Chapter Summaries

Hyuga Tokuma used planted evidence to accuse Hyuga Takashi of killing Main Branch members and ordered his arrest, while Main Branch members tortured Takashi and Hyuga Iroha with the Caged Bird. After Tokuma threatened a public execution, Neji recalled Yunchuan’s example and declared there was a way to save Takashi, leaving Iroha horrified.

• Hyuga Tokuma showed a jar of Byakugan and accused Hyuga Takashi of attacking and killing Main Branch members.
• The guards overwhelmed Hyuga Neji, while two Main Branch members activated the Caged Bird and tortured Takashi and Hyuga Iroha until Takashi fainted.
• The guards dragged Takashi away by his injured arms, and Tokuma struck Neji before threatening to publicly sentence Takashi to death.
• Hyuga Iroha warned Neji that Takashi might be forced to confess and that the Main Branch could use the case to subdue the Branch Family.
• Neji remembered his father’s suffering under the Caged Bird, then declared that Hyuga Yunchuan had already shown them a solution, shocking Iroha.

Hyuga Neji confronted Hyuga Iroha over the Main Branch’s oppression and demanded that he help destroy the Caged Bird system. Iroha agreed to gamble on Neji’s plan, leaving the two prepared to fight for the Branch Family’s freedom.

• Hyuga Iroha panicked at the prospect of challenging the Main Branch, while Hyuga Neji accused him of letting Hyuga Yunchuan’s work be undone.
• Hyuga Neji concluded that the Branch Family’s weakness enabled the Main Branch’s abuses and proposed killing everyone who possessed the Caged Bird Cursed Seal.
• Hyuga Neji admitted that he had killed two Main Branch members and taken their Byakugan, sparking Iroha’s fury and despair.
• Hyuga Neji urged Iroha to cooperate, warning that exposing him or stopping him would leave the Branch Family in an equally desperate position.
• Hyuga Iroha chose to help Neji and declared that the Branch Family would discover whether its wings were strong enough by flying.

The Five Kage and their allies entered an underground structure, defeated Yomi, and discovered a strange cocoon that concealed Moryo. As Ao tried to warn them, a tentacle burst from the cocoon, killing Yura and decapitating Baki.

• Ao located the ancient structure in the canyon, and Terumi Mei and Darui cleared the Stone Statue Soldiers guarding its entrance with a combined technique.
• Yomi trapped the group in an Earth Corridor and attacked with a wind-fueled firestorm, but Rasa broke them out with Gold Dust.
• Rasa riddled Yomi with Gold Dust Senbon, and Ōnoki erased him with Dust Release when he regenerated.
• The Stone Statue Soldiers fell still, and the group found a pulsing purple-black cocoon at the altar.
• Ao saw something inside the cocoon and tried to warn the others, but a tentacle pierced Yura and swept through Baki’s neck before either could react.

Moryo transformed into a powerful Hollow and overwhelmed the assembled Kage and their allies, leaving Sarutobi Hiruzen gravely wounded. Hyuga Yunchuan arrived and fought Moryo, revealing that he also possessed stolen power as he launched a counterattack.

• Moryo emerged from its cocoon, revealed its new Hollow form, and attacked the gathered shinobi with deadly spiked tentacles.
• Ōnoki, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Rasa, Terumi Mei, Darui, Ao, and Deidara combined their techniques to trap and attack Moryo, but Moryo broke free with a Hollow Flash.
• Moryo used its tentacles to wound Rasa, Ōnoki, and Terumi Mei, tear Ao apart, and strike Sarutobi Hiruzen with a devastating punch.
• Hyuga Yunchuan arrived and struck Moryo through the ceiling before knocking it back into the altar; Hatake Kakashi, the Fourth Raikage, Yugito Nii, Karatachi Yagura, and Kitsuchi then appeared.
• Moryo caught Hyuga Yunchuan’s leg and punched his abdomen, but Yunchuan revealed blue-white markings and declared that he also had stolen power before kicking at Moryo’s cracked mask.

Hyuga Yunchuan used Blood Mode to overpower Moryo in a close-quarters fight, forcing it to transform and fight with its full strength. He caught Moryo off guard and began shattering its exoskeleton with a barrage of Gentle Fist strikes.

• Hyuga Yunchuan used the Spirit Bell to erase Moryo’s spatial attack, then challenged it to a fistfight to test his Blood Mode.
• Hyuga Yunchuan broke Moryo’s arm with a punch, while his own wounded fist rapidly healed.
• Moryo transformed with bat wings, black exoskeleton, and claws, and Hyuga Yunchuan drew his Ring-Pommel Saber to meet it.
• Hyuga Yunchuan and Moryo clashed at high speed, and Hyuga Yunchuan’s blade gradually cut through Moryo’s defenses.
• Hyuga Yunchuan threw his Ring-Pommel Saber to make Moryo stagger, then unleashed a barrage of Gentle Fist strikes that cracked its exoskeleton.

Hyuga Yunchuan killed Moryo and warned the gathered Kage that his vision showed the ninja villages under attack and the Tailed Beasts released. As the leaders hurried back to their villages, hundreds of strange aircraft flew inland toward Konoha.

• Moryo tried to escape, but Hyuga Yunchuan caught up and dismembered it before using the Shrine Maiden’s power and the altar to destroy it completely.
• Hyuga Yunchuan gave Moryo’s mask to Shadow and told it that Konoha’s side could begin.
• Hyuga Yunchuan told Sarutobi Hiruzen and the other survivors that his vision showed Konoha and the other ninja villages engulfed in destruction, with the Tailed Beasts released.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen urged the Kage and representatives to return to their villages immediately, and Hyuga Yunchuan flew away with Hiruzen and Kakashi.
• Three girls and nearby civilians watched hundreds of strange aircraft fly inland across the Land of Fire toward Konoha.

Hyuga Takashi endured torture in the Hyuga Clan’s underground prison without revealing his accomplices, and Hyuga Lingren ordered Hyuga Yoto to use the Caged Bird Cursed Seal on him. On the way to the prison, Yoto’s scar-faced guard investigated a noise in the woods and was ambushed by an unseen attacker.

• Hyuga Tokuma tortured Hyuga Takashi and demanded the names of those involved in murdering Main Branch members and stealing their Byakugan.
• Hyuga Lingren threatened Takashi with the Caged Bird Cursed Seal, but Takashi spat blood on him and refused to talk.
• Hyuga Lingren struck Takashi with a Chakra-infused whip, then ordered Tokuma to keep him alive until Hyuga Yoto arrived.
• Hyuga Yoto walked toward the prison with two Branch Family guards, voicing plans to torture Takashi while repeatedly panicking at noises.
• Hyuga Yoto sent the scar-faced guard into the woods to investigate, where an unseen attacker seized him and broke his neck.

Hyuga Iroha and the Branch Family Jonin infiltrated the underground dungeon by disguising themselves as guards and killing those who could expose them. Inside the soundproof cell, Iroha revealed himself and severed Hyuga Lingren’s hands before he could activate the Caged Bird Curse Mark.

• Hyuga Iroha killed a guard, disguised himself as him, and escorted Hyuga Yoto toward the dungeon with the other Branch Family Jonin.
• A guard detected blood on the group, but the Jonin killed both guards while Iroha killed Yoto’s companion with a senbon.
• Iroha and Yoto entered the cell, where Hyuga Lingren welcomed his son and promised the dungeon’s soundproofing would conceal anything they did to Hyuga Takashi.
• Iroha revealed his identity and used Wind Style: Wind Cut Technique to sever Hyuga Lingren’s hands before he could activate the Caged Bird Curse Mark.
• As Hyuga Lingren screamed in the sealed cell, Iroha noted that the soundproofing really was excellent.

Hyuga Tetsu ambushed Hyuga Tokuma after Tokuma shut Hyuga Yoto and another figure behind an iron door, then killed him as punishment for his betrayal of Hyuga Takashi. The chapter ended with Tokuma dead in the passage and the Branch Family’s reckoning underway.

• Hyuga Tokuma shut the iron door behind Hyuga Yoto and another figure, then confessed that he had helped because he believed they had no choice.
• Hyuga Tetsu dropped his disguise as a young guard and struck Tokuma with Gentle Fist, crippling him.
• Hyuga Tetsu told Tokuma that he was being punished for what he had done to Hyuga Takashi and for serving the Main Branch.
• Tokuma begged for his life and offered to help kill the Main Branch, but Hyuga Tetsu rejected his plea.
• Hyuga Tetsu kicked Tokuma in the jaw, breaking his neck and killing him.

Hyuga Iroha confronted Hyuga Lingren and Hyuga Yoto after disabling them, rejecting Lingren’s offers of freedom and control over the Hyuga Clan. He demanded that only one of the two men be allowed to live.

• Hyuga Iroha taunted Hyuga Yoto after he failed to activate the Caged Bird Cursed Seal without his Byakugan.
• Hyuga Lingren bandaged his severed wrist and tried to placate Hyuga Iroha by offering Hyuga Takashi and information about the seal’s range.
• Hyuga Iroha rejected Lingren’s suggestion that the Branch Family flee, insisting they had a right to remain in the Hyuga Clan.
• Hyuga Lingren offered the Main Branch’s sealing method and clan resources, and Hyuga Iroha tossed a kunai at Hyuga Yoto’s feet.
• Hyuga Iroha told Hyuga Lingren and Hyuga Yoto that only one of them would live.

Hyuga Iroha forced Hyuga Yoto and Hyuga Lingren into a deadly choice, and Yoto killed his father to secure his own survival. Iroha promised to let Yoto leave, though his voice came from an unexpected direction.

• Hyuga Iroha told Hyuga Lingren and Hyuga Yoto that he would not harm whichever of them survived.
• Hyuga Yoto took a Kunai and attacked Hyuga Lingren instead of striking Hyuga Iroha, then stabbed and pinned his father.
• Hyuga Iroha explained that Hyuga Lingren had taught Yoto to prey on the weak as a lesson in survival.
• Hyuga Yoto repeatedly stabbed Hyuga Lingren until he died, then asked Hyuga Iroha if he had done enough.
• Hyuga Iroha promised not to harm Hyuga Yoto and told him he could leave, while speaking from a different place than Yoto expected.

Hyuga Takashi killed Hyuga Yoto after Hyuga Iroha revealed that their allies were acting against the Main Branch, while Hyuga Riwo secretly arranged for Danzo and Root to target the Branch Family. Danzo then betrayed Riwo and the elders, maiming them and revealing his plans to turn Main Branch members into Hollow and control the Branch Family.

• Hyuga Takashi whipped Hyuga Yoto until the whip broke, then killed him with an iron chain while Hyuga Iroha supported him.
• Hyuga Tetsu joined Hyuga Iroha and Takashi, and Iroha said their allies were already acting outside to claim the Hyuga Clan rather than flee.
• Hyuga Riwo met with three Main Branch elders and proposed crushing the Branch Family, then introduced Danzo as an ally whose Root forces would help.
• Hyuga Riwo said he would support Danzo for Hokage after Hiruzen stepped down, while a scream outside signaled that Root had begun its attack.
• Danzo introduced a masked Root operative who revealed himself as Hyuga Hiashi with a Caged Bird Cursed Seal, then the two swiftly maimed all four men.
• Danzo rejected cooperation with the Main Branch elders and revealed that he wanted to turn them into Hollow and use the Caged Bird seal to control the Branch Family and Hyuga Yunchuan.

Hyuga Neji and the Branch Family began their bloody assault on the Main Branch, with Neji arranging to take sole responsibility for the killings. As the plan descended into chaos, Shadow eliminated Root watchers and turned toward Neji’s destination.

• Hyuga Neji and a masked Branch Family member infiltrated a Main Branch residence, where Neji killed a target and removed his Byakugan.
• Neji spared the target’s young son as a witness, while the Branch Family member reported that the other target was absent and a woman had been knocked unconscious.
• A woman’s scream alerted the compound, and blood appeared in several Main Branch residences as the other attackers met unexpected complications.
• Neji split from the masked member, directing him toward Hyuga Riwo’s residence while Neji headed for Hyuga Hiashi’s; the member revealed that he was disguised as Neji to make Neji bear the blame.
• Shadow vanished from a Root ninja’s sight, killed the two watchers, and watched Neji’s route with a black cat in his arms.

Hizashi Hyuga revealed to the Main Branch elders that he had impersonated Hyuga Hiashi for years, then removed the elders’ Byakugan as part of a plot with Shimura Danzō against the Main Branch. He visited Hinata and Hanabi before descending to the imprisoned Hiashi and declaring that it was time for everything to end.

• Hizashi Hyuga revealed that he had been posing as Hyuga Hiashi since the Main Branch sacrificed him, leaving the elders shocked by the deception.
• Hizashi gouged out the four elders’ Byakugan and stored them in a container, while Shimura Danzō confirmed that the Main Branch—not the Branch Family—was the target.
• Hizashi told Danzō he would leave the room to him, then Danzō disclosed that the Branch Family was not being attacked and tortured Hyuga Riwo.
• Hizashi looked in on the sleeping Hinata Hyuga and Hanabi Hyuga without waking them.
• Hizashi entered a hidden chamber beneath Hiashi’s residence and told the imprisoned Hyuga Hiashi that it was time for everything to end.

Hyuga Neji discovered a concealed barrier in Hyuga Hiashi's residence and followed a hidden passage to a secret chamber, where he found Hiashi waiting. Neji declared that he had come to kill him and that he could already see Hiashi's death.

• Neji used his Byakugan to search Hiashi's residence and found Hinata, Hanabi, and their mother asleep, but Hiashi was missing.
• Neji detected a barrier concealing Hiashi's bedroom, entered the room, and uncovered a hidden passage beneath the wall.
• A kunai stopped the hidden door from closing as a black cat startled Hinata awake, leaving her uneasy when she found her father's door ajar.
• Neji descended into the underground passage and entered a sealed secret chamber, where Hiashi ambushed him.
• Neji countered Hiashi's attack with a Gentle Fist strike, then told him he had come to kill him and could already see his death.

Hyuga Neji and Hyuga Hiashi fought fiercely in the secret chamber as Hiashi challenged Neji’s strength and taunted him over the gap between the Main Branch and Branch Family. After Neji revealed his Earth Style defense and declared that they had to seize the day, Hiashi prepared to activate Neji’s Caged Bird Cursed Seal, and Neji charged at him with all his Earth Style Chakra.

• Hyuga Hiashi attacked Hyuga Neji, and the two exchanged a rapid series of Gentle Fist strikes.
• Hyuga Hiashi taunted Neji about the Main Branch’s secret techniques and said he should have left Neji to fend for himself.
• Hyuga Neji headbutted Hiashi, then smashed his palm into the stone wall when Hiashi dodged.
• Hyuga Hiashi used Gentle Fist - One Strike Body to knock Neji into the opposite wall.
• Hyuga Hiashi noticed Neji’s iron-blue Earth Style shell as Neji explained why Branch Family members had to seize the day.
• Hyuga Hiashi prepared to activate Neji’s Caged Bird Cursed Seal, and Neji charged at him while releasing all his Earth Style Chakra.

Hyuga Neji fought Hyuga Hiashi, but a syringe injected into him triggered a painful transformation that heightened his body and Byakugan. He discovered a blind man who looked identical to Hiashi, then realized the dying Hiashi was his father.

• Hyuga Neji shattered Hyuga Hiashi's Rotation with Twin Lion Fists, and both men were badly injured.
• Hyuga Hiashi injected Neji with a syringe; Neji endured a brutal bodily transformation as stored Pupil Power flowed into his eyes.
• Neji's Byakugan gained extraordinary clarity, and he found Hiashi dying with relief in his eyes.
• Neji broke through a hidden Barrier and discovered a blind prisoner who looked exactly like Hyuga Hiashi.
• The prisoner killed himself and warned Neji that the Main Branch would become Hollows after dying at the hands of the Branch Family.
• Neji turned back to the dying Hyuga Hiashi and realized he was his father.

As Hizashi Hyuga lay dying, he revealed to Neji that he had secretly taken Hiashi’s place and had long known about Neji’s plans and his hope of escaping the Caged Bird seal. He urged Neji to survive and seek freedom for the Branch Family, leaving Neji to face the fate of those fighting outside.

• Neji panicked and tried to save his mortally wounded father, but Hizashi stopped him and said his sacrifice had been his own choice.
• Hizashi revealed that the real Hiashi had died and he had taken Hiashi’s place, leaving Neji alone while secretly watching over him.
• Hizashi told Neji he knew about the Tenseigan, which could break the Caged Bird seal, and had made his sacrifice to give Neji a path to freedom.
• Hizashi praised Neji for not becoming a butcher like Uchiha Itachi, then asked him to consider the Branch Family members fighting outside.
• Hizashi urged Neji to bear the sacrifices and escape to a place beyond anyone’s reach so the Branch Family could be free.

Hizashi Hyuga urged Neji to take his eyes and pursue freedom, then Neji tore them from his father as Hizashi died. Hinata arrived at the secret room and witnessed the bloody scene.

• Hizashi told Neji that he had lived only to free him from the Caged Bird fate and asked him to keep his true heart and protect Hinata and Hanabi.
• Hizashi revealed that his Caged Bird seal had been temporarily suppressed and instructed Neji to take his eyes and merge with them.
• Neji struggled with grief and rage over his father's sacrifice and the suffering imposed by the Hyuga Branch Family.
• Hizashi forced Neji's trembling hand toward his face and urged him to fulfill his final wish.
• Neji shut his eyes and tore out Hizashi's eyes as his father slumped forward.
• Hinata opened the secret-room door and saw Neji holding Hizashi's bloody Byakugan.

Hyuga Neji killed Hyuga Hiashi and confronted Hinata, but Hyuga Aoi arrived in time to stop him from taking her Byakugan. In the secret chamber, Shadow revived Hizashi Hyuga with Otsutsuki Toneri’s father’s soul and prepared to unleash the sword Wrath at the Hokage Building.

• Hinata found Hyuga Hiashi’s body and saw Hyuga Neji covered in blood and tears.
• Neji mocked Hinata for her fear and tried to take her Byakugan, but Hyuga Aoi blocked his attack.
• Hinata told Aoi that Neji had killed her father, and Hyuga Homura confronted Neji in shock and fury.
• Shadow extinguished the burning corpse and placed Otsutsuki Toneri’s father’s soul inside Hizashi Hyuga’s body.
• Shadow raised his hand toward the Hokage Building, causing the stored sword Wrath to tremble.