a black cat and returned to the inn.
• Neji told Kana that she and Karin should join the Hyuga clan, then revealed he was from Kumogakure and that the clan had only three members, counting them.
• Yugito arrived at the inn and questioned Neji about bringing Kana and Karin with him.
• Neji explained that Kana and Karin were Uzumaki, and Yugito recalled the clan's sealing skills, powerful chakra, and history as Nine-Tails jinchuriki.
• Yugito praised Neji for recognizing the value of the Uzumaki mother and daughter.

Neji took Kana and her mother into his protection as descendants of the Uzumaki clan, while Kusagakure suspected Konoha’s Hyuga clan of stealing information about the Box of Paradise. Ryurin planned a village search using the mother and daughter as bait, unaware that the wounded Katsushiro had his own hidden intentions.

• Neji told Yugito that Kana and her mother had agreed to join the Hyuga clan, and Yugito teased him about the union between the clans.
• A medical ninja identified Gentle Fist as the likely cause of a Kusagakure ninja’s death, and Ryurin concluded the intruder was probably from the Hyuga clan.
• A messenger reported that someone had broken into the administrative building and stolen a scroll about the Box of Paradise.
• After Katsushiro woke, he confirmed that a Hyuga ninja had attacked, and Ryurin said the intruders had taken the Uzumaki mother and daughter.
• Ryurin assigned Katsushiro to inspect people leaving the village while preparing to lure the intruders into an understaffed section of the defenses.
• Katsushiro accepted the assignment with a barely noticeable smile.

Neji smuggled Yugito, Kana, and Kana’s mother out of Kusagakure by posing as a Cloud ninja, while Ryurin and the village leaders realized the infiltrators had escaped. Mui returned to the village and gave Ryurin a lantern from Muku for Ryūsetsu.

• Neji drove a carriage through Kusagakure’s guarded gate and used his Cloud ninja disguise to discourage the guards from searching it thoroughly.
• Katsushiro let Neji’s carriage pass after checking the visible passenger and deciding the infiltrators were not Cloud ninja.
• Kana and her mother emerged from a hidden compartment after the carriage had left the village, and Neji offered to teach Karin to drive.
• Ryurin concluded that the infiltrator had escaped with Kana and her mother, then learned that Mui had returned with Kusagakure’s elders.
• Mui gave Ryurin a paper lantern from Muku for Ryūsetsu, and Ryurin left to return home.

Mui faced pressure from Kusagakure's elders to sacrifice Muku and open the Box of Paradise, while Neji returned to Kumogakure and received a house and a powerful ninja tool as rewards. The chapter left Neji warned that young women from the Yozuki clan planned to confront him.

• The elders urged Mui to sacrifice Muku to open the Box of Paradise, and the sheep-headed elder stabbed himself while pleading for Mui to put Kusagakure first.
• Neji and Yugito returned to Kumogakure with Kana and her mother, then reported their mission to Fourth Raikage A.
• Fourth Raikage A sealed the mission report as top secret and gave Neji a house deed and the Amber Purifying Pot as rewards.
• Fourth Raikage A and Dodai warned Neji that young women from the Yozuki clan might come after him, and Neji said he could handle them.

Neji reunited with Samui, who welcomed him home and enjoyed his care, while Danzo reviewed intelligence about Hiruzen Sarutobi and Uchiha Itachi. The chapter left Danzo reading that Itachi might have awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

• Yugito gave Fourth Raikage A the bloodstained bedsheet from the mission and left disappointed by his favoritism toward Neji.
• Samui surprised Neji in an alley, hugged him, and brought him home, where she asked him for a shoulder massage.
• Neji used an electric technique to massage Samui, then hurried to heat water so she could wash her feet.
• At Root, Danzo dismissed reports about Hiruzen Sarutobi as useless and read that Uchiha Itachi had completed a B-Rank Mission alone and might have awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Danzo reviewed intelligence from across the Shinobi World and ordered Aburame Ryoma to infiltrate Kumogakure and contact the secret spy Puppet. He assigned Yakushi Nonō to the operation and directed Ryoma to provoke conflict, eliminate Kumogakure’s Byakugan bloodline, and kill Nonō afterward.

• Danzo decided to visit Itachi after considering how he might use the Uchiha heir to gain leverage over the Uchiha clan.
• Danzo read reports about the Land of Rain, Sunagakure, Iwagakure, Kusagakure, Kirigakure, and Kumogakure, and marked Yakushi Nonō for elimination.
• Danzo discarded reports from Kusagakure, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure, choosing not to act on them immediately.
• Danzo asked Aburame Ryoma who was responsible for intelligence from the Land of Lightning, and Ryoma reminded him of the undercover spy codenamed Puppet in Kumogakure.
• Danzo ordered Aburame Ryoma to infiltrate Kumogakure with a Root squad, contact Puppet, and take Yakushi Nonō along.
• Danzo told Aburame Ryoma to stir up conflict between Kumogakure and Iwagakure, purge Kumogakure’s Byakugan bloodline, and kill Yakushi Nonō after the mission.

Neji dressed Samui for their fishing trip, but Yozuki Rei and five Yozuki clan women blocked their way and challenged him. Neji accepted Rei’s challenge and insisted they fight on the spot.

• Neji gave Samui a white qipao, styled her hair, and helped her put on black stockings before they set out to fish.
• Samui stopped Neji from staring at her while she changed shoes, and Mabui arrived and asked to join them.
• On the way to the reservoir, Yozuki Rei and five clan women confronted Neji and challenged him over the Yozuki clan’s pride.
• Samui warned Neji that Rei was a newly promoted jonin, but Neji stepped forward and accepted the challenge.
• Rei proposed moving to a training ground, but Neji insisted they spar where they stood.

Neji used Rei’s aggressive swordsmanship and overconfidence against her, defeating her without being struck. Rei vowed to challenge him again, but Neji claimed he had used only one-tenth of his strength, leaving her in disbelief.

• Neji recalled that Yozuki Rei was an elite jōnin with the Red Gourd and prepared to exploit her tendency to take risks.
• Rei attacked Neji with a chakra-enhanced sword, but he read her movements with the Tenseigan and dodged her strikes.
• Neji baited Rei into growing frustrated and wasting chakra as their fight carried them deeper into the woods.
• When Rei chose to attack instead of retreating, Neji struck the wrist acupoint, took her sword, and held it to her neck.
• Rei admitted defeat and vowed to challenge Neji again, but he said she had never threatened him and that he had used only one-tenth of his strength.

Neji revealed his Lightning Release Chakra Mode and Black Lightning to Yozuki Rei, then offered her training notes and left with Samui. At a secluded reservoir, Neji and Samui went fishing, where his playful punishment put him in her lap and he later caught fish at an astonishing rate.

• Neji showed Yozuki Rei his Lightning Release Chakra Mode and Black Lightning, then explained he had refused the clan leader’s proposal because it would be unfair to them both.
• Neji gave Yozuki Rei two scrolls of training notes, and they agreed their spar had ended in a draw to spare her embarrassment.
• Samui took Neji away, and he credited her for his draw with Yozuki Rei before they set up a campsite beside a reservoir.
• Neji challenged Samui to a fishing contest and sat in her lap as punishment when she lost her bait.
• After Samui teased him for failing to catch fish from her lap, Neji focused with the Ice Heart Technique and caught seven fish in under two minutes.

Neji trained his Tenseigan until he awakened Chakra Beads, then tested their destructive power and resumed sword practice. When a mysterious masked figure approached through a barrier that disrupted his senses, Neji prepared to face them.

• Samui kissed Neji while they rested beneath the night sky, and Neji fell asleep in her arms.
• Ten days later, Neji trained his Tenseigan in the woods until it reached Lv. 2 and granted him Chakra Beads.
• Neji formed one black chakra bead and used it to shatter a boulder, but attempting to form a second bead exhausted his chakra.
• Neji resumed sword training and practiced repeated strikes, intending to develop a signature technique using chakra beads.
• Neji sensed that a barrier had silenced the woods, activated his Byakugan, and spotted a masked figure approaching.

Neji fought off a masked assassin whose chakra powder neutralized the Byakugan, then killed four reinforcements. He identified the attackers as Root operatives, while the wounded assassin escaped into the forest.

• The cloaked man used chakra powder to block Neji's Byakugan and attacked him with a Wind Release: Vacuum Blade, but Neji blasted him away with God Vacuum Attack.
• Neji pursued the cloaked man using Lightning Release Chakra Mode, and the two clashed with their swords until the assassin trapped Neji with the Shadow Imitation Technique.
• Neji broke free, countered the cloaked man's sword technique, severed his left arm, and forced him to flee into the forest.
• Four ninjas arrived to aid the cloaked man, but Neji killed them with a chakra bead, God Vacuum Attack, and close combat.
• Neji examined one of the dead ninjas and found the fading Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, confirming that the attackers were Root.

Neji pursued the Root assassin who had attacked him and alerted Kumogakure's patrol, while Aburame Ryoma activated a backup plan. After Neji left, White Zetsu and Black Zetsu watched him and discussed the Byakugan's potential before setting off on their mission.

• Neji stored the assassin's severed left arm and pursued him, while Aburame Ryoma found the wounded Puppet and ordered his team to activate the backup plan.
• Neji followed bloodstains through the forest, fired a signal flare, and left kunai markers as he continued the chase.
• Kumogakure's patrol team caught up with Neji, and he told the squad captain that a cloaked man had ambushed him on Tianyun Mountain and lost his left arm.
• White Zetsu and Black Zetsu emerged after Neji and the patrol team had gone, recognizing Neji as the Byakugan child Kumogakure had abducted.
• Black Zetsu explained the Byakugan's potential and its declining Otsutsuki bloodline, then told White Zetsu to continue their mission.

Neji recognized Yakushi Nonō at Crimson Leaf Izakaya and subdued her, but explosions killed the Patrol Team and diners as an insect clone fled. Ten hostile patrol ninjas surrounded Neji and identified him, revealing the izakaya had been a trap.

• Neji followed a trail of warm blood to Crimson Leaf Izakaya and recognized its proprietress as Yakushi Nonō, a Root spy.
• Neji pretended to drink and pursue Nonō upstairs, then exposed her identity and incapacitated her with Black Lightning.
• Explosions devastated the izakaya, killing the three Patrol Team ninjas and the diners while Neji rushed downstairs.
• Neji chased a fleeing shadow and pierced it with a Chidori Spear, discovering it was an Aburame insect clone.
• Ten patrol ninjas surrounded Neji, and their captain recognized him as Neji.